Moe Lane

Literary Commentary. Here, have some hip boots.

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Crooked Timber’s discussing an interesting little event that went on at the National Book Awards dinner Thursday. Short version: Stephen King got an honorary award, made a speech where he essentially informed the judges that they needed to read more genre fiction and an author named Shirley Hazzard got contrasted to King by just about everybody commenting on it.

Now, looking over the links, it would seem that the proud philistine contingent is underrepresented in this debate, so I am stepping up to the plate.

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Question About McAullife

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Hopefully, it’ll automatically publish Monday morning (yup, playing with site features). So, anyway, I was reading through this dKos post and I was struck with something: why are the Democrats keeping him around as head of the DNC? Rather than scurrilously speculate, I decided to simply ask for commentary from, like, actual Democrats and stuff: … Read more

Finally, We have An Answer…

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… to an age-old question. And there was much rejoicing. (Via Volokh.) UPDATE: I have had the Plasma Physicist Who Lives In The Basement Of My House* look at this, and she confirms that the numbers and stuff seem to check out. She doesn’t do biophysics, though. *Of course, from her point of view my … Read more

Now, THIS Is What A Proper Protest Looks Like

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Via Balloon Juice we see that a showdown was brewing in Georgia – the one in Eurasia – over a recent election that has everybody going, “Yeah, well”. Well, oh my droogies, the showdown has come, and with a vengeance. I hereby invite every person who has ever voluntarily engaged in the more … colorful … Read more

Updating the Blogroll…

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… which will not be normally subject to such fanfare. Actually, maybe it will be; we’re all making this up as we go along. Tonight’s additions are Sacred And Inane, Matthew J Stinson, A Fistful of Euros and James Casey. Alphabetization will commence… apparently not until somebody lets us do that. Moe PS: Von, old … Read more

Because, really…

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…there’s no point to writing for a blog if you can’t do egoboo for it. Well, in this case, girlfriend egoboo: she wrote out this particular piece after watching the Real Version of The Two Towers (some people call it the Extended Version, but we all know better, right?). Fair warning: she’s as much a … Read more

Bored Now…

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… I dunno, I was expecting something a bit more exciting so far from the English antiBush protestors. More in your face, more edgy and hip, more… well, people. However, I have been assured and reassured by those presumably in the know that Thursday’s demonstrations will be everything* that we’ve come to expect from the … Read more

Technical advice…

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1) If somebody who also uses TypePad can tell me how to alphabetize blogroll lists, I’d appreciate it. 2) If somebody could explain this ‘pinging’ thing, and how to do it, that’d be great, too. 3) If somebody wants to give any other techy advice, this thread’s the one to do it.

“Igor! Attend me!”

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“Yeth, mathter?”

“I have become bored and petulant, Igor. I grow weary of tormenting baby harp seals in front of chained ecoterrorists and stealing the ozone layer, all the while framing Noam Chomsky for the crime. I think that it is time to feed the commentgators.”

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Bloggety Blog Blog-blog…

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That’s what my girlfriend says when I announce that I’m off to the computer and tap-tap-type my way into the night when all sensible human beings are asleep. BAH! Sleep is for the WEAK!

Err, right. Anyway, I was going to go find a convenient internet cafe or Kinko’s or something over my lunch break and fire off a quick nonpolitical post, except that, well, I saw my local Barnes & Noble bookstore. It had the latest Orson Scott Card Alvin Maker book. That threw all thoughts of lunchblogging out the window.

It also had the Extended Version (henceforth known as the ‘Real’ version) of The Two Towers. That’s why I’m posting so late. And, let me tell you:

(For the three people in the USA who read blogs and have skipped the LotR series: spoilers below)

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Got It!

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I have it! New Feature from the VRWC, all you hep cats and kittens (crikey, but 50’s slang is just chock full of subtle inequities and sexism, eh?). A fun one… well, fun for me, at least.

That’s right: it’s time for a

GRATUITOUS INSTAPUNDIT SHOT!!!!!

(pause)

A shame I can’t increase font size.

Still, what is a GRATUITOUS INSTAPUNDIT SHOT!!!!!, I hear you ask? Simple: I go look at Instapundit, find something that he’s linked to and talk about that. Unlike Frank over at IMAO (a sometimes guilty pleasure of mine), I am above attempting to leech links from the Zombi Mast… excuse me, ‘Instadude’. Not that I’d object if Loyal Minions started boostering this site, mind you.

(pause)

I said, NOT THAT I’D OBJECT…

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Blog, Blog I Must Haf Blog!

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…as the creaaaakkking coffin lid opens and the dread Right Wing Death Beast comes out, eyes already alight with unholy fire as he seeks out the blood of the liberal… Well, not exactly. Perceptive readers may note that the ideological flavor of this site will be subject to regular shifts, for the simple reason that … Read more

For the Record…

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While I have nothing against anime – indeed, my lifestyle is such that I am periodically exposed to it, and I quite like some of the stuff – I wish to note that the name of this blog has nothing to do with this site; it’s parallel evolution. The geekcontent of the name of this … Read more

Case Closed?

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By Moe Lane Via Matt Yglesias’* link to LGF** following Matt’s comment on an Instapundit*** post (and doesn’t all of that seem odd to type out) there’s a copy of a Weekly Standard article by Stephen F. Hayes detailing a memo that traces the links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda from the early 1990s … Read more

Zombies Chew Tinfoil…

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The beginning of the second to last sentence of the angriest Lileks Bleat I have ever read. Not that I’m disagreeing with him about most of it, mind you. Especially about the zombis.* Moe *I had a pretty good riff going on about how I probably wasn’t going to do link posts like this one … Read more

Oh, Boy! A Post About Uzbekistan!

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By Moe Lane …a title which is glaringly out of sync with the generally sober tone of this entry, but really, our corner of the world is filled with the sorts of people who would really, really want to read about Uzbekistan, as opposed to the ones outside our corner of the world, who would … Read more

Howdy, howdy, howdy

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Well, it’s official: I’ve succumbed to the Dark Side of the Force and started a blog. It was probably inevitable; Lord knows I like to ramble on about things, and it’s not too surprising that I’d eventually take it up to the next level, or whatever the phrase is. So, here we are, at this … Read more