tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142464922011-10-27T08:24:42.254-04:00If you want to read about kids or see pictures of cats, you're in the wrong place. But stick around if you enjoy satricial essays about world affairs, pop culture, and offbeat news. I'll make you laugh—and just might make you think.David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.comBlogger2431100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-25966482758241714832009-04-17T08:36:00.001-04:002009-04-17T08:37:28.117-04:00

Tax day has come and gone. And I’m just as annoyed as anyone about the ridiculous amount of money I pay throughout the year (and symbolically on April 15).But I’m not going to rant about it.Why not? Because this blog is remaining on hiatus for the indefinite future. I’ve just been getting too much done on other projects, including a book proposal I’d put off far too long, to devote the time here

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-79316383815362309702009-01-13T13:12:00.002-05:002009-01-13T13:42:35.580-05:00

My dog was acting up today. She kept pawing at the air while rolling around on the floor to entertain me.You could say she has dramatic paws.But that's not important right now, because it's the other kind of dramatic pause I'm going to tell you about. After three and a half years of feeding material to this site without any break of more than a couple of weeks, it's time for a rest. I'm juggling

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-64622978628101015112008-12-30T21:09:00.007-05:002008-12-31T06:26:27.882-05:00

Every December, I find myself reflecting on the high and low points of the 12 months gone by. It’s hard to believe I’ve been putting my choices here on the blog for four years now.But enough about me and more about my picks. As in my other annual lists, I’m only including things I’ve actually experienced directly. Thus, in the categories that follow you won’t find any mention of campaign

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-86167372953674417762008-12-24T07:14:00.007-05:002008-12-24T07:27:21.388-05:00

This week has been a slow reading week, but a busy listening week. I’ve even pulled out my one and only Christmas album for a few spins. Something about that jazzy approach—and the images in my head of the Peanuts Christmas dancers—gets me in the holiday mood.Three side notes:(1) Check out Whole Lotta Album Covers this week for the Best and Worst of 2008 according to Mark, Ray, Bob, Chuck, and

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-76238792496248888572008-12-17T06:10:00.002-05:002008-12-17T06:11:51.664-05:00

Usually I post what I’m listening to in my car, where I get through about six CDs a week. But when not in my car, I also listen to music on my iPod.So today, you’ll get the iPod edition; I’ll show you the last 20 songs that came up on my iPod shuffle play. Enjoy. Reading:Titan Unveiled: Saturn’s Mysterious Moon Explored, by Ralph Lorenz and Jacqueline Mitton. Planetary science fascinates me, and

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-13457495531956226762008-12-12T06:28:00.001-05:002008-12-12T06:32:21.423-05:00

Good musical parody is hard to find.Saturday Night Live relies on it, but often falls short. Case in point: newscasters rapping the news. Not quality parody.Other skits have been brilliant. Two great ones stick in memory:7 Degrees Celsius. I can still see host James Van Der Beek as one of the members of a boy band even more ridiculous than ‘N Sync and 98 Degrees. I cannot find this video online

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-60928785878878418112008-12-10T07:16:00.003-05:002008-12-10T07:22:40.970-05:00

Two of the CDs in my car’s six-CD changer got multiple plays this week: Metallica’s Death Magnetic, which I hadn’t yet given a sustained listen to, and Saga’s Worlds Apart.I’ll state it simply: I’m impressed with the new Metallica album. Containing just enough complexity and diversity to keep me interested all the way through, Death Magnetic stands among my best of the year.Only one question: Did

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-37892372685526570372008-12-05T06:11:00.007-05:002008-12-05T06:26:43.639-05:00

In case you missed it, Guns N’ Roses—or what’s left of it, seeing as Axl Rose has driven anyone else of consequence out of the band—has finally released Chinese Democracy. It’s been a whoppping 17 years since the last album of original GNR material.But the biggest story isn’t the music. It’s the Dr Pepper.The beverage maker (which, by the way, officially dropped the period after “Dr” in the 1950s

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-76106900981671837252008-12-03T06:20:00.003-05:002008-12-03T06:24:59.907-05:00

Ahh, Thanksgiving. One of my favorite holidays after Halloween. Seeing family was nice, but it gave me less time to read than during a typical week. At least the travel duties provided me many opportunities to listen to music.I focused on only one book this week, but it was a whopper: Presentation Zen. This mind-stretching work offering insights into effective PowerPoint or Keynote presentations

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-19600914058019344952008-11-26T05:31:00.002-05:002008-11-26T05:33:24.453-05:00

After binging on Gabriel-era Genesis last week—I’ve still got the second disc of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway in my car as I finish up the box set—I’ve returned to a more typical wider mix of things this week.I love the fact that much of the metal I’m hearing this week owes so much to classic progressive rock. The influences are clear when you listen to something like Mastodon right after early

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-29204425159507891192008-11-21T16:22:00.003-05:002008-11-21T16:27:17.662-05:00

So Paul McCartney is now saying that The Beatles might finally release “Carnival of Light,” the much-hyped, fourteen minute avant garde audio experiment from early 1967.The track wasn’t good enough to include in the Anthology set, which should tell us something. The “new” songs there, the embarrassingly mixed “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” were mind-numbingly bland and served as a warning that

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-89384658599082602312008-11-19T06:08:00.000-05:002008-11-19T06:10:27.106-05:00

Usually I split my time among many visual and audio inputs. In addition to two or three books going at any given time, I flip between CDs rather frequently.Not this week.My attention since last Wednesday has been solely on one box set: the just released Genesis set covering the Peter Gabriel years. Five albums are here—Trespass, Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, and the

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-35370984895323418342008-11-14T06:19:00.001-05:002008-11-14T06:22:57.977-05:00

Remember that “news” reporting about a McCain policy adviser who leaked that Sarah Palin thought Africa was a country—not a continent?Remember how it fed into our beliefs about her lack of Palin’s intellectual heft, reinforced by the way she sounded in media soundbites more like Frances McDormand from Fargo than a traditional politician?Psychologists call this the “confirmation bias.” It’s a

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-59732079164061776032008-11-12T11:24:00.002-05:002008-11-12T12:16:26.078-05:00

I appreciate your response to this new feature. It’s been great to see what’s getting your attention, and it’s given me a few ideas for future readings and listenings. Don’t worry—this Wednesday thing will not supplant all other posts here; despite a crazy couple of weeks, I’ll have a “traditional” rant post up later this week.I’ve finally wrapped up Thomas Friedman’s Hot, Flat, and Crowded. (

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-40873583007517971652008-11-06T10:49:00.006-05:002008-11-06T10:53:43.996-05:00

It’s a new feature on this site—and a tribute to one of my favorite bloggers—even if a day late.Ray over at The Metal Minute is taking a well deserved blogging break to take care of higher priorities, something I greatly respect.To honor his choice—and to keep alive one of his most entertaining “audience participation” features—today I begin a weekly series both to let you know what I’m reading

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-12371258808236260052008-10-31T12:20:00.001-04:002008-10-31T12:21:58.008-04:00

Vanity plate—those vehicle tags with personalized expressions usually limited to seven characters—have always bugged me.I see more of them than most of you. According to a study by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, Virginia has the highest “vanity plate penetration rate” of any US state: more than 16 percent.Sure, it’s a great way for states to make extra money, thus

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-76318357831133514922008-10-21T07:15:00.002-04:002008-10-21T07:20:49.396-04:00

Some hack writer from the late 16th and early 17th centuries named William Shakespeare famously asked, “What’s in a name?” He’d be shocked by what goes for a name these days.Jennifer Thornburg wanted to make a statement about animal dissection in schools. She simply went a step beyond what most of us would do by officially changing her name to a URL address:www.CutoutDissection.comHer name, as

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-26886051397937135652008-10-09T13:31:00.005-04:002008-10-09T20:24:15.931-04:00

I call things as I see them. It’s just what I do.Many people don’t like it. Especially when they think I’m on “their” side. It turns out that I’m on the side of only one thing: the truth.With all of the spin and propaganda flying around, our world needs someone like me. But jacked up. Super-sized. Ginormous.A man to speak the truth, no matter how much it shocks our beliefs. A bastion of honesty

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-71517122465497794432008-09-30T17:01:00.003-04:002008-09-30T20:26:56.830-04:00

I see and hear many things that I have difficulty believing.Sometimes a friend or colleague bungles badly. Or the television shows a public figure saying something that numbs the mind. And I’m often tempted, during such times, to just look at the offending party and ask, clearly and loudly, “Really?”Well, a bank teller in New York beat me to it. According to this story from the Boston Herald

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-72909962263182061332008-09-12T13:10:00.005-04:002008-09-12T13:17:46.064-04:00

Well, well. Here we go again.Another tropical monster bearing down on the Gulf coast, another day for intrepid reporters to brave the worst nature can throw at them in pursuit of a good broadcast. Another chance for me to put up one of my favorite posts.First appearing in 2005 and making a return trip in 2006, this one is an ode to the Weather Channel's Jim Cantore. Keep up the good work,

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-18915370284497159482008-09-09T16:39:00.007-04:002008-09-09T17:02:00.113-04:00

Some things just don’t look cool. And they never will.As a case in point, I flipped by Metal Mania on VH-1 last weekend, catching something I had not seen in many moons: Europe’s “The Final Countdown.”Something struck me about the video for this 1988 tune, with its central, defining synthesizer sound. You rarely see the keyboards or their accompanying musician. Even during the parts of the song

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-35682009584278013932008-08-29T14:50:00.009-04:002008-08-29T15:07:29.167-04:00

Not long ago I heard Morgan Freeman had been in a car crash—and the presence in said crash of a lady friend spurred the revelation of his divorce, which had been kept out the media spotlight.Didn’t he play God in Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty? I guess it’s time for the Catholic Church to update its stance on divorce.Then last week, we found out that Chris Kattan, best (only?) known from his

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-6219161031657991882008-08-15T17:37:00.001-04:002008-08-15T17:37:49.741-04:00

If you’re like most people, you can remember plenty of situations when you wish a police officer had been nearby.Maybe you watched someone steal a purse and run away into the crowd. It’s possible a car ran a red light in front of you. Or perhaps something more serious befell you, and you witnessed battery, arson, or murder.Whatever it was, feel free to imagine yourself getting so upset at the

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-16999994014573709192008-08-03T07:14:00.001-04:002008-08-03T07:14:49.143-04:00

In just over three years, this blog has offered more than 200 posts and—with only a few exceptions—has been more fun than I expected.It’s also been taken precious time away from paying clients while becoming (I suspect) decreasingly entertaining for you as I’ve put less time and energy into each posting.I started this site as a venue to practice different humor writing tricks. And you have been a

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-87763495267392167112008-07-28T19:27:00.003-04:002008-07-28T19:28:57.128-04:00

I’m leaving later this week for a couple of weeks overseas, so the world is on my brain. Not literally; that would hurt.I’ve been staring at maps, which has brought back memories from my extensive geography knowledge—the result of an unfortunate childhood obsession with atlases.Hey, don’t mock me. It’s better than playing with dolls.So I'm following up my post from about a year ago about our

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-36539532237995119822008-07-20T18:27:00.003-04:002008-07-20T18:54:15.959-04:00

Robert Plant had his first and only truly massive solo hit in 1988 with "Tall Cool One" from his smash album Now and Zen. This single was so popular that Coke subsequently bought the rights to use the song in its ads, a sure--albeit sad--sign of obscene success.Much more impressive, but less well remembered, is the opening track of the album, "Heaven Knows," which features the former Led Zeppelin

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-60164586541364733922008-07-14T06:45:00.000-04:002008-07-14T06:47:02.063-04:00

Shuffling the songs on your iPod can be illuminating. The random selections from one’s digital music catalog (I keep about 5,550 songs on my iPod) often spur new thoughts about artists, song titles, or lyrics.This week, the presence of three songs in the space of a couple of hours led to a lyrical revelation:Over time, rockers singing about the young women they want to boink have raised the ages

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-22607115746606947162008-06-29T19:27:00.002-04:002008-06-29T19:30:30.106-04:00

Last week, European astronomers revealed their discovery of a remarkable set of planets.Only the throw of a stone away in cosmic terms (42 light-years) lies HD 40307—which we now know has at least three planets not much larger than Earth, according to this article at Astronomy.com.The experts have not found any signs of life, of course. Nevertheless, this discovery makes me wonder about how

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-46448464502149984122008-06-16T07:05:00.011-04:002008-06-16T12:53:27.907-04:00

In the past few weeks, I’ve spent as much time overseas as I have at Chez Amulet. This offered me plenty of time at airports and on airplanes to engage in one of my favorite pastimes.(No, all you dirty minds … what I’m referring to is reading.)I’ve decided to tell you a bit about books I’ve just finished or find myself finishing up now. Here is what’s on David’s mind:Deadly DepartureIt’s an odd

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1571174759439785512008-06-05T16:15:00.007-04:002008-06-05T16:38:57.158-04:00

Pop metal bands multiplied like rabbits during the late ’80s.Only a few years after the massive chart success of groups like Quiet Riot, Guns N’ Roses, and Bon Jovi, record labels signed anyone with hair and a guitar to meet the demand. It was easy for good bands to get lost in the background noise, especially when they paired quality music with pictures of themselves in ridiculous outfits.Case

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-29894474478659751592008-05-27T17:49:00.004-04:002008-05-27T17:57:38.543-04:00

During several days in Paris spanning this past holiday weekend, I couldn’t help but compare the United States to France. And like most comparisons, this quickly morphed into a competition. Witness:Category One: Celine DionOne of my first sights out of the airport was a billboard the size of a small European country featuring Ms. Dion. Apparently, my visit was timed to her nine-show appearance in

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-89164612410330534822008-05-19T20:49:00.002-04:002008-05-19T20:53:06.396-04:00

Being a geography geek by upbringing, more comfortable with National Geographic than The National Enquirer, I’m always pleased to hear rock songs mention world locations.The Beatles, for example, referenced the Soviet republics of Ukraine and Georgia decades before their independence in 1968’s “Back in the U.S.S.R.” Toto’s “Africa” gives a nod to both Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti Plain of

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-32270548977011441332008-05-12T16:29:00.003-04:002008-05-12T16:34:39.029-04:00

It’s dangerous to appear as if you’re lecturing your readers.So I’m usually not one to bitch and moan just to get things off my chest. But last week I went ballistic. Items were thrown and curses were spewed because of one thing that angers me every time I see it: Misused apostrophes.The rules are simple—much easier to remember than most other grammar madness. Yet many of us throw apostrophes

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-27979819619663355052008-05-04T20:50:00.006-04:002008-05-04T20:58:25.451-04:00

When you think of the bartenders on the hit ‘80s TV show Cheers, the womanizing Sam Malone (played by Ted Danson in his prime) probably comes to mind.Most people next think of his simple but charming sidekick behind the Cheers bar—Woody Boyd, the character that gave a young Woody Harrelson his big break.Both Danson and Harrelson won Emmys for their roles; one of the greatest travesties of

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-33522431836423279752008-04-28T06:03:00.005-04:002008-05-01T16:05:48.233-04:00

Once upon a time, retired leaders of the world’s powers were expected to putter around and then die.Naturally, we’d let them play lots of golf, write their memoirs, and maybe even go on speaking tours. But generally, they should behave themselves and fade slowly into history, thank you very much.Only one problem: Our ex-leaders are younger and younger lately.Take Bill Clinton. After two terms as

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-85534989547205163692008-04-22T15:19:00.014-04:002008-04-23T06:11:52.287-04:00

Longtime readers here know that misheard lyrics haunt me, as I’ve written about here, here, here, and here. But now I’m going an extra step and addressing something much more sinister than misheard lyrics: bad lyrics. We hear many awful lyrics, many words that should never have been put to paper, much less set to music. Today, I’m calling out just a few especially horrid lyrics I’ve heard in the

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-52175618961680185262008-04-14T06:13:00.006-04:002008-05-12T19:12:06.965-04:00

Let’s face it: It’s hard to follow up one of history’s greatest albums. Many artists who have tried have produced good albums, but not another classic.The Who’s classic Who’s Next wasn’t matched by the uneven Quadrophenia. Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk paled in comparison to the previous Rumours, Led Zeppelin recorded the overwhelming Physical Graffiti, then produced the underwhelming Presence.So it’s no

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-34763442669150473402008-04-06T18:04:00.004-04:002008-04-06T18:20:37.024-04:00

Often the geniuses running things aren’t geniuses after all.And, sometimes, it takes a know-it-all 11-year-old to point it out.This became clear recently as Kenton Stufflebeam, a fifth-grade student from Michigan, showed up one of the most prestigious museums in the world, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.It seems the exhibit on prehistoric time

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-65995958886152255112008-03-31T13:33:00.002-04:002008-03-31T13:57:46.474-04:00

I’ve been out of town for the past week, and traveling always generates fodder for posts of the “I’m surrounded by idiots” type.But I’ll spare you the tales of the moronic airline check-in counter “help,” my crappy hotel, and the waitress who thought I was her personal spill receptacle.Trust me, you’re better off not hearing me vent. This wasn’t my best trip. I even lost my computer while going

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-27348693971723930132008-03-23T19:46:00.007-04:002008-05-12T19:12:35.027-04:00

Earth-shattering revelations don’t hit us very often.It seems to happen disproportionately to men in deserts, or so they claim, but it also happens sometimes to teenagers listening to the radio. Particularly to one teenager (me) listening to the radio in one month (July 1986) and realizing the musical dynasty spawned by one group:Let me start with a bit of background. Although by 1986 Genesis was

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-68025405056105588382008-03-17T07:01:00.008-04:002008-03-23T19:42:14.374-04:00

CORRECT ANSWERS ADDED AFTER EACH QUESTION. THANKS FOR PLAYING!I’ve been thinking for a couple of years about ways to test you.Not that it’s been on my mind every minute of every day—that would be sad. It’s more like every few weeks that I think it would be nice to post a trivia contest or some other way to tickle your brains.I’ve remembered a lot of useless information in my life. And I’d love to

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-17407494317490221402008-03-10T11:54:00.011-04:002008-05-12T19:13:03.345-04:00

I read a lot as a kid.In the ’80s, it didn’t matter if it was fiction like Tom Clancy books and 1984 or nonfiction like The World Almanac and Trump: The Art of the Deal. I soaked up just about everything I could get my hands on.I especially loved science fiction and fantasy. It’s no surprise, then, that I found myself reading one of the most successful fantasy series of the decade: David Eddings’

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-39850508540913133662008-02-28T14:47:00.000-05:002008-02-28T14:48:57.959-05:00

Once in a while, you need to take a step backward before taking a step forward.That’s what I’m doing today. Below is one my posts from a couple of years ago this month, minus the now-dead link to the original story.Some of you read this site then; most of you weren’t visiting yet. I hope you all enjoy it now while I take a vacation until late next week. Most of us have made fools of ourselves in

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-7280119983045930402008-02-25T07:30:00.007-05:002008-02-27T07:20:21.301-05:00

Last year, Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten used one of his essays to point out that it’s really, really hard to search for a short phrase on Google that isn’t already out there on somebody’s site.He came up with a few searches, however, that drew no results. Phrases like “Queen Elizabeth’s buttocks” and “I’m fixin’ to solve me the Shimura-Taniyama conjecture.”Clearly, these aren't the

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-75500350804854100022008-02-17T20:17:00.006-05:002008-05-12T19:13:36.279-04:00

When you’re young, you’re exposed to a lot of music you don’t necessarily like.For example, my mother listened hour after hour to crap ranging from Barry Manilow to ABBA to the Oak Ridge Boys. Years of therapy and multiple lobotomies have thankfully removed most of these emotional scars.I’m not too upset, however, about one easy listening singer who has stuck with me: the late Eddie

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-18845876598957790702008-02-11T09:31:00.000-05:002008-02-11T09:33:32.030-05:00

Every week, I come across a story that boggles my mind. You know, a tale that makes me shake my head in disbelief.And more rarely, just every once in a while, I find one that makes me bang my head against a wall in utter disillusionment with humanity and fear for the future of our species.Case in point: A gem I found on Yahoo! News.Let me give you a bit of background first. About a century ago,

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-56378391869916666762008-02-06T07:59:00.001-05:002008-05-12T19:14:06.940-04:00

If you’ve been living in a cave since the late 1980s, let me tell you a little bit about a little movie that gets much too little respect: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which hit theaters 19 years ago this month:Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves)—good-natured but underachieving high school seniors in San Dimas, California—will flunk out unless they get an A+ on their history report.

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-22153708658065248282008-02-01T10:03:00.000-05:002008-02-01T10:06:17.743-05:00

I'm not a news junkie, but I like to keep up on the headlines.Several times a day, I scan one of the major news sites, like BBC or CNN, just to see what's going on. Sure, I get my news in nearly useless soundbite form—with stories told in eight words or fewer—but that's usually enough for me.Only one problem. When I'm not focusing fully, my eyes tend to see things that aren't there ... or just

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-20888922925320551572008-01-27T21:09:00.001-05:002008-05-12T19:14:39.957-04:00

You might think I’m crazy for focusing my first “Underappreciated ’80s” post on a member of Duran Duran.But hear me out.Back in the day, a Metallica-loving, guitar-playing, head-banging friend of mine shocked me by praising an Andy Taylor album. I nearly crapped my pants. Sure, Duran Duran had some catchy pop songs … but aside from a few good chords in “Rio,” little suggested that the phrase “

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-56992294451962869282008-01-20T18:08:00.000-05:002008-01-20T18:09:24.886-05:00

I like the sun.Part of that is the sun’s role as sustainer of life on earth, of course, but also because I just feel happier when sunlight lasts longer.And I’m not alone. Many people actually suffer from winter depression, clinically known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (with the perfect acronym “SAD”), due to the lack of sunlight.According to Dr. Cliff Arnall at Cardiff University, this

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-76944929019132144352008-01-04T12:18:00.001-05:002008-01-04T12:23:45.083-05:00

It’s easy to think that we, as individuals, don’t matter much.I’ll give you an example. Although no individual I know of thinks it would be a good idea to elect Mike Huckabee to a national political office, Iowa Republicans gave him a big first-place finish in yesterday’s caucuses. This is the man who says his religious beliefs aren’t a legitimate political issue, but who also has said he wanted

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-74929534634799731872007-12-28T12:25:00.000-05:002007-12-30T12:51:45.175-05:00

Since I started this blog two and a half years ago, I have taken the opportunity at year’s end to compile the best and worst of the past twelve months’ pop culture.It’s that time again.As in my lists for 2005 and 2006, I’m only including things I’ve experienced directly. Thus, in the categories that follow you won’t find any mention of animated films, Joel Osteen’s feel-good Christian books, or

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-42428832500491718982007-12-19T15:58:00.000-05:002007-12-19T16:02:53.751-05:00

I have not been myself lately. In fact, I’ve been kind of boorish.You see, my alter ego has been standing in for me for a couple of months now while I’ve been busy. It’s a trite, overused literary technique, but we all resort to gimmickry sometimes.Now I’m back. And it’s good to be here.Why? Let me give you some small reasons why it’s good to be alive in December 2007.(1) Jamie Lynn Spears. The

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-61148318118544576692007-12-07T15:33:00.001-05:002007-12-12T16:30:37.933-05:00

As many of you know, I live near the nation’s capital.Washington is a town that is good at many things. Like grandstanding. Scapegoating. Self-aggrandizement. Blaming others for your own mistakes.Not to mention incomplete sentences.But one thing will NOT appear on a list of things Washingtonians do well: winter driving.I learned to drive on snow and ice, so I’m a bit of winter driving snob. Maybe

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-43455535903090885312007-11-30T15:52:00.000-05:002007-11-30T16:17:53.662-05:00

As I sit in my car dealer’s service waiting area, with experts working on my SUV’s brakes, I’m feeling like a wise man atop a mountain in China.I’m getting very philosophical, pondering the value of my time.I’m not trapped here; I’ve chosen this. Parking my ass in this stale lounge for a couple of hours—instead of out and about in a loaner car—made sense because the waiting area features wireless

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-8677351708671819222007-11-26T16:24:00.000-05:002007-11-26T16:25:30.709-05:00

So, I just got back from a Thanksgiving trip and settled in. I looked forward to seeing your comments and putting together some smart-ass post.That was before I saw the news today.According to this story up on cnn.com, Kevin Dubrow (lead singer of pop metal pioneers Quiet Riot) was found dead at his home in Las Vegas today at the age of 52.Like many of us that came of musical age in the 1980s,

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-22918121325541482622007-11-10T13:06:00.001-05:002007-11-10T13:10:42.840-05:00

When I look at fine art, I see beauty.Well, sometimes. Much of the time, I only see crap. I’m not exactly the most cultured alter ego in the world.But it’s not often that I hear things when I stare at a painting.That’s about to change, however, because of a discovery in one of the most famous works of art in history. A computer technician and musician in Italy says he’s discovered musical notes

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-22924906242296204612007-10-30T15:53:00.000-04:002007-10-31T20:36:59.833-04:00

With David gone, I’ve been watching his TV more often. And being a gifted observer of life, I can’t help but notice some things.Like commercials, for example:Professional driver on a closed course. Thanks to my not-so evil twin’s massive flat screen, I can actually read the disclaimers at the bottom of automobile commercials. And they’re ridiculous.A car spins and skids across the street into a

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-31819483146774243492007-10-17T16:49:00.001-04:002007-10-17T16:49:39.221-04:00

Hi. David Amulet’s evil twin here. I’m not the writer he is, but I’m filling in for him while he remains AWOL.And I’m pissed off.No, not because he’s gone. That part’s great—I get to eat his food, drink his wine, sleep with his wife, cash his checks … it’s good work if you can find it.I’m furious, instead, because of a story I just saw. Some jackass in Israel doesn’t think the world has enough

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-90838833833431833732007-10-05T10:20:00.000-04:002007-10-05T10:21:52.795-04:00

Homo sapiens is a curious species, never satisfied with the here and now. No matter what our age, the urge to explore is in our genes.(Since junior high, I’ve also hoped that the ladies have the urge to explore in my jeans … but that’s not relevant to this story.)We have extended our wanderlust from continents to the entire globe to the solar system, and yet we keep finding new things to amaze us

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-36570878303324402792007-09-25T16:45:00.000-04:002007-09-26T06:32:21.663-04:00

It’s taking me a while to get back into the swing of things … to recognize news nuggets worthy of writing about here … to reopen my senses to the idiosyncratic.This story helps.About 10 days ago, a meteorite slammed to the ground in southern Peru. Nothing too unusual there; space rocks land on our planet regularly. What grabbed me was that the resulting crater has made dozen of locals horribly

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-31657318135258665442007-09-19T21:41:00.001-04:002007-09-19T21:41:54.526-04:00

Perceptive readers noticed my now-dated comment on my own last post saying that I was taking two weeks off for vacation. And I wasn’t kidding.I ate … I drank … I was merry. It was fun and relaxing. I didn’t worry about things like work, money, or sanity.In short, for two weeks I was Paris Hilton.But that doesn’t mean I’ll spare you my reflections. Among the things I experienced:The sun. It’s been

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-48069142796479300102007-08-29T20:07:00.000-04:002007-08-29T20:17:51.383-04:00

The world is split into two distinct groups.This realization came to me recently after my iPod—supposedly using a random song selection procedure—popped up two oddly similar tunes in a row for me.The first, Lindsey Buckingham’s “Go Insane,” includes the line: “Two kinds of people in this world/Winners, losers.”Immediately after, I heard a song entirely about the concept, Rush’s “Half the World,”

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-53552117782266362952007-08-17T10:53:00.001-04:002007-08-17T10:53:22.078-04:00

Last night, in the middle of otherwise peaceful slumber, I awoke to pouring rain and thunder.Not that such sounds are novel to me … it’s just that my life has lacked these things for several months. Here in the mid-Atlantic region, we are suffering from a severe drought.So when this rare event occurred, I fell into a half-awake, half-asleep state and captured the essence of something that’s been

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-75188385679737253282007-08-08T05:35:00.000-04:002007-08-08T05:47:42.473-04:00

I’ve heard wise men say that one person’s art is another person’s garbage. I've heard some dumb-asses say it, too, but that's not important right now.I don’t care much for the religious art of the Middle Ages, for example, but some folks go gaga over it. And those same people deny the inherent magnificence within the dogs-playing-poker painting.But some things seem to be in bad taste no matter

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-64338733527889388352007-07-31T10:43:00.001-04:002007-07-31T10:43:41.008-04:00

Someday I hope to have a planet named after me.It looks doubtful. I’m not a Roman god, you see, and the near monopoly of Jupiter and his buddies in this arena speaks for itself. So I’ll set my sights lower.Maybe a continent. Perhaps a country, a city, or a village. Hell, I’ll take a random street. For that, I don’t need to be a deity, a president, or a slain civil rights hero. Serving as a

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-54544313727071638852007-07-19T05:59:00.000-04:002007-07-19T06:03:39.352-04:00

Harry Potter this, Harry Potter that. It's deja vu all over again with the pending release of J.K. Rowling's novel, and you will be hearing more about Harry in the next few days than you heard about Anna Nicole Smith in a whole month.Two years and two days ago, I posted this little assessment of the last Harry Potter mania. I think it still rings true today. Do you agree?I, perhaps like you, have

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-7571264439168998652007-07-11T05:59:00.000-04:002007-07-11T06:09:40.183-04:00

Here in David Amulet’s world, we love lists. And, apparently, we are not the only ones.The world just can’t get enough of rankings and compilings.In the past few weeks I’ve seen lists of the best movies of all time, the most important books of the last century, the most spiteful things to do to your landlord, and the worst things to say under your breath to your wife. That last one is just mine.

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-5017554109472796022007-07-03T15:10:00.001-04:002007-07-03T15:10:18.957-04:00

It’s been 40 years since the “Summer of Love.” I wasn’t even alive—and I’m sick of hearing about it.Whether it’s VH-1 Classic showing a documentary of the Monterey Pop Festival or Rolling Stone magazine’s self-congratulatory anniversary issues, 1967 is stomping on my last nerve.People who got into the scene back then venerate the year and its music, making it out to be the pinnacle of Western—nay

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-86980630489044578772007-06-29T14:21:00.000-04:002007-06-29T14:22:34.562-04:00

Say what you want about David Amulet, but he’s certainly a man who celebrates diversity and appreciates other cultures. He may show it oddly—by mocking everyone equally, with the possible exception of the French—but there’s a lot of affection behind it. Or so he’d have you believe.Among the many countries I respect is Canada. As America’s neighbor to the north, it holds a special place in my

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-83605800118578386292007-06-23T15:46:00.000-04:002007-06-23T15:47:00.717-04:00

We all wish some things would just go away. If we all concentrate, can’t we just get rid of them?I’m thinking of things like cancer. Child abuse. Starvation. Cruelty to animals. Let’s throw in bigotry. Censorship. Holier-than-thou intolerance. Pontificating bloggers. (Hmmm. Maybe not so fast on that last one.)Thankfully, one of you out there must have focused really hard of K-Fed, because I haven

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-57400242070971053842007-06-19T16:55:00.001-04:002007-06-19T19:21:01.127-04:00

I enjoy few things in life more than music.It’s almost always around me. Whether it’s in my car, while I’m working, when I’m playing, and occasionally during my slumber, I’ve got music playing.But much of it disappoints me.I’m not saying that I could do better than your average musician. But almost universally, songs fail in at least one way that my ears have the curse of picking up.At times it’s

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-17821585759775339902007-06-14T06:15:00.001-04:002007-06-14T06:15:48.820-04:00

Almost 18 months ago, I vented here.Yes, O frequent readers, you are correct: I do that all the time. But I’m referring to a specific post I did way back in those crazy days of January 2006. I know, we were all so young then…. It will only take two minutes to check it out and return to this post. Really. It will pop up in a new window and then you can close it and come back here.Go there.

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-998153412399973462007-06-08T06:43:00.000-04:002007-06-08T06:49:11.104-04:00

Well, the news this morning is disturbing.Our president is ill, feeling a bit weak in the stomach. It's so bad he has to skip one of the G8 sessions.What could be behind such a tragedy?It happened while he met with the new French leader, Nicholas Sarkozy. One wonders if even this guy, the most pro-American Frenchman since Lafayette, STILL made the commander in chief ill with his talk of

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-58873583674046052442007-06-05T21:05:00.000-04:002007-06-05T21:09:09.584-04:00

People in crowds do strange things.They follow the latest reality show fads. They Sometimes they hurl things at police, flip cars, and smash windows to protest government policies.They even go in droves to see recycled drivel like Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.But I have finally found an example of mob mentality that speaks to me.Last Sunday, almost 1,700 guitar players gathered in

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-35119563804713837362007-06-01T08:22:00.000-04:002007-06-01T08:27:41.532-04:00

Many things changed when I first moved from Illinois to the eastern United States.For one, I discovered this strange body of water called an “ocean,” challenging my view that water only gathered in creeks or lakes. Also, life sped up—with people taking less time to do more things than in the relaxing Midwest.And there were many, many fewer cows.But here’s what shocked me most: the prevalence of

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-12915766781421126292007-05-23T16:19:00.000-04:002007-05-23T16:24:54.802-04:00

Another crazy week for the Amulet Man, so another classic post revisited. This one is spurred by the interview of Angelina Jolie I saw on this morning's Today show. In her honor, please enjoy this post from last year around this time.And add your idea for a "new holiday" in the comments!I’ve always thought we could use more holidays.Sure, it’s nice to get off for the usual occasions, like

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-71457767974567641422007-05-15T11:44:00.000-04:002007-05-15T11:52:30.508-04:00

I don’t like to write about U.S. politics.As a matter of fact, I’ve mostly referred to politics as part of humor posts. The blogosphere hosts plenty of idiot voices on our country’s political system and personalities; I don’t need to add mine to the mix.But we are gearing up for a presidential election—and an obliquely political comment last week caught my attention. In case you missed it, the

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-6252942938222211442007-05-06T12:23:00.000-04:002007-05-06T12:30:15.961-04:00

This is a post of mine from 2005. I recently endured some nasty back-and-forth on a television talk show, and it spurred me to put it out here again. Let me know what you think.And a reminder--or a new bit of information for many newer readers here: You can get an e-mail to tell you when a new post goes up here by using FeedBlitz. The easy subscription click is over there beneath the "About Me"

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-50297793953791941842007-04-27T13:13:00.000-04:002007-04-27T13:14:33.836-04:00

Frequent readers here know that David Amulet is no fan of political correctness—or people who insist on changing the past.Altering something that has already occurred simply to suit some new purpose annoys me. Last fall, for example, do-gooders’ attempt to edit Tom and Jerry cartoons to eliminate scenes of cigarette smoking got me hot under the collar.Now revisionism is coming from corporate

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-84243125382870059402007-04-20T10:27:00.001-04:002007-04-20T10:27:39.031-04:00

With all of the controversy lately surrounding insensitive media personalities, I thought it was a good time for me to explore new experiences.No, I did not go see Cats. I did not take mind-altering drugs.Nor did I have a child with Britney. But for a long weekend, I did take a working vacation down south—to the deep, deep south—to spend time seeing the local sights, tasting the local tastes, and

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-43715608635768886062007-04-10T17:02:00.001-04:002007-04-10T17:02:44.830-04:00

Many things I just don’t understand. Off the top of my head, here are just a few:Human consciousness.Mathematics in 248 dimensions.Hummingbird flight.People who worry all of the time.Michael Jordan’s basketball abilities.The meaning of life.The popularity of American Idol.Unlike many people, however, I resist ascribing the origins of things I don’t understand to a supernatural entity or entities

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-66743364332025147922007-04-01T17:43:00.001-04:002007-04-01T17:43:56.183-04:00

We’ve all heard about crazy research grants.I’m talking about the money that goes to studies of things like the urine output of the rhesus monkey and the sex life of the Japanese quail. (Yes, these are actual funded projects.)But I just heard about one that sounds much better to me.AFP reports that a student in New Zealand has won a government grant to investigate the lifestyles of metal music

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-9331242142855786932007-03-23T15:43:00.000-04:002007-03-23T15:45:54.031-04:00

I have a vague recollection from years ago. Actually, many of my childhood memories are fuzzy. Especially the ones that involve me screaming and running away from home.My therapists and I are working on it.But there’s one in particular that returned to me quite vividly today. It was a story about some mathematician who had been locked away working on a proof for YEARS. And finally, after all that

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-55105906251336478432007-03-19T12:20:00.000-04:002007-03-19T12:30:42.501-04:00

Like many of you, I love music. I really, really love music.Over the years, I have gathered much of my favorite genres of music: classic rock and hard rock/metal, often with a progressive twist. Add to that my 80s pop obsession and smattering of other things … and I find that my iPods and 1000+ CD rack are quite full. And I feel like looking through it all today.So let’s play a game.For each

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-75993570856052258532007-03-10T11:00:00.000-05:002007-03-10T11:05:31.483-05:00

Just the other day I was thinking about threats to international peace and security. (It’s a pastime; I'll get over it.)I pondered the chances of America going to war with Iran. Or the odds of North Korea invading South Korea. Perhaps the world would use force in Sudan to try to end the suffering in Darfur.But my focus was clearly on the wrong threat. Because while we were distracted by Iraq,

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-67398718321036758372007-03-03T09:16:00.001-05:002007-03-03T09:16:34.731-05:00

In recent days, I’ve been assaulted by clowns.Thanks for your concern—I can feel it—but there’s no need to worry. Jesters did not actually threaten me with physical harm; the assault was solely through the media.First, I became aware that last month in Colombia, a man shot and killed two clowns at a traveling circus. Many people probably understand this assailant’s urge.Coulrophobia—the fear of

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-46909034106459817822007-02-24T11:33:00.000-05:002007-02-24T11:37:03.348-05:00

I must be a very trustworthy man.Within the past couple of weeks, I've received notes from three wonderful friends that I didn’t even knew I had. Each of them must know that I'm good with money … because each of them is humbly seeking my financial management assistance.I am honored by their trust in me. And I am looking forward to lending them a helping hand.Let me share with you the heartfelt,

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-12022338790120385382007-02-17T11:30:00.000-05:002007-02-17T11:34:23.379-05:00

Never let it be said that I don’t do requests.I’m referring to the general pressure on me to post another installment of perhaps my most popular series, the Misheard Lyrics Cycle; I’ve put links to the previous episodes at the end of this post.Today’s post became necessary as I caught myself singing along to one of my favorite 90s tunes, “Song 2” by Blur. Sources tell me that the first line of

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-47419314042949821772007-02-12T18:06:00.000-05:002007-02-16T16:42:43.689-05:00

The modern world can be overwhelming.When it gets you down, what do you do? Many folks reach deep back into the past. Way into the past.And some of those people recently made news in Greece.CNN reported online a few weeks ago that in Athens, the worship of Zeus is making a comeback. Yes, you read that right; after more than 16 centuries, public religious ceremonies venerating Greece’s king of the

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1170674056550313632007-02-05T06:06:00.000-05:002007-02-05T18:50:08.406-05:00

Yesterday afternoon, preparing for the big game but tiring of the increasingly inane pre-game coverage, I did waht all good men do.I grabbed the remote and flipped channels.Before long, I came across something I'd heard about but which I thought was a joke: the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.If you missed it, this event simply captures several frequently rotated puppies running around on a small

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1169915995078378992007-01-27T11:38:00.000-05:002007-01-27T11:39:55.860-05:00

Every place has both smart and stupid people. Apparently, however, many of the dumb ones choose to visit the United Kingdom.Half a million people make inquiries each year at the information centers of “Visit Britain,” the country’s national tourism agency. And according to this recent article on Yahoo! News, workers there often face absurdly ignorant questions.Here are some of the actual queries

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1169242881604132502007-01-19T16:40:00.000-05:002007-01-19T16:43:31.050-05:00

As you can imagine, a man of David Amulet’s stature and worldliness is often asked for advice.My sparkling wisdom, it seems, just naturally attracts the curious and needy, people who seek answers to their most confounding personal and professional dilemmas. Thankfully, I have all the answers.And this week, I’ll share some of them with you—specifically, those from the world of etiquette:If I hold

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1168378125163070442007-01-09T16:15:00.000-05:002007-01-20T11:37:40.763-05:00

While my brain is otherwise occupied this week, I offer you a slightly reworked post from long, long ago.(Well, it's only about a year and a half old, but it's from those early days of this blog, before I had the honor of hosting comments from all of you—OK, maybe except for you, Phoenix and Curare.)The original post contained some of my thoughts as the NFL began its 2005 season. Here it is with

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1167599154216873472006-12-31T16:05:00.000-05:002007-01-03T16:40:44.470-05:00

It was almost exactly one year ago that I posted my first annual list—the good and the bad from the twelve months gone by.And it didn’t scare anyone away … so why not do it again?As before, the only candidates for inclusion are things I actually experienced directly in 2006. That means you won’t see any references to Marlon Wayans’ Little Man movie, John Grisham’s latest book, or any Paris Hilton

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1166804048706815692006-12-22T11:13:00.000-05:002006-12-22T11:14:08.773-05:00

Some countries prefer to live in the past. And this is understandable—many places today just aren’t as impressive as they were in their glory days.Italy is just a small slice of the lands of the massive Roman Empire. Mongols once ruled most of Asia, not only a chunk in the middle of the continent. And Denmark doesn’t match up to the vast former Viking holdings.Sometimes, nations will cling to

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1166407657633574592006-12-17T21:07:00.000-05:002006-12-17T21:07:37.706-05:00

It’s no surprise to many of you that I’m a fan of the misheard lyrics.I’ve had a few doozies in my day, as I wrote about back in March. These variations of well-known lyrics occur just about everywhere you turn.Including Christmas songs.When much younger, I came up with all kinds of creative alternatives to the season’s carols. Take for example, my mutilation of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1165798591594582202006-12-10T19:55:00.000-05:002006-12-10T19:59:31.330-05:00

Back in the day, and I mean way back, it was a sign of education and sophistication to talk about life on Mars.This was, like, a hundred years ago.Smart people of the early twentieth century just knew that the channels on Mars were really water-bearing canals. These were the times of defining events such as the War of the Worlds radio drama, which depicted a Martian invasion—and made several

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1165165501872204762006-12-03T12:02:00.000-05:002006-12-03T12:05:46.020-05:00

It’s that time again.Those of you who have been reading my musings for more than a few months—especially those of you who have been here since the beginning in July 2005—know that I like your input.Twice in the past year and a half I have sought your advice on what to include in my “best of” list. You can see the results now, over there in the sidebar under my profile, subscription info, and

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14246492.post-1164587094669483592006-11-26T19:24:00.000-05:002006-11-26T19:28:59.826-05:00

During my research for a recent writing project, I came across three amazing sites that I feel compelled to share with you.Warning: If you like movies, you’ll find yourself at these sites for hours.You have been warned.The first, Worldwide Box Office, allows you to look up the domestic, overseas, and/or worldwide gross for just about any movie you can think of. And you can create your own lists

David Amulethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03758977878243268087noreply@blogger.com29