Stuff we're reading / watching / listening to

[Fredjikrang]

I watched this Jane Austin rap. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b_xiWmFWgY

[Imogen]

netflix instant has changed my life

[Fredjikrang]

I just watched GA's short film recommendation. I like it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSI8docYcfA

[mic0]

Me too! Even though I kind of wanted not to like it (for the five dollars!) I'm glad it was such a good one. Definitely worth 13 minutes.

[yayfulness]

Summer reading so far:
Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance--and Why They Fall (Amy Chua)
Reinventing the Bazaar: A Natural History of Markets (John McMillan)
and currently, Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail (Paul Polak)

All three books are awesome, but the one that has impacted me the most by far is Out of Poverty (and I'm still only halfway through). It's the best lesson in the practical aspects of international development that I've ever had, and that's saying something.

[Portia]

Pretty sure Amy Chua will make you stand barefoot in the snow for not picking HER book as your favorite.

[Craig Jessop]

I am currently, at this very moment, watching Red Dawn on AMC. It's hilarious. I forgot how much I love trashy movies! I can't wait for the new one to come out.

[Digit]

This is a very funny "scientific paper" on how to write a scientific paper.

The purpose of science is to get paid for doing fun stuff if you're not a good enough programmer to write computer games for a living (Schulman et al. 1991). Nominally, science involves discovering something new about the universe, but this is not really necessary. What is really necessary is a grant. In order to obtain a grant, your application must state that the research will discover something incredibly fundamental. The grant agency must also believe that you are the best person to do this particular research, so you should cite yourself both early (Schulman 1994) and often (Schulman et al. 1993c).

[Katya]

I'm reading the second volume of Bayou. So, so good.

[Dead Cat]

My brother, for his birthday, decided to have us see the new Spiderman movie. I wasn't ecstatic to go, but I must admit that it's probably my favorite now, despite it being a reboot.

[UffishThought]

Speaking of shows the internet was right about: Corner Gas. Hee!

[bobtheenchantedone]

I finally, finally watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog all the way through. I tried to watch it about three times when it first came out and didn't like it at all, but my tastes and willingness to try new things have changed a lot recently, so I gave it another shot. (Also my sister loves it and so Marduk and I wanted to watch it with her.)

I had already known most of the songs, so it was nice to finally see both how they were all connected and what was going on when the songs were being sung. Also good was that I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would (I currently very much prefer Disney-style storytelling and endings, and struggle a lot to handle more realistic storylines).

[Dragon Lady]

Yellow and I went and watched Brave for my birthday. I really liked it. But I really, really don't see the appeal in showing naked bums on screen. Even in cartoon form.

[Katya]

I only have three books checked out right now. That's the lowest I've been in maybe years.

[Genuine Article]

My mother-in-law took me with her to a Scholastic book warehouse sale, where everything was 50% off the sticker price and she had a gift card for $25, so I got eight books for nothing! Books I knocked off my wish list: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate; The Cricket in Times Square; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; The Giver; Wait Till Helen Comes (this one totally creeped me out as a kid); The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm; Stuart Little; and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Plus I recently tracked down a copy of The Terrible Tryouts from the Bad News Ballet series, as well as three books I'd forgotten the titles of, but whose plots were stuck in my head, forcing me to track them down or forfeit all peace of mind. It took a lot of googling, but I finally found Alfred Hitchcock's Solve-them-yourself Mysteries, Bill, and The Great Rabbit Rip-Off.

In complete contrast to all of my YA favorites, I ordered my husband a copy of Infinite Jest, which I'm hoping to read when he's done, but at 1079 pages I'm glad I have several dozen books to tide me over in the mean time.

[Digit]

Just read an article entitled I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave. Slave is no exaggeration at all. I can't believe people are treated like that in the US. Just so people can get free shipping and next-day delivery for cheap.

[Katya]

My mother-in-law took me with her to a Scholastic book warehouse sale, where everything was 50% off the sticker price and she had a gift card for $25, so I got eight books for nothing! Books I knocked off my wish list: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate; The Cricket in Times Square; Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; The Giver; Wait Till Helen Comes (this one totally creeped me out as a kid); The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm; Stuart Little; and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Plus I recently tracked down a copy of The Terrible Tryouts from the Bad News Ballet series, as well as three books I'd forgotten the titles of, but whose plots were stuck in my head, forcing me to track them down or forfeit all peace of mind. It took a lot of googling, but I finally found Alfred Hitchcock's Solve-them-yourself Mysteries, Bill, and The Great Rabbit Rip-Off.

I highly approve of those choices. (Nice use of semicolons, too.)

[yayfulness]

I have spent the past hour or so watching clips of Phineas and Ferb instead of doing calculus.

...curse you, Perry the Platypus!

[Fredjikrang]

I approve of how you are using your time.

[Unit of Energy]

I watch Phineas and Ferb every night before I go to bed.