The community voted for a "new content" schedule of M/W/F. TBAT will try to limit any "board business" to posts on Tuesday and Thursday. It is likely that in the future there will be weeks with no "board business" posts at all.
The weekend post will neither be content nor "about the board." Instead we hope to use a regular weekend post to allow members of the community (readers, commentators and writers alike) to communicate important information to other members of the community.
Each weekend post will have three sections; The blogaround, In case you missed it, and Things you can do.
This week, Literata wrote a three-part series that takes Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog as a starting point for examining ethics, health care, social policy, and compassion fatigue, especially in light of a new study which reveals startling disparities in the diabetes rate on a county-by-county basis:
Act II: The Diabetes Belt is for Superheroes!
__________
Ana Mardoll added a new post to her on going deconstruction of the first Twilight book.
What’s a small town school to do when presented with a newly enrolled and hopelessly lost big city girl? Why, direct her to the pre-printed stack of school maps and hope for the best, of course! In this week’s Twilight, Unisex Raincoats and White Bread, read along as a nervous Bella Swan attempts to calm her fears by comparing her “translucent” white skin to the “porcelain” white skin of her classmates, and insisting to her new friends that her mother is “part albino”.
__________
Ruby took a short break from Soon to review another Christian youth film. Second Glance is an homage to It's a Wonderful Life, in which high school student Dan fears that he is too much of a nice guy, and is missing out on all the fun. So, he wishes he had never been a Christian. God grants his wish, and in Part 3 of her review, [Second Glance: Part 3] Ruby and her heathen brother Angus learn that nonbelievers cheat on their girlfriends, drive teachers to leave their jobs, and throw really tame parties.
Readers who missed the first two reviews can first catch up by reading Second Glance: Part 1 and Second Glance: Part 2.
[w]e live in a strange and terrible time for women. There are days, like today, where I think it has always been a strange and terrible time to be a woman. It is nothing less than horrifying to realize we live in a culture where the “paper of record” can write an article that comes off as sympathetic to eighteen rapists while encouraging victim blaming.
In light of the pushback against teachers unions in specific and collective bargaining in general going on in this country, last week a bunch of teachers came together to write about why they support unions. Over a hundred teachers wrote and its worth reading at least a few of their articles just because they have so many different perspectives on the values of and issues with unions.
I will remember this because I definitely want to be included in next week's blogaround. I have posted a plethora of things in the last week.
Posted by: Jason | Mar 27, 2011 at 05:30 PM
I wrote nothing interesting on my blog this week. Except fic recs and a locked post in which I freaked over my gentleman caller.
Posted by: MercuryBlue | Mar 27, 2011 at 06:38 PM
Question--If, as Jason did, we post a lot of blogs in one week, are we limited in the number to be listed in the blogaround?
Posted by: Lunch Meat | Mar 27, 2011 at 07:20 PM
Jason, I'm so glad your blog still exists...I've been fruitlessly refreshing the old site once a day
Posted by: Orion | Mar 27, 2011 at 07:22 PM
@Lunch Meat: -If, as Jason did, we post a lot of blogs in one week, are we limited in the number to be listed in the blogaround?
If you blogged many posts in one week you can tie them all together much as Literata did. As long as you can write a coherent summary/paragraph in which to embed them you can link to multiple pages. For the moment we will set an upper limit of 5 links.
TBAT does ask that you provide the linking summary so it reflects what you want people to "bring to" your posts.
For example:
Bloggernames published five blogs on their site this week.
[Name of post #1*], [Name of post #3*] and [Name of post #5]* continue the deconstruction of Annoying book. In [Name of post #2*] Bloggername discusses some of the depressing implications of the main-stream media treatment of the ongoing crisis in country #1. Finally, in [Name of post #4] Bloggername wrote about the disturbing implications of country #2's decision to invade country #3.
* in each case a direct link to the post will be embedded.
Posted by: The Board Administration Team | Mar 27, 2011 at 07:33 PM
I'm so glad your blog is still around, Jason! May I put you on my blogroll?
Posted by: Ruby | Mar 27, 2011 at 08:58 PM
This is so awesome!!!
Of course, it seems to mean I spend even more time here than previously, which was already too much. But it's such a wonderful place. And it might even encourage me to blog more.
I did get out in real life, too. I competed in the town trivia bee. None of my expertise was at all useful, since the science questions were really general, arts and literature didn't touch SFF, and the rest of my team was equally sharp on history and whatnot. We need a real sports person next time, and a better music person, and a better team name and probably a stupid costume. It was great!
Posted by: Lonespark | Mar 27, 2011 at 09:09 PM
Jason -- if you get the summary and links in by Tuesday TBAT will add it to the post.
Posted by: The Board Administration Team | Mar 27, 2011 at 09:22 PM
Thanks everyone. I've been trying to let everyone know where the new one is. I've had it up and running for about a week now. I guess a few slipped through the cracks. I mainly don't want it to be obviously associated with me through google or facebook and I don't want my family to accidentally stumble upon it. I think I did a pretty decent job of that.
That being said, anyone who wants to add me to their blogroll is welcome to. At them moment, I'm not listing it in google and probably won't til my old one is taken out of their cache.
@TBAT-
Will do...there may be another one between now and then because I am overdue for some Mike Savage.
@Ruby-
I will return the favor. I should have added you sooner.
Posted by: Jason | Mar 27, 2011 at 09:26 PM
Jason--Okay, you're added. And I think you returned the favor--double. I appear to be on your blogroll twice. :D
So happy you're tackling the Bioware idiocy, btw.
Posted by: Ruby | Mar 27, 2011 at 09:50 PM
I got rid of the extra one.
I bought myself an X-box 360 with my tax refund 2 months ago (yes, I know I do my taxes really early) and the 2 games I got with it are Mass Effect 1 and 2 and since then anytime I have a spare couple of hours I think "Yes, I can play Mass Effect!!!" so anything that allows me to blog about Mass Effect with some substance beyond "ZOMG!!! MASS EFFECT IS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!" I will take. (-:
Posted by: Jason | Mar 27, 2011 at 10:01 PM
@Jason--The talk about Mass Effect makes me want to go out and find a refurbished Xbox 360 right now. (I only have my old skool Xbox right now...KOTOR, man!). I do so love Bioware's RPG's...including the romances. :D
Posted by: Ruby | Mar 27, 2011 at 10:28 PM
Apprently KOTOR inspired Mass Effect. They wanted to make something similiar to KOTOR but they wanted their own sci fi universe and mythology so they would have more freedom in their storytelling.
There is a PC version as well, but you have to have a really nice PC. Mine won't run it.
Be sure and play the original and then KEEP YOUR SAVE FILE, so you can import your character and all of your decisions into the sequels. Everything you do carries over into the next one.
Posted by: Jason | Mar 27, 2011 at 10:36 PM
Jason: Be sure and play the original and then KEEP YOUR SAVE FILE, so you can import your character and all of your decisions into the sequels. Everything you do carries over into the next one.
That is so awesome I can barely wrap my head 'round it. :D
My brother and I have been discussing the "best" characters for KOTOR I and II. My theory is that a light-side female is best for I and a dark-side male is best for II. Not that other choices aren't good, too. But for me, those two options make the most cohesive continuing storyline.
Oh, for a KOTOR III...
Posted by: Ruby | Mar 27, 2011 at 10:40 PM
@Ruby-
You don't have to strictly be good or evil in Mass Effect either.
Rule following, caring about the welfare of others, and avoiding violence is labelled as "Paragon" actions
Torture, being the first to draw a gun, revenge, or just being rude for no reason is labelled as "Renegade."
You have a meter for each and it adds points to either side based on what you say and do.
Even when I tried to play Shepard as virtuous as possible she'd get a few Renegade points here and there.
Posted by: Jason | Mar 27, 2011 at 10:45 PM
@Jason, a heartfelt word to the bit about needing a really nice PC. My partner found this out the hard way when Mass Effect basically melted his graphics card, and his computer was well over the minimum specs.
(On which point, the relentless rise of the standard minimum specs - especially for PC gaming - is a bit of a personal bugbear. There has to be a happy medium somewhere between wanting your game to run fast and look nice, and making it so complex that only top-of-the-line kit can run it. And on the other end, the sheer contempt I've seen directed at people with insufficiently whizzy systems is truly breathtaking. More casualties of the hardcore vs. everyone else mentality, I guess.)
Posted by: This Wicked Day | Mar 28, 2011 at 06:46 AM
Suggestion: Now that the postings are being made by diverse writers, how difficult would it be to put the byline at the top of each post instead of the bottom?
Posted by: Joey Maloney | Mar 28, 2011 at 02:48 PM
/Driveby notification
Here is part two of my The Host by Stephenie Meyer analysis. Here's part one.
/end Driveby notification (Is time to be cooking right now.)
Posted by: CZEdwards (who was CSHolocene) | Mar 28, 2011 at 06:15 PM
Hey to Jason or anyone else who could advise me on this...would there be an appreciable difference in quality/gameplay/functionality if I got myself a used 360 from GameStop, or a refurbished one from BestBuy or somesuch? Or is it worth it to save up for a brand spankin' new one?
Posted by: Ruby | Mar 28, 2011 at 07:49 PM
Older X-boxes get the red ring of death. You try to turn it on and the ring around the power button lights up red and it becomes a large paperweight. Newer models do not have this defect.
You might save money getting a smaller hard drive if you don't plan to buy lots of DLC or you wish to store your DLC on flashdrives (which has worked ok for me) Mass Effect 1 and 2 both have a lot of rather excellent DLC several gigs worth, so its worth noting.
Posted by: Jason | Mar 28, 2011 at 09:05 PM
Yeah, I have my old school Xbox, because I do love me some KOTOR (and Psychonauts and Jade Empire and Beyond Good and Evil and...), but I would need a 360 for Mass Effect, right? (I don't think I would be able to play on my PC...not nearly top-of-the-line enough. In fact, quite the opposite.)
Posted by: Ruby | Mar 28, 2011 at 09:15 PM
Yeah, Mass Effect is on the 360. The early models of 360 did the red ring thing.
Posted by: Jason | Mar 28, 2011 at 10:23 PM
So this seems the best thread to jack. Community. Anybody watching it? I watched the pilot last night, and whyyyy must the protagonist be the lying sexually-harassing scum Requisite Mid-Thirties White Guy? Also, since I seem to be measuring awesome on a scale of Jeff pwnage, Britta and John Oliver's character ROCK. I like Shirley and Annie and Abed, too.
Posted by: MercuryBlue | Mar 29, 2011 at 07:43 AM
MercuryBlue: So this seems the best thread to jack
Im in yur 4rum, jakkening yur thredds. All yur thredses is belong to meh.
Posted by: Raj | Mar 29, 2011 at 07:57 AM
Kitty!
(Since one of mine is currently impersonating a limp rag and the other is doing "I'm on yer lap. I'm off yer lap," on an infinite repeat loop at five minute intervals.... right now, I need a kitty chaser for my kitties...)
What are the chances of a weekly open thread? Yeah, I know we tend to topic wander anyway, but can we try it? Can the "this week" threads be the open threads? Sometimes it's nice to have a place for Hyper Local News, In Search Of... requests, minor rants/victory reporting...
Posted by: CZEdwards (who was CSHolocene) | Mar 29, 2011 at 03:49 PM
Hm. Unintentional serial posting.
The Host analysis Ch 2-3 is up.
Posted by: CZEdwards (who was CSHolocene) | Mar 30, 2011 at 08:03 PM