Comedy!

Something very funny happened today. Sue and I were driving to the supermarket in my car (yes, it's back, more on that later), and on the back of a car in front of us, there was a deer that someone had obviously hunted and killed, strapped on the trunk hood.

Sue doesn't like looking at those types of things (dead animals, etc), so looked away. Unfortunately, the car was in front of us for a few minutes, so it was hard to avoid the gaze of the deceased deer. What made me laugh so much was Sue's line: "Well, she looks like she's just resting on the back of the car, so that's okay."

Of course, I had to point out that few deers would rest on the back of a car in the first place, let alone tied up with their head hanging down the side of the car, but what do I know about wildlife?

But in other non-dead-animal related news, I do have my car back, after it being at AAMCO for a bit of time. It's driving well, the brakes are good, and I'm getting used to the new transmission. However, on the way back from the supermarket this afternoon, the yellow check engine light went on. Yellow is not too bad, if it was red, I'd be really worried. But, I'll have to bring the car back to the mechanic on Monday, to have them check out what's up. It's probably just a loose something or other, but I still want it checked out.

This light has only gone on once before, when I first moved to Vermont back in 1998. At that point, there was an issue with the air filter in the car, so it was replaced very quickly. I think this will be something as minor, but it's still a pain to have to have it taken care of, when I just got the car back.

In other news, what have I been reading recently? I finished, about a week ago, Joseph Ellis's book on Thomas Jefferson, "American Sphinx." It was a good read, but fairly light, compared to other books that I've read on Jefferson. He also skipped over some of the more touchy subjects of Jefferson's life, such as his response to the Aaron Burr affair, and the slavery issue. Ellis did do well with Jefferson's ability to basically say one thing, and believe another. Self deception and Jefferson go hand in hand, and Ellis, perhaps wisely, stayed away from conjecture about Jefferson's interior world. But, that is what makes Jefferson so fascinating. It certainly wasn't a bad read, but I was hoping for a bit better.

Then, I read "Star Wars on Trial," edited by David Brin and some other guy. Brin is one of my favorite SF authors, and he does have a bee in his bonnet about the Star Wars movies. Generally, he feels that public perception of Star Wars=The Entirety of Good Science Fiction is a bit off the mark. I don't necessarily disagree with him about it, but sometimes I felt that the "Prosecution" essays in the book were taking it all a bit too seriously. The "Defense" essays weren't that much better, although all were generally entertaining. I don't know what I was hoping for from this book, but I don't really feel that I got it.

Now, I'm reading Richard Dawkins's "The God Delusion." More reports on that one as I get into it, I'm only about 5 pages in right now.

NP: Phil Collins - I've Forgotten Everything