Browse: Page 17
By J. Timothy King on March 9, 2012
Had you seen me a week ago Tuesday morning, you might have thought I had peed my pants, because I had an accident. The kind of accident that involves a car. And bottled water.
I was driving down the highway, when I decided to open my bottle. Stupid, yeah, I know. But My Firstborn was sleeping so soundly in the passenger’s seat, and I didn’t want to wake her.
So I reached over with my right hand, and I started wrestling with the cover. After all, I figured, I’m a young (ish), strong guy; I should be able to undo a water bottle one-handed. Continue reading “Accident (and a cute Jewish joke)”
Posted in Humor, Stories, True Stories | Tagged car, water
By J. Timothy King on March 8, 2012
Yes, I’m on Pinterest.
After seeing Facebook posts by Sharon Cathcart, Julie Carobini, Pamela Slim, and probably a few others mentioning Pinterest… (Charlotte Abel also has a Pinterest profile, and I thought I remembered her mentioning it on Facebook, but as it turns out, she didn’t.) After seeing a barrage of Facebook posts mentioning Pinterest, a (male) friend of mine finally suggested that I should probably get a Pinterest profile. So I did… tentatively.
Pinterest, in case you haven’t heard of it before, is a new social media site. Primarily dominated by the fairer sex, it consists of a collection of virtual pinboards, on which you can pin whatever you find interesting. I already have several pinboards: Continue reading “Feigning Pinterest?”
Posted in About Tim King, Technology | Tagged Pinterest, social media
By J. Timothy King on February 23, 2012
This past week, the Little One and I watched “First Contact,” the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. Not the Star Trek movie by the same name, but the series episode, which originally aired exactly 21 years ago this past Saturday.
Also this past Saturday, we read as part of our Torah Parsha: “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” (Exodus 22:21) A happy coincidence, as they say, because it gave me the opportunity to write today about how we treat strangers, a topic that I often find on my heart.
If you’ve never seen the episode “First Contact,” here’s how it goes: The Enterprise crew is tasked with making first contact with Malcor, a planet whose inhabitants are about to develop warp drive. Commander Riker is injured while reconnoitering, disguised as a Malcorian, and they take him to a hospital in the capital city. Unfortunately, most Malcorians are very suspicious of outsiders. And as they begin to suspect that Riker is an alien, they begin to see him as a threat, because he may be followed by an invading force. Continue reading “Stranger in a Strange Land”
Posted in Christianity, Entertainment, Judaism, Politics, Religion, Television | Tagged foreigners, global economy, immigration, Star Trek |
By J. Timothy King on February 17, 2012
I wanted to post this on Tuesday, but I was distracted by the recent holiday. Naturally, I’m referring to National Guys in the Floral Department Day.
Every year around this time, if you go into any store with a floral department, you are likely to see a dozen or so men wondering aimlessly in the vicinity, browsing from flower arrangement to flower arrangement, obviously lost but unable to ask for directions.
Why do they do this? Well, it’s the law. And if any man in a relationship of any sort fails at this task, the consequences are serious indeed, let me tell you.
Stores plans for this day, and every year they stock up on pretty young attendants to help out the guys who don’t know what they’re doing. Except for the store that I went to, which had a fat dude telling a pimple-faced guy with a scooter—and this actually happened—that they didn’t have bouquets of roses half red and half pink. Meanwhile, I thought, if he wanted a mixture of red and pink roses for his one true love, he should have gone to a real flower shop and paid more than 20 lousy bucks on an arrangement. Then he could have swept her away on his scooter, fading with her into the horizon and the setting sun.
As for me, I chose a bouquet of a dozen roses for my Beloved, pink blossoms just beginning to brown around the edges.
She loved them, especially the brown spots. Apparently, I have her well-trained to expect almost no attention from me whatsoever. Congratulate me.
(I was just kidding about that last part, in case you couldn’t tell.)
Continue reading “Favorite Indie Romances”
Posted in Books | Tagged Charlotte Abel, Enchantment, Holly Lisle, In the Eye of the Beholder, indie authors, romance, Sharon E. Cathcart, Talyn, Valentine's Day |
By J. Timothy King on February 7, 2012
You may recall, I read Enchantment this past summer. And I liked it so much that I decided to include it among my favorite indie romances.
I’m collecting printed editions of these novels into a deluxe package, which I had hoped to make available for Valentine’s Day. (You know, because romance equals Valentine’s.) But I was unable to pull together all the extras in time. So still working on it. For now, here’s…
Continue reading “Teaser Tuesdays: Enchantment (again)”
Posted in Teaser Tuesdays | Tagged Charlotte Abel, Enchantment
By J. Timothy King on January 6, 2012
Now that the presidential election season is upon us, and the political promises are already flowing like diarrhea— from the Greek dia, meaning “through,” and rhea, “the back of the head.”
(That’s a joke, by the way, in case your sense of political humor is deficient, like so many politicians— And there I go again.)
In any case, I’ve really wanted to revive my political blog, but I need to be able to do it in such a way that I won’t go insane.
Nick Gillespie inspired me with a comment he made on John Stossel’s “year in review” show, talking about Reason.tv’s “Nanny of the Month” features and government Nannies: “They see a small problem, and they pull out the bazooka immediately, and it causes real problems.”
Aha! I thought. That would make a perfect satirical character. And maybe I could blow off a little steam and write about politics and not go completely wacky. Wouldn’t that be nice?
So I now present to you…
Bigger than a tall building,
Faster than a light-rail train,
Exploiter of the ignorant, shafter of the hapless,
Wiser than God and richer than you, it’s…
Bazooka Nanny: Government Superhero
Today’s episode: Ugly Wallpaper.
Yes, you do have a right to ugly wallpaper.
-TimK
Posted in Humor, Libertarian, Politics
By J. Timothy King on December 23, 2011
Every year around this time, everyone begins talking about Christmas movies that we’ve all seen, some dozens of times. But when NetFlix began highlighting not only Christmas movies but also TV episodes, I began putting together my own list of some of my favorite holiday episodes. (Many of them you can see via NetFlix online streaming.)
In no particular order… Continue reading “Favorite Holiday TV Episodes”
Posted in Entertainment, Television | Tagged Christmas, holiday |
By J. Timothy King on December 21, 2011
In our house, we light the traditional Hanukkah candles, as we did last night, lighting the first candle and singing the blessings of the first night of Hanukkah. And we give gifts for the kids each night; not expensive presents like they’re likely to get from their grandparents on Christmas, but small, fun gifts to enjoy for the evening.
Last night, they got a gingerbread house, which they promptly decorated and then devoured. Yum.
But Hanukkah and Christmas have a deeper connection than just gift-giving and sweets. And the fact that they both begin on the 25th of the month— Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev, and Christmas falls on the 25th of December. Continue reading “On the First Day of Hanukkah…”
Posted in Christianity, Judaism, Religion | Tagged Christmas, Hanukkah, holiday
By J. Timothy King on October 12, 2011
I wasn’t intending to post anything today. As I promised yesterday, I wrote this morning until 9 AM, but not a post on this blog. (Instead, I made progress on a longer piece for my Ardor Point site.)
And then I caught up on a comment thread between Darryl (whom I don’t think I know) and David (whom I do know, in real life), comments on a post about what’s wrong with the software industry.
And I began writing a short follow-up to their comments. And I discovered that I had used up over an hour, and it was turning into a 500-word post of its own– I so miss writing! But I also am discovering that I still love software development, when it’s done right. Continue reading “Software Development: a Love-Hate Relationship”
Posted in Software Development | Tagged programming |
By J. Timothy King on October 11, 2011
I’ve been going through a baptism of chaos. Been working on a summer software-development project–summer turning into autumn–a project with too many harrowing twists and a too-soon, hard deadline.
I’ve been putting into this project as many hours as I can fit, plus some that I can’t. Because I need to earn enough money to buy a new car (or at least a new-for-me car). Because my old Saturn no longer drives, and will never drive again. (That’s a long and amusing story, which I absolutely have to tell in another post. I have pictures, too.)
I have a daughter to drive to school in the morning and pick up in the afternoon. That’s the only family responsibility I have consistently respected. That doesn’t stop people from asking favors. Everybody wants a piece of me.
Life has been so hectic that I haven’t had time to breathe. Continue reading “Baptism of Chaos and the Writer’s Soul”
Posted in Writing | Tagged creativity, spirituality |
