I read somewhere (I believe in the xkcd blag, otherwise it was from Neil Gaiman) that the original purpose of a blog was just to put together a list of cool links that you found on the (then) burgeoning internet for your other geeky friends to read. Adding your own blatherings is actually a corruption of the concept. So now for your enjoyment, some cool stuff I found online:
50 funny Amazon Reviews - There's actually a blog of funny reviews at gelastik.com. People like Marky do this, I know.
Speaking of Amazon, they sell http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1593272847/, which I wish I had found before I did my Christmas shopping. I'm totally saving this link for E's Christmas gift next year. (found via Thinkgeek).
More Christmas Links:
BuddyTVs Jolliest Characters - I wouldn't have thought to put Castle on there, but it kinda makes sense.
A Squidtivity! - I would buy this if I had the money. (Regretsy)
An Interview with the Innkeeper - A hilarious retelling of the Christmas story. (via Reannon)
The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas - An even more hilarious retelling of the Christmas story. If you haven't read this yet, CLICK THIS LINK NOW. Just don't eat or drink while reading it.
And a couple of Book related links:
Bookshelf Porn - Bookshelfs to be jealous of. No porn involved, sorry.
How to turn your Nintendo DS into an ebook reader - If one of the presents under the tree would happen to be a new DS for me (I was along when they bought it!), then I'm ready to go with this and with ManyBooks, which has a ton of public domain ebooks.
Finally, Marky has done some brilliant literary analysis with the new Google ngrams tool. (LJ, and he is never G-rated. Yes, he can do literary analysis that isn't G-rated. Check that out.)
Friday, December 24, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Foster Books
Earlier this year, my brother moved to Israel. As part of that move, he had to give away most of his earthly possessions. Since he doesn't generally keep many possessions he didn't mind giving them up, except for his book collection. So he came up with a unique idea - he sent his book to foster homes. I know that most people only send pets or children to foster homes, but he loves books. So do the foster parents he selected for his books. He also sent the books out to people that he thought would particularly enjoy them. So since I've quit my job I've been working my way through some of my foster books with great enjoyment. I've even read a few books that I've purchased. I think every once in a while I might write a book review for everyone to read, especially Marky.
I have to admit that I love the standard Disney movie ending and the Happily Ever After concept that Hollywood and so many modern American fiction writers have jumped behind (my beloved Elizabeth Donald not among them). So it is unusual for me to read books that don't wrap up nice and neat and happy, but sometimes I either get tricked into it, Elizabeth releases something new, or Marky loans me a book to broaden my horizons. A few years ago he got me on Latin American literature (before Oprah read One Hundred Years of Solitude, I read it with the Marky book club). Now I'm taking a brief foray into British literature courtesy of my foster books.
Most recently, I finished Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence. This book was really about one man (Paul Morel) and his relationships, especially his relationship with his mother and how it interfered with his relationships with women. But what really made this book interesting and what captured me were the characters. Even the characters that you weren't supposed to like in the story had fantastically tender, human moments, which really made them come to life. The portrayal of Paul's mother as an abused mother trapped in a abusive relationship by both society, economics, and even her own pride is truly compelling. I'm starting on The Rainbow next. I'm sure Marky is cackling with glee.
I have to admit that I love the standard Disney movie ending and the Happily Ever After concept that Hollywood and so many modern American fiction writers have jumped behind (my beloved Elizabeth Donald not among them). So it is unusual for me to read books that don't wrap up nice and neat and happy, but sometimes I either get tricked into it, Elizabeth releases something new, or Marky loans me a book to broaden my horizons. A few years ago he got me on Latin American literature (before Oprah read One Hundred Years of Solitude, I read it with the Marky book club). Now I'm taking a brief foray into British literature courtesy of my foster books.
Most recently, I finished Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence. This book was really about one man (Paul Morel) and his relationships, especially his relationship with his mother and how it interfered with his relationships with women. But what really made this book interesting and what captured me were the characters. Even the characters that you weren't supposed to like in the story had fantastically tender, human moments, which really made them come to life. The portrayal of Paul's mother as an abused mother trapped in a abusive relationship by both society, economics, and even her own pride is truly compelling. I'm starting on The Rainbow next. I'm sure Marky is cackling with glee.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Here we go...
Welcome one and all to my new blog here. In case you are wondering, the most undesirable Skittles are the yellow ones. If I get a pack of Skittles the yellow ones are always up for grabs. Most times, the green and orange ones go begging, too, though. I'm terribly picky. I really just like to dump out the bag and eat the grape and red ones. If they made a bag of grape and red Skittles I would totally buy it. I'm not sure why they've never done that, but it would be genius - like Cherry Dr. Pepper.
I think I've actually done a pretty good job of describing what this blog is going to be. I think it's going to be pretty random. I'm not working right now and I'm spending a lot of time online, so I'm stumbling across a lot of randomness online and while most of it is dumb (of course), some of it is cool. I might keep some links and put them together into some posts to share. I might also post some of my ponderings on life and candy manufacturing. I'm sure you can't wait. ;-)
I think I've actually done a pretty good job of describing what this blog is going to be. I think it's going to be pretty random. I'm not working right now and I'm spending a lot of time online, so I'm stumbling across a lot of randomness online and while most of it is dumb (of course), some of it is cool. I might keep some links and put them together into some posts to share. I might also post some of my ponderings on life and candy manufacturing. I'm sure you can't wait. ;-)
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