31 December 2008

not kidding around this time!

Resolved: Lose weight, get fit, prosper, make lunch, keep out of Starbucks, get smarter, enjoy life, be happy... so happy it annoys others.

(Above is my last twitter update as well — for the year. I wanted to list my resolutions within 140 characters.)

29 December 2008

book 48: The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need by Dan Pink

pb 160 pages ISBN-10: 1594482918 ISBN-13: 978-1594482915
Dad gave me this one for Christmas. I read it on the train. It's business book in the form of a graphic novel. Johnny Bunko's in a dead-end job, bored out of his mind, when he's visited by a sassy elfin sprite named Diana who teaches him six business rules to live by. They're all good but the one that sticks with me is #4: Persistence trumps talent. (See Booknotes for a sample page from the book.) [amazon]

book 47: The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

pb 288pages ISBN-10: 0767919378 ISBN-13: 978-0767919371
Whether he's writing about traveling, the English language, or science, I find Bryson to be reliably entertaining, interesting, and knowledgable. Here he's writing about his boyhood, growing up in Des Moines, Iowa. This too was a fun, quick read. There's some surprising bits in here too as well as some historical asides. And the whole bit about his father's penchant for semi-nude late-nite-snacking was pretty funny. Recommended for any Bryson fan or 50's nostalgia buff. [amazon]
  See also: Booknotes: last dozen books read, etc

24 December 2008

epic fail

Are you familiar with the internet-spawned term "epic fail"? Here's a couple seasonally (in)appropriate examples: Santa and Jesus. But now I've got my own original contribution. This is my parents' Christmas tree this year. Showing it to co-workers has elicited: A) outright laughter, B) stunned silence, and C) comments like "beyond description" and "Oh my God!" Mostly people are laughing. See for yourself. (Thanks for the pic, Dad.) Merry Christmas!

snow chart

23 December 2008

bedtime stories

The nightly make-up stories are still going on strong. Sometimes I revisit a familiar make-up story I've told before (I have various "templates"), and sometimes I let the kids pick some characters to incorporate into the story. If I say something like, "Okay, you can each pick three characters." I typically get the following responses:

*Kajsa might clarify that she wants "Ah-punzel, Ariel, and Jasmine."

DVD: Step Brothers

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as (immature) grown men still living with their single parents. The parents hook up and the two of them are suddenly step brothers at odd with each other. Some of this is pretty funny, some of this is just kinda bizarre, particularly the latter third of the flick. Not recommended if you're not already a fan of Will Ferrell. It's an okay rental otherwise. But Holy Neanderthal! that Reilly guy sure is ugly.
  See also: Movies Seen

18 December 2008

funny haha/peculiar

I've got a couple more comic strips to add to my links page.

• a softer world (example 1), (example 2)
• Dinosaur comics

book 46: Mental Floss Presents Condensed Knowledge

pb 345 pages ISBN-10: 0060568062 ISBN-13: 978-0060568061
This compendium of factoids is a fun read but probably not something you'd read all at once. It's kind of like a bathroom reader (not that I'm doing that). And in fact, I did read this in several chunks over a span of months. Topics include art, history, science (biology, chemistry, physics, etc), pop culture, religion, economics, philosophy, and so forth. And it's written in a cheeky manner with all sorts of fun sidebars. I learned a lot! I remember some! Here's one thing sort of apropos from the religion section I picked up: Did you know there was a legend about a Persian god named Mithra that predates Jesus by centuries. Well, legend has it that Mithra was born of a virgin on December 25 and was visited by sheperds and magi. He had 12 disciples, healed the sick, and cast out devils. He rose again around the vernal equinox (March 21) and ascended into heaven. Sounds somewhat familiar, no? [amazon]

17 December 2008

decisions, decisions

A flowchart that helps you understand flowcharts.

that echoing sound between my ears

The code for the above:

(It's the source for an img tag.)

Updated: Here's another helpful pie chart.

16 December 2008

chart a course for adventure

Here's my day, charted:

How I made the chart: Google chart API.

15 December 2008

I like to watch

Updated: Movie Notes and Movies Seen.

12 December 2008

spam egg sausage spam

How can spam possibly return a profit? Even with 1 sale for every 12.5 million spam messages sent, it's still working. [see article]

book 45: The Time Bender by Keith Laumer

pb 248 pages ISBN-10: 0441810144
The first time I read this was 27 years ago (I went through a dozen Keith Laumer titles back then). Feeling nostalgic again. This one is the first Lafayette O'Leary adventure (there are four). Lafayette is an aimless guy who suddenly finds himself transported to a quasi-medieval land called Artesia. In no time he gets himself in a sticky situation where he's framed for the abduction of a princess and trapped in a promise to slay the dragon controlled by a giant named Lod. Also, the court magician seems to hiding some curious secrets. It's light stuff, very light actually but a quick trip down memory lane. The Lafayette O'Leary adventures have always stuck with me. I thought they were great back when I was a bored teen. The title really doesn't fit, though. Also, this has got to be one of the more cheesy, awful covers I've come across. (My son thought it was pretty cool, though). It was something else entirely back when I read it the first time in hardcover. [amazon]

9 December 2008

DVD: a low setting on the comedy dial

Watched Tropic Thunder in which Ben Stiller &co. pretend to be clueless, pampered actors making a Viet Nam movie but don't realize they aren't really in a movie when things go haywire. It was somewhat amusing but not great. I enjoyed one scene with Robert Downey Jr essentially playing an Australian playing a black man playing a Vietnamese man. But really, Stiller and Jack Black didn't make me laugh much. Downey's the one with all the talent. Oh, and much ado is made of Tom Cruise's cameo role as a foul-mouthed studio exec but I didn't find him funny either. I really just find Tom Cruise to be weird and creepy. The funniest bits are really the fake trailers at the very beginning.

Hermie Elf, DDS

I had taped last year's Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer and let the kids watch it a couple nights ago. Now I can't get "We are Santa's elves..." out of my head. (Still had to fast-forward through some of the Abominable Snowman scenes too).

Juice in a can

OJ Simpson is finally where he belongs. (USA Today article)

7 December 2008

book 44: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005

pb 368 pages ISBN-10: 0618570489
It’s not often I delve into a short story collection. Why is it so many of them are depressing or just plain sad or pathetic? Woo-hoo! Fun! (Not.) So I might’ve skimmed about half of these. If there’s too much of a main character being pathetic... or characters doing drugs... or the main character is named Pranab or Sanjeet... I’m going to skim. But if some of the stories are little wacky or exciting or funny then I’ll give it a shot. This collection had about half in that scenario. Two were by George Saunders who I’ve always enjoyed. (I’ve read two collections of his short stories before. And without skimming.) One of these stories was really a recollection from Al Franken about entertaining troops in Iraq. That was both funny and interesting. Love him or hate him, his piece is good. And the story about people in a joke waiting around for the joke to actually be told was fun. Mm-hm. I guess I enjoy a short story if it’s off the beaten path of sad people and their pathetic lives. Cheer up! [amazon]

4 December 2008

book 43: Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach

HC 288 pages ISBN-10: 0393064646 ISBN-13: 978-0393064643
I really dug Ms. Roach's first book, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, and had fun with her second book, Spook: Science Tackles The Afterlife. But I found this one a little more put-downable. I read it over several months in various-sized chunks. Some of the chapters made me wrinkle my nose and go "ewww" and I did a little skipping here and there since I wasn't all that interested in learning about people doing what sounds like tortuous things to their penis. I don't need that. And some of the people she interviews are... a bit nutty. I did learn some stuff though, a good deal of it pretty interesting and also it's stuff that people never talk about (like the bit about what happens to rape victims). I also learned that humans are the only ones shy about sex. Chimpanzees will calmly stare you in the face as they are flogging their carrot. That might be a bit off-putting. So, all-in-all, I'd say this book was a mixed bag. But this is probably my only review to include the phrase "flogging their carrot." For now. [amazon]

1 December 2008

DVD: In Bruges

This is an unusual and engaging story about hitmen who are definitely not of the cold-hearted variety. These guys are dealing with some messy feelings on an assignment in the Belgian city of Bruges. There is some wicked dark humor that had me snickering often during the first half of the flick. And the second half plays out in unexpected ways. There are some great characters here and all well-played. You also get to see a good deal of the gorgeous city of Bruges. (I was there 24 years ago, doesn't look like it's changed much.)

DVD also

And we rented Pixar's Monsters, Inc. to watch with the kids. So far it's been lots of giggles from Luke (and some from Kajsa).

25 November 2008

book 42: Dirty Money by Richard Stark

HC 276 pages ISBN-10: 0446178586 ISBN-13: 978-0446178587
Master thief Parker is back and events continue from the events in the last Parker outing, Ask The Parrot. From that story, Parker and the surviving accomplices had to leave two million in marked bills stashed in an abandoned church in Western Massachusetts. Now one of those accomplices has escaped from police custody and Parker wants to get that money before he does. But the town is crawling with cops and wanted posters are cropping up with Parker's likeness on them. Of course, that's not the only complications.

This is my twelfth Parker novel and they're short, briskly paced tales with a body count. Richard Stark is the name Donald Westlake uses for his lean, mean Parker tales. This one is the latest one published and it's a good one. [amazon]

21 November 2008

book 41: Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow

HC 320 pages ISBN-10: 0061430226 ISBN-13: 978-0061430220
This is a novel in "free verse" which apparently means that the text has the first-glance appearance of being in the form of a poem but there aren't any rhymes. Whatever. It reads like novel with lean prose and it's a fast read. It's a story about a dogcatcher named Anthony and various gangs of people who just happen to be werewolves — weredogs, actually. These packs are in the midst of a various turf wars which also involve meth labs. One of the female weredogs takes a serious liking to Anthony but doesn't want him to know her secret. There's also a mystified cop trying to figure out what the hell is going on. The story's set in Southern California, present day and is by turns romantic, exciting and grisly. It's quite a cool read actually. I think I went through it in about four days of riding the train. (And I showed some restraint by actually borrowing this one from the local library.) Woof!
[amazon]

18 November 2008

Bond 22

Quantum of Solace takes up pretty much where Casino Royale left off. And it begins with an awesome car chase. I love this new Bond paradigm. It's a stream-lined Bond without silly gadgets. The fights are intense (like the Bourne fights) and the action is wicked fun. Also, the Bond babes they've been choosing can actually act (unlike, say, Denise Richards). Olga Kurylenko gets the honor of being the first Bond girl not bedded by Bond. And Gemma Arterton's Bond girl actually has one of those fun names, but it isn't fully revealed until the credits! Great flick.

As chance would have it, Ms. Arterton also had a small role in the previous movie I saw on the big screen, RockNRolla. She had a much different look there.

But I digress.

17 November 2008

TV to movie DVD

14 November 2008

book 40: Time Trap by Keith Laumer

pb 143 pages ISBN-10: 0425018717 ISBN-13: 978-0425018712
I've read this one before — 29 years ago. But I was feeling nostalgic for some of the stories I'd read as a teen and I tracked this one down and decided to re-read it for kicks. It's a sf book in a light-hearted vein with a bumbling anti-hero named Roger Tyson who gets caught up a time warp. He meets a comely agent from the the future named Q'nell and the pair of them are pursued by the mysterious Oob the Rhox through a series of time portals. They try to figure out how to repair the damage caused by these as various people all over Earth and from different times find themselves reliving the same day over and over again. Silly, fast-moving stuff. (Written in 1970. Check out that cover! Isn't that awful?!)
[amazon] [13 november 2008]

12 November 2008

silver screen

I caught director Guy Ritchie's latest crime caper, RockNRolla last night. He's back in good form with this entertaining, quirky flick. And Gerard Butler is charismatic in the lead role. Ritchie's films have their own kind of flair and rhythm and the dialogue is unlike anything else. As usual, it's got a cool soundtrack as well.

7 November 2008

media consumption

Watched Iron Man again (after seeing it on the big screen last summer). Fun flick. I haven't checked out any of the extras yet, though.

The missus didn't like how the last two minutes of the movie wrap up. But I did.

I wish I held onto those comic books I had when I was a kid. Oy.

Iron Man 2 is due in May 2010.

Last night we watched The Office and 30 Rock. Those are my favorite comedies — okay, they're the only comedies I watch on TV. Hey, you know what they have in common besides good writing? Two things: 1) No laugh track, and 2) Paris Hilton wouldn't get the jokes.

And speaking of TV, here's a couple quotes:

book 39: Ilse Witch (The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, Book 1) by Terry Brooks

pb 456 pages ISBN-10: 0345396553 ISBN-13: 978-0345396556
Since it's been 24 years since I last read a fantasy from this popular author, I thought I'd give him another go. This is the first book of a trilogy which finds a motley crew of adventures on a mission to find out what happened to an earlier mission and to recover some artefacts and hopefully get their greedy little hands on some new magic. There are elves, a druid, a seer, "Rovers" (like a gypsy), and all sorts of magic aboard the airship Jerle Shannara. It's an easy read but moves at a glacial pace. For such a popular author, you'd expect a more crackling story. But it seems to rely heavily on — hey, what's the plural of deus ex machina? machinas? — it uses magic too often to get characters in and out of trouble. That whole element should be toned down. Regardless, I'm enjoying the character of Truls Rohk, a somewhat minor character but more inventive than the others. The leader of the mission, Walker Boh, the druid, is a bit of cypher. I'm hoping the second book gets more interesting.
[amazon] [5 november 2008]

4 November 2008

DVD (from the AMC channel)

Rented Mad Men (Season 1, Disk 1), i.e. the first 3 episodes. It's Madison Avenue advertising guys circa 1960 and nearly all of them are "horndogs" to quote my wife. Yep, they all basically treat women as sex objects and give them zero respect. It's hard for my wife to watch. But me? Meh. Still, none of the characters are really all that likable. 'Cept maybe for Draper's wife (January Jones). And Draper (Jon Hamm), the star, is kinduva alpha male jerk with a secret history. Not exactly a guy to look up to, but he is interesting. And it's fun seeing the story set against the 60's era. And of course everyone's smoking (including doctors in their offices). I may revisit this series. Cool soundtrack too.

2 November 2008

pix

Added nine new pix to the October album.

And, by the way, Kajsa was a fairy princess for the week leading up to Halloween, constantly dressed as a fairy as much as possible, but then, when Halloween arrived, suddenly decided to be a witch. A nice witch, as she explained to everyone.

Luke was rather miffed at explaining he was a Clone Trooper. Not a Storm Trooper or Power Ranger.