Book reviews
The future Marketing division of Sirius Cybernetics corporation or proof that one industry has just too much money? Yet again, the pharmaceutical industry puts us horny computer nerds to shame.
(A major difference is you can ignore my advice on what computer to buy, but You can’t be so cavalier with your doctor’s prescription.)
In related news… Scrubs Season 2 is out on DVD. As Dru would say, “So good.”
In light of it being Banned Books Week, I went back to the ALA’s list of most challenged books in the last decade and I was surprised to see Bridge to Terabithia made the top 10. This book was first published in 1977 and was one of my favorite books growing up. A quick net search told me it was challenged (and banned) because of offensive language and satanism.
What a laugh!
The only thing satanic about this book is the number of reviews on Amazon. Since the “satanic worship” done in the book is a bunch of children play acting Narnia, one of the most pro-Christian fantasy pieces of all time, the irony is stunning.Continue reading
Tuesday, Mark and Joseph decided to attend the John Battelle book signing at Books, Inc. about his new book, The Search. I decided to meet them there.
I was terribly sick that day and Caitlin
MORE SOON
Caitlin pointed out that the Complete Calvin and Hobbes is out:
The design seem similar to the Complete Far Side which I once picked up at Costco. If that is the case, then the hardbound books should be very large in print with Sundays in color. My only complaints are that it is too large for a regular bookshelf, the books are too heavy to read in your lap, and it costs a boatload.
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MacMinute clued me in to the fact that Pirates of Silicon Valley is coming out on DVD. I recorded this movie when I last had cable (back in 1999) because I was out the days it aired. I enjoyed this movie, and because of it’s high geekfest quotient, right up there with Real Genius.
I think Dave still has my videocassette of it. I had forgotten I had recorded it until a few years ago when I saw part of it with him. We had great fun watching all the 1999 dot-com boom commercials that were aired on TNT along with it (too bad the DVD doesn’t have that as a special feature.)
I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at five this morning. It was okay that the package came at around noon because I had to finish re-reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (early senility).
I’m actually a rather slow reader, it’s just that I don’t stop. Besides, I had to finish it because Caitlin was hot on my tail (and she was re-reading the entire series, not just the last book).
I should exact revenge all all you blogger idiots who spoiled the ending of Book 5 before I had a chance to finish it two years ago…
When we arrived in Yosemite on a new moon late at night, the most noticeable thing was the stars in the sky. It was so dark you could easily pick out the Milky Way. So I stayed up even later to take 30 second bulb exposures with a tripod and timer. I wanted to edit some of them and asked Sean if he could suggest something.
He suggested “Astrophotography for the Amateur” by Michael A. Covington. Even though the book is “hardcore” there is apparently a whole section on taking photos without telescopes with separate chapters on comets/meteors, the moon, and eclipses. (I wonder if there is anything on taking photos of the sun.)
Before I go on my rant, I need to give a little background.
When Andrei purchased his Nikon D70, we discovered that we had purchased different eBooks. I had purchased Peter iNova’s book and Andrei had gotten Thom Hogan’s. So after we had read our respective books, we initiated a exchange of CDs.
The two books are very different. Peter’s book capitalizes on features unique to PDF (actually somewhat frustrating since I hate Adobe Reader), is prettier, and doubles as an introductory book on Photography. Thom’s book is more practical (specific camera setting advice), has some nice tips you don’t get elsewhere, and is laser focused on one thing: talking about the Nikon D70. They both come with a bunch of Photoshop Actions, which I haven’t had a chance to use.
What I’m trying to say, in my roundabout way, is that Thom Hogan’s book is really, really good. It’s the user manual that should have been included with the camera.
[Good, I’ve gotten that off my chest. Now let me rant.]Continue reading
I picked up an illustrated version of Dan Brown’s book, The Da Vinci Code.
The publishers have come out with this edition to exploit the holiday season. Like Harry Potter before, I’m curious what all the hype is about. Knowing my ability to absorb “genre fiction,” I guess I might as well write this day off.
When it came out last year, it was sitting on my room mate’s coffee table, and I probably should have read it then. From the back cover, the book is about someone who finds a hidden code inside Leonardo Da Vinci’s works. A secret society called the Priory of Sion exists to protect the secret revealed by the code and the Indiana Jones-alike and a love interest go off to unveil the astonishing truth.
I know this is genre fiction, but… C’mon! Where have I heard this one before?
Wasn’t it just the other day, waiting for my $1 double cheeseburger, I noticed a huge advert for National Treasure? I can picture Eisner’s yes-men at Disney saying, “Okay, we’ll do The Da Vinci Code, but instead of that a lame Italian, we’ll have the founding fathers to make it more American; instead of the Priory of Sion which nobody has ever heard of, we’ll use the Illuminati. Heck, we have every dollar bill in the United States advertising for us! And what’s more brilliant is no royalties to Dan Brown.” The last part probably sat well with ol’ Mike: Disney is still trying to convince the world they own Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. Yeah, and the Lion King and Atlantis weren’t ripped off either. Disney, you sure know how to tell them…I have newfound respect for your originality: I await Toy Story 3 with bated breath—that’ll show Pixar who wears the pants in the family.
No, that wasn’t where I heard it before…
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