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katlalog

070826 22:22 TV

Season 2 of The IT Crowd: Still very funny but disappointingly a lot less geeky. Geeky in the sense of idiots getting into trouble - yes, but not in the sense of computer geeks. I hope the following episodes are more in the spirit of the series' title.

070817 01:31 Podcasts

Since this has increasingly turned into a "my media habits" blog in recent months, i decided to list - for those interested - the podcasts i regularly listen to, and to recommend a podiobook from the horror / dark fantasy genre.

There's more, but these are the regulars. On to the recommendation:

The Veingel by Jeremy James is a serialized first time novel with a horror / dark fantasy label available in all sorts of formats to read or listen to. Have I mentioned 'free' yet? (Internet Economy 101: Support the things you care about, financially if you can.)

I won't tell you that this is the best thing since those nutty chocolates filled with schnapps because everybody's taste is different, and you're probably forewarned if you know that i read everything that ouzes out of Warren Ellis's pen and that things i recommend might not be to everybody's taste.

So i won't recommend it. I'll just tell you that i love it. I love the story, the characters, the background canvas, the author's style, his voice, even the intro and outro music. In the audio version Jeremy James reads the story himself (which i prefer to any professional actor) and he is an excellent, flawless reader who really brings his main character to life, a character who is the typical anti-hero that i tend to be into. (There, I said it. I got the hots for the main character of the story and for Jeremy James.)

I also like craftiness in writing. A good story is not enough. The writing has to be good. I like to be surprised by it. Like "My mouth is dry and bitter, as if I'd fallen asleep chewing on coffee grounds." The Veingel gives me lots of these pleasurable moments.

070817 00:38 Society

People need to hear something positive about themselves occasionally, so here it is: We're getting nicer every day. A History of Violence.

070817 00:20

My life is so weird. I am an 43 year old geek who now lives in conservative small town surroundings where the only people who share my interests are 16-25 year old goths, metalheads, nerds and similar teenage rebels, who I got to know in the dance school, where I work, of all places. A few weeks ago they asked me to join their Dungeons & Dragons group.

So, for the last few hours I've been chatting with the dungeon master on IM, chatting about life and death in the game and in real life... and then (approaching midnight) his mother tells him to get offline. My life is so weird.

I wonder if he told her he'd been talking to his dance teacher. Even weirder.

Growing up obviously has its advantages. But so does not growing up. I can have it both ;)

Life is good, actually.

According to Rob Brezsny I'm either losing my mind or gaining my soul in the coming week.

070807 02:18 Politics

Good overview of where the US presidential candidates stand on issues such as guns, same-sex marriage, immigration, the iraq war, internet neutrality, healthcare, etc.

070802 21:54 Economy

Interesting news from Greece today. In the run-up to the next elections the Finance Ministry is proposing to make all sorts of non-essentials such as alcohol, beauty treatments, gym visits taxdeductable.

Although news services concentrate on drinking and watching strippers becoming tax deductable the real issue here is that this is an obvious attempt to curb the underground economy. They want people to ask for receipts for services, and the providers of these services to declare them rather than being tempted to bag the money without paying tax on it. Clever.

070802 20:22

I feel a strange connection to Minnesota and Minneapolis. I consider it home although I only lived there for one year - the best year of my life. So the news of the I-35W bridge collapse touched me more than any other news today. My radio stayed tuned to MPR all day. What strikes me though, is the Americans' blue-eyed expectation of how things should be in their country: "This is America. Bridges don't fall down in this country" is a sentence i kept hearing. And no terrorists to blame this time.

070801 01:08 Science / TV

Science in comedy: Mmm... pi

Part of The Simpsons' greatness is a willingness to find the humour in absolutely everything - including science. Executive producer Al Jean, the show's head writer and a Harvard mathematics graduate, talks to Nature about how to get a laugh out of Euler's formula.

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quote of the month

For every man there is a purpose which he sets up for his life and which he pursues. Let yours be the doing of all good deeds.

Qur'an