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Too Good To Be True - The Colossal books of Urban Legends - Jan Harold Brunvand
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Books
- Hits: 530
This was a long read, although easy.
A formidable tome of contemporary Urban Legends, thorough, told very much in the breathless style of the invariable narrator of such bollocks.
While very definitely not a fan of the style, a few things I did note:
That the legend often preceded the atrocity, not as a result; incidents for example of Wartime Atrocities in WWI often ascribed to the enemy (but didn't take place) were later enacted in the second War, and did in fact happen.
That reality invariably trumps fiction, overreaches it even, and I recognize many of the legends from headlines, (the reality of the incident is not the point, the point being that they are over-repeated, an attempt to personalize extraordinary events, and whereas an odd thing might happen once there's no way it's happened as often as it's been told).
And that the news - specifically Fox and Reuters, and Paul Harvey ("The Rest of the Story) - have frequently fallen for them, a good headline beating the most remedial of fact checking. Although to be fair most news agencies and media outlets have fallen into the "no fact checking" bracket at some time or another.
Anyways, I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as I thought, and time would have been better spent on Snopes.
Black Sand, Upper Salmo River
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Images
- Hits: 438
This, using my USB Microscope to examine the concentrates, the black triangular crystals have me puzzled, the clear - quartz, green - peridot, the rest?
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Apartment, Cleaned
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Blog
- Hits: 444
Finally, yesterday, I make the push, the last couple of hours cleaning, moving things under the bed (there be monsters) or into closets (more monsters), some sort of reorganizing will be necessary, but better would be to start ploughing through the hundreds of projects I've started and made no progress on...
I've gathered enough art supplies to see me into my twilight years, there's no need for my to acquire more (at least until this apartment - and the locker in Calgary - have been thoroughly emptied, which optimistically will take a few years...
Anyways, it's a big load off my mind to be able to sit in my chair and not look upon the mess, some attention, now, to be given to the heap of books next to the chair, but this bothers me a lot less than did the rocks, crystals and tools. And the island is cleared, a barstool, place where I can set up my computer and work, and I'm beginning to feel a little more settled...
El Conde
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 443
An interesting (although perhaps not so good) look at Chilean Politics and history, in specific General Pinoche, told as if he were a Vampire.
Black and White, the themes primarily the cruelty of his regime and the ensuing Nepotism & Kleptocracy.
Too many parallels to Trump, coincidence? Perhaps.
Anyways, not great, not bad, more a "Meh", but a better "Meh" than most.
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