I have tons and tons of props in my place. Not books - I read them - but there are plenty of things that I've bought because they look interesting, and they never get used.

Which, come to think of it, makes them set dressing and not props. Props are things that an actor uses during a performance, whereas set dressing is just there to make the set look good.

Nicely done, although I still can't hear this song without thinking of girl scouts trying to kill each other...

My only question is who made that pen, and where can I get one? That should be a marketing point right there...

1. Vandelay Industries XL in black
2. Strange Attractor - Magnetic Thinking Putty

Thanks!

This reminds me of the character Johnny Lee Wombat from the Preacher comic books, who did something similar, but more obscene and for different reasons.

He had a lifelong dream to become an astronaut, but was rejected from the Air Force pilot program. So he bought up a ton of land, some dynamite, and carved a profane invective large enough that the astronauts on the shuttle would be able to see it from orbit.

I like his better.

@Splint - I believe so. It certainly fits the totalitarian nature of the government in that book. Not being able to hide your identity would certainly make the net more civil. Or not - http://www.pwsnt.com/ is a nice sample of people who have no problem linking their true names to horrible, willful ignorance and vitriol.

This reminds me of "Ender's Game," actually. Card envisioned the web as a free-flowing meritocracy of ideas, where the smartest ideas win. I was very amused that Valentine and Peter were able to sway the world just through the power of their words. On the real internet, they'd be eaten alive by 4chan....

Out here in Japan the "close door" button always works and the instinct of the last person into the elevator is to push it. Then a polite female voice comes on to inform you that the door is closing.

The last time I was in the States, the non-functioning button drove me nuts - how easily our ideas of normalcy can change....