Pun Salad

It's no longer unusual for commentary in a major media outlet to be immediately criticized in the blogosphere. So much the better when (a) said commentary's subject is "Blogosphere Ethics;" (b) it's incredibly pretentious, clueless and misguided; (c) bloggers take aim. As Suck used to say: fish, barrel, smoking gun. See the original NYT article, then check the devastation as Mindles Dreck, Ann Althouse, and Citizen Z blast away. Plenty of other fun links from there.

I say it's wonderful, and it is, but I found it very tough sledding. Stephenson's writing is dense and discursive. Paragraphs and sentences are long, the type and margins are small. And the words are often spelled funny. And the page count is over 800. And I kept wishing I knew more late 17th century world history, because Stephenson knows it cold.

Highly recommended. I especially liked the "Trial by Crocodile" Jack undergoes around page 608.