tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68579015483498768072024-03-05T00:00:23.677-08:00Boy Book ClubA blog for the literate middle aged man with the interests of an 11 year old boy.Andrew Boieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208956500198492329noreply@blogger.comBlogger252125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-32174733648104129662019-05-31T14:09:00.000-07:002019-05-31T14:09:32.577-07:00King Rat wants YOU!"<a href="https://www.insider.com/disneyland-hiring-stormtroopers-for-star-wars-galaxys-edge-2019-5">Disneyland is Hiring Stormtroopers</a>." The Star Wars kind. What else do you need to know?<br />
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<a href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/92/25/cd/9225cd08ef9c7d6c618befb4e861e7af.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/92/25/cd/9225cd08ef9c7d6c618befb4e861e7af.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />Mike Boydstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10997179653011664484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-90737574961291615852019-02-20T05:33:00.001-08:002019-02-20T05:33:50.311-08:00Fencing for the MassesCertain BBCers may find <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/02/20/lightsaber-dueling-officially-becomes-recognized-by-french-fencing-federation/?utm_term=.17cc34dac7b8">this decision</a> by the French Fencing Federation of interest.Drogon Saurischianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05315880895797242687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-42400838766873281232018-11-13T08:43:00.003-08:002018-11-28T08:07:08.426-08:00Star Wars at the Library of CongressHere's the video (with closed captioning available!) of the panel discussion I did in September on the politics of Star Wars at the Library of Congress. Definitely a career peak.<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WykUee_c06E" width="560"></iframe>
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Seth Maskethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17178036016555722068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-11265021653089437782018-08-30T19:25:00.001-07:002018-08-30T19:26:38.659-07:00Greatest headline ever?The New Yorker spotted this one a while back in one of its local rivals; I’ve just taken a while to post it. But I think we can all agree that this is timeless. And now that I think about it, the first sentence is even better than the headline: “<a href="https://nypost.com/2015/10/14/meerkat-expert-in-love-triangle-assaulted-monkey-handler-with-wine-glass/">A former meerkat expert at London Zoo has been ordered to pay compensation to a monkey handler she attacked with a wine glass in a love spat over a llama-keeper.</a>”Mike Boydstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10997179653011664484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-51620826479898124472018-07-24T16:49:00.001-07:002018-07-24T16:51:55.134-07:00NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!<a href="https://www.tor.com/2018/07/18/star-wars-holiday-special-remake/">“It’s time to remake the Star Wars Holiday Special.”</a>Mike Boydstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10997179653011664484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-66601043809159563792018-06-24T06:21:00.001-07:002018-06-24T06:21:42.431-07:00McSweeney's has a hilarious <a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/historical-new-york-times-tweets">historical review of the NYT's tweeting habits</a> dating well into the 19th Century. It's not that the NYT and its reporters and editors have failed to realize and thus call out that the Republican party has become a pack of radicalized hyenas lacking any coherent moral or political world view, it's that both-sides have always done it that way.Drogon Saurischianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05315880895797242687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-27041401095846801172018-06-22T14:41:00.005-07:002018-06-22T14:41:55.474-07:00Chewbaquaman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm not really sure what to say about this.</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zA9TVqw3QkZ5J8_LyWAfiDiaKZtK2aZiGhlEfk5FlveCRni0qsemLf1cbzChyql_b4PzxvjmfBwCkUDJvAmeQOy54Nedb9aUX-ZumXjseb-3baimMOd0c7lNV9ww9lhYyjKqzIroN58/s1600/chewbaquaman.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7zA9TVqw3QkZ5J8_LyWAfiDiaKZtK2aZiGhlEfk5FlveCRni0qsemLf1cbzChyql_b4PzxvjmfBwCkUDJvAmeQOy54Nedb9aUX-ZumXjseb-3baimMOd0c7lNV9ww9lhYyjKqzIroN58/s320/chewbaquaman.png" width="320" /></a>Drogon Saurischianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05315880895797242687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-22460961580844261442018-06-02T11:41:00.001-07:002018-06-02T11:41:53.295-07:00Cyberpunk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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An <a href="https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1002598573316247552" target="_blank">important reflection</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTem6l2S5g-RGQyS0G14VCtKm08qpd6x0U9W061DEq2yOzeSpyVU-l5TOppdUEnTCGbpuLmHmG9IKRg0Xl9VoMLg-bPo5EBxHLOMfstyZKMkuLk4sVsydAjLeUVSrT3RT5CjrV7bInEHt/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-06-02+at+2.38.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="551" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTem6l2S5g-RGQyS0G14VCtKm08qpd6x0U9W061DEq2yOzeSpyVU-l5TOppdUEnTCGbpuLmHmG9IKRg0Xl9VoMLg-bPo5EBxHLOMfstyZKMkuLk4sVsydAjLeUVSrT3RT5CjrV7bInEHt/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-06-02+at+2.38.16+PM.png" /></a></div>
<br />Seth Maskethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17178036016555722068noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-53592076356735399282018-05-17T13:16:00.001-07:002018-05-17T13:16:41.266-07:00Julie Fucking MontecristoDrew Magary is <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/white-baby-names-2018?mbid=social_twitter">on fire today</a>, literally (in the figurative sense of the word employed by my tween), taking white people to task for the terrible fucking names they choose for their children. Also, I may have just had a large iced coffee from a nearby coffee shop, so could easily turn this post into a 3000 word stream-of-conscious spew, so I had better put a period right here.Drogon Saurischianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05315880895797242687noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-78818780409281113542018-05-02T14:31:00.001-07:002018-05-02T14:31:23.257-07:00Star Wars narrated by Ron Howard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/o6XERmXsP-U/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o6XERmXsP-U?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00751286327072940087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-59796494010018362372018-05-01T09:23:00.001-07:002018-05-01T09:23:19.268-07:00Make your own Star Trek II scene in West Papua<a href="https://boingboing.net/2018/05/01/bbc-journalist-has-earwax-clea.html" target="_blank">BBC Journalist has Earwax Cleaned Out by Hungry Jungle Grub</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoyWOcErwb4gvWDTL8ZeHPfONJhczcOe3Mpoge2JxMatzTi-0l1XCu6a6sBYQ8CM6t2TnrRgkNjNEeRWwDlYU6N9rQ2lzuQX_TyHVrF7QBFFSsF9pf9-hZ_ZjfbqhLyfWpwa4BuOubJA/s1600/FnBTD0UY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="600" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoyWOcErwb4gvWDTL8ZeHPfONJhczcOe3Mpoge2JxMatzTi-0l1XCu6a6sBYQ8CM6t2TnrRgkNjNEeRWwDlYU6N9rQ2lzuQX_TyHVrF7QBFFSsF9pf9-hZ_ZjfbqhLyfWpwa4BuOubJA/s320/FnBTD0UY.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00751286327072940087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-19812027933101468372018-04-12T20:27:00.000-07:002018-04-12T20:27:25.037-07:00RP1 triviaGood meeting last night. This might conceivably bear on the whole gatekeeping discussion, but mostly I just think it's a great, cool design: The Ready Player One logo is also a maze.<br />
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(Incidentally, I learned this in a random two-minute dive into Twitter, from <a href="https://twitter.com/Signalnoise/status/983777426198204417">this post</a>. So there's that.)<br />
<br />Mike Boydstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10997179653011664484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-19337053735982861042018-04-05T18:47:00.003-07:002018-04-05T18:47:47.697-07:00Name of the Year BracketHoly crap, <a href="http://www.nameoftheyear.com/">these are funny</a>. And apparently all real. Dr. Narwhals Mating seems like the odds-on favorite, but I really like Gandalf Hernandez too.<br />
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Speaking of which, I haven't watched <a href="https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/4/17198246/hobbit-movies-what-went-wrong">A good look at how the Hobbit movies got so bad</a> yet, but it looks worth digging into.Mike Boydstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10997179653011664484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-73690936496652936822018-03-22T08:56:00.000-07:002018-03-22T08:56:13.806-07:00Honest Trailers - Every Wes Anderson Movie (I mean, Film)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/trWLY6NrS2Q/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/trWLY6NrS2Q?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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This hits close to the bone.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00751286327072940087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-84218409004306192312018-03-19T11:07:00.000-07:002018-03-19T11:07:04.728-07:00John Oliver on Blockchain, Bitcoin, etc.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g6iDZspbRMg/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g6iDZspbRMg?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00751286327072940087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-76902662763044577112018-03-16T12:02:00.000-07:002018-03-16T12:02:11.833-07:00Just in CaseA <a href="http://rustyandco.com/extras/magicitemgenerator/">Magic Item Generator</a> just in case you run out of ideas while playing D&D or some such. For example, this could be a very useful magic item:<br /><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center" background="http://rustyandco.com/extras/magicitemgenerator/itemname.png" height="79" width="377"><span class="item_name" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 20px;"><b>Jittering Shuriken of the Gorilla </b></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align="center" background="http://rustyandco.com/extras/magicitemgenerator/itemdescription.png" height="185" width="377"><span class="item_description" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 18px;">This lightly-vibrating set of 10 throwing stars grants the user exceptional strength whenever a star hits a target. It can convert up to one gallon of water into espresso, once per day.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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FREE COFFEE!!!!</div>
Drogon Saurischianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05315880895797242687noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-37946019641976404422018-03-06T11:38:00.002-08:002018-03-06T11:38:19.353-08:00You are SO old.The final episode of The Wire aired ten years ago, today. Here's <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/mar/06/the-wire-10-years-on-we-tore-the-cover-off-a-city-and-showed-the-american-dream-was-dead?CMP=fb_gu">a nice retrospective</a> from The Guardian that even those of us who have only seen two episodes can appreciate.Drogon Saurischianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05315880895797242687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-67589769712090225942018-02-07T20:37:00.003-08:002018-02-07T20:37:47.326-08:00Demonic cookware is funny<a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/faq-your-new-cursed-instant-pot">FAQ: Your New Cursed Instant Pot</a>Mike Boydstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10997179653011664484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-69198132234330222062018-02-06T20:27:00.002-08:002018-02-06T20:27:34.469-08:00Ok, I admit it, I am worried.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKea4nxllxOQ9hDMxNDcDQI5mo-CcTX1jNplWAb5LA7mZ09sKGBUMXrCZAK5UuwF-REZ-sEZp_ch9xqTApjaFsTUSWvJ96fRZcm5ldMKRIRhU5kiDSGAwM2ZqjRTQLVoTCUWeKypdBLSRb/s1600/Solo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="731" data-original-width="1347" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKea4nxllxOQ9hDMxNDcDQI5mo-CcTX1jNplWAb5LA7mZ09sKGBUMXrCZAK5UuwF-REZ-sEZp_ch9xqTApjaFsTUSWvJ96fRZcm5ldMKRIRhU5kiDSGAwM2ZqjRTQLVoTCUWeKypdBLSRb/s400/Solo.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The new "Solo" trailer is making me nervous, mainly because I'm not buying the new guy as Han Solo. It is getting away from authentic Han Solo, like for example in this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_xJqkzngBI">wonderful video.</a> On a similar note, this is one of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKSp1dVTrYk">strangest things I have ever seen.</a> Enjoy.Andrew Boieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208956500198492329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-76723232349938682872017-11-03T11:53:00.002-07:002017-11-03T11:55:54.652-07:00Time Travel Mechanisms and Logic in Film<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A brief comparison of various time travel mechanisms and logic in film. Happy Friday and Happy First Post to me.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d3zTfXvYZ9s/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d3zTfXvYZ9s?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Adding video link since video does not appear in email.<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3zTfXvYZ9s">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3zTfXvYZ9s</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00751286327072940087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-23413038558461092082017-10-30T20:00:00.003-07:002017-10-30T20:00:29.638-07:00Artisanal Coffee Flavor Profiles Brought to You By MetallicaMeaning, of course, <a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/artisanal-coffee-flavor-profiles-brought-to-you-by-metallica">Artisanal Coffee Flavor Profiles Brought to You By Metallica</a>.Mike Boydstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10997179653011664484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-44139702056202010692017-10-20T08:00:00.002-07:002017-10-20T11:13:10.455-07:00Damn you, Tolkien, you're no James Hutton.<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tor.com has a couple of great, super-nerdy articles on the faulty geology of Tolkien's map of Middle-earth. The money quote in my opinion:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Tolkien’s novels have had a massive influence on epic fantasy as a genre, his map is the bad fantasy map that launched a thousand bad fantasy maps..."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, with that introduction, here's the links.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.tor.com/2017/08/01/tolkiens-map-and-the-messed-up-mountains-of-middle-earth/">Tolkien's Map and the Messed Up Mountains of Middle-Earth</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.tor.com/2017/10/10/tolkiens-map-and-the-perplexing-river-systems-of-middle-earth/">Tolkien's Map and the Perplexing River Systems of Middle-earth</a><br />
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As a bonus, the author, apparently a geologist by training and a fantasy buff by avocation, has given us an article on the geology of desert planets. Yee-haw!<br />
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<a href="https://www.tor.com/2017/05/22/arrakis-tatooine-and-the-science-of-desert-planets/">Arrakis, Tatooine, and the Science of Desert Planets</a><br />
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-- Everett<br />
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<b>Post-script: </b>Oh my, the comments are a wonder to behold.Drogon Saurischianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05315880895797242687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-78889865609093825592017-09-21T11:32:00.001-07:002017-09-21T11:32:33.904-07:00Tru-baccaPerhaps we should invite <a href="https://twitter.com/garyhe/status/910514331665788930">the gentleman on the left</a> to visit our book club.Drogon Saurischianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05315880895797242687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-31243606533867415332017-09-06T09:07:00.001-07:002017-09-06T09:07:06.254-07:00September Book Club?When is it, where is it? The book itself is super duper awesome which, as all you readers unversed in the terms of art bandied about by us lawyer types, means that I enjoyed it immensely. If the weather is nice, I volunteer my back patio for our meeting. We finally have a space that's worth meeting in...Drogon Saurischianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05315880895797242687noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6857901548349876807.post-50849154289607918622017-07-06T11:19:00.000-07:002017-07-06T11:19:03.900-07:00The Political Message of the Star Wars Holiday Special<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFOODVCcHohiduZa-ZrlU-ZzWy8Ql7geR8DhUoxckpUlKLqUJzv6HyV4ZNPAJ7cPH1YbG2QfCzdJFRUEEsL8Fl75EVU2aS8aLWxYrvMD_IVUqM2A4Qol7HbHPGDbJiO6ex1G0RYMyQfo0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-12-03+at+12.18.31+PM.png.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="640" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFOODVCcHohiduZa-ZrlU-ZzWy8Ql7geR8DhUoxckpUlKLqUJzv6HyV4ZNPAJ7cPH1YbG2QfCzdJFRUEEsL8Fl75EVU2aS8aLWxYrvMD_IVUqM2A4Qol7HbHPGDbJiO6ex1G0RYMyQfo0/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-12-03+at+12.18.31+PM.png.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Okay, I finally <a href="https://www.vox.com/mischiefs-of-faction/2017/7/6/15925310/star-wars-holiday-special-entertainment-tyranny" target="_blank">wrote up my thoughts</a> on the Star Wars Holiday Special and its message about the fragility of democracy. Hope you enjoy!Seth Maskethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17178036016555722068noreply@blogger.com2