Heck Of A Guy

DrHGuy Cyber-Bookmarks: 07 July

Cyber-Bookmarks From DrHGuy are annotated links to arguably worthwhile, recently published online reading, new or revised websites of potential utility or ostensible interest, and other internet-accessible experiences that, were it not for the casually collected, cavalierly collated, & capriciously collocated components comprising these posts, could easily be overlooked – which would be, in some cases, a shame,

Short Stories Online

Classic Short Stories is the home of a large number of short stories that are indeed classics – and, more to the point, that are now in the public domain.

The stories range from Hawthorne’s The Ambitious Guest to James Joyce’s Araby to Irwin Shaw’s The Girls in Their Summer Dresses, with other entries from Edith Wharton, Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, O. Henry, and even Ring Lardner.

My personal favorite of the batch is Mark Twain’s A Burlesque Biography, the penultimate paragraph of which has always struck me as the epitome of biographical prose:

Snarkier Than DrHGuy

Yes, it’s true. I am humbled by these masters of snark. While I nurture ambitions of playing in their league someday, that’s a bit like the Little Leaguer who makes the second string All-Regional Southwest Missouri All Star Team hoping to lead the Cubs to a World Series.

1. What Would Tyler Durden Do?

The blurb says it all:

Here’s a taste from today’s entry, which also includes a video clip of the trailer referenced:

If you’ve seen “Transformers” by now, you’ve also seen a teaser trailer for the most secretive project in Hollywood, a movie called “Cloverfield”, directed by JJ Abrahms and written by “Lost” writer Drew Goddard. The movie looks like a mix of Godzilla and Godzilla if he interrupted a party that someone was filming, but it’s hard to say for sure because almost nothing is known about the movie. It’s not even officially named Cloverfield yet, and the website is completely useless except for revealing the movies release date. It’s also good if you want to stand naked and have awestruck girls staring up in astonished disbelief, but that gets boring after an hour or so.

2. The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs

The current subtitle of The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs provides a sense of the blog’s tone, “Dude, I invented the friggin iPhone. Have you heard of it?”

The premise is that the blog reveals Steve Jobs’ take on current tech-related news (e.g., the iPhone iPhenomenon). It enhances the humor if the reader is familiar with who’s who and what’s what in Silicon Valley, but it’s pretty darn funny to anyone who appreciates sarcasm and wit.

This sample, Look at me! Look at me! Not the phone! Look at me!, was published 06 July 2007:

Robert Scoble¹ emerges triumphant from his hero’s journey into the depths of an Apple retail store. “I did it! I bought a phone! Look! A phone! I gave them a credit card and got it, just like that!” Note the overjoyed expression on the retail dope next to him. He’s setting a new record for looking bored while clapping. No doubt by this point this guy and all his colleagues were just so sick of Scoble they couldn’t wait to see him leave. Can you imagine? Scoble sitting there for three days doing an in-person version of twitter, telling everyone everything he’s doing at every minute? “Right now I’m live blogging and now I’m podcasting and now I’m vlogging and now I’m writing another blog item …” Good grief. Best part, from what I’m told, was when Scoble finally bought his phone and handed over his credit card and the clerk looked at it for a second and Scoble said, “Um, yeah. I’m that Robert Scoble.” Clerk, for the record, had no idea what Scoble was talking about.

DrHGuy’s Cyber-Bookmarks Non-Bookmark Bonus:
Two A.E. Housman Miscellanea Items

1. The surname of the English poet and classical scholar, A.E. Housman, is pronounced as though the first syllable ended with an “s” rather than a “z.” An easy way to remember this is that the first syllable of “Housman” actually does end with an “s.”

Or, as The American Heritage Dictionary (4th Edition) puts it:

Those unsure of the sound of a hard “s” may signal a disembodied voice to produce the auditory waves corresponding to Mr. Housman’s name by clicking Hear “Housman” Pronounced

Secondary Bonus The surname of John Houseman, the director and actor who played Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr.² in The Paper Chase, is pronounced as though the first syllable ended with a “z” (Houzeman).

2. The Housman poem read in the movie, Out of Africa, is “To An Athlete Dying Young”

1. For those unaware of Robert Scoble’s identity, check out his bio in Wikipedia.↩
2. Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. was the law professor who intoned “Mister Hart, here is a dime. Take it, call your mother, and tell her there is serious doubt about you ever becoming a lawyer.” Edward G. Robinson was the original choice to play the role but had to decline for health reasons↩