One of Bender's forefathers

I haven't been logging books this year, but one of the few genre novels I've read is the one I just finished: The 1983 BSSFA winner Tik-Tok, by the late John Sladek. It's a witty satirical novel about a robot with "faulty asimov circuits" that ends up a sociopath.

There's a lot in this book that clearly helped inspire Futurama, but I was particularly pleased to read the titular robot, when chewing out a group of student revolutionaries, tell them, "you can kiss my copper-plated ass!"

I highly recommend this book if you can find a used copy. It's brutal (and occasionally gory), but it's also a great send-up of many classic sci-fi tropes.

The Captain America Theme Song (revised)

When Captain America throws his mighty shield,
All those who chose to oppose his shield must yield.
And ask in confusion, "hey, is that Bucky in the Red, White and Blue?"
Yeah, well, he was resurrected (and unlike the Bucky resurrection in the '70s, this one's going to stick), turned evil (aka Commie) by brainwashing, was cured by the Cosmic Deus Ex Cube, tried to kill Tony Stark, stole Cap's shield, and, well, hey, look over there! It's Jason Todd!
When Captain America throws his mighty shield.

(Also, what's the the tense disagreement in the song, anyway? "Throws his shield" and "those who chose to oppose" in the same sentence?)

Thursday links

Today's a crappy day, one of those ones that should be thrown into the recycle bin and traded in for the nickel deposit. And then that nickel should be combined with a bunch of others to purchase a large amount of alcohol, which will get consumed and obliterate any memory of the day.

And yes, I realize that I'm writing this before the mid-point of the day. That said, I have no reason things will get better.

Links, at least, sometimes make me happy:

1. Especially when those links include Speed Racer Lego sets!

2. Or Strangers in Paradise: The TV Series.

3. Or how about Cheeseburger in a Can?

4. 20 Things You Didn't Know About Science Fiction is less awesome. Honestly, how many of you didn't know a bunch of these (is there anyone reading this who doesn't know #4?). That said, it does reveal Wolfe's involvement in the evolution of Pringles, and Heinlein's in the waterbed, neither of which I'd been aware of. And it's the rare Discover article that uses the word "Dickbot."

5. There is a Saw videogame coming out. Strangely enough, it uses the Unreal 3 engine (making it a shooter?), instead of, say, a revamped Deception engine. I'm sure, though, that since the creators of the movies are closely involved, that the game will have an amazing plot and storyline. (/dripping sarcasm).

6. Awesome folded paper art, courtesy of a link ganked from my lovely wife.

7. Sam Raimi is planning on making a TV series out of Terry Goodkind's books. I've never read them, and all I know about them is from Duncan Farraday's wonderful essay and assorted Fandom Wanks. And the line, "But this was no chicken. This was evil manifest." I suspect that the TV series will be fun, though.

8. Speaking of wank, here's Ralph Nader's Skeleton Closet.

9. Domino's now offers online pizza tracking! Too bad they still serve suck-ass pizza (but at least the money doesn't flow into -- and out of -- Tom Monaghan's pockets any more).

10. Microwaveable Boston Cream Pie! Hooray for technology!

11. Finally, remember to visit beautiful Yendiopolis!

One year ago. . .

(See here for background info; image ganked from jmspencer).

Grr.

High Thug of Phoenix Joe Arpaio, a man who would use the Constitution for toilet paper if he weren't already so hyper-constipated that his colon has actually turned to stone, has added kidnapping American Citizens to his list of hobbies.

Arpaio is a goon, a thug, and perhaps the epitome of everything wrong with this country. His "officers" are the sort of cops who, if they appeared in movies, would be dismissed as too cartoonish (in fact, the British constable from Garth Ennis's Goddess? Pretty much Arpaio, but with subtlety and depth).

(And yes, the majority of voting citizens of Maricopa county deserve a huge amount of the blame here. My mom's in the minority of voters, it seems, much to her disgust)