Issue 242 is up.

I didn’t get a new hat like Ian and Ananth. However, I did get new glasses this morning. I can finally see again!

So … I saw that Ian over at Machall got a new hat (and a snazzy one at that!), so I figured I’d post a picture of mine. The black baseball cap has been a staple of my wardrobe since high school, when I bought one off of my friend Kyle Murphy for $2. I wore that one for way longer than I care to admit, and then replaced it in college. Well, I got it during spring, and the sun faded that hat out right-quick … it actually became a dark, faded blue, and this irked me to no end … it’s been like that for a few years. Well, I was out doing groceries, so I swung by the mall and replaced it. Black hat again … at last, at last. (Yeah, I know I’m the only one that cares.) And yes, that’s my eye in the picture. I dunno why no one else can take a picture of ‘em … p’raps my ugly mug repels the lens. ;)

Live Coverage of MacWorld. Check it out. Or come to the Applegeeks IRC channel for a faster live coverage by Melektaus.

Consider Issue 241 a commercial break, we couldn’t just sit here and let this slide.

We’re not making this up. The new music store by Microsoft is called…. URGE. Either they’re trying TOO hard…or not trying at all.

Please read Ananth’s post about the Urge contest we’re having this week.

WHOO! Bandanas are now up!

That and lots of other Applegeeks stuff over at the Applegeeks section of Megagear!

Threadless has hoodies now! There’s also a couple of reprints as well.

I’ve been reading quite a bit lately! It’s been years since I read ravenously - when I was a kid, my parents would have to punish me for not putting books down (god I’m such a dork!). Since a little before high school, I haven’t seriously read anything beyond the occasional book that caught my interest. And then starting a week or two ago, I’ve been reading pretty regularly, so … well, anyway, here’s mini-reviews of each.

Knife of Dreams, Robert Jordan: A lot of people have mixed feelings about the Wheel of Time series. Personally, I (mostly) love it. I hate fantasy … orcs and dragons and knights make me close a book almost immediately. The world that Jordan constructs is fresh and everything feels new. For a while, some of the books got embroiled too much in the politics of nations within the novels, but the action has been on a slow upswing since the previous two books, and this newest one finally delivers some real excitement - Jordan is finally back in the rare form that he displayed in the first few books. There are big revelations, sweeping battles, and some other unexpected but awesome surprises that Jordan drops on the reader. I recommend this one. ;)

American Gods, Neil Gaiman: I was a big fan of Gaiman’s Sandman graphic novel series, so I was excited to finally dig into one of his books. It was good! It follows in a similar vein as the Sandman stories, which often times followed in the footsteps of gods, both current and forgotten. This is definitely a cool book, although it definitely floats more on high concepts and less on characters. I was interested to see how Gaiman would manipulate mythos throughout the book, but truthfully, he didn’t make me care very much about the characters. They somehow came across as somewhat 2-dimensional. It actually doesn’t matter, though … the story itself is so damn cool that you’ll gloss over it (if you agree with me). Recommended!

Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman: Another Gaiman book … my brother brought a bunch back with him from college. I wasn’t as thrilled with this one. Some very very cool ideas, but this novel was more character-driven, and the characters didn’t really appeal to me. The same flatness of personality from the first novel is visible to me here, and all the characters occupy a cliche niche, so their roles become very predictable. It was fun, like an adult fairy tale, but it didn’t wow me.

I know a lot of people are going to flip that I criticized Gaiman, but please - relax. I do think he’s a genius. These are just my opinions - and it takes all kinds of people to make the world. ;)

I’m currently reading Snow Crash for the first time, a book that’s been recommended to me many times. I’ll let you know how that goes. ;)

Consider Issue 241 a commercial break, we couldn’t just sit here and let this slide.

We’re not making this up. The new music store by Microsoft is called…. URGE. Either they’re trying TOO hard…or not trying at all.

Please read Ananth’s post about the Urge contest we’re having this week.