It speaks!
Although my scarce and untimely posts, in all likelihood, rarely inform any of you of any developments on the web of which you were not already aware (as I am generally behind the times), I've come across a few new things whose merit demands that I post about them.
LIST OF AWESOME THINGS (in no particular order) GO:
AWESOME THING #1:
"The Areas of My Expertise," by John Hodgman
This satirical almanac has captivated my attention for the past week since it came to our house from the library. I cannot express just how funny and original this book is. The full title is: "An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order by myself, John Hodgman, a Professional Writer, in The Areas of My Expertise, which Include: Matters Historical, Matters Literary, Matters Cryptozoological, Hobo Matters, Food, Drink & Cheese (a Kind of Food), Squirrels & Lobsters & Eels, Haircuts, Utopia, What Will Happen in the Future, and Most Other Subjects." If that isn't enough to convince you of this book's unparalleled awesomeness, consider the following review found on the inside cover: "In the olden days, all important knowledge was stored in the Library of Alexandria. In the modern era, all important knowledge was stored in the Internet. The Areas of My Expertise is upgrade to the Library of Alexandria and the Internet, offering significant improvements in security, accuracy, and awesomeness." -David Rees. YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK. AND WATCH THIS VIDEO TRAILER:
AWESOME THING #2:
Pandora.com
Pandora is free internet radio that only plays what you like. Now, that doesn't mean that you can type in any song and immediately hear it for free, due to licensing, but what it means is that you type in any artist, or song name, and it will create a radio station of music that is similar, and which will also contain songs by that artist. What is really amazing is the method it uses to choose what is similar to what you tell it you like. Pandora is operated by the Music Genome Project, which is a huge group of musicians who collaborated to analyze just about every band EVER (including all of the obscure ones I love) and describe tons of elements that make up each of them, which it them correlates to all other bands. It is sooo much more complicated than merely sorting them by genre, even if it included numerous sub genres. Needless to say, it is a fantastic way to discover new bands and listen to many of their songs. It is also so easy to use that it took me a bit to figure it out because my mind kept trying to find complications and "figure it out." But it's really as easy as sign up, type in things you like, listen, and then tell it if you do or do not like what is playing. The more you tell it, the better it is at playing things you like that you've never heard before. Give the thumbs down to two songs from an artist, and it won't ever play another song from them on that station. You can make as many as you want, and can add other songs or artists to the criteria for each of them. You can't rewind, or instantly replay a song, because of licensing, but you can skip a certain number of songs per hour for each station. The few limits that it does have due to it being free are far outweighed by its genius.
AWESOME THING #3:
3:10 to Yuma
Starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, and co starring Alan Tudyk (for whom I audibly cheered for upon his surprise appearance in the film) and with a very good cameo from Luke Wilson. EXCELLENT FILM. I previously hated Russell Crowe (intensely, though for admittedly no real reason), though that hate has been thoroughly erased by this movie. Master and Commander made me hate him LESS, but I still didn't really like him. UNTIL NOW. I also never would have thought that there could be a western movie that was as good as Clint Eastwood's films, but they did a far better job without him than I ever thought possible. Tombstone came pretty close, but this movie annihilates Tombstone, in my opinion, and Tombstone is one of my favorite movies. It had much more heart and soul then most dirt and bullet filled western flicks, and even though it was FILLED with action and intensity, it has a level of deep character development and excellent dialogue that is practically never seen in western movies, and is some of the best in film to date.
AWESOME THING #4:
Kuroshitsuji, aka Black Butler
The anime adaptation of this manga was released in October of this year. When we saw the Victorian character designs, we immediately knew that we had to do costumes from it and that I needed to be the 12 year old boy, Ciel Phantomhive who sells his sole for a demon butler/bodyguard who rivals Walter (of Hellsing) as coolest butler ever, a task I previously thought impossible. I just love how ridiculous his costumes are. He's like part Rei, part Integra, and part Little Lord Fauntleroy, with a heavy sprinkling of EGL on top. It sounds mad, but it comes off looking oddly cute and stylish at the same time. A top hat, knee breeches, a bustle, spats, granny boots, and sock garters? I never would have thought of THAT combination on a straight male, but he makes it work somehow. I must tap into this dark, androgynous power and add it to my own. In addition to that outfit, I really want to do this one, and this one. He even goes undercover in a huge pink dress on his mission to uncover Jack the Ripper. Much hilarity ensues. I think I have to do that one too, just for the sheer hysteria of it.
LIST OF AWESOME THINGS (in no particular order) GO:
AWESOME THING #1:
"The Areas of My Expertise," by John Hodgman
This satirical almanac has captivated my attention for the past week since it came to our house from the library. I cannot express just how funny and original this book is. The full title is: "An Almanac of Complete World Knowledge Compiled with Instructive Annotation and Arranged in Useful Order by myself, John Hodgman, a Professional Writer, in The Areas of My Expertise, which Include: Matters Historical, Matters Literary, Matters Cryptozoological, Hobo Matters, Food, Drink & Cheese (a Kind of Food), Squirrels & Lobsters & Eels, Haircuts, Utopia, What Will Happen in the Future, and Most Other Subjects." If that isn't enough to convince you of this book's unparalleled awesomeness, consider the following review found on the inside cover: "In the olden days, all important knowledge was stored in the Library of Alexandria. In the modern era, all important knowledge was stored in the Internet. The Areas of My Expertise is upgrade to the Library of Alexandria and the Internet, offering significant improvements in security, accuracy, and awesomeness." -David Rees. YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK. AND WATCH THIS VIDEO TRAILER:
Click to viewAWESOME THING #2:
Pandora.com
Pandora is free internet radio that only plays what you like. Now, that doesn't mean that you can type in any song and immediately hear it for free, due to licensing, but what it means is that you type in any artist, or song name, and it will create a radio station of music that is similar, and which will also contain songs by that artist. What is really amazing is the method it uses to choose what is similar to what you tell it you like. Pandora is operated by the Music Genome Project, which is a huge group of musicians who collaborated to analyze just about every band EVER (including all of the obscure ones I love) and describe tons of elements that make up each of them, which it them correlates to all other bands. It is sooo much more complicated than merely sorting them by genre, even if it included numerous sub genres. Needless to say, it is a fantastic way to discover new bands and listen to many of their songs. It is also so easy to use that it took me a bit to figure it out because my mind kept trying to find complications and "figure it out." But it's really as easy as sign up, type in things you like, listen, and then tell it if you do or do not like what is playing. The more you tell it, the better it is at playing things you like that you've never heard before. Give the thumbs down to two songs from an artist, and it won't ever play another song from them on that station. You can make as many as you want, and can add other songs or artists to the criteria for each of them. You can't rewind, or instantly replay a song, because of licensing, but you can skip a certain number of songs per hour for each station. The few limits that it does have due to it being free are far outweighed by its genius.
AWESOME THING #3:
3:10 to Yuma
Starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, and co starring Alan Tudyk (for whom I audibly cheered for upon his surprise appearance in the film) and with a very good cameo from Luke Wilson. EXCELLENT FILM. I previously hated Russell Crowe (intensely, though for admittedly no real reason), though that hate has been thoroughly erased by this movie. Master and Commander made me hate him LESS, but I still didn't really like him. UNTIL NOW. I also never would have thought that there could be a western movie that was as good as Clint Eastwood's films, but they did a far better job without him than I ever thought possible. Tombstone came pretty close, but this movie annihilates Tombstone, in my opinion, and Tombstone is one of my favorite movies. It had much more heart and soul then most dirt and bullet filled western flicks, and even though it was FILLED with action and intensity, it has a level of deep character development and excellent dialogue that is practically never seen in western movies, and is some of the best in film to date.
AWESOME THING #4:
Kuroshitsuji, aka Black Butler
The anime adaptation of this manga was released in October of this year. When we saw the Victorian character designs, we immediately knew that we had to do costumes from it and that I needed to be the 12 year old boy, Ciel Phantomhive who sells his sole for a demon butler/bodyguard who rivals Walter (of Hellsing) as coolest butler ever, a task I previously thought impossible. I just love how ridiculous his costumes are. He's like part Rei, part Integra, and part Little Lord Fauntleroy, with a heavy sprinkling of EGL on top. It sounds mad, but it comes off looking oddly cute and stylish at the same time. A top hat, knee breeches, a bustle, spats, granny boots, and sock garters? I never would have thought of THAT combination on a straight male, but he makes it work somehow. I must tap into this dark, androgynous power and add it to my own. In addition to that outfit, I really want to do this one, and this one. He even goes undercover in a huge pink dress on his mission to uncover Jack the Ripper. Much hilarity ensues. I think I have to do that one too, just for the sheer hysteria of it.
