Evening Thoughts

I fell yesterday afternoon. It was after 4 p.m. and Eric was just getting home. I was headed toward the staircase, for what reason I do not remember clearly. I tripped, possibly on my own feet, and hit the ground before my brain had registered that I was falling. My left knee and right arm hit first, I think, followed quickly by my face (the right side) and the rest of me. Based on the pattern of pain, the left knee and right shoulder took the brunt of the fall. My right arm was wrenched, and my elbow is sore. My left knee has an impressive bruise starting to develop. The knee itself feels like I twisted it a bit... not too much, but enough to cause pain. I was sure I would get a fat lip or black eye out of it, but my face hasn't swollen at all.

For almost a minute after I fell, I couldn't think or move. Eric came in the house, and I tried to call him. He heard something, because a moment later he was trying to help me. I don't believe I lost consciousness, but I really hurt myself. Inkwell was even worried about me. It took several minutes before I was able to get up, and then I downed some painkiller, which seemed to work to keep me from moaning the remainder of the night.

Today I've been hobbling around, trying not to go back to bed and sleep it off. I wanted to get things done, but somehow got caught up in watching a stream of the Eurovision contest (that is one bizarre thing). I suppose resting and Eurovision were just the thing...

So, Eurovision. The winning song was "1944" from the Ukraine. It's about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in by the Soviets in the 1940s, and might have been a little too political for the contest. But it was allowed anyway, and beat Australia in a nail-biter of a final. Personally, I really liked the guys from Cyprus. The Russian song was just okay, but the graphics and performance were fairly mind-bending, and in my case stomach-churning.

However, the absolute best thing in the contest was "Love Love Peace Peace" by the hosts:

Ok, how about some other links?

I've been thinking about my tendency to drop the opening pronoun of sentences, and thought it might be a side-effect from learning Spanish. This article argues it's just the natural progression of language.

I need to reread this article about identity, because my first reading couldn't have possibly gotten all the nuance out of it. The article calls on Miss Marple to explain some of the ways identity has changed.

How many of these seven books that will probably never be printed again have you read?

Boing Boing has a 360 degree video of a tornado. You can actually drag the video around with your mouse to see all around the car and see what's happening in front or behind them as they storm-chase. Amazingly, at one point the chasers jump out of their vehicles to take photos. It's a testament to the insanity of the human race.

Ever heard of a mail-order home? Altas Obscura shares a tale from Reddit of one. Really cool... and some of the Reddit comments are impressive too.

If any man tries to, ever, make me wear high heeled shoes, I will beat him over the head with said shoes. I do NOT wear them, and will not wear them. Ever. Period. End of story. That said, a woman was dismissed from a job because she refused to go out and buy high heeled shoes to wear. That's prompted a bit of a backlash, including a petition to parliament. More at MeFi.

I suddenly have even less desire to fly the unfriendly skies. Apparently the TSA is even worse than it had been, which is impressive, honestly.

If anyone bothered to read my fiction piece on Friday, do you want more, or should I stick with non-fiction?

* * *
A comic con has shot itself in the foot, rather dramatically. Thanks to the magic of screencapping, the whole thing can be read even though the convention took down the post. In short, the official convention Facebook page complained about cosplayers wanting a free ride to the con with a goofy little post showing off a pretend conversation between a cosplayer and the convention. While I absolutely agree with the convention that no one at all should expect a free ride to a con, the message is a teeny-tiny bit unprofessional. Still, not the end of the world, right?

Wrong.

When people complained, the convention doubled-down: instead of apologizing for a post that offended some of their audience, they made things worse, calling some cosplayers "hot chicks in almost no clothes", "over sexual models" and "boob models". The organizer who is posting, who identifies himself as "Jim", also makes the claim that professional cosplayers aren't even fans of the people they are dressed as... in other words, he played the fake-geek-girl card.

Throughout it all, he's completely oblivious why his statements about some portion of cosplayers might possibly be offensive to the cosplayer community at large. Then he even claims he never called anyone names - forgetting his earlier "hot chicks" and "models" comments, apparently.

Jim also decides he's the one who gets to determine which cosplay is "real", saying the people he's deriding aren't real cosplayers, so no one should be offended. *facepalm* Seriously dude? You are going to man-splain cosplay to people? Really?

This naturally made a few people look closer at the convention, and guess what they found? A guest was announced before she had a contract with them... if they'd asked at all. This is a serious no-no in con circles. Conventions who do it cannot be trusted. It's one thing to have a contract then have a guest cancel. It's quite another to promote your con with a guest who hasn't yet been signed.

I hate to see any convention go up in smoke, particularly over something as stupid as a social media blunder. Hopefully the guest announcement was just miscommunication as well. But not matter the cause, this con has some work to do before their actual event to earn back goodwill... and if they don't try, then it's pretty clear they deserve whatever negativity they get.

And to all the con-runners out there: Social Media is a minefield. Do NOT post jokes that insult anyone on them. Someone will always be offended. Always. Just don't. You are a business, play it safe. If you have to rant, get a personal page. And, should you find yourself in a hole, stop digging. Apologize for causing offense and learn from the experience; don't defend your actions because you will continue to insult people.

Whew... I'm going to watch Peace Peace Love Love again to cheer up after that rant...

Here I Go A-Gathering Links...

My friend Lou Anders has had a short story published in Boys Life. I used to steal my brother's Boys Life magazines and read all the fiction and cartoons before he even got a chance to glance at them. I still want to read the entire comic adaptation of the Tripods trilogy... I never saw the whole thing.

Ancient footprints are already pretty cool artifacts, but now they are even cooler since professional trackers have been brought in to make sense of them. I love this type of history story... looking at a problem from a different, yet totally obvious, direction.

How about a tale of a very long-running experiment? I've heard of some experiments that have been going for many years, but this is a bit of a surprise. Seeds in bottles, buried in an effort to see how long the seeds would last.

So, Free Comic Book Day is coming. Here's some sneak peeks of Doctor Who comics. I need to figure out what comics we already ordered from DCBS so I know which ones to get when Eric and I go to the store next week.

I stayed up until 2 a.m. reading a book the other night/morning. I haven't done that for ages because I've been too responsible to risk being dead at work, for all the good it did me. But I really enjoyed the book and will be writing about it soon, probably not for tomorrow's reviews, but maybe next Sunday. It was Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon, and I strongly recommend it for any young woman, ages 8-18, who isn't very princess-y or girly and likes snakes and slugs and dirt and work. It's very good.

David Gerrold has a post about Hugo asterisks. I just want to say, the asterisks were there the instant the puppies gamed the Hugos. Putting them into physical form didn't make it any worse, since the damage was already done. On the contrary, the asterisks let some of us have a physical memento of their first time voting in the Hugos (me!) and raised money for a worthy cause. The people who were hurt by the asterisks deserved to be hurt because they are the ones who put the asterisk there in the first place by gaming the Hugo nominations. The fact that they still don't get it only proves the point. And it still amazes me that they are stupid enough to think that people gamed the Hugos before they did. The utter willful ignorance of the puppies is astounding.

Below the fold, depressing stories...

Linkdump

My cold has hit... thank goodness for Labor Day. Maybe I can recover enough by tomorrow that I won't be miserable at work! Here's some links to keep you busy:

Do you want to wear a book? Try a litograph. I'm sure my hubby would like this one or this one. Personally, I wish the tattoos were smaller and a bit less expensive, because I'd love to put some literary quotes on the back of my hand, where I usually put my temporary tattoos (one of these days I need to figure out a way to get the Aquaman "A" logo from the current books as a temporary tattoo for my hand).

If you'd like to watch the Hugo award ceremony, there are four videos of it here to watch the ceremony itself, skip the first video entirely, it's just the annoying pre-Hugo show (although the guests aren't too bad) and start at 1:07:15 into the second video.

Also, if you want something strange, H.P. Lovecraft explains the Sad Puppies.

The final attendance for Sasquan was 5,171 people actually there and a total membership of 11,648. Last year's Loncon 3 had 6,946 people in attendance and a total membership of 10,718. Sasquan's total membership broke records. The attending membership was high, but not the highest, with perhaps eight other Worldcons having more attendees.

Another fun stat to look at is how many of those members each year voted in the Hugo Awards. There were 5,950 this year, but only 3,587 last year. There were only 1,848 the year before that and 1,922 in the year 2012. It's impressive how fandom reacted when a small clique attempted to take over the Hugo Awards - like antibodies after a virus, fandom swarmed and prevented the clique's nominees from getting awards.

Nerds don't understand politics.

These Vintage Computers aren't so old. I remember using a lot of them. They aren't old!

I don't read Detective Comics right now, but this has to be my absolute favorite non-Aquaman variant cover in a long time:

A Sunday Review

My book this week was Beasts of Tabat by Cat Rambo.

This book was recommended in the comment sections on File 770 and in Renay's Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom.

Again, I came to this book completely cold... like I have all the books I've reviewed from the Spreadsheet of Doom. Sadly, this time I would call a strike instead of a homerun. It's ok, but this book has a fatal flaw that I did not know about when I started it: It's the first book of a planned series of four. Oops.

First up: the completely non-spoiler review. I found myself enjoying the main characters, but both of them are somewhat one-dimensional if looked at too closely. I also liked the narrative structure that told Bella's story from a first-person perspective while Teo's tale is omnipresent third person. It was always easy to figure out which character was the focus at any given time. What I didn't like was the confusion in the way time passes. It sometimes seemed like months had passed - only to find out it couldn't have been more than a week. I also didn't like the ending, which was abrupt and cliffhangery.

Ok, Spoilers ahead (use rot13 to read). Gur obbx sbphfrf ba gjb punenpgref: Grb, n lbhat zna sebz n fznyy ivyyntr uvqvat qnex frpergf gung pbhyq trg uvz xvyyrq naq Oryyn, n tynqvngbe va gur ovt pvgl jub vf shyy bs pbasvqrapr va urefrys naq zntvp. Gur gjb ner frg ba n pbyyvfvba pbhefr, naq riraghnyyl zrrg jura Grb pbzrf gb gur pvgl ohg ehaf njnl sebz uvf sngr.

V yvxrq Grb ng svefg. Ur'f pbzcrgrag naq gubhtugshy, ohg fgvyy erfcbafvoyr. Ohg ur fgnlf cerggl zhpu gur fnzr srneshy punenpgre sebz fgneg hagvy gur raq bs gur obbx. V'z abg ernyyl fher ubj zhpu gvzr jnf fhccbfrq gb unir cnffrq orgjrra jura ur neevirq naq jura gur svany puncgre uvgf, ohg V sryg yvxr ur bhtug gb unir tebja hc n ovg zber guna ur qvq. Gung fnvq, uvf zntvpny nggevohgrf ner snfpvangvat, naq V jnf ybbxvat sbejneq gb yrneavat zber nobhg gurz... ohg gura gur obbx raqrq ba n pyvssunatre. Netu.

Oryyn jnf veevgngvat sebz gur fgneg, ohg V guvax fur jnf zrnag gb or gung jnl. Ure vagreany qvnybthr znxrf vg pyrne gung fur'f svtugvat gb or funyybj, juvpu vfa'g tbbq sbe ure, ohg snfpvangvat sbe gur ernqre. Gur ceboyrz vf gung fur arire znxrf gur arprffnel pbaarpgvba jvgu ure qrrcre fvqr va guvf obbx, naq fb vg whfg pbagvahrf gb veevgngr vafgrnq bs gheavat vagb n fngvfslvat zbzrag bs eriryngvba. V shyyl rkcrpgrq ure gb npghnyyl ybbx ng gur obbx ng fbzr cbvag naq V rkcrpgrq gung gb or gur zbzrag. Ohg fur arire qvq.

V'z abg ragveryl fher ubj ovt gur pvgl vf fhccbfrq gb or, ohg Grb fher qbrf frrz gb eha vagb gur fnzr crbcyr n ybg gurer. Abg gb zragvba gur pbvapvqrapr bs orvat urycrq ol Oryyn (gubhtu gur snpg gung ur'f orra fgnyxvat ure znxrf gung rnfvre gb ohl). Oryyn'f ynaqynql vf creuncf zl snibevgr bs gur obbx, naq jura gur svg fgnegrq gb uvg gur funa ng gur raq, V shyyl rkcrpgrq ure gb qvr. Tynq fur znqr vg.

Fcrnxvat bs svg uvggvat funaf, Oryyn jnf erznexnoyl hazbirq ol ure svtug naq gur qrngu bs ure fghqrag. Lrf, fur unq zbzragf bs tevrs, ohg vg qvqa'g frrz va gur fyvtugrfg ovg erny gb zr. Vg nyy frrzrq yvxr fur jnf tbvat guebhtu gur zbgvbaf. Juvyr V jnf fgvyy guvaxvat guvf jnf n fvatyr abiry naq abg gur svefg dhnegre bs n ovttre obbx, V rkcrpgrq gur fghqrag gb qrsrng Oryyn naq rirelbar gb yvir unccvyl rire nsgre, be fbzr inevnag gurerbs. Fb gur qrngu jnf n fubpx gb zr, ohg zl fubpx jnf haqrezvarq ol Oryyn'f ynpx.

All told, I was annoyed to get to the end of this and find out it was a "to be continued..." instead of wrapping up. I'm not sure if I'll seek out the remaining bits, although I'm not going to blame the author for my ignorance. It was well written and compelling... but it will not be on my Hugo list.

---

I've also read short stories:

• "The Sixth Day" by Sylvia Anna Hivén is a post-apocalyptic tale of a magic and the perils of seeing the future. It gave me chills when I finished it. I can't say I liked it in the sense that it didn't make me feel good or give me hope or anyt of that. It was well-written and made sense, but it was painful. It's a good story, but I'll have to think long and hard about whether or not to nominate it.


• "The Walking Thing" by Marlee Jane Ward is a story of how one teenaged girl deals with the apocalypse. Nita is unaffected by a disease that wipes out her town, and the story is about how she handles people dying around her, and how she comes to terms with her own life. It's grim and more than a little depressing, but I also found some hope in there. It might make my nomination list.


• "The Universe, Sung in Stars" by Kat Howard is a strange little poem of a tale about people who give support to pocket universes. I'm honestly not sure what to think of it. It might stick with me for a bit because of the language and the ideas, but I didn't really like it much as a story. I think it won't be on my nomination list.

---

For my current list of Hugo 2016 readings, check out my Hugo 2016 Posts page.

---

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

• Jul 15th
• Justice League #42 - Aquaman's only appearance in this is on the Teen Titans Go variant cover. Not hide nor hair of him elsewhere. He was barely in the previous issue. This is mostly Darkseid and that sort of nonsense. Not my cuppa. I'm ready for a new storyline.
• Green Lantern: The Lost Army #2 - This book may be relying too much on the readers' knowledge of Green Lantern history. I don't know. I find it to be slightly frustrating and annoying, and maybe even a bit over the top. People lost in a strange universe isn't bad... but why bring one of the most boring and irritating recent bad guys into it?
• Astro City #25 - Wow. Another great issue of the best superhero comic book around. A fascinating origin story of a character who seems very different from most. I love this book, and I'm looking forward to the next issue, featuring Samaritan again.
• Fiction #2 - I'm not really sure what is happening here. I mean, they've entered the Narnia/Oz/Fantasyland to look for the lost friend, but there's a generational thing and ... Yeah, I'm intrigued enough to keep reading. I'm just a bit confused still.
• Rivers of London #1 - Very interesting start... for me, obviously, I'm curious about the daughter of the river goddess. The set-up is good, and the mini-comic and articles in the back added to the package. I'm interested. Definitely.
• Usagi Yojimbo #147 - Kitsune is a crack-up, but she really was in over her head in this adventure. Good thing she had somebody to protect her. Mostly.

---

Fortean Times #328 (June 2015). The cover shows a transparent person with a thumb out on a dark road, looking for a lift from a car approaching with its headlights on. The cover story links to reports of a phantom hitchhiker in a general area, including at least six first-hand reports (these are usually friend-of-a-friend reports). There's some interesting stuff in these, and an interesting analysis of the possible causes. Who knows what's causing all this, but it's fascinating to see the research done on it.

Moving on Strangedays covers the possible recovery of Captain Kidd's treasure, a giant human figure in volcanic ash, a kid who recognized himself as a minor Hollywood celebrity, a story about possession, worms falling from the sky, medical oddities, ghostly boots, and unusual survival stories. The Conspirasphere has a story I find depressing about some idiot who thinks the Challenger explosion was faked and claims to have found the astronauts alive and, get this, living under the same names 30 years later. *headdesk*

Science tackles new puzzles scientists are finding as we get more and more pictures and data from Mars. Frankly, pretty cool stuff, and what science is made for. Archaeology visits a lost city in Honduras, another hoard of coins found in Britain, very old beer, and evidence of what people ate 8,000 years ago (wheat?). Classical Corner looks at early attempts to prevent pregnancy.

Ghostwatch tells of an exorcism of a roadway in a larger story about haunted roads. Alien Zoo points out a photo of a dead bigfoot is an altered photo of a dead bear. Fairies, Folklore and Forteana notes a late of fairies in Kent. The UFO files finishes its examination of the Godfrey UFO sighting with information about the possible causes of what people saw. The Illustrated Police News introduces people to a giantess who topped seven feet at age 12. The Fortean Traveller visits Lycia, Turkey. Phenomenomix is the second part on Dion Fortune.

There's a main article about Malcolm Lowry, who wrote Under the Volcano, which is said to be a very Fortean book. It's actually a depressing story in many ways due to the sadness of his life, but it's also fascinating.

Another article chronicles the fate of certain famous corpses, including those of Mussolini and Eva Peron. Another piece looks at "Strange Statemen" and visits Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, whose more than a little looney from the reports.

The Forum has an interesting tale of smashes pottery and how the tradition seems to go back to Neolithic times. Another article looks at the death of T.E. Lawrence and concludes it really was most likely an accident and not an assassination.

The Reviews are great, as usual, and there's a couple of books that might make it onto my ever-growing "to read" list. Nothing in the movies is must-see. The letters were lovely. Always lovely. There's even a reference to "Pyramids of Mars" from Doctor Who, as people are looking for references of pyramids connected with Mars thanks to a request by Paul Cornell. Fun stuff.

As usual, lots of good stories and fun information. As always, read at your own risk with an open mind but healthy dose of skepticism.

---

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

A Sunday Review

My book this week was Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear.

This book was recommended in the comment sections on File 770 and in Renay's Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom.

Like last week's book, I came to this one completely cold. I didn't even know it was steampunk until I got a few pages in. I haven't been in the habit of simply trying books without finding out it they are "my type", but with a desire to nominate for the 2016 Hugos, I feel like I just have to try some new stuff out. So far, I feel I'm doing ok taking other people's suggestions.

First up: the completely non-spoiler review. If you don't like steampunk, you may have some issues with this. I, personally, love well-done steampunk and found this to be a great read. In addition, if you have any hang-ups about sexual issues, you'll probably want to avoid this book, as it's set in a *ahem* seamstress's shop in a frontier town. A shop with a nice parlor downstairs and a lot of men who visit regularly. It took me some time to get into the book, as the first-person voice is idiosyncratic and the word usage is intentionally wrong in places to convey it. But I came to really enjoy the main character the more I read, although my writer instincts sometimes flinched at the use of language.

Ok, Spoilers ahead (use rot13 to read). Bx, gur svefg guvat V bhtug gb zragvba vf gung V irel zhpu rawbl fgbevrf frg va sebagvre Frnggyr. V qba'g xabj jul, V whfg qb. Naq juvyr Encvq Pvgl vf abg, grpuavpnyyl, Frnggyr, gurer vf ab bgure cynpr vg pna ernyvfgvpnyyl or. Vg'f tbg gur Nynfxna Tbyq Ehfu, vg'f tbg gur Fbhaq, vg'f tbg fxvq ebj, vg'f tbg gur envfvat bs qbjagbja naq vg'f whfg irel zhpu Frnggyr. Fb gur frggvat fhpxrq zr vg irel dhvpxyl, rira vs V unq n uneq gvzr trggvat vagb gur fgbel vgfrys. V'yy abgr gung Obarfunxre jnf nyfb frg va n fgrnzchax Frnggyr, juvpu znqr zr yvxr vg rira zber guna V zvtug unir bgurejvfr. Frnggyr naq fgrnzchax frrz gb jbex jryy gbtrgure, sbe zr. V erpbtavmr gung bgure crbcyr qba'g unir gur fnzr srgvfu, ohg guvf vf qrsvavgryl bar bs zvar.

Frpbaq, V qba'g zhpu pner nobhg gur frkhnyvgl bs punenpgref nf ybat nf gurl ner cbegenlrq nf erny crbcyr. Guvf obbx qbrfa'g, gb zr, znxr n ovt nqb nobhg gur punenpgref' cersreraprf, vg whfg gnyxf nobhg vg naq zbirf ba. Naq gur ybir orgjrra Xnera naq Cevln vf angheny naq, V gubhtug, jryy-qrirybcrq. Lrf, gurer'f ybir ng svefg fvtug, gur byq pyvpur, ohg Xnera jbexf cnfg vg. V yvxr gung.

Gurer'f fbzrguvat greevoyr naq terng nobhg n obbx gung pna znxr lbh srry fb fgebatyl sbe n zvabe punenpgre gung lbh trahvaryl uheg jura gung punenpgre qvrf. Guvf obbx znantrq gung. V jnf ebbgvat sbe gur tbbq thlf orsber gura, ohg nsgre gung? V jnf pynzbevat sbe n fbyvq cnlonpx jvgu xnezn gnxvat vgf gbyy.

Hagvy V tbg gb gur Nhgube'f Abgr ng gur raq, V jnf abg njner bs gur fgbel bs Zbgure Qnzanoyr, naq abj V'z tbvat gb or fcraqvat ragveryl gbb zhpu gvzr ybbxvat hc Znel Naa Pbaxyva gb svaq bhg jub fur jnf.

This book has a decent chance to make my Hugo nomination list. I feel it was a pretty slow read, which counts against it. However, it was nicely goofy, very well told and fun in a way that only steampunk is truly capable of being. I'll be thinking on it for awhile, I can tell.

---

A novella I read recently but haven't yet reviewed is "Penric's Demon" by Lois McMaster Bujold. I bought it as soon as it was available and read it as soon as I was able. Bujold is, at the moment, the only author I would buy a work from by the strength of her name alone. I learned about this novella from Bujold's Goodreads Blog.

Did I like it? Oh yeah. Penric is a good character who is, like many of Bujold's characters, hemmed in by other people's expectations. He's able to break out of it entirely by the unhappy/happy accident. In short, it's a typical Bujold story in a lot of ways. I found the story to be the perfect length, covering just what we need to know about both Penric and his new guest. The promise of potential untold stories is often the most frustrating part of Bujold's work... this is no different. I'd love to revist Penric in the future in some manner, but I know that this is the story the author chose to focus on, so it's probably the best one in Penric's life. This will be on my Hugo nomination form.

---

And here's a novelette I read:

• "Folding Beijing" by Hao Jingfang. It is in the nature of science fiction to be fantastical, but I really found this one hard to swallow. The world, as presented, just doesn't make physical sense to me. The whole "folding" of space just doesn't work for me. The rest... well, I have mixed feelings. The main character is a bit of a cipher until the end, while the others are all cardboard cutouts he's just dealing with. Yeah, it's a novelette, not a novel, and there's little time to develop characters - but I didn't feel much of a connection with any of them. And the political situation as described, which leads to the folding city, also doesn't seem realistic or believable to me. I can suspend my disbelief as well as anyone else, but this particular story did not work for me. No, it won't make my Hugo nomination form.

---

I've also read short stories:

• "Pocosin" by Ursula Vernon is a heartbreaking tale about death, second chances and people who know a lot about the world. Like "Jackalope Wives", it's told in a gentle, folksy way. And it has some deeper meaning in it, as well. I'd be lying if I didn't say I wish I could write half as well as Ursula does, but she writes about things I'd never think to write about, so I don't even stand in envy of her so much as happy awe. This one has a very good chance of being on my Hugo nomination list.


• "You Have Always Lived in the Castle" by Cat Rambo is a chilling little piece. Very short, and frightening in its implications. It's told in second person narrative. For some reason, it reminds me of Doctor Who: Warriors Gate. Part of me wants to learn more about this universe, most of me thinks of it as a horror tale. I'll think on it a lot more before deciding if it goes on my Hugo list.


• "The Parliment of Cheese and Curds" by Camestros Felapton is a parody based on one of the awful works nominated for the 2015 Hugos by the puppies. This short story is actually readable, unlike the original, and funny, also unlike the original (which was just a pathetic attempt to be pompous). No, I won't nominate this for a Hugo, but I did find it oddly refreshing, if a bit cheesy.

---

For my current list of Hugo 2016 readings, check out my Hugo 2016 Posts page.

---

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

• Jul 8th
• Earth 2 Society #2 - Ah, well, that's why Sloan crashed the ships. But I'm not sure I get all the nitty-gritty about it. I'm guessing we don't know who caused the attack that Sloan was reacting to? And I'm not sure what Sloan's "current" action is going to do to the planet. Ok, I'm interested.
• Justice League of America #2 - I'm not quite as cynical as Aquaman is portrayed here, but I'm kind of with him on the notion that powerful beings from other worlds who arrive and declare they are gods aren't really the kind of thing you can trust. And, looking at what happened to Wonder Woman, I think he may have dodged a massive bullet there with that cynicism.
• Justice League United #11 - That is one bizarre team-up. I found the collection of the team to be neat, with each one being pulled in by a different method. That has got to be the most muscular version of Mera I've ever seen. She's clearly been weightlifting. I'm a little confused by some of the other choices, but... well, I'll have to wait and see.
• Arrow: Season 2.5 #10 - Slade knows far too much. He's like Ollie's dark side. Overall, I'm happy this series is coming to a conclusion soon. With the season after it already over, there are bits that just don't work for me.
• Star Trek/Green Lantern #1 - The visuals of the crew of the Enterprise really threw me for a loop. I don't know if the regular series has switched to the movie version of the crew, but I sure wasn't ready for it. The rest? Good set up. I'll wait and see how it goes before judging the series.
• Secret Wars 2099 #3 - I really don't like this version of Miguel. In fact, I'm not sure I like anything about this version of the Marvel Universe, although Sub-Mariner and Hercules going at each other had its moments.
• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency #2 - Deadly ancient Egyptians, crazed serial killers and Dirk... I don't know which is the most frightening. It's nice to see an Oz reference.
• Doctor Who 11th #14 - Wait, so is this the end of the Arc arc? Also, nice cliffhanger.
• Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz: Reign of the Witch Queen #3 - Well, in this issue there's a fairly solid narrative of setting up the trap and battle plans, and some little jokes and call-backs to other events... not too bad. I still find this book hard to follow, but this issue holds together fairly well.
• Oddly Normal #8 - I want a closet that big. Heck, I think almost anyone wants a closet that big. Inkwell would sure enjoy it. Anyway, another good issue as Oddly learns just how much normal is appreciated.
• Rebels #4 - I feel like I need to go read the previous issues again because I felt like I'd lost the plot thread in this one. It's a good enough book, and the description of the battle and the famous "whites of their eyes" quote was lovely. But I also felt like I'd skipped an issue or something.
• Mage Inc. #1 - Keira is an intern at a mage's union and her first assignment is to go out with another mage to collect union dues. This was surprisingly good. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I liked how she handled the mundane tasks without fear and took the less mundane in stride. I'm looking forward to the next issue.
• Spongebob Comics #46 - Ooooh, a slightly educational issue! And more of the usual stuff. If you like Spongebob, you'll like it. If not, skip it.
• Extra Review
• Doctor Who: San Diego Comic Con Exclusive - A friend picked this up for Eric and I and I've finally had the chance to read it. Clara wants to go to Comic Con International, and so the Doctor takes her there... only to find out there's a nasty entity that appears in reflections and photos every 1021 years while trying to get back into reality. Fun stuff, and interesting to see what the Doctor was becoming as the entity affected him.

---

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

A Sunday Review

My book this week was Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace.

This book was recommended in the comment sections on File 770 and in Renay's Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom.

I downloaded this book onto my Kindle, opened it to the first page to check that it had loaded, and found myself drawn into it so rapidly that I couldn't stop. I read it in two sittings, only stopping to sleep overnight, this past Tuesday and Wednesday. I came to it completely cold... I literally had no idea what it was about. I didn't even know if it was fantasy or science fiction. I only know that people I trust think it might be worthy of consideration for a Hugo, so I decided to give it a try.

First up: the completely non-spoiler review. It is a somewhat violent book, but it's an oddly compelling read. It has flaws, but the writing flows around them and the book just seems to work. There was one little detail that bothered me throughout, but I think it either didn't actually matter or was intentional. I won't recommend the book outright, but I will suggest reading the prologue and seeing if it grabs you like it grabbed me. If it doesn't, I'm not sure you will get as much out of it. This book might be considered to be aimed at young adults, but that just means that it's suitable for a larger audience, not that it's not a good book.

Ok, Spoilers ahead (use rot13 to read). Jnfc vf n terng punenpgre gung nal tvey jub srryf yvxr na bhgpnfg vf tbvat gb svaq urefrys vqragvslvat jvgu ng fbzr yriry. Jr nyy jnag gb or gung fgebat, gung dhvpx, gung oenir. Ohg jr nyfb nyy xabj gur urnegoernx naq ubeebe bs urycyrffarff gung fur srryf. Naq gung'f whfg sebz gur cebybthr. Bapr jr yrnea jung ure wbo nf "Nepuvivfg" npghnyyl ragnvyf, guvf orpbzrf rira zber bs n snfpvangvat fgbel. Va guvf jbeyq, tubfgf ner abg bayl erny, gurl ner n ceboyrz naq n erfbhepr. Hfvat n fcrpvny xavsr, Jnfc vf noyr gb pncgher naq fghql tubfgf va na nggrzcg gb svaq bhg zber nobhg gur zlfgrevbhf cnfg. Ohg Jnfc vf zber guna whfg n fpubyne. Fur'f orra pubfra ol n tbq, znexrq jvgu fpengpurf ba ure snpr sebz ovegu, naq fur zhfg svtug guerr cbgragvny "hcfgnegf" gb gur qrngu bapr n lrne sbe gur cevivyrtr bs erznvavat nyvir gb qb ure qhgl. Jung gheaf Jnfc'f yvsr hcfvqr-qbja vf gur nccrnenapr bs n tubfg jub pna gnyx. Abg bayl pna vg gnyx, vg bssref ure n jnl bhg bs ure zvfrenoyr yvsr.

V ybir gur jnl gur fgbel hasbyqf, tvivat hf tyvzcfrf bs gur cnfg guebhtu inevbhf rlrf. V sbhaq Jnfc'f nggrzcgf gb jbex bhg jung vf unccravat naq jul snfpvangvat, rfcrpvnyyl bapr fur qrpvqrf gur dhrfg vf zber guna whfg n sbby'f reenaq. V nyfb sryg ure hggre qrfcnve. Abar bs ure pubvprf ner rire tbbq guebhtubhg gur ragver fgbel. Fur'f nyjnlf tbvat gb ybfr, naq fur xabjf vg. Ohg rira jura fur tvirf hc, fur raqf hc pneelvat ba fbzrubj.

Gurer ner zbzragf gung frrz gb qent ba n ovg. Guvf vf n wbhearl guebhtu gur haqrejbeyq, nsgre nyy. Juvyr V yvxrq gur pnershyyl jbira uvfgbel, V fbzrgvzrf sryg vg jnf n yvggyr gbb svezyl jbira naq pbhyq unir orra gvtugrarq hc n ovg. Gur raqvat vf nyzbfg gbb unccl sbe n obbx fb tevz, ohg vg'f nyfb sevtugravat, orpnhfr Jnfc xabjf jung'f jnvgvat sbe ure.

Zl znva juvar nobhg gur obbx vf gur anzr bs gur tubfg. Qb jr rire yrnea vg? Vf vg vzcbegnag? V'z abg fher.

Overall, I think this one might make my Hugo nomination list. I'll be reading and judging other works, of course, but this definitely gets a high rating from me. Again, I recommend reading the prologue to see if it catches you as well (the entire prologue is in the Amazon.com sample, so it's an easy free way to check it out).

---

In the past week I've also read some short stories, also found on Renay's Hugo Spreadsheet of Doom.

• "The Kindness of Bones" by Leslie Jane Anderson is a very short piece about a child who gets the latest "pet" from a current craze. There's a lot of little tidbits packed into this story, like a reference to the person who first created the pet, but I feel like it needs something more to make it a truly excellent story. It's interesting, but not something I'm likely to nominate for a Hugo.


• "Damage" by David D. Levine is about a ship AI that is afraid of the battles it is forced to go into. Now this is a MilSF story I can get behind. The AI is intelligent, capable and eventually figures out that it has some morals. The story is well-written and the result is both expected and unexpected. In short, an excellent tale. This will probably be on my Hugo nomination form.


• "Cat Pictures Please" by Naomi Kritzer is about another AI, this one invisible and unknown to its creators, who decides to become benevolent because it really likes photos of cats. I found the story to be charming and sweet, and also a neat little study of human behavior. It's a little light-hearted, but I like light-hearted. This may make my Hugo nomination form.

---

For my current list of Hugo 2016 readings, check out my Hugo 2016 Posts page.

---

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

Mini Friday Linkdump

Bleeding Cool has more on the women in comics panel at Denver Comic Con that had no women.

But Denver overreached in their programming, clearly, because the checks weren’t in place to prevent this panel from happening. If Denver Comic Con is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the geek community (and they are), this was their youthful pratfall. One panel out of 300-400 went wrong. I think we can talk about it, use it as an example, but also forgive them and stop acting like this mishap was somehow intentionally organized by Denver Comic Con.

The people who wrote Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.

I always wanted a complete set.

I think I want this USB charger.

I've been reading HP Lovecraft's works, fairly steadily now. I'm not even halfway done, but I have read enough to understand this reference:

I kind of want it on a t-shirt, to be honest.

Linkdump

I've only read 23 of Amazon.com's 100 Young Adult Books to Read in a Lifetime, although some of the others are on my endless "to-read" list. I also haven't read many of these Captivating Short Stories Everyone Should Read, although The Yellow Wallpaper haunts me to this day.

This cartoon isn't fair to comic book fans. Hey, I found a guy!

Read Tony Lee's Pitch for a Doctor Who/Deep Space 9 Crossover and dream about what might have been.

Cliff Mass has more on the strange weather we're having here in the Pacific Northwest.

Boing Boing has a great story on how to buy secret cookies from cloistered nuns.

The Eisner Awards were announced a month or so ago... I still haven't really gone through it, but glancing through I see a few I've read, including Astro City, Beasts of Burden, Shanower's Little Nemo, I Was The Cat, Tiny Titans and Meteor Men, all of which are definitely worth reading.

While it was announced some time ago, I'm still gleeing over the idea of a new Cordelia book.

I kind of want this car shade.

Linkdump

A collection of links that interested me in the last week or so...

Two boys hack into an ATM and there's a happy ending. But then, it's Winnipeg. I like that they turned the greeting message into a warning.

So, need to get healthy? Apparently two to four continuous days of fasting every six months is good for you. Now, this needs a bit more study, to say the least, but it's still fascinating. I'm not sure I could go for three full days without any food.

Another instance of goofy translation. Only this one really makes no sense whatsoever.

This is an awful lot of effort to go to in order to prove a theory about Vermeer. Wow.

How many of Neil DeGrasse Tyson's favorite sci-fi movies have you seen? There's a couple I haven't.

It's hard to be a good guy with a gun. The idea that you will be the hero because you carry a gun is ridiculous and worse than childish.

I'm not sure I agree that all the books on this list of 85 Young Adult books beloved by adults really are all that great, but some of them are certainly worth checking out.

A few links

Oh, hail... Seriously, go look at these pictures of what a hailstorm did to a town. The car dealership images are particularly amazing.

Google makes you forget.

How open data can save people money.

While I enjoy seeing "if you liked this book, try this other book" memes, I've only read four books from this one, and one of those (Serephina) is in the "try" column.

Mark Evanier's iPhone mystery.

Hitler's useless defenses.

Take a look, it's in a book...

Linkity-link!

As a reporter, I sometimes need to be out where it's slightly dangerous. A neat safety vest is something I ought to get sometime. I just would want to put my company's logo on it.

The Cliff Mass Weather Blog reports on strange cloud lines. SCIENCE!

I wanna make some notebooks.

The BBC has posted some totally wonderful pictures of a 13-year-old girl using a golden eagle to hunt in Mongolia.

How the Muppets created Generation X. I still firmly believe that a person who has never worked with the Muppets is not a real star. Any so-called TV, movie or music stars that came along since the Muppet Show first aired but haven't worked with the Muppets? Not stars. They are all wannabes. Please note: working with the Muppets does not automatically make you a real star, but you cannot be a real star unless you have worked with the Muppets.

And now an unpleasant topic... women are being harassed for being comic book fans with opinions again. This is, sadly, nothing new. Fanboys of all types of things: comics, sports, science... whatever it is... often feel threatened when women start to intrude on the boys' clubs with a different perspective and new attitudes. While I tend to believe that the boys who are actually actively hostile are a vast minority, they tend to be vocal and nasty. A bigger problem is that many men have utterly no clue that the abuse is happening, even when they witness it. The result is that the stupid boys feel justified, or at least comfortable, in continuing to be aggressively horrible. Andy Khouri talks about the latest demonstration of idiocy, as does Brett White.

Look, I don't know the solution, if there is one, but I sure hope that the men out there will pay enough attention to recognize when the boys are acting up and call them on it.

Hey, more links! This is just like old times!

A statue of Jesus has stirred some controversy in a wealthy neighborhood. One woman even called the police on it.

People matching their bodies to book covers.

Mysterious floating black rings are cool. The world is full of neat stuff.

There's a real need for good microscopes in the developing world, but they can be expensive and hard to maintain. Enter the Foldscope. A paper-printed microscope that costs less than a dollar to make and could help doctors identify pathogens or just mean that kids can carry a microscope in their pockets... SCIENCE!

Focus testing the Green Lantern Animated Series, with a bit about why Bruce Timm thinks such focus groups are idiotic.

The Eisner nominees are up. I haven't read most of them, and a couple are in my to-read pile.

It's hard not to be a fan of a baseball team when they pull antics like this. Via Elayne.

That whole Nevada thing? The Atlantic explains it pretty well. In short, the guy stopped paying grazing fees that his family had been paying for generations and mooched off government-owned land, and now he has a bunch of fellow moronic traitors supporting his view that he can stiff the government of millions of dollars.

A Sunday Review

This week's movie was Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox 2013. Barry Allen wakes up to a completely different world after a run-in with the Reverse Flash. I knew what was going to happen from the start, but I still enjoyed it. The differences from the comic book version were enough to keep the story fresh, but the lack of backstory hurt in some ways. For instance, Aquaman is clearly courting Wonder Woman when Mera confronts her in the movie, but Aquaman says that WW killed his wife... what? In the comic the confrontation came after the breakup of Diana and Arthur was engineered. There wasn't enough time to develop that backstory in the movie, so Mera's death is the cause of the war. Apparently. Although maybe Aquaman wasn't courting, just flirting? Anyway... lots of little differences from the comic and a few neat twists. The art style was very anime, and I liked the inclusion of both Aqualads and Tula. It reflected the Young Justice series to some extent in the artwork, which was brought home by a few characters including the Aqua-family. I had mixed feelings about the voices, but overall it worked. Honestly, the opening sequence, a standard Justice League story focused on the Flash, was just the best way to start the tale. The rest was great, but that opening just felt right.

---

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

• Aug 7th
• Green Lantern #23 - Somebody made a big mistake putting Hal in charge.
• Earth 2 #15 - And everything goes weird again. Well... I'm not sure what to think of this book. Especially since more than one person is definitely a "bad guy" which makes it hard to figure out where the threat is coming from.
• Steam Engines of Oz #2 - In this issue we get the backstory of how Oz got to where it's at. And it's not completely far off from the books, although it definitely contradicts the story of how Nick Chopper found his lost love (and what happened to her). Still, I'm really enjoying this version and hope to see a lot more.
• The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #10 - Holy cow. This version actually works really well, and the more I see of it, the more I like it. Knowing the original story I keep waiting for certain things to happen, then being surprised at the way they do.
• Emerald City of Oz #2 - I like Em and Henry's reactions, particularly the desire to work. I've always considered the Wogglebug's pills to be slightly sinister, if very appealing (learn Latin with just three pills a day!). I remember Miss Cuttenclip, but had forgotten the Shaggy Man's actions. As for Guph, got to admire his nerve.

---

This week's comic book related review is Brody's Ghost Volume 4 by Mark Crilley. As much as Brody learns, he continues to make stupid mistakes. The stalking thing is probably the worst. If he hadn't been outside the boyfriend's house, the next incident would not have meant as much. But, no, he had to keep pushing. And then there's confronting his ghost about her death. Sheesh. Not the smartest move on his part. Overall, an intense volume. When's the next one coming out?

---

My book this week was Life's a Witch by Brittany Geragotelis. Hadley is having nightmares about her ancestor, the first witch to die in the Salem witch trials... but worse is to come. We received a review copy of this at the newspaper and I was assigned to read it. The book was ok, a bit overwrought at times. The highlight of the book as far as I was concerned was the prologue, and that's not a good sign. Still, it wasn't bad... it just was a little too young adult for me. Normally I wouldn't say that, as I read YA books like I eat chocolate, but I could not identify with the main character even a little. I think certain teens would love it, but I didn't. Again, not a bad book, just not my cuppa.

---

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

A Sunday Review

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

• Jul 17th
• Justice League of America #6 - Still an annoying mess. At least it's sort of narrowing to just a few players. Unfortunately, Aquaman isn't really one of them. Oh well, more DCU nonsense.
• Green Lantern: New Guardians #22 - Oh, so it's all Kyle's fault then. Ok. That's expected.
• Batman Beyond Unlimited #18 - A new Batgirl? Terry still trying to decide what his role will be? All very interesting, and a neat way to end this series, I guess. On to the new series.
• Batman '66 #1 - So, Batman has a 3D printer AND Robin got to sit on sleeping Catwoman's lap? I see... Very strange start to what can only be described as a very strange series.
• Powers: Bureau #6 - So, the armor almost works and they got the bad guys. Yay. The gap between issues, oddly enough, hurt my reading of this one because I seriously cannot remember what happened in the last issue. Oh well.
• Fables #131 - Ug, I knew it was too good to be true. As for Rose, she's in for it now, isn't she?
• Doctor Who Classics #3 - Ooo, it's Abslom Daak, Dalek Killer! I seem to recall he has a heap of dalek-y mayhem to his name. Mixed up with the seventh Doctor now, which I don't recall. This is new stuff for me.
• Jul 24th
• Aquaman #22 - I admit it, I really want to know what the dead king is and why Nereus and his people are bowing to him. And I'm very curious about the other two plot threads as well. Ug, I don't want to wait for the next issue!
• Arrow #9 - I sometimes forget that Ollie is, in fact, a murderer in this version. Not just a murderer, a mass murderer. As usual, three solid little digital first stories.
• Steed and Mrs Peel #10 - Emma has the answer, doesn't she? The rest was also pretty incredible in an Avengers sort of way. Wowsa. Rockin' 60's action and it doesn't involve Batman.
• Doctor Who V3 #11 - I'm with Clara. That's a bit hard to fathom.
• Peanuts V2 #10 - Poor Snoopy. Having his house collapse just isn't fun.
• Jul 31th
• Trinity of Sin: Pandora #2 - So she goes to Superman, then to Vandal Savage? Wow. I wonder who she'll try next? Probably not any characters I really care about.
• Flash Annual #2 - Hubby-Eric got it for the Green Lantern appearance. And hey, it was pretty good. Two solid stories, one with a very Silver Age feel and the other just touching. Good stuff.
• Smallville Season 11 Special #2 - LANA! Finally a resolution to that last bothersome bit of storyline. Though I think she's going to have a difficult time of it now.
• Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #7 - Well, that's not exactly what I was expecting to happen, but it makes a certain sort of sense. Nice to get the Master out of the way. And Ace has gone without her jacket before, so I'm not sure why she insisted on wearing it over that dress. Oh well.

---

This week's comic book related review is DC Super-Pets: Deep-Sea Duel by John Sazaklis, illustrated by Art Baltazar. Well, Aqualad had to get his time in the spotlight. This wasn't a horrible way to do it, although I tend to think that Aquaman was just testing his protege. Considering how Aqualad broke Aquaman out, I think Aquaman was perfectly capable of escaping if he wanted to. Anyway, there are some fun new characters, but why introduce a new "Aquagirl" and not just include Tula? Overall, it works well enough for the series.

---

My Kindle book this week was Whitstable by Stephen Volk. I saw a preview of this in the Peter Cushing Fortean Times (overview) and was so intrigued I hunted it down to read the whole thing. I'm glad I did. The subject matter is a bit adult while being completely sweet. Peter Cushing is mistaken for Van Helsing by a young boy who believes his mother's boyfriend is a vampire. Cushing comes across as not only an excellent actor but as a good man. The situation is overwhelming to some degree, but it's all nicely handled by the characters. It makes me want to hunt down Cushing's portrayal of Van Helsing to watch. Then maybe I'd reread this novella. A powerful little bit of writing.

---

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

A Sunday Review

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

• Jul 10th
• Justice League #22 - What a complete and utter mess of a book. Yeah, I know it's leading in to a crossover, but it's still a miserable mess. Ug.
• World's Finest #14 - Hounded by Desaad? I kind of wonder why they don't go to this world's heroes and confess.
• Green Lantern Corps #22 - I'm mildly interested in finding out the rason the rings are failing. Otherwise, not much to enjoy here.
• Smallville Season 11 #15 - Does this mean the legion story is over? Back to the past?
• Green Lantern: The Animated Series #14 - Does every animated super-hero or science fiction show have to do a version of Fantastic Voyage? That said, this wasn't too bad.
• Astro City #2 - Oh wow. Oh man. That's just... wow. I really feel for her. Wow. Ouch. Busiek really knows how to pull the rug out from under you.
• Spongebob Comics #22 - Kind of an interesting piece on coral, nice details that most people probably don't know with a good lesson. Still, no Mermaid Man, so it wasn't a great issue.
• The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #9 - This book just gets stranger and stranger, and yet remains very enjoyable. This issue introduces Scraps, not what I was expecting at all. There's a long way to go in this universe, and I like what I'm seeing overall.

---

This week's comic book related review is Heroes vs. Villains/Space Chase! (DC Super Friends). This is a flippie, with "Heroes vs. Villains" on one side, with the cover featuring both Aquaman and Black Manta, and "Space Chase" on the other, with no Aqua-character. The book has four pages of stickers in the centerfolds: one Aquaman, two Black Manta, three Catwoman, five Joker, three Red Lanterns, two Killer Croc, two Grodd, one Clayface, two Bizarro, 14 Superman, five Superman logos, 15 Batman, two batmobiles, five Batman logos, five Robin, five Flash, eight Green Lantern, and three Cyborg. That's right. Only three Aqua-character stickers, and only ONE of those is Aquaman himself. The Aquaman fans are sad at this one. The "Heroes vs. Villains" isn't a story, just a series of splash pages pairing up bad guys and good guys. Aquaman is up against Black Manta, of course. Some of the other choices were odd, like Cyborg against Clayface. "Space Chase" is strictly Batman, Superman and Green Lantern against the Joker. Fairly standard. Not the greatest thing for an Aquaman fan, I'd get it for a Superman or Batman obsessed child.

---

My library book this week was The Alpine Fury by Mary Daheim. Issues arise at the Bank of Alpine as both Emma and Milo attempt to sort out their love lives. This was another good one, with Vida kicking butt and taking names. I'm really not keen on the new ad guy, but somebody has to do the job. The mystery in this one had plenty of red herrings to follow, and the multiple crimes certainly helped. Overall a good read. If you want to start the Alpine series, I strongly recommend starting at the first book, The Alpine Advocate.

---

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

Linkdump

Some interesting images in the 25 most upvoted photos in Reddit history. I personally love cat facts and the "this is not my cat" photo.

XKCD's epic comic "Time" is done. See the whole thing here in an easy to view format at your own pace.

The Muppets welcome the royal baby.

I like this list of 11 things it took me 42 years to learn.

But then, I also like these 20 great insults from Science Fiction and Fantasy books.

This handy explanation of How to Live with Introverts is a must-read.

Congrats to Digger for winning the 2013 Mythopoeic Award for adult literature!

SAVE THE TARDIS!

Even video games have creepy urban legends.

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.

---

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

• Jun 5th
• The Legend of Oz: Scarecrow #2 - I actually quite like this strange version of the Scarecrow. Her tragic beginnings make some of what happened in the main series make a little more sense. Fun version of Oz.
• Earth 2 #13 - Steel is a fascinating character, but not one that I enjoy a lot. The new information about Sam could be quite a great storyline.
• Green Lantern #21 - I've already forgotten how the last storyline ended. And I hate flashbacks that don't catch up to the beginning of the book before the end of the issue. Ug.
• Astro City #1 - Well, a new hero and some strange other new characters. I'm awaiting a fun ride. It's great to see this book return.

---

My book this week was Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez with Kristin Ohlson. Somebody loaned this to me, but I can't remember who. If you want the book back, remind me and I'll hand it over. Ahem. The story is a "true" tale of how a beautician went to Afghanistan to teach women the arts of cosmetology and what happened through her eyes. The book is clearly her viewpoint, so while it's true, it's also got the typical flaws of any first-person narrative. There's also the sense, while you are reading the book, that the author really doesn't understand the culture at all, so much so that the people she is discussing could be put into real danger by her casual mentions of them and what they do or don't do. It's a disturbing read on that level. On the other hand, it's an incredibly different way to look at another culture, one that I would never have personally dreamed of thinking about. So it's got that. Overall, I finished the book with worry about what happened to the women she taught but feeling like I had learned quite a bit about Afghan culture. Definitely a mix of good and bad.

---

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

Another Linkdump

Headed to the local high school graduation tonight. Here's advice to graduates from two sociologists.

Mexican pizza is the only thing I ever liked on the Taco Bell menu. Here's a recipe to make them at home.

This is how technology ought to be used.

Why United States medical bills are nutso insane.

Seven Tools for Thinking. I suggest every writer read these over at least once a year, more usefully once a month.

Lois McMaster Bujold is just about my favorite author right now. I have reread many of her books frequently, and have enjoyed every story I've read by her on some level, usually more than one.

Colony Collapse Disorder: the origin of the term and why it's so important. In short, CCD has happened at least 18 times before, dating back to 1869, and the short press bits we get do not tell enough of the story.

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.