You gotta fight…for your right…to declare bankruptcy.
The strange story of David Webb, fake DEA agent. Doug Swanson
Archive for May 30th, 2012
Stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere else.
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012Random observation.
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012At least 90% of the time (if not more), when someone tells me “you shouldn’t burn bridges”, that person has just finished pouring gasoline all over the structure in question, and is now standing in the middle of the bridge flicking their Zippo.
Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012I don’t want to mock the death of Mack Wolford. I was not raised in the Pentecostal snake-handling tradition, nor does it fit in with my personal religious beliefs. (As I recall, there is a Bible verse that says something to the effect of “Don’t test God.”) But I do respect folks who have those beliefs and act on them; I don’t think they are crazy, but are trying to relate to God in their own way, and more power to them.
However, I do think his death is worth noting, not just for the odd factor, but also because it gives me a chance to talk about Jeremy Seal’s The Snakebite Survivors’ Club: Travels Among Serpents
This had the potential to be an interesting book, and about half of it is. The chapters on snake hunting and snake bite survivor hunting in Africa and Australia are quite good. Unfortunately, his chapters set in India seem oddly disengaged from the rest of the book; I’m not sure why, but they don’t seem to fit.
And while he has an interesting story to tell as his through line through the chapters in America (backsliding snake-handling minister decides to end his marriage through rattlesnake; unfortunately, his wife survived her bites, and he’s doing time), he has a typically British condescending attitude towards America (and especially the American South) that I found annoying.
If you find a copy of this for $3 or less, I think you might get that much entertainment out of it. Otherwise, I’d suggest skipping it. I haven’t read it, but this Whit Gibbons
Edited to add: Added a link to a review of Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia
Obit watch: May 30, 2012.
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012Leo Dillon. Leo and his wife Diane won two Caldecott medals back to back for their work as illustrators. They also worked on many SF books during the “New Wave” era, including doing illustrations for many of Harlan Ellison’s works.
“You’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena!” watch.
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012I thought I’d start a thread covering results of last night’s primaries. Specifically, the ones that amuse me.
To start (hattip Lawrence) Harris County DA Pat Lykos, who you may remember from such hits as the BAT vans and the grand jury investigation, lost the primary election to Mike Anderson.
(If you don’t remember Ms. Lykos and her antics, the “HCDA” tag will provide you with a summary.)
I am getting a slow start to the morning, so watch this space for possible updates as I wade through the coverage.
Edited to add: I did not know this, but the winner of the Democratic primary election for HCDA was “once indicted for illegal lawyering”. To which I say: Huh?
ETA2: “In 2010, he ran as a Democrat while under indictment for barratry, a charge that later was dropped.” Ah, barratry.