The Penguin

I'm a great believer in the idea that religion and politics have no place in polite discussion. I prefer to avoid the subjects if at all possible, because as a rule the person who brings them up has a very definite Opinion to relate, one which precludes any argument because it is the Alpha and Omega of Opinions, and therefore justifies being bellowed at a nausea-inducing volume. It's not just the polarizing effect of Culture-War duckspeak (thanks, Orwell, for such a wonderful term). It's also the internal conundrum: generally I agree with at least part of any argument, liberal or conservative; or I at least understand where the person is coming from and why they might think that way. Instead of offering a counter-argument, I find myself either nodding and smiling or staring at them blankly. Who am I to Lay Some Truth on this so-and-so? I can't even make up my own mind about things. These people have conviction, or at least confidence, whereas I only have a blizzard of

Oy vey, what a week. Too much partying. Well, for Rick anyway. Went and saw Man Man play at the Loft on Wednesday night; they were awesome, of course, and Honus Honus is a lunatic genius onstage and a laid-back gentleman in person. What else? Oh, I went to Florida for Christmas break. Drove there. Of all the cockamamie ideas. It was one of those, "We'll figure out what to do when we get there" trips, so of course I damn near run out of money, but it was still awesome in its own way - spent New Year's Eve in Key West, and stayed with a friend of a friend on Islamorada Key. Swam in the ocean for the first time in what, thirteen years? Looked at all the cool sea critters, saw an octopus, had a blast. The trip back wasn't so much fun - me and my travel partner had a bit of a falling out. We'll patch things up, I'm sure of it. So! How bout dem comickal books, you ask? Well, me and the Joe were a-settin there figurin', and we reckoned it was 'bout hi