Bang and Whimper

Don’t forget that the newest volume in the Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the 9th: The Carnivorous Carnival goes on sale tomorrow, the 29th of October. I will, quite naturally, be one of the first to buy it. You will, quite naturally, be stuck wondering in awe at my superiority and coolness.

Also, I got my LSAT score on Saturday. I think I will apply to the following schools:

1. Hamburger U.
2. Chick-fil-A University
3. Starbucks Academy

With my score, I might just have a chance of getting in.

NP: The Autumns, The Garden Ends

“Build a face by selecting from a top and bottom portion.” I can’t begin to tell you why I think this is so cool, but I’m quite sure I’m correct in my assessment. You will enjoy it immensely, or your money back.

Unrelated: I just finished (finally!) reading Diogenes Laertius. Quite possibly the best book ever. I realize that I say that far too much (“best ever!! (until tomorrow)”) but this is it. The sine qua non of reading enjoyment. The summum bonum. Diogenes ends his work to “coincide with the beginning of happiness”—with the Sovran Maxims of Epicurus. Absolutely sublime.

NP: R.E.M., Finest Worksong

I’ve been meaning to post this for some time, mostly for myself (who am I kidding—everything I post here is mostly for myself), so I don’t forget. You’ll need Shockwave to watch the wonderful dyseducational road movie that provides a modern Yes/No guide to driving and living in the automobile age. Fun fun.

NP: Alkaline Trio, Madam Me

One of the funniest websites I’ve seen in a long while, Skeletor and Gang is a wonderful display of home creativity and ingenuity. It’s a collection of short stop-motion animations using He-Man™ action figures. I found them to be alarmingly entertaining. Watch for the pro-wrestling-style moves in some of the “battles,” including a Figure Four, the People’s Elbow in The Kidnap, and He-Man tapping out of a submission hold in the last clip, Educational Television. The music choices and sound editing show glimpses of genius, and some of the dance sequences are hilarious. Good stuff. [If you don’t have a high-speed internet connection, you might try saving some of the files locally; they’re large (1-8MB) and don’t stream well over slow connections.]

The 2002 winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics are Daniel Kahneman of Princeton and Vernon Smith of George Mason.

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I rented V: The Final Battle the other day and have enjoyed revisiting what was easily one of my all-time favorite shows growing up. I bought the original miniseries a few months ago and am heartened to find they have released the follow-up. I will be supremely happy when they release the actual TV series… The acting is bad, and the effects are laughable at best (it’s hard to remember that such things could have been believable back then, but I was a fan of Buck Rogers, too), but I highly recommend the series to anyone who wants to relive a bit of the mid-eighties kitsch in the comfort of their own home theatre. Good stuff.

On another note entirely: I have moved. Actually, I’m mid-move. In medias res. But the new address is on my contact page, if you’re interested.

NP: Alizée, Moi…Lolita

LSAT: done. Please don’t ask me how I did. I don’t get the score for weeks, and right now I’d like to focus on killing my brain cells with beer. I will admit, though, that I closed my writing sample with: Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam. I am an überdork.

My friend from work gets married tonight within stumbling distance of my apartment. Guess who’s going to enjoy himself at the reception tonight?

…

Me, in case that wasn’t clear.

NP: The Autumns, Rose Catcher

So about a month ago my computer died while I was attempting to replace some dead CPU fans. In a panic, I ordered a new motherboard and CPU. Craziness ensued, and it took two weeks for my package to arrive. Last Friday, I installed the new mobo/CPU, but they didn’t seem to work. It was the same old problem: no video signal, and no sensible beep code from the motherboard. Yesterday, as I was contemplating returning the new motherboard and CPU, I decided to reinstall the old combo (because it was the most convenient way to store it) and on a whim I powered it up.

Naturally, it worked just fine.

So I’ve either got an extra motherboard/CPU to tool around with, or I will have thrown $30+ away in useless shipping costs. On the plus side, my computer seems to be working again… for now…

…

Get Your War On: I don’t know, I’m not really laughing at these, it’s more of a hearty sob tempered by a wry, cynical smile, but I think these cartoons are the greatest thing since Tom Tomorrow, and maybe even better. If you were a child of the eighties, make sure to read page eight. Operation: Enduring Freedom is in the house!

The Lost ’80s: the site is far from complete, but it sure looks promising. Some of the “toys” pages are great, and the “arcade” page has some great Java games to liven up the work day. Enjoy!

68

“I have done that,” says my memory. “I cannot have done that,” says my pride, and remains inexorable. Eventually—memory yields.

—Friedrich Nietzsche, from Beyond Good and Evil, translated by Walter Kaufmann

NP: Sing Sing, I Can See You on KEXP

Two days ago, in a fit of unrivaled clumsiness and stupidity, I managed to give myself a rather painful paper cut—on my eyeball. Please don’t ask me how I did it; the memories are far too embarrassing to relive. Trust, though, that YES it is possible to get a paper cut on one’s eyeball and YES it does hurt quite a bit. It is still quite bothersome today.

I am consoled, however, by my receipt yesterday of a package from Germany. My Blümchen CD arrived; for $10 I received an ultra-rare Verliebt Goldedition double CD and a bonus Blaue Augen single, shipping included (thank you, Bastian). I’ve been dancing all day. I think the people on the train this morning were somewhat annoyed…

NP: Blümchen, Achterbahn

Let us make haste, depart ; she will not dance.
Let us quaff our drinks and move to France.
She would not pluck the fruit from off the vine,
Nor help our Bacchanal one step advance.
How humourless she is! like hemlock wine ;
Yea, though we poured a thousand ants into her pants,
     She would not dance.

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