A “pedicurie” is when you burn the edges of your toenails off with radiation.
Okay, so it was a no-brainer that the iconic astromech droid would probably not be left out of the sequel Star Wars trilogy. J. J. Abrams, whom Disney has put at the helm of the next three Star Wars flicks, is known for pandering to fans.
But, I did also include R2D2 in my take on how Abrams might scramble Lucas’s universe, based on his ethnicity-flipping, plot-reversing, lens-flaring, fan-servicing reboot of the Star Trek series. So, I’m taking credit for that. *shrug*
It’s been a while since I’ve taken a look at my stats. Today, I decided to peek.
Looking at shorter time scales, of course, the stats are dominated by things I’ve posted on relatively recent viral stories, like the Shia LaBeouf plagiarism debacle, Voyager “leaving” the solar system, the Ender’s Game boycott, and Abrams taking the helm of Star Wars. But, taking the long view, I was surprised to find readers still racking hits on some of the older stories.
Here are my All-Time Top Ten regular posts (i.e., not category pages, “About,” etc.) just for curiosity’s sake, in countdown format. It’s a good mix of writing advice, commentary, reviews, and civil design ideas.
10. “Five Songs That Should Be Made Into Movies” – 12 May 11
9. “One America : A New Vision For US Rail” – 08 Feb 13
8. “Four Approaches To Female Characters In Historical Fiction and Fantasy” – 01 Jul 11
7. “Historical Fiction Resources On The Longhouse” – 23 Nov 10
6. “Review : True Grit” (book and film) – 23 Jan 11
5. “Optimizing The DC Metro” – 22 Jun 12
4. “How MFA Programs Can Hurt Literature” – 02 Sep 10
3. “Four Ways To Come Up With Fictional Names” – 31 Aug 10
2. “Jeremy Spoke, But Is Anyone Listening? Irony And Understatement In Pearl Jam’s Jeremy” – 30 Jul 10
1. “Chad Harbach’s Slate.com Piece Describes The MFA Side Of The Pyramid Scheme” – 30 Nov 11
So, I was recently shamed in an internet comment feed (no surprise there) for not posting “spoiler alert” before suggesting that the character Billy Bones probably didn’t really die in the first season of the Starz series Black Sails, because the show is conceived as a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, in which Billy Bones plays a significant role.
The book was published in the 1880s, by the way. All of the people who read the first printing have lived their entire lives and are dead now.
Spoiler alert! The name of the cook on the show, John Silver, sounds familiar for a reason! (Yes, he’s the Long John Silver who started those seafood restaurants.)
This internet crusader wanted to pretend to care enough about the show to attack someone for revealing information, but didn’t care enough to know anything about the premise of the show. And, here’s the thing about trying to shame someone for revealing something that any real fan should know: it’s essentially a lazy, ignorant person’s attempt to make someone feel bad for being smarter than them and having the audacity not to keep their mouth shut.
And, you know what I think about trying to make people apologize for not being dumb and intellectually lazy? Continue reading
Remember the 70° (pardon my Fahrenheit) weather the other day in the nation’s capital? Well, forget that, it’s inches of snow for you tomorrow, District of Columbia!
Spark: Someone shares with me one of the many “baby fist-bumping” memes.
Thought one: It’s funny how babies sometimes take on adult expressions the complex emotions under which they can’t possibly feel. That baby looks gangsta.
Thought two: I wonder if the “H O L D F A S T” tattoo on the knuckles of the old sailor in Master and Commander were representative of a genuine 19th century trend of spelling knuckle tattoos, or if they were an anachronism based on modern-day gang/prison culture.
Thought three: If a fist-bumping baby had spelling knuckle tattoos, what four-letter word(s) would they spell? I once knew a guy with “W E E D” on his knuckles. What would be the baby equivalent of drug enthusiasm?
Thought four: Continue reading
Welsh names are underaprhysiated.
(To the tune of OneRepublic’s Counting Stars)
Lately, I’ve been
I’ve been losing sleep … dreaming about how wealthy we could be.
‘Cause Raymond, I’ve been
I’ve been gaming hard.
Now, no more counting toothpicks, we’ll be counting cards.
I see our luck
Going up tonight
We’ll fly up high just like a kite
In my face are flashing lights
I know you’ll pick the numbers right
A savant, that’s a trait we want
A wiz, keep it nonchalant
And let’s not let your skills be known
We don’t want your cover blown
IIIIIIIIII … am a really good driver, around in the driveway…
Eighty-two, eighty-two, eighty-two
Ten minutes to Wapner … I farted in the booth!
Lately, I’ve been
I’ve been losing sleep … dreaming about how wealthy we could be.
‘Cause Raymond, I’ve been
I’ve been gaming hard.
Now, no more counting toothpicks, we’ll be counting cards.
– co-written with Ron Gullekson
I’ve said it before: the writing community is in danger of succumbing to fatal pyramid dynamics, and partly due to the ease of online publishing.
The Onion is now having a joke at the massive fountain of online content: “Study: Online Content Creators Outnumber Consumers 2,000 To 1.”
Funny, but also with a kernel of shake-my-head truth.