Hmmm… There’s a book called Writing with Power written by someone named Peter Elbow. Why is this funny? Only because we have a saying in Ireland: “More power to your elbow”, which is a vague exhortation to people about to embark on a worthy but futile task.
The funniest title I’ve come on recently though is Yoga for people who can’t bothered to do it by Geoff Dyer.
There’s an amusing site called Overheard in New York: The Voice of the City, which publishes verbal exchanges overheard in the city. Here’s one:
Hobo: You have a quarter for a cup of coffee?
Suit: Excuse me, can’t you see I’m on the phone?
Hobo: I don’t have time for games!–42nd & 7th
RTE — the national Irish radio station — has a wonderful extended interview with John McGahern, broadcast on the day Memoir was published. (Needs RealAudio player.)
Delicious Martin Rowson cartoon in the Guardian. I love the punchline: “Coming soon! Weekend breaks for two in TEHRAN!”
Thanks to Pete for the link.
How about this (from an aside on Good Morning Silicon Valley)?
As I write, it’s Tuesday April 4, 19:55 GMT. In a few hours, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be 01:02:03 04/05/06. Well, it will be if you use US date format. Just thought you’d like to know.
From this morning’s New York Times…
WASHINGTON, April 3 — Representative Tom DeLay, the relentless Texan who helped lead House Republicans to power but became ensnared in a corruption scandal, has decided to leave Congress, House officials said Monday night.
Mr. DeLay, who abandoned his efforts to hold onto his position as majority leader earlier this year after the indictment of the lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a former ally, was seeking re-election as vindication. But he told selected colleagues that, facing the possibility of defeat, he had decided not to try to hold on to his House seat.
“He just decided that the numbers and the whole political climate were against him and that it was time to step aside,” said one Congressional official with knowledge of Mr. DeLay’s plans. The official did not want to be identified because Mr. DeLay’s formal announcement was scheduled for Tuesday in Houston.
On Monday night, Richard Cullen, DeLay’s defense lawyer, said that his client had been pondering a withdrawal from the race for some time and that “it had nothing to do with any criminal investigation.”
“The decision had absolutely nothing to do with the investigation,” Mr. Cullen said.
Of course.