Flying Orca

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• Commented on Brust's JHEGAALA, smart, hard-boiled swords and sorcery with great poleconomy subtext
  Ahem. Isn't esteemed moderator TNH Steven's editor? If so, I would like to ask "Why do we have to wait until January for Iorich?!"...
• Commented on Kids on Bluegrass
  The Chris Thile link is a bit outdated, as Nickel Creek is no more; Chris has a new band, the Punch Brothers, who were a big hit at this weekend's local folk festival....
• Commented on Voyageur, a storied guitar made from legends
  I've played that guitar, onstage with my (former) band at Manitoba's Festival du Voyageur. It was a surprisingly moving experience for all of us, and we were quite thrilled both to play the instrument and to have our pictures taken...
• Commented on Video of Champ the lake monster
  Yeah, cow moose is my guess; that's about how much of the body shows when they're swimming....
• Commented on Guatemala: Mayan Activists Protest Dirty Deeds of a Canadian Mining Giant
  My friend Malcolm made a documentary about a similar situation in Ecuador: http://www.tiff08.ca/filmsandschedules/films/underrichearth...
• Commented on Kittens, Inspired by Kittens: Best Internet Video Evar?
  Meh. I mean, I like kids AND kittens, but... meh. I think you have to be this kid's parent, or have a busted Cute-O-Meter, to think this is even in the running for Best. Video. Evar....
• Commented on Disagree with a flight attendant? You're a terrorist
  Thanks Xopher, you get it....
• Commented on Disagree with a flight attendant? You're a terrorist
  @ Tom Hale: "Off Topic: RAYCEEYA, If I were aboard an airplane with my family and immediately after entering the plane, someone yelled F**K! - I'd want him to be removed." I hate to tell you this, dude, but if...
• Commented on Dead Kennedys for Rock Band
  Hey Grimshaw, did you catch DKs at Le Rendezvous with the Cro-Mags? Kind of late in the day (what was it, '85?), but a good show nonetheless. I think I permanently damaged my right ear though....
• Commented on Kinks reunion documentary-in-progress
  Grimshaw, you totally should have done it. Mr Davies' Sunday night set was awesome. Hell of a weekend for me, seeing Davies and Knopfler in the space of three days......
• Commented on Tuvan Throat-Singing Rap by Ondar, with the voice of Richard Feynman
  Oh yeah, if you like this, you might want to check out Stephen Kent's Oil and Water....
• Commented on Tuvan Throat-Singing Rap by Ondar, with the voice of Richard Feynman
  #21: Better than the live Oysterband & June Tabor rendition from the Big Session album? This I have to hear....
• Commented on Cartesian dualism -- the latest weapon in the war on Darwin
  These guys need to read Pinker....
• Commented on True nature of science fiction and fantasy books revealed through photoshopped covers
  Nice to see Steve Brust and Steve "Erikson" getting the nod here - my two favourite fantasy writers, along with Charles de Lint. I was lucky enough to have one of the Malazan books dedicated to me... :D...
• Commented on Seven reasons not to vote for Barack Obama
  #60: No, they can't have Canada. NOT THEIRS. Besides, we have things like gun control and abortion rights and socialized medicine. They'd hate it. Well, except maybe Alberta... but I digress. (Yeah, yeah, Albertans, it's a joke, get it?)...
• Commented on Scientists mostly don't know what a "theory" is, but should they?
  @24: That's fatuous. Evolutionary theory is robust, well-supported, and rife with successful predictions. Creation "theory" is not. Evolutionary theory is about as much a matter of "faith" as computers, gravity, and believing the sun will rise tomorrow morning. Thank you...
• Commented on Wade Davis: an Inuit elder and his shit knife
  @4: Not much hair on an Inuk's back. Trust me. @8: You'd have to see it to believe it. Unbelievable mechanical genius. There's a lot of selection pressure in the Arctic. @14: Freuchen is a bit over the top, I'm...
• Commented on Porky princess tiara HOWTO
  #28: "meat comes from something that once felt, that once dreamed, once was happy, frightened, curious. Denying that is just lying to yourself." "Felt", I'll buy, on some level. Not so sure about "dreamed". Happiness, fright, and curiousity I'll also...
• Commented on Kiddie pool photo on box compared to photo of actual pool
  The longer I live, the more I'm convinced that ALL commercial advertising is bad and wrong. And the happier I am that I avoid it as much as possible. Yes, before you ask, that means no TV, no commercial radio,...
• Commented on Top X: 10 Perfectly Pure Gadgets
  #26: recumbent bikes are ok, if you don't mind getting crushed by giant SUVs..." Just what makes you think a recumbent is more susceptible to crushing by giant SUVs? I own and ride both, and the recumbent is FAR more...
• Commented on Naples Mafia selling poison bread, Chinese adding melamine powder to infant formula
  But... but... I'm sure they told me greed is GOOD!...
• Commented on How to make a squirrel sandwich
  33: "So why bother the squirrels? Just variety?" The tails. Fly-tying of course (leading to other enjoyable hunter-gatherer activities), trim for clothing... and the rest of the skin can be made into coasters. You can get a lot of use...
• Commented on How to make a squirrel sandwich
  Mmmmm squirrel on toast, one of my little brother's specialties when we were kids. Squirrel hunting when I was six prepared me for bigger and better things!...
• Commented on George RR Martin's "The Armageddon Rag": Sex, death, blood and rock-n-roll
  Oh yeah, you could do a lot worse than to incorporate some of Froggie the Gremlin's lexicon into your relations with women. I'm just sayin'....
• Commented on George RR Martin's "The Armageddon Rag": Sex, death, blood and rock-n-roll
  LOVED it when I was 19 or 20, and I've been waiting for it to come back into print following the success of that bloated fantasy series. But, um, the Doors?! More like Zep I think. Anyway, the Big Chill-esque...
• Commented on Zoë Keating, the quantum cellist
  Lovely. Reminiscent of both Final Fantasy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Pallett) and Jami Sieber (http://www.jamisieber.com/)....
• Commented on Gawker reports on "monster" washed ashore
  #8 FTW, which just goes to show how easily I may be amused when I haven't had enough coffee. Raccoon with exposed septum sounds just about right....
• Commented on Pros and cons of growing up Amish
  "Why, for instance, does culture A prohibit cross-cousin marriages, and culture B encourage them; or why do some cultures proscribe all cousin marriages, and some allow all cousin marriage?" Property rights and strategic alliance. It generally hinges on whether goods...