Links To The Present: August 28th, 2009
2009-08-28Alright, here are some ultra-quick links in the 15 minutes I have in between classes today:
I’m still kinda on the fence about Twitter for a lot of reasons, but once in a blue moon you get to see something like this unbelievable twitter saga from Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed.com. I recommend going through this immediately and with extreme prejudice. There’s definitely some stuff in there about new media, what it’s like to work on the internet and then adjust back to who you are in the real world, what it’s like to be a woman who’s an actual sports fanatic, and the shifting definitions of public and private information. Also, it functions as a truly terrifying nightmare and cautionary tale for a guy in the age of Twitter. Also, it’s hilarious. Please go read this.
The initial MVP predictions are in from ESPN, and it’s LeBron out in front by a wide margin. It’s going to be interesting if he’ll be able to avoid “repeat fatigue,” especially without a championship to his name-playoff disappointments often hurt MVP chances the next year. I think if the voters can find a way to give it to Wade or Howard, they will. And CP3 will be unjustly ignored again.
This Rubio thing is one of the most frustrating sports stories in recent memory. Nothing worse as a sports fan than getting the chance to see the best play get taken away. Nothing.
FreeDarko on Beasley. Worth a read.
Picked up Inherent Vice while I was buying my school books today-I’ve only read Crying of Lot 49 all the way through so far, and failed my first attempt to finish Gravity’s Rainbow,which wasn’t at the store-Pynchon fanatics, help me out. Is reading this fluffier Pynchon going to somehow taint my image of him before I get into the heavier stuff, or are the fundamentals enough the same so that this will function as another good introductory text? Also, it would probably make me happy just to know I have Pynchon fanatics who read this blog.
Alright, class in 3 minutes. Have a good weekend, campers.
Inherent Vice is worth a read and, while probably not as good as 49 or GR, is a good intro to the fundamentals of Pynchon, albeit watered down. Its also a quick read in terms of Pynchon at three hundred and some pages when combined with what you call the “fluffier” aspect of the book. The book is also interesting for the fact that it is a bit deeper than just the “beach read” it is being described as. It seems that when the language gets a bit breezier people stop looking for further meanings, assuming that Pynchon must be… Read more »
I’m going to go out on a limb and say LeBron won’t win the MVP this year. If you look at the recent voting history, the voters tend to give a “make-up” MVP. In other words, the winner gets it the year AFTER he should have gotten it.
Kobe two years ago. LeBron last year. …..? this year (I’m going to say Wade)
Vineland sucked. I have to admit that I am about 200 pages into both Mason & Dixon and Gravity’s Rainbow and am taking a several-book-long break. Based on what I’ve heard about Inherent Vice, both M&D and GR are better bets. But if I were you, I’d read “V” before you try any of the others.
Haven’t cracked Inherent Vice yet but I read its precursor, Vineland, in school and my reaction was along the lines of “That’s a minor novel?” I wouldn’t worry were I you.