Author Archives: Anton

how adolescent boys talked

If you don’t remember George Carlin’s speech that contains the phrase “six sins for one feel”, go ahead and look it up. When I first heard it, the phrase “feel her up” was new to me, but its meaning was … Continue reading

Posted in language | 2 Comments

pass the time by tracing rays

I had assumed that Pixar did not use ray-tracing because it could not provide certain desired lighting effects. Now Dad tells me that Monsters University is Pixar’s first ray-traced feature, which implies that the speed wasn’t available until now.

Posted in cinema, neep-neep | 1 Comment

To your rearranged bodies go

I’m re-reading To Your Scattered Bodies Go and, of course, pondering the arrangements. The premise is that all humans who ever died (for some convenient definitions of ‘human’ and ‘ever’) are simultaneously resurrected (for purposes unknown to them) on an … Continue reading

Posted in prose | 7 Comments

down with “capitalism”

I posted this, which is mostly a condensation and paraphrase of part of Roderick Long’s zaxlebax speech. Except for the chicken part.

Posted in me!me!me!, politics | Leave a comment

calendar reform

Each month shall have 30 days, except within a lune spanning 157°15′57″ (5.242199 × 30°) of longitude, wherein the month shall be extended by one day which shall not affect the cycle of the week. The lune so affected shall … Continue reading

Posted in calendars | 3 Comments

to pass the time

If I didn’t have to worry about such mundanities as weather and fatigue — if, say, I had a synthetic antimatter-powered body with some of the traditional flaws ironed out — I think I might like to spend eternity walking … Continue reading

Posted in futures | Leave a comment

what didn’t happen in Juneau didn’t stay in Juneau

In “It Happened in Juneau”, near the end of the third season of Northern Exposure (one of very few TV series of which I’ve seen every episode twice), Maggie flies Joel to Juneau for a conference; they both get lonely, … Continue reading

Posted in cinema, ethics, psychology | Leave a comment