Music: Genius

We are always looking for new and better ways to find new music recommendations, so we were thrilled when we first stumbled across the Genius feature in iTunes a few months ago. It works fairly well, and comes free with the iTunes software on our computer, and the software on our mother's iPhone!

Genius takes the song that you are currently listening to and opens up a world of possibilities. It recommends songs from your library that are similar to the song you are currently listening to, and also recommends songs that you can buy (With one quick click!). It works pretty well too, we're quite impressed!


Quick vote: We have been asked recently about where we get all of our ideas for great music. Although we get tons of great recommendations from readers, friends, and family; we have to give some serious props to Genius. It's genius!

Book: Falling For Science: Objects in Mind by Sherry Turkle

For once, we got started early on this month's book club book, Falling For Science: Objects in Mind edited by Sherry Turkle. Turkle is a professor at MIT who has been collecting essays for years from her students and has taken the best from the last several decades and put them together into this book.

When young children are first discovering their world, there is a huge opportunity for them to be impacted by their surroundings and the apparently simple objects that occupy their wold. These essays are about how simple childhood interactions with objects have the potential to inspire generations of future scientists, engineers, or geniuses.


Quick vote: This is an awesome collection of essays. They have inspired us to go to MIT and get a degree in canine science.

Blog: Evil Beet Gossip

We like to think that we're not very interested in following celebrity gossip. We would like to think that, but unfortunately that's not the case. We have been following Evil Beet Gossip on a suggestion from our Aunt Didi, and enjoying their bitter rantings about celebrities and their pathetic, and somehow fascinating, lives. We don't pretend to understand it, but we still find ourselves tuning in...

"ARGGGGGGH!

Haven’t these two realized yet that they’re poison for each other?

The buzz is that Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson are together yet again. They spent Sunday at Owen’s Malibu home, chilling with Kate’s son, Ryder."

--Kate and Owen Back On? You Have Got To Be Kidding Me.

Quick vote: We like this blog. It's ridiculous, and yet still pretty funny.

Movie: The Duchess

We have a love for period piece romances with Kiera Knightley, so of course we had to pick up The Duchess as soon as it came out on DVD (Or Blu-Ray). The scenery and rooms are beautiful and the costumes are bizarre and elaborate, everything you could want from a Victorian England movie.

Kiera Knightley plays Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire; a real historical figure known for her beauty, political clout, and fashion sense. She marries the Duke at a young age and tries her best to give him a male heir while he is repeatedly unfaithful. She spends her whole life searching for what really matters, looking for love and satisfaction in a wild and beautiful world.


Quick vote: This movie is pretty much exactly what you would expect. But we love it, and so will you if you liked great movies like Pride and Prejudice.

Video Games: Little Big Planet

We have a Playstation 3, which we mostly use for watching Blu-Rays and DVD's, but occasionally we will play a game on it, which we've been doing lately. Little Big Planet is an entirely unique game full of creativity and discovery, an incredible game that we wholeheartedly endorse.

You are a sackperson named SackBoy and you explore a world where you run and jump and pull and fly. The world is fairly two-dimensional, not unlike the SuperMario type games, and yet has astounding depth. You can create levels, decorate your person, and design your world.


Quick vote: Alright we get it, it's really hard to explain this game, but trust us: it's awesome! If you've got a Playstation 3, rent or buy it for a great time!

Music: Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust by Sigur Ros

We have been listening to Sigur Ros for a long time, since ( ) was released. They are a funky band from Iceland (who unsurprisingly sing in Icelandic) who break away from their usual routine in this new cd and dive deep into the acoustic realm. We love this music and have no problem with the fact that we can't understand any of the lyrics. In fact, there is an English song on this cd, and we don't really care for it. The lyrics are captivating, the melodies delicate, and the music mystifying. A great cd to listen to while reading an epic book or working on an intricate project.


Quick vote: No doubt about it, this is a weird album. And yet, we love it.

Books: The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff

We just finished January's book club selection (and not a moment too soon because the meeting is this Wednesday) and can review it for our mother to share at her club that we're not invited too. Perhaps we will start a doggie book club! Yeah, that will show her to not invite us! Anyway, the selection this month was a book called The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff; a book about love, family, home towns, ancestry, and real live monsters!

Running away from a disastrous affair with her archeology professor, Willie Upton arrives in her home town needing some R&R but instead she finds that a 50-foot-long monster has floated up from the local lake, her mother has abandoned her hippie ways and found Jesus, and that her father is not a random man from a hippie commune but a man from Templeton whom she has known all her life. She uses her archeology skills to dig into history to find out who her father is, while unearthing things about Templeton and its members that intended to remain buried. This is a great story and a cool read. Lauren Groff has included 'family portraits' and ancestral trees that lend the novel an air of authenticity.


Quick vote: This is one of the best books we've read in a while. It was different, it was interesting, and it was a great read!