- Strange Horizons is looking for female reviewers.
- Where was the robotics merit badge when I was a Boy Scout?
- On the decline of The Daily. I lost interest almost immediately in the app. [via]
- Reinventing the Muppets.
- And finally, Sandworm Size Chart:
various
Tuesday various
- Montana GOP Rep. Defends Drunk Driving. Yep, that’s sure what it sounds like he’s doing.
- Inexplicably famous Perez Hilton is writing a children’s book. I don’t usually like to toss around phrases like “end times,” but… [via]
- Even Billy Joel doesn’t want to read his own memoir! Okay, that’s unfair. I actually do like Joel, or at least much of his music — I think I’m obligated to as a Long Islander — but I don’t think I’d want to read his memoir even if he hadn’t canceled it.
Though I do find it weird to think that he’s been “retired” from writing new music for almost twenty years now. [via]
- This really puts things in geographical perspective: European cities overlaid on a map of the U.S. at an identical latitude (and the other way around).
- And finally, It’s not a crime to be poor. Yet. [via]
Thursday various
- The other night, I was watching Jeopardy, as I am wont to do, and was deeply saddened when none of the three contestants knew Terry Gilliam’s film Time Bandits. Now comes the even sadder news that the film might be re-made. Seriously?
- Speaking of re-makes, I never thought I’d say something like this, but this trailer for MTV’s new Teen Wolf makes me miss the Michael J. Fox version. (I was eight when I saw that film in theaters, though, so I already have way too fond feelings for it.) I was more forgiving of this version when I realized it’s meant to be an on-going television series, rather than a movie, but it seems like such tired, Twilighty territory, and surely there were better titles for it.
- A helpful reminder that, when the dictionary adds new words, even slang words, it is not the end of the world. (It’s actually probably a good thing. You know, because that’s what dictionaries are for.) [via]
- “Zombie” Ants Found With New Mind-Control Fungi. [via]
- And finally, because I’m sure you’ve been wondering: just how does Aquaman build his own x-ray machine?
Wednesday various
- A couple of weeks ago, they unveiled the new costume for NBC’s upcoming Wonder Woman series. The internet responded with the appropriate amount of disgust and horror. “I feel like my eyes are not only bleeding,” I myself wrote, “they’ve been top-coated with a carcinogenic plastic laminate.”
Well, not to worry: NBC and producer David E. Kelley have heard our complaints and all is better now. Her boots are now red instead of blue.
- Making Light lays out a recent timeline of Dorchester Publishing, explaining why it’s probably a good idea for writers and readers alike to stay very, very far away from them.
- Military ranks of the British Invasion. [via]
- “Though the efficacy of standardized testing has been hotly debated for decades, one thing has become crystal clear: It’s big business.” [via]
- And finally, Ryan McGee on the Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump:
All of this proceeded banally for the first half of the show, until Sorrentino [the Situation] got up and did something that, had it been done by an Andy Kaufman, Norm MacDonald, or Zach Galifianakis, might have been called performance art. What he did was manage to stretch seven minutes of stage time into what felt like 36 hours of aural waterboarding. Trump, who was already a nearly invisible presence up until that point in the overall proceedings, receded even further as each ensuing comic opened up both barrels on The Situation, sensing blood in the water. Sorrentino’s performance will probably get the roast more publicity than anything else, but that’s part of the problem: The show clearly booked him so he’d bomb, not because he would do a good job.
And maybe that’s fine with you, if you enjoy train wrecks that involve baby seals and orphans inside said flaming train.
Tuesday various
- Peter Jackson adding more female roles to The Hobbit? On the one hand, I’m all for this. More strong female characters all around, yes, thank you. On the other hand, there’s a part of me that wants to shout, “But it’s not in the book!” On the other other hand, I find myself surprisingly unenthusiastic about the whole thing. Maybe I’ve just had my fill of Peter Jackson Tolkein movies.
- Speaking of Tolkein, though, apparently the Eye of Sauron is at the center of spiral galaxy NGC 4151. Who knew? [via]
- How I Passed My U.S. Citizenship Test By Keeping the Right Answers to Myself. [via]
- In this post, Mark Evanier relayed something that several people had told him via e-mail — namely that “Map-makers sometimes include phony names and places on maps in order to identify when someone plagiarizes their work.” I’d never heard of this practice, but apparently it’s quite common.
- And finally, people will tell you — professional writers and editors will tell you — don’t respond to negative reviews. It’s a losing game, even if you think you’re right. Even if you are right. But one thing’s for certain: you should never, ever, ever respond to a negative review like this. [via]