Apparently so, at least if his plans for a moon base and his support for open marriage are for real. As any good sci fi nerd knows, golden-age hero Robert Heinlein was very, very much so in support of free love and alternative relationships, and also colonizing the moon. Several of his books take place on moon colonies and the one pictured above (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, great title) features a libertarian-esque revolution against Earth as well as a form of group marriage referred to as line marriage. Newt has a few connections to Heinlein, as seen in this article which I can’t vouch for but found after googling, but in general seems far too slimy and apt to say whatever to whoever to ever be one of Heinlein’s wish-fulfillment men of purpose, competency and destiny. But maybe his candidacy is just a stalking horse for a future of moon bases, powered suits, and telekinetic martians. (Continued)
2011 was the year of bad things happening to the computers I have, even though I am supposedly a computer person. I’ve built and fixed computers since I was young fellow and I’m used to having all kinds of strange PC problems — often caused by myself — but this year things seemed to get a little worse. I am the worst nerd.
(That’s right computers, but before you go and say ‘Look at him complaining about this when he’s lucky enough to own a computer much less multiple ones,’ keep in mind that the majority of my electronic menagerie was free [from work or from junk and used book dealer friend], and all of it was used. You can still make fun, just not about that.)
1. Dell laptop’s power button only worked every third time, and only after it blinked angrily at me for two minutes until I asked nicely.
2. Replaced power control chip in Dell laptop, which fixed the problem for a little while. Problem reappeared in worse fashion: now the computer will only turn on every fifth time and randomly turn off while in use.
I like attack ads. Not just for the visceral thrill of watching other people insult one another – an overlooked societal pleasure – but because they reveal more about the truth of how the contemporary politician mind views us, the holy electorate, than anything else: the way a desperate parent sees their problem child.
Here it is, Christmas time again. This year I will be celebrating in a new way, with Fugazi Christmas. There isn’t a deep reason, or I have not been able to fabricate one yet, but the phrase has floated around my head for a couple of weeks so, like the title of this site, it is now going out into the world.
“He was a mess,” she says now. “No future, no dough, no potential. When we first started seeing each other, I literally sat down with a girlfriend, and on a paper place mat I wrote ‘Pro’ and ‘Con.’ The ‘Con’ list had fifteen, twenty things on it. He had this disgusting apartment. He had a cup and a spoon. He was this comedian who’d walk off stages if everybody wasn’t paying attention. He refused to travel, refused to go anywhere. He never did anything to try to be successful, not for one second. He just pursued his craft. The ‘Pro’ list had one thing on it: He’s funny.”
My friend Dorie wrote this song for my birthday a couple of years ago and then recorded it for me later! A brief snapshot of my glamorous life in snappy song form. Also, the number of people who have called me or can call me ‘Tits’ (the story is that my middle name begins with a T and I had people guess what it was, which was, as usual, a bad idea) is very small (4 people) and will not get any bigger, so don’t get any ideas internet.
