XKCD

What are webcomics? The next step in the evolution of the comics medium? Those annoying, mostly unfunny things that always pop up in Stumble Upon?

Some love 'em, and some hate 'em -- though no one can deny that webcomics have weaselled their way into Internet culture. For my part, I fall somewhere in the middle of that spectrum. I read most of the webcomics that come my way, though I rarely go out searching for them. Heck, some are pretty funny -- and they generally take well under a minute to read, so you haven't lost much either way.

Some webcomics are on my "black list" -- meaning I run away screaming every time one crosses my path. Most are in the "hit-and-miss" category, while only one has found itself a permanent place in my heart: XKCD.

It's "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language" apparently, and it suits me well. I could analyze why I love it, but let's not waste time -- and, besides, I have a bad feeling about that approach.

Without unveiling the reason(s), we can at least establish that I love XKCD. I am a devoted follower -- I might have its children. So I was surprised, recently, when I discovered a blog called XKCD Sucks. Yes, this little webcomic has a large and devoted anti-following, no less than six or seven gaggles of trolls.

It's no secret, either. Google "XKCD" and there it is, just below the site itself, the Wikipedia page, and the official blog. Within, the bloggers generally devote one post per comic, dissecting and disparaging as they go. This has been going on for a while, too -- since March, 2008.

Honestly, I can't understand it: If you don't like something, don't read it. Yet, I'm content to let them do their thing, go their way. And, in lieu of harassing them, I have decided to pick some of the best and personal favorites amongst XKCD and post links here. So, like the waiters in any cheesy restaurant, I can only say Enjoy! (hopefully)

Classics
585 - "Outreach" (Daddy, I want to be a scientist.)
525 - "I Know You're Listening"
353 - "Python"
327 - "Exploits of a Mom" ("Little Bobby Tables")
272 - "Linux User at Best Buy"
208 - "Regular Expressions" (This was hilarious in my Python-dabbling days)
200 - "Bill Nye"
148 - "Sandwich" (The XKCD comic)
225 - "Open Source" (Richard Stallman now owns a katana (!!))
386 - "Duty Calls" (Someone is wrong on the Internet!)

Some Personal Favorites
123 - "Centrifugal Force" (great line from Goldfinger, great comic)
563 - "Fermirotica" ("statistical voyeurism")
506 - "Theft of the Magi"
470 - "The End is Not For a While" ("Things Are Pretty Okay!")
251 - "CD Tray Fight"
178 - "Not Really Into Pokemon"
512 - "Alternate Currency" (very funny alt-text)
616 - "Lease" ("I was thinking about Batman")
387 - "Advanced Technology" (Von Neumann and babies)
538 - "Security" ("hit him with this five dollar wrench")
663 - "Sagan-Man" (RIP! No doubt he's up there, jamming with Freddy Mercury and Michael Jackson.)

So there you are: I wasted a significant portion of my time on this and I may have gotten a few suckers to do the same. Vive la résistance! And Happy Holidays, too!

"Pinky and the Brain" Parodies the Beatles

I rather enjoy discovering and then posting slight oddities such as this. You have to wonder just what the people behind this popular kids' show from the 90s were thinking when they decided to do a parody of The Beatles. Sure, they were and still are cultural icons, but I have my doubts of their appeal and fame amongst the under-twelve crowd of the mid-90s. But I'm not complaining: no doubt their parents got a kick out of it and now it's on the Internet, for all to enjoy forever -- or until it's yanked for copyright infringement.

Now, as I toddle off to see Tania naked (and listen to a bunch of hairy guys prattle on), I have startling news: Tomorrow, a post on XKCD! That should be thrilling...

And yes, as you have undoubtedly already discovered, the boobs are a lie.

Confused? Just watch the video... I can't promise it has all the answers, but it will keep you busy with all its pretty colors and sounds.

NaNoWriMo 2009 Wrap Up

Now that the excitement and challenge of National Novel Writing Month is clearly and safely behind us, we can begin to move on. Ah, but not without at least one wrap-up post! So, here I will indulge in, for one last time, the challenge that took -- stole -- occupied -- a good part of my time and thought during November, 09. It was a fun experience, overall, and most importantly, I did something that I never thought I could -- or rather, I knew I could theoretically, but without any messy experimentation.

Let us first take a look at a few numbers. The people that run NaNo recently revealed some general stats on their official blog, so I figured I would follow them with some of my own, personal figures.
First up, we have my accumulated word count for each day, compared with the expected or required amount. You have to write an average of 1,666 and two-thirds words per day (which is usually rounded up to 1,667) to just barely reach 50,000.

As you can see from the graph, I started out on a strong note, with over 5,000 words on the first day, which I was able to build upon for well over a week, always staying well above the required total. The first sign of trouble showed up on the 11th, when I only wrote 83 words. But I recovered well enough and was able to keep my head above the waterline up to and including the 17th.

Then, on the 18th, the head cold that had shown its first feeble signs the day before gave me its full blast, which basically incapacitated me for the entire day. I did nothing but lay around all day, always under plenty of blankies. Hannah laughed at my habit of periodically moving from couch to love seat to bed. (Did I mention how much I love my darling sister?) I am still amazed by how hard this simple cold hit me -- or rather, how hard I took it. Looking back, I am not sure of how bad it really was -- and I think I may have overreacted a little.

Either way, I did not write a word on the 18th, my first zero-word day. And, despite valiant attempts at getting back on track on the 19th and 21st, I followed with zero-word days on the 20th, 22nd, and 23rd -- as the below graph clearly shows.

By the 23rd, I had officially (by telling my mother) given up the challenge. I was over 6,000 words behind, and I figured the climb back to success would be a real pain in the butt. Besides, I thought, I had already written over 32,000 words -- far and away the most I had ever written for any one project; a clear success by any measure.

Less than one day passed before I was right back into it. It was probably the oddest, quickest and most complete reversals of opinion I have ever had. Don't ask me how or why it happened -- though perhaps finally brushing off that nagging cold had given me the energy and spunk I needed. So, despite a weak day on the 27th which I can't really explain, I was able to write steadily to a respectable finish.

That is the story, in pictures and words, of my word count during the thirty days of craziness which some call NaNoWriMo.

I will return, likely on some far-flung date, to the topic of the novel itself, "Henry's Fear." Or rather I will start talking about it -- I have been rather mum on actual, genuine info about the story. But all will be revealed in good time: I am not paranoid or arrogant enough to keep this kind of stuff locked away on my HDD.

It still needs a lot of work, yes, but I am convinced that there is a story there somewhere and I would love to polish it to a shine, and maybe eventually submit to a publisher or twenty. But, for the moment at least, I am content to take a little breather and let the little thing cool for a while.

In the meantime, I've been concentrating on this blog, as well as getting back on track with my reading. I will undoubtedly break 100 books read for this year, which doubles last year's goal. Of course I'm already thinking about 200 for next year: my heart says, "Yes! Please!" while my brain says "Uhm, slow down there..." and my eyes say "Oh, Sh**!"

Review: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have to kick myself for not reading this sooner, and, while I'm at it, give a few kicks to anyone who has not read it yet. I say you're missing out. It's a fun, fairly short, and even goofy artifact of medieval Britain. Good stuff, I say.

It's rollicking and maybe even a little Christmas-y, which makes it fun reading for this time of year. "Festive" is a good word for the opening scenes: Yuletide at King Arthur's Court -- and I feel that this poem never really loses that carnival-like atmosphere. Everything in this poem seems a game: from the initial challenge by the Green Knight, to the hunting scenes, to the unwilling courtship, all the way to the climax (hint: it involves an axe and a green girdle -- *meow*)

And yes, it is goofy, as only the English can manage. I couldn't help but laugh at some of the outdated symbolism, as the above "hint", uh, hints at. The picture of an all-green man barging into King Arthur's court, demanding someone cut off his head? A little ridiculous. But then, when the deed is done, he picks it up and carries the damned thing off!

And the language, with the original Middle English included on the left-hand pages of this edition, has goofiness within it as well. Despite having no clue about correct pronunciation, I gave it a good old shot and I'm convinced that it was more fun that way. Stumbling over those odd but somehow familiar words, often sounding like I had potatoes in my mouth? As a sage once said: you can buy potatoes, but not True Happiness.

This translation by Simon Armitage is also worth mentioning. Though I have no experience with any other translations of this poem, I don't know the language of the source text at all, and I have little info on literary translating in general -- despite all this, I'd say this is a mighty fine translation. This guy, Armitage, seems to "get it." He is completely aware of the feeling and mood of this poem and he does all he can to preserve it. In fact, he seems more intent on holding on to the original feel than the exact, literal translation (As showcased most prominently by his decision to preserve the alliteration; I feel it would not at all be the same poem without that feature, so good on him.)

I had fun with this -- though I assure you, I was always laughing with and not at. Even the inevitable heavy-handed moral and religious symbolism did not dampen the mood. Sure, we all know that the green means something, that Gawain is a hero of this or that kind -- but with a story this good, who really cares? I prefer to leave the criticism to the critics -- I like to enjoy the stuff I read.

I saw the messages there, but they didn't stick out as much as they could. This poem could be compared to a sermon, in that it tries to get religious messages across while still being entertaining. Even in the Middle Ages, you needed a little flare to gain and keep people's interests. The problem with this approach, though -- at least with this poem, and no doubt with modern-day sermons from enthusiastic preachers trying to attract a bigger crowd -- is that it perhaps entertains too much. It's no Bible. (Some people might actually read it.)

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