Archive for July, 2008

Jul 31 2008

Breaking news: China censors

Even when they lied to your face about having clean air and unfettered internet access for journalists, did you really think they were being forthright with you?

The International Olympic Committee failed to press China to allow fully unfettered access to the Internet for the thousands of journalists arriving here to cover…

No responses yet

Jul 30 2008

Wednesday’s Word XLIX

dialog / dialogue
n. A conversation or other form of discourse between two or more individuals.

Conor brought this up, and when I looked into it I was too entranced to leave it as a mere comment. His post was to a great degree about the rebirth of dialog[ue] as a verb, which hearkens back…

5 responses so far

Jul 28 2008

Facebook spam?

Either there’s a new problem on Facebook, or someone with whom I am “friends” (that is to say, they “friended” me) had their account taken over by spammers.

Here’s a wall entry by this person, written today (I’ve blurred to name to protect her privacy):

Facebook spam

I’m not the only one that her…

One response so far

Jul 25 2008

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

David Sedaris • When You Are Engulfed in Flames When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Year: 2008
Pages: 336
See the rest of this year’s listings
What is 52 Books in 52 Weeks?
№52

I’ve previously read Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day as well as Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim for this meme, enjoying them every time.

This book of collected essays…

2 responses so far

Jul 25 2008

Friday Random Ten CLVII

The “Because why not?” edition.

  1. Jaga Jazzist - [The Stix #03] Another Day
  2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - [Yanqui U.X.O. #03] Rockets Fall On Rocket Falls
  3. Doves - [Some Cities #10] Sky Stars Falling
  4. Nine Inch Nails - [We're In This Together I #02] 10 Miles High
  5. Radiohead - [Kid A #05] Treefingers
  6. Hematovore - [untitled…

2 responses so far

Jul 20 2008

Bonk

Bill Bryson • Neither Here Nor There Bonk by Mary Roach
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Year: 2008
Pages: 288
See the rest of this year’s listings
What is 52 Books in 52 Weeks?
№51

I picked up Bonk entirely on a whim: it was sitting precociously on the shelf of new books at the library. It wasn’t until later, when I was reading that, I noticed that “Amazon.com…

4 responses so far

Jul 09 2008

Me Of Little Faith

Lewis Black • Me of Little Faith Me Of Little Faith by Lewis Black
Publisher: Riverhead
Year: 2008
Pages: 256
See the rest of this year’s listings
What is 52 Books in 52 Weeks?
№50

I like Lewis Black’s standup, and I like him on The Daily Show; I was less than impressed, however, by his sort-of-biography, Nothing’s Sacred. Lewis qua storyteller with occasional swearing is not the Lewis…

One response so far

Jul 07 2008

The Gun Seller

Hugh Laurie • The Gun Seller The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Year: 1998
Pages: 368
See the rest of this year’s listings
What is 52 Books in 52 Weeks?
№49

For many people, House might be their first exposure to British actor Hugh Laurie; others, especially if you live on the Isles or have a particular affection for British television, may very…

4 responses so far

Jul 03 2008

The Ten-Cent Plague

David Hadju • The Ten-Cent Plague The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hadju
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Year: 2008
Pages: 448
See the rest of this year’s listings
What is 52 Books in 52 Weeks?
№48

I was always around comics growing up; with the exception of the 6-part Double Dragon series, however, I was never really a collector myself. I spent a lot of time around…

2 responses so far