David S. Atkinson's Blog, page 268

Nice “Bones Buried In The Dirt” Surprise Before The Linda Joffe Hull “Eternally 21″ Reading Last Night

I had a great deal of fun at the Linda Joffe Hull reading for her new book Eternally 21 last night at the Tattered Cover on Lodo. I kind of expected it would be fun, though. Her reading for her last book, The Big Bang, was a blast so I knew this one would be fun as well. Mind you, there was a little bit of a pleasant surprise for me…though it was before the reading and actually concerned my own book, Bones Buried in the Dirt.

You all remember how I posted that the Tattered Cover was carrying Bones Buried in the Dirt? If not, here is a picture I posted with copies over at the Lodo location:

Since I was waiting for the review to start, I decided to go over and see how many copies of my book were still on the shelf. There were none. I thought for a minute that they had gotten moved to a display, but I asked and they confirmed that all the Lodo copies had sold (and promised to rotate copies still at the Colfax and Highlands Ranch stores so all three locations would have copies available).

Talk about a good way to start out the evening, finding out that my book has been selling over at Tattered Cover. Obviously I was in a pretty good mood at that point.

Don’t worry though if you were going to get a copy at Tattered Cover Lodo, Denver people. As I mentioned, they’re rotating stock today so you can get copies whichever Tattered Cover location in the Denver area you prefer (Lodo, Colfax, or Highlands Ranch). You can even still get copies online from Tattered Cover, online at Amazon, or in person at The Bookworm in Omaha:

In fact, if you are in the Omaha area, there are a still good number of copies at The Bookworm. Why not stop by and pick one up so the books don’t feel so self-conscious about just standing around all the time in such a big group?

You Should Read “So Say the Waiters” And Review It On Amazon

Have you read So Say the Waiters by Justin Sirois yet? If not you should. Imagine kidnApp a cell phone application that allows people to request that they be kidnapped for fun. What’s not to dig? (And isn’t this something you could actually see happening in all the weird apps/social networking that’s going on these days?)

Check out my Goodreads review here if you want to see what I thought of it, though obviously I liked it if I’m recommending the book here. I’m still anxiously awaiting the release of Book 2.

Besides, Episode 1 is free right now on Kindle, Nook, iBooks, and Smashwords. What have you got to lose.

You should check it out and then review it on Amazon. Then comment here that you did it so I know that I influenced you. I just want to know if anyone is actually persuaded by me to do this. If it works, then I might restart my campaign to nickname Abraham Lincoln King of the piñatas.

A Completely Untrue Spoiler For Next Week’s “Game of Thrones” Episode

People were fairly stirred up about the recent Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones. It’s kind of surprising, given that this stuff has been out there in the books for a while, though I guess some fans of the show are avoiding the books to not spoil plot points of the show. Regardless, people were freaking out because a slew of important characters were all offed at virtually the same time.

Anonymous (and likely imaginary) sources confirmed that this pleased George R. R. Martin. After all, he unsubstantiatedly reported that enjoys screwing with people like this. It was one of his biggest reasons for writing the series. However, he’s apparently become concerned that killing off characters who people didn’t expect to die is kind of becoming expected. He’s worried about losing that element of surprise and shock.

That’s why George R. R. Martin has arranged in next week’s show to start killing characters from shows other than Game of Thrones. “That’s right,” George R. R. Martin apparently commented, “I’ve always hated Sookie Stackhouse. I’m just going to go ahead and kill her.” (For those readers unaware, Sookie Stackhouse is the central character in True Blood, a show that has nothing to do with Game of Thrones.)

“And I’m just getting started. I’ll keep shocking viewers/readers however I have to. Don’t want me to kill Tyrion Lannister? Hell, I’ll just go ahead and kill Peter Dinklage! That’s right, the actor. Won’t that be a surprise? Going as far as actually offing the actors who play the characters instead of just the characters? Even that won’t be the end for me. I might go after viewers after that. You never know, I’M GEORGE R. R. MARTIN! I AM GOD!”

F.B.I officials (who probably don’t exist) commented that they are debating whether or not to profile George R. R. Martin as a serial killer. “Frankly,” they admitted, “enough people have died that we feel like some kind of crime must have been committed. We’re just kind of confused.” (Speaking of serial killing, have you checked out Michael Seidlinger’s My Pet Serial Killer yet?)

Audience Participation Fun For The Hangover Part III

The wife and I went to see The Hangover Part III this weekend. I actually had fun watching it. It isn’t the greatest movie ever, and not even the greatest movie in the series, but I had fun. More importantly, I came up with an idea for some audience participation for those who are still going to go see it.

You see, we were watching the credits (because there is always SOMETHING in the credits in this series). I saw the entry for one of the Key Assistant Location Managers go rolling by (check the full cast and crew list for this position and you’ll see where I’m going with this).

Instantly, I started chanting. If you see it as the credits go by, you’ll see the name too and know what to do. You’ll also start chanting:

His name is .

His name is .

His name is .

His name is .

His name is .

His name is .

His name is .

His name is .

His name is .

His name is .

Yeah, I know it’s Robert Paulsen not Robert Paulson, but I don’t care. This is still fun.

This Doesn’t Mean Bachmann Is Going Anywhere

People are all abuzz about Rep. Michele Bachmann’s announcement that she won’t be seeking another term. Many people I know are happy about this, though others are not so pleased. Regardless, both groups need to remember that this doesn’t mean we’ve necessarily heard the last from Michele Bachmann.

For those who like her, they can take solace in the fact that she could always seek another office. Or, she could end up as an adviser for some conservative think tank, get a post on some conservative TV, or otherwise comment loudly on issues whether or not she is employed to do so (isn’t that what Sarah Palin is doing?). For those who don’t like her, the situation is pretty much the same…except replace ‘take solace in’ with the words ‘greatly fear.’

Sure, there is always the possibility that her recent scandals could actually go somewhere and take her out of participation on the national scene. However, I kind of doubt it’ll end up going that far. These things seem to come up all the time without anything major happening.

No, though she may not be seeking reelection, I think Michele Bachmann is still going to be around. Take that position as you will. Just remember: “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” (said by Nixon in 1962, well before his two terms as president).

Afghani Man Or Homer Simpson

Does anybody remember how I just posted the other day asking if the guy who opened a plane door during descent was really William Shatner? We already have another homage. I noticed this article about how German doctors discovered that some unnamed Afghani guy apparently had a pencil in his head for the last fifteen years. Who did I immediately think of? Homer Simpson.

I’m sure we all remember the HOMR episode (season 12, episode 9) of The Simpsons. If you don’t remember, doctors end up finding out that Homer is stupid because he apparently shoved a crayon in his brain when he was a kid. They take it out and he becomes smart, but he’s unhappy that way and ends up shoving the crayon back (making for one of the oddest Flowers for Algernon homages of all time, or Charly if you prefer the subsequent movie version).

Mind you, there is no indication that this guy was stupid when he had the pencil in his head. Nor is there any indication that was it in there because he did something idiotic like shoving it inside his head deliberately (on a somewhat unrelated point, the idea that Homer was smart before the crayon is contradicted a bit by the fact that he was shoving crayons up his nose).

Still, the Afghani gentleman didn’t know how the pencil got there…something one might expect him to know (he remembers a bad fall as a child, but that was apparently it). Of course, I immediately thought of Homer.

A New Fair Food Idea

It’s almost summer. Thinking about this got me thinking that we need a new fair food to kick off the season. After all, we already have deep-fried cheese, deep-fried oreos, deep-fried Twinkies (at least until Hostess collapsed), and all that sort of thing. We need something new, something even more excessive than just plain deep-fried lard. I have an idea.

My idea? Deep fried piecaken.

You know what piecaken is, right (look above)? It’s one or more pies baked inside a cake. But…why stop there? Why couldn’t we just take the entire thing, dip it in batter, and deep fry?

Sure, Michael Bloomberg might actually come and execute you if you try this, but doesn’t it sound good? At least in theory? (Some deep frying of desserts ends up boiling off all the filling and isn’t as good as it sounds, and I’m not sure that there might not be enough moisture in a piecaken to cause it to explode if you attempt deep frying, so research would be needed.)

This seems like it would work, and it seems like the next logical, excessive step in the modern deep-frying saga. I’m just imagining…and it’s making me hungry.

I’m Just Not That Enthused About Meeting Rick Harrison of “Pawn Stars”

I keep seeing ads on Facebook talking about how I can come to the grand opening of Ed Bozarth’s Chevrolet dealership on Friday and meet Rick Harrison from Pawn Stars. Frankly, Ed isn’t really moving me on this one. It may be as close as Auroroa (Colorado), and Rick seems like a cool guy, but I just don’t feel like going out to meet him.

Mind you, I’d rather meet Rick than his son (no offense to either Rick or Big Hoss intended), but neither of them seem all that exciting. It isn’t that I don’t like them, it’s just that they aren’t as interesting to me as others might be. They’re cool and all, but they aren’t the big draws as far as I’m concerned.

Now, if this dealership was having Chumlee or the Old Man, that would be an entirely different story. I’d totally go to a car dealership I had no interest in if I could meet Chumlee or the Old Man. Are they better people than Rick or Big Hoss? No, but they seem like a lot more fun.

So, I’m sorry Rick (and Big Hoss). I’m not trying to bash you here, but I just don’t want to go to a car dealership for this. You’re an interesting guy and all, but you’re nowhere near as funny as Chumlee or your dad (especially if I could get your dad to grump at me).

Abstaining From A Vote On Abstaining

This is making my head hurt, but apparently three members of the Ypsilanti City Council abstained during a vote on a measure that would have prevented abstaining in future votes. Apparently, they didn’t like the idea that they’d be required to vote either yes or no unless they had a particular conflict. They apparently chose to show their disapproval of the idea by abstaining from the vote.

Abstaining on a vote that could have taken away their ability to abstain in order to show their displeasure is definitely kind of funny, but just seems a little dumb.

I certainly understand the humor behind what they were doing, though it does make my head hurt. Don’t want us to abstain? Well, we abstain. However, given that they didn’t approve of the resolution, I think they probably should have voted ‘no.’ That would also have shown that they didn’t approve, and would have had the side benefit of actually helping to not pass the resolution.

Of course, that is just my personal opinion. Perhaps they knew that the resolution wasn’t going to pass anyway (it failed by two votes, only getting two in favor). However, it just seems like a risky option. Being clever doesn’t seem like it should be as important as actually doing something about whatever it is you feel strongly about…certainly not when you still have the power to do something.

Alexander Michael Herrera Or William Shatner?

I just saw an article about a guy who got in trouble when he freaked out and tried to open a plane’s emergency door during descent. Immediately, I started wondering: is this guy Alexander Michael Herrera as the article claims…or is he really William Shatner?

I mean, this guy is in custody and the authorities really need to think this through. Is he really William Shatner? Did he think he was William Shatner? Was Alexander Michael Herrera doing a Shatner homage? Could there possibly really have been a gremlin on the wing? Any of these things could mitigate his culpability.

After all, surely everyone remembers “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” In that episode of The Twilight Zone, William Shatner’s character is the only one on a plane who sees that a gremlin is outside the plane trying to take them down. It’s a classic, an episode long beloved by the TV public.

Shouldn’t Herrera get some kind of break for the resemblance of this incident to that episode? At the very least, the reminder of the episode is cool (though I’m sure it was frightening to the people on Herrera’s flight). And, surely he can’t be held accountable for this if there really was a gremlin on the wing.