Hey, Peter! I Can See Your House

The hazel next to the deck is now mostly denuded, which means that you can get a better idea of what our house looks like from the north side. Hal took some pictures and stitched together a nice little panorama of it. Man, the roof looks new, now that all the moss and algae is off of it. I hope the 30-Second stuff will have the same effect on the chimney, which still looks grubby.

Perfidia

I don't know how I managed to reach this age of mine without ever realizing the name of a song so ambiently familiar it seems like it ought to be encoded in my DNA or something. It's played in Casablanca ffs. But there it is. I never knew her. I give you Perfidia -- as rendered by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra in this case. And the rather clever device of filming the gramophone in order to incorporate the version of the song on YouTube.

Divine Fandom

I've been giving Hal a hard time lately about his exegetic tendencies as we watch the first season of Heroes on DVD. I believe I must apologize for my dark mutterings about Red Shirts and Storm Troopers. At least, after reading this little gem of an essay on midrash, textual engagement, and fandom, I have realized that the exegetical impulse is one that I value and honor. And this is not the first time I've thought that if I had to adopt one of the monotheisms, I'd likely choose Judaism.

Link thanks to sartorias.