[  Mood: Hypnotized ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast – Toast with homemade Straberry Margarita jam and ]
So a huge winter storm is hitting us. Close to 20cm to 30cm are expected. That’s about 2/3 to 1 foot for you imperialists. Plus freezing rain and ice pellets mixed into the snow. They have canceled the school buses, but the schools are open, which means I am expected at work on time.

Ya see – this is normal for Ottawa. We get about four or five of these storms a year. It dumps snow on us, we dig out and go to work. Unlike Toronto, where 5cm in one day has them calling in the army to clear the streets. Would that I was making that up.

Some nice pictures of Ottawa
Parliament Hill
Confederation Park
National War Memorial
National Art Gallery

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast – Toast with homemade Straberry Margarita jam and ]
Okay, so report cards are now over. YEAHHHHHH!!!!!

So I can get back to reading.

And to celebrate, I read Generation X by Douglas Coupland. I bought this book a while a go, but never got around to reading it.

Now I am a fan of Coupland, who is a bit of the Wunderkind meets Enfant Terrible of Canadian publishing. He burst on the scene with Generation X in 1991.

Generation X is the disjointed tale of Andy and his friends Dag and Claire, all Gen Xers, all in dead end jobs, all rejecting the world their parents made. This book is not a traditional flowing narrative, but rather a series of vignettes about the lives of those born between 1964 and 1980. Also in the book is a glossary that inhabits the margins of the pages. Coupland gives his definition of made up terms, like Semi-Disposable Scandinavian Furniture. Interestingly enough, Coupland didn’t invent the term Generation X, but he did popularize it with this novel.

This is a great book, but it is not an easy read. I do recommend it. Then go read Microserfs, J-Pod and Hey Nosradamus!

[  Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: Waiting for Husabnd Unit to come home with bread to make me ]
So Stupid.com released a list of 10 stupid gifts for the holiday season.

The problem? No where on his site can you find a page dedicated to that list. Come on Mr. Stupid, stop living up to you name!

So I have taken it upon myself to track down the list, link to it and add some snarky goodness. As I thank you, don’t buy me somthing from the list.

1. Mistletoe To Go
If you use this you are either a) desperate, b) begging for a sexual harassment lawsuit or c) lost a bet.

2. The Hillary Nutcracker
Well, I guess someone had to make the joke. You know a woman in power being so threatening to the average guy. I wonder if she uses this on Bill?

3. Slingshot Monkey
I know two people who have one of these. What does that say about me?

4. Larry Craig Action Figure
How many of these is Jon Stewart going to get for Hanuka?

5. Uncle Oinker’s Gummy Bacon Candy
What rednecks use to freshen their breath.

6. Inflatable Moosehead
Clearly this was not invented, maybe named would be a better term, by anyone who has ever seen a moose. In the flesh. Or on TV. Or on a beer lable. Or on a coin. Or has hit one with their car. This is clearly a deer.

7. Electronic Yodeling Pickle
As you can see, I could not find this one at Stupid.com, because their navigation and search engine match their name. Anywhoo, onto the product. Someone clearly thought this needed to be invented. Why is not for you or I to know.

8. Poo-lar Bear Candy
Too me the saddest thing about this gift is that they are sold out. That means there are enough 10 year-olds (or people who have senses of humour like them) out there to buy this crap. (Excuse the pun.) Stock up on water people, the end of days is coming.

9. Get Off the Phone Excuse Machine
This one seems kind of useful for people without backbones. Just tell them you have to go. If they don’t understand, are they really your friend?

10. USB dancer
The sad, sad thing about this one is all she does is spin around. The legs don’t move. She doesn’t flip upside down. Let me revise that. The sad, sad thing about this one is that there are people reading this who are reaching for their credit cards.

Reported at Slashdot:

Zombie Cockroaches was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

In celebration of the venerable magazine’s 85th anniversary, the editors of Weird Tales are compiling a list of the 85 weirdest storytellers of the past 85 years and they need your help. And they are looking far afield from the magazine.

Time to get crackin’.

Weird Tales Seeks the Weirdest Storytellers was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: Cool ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast – Poppy Seed Bagel with butter and a cup of Lover’ ]
So last night I went to sleep and you’all appeared in my dreams.

No, I am not making this up.

Sneezy was there first. He was in Ottawa for work and looked me up. Then somehow, we were both at a RevSF con and Joe and Shane and KD and SuperDave and the rest were there.

Except Dharma.

Don’t know why he would come.

Party pooper.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: Drinking a nice blend of OJ and Grapefruit Juice ]
Minon by L.A. Banks was my latest reading to tackle.

And it became one on a short list of books that I abandoned.

Minon tells the tale of Damali Richards is a spoken word poet who is also a vampire slayer. She is surrounded by her musicians, who also happen to be her back-up fighters and trainers.

Clearly a Hip Hop Buffy, I found it poorly written and a chore to get through. I gave up.

Meh.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[ Currently: Getting ready for bed. ]
This book, while not genre, was amazing.

In order to pass his civics class, Ian has to do forty volunteer hours. He signs up to help at a soup kitchen where he meets Sarge, a former Canadian soldiers who is now homeless.

Through Sarge, Ian learns about the Rwandan genocide and even more about the world in general. He finds a purpose beyond his shallow, self-centered existance.

This is not a preachy book, but it had me in tears. It also made me grateful for the life I have. I plan to buy this book and use it in my classroom.

[ Mood: Happy ]
There have been rumors for decades of the existence of a “lost” Lee-Kirby Fantastic Four. Apparently Kirby had finished the pencils for #103, 102 being his last issue. Marvel is finally publishing the lost issue in February.

Click on image to enlarge

The biggest shocker to me is the price. Marvel could have easily raked us over the coals on this one, but for once common sense won over greed. I’ll gladly fork over my $4.99.

Click on image to enlarge

Newsarama had a very informative interview back in August with Marvel editor Tom Brevoort about the genesis of this project.

And I was very pleased to learn this from the interview:

Click on images to enlarge

FANTASTIC FOUR: THE LOST ADVENTURE was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

[  Mood: Cool ]
[  Currently: Watching Coronation Street ]
Kim Harrison has been writing the Rachel Morgan supernatural mysteries for quite some time now. Her fifth book in the series, For a Few Demons More is the latest to be read by me. And I have to say, wow!

Harrison has done an amazing job of world building. Her Cincinnati is a ghost of city, with a quarter of the world’s population killed by a mutated virus that came from genetically modified tomatoes. With the outbreak of the plague, the Interlanders (witches, vampires, werewolves and pixies) revealed themselves to the humans.

This book countinues that world building. There’s a serial killer stalking the Hollows. Their target? Humans who are mysteriously turned into werewolves. Rachel, a witch and sort of private eye, wakes up to find a demon has desanctified the church she lives in and is looking for something. So Rachel sets about to solve the serial killer case and get her church resanctified so that every bad guy isn’t tromping through her house. It is a rapid and fun filled ride.

Harrison, unlike some other Vampire Mystery writers, has no qualms moving plots along and killing off major characters. Sex does occur in the books, but it is not the main reason for writing them.

Good read. Go get this.