Category: blogging

DiMortuiSunt April Book Giveaway! #1

My review for Sacramento Book Review:

I found it troubling and eerie at how much of today I see in the world Jackson Lears relates in his newest book Rebirth of a Nation, which chronicles the history of the United States from the end of Reconstruction to the end of World War I. Lears makes the similarities between then and now a theme throughout the book, pointing them out when they are especially telling. Rebirth of a Nation is not an important book because it paints a vivid picture of early modern American culture; it is a brilliant book because it reminds of how and why we have the federal government we do and the headaches and troubles earlier Americans faced to get us here. Various government institutions and policies (the FDA, for example) which we take for granted today, or worse denigrate, are explained in the context of which they were created, enlightening such issues as modern banking and its regulation, the Federal Reserve, the eight-hour workday, unions, a mixed economy, and more. Lears wraps all of that radical change in an American desire, both individual and societal, for a rebirth into a state akin to grace whether through war, social justice, or labor. Rebirth of a Nation is a must-read for lovers of American history.

If you’re a fan of history or the United States this is a great book that covers a pivotal period in US History as the country shifted from its original rural agrarian base to a urban industrial one.

So, if you’d like a free book. Just make a comment down below and you’ll be entered. One person, chosen at random, will win it next Friday.

The DiMortuiSunt Book Giveaway!

Everyone Likes Free Stuff!

I get a lot of books. Way too many books. I don’t really have room for all the books I get. I feel bad taking them to used bookstores (and that business model isn’t doing that great anyway.) The local library doesn’t want to take books from me anymore and it feels downright criminal to toss them into the recycle bin.

What am I going to do with all these books?

Then I remember I had this blog. This blog that people occasionally read, if they are good people they then mention it to their friends who also read it. I could give the books away to these people!

So this is how it’s going to work: every Friday in April I will post a picture of a book as well as a short book review of it. Anyone who comments on the post will be put in a random drawing for the book to be held the following Friday when the next book becomes available.

Seeing as I only have maybe 30-60 people who view this blog there is a reasonable chance that you just might win a book. If this is successful (wholly to be determined by me) than I’ll do it every month or so.

PS – don’t be a dick and require a bunch of legalese gobbley-gook or this will go away and you’ll never get your book!

PPS – I’ll pay shipping.

 

 

What is Di Mortui Sunt all About?

Di Mortui Sunt is my personal blog and it shows, the things I write about here are varied and mostly unrelated.  In an attempt to perhaps focus the blog on a specific topic and to satisfy my own curiosity I visited Wordle and had a Word Cloud made of my blog, (it’s that image up there, at the top.  The one that looks like a large grouping, or cloud, of words) two things happened as a result of this:  I found a really fun new font, coolvetica, that I will be using in documents; and two, that I write mostly about games.

The question is do I want Di Mortui Sunt to be a blog about videogaming?  As much fun as that sounds I don’t see myself contributing much to the discussion, when there are really excellent gaming blogs out there (Gamespite, Dubious Quality, Gamasutra, oh, and my own Gamestooge to name only a few) who are taking the hobby seriously.   Okay, so gaming isn’t what this site is about, what about writing?  I’ve posted my writing here and I’ve certainly talked about it here.  Since, writing is important, as is the written word, I think it’s safe to say that they are apart of what Di Mortui Sunt is.  I’ve talked about government here as well and I’ll continue to do so, as I’m involved in it at a professional level and I won’t be able to get around it

I think that I’d like to see Di Mortui Sunt have more focus.  I’m writing for myself here, but I’d like to have what I say be of some use to those who read it, even if they take nothing more from it but a smile.  Since, I’m lacking inspiration now, besides making this a blog about the lack of Gods, (the title up there says “the Gods are dead” in Latin) and everyone know we have a overabundance of atheist blogs and sites.  I’ll ask you dear reader what you think?   Perhaps a blog about being spiritual without being religious?  Or attempted at living authentically in an inauthentic culture?  Or maybe I should just rant here about the black helicopters, Glenn Beck and Area 51?  Let me know in the comments.

I’m going to keep writing about games and other things but I think I’ll find a new place to do so.

EDIT:  Light colors on a white background doesn’t work very well does it, click for the full-sized image and things will be easier to read

EDIT: I re-named the blog on 8/1/11 to False(B)logic

Tuesday Share (late) for July 21, 2009

Collection of links to stories and odd things I enjoyed over the last week.

I need to get the hang of writing postsbeforehand andscheduling them for later release so they don’t all tumble out at once and then the site goes dead for awhile until I’m able to update again.  I have a lot of great links.  I’m thinking these linking posts are getting boring.  Does anyone who reads the blog find any of the stories I put up here interesting?  Would a themed post be better, or should I simply eliminate them? 

Ok, let the random linking begin!

I’m a sucker for video games and pixel art and this post combines both so it showing up here was almost guaranteed.  Darkstalkers was one of numerous SF2 clones that Capcom made, the games only claim to fame was basing all the fighters on horror staples like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, etc…

Follow this link to see the Penn and Teller Bullshit episode on video game violence.  Penn and Teller are libertarians and I don’t agree with some of the things they say but it is always interesting.

It appears this post already has a theme: video games, and this next link fits in with it as well.  Microsoft is rebooting the Mechwarrior franchise and part of the marketing campaign they’ll be releasing Mechwarrior 4 and its expansions, for free, to begin promoting.

I was going to post a link to the story of the US soldier who doesn’t think President Obama is a citizen of the United States of America and so doesn’t have to take orders from him, but these “birthers” are getting way too much attention form the media which only legitimizes they’re special brand of insane, so I won’t be linking to it and no one else should either.  They people should be shunned and humiliated not giving the spotlight.

A short interesting piece on climate warming and the arguments made against the United States enacting any law or provision that might reduce the use of fuels that contribute to it.  The gist of it is if the USA is worried about other countries not following in our footsteps by simply refusing to provide funding for dirty power plants.  Obviously this issue is more complicated than that but the post is a good jumping off point.

There are too many myths about the Star Spangled Banner (which are in good company with the scores of other myths and distortions about the birth of the United States)  all of which are busted by Ed Darrell from Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub.

Mediums get busted on this BBC show, I don’t know anything about it I just found the “mediums” so bad and transparant, and the dupe so funny.

Again, let me know if this is part of the blog you’d like to see continue or if you don’t bother reading them.

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