It’s really a miscellany today. I was half-tempted to title this 88 lines about 44 links, and maybe even do it in some kind of poetic structure, but fortunately a combination of laziness and good sense prevailed.
- Nice to see that former local (and HGPA-member) Brian O’Malley‘s movie deal is actually happening–at least leads are being cast and a start date for filming is set, which seems to suggest things are much more real than the usual “optioned and a director set” thing. Actually going to film should bring Mal a nice payoff. (I have no particular hopes for the movie itself–the books are pretty uniquely comics, so whatever the movie is, it will be something else.)
- While I am two years older than my wife, and the basement bar thing does particularly sting, I think we’re quite a bit happier than the couple in “I Guess You’ll Do“. I do see some acquaintances in there, though.
- I was very confused to see an article describing how a Japanese astronaut threw a boomerang “in space” and it still returned. I was confused because I had been certain that the boomerang flight path was very much a function of curvature and differential air flow rates, and I didn’t see how any of that would work in the vaccuum of space. Well, it turns out that the first article is quite misleading, since “in space” apparently means “inside a negligible-gravity, but still pressurized, portion of the ISS”. New Scientist points this out, as well as noting that actually in space the boomerang would behave just like any other space junk. I am left wondering why anyone thought the story was news–boomerang works in air is pretty much “dog bites man”, isn’t it?.
- I am heartily amused by the FSM statue on a Tennessee court house lawn. Especially that its presence is officially sanctioned, and not a “three students in the middle of the night” prank.
- I love “bookmarklets” generally–my browser’s link bar has ones that let me do all kinds of things that interact with various services on the internet. However, the annoyance zapping ones provided freely at SquareFree have just made my day–just the one that will turn any site into “black text on white” is enough to make my day. The others are rich tasty gravy. Import them all, put them in a dropdown submenu off your links bar, and enjoy.
- I think it’s kind of funny that the Western Standard‘s print edition went out of business
It’s still an online magazine–one of the many I read from all different points on the political spectrum–I like to think it gets in fights with The New Socialist and Z , but I don’t think it’s funny AT ALL that they had to spend one thin dime, much less “over a hundred thousand dollars” defending their right to publish some cartoons. I feel a rant about how “freedom of speech” trumps “freedom from being offended” any day of the week. - For fans of The Wire: classic one-upmanship.
- Schneier tries to explain the twisted mindset of the security professional. Percival says mathematicians are also twisted. I get what he’s saying, but I don’t think any of the pure math folks I know would have come up with the “paint someone else’s stuff with Smart Water” thing. “Is this true everywhere” is not the same thing as “what are the unintended consequences and how can I exploit them”.
- I remember an interview where Tom Waits said “I can’t have a dog in the house, because I am a dog.” Which makes this all the funnier.
- I am ready for a 750,000 word Alan Moore novel. Especially if it comes three volumes in a slipcase. (As an aside, I don’t think the Inside Out East web site actually has this interview up yet–am I missing something)?
- Yeah, I feel for the athletes who would miss their shot at the Olympics, but I kind of don’t think we should be going. (I’d be forced to say the same thing if it were in the U.S. this year, although I suspect that would be a much less commonly held position.)
- If I get my tax return (assuming that I will actually get money back this year–unlike the last three years, each of which had a nasty, nasty surprise for me in April) before they sell out, I think I would like to buy one of these James Jean artifacts.
- Jeff Heer, writing a review of David Haju’s The Ten-Cent Plague gives as concise a summary of the Werthamite effect on comics history as I’ve ever read.
- It’s a funny ad, but I think Virgin might have overestimated the number of Canadians who will recognize Spitzer.
- Boy, Golden Age Comic Book Stories is just a never-ending cornucopia, isn’t it?
- If Mytopia would just add a faux-Scrabble game, maybe people would stop telling me to get on Facebook so I could play Scrabulous with them. (Note: I am not joining. I am Luddite in this respect.)
- Checked out Charles Vess’s blog this month? The early March posting where he details, with copious photos, the process of working on the latest giant statue, is pure gold.
- The “inside story” of how the CBC came to release a show via BitTorrent (as mentioned here).
- Visit Dorian’s post to collect some brilliantly remixed vintage posters–remixed into commentary on the ridiculous drama that sometimes erupts in message board culture. In this case it’s the comics blogosphere under the crosshairs, but there is a much larger applicability to the sentiments.
- I wish I could laugh right in the face of the death magician. On TV. More than once.
- I’m sticking with atheism, but I would totally buy swag from the First Church of Galactus. I bet Coop could make a wicked hood ornament to express solidarity with that church.
- I used the term “church key” in a casual conversation last week, and the people I was talking too had no idea what I was talking about. Wikipedia comforts me that I am not making this up.
- How to frame the Fundy-vs-Science debate.
- Speaking of atheism and religion, I know we atheists are supposed to be immoral or amoral or something, so my opinion on this might we way off, but I’ve got say–when you start talking about hanging children from trees in order to “deter” their parents, you kind of lose your moral high ground, you know?
- Yup, that’s some freaky shit. Attention Mike Drake–this link is for you.
- Also for Mike: The NYT has Al Jaffee fold-ins from Mad Magazine, that you can fold online.
- I think my reaction to this story, about scientists and chimp, is almost exactly the reaction I’d have to a story about child abuse.
- Well, that pretty much tops any story I had from my end of high school, post graduation party. And then some.
Well, that will close some of the tabs.
