http://www.talesfromtheweb.org Just another WordPress weblog Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:25:55 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en For more on the Bitter Merchant, see The Bitter Merchant and the long slow slide Part 1 and The Bitter Merchant makes a Bum Call. The Bitter Merchant took off for the weekend (without his trophy wife) to check on his 'house' and when he re-appeared on Monday morning, ... http://www.talesfromtheweb.org/2008/06/19/the-bitter-merchant-has-a-negative-experience/ See The Bitter Merchant and the Long Slow Slide Part 1 for the beginning of the tale. A BUM call, in the popular vernacular is when a cellphone is in its holster, or in your back pocket, and is activated somehow, dials a number at random or from your address book, and ... http://www.talesfromtheweb.org/2008/06/10/the-bitter-merchant-makes-a-bum-call/ The Bitter Merchant comes from the Caterbury Pilgrims, by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864). "Well, sir," said the pilgrim, "there was a day, and not very long ago, neither, when I stood at my counting-room window, and watched the signal flags of three of my own ships entering the harbor, from ... http://www.talesfromtheweb.org/2008/06/05/the-bitter-merchant-and-the-long-slow-slide-part-1/ The Snowman comes from Margaret Atwood's cautionary tale of the future, Oryx and Crake. The Snowman is a tragic/comic hero eking out a marginal existence in a post apocalyptic world laid waste by genetic engineering run amok. The Snowman's predicament is all more poignant since Crake, ... http://www.talesfromtheweb.org/2008/05/30/the-snowman-makes-a-million-bucks-or-tries-to/ Welcome! http://www.talesfromtheweb.org/2008/05/28/tales-from-the-web/