"Thou shalt not… um… oh, hell."

Well, hopefully it'll continue from talk to voting. If every US citizen who's fed up with Trump makes it out to the ballot, it's unlikely that he'll win. If he does win, this will all seem pretty hollow.

Same here. I'm curious to see just what life it was like in the ancient days when I was a newborn.

It will be once this stupid essay is done. Until then, I am as unto a remarkably ineffective Terminator towards this assignment and everything else can wait.

Possibly visiting my brother for Thanksgiving, depending on whether or not he asks (as we haven't talked since our last fight). Have a first meeting planned for Saturday with someone from OkCupid. Shitloads of stuff to catch up on doing otherwise.

I started to twig when I saw the profile name a few times. Just seemed like your style.

What did she use in it? Given my preference, I make it with black, red, and pinto beans; onions, celery, and peppers; canned tomatoes; cayenne and cumin; hot sauce and a dash of wine vinegar.

Heh, thought that was you. Good to see you back around here, man.

One thing I find interesting about historical religion is that everybody comes off kind of unhinged to modern eyes. It's hard to put oneself into the mindset of a different century. As you say, of course the Catholic Church would think Riel had lost his mind. They possessed truth and he was denying truth, right? …

Totally agreed. It's kind of funny to note just how time has vindicated John Brown. He's one of very few white abolitionists from his age who doesn't seem like a ditherer or a racist who is nevertheless making a good decision. It's also interesting how much his violence was of a piece with the times. I always…

… adult contemporary? Flamenco?

Cosby's a good example, as I grew up with him as one of the venerated elders of comedy. It retroactively changes so much of what had been innocent enjoyment.

Tarantino used to say that he wanted his last movie to be a story about John Brown. Don't know if that's still in the cards or not. I know that he's been portrayed in a few TV movies and such, but I gather that most of them were side parts and that their characterization was based upon questionable history. Seems…

Your brother in law could be my blood brother. He's the king of using conspiracy theories to describe practically everything that happens in the world. I can never quite figure out if he sees the Presidency as a vitally-important and powerful position or a glorified PR job for a shadowy cabal. Our political…

It's interesting to see how the lines get drawn. Jude Law cheated on his wife? Honestly not my business. I think cheating is wrong, but the harm isn't to me and it's not for me to decide on forgiveness. Roman Polanski raped a child and never did anything to make amends (I am open to being corrected on that point…

Based on what I'm reading here, Louis Riel might be a better point of comparison. It's interesting to consider how much of history has been forged by people operating under strong religious conviction. John Brown's attempted slave revolt was born of bone-deep Christian ideology, among other things, and he was also…

In my first go at university, I was in a club that existed basically to pool its resources and watch wrestling and MMA events. In between PPVs, our meetings often had something of a historical focus. I remember one that we did in preparation for Survivor Series where the brain trust dug up a bunch of notable…

I collected it as a young kid. It was a highlight of my week. My favourite thing that I remember from my collection (and I have mentioned this here before) was a note in the middle section congratulating its readers. As the note said, a previous issue had warned its readers of a fiendish Chinese plot wherein the…

Surely they must have had a member with a Sanrio-themed mask by this point?

Jack White always struck me as the sort of writer who would insist on keeping his publishing no matter what. Anyone who's that inclined towards owning the show (by making his own label, for example) is unlikely to compromise on that point.