Hobson's Factoid

Hobson's choice:A choice without an alternative; the thing offered or nothing.

The origin of the term Hobson's choice is said to be in the name of one Thomas Hobson (ca. 1544-1631), at Cambridge, England, who kept a livery stable and required every customer to take either the horse nearest the stable door or none at all.

Franchise Playa

If you don't have leather seats in your car, truck or SUV, please stop reading this blog.

Modern Marvel

luridtransom gives two thumbs up to wikipedia.

Book Review - Rivertown: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler

I'll echo Simon Winchester's review of Rivertown: "Tender, intelligent, and insightful, this is the work of a writer of rare talent; it deserves to become a classic."

Synopsis:
In 1996, 26-year-old Peter Hessler arrived in Fuling, a town on China's Yangtze River, to begin a two-year Peace Corps stint as a teacher at the local college. Along with fellow teacher Adam Meier, the two are the first foreigners to be in this part of the Sichuan province for 50 years. Expecting a calm couple of years, Hessler at first does not realize the social, cultural, and personal implications of being thrust into a such radically different society. In River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, Hessler tells of his experience with the citizens of Fuling, the political and historical climate, and the feel of the city itself.

Fabulous

Money magazine recently ranked Sugarland, Texas, the #3 best place to live in the country.

Entertainful for the masses

Rice should let bums attend their football games for free. Give me one reason why they shouldn't. Exactly.

The New Enlightenment

I heard a sports radio caller threaten to drop his Houston Rockets season tickets if they don't sign free agent Bonzi Wells. You've got to respect a man of principle.

Add this to my platform - Anyone talking on their cell phone at a sporting event and waving to friends at home will be mercilessly beaten before being fed to a pack of dogs.

Swapping lions for eagles

To commemorate Independence Day, I plan to read aloud Thomas Paine's Common Sense from the confines of my living room as the Department of Homeland Security listens in.