tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87220532024-03-06T00:37:57.983-05:00Notes From LimbolandBecause it's all just a giant state of limbo. And, uh, land.JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-33352238747244672732010-02-09T19:53:00.000-05:002010-02-09T19:53:16.745-05:0028 Days LOL-ter - Day 9: North Korea's Finest<a href="http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=3174856704"><img alt="hillbilly dictator" id="_r_a_3174856704" src="http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/2/9/129102355679363795.jpg" title="hillbilly dictator" /></a><br />
moar <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/">funny pictures</a><br />
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I... I don't even know where to go with this. Though the picture itself does kind of speak volumes on its own, doesn't it?<br />
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But, sweet Jesus, I'm not getting <i>that</i> image out of my head anytime soon.<br />
<br />
Coming tomorrow: the latest trend for pet owners. It's not what you think!<br />
<br />
Sadly, it never is.JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-78554310274907741032010-02-08T22:11:00.001-05:002010-02-08T22:11:08.682-05:0028 Days LOL-ter - Day 8: The ReturnDid you know that I was taking the weekend off? Yeah, neither did I. Lame. I blame my sick child, because I'm just that kind of an asshole.<br />
<br />
Anyway, that means I've got four - count 'em, <i>four</i> - LOLs to make up to get back on track with this ridiculous gimmick. <i>How will he do it?</i> you' may be wondering. Oh, my sweet, wayward, <i>utterly disloyal</i> children. Doubt not, for my will is strong.<br />
<br />
And my backlog of crappy LOLs is long.<br />
<br />
But let's start off with new material, shall we?<br />
<br />
<b>28 Days LOL-ter - Day 5: Wrapped up like a douche</b><br />
<br />
In honor of the recently concluded <span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: line-through;">teabagging</span> tea party convention...<br />
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<a href="http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=3158407936"><img alt="DOUCHEBAGS" id="_r_a_3158407936" src="http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/2/5/129098718071271551.jpg" title="DOUCHEBAGS" /></a><br />
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Dopey and Crazy, two of the leading cheerleaders for the angry, selfish, horribly deluded teabaggers. God bless 'em, because I sure as hell ain't going to.<br />
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<b>28 Days LOL-ter - Day 6: It's your loveable furry old pal</b><br />
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<a href="http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=2672136704"><img alt="Latest Republican healthcare reform proposal" id="_r_a_2672136704" src="http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2009/9/28/128986438827780073.jpg" title="Latest Republican healthcare reform proposal" /></a><br />
moar <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/">funny pictures</a><br />
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Aw, who the hell am I kidding? Like they've come up with anything <i>half</i> as good.<br />
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<b>28 Days LOL-ter - Day 7: I swear, this is not racist</b><br />
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<a href="http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=1037053184"><img alt="big pimpin ur doin it white" id="_r_a_1037053184" src="http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/9/16/128660542292789445.jpg" title="big pimpin ur doin it white" /></a><br />
moar <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/">funny pictures</a><br />
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And it's not racist because <i>I say it's not</i>, and that's all that matters for the internets.<br />
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<b>28 Days LOL-ter - Day 8: For The Wife</b><br />
<br />
Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=1240037632"><img a="" alt="It" i'm="" id="_r_a_1240037632" leaf="" ok="" on="" s="" src="http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/10/28/128696908026217956.jpg" the="" title="It" wind!'="" /></a><br />
moar <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/">funny pictures</a><br />
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And that should be enough LOLage for one evening. Please bus your tables.JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-6411157975261268122010-02-05T13:01:00.000-05:002010-02-05T13:01:44.128-05:00Friday Random Ten: Way To Go, Genius!Wow, haven't done one of these for a while.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>I'm home today - G., my 3-year-old girl, has a nasty cold and had an absolutely <i>shitty</i> night's sleep, as the bags under my eyes can attest - so I thought to myself... well, here's a little transcript:</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>JP:</b> Hey, self, what's shakin'?</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Self:</b> Not much. Do people really still say that?</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>JP:</b> Say what?</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Self:</b> "What's shakin'?" It's got a disturbing retro vibe, and not in a good way.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>JP:</b> I'm a trend-setter. We're often misunderstood whilst performing the setting of trends.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Self:</b> Uh-huh. (<i>Pause</i>) So, um, you wanted to, uh, talk, or something?</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>JP:</b> Oh, yeah! I just had this great thought! Why don't we -</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Self:</b> - use iTunes Genius for the FRT on the blog today?</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>JP:</b> Yeah! How'd you know?</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Self:</b> Dude. I'm <i>you</i>.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>JP:</b> Weird. (<i>beat</i>) You're not going to go all <a href="http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0001854/">Tyler Durden</a> on me, are you?</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Self:</b> Aaaand, we're done.</div><div><br />
</div><div><i>Scene.</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div>Yes, I have a rich and fulfilling life, full of meaning and import. This above is not evidence of that, mind you - I just thought you should know.</div><div><br />
</div><div>And now, the (Genius) list:</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Based on: "Hangover Cure for Humanity" by Spouse</b></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div>1. "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" - Vampire Weekend</div><div>2. "Time Won't Let Me Go" - The Bravery</div><div>3. "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" - Radiohead </div><div>4. "You Only Live Once" - The Strokes</div><div>5. "Shiver (Live)" - Coldplay </div><div>6. "Girlfriend" - Phoenix</div><div>7. "The Heinrich Maneuver" - Interpol</div><div>8. "Trust Me" - The Fray </div><div>9. "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" - Vampire Weekend</div><div>10. "High and Dry" - Radiohead</div><div><br />
</div><div>And the bonus: "Crooked Teeth" - Death Cab For Cutie</div><div><br />
</div><div>Whoa. You can really see <a href="http://13directions.wordpress.com/">The Wife's</a> musical influences here. Interpol? I didn't even know we <i>owned</i> any Interpol. And Vampire Weekend - I like them well enough, but I would never ever in a million years pick them up on my own. Same with Phoenix, methinks. Still, a decent list. Only one I might question is the inclusion of The Fray, but other than, good on you, Genius!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Now, how about some video?</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Spouse:</b></div><div><br />
</div><div><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ipU1w-ls1R8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ipU1w-ls1R8&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Death Cab:</b></div><div><br />
</div><div><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qsfT3hDw3Wk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qsfT3hDw3Wk&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div><div><br />
</div><div>Now! Feast! And be merry! Or whatever else it is you do on a Friday - I'm a bit out of touch.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-10230155803671540812010-02-04T22:13:00.002-05:002010-02-04T22:16:24.041-05:0028 Days LOL-ter: Day 4 - Jason Voorhees it is, then<div></div><div></div><div>Because I'm tired, and <i>Fringe</i> wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be.</div><br /><a href="http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=1164372736"><img src="http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/10/13/128683914825188578.jpg" id="_r_a_1164372736" title="SLAYING IN THE RAIN" alt="SLAYING IN THE RAIN" /></a><br />moar <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/">funny pictures</a><div><br /></div><div>Good night! Tip your waitstaff!</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-45921528918769473452010-02-03T21:06:00.002-05:002010-02-03T21:38:57.872-05:0028 Days LOL-ter: Day 3 - Chinese Democracy<div><br /></div><a href="http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=1037876992"><img src="http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/9/16/128660638420386853.jpg" id="_r_a_1037876992" title="Chinese Democracy Original Planning Session" alt="Chinese Democracy Original Planning Session" /></a><br />moar <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/">funny pictures</a><div><br /></div><div>Man, who could have predicted that, twenty-some-odd years later, fucking <i>Slash</i> would be the one to emerge from this group with his career (and liver, for all we know) intact?</div><div><br /></div><div>(For you damn kids who maybe weren't yet a twinkle in your fathers' loins, that's Guns 'N' Roses, and for a time they were the biggest motherfucking band on earth. No, seriously. And many, many people - myself included, I am ashamed to admit - wanted to be <i>just like them</i>. Yeah, I don't really have an explanation for it: this is the decade that foisted both Warrant and Spandau Ballet on us, after all. If <i>that</i> don't get you scratching your head...)</div><div><br /></div><div>This one, for the record, was the first captioned pic of mine that got any kind of notice over at the Cheezburger Network. I actually did it before <i>Chinese Democracy</i> was finally released in 2008 (after, what, twelve or thirteen years of Axl working on it?), so it was current and pithy at the time. Now... maybe not so much.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eh, what can I say? I like it. Oh, and I'm lazy, let's not forget that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Coming tomorrow: either something brand spanking new, or Jason Voorhees. Which will it be? Come back tomorrow to find out!</div><div><br /></div><div>All two of you.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-36807989203832485352010-02-02T19:47:00.006-05:002010-02-02T20:07:31.439-05:0028 Days LOL-ter: Day 2<div>The dumb gimmick continues, with the marriage of a recent pop-culture meme... and English choadery!</div><div><br /></div><div>Presenting...</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Notes from Limboland's 28 Days LOL-ter: Day 2: Lookin like a fool</b></div><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=3145092608"><img src="http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/2/2/129096212093522145.jpg" id="_r_a_3145092608" title="lookin like a fool..." alt="lookin like a fool..." /></a><br />moar <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/">funny pictures</a></div><div><br /></div>Pick up your pants, boy! And comb your fucking hair once in a while. Douche.<div><br /></div><div>I don't get the appeal of Pattinson. I just don't. Look at any picture of that fey English wanker, with his teased up hair and doped-out glazed eyes, and tell me that's not 21st-century update of the hair metal look. Only <i>he really feels your pain</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gah. You kids get off my lawn.</div><div><br /></div><div>Coming tomorrow: Sino-democractic institutions, circa 1987.</div><div><br /></div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-54175060692426335872010-02-01T19:45:00.003-05:002010-02-01T20:29:59.206-05:0028 Days LOL-ter: A Horrible Name for a Lame-Ass GimmickHas it really been ten months since I could be bothered to post? It seems much, much longer.<div><br /></div><div>Anyway, I'm trying to get my lazy ass to do more blogging - not because I really have all that much that's interesting to say, mind you; it's more of a "stop watching so much damned TV and write, idiot!" kind of thing, really - but, just like <i>real</i> writing, this blogging shit takes practice. It's kind of <i>work-ish</i>, which, seeing as I have a day job and all, isn't as appealing as it sounds. So, in an effort to fool my stupid brain, I'm going to ease my way back into this blogging thing with a dumb gimmick. </div><div><br /></div><div>And it is thus: <b>28 Days LOL-ter.</b></div><div><br /></div><div>For the month of February, 2010, I shall be posting a new (to you, at least) LOL pic, created by yours truly, and brought to by the fine folks at <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/">The Cheezburger Network</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, yes. 28 days of LOLs. Created by me. I even made a label for it on the blog and everything - that's just how <i>dead fucking serious</i> I am about silly pictures with inane captions.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let the internets quake with anticipation. Or revulsion. I'm not particular.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, without further ado - LOL!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://cheezburger.com/View.aspx?aid=1376046336"><img src="http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/11/24/128720331831095395.jpg" id="_r_a_1376046336" title="The flying shoe of the apocolypse had been forgotten in all the tumult and commotion. But it did not care. It was content to simply bide its time, to hover... ...and wait." alt="The flying shoe of the apocolypse had been forgotten in all the tumult and commotion. But it did not care. It was content to simply bide its time, to hover... ...and wait." /></a><br />moar <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/">funny pictures</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>(This is an old one - might be a little more than a year old. It never got a lot of looks over at <a href="http://punditkitchen.com/">Pundit Kitchen</a>, which is a shame, because this is one of my favorites. Heathens.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Day 1 - <i>[brushes hands]</i> - in the books.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hopefully, this dumb gimmick will trick my stupid brain into thinking of this blogging stuff as more hobby than work, and I'll do more stuff than just this dumb gimmick. I'm pretty sure I'll at least get back into the Friday Random Ten, which is mindless fun. Who knows? Maybe other, more substantial stuff, as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wouldn't that be swell?</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-91251749815407293342009-04-10T11:07:00.003-04:002009-04-10T11:59:23.264-04:00Friday Random Ten: The Proof is in the PuddingWhat? I like pudding.<div><br /></div><div>"We had the $240 - we had to have the pudding."</div><div><br /></div><div>And now you know the state of my mind. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ooooh. Brilliant, no?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">1.</span> "Stratford-on-Guy" - Liz Phair</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">2. </span>"Bled White" - Elliott Smith</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">3.</span> "The Man Who Sold The World" - Nirvana </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">4.</span> "Team" - Bon Iver </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">5.</span> "One Week" - Barenaked Ladies </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">6.</span> "The General Specific" - Band of Horses</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">7.</span> "Whisper Grass" - Elbow</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">8. </span>"No One Else" - Weezer</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">9.</span> "Politik" - Coldplay</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">10.</span> "It's Not Up To You" - Bjork</div><div><br /></div><div>BONUS!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">11.</span> "Invincible" - Muse</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D_5V8We3hgg&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D_5V8We3hgg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>SUPER EXTRA-SPECIAL 1993 BONUS!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">12.</span> "$240 Worth of Pudding" - Barry and Levon</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="518" height="392" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="movie" value="http://player.ordienetworks.com/flash/fodplayer.swf"><param name="flashvars" value="key=bc8caeb743"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><embed width="518" height="392" flashvars="key=bc8caeb743" allowfullscreen="true" quality="high" src="http://player.ordienetworks.com/flash/fodplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><div style="text-align:center;width:518px;"><a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/bc8caeb743/240-worth-of-pudding-from-greatest-comedy-sketches" title="from Greatest Comedy Sketches">$240 Worth of Pudding</a> - watch more <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/" title="on Funny or Die">funny videos</a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Awwww, yeah.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-76341511037347055502009-04-02T10:32:00.002-04:002009-04-02T10:52:36.698-04:00Ye Gods, the hair! The HAIR!Thanks to the inestimable <a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com/">Mr. Scalzi</a> and his <a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/04/02/reader-request-week-6-80s-pop-music/">latest Reader Request Week post</a>, I now have Howard Jones's "No One Is To Blame" running on an infinte loop in my head. I like the song - absolutely <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">loved</span> it when I was 11, to be sure, and I think it's held up reasonably well to the years - but there's only so much of the inoffensive Brit's dulcet tones I can take before yea, verily, I doth descend into madness.<div><br /></div><div>So: what's the solution?</div><div><br /></div><div>(And don't say "More Cowbell!" Because I'm pretty sure that joke jumped the shark about four years ago, now.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the solution: get the song out of my head and into yours! So, have some, friends, and revel in the glory of Howard Jones in his prime.</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ENB2eX-U3a8&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ENB2eX-U3a8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Wow. That hair, man. That's just something else. Luckily, that style abortion ended with Reagan, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">et. al.</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amandamarcotte/3368249094/">Oh, wait.</a> <br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3458/3368249094_c6b81faa9b.jpg?v=0"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 375px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3458/3368249094_c6b81faa9b.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>(Photo cribbed from <a href="http://www.pandagon.net/">Amanda Marcotte's</a> flickr stream; taken on day one of this year's SXSW festival in Austin, I believe.)</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-50167541766414287672009-03-27T09:11:00.002-04:002009-03-27T09:59:33.903-04:00Friday Random Ten: "Read, dammit!" Edition<div>First, an addendum to yesterday's <a href="http://notesfromlimboland.blogspot.com/2009/03/you-must-read-these-now.html">You Must Read These</a> post. These are also books you must read. Because I <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">said</span> so, dammit!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Winterbirth-Godless-World-Brian-Ruckley/dp/0316068063/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238162017&sr=1-2">Winterbirth</a></span> and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bloodheir-Godless-World-Brian-Ruckley/dp/0316068071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238162017&sr=1-1">Bloodheir</a></span> by Brian Ruckley - books 1 & 2, respectively, of Ruckley's The Godless World trilogy. This is classic epic fantasy, in the mold of <a href="http://www.georgerrmartin.com">George R.R. Martin</a>'s <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">A Song of Ice and Fire</span> series. Magic is at a minimum here, though it has its place. Plus, militant religious fanatics bent on domination! This is one of the better series in epic fantasy in recent years, a solid bit of storytelling with a complex, fully-realized world and some characters that you can actually get behind. I'm anxiously awaiting the trilogy's conclusion, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thanes-Godless-World-Brian-Ruckley/dp/0316067717/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238162017&sr=1-3">Fall of Thanes</a></span>, which will be published in May, 2009.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Darkness-Comes-Before-Prince-Nothing/dp/1590201183/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_3_img?pf_rd_p=304485601&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-2&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1585675598&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1G71SF6KAFG6BS0DYW64">The Darkness That Comes Before</a></span>; <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Prophet-Prince-Nothing-Book/dp/1590201191/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b">The Warrior Prophet</a></span>; <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thousandfold-Thought-Prince-Nothing-Three/dp/1590201205/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b">The Thousand-Fold Thought</a></span> by R. Scott Bakker - comprising <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Prince of Nothing</span> trilogy, Bakker's epic fantasy series is simply the best fantasy going. Yes, better than GRRM. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Way</span> better than Jordan. This series is what every epic fantasy should strive to emulate. Well-written, deftly-plotted, world-building that's almost daunting (and definitely envy-inducing), brutal and beautiful and painful and joyous, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Prince of Nothing</span> books spin a dark tale of one man, the ultimate trickster, who arrives from the North and manages to finagle his way into the ultimate position of power, through manipulation and a preternatural understanding of human nature. And he doesn't care who he ruins along the way, who he kills or betrays, for he is on a mission. And that mission: save the world from the rising of the No-God. Yeah, I read these a while ago, but I'm thinking I need to re-read them again soon. I'm sure there's a ton I missed on the first go-round.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting, but the music, she calls. Onto the list!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">1.</span> "True Dreams of Wichita" - Soul Coughing</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">2.</span> "I've Got Your Number" - Elbow</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">3.</span> "We Might As Well Be Strangers" - Keane</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">4.</span> "Fuck and Run" - Liz Phair</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">5.</span> "Nude" - Radiohead</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">6.</span> "Lost!" - Coldplay</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">7. </span>"Buddy Holly" - Weezer</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">8.</span> "Seal the Bulkheads" - Richard Gibbs (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Battlestar Galactica</span> (2003) soundtrack)</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">9.</span> "One Of These Things First" - Nick Drake</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">10.</span> "Cold Water" - Damien Rice</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes. Yes, I think I like that list, and would like to subscribe to its newsletter. But what about the bonus?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">11.</span> "Such Great Heights" - The Postal Service</div><div><br /></div><div>Not bad, not bad at all. I think my musical self-worth has been mildly assuaged for the week.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cue Gordon Ramsey: "Video."</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hMOkfI7wCrI&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hMOkfI7wCrI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Done.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-15572748768053048752009-03-26T17:07:00.003-04:002009-03-26T17:46:32.492-04:00You must read these. NOW.Twiddling my thumbs, waiting for code to build and automated unit tests to run. Time to issue a decree to all denizens of Limboland!<div><br /></div><div>And it is thus: read more.</div><div><br /></div><div>I read. A lot. Not as much as <a href="http://13directions.wordpress.com/">The Wife</a>, granted, who can sit down and polish off a decent-sized book (200-300 pages, say) in a single day if she has the time (new Taltos books from <a href="http://dreamcafe.com/">Brust</a> seems to garner this attention, in particular), but I'd say I go through, on average, 2-3 books of fiction a month. Sometimes it's more, sometimes less - it all depends on the books currently in the queue.</div><div><br /></div><div>My bent, naturally (as I am the Viscount of Nerd), is toward the more speculative of the fictive arts. F&SF, as the kids call it. Though I've been known to read other genre fiction - I will happily gobble up anything and everything from Stephen King, for example, and have a soft spot for Ludlum and even Clancy, Jebus save me - and have even occasionally dabbled in what is often referred to as "literature", or as I like to call it (in my head, where no one else can here, except for that one guy) "fiction with a high-falutin' accent", speculative fiction is my one true fictive love.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Wow. Now <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">that</span>, friends, is a tortured sentence. I was going to edit it, but I thought I'd leave it up there as a shining example of how, exactly, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">not</span> to write with the English. Also: lazy.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway: I am a reader. I wish for you would be too. Please to have some of my tasty recommendations from recently-read pile!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anathem-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0061474096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238103713&sr=1-1">Anathem</a></span> by Neal Stephenson - or as I privately refer to it, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Geeks Shall (Maybe) Inherit the (Not) Earth</span>. You wouldn't know it from the first 150 pages or so, but this is probably one of NS's most "straightforward" science fiction books. Though "straightforward" means something totally different when NS is involved, I'll grant you that. This book is dense and large and intimidating, but it's well worth the effort. You'll find the first third or so a tough slog, and may even want to chuck the fucking thing across the room at points, but stick with it. If, for nothing else, the sheer beauty of world building done right.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Time-Travelers-Wife-Audrey-Niffenegger/dp/015602943X">The Time Traveler's Wife</a></span> by Audrey Niffenegger - I read this about 6 months ago, so it's not really in my recently-read pile any more, but damn if this book didn't stick with me. It's one of the strangest, human, touching and tragic love stories I've ever read. Extremely well-written, to boot. Read it. Read it now!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ghostwritten-David-Mitchell/dp/0375724508">Ghostwritten</a></span> by David Mitchell - more a series of interconnected short stories than a proper novel, this is still an engrossing read. Mitchell pulls off the nifty trick of telling all of the stories in the first person and somehow giving each narrator, reliable or otherwise, their own distinct voices. It ends a little unsatisfactorily, but that's my only beef. Heh. Beef.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Warded-Man-Peter-V-Brett/dp/0345503805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238103745&sr=1-1">The Warded Man</a></span> by Peter V. Brett - first-timer Brett has come up with a unique take on the classic high/epic fantasy milieu: what if demons rose from the ground every night, all night, and the only way to not get killed was to be behind a series of protective wards, sigils of a lost magic, and that even those wards might fail and you're toast? What would that world be like? This is actually my current read, and I'm about halfway through. Thoroughly enjoying it. Brutal in just the right amount, with characters that I actually kind of care about (my main beef with most epic fantasy). Suckiness: it's brand new, and book 1 of a series. So there's that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay: unit tests done. Time to check in. And check out! Ha!</div><div><br /></div><div>Go: read, dammit.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-79237449135096810362009-03-20T12:44:00.004-04:002009-03-20T13:21:47.643-04:00Friday Random Ten: "Quack Me Up Before You Quack-Quack" EditionThe <a href="http://notesfromlimboland.blogspot.com/2009/02/annoyances-in-workplace-part-x-of.html">quacking</a> has resumed. For most of the week, there was no quacking, as the president of my organization was out of the office. Until today, that is. She's back, with her infernal laptop, and the damnable <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://notesfromlimboland.blogspot.com/2009/03/you-gotta-be-quacking-quacking-me.html">quack quack quack</a></span> has, much to my dismay, re-entered my work life.<div><br /></div><div>So: what to do? I know! Let's FRT - quack-style!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quack.</span> "Such Great Quacks" - Iron & Wine</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quack.</span> "Quackless" - Soul Coughing</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quack.</span> "Tired of Quack" - Weezer</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quack.</span> "Window Quacks" - Band of Horses</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quack.</span> "What A Good Quack" - Barenaked Ladies</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quack.</span> "Motion Picture Soundquack" - Radiohead</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quack.</span> "You Can Do Better Than Quack" - Death Cab for Cutie</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quack.</span> "Street Quack (Fade Out)" - Radiohead</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quack.</span> "Viva la Quack" - Coldplay</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Quack.</span> "Dickquack" - Kate Nash</div><div><br /></div><div>My my: what a quacking list. But what's the bonus quack?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Extra Quack.</span> "U-Quack" - Pixies</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Brilliant.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""> I went to school near U-Quack, so this song is near-and-dear ("In the sleepy West / of the woody East / lives a Valley full / full of Pioneer...")</span></div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nx9iZQy36Mo&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nx9iZQy36Mo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>(But sweet merciful Daffy, they got old and fat, didn't they? Yowza.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Until next time, kids: keep your feet on the quack, but keep reaching for the quacks.</div><div><br /></div><div>God help me.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-43026466724834231312009-03-13T16:52:00.005-04:002009-03-20T13:22:03.365-04:00You gotta be quacking quacking me<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypxWyqH7viamHSjYn5T-LbLuKYS86J_0KrvIGhUTdu5ojSm1RCPONJs9xe5r86QzqhSFJlpdHN3c34OauFmLAZDeEmEtlFbG9MIHmcHR5tS7UuQJ-8Bo-sq3qXyrl7cWXOJqDog/s1600-h/ducky5.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjypxWyqH7viamHSjYn5T-LbLuKYS86J_0KrvIGhUTdu5ojSm1RCPONJs9xe5r86QzqhSFJlpdHN3c34OauFmLAZDeEmEtlFbG9MIHmcHR5tS7UuQJ-8Bo-sq3qXyrl7cWXOJqDog/s320/ducky5.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312778153667826098" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: italic;font-size:x-small;">He looks so innocent, doesn't he? Not evil at all. And yet, his is the very heart of darkness...</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Because I know the vast and awesome readership of Limboland demands it, an update to the whole <a href="http://notesfromlimboland.blogspot.com/2009/02/annoyances-in-workplace-part-x-of.html">quacking cellphone</a> nonsense...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, it turns out that it's not a cellphone's ringer that's set to quack - it's an Outlook new mail notification sound. That's why it's constantly going off. Worse, the person who is responsible for unleashing this torrent of anatine hullabaloo on my workplace is none other than the president and founder of the organization, whose office just happens to be two doors down from mine.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Seriously. And she gets a metric fuckload of email.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What to do? Can't rightly march into her office, yank the laptop from her desk and send it plunging into the river, to live (and die) amongst the ducks whose call the infernal machine apes at every new electronic message arrival. I doubt even complaining about it would do anything - she probably thinks it's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">cute</span>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Grrr. And also: argh.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">People</span>. Meh.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-65002949042826154992009-03-13T11:50:00.004-04:002009-03-13T12:01:58.920-04:00Friday Random Ten: "It's Friday, Time to Blog" editionBoy, sometimes I sure wish I'd get off my lazy butt and do some blog entries about <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">other stuff</span>, rather than just doing these FRTs.<div><br /></div><div>But then I settle down and let the warm, fuzzy glow of the TV wash over me, and everything's okay again.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, TV. When have you ever done me wrong?</div><div><br /></div><div>Liste!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">1.</span> "Islands on the Coast" - Band of Horses</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">2.</span> "Cannonball" - Damien Rice</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">3.</span> "We Looked Like Giants" - Death Cab for Cutie</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">4.</span> "Bullets' - Augustana</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">5.</span> "Midnight Show" - The Killers</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">6.</span> "X&Y" - Coldplay</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">7.</span> "Rusted Wheel" - Silversun Pickups</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">8.</span> "Polaris" - Jimmy Eat World</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">9.</span> "Heaven Forbid" - The Fray</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">10.</span> "Monkey Gone to Heaven" - Pixies</div><div><br /></div><div>Not bad, not bad. Let's see what's behind door number 11, shall we...?</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">11.</span> "The General Specific" - Band of Horses</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, the dreaded band repeat in the bonus! So sorry - thanks for playing, we have some lovely parting gifts for you. Johnny, tell 'em what they've won!</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3r7m_h6-NCA&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3r7m_h6-NCA&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for stopping by, folks! We'll see you next time on Friday Random Ten!</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-27871896827626671312009-03-06T12:08:00.002-05:002009-03-06T12:26:41.497-05:00Friday Random Ten: Mailbox Orange Aquatic EditionYes, friends, it's Friday again. And you know what that means! Indeed, time to open up my soul - or at least my music library - to all and sundry. "Why do I do this?" you ask. That's a great question.<div><br /></div><div>Monkeys.</div><div><br /></div><div>(What? That's a great answer!)</div><div><br /></div><div>So, without further ado, let the humiliation - er, I mean, the list begin!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">1.</span> "The Ice Is Getting Thinner" - Death Cab for Cutie</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Z.</span> "For Emma" - Bon Iver</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Maroon.</span> "Johnny Sunshine" - Liz Phair</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Pie.</span> "Take a Bow" - Muse</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">-99.</span> "Black Star" - Radiohead</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">6.</span> "A is for Asthma" - Kate Nash</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">23.</span> "23" - Jimmy Eat World</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Aston Villa FC.</span> "The Beatiful Occupation" - Travis</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">C#.</span> "Heirloom" - Bjork</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">10.</span> "Sunshine" - Keane</div><div><br /></div><div>Bonus bonus bonus!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Flapjacks.</span> "A Message" - Coldplay</div><div><br /></div><div>Feh. Coldplay it is. Have some. Have some now!</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2ASVI2jgMWU&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2ASVI2jgMWU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And because I can... FLAPJACK! MAKING FUN OF JAMES "DOUCHE" BLUNT! WHY AM I SHOUTING?</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/K5KwSMka7pM&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/K5KwSMka7pM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>(Did you get this week's theme? Huh? Well, well, aren't you the observant one, my plucky little shellfish!)</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-40356499332098026422009-02-27T13:18:00.005-05:002009-02-27T13:46:46.984-05:00Friday Random Ten: 25 Random Things - "City of Delusion" editionFollowing on a <a href="http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/comments/friday_better_than_25_random_things_positive_sly_the_family_stone_edition/">meme that's been there and back again, saw the movie and hated the ending <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">but then saw the movie again</span></a>... I give unto you the not-annoying-at-all-not-in-the-slightest "Friday 25 Random Things About Me" list! (Clicken the linken for what the hell it all means)<div><br /></div><div>Yes! List!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">1. What do your friends say about you?</span></div><div>"No. 13 Baby" - Pixies</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">2. How would your coworkers describe you?</span></div><div>"Ribcage" - Elbow</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">3. How would you describe yourself?</span></div><div>"Cannonball" - Damien Rice</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">4. What do you like in a romantic partner?</span></div><div>"Too Long Awake" - Idlewild</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">5. How do you feel today?</span></div><div>"We Never Change" - Coldplay</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">6. What is your life's purpose?</span></div><div>"Cath..." - Death Cab for Cutie</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">7. What is your motto?</span></div><div>"Reunion" - Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Gladiator</span> soundtrack)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">8. What do you think about the most?</span></div><div>"Isobel" - Bjork</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">9. What are you going to do on your next vacation?</span></div><div>"One Week" - Barenaked Ladies</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">10. What do you think of your first love/date?</span></div><div>"An Echo, A Stain" - Bjork (zing!)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">11. What is your life story?</span></div><div>"Getchoo" - Weezer</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">12. What did you do yesterday?</span></div><div>"Dead Wrong" - The Fray</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">13. What do you think of when you see the person you like/love?</span></div><div>"Brian Wilson" - Barenaked Ladies</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">14. What describes your wedding?</span></div><div>"Goodbye, Baby" - Richard Gibbs (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Battlestar Galactica</span> miniseries soundtrack)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">15. What will they play at your funeral?</span></div><div>"I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You" - Colin Hay</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">16. What is your obsession?</span></div><div>"Sentimental Guy" - Ben Folds</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">17. What is your biggest fear?</span></div><div>"Midnight Show" - The Killers</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">18. What is your biggest secret?</span></div><div>"Fix You" - Coldplay</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">19. What is your biggest turn-on?</span></div><div>"Pink Triangle" - Weezer (lesbians, FTW!)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">20. How do you describe your friends?</span></div><div>"Futures" - Jimmy Eat World</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">21. What would you do with a million dollars?</span></div><div>"Can't Stop Now" - Keane</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">22. What is your opinion of sex?</span></div><div>"Amsterdam" - Coldplay</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">23. What is your biggest regret?</span></div><div>"Wasteland" - Augustana (actually, I think <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Song of Susannah</span> was the worst of the Dark Tower books - hey, now!)</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">24. What would you rather be doing right now?</span></div><div>"Bodysnatchers" - Radiohead</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">25. What will you post this list as?</span></div><div>"City of Delusion" - Muse</div><div><br /></div><div>Hm. That was amusing, at least. I'm particularly fond of nos. 10, 15 and 19 - ah, iTunes, you really came through for me. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now, let's mark the passing of my first internet meme participation with this lovely video of the fine lads of Muse performing "City of Delusion" live. Enjoy.</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uxLKCHdOtjo&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uxLKCHdOtjo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>thppth.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-10511468303888986352009-02-26T16:38:00.007-05:002009-03-20T13:22:21.148-04:00Annoyances in the Workplace: Part X of Eleventy-Billion and Y<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsxIXqL5HbGhIQhJ-VTUHFNPf5BAgo9Gb_BZ-MI48b25AE0pChUXaBWoLKamv2eT5MBzmEFI98EsarYT7NMUrpTaOgxak8ooMPuXOL-HevQ3AvEv3q0QH6C5-ijqWcg9vVJV9RA/s1600-h/rubber-ducks.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span><img style="text-decoration: underline;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxsxIXqL5HbGhIQhJ-VTUHFNPf5BAgo9Gb_BZ-MI48b25AE0pChUXaBWoLKamv2eT5MBzmEFI98EsarYT7NMUrpTaOgxak8ooMPuXOL-HevQ3AvEv3q0QH6C5-ijqWcg9vVJV9RA/s320/rubber-ducks.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307227571238704690" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Photo courtesy of </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:minion;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://greengabbro.net/">greengabbro.net</a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>Someone in my office - someone of questionable intelligence and/or sanity - has the ring tone on their cellphone set to that of a duck's quack. I shit you not: it is, literally, the sound of a duck quacking. No music, jingle-jangle or anything else. Simply this:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">quack quack quack. quack quack quack.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I just noticed it today, though I think it's been subconsciously plaguing me for a few days. And whoever this person is - if I knew who it was, likely their precious mobile would be sitting at the bottom of the river that runs by my building - gets an absurd amount of phone calls. I've counted eight since I first noticed it, shortly after lunch today.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fucking quacking as your goddamn ring tone. Seriously.</div><div><br /></div><div>I need to invest in some good headphones.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-7520138649590459572009-02-20T10:16:00.003-05:002009-02-20T10:33:35.573-05:00Friday Random Ten: It's sooooo easywhich is why these have been the only posts of late. Oh, sure, I've wanted to post about Neal Stephenson's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anathem-Neal-Stephenson/dp/0061474096">Anathem</a></span>, which I just finished, and I've got that whole "big announcement about my writing, just wait for the new year" thing which I keep putting off... but those are all, like, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">hard</span> and stuff. FRTs are like Skittles. And if you don't know what I mean, then I don't know how we <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">ever</span> communicated.<div><br /></div><div>Anyway. Maestro, ze list!</div><div><br /></div><div>1. "Foundations" - Kate Nash</div><div>2. "Gunshy" - Liz Phair</div><div>3. "Trouble" - Coldplay</div><div>4. "Brian Wilson" - Barenaked Ladies</div><div>5. "Stable Song" - Death Cab for Cutie</div><div>6. "Late" - Ben Folds</div><div>7. "Sunday Best" - Augustana</div><div>8. "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" - The Killers</div><div>9. "Volcano" - Damien Rice</div><div>10. "Wisconsin" - Bon Iver</div><div><br /></div><div>Whoa. That's not a bad list - not a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">great</span> one, mind, but as I've mentioned before, I've never been cool. And I'm okay with that. (No: really!) Anyway, let's see what's behind the mystery bonus door, shall we?</div><div><br /></div><div>11. "No Answers" - AeonSpoke</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, hey now. I daresay this is one of the best FRTs I've ever been a part of. Here, let's make merry with an AeonSpoke video ("Emmanuel" - I couldn't find one for "No Answers"), courtesy of the fine folks over at <a href="http://www.youtube.com">YouTube</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nofQB4Lyg9o&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nofQB4Lyg9o&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div><div><br /></div><div>Happy Friday, folks.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-35303562766070958122009-02-13T10:56:00.003-05:002009-02-13T11:11:35.244-05:00Friday Random Ten: Aaaand, we're backOh, my, but it's been a while since last we played the legendary FRT, hasn't it? Let's us rectify the situation, post haste!<div><br /></div><div>1. "No One's Gonna Love You" - Band of Horses</div><div>2. "Work" - Jimmy Eat World</div><div>3. "Everybody's Changing" - Keane</div><div>4. "In The Garage" - Weezer</div><div>5. "Pain" - Jimmy Eat World</div><div>6. "Sulk" - Radiohead</div><div>7. "Parachutes" - Coldplay</div><div>8. "Death Of An Interior Decorator" - Death Cab for Cutie</div><div>9. "Talking Bird" - Death Cab for Cutie</div><div>10. "Welcome Home" - Idlewild</div><div><br /></div><div>And, as ever, the infamous bonus track that almost always lets me down with its inherent lameosity:</div><div><br /></div><div>11. "Love Will Come Through" - Travis</div><div><br /></div><div>Hardly ever disappointed by the blandness of my music collection, am I. Alas, I am not now, nor have I ever been, cool. And I'm okay with that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here, let's celebrate feeling good about being lame by watching this video of bland adult alternative pap!</div><div><br /></div><br /><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/E8FwefQgieY&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/E8FwefQgieY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>To be fair, this is off the album <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Twelve Memories</span> (2003), which has a number of ditties highly critical of Bush's America, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">plus</span> a song titled "Peace the Fuck Out". So it's not <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">totally</span> lame, only partially so.</div><div><br /></div><div>Huh. Defensive much?</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-72869147612802050522009-02-02T10:51:00.003-05:002009-02-02T10:58:16.852-05:00Gobbler's Knob? Really?Taking a break from self-imposed blog exile (read: been too damn lazy and/or busy IRL to post) to note that <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090202/ap_on_re_us/groundhog_day;_ylt=AsOHl6DATjMvpbMElYQ37cADW7oF">Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Gobbler's Knob today</a>.<div><br /></div><div>Put aside the fact that this supposedly means another 6 weeks of an already stupidly-long winter. Punxsutawney Phil resides on Gobbler's Knob? Really? No: really?</div><div><br /></div><div>I mean... damn, the jokes just write themselves, don't they?</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-52465676633757552372008-11-30T22:41:00.005-05:002008-11-30T22:59:01.906-05:00Winner winner chicken dinnerCheck it:<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274665185860353026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 120px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 238px; TEXT-ALIGN: left" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1I1s7l4YNsVWKjD_TFYr-16ra8TexoMNIGMYrUjwFAyU_z7iuxeuABpm4KkxfmKZGPJ2ynFenL0vupWnE-qiJZNpho__GlcK6puJV_dI4F49P1D4rNrknslcG2rvJ0svEbtTFpg/s320/nano_08_winner_viking_120x238.jpg" border="0" /><br />Boo. And also: yah.<br /><br />I did it. I can't believe it, but I did it. I'm done. 50,000+ words in thirty damn days. (Final, official word count, according to the kind <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoWriMo</a> bots: 51,247)<br /><br />That's like: whoa. (Sorry, but it really is kind of a "I know kung fu" moment)<br /><br />So: that's all. I wanted to revel in the glory of winning this damn thing for the first time. I think I'm going to sleep soon - maybe that will stop the incessant bleeding from the eyes.<br /><br />Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement re: the thing I just got done writing. (Even though I am not <em>quite</em> done with it yet)<br /><br />Boy, this has been a parenthetical post, hasn't it?<br /><br />(FYI: Title comes from <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/410526">cbeard</a>, who got it from some other insane dude. Manky bastards, both.)JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-34366093591749038712008-11-21T10:05:00.003-05:002008-11-21T10:21:16.308-05:00Friday Random Ten: "It's All I Do" editionMaybe I should post something <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">other</span> than FRTs?<div><br /></div><div>Nah. This is how I roll.</div><div><br /></div><div>Teh liste!</div><div><br /></div><div>1. "Birds" - Kate Nash</div><div>2. "The New Year" - Death Cab for Cutie</div><div>3. "Shoebox" - Barenaked Ladies</div><div>4. "Stable Song" - Death Cab for Cutie</div><div>5. "Dead Wrong" - The Fray</div><div>6. "Dickhead" - Kate Nash</div><div>7. "Progeny" - Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard</div><div>8. "Invincible" - Muse</div><div>9. "Prison Food" - Ben Folds</div><div>10. "Getchoo" - Weezer</div><div><br /></div><div>Bonus (no whammies no whammies no whammies):</div><div><br /></div><div>11. "Bled White" - Elliott Smith</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0EZT8uENyDQ&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0EZT8uENyDQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, Elliott. Emo with a brain, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">way</span> before emo was emo. Gone too soon.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-74270876064772340882008-11-14T11:12:00.003-05:002008-11-14T11:37:18.166-05:00Friday Random Ten: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" editionBut this here ain't no <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/foolishconsi.html">foolish consistency</a>, <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/59/6/emersonralph.html">Mr. Emerson</a>. I'm not at all certain that it's a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">wise</span> consistency, but hey: three weeks in a row is, for me, "consistent-with-a-capital-C-and-a-silent-Q" (because having a silent Q makes a word that much more <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">important</span>, you see).<div><br /></div><div>Anyway, put away your hobgoblins, kids. The list (non-Genius-ified, natch):</div><div><br /></div><div>1. "No Answers" - Aeon Spoke</div><div>2. "Two at a Time" - Guster</div><div>3. "Elysium" - Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Gladiator</span> soundtrack)</div><div>4. "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands" - Band of Horses</div><div>5. "Honor Him" - Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Gladiator</span> soundtrack)</div><div>6. "Smoke" - Ben Folds Five</div><div>7. "Thousands Left Behind" - Richard Gibbs (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Battlestar Galactica</span> (2003) soundtrack)</div><div>8. "As if I Hadn't Slept" - Idlewild</div><div>9. "Call and Answer" - Barenaked Ladies</div><div>10. "Marry Song" - Band of Horses</div><div><br /></div><div>And the bonus, FTW (please, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">please </span>FTW):</div><div><br /></div><div>11. "Dozen Wicked Words" - Longpigs</div><div><br /></div><div>Huh. I'm pretty sure that an English band hailed as better than Oasis (and certainly more fucked up than the brothers Gallagher, if that's even possible) doesn't count as full of Win, but ... eh, what the hell. Have some 90s English radio-friendly modern rock.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">"She Said" - Long Pigs:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""> (couldn't find a video for "Dozen Wicked Words", the bastards)</span></div><div><br /></div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/F0dowFS--gE&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/F0dowFS--gE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><div><br /></div><div>Postscript: I have a couple of movie/TV soundtrack albums in my library because I like to listen to them while I write. Movie scores - especially for sci-fi/fantasy films, or anything epic (like <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Gladiator</span>) - actually make for great writing music. So I've found, anyway. YMMV.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, that's why they keep showing up. And, no, I <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">don't</span> know why I felt the need to justify their presence. Maybe I'm a little sensitive, all right? Just back off, man. Back. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Off</span>.</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-19648297964772646932008-11-11T13:50:00.005-05:002008-11-11T14:35:01.295-05:00The stupid. It burns.I'm a regular reader of <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/writers/peter_king/archive/">Peter King</a>'s Monday Morning Quarterback over on <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/">SI.com</a>, have been for a while now. Don't know why, really: his writing and opinions tend toward the facile, there's a tendency on King's part to name-drop till the cows come home (a habit that plagues most sports columnists and commentators), and I don't think I've ever come away from reading one of his columns with significantly more NFL insight than I did going in. For whatever reason, I always read it (both the big column, which appears on Monday mornings, and the so-called "MMQB Tuesday Edition", which is smaller and more of a mailbag, in which King responds to selected reader correspondence and clarifies points made in the big column), and always kinda enjoy it.<div><br /></div><div>Here's the thing: King uses his column as a bit of a personal soapbox, often injecting non-NFL related topics into the big column, be they family matters (like the ongoing saga of his daughter's high school softball team from a few years back) or the news of the day. Earlier in the season, King made the mistake of writing about the election, and started taking all kinds of heat from his readership for it. What he was writing wasn't in any way controversial or inflammatory, but you could pretty much tell King favored Obama for the presidency. I'm assuming that the two are more than a little related.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, King swore off politics in the column for the rest of the election cycle, and he was true to his word. I didn't miss it - like I said, he's not a scintillating commentator, on anything really - but I wouldn't have minded if he'd ignored his readers' protests and kept talking about the election. I mean, Jesus: it's not like it was historical or anything.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, flash-forward to yesterday, when he devotes the <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/11/09/week10/1.html">second page</a> of his online column to talking about Obama's historic victory on 04 November, and the reaction from various players throughout the NFL to the election results. Seems pretty kosher, no? Here's this transformational, generational event in American life - the first time a black man has been elected President of the United States - and King talks about the reaction of various NFL players to said event. This is not controversial, at all. Hey, it's actually kind of like news!</div><div><br /></div><div>But this, apparently, was all the evidence that some of King's readers needed to prove, once and for all, King's libtard tendencies. This email, in particular - reprinted in King's Tuesday column - made me facepalm:</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>"This is the last time I ever read your column, Peter. I got so sick of reading <b>Michael Silver</b>'s liberal opinions that I stopped reading him. You have finally pushed me too far. Electing a black man president is a good thing. Electing Barack Obama president, a closet socialist with questionable ties to terrorists, felons, and racists, well, it's just a sad day for our country. I am permanently through with your column and watching any TV show you are on. Goodbye, Comrade."</blockquote></div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>For people like this asshat, the term "douche" is simply a waste. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senator,_you_are_no_Jack_Kennedy">"Senator, I served with douche: I knew douche; douche was a friend of mine; Senator, you're no douche."</a> Etc.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>I don't feel sorry for King - at least, not for having too-stupid-for-douche-tag readers. I <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">do</span> pity him, having to wade through intellectual atrocities like the email quoted above - read enough of that shit, and your eyes are gonna bleed, no question about it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Almost makes me happy that <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">my</span> readership is, like, nil.<br /></div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8722053.post-50782158553667098052008-11-07T10:47:00.002-05:002008-11-07T11:00:28.572-05:00Friday Random Ten: a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigmaI'm not cool, but I play one on TV.<br /><br />And with that: <span style="font-style:italic;">musique, s'il vous plait!</span><div><br /></div><div>1. "Black Swan" - Thom Yorke</div><div>2. "Joga" - Bjork</div><div>3. "Polaris" - Jimmy Eat World</div><div>4. "Swallowed in the Sea" - Coldplay</div><div>5. "Talking Bird" - Death Cab for Cutie</div><div>6. "Supermassive Black Hole" - Muse</div><div>7. "Winding Road" - Bonnie Sommerville (<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Garden State</span> soundtrack)</div><div>8. "Such Great Heights" - Iron & Wine</div><div>9. "The Old Apartment" - Barenaked Ladies</div><div>10. "Your Eyes Open" - Keane</div><div><br /></div><div>Bonus!:</div><div><br /></div><div>11. "Skeleton Song" - Kate Nash</div><div><br /></div><div>W00t! Kate Nash! Cheeky! More exclamation points, please!</div><div><br /></div><div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NLiPnBERCxQ&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NLiPnBERCxQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10075161914014768822noreply@blogger.com0