Wednesday Roundup 28 March 2012

Bring it in, y'all. It's time for a mid-week roundup. Heeyaw!

The Hunger Games!
I was going to write a review on The Hunger Games, but I couldn't quite figure out why I had no real cheers or jeers for it. Meaning it was good enough, but not great. But this person I know called Chris Clark wrote a review for collaboration blog Part Time Authors that pretty much covers it. Plus he's funny, to boot. http://bit.ly/HjGuo2

I stumbled on this hideous observation about reactions to race in The Hunger Games in an article called "Racist Hunger Games Fans Are Very Disappointed" on Jezebel.com. It's pretty unbelievable. http://bit.ly/GO1eUh

Language!
An article by famed modern linguist Ben Zimmer in the New York Times about how the term "Ms." came to be. (Zimmer is always writing for the New York Times or on NPR or something.) It's a really nice example of how long it takes language to change and how language change is inevitable. http://nyti.ms/HmJW0m

Book!
I'm not sure where I heard about the book Jeff, One Lonely Guy. So this guy named Jeff Ragsdale put up these flyers in Manhattan asking people to call him because he's "one lonely guy," and he ended up talking to thousands of people around the world. It sounds fascinating. But I have to admit that I want to read it because it really appeals to my voyeuristic tendencies. http://amzn.to/GEvhyq

Cat!
Just a picture of a cat doing his best Gandalf impression. http://bit.ly/GHWLR0

Forced to Like Taylor Swift

I do not like pop or rock country music in the slightest. Generally it all sounds like the same loudness to me. However I do like other music that fits into the country category: you got your classic country with people like Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash; then there's Bluegrass and Americana which covers a heap of classic and new music ranging from Ralph Stanley to Gillian Welch; and then there are the bands that are moderately to heavily influenced by some sort of country, but I don't think of them as such, like Jack White, Mumford and Sons, The Decemberists, and The Civil Wars.

Cut to pop country's Taylor Swift and her new song"Safe and Sound," featuring The Civil Wars. It's dark, haunting, and pretty--three things that I never associate with Taylor Swift's usual pop country flavor. I'm sure this is due in part to collaborating with The Civil Wars, and due in part to the fact that the song is  on the soundtrack for The Hunger Games, which is a rather dark and haunting story. So kudos to Taylor Swift for basically forcing (yes, forcing) me like her.



The Hunger Games soundtrack will be released tomorrow. Based on the lineup, it may even be a winner of an album. I'm particularly excited about The Decemberists, Birdy, The Secret Sisters, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Glen Hansard.