Another Linkdump

I'm rooting for the Girl Genius Kickstarter to hit at least $220,000 so I'll get all the wallpapers (and see a video of Phil and Kaja fainting).

This is a great 3-minute video from space, and the Canadian Space Agency has other neat videos with Chris Hadfield as well. If you've only seen his music video, you haven't seen anything.

Boing Boing has a great video from when the New Zealand parliament voted for marriage equality.

We've all gone a bit far with our fear of terrorism. Check out Act of Terror, a seven-minute documentary about videotaping police and getting in trouble for it.

I'm not sure I'm willing to try any of these 9 exercises you can do with your cats. Inkwell might shred me.

A software company had an awesome idea of how to handle piracy.

Linkdump

Must. Not. Giggle.

These are a bit like Cheese Zombies. I wouldn't mind giving this a try.

XKCD's "Time" cartoon is still going.

Wouldn't it be nice if this panned out? But we've dreamed of cheap, environmentally safe fuel forever. I don't see it happening.

I love history. How filing was done in the seventeenth century.

Oooh, the One Ring actually exists!

Around the Corner, a nine and a half minute video that explains how differential gears work.

Carole Ann Ford looks back at Doctor Who.

Shedding Light on the Black Death... a re-examination of the plague that killed millions based on a new graveyard discovery.

Now that it's well past, I find it easier to read this first-person account of the Boston Marathon bombing.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Doctor Who: "The Name of the Doctor" - Um. Whoa. This episode succeeded in part thanks to the supporting cast. In particular, I was very upset when (SPOILER ALERT!)Jenny died(END SPOILER), and Strax was a kick in the pants. I think Strax quotes will be floating around on the internet as some of the best Doctor Who quotes for many years to come. As for that ending... well. I guess it must be the 50th anniversary. Yeah. I think that's a big clue to a big kind of story coming down the line. And we have to wait until November. It's going to be a long wait.


• Downton Abbey: Season 1, Episode 6, UK version - Well, I knew Sybil was headed toward getting her head smashed in, I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly. Thomas and O'Brien are just nasty, but Bates' horrible secret is out. And Bates makes it clear that he's been around for two years, which means the series has taken place over two years so far! Is Daisy finally getting a clue? As for Mary, she's much more likeable in this episode than in previous ones. But I still think Matthew is an idiot if he marries her.

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My library book this week was The Alpine Christmas by Mary Daheim. As Christmas draws near, body parts are found in the river, so the sheriff must figure out who the victim is and if there is any danger to the people of Alpine... all with the help of the local newspaper publisher, Emma Lord, of course! This one wasn't quite as good as the first two books, but still held my attention all the way through. Again, if it weren't for Vida and her regular info-dumps, the readers (and Emma) would often have to say, "huh?" because the cast of characters is the entire town. Anyway, the mystery gets a lower grade from me in this one while the interaction between characters was great, as usual. Now to look for the next book... I guess it's safe to say I'm going to read as much of the series as I can. Daheim is already up to "X" in the alphabet. If you want to start the series, I strongly recommend starting at the first book, The Alpine Advocate.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Apr 17th
• Justice League #19 - Not enough Aquaman for me, especially after the crossover. Interesting twist in the Shazam story.
• DC Universe Presents #19 - Well, that was sort of an Aquaman appearance...
• Green Lantern: New Guardians #19 - It's still not having much of an impact on me. Perhaps the next book will finish this nonsense crossover.
• Batman Beyond Unlimited #15 - I hope the appearance of the Justice League in the Superman Beyond story is good news. Nice cliffhanger, at any rate. The art in the Justice League Beyond story is awful. And Batman Beyond is getting along nicely.
• JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skill #5 - While I'm beginning to figure out what this book is about on its own terms, I'm still wondering what it has to do with the JSA or the DC Universe.
• Fables #128 - I really don't like Brandish. I mean, really.
• Doctor Who V3 #8 - The baddie didn't seem as scary in this as in the TV story. But it was still a bit frightening. Eh. Tolerable.
• Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #4 - Fun little story, even if the solution was pretty much obvious from almost the beginning. Nice appearance of the Judoon, but I'm not sure they would be so likely to just forgive Leela at the end, there...
• Hoax Hunters #9 - This is a flip book, one side showing the episode that the TV show aired, the other side showing what happened behind the scenes. I read the show side first and was mildly confused for a moment until I remembered what was happening. Then I was just amused.
• Apr 24th
• Steed and Mrs Peel #7 - Yikes. I figured the villain out and the whole thing pretty quickly, but yeah, yikes. Nicely presented. Particularly that final panel.
• Arrow #6 - I liked the football one. Timely and poignant. Nice how it twisted expectations slightly.
• Superman Family Adventures #12 - Oh yeah, Aquaman!
• Peanuts V2 #8 - Some good stuff in this one.

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Fortean Times #296 (February 2013). Cover is cute in a retro sort of way, but not really my thing. The cover story itself also didn't do much for me, being about reports of sex with aliens. Some of it really kinky. All of it a bit TMI for my tastes.

Another article is about artwork by Aleister Crowley. Again, I'm not much interested in the guy... but a couple of the piece of reproduced art weren't entirely crap. Just mostly crap.

Another article talks about Victorian ghost hunting mobs, a strange sort of flashmob that developed when reports of ghosts started to get out to the public. It was an interesting variation on public entertainment. But then, when you've got nothing better to do, it probably seems fun to go hunt ghosts with a few hundred of your closest friends.

The gem of the articles in this one is a piece on Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan and fascinating character himself. In 30 years of life he had a greater impact that many writers together had over longer lifetimes. His story is heartbreaking but terribly predictable, and the article sets as many facts straight as can be set. I just can't help but wish Howard had lived a longer life and knew how many people his barbarian actually touched.

Strangedays starts with sasquatch and the Bounty, and has a photo page of edible medical goodies. There's a report of a real superhero and talking animals. There's an interesting story of a carrier pigeon's bones and final message found in a chimney that hadn't been cleaned in a long time, and how its coded message may finally be decoded.

The 2012 Watch is about locations where people tend to wait out the end of the world. This one delves into history and so is far more interesting than most of these pieces have been. The Science piece is about camel spiders and attempts to dispel some myths that have built up about the creature. Ghostwatch is about phantom monks. Alien Zoo is about cats and birds. Archaeology has a bit about an Orkney Isles Neolithic temple site recently discovered and another bit about secret symbols found on Stonehenge (using a laser-scan survey).

Classical Corner is about fame and the desire for it. The UFO Files mentions Gary McKinnon, who hacked into U.S. military servers to try to find the truth about UFOs, but instead got accused of being a spy. Fortunately for him, he no longer faces the possibility of extradition to the U.S. for his cyber-crimes. The Illustrated Police News is about the fighting ghost of Tondu.

The Forum is taken up with an article about the gloso, a church grim that takes the form of a giant pig and, according to Swedish legend, can give a person the gift of foresight if a certain ritual is performed involving it on Christmas day. The bad thing is that the gloso is fire-breathing and has giant tusks and you might get killed if it doesn't like the way you've done the ritual. Oops.

Lots of great reviews, including one of Manimal, a series I vaguely recall watching for at least of couple of the eight episodes it ran. The Reverend's Review almost makes me want to watch a horror film (no, I'm not a fan of horror in any media). The letters are great, with the usual awesome corrections and neat stories. The first-hand account of seeing the Minnesota Iceman and the story of the sealed room were particularly fascinating to me. Another good issue.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

CSA

We got our first CSA of the year today. Used some chive flowers in tonight's pasta dish.

In case you can't read the newsletter in the picture, we go to Heavenly Hills Harvest Farms to get our organic and utterly unfamiliar produce. I just hope we can figure out what to do with most of it. For the record, we got Purple Orach, Swiss Chard (yum!), Cilantro, Sorrel, Leeks, "Red Dragon Stirfry Blend", "Spring Green Salad Mix", Dill, Sage, Sage Flowers, Arugula Flowers, Chives (with flowers) and Tarragon.

And I honestly do not know what to do with most of it. We decided to try the chive flowers tonight since it seemed a) obvious and b) simple. They were good. I would like to get some potatoes to bake so I can put sour cream and chives on them... yummm.

Any advice on how to use any of the stuff is welcome. As long as it's easy.

A Sunday Review

Recommendations are always welcome. Pop a note into the comments if you can think of a movie/TV show/book/comic you think I might enjoy.

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TV this week:

• Doctor Who: "Nightmare in Silver" - I do not find (SPOILER ALERT!)Cybermen(END SPOILER) scary. After watching this, I still don't. This was a Gaiman story, with the whole internal debate thing going, which reminded by of Tegan's battles in Kinda. It was also mildly annoying that, in the end, it was the obvious inaccessible plot device that saved the day. I didn't figure out (SPOILER ALERT!)who Porridge was(END SPOILER), but the reveal was pretty good. Overall, not as good as last week's episode, but not too bad.
• Downton Abbey: Season 1, Episode 5, UK version - Wow, I don't know who has it worst in this episode. I love how Bates and Anna turned the tables on Thomas and O'Brien. And more great acting between Dame Maggie Smith and Harriet Jones, Prime Minister. In fact, the conclusion to the bit between Violet and Isobel was simply fantastic. Smith does an incredible job of displaying her emotions through her eyes. The subplot with the cook was also very well done. And I see Mary's life as a train headed for a blown-up bridge. She's not going to like her future.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Apr 10th
• Green Lantern Corps #19 - Nice little trick there. But I'm still trying to figure out when this series of annoying crossovers will finally be over. Is there another one after this?
• Saucer Country #14 - Um. Wow. Ok, this is a series I'm going to have to go back and read from the start. Then maybe all the threads will pull together and I'll figure out what happened.
• Doctor Who Classics #2 - That was a really silly story.
• NFL Rush Zone #1 (Seahawks variant) - Pretty much as bad as I was afraid it was going to be. All books about licensed sports teams tend to have some of these same failings, and this one is not good. It's not a book I will be seeking out.
• The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West Ongoing #6 - I've enjoyed this book from the start. Solid art, good reimagining of the stories. This one surprised me by being even better than the ones before it. I'm really liking this very strange version of Oz.
• Mind Mgmt #1 - Very interesting premise. This is another #1 for $1 we picked up from Dark Horse Comics. I can't decide if I want to spend time and money to find more issues to read or not, but I did enjoy the book.
• Spongebob Comics #19 - Great Mermaid Man story! The various costumes were a hoot.
• Snow Angel - I don't recall ordering this, but it was definitely on my order. And it's very cute. A bit strange, but cute. I actually think I enjoyed the rhyming tale at the end more than the main feature, but not by a lot.

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Fortean Times #295 (January 2013). Steampunk! Now, there's an appealing cover! Let's just have variations on this cover for me for the next few issues... no? Oh well. At least I'm finally into 2013 by the US edition's cover dates (in the UK this is Dec 2012). The cover story examines the origins of steampunk, both as a genre and as a style. I love the aesthetics and have often thought of combining the Victorian steampunk with elements of either Egyptian or Mezoamerican hieroglyphics to create an amalgam. I think my steampunk stories would be set in a world where both those cultures had survived in secret to rival the Victorian England domination. But I digress into fantasy that I'll probably never write, so back to the magazine.

Another article in this issue is the second part of the Hexham heads examination and another one on a guy who has been researching the heads and other Fortean subjects for a long time.

Strangedays starts with a meteorite statue that was stolen by the Nazis and a giant eyeball found on a beach in Florida. One beautiful story was about a squid hunt in which a prize was to be awarded to the fisherman who caught the biggest squid... but the only squid captured was just one centimeter long, due to poor weather during the competition (compared to 61 cm the previous year).

The 2012 Watch is just so ridiculous, pointing people to a website of utter silliness, that it's hard to even read the summary of it. Oh, yeah, and some predictions supposedly by Mother Shipton (1488-1561) whose papa was the devil... only the predictions, that believers said referred to 2012, were fakes dreamed up in the 1800s.

The Science section has some Lamarckian experimentation and opposing research by Darwin believers in the Soviet Union back in the day that indicate domestication of wild animals may be a quicker process than originally thought. Ghostwatch has a bit about horror writers being haunted for real. Alien Zoo revisits the Tasmanian wolf/tiger again. Archaeology is about ancient rock art... the oldest rock art. Classical Corner is about Saturnalia. Konspiracy Korner asks why we like conspiracy theories. Among several other stories, the UFO Files has some really disturbing pictures of animal mutilations. Blasts from the Past has tales of stone rains, even inside homes. Random Dictionary is about weird weather. Illustrated Police News is about Vincent De Groof, the flying (or rather, falling) man.

The Forum starts with an exasperated look at the British media's coverage of the Essex Lion and continues with more about out-of-place big cats in the British Isles. Some high ratings in the reviews, including a Doctor Who book "The Doctor's Monsters" that got a 9 out of 10. There's a movie called "Cockneys vs Zombies" that actually gets a 7 out of 10 rating and sounds like a fun popcorn movie. The letters are ok this month. And "it happened to me..." featured a story about Dennis Hopper experiencing a UFO while stoned. Yeah, whatever. Fun issue.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

I Got Yer Gatsby Right Here!

Hi, everybody. Eric here, with a rare post. Laura and I frequently laugh at The Colbert Report. But we laughed a whole lot at this. It has some of our favorite things in it, like people being silly and Carey Mulligan and...a special secret guest star. Please, enjoy!

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Doctor Who: "The Crimson Horror" - That was more like it. I still feel like there's something subtly wrong with the season, but this episode felt more "on" than any of the others since the Christmas special. Ada was very good, as was Mrs. Gillyflower, of course. And I really did love the bit at the end with Clara and the kids. Heh. Previews for next week look promising, even if I'm not a big fan of the big bad for the episode.


• Downton Abbey: Season 1, Episode 3, UK version - I realized after watching the episode that it had been spoiled for me when I first heard about the show. However, the time since then and the fact that I didn't connect the character in question with the spoilers meant I was completely shocked by what happened. I also enjoyed the bit with Mr. Bates trying to cure his limp. For the record, I set up Amazon Prime to work through our Wii console, and there is no lag there. However, it means I am limited to the TV connected to the Wii, which is annoying. Ah, technology!
• Downton Abbey: Season 1, Episode 4, UK version - Oh, poor Daisy! Still, that's minor compared to some of the other heartbreaks going on in the show. Mary acts like she doesn't have a soul sometimes. Sybil... I can't imagine what's going to happen with her, but I can tell a set up when I see one. And it was interesting how Violet scored one against Isobel (aka, Dame Maggie Smith smacked down Harriet Jones, Prime Minister). I admit it, I'm addicted and happy about it.


• Young Justice: "Summit" - Oh finally! That ties up a LOT of the loose ends right there. And still one major threat left. Wowza. This was good.
• Young Justice: "Endgame" - ... Way to go out with a bang. This was deeply disturbing and yet amazingly good. As a series, this was one of the best cartoons I've seen in a long time. I wish they'd made a third season, but if it had to end, this wasn't a horrible ending. Wow.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Apr 3rd
• Earth 2 #11 - That's actually a pretty good origin for Dr. Fate, and certainly harkens back to the Golden Age tradition of heroes inspiring other heroes.
• World's Finest #11 - Ha, I know of many UFO nuts who would love to get into that database. I like the joke about science fiction writers.
• Green Lantern #19 - This issue would have much more of an impact if I thought that any of the changes were going to remain. As it is, I feel a yawn coming on.
• Smallville Season 11 #12 - Not too horrible. I feel like what's been happening in the comic is better than the last season of the show I saw, but that's really not saying much.
• The Massive #1 - We picked this up from the #1 for $1 program by Dark Horse, mostly because of Brian Wood's name on the cover. After finishing it, I'm inclined to go hunt out more issues, so the program worked.

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Fortean Times #294 (December 2012). It's the Hallowe'en special! The only colors on the cover are orange and black. And the cover photo features kids in creepy masks. The cover story has a number of old photos of really creepy and apparently homemade masks. Disturbing and kind of sad.

Another main article is about the Hexham Heads. This was another one I knew almost nothing about, certainly not the incredible details in this version of the story. I mean, were-sheep? Wow. Some strange stuff in this one.

There's a lovely article on Paul the Octopus, who correctly predicted the outcomes of eight games in the 2010 World Cup. It's a fun look at the event and a documentary made about Paul and how his predictions may have actually affected the outcome of the games. Good stuff, very Fortean.

Strangedays has a snippet of a possible Gnostic gospel that refers to Jesus' wife that could be a forgery, a WWII era gas mask discovered in a home that had the current owner's name on it, an image of a fire tornado, and the death of a bigfoot impersonator (struck by a car). There's also a bit about that horrible "restoration" job an old woman did on a painting of Christ. Another piece cover the annoying practice of lovers putting their names on padlocks and then fastening the padlocks to bridge railings and throwing away the keys... which eventually causes damage to the bridge railing if enough idiots do the same thing.

The 2012 Watch has a celebrity's beliefs on what would happen on the fateful day of 2012 when the world is supposed to end. Science asks whether or not plants feel pain ("I hear the screams of the vegetables"). Ghostwatch has a couple of stories, and the image illustrating the first one is a stone angel so I had a Doctor Who flashback while rereading about the Highgate vampire, of all things. Alien Zoo properly identifies an internet picture of a cryptid and also talks about a couple of other animals. The Illustrated Police News has a bit on a white gorilla.

Archaeology has the story of "Doggerland," now buried underwater but once populated by a lot of folks who eventually had to flee the rising waters to live on England and mainland Europe. There's also a spooky piece about skeletons that are composites of several individuals, apparently put together long after the deaths and reburied. Yikes. Classical Corner is about eclipses. Konspiracy Korner is about conspiracy theorists and the use of the name "conspiracy theorist" to discredit people. Sort of. That feature is never so straightforward. The UFO files talks about the possibility of UFOs being living creatures. Fortean Bureau of Investigation is about Weird Weekend in Devon.

The Forum has an article about a ghost that turned out to be a homeless guy living in a spare room in secret. Another forum article is about the popularity of ghost hunting on TV, particularly shows like Most Haunted and how real science can be applied to hunting for spooks. A third article is about "death tourism," when people visit the graves of celebrities or, worse, the sites where murdered people were discovered. The article investigates the motivations of the trips and asks whether they are ghoulish or a way of paying respect to the dead.

Reviews have some books and movies that look very interesting and I may have to check out. The letters have some interesting refutations of previous articles. I love the self-correcting nature of Fortean Times... the audience is smart and will make sure the editors hear about it if a mistake is made. Some good stories in "it happened to me..." as usual. Not a bad issue at all.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

Cat update

Inkwell the cat and I are moving into a new phase of our relationship. We have gotten past the whole "Oh my goodness, I have a cat!" and "Oh my goodness, I have a human!" thing, and now we're moving into the "Human really doesn't like being bitten" phase.

I have tried numerous methods to discourage Inky from biting, but nothing worked. Yesterday as he started to chomp down on my finger, I instead pushed my finger down into his mouth, so he couldn't do his "crunch" thing. He gagged and jumped away, looking startled. Then he carefully came back over and licked my finger cautiously. No bites.

Later on in the evening, same playing time, he started to bite and I simply gave him more of my finger than he could handle. Again, he jumped back, gagging a little. Again he seemed apologetic and licked my finger to make up for it.

This morning, once more. We were wrestling, he started to bite. Instead of pulling away, like I used to do, I again pushed my finger further in his mouth. Again he backed off, looking startled. He didn't lick me this time, but he seemed a little annoyed. He started to mouth off at me, loudly enough that Eric yelled from downstairs, "What are you doing to that cat?" Funnily enough, I wasn't even touching him. But Inkwell was complaining very loudly that I wasn't playing the game right. I was supposed to pull away so he could chase and nip me. And he didn't appreciate this change.

I arrived home for lunch a few minutes ago and Inkwell wanted to wrestle. So we tussled a little and he started to lean in for the bite... and thought better of it. He swatted me a few more times before getting up and heading off to say he was done, but no bites. We'll just have to see how long it lasts before he starts to bite me and get a mouthful of finger again.

Update: This afternoon I came home and played with him again, and again he tried to bite. I did the finger in the mouth trick and he backed off and like this morning he complained bitterly that I wasn't playing by the rules and he didn't like it. Later, I fell asleep on the floor (don't ask) after playing with him for a bit. He woke me up with a CHOMP on my arm. *sigh* Still gotta work on it.

The view from the dentist chair

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Doctor Who: "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" - Every episode this season I've felt let down a little. I'm not sure why. This one bothered me a bit too, and again, I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's just trying too hard to be too much, instead of concentrating on telling a good story. It's not that it's bad, I would watch Doctor Who over just about any other show, still. Anyway, a decent episode with more elements of the overall plot. But it's just missing... something.


• Downton Abbey: Season 1, Episode 1, UK version - I figured it was about time to take advantage of the Amazon Prime I bought, and so I watched this first episode to see what all the fuss is about. It was ok, well acted with a tight script. I was annoyed at the streaming from Amazon, lots of delays and a tendency for the sound and picture to get out of sync. The show itself seems like a standard soap opera/drama, but I suppose I'll probably watch more of it.
• Downton Abbey: Season 1, Episode 2, UK version - Until I figure out how to get rid of the lag, it's going to be very annoying watching anything on Amazon streaming. However, despite the frequent interruptions to get the video and audio back in sync, the story was lovely. Particularly Carson's revelation, but also the Not-"Harriet Jones, Prime Minister," showing her steel against Dame Maggie Smith. Yes, everything is a Doctor Who reference to me, deal with it.


• Young Justice: "Complications" - Revenge certainly came in handy for Megan. As for Nightwing, I wonder what he's going to do with his knowledge. He really needs a little help.
• Young Justice: "The Hunt" - Um, yay? That doesn't seem like much of a victory. I'm beginning to wonder if the series will end on a status quo, or if all the many plot threads will get resolved.
• Young Justice: "Intervention" - Ah, this was another good one. I love when the history of a character gets explored, and this one does a little exploring. Now, if only I knew what was happening with Kaldur.

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The Hunger Games. I read the books some time ago, and found them a fascinating dystopian vision. I figured the movie would be horrible compared to the books, or at least far more difficult to endure. And I was right. Very very difficult to watch. And surprisingly good. I don't know if I could tolerate the sequels. I still haven't forgiven the third book for... a particular plot element that essentially made the whole point of Katniss' efforts moot, in a way. There was, in the movie, a lot of the essential bits left out. The reason for Haymitch's determination to drink himself into oblivion, for instance, is implied but never quite spelled out like in the book. Still, I'm afraid I really got into it. I'm not sure I wanted to get into it, but I did, and I mostly enjoyed the viewing experience although it left me disturbed, again, by both the premise and what I know will be coming in the future for the main characters.

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Fortean Times #293 (November 2012). Hate hate hate the cover. I didn't know the case the cover story is referring to (thus exposing some of the gaps in my Fortean knowledge) but the story got me up to speed. The case inspired a movie, and the cover of the magazine is basically the movie promo poster. Yuck.

Because the case was a poltergeist (aka a noisy ghost), the other main articles in this issue are about poltergeists. Most of them are better than the cover story, which isn't exactly a promo for the movie but comes a little too close for my comfort. The Science section is about the science of poltergeists. The Ghostwatch section is about, yup, poltergeists. You could certainly say this is a poltergeist issue.

Strangedays has a report of a lion sighting in Essex and some good pictures of more crop "glyphs" (because they aren't just circles anymore!). There's also a bit about a black fox and a (I'm not making this up) meter-long creature dubbed a 'Trouser Snake' found in the Amazonian rainforest. The Illustrated Police News is about a Welsh hermit with a menagerie of animals. Fortean Traveller is about Cambodian monks.

The 2012 Watch is about a nearly incomprehensible doomsday prophet and religious 'new agers' who also predict doom. Alien Zoo has a recreation of the famous "Thunderbird photo" and also talks about snakes that spit rocks and a supposed stuffed Thunderbird in a Canadian town. Archaeology has bits on mediaeval underwear, a woman buried with a cow, ancient importation of olives and stone warriors that pre-date the terra cotta warriors of China. Classical Corner is about Roman newspapers, or the equivalent thereof. Konspiracy Korner is about the "one world government" conspiracy. The UFO files has a story about a video game promotion during the Olympics that suggested an alien invasion was taking place... silly season indeed.

The Fortean Dictionary is about levitation. The Forum starts with the tale of the Satori deer and moves on to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea in Devon. The reviews are a fun read, as usual and the letters help to answer some mysteries from previous issues as well as give chills with references to Lovecraft. The stories in "it happened to me..." were excellent as well.

Yet another good issue of the best magazine available. As long as you don't take it too seriously. And I'll note, I'm kind of summarizing the magazine, but I'm barely touching the surface of what actually in each issue. By the way, I order my copy through IMS, although I love digital, I like reading magazines in paper form still. I'm also still very far behind in my reviewing, but if I can keep up the pace (no promises) I should be caught up and going back to monthly reviews of this magazine in late June or early July.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

Toga Cat

I think Inkwell is getting a little tired of me throwing a towel over him and yelling, "Toga cat rules the house!"

A Sunday Review

Recommendations are always welcome. Pop a note into the comments if you can think of a movie/TV show/book/comic you think I might enjoy.

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TV this week:

• Doctor Who: "Hide" - The title says nothing about this story and doesn't really have all that much to do with it, either. The story creates a fantastic atmosphere of terror. The visuals did a great job conveying the sheer fear of all the characters. But the plot doesn't seem to hold together very well, with dangling strings and strange time compression and decompression. Then there's the question of what happens to the ghost and her hitchhikers after all else is said and done. This is the second episode in a row that ends on... not exactly a cliffhanger, but without a proper resolution. I don't know whether I like it or not.
• Young Justice: "The Fix" - Oh wow, finally Nightwing learns what really happened and Kaldur gets some help. And that final word from Impulse on the Blue Beetle... my oh my. I wonder if that means something other than what we would hope it means?
• Young Justice: "The Runaways" - Oh crap. There's an interesting group of super-friends. And Blue Beetle... ouch. I wonder if Impulse suspected? This is a disturbing turn of fate.
• Young Justice: "War" - Nice way to bring in other parts of the DCU. But I wonder what the Earth's reaction to the fleet will be? And, what exactly is Savage up to with that suggestion? Only five more episodes to go.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Mar 20th
• Steed and Mrs Peel #6 - Ok, so is it time travel or something else entirely going on?
• Justice League of America #2 - On the one hand, I'm glad they are making Vibe self-aware of his own lameness, but on the other hand, I sure hope he gets a better showing than this in the future. Definitely NOT enjoying this version of the Martian Manhunter.
• Justice League #18 - Aquaman is still there? Huh. I think I need to read Aquaman now. Otherwise, a lot of little interesting bits. And the back-up story is getting interesting again, too.
• Green Lantern: New Guardians #18 - Not torturing, not able to. This is kind of pathetic in a fanboyish sort of way. I'm not sure what to make of it.
• Batman Beyond Unlimited #14 - Pretty good Batman story, I thought. Superman story is getting nicely complicated. But I'm not sure about the Justice League story's artwork, bleah.
• JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skill #4 - Yeah, I don't much like circuses. This isn't helping.
• Fables #127 - Ooh, this one really builds up nicely to a great final page. There's still a little bit of the backstory I don't get (what's up with the Blue Fairy? No, don't tell me, I'll catch up eventually). Nice appearance by Ozma.
• Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #3 - Decent third Doctor story, and we finally get a better glimpse of what is taking the companions away at the end of each tale. Looking forward to the next one.
• Mar 27th
• The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West Ongoing #5 - I'm beginning to really like this version of Jack Pumpkinhead. And to think I wouldn't like it at all.
• Aquaman #18 - Several interesting threads in this one. I'm most interested to see if Mera ever resolves her issues with the surface folk, though that thread has been interrupted now. The Tula twist is a very different take on her... I'm really quite interested to see what else is different in the Nu52.
• Arrow #5 - The fact that there are three stories in each of these means there's often a jump, but it's a good kind of anthology, to read about the same characters. I'm enjoying the show and enjoying the book. Didn't think that was possible.
• Superman Family Adventures #11 - Aw yeah, Ma Kent!
• Doctor Who V3 #7 - As soon as I saw the shadows, I knew what the cosmonauts were up against. Wow. Surprisingly powerful imagery, left over from the show. Good stuff.
• Powers: Bureau #3 - I can't remember the last time I read two issues of this book so close together. It reads pretty good without months between books.
• Peanuts V2 #7 - Still a surprisingly good book.

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My library book this week was The Alpine Betrayal by Mary Daheim. Granny Gjovaag got me interested in this mystery series featuring a newspaper publisher in a small town in Washington state that no longer exists. This is the second book in the series and is about a local girl who has become a movie star returning to her home town to make a movie... only there are some skeletons in the closet that are not willing to rest. Like the first book, the cast of characters is bewildering, but our guide through it all is Vida, the local historian, sort of, who works with the main character, Emma Lord, at the newspaper. Because Emma is new to town, Vida does regular info dumps that move the story along and refresh the situation for the reader. This is a useful little device that works pretty well throughout the story. Unlike the first book, I had the suspect pegged fairly quickly. The whole thing came together like a jigsaw puzzle, but the ending was satisfying. If you want to learn more about the real Alpine, check out this story of one man's search for the place.

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Fortean Times #292 (October 2012). Cover story is about M.R. James, a writer of ghost stories. Off the top of my head I could not tell you if I've ever read or heard any of James' stories, but the article was fascinating. I love articles about writers, especially ones I have yet to discover... although I fear his work may be too intense for my nightmare-prone imagination. Some good stuff in this one.

A second article covers the non-existence of hoop snakes, a beast seen in America that can't possibly exist but still has sightings. I love the advice at the end of the article, which sum up a lot of cryptids and just about every movie monster: It doesn't exist but run if you see one.

Another article is about baetyls, stones that fell from the sky and were worshipped as gods, or as representatives of gods and goddesses. It lists many examples and explains the ways they were worshipped. Many of them were thought to be carved in heaven and sent to earth as a gift from the gods... thus earning them their places of honor.

Strangedays is the usual jumble, and includes some follow-ups. There's a bit about giant spiders and yet more freakin' cannibals. There's also a jellyfish round up, including a couple of pieces of aerial jellyfish. Another piece is about the sounds that Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) makes.

The 2012 Watch talks about guesses that the Earth's magnetic field would flip, and maybe even the sun's magnetic field. Science discusses the Higgs bosun and what it means to the theories of the universe. Ghostwatch is about a fire destroying a haunted house that had also been a landmark. Alien Zoo discusses a couple of lonely survivors of species that recently died after long lives in captivity. Archaeology has some prehistoric rock art, vandalism to an ancient standing stone and a new discovery in Wales of an ancient timber structure.

Classical Corner is about ancient physiognomy, where character traits supposedly reflected a person's physical traits, most notably the face. Konspiracy Korner is about JFK. The UFO Files mentions an intriguing case of a missing flier whose last words over the radio were "A strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again. It is hovering and it's not an aircraft." The Fortean Traveller visits Germany is search of Rosicrucians.

The Fortean Bureau of Investigation talks about Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), a condition which may or may not exist. I'll ignore the actual article for a moment and put forward my own personal pet theory (MOPPeT) which is that some folks are sensitive to electromagnetic fields, but not in the way they think they are, and that 99 percent of the complaints are psychosomatic. I think a high enough EMF can trigger electrical synapses in the brain which can have odd effects, but it's really rare. I don't think the tests on EMF's effects on humans have studied the right things (though I could be wrong and I welcome correction) in the right way to prove me right or wrong, and I honestly can't think of a way to test it that would work in a repeatable way, making the issue very Fortean indeed. I expect smarter folks than I will someday sort the whole issue out. However, the reports of folks who are "allergic" to wi-fi seem rather silly to me.

Forum starts with an article about the Aurora murderer and a conspiracy theory regarding it. Another article is about a parrot in a painting. Some good reviews of some not-so-good books. Some great letters, including some good "it happened to me..." tales. All in all another good issue.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

Crowdsourcing

One of my first thought after the Boston bombing was that looking for the bombs should be crowdsourced. As in, every picture should be put online and people should look for suspicious items and see if there's a group consensus and just generally figure out what happened... to help the FBI and law enforcement.

I now believe I was wrong. The crowdsourcing effort actually happened. A subreddit called "findbostonbombers" was created to share images and speculation. And you know what happened?

Idiots took the speculation and turned it into online memes, posting the stuff people were finding in the images onto Facebook as if it were from actual law enforcement and basically dragging people's faces through the mud. Many of those people were just victims, but the online hoards are after them because some idiot decided that crowdsourced speculation is better than the FBI.

So, while I don't mind being able to see the photos and such, I think the idea of crowdsourcing this sort of thing just isn't right. It cannot work without people taking it the wrong way. I think the folks in the subreddit meant well, but it has gone horribly wrong.

UPDATE: Once the FBI identified suspects, the crowdsource did a little better. But until then, way too many false positives being picked up by idiots who spread the information way too far. It was a shambles. Had no one taken the speculation and reported them as fact, it would have been fine. But whoever irresponsibly took that speculation and spread it turned it into something horrible.

What I've Been Working On

Daily Sun News: Lower Valley runners complete Boston Marathon before day turns tragic. I wrote the story and interviewed Doris. My co-worker Jennie interviewed Ryan Maxwell. Another co-worker, Amber, got information about the Flemings, but Amber declined a share of the byline. I will be doing a follow-up on the main story tomorrow and I hope to follow up with the runners at some point.

Also: The Boston Marathon Bombing: Keep Calm and Carry On. The purpose of terrorism is terror. We should not allow murderous idiots to dictate our lives.

The Sesame Street Blog has information on Helping Families Cope.

Be careful who you give to...

My heart goes out to the people of Boston, but my head wants to remind people that scumbag scammers will pop up like cockroaches around this event. If you give money, make sure you give it to a real charity.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Doctor Who: "Cold War" - Well... that was something different for the Big Bad in this episode. I don't recall them ever coming out of their shell like that. I happen to really like this particular bad guy. The setting made for a tense little drama as well. Any time you have people trapped in a small place with something they think is a monster... well. Again, I didn't find this episode to be strong on story. It's like we're getting a bunch of very basic plots so far this year. I want some more twisty and interesting plots again. I have high hopes for the next episode: Ghost Hunting!


• Young Justice: "Before the Dawn" - Oh Megan. This is way more disturbing than any other event in this series so far. I didn't realize her talk with Superboy was so much of a set-up. Whew. I wonder what comes next.
• Young Justice: "Cornered" - Hard to not feel a bit sorry for Jaime now that he knows what he knows. But what will Nightwing have to say to Megan?
• Young Justice: "True Colors" - I like this new guy. But I was left in suspense as far as the status of Megan. Unfortunately, Kaldur is about to suffer... and if he suffers, someone else is in danger too.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Mar 6th
• Superman Family Adventures #10 - Great, now I'm craving a hot dog. And the end... a cliffhanger? In this book? That's new.
• Powers: Bureau #2 - Wow, gross to the max. Why do I like this book so much? Good writing goes a long way, I guess.
• Earth 2 #10 - Still trying to wrap my head around this one, but I like Jay's mother. Hope she makes it out alive. Superhero books have an annoying tendency to kill of spouses, parents and children of the heroes to create pathos.
• World's Finest #10 - I'm definitely missing a couple of references in this one. I don't know if I want to figure it all out.
• Green Lantern #18 - Freaky and stylish.
• Smallville Season 11 #11 - Ok, I really want to see how the black racer story ends... and the bit with Tess... and the Earth 2 version of Chloe... I guess I'm actually interested in this universe again. *sigh*
• Road to Oz #6 - The party at the end of the book! Lots of neat guest appearances in this one. I would love to see Skottie Young's version of Scraps.


• Mar 13th
• Green Lantern Corps #18 - The torture of John Stewart, Green Lantern, along with Fatality or whatever her name is now. Ug.
• Green Lantern: The Animated Series #12 - So if we destroy our planet, it'll come after us? Strange issue.
• Saucer Country #13 - That final page has me going in a different direction than I expected, and I'm really very extremely pleased with it.
• Doctor Who Classics V5 #1 - Um, not my favorite run of the comics. In fact, I didn't like these two stories much at all. Oh well, hopefully it'll get better.
• Hoax Hunters #8 - This would really make absolutely no sense at all if I hadn't read previous issues. As it is, this issue raises some interesting questions about the series. Hrm.
• Spongebob Comics #18 - Bah, no Mermaid Man.

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Fortean Times #291 (September 2012). My first response to the cover was to laugh at it. The concept of giant jellyfish being the UFOs that people see seems to come right out of a comic book. But the article is surprisingly compelling, even if the concept is still so unlikely as to be ridiculous. It's more reasonable than aliens from other planets, but that doesn't mean it's reasonable. While I still tend to believe UFOs are some sort of natural phenomena, this is one theory I'll keep an eye on.

Another article is about ancient Greek healing temples, where supplicants slept and their dreams supposedly healed them. The writer references another writer who traveled to two such places and found that people in the area tended to have disturbing dreams, and wanted to study the coincidence further. The third article is about people who have visions of the afterlife when they are very sick, and is the second part of a two part series. It focuses on a particular case of a child who was deathly ill at age four and when he got better started to talk about seeing heaven.

Strangedays has a bit on the Millennium Falcon of the seabed, still with no proof of anything strange, but now with a motive. There's also a story of a leftover photo in a polaroid camera and more on *shudder* cannibals. Reminder to self: do not eat before reading Fortean Times. There's also a set of Fortean Follow-ups, one revisiting the Marco Polo debate with evidence, in the form of economic details not seen elsewhere, that Polo did make his famous travels.

The 2012 Watch has both profiteers making a buck off people's fear and a new archaeology discovery of Mayan calendars with dates as far as 7,000 years into the future. So much for the 2012 theories. Ghostwatch is about mass hunts for ghosts. Konspiracy Korner is about the Bilderberg conference and continuing conspiracy theories surrounding it. Britian's X-Files continues to sift through declassified documents looking for gems, and finds the latest info dump includes the author's own freedom of information requests. Fortean Traveller visits Angor Wat. Illustrated Police News is about the Hackney Ghost.

Archeology is all about bones. First, skeletons found with evidence of anti-vampire rituals having been done to them. The second is about an out-of-place skull found in Florida. Classical Corner is about giants and not-so-giant people in ancient times, and the concept that we are taller than our ancestors. Alien Zoo announces a new peer-reviewed journal of cryptozoology and a DNA database, along with a couple of planned expeditions and recent sightings. The Fortean Dictionary is about spirit photos, and has a couple of lovely faked spirits that people photographed in the earlier days of photography.

Blasts from the Past is about a crocodile hunt in an unusual spot in Australia. The Forum has one article that discusses the upcoming zombie apocalypse. Another article talks about the "Gospel of Barnabas" that Iranians claimed would cause the downfall of Christianity, which obviously didn't happen. The reviews had a surprise perfect 10 for a Doctor Who book, "Love and Monsters" by Miles Booy. Letters were fascinating, as always. And I love the It Happened to Me letters. Always gives me some chills. Another good issue of the best magazine available.

For reference, I order my copy through IMS News, not Zinio, because I still prefer to read some things in paper form, and this magazine is one of them.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

Moving to Feedly

I've never been entirely satisfied with Google Reader, but it was a nice solid RSS feed reader that let me keep up with a lot of websites pretty easily. So I was a little disappointed when Google announced they are closing it down. The search for a replacement started immediately for me, and I eventually settled with Feedly because they actually SYNC with Google Reader, meaning *all* of my links would remain intact.

In addition, the keyboard shortcuts I have gotten used to with Google Reader are available on Feedly, as is the "Title only" view I use in Google Reader.

So I've made the switch, and I'm learning more about the various aspects of Feedly, including an index of every RSS feed I'm subscribed to that makes it easy to go through and delete all the ones that haven't been updated for more than a year.

Overall, I'm pleased. I may eventually even move on from the title only view to one of the more exciting views. And there's a halfway decent Android app as well. So... it appears I have a new feed reader.

Links

Using VLC to capture streaming video.

Awkward science stock photography by people who clearly have no clue what science is.

Johnny Carson and the toilet paper shortage of 1973.

A business leader who actually understands real capitalism, and cares about the people who work for him and the town he's based in.

Farewell, Jane Henson. More here.

Plum stick

Monday Linkdump

Honestly, I'd love to have a secret compartment in my car that only I can open that I could shove my purse and some snacks into. But not if the person who installs it goes to prison. Yikes.

Now that I'm working at a newspaper and will eventually learn how to do layouts, these layout disasters make me both laugh out loud and cringe.

Google now redirects your blogspot blog to a country specific domain. This can be a pain, as I discovered when suddenly people in other countries couldn't see my images. So you can "prevent" it with a bit of code in your blogger template if you want.

Sometimes the cover-ups just make things a lot worse.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Doctor Who: "The Rings of Akhaten" - Not a lot of plot, but a lot of very interesting moments and build up. This had some character building that may become vital in the future, and some sweet moments with a young guest. I've got mixed feelings about it. Not my favorite, but not bad.


• Young Justice: "Depths" - Oh wow. This makes up for that other episode. I seriously considered not finishing this episode after what I was seeing, but wow... I'm glad I finished. Wow. Now I just want to see how this season concludes.
• Young Justice: "Satisfaction" - That's not what I was expecting... I'm amazed at how good this series got even as it was racing toward the end of its run.
• Young Justice: "Darkest" - This one is a double-ouch episode. Kaldur is truly frightening in so many ways. The massive destruction was yet another moment of shock. I just didn't see that one coming. Lots of twists and turns in this series.

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This week's movie was The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle. This movie falls into the "so bad it might be good" category, particularly in the beginning. It starts out so terribly cringe-worthy that I wanted to turn if off and never look again. But either I adjusted to it or it got better, probably a bit of both... because I managed to sit through until the end. This will never be on my list of favorite movies, and it's not something I would even recommend, but it's not too bad.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Feb 20th
• Justice League #17 - I want to hate Geoff Johns for this story. I want to say, "No way. Vulko would never do that!" I want to deny it completely. However, I can't. The motive is correct, even pure. The nature of the whole thing is awful, yes, but I could see Vulko scheming desperately. And I could see him doing this. Ouch.
• Justice League of America #1 - Ug. I don't suppose this is going to be much good. I'll get it for a bit anyway. Nu52 Waller is so wrong it's not even amusing.
• Green Lantern #17 - Eh, not horrible.
• Green Lantern Corps #17 - The torture of Guy Gardner. Ok. Not really my thing.
• Green Lantern: New Guardians #17 - And... the torture of Kyle. Lovely. Is this whole second crossover done yet?
• JSA Liberty Files: The Whistling Skill #3 - I was beginning to think I'd never understand this book at all, but as the flashbacks start to fill in, I think I'm beginning to understand the rest. Three more issues to try to figure it out.
• Batman Beyond Unlimited #13 - That first story was very nearly incomprehensible. The other two were ok.
• Young Justice #25 - And that's the end. Huh.
• Fables #126 - I'm not liking this Brandish guy at all. Don't think I'm supposed to.


• Feb 27th
• Aquaman #17 - Having Aquaman uneasy with his subjects definitely harkens back to the Silver Age books. I don't like Murk, or what he represents. This book just got very interesting. I hope others are finding it so, as well.
• Arrow #4 - Three different stories, three different levels of quality. None of them are bad, per se, but none of them really made me want to watch the show any more than I currently do.
• Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #2 - Ooooh, I liked this one. I want more like this. Heck, more second Doctor adventures, period. Good stuff.
• Doctor Who V3 #6 - Um, I was good right up until the whole reignite the sun thing. I'm not really sure what the diamond or the Doctor had to do with that.
• MacGyver: Fugitive Gaunlet #5 - While the story isn't bad, the artwork could have used some work. Again, the bit in the back about the origin of the show is better than the comic itself.
• Peanuts V2 #6 - Peppermint Patty just doesn't look right in a dress.
• Steed and Mrs Peel #5 - Nice set up, with a decent bit of strange Avenger action.

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Fortean Times #290 (August 2012). I suppose the cover would have more impact if I were a Londoner. Or even British. As is, I found it slightly dull. My husband is a big Olympics fan, however, so I was intrigued by the article. It turns out to be a fairly comprehensive overview of creatures found in the Thames River and nearby waterways. Not bad.

Another article is about the original Olympic games, focusing on the aspects of the games modern folks might find most surprising, including routine disfigurement in sports like boxing and fatalities.

A third article is about Lazarus Syndrome, people who are clinically dead for some amount of time and yet somehow revive and continue life. The article cites dozens of examples and is part one of a two-part look at people who come back from the dead.

Good stuff in Strangedays, as usual, although the bit about cannibals was a bit too much for me. Yikes. The 2012 Watch is an Olympic special focusing on conspiracy theories about the games, which did not come true. Since we're all still here. And so is London.

Science is about space exploration and how private enterprise has started to take over. It compares the future of space exploitation to the beginning of the internet and how those who jumped in early generally became very rich. Hmmmm. Ghostwatch seems to be about ghosts that range a bit further than a single building. Mythconceptions asks about the origin of superglue.

Alien Zoo is about Tasmanian wolves, winged cats and black tigers. I have to feel sorry for the winged cats. The wings are usually either clumps of matted fur or a rare feline skin condition. No idea if it hurts or not, but it doesn't look comfortable. Classical Corner is about soldiers and war, mostly soldiers and how they are discussed in ancient writings. Fortean Traveller visits the Czech Republic to retrace the steps of John Dee.

Archaeology's main piece this month is about acoustics and various studies done on them. It mentions the vaguely Stonehenge linked tests done in my corner of the world at the Maryhill Stongehenge replica (which is made of concrete, which has completely different acoustical properties and thus isn't a really good test) along with a few other studies that were poorly reported by the media and don't really prove much one way or another. A very short second piece talks about obsidian knives found in central American that suggest human sacrifice prior to the time of the Aztecs.

Konspiracy Korner is about cover-ups, sometimes lasting decades, of events that are well enough documented that anyone who looks can find the truth. Sounds like certain drone attacks that the US currently is denying. The UFO Files is all about the nature of memory, and something more people should read. Blasts from the Past is about fairies, airships and space travel. The Fortean Bureau of Investigation visits a conference on unknown animals held in Belgium.

The Forum starts with an article on ascribing motives to alien events and then goes on with an article about "dark" fairy tales, particularly Snow White and the evil queen. The Reviews section again has fantastic reviews of many books, movies and games, good and bad. A mystery is solved in the letters pages. And the It Happened To Me bit had one gloriously spooky story, probably terrifying more due to its lack of detail than anything else.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

I'm beautiful, and don't forget it

An unexpected connection

I moved to the Yakima Valley a few years ago, but had never heard of most of the cities in the area before in my life. However, it appears there was a very close connection that I'd never known about, as seen in this "Over the Shoulder" piece from ten years ago that I ran across today while working on the current "Over the Shoulder" for Friday's paper. I graduated from Hazen High School.

Links

If you aren't reading Love and Capes, check it out online. At Emerald City Comicon this year we went ahead and got all the trades. It's that good.

Science is also good. Here are 27 science fictions that became fact in 2012.

Speaking of science fiction, here's a heartbreaking essay about lack of reading in Mexico. I see this happening here, too. A culture that does not read for pleasure is a dead culture.

Pay up or have your life ruined. How a judge came down on a group of copyright trolls that threatened people who refused to pay with being associated with porn companies. Nasty stuff, and the account linked is amazing. UPDATE: Boing Boing posted a follow-up today.

Slate has posted a flowchart of How to win any climate change argument, but they should have included at the end "with a reasonable person" since most climate change deniers aren't going to be persuaded by mere facts.

People who seriously believe childhood diseases are "good for you" are mentally ill. An example is given by John Stumbles regarding the death of Roald Dahl's daughter from measles and a current book that actually promotes getting measles as a good thing.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Doctor Who: "The Bells of Saint John" - Why did this one feel a little tiny bit like a rehash of the Idiot's Lantern? I suppose I found the story to be a bit weak, but the continuation of the Clara story arc was solid, especially if this story's big bad is likely to return again. I like Clara quite a bit and now I'm even more intrigued about her history/future and her link with the Doctor. I cannot imagine a satisfactory explanation, personally, though I can think of about a dozen theories so far. As for the title of the episode... loved it!

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic books that I've gotten around to reading and reviewing, sorted by the original shipping date:

• Feb 13th
• Green Lantern: The Animated Series #11 - Nice little story. Did I know the animated GL was at war with the manhunters?
• Saucer Country #12 - Oooh, that's a freaky way to end. Still not sure what exactly is going on, but wow.
• Hoax Hunters #7 - Oh. Well. I'm not sure that means exactly what I think it means, but there it is. Gruesome book for me to enjoy so much.
• Powers: Bureau #1 - And that's back too. Another gruesome book, but in a different way.
• Spongebob Comics #17 - That's one of the more annoying issues of this book ever.
• Oz/Wonderland Chronicles: Prelude to Evil #3 - Ok, I think I figured out what happened. I just don't know why it happened.

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Fortean Times #289 (July 2012). The cover does a good job of freaking me out. The zombie-esque person and the mangy-looking dog are creepy enough, the addition of the word "Shapshifter" gives it an even spookier vibe. The cover story itself manages to stay in the realm of understandable, with just a hint of "oh look at the poor freaked out locals" that includes the author himself. It almost becomes more pathetic than frightening. Almost.

Another main article is about Amelia Earhart and the theory that she crash-landed on a known island and died there, unrescued. The article brings up all the evidence, mostly circumstantial, and evidence that was lost, including a human skeleton that may have been Earhart's. Certainly the mystery isn't solved, but the evidence should be examined closely.

An article about the tendency of anthropologists studying other cultures to start believing in the mystical sides of the cultures they are studying hits some strange points. It's a good in-depth examination of the phenomena.

Strangedays includes stories of tsunami survivors being haunted by victims, a number of cases in which careless gun owners became victims of their weapons when various animals triggered them, a round up of people returning from death, reports of severe allergic reactions, and a good set of follow-ups from previous issues of the magazine.

Science covers new technology reports out of Russia, and how Fortean some of them sound. The question asked in the article is whether or not Putin's new arsenals are more bluff than reality. The 2012 Watch discusses failed predictions of the end of the world. Ghostwatch is about phone calls from the dead. The Fortean Traveller visits Cambodia to see about village spirits.

Konspiracy Korner reminds its readers that 2013 is the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination, and thus we will be deluged with "new" theories and evidence, and goes on to rip apart a book that's a little ahead of the crowd and talks about JFK smoking dope in the White House. Britain's X-Files covers the story of "Saucer Sam" and his strange UFO sighting in 1952. Blasts from the Past is about snakes in the stomach, and what they might have really been (roundworms and hernias?). Random Dictionary covers cryptozoology.

Archaeology has two pieces. One discusses a new Stonehenge-like monument that has been erected on Achill Island off the west coast of Ireland. The other is about large buildings in Turkey that may have been ancient "longhouses" and not temples, as previously believed. Classical Corner is about the Fortean writings of Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). Alien Zoo is about long-necked seals, a sighting of a small entity on a Mexican mountain and huge ravens in a isolated valley in interior British Columbia.

The Forum starts with English humor and the dangerous swinging between melancholy and mania conducted by the people of England. Another article is about Hugo Gernsback's inventions and visions of the future. The Reviews section starts with a review of "Inside Scientology" by Janet Reitman, which earns a decent 9 from the reviewer. Other books earned high scores as well, including a 10 for a book on Britain's mysterious big cats. While it's nice to see high scores, almost every review is itself a tiny work of art. Another solid issue.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist -- My Kindle Wishlist

Unhappy but clean

Update: It took Inkwell about an hour to get back to his usual fluffy self. He smells MUCH better now, but he's a bit afraid of mommy.

Cameraphone Zen

A Story

I was in the band in high school, and that night was a basketball game. I sat in the stands and played my musical instrument, but I cannot remember what year it was or even what I was playing. What I remember is that it was a very dark night when I left the gym to head home.

Most people had driven cars to the game, but I lived just more than a block from the school grounds. To get home, I had to descend from the brightly lit parking lot down a set of stairs to the unlit track, cross almost the full length of the track to a gate in the fence around the grounds, then walk up a dark cul-de-sac to the road I lived on. Streetlights were far and few between, and as I recall the first streetlight was a few yards past the cul-de-sac.

That night felt very cold as I left the parking lot and started down the stairs to the track. It was so dark I could not see anything. I literally put my hand in front of my face and could not see it. Looking off into the distance I could see the streetlight, but I could not see the gate and I found I couldn't turn around to look at the parking lot. No light leaked onto the track from the school or parking lot, which seemed odd to me even at the time.

I had a strong sense that there was someone on the track. I was terrified that I would run into the person in the dark. My legs had gone weak. I set my direction based on where the streetlight was and headed toward where I thought the gate was. I walked the route twice a day, I knew it well enough to walk in the dark, but I was scared. I wanted desperately to turn around and go back, but I could not.

After I had gone maybe a quarter of the way to where I thought the gate was, I felt someone right in front of me. I swerved to go around them and said, aloud, "Excuse me." I had a sense of immense surprise, and I thought I heard some sort of response. Not a voice, maybe a sound. I had a vague sense that I should stop and help, but I couldn't see anything at all, nothing. The darkness was practically physical. I didn't stop. I continued on.

I felt when the track changed to the lawn as I walked on it, and I found the path to the gate after a moment, to my surprise. I got through the gate by feel and suddenly felt a HUGE weight lift off my shoulders. I looked back, but I still couldn't see anything on the track. I could see the lights at the school, but the track itself swallowed light and was as dark as the grave.

I was still in the dark, so I hurried up to the road and then up the road to the streetlight. I looked back again. Nothing. Still dark. I turned my face to home and said nothing when I got there. I was so terrified by the experience that I never wanted to think about it or talk about it again.

I remembered it today. And I suddenly thought I needed to write about it. It's been a long time since it happened, more than 20 years, but I still shiver when I think about that darkness and still feel like I was in dire peril. I don't know what sort of peril, I don't know whether the darkness was the thing I should fear or the darkness was protecting me from something else. All I know is that I sometimes remember it and when I do the chills go up and down my spine. The vaguest of events, but utterly terrifying.

Various Links

I really wish the Aquaman pilot had gone to series, but it's still fun hearing about how it was made.

Ever wanted to read the "missing scene" of The Princess Bride? Well, somebody tried. And got this. You can get it too, by requesting the missing scene online.

A whole bunch of maps you never knew you needed. And, frankly, you probably don't actually need, but some are kind of fun. I object to #20 (Google auto-correct) because that's cleary the wrong Washington that's being referred to.

I don't really have enough books that I'd want to digitize to try it, but a DIY book scanner is still a pretty cool piece of tech. Paper isn't going to die, but I love having digital access to my reading.

More from Cracked: Four things politicians will never understand about poor people.

Were early Christians really persecuted? A review of a book about the three centuries after the death of Jesus and what really happened.

Dongles and Forks

I'm going to say right up front that I'm not so deep into the tech world that I completely understand this story. However, I get the gist of it and have formed an opinion. Anyone who wants to correct any misperceptions on my part is welcome to comment.

There's a decent summary on Amanda Blum's blog: A female techie attends a conference, is offended by a couple of guys sitting behind her in a lecture making lame dongle jokes, takes a picture of the guys and tweets it resulting in one of the guys losing his job. Then the backlash hits the female techie's company and she gets fired as well.

Now, most guys have no idea how pervasive harassment is in tech circles. They simply don't notice it. But it's there, it's annoying and most techie women fight it when they can and ignore it when they can't. It drives regular women away from techies and technology. It limits how far women can advance in tech circles. It stops girls from pursuing interests in tech. It's a serious problem, really.

This particular techie woman fights it all the time. And this particular time she fought it entirely the wrong way. She basically used a flamethrower to get rid of a gnat and burned down her world. A calm word to the men or taking the picture to the convention organizers would have dealt with the problem. Instead, she posted the picture online and publicly shamed the men.

That said, the online reaction proved there's a long way to go for women in tech. The names the female techie have been called aren't something any decent man would ever use to refer to a woman. The attacks on her company were uncalled for and made her overreaction look like a baby's temper tantrum. Even now you can go to virtually any tech board and find comments on this story that are so sexist you'd think women are less than chattel in our society.

Don't get me wrong. I think the woman is an idiot and deserves to be attacked. It's the nature of the attacks that I find so disturbing.

You see this in other male-dominated arenas. Women cannot win. If they fight it, they are attacked for being too bold. If they don't fight it, they are weak and worthless. Reasonable complaints are routinely ignored, so many women go overboard. And the hits keep coming, women are still constantly harassed and men claim that women just can't take a joke.

I don't know the solution. Fight the stupidity when you see it, but keep calm about it and don't overreact. Don't pull out the flamethrower first thing. Start with the flyswatter, gals. Geek and nerd guys are usually cool and usually can learn. Let them know when they cross the line and most of them will try to improve their behavior. Because when you use that flamethrower, everyone gets burned.