In case you're wondering...

...I'm too wicked to have a blog.

Birthday

Looking back, I only seem more wicked as the heavens complete each cycle around the earth.

etiquette

Q: Why do you dress up when you go to the opera?
A: Because I'm not an ass.

This is, surprisingly, the answer to a lot of etiquette questions. Or, at least, "Because I want to at least pretend I'm not an ass."

ATTN: BREWING INFIDELS

Please to not be putting "a subtle hint of orange and coriander" in your beers. Just say no to orange and coriander.

1552

So now I'm over the big hump on that graph. I suppose the next goal is 1600. No correlation to real ratings! I sort of bounded up on it in one day. The increase corresponds exactly to my receipt in the mail of back issues of Šahovski Informator in the mail (like $3 off of Amazon.com!). Coincidence? I think not.

What else I received in the mail which may have contributed to my virtue: OCTPOB. Apparently the man who plays Father Anatoly is like a rockstar in Russia.

Also: Emir Kusturica's When Father Was Away on Business. Another Kusturica film about betrayal. Interesting note is that the chess set they use did not have a cross on top of the king, a feature noted in at least one other Yugoslavian chess set of the era, I wonder if that's a common feature from that time.

I am ready for Science

Because of some conversations I had about the very subject, I was looking at some things I used to read and write (the above link is something I read and not, alas, something I wrote). I suppose it is a bit narcissistic, but I find myself to be an avid reader of myself. At times (viz: recently) my output has slowed or been incomprehensibly boring, and on this web-log I refrain from most of the interesting types of narrative that make my diaries most worthwhile. I suppose I took inspiration from reading through the edited journals of several great men and realizing what a delight it is to read their thoughts. I thought, surely I could do the same, and started writing my own, to my great delight. I realize that you, Dear Reader, may not enjoy the exercise as much as I do. As long as I don't have any delusions about being the next Montaigne, I think things will be "all right". I don't know, why not have a series of "The Best of GZT: Seasons 1-5"? Why not? I've been promising it since Season Three. Watch this space for further details.