geoviki | tips from the internet 'ho

I was gonna separate this into more than one post, but I'm feeling fragmented enough these days. I need integration. Perhaps all these diverse interests are part of one big picture; who knows?

Only a day or two more to watch the curious and quirky - yet very funny - webTV show by Joss Whedon (and sibs) that is Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog. Check it out while it's still free. I saw mention that it may only be accessible to N. American viewers - can you international folks see this site?

In the year of our lord 2008, there are so many music blogs out there that it's almost impossible to keep up with even a tiny part of them. Happily, Retro Music Blog is back after a long hiatus, with daily links to some of them. If you are a fan of music, you'll appreciate this blog.

The yaoi manga world has been shaken by a plagiarism scandal by one of its more famous and successful manga-kas. I've followed some of the work of Youka Nitta myself (I like her stuff, not like I adore Miyamoto Kano, but it's made for some enjoyable forays into the genre). Someone finally discovered that she was copy-tracing published fashion shots for her covers. You can see the evidence yourself at

nitta_crib - 55 examples and counting. As is typical, some rabid fans are trying to shoot the messenger. Unlike last year's historical romance scandal by Cassie Edwards, which was never directly addressed by her or her publisher, Youka Nitta has abjectly apologized and retired from writing any further manga, and her publisher has immediately yanked every bit of her stuff. Wow. Sad for her and all her fans.

I finished learning hiragana. Go me! Because I am a geek, I made a set of flashcards for my purse to practice when I'm stuck waiting in lines and such. I'll show you in Chicago if you ask.

Please send rain. It has not rained more than a barely-sidewalk-wetting few minutes for over a month now. In the daily 90+-degree heat, everything is turning to dust in the Geoviki quarter acre.

I love it when Dinosaur Comics talks about writing. In one of last week's episodes, T Rex discovers the fallout of readers thinking a character's behavior == the writer's behavior. The next day, T Rex tries to please his audience but seekritly writes slash...