Thoughts

Some pointless thoughts after the jump...

Linkdump

Comic Book Legends Revealed #272: Superboy's DNA, Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Alley Oop.

Both Boing Boing and Lifehacker have information about restoring LEGO bricks to a non-yellowed color.

Speaking of LEGO, I want some of these tattooed LEGO Minifigs. Any but the tramp stamp.

Doctor Who Filming at the National Museum Cardiff.

Make an In-N-Out Double-Double, Animal-Style.

With all the stories of people quitting going around, Boing Boing has a Letter from a freed slave to his former master. I think I would like to have met the man who dictated that response.

Slate's Pre-College Reading List.

Street Fighting Mathematics.

The Depression in color. Color images from 1906.

Penguins!

Do not disappoint Basement Cat, the punishment is too horrible to contemplate.

Pug for the in-laws.

Another Linkdump!

38 years of Superbowl Commercials.

And more old links, I'm clearing out my cache of interesting stuff. Heck, some of this may be old enough to be interesting again.

The USB drive for me!

One hundred and thirty-six is MILLIONS! Be sure to read the comments on this one for more on the stats.

Ten Creative Doorstops.

Ever found a cool webcomic that you want to read from the beginning, but don't have time? Try Archive Binge, a service that allows you to set up a custom RSS feed for webcomics. I immediately signed up for five comics... if you know a webcomic creator, tell 'em to get their comic on this service!

Want.

The LEGO Renaissance.

How a train journey saved me from the Nazis.

Lightning Volcano Storm!

Pug for the in-laws.

Wednesday Linkdump

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #173: Spidey's Marriage, Bob Kane's Swipes, and Watchmen.

I think maybe I ought to bind my collection of books that I reference a lot and don't plan on ever trying to sell.

Read all of Local #3 for free.

Trio of nested Klein bottles. Oooooh, cool.

Tidal power moves forward in Maine.

How about the 20 Best Websites to Download Free E-Books.

Really, I'm only linking to this article because I really like the headline. I suppose I could also say I want one.

If I were still in the King County Library System, I might be able to find this book recommended by Todd Klein, but the local system doesn't have it. Interlibrary loan may have to be invoked.

Five Thoughts on the Popularity of Steampunk. I like Steampunk. Not in an I'm-going-to-redo-my-house-in-Steampunk-style way, but I enjoy well-made Steampunk artifacts. I particularly like #3.

An actual study on near-death experiences. I wonder what they'll find, although I have my suspicions. Let's just say I'll be very surprised if anyone can describe the images.

Yeah, I looked up my Sarah Palin Baby Name. My preferred name results in "Copper Catfish Palin". Huh.

Random Thought: I enjoy having Sirius Music on my TV because I can listen to a song come on, look at the TV and find out who the group is and what the song is called. If someone tells me the same information, I don't retain it. But when I see it, I remember it. Plus it's just nice to have a channel of good ol' '80s music.

LOLCat Theology: Ceiling Cat Creates and Young and Foolish.

Linkdump

Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #168: Coincidences, Two-Face, and The Beast.

While the water cube is clearly a fast pool, they left out two changes that would've granted swimmers superpowers.

These bike helmet covers look both cool and silly at the same time.

Nobody knows what caused the big bangs under Lake Huron.

Penguin becomes Knight.

SHHH!

You never know who might be a spy.

As expected, known huckster Tom Biscardi didn't deliver on his promises at the Bigfoot press conference, thus setting back cryptozoology another 10 years in the eyes of the media. If Bigfoot is ever proven to exist, it will be despite Biscardi, not because of him.

Renewable Diesel Fuel. I'm all for alternative forms of energy. On the same line, The Smart Fortwo gets a test drive, and doesn't impress with its gas mileage. In the meantime, some drivers are converting their own cars in electric powered vehicles. I wonder if I could get someone to convert mine, and if it would be worth it? As for solar, Metafilter directs us to a website that calculates the solar potential of your roof. Our new home in Eastern Washington will have much more sun, so we're thinking of going solar in a few years if we can pay off all the current debt we've built up.

And... a pug for the in-laws.

Another Linkdump

I probably already linked to this, but since it became an Astronomy Picture of the Day, it's worth another link.

Terrorist Watch List Graph.

This is an Androgums meal: Blood and Souls.

The mystery of The Lido.

Lost tapes of the Doctor Who Composer. Delia Derbyshire was ahead of her time.

Kids on the Tower.

Wonderful Safety Sign.

Don't Litter. Aquaman would like this ad.

Fanboy in the dictionary.

Virus Alert: Snopes on the latest. Snopes also takes on McCain's citizenship.

The Rubik's Cube prank.

Can't sleep, penguins will eat me. But wait, BATDOG to the Rescue!

Different Flavors of Chocolate Labs.

Cute Overload embeds Simon's Cat Shorts. For the latest, Simon needs a TiVo.

A Sunday Review

TV this week: Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: "Neighborhood Joints" (some of these folks have really long weeks), Robin Hood: "A Good Day to Die" (wow, intense talking scenes, and the most that Little John has ever said), Robin Hood: "We Are Robin Hood!" (I really really didn't expect the ending, and I'm glad I managed to avoid spoilers about it), Ghost Hunters: "Ghostly Bounty Hunter" (nothing in this one but good tales that turned out to be false, and a bat), Destination Truth: "Flying Dinosaur; Sloth Monster" (way more bats than Ghost Hunters had), I also saw ads for Sarah Jane Adventures during both Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth, Supernanny: "Addis Family" (dinnertime problems brought back really bad memories for me), Ace of Cakes: "Duff's Birthday" (meatball cake for the goofball), Torchwood: "Exit Wounds" (whoa. intense. too bad I had one of the major plot points spoiled), and Doctor Who: "Partners in Crime" (I prefer my weight loss program).

Comics this week: Countdown 4 shows me that I clearly missed out on a lot of Mary Marvel storyline, since I haven't got a clue what the deal is with Darkseid. Detective #843 is as good as all the rest of Dini's issues, but there's a bit of continuity I'm not familiar with in this issue that made it a strange read. I also read Action #863, which was a suitable finish to the Legion tale. I found the two-page house ad for Final Crisis at the end of the book to be strange and slightly disappointing.

Justice League Unlimited #44 was a little depressing in the way it humanized another villain, something this series has done before. It's a shame this series is ending. It's probably the best Justice League series ever. I'm not sure what to make of Jonah Hex #30. It was a story told from the wrong angle. I think I liked it. And lastly for this week, PS238 #30 was excellent as usual! The Las Vegas saga gets nicely wrapped up and Tyler starts a new adventure. I love this book.

I also got Holmes from AiT/Planet Lar as a review copy. I think the description on the website says all that really needs to be said, "Omaha Perez' vicious skewering of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic..." I will confess that I've never been a big fan of Sherlock Holmes. In fact, I consider him an unsufferable twit. I adored a Doctor Who novel (All-Consuming Fire) that took Holmes into a fantastical setting in which Watson could cope but Holmes could not. This graphic novel goes quite a bit further, making both Watson and Holmes out to be insane drug-addicts. It's very strange, very raunchy, and a bit over the top in places. I can't really recommend it to most folks, but if you dislike Holmes already or like re-imaginings of classic characters, this is one you should check out.

While on the trip to Portland last week, we listened to Doctor Who: Spare Parts from Big Finish productions. This was an intense audio story about the origin of the Cybermen. The story is about the need to survive and the lengths to which people will go simply to continue existing. The story is chilling from start to finish in more than one way. I've listened to a few of the Big Finish audios, and I think this is one of the best.

This week's library movie was Surf's Up. As I somehow collect penguins (or do they collect me?) I tend to like the idea of another penguin movie. The style is very clever, as a documentary about Cody, a penguin surfer wannabe. The story is a bit like Karate Kid with surfing. I would not have enjoyed this movie if it were just a standard surfer movie: the penguins pretty much made it watchable. I really liked the Pen Gu-ins that Chicken Joe befriends. It's a fun little romp.

My library book this week was Dragon Harper by Todd and Anne McCaffrey. I have been a fan of Pern since I was a pre-teen. I've read all the Pern books I could lay hands on, and loved them dearly. Well, most of them. The collaborations between Todd and his mother on Pern have been... not quite a strong. The writing is less finished, like it needs about three more drafts. The action sometimes just jumps, leaving out key moments or transitions. I actually found typos in this one, which doesn't generally happen to me. While I'm certainly interested in this history of Pern, I don't find it nearly as satisfying as the original Pern novels. I'll keep reading these, but Pern is no longer on my "must buy in hardcover!" list.

Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews

Yet More Links

I'm down to under 130 saved items in Google Reader...

Happy Pi Approximation Day.

I want a Star Wars Stroller!

Lawyer unclear on copyright.

Tropical Giant Penguin!

Intolerance and bomb threats shut down library program.

87-year-old woman catches marauding bear. 72-year-old man catches thief. Don't mess with the senior citizens!

Scientists think they've found The Tunguska Crater, from the comet or asteroid that hit the Earth on 30 June 1908. As usual, other scientists disagree.

I can't help but think of Roy "$54 Million Pants" Pearson as the sort of guy who shouldn't be a judge.

Royal mummy, literally, found because of lost tooth. Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh of Egypt that the male rulers didn't want remembered.

Houses in Unusual Places. Some are real. Some are not. Can you tell which is which?

Bedbugs are back. Beware.

Kilts shouldn't have wild sporran. That sounds amazingly kinky.

Packing

I'm pretty busy packing for our trip. Just a little thought...

Michael Sensei sent me some awesome snacks called "Penguin's Lunch". The treat comes in a box with a plastic toy penguin and a small bag of fish-shaped snacks. While the penguin alone made me extremely happy, the snacks were also quite excellent (and at 60 calories for the box, they also aren't a threat to my weight loss).

Now I've seen another goofy Japanese snack that I wish I could try out on Boing Boing. I really need to find a good Japanese import shop that might sell these things:

If only American snack food was so creative and silly.

Linkdump

Free Comic Book On-line. Have I mentioned that I love it when publishers do this?

Heidi wants you to come up with ideas on how to promote a blog at a comic book show.

Speaking of marketing blogs, I just updated my own "business card" with artwork by the wonderful Jeff Parker (Thanks again for permission, Jeff! Everybody go buy The Interman now). I'll be handing out my wonderful collectible cards tonight at the Tad Williams signing and at the end of this month at The Emerald City Comicon. Highly limited, special edition! Available only from me!

Mike Sterling has more on evil comic shops.

Bully points out that the media has no spoiler warnings.

More on Dan Vado and creator's rights and publishing comic books.

Another article on how modern comics are too dark and serious, which is why they have no audience. That's why I'm suggesting everyone pick up Aquaman #50, which has a lot of humor as well as a tapestry of a plot that uses neat threads from every era of Aquaman to create the start of what I hope will be a very popular time for the book. C'mon, it's got TOPO in it, how bad can it be?

Women like 300.

Wil Wheaton starts posting his William Shatner story.

Michael Jones slams Penguins. I have seriously considered starting a "penguin blog" in which I would show off my numerous stuffed penguins, link to penguin related sites, and enthuse in general about penguinicity. But I've already got too much on my plate as it is, so that idea hasn't gone beyond the "hey maybe" stage.

Yay! Another extinct species rediscovered. Huzzah!

Variety looks at box office numbers and Boing Boing points out the obvious.

I remember Sambo's Restaurant. I remember wondering why it suddenly disappeared.

Colleen Doran summarizes The Epic of Gilgamesh.

Hit and Run tackles The US Copyright Office destroying Internet Radio by imposing extra fees on them, fees that over-the-air radio doesn't have to deal with.

Canada and Japan have very positive images.

Maybe that's because In Canada, Cats Grow On Trees.

Coupla' Links and Hubby-Eric on Video

A new Blogaround Challenge has been issued. Get yer browsers fired up, folks.

Apple's Next Product Photoshopping Contest.

Here's hubby-Eric at the KBTC Doctor Who Pledge Drive, being harrassed by a mad penguin. It's three minutes long, but the most fun moment happens in the first 30 seconds. In case you are wondering what Eric's shirt says, it's the Russell T Davies is my master now T-shirt from my Zazzle shop.