Ex Bibliotheca

The life and times of Zack Weinberg.

Monday, 8 April 2002

# 7:30 PM

a heartening announcement

I can't say it any better than the judges did:

The Supreme Court [of the State of Colorado] recognizes that both the United States and Colorado Constitutions protect the rights of the general public to purchase books anonymously, without government interference.

... and therefore that the government may not demand purchasing records from a bookstore. Well, it's not as absolute as that.

...the law enforcement need for the book purchase record in this case was not sufficiently compelling to outweigh the harm that would likely follow from execution of the search warrant, in part because law enforcement officials sought the purchase record for reasons related to the contents of the books that the suspect may have purchased. (emphasis added)

As reported on Slashdot.

# 11:15 AM

Apropos of Avram Grumer's speculations about theories of what makes a "liberal", or a "conservative", and Gary Farber's observation that people self-identifying as either simply do not understand how the other group's arguments can be rational, let alone right: I'm told that it is instructive to get one's hands on a copy of George Lakoff's Moral Politics, which taps the Gordian knot at an angle you may not have thought even existed and sees it neatly fall into two pieces.

I say this not having read the book, so cum grano salis as Teresa says.

Joel Rosenberg, who knows far more about these things than me (being a person who actually owns and shoots guns) confirms my suspicion that it would be trivial to get a gun through airport security, if one were determined enough.

# 10:45 AM

Bizarre dreams, involving plastic bags full of human blood, trying to find a microscope in a derelict physics laboratory, and trying to sew together a gift T-shirt for someone on very short notice. Also there was something about extremely expensive Magic Markers.

As I said long ago, my dreams don't tend to make any sense.

feelings of loneliness

The Flash Girls' Banshee is playing on the music shuffler just now, and I'm reminded of the trouble I had falling asleep last night. Not because I expect the Cwn Annwn to howl for me anytime soon... see, Banshee is a love song (sort of). And I have come to despair of finding love, or even lust, again; it's been years now since there was anything but missed connections. I don't let it bother me in the daytime, but in the dark it's harder.

(The music shuffler put Mysterious Ways immediately after Banshee. I see it's decided to be unhelpful this morning.)

feelings of inadequacy

Blogs like Electrolite and Pigs and Fishes make me wonder why I'm in this game at all. They give you political commentary, humor, and interesting newsbits. I whine about my life. What's the point? Is anyone actually reading?