I’ve been wanting to blog about this fantastic web-comic for a long time. Ever since my friend found it on the web, I have been wasting a copious amount of time browsing through its archives (I still haven’t finished reading them). Though minimalist in appearance, the contents of XKCD hit every spot in a nerd’s penchant… though I like to consider myself a very different type of nerd from those who dress up for Matrix, read all the Star Wars novels or learn Klingon. Filled with hilariously esoteric jokes spanning fields of physics, chemistry, high-level mathematics (like cryptography), Linux computing, programming, and web design, XKCD is the ultimate website for those who enjoy the “hey I get that joke!” moments.
Until I stumbled on the site, I had no idea that over the 24 years of my life, I have acquired ridiculously obscure skill & knowledge sets (the only jokes I don’t get are the Linux ones…and it’s making me want to learn it). Granted, I majored in chemistry and minored in math, and I do web design now, but bully, am I a nerd.
The above was one of my favorites from its archives, expanding on a hopelessly esoteric subject of SQL injection. Also, make sure to read the mouseover texts (or as web designers call them, “title” attributes).
Dooly is a beloved cartoon character from my native Korea. He is a dinosaur from space that crash-landed on earth, forever on search for a way to get back to his mother. I was bored the other day and got on my WACOM, thinking about painting a scenery like I usually do. Once I started painting green, though, I ended up painting a serious-looking version of Dooly before I knew it.
I have listened to a fair share of Japanese rock in my life, but recently I have been obsessed with this song, titled “Koe (trans: voice)” by the Back Horn. The song is pure genius, with very heavy, catchy riffs, melodic leads and coal-truck-driving dynamics. While the music scene in the West has been sucked dry by trance-pop and rap (with exceptions to bands like Wolfmother and the Tragically Hip), it is great to see Asia getting back into the bare-bones rock ‘n’ roll in the 21st century. Bands like Jang Giha and the Faces (funk/folk) in Korea and Tokyo Jihen (jazz-influenced heavy rock) in Japan have gained immense popularity, keeping me in my Asian music phase a little too long this time. So come on, you originators of rock ‘n’ roll, let’s go back to the good old days of unprocessed music.
