Books 
When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence(1)
Now that I’ve survived well into 2013 (though barely, having undergone dental surgery and suffering from a cold), it’s time that we prepare for the inevitable. I’ve been saying this for years, and to no effect. People scoff and scorn at my vision, but it’s nothing more than simple science. Computers have been trained to… Read More ›
I’ll Be Your Idol
I’m a little behind in my book reviews. But at least I really do exist. Rather… it would appear that I exist. How can you be sure? Most of you have never met me, only correspond with me using digital means and social media, and have dubious evidence that I am nothing more than an… Read More ›
007: Casino Royale and the Problem of Bond
James Bond is an asshole. Those who know me well may have just choked. But I can’t deny it. I just finished re-reading Casino Royale, the first Ian Fleming Bond book. Strangely, it remains one of my favourite books of all time and yet it’s undeniable — James Bond is a chauvinistic jerk. If you’re… Read More ›
007: Cool, Cool, Cool
007 is back! I’m not referring to Skyfall. No, I’m going back a few years. 1968. The first James Bond book to be written and published after the demise of Ian Fleming, Colonel Sun must have given hard-ons to James Bond readers of the age. So desperate they’d have been for the return of Her… Read More ›
Breed
I’m not really a dog person. I like them well enough, but the thought of owning one feels like a nasty betrayal of my cat. Granted, by that same rationale, associating with any other living creature is equally treacherous, because my cat generally hates everything that breathes. Still, I prefer cats to children. One should… Read More ›
Management for Zombies
Managing in an office environment is not much different than trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. In fact, given the choice, I think I’d take my chances with the zombies. I was recently promoted to a managerial position, and this happens to have coincided with further reading of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. Of course,… Read More ›
Dare You
Something I’ve noticed about teenaged girls, especially when in herds — there’s always one distinguishable leader. There’s no need to eavesdrop on their gossip to witness the worship of the others. It’s clear in the body language that there is a Queen Bee, and as casual and unassuming as the others may try to appear,… Read More ›
Getting Off
Some years ago, a girl in Montreal spoke to me about masturbation as a religious experience. She said that sometimes she’d engage in a session that was otherworldly, transcendent, that brought her body to spiritual enlightenment, connecting mind and soul in some kind of cosmic union. Then she said, “But usually I just want to… Read More ›
Book Burning
We should start burning the books. All of them. We don’t need them. All they really do is make people unhappy. There is no value, no quality or purpose worth preserving in these paper bound carriers of such ridiculous ideas. Most books, after all, contain stories of people who never existed, never lived, never achieved… Read More ›
Long Goodbyes
We haven’t had a drink in a long time. I was thinking about Philip Marlowe and Terry Lennox sitting together at the bar, talking about hard-edged dames and long goodbyes. Marlowe found Lennox to be so goddamn charming he couldn’t resist the need to give the poor bastard a hand. In those moments when men… Read More ›
Drunken rants…