Do you remember the Internet-unfriendly bills with dumb acronyms (SOPA, PIPA, and CISPA) that were defeated last year after a massive Internet campaign made them all politically toxic? Well, CISPA (Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing & Protection Act) is back and it's still bad news for Internet users. This handy infographic does a good job of summarizing CISPA and its potential downside.
Check out the infographic, do some research, and if you think CISPA sounds like bad news let your elected representatives, particularly your senators, know.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Comfort Food
After learning about the horrific attack at the Boston Marathon on Monday I yearned for distraction. I don't watch the news much, preferring to get my news from the Internet, and I really have no interest in watching the same short video clips on an endless loop while pundit after pundit engages in blatant rumor-mongering (some might even say fear-mongering). So perhaps it is not that surprising that I wanted to take my mind off tragedy.
First, I turned to baseball because it's normally a really good distraction. But it was hard to get into the game because the Phillies' offense was anemic.
Eventually I realized that what I really needed was to lose myself in a book. Yes, I needed some literary comfort food. It shouldn't have been hard to find said literary comfort food, but it was. I may have made things needlessly difficult for myself by deciding that I couldn't choose a book where the messed-up world was a major part of the story (thus knocking nearly all the YA books I own out of contention). I decided on Jennifer Weiner's In Her Shoes (the first of Weiner's books I ever read) because I'd been thinking about re-reading it ever since I watched the movie (several times) on cable. But I realized that I didn't really want to start reading a novel; I wanted to read a piece of a novel.
I settled on the penultimate chapter of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Persuasion is my second-favorite Austen novel and the 2007 BBC version with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones has accompanied me to sleep for the past couple of weeks. I chose the penultimate chapter because it contains Captain Wentworth's letter, which I adore. (Much as I love the aforementioned BBC adaptation, I think they messed up the scene with Captain Wentworth's letter.)
In the end, my distraction worked. I was able to go to bed thinking of swoon-worthy Captain Wentworth instead of tragedy. And isn't that one of the greatest gifts we get from stories?
First, I turned to baseball because it's normally a really good distraction. But it was hard to get into the game because the Phillies' offense was anemic.
Eventually I realized that what I really needed was to lose myself in a book. Yes, I needed some literary comfort food. It shouldn't have been hard to find said literary comfort food, but it was. I may have made things needlessly difficult for myself by deciding that I couldn't choose a book where the messed-up world was a major part of the story (thus knocking nearly all the YA books I own out of contention). I decided on Jennifer Weiner's In Her Shoes (the first of Weiner's books I ever read) because I'd been thinking about re-reading it ever since I watched the movie (several times) on cable. But I realized that I didn't really want to start reading a novel; I wanted to read a piece of a novel.
I settled on the penultimate chapter of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Persuasion is my second-favorite Austen novel and the 2007 BBC version with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones has accompanied me to sleep for the past couple of weeks. I chose the penultimate chapter because it contains Captain Wentworth's letter, which I adore. (Much as I love the aforementioned BBC adaptation, I think they messed up the scene with Captain Wentworth's letter.)
In the end, my distraction worked. I was able to go to bed thinking of swoon-worthy Captain Wentworth instead of tragedy. And isn't that one of the greatest gifts we get from stories?
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
I Have A Confession To Make
As much as I want to see The Host, I haven't yet. (Neither has anyone else, apparently; IMDB says it's grossed less than $20 million thus far.) And at this point I don't think I'm going to see it in a movie theater.
It's a shame because I really was looking forward to seeing it in the theater; I even had an AMC Theatres gift card earmarked for the occasion. But there aren't a lot of screenings at my local AMC this weekend and I just don't think it's going to happen.
At this point the only way I'll see The Host in the theater is if someone goes with me. I have absolutely no problem going to the movies by myself; I actually enjoy it. But if I go to the movies by myself I have to be pretty sure that there's going to be a decent-sized crowd in the theater. There's nothing worse than the feeling of sitting in one of the smallest theaters in your local multiplex (and somehow the smallest auditoriums are always kind of creepy to begin with) by yourself. Except maybe the feeling of sitting in one of the creepy small theaters with one or two strangers.
It's disappointing that I'm probably not going to watch The Host in a theater, but it's even more distressing that I have no idea when I'll be able to watch it in the comfort of my own home. I can't find a DVD/Blu-Ray release date on Amazon or Netflix (at least Netflix knows the movie exists, which is more than can be said for Amazon). A cursory glance at Stephenie Meyer's Website also came up empty. A quick Google search confirmed my belief that a DVD release date hasn't been announced yet, but one site estimated it would be in July.
July, huh? That's later than I thought it'd be. I don't know if I really want to wait until July to see The Host. I may have to find someone to go to the movies with this weekend.
It's a shame because I really was looking forward to seeing it in the theater; I even had an AMC Theatres gift card earmarked for the occasion. But there aren't a lot of screenings at my local AMC this weekend and I just don't think it's going to happen.
At this point the only way I'll see The Host in the theater is if someone goes with me. I have absolutely no problem going to the movies by myself; I actually enjoy it. But if I go to the movies by myself I have to be pretty sure that there's going to be a decent-sized crowd in the theater. There's nothing worse than the feeling of sitting in one of the smallest theaters in your local multiplex (and somehow the smallest auditoriums are always kind of creepy to begin with) by yourself. Except maybe the feeling of sitting in one of the creepy small theaters with one or two strangers.
It's disappointing that I'm probably not going to watch The Host in a theater, but it's even more distressing that I have no idea when I'll be able to watch it in the comfort of my own home. I can't find a DVD/Blu-Ray release date on Amazon or Netflix (at least Netflix knows the movie exists, which is more than can be said for Amazon). A cursory glance at Stephenie Meyer's Website also came up empty. A quick Google search confirmed my belief that a DVD release date hasn't been announced yet, but one site estimated it would be in July.
July, huh? That's later than I thought it'd be. I don't know if I really want to wait until July to see The Host. I may have to find someone to go to the movies with this weekend.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Book Recommendations: Baseball Edition
I don't know about you, but I am thrilled that baseball season is finally here (even if my team is 0-2). With that in mind, I thought I would briefly discuss the baseball book I just read and the baseball book I am currently reading. (I have to be brief because I can't stop yawning. I think the Phillies' sleepy offense made me sleepy.)
- Just a Minor Perspective: Through the Eyes of a Minor League Rookie by Eric Pettis - I bought this book a year ago and it sat in my Kindle app while I read Jane Austen and lots of excellent YA fiction. I never forgot about it, though, and decided to finally start reading it during Spring Training. Pettis, a former Phillies pitching prospect, tells the story of his first year in professional baseball. I was attracted to the book by Pettis' Phillies connection but also by its subject matter. I am fascinated by the lives of professional baseball players at any level, but particularly the minors. The Mike Trouts and Bryce Harpers of the world give fans a skewed idea of prospects; most guys toil for years before they get a chance in the big leagues and, unfortunately, even more guys never get that chance because they're cut from the organization for one reason or another. This book provides a look at the minor leagues that most fans would never get otherwise; I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the minor leagues and minor league players' lives.
- Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong by the Baseball Prospectus Team of Experts - Since becoming interested in baseball I've wanted to learn more about advanced statistics. I'd seen many different people online cite this book as a great beginning resource for advanced stats. I'm not quite halfway through the book yet, but I concur with that assessment. While the book is about statistics it is not about math; the statistics are explained at a high level and the point is not what the statistics say but what they mean. I'm looking forward to finishing the book and will probably read the follow-up, Extra Innings, someday.
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