Idlermag.com

December 19-23, 2011

It’s almost Christmas, but we’re not quite there yet, so there’s still time to wish that it were Christmas today. Mike Vincent does in “Christmas pinnacles”

The Casual Gamer rather perversely prides himself on being behind the curve, so if you’re shopping for the video game player who always seems to be playing catch-up, or if you’re just trying to catch up on some last-minute ideas, check out his end of the year “Casual Gamer Wishlist”

Sarah Pavis isn’t looking for something brainy, she’s just looking for something to keep her occupied before she hits the road for the holidays. Enter Limitless, in which Bradley Cooper first pretends to be slovenly, and then pretends to be really smart. Read “Limitless: A movie where some things happen”

You can’t just watch the movie, you need to read the book, especially when you work in a bookstore. Except sometimes when the movie is a 10 hour miniseries. And the book is 864 pages. And the six volumes that follow are even longer. Read “Watching the book” by Kelly Hannon, before the film comes out.

The connections between food and family are indelible but not immutable. Sometimes the difference between the two can be as simple as a loaf of garlic bread. Read “Garlic bread” by Gavin Craig

December 12-16, 2011

Kevin Mattison is a man who spends a lot of time sitting in the dark, but he sheds some light on his end-of-the-year desires in his “Cinephiles Wishlist”

Kelly Hannon loves bookstores — she works in one — and she loves Netflix and Hulu. What then to make of Amazon.com’s recent promotion which effectively turned ordinary consumers into operatives against their local brick-and-mortar bookstores in return for a 5% credit? Read “Ambivalently anti-Amazon”

While the scientific evidence backing up the severity of the long-term impact of repeated had trauma in sports seems to be growing, there’s a lot left to be sorted out. Yael Borofsky argues that while it’s true that any action that the NHL takes on head trauma will be a policy decision and not a scientific one, the time for action is still now. Read “What science doesn’t say about head trauma”

Like a lot of people, when Netflix split up (and increased prices for) streaming and DVD subscriptions, Sarah Werner went streaming-only. There are a few things that you can only watch on disc, and Sarah makes some recommendations in “Going back to the disc”

Jason Segel may be able to get the Muppets back together, but he can’t take them home again. Ana Holguin gives you a tour of her (and their) postmodern crisis in “Where have all the Muppets gone?”

The Friendly Foodie apparently has a bit of a sweet tooth at the end of the year. Check out his wishlist (which really isn’t about food at all) in “The Friendly Foodie’s Wishlist”

Hockey is clearly the sport best suited to the winter holidays, and Yael Borofsky drops the end-of-the-year puck in her “Over the Boards Wishlist”

One of the burdens of growing up is the office holiday party. Jill Kolongowski steers you past the common obstacles (or at least lets you know that they’re there) in “Holiday party food and foibles: grown-up edition”