Finished The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants [7/24/2008]

Reading this after having watched the movie meant that I knew what was going to happen. However, it was still enjoyable and quick/easy. I thought Effie was great character and couldn't believe they had completely left her out of the movie.

The strength of this story is not in the predictable and almost soap opera-ish plot, but, in the characters, the richness of their personalities.

playing with google maps [7/08/2008]

I spent perhaps a bit too much time a couple nights ago making this map of my travels. My ultimate plan is to scan all my photographs and have the points link to the galleries. If I actually get around to doing that, this will definitely be worth it.



Here's my current top places I want to visit. Of course, there are other places I'd like to go but I did this one a lot quicker.

my bookmarking obsession exposed [7/02/2008]

Finished The Miracle at Speedy Motors [6/24/2008]

As usual, the latest installment in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series is an easy and enjoyable read. A nice diversion from heavier books, my only complaint is that it was too short.

I'm always impressed by the richness of the descriptions of life in Botswana. The beauty of the land shines off of the pages like a national geographic photograph.

Finished Kafka on the Shore [6/15/2008]

The characters in Kafka on the Shore form an ultimate karass that is clouded in doom. Everyone seems to be living in a dark, stormy otherworld. Only Oshima is able to escape being dragged along by fate and prophecy. Kafka seems to willfully act out his curse. Throughout the whole book, I felt like everyone would die at the end. I was surprised that some characters made it out alive.

I kept looking for a connection that explained why the characters were linked together, especially Kafka and Nakata. In that sense the ending was not satisfying because I'm still wondering.

I wonder if in the future Sakura and Hoshino will meet and fall in love. I think that would be cool. It's strange to have two of the secondary characters being the most lovable (at least for me).

Despite all the blatant and excessive foreshadowing I still enjoyed the story because of the mystery and magical-realism.

Southland Tales [6/06/2008]

My humble analysis:

Finished The Ancestor's Tale [5/26/2008]

Brilliant from start to finish. The Ancestor's Tale impresses upon the reader the full richness of the tree of life. This is truly an epic book covering all the intricacies of evolution in the clearest, simplest terms. Dawkins has written the best explanation I have read anywhere for mitochondrial eve, and I have read quite a few back in my human origins courses. Everyone with an interest in biology should read this.

the 2007 mmm Awards [5/17/2008]

and the caterpillars go to:

album of the year

the shins - wincing the night away

best new artist

collie buddz

best instrumental album

mickey hart & zakir hussain - global drum project

movie of the year

the golden compass

big budget movie of the year

transformers

underrated movie of the year

the golden compass

best dramatic performance in a movie

george clooney in michael clayton

funniest actor/actress in a movie

katherine heigl in knocked up

best special effects

the golden compass

best set design

the golden compass

best costume design

the golden compass

best chase scene of the year

the bourne ultimatum

best rescue scene of the year

live free or die hard

best original screenplay

michael clayton

best adaptation of a book screenplay

the golden compass

can't believe it lived up to my high expectations award

the darjeeling limited

heist movie of the year

mad money

tv show of the year

heroes

funniest actor in a tv show

hugh laurie in house

funniest actress in a tv show

mary louise parker in weeds

best new scifi/fantasy show

reaper

best new drama tv show

tie: private practice, journeyman

best new comedy tv show

dirty sexy money

best south park episode of the year

fantastic easter special

best new crime show

pushing daisies

best tv show soundtrack

weeds

funniest youtube parody this year

david blaine street magic parody parts 1,2,3

best parody of the year

the onion's our dumb world

best cult rivalry of the year

steven colbert vs bears

best mainstream rivalry of the year

blu-ray vs hd-dvd

internet meme of the year

the dear sister parodies

funniest website of the year

overheard in new york

best comics of the year

xkcd

Please let me know if I should post awards for 2006 and 2005. Also, please suggest new categories for the 2008 awards if you think I'm missing something important. I purposefully left out books because I'm _way_ behind on my reading list.