kapgar

Wake up to find print is dead...

2012-05-30T17:32:08-05:00

Print is dead.

It pains me to say that, but it is and I'm finding myself shockingly willing to accept its demise.

Adios. Arrivederci. Adieu. Auf Wiedersehen. Aloha.

Bye.

In December, when Katie and I got our iPads, we started reading e-books. We don't read them exclusively (although 90% of the books I've read so far this year are electronic), but we are reading them. Katie and I still like the feel of books and turning pages and all that jazz. But, to be honest with you, after carrying an iPad for nearly half a year, I hate the added weight of carrying a book. Particularly if it's a hardcover. I couldn't ditch the hardcover of Steve Jobs fast enough once I got an iPad (and, honestly, isn't it more appropriate to read the MacLord's bio on one of his devices?).

Now, in an publishing post-apocalypse wherein big box chain stores like Borders and Barnes & Noble pushed independent and mom-n-pop bookstores to the very brink of extinction (I can think of two in my immediate area that survived versus the dozen or more that were here just 10 years ago) and now some of the big boxes themselves are folding (Borders), it's becoming harder and harder to find actual bookstores with actual staff members that give an actual damn about the books they sell.

Combine this with ever increasing book prices and decreased resale value (if you can actually find a secondhand bookstore such as a Half-Price Books near you), and, I'll be honest with you, I want little to do with printed books.

I went to Half-Price Books today with three bags full of books numbering somewhere between 50 and 75 and they offered me $35 for the lot of them. The going price of these books, if purchased new, would be several hundred dollars.

When I purchased the Steve Jobs biography last year, it's MSRP was something like $36.95. Those three bags I wanted to sell to HPB couldn't even garner me enough cash to purchase a single full-retail priced copy of Steve Jobs, if I was so inclined.

In the Apple iBookstore, I can download a sample of any book they have which usually contains at least the first chapter. I can read it and decide if I want to purchase the remainder of the book, which is typically at least a handful of dollars less than the physical copy.

With my iPad, if I want to read one book, I read it. If I want to switch and read another, I read that one. And my iPad is the same weight and takes up the same amount of space in my bag. I can bookmark my page, look at pictures and maps, highlight text without ruining the "value" of the book, and I can look up definitions or search Wikipedia for more information as I read.

I also have access to copies of books that have outlived their copyrights that are made legally available absolutely free thanks to groups like Project Gutenberg, among others, and they're fully compatible with my iPad.

I typically read books once and then they go on a shelf. They collect dust. I look at them and think, "Hm, maybe I should read it again." I never do. I dust them. I dust them again. I contemplate reading them. Again. I don't. Again.

What's the point? Where is my motivation to keep purchasing hardcopy books?

I can't think of anything.

Okay, maybe one thing... author signings. That's about it.

I'll still read the books I've got. I'll take loaners and gifts of print books from friends and family members. I'll loan out what few books we still own. And we'll purchase physical copies of kids books for our upcoming bundle of joy (don't get me started on the scheme that is children's book pricing; almost as bad as textbooks).

Other than that, and my guts are roiling inside me as I type this, I'm an eBook convert.

And a tree smiled.

Put me in coach...

2012-05-25T15:51:51-05:00

I was watching a little bit of the Today show this morning with Katie before heading out for work. They were talking about Brian Banks, a former high school football star whose life was turned upside down when he was accused and convicted of kidnapping and raping a classmate.

He had dreams of playing in the NFL and whatever else, but instead pled ("pleaded"?) no contest to a charge he maintained was false and served five years in prison as a result.

Shortly after getting out of prison in 2008, his accuser friended him on Facebook and, during a meeting between the two and a subsequent interview by an investigator, she reneged on her claim saying he did no such thing. Yesterday, a judge overturned his conviction and completely exonerated Banks of all charges.

Now he wants his life back and I can't say I blame him. He still wants to play in the NFL and is hoping some coach or scout will give him a chance.

Mr. Banks, while I hope that works out for you, can I make a suggestion just in case it doesn't? Go to college and get your law degree and then go to work for the California Innocence Project who took your case and helped you gain your exoneration.

Just sayin'.

Katie thinks she has come up with the perfect boy's name for our baby if that's what we are blessed with.

Cooper Tino Apgar

And she said we can call him "Mac" for short.

While I readily admit to being a geek and a lover of all things made by Apple and I like the name Cooper and the nickname Mac because it was the name of Max Martini's badass character in The Unit, this is even too much for me. And his initials would forever ally him with the Chicago Transit Authority (unless they give him a lifetime discount or free-ride pass, then I'm okay with it).

I think she's disappointed.

And I swear...

2012-05-24T21:39:10-05:00

I like to swear. I'm very good at it. I'm not talking Al Pacino level or anything. I mean, that dude can swear like nobody's business. I do strive to be like him, though.

Well, I did anyway. Until the point in time where Katie and I found out that she was pregnant. That lifetime of dedication to the fine art of verbal cursing came to a screeching halt. I'm told that kids are sponges and, whether you realize it or not, they pick up what those around them say and do and feel.

So, um, swearing is out of the question for at least a dozen or more years. Don't need them showing up at grandma's place saying "fuck it" now do we?

I know not all of you are parents, but all of you have been around kids at some point in time or another. So what did you do to get around swearing in front of them? What kinds of alternative phrasing have you used? Please! Give me all your faux-dirtiest!

When you receive an email marked "Important" or "High Priority" or in some other way screaming at you to "GET OFF YOUR ASS AND READ ME NOW!!!!" do you actually drop everything and do it?

Or are you like me who has been sent so many of these exclamation point-laden emails that were so clearly not actually important that you feel like you're playing a game of "boy who cried wolf"?

I hate those damn things. Every time I see one, I want to strangle the sender.

Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Please.

I'm Elmo and I know it...

2012-05-23T20:21:57-05:00

Hi ho! And welcome to the Snippet Wednesday show! Don't even think of surfing away now. Your keyboards and mouses and touchscreens and whatever else you may use have been temporarily disabled.

Please sit back and enjoy the imposed fun.

Games
I've got a lot of friends that are going ga-ga over the pending release of LEGO Batman 2: The Game. This is another in a long series of licensed entities turned into video games starring LEGO versions of the main characters. I also know these games are a lot of fun as I played LEGO Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy (movies 1-3) and loved the game a lot despite it being tied into the trilogy I least enjoyed. But, hey, LEGO makes anything fun. Even Jar Jar Binks.

But, if I were to want to try another LEGO license game, which would you recommend? They have a few Star Wars ones, a couple Indiana Jones, a couple Batman, a few Harry Potter, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Also in the works is a Lord of the Rings title and, I would suspect, one starring Marvel superheroes like The Avengers and The X-Men since they hold that license as well. It amazes me the kick-butt licenses that LEGO has obtained. But which game???

Elmo
One of the things I feared most about becoming a parent, stupidly enough, is the potential of having a kid that loves things that I can't stand. Stuff like Barney the Dinosaur or Teletubbies or American Girl dolls (they're horrifyingly real!). Another one I couldn't stand early on was Elmo. Strange considering my love of almost all things Muppets. But Elmo always annoyed me.

This changed recently when I watched a documentary titled Being Elmo all about puppeteer Kevin Clash and his quest to bring Elmo to the masses. All that cheesy love and childishness that Elmo exudes? It's real and it's genuine and it's utterly adorable. I freaking love Elmo now and totally respect Clash for the character he's created.

Rules
Remember my naming dilemma that I blogged about last week? No, we did not decide on boys' names and I can promise you I am not picking something funky and food related or otherwise strange. Katie and I did, while trying to come up with names, find this interesting article on HuffPost outlining rules soon-to-be parents should follow when deciding on a name. It's a really logical set of rules and it has helped us narrow down the field quite a bit. If you are a parent-to-be or just looking for a pretty interesting read, check it out.

Destroy
Have you ever heard of the band They Will Destroy Us? Before yesterday, neither had I. But I found them mentioned in a couple Tweets on Tom Hiddleston's stream (yes, the guy who played Loki in The Avengers) and I was intrigued as I'm always on the lookout for new music. I then went into iTunes to check out their music. You wanna know what I found? They had a couple albums in there with all songs priced at 99 cents each, but so few songs on each album that they should consequently cost less than the normal album price of $9.99. You could pay for each song individually and get almost the whole album at a cost savings. But the highest rated song on each album was listed as "Album Only" meaning you had to pay $9.99 to get it. They're trying to tell me that those songs are worth anywhere from $2-4 each. Sorry, but they just priced themselves out of contention via stupidity.

Sticks
If there's one thing I can definitely promise you about becoming a parent, I will NOT put those insipid stick figure family stickers on the back of my vehicle. Large and small Apple logos? Maybe. But stick figures and stick animals? No. Never. Nuh-uh. Well, unless it's this...

[image courtesy of Enjoy the Random]

Belgian
I had never heard of Chicago Beer Company until tonight when I tried one of their Windy City Wheat Belgian White Ales that I picked up from Trader Joe's. Color me impressed. I think I could learn to enjoy this.

If I stay it will be double...

2012-05-21T21:41:47-05:00

As you all know, I've been in the midst of self-enforced photo challenges for a a little while now. This is actually my third straight year that I've been taking part in them.

But usually I try to share some of my favorites with you here on the blog in case you don't happen to visit my Flickr photostream or Photo366 gallery.

If you don't mind, I'd like to take a moment to do that right now (even if I did forget to post a photo of the day yesterday... whoops).

I just loved the contrast between the sign and the twilight sky behind it. Looks kinda outer spacey.

I really enjoy those "slice of life" sorts of shots of people, as rarely as they work out for me. This guy was playing banjo at an Einstein's Bagels near where I work and he played The Muppets' "Rainbow Connection" for me. Had to get a picture of him. I've also been long fascinated by the banjo. I love that instrument. I wish I knew how to play one. Anyone know Steve Martin and can ask if he'd teach me?

One of my Snake's Eye View shots that I've become quite fond of lately, as inspired by Kevin Spencer. Those spots in the flooring look like bacteria, don't they?

I was walking around downtown Naperville and kept watching as the sun passed by the shepherd hook street lights and thought, "wow, that's cool looking." Took something like five lights before my own light lit and I realized I should be taking a photo of it. Yes, that's the sun.

Something very Hitchcockian about this if Alfred ever did a Muppets movie. Oh, could you imagine a Hitchcock/Muppets mashup? Sign me up!

I hope it doesn't seem like I'm tooting my own horn, as it were, by highlighting my own photography in a post. But, then again, isn't this whole blog a case of "tooting my own horn"?

This TUA may contain a spoiler if you are a fan of CBS's Criminal Minds and you have not yet watched the season finale.

So, just in case...

But, mostly, it's a rant by me at how CBS ruined the season finale of their own show.

If you've watched the episode, you know what happens in the end. There is a will she/won't she cliffhanger regarding Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) and whether she is going to leave the BAU.

What ticks me off is that, in the first five seconds, CBS put one of their little on-screen promos on the bottom of the screen advertising an episode hashtag of #GoodbyePrentiss for use on Twitter postings about the episode.

CBS, you freakin' dumbasses. How could you do that to us? I had no idea that was coming and then I spent the entire episode figuring out how or when it would happen. Was she leaving of her own accord? Would she be killed off? Would it happen some other way?

Yes, it did affect my overall viewing experience. Asshats.

Might I suggest you watch this little gem from College Humor? Seems like you could use a few tips.