Quote of the Day: Thomas Carlyle

"If Jesus Christ were to come today, people would not even crucify him. They would ask him to dinner, and hear what he had to say, and make fun of it."


You should really read this post. http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/god-talk/ It blew me away. Keep in mind that Stanley Fish is the famous postmodern literary professor and that Terry Eagleton is the renowned Marxist literary critic, definitely not the kind of people you expect to come down on the side of religion. My favorite line is the line about Chekhov and the toaster.


I love my iPhone. Today, I wondered what the weather was like and I thought, "Too bad the window is so far away because I don't want to have to turn my head a full forty-five degrees." Then I remembered the weather app on my iPhone so I pulled it out of my pocket and didn't have to waste precious work time with excess head movements.


I'm not sure if you remember my blog post from Wednesday where I was complaining about the gas being shut off. Well, it didn't come back on until ten o'clock that night and that was only because I called and complained. Here's a brief sample of the conversation to give you a little feel for how it went:

"Well, if you had been home when you were supposed to be we wouldn't have to send a tech out in the middle of the night."

"That's the thing, I was."

"I don't think so."

"I swear I was."

"Why didn't you answer the door?"

"I guess I didn't hear it."

"What were you doing that made it so you couldn't answer the door?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe your music was too loud."

"That's what my mother used to tell me anyway."

So after she promised to send a tech out to reconnect my gas, she said, "He'll be there when he gets there because that's what happens when people aren't home the first time."

"Don't you mean when people listen to their Rock 'N' Roll at inappropriate volumes?"


So anyway the historical figure who disappointed me a few days ago was Vincent Van Gogh. Turns out he didn't cut off his own ear.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/may/04/vincent-van-gogh-ear
At first, I was bummed because I thought it made the world a less romantic place because there's nothing more romantic than the myth of the insane genius; but then I learned that his friend cut it off with a sword which is still pretty freaking cool.


Also, in more mythbusting news; apparently, hyenas laugh when they're nervous and frustrated not when they're happy. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30588225/ Sounds like some people I could name.