mgfarrelly

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• Commented on Muppets singing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"
  Xeni, Our language does not adequately convey the sheer awesome of that clip, nor does it allow me to properly express my gratitude at seeing it. I simply say "BLAHSHBSHAWESUM!" and tip my hat to you....
• Commented on Sarah Palin Parking Lot
  It's easy to write these people off as ignorant, but what you're really looking at is cultural jet-lag. When Barack Obama was born his very existence would have gotten his parents arrested in any number of states where interracial marriage...
• Commented on Tweeting While Incarcerated (TWI): Oscar-winning screenwriter/director Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction, Beowulf)
  Xeni, He's on a work furlough during the day that lets him out during the day, but he spends the night in jail. http://www.movieline.com/2009/10/roger-avary-tweets-hello-from-ventura-county-jail.php...
• Commented on Homebrew Pikachu ski-mask
  Someone trying to rob me while wearing one of these would not need a gun, a knife or even harsh language. Just take the money and leave me my sanity....
• Commented on The Glenn Beck Party?
  While I mostly find Beck and his ilk to be little more than low comedy, there's something deeply unsettling in the trend of media mouthpieces taking "Network" as a piece of non-fiction to be emulated. Beck and Hannity and Limbaugh...
• Commented on Owner of trendy Manhattan restaurant Paradou plumbs new depths of evil bad-bossitude
  Gawker talked to this guy and sounded like a real peach. His antics included threatening the writer on the story that he better "be looking over his shoulder". Class act. I've worked as a waiter for this type of owner....
• Commented on People speak out on library censorship incident: “It’s dangerous to democracy when an interest group imposes its views on another.”
  This is a good thing. No really, it's a very good thing. You want to let these folks be heard in a public forum. Let them speak and beg that the library stop allowing free access to books. Let them...
• Commented on Library workers fired for colluding to keep graphic novel from being checked out by 11-year old girl
  By all accounts the library did the right thing here. Two library employees (and thanks to Bonmot for sketching out that guide, as a Librarian myself I've had to explain that not everyone working in a library is a librarian...
• Commented on Maricopa deputy steals defender's paperwork during a court case
  I'm far outside of Arizona, but I've often heard or read people's defense, and praise, of "Sheriff Joe" and his antics. From tent cities to bologna sandwiches to pink uniforms, they seem to think that the dehumanization of their fellow...
• Commented on Library workers fired for colluding to keep graphic novel from being checked out by 11-year old girl
  I read about this when it broke on libnews, and it is just chilling to me. See, librarians (and aides and anyone with catalog privilages) have an enormous amount of power to abuse in this fashion. You can lock of...
• Commented on IBM computer brain simulation as complex as a cat's
  Our new A.I. overlords demand string. ALL OF THE STRING....
• Commented on Portrait of the blogger as a young D&D addict
  I played Rifts and Vampire in college and met many of my life-long friends in games and clubs over the years. All the FEAR talk always makes me laugh when I think that my college Rifts group included people who...
• Commented on Quebec solves H1N1 vaccination queues with Disneyland Fastpasses
  It's a great idea. Anything that makes healthcare more accessible is a fine thing. I agree with you Cory about the idea of being "represented/managed". As an American, I don't want a CEO/CTO President. A nation is not a profit-generating...
• Commented on Conservative children's book vilifies Nancy Pelosi
  Bleh, what an ugly book. Not even talking about the politics, that's just poor character design, really sloppy coloring and bad draftsmanship. To be apolitical, as a librarian must be, the "Why Mommy is a Democrat"/"Daddy is a Republican" books...
• Commented on Apple patents anti-user attention-complianceware
  Beyond the very astute point upthread that this could very well be part of an IP game, something every major tech company plays, there's the fact that the bulk of consumers shrug their shoulders and accept adverts very readily. I'm...
• Commented on To the anonymous gay teen who asked for help in a Boing Boing comment thread
  Anonymous, Someone mentioned it upthread, but I'll repeat it, get to a library. Beyond having internet access, there are hundreds of great and hopeful books (fiction and non-fiction) about teens who went through situations like yours. Authors like Julie Peters....
• Commented on Richard Metzger on Ayn Rand
  "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" still rank among the "library books most often pilfered" along with anything remotely about sex and "A Child Called It". Odd mix, though there seems to be a theme. True Objectivism is compound logic. It's...
• Commented on Antony Gormley - let's all go barefoot
  I grew up in Chicago and went barefoot in alleys and sidewalks all the summers (and spings and most of the autumns) of my childhood. I hated wearing shoes. I have some pretty calloused feet as an adult, but I've...
• Commented on 2012 Debunking: The Short-Attention-Span Version
  Uh...what if Sarah Palin gets elected? OH GOD! THE MAYANS WERE RIGHT! TO THE SPACE ARKS!...
• Commented on Glittergeddon!
  I did have a parent recently ask me if there were any "good" songs on Rock Band. Then came the Beatles, and there was much rejoicing....
• Commented on World's most awesome cheap Chinese toy
  I quote Liz Lemon. "What the what?" I love that it's also in the shape of a soccer ball. FOR NO REASON....
• Commented on Glittergeddon!
  I hope I don't give you even one iota of pause in my nattering. For every moment of weird paranoia I've have hours of wonderful experiences with patrons of all ages. Seriously, having a 15 year old come up to...
• Commented on Glittergeddon!
  The moral panic over abuse always hews close to the bone for me. I'm a young adult librarian, and I'm 6' 2" and a big guy. I've had people just flat out ask me why " a guy would want...
• Commented on Rupert Murdoch vows to take all of Newscorp's websites out of Google, abolish fair use, tear heads off of adorable baby animals
  My god, when he discovers the public library system he's going to explode. Can't wait to see the headlines when he finally pulls off his little coup....
• Commented on Toronto Star copyeditor edits memo announcing the elimination of copyeditor jobs
  I agree with you Cory about the "co-author" stance some copyeditors take. In college we had two copyeditors, one was fast, effective, and polite. His edits made my section more readable and helped create a consistent style. The other was...
• Commented on Courage (and training) defined.
  I'm going to bookmark this for the next time someone comes flaming out of the night screaming about how "ALL COPZ IZ EVEL!" Rushing towards someone who has just shot and killed a dozen people and is firing wildly? That's...
• Commented on Tattooed Under Fire: the tattoos and lives of soldiers at Fort Hood
  That's really amazing. And chilling to hear the artists seeing, first-hand, the damage done by the repeated deployments and complete lack of mental health support these soldiers are getting. My Uncle was a Vietnam vet and he talked about his...
• Commented on Bicycle defense kit fits in Altoids tin
  I for one am shocked, SHOCKED, that you can buy stupid and potentially dangerous things on the internet....
• Commented on Large Hadron Collider: Now This Is Just Getting Ridiculous
  And we're going live now to a security feed just outside CERN......
• Commented on The Dancing Weatherman
  I always wondered how they did weather in LA. "It's wonderful. Go outside." In Chicago we have an amazing weatherman, Tom Skilling. He's OBSESSED with weather, giving a level of detail that's really amazing. Since our weather is so unpredictable,...