You know that problem where the new year comes and you’re still writing the old year on paperwork? I never did that until this year, except instead of “2008,” I started writing “2007.” I think I subconsciously lump all the odd years together, in a bag labeled “strange, unpredictable, maybe a little boring.” Conversely, an even-numbered year seems new and exciting on its face. It’s not a tangible thing, just the way numbers “feel” in the recesses of my brain. Last year, 2008, was an awesome year for me, and it had nothing but even digits in it. For the next 11 years, though, we’re stuck with an odd digit in there somewhere. Try to persevere.

Geek Out

Hurricanes and matchsticks. The central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library (Grand Army Plaza) an exhibit of Josh Neufeld’s A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, a graphic-novel retelling of six personal stories from Hurricane Katrina. Based in Brooklyn, Neufeld published A.D. on the web in 2007; it’s expected to hit print later this year. Tomorrow is the exhibit’s last day, so get a closer look at the work of a talented independent illustrator while you can.

Scratching an entirely different geek itch at the same library is an exhibit of match memorabilia. That’s all I know; the description on the library’s site reads, in full, “Got a Light? From the collections of Larry Cole and Joe DeGennaro: A collection of matches and match memorabilia dating from the turn of the century right up to the present.” I like to see collections of things most people would never think to collect. I mean, what is “match memorabilia”? Is that a fancy name for matchboxes, or do people commemorate matches?

Geek In

Go w young man. Recently, after reviewing award-winning text adventures Violet and Everybody Dies (pictured above), my A.V. Club colleague said he’d like to create his own interactive-fiction game in 2009. Sounds like a good project to start on a cold, windy weekend. You can download the games that won 2008’s Interactive Fiction Competition from the contest site (which also has info on the interpreters you’ll need to play them). Most of them are a quick play. Then, if you’d like to author your own adventure, Dennis Jerz has a bunch of resources to get you going.