Wednesday Link Dump
* TIME Magazine picks the 100 greatest English language novels from 1923 to present. I’ve read five. Yet I feel no shame.
* Mac support for TiVoToGo may be coming as soon as Q1 of 2006.
* Your Flash game of the day only requires one button to play. (Via)
* I see casual mentions across the comics blogosphere to the coming end of the oil supply. People are hopping on the bandwagon to this theory the way they like to hop on pet causes — repeat a theory often enough and everyone assumes it’s fact and you’re stupid if you disagree. But it might not be the end of the world, after all. It might just be an oil bubble. Lots of great stuff in there, including Jimmy Carter’s proclamation that the world’s oil supply would dry up by 1990, and Canada’s abundant supply of oil that tops even the Middle East’s. I, for one, welcome our new Canadian Overlords.
* Before you go looking: Yes, Various and Sundry Politics is still down.
October 19th, 2005 at 11:15 am
Wow. I’ve only read about 40 of them. And I take serious umbrage with most of E.M. Forester’s work not being in there….And some of the ones I have read shouldn’t be there, in all honesty.
But that’s the way these lists work.
Am stealing link for my blog. ;)
October 19th, 2005 at 2:55 pm
Dare we ask which are the five you’ve read?
I’ve read nine myself, and own at least a further 28 which I’ve yet to get around to reading.
It’s an interesting list. And I’m pleasantly surprised to see a fair few British writers pop up. Graham Greene and Kingsley Amis especially.
October 19th, 2005 at 3:08 pm
Watchmen and…?
October 19th, 2005 at 3:51 pm
Augie,
I love your thoughts and ruminations on comics and pop culture goodness but please leave your politcal thoughts on the other blog! I enjoy all the pop culture fluffyness because it is an escape from the real world! Don’t ruin the fun. P.s. I got a Nano for my birthday and I have enjoyed listening to your podcasts so far. It is weird that I first remember reading your fan letters in many of my favorite comics. Then I found your column on CBR. Finally I get to hear you in my I-Pod. 10+ plus years. 3 forms of medium. Its been a long strange trip, eh?
October 19th, 2005 at 3:54 pm
P.s. on the Time list. I assumed I had only read 1 or 2. I was shocked when I realized that I had read 17. I was also pleased to see Watchmen. Then I wondered where was Maus?
October 19th, 2005 at 4:50 pm
Maus is more non-fiction to me, less a novel in graphic form than a memoir in graphic form. I’ve read 18 of the 100. Some of the recent choices seem pretty fresh to really be able to get such high acclaim–The Corrections, The Blind Assassin, Never Let Me Go. And my favorite recent novel, and IMHO one of the most remarkable books ever written, Edward P. Jones’ THE KNOWN WORLD, isn’t there. So, you know, humph.
October 19th, 2005 at 5:13 pm
Lennon - there is no other blog. But it’ll be limited. And I think the topic of oil prices is something that transcends politics. Plus, that article is almost completely scientifically-oriented. (OK, perhaps my glee at seeing Carter’s statement might be construed politically…)
But I tell you what — tell all the other non-political blogs to kill all references to the evolution/intelligent design debate (I’m so sick of it), and I’ll leave out anything even tangential to politics. =)
And, yes, it has been a trip. Don’t worry - there are no plans to go video. That’s the last thing anybody would want. I’ll just stick to writing and talking for now, thanks. I mean, if a cable network wanted me to go video, I’d entertain offers. ;-)
All - The five books I have read are WATCHMEN, ANIMAL FARM, THE GREAT GATSBY, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, and LORD OF THE RINGS.
October 19th, 2005 at 5:48 pm
“I see casual mentions across the comics blogosphere to the coming end of the oil supply. People are hopping on the bandwagon to this theory the way they like to hop on pet causes — repeat a theory often enough and everyone assumes it’s fact and you’re stupid if you disagree.”
To be fair, since we’re not producing any more dinosaurs, the oil supply will eventually run out. The question is when. 1990 was obviously a worst case scenario that ignored the fact that the oil industry will try and squeeze out every last drop of oil before turning off the spigot. There’s enough money in energy that the best minds will be devoted to extending that supply for as long as possible.
Having said that, it’s worth noting that a lot of the OPEC nations are now investing heavily (and relatively suddenly) in non-oil technologies — the United Arab Emirates wants to be the banking center of the Middle East, for instance. If a country that’s made its considerable fortune from oil is genuinely worried that their supplies may be running out sooner rather than later, it does lend a little credence to the mid-term end of oil predictions. (Obviously, the most extreme ones on either end are wrong, as they almost always are.)
October 19th, 2005 at 10:42 pm
The article specifically points out the large untapped oil potential in places like Canada, though. And there’s plenty of shale oil to be tapped right here in America. The governor of Montana, I think it is, is making large investments in getting that production pipeline going.
October 20th, 2005 at 12:03 am
Oh, there’s absolutely more oil to tap, and the shale technologies sound promising. But at the end of the day, it’s still finite. It might be HUGE, but it’s still finite.
That’s all, just nitpicking.
October 20th, 2005 at 12:52 am
Speaking as a Canadian, you’ll drill in Canada over my dead body. How about we just develop technologies that look forward and replace fuel?
Sorry, I just get annoyed at the shortsightedness of it all– it’s not a partisan problem, it’s an American problem. And as a proud American, I want to see it change. I’d give my life in an instant for this country and all I ask is that it try to help others in this country.
October 20th, 2005 at 1:44 pm
I’ve read 6 of those novels. But I’ve seen movies based on four others, Does that count?