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I'd never heard of Delia Bacon prior to reading Bill Bryson's " Shakespeare: The World as Stage ". There's a chapter towards the end of the book where Bryson talks about Delia, and her obsession with Sir Francis Bacon… the man she believed to have written Shakespeare's works. Turns out that, prior to Delia's ravings (she was eventually institutionalized for her obsessions), no one had ever questioned Shakespeare's authorship, so all the debate about "who wrote Shakespeare" can be laid at Delia's feet. (Bryson is none too impressed with Delia, and dismisses her postulations, observing that during her travels in England, she never once actually visited any location connected to Bacon, instead choosing to commune with nature to help her find answers to the 'mystery' of Shakespeare.) Speaking of Sir Francis brings me to Interred with Their Bones , a sort-of Shakespearean DaVinci code, where Sir Francis and Delia (as well as the earls ...

Gotta love sensational headlines like this one: Gamers Are 35, Overweight — And Sad, CDC says About the fifth paragraph in, the article notes: "The study, based on a 2006 online survey of 552 people … who were living in the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington state …" (Emphasis is mine). Pardon me for noticing, but isn't the Seattle-Tacoma area known for its above average per-capita depression rate? So perhaps releasing findings that state that your survey subjects are depressed might have something more to do with the overriding prevalence for said depression, than any influence gaming might have on them? Far be it from me to disagree with the CDC, but god am I tired of "well meaning" doctors and bureaucrats bemoaning the evils of videogames without bothering to have the goods to back up their claims. (There was yet another "learned man of science" on the radio Friday, talking about his concerns about addiction in World of Warcraft who prefaced his rema...

Gotta admit, it's hard to disagree with this list: Moviefone: Worst Blockbusters Ever The only one I might quibble about is the DaVinci Code. Calling it one of the worst blockbusters ever is almost giving it too MUCH credit. It was a mediocre, forgettable take on a pretty decent book, but "worst ever" anything seems like hyperbole to me. But the rest of that list? I think they nailed it!  

Am I alone in seeing the name Subaru WRX , making the cognitive leap from "WRX" to "wrecks" and thinking "wow, what a bad name for a car!"? At the very least, it seems an inauspicious association. Kind of a " Bummer of a birthmark " moment, you know?  

Bacon seems to be undergoing some bizarre cultural renaissance lately. How else can you explain bizarro products like bacon-flavored salt, bacon-flavored vodka, bacon-flavored mints and bacon-flavored diet coke? A quick Google search is bound to reveal countless other ways you can infuse bacon into your life. It's like we've all suddenly rebelled from all the 'healthy diet' rhetoric that's been flouted for years (rhetoric that few of us are paying any real attention to) and have embraced, once again, the notion of pork fat. But have you SEEN this thing ? That's Taco Bell's new Cheesy Bacon Potato Burrito. Available for a limited time only, they assure us… presumably because it will soon begin to kill off the unsuspsecting among us, those naive or clueless enough to think you can get away with eating one of these things without consequences. I thought the thing was spectacular when I first heard the radio spots, but then I saw a TV ad and realized the magic t...

It's possible Eve was right when she asked me what I was going to rant about after Bush left office. My rate of posting has certainly declined, and most of the time it's been pretty "safe" stuff… I certainly haven't gotten involved in any long debates about "the Digital Macarena", "SyFy" or the "2010/010" question, for instance. Admittedly, I've been stupid busy at work of late, and less inclined to distract myself with blogging in the middle of my lunch break (assuming, of course, that I'm actually breaking for lunch these days). And then there's Facebook and Twitter for those quick WTF kind of posts I've done in the past. But still… Excuses, excuses, right? Which is not to say there haven't been a few things that have piqued my interest lately. To whit… President Obama and the Cambridge Police My first reaction on hearing Obama's "The Cambridge Police acted stupidly" comment was to think how refres...