CALL ME SNAKE

WORTH EVERY PENNY — by Steve Nadis

Snake — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:21:10 +0000

A friend who’d been living in Paris for the past 20 years asked for a copy of a book I published 16 years ago. It was available on amazon.com and one copy cost just a penny (plus modest shipping&handling fees). I bought that one up, as it was an outrage to me and every other author, living and dead. The book had been in the University of Michigan Library–at least through 1997–after which there was no record of anyone checking it out further. As a matter of policy and pride, I will continue to purchase every book of mine that is available for just a penny.

THE MAN WHO KILLED ____ OBSERVATORY — by Steve Nadis

Snake — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:35:10 +0000

I just got assigned a fun article by a publication sometimes billed as the world’s leading scientific journal. Which is all to the good except for one wrinkle. The head of a major astronomical observatory told me that if I went ahead with the story, he might be fired & the observatory shut down–not because anyone did anything wrong there but because this kind of publicity might imperil an already dicey situation. So now I have to figure out what to do. If I go ahead with the piece, and this guy is right, I’ll only be known for one accomplishment in my entire life–as “the man who killed ____ Observatory.” But at least I’ll be known…

STRING THEORY FOR BEGINNERS, Part 621 — by Steve Nadis

Snake — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:40:42 +0000

I started my book tour a year early, talking about string theory and geometry to my 2d-grader’s math class. I figured it would be a pretty tough crowd but they behaved themselves well, sitting through the whole boring lecture without incident.

ANOTHER FINE MESS, Part 327 — by Steve Nadis

Snake — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:16:27 +0000

I’m not as active in my daughters’ school as I’d like to be but, the fact is, I don’t have time to take on much. At a recent meeting, they asked for a volunteer to run the next meeting. As no one else was stepping up to the plate, I raised my hand. Afterwards I asked a friend, “What exactly did I volunteer for?” I really didn’t appreciate the scope of the responsibilities I’d taken on. “The future of the school lies on your shoulders,” someone else told me. And in some ways, I guess that’s true. If my role had not been broadcast so widely, I’d be looking for a way to back out of it now.

ANOTHER FINE MESS, Part 327 — by Steve Nadis

Snake — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:03:43 +0000

Another case of over-hype

Snake — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:59:51 +0000

A friend came back from a restaurant in Portland, Maine, where he ordered a “bowl of slop.” But he was
disappointed in the final product. “Really?” I asked.
“It didn’t live up to your expectations?”

MAN ABOUT TOWN — by Steve Nadis

Snake — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:52:17 +0000

I’ve long wanted to break into the movies and came close to literally doing that this evening. I was in Harvard Square, in a hurry to get down Dunster Street, so I could buy burritos around the corner at Dunster Street. Except Dunster was closed because they were filming the Ben Affleck picture, “The Town.” I was in a rush, as I said, because our babysitter was leaving in 15 minutes and I didn’t want to get caught in a long line with a bunch of kids on the burrito meal plan. So I barged ahead on my bike, practically riding right through the movie set. All the while, I was imagining the director or A.D. saying: “Film this guy on the bike. That’s gonna make our movie realistic because Harvard Square is full of these nuts.”

HANDBALL IN THE MOVIES, Part 96 — by Steve Nadis

Snake — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:33:37 +0000

The old Robert Redford movie, THE HOT ROCK, starts
with what looks like your typical jailyard shot. But wait,
there’s a difference! The men are all playing handball.
Is this jail? Or have all these men gone to heaven? Were
it not for the presence of a man in a tower, holding a rifle,
the scene was no different from my weekly (or biweekly)
games at the YMCA.

A SIMPLE QUESTION — by Steve Nadis

Snake — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:20:26 +0000

For some reason, my daughter cracked up yesterday when I called the video store. I’m not sure what was so funny. I just asked them: “Do you have any copies of ‘Drag Me To Hell’?”

(R)EVOLUTIONARY EGGS? — by Steve Nadis

Snake — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:18:43 +0000

My wife and I have noticed that the eggs we’ve been getting of late are sticking to the fry pans, and there seems to be no way of getting them off. As a result, our frying pans are now covered with a thin, intermittent coating of flaky egg crust. It’s made me wonder what’s behind this development–perhaps some evolutionary adaptation to make eggs a less attractive choice to human consumers. If so, I’m curious as to what’s behind this change, the chicken or the egg?