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JFRO'S 2013

Format once again ripped off shamelessly from the Librarian in Black : Books-- 10th of December, NW, Code Name Verity, The Night Circus, Eleanor & Park Comics-- Rachel Rising, Ooku , Genshiken Second Season Magazine-- The New Yorker Movies (theater)-- Pacific Rim, American Hustle, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Movies (DVD)-- Tai Chi Zero, Dredd, Wreck-It Ralph, The FP, Upstream Color, The Sound of My Voice, Kiss of the Damned, Thale, A Band Called Death, Drug War, No, Byzantium  TV Shows (streaming)-- Nikita, Lost Girl, Being Human (UK), Call the Midwife, Alphas, Continuum, Adventure Time TV Shows (live)-- Community, Parks & Recreation, 30 Rock, Mad Men, Almost Human, Agents of SHIELD TV Shows (DVD)-- Archer, Leverage, Justified, Homeland, The Walking Dead, Falling Skies, Enlightened, The Bletchley Circle, Orphan Black, Children's Hospital, Sons of Anarchy, Person of Interest, Nurse Jackie, Defiance TV Shows (web) -- Burning Love, BAMF Girls C

WHY I'M A MOBILE GAMER

My reply to these articles: Why I'm a PC Gamer Why I'm a Console Gamer Why I'm a Mobile Gamer: 1. It's cheap. 2. Touch is a great control for some games, and it's free with the device. 3. No monthly charges for social gaming. 4. Game companies can't disguise poor gaming mechanics with fancy graphics. 5. Lots of games for iOS & Android, so only a few people will have angst related to choosing a gaming OS. 6. Is your fancy-schmancy $30 game better than World of Goo? Is it really ? 7. No creepy uncanny-valley people. 8. Did I mention it's cheap?

MY IPAD APPS, PART ONE

 Yes, my folders are in alphabetical order. Due to overwhelming demand (by which I mean, two of my Twitter Twerps asked their timeline for app recs, I replied, and they said, "thanks") I am finally posting my recommended apps for iPad. The main things I use my iPad mini for are art, reading, games and social media, with the occasional information look-up. I guess it's a big debate as to whether iPads can be used for content creation, to which I answer - I can, so who are you to tell me differently? I don't write on my iPad except for the occasional blog edit, but at work I use it for note-taking and file storage. Art/Photography I've never been able to do any kind of drawing with a mouse. I used to idly think of buying a Wacom tablet , but as a non-professional, couldn't justify the expense. When you buy the iPad--BOOM! You have a freehand art input device. A stylus is needed for details, but they're pretty cheap. Sure, the iPad'

THEY CALL ME THE LAZY LIFEHACKER

So, I've had Lifehacker in my RSS for a while, at first to keep up with new technology and software mostly. I liked that they told you what you could with it, rather than the "OMG-OMG-MUST-HAVE-IT-COOL-COOL-COOL" of sites like CNET and Gizmodo. Then I started trying their home improvement tips, because there were enough that were in my wheelhouse ( binder clips and adult Play-Doh yes, soldering and sawing no). I'm a librarian, so I love organizing things. A holiday gift planning Google spreadsheet ? Why, yes sir I think I will. I don't think of it as a lifestyle and try to convert all my friends to the Way of Lifehacking or anything. It's not inherently better than Hints from Heloise or Everyday Cheapskate , it's just that the latter are more likely to tell me to save money by using things I don't have on hand or want to purchase. Your mileage may vary. It can be funny to see the kind of tips women have shared for millennia suddenly become coo

INTERNET FANDOM: RUINING IT FOR EVERYONE SINCE 1994

   Order of the Stick #171 I have a pretty strong tolerance for other people disliking stuff I like. When you enjoy heavy metal and kung fu movies, you develop a pretty tough hide.  It's when fans of things I like are behaving badly that I get annoyed. That's why I've mostly given up on fan forums. So, let me tell you what you all need to do to make things better. Don't get all pissy and sulky when someone doesn't think what you love is perfect in every way. Listen, I enjoy watching Doctor Who (though I'm no uber-fan), but acting like everyone who thinks it has any racial issue must be just looking for a reason to be offended is just sad. Wah! Wah! You ruined my perfect enjoyment of my favorite show! Grow up. The local newspaper critic refuses to ever give a kung-fu movie more than 2 1/2 stars even if he apparently got nothing but enjoyment out of it according to the body of the review, yet somehow I've survived. If your friends are involved in a

JFRO'S BACK ON THE AIRWAVES!

Every so often, I miss my college radio days, so I decided to do a show on my college radio station for reunion weekend. My theme was "Fogotten 80s", either tracks by forgotten bands or rare tracks, live shows, b-sides, 12-inch extended versions, etc. by somewhat more well-known bands. I have a terrible voice for radio, but please listen anyway: JFRO'S RADIO SHOW Track List: Driving the Dynamite Truck - Breaking Circus Marseilles (Live)- Rifle Sport Burn - Black Spot Koolegged (Live) - The Melvins Test - Airlines Alone - Colin Newman You Were An Optimist - Band of Susans Easy As It Was - The Melvins Strange Fruit - Siouxsie & The Banshees Wichita Lineman - B.E.F. What We All Want (Live) - Gang of Four Accretions - Shriekback Hungry, So Angry - Medium Medium Fish - Throwing Muses Kansas - The Wolfgang Press Incubus Succubus II - Xmal Deutschland All To Myself - Indoor Life Never Never - The Assembly Sensoria - Cabaret Voltaire Dan Destiny &

A DAY IN THE LIFE

For those of you who wonder what I do all day, here is what yesterday was like. It was inspired by the Library Day in the Life Project, which I enjoyed but didn't participate in at the time, because whenever there's something that you are supposed to do at a certain time, but it's not actually required by law or your employer (like change your avatar on Facebook to support a cause or something), I get contrary and don't want to do it. 9-9:05 Processed the newspapers and put them out. 9:05-9:30 Worked on today's schedule. Two people were sick, so it took a little while. 9:30-10 Met with new employee to discuss her work schedule. 10 - 11:30 Finished up next week's schedule and worked on getting manga for the library's Manga Reading Lounge at Anime Detour . 11:30-12:30 Lunch 12:30-1:30 It gets busy at lunch time. Helped a patron find books and articles on Native American casinos for her college paper. Answered an email question about returning

CAN'T STOP WON'T STOP WITH THE COVER VERSIONS

Cavalcade of Cover Versions from ash966 on 8tracks Radio . So, I keep updating my cover versions mix on 8tracks because I think of new ones. My cover version playlist on iTunes now has 233 songs on it.  As you may remember , my criteria for a good cover version are 1) it has to be good in itself, 2) it has to be good in a different way from the original, and 3) it has to see something good or at least salvageable about the original, not just be about mocking or making fun of it. I have also tried to find more obscure items from imports, vinyl only, b-sides, obscure EPs, out-of-print tribute albums, live bootlegs, and free giveaways on obscure blogs (Next to track down: The Party Party Soundtrack ). Favorite cover albums: Freedom of Choice: Yesterday's New Wave Hits - My favorite period in music - late 70's to early '80s- interpreted by some great 90s bands like Sonic Youth, Superchunk, The Connells, The Muffs, Yo La Tengo, Shonen Knife, and Matthew Sweet.

....THE HELL, COMCAST??!!

GIF by Beaver Paralyser This whole Comcast thing just gets crazier and crazier. I got my official notice by mail a month or so ago that in April I would have to get an adapter or lose any TV signal. But then, it turns out that is not actually true. Plus, just to add flavor to the whole thing, Comcast is charging people for these adapters without telling them in advance. Okay, then! Nothing says, "I'm a monopoly so I can do what I want" like blatantly lying to customers. No wonder the BBB gives them a C-. The only way they could be worse would be by not actually having a product. I'm so glad I don't live in a market where they're the only Internet provider. Thanks to Julio Ojeda-Zapata as well, for keeping us informed (like me, he uses an EyeTV to record television on his computer, which will be rendered a useless hunk of metal if an adapter is needed.). Sadly, the specter of tv-less-ness still hovers, since the FCC basically gave away the

Jfro's Best of 2012 Mix

Badass Jfro's 2012 from ash966 on 8tracks Radio . Somebody asked me to make my best music of 2012 list, but since I've been going crazy with the 8tracks lately, I decided to share the aural version for the benefit of everyone who hasn't gotten a mix CD from me, or anyone who wonders what I leave out (answer: usually metal). This year I actually bought enough new stuff to make a full mix. It was an especially diverse year with old faves ( Guided by Voices, The Wedding Present, The Hives ), metal of both the stoner ( The Sword, Jess & the Ancient Ones ) and trad ( Grand Magus, Acrassicauda ) variety, shoegaze*( A Place to Bury Strangers, Flavor Crystals, Chatham Rise ), lo-fi ( Vivian Girls, Dum Dum Girls ), Brit-pop ( The Vaccines ), hip-hop ( Rye Rye, M.I.A .), and industrial ( Nekronet ). As such, you will probably hate some of it. Track list: Grand Magus: "Valhalla Rising" Acrassicauda: "Garden of Stones" The Sword: "Apocryp