Search results matching tag 'blogs'

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

PotionsMaster@evpl — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Personally, I tend to like the darker side of everything. I like Darth Maul in Star Wars, the Headless Horseman in Sleepy Hollow, Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series (hence my user name), and, well, you get the point. I'm drawn to them because I like to suppose on how they became the way they are. I'm also a sap for musicals (I 'heart' Sweeney Todd...that alone should illustrate my preference), so when my sister pointed me towards "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog", I was intrigued.

The story? Dr. Horrible is trying to get into the Evil League of Evil, run by Bad Horse: the Thoroughbred of Sin, but he has to pull off a truly evil plan before his application is approved. Captain Hammer consistently thwarts Dr. Horrible. As an added twist, Dr. Horrible is crushing on this girl who is always at the laundrymat when he is. It follows how the villian reaches super-villian status with humor, great songs, and while pulling on your heart strings at the same time. Dr. Horrible reaches his goals, ultimately, but at what cost to him?

"I have a PhD in Horribleness!" After watching this, that phrase has become an inside joke between my sister and I. This could be one of the funniest musicals I've ever seen. For such a small production (it was made specifically to be online), it has two pretty recognizable stars in it: Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser) and Nathan Fillion (from 'Firefly' and 'Serentity'). You might also recognize one of the Sears comercial girls, Felicia Day, as the leading lady.

It's short and well worth the 42 minutes it is. I would rate it PG-13, as there is a little sexual innuendo and a little bit of strong language. I was left wanting more, and after you check it out, I'm sure you will too.

Kids eat free!

googler@evpl — Sat, 30 May 2009 19:32:00 GMT

I just came across a vast list of restaurants that routinely offer free or discounted meals for kids (variously defined). This might take a little effort, because you need to pay attention to the age limits, the days of the week, and of course always call ahead to see if our local restaurant offers the promotion (which they are not obligated to do).

But if you're looking to save some money when you take the kids out for dinner, this is a great place to check.

(Link found at the Frugal Living blog.)

Authors doing good works with their written words

kiya@evpl — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:48:00 GMT

This week I heard about a fundraiser that author Patrick Rothfuss has been doing for Heifer International. After having run a successful contest on his personal blog, Rothfuss decided to try raising a little money for his favorite charity, Heifer International. On November 10^th, he announced the fundraiser on his blog, offering to match reader contributions dollar for dollar, hoping to raise a couple thousand dollars. In less than four days they contributed over $5000 (not including Rothfuss' matching donation), and he increased the goal again, and again. When the fundraiser ended on December 11^th, readers had contributed over $50,000 to Heifer International, and Rothfuss promises to match every dime. Rothfuss, who only quit his day job this past year after The Name of the Wind, the first book in the Kingkiller Chronicle series, sold well in the US and internationally, is delighted, and so is Heifer International.

Then I started wondering about other authors, and what similar projects they might have done. I know that J. K. Rowling's new book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, is a fundraiser for a charity she helped found. The book is the collection of stories that Harry and friends use to reach their goals in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Both these stories help me feel good about the authors I love to read. Do you know of other authors who use their public attention to help others?

Battening down your financial hatches

googler@evpl — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:37:00 GMT

Lifehacker has a good article on making sure you're in the best shape possible for any economic downturn. They recommend making sure your savings are FDIC insured, continuing to reduce your debt, not panicking about your investments, and recession-proofing your career, among other things. There are lots of links to all the financial experts they're drawing from. Well worth a read!

A blog I recommend for personal finance in general is Get Rich Slowly -- they always have sensible advice.

Tips for college students at HackCollege

googler@evpl — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:33:00 GMT

First off, I should explain that "hacking" no longer necessarily carries a negative connotation. In fact, its original negative connotation was a kind of misunderstanding. "To hack" means to come up with a creative or clever solution. Thus, one of the more popular blogs today is Lifehacker ("features tips, shortcuts, and downloads that help you get things done smarter and more efficiently"). (Check out their entry on StudyRails, a webapp that works a bit like Outlook to track time for students and notify them of upcoming assignment deadlines.)

Another blog, especially for college students, is called HackCollege. Recent posts include settling debts between roommates, five great faux-homecooked-meals to make in the dorm microwave, and an essay pondering the future of textbooks on the Kindle.

Great stuff for the college student -- and high school seniors as they start preparing for the big transition.

"Hannah's Dream"

Meditatinglibrarian@evpl — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:23:00 GMT

Amongst the blogs I subscribe to through the aggregator Bloglines are a couple of book group/book discussion blogs, Book Club Girl and Book Group Buzz, a Booklist blog. This week Book Club Girl had a touching post about a forthcoming book, Hannah's Dream. Her post includes a video of a zookeeper reading the book to an elephant and links to an interview with the author of Hannah's Dream, Diane Hammond. Makes me want to read the book!

Digital photography school

googler@evpl — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:25:00 GMT

"Digital Photography School" is a remarkable site for free digital photography tips and lessons. It's basically just a blog, but each entry is either a review of a particular resource (whether a book or a piece of equipment) or a lesson in a specific aspect of digital photography ("What the Mona Lisa can teach you about taking great portraits"). They also have a discussion forum, where you can not only participate in conversations but do assignments and have them critiqued.

Nielson Media Research blog

googler@evpl — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:33:00 GMT

Nielson, the ratings company, has recently launched a pretty interesting blog. In addition to expected posts about television viewership (over 211 million viewers watched the Olympics, a new record), they also provide an interesting quantitative perspective on other current happenings ("Obama's text message reaches 2.9 million").

"It's Evansville"

googler@evpl — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:36:00 GMT

If you know of any Evansville blogs worth reading, I'd be interested in hearing about them. The only one I know of is It's Evansville, which is a pretty interesting mix of restaurant reviews, movie reviews, and general views on local issues. The authors and readers have get-togethers locally, too. There may be some way to network with these folks and publicize library blogs. If nothing else, library bloggers could comment on posts (those of you who like restaurants, movies, and local issues).