Neal Stephenson's next book in The Baroque Cycle trilogy comes out next month. You can order it now.

Booklist had this to say:

This guy really likes to write long books.

With real-life supporting characters such as Isaac Newton and Wilhelm Leibnitz, the series blends fact and fiction so cleverly that it is virtually impossible to separate one from the other. Stephenson is a graceful writer, never getting bogged down in detail, keeping the story moving, dazzling us with his technique.

The concluding volume of the trilogy is scheduled to appear in October 2004, and it's fair to say anyone who reads this one will spend the intervening months waiting with breathless anticipation.

"George, get set for a mind blowing afternoon."

"Attention class A drivers ... You have 15 minutes to qualify."

The Confusion

This show is fucking good. Plane crashes on scary island. Lord of the flies amongst adults and polar bears. Good character development.

I highly recommend getting this on tvtorrents.net every wednesday.

Lost: The Bomb Ass New Show

The Movie that inspired Timothy McVeigh!

] At the outbreak of World War III, midwestern high school
] students turned refugees slowly organized themself into
] an effective guerilla force to turn back the tide of
] Soviet invaders.

Red Dawn (1984) | Coolest Movie Ever

] As they walked along, Mike gave a shrug and a twitch just
] so. That was enough cue for his Epiphany wearable. Its
] overlay imaging shifted into classic manga/anime: the
] manzanita branches morphed into scaly tentacles. Now the
] houses that edged the canyon were heavily timbered, with
] pennants flying. High ahead was a castle, the home of
] Grand Duke Hwa Feen...

Free Vernor Vinge short story on wearable/ubiquitous computing.

Vernor Vinge: Synthetic Serendipity

Images of orgasms past seem cartoonish, having played again and again, copies of copies of copies... the original long gone, lost between pixels in a smattering of ink overflowing from neuron A to neuron B blending them into an informationless mass. Spread lips and lollipops and kung fu care bears and all of it, I mean all of it, in pink and purple and gold.

I forgot how to fuck!

Maybe there will come a day when the hope and joy I feel when I look into her sweet brown eyes won’t be tempered by the fear that I won’t see them ever again. Not see them ever again in this state of mind. The state of mind in which I can see the them for what they are, in all their magnificance. Gateways to the soul of my lover and companion. And maybe I won’t fear that she’ll leave me, or worse, stay with me out of pity, when I can’t get out of bed because the world is black and without hope. When light turns to darnkess, when sweet turns to bitter... they always leave. They have to, and I don’t blame them. I only judge them on how they go about it. With dignity, or without.

I Gave up Coke for Her OR A Note from the Pole

A personal journal, with short stories to come. A bit over focused on masturbation owing to the author's current state of unwanted celibacy, but humorous nonetheless. I particularly enjoyed the entry, "Bloody Orgasmak."

The Peyompian Online Journal

] Artists get a full 50% of the purchase price. And unlike most record labels,
] our artists keep the rights to their music.
]
] Founded by musicians, for musicians.
]
] No major label connections.
]
] We are not evil.

Turns out I like Renaissance Guitar Music. $8 for the album, $4 goes to the artist. This site rules.

Magnatune: try before you buy MP3 music.

Most cool family tree of electronic music. Includes sound clips representative of each genre.

This is most cool.

Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music

More recommendations from friends in Atlanta. The best explanation that I can offer for this is that its "light" industrial music, if you can imagine such a thing. Like Front 242, but more human. Two thumbs up.

Fischerspooner