Semi-Random Roundup

• Viriler. That’s the word I used as the first play of our first game of Scrabble last night. (It was four-way Scrabble: Xy vs. me vs. MaPó vs. Martin, whom we had over for basil burgers.) Because it cleared my tray, it was worth 70-some points, and of course awed my opponents. A pretty good word, I thought: the comparative form of virile, of course. You know, virile, viriler, virilest. No one challenged it, and I won the game easily. Only it turns out that viriler is not in the dictionary. I guess more virile is the preferred form. How embarrassing.
• Thru Flickr and my blog, I’ve made the acquaintance of one Todd A. Price, who happens to be the food critic for the Gambit Weekly. He just published an article about his job in the Chronicle of Higher Ed. Anyway, I got a chance to tag along on his recent visit to a po-boy joint in the Bucktown vicinity, and it was supercool fun, because he has to stay under cover and use a fake name. It was like being a secret agent, only without the risk of being shot. Mission: Fried Pickles! I’ve read restaurant reviews with an almost religious fervor since moving to New Orleans, so I got a real kick out of this.
• Speaking of culinary experiences, I had lunch at the Marigny Brasserie today with the science fiction club. First time I’d ever been there. I had the Oyster BLT. Check out the description from their menu: “Crispy Fried Oysters, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Romaine Lettuce, Ripe Tomatoes and Horseradish Remoulade Dressing served on Toasted Brioche Bread.” Also had the truffled mushroom and pork confit. Damn, that’s some good rich food.
• Ned used one of my Flickr pix on TanqueLogue to head up a rant about graffiti in Bloomington. He even mentioned the “No @nswers” tag in front of the church on Kirkwood! What a cranky old man.
• A blogger made the front page of the Times-Picayune this morning, which may be a first. Seems the author of the Daily Ablution exposed a Guardian columnist’s affiliation with radical Islamic groups. Also seems the blogger, Scott Burgess, is from New Orleans.
• Lee Harris has written a thought-provoking article titled “Do We All Worship the Same God?” which contrasts two different atheistic perspectives on the religious experience. I don’t necessarily care for the author’s views on other subjects, but I like where he’s coming from here. Essentially he seems to be arguing for an atheistic perspective which doesn’t simply dismiss religion but attempts to understand it. And it ends with a great one-liner: “Few things matter more than how men choose to deceive themselves.”

Update: As of 2012, the Lee Harris article has gone missing from the address originally cited but can still be found on the web.