Comic for Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Posted: 6:30 am, Wednesday, December 10th

I love bacon. This sounds horrible.

I have to give major props to CK for turning me onto Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the best YA series I've read since Harry Potter. I've got some kids who haven't read anything other than manga all year loving these books. It's about a kid with dyslexia and ADHD and going to school in Manhattan who finds out he's the son of Poseidon. The Greek gods follow Western Civilization around and therefore Mt. Olympus is located over the Empire State Building. It is awesome. The summer camp is very Hogwarts-y, but nothing comes off as derivative. SO good. If anyone wants a fun easy read, or has a child between 8-14, I recommend it. The fact that there are four of these books out and I've never heard of them, and Twilight has grossed over $100 mil in the theaters makes me doubt the fairness of this universe.

I'm hoping to see some old co-workers at the office's Christmas party after-party tonight. I can't believe it's been almost nine months since I left that place, and almost six since I've been in the new World HQ here. Time flies, yo. Speaking of, ten class days 'til Christmas break, holla. I introduced the idea of misogyny to one of my freshman girls yesterday. Misogyny! Institutionalized racism! It's always *something* in Mr. Bullfrog's class.

How about Illinois governors? Holy shit! If you're not up on your Illinois/Chicago corruption, the Times handily has a timeline.

I've never watched Boston Legal, and now I've missed my chance. Any takers? Was it any good? Pajiba seemed to like it.

And since I'm still in the endless migration of music from PC to Apple, and making zero progress, I've had to download some Christmas music. Thankfully, the kick-ass Captain's Dead has a mix, including a lot of stuff I've never heard. Including O Come All Ye Faithful as done by Twisted Sister, which sounds exactly like anything you'd expect Twisted Sister to do.

bullfrog

Gunnar -- Wednesday, December 10 2008, 08:20 am

Re: Boston Legal

The relationship between the two main characters, Denny Crane and Allan Shore, stayed interesting till the end, but David E. Kelley has phoned every other aspect of the show in for the past two seasons or so.

Oh, I'm so glad to hear you and your class like Percy Jackson! The fifth (and final) book will be out this coming May, and there's a movie that's supposed to come out in Summer 2010, though unfortunately it's being directed by Chris Columbus.

The first book is called THE LIGHTNING THIEF, for anyone interested, and it's by Rick Riordan. It is the perfect Christmas gift for any kid aged 9-15, boy or girl. Or give them Rick's Scholastic book, THE MAZE OF BONES, the first in "The 39 Clues."

I added one last line there that didn't come through:

/shameless children's bookmongering

Yeah, totally digging it, CK. Had 2.0 duck into a B&N Monday night to grab the Lightning Thief so that my kids didn't start on the second book.

And I thought there was nothing worse than bacon salt.

Aphrodite's child must be one hot smoking attractive person, and a flirt.