Musing

Website of the Year - Raspberry Pi Great project, great cause. So beautifully nerdy to watch this happen from the ground up. Book of the Year - Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus There was a whole lot of buzz surrounding Morgenstern's debut novel about this one-of-a-kind circus. I finally got it for my lunchtime reading break on my Kindle and devoured about 7-10% of it every day. It was absolutely worth every penny I paid. I've since ordered it in hardcover as well, since I think it's a book that's going to have staying power. While the plot is certainly better than average, it's the world that the plot is couched in that really makes me want to start reading it all over again. The novel is not intended to be a part of any series, so there's no commitment to anything greater than its own length. This was one of the most attractive things about it from the start, since a lot of my reading time is gobbled up by enormous books, enormous s...

Noel Gallagher's Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Editor's Note: This is the 9th in a quasi-weekly series of reviews marking my favorite ten albums of 2011. The 10th edition is wrapped into the larger year-end post I call "The Ho Media Awards", which will be published next weekend. Stay tuned! Yes, even after my strong defense of Liam and Beady Eye in general, I still have to give the edge to Noel's solo album. He kept it to just the right length by culling his batch of 15+ studio tracks down to the ten that fit together best. The album grabbed me from the first track. He doesn't take any time to do any vocal warm-ups - this is Noel at his most emphatic from the first line of vocals. And what a deliciously dark opener it is! This is one of the reasons that Noel gets the edge. Dark sounds, minor chords, and lots of strings are going to suck me in every time. I'll admit that I was a little trepidatious after hearing the first single, ...