MMM: Insomnia, Dr. Horrible, Language, Chips, Brisingr
filed in books, food, tv on Nov.10, 2008
On Halloween, I went to Insomnia Coffee Company with E, J, and J for post-Indian-food-coffee. Okay, so let me just take a moment to inform you that Insomnia is awesome. Go there. It’s just so much better than Starbuck’s. No comparison.
And if you don’t like coffee, try an Aldretea. It’s like a latte, but with brewed tea instead of coffee. Add a little honey to it and it’s an absolute treat. Plus, the owners are awesome. Support the local guy (and guy and gal). Seriously. Go!
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Anyway, it was Halloween. Thus, one of the main coffee-jerkers was dressed up. We couldn’t place his outfit. He had on white overalls and big-ole-shop-goggles, looking for all the world like a butcher or crime-scene-cleaner-upper. He informed us he was Dr. Horrible. One of our group was familiar with the character and sent out a link for our viewing pleasure.
Dr. Horrible is hilarious and surprisingly good (who knew Neil Patrick Harris could sing that well?). The full name is Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and it was created by Joss Whedon during the Writer’s Strike. All I can say is, I want more! That’s the trouble with it. If you go watch the video, it’s three fourteen-minute “episodes.” And then it’s done. And now I’m sad.
Oh, and I suppose I should mention it’s not rated G, but it’s clean enough for American TV. Make of that what you will.
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While I’m most attached to reading books in print, I take in a fair number of audio books each year (but I don’t show the list on my blog). I’ve also discovered a really cool resource available through the library: The Teaching Company. They bring in professors of various subjects, have them record lectures (DVD or CD), then sell them to the public. Get them at the library and you get around that whole pesky payment thing. I’ve taken in several of the courses and found them really interesting. The one I’m currently listening to is The Story of Human Language, by John McWhorter. I’ve heard Mr. McWhorter on the radio (and plan on ordering one of his books), and this course is absolutely engrossing (but not so much that I can’t work at the same time…).
Of course, I’ve got this unexplained attraction to linguistics (despite my lack of foreign languages). Maybe not everybody would like it, but Washington County Cooperative Library Services has a bunch of courses available. Just putting in a plug for them.
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A while back, I discovered a new flavor of chips that no meal involving sandwiches, burgers, or hotdogs is complete without. It’s Miss Vickie’s Creamy Buttermilk Ranch. They are insanely good. And yes, I know I’m one of those avoid-dairy-because-it’s-bad-for-you people. I make an exception for desserts, butter, some cheese here and there, and Miss Vickie’s Chips. I haven’t tried any of the other flavors, and I’m actually okay with that. Maybe someday I’ll get around to it, but I hardly need any more chip obsessions.
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New mini-book-review! I just finished Christopher Paolini’s latest entry in the Inheritance Cycle, Brisingr. Originally, it was supposed to be the Inheritance Trilogy, but he decided not to go for thousand-page books, so it’s now going to comprise four books. I can’t really gripe about it, because one of my favorite authors (Orson Scott Card) did the same thing in my favorite series of books (the Ender Series).
One of the gripes about Paolini’s writing early on was that it was immature. Of course, he was only fifteen or so when he started writing the series, so the emotions of his characters tended to be a bit adolescent. But I was pleased to note that, as of Book Three, his writing has definitely matured. Brisingr will probably be the longest book I read this year (other than the Bible), but it was definitely one of the easiest to read. It definitely had the longest alternate title, the ridiculously self-indulgent and over-the-top The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular. Brack.
So, if you’re in the market for a lengthy but easy-to-read series, you might check out the Inheritance Cycle. Although you might like to wait until the final book comes out, since this one is a bit anticlimactic. Just avoid the Eragon movie at all costs. Really, do yourself a favor.
November 13th, 2008 on 2:56 pm
Melissa will love hearing that you listen to audio books while you work! She has finally convinced me that she can listen to a book and do our homeschool algebra curriculum (BTW, we can’t say enough wonderful things about Saxon Math!). She gets her audio books from a service our library system provides through Listen Alaska. You “check out” audio books which arrive in your inbox to be listened to and then “returned” when you are through with them. Currently she is listening through the Artemis Foul Series (which she has previously read and enjoyed).
Peter enjoyed Eragon - the book, not the movie! He hasn’t read any of the rest of the series though and his teacher concerned me when she told me that she thought they were a bit too violent for his age. Would you recommend this new book for an 11-year-old??
November 13th, 2008 on 3:19 pm
The third book has a number of detailed battles, and one of the characters uses a hammer as his main weapon, but the descriptions aren’t terribly graphic. I don’t recall how violent the second one was. Then again, I’m not convinced there’s much harm in kids reading such things, having read “Killing Monsters” earlier this year.
November 14th, 2008 on 6:44 pm
My 13 year old would agree with all your comments on the Inheritance series … including the comment about the movie. He thought all books that are turned into movies were as well done as the Lord of the Rings. Godd for him to learn early, right?