Ask Me Anything August 2010

Oooooh, I can just get these last answers in before the month ends. Only four questions remain. Two are from Roger: What is your favorite reference book? I don’t rely on reference books as much as I once did these days, but I do have some on the shelves. There is the Merriam and Webster Encyclopedia of Literature, which is wonderfully useful for a reader, in looking up literary terms and small entries on various literary works. I have a full-sized Rand McNally World Atlas, as well as a smaller, abridged one that’s useful for quick checks of locations. IDown the rabbit hole….

Or is that answering the questions? I get so confused…. Anyhow, continuing the answers to the Ask Me Anything! August 2010 edition submissions. Glenn asks: In Mirror, Mirror, the evil Capt. Kirk has a device that allows him to destroy anyone he wants to, quickly and cleanly. There is not chance of detection — the perfect crime. If you had been given this device years ago, say when you were 20, would you have used it by now? Hmmmmm. Questions like this are always intriguing. Could the Magic Killing Device (MKD for short) do away with anyone on the planetDown the rabbit hole….

Continuing the answering from Ask Me Anything! August 2010, with a few queries from Roger: TIME magazine put on its cover recently a picture of a young woman with her nose cut off, presumably by the Taliban. Appropriate or not to put on a national magazine? Is it advocacy journalism? I can’t really say if putting such a photo on the cover is advocacy journalism or not, but it’s definitely highly provocative. I think the question of “advocacy” would hinge on whatever slant exists, if any, in the article corresponding to that cover image. As for being appropriate to aDown the rabbit hole….

Continuing the address the queries posed in Ask Me Anything!, I received this one via e-mail from a longtime reader who prefers to remain anonymous: “Imagine that you’ve just inherited $20 million free and clear, but you only have 10 years to live. What would you do differently? Specifically, what would you stop doing?” I’d buy a house, establish a savings account for The Daughter’s college and for the comfort of the entire Family Unit once my ten years are up. What would I do differently? I’m not sure. Knowing that I had the financial ability to do mostly whateverDown the rabbit hole….

It’s time to begin answering the queries posed in this August edition of Ask Me Anything! Here we go: Maura asks: Which is the best country to which one flees come the conservative revolution? Canada is too cold, English must be understood, and I’ll need a good internet connection. It’s still Canada. Sorry! Or maybe France. But I’m not terribly worried about the “conservative revolution”. I survived Reagan and George W. Bush, so I think I can survive whatever comes. (Unless it’s President Palin, in which case I’m looking for property in Fort Erie, ON.) Andy asks: How many INNOCENTDown the rabbit hole….

I ended up being busier than I expected over the weekend, so I didn’t get a start yet on collating answers to the questions submitted in Ask Me Anything! August 2010. That being the case, I’m leaving the submission period open until Tuesday morning, August 17. I’ll end it at that time. So, one last day — Ask Me Anything! We won’t be playing again until February. Leave questions in comments at the post linked above. (I do this to keep the questions in one place, for easy gathering.) Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

(bumping this post up) Go here for details! More questions are needed. Serious questions, goofy questions, anything goes! Ask me anything! I’m taking questions until next Sunday, August 15. Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

[bumping this post up] Yup, it’s that time again! Or rather, it’s that time already. See, I’ve always done Ask Me Anything! — well, not always, but the last few years, anyway — in February, as part of my Blogiversary Month festivities. That just seems like too long, though; Ask Me Anything! tends to produce a lot of good posting-fodder, and it’s a lot of fun, so I’ve decided to indulge a thought I had when I wrapped up the last round, this past February, and start doing Ask Me Anything! twice yearly. We’ll do in in February and August,Down the rabbit hole….