By Any Other Nerd

So this is my 1500th post.  My 1001th post   was published just over 2.25 years ago.  Not a bad milestone for a blog that's been around since 2010.  Numerically, that works out to about 187 blog posts a year.  Of course, that average is misinformed since there were 2 years where I did a minimum of a post of day (that would be my Photo A Day Project and my Short Story a Day Project ).   A Look Back This post, like so many others, is an opportunity to reflect and I'd like to spend some time hitting some of my highlights and thoughts about this little slice of the Internet where I park my thoughts.   In looking at that first year,  my first blog post is not much to talk about.  It is the essential "hello, world" blog post.  And we can see by my second blog post that I'm still dawdling a bit.  My third post isn't even worth mentioning (except I did).  But I would say, by my fourth post , I'm heading...

It's time for the next episode of The Weekly Pop--that's number 5!   You can watch here, on YouTube or just read all about it in the post below.  Enjoy and let me know what you think!  Also, don't forget to check out Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 You can watch  this episode on YouTube  and  all the other episodes  as well.  (Also, feel free to subscribe to my channel on YouTube as well). Episode 5: The Privilege of Chosen No Ones And here we are at Episode 5….that’s right--episode 5.  That means we’re on the 5th one for those that are counting...like me.   Oh and look--I have an entirely new background...of books...from my other bookshelf.   You know the deal by now right?  I’m going to hit you with a short clip and then we’re going to unpack it.  Sound like a plan?  Good, cause I had nothing else plan, so let’s get on with it.   Ok, so that scene was from Episode 1 of Sea...

It's that time of year where the Northeast Popular Culture Association (NEPCA for short) is putting out its annual  call for proposals for the regional conference  at Worcester State University Worcester, Massachusetts, the weekend of October 19-20, 2018.   As some of you know, I am the Area Chair for Teach and Popular Culture.  Here is a working definition of what that area entails: This area focuses how to teach popular culture, which may include sharing unique approaches to: Teaching courses focused specifically on “popular culture” Teaching courses on an area within popular culture (e.g. courses that focus on the content and cultural aspects–not necessarily the “how-to” aspects of comics, video games, horror, Harry Potter, baseball, The Beatles, etc). Teaching mainstream courses using popular culture (e.g. baseball statistics for explaining, statistics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer for explaining political theory, Star Trek for exploring bi...

Backstabber by Tim Cockey My rating: 2 of 5 stars Note: This review was originally written in the early 2000s and published for a no longer running website: AudiobookCafe.  Hitchcock Sewell has a few problems. First of there’s his name. What kind of name is Hitchcock, particularly for mortician? Then, there’s the fact that he’s called to a murder scene before the police which makes him a possible accomplice. He’s also wondering just why old people are dying faster than usual and under suspicious circumstances at a certain nursing home. Then there’s his life. Well, one impossible task at a time. In his fifth addition to his Hitchcock Sewell series, Tim Cockey delivers an entertaining tale filled with colorful characters and a fair share of comedic moments. Professional undertaker, amateur detective and full-time smart aleck, Hitchcock invariably manages to put himself in the worst possible situations. This in itself can be handled, but when he should be using his maste...

And now, we're on episode #4!  Woohoo! You can watch here, on YouTube or just read all about it in the post below.  Enjoy and let me know what you think!  Also, don't forget to check out Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 You can watch this episode on YouTube and all the other episodes as well.  (Also, feel free to subscribe to my channel on YouTube as well). Episode 4:  Memes That Make You Go Hmmmm Hi Everyone, Welcome to Episode 4--that’s right, I’m still here--and apparently you are too because I got a bunch of watches on last week’s episodes.  So thanks everyone!   This week episode is going to be shorter than previous weeks, but I think just as relevant and compelling--or at least that’s what I tell myself; that these episodes are relevant or compelling…..why do I hear crickets chirping? Let’s start with this flavor meme that I’ve seen shared around the internet for years.  I’ve included a few different versions of it, a...

A Fugue In Hell's Kitchen: A Katy Green Mystery by Hal Glatzer My rating: 4 of 5 stars Note: This review was originally written in the early 2000s and published for a no longer running website: AudiobookCafe.  This review is focused on both the book and audiobook. Barbara Rosenblat deserves plenty of respect. Besides winning the Audie for Best Female Narrator two years in a row, she has promoted and encouraged the growth of audiobooks at conferences and interviews across the country. She has become an icon for audiobooks over the years, narrating hundreds and developing a fan base of listeners who would listen to her read a latin thesaurus if she were so inclined and publishers were willing to put it forth. So it goes without saying that her latest production with Hal Glatzer, “A Fugue In Hell’s Kitchen” meets all expectations, as Rosenblat performs her one-woman full-cast audio dramatization. This audiobook plays itself as a prequel to the audio-dramatization, “Too Dea...

So I'm super-excited to announce that on Thursday, March 8 from 11:00am to 12:15pm, I will be delivering the Liberal Arts Lecture at North Shore Community College.  This is a great event that NSCC has been doing for a few years now as a means of exploring how the study of the Liberal Arts is valuable and meaningful in modern culture and society.  I will be presenting on the following and I hope that if you can make it, you will join me as I think it is will be a fascinating journey into areas both monstrous and mundane! Vampires Get You Famous, But The Hulk Will Get You Sued: The Intersections of Creativity, Censorship, Copyright and the Commons Why are there so many zombies and vampire movies? Where did Steampunk come from?  Why does it seem like everything eventually is adapted?  Why has Disney invested so much in fictional universes such as Star Wars and the Marvel Comics? Why does writing fanfiction come with the chance of being sued?  Whil...

Episode 3: Magic Always Comes With a Price: Magic & Technology So I've made it to Episode 3 in my web-series --woohoo!  You can watch here, on YouTube or just read all about it in the post below.  Enjoy and let me know what you think!  Also, don't forget to check out Episode 1 Episode 2 All right, so today, I start with a few short clips from The Chronicles of Shannara which I talked about in Episode 1 (that’s right--we’re on episode 3 and we’re already doing call backs...this could get ugly) and the other is from Once Upon a Time, so let’s check them out: As I’ve established in the last 2 episodes, we’re gonna talk about those scenes, but probably not yet because like always--3 episodes being “always”--I want to foreground and contextualize some ideas that may not entirely have to do with the clip but are certainly part of the discussion.   First off, Once Upon A Time is currently on its last season (of seven).  For those unfamiliar with t...