- English Teacher Writes Racy Novels. Which…what? Should be grounds for firing the teacher? It’s not as if she assigned the novels as readings for her class, or even mentioned them to her students; by all accounts, she kept her writing life very separate, if not secret, and I don’t see why this should be anybody’s business, much less a problem.
“Now my son knows so how is he thinking when he’s sitting in her class knowing what she does on the side,” said parent Wendy Apple.
To which I say, maybe it’s time you and your son both grew up, then. The woman is allowed to have a personal life, and has committed no crime or obvious impropriety. And, honestly, if you’re trying to get a 10th-grade boy to quit thinking about sex, whatever the circumstances, you’re fighting a losing battle. [via]
- Oscar Wilde takes on Jersey Shore. Does exactly what it says on the tin.
- TSA security looks at people who complain about…TSA security.
“This violation of my Constitutional rights in the service of fear-mongering and creating the illusion of safety is really — oh no! They’ve caught on to my nefarious plan!” [via]
- When words change meaning. [via]
- And finally, because it was only a matter of time, Infographic of Infographics [via]
tv
Sick day
So if you’d told me last night that the plan for today would involve lying in bed watching the first season of The League on Netflix and doing a little light reading, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But I called in sick today, so that’s exactly what happened. I’m feeling a lot better now than I did this morning. Which is good, since I do have work to do at the office this week…and Netflix only has six episodes of The League available for streaming.
Sunday
So today I worked on the Sunday crossword, watched the first two episodes of AMC’s new show The Killing and saw Hanna with friends after our weekly writing group. I liked both the TV show and the movie, and the writing I did too — although with that, I’m not going to post it, since I think, with just a little bit of work, I could maybe turn it into a sell-able flash piece. I also finished listening to the audiobook of Tina Fey’s new memoir Bossypants. I also liked that.
It was pretty much just a Sunday of okay, likable stuff. Nothing wrong with that.
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.