MindlessChatter

Once upon a time, not long ago, someone suggested a new audiobook.  I had just finished a series and was looking for something to fill the void.  I …ahem….acquired…..Storm Front and thus began my journey with Harry Dresden.  I was immediately hooked.  The combination of pop culture references, film noir, detective work, and witty inner monolog kept me laughing and turning pages.  I couldn't just listen to the audiobook, I was too impatient.  I would spend my hour long commute listening to James Marsters become Harry and then I would pick up the physical book when I got home to continue the story.  The second book followed in similar fashion as did the third.  At the time there were 13 books available so I had plenty of material to get through.  Around book 5 I mentioned the series to Capt. Punc and FunnelBoy but they were either not ready to start a new series or my description didn't do the story justice.  People have ask...

People watching is a great way to pass the time by yourself or with a group where everyone gets  to silently or judge people based on their appearance.  Occasionally alcohol is involved and the judging can get loud…..and funny.  I noticed that we would frequently see the same thing over and over again.  We were more likely to see different patterns depending on the venue.  Disneyland, for example, always had a couple of Goths running around; there was always some kid being forced onto a ride when they were clearly terrified; and my favorite, there was always a group flag (generally held by an Asian guy).  Sure, stereotypes were reinforced and we are definitely horrible people for pointing and laughing but hey, it's entertaining. Naturally we needed to make a game out of it.  Being the nerdy geek that I am, I felt compelled to create tool that would allow me to easily randomize the bingo squares and quickly switch between topics.  One night a...

Every time we get together, my brothers and I tend to get hung up on a word or phrase; arguing over the origin and proper use or, more likely, misuse. With today’s smartphones, we can quickly ping the interwebs for an answer usually leading to more chin scratching and the muttering of phrases such as: “Ah yes.  That makes sense” or “Really? It sounds more Russian than French”.  The funny things is that we have no idea what we are talking about, but we like to pretend. There have been many ……discussions over the years: rife; lineagey; remote; etc.  Tonight the word that caught our interest was smithereens. For some twisted reason the first thing I thought of was Mr. Smithers (I already said we didn’t know what we were talking about).  A quick search led us to a page explaining that Smithereens was Irish in origin and could be based on an old Gaelic word ‘Smiodar’ meaning fragments.  The article had a second origin that I actually prefer; “’smithereens’ … ...

People sometimes ask what my brothers and I talk about.  I've often said that it really isn't that interesting and taken out of context doesn't make much sense at all.  For example Capnt Punc: I'm the other brother FCJ: We call him the OB DoubleDTender: The ob? Bibliotender: Yea, OB and this is GY.  They call me N DoubleDTender: Why N? Bibliotender: OB,GY,N DoubleDTender: I don't get it…. … She didn't get it and we were giggling too hard to try and explain.  Sure it doesn't make sense, but it almost follows a logical pattern.  There are some nights where we find ourselves deep into  a conversation and have no idea how we got there.   During these frequent moments we usually try to bring someone else into the conversation, usually leading to their great confusion.  Sometimes a person's stupidity (or ignorance as the case may be) can be what sets us off.  We don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings but there are t...

#Leaves bar# Analogy?  Metaphor?  Matador?  #Drops Captn. Punc. off# Anagram? Pentagram? Candygram? Bananagram? #Enters freeway# Parallel? Simile? Lesson? Plethora? #Exits freeway# Ankle weights? Blustery? Bigotry? Story time? #Sits at red light# …. ALLEGORY!!! …. #Arrives at home# #Sigh# I feel better now #Sleep# ~Bibliotender

Had a request to post this, an email between myself and a friend (coworker) of mine. It is rather brief without much back and forth, I hope that some will add their own thoughts and ideas... Worker#2 ... So what's your opinion on Star Wars Vs. LOTR? What is better to you ? FCJ: ... As for Star Wars Vs LOTR... it's not really a fair comparison. The original Star Wars were ahead of their time, epic in the terms of movie production and special effects that were available for their time. Acting was terrible and the story line a little thin with not a lot fully explained unless you read the large number of books to follow. I have to admit I love the Ewoks, wish I could move things with my mind, and always thought Princess Leia was hot. LOTR on the other hand, loved the books and movies, love The Hobbit, and I can really get wrapped into his world. I have a profound respect for Tolkien's work as he not only created the ideas for the worlds and the different characters (s...