One reason I look forward to the weekend is being able to drink my morning coffee out of a real coffee cup instead of a travel mug in the car.
Coffee
Review: Journey to the Center of the Earth
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
In Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne weaves a great story, interspersed with somewhat tedious observations about geology, paleontology, and evolution (thought not nearly as tedious as the repetitive classifications of aquatic life found in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea). The characters are interesting, though the narrator (who is the nephew of the intrepid professor) tends to be whiny and overly dramatic (read “drama queen”) about the perils they are facing, sometimes to the chagrin of his uncle.
I was somewhat disappointed in the ending, and the book should properly be re-titled Journey a Small Percentage of the Way to the Center of the Earth but the story was entertaining, nevertheless. Verne is great at weaving stories in a way that makes it easy for you to imagine being in them yourself, and Journey is no exception.
I listened to [...]
Review: Footfall
Footfall by Larry Niven
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This was perhaps the most tedious science fiction book I’ve ever read… or listened to (I had the audio book). The book had way too many “main” characters, most of whom had no bearing on the outcome of the book. Some seemed completely pointless. The alien names were unnecessarily complex and having a section of the book describing their language and its construction seemed self indulgent (of the authors) and tedious.
The book suffered from a lack of coherent story line, uninteresting characters, pointless dialogue, and unbelievable events. The premise was interesting (alien invasion), but the execution was poor.
I give it two stars only because the narrator of the audio book (MacLeod Andrews) was simply spectacular. His narration was the reason I was able to suffer through the book to the (disappointing) ending.
Our cats are not spoiled… Part Two
In my ongoing effort to show that our cats are not spoiled, I here present exhibit… 21,467.
But first, a little background might be in order. Chex Mix (known colloquially as “Chexie”) is our youngest cat and our newest addition. I think we’ve had her for close to two years. She’s sweet and got along with the other three cats for many months (cue dramatic music). But then, Peanut, who is sweet but evil, decided that Chexie was no longer deserving of acceptance and proceeded to attack her and do other, more odorous things. So, to keep the peace, Chexie became a permanent resident of our master bedroom… and has her own cat tree, her own toys, and her own servants to turn on the faucet for her so she can drink directly out of it rather than from a bowl because, you know, that’s just so gauche.
What she doesn’t have… or more accurately, didn’t have (until today) was her own outdoor, window-accessible enclosure. The other [...]
Culinary Conscience
I just finished the latest video that Megan and I shot back in October. I had some issues with the effects back then and gave up for awhile, which is why it took so long.
Hooray for bacon!
The effects and 98% of the editing were done using FXHome’s HitFilm. I used Adobe Premiere Elements for the titles and some of the sound.
Hooray for New York!
New York finally passed legislation to allow same-sex marriage in their state. According to CNN (and other news sites), the vote was 33-29 in favor. It was the “first time a state Senate with a Republican majority has approved such a bill.”
Other than the awesome news that gay couples will now have the same rights as straight couples, that also means that there are still 29 people in the New York senate that are probably theocratic bigots.
Says the CNN article…
The new law, which will allow same-sex couples in New York to marry within 30 days, drew a sharp rebuke from opponents, who spent millions to try to defeat the measure.
Because, you know… those damn gays!
But the Catholic Church stepped up in support! Oh wait. No they didn’t.
“We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization,” the state’s Catholic bishops said in a joint statement released late Friday. It was signed by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and seven other bishops.
It’s an absurd argument. Marriage isn’t undermined by omg-teh-gheys!!!. [...]
