Trailer Thursday extra

Hey gang!

Usually "Trailer Thursday" is set aside for a film trailer. But I wanted to get in and share a videogame that's due out later this year (September 21st to be precise).

Borderlands 2: A game that I am only partially familiar with, is releasing what appears to be a  pretty fun and exciting sequel. Borderlands did a great job of mixing first person shooter action with some RPG elements in a fantastic apocalyptic wasteland. The second iteration appears to be much of the same, but the trailer truly has me hooked. If you ever wanted to know what gets my gamer engine running, its silly intertitles and dubstep; and this trailer has both of those in spades.

Self-testing stimulants

I don't mean to brag, but I am a member of the Amazon Vine program. Basically it's a little loyalty program where they offer me (and a couple thousand other amazon members) free products to try out. The only stipulation being that we have to review them on Amazon's site.
Most of the items are books, but if you move fast when they send out the vine newsletter you can get some other nifty stuff... like over the counter stimulants!

(more about getting jacked up after the break)

SSpplL Books of the Month: February 2012

Hey Smartys. We're trying a new series of posts here on the blog. Every month the four of us will each select a book to read and review. We will select new books at the beginning of each month, read them, and then at the end of the month/beginning of the next we will give our review as well as the book we have selected for the following month.

Feel free to read along, or not. And please feel free to continue the discussion in the comments.

Here are our book selections for February 2012:


Ed's pick:

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

The following things are true:

1.) I study psychopathy.
2.) I have never seen the American Psycho (2000) starring Christian Bale
3.) It was recently announced that the movie is being remade

Therefore, I think I am past-due for reading this novel. Plus, I got it in a white elephant gift exchange last month (the party was filled with psychologists).

Dean's pick:

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

The following things are true:

1.)I like history.
2.)I enjoyed his previous book: The Devil in the White City.
3.) It sounded intriguing when he spoke on Fresh Air.

Therefore, I will see what Berlin was like in the lead-up to World War II.



Jordan's pick:

                                
Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe

The following things are true:

1.) I like pie.
2.) I read this book when I was 18.
3.) I remembered liking it but not knowing quite sure why.

Therefore, I will revisit this novel to see if I still like it, or if it was merely a byproduct of my late high school/early college Objectivist phase.


Ben's pick:

The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption by Clay A. Johnson

The following things are true:

1.) I sit at a computer for much of my day
2.) I would like to learn of ways to reduce the amount of time that I feel is generally wasted.
3.) I not only want to decrease quantity but increase quality of information.

Therefore, I am going to try applying the concepts introduced in this book into my daily reading and information gathering habits.

Newt dumbs it down in presidential bid

Mother Jones has a quick article delving into New Gingrich's dark past... of supporting climate change science and global warming research!

Now, Gingrich is much less enthusiastic about science and the environment. And the explanation seems is fairly simple: Gingrich-the-professor likes grandiose ideas like earth-orbiting climate monitors, space honeymoons, a $40 billion investment in laptops for poor people, or bringing back the dinosaurs. But Gingrich-the-presidential hopeful is campaigning in an age where not just denying climate change but actively disdaining scientific research is the standard in the Republican Party.

Its disappointing to see someone who apparently knows and acknowledges the value of science and research choosing to put those opinions on the shelf. Going so far as to downplay those past episodes and putting a new spin on old quotes in an effort to appeal to the base of the party with the same anti-intellectual pronouncements as all the other relatively interchangeable candidates (no offense, Dr. Ron Paul).

SOPA and PIPA: the new terms of service

I started drafting a piece that would look at SOPA and PIPA and this whole wave of internet regulation that seems to be sweeping the halls of congress. But two things kept tripping me up. First off, there are already reporters and sites doing a far better job than a simple part-time blogger could do(I recommend The Verge and Nilay Patel for some of the best analysis). And secondly, that the news was coming so quickly in the past week that before I could get a solid thought down, something else had happened. But I still have to say my piece on this. In writing this piece it became a fruitless task to try and “out think” a lot of very good writers who have tackled this from every angle. But I think something that few people are really focusing on, at least for now, is that SOPA is merely one small piece of a grander attempt, both by the US government and corporations to corral the the internet into a more manageable form.

Dropping the SOPA

If you were one of the awesome people who checked out the most recent podcast, we had a brief discussion of SOPA. Since this is something of a pressing issue to internet denizens such as myself, I wanted to point you to the single best site for SOPA information: SopaOpera.org.

Now, its not just SOPA- which is currently working its way through the house. There is also the PROTECT-IP bill in the Senate. My quick breakdown on the podcast doesn't really do justice to how significant these bills are to the direction of the "open internet" as we know it.  And it is far from a fair fight. The most depressing figure so far is that the corporate backers of the bill far outnumber their opponents. The companies and other organizations in favor of the bill are contributing four times what the opposition has been able to generate.

While those aren't very good odds, I remain optimistic. Regardless of the success or failure of these bills, we (people on the internet) tend to do what we want and, fortunately, there are far more of us than there are of them. As computer scientist and all around smart guy John Gilmore once said, "The internet interprets censorship as damage, and routes around it."

Time to get a little sentimental

I don't have cable, but the one thing that I would absolutely pay a premium for is TCM. The channel has been nothing but consistent since its inception in 1994, showing only uncut films without interruption. It ranks right up there with the Criterion Collection as far as film fetishism goes. And the intros to many of the films, presented by a knowledgeable host (usually Robert Osborne) make it seem as if every film is worthy of your attention.

One of the annual traditions the channel has had for many years is a short musical segment called "TCM Remembers" which showcases the list of actors, actresses, writers, directors, producers and other personalities from the film industry who have died in the past year. Its pretty common for people to not know or recognize the names or faces of every single person in the montage but that's OK. I still appreciate that TCM takes the time to acknowledge their contribution to film history. In that way, a part of them lives on forever.

Break out the tissues: this is 2011's edition of TCM Remembers.

5 Smart Technologies of 2011

Its one thing to get hyped up on a new site or service (Schemer, anyone?). Its another to hit on new (at least to you) tools you find online that you actually incorporate into your regular life. Be it for work or play, here's a breakdown of sites and apps I've come across this year that I actually use. Some of these are not necessarily new this year, but are all new to me and deserve more users and supporters.