There always seem to be more interesting books waiting to be read than I have time for -- for example, I never even finished Steven Pinker's latest work before I was on to the next one. Now this week I spotted at least two more books that just look too interesting to ignore, and I don't know when I can get to them. The first is McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Underworld, by Misha Glennie. Who could resist an examination of criminal activity around basically the entire globe? Second is Stuff and Starved, which looks at the global politics of food. This is an underappreciated issue and one that recently came to the fore again, prompted by the rise in global energy prices. Hopefully I can get to them before long.

Fascinating (albeit slightly disturbing) web find: In Vestimentis Ursum. What's in bear's clothing? Click and you'll see.

So Lisa tells me she's reading The Three Musketeers, based on my recommendation... Cool, I know you'll enjoy it! I happened to be reading it during my trip down East last fall, and as it turns out, there's an odd set of connections that surrounds that occasion, as I'll explain.

Late in the book (don't worry, it's not a major spoiler), the action moves to the town of Béthune, near the Belgian border. Now, at the time I was staying in my mother's house, she had a neighbour -- originally from France, now residing in Ireland, but visiting Cape Breton on a musical exchange -- whose name was Nina Watrelot (= Waterloo, get it?). I didn't happen to mention to her at the time that I was hastening to the end of a classic of French literature; indeed, she might have been more impressed had I been reading it in the original. Be that as it may, I was struck by the coincidence when she mentioned the name of her home town... Béthune!

But wait, there's more. As it turns out, following the Norman conquest of 1066, many people from northern France crossed the Channel and settled in Britain. The name of Béthune followed some of them as far north as Scotland, where it morphed over the centuries into its modern-day cognate: Beaton!

It all means something, I know it...

The Star Wars Music Quiz

Can you believe I only got 8/10 on The Star Wars Music Quiz? Honestly!