Cuddliness     Tuesday, March 11, 2003
A sad source for a perfect misheard word. In her statement, the 13-year-old victim of Roman Polanski's date rape refers to going down on a woman as "cuddliness."
        I had never realized how serious and awful Polanski's crime was until I read the summary of this Smoking Gun article. I wish the word had come from somewhere else. Aside: misheard words are apparently called mondegreens

CNN Headline: "Captive: Bin Laden dead AND alive"     Thursday, March 6, 2003
Crap, isn't THAT what we need. Osama bin Laden: lich lord, the grand conspirator of undeath.

Was Stalin murdered to save the world?     Thursday, March 6, 2003
A new study by U.S. and Russian historians claims Stalin was poisoned by Beria and other colleagues to stop his plans for a massive second purge and a nuclear attack on the United States.

Talking about Mr. Rogers     Friday, February 28, 2003
Family Communications, the group behind Mister Roger's web site and show, have posted a simple, truthful and kind set of suggestions on how to help a child understand Fred Rogers' death.

La Petite Maison     Friday, February 28, 2003
A showcase of top-of-the-line dog homes, custom tailored to your pet's dimensions and refined tastes. None come with a helicopter pad, so they aren't suitable for my Cairo's action-packed life, but you folks with the simple needs of luxury might find something worthwhile.

Task List programs     Friday, February 28, 2003
A handy list of programs that often end up running in the background on Windows systems. Maybe one of these is to blame for my computer constantly claiming it shut down improperly. I'm looking at you, nVidia.

The pitch for the movie theatre     Thursday, February 27, 2003
Lore Fitzgerald Sjöberg imagines a world where movie theatres were only now being invented as competition to DVDs. "Instead of paying two bucks to rent a movie, or twenty or thirty bucks to own it forever, we're going to charge you ten bucks to see it once."

Sympathy for the Devil     Wednesday, February 26, 2003
The ever-fascinating John Perry Barlow wonders if Dick Cheney is trying once again to convince the world that the U.S. is dangerous and random as way to avoid Armageddon. As Barlow notes at the end, we may have our answer in a fortnight. (Barlow once helped Cheney get elected to Congress.)

Healing potions found to cause liver damage     Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Thankfully, I rely on traditional medicine, such as my vampiric sword of the leech.

Jon, by George Saunders     Wednesday, January 29, 2003
I've been away, having Christmas, having visitors, cleaving bugbears and plunking away at my writing. I reappear just for a moment to tell you to read this New Yorker story. A bunch of other people have been telling you to read it too, but you haven't listened, so read it now and then forgive yourself for waiting.

RRSP tip     Wednesday, January 29, 2003
And while I'm here, I'll link this CNN story. A lottery winner is busted for having 1.6 kg of cocaine in his dishwasher. The shrewd lottery spokesman says "Once they receive the money, we have no say on how they invest it."

Tempermental Evil     Saturday, December 21, 2002
Geek moment, beware. Odd. Tim Cain and the Arcanum team are making a single-player version of the Temple of Elemental Evil, using a modified Arcanum engine. This Gamespot interview chats up the project, the original module, the quasi-3D improvements to the Arcanum engine, and Cain's enthusiasm for the new 3rd edition D&D rules. But no one brings up the oliphant in the room -- Neverwinter Nights, the popular fully-3D 3rd edition D&D game that you can buy right now. Hundreds of player-made modules exist for NWN, including The Village of Hommet, the first module in the Temple of Elemental Evil. Cain's games have always had world-beating design, but rickety engines. Re-inventing a 3e D&D game engine seems like a waste of his team's time.

Pumpkin pancakes     Wednesday, December 18, 2002
In passing, Lileks mentions pumpkin-spice pancakes. I immediately recognize that this idea will remain in my head until I eat it. The pancakes, not my head. Mmm.

Lair     Sunday, December 8, 2002
What the heck are they building at the Vice-President's residence that is going to take one or two sustained blasts a day for eight months?
     "Before I kill you, Mister Bond, I am going to tell you my entire life story, because I believe you are the only man alive who would truly understand."

Shadowkeeper's games     Wednesday, December 4, 2002
Matthew Baldwin has put together a list of his favourite paper games of the season. Just in time for Christmas.

Why the Whistler sushi girl was so mean to me     Wednesday, December 4, 2002
The Whistler fire department hopes to shut down a house that's being rented mattress-by-mattress to over 70 people. Tenants are paying $680 a month or $538 a month if they share a double bed. Man, Whistler's such a grouchy place already. Should they get the Olympics, servers in town will randomly combust. (Off-season was more human. Free nightly cheesecake at our hotel. Mmmm.)

Spiderveil     Thursday, November 28, 2002
Miniature spiders blanket 60 acres in silk in British Columbia's north. Don't miss the image gallery of veiled fenceposts. Found on Metafilter.

Triggerstreet     Wednesday, November 27, 2002
Kevin Spacey's production company Triggerstreet has launched a web site where lost-in-the-wilderness movie types, such as myself, can post our screenplays and short films. They plan to use the site's top ten list as their filtered slush pile and will have a festival for the short films. The peer review system is being gamed by ballot stuffers and griefers, of course, but the staff is there, showing the flag and fighting back.
        The site is Flash and registration-only, which is like poison, I know. But I've been visiting each day. The site's age is still measured in weeks, so it feels like new ground, despite the crowd. The best screenplay I've discovered there so far is Ophelia, a charming prequel to Hamlet. There are also breath-taking mountains of dreck. Same old ratio.
        If you visit Triggerstreet, I command you to review my screenplay, Flight Paths. (Use the search button.) Now, I don't want fake votes from you crazy Mooselessness fanboys, but if you do read the script and enjoy it, let the rating system know. And check out other folks' work too while you're there.
        A goofy extra in the screenplay forum is that you can upload a teeny movie poster to go with your script. They put a star beside your screenplay if you do, and man, half my life has been dedicated to getting little stars by my name, so you know I had to do it. Here's my poster:

FVZA tribute page     Wednesday, November 27, 2002
The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency helped protect America from 1868 to 1975, the point at which those penny-pinching fools shut it down.
        This tribute site is deep and thorough genius. I want so much to see it as a book or movie. Try the list of famous victims, the history of the Lazo disaster or the Q&A with a former instructor.
    For my part, I'm just glad the Canadian government's Department of Undead Affairs is still operational, even with all its frustrating user fees and red tape.

Caffeinated Soap     Wednesday, November 27, 2002
I was using to Google to check the spelling of "caffeinated" and came across this Think Geek offering. It makes you as foamy and invigorating as a latte. P.S. This is exactly why I check spelling on Google.

Previously on Mooselesness     Wednesday, November 27, 2002
Last time, we were talking about attack monkeys and nineteenth century underground mazes. Two stories that really ought to have been combined. You can view the full archives.