Burt knew that he was wrong for Sarah, and that Sarah was wrong for him. But all that wrong was so good they just had to be together. Like Budweiser and Clamato.

Okay, I can’t even try to pretend that’s a bad thing. More books! More AWESOME books!

So here they are, no particular order:

Memory and the Mediterranean,  Fernand Braudel. History of the Middle Sea from the late Paleolithic to the rise of Rome. I’m a sucker for books that take the long view.

The Horse, The Wheel, And Language, David W. Anthony. Someone attempting (again) to pin down the origin of the Indo-Europeans. J.P. Mallory gave a blurb on the back, and since this is also a subject I’m a sucker for, I got it. It beat out the other two I was considering, one of which was a pretty thorough translation of Gilgamesh, and the other a translation of the Shahnameh.

A History of Inner Asia, Svat Soucek. This was a total impulse buy. We’ll see if it was worth the six bucks.

Cooking with Love and Paprika, Joseph Pasternak. I like paprika and Central European cuisine. Also, Pasternak was a Hollywood producer who, rumor had it, would go into the commisary, order spaghetti, and shovel it into his mouth with his hands. I admire this.

Warriors of the Steppe, Erik Hildinger. Military history of Central Asia. Mongols!

Early Ottoman Art, various scholars. Lovely pictures! Scholarly explication! Diagrams! Footnotes!

I declare April a month of walks in the park and reading while lounging on my veranda.

When Alexius was Emperor, and the foreign and infidel hordes that had migrated through the Roman Empire were being pacified’ and the bold Normans who had voyaged thither had been beaten and dispersed, certain citizens of the city of Bari, moved by a divine inspiration, purposed to sail in their merchant ships to Antioch, a city situated in Coele, in Syria. This they undertook not for selfish profit, but for a laudable and praiseworthy work – a work worthy of mention, O the marvel of it! For it delights my heart and what I have to say will soar aloft on lightsome wing. For they had the intention – and bless them for their prudence, bless them for their good choice! – instead of pursuing mercantile and selfish interests, to cast anchor at Myra and remove the manna-receiving and fragrant remains of our blessed, thrice-happy and inspired Father, and so, this accomplished, to possess and take pride in him as in a great fortune and inseparable treasure. Now, this was, as a matter of fact, the purpose of our Venetian brothers also, even though the deed had been accomplished by the men of Bari. For blessed is not he who begins a thing and does not finish it, but blessed is he who says and does and accomplishes good. In such wise it was, then, that they who heard of the plan of the Venetians were the first to attain the favor. For though the Venetians were bent on taking that goodly treasure and bringing it back to their homeland, the good God did not allow it so to be accomplished, but their plan and its fulfillment was given to the men of Bari, while the conception of the Venetians developed unaccomplished and unactuated .

Contrary to folklore, it is not the unicorn which can only be captured by a beautiful virgin. Rather, only young and inexperienced girls can be tempted by the unicorn. Because any woman with a lick of sense knows that unicorns are scumbags.

Fred has a tiny, misshapen horn. And you know what they say about the size of a unicorn’s horn.

“But you’re convinced that, to put it crudely, when you die, that’s it.”

“No,” Vidal replies. “I wouldn’t say: ‘When you die, that’s it.’ I’d say: ‘When you’re born, that’s it.’”

[From Gore Vidal: Literary feuds, his 'vicious' mother and rumours of a secret love child - Features, Books - The Independent]

My iPhone is a camera, a phone, an iPod, a movie player, an RSS reader, an ebook reader, gaming platform, and blogging device. The problem mostly being that it’s hard to not want to do all of these things at once. Listen to a song, play solitaire. Reading a book, quick, switch to look at Twitter. Oh! An email just arrived!

Instead of reading books, I tend to read wikipedia articles at night, or play solitaire in the bathroom. (No jokes about that! I swear! Literally the game of solitaire!)

So I’m seriously considering getting an iPod again. I have a digital camera. While lugging these things around is a pain, I also miss reading whole books in big chunks. I haven’t stayed up late to finish a book in quite a while, and I find I’m missing it.

It’s not a technology issue, it’s a usability issue. I read whole books on my old Sony Reader PRS-500. It was convenient to carry, and the interface was pretty nice. And that was pretty much it. No constantly checking the news.

I might get a cheap, refurbed netbook, more because I think they’re cute than anything else. Also, my computer collection demands it. Refurbs can be found for less than $200, so sale of the iPhone would probably cover it. And I’m thinking of getting a shuffle or something for music.

I thought the internet was killing my reading habits, and it is. I just hadn’t realized that it was my iPhone that was doing it.

Father Jack Hackett from the absolutely fantastic comedy series Father Ted.

[From Eclectic Micks: HAPPY ST. PADDY'S DAY FROM FATHER JACK HACKETT!]

Shipping firms have already proposed taking short cuts through the polar region, which also contains large reserves of oil and natural gas.

[From Al Jazeera English - Americas - Arctic ice 'could melt by 2013' ]

Aaaaand cue intro riff to Crazy Train. All aboard the ‘We’re Looking For The Bright Side of Things Even If It Fucking Kills Us’ Express!

Iran has no weapons-grade uranium, US military officials have said in an attempt to clarify recent statements from Washington and Israel.

[From BBC NEWS | Americas | Iran 'has no bomb-grade uranium']

Can we just make up our mind about this?