Riba Rambles:
Musings of a Mental Magpie

Posted by Lis Riba at 5:20 PM

• Librarian Dress Up via Jessamyn

  [Yes, I'm disappointed they don't have a Batgirl costume -- rights issues, perhaps?]

• Baby Got Book via Stef

  Somebody needs to record this one!

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:49 AM

From IO9: Space Cocktails: Soak Your Head With The Greatest Cocktails From Science Fiction

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:36 AM

Skimming the blogs, I find this Gizmodo entry:

Light Bags LoJack Your Handbag With GPS

Get a load of this racket. A company called Marilyn Light Bag has developed a series of purses equipped with a GPS tracker in the event that it is lost or stolen. A device, the product page claims, can not be deactivated by a thief. The real kicker here is that the first two months of GPS monitoring are free, with a $15 charge for each month thereafter. So, essentially you are paying for your purse in perpetuity-all in the hopes that you might be able to recover the bag if it should ever vanish (but the contents may be another story). Prices start at $30.

That product sounds meh, but it gives me an idea for something which would be useful.

Lost luggage is a hazard of checking bags for air travel.

So what do you think of some LoJack-style transponder or RFID that you can pack into your bags (or attach to your luggage tags).

If your bag goes missing, this device can help you pinpoint where in the world your missing bags have gotten.

Now, since purchasing this kind of thing may not be cost-effective for the occasional traveller, how about a business model where you can rent them for the trip. Could even have pick-up and drop-off kiosks in the airports.

Heck, since I've been hearing reports of items missing from inside checked bags, maybe smaller versions you could attach to your laptop or camera or jewelry...

Keen idea? Is anybody already doing this? Or what flaws am I missing?

Posted by Lis Riba at 11:27 PM

So, I left work early enough to catch the last matinee of Iron Man.

Fun film. We enjoyed ourselves. Some really great quips and gags, though not to the level of Spider-Man.

Yes, Robert Downey Jr. was great to watch -- but then again, I've held that opinion of him since he played the goofy sidekick in Back to School (a 1986 Rodney Dangerfield comedy)

But the most important point I wish to state is:

This is NOT a movie for small children.

[As if proof were needed, some other patrons did bring their young child, who could be heard frequently asking where Iron Man was (this is an origin story, so it shouldn't be too surprising that that the red-and-gold armor isn't donned until about 90 minutes in) and whether he could uncover his eyes.]

PS: When/if you see the film (without kids), be sure to stay thru the closing credits. I know they're long, but there's an important scene afterwards.

Posted by Lis Riba at 7:35 AM

Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn'd,
Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell,
Be thy intents wicked or charitable,
Thou comest in such a questionable shape
That I will speak to thee: I'll call thee Hamlet

I just saw the trailer for a forthcoming indie film that I simply must see:

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead

Shakespeare, vampires, and (apparently) secret societies.

Last year, a New York theater company staged Twelfth Night of the Living Dead. At that time, I listed other genre-bending adaptations, which I really ought to watch someday.

And, of course, last month the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble staged a 24-hour show entitled William Shakespeare: Vampire Hunter.

Seems to be a trend.

I wonder what adaptations will be next?

via Shakespeare Geek, Duane