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Joke History
I wonder if any sociologists or anthropologists have traced the history and evolution of Little Johnny (Spanish version: Pepito) jokes.
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Strange Harry Potter eBook Terms
I know there are a lot of weird things in legal documents that aren’t actually enforceable. It’s one of the reasons every contract has a part that says invalidation of one part of this contract doesn’t invalidate the whole contract. But this one makes 0 sense to me for eBooks: “You may not:copy or burn…
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When did Miss Universe Become Hunger Games?
Just in case you didn’t read it or watch the movie, each district has a fashion designer who designs the costume for its contestants representing the products the district produces. The narrator mentions that these fashion designers aren’t always creative. In the movie, the logging district girl is dressed like a tree. Then again, maybe…
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Is All About that Bass a net positive message?
This isn’t the first time I mention this song on here. But I’ve been thinking about the lyrics a lot recently as it continues to play on the radio at the gym. A conversation on twitter yesterday with @AprilTara spurred me to put my thoughts on the blog. At first blush, the lyrics seem to…
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Review: Mockingjay
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins My rating: 4 of 5 stars So, we have book one: satire of reality TV, book two: propaganda, and now book three: the reality of revolution and civil war. This trilogy is a perfect example of how YA and children’s literature is often subversive – this is why there are so…
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Review: What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe My rating: 5 of 5 stars My undergraduate degree is Electrical Engineering, but the most important thing I learned was not anything about Maxwell’s Equations or electrons and holes – it was how to view the world in order to ask questions about…
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Review: Love Hina, Vol. 12
Love Hina, Vol. 12 by Ken Akamatsu My rating: 2 of 5 stars The book continues where the last one left off: with Kanako desperate to get intimate (physically and emotionally) with her adopted brother. While not biological incest, I still am not completely comfortable with it. Of course, coupled with the fact that she’s…
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2014 Video Games Report and Game of the Year
This year I did not play as many new games as in previous years. I was deep in my graduate degree and most of my free time was during work travel. Since I don’t have a powerful laptop (and Steam on Linux was just taking off early on this year anyway), most of that time…
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Last.fm 2014 Listening Trends
Once again Scarlett had a hand in determining the year’s winners. However, sometime around June she stopped requesting Disney music all the time, allowing others a chance at the spotlight. Still, while other artists were able to take the top artist spots, I didn’t listen to any one song often enough to undermine the Disney…
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Last.fm Listening Trends 2014 Q4
1. Five Iron Frenzy (147 listens) – Many of these came from me continuing to go through my collection in alphabetical order. 2. I Fight Dragons (102 listens) – IFD’s Kickstarter album finally came out. I really like it a lot. I’ve been listening to the B side more than the song cycle, but that’s…
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December 2014 Video Games
Poker Night 2 (2 hrs) – Played with Danielle thanks to Steam in-house streaming. Also played alone to unlock some more skins. Xenogears (1 hr) – After having wanted to play this for around 15 years, finally started. So far my best friend is getting married, I was raised by the Elder, and people fight…
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2014 in Books
I only have a bit of free time each day – usually no more than about two hours when you add it all up. So whichever of my hobbies tends to catch fire is the one that gets the majority of the attention. 2013 was a pretty good year for video games, but in 2014…
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Review: Catching Fire
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins My rating: 4 of 5 stars While the first book was a satire of reality TV (including the wrap up episode), this book is about the importance of controlling messaging and of revolution. Collins explores how The Capital controls what the districts see and know in an effort to limit…
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Review: The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins My rating: 4 of 5 stars As I mentioned in my first status update, I’d always dismissed The Hunger Games as a European Battle Royale. And, superficially, it appears to be an apt comparison. High school kids are forced to battle each other until only one is left. With…
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Review: Love Hina Vol 11
Love Hina, Vol. 11 by Ken Akamatsu My rating: 2 of 5 stars I started reading this series 10 years ago. For whatever reason, I stopped a couple books short from the end. Last year I started re-reading them for a series over on Comic POW! ( http://www.comicpow.com/thread/unders… ) Overall, I’ve enjoyed the story almost…