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The Fall of GeoCities
Oh noes! I just heard that GeoCities is being rolled up like a carpet today. Luckily, I had already cached just about everything from my old website, the rationalists, but in case it's still there, and in case you haven't seen it, you should go while there's still time ( Read more... ) -
Will Facebook have eaten the Internet?
It's a hyperbolic question, but you get the point: the goal to which many companies were working was a portal / hub for everyday use (e.g., Google's customizable "iGoogle" homepage)--the first page you opened in the morning, which contained all your news (that is, customizable to give you whatever you considered news ( Read more... ) -
Super short review: The Terror (2007), Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons is a great writer--just read his Hyperion if you want proof of his greatness.
Unfortunately, The Terror is not great, but only a good book about the lost Franklin arctic expedition of the 1840s and its encounter with some horrible monster of the north: the historical aspects seem well-researched and vividly portrayed, and the horrific ( Read more... ) -
Internet Genre Encyclopedia: The Link (part 1)
Yeah, you read that right: I'm posting on the link, which is not so much a genre of writing as a factor of internet writing/thought--a pretty ubiquitous factor, not just of the internet, but of all digital media. In other words: I don't know what I'm talking about and I've bitten off more than I can chew ( Read more... ) -
Super short review: Heart-Shaped Box (2007), Joe Hill
[I suppose I could use Goodreads for these short reviews, but Goodreads is a site I hardly think about most days. Wouldn't it be better to just have one central homepage/social network ( Read more... ) -
Internet Genre Encyclopedia: The Shorter
[First in an occasional series about genres/aspects of writing on the internet ( Read more... ) -
Super short review: The Lazarus Project, Aleksandar Hemon
This is the story of a Bosnian-American writer who goes to Europe to discover the background of an American Jew shot by the Chicago chief of police in 1908. But it's also the story of the magic of story-telling as a way to know the world; and, ultimately, it's the story of the unknowability of the world.
Blah.
Recommended or not recommended: Not ( Read more... ) -
A Poll: An "Irish"-style cottage
In Nathanael West's The Day of the Locust, someone is looking at a house to rent:
The house was cheap because it was hard to rent. Most of the people who took cottages in that neighborhood wanted them to be "Spanish" and this one, so the agent claimed, was "Irish."
Here's my question: just based on that quote, do you think this is actually an " ( Read more... ) -
What did you learn from your favorite college English class? An investigative report.
Or what was it about your favorite English course that made it your favorite course? If you didn't do much in English, feel free to answer for favorite Humanities course. If you have no favorite Humanities classes, feel free to discuss why you had no favorite Humanities course. -
How to Mess with Texas and Live to Tell About It
Actually, I have no guidelines to offer on how to mess with Texas and live to tell about it; perhaps the secret is not to mess with it in the first place--just approach slowly and make no sudden gestures, as you would with a strange dog.
Austin, TX: Sarah (girlfriend, not sister) and I flew into Austin last Wednesday. We stayed in a very ( Read more... )