Month: August 2010

Tuesday various

  • Textbooks Up Their Game. The Wall Street Journal looks at the evolving world of the textbook market and the role that e-book volumes will play in it.

    The iPad does seem better suited to the textbook market than most other e-readers, if only for its versatility. But I can’t see app-ready editions of textbooks having much widespread appeal (beyond the student who already owns an iPad) or impact, unless the price of Apple’s reader and/or the books comes down significantly. Students are unlikely to pay $69.99 (much less $84.99) for a book they can’t re-sell and that, once the iPad stops working or needs to be replaced, is gone too.

  • Daleks voted the greatest sci-fi monsters of all time. It’s a weird list. The original poll was for “Monsters, Supernatural Beings & Fantasy Creatures,” which means picks like Aslan makes more sense — although a CGI lion with the voice of Liam Neeson is a little monstrous, too — but Pilot from Farscape?
  • Real or not, I think I can live without J.D. Salinger’s toilet.
  • Deconstructing the Twikie. Surprisingly, this hasn’t been done by Cockeyed.com. [via]
  • And finally, I’ve really been enjoying Zach Handlen’s Star Trek: The Next Generation recaps:

    It can be difficult to convincingly show love in fiction, because the experience of falling for someone is both highly personal and curiously universal; the details and shared moments are what give the feeling texture, but the rush and elation of it are things that we all share. So you’ve got to find some way to make the small moments appear distinct and honest so that the big moments feel earned.

Cloudy day

A rainy, slightly chilly Monday here, and not much to distinguish it beyond that. I started reading the last book in Charlie Huston’s “Joe Pitt Casebooks,” which is about as close to excitement as the day got. I was sure I’d purchased a copy of the book a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn’t find it anywhere last night. So I logged on to Barnes & Noble’s website and put a copy on hold. There’s a store a few blocks from my office, so I figured I could go pick it up on my lunch break. Which I did, only to discover, on my return to my cubicle, that the reason I couldn’t find the book at home yesterday…was that I’d left it in my desk. So now I have an extra copy that I need to return.

See, I told you the day wasn’t very exciting.

Monday various

  • I may have discovered a reason to visit Indianapolis. [via]
  • I have the feeling the real Ray Bradbury would be absolutely horrified by this video.
  • A Victim Treats His Mugger Right. So shines a good deed in a weary world. [via]
  • Journalism Warning Labels. Reminiscent of the Fake AP Stylebook. [via]
  • And finally, Scott Tobias on the new Nanny McPhee movie: “The last thing a movie featuring a belching black crow needs is gravitas.” Well said.
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