Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts 2

Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts is a weekly blogging event hosted by Bookishly Boisterous




1. I really, really hate it when a textbook shows the derivation of an equation and then a few pages later is suddenly using a different equation in an example.  Is it some kind of typo?  Did I miss something somewhere (re-read over and over looking) ? Is the author hoping that we don't notice ?  Is the author trying to drive me nuts ? (Eight ball says "All signs point to yes")  This is a terrible waste of time for everyone - why can't they either show the derivation of the equation they plan to use or at least add a couple of sentences explaining why they have suddenly pulled this equation out of thin air.

2. I started watching the second season of Sherlock and, well, I am not loving their version of Irene Adler at all. The primary reason is quite simple - no arguments about the naked or anything - it's just that in the original story Irene Adler is not a villain! Real simple - she was not a bad guy.  The babble claiming that since she was described as "an adventuress" this means she is a courtesan therefore a bad guy - ARGH! NO!

a) she was being described by the King of Bohemia - who by the end even Sherlock Holmes thought was a jerk. The king had a vested interest in making her sound like a horrible person to get Sherlock to work for him.

b) even if she was a courtesan (and there is no real evidence that she was) that does not make her a villain. I don't even understand how you get from point A to point B with that thought. She was also an American, and there was all sorts of baggage implied by that as well.

c) her actions, and the King of Bohemia's behavior at the end of the story, all point to a person who was morally in the right. There was certainly no suggestion of a pattern of bad behavior on her part (i.e. serial blackmail or something). Why do the modern updates keep making her a villain ??

At this point I haven't even been able to finish watching the episode because I keep getting ticked off. (I already know where this is going anyhow).

I also totally disagree that Irene has to be a villain to create conflict. That is just lazy writing. There are many, many legitimate ways to create conflict without making her a bad guy. Sheesh - it is totally obvious even in the episode that you could simply make her an American agent with a different agenda than Mycroft's. Easy!

3. My children have been swallowed whole by Minecraft.  My six year old daughter told me this morning that she is going to create a new world so that she can build a school - it's going to be school world with classrooms and a gym and a lunchroom ... and on and on.  It is both really cute and kind of disturbing.

4. I have been listening to Steam Dreamers of Inverness Part 2 but I just haven't been getting into the story like I have with other Jack Flanders. You with would think a steampunkish adventure involving a Zeppelin would be exciting but so far things have been pretty vague and slow moving.  I hope the story picks up soon - I have been having to re-listen to bits because I have zoned out - if it doesn't get more interesting I might zone out completely.



5. My desk is rapidly disappearing and it is only the 4th week of classes. Eek.

See - it was clean!  Mostly. I should have taken a bigger picture
to show all that lovely clean bare desktop.

6. I have finally shaken my cold, but still feel logy and sleep deprived.

7. I learned yesterday that there is such a thing as a timeout in curling. I have been watching curling for years and I never knew this!  I found out yesterday when the Chinese men's team called for a timeout during a match in the Olympics.  I was totally thrown.  I suppose I knew that there was a clock running somewhere, but I have never seen a team run out of time or need a time out before. In a ten round match you have 40 minutes of "thinking time" and I have now learned that time out gives you an extra 90 seconds.

8. Last weekend the doorknob to the stairwell came off in my hand.  They "fixed" it over the break and now there is a new knob but they added a metal plate that makes the whole thing stick in the doorframe.  I almost popped my wrist trying to open the door yesterday.  I am having longing thoughts of taking a sledgehammer to the thing so that we can open and close the door properly.

9. I am not thrilled with Comcast buying TimeWarner.

10. I am also not thrilled with the possible icy sleet that is apparently headed our way. This is being a very long winter. I want it to stop!