Time to Read!

This is a post especially for Melinda!
She posted on her blog that she wants to read a book a month, and then asked for some suggestions. Well Melinda here you go!

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Neffinegger
I know you said that you weren't really into sci-fi/fantasy, but this is a really good character study as well as a great story that just happens to fall into the sci-fi genre. The book features the complicated love story between Henry De Tamble, a Chicago Librarian who suffers from "Chrono Displacement" disorder; he randomly dissapears without warning and ends up in the past or future. This makes for an incredibly complicated life, and lots of paradoxes come up. For example he meets his wife for the first time when he is 28, and she is 20, however at this point she has known him all her life, as he has been visiting her in his future/her past. It's a very interesting concept, a compelling story, and thoroughly enjoyable read.

MAUS by Art Speigleman
This is probably the best book I've read all year. It's a graphic novel about the holocaust. It's the true story of Art Speigelman's grandfather's experiences in Europe during the second world war. Including time spent in the ghetto, hiding in walls, and at various concentration camps. Some of the images and lines of this book have stuck with me long after I read it. It's a graphic novel, so it sa quick read (there are two parts, just over 100 pages I think). Oh, did I mention that the Jews are portrayed as mice and the Germans as cats? It's weird, but really effective.

A Splinter in the Heart by Al Purdy
Al Purdy’s only novel, A Splinter in the Heart, is an unforgettable coming-of-age story that unfolds against the real-life tragedy of what came to be known as the Trenton Disaster. Set in 1918, it tells the story of sixteen-year-old Patrick Cameron and the events that will change him – and the Ontario town in which he lives – forever. Over the course of one summer and fall, Patrick finds love with a girl whose betrayal he cannot foresee, confronts the death of his beloved grandfather, and comes to terms with a neighbourhood rival. All the while, his hometown of Trenton lives precariously in the shadow of a dynamite factory, a sinister reminder of the Great War, which brought such prosperity to the town. Vivid with character and event, and evocative of time and place, A Splinter in the Heart is a moving portrait of a young man’s journey into adulthood in an era of change.

Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - by Douglas Adams
Ok, this is sci-fi too. But it's also a classic. Best book ever, if you haven't read it already (which I'd be shocked if you hadn't) then you must! All the books in the trilogy (there are 5, well 5 and a half) are good, but the first two (this and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe) are the best. Seriously read this book! Also if you've seen to movie and didn't like it. That's ok because thee was so much crammed in that movie it would be near possible to follow without reading the book first. If you've seen the BBC mini series and didn't like it, then you're stupid, or you just don't appreciate the early British Sci-Fi charm (ie dodgy costumes, accents, wobbly setpieces and all round low production values).

Square Root Day!

I'm posting this early so that you all have time to get your ducks in a row in order to celebrate.

March 3, 2009 (this coming Tuesday) is Square Root Day!

Why is square root day so important? Because there are only 9 a century! Square Root day is celebrated on any day when both the month number, and the day number are the square root of the last two digits of the year. For example

01/01/01 - January 1st, 2001
02/02/04 - February 2nd, 2004
03/03/09 - March 3rd, 2009
04/04/16 - April 4th 2016
05/05/25 - May 5th, 2025
06/06/36 - June 6th 2036
07/07/49 - July 7th 2049
08/08/64 - August 8th, 2064
09/09/81 - September 9th, 2081

So you see? There aren't that many! How are you going to celebrate square root day? I've heard that people buy root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, radishes etc. etc. ) cut them into squares and eat them. That's all well and good, but seeing as we live in a three dimensional world -- doesn't that make them cubes? Not squares? If that's the case we'll have to wait until March 3rd 2027 for the next Cube Root Day!

In any case -- I hope your Square Root Day is "radical!" (See what I did there?)

Playlist Volume 1: For Erin to Work Out By

1. Clint Eastwood by Gorrilaz - kind of mellow but with a distinct enough beat that you can still count reps to it. Also not so mellow that you're gonna fall asleep. Also funky as hell.

2. L Wells by Franz Ferdinand - a bit of a quicker tempo, gets you moving a bit. Doesn't go all funky with the meter like other FF songs do. This song is also the only song I've found to date with the name Lindsay in it, so it rocks.

3. Devil's Answer by Atomic Rooster - The tempo of this song is just about perfect for me to do repetitive things by (I really shouldn't end sentences with prepositions at). The tempo also picks up as the song progresses

4. Stronger by Kanye West - Now if this was a workout mix for ME it would be the original Daft Punk version, however the original is such a good song that anything that samples it is also rockin.

5. I Was Born (A Unicorn) by The Unicorns - Another uptempo fun song. The hemiolas may throw you off if you're counting reps -- but this way your excercising your brain too.

6. Detox by King of Pants - Mashups are great for doing anything that requires energy. This song combines the awesome beats and funk of Toxic with the soulfull wailing of Rehab. Ahhh Amy Winehouse and Brittney Spears -- together at last!

7. Hot Patootie (Bless My Soul) by Meatloaf - Yes, thats right Meatloaf. The most rockinest song from the Rocky Horror Picture Show -- it just makes you want to get up and dance! Hot Patootie!

8. Don't Stop Me Now by Queen - Fun and upbeat. The lyrics just make you feel energized "I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars!... like an atom bomb I'm gonna oh, oh, oh explode!!

9. E-Pro by Beck - While this may not be Beck's best song. It is by far his most rockin, I think at least. Another one you just want to dance to.

10. Single Ladies by Beyonce -- I DARE you do listen to this song and not do the locomotion!

11. Holland 1945 by Neutral Milk Hotel - Great GREAT song, also really upbeat and funky. Great to move to, unfortuneatly its about the Holocaust -- so don't listen to the lyrics.

12. Conquest by the White Stripes - This song is great for getting psyched.

13. Look Good in Leather - Cody Chestnut and the Rolling Stones - Another great song for getting psyched, and another impossible not to dance song.

14. Voo Doo Child by Rogue Traders -- This dance hit is actually pretty rockin. Sure its poppy as can be, and not all that complex, but who needs that.

15. Dr. Who by Bullamakanka -- I know I know, a Doctor Who song? Really!? Trust me this song is really funky and fun, and great to move to. Ignore the lyrics if you must.

16. Mexican Radio by Devo - Man I love Devo. This song is a little more languid, can be a little more relaxed when moving to this one.

17. Kids by MGMT - this one is still nice and steady, but a little slower. It's still really easy to dance to.

18. There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards by Ian Drury and the Blockheads - Time to start winding down. This song is still fun and bouncy but a little slower for winding down the workout.

18. I'll Believe in Anything by Wolf Parade - This is just a GREAT song. A good way to wrap things up. I always feel good after listening to a song this great.

19. Burn the Witch by Queens of the Stone Age - this song forces you to slow down a bit. A good way to relax after a work out, it still rocks though.

20. Decision/Indecions by Atomic Rooster - I know its the second song by AR but its really nice and mellow and good for calming down.

TV Crossover Madness!

February is sweeps month. Last week we had a riveting Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice Crossover -- *yawn. I'm sure I could come up with some better ones. All right, maybe some of mine would involve some serious travelling, to the UK for instance -- or back in time, but TV budgets are pretty big today, we'll just throw some product placements in there and we're off!

On an exciting new Episode of Mad Men, we are treated to a flash back of Don Draper/Dick Whitman fighting in the Korean War. We see Don/Dick in the hospital after the explosion that killed the real Don. Dick/Don is lying in his bed, and as the army officials are making their way around handing out medals and discharges Dick/Don starts writhing in pain. Apparently there was some shrapnel left in Dick/Don's chest and he needs surgery right away. The army calls in the best chest surgeons in all of Korea -- MASH's Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John (and of course Frank Burns would insist he came along) Hawk and Trap save the day (natch) and they all celebrate by retiring to swamp and consuming a swimming pool's worth of gin, and just for fun they fill Frank's boots with pudding.


On a much publicised mulitnetwork crossover. The doctors at Sacred Heart Hospital (Scrubs) have a case that not even Dr. Cox can solve. They transfer the patient to Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in NJ so the famous diagnostician Dr. House can take a look at him. At first House couldn't care less, until he finds out that the patient a Mr. John Smith isn't just a nut, but a brilliant doctor himself. We see John Smith's X-rays and he's got two hearts! As you may have guessed this patient isn't really John Smith, but none other than Doctor Who! Ends up he's here to rescue NJ from an evil, over dramatic/whiny/boring alien we know as Dr. Remy Hadley AKA 13. The Doctor does a lot of running and sonic screwdrivering and eventually traps the unwatchable Dr. 13 in some sort of simulated reality where everyone's life is more dramatic than hers and we don't have to listen to her anymore. The Doctor impressed my House's brilliance and cynicism offers to take him on as a companion and travel through time and space. House scoffs at this, and mocks the Doctor using a cheesy British accent. The Doctor leaves, alone again, and House confides in Wilson that he would have liked to have gone off in the TARDIS, but is afraid that he wouldn't be able to do all the running that is required.