Today's post-leading picture brought to you by the amazing Kekai Kotaki, via his equally amazing blog Cake Mix. Ah, he makes it look so easy...
So, I kicked my reading back into gear and polished off Elantris, by Branden Sanderson over the course of the last two evenings. A really good read, though I blanched a bit at a couple forced scenes, especially toward the end, which were a bit too convenient/contrived. All in all, I really enjoyed it, but I still prefer the Mistborn series. I did read a while back that Sanderson plans a sequel to Elantris (as well as a sequel to Warbreaker), shoe-horned into his amazingly-ambitious writing schedule for the next couple years. Good luck to him; the man spins a great yarn.
Glad I could finish a novel; it's been a while. And I'm glad to move Elantris from "To Be Read" over to "Read". I've got so much more to read! I don't know if I should likewise finish Devices and Desires, by KJ Parker, or start Joe Abercrombie's Heroes, or perhaps skim Name of the Wind again, in preparation for the eminent arrival of Wise Man's Fear, which will ship to me in a week's time. Not to mention the shelf-full of books beckoning, including Tchaikovsky, Marco, Zelazny, Williams, Kearney and Parker...
Ah, it's a nice problem to have...
Speaking of "forcing perspective"... dang, have you seen some of the footage from the aftermath of that quake in Christchurch, New Zealand? Holy mackerel, that's hardcore. I'd embed a video, but for some reason, my computer is glitching every time I try to watch something from YouTube. Some type of error in reference to "Shockwave Flash", whatever that means.
Anyway, I'm sure you can check it out, if you haven't. Scary stuff.
Plus, all the protests and uproars all over the place. Of course, I have an opinion about the union troubles in Wisconsin (and now Indiana), but I don't feel like stirring up a controversy tonight. Let's just say I believe unions have evolved well beyond their usefulness, and need a good dose of curtailing. Maybe not eliminated altogether, but I wouldn't mind seeing them emasculated a bit.
I'll leave it at that.
I've been watching a show on Netflix Watch Instantly called "American Pickers" which has held my interest for a few episodes lately. If you haven't seen it, the two hosts roam around the back roads of Iowa and the surrounding states, trying to find old folks on farms that have accumulated a ton of stuff, and they ask if they can root through their stuff, looking for goodies to buy from them. Basically, they hunt down old stuff that they can resell. It may not sound in the least bit interesting, but it is pretty wild, watching them rooting around in old barns and farm buildings, looking for old bikes or signs or oil cans or whatever. Kinda cool. Again, I'd post a video clip, but until I get this "YouTube problem" solved, I can't... it's odd... I can watch YouTube videos that are embedded on other sites just fine, but if I try to watch them on You Tube itself, it freezes and crashes my browser. Annoying.
And now, the freakiest thing you've seen all day... cue the cats... aaaand... ACTION!
There's something I really enjoy about this particular meme. There's tons of these out there. Starts off with a picture of a group of people (or in this case, cats), with one person making a funny face. Then they slowly zoom in on the funny face. Then they pull back for a final shot, having photoshopped the funny face onto everyone else in the picture. The effects are often insanely funny (to me). The meme has a name (Facebomb, a variation of the meme "Tenso") in case you want to google it thine own self. Or go to this URLesque page to view a bunch of great ones.
There, that's your Internet Meme Lesson for the day...
Well, time for me to run along. Gotta decide what to read tonight... I had more to talk about, but I'll hold off until next post. Adios, y'all.
Dave
3 comments:
Yeah, I can't decide what to devote my time to with reading. Part of me likes reading multiple things at once, but doing that takes longer to finish a book. Another part says just stick with one book and finish it quicker. I've also been thinking about skimming through NOTW again, just to freshen up, but I dunno.
I finished reading "Understand," the short story by Ted Chiang you recommended. Wow. My mind was blown, nay, overwhelmed, by the end. What a cool idea. Thanks for the recommendation. I don't know if I want to read through some of the other shorts in the book or [see above paragraph].
Elantris definitely paled in comparison to Mistborn, but it still was pretty good. I agree, some of the stuff (especially near the end) seemed contrived, but inevitable, too, considering Sanderson's mechanics and style.
Good post, buddy.
WV: "fradley." I think that's Bradley's younger, lesser-known brother.
I havent read much of Brandon Sandersons stuff but i will some time....after i finish all of the Black Company which is getting very good i might add "Water Sleeps, But the enemy never rests" :D very good book so far...Goblin and One-Eye are even funnier then in the others
I agree with you about the union thing, although my dad was in a union for 30 some years and it was mostly good, they aren't now what they were then.
I have seen some video of the quake in New Zealand - awful stuff.
Weird cats, send more cute puppies.:)
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