Last Weak  |  Index  |  Next Weak

Weak L

11 December 2012

No. 6,268 (cartoon)

Have you a future?

No. No. No!

Don’t go all Roxy on me.

12 December 2012

Thirteen Thirteen Thirteen

Today’s the twelfth day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of the millennium, or 12.12.12. Numerologists—people trying to cloak their superstitions with pseudo math—claim that this is a propitious day, especially since there’ll never be a 13.13.13.

This is preposterous. First of all, they’re using the Gregorian calendar, a hodgepodge of Roman gods and bad math. (September through December translate as the seventh through tenth months of the year; that’s just wrong wrong.) This ridiculous calendar was concocted by the pope’s cronies in 1582, a time when many believers were still in the dark ages, a time perhaps not unlike today. But that was then and this isn’t.

My thirteen-month, eponymously named Davidian calendar replaces superstition with science. Nevertheless, I suppose the crazy numerologists might like it since next year it features the date 13.13.13.

I like Wilma’s approach to such dubious numerology. She’s throwing a 12.12.12 party tonight with three cases of wine. (Twelve bottles in a case, get it?)

And with that, I’m off! (In more ways than one.)

13 December 2012

Cycling With Lights

I recently did something very unusual: I changed my mind.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve never seen the point of having lights on my bicycle. As a photographer, I can see in the dark. (Fewer and fewer people get the darkroom reference these days.) And since it’s easy to see cars at night, I feel safest riding in the dark.

I don’t know why this comes as a surprise, but I note that the sun sets less than ten hours after it rises these days, just as it has for at least fifty-six Decembers in a row. I don’t know why it took so long, but I finally concluded I could cycle through the park at night if I had a headlight.

I bought a very bright light; that turned out to be the best hundred dollars I’ve ever spent. Riding through the darkness into a cone of light is quite a trip, figuratively and literally.

14 December 2012

Gratuitous Photo of the Weak: Robert and Paige

What is it about voyeurism? I don’t think of myself as a voyeur, but sometimes I wonder.

I almost never photograph friends; I don’t have a single image of most of the people who are closest to me. And so, I was surprised when I found myself taking a surreptitious photograph of passing acquaintances, Robert and Paige. The catalyst was that I spotted them posing behind the curtains in a self-portrait photo booth.

They liked the surreptitious snapshot.

15 December 2012

Another Day, Another Massacre

This should be an easy entry to write; all I need to do is copy and paste what I wrote on 21 July, change a few words, and insert a new quote.

Yesterday a lunatic walked into an elementary school in Connecticut with an assault rifle and proceeded to murder twenty first-graders and half a dozen adults. Predictably, apologists for the gun lobby are defending their industry. The spokesperson for the American Association of Machine Gun, Bazooka, and Flamethrower Manufacturers issued a press release calling for a nuanced discussion.

“Everyone here at AAMGBFM is saddened by yesterday’s unfortunate event, but let us not rush to judgment. Many of us have met at least one six-year-old who deserves to be shot ten times with a semiautomatic military rifle at point blank range. And let us remember that none of the deceased suffered as much as they would have had the killer used a pocketknife. Today is a time for responsible reflection, not a knee-jerk emotional response.”

Given the tremendous political clout of the AAMGBFM, the National Rifle Association, and other groups, I predict that the latest massacre will have the predictable effect on American gun law and firearms culture: none whatsoever.

16 December 2012

Staying Warm in Sans Frisco

I love me a good typo I do. And so, I’m grateful to an anonymous writer at the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

Now that the winter’s almost here, the do-gooders printed up a hundred thousand brochures advising people how to cope with the weather. My favorite bit of advice was to, “crap yourself in a blanket or turn up the heat.”

Oops!

I’m delighted that Vivian grabbed a stack of the poorly-edited pamphlets before the rest were sent away to be recycled.

Last Weak  |  Index  |  Next Weak
©2012 David Glenn Rinehart