January 2009
22 posts
googled the full name of our next-door neighbor but all I found was the facebook profile of a very sexy dwarf in north carolina
Waiting for a tow truck damn damn damn
D: You know how Burger King says you can have exactly what you want? How come I never get exactly what I want there?
J: What exactly do you want?
D: I want a hamburger that tastes good.
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous... →
by Trenton Lee Stewart
A worthy second entry to what promises to be a very rewarding series of kids’ mystery/adventures. Respects the child protagonists by putting them up against truly scary foes, with find-the-next-clue action that is really satisfying.
blood orange lives up to its name, hemorrhages all over my hands. worth it.
The case against Candy Land - Boing Boing →
Steven Johnson notes that 10 minutes of Super Mario requires his kids to think more than 10 hours of Candyland or Battleship. Video games are bad for kids… how again?
Watchmen →
by Alan Moore
I figured I should re-read this before the movie comes out (assuming it ever does). I forgot how thoroughly depressing it is.
Hungry for change and also cheap chinese food
White House Blog →
in response to President Obama’s call for healing and bipartisanship, I forgive the new administration for running their blog on IIS/.NET
staying up too late, oh so foolishly
is enjoying some pindi chana and the notion that processed, foil-packeted convenience food knows no national boundary
Music Blog Zeitgeist of 2008 / The Hype Machine →
how I know I’m old: this kind of ridiculous list is as close as I come to knowing what the kids are listening to these days. Get off my lawn!
Unusual Odd Strange Experimental Rare Musical... →
heaps of coolness here
Princeps' Fury: Book Five of the Codex Alera →
by Jim Butcher
Book 5 was engrossing, as always, but the infuriating bits are still there too. Butcher is great at story development and pacing but the scenecraft is overwrought. Emotional manipulation of the audience is part of the game, but dude, I can see the wires.
Tortured Reasoning: vanityfair.com →
“It seems to me they were using torture to achieve a political objective.” - Pentagon intelligence analyst
DEER UPDATE HAIKU
a deer lay in sun
snow blankets her now anew
meaty peek-a-boo
The Mysterious Benedict Society →
by Trenton Lee Stewart
Great, page-turning kids’ adventure/mystery.
O santa-garbed man in the ped mall blowing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” on his trumpet: that’s really beautiful but, dude, it’s January
at the mall
Daphne: Ooh! Find a penny pick it up, all day long you have good luck! (grabs penny)
Holly: Nice one.
Daphne: Can I go to the playground now?
Holly: No, we have to finish shopping.
Daphne: (flinging penny to the ground) It DOESN'T WORK.
It’s the new year and I feel grooooss
Boston Review — Free Market Myth →
the left=regulation, right=free markets idea is false; all markets are regulated and conservatives favor regulation that protects existing power structures the most. part of why I’m skeptical of free-market triumphalism AND SCREW YOU TUMBLR FOR TRUNCATING THE TEXT OF MY IMPORTED ITEMS