...accompanied by a Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin ale, which was an even better decision
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Dinner Tonight
Lime-cilantro flounder with teriyaki rice. Pretty solid!
...accompanied by a Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin ale, which was an even better decision
...accompanied by a Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin ale, which was an even better decision
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I just finished this, so I'll get my thoughts down while it's still fresh.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a bit of a phenomenon. For those who haven't heard of it, it's a Swedish mystery novel published in 2005 after the author, Stieg Larsson's, death in 2004,. Two subsequent novels have been published - The Girl who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, exhausting the backlog of books left behind after the death. It has slowly caught fire internationally, originally published in America in 2008. By this year it's been making the book discussion group rounds at the libraries, and it has a film being made by David Fincher (of Seven and Fight Club fame). It was even recommended by a few people whose opinions I respect, which is a rare enough thing in and of itself, so I decided to give it a shot.
Ultimately, with all the above, it couldn't really live up to the hype. Don't get me wrong, this was a totally decent novel, and an fine entry into the mystery genre, but there was very little striking about it. Larsson was a journalist for many years before dabbling in fiction, and he dealt often with Sweden's extreme right and racist groups, and particularly with the remnants and current dealings of Swedish Nazis. While touched upon, there ends up being very little of this interesting subject in the novel. The Swedish title of the novel, Men who Hate Women (which I didn't hear until after finishing the novel), gives a much better idea on the content of the book.
In the end: I liked it enough, and I'll probably read the sequels, though I'm in no rush. This is a novel I'd recommend to mystery readers and avid fiction readers - it's got to be better then that next James Patterson novel you're going to read - but this won't be a "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS RIGHT NOW" moment for me. Next on the reading list - The Raw Shark Texts - though I'll probably post some novels that have been important to me before then.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a bit of a phenomenon. For those who haven't heard of it, it's a Swedish mystery novel published in 2005 after the author, Stieg Larsson's, death in 2004,. Two subsequent novels have been published - The Girl who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, exhausting the backlog of books left behind after the death. It has slowly caught fire internationally, originally published in America in 2008. By this year it's been making the book discussion group rounds at the libraries, and it has a film being made by David Fincher (of Seven and Fight Club fame). It was even recommended by a few people whose opinions I respect, which is a rare enough thing in and of itself, so I decided to give it a shot.
Ultimately, with all the above, it couldn't really live up to the hype. Don't get me wrong, this was a totally decent novel, and an fine entry into the mystery genre, but there was very little striking about it. Larsson was a journalist for many years before dabbling in fiction, and he dealt often with Sweden's extreme right and racist groups, and particularly with the remnants and current dealings of Swedish Nazis. While touched upon, there ends up being very little of this interesting subject in the novel. The Swedish title of the novel, Men who Hate Women (which I didn't hear until after finishing the novel), gives a much better idea on the content of the book.
In the end: I liked it enough, and I'll probably read the sequels, though I'm in no rush. This is a novel I'd recommend to mystery readers and avid fiction readers - it's got to be better then that next James Patterson novel you're going to read - but this won't be a "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS RIGHT NOW" moment for me. Next on the reading list - The Raw Shark Texts - though I'll probably post some novels that have been important to me before then.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
What I've Been Watching:
So, since I can't be bothered to be restrained by television schedules, I acquire any shows I'd like to watch and view at my leisure via a system of shared data many call "the internet". I only really watch while falling asleep at night, so I don't tend to watch a lot unless I find something to obsess over.
Here's what's been on the docket over the past week or two:
Life (BBC version)
Incredible hi-def series of nature documentaries. Filmed over three years and often shot with high-speed cameras, it contains some of the most unique footage ever to be shown. I tend to prefer BBC documentaries because the narration is unquestionable better.
The reptiles episode has been my favorite of the ones I've seen so far - and here's a picture of a Jesus Lizard running on water!
Hard Knocks (Jets)
HBO's fly-on-the-wall series covering an NFL training camp. This year they're covering my team, the New York Jets and their loudmouth, cursing-a-blue-streak, always entertaining coach, Rex Ryan.
Sherlock
Another BBC series, updating the old Sherlock Holmes stories for the modern era. Starring Martin Freeman (Tim from the UK's version of The Office) as Watson, and a man with the most British name I've ever heard, Benedict Cumberbatch, as Holmes.
Here's what's been on the docket over the past week or two:
Life (BBC version)
Incredible hi-def series of nature documentaries. Filmed over three years and often shot with high-speed cameras, it contains some of the most unique footage ever to be shown. I tend to prefer BBC documentaries because the narration is unquestionable better.
The reptiles episode has been my favorite of the ones I've seen so far - and here's a picture of a Jesus Lizard running on water!
Hard Knocks (Jets)
HBO's fly-on-the-wall series covering an NFL training camp. This year they're covering my team, the New York Jets and their loudmouth, cursing-a-blue-streak, always entertaining coach, Rex Ryan.
Sherlock
Another BBC series, updating the old Sherlock Holmes stories for the modern era. Starring Martin Freeman (Tim from the UK's version of The Office) as Watson, and a man with the most British name I've ever heard, Benedict Cumberbatch, as Holmes.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Book Review: The Gone-Away World
Friday, August 13, 2010
An Ignored Blog, a New Purpose
So, I've kinda been ignoring this for some time. I've really wanted to keep it up, but the constraints that I put on myself with it's purpose haven't been inspiring me like I hoped it would. It doesn't help that the things I wanted to "create" cost money, and I've been tapped out ever since I moved into my current place. Also, I hated the fact that whenever I posted onto my music blog I'd count it as my activity for the day, so I'd just post a link over there. Everyone who subscribes to this blog is probably already reading that one, so it just felt like a cop-out and needless.
So, what have I been doing with my time? Well, a lot of reading, watching BBC documentaries, catching up on other television I find interesting, some videogames, being frustrated that my roommates never clean, looking for new jobs but rarely sending out resumes, feeling superior, and generally just trying to find purpose in it all.
I like writing, though. I want to do more of it, and I think this is the place to start it up.
From now on, I'm going to run this like a regular blog of my various activities. I'll focus on reviewing the various bits of culture I'm consuming at a rapid rate, and to make sure I keep track of anything I bother creating. Depending how bored I get at work, I'll probably get a couple book reviews up in the next few days. I've got two more brewing adventures to discuss and a third coming up as soon as I'm in the same room as my roommate Paul for more than an hour. Trying new things with food is one of the things I'm most fascinated with, but I've never really learned to shop for say, a week instead of for a single recipe, so it gets a little too expensive to do anything interesting - but I have had a few deep frying adventures lately, so I'll try to document them.
Well, here we go.
So, what have I been doing with my time? Well, a lot of reading, watching BBC documentaries, catching up on other television I find interesting, some videogames, being frustrated that my roommates never clean, looking for new jobs but rarely sending out resumes, feeling superior, and generally just trying to find purpose in it all.
I like writing, though. I want to do more of it, and I think this is the place to start it up.
From now on, I'm going to run this like a regular blog of my various activities. I'll focus on reviewing the various bits of culture I'm consuming at a rapid rate, and to make sure I keep track of anything I bother creating. Depending how bored I get at work, I'll probably get a couple book reviews up in the next few days. I've got two more brewing adventures to discuss and a third coming up as soon as I'm in the same room as my roommate Paul for more than an hour. Trying new things with food is one of the things I'm most fascinated with, but I've never really learned to shop for say, a week instead of for a single recipe, so it gets a little too expensive to do anything interesting - but I have had a few deep frying adventures lately, so I'll try to document them.
Well, here we go.
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