Musings from Brian J. Noggle
Friday, June 26, 2009
 
Cross Purposes
How would the passage and signing of cap-and-trade legislation help in President Obama's stated goal of keeping health care costs down?

Last time I was in a hospital, there were lots of blinky lights, garbled intercoms, and buzzing machinery that need energy to function. With more expensive electricity, how many treatments must be denied to make the scales balance for the unelected board or commission in charge?


- posted by Brian J. @ 9:11 PM   2 comments
Thursday, June 25, 2009
 
Book Report: Sudden Prey by John Sandford (1996)
Being as this is a 13-year-old Sandford novel, it's one of the better ones in the series. If you're familiar with the series but are reading them out of order, note this is the book whose events precipitate the first breakup between Lucas Davenport and Weather, which is the name of his girl who was going to become his wife and eventually does.

The plot centers on a biker-slash-light-militia guy seeking revenge on Davenport and his (city-wide, not state-wide) team after they kill the man's sister and wife in a bank robbery. Thus, Davenport dispenses with much of the mystery element with which he sometimes struggles in favor of a more straightforward thriller plot. Since Davenport's still a city cop in this book, he deals with crime instead of the mix of crime and politics he has to deal with later.

That being said, why is it that the quality of many modern series declines over time? Is it because once the brand is built, the author puts less efforts in those books while he or she tries to increase earning potential by writing additional series or books in the time he or she used to spend on a single title? Don't get me wrong, as a former wannabe novelist, I'm all in favor of that, but as a reader, sometimes it leaves me cold.

Books mentioned in this review:


- posted by Brian J. @ 8:41 AM   0 comments
 
Telling Metric
You know, President Obama was apparently on the television doing an hour-long presentation about health care control. And you know what I find a telling statistic about the perceived importance of this event?

Where were the drunkbloggers?

VodkaPundit didn't cover it. Instapundit didn't link to any.

It cannot be an important policy presentation without drunkblogging.

Ergo, nobody in the blogosphere must have taken it seriously.


- posted by Brian J. @ 8:27 AM   0 comments
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
 
Book Report: Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts by Isaac Asimov (1979)
This is an idea of stunning fecundity. As you know, an idea book is any collection of anecdotes or stories from which one can derive ideas for expanded articles or essays. This book collects a large number of facts grouped topically and focusing well enough on history to go into my sweet spot.

I read it over the course of a number of months, a couple anecdotes/facts or a chapter at a time. I'm thinking about putting it onto my desk, though, so any time I'm out of ideas, I can grab it, flip to a random page, and then draw something out to draw out into an essay.

Books mentioned in this review:


- posted by Brian J. @ 12:32 PM   0 comments
Monday, June 22, 2009
 
You Think It's Bold?
A play flyer for a "bold" play:

A bold new musical like the bold old musicals


Uh huh. Bold, maybe even paradigm breaking. You know what would be bold? If cancer was the good guy. That would be different from every other empowering little piece of literature out there.

I still wouldn't go see it.


- posted by Brian J. @ 9:29 AM   0 comments
To say Noggle, one first must be able to say the "Nah."