For Good Weather, Call Jenny

Excellent!

It’s so cold!!! But at least the weather has Jenny’s number. pic.twitter.com/CRQlRytWWr

— John Haydon (@johnhaydon) January 4, 2018

(Tip of the cap to Bruno Gonçalves.)

Eclipses Go Meta

Good. Something is right in the world. (Also, I strongly approve of this!)

"Total Eclipse of the Heart" during the total solar eclipse? Bonnie Tyler will perform her hit during the eclipse. https://t.co/G8ouPpTmeM pic.twitter.com/cOYJ20ryrx

— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) August 16, 2017

(Tip of the cap to several people for this news. I got the tweet from Cathy O'Neil.)

Awesome UK Location Names

When it comes to naming locations, the UK definitely wins big!

Take this "Brokenwind"... (and learn to name again?)

Map of the #UK's weirdest place names.https://t.co/q4M1qbnOgo pic.twitter.com/hVVNBEfP4y

— Randy Olson (@randal_olson) November 11, 2016

RIP Pete Burns (1959–2016)

Pete Burns, lead singer of the band Dead Or Alive, has died of cardiac arrest.

Years from now, if somebody does something that Pete Burns doesn't like, we will say that he would be spinning right 'round in his grave.

(Tip of the cap to Scott Porter.)

Rick Astley for U.K. Prime Minister?

The reason is obvious, isn't it?

(Tip of the cap to Alan Champneys.)

Ready Player One

I just finished reading Ready Player One (which several people told me to read during the past few years, given the prominent role that 80s pop and gaming culture play in the game).

It was fun, I spent some quality time geeking out, and the book stands out very well on its own as a novel (which is crucial, because allusions by themselves can't fully carry a novel). The 80s pop and gaming culture did help, though!

Columbus, Ohio plays an important role in the book, and I just so happened (without planning it) to read almost all of the book while in Columbus.

(By the way, just about all of the musical references were too mainstream, and the author messed up the lyrics from the Howard Jones song.)

Headline: "Old Mice Drinking Champagne Three Times A Week Navigate Labyrinths Better"

A new article in IFLS reports that mice taking champaign supplements seem to perform better at navigating a labyrinth. This leads to an obvious follow-up research question: do they also start dancing the magic dance?

Alphaville's "Strange Attractor"

I am going to have a field day with Alphaville's new album, likely called "Strange Attractor", as it opens the door for numerous jokes that combine 80s music with math and physics. At minimum, I'm sure it will be big in Japan.

Tracing the History of "Tom's Diner"

Well, clearly after seeing an article about the history of the song "Tom's Diner", I feel compelled to bring it up here.

Also see the brief comment on Suzanne Vega's website.

Pixels (Long) and Pixels (Short)

I just saw the big-screen movie Pixels (which I previously blogged about). It was fun and nostalgic, though of course very cheesy (no surprise), and it was not the disaster I was worried that it might be. I also just re-watched the short 2010 "film" Pixels (which clocks in at 2 minutes and 34 seconds), which is just as awesome now as it was five years ago. (I also previously blogged about this short film.)

The big-screen Pixels had some very nice bits of nostalgia (and good homages), though its use of a time-capsule of 1982 arcade action has an anachronism with Tetris. It also has some picky points that it got wrong --- for example, a power pellet in Pac-Man lasting way too long for how high a level was being shown. (It is also very conveniently ignored the fact that Donkey Kong has patterns by simply pretending that it doesn't.) The character Q*Bert amused me on a couple of points, such as being there to dodge barrels amidst a level of Donkey Kong. And also the litter at the end.

For some movies that are both awesome and bring out major nostalgia for 1980s video games, I highly recommend The King of Kong and (obviously) Wreck-It Ralph. I previously blogged about The King of Kong, but I couldn't find a blog entry about Wreck-It Ralph, so I assume I didn't do it. (I blog much less often about movies than I used to --- even when they're awesome. Wreck-It Ralph even included a theme song written by Buckner & Garcia! Now that made me feel really nostalgic!)

Water Phase Diagram: Stop, Collaborate, and Listen

Clearly, I need to use XKCD's water phase diagram the next time I am teaching statistical physics.

When my students are too loud, I'll tell them to stop, collaborate, and listen.

Also notice the really great pun at the bottom. I really love that!

What Happens in Brighton Stays in Brighton

Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be heading on the train to "Bright"on to attend the "Sun"belt conference on social network analysis! As you can see from the program, I helped organize a three-part session on multilayer networks.

Time to hang out with some of my sociologist peeps!

Here is an appropriate theme song for my trip.

Traveling Waves, the Royal Thai Navy, and "The Final Countdown"

The video below shows members of the Royal Thai Navy demonstrating traveling waves (and other wave phenomena) to the glorious sounds of "The Final Countdown" being played by a band!

I think my head just exploded.

amazing parademuhteşem bir geçit töreni

Posted by Mavi Kocaeli on Monday, April 6, 2015

(Tip of the cap to Improbable Research.)

Star Trekkin' Across the Journal Publications

That's write: The Firm's song "Star Trekkin'" may well be the most quoted song in scholarly journals. I certainly hope it is, because that would be awesome!

And if you are unfamiliar with this song, then you owe it to yourself to watch the music video on the other side of the link.

Over on the blog entry to which I linked above, reader JimBob points to Spock's quote about Organians: "Fascinating. Pure energy. Pure thought. Totally incorporeal. Not life as we know it at all."

And that is really awesome! Because that brings us back to music: "pure energy" is sampled in the song "What's on Your Mind" by Information Society. I didn't realize that that came from the same line as the modified version in "Star Trekkin'".

"99 Red Balloons" Covered with Red Balloons

Yup, yes it is.

(Tip of the cap to whoever posts for Nena on Facebook.)

For a Good Time, Call (Desmond) Jennings

Joe Maddon has decided to tip his cap to Tommy Tutone for the Ray's lineup tonight. I approve!

Well, technically, there are a few additional digits in the lineup and I don't remember '0' being used for the DH position before --- but points to Joe Maddon for doing this on purpose! That's the type of thing I would do. :)

Remember, the magic digits are 867-5309. And if you ever call that phone number --- no matter what timezone you're in --- make sure to ask for "Jenny".

(Tip of the cap to whoever posts for MLB on Facebook, though I didn't realize from their post that Joe Maddon did this on purpose. I am linking to a different article than the one from their post.)

"Let The Mystery Be"

One of the songs I have been enjoying the past few months is this absolutely lovely live cover of "Let the Mystery Be" by 10000 Maniacs and David Byrne. (I heard this cover version first. The original is good too --- I just bought it today --- but this cover is fantastic.)

Rock Tribute String Quartet

The Tribute String Quartet plays some very familiar songs, such as this one (hint: best. music video. ever.) I approve!

(Tip of the cap to whoever posts for A-Ha on Facebook.)

Costume of the Year

Newly retired pitcher Roy Halladay went to 1980s-themed costume party... dressed as Jamie Moyer. Now that's a big win!

(Tip of the cap to whoever posts for MLB on Facebook.)

What Happens in Barcelona Stays in Barcelona

Well, I finally made it to Barcelona. I have been meaning to go for several years, and I even was planning to go to a conference here a few years ago (but I was only given a poster presentation and --- under the circumstances of the initial e-mail response to my abstract when I submitted it --- it felt like a bait-and-switch, so I declined it). Now I am here for the 2013 European Conference on Complex Systems and for its associated satellite meetings. I have never gone to this conference series before, though some of my collaborators have previously presented our joint work at ECCS conferences. I already ran into Alex Vespignani at the hotel check-in desk, so I know I'm in the right place!

I was tempted to introduce this post with a Crystallian (as in Billy) fake European accent as a nod to a certain oral report I did in 7th grade on the city of Barcelona. The school year was 1988-89, and we chose Barcelona as our city on which to report because of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games for a presentation in Andrea Ambler's class. I think it was my idea --- not too creative, I admit. In our oral presentation (and in other presentations on other European cities), every single person used the same fake European accent --- no matter which European city was covered in their report. It was kind of ridiculous. (Is it too late to apologize for this past transgression? Now that I have several European friends, I feel like I owe them a retrospective apology for that oral report.) And for those of you who don't know what that "European" accent sounds like, let's just say that it's simply marvelous. In summary: My group's 7th-grade report on a European city was on Barcelona, our collective notion of a European accent (for all countries) was Billy Crystal, and this series of oral reports must have been extremely painful to watch (and, especially, to listen to) for anybody in the room who had any knowledge at all about Europe. Those were the days.

Update (7/01/14): I think I forgot to post my pictures from Barcelona.