Monthly Archives: August 2020
College Football Doomed
Posted on August 10, 2020 62 Comments
Congratulations, people who don't wear masks, you've brought down the economic exploitation of labor known as "college" football. That was very socialist of you. Keep bringing capitalism to its knees!https://t.co/GmA32EzWTV — John Scalzi (@scalzi) August 10, 2020 At least in the Big Ten and probably in the Pac-12, definitely in some of the midlist conferences. […]
In Which I Both Decry, and Defend, the Concept of Dad Rock
Posted on August 9, 2020 90 Comments
I was thinking about the concept of “Dad Rock” and what it means, and when it is that a previously popular and/or relevant band goes full Dad Rock, and I realized that there was a particular song from a particular band that crystallized the Dad Rock Moment, as it were, for me: “Vertigo,” by U2, […]
Small Business Saturday: Ocean’s Originals
Posted on August 8, 2020 25 Comments
Hello, everyone! I hope you are all having a great Saturday. One thing that Saturdays are good for is shopping small! Which is why I’ve decided to start a new thing on here where, occasionally on Saturdays, I feature a small business that I think is awesome and highly recommend! Every business that I promote […]
Oh, Christ, Not the Science Fiction Canon Again
Posted on August 7, 2020 159 Comments
Ugh, we’re talking about the “canon” of science fiction literature, again, for reasons (most imminently the recent Hugo award ceremony and its fallout), and whether, basically, newer writers and readers should and must slog through a bunch of books in the genre that are now half a century old at least, from a bunch of […]
A Four is a Two is a Six
Posted on August 7, 2020 120 Comments
One thing to know about me is that I love shopping. Like, so much so that it’s an issue. Much like Ariana Grande said in 7 Rings, “think retail therapy my new addiction.” However, there are so many reoccurring issues I run into when shopping, that you’d think they’d be enough to deter me from […]
Krissy, Masked
Posted on August 6, 2020 10 Comments
The mask in question purchasable here, from John Picacio, who did the artwork printed onto it. Very nicely done, and clearly looks great as well. (And for those about to ask, the picture was taken with my Pixel 4 and then edited in Photoshop. The original, less treated photo is here for your comparing and […]
Graveling Day
Posted on August 6, 2020 33 Comments
Living as we do in the country, we have a long driveway, which is made of dirt, on top of which is a layer of gravel. The gravel has to be relaid every couple of years, and today was that day: A nice man came by in a really huge dump truck, and laid several […]
The Big Idea: Linden A. Lewis
Posted on August 6, 2020 4 Comments
Today on the Big Idea we have The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis — a novel about a hero with no name and no voice, and the power of three words that, in this world at least, were (and are) not said enough. (Content Warning: discussion of sexual assault) LINDEN A. LEWIS: I read a lot […]
The Athena Mallet
Posted on August 5, 2020 46 Comments
As some of you wondered whether Athena would have use of the Mallet (as we call the ability to moderate the comments here), and whether she would get her own mallet or have to borrow mine, the picture above should answer your question: She does, and she has her own. The mallet in question here […]
Attack of the $30 Rental: Why Disney’s Mulan Strategy Just Might Work
Posted on August 5, 2020 40 Comments
After bouncing the release date from March to July and then August — all of which were scuppered by the COVID-19 virus — Disney has finally announced that it’s going to make its live action version of Mulan available on Disney+ on September 4. The caveat: It’ll cost an additional $30 to rent it on […]
Housekeeping Notes for the New Regime
Posted on August 4, 2020 26 Comments
Athena has officially announced her return here so I don’t need to do that; nevertheless a couple of quick notes: 1. The current theme doesn’t have a byline noting which of us is posting, so for the foreseeable future we’ll be putting our initials at the end of our posts to distinguish them. You know, […]
Don’t Call It a Comeback
Posted on August 4, 2020 70 Comments
Hello, everyone! Today is my first day back on the blog and I’m so stoked to be here again! Some of you may remember my time on here from the summer of ’18, and even more recently, my one and only post since then. I’m not sure how long I’ll be around this time, but […]
I Got a Permanent Crown Today and I’m Still a Bit Fuzzed Up, So Here’s a Picture of Jupiter I Took Last Night
Posted on August 3, 2020 21 Comments
With its Galilean moons, even! I took it last night in a break between rain clouds (seen below), with my Nikon and its telephoto lens fully extended. All four Galilean moons are in the picture, although one of them is smooshed in between the planet and one of the other moons. You might see it […]
Sunset, 8/2/20
Posted on August 2, 2020 5 Comments
Been a bit since I posted one of these, and this is a good one. Enjoy.
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying