Just Finished: The Elegant Universe

Great book, but not as convincing as I had hoped. (Loved the Nova series, though Five stars to that.)

 

 

 

On page 278, Green says "Of course, the after-the-fact agreement was only marginally convincing. When you know the answer you want, it is all too easy to figure out a way of getting it." That's the way I feel about this book's arguments in general. Too many times scientists were faced with insurmountable theoretical problems that were easily fixed, for example, by adding dimensions to the framework. Dimensions, I might add, that can't be seen, can't be proved, can't be expiramentally confirmed, but (wonder of wonders!) completely validate all this theory we couldn't make work before!

 

I wish I was a scientist, so I could evaluate this book's arguments as a scientist. But until I am, I must remain unconvinced.

 

The Rochester Reader

Relaunch: Coming Soon

The Rochester Reader will be relaunched soon, with a renewed dedication to regular publishing.

Sorry, eveyone. Work is killing me.

Now Reading: Twilight

I just love Bella Swan. She's dreamy. And that Edward Cullen, he makes my loins ache. But nothing can compare to that man-beast Jacob. Also, Anna Kendrick is kinda cute.

One of the preceeding statements was true. Enjoy the day, everybody.

Spring is in the Air...

"It was nice standing out in the darkness, in the damp grass, with spring coming on and a feeling in my heart of imminent disaster."

-Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon (A good book, but a great movie.)

Pardon the Interruption

Still here. Like I had been saying, the busy season is definitely upon us at work. Most days I get home and just want to go to bed. The alarm starts and it is time to make the doughnuts again. As it turns out, even reading a short story every week was an ambitous goal.

I finished Warren Ellis' Planetary (again). I started a review, but I am waiting to post it until it is finished. In the meantime, I am (slowly) finishing Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card. And I recently picked up a new book called Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages by Tom Holt. It was in the science fiction section, and it is billed as "a comedy of transdimensional tomfoolery" but I have a feeling that categorization is not entirely accurate.

Keep reading, people, and I will return to a more regular schedule soon enough.

rr

Chess, Revisited

So I picked up Yasser Seirawan's book on Chess Tactics, and I just can't get into it. I'm trying to wrap my head around X-Rays and Windmills, but man, I'm just not getting it. Forks and Pins, sure, no problem. Discovered Attacks and Skewers, okay, sure, in theory. But X-Rays? I don't get it.

So I think I'm going to stick with Planetary tonight.  I'm 25/27 of the way to the end, so with a little luck, I may finish it tonight. Sure, it's not the first time I've read it. But it is the first time I've read it lately. And it is pretty satisfying to see Elijah Snow stick it to Randall Dowling. More of that later though, when I can do a proper review.

+++++

"And so it was that I studied with the world's greatest detective for five years, until he finally died of old age. To his disgust, I never got rid of the accent in his lifetime. It took another ten years of walking across the world to do that. But I never lost my love of the secrets. And I don't think I ever will."

Elijah Snow
Planetary by Warren Ellis

+++++

That's it for tonight. Now go read something already!
rr

Thunderblizzard 2011

Hello, fellow readers.

Thunderblizzard 2011 really set my blogging back. I'm still reading Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card and Warren Ellis' Planetary (regular Volume 4, or Absolute Volume 2, take your pick). I'm also still reading The Stand by Uncle Stevie - man I miss his Entertainment Weekly column - but haven't picked it up this month yet. Which is OK, since I'm ahead of my pace.

I meant to write something while I was snowbound, but chose to indulge in (the demon) television instead, watching episodes of Invasion (episode 9) and Battlestar Galactica ("Scar") instead. I was going to watch Sherlock from the BBC, but my copy of the dvd seems to be all screwey. I suppose I could have read one of Doyle's originals instead, but I was dozing and fell asleep early anyway.

Watch this space for new posts. I may write something as early as tonight. The worst case scenario is that I post something new this weekend.

Now go read something today already...

The Chessmaster

There is a common misbelief, a cliché if you will, that smart people play chess. Well, I'm not a dumb person, and I play chess...

Coincidence? I think not.

...poorly. In fact, I'm probably pretty bad. I've owned one or two chess programs for various platforms, and I try to learn, but I consistantly lose to opponents who are supposed to be significantly below my station. My brother beats me nearly every time we play, which is not often, and the times I have played online at Yahoo.com I'm usually pretty soundly beat by my opponent.  And before Quietly Disgruntled says, "yes, but you always beat me," I assure you it's a fluke. I'm pretty sure I don't even know how the pieces are actually supposed to move.

I have a few books about chess, most of them by Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan. They are pretty good. Well organized, easy to understand. I don't know if I just don't retain the information or what.

Well, I just received a new program and a new platform, so I'm going to try again. Maybe this time I will actually learn a thing or two. So I guess I leave you with this thought: do you play chess? And if so, have you ever tried to learn about the game, and put that knowledge to use? I look forward to what you have to say in the comments.

PS - Congratulations to my Trivia Team. We played at the Firefighter's Lake Club on Saturday, scoring 87 points (out of 100) and coming in 6th place (out of 37 or so)! Well, it was a disappointment not to win it all, but we gave it our best shot, and a good time was had by all. Go get 'em next time!

Quote of the Week

“Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one.”

Relativity author Albert Einstein

1,000

...or, Wednesday's Post, postponed.

First, congratulations to True Grit, Inception and Toy Story 3 for earning a boatload of Academy Award nominations yesterday. Of course, I reviewed True Grit here and had a thing or two to say about Inception here. I like it when the movies I've seen are the ones recognized by the people in the industry as being exceptional, and while I'd have to think pretty hard about it to be sure...I was going to say that was 100% of the films I saw this year, but after thinking about it, those are only half the films I saw this year. I did see at least three others. (Despicable Me, Megamind and Tangled, if you are keeping score. The Junior Reader [age, 4] picks most of our films.)

Second, I read something very, very interesting yesterday over at one of my favorite websites, io9.com. While I've mostly focused on books, I read just about anything made out of letters forming words that barely qualify as English.

Case in point.

Anyway the aforementioned website has been going nuts on Battlestar Galactica this week, the groundbreaking tv drama that aired on Sci Fi Channel from 2003 to 2010. On Tuesday, they posted the series bible for BSG. It was a really neat read, and anyone who is interested in how tv is produced, and especially anyone who liked Galactica should give it a read. (Anyone who hasn't seen the whole show beginning to end probably shouldn't read it, IMHO. Too Spoilery.)

I'm not going to go into anything spoilerific here, either, but let's just say that when you read a couple of the character sketches, it's a little disappointing where their character arcs ultimately led.

It is a complete rebuke of everything wrong with Science Fiction on tv in 2003, namely the Star Trek legacy shows. (The original still kicks @$$ when you look at it in the context of its time.)

The bible is good stuff in its entirety, though. Give it a read.

Finally, today The Rochester Reader is likely to surpass just (9:28 am CST) surpassed 1,000 visitors since I started it in November. Thanks for stopping by. I mean it. (Especially the 14 hits I received from Belize this week. Seriously.) It is humbling to think that that many people have ended up here, much less that anyone would enjoy themselves enough to come back!

Thank you! See you next time.

Now go read something today already!

rr

Wednesday's Post

Today's regularly scheduled post has been delayed until tomorrow. It seems someone ran into a telephone pole out near the house yesterday, and as a result our internet was down most of the day. In turn, I was unable (and frankly, after dealing with the phone company, not in the mood) to write up today's post. The topic is a good one though, and will appear in this space tomorrow.

In the meantime, (other than the blog) what was the last thing you read? It can be anything. Answers in the comments.

The last thing I read was an issue of DC's Starman from 1994. (I couldn't sleep at 4:00 this morning.)

Currently Reading: Ender's Shadow

Hey, everybody.

First, enjoy the new format of the blog. I may switch back, or I may switch to something else. Either way, I suspect the change is temporary.

Second, I failed to read any short stories last week; I may yet read one this week. It was my intention to read "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Ernest Hemingway, but it just didn't grab my attention.

So I picked up a bunch of different books this weekend, and for whatever reason, Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card was what stuck. I read Ender's Game a couple years ago, and it was pretty good. The so-called "Military Sci-Fi" isn't my favorite sci-fi subgenre, although I have been known to partake in it: Ender's Game, Starship Troopers, Aliens (on film) and Battlestar Galactica (on tv). Old Man's War by John Scalzi is currently loaded on the Kindle waiting to be read.

The Ender's series has been turned into a comic book series by Marvel, although I haven't really indulged in it. (Aside: Marvel is supposed to do a series detailing the Formic Wars, which could be cool.) The series also hasn't yet been ruined by Hollywood, so I'm able to enjoy it (strictly) as the written word.

Updates to be posted to Goodreads, Twitter and the Blog as time allows. Enjoy your week everybody, and I'll probably be back with a new post on Wednesday.

Alex Ross

Artist Alex Ross was born in Portland, Oregon on this date in 1970.

He is best known for his watercolor paintings found in or on illustrious publications such as Marvels, Astro City, Batman and Justice. His artwork may be found in comic books (and their covers) but if you've seen his work, there's no doubt that it is art in the highest sense of the term.

This isn't Tippy the Turtle, you know.

My favorite work by Ross is a 4-issue series he created with Mark Waid in 1996 called Kingdom Come. It is the superhero equivilent of the gotterdamerung or ragnarok. Sure, that theme has been done to death in comics, but this story of the twilight of the gods is the superior to all the others.

Ross lives and works in the greater Chicagoland area.

Quote of the Week

"Hail, Hail Freedonia!"

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

-Groucho Marx

True Grit Film/Book Comparison

All worked out last night, so I thought I would share just a few observations about the film.

The adaptation is good. Even to the point of brilliant. There were a few parts that were slightly changed, but I got the feeling that was done entirely in the name of making it a better fit for the medium. All of the major (and minor) episodes of the book were retained in the film, as was most of the dialogue. And a big tip of the hat goes to the performance of the cast as well as the Coen Brothers' adaptation for breathing life (and quirkiness, of course) into the film. It was a much darker story that played out in my mind as I read the book. The bearskin medicine man was the only major addition, and it was the point at which I said to myself "Yep. This is a Coen Brothers film." The biggest change was also, arguably the best (SPOILER ALERT, hilight to read): in the book, Mattie Ross only wounds Tom Chaney, LaBoeuf finishes him off. In the film, Mattie does it herself, a fitting and arguably justified end to the film's main storyline. Or maguffin. Take your pick.

I say maguffin, because that may seem like the major plot of the book, but the book isn't really about that. It is about proving that not only Rooster Cogburn, but also LaBoeuf, Little Blackie and especially Mattie Ross all have True Grit.


Hailee Steinfeld is great as Mattie Ross. Believe the hype. The whole story kind of hangs on her performance, and she delivers. It is all the more impressive that this newcomer held her own with Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin.

And casting Barry Pepper as Lucky Ned Pepper? Genius. Pure genius. (Not casting Shia LaBeouf as LaBoeuf? Equally genius.)

Tell me what you think in the comments.
And go read something today!
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Just Finished: True Grit

I just finished True Grit by Charles Portis.

No, not that Grit.

I'm supposed to see the Coen Brother's version tonight, if all goes according to plan. I have huge expectations from that film. I liked No Country for Old Men a lot. And some portions of the book by Portis reminded me a lot of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven.

As for the book, I can tell you this: Mattie Ross has just as much "true grit" as Rooster Cogburn, and every bit as much of an original voice as Holden Caulfield. I give it the rr seal of approval.

Until next time,
rr

My Favorite Literary Quote of the Moment

"Listen: Billy Pilgrim has come unstuck in time."

-Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five

Oh, to be able to live your days out of order, like Billy Pilgrim or Sam Beckett or Desmond Hume. I'd slap some sense into the 14 year-old boy I once was, and tell him to relax, that's for sure. Of course, it probably wouldn't be as awesome in fact as it might seem in theory. But like anyone who tells me winning the lottery wouldn't bring me happiness, I tell them I'd like to find out just to be sure.

You know, for science.

Also, tip of the hat to my friend KG who claims Vonnegut as one of her "old man crushes." (I think.)

Fun fact: Vonnegut appeared in Back to School as himself. In the story, Thornton Mellon hired V. to write an essay about the works of Kurt Vonnegut, for which he receives an "F."

Too funny.

For Esmé with Love and Squalor

Last week I read "For Esmé with Love and Squalor" by J.D. Salinger, from his only short story collection Nine Stories.

I would feel disingenuous if I sat here and said "yeah, it was pretty good." I mean, come on, it's J.D. Salinger. Of course it's good. So I guess I won't be reviewing it as to how good it was or even how good it was as compared to his other works; I'm mostly concerned with what I saw in it.

Fascinating stuff. Can I really call it disjointed though?

It starts with a man writing a letter to another man about to get maried to the titular Esmé. Turns out she might be trouble. Cut to the same guy, years earlier as a green G.I. on leave walks into a tea house in London on the eve of D-Day, 1944. He meets the girl, who is there with her kid brother and her nanny. ("Meet you at the corner!") The tea house scene flirts with being skeevy. She is 14. He's 22 and already married. She promises to write him.

The last part is months later. He has now seen combat and has, in fact, cracked. So much so - and here's what I really liked - so much so, the possibility remains open as to whether or not the first two parts of the story were a mental fabrication, a halucination induced by PTSD. The ending solidifies that - SPOILER ALERT - she was in fact real. But the fact of the matter is, there's no bridge between the PTSD version of our narrator and the one who was going to send the bridegroom a warning by way of the post office.

In the end, I'm glad I read it. The last time I did was probably about 1999-2000 when I was on my last Salinger kick. You should check it out too. Tell me what you think in the comments.

Quote of the Week

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."

-Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Currently Reading: True Grit

I'm currently reading True Grit by Charles Portis.

That may seem like it is out of left field, given my ongoing predisposition towards science fiction in general, and Philip K. Dick in particular. But I also realized a long time ago that nothing exists in a vacuum, and what is hot in film and television definitely influences what I read. On the other hand, I wish I could get all that time back I wasted as a 20-year old reading Star Trek novels, which, let's face it, are pretty much on par with fan fic. (Not that there's anything wrong with that if that's what you like. It's just my regret, and my interpretation.)

For the record, I haven't read that many westerns. I did read Lonesome Dove in college, and that is one hell of a read. I highly recommend it. As for the sequels, I read the first one, it didn't really do anything for me, and I haven't gone back to that well since. I think I would like to read Riders of the Purple Sage someday. And I have The Oxbow Incident on order. I saw the movie once twenty years ago and it was pretty good.

Also for the record, my preferred genres include, in no particular order, science fiction, science, fiction/literature, history and spy fi. I just thought I'd throw that out there.

What do you like to read? Let me know in the comments.

Modern Times

Anyone who loves science fiction, classic film, or science fiction films owes it to themselves to watch this 3 1/2 minute short by Scottish art director Ben Craig.


MODERN TIMES from BC2010 on Vimeo.

If that doesn't make you smile just a little, something is wrong with you.

Now, if only that other film Modern Times would go back in print...

(It was OOP just a few weeks ago. I placed my order tonight. So sue me!)

The Electric Ant

Well, it is finally January, and I still can't decide what it is I want to read. I've been reading The Stand, and I'm on pace for January with this epic read. Since I finished How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe I've bounced around trying to decide what I want to invest my time in next. I've read parts of Galactic Pot Healer, Transition, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, but nothing seems to hold my interest. And time is running short, the busy season at work is almost upon us, so I don't have a lot of time to invest; ergo I guess it's time to implement my "one short story a week" strategy.

I received The Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick for Xmas, so I read "The Electric Ant."

Take out his spare ribs for $100.

Garson Poole is the protagonist; he just lost his hand in a hovercar accident. He wakes up in the hospital to find out that he can't be treated there, because he's not human at all: he's a robot. And hospitals are for people, not robots, so he moves on to a robot repair shop. Garson winds up being billed for his treatment at the hospital for the time up until they realized he was a robot; just a funny little detail I liked.

What happens when an android changes his programming, especially in regards to how he perceives his own reality? I won't go into detail in my review here; suffice it to say, I had been looking forward to reading this story for a long, long time, and it more than exceeded my expectations. PKD manages to push all of my favorite PKD buttons in a story just 10 pages long or so: robots who don't know they're robots; identity crisis; paranoia; altered reality; twist ending.

Highly recommended.

Check back at the Reader next week when I review another short story. I don't know which one yet, but I'm going to try to (a) read one per week; (b) never read stories in any two consecutive weeks by the same author; and (c) try not to repeat authors within six weeks of a story by the same author.

Now go read something for yourself today!
rr

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking was born on this date in 1942.

A personal hero of mine, he is best known in the popular culture alternately as "the Smartest Man on the Planet," the guy that wrote A Brief History of Time, and the "Wheelchair Guy" due to a lengthy and debilitating bout with ALS.

And yes, Aldo, I have read it. Twice.

So Happy Birthday, Professor, and may you continue to live a productive life (in defiance of the odds) for years to come.

Quote of the Week

"Normally seven minutes of another person's company was enough to give her a headache so she set things up to live as a recluse. She was perfectly content as long as people left her in peace. Unfortunately society was not very smart or understanding."

-Steig Larsson, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

-Or, "Why I Fell in Love Lisbeth Salander" by the Rochester Reader

Just Finished: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

Charles Yu’s How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe is the last book I finished in 2010. (Bought it on 12/26, I finished it on 12/31 with just hours left on the clock, no less! I’m not a fast reader, either.)

Like this, but with 100% fewer flying DeLoreans.

Set in an alternate universe where only 93% of the laws of physics have been installed, the story focuses on Charles Yu’s time-machine repairman counterpart, also named Charles Yu.

The first (almost) half of the book is packed with science fictional ideas, and the whole thing is written with a bold, fresh voice. There’s no technobabble doublespeak explanations here; no lame Star Trek knockoffs to be found.

The most interesting sci fi ideas in the book regard how he deals with time travel: namely, through semantics; the engine that powers time travel in Minor Universe 31 is well reasoned and well thought out; it is literally derived by the tense of language, it is not powered by some simple applied phlebotium.

Without being too direct in the area of spoilers, there are various red herrings planted about in that first half; the second half starts with one, and goes off in an entirely different direction, exploring familial themes more common to straight up fiction (or W.P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe). That isn’t to say I found the back nine to be boring or without merit; on the contrary, to explore these themes within a genre story makes it the more remarkable. The story's resolution is very satisfying. And there is a neat little trick at the end that reminded me greatly of The Man in the High Castle.

Fun ideas, bold new voice. Highly recommended.

From the book:

“There is just enough space inside here for one person to live indefinitely, or at least that’s what the operation manual says. User can survive inside the TM-31 Recreational Time Travel Device, in isolation, for an indefinite period of time.

I am not totally sure what that means. Maybe it doesn’t actually mean anything, which would be fine, which would be okay by me, because that’s what I’ve been doing: living in here, indefinitely.”

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien was born on this day in 1892. As you probably already know, he is the author behind The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit.

"Pipe weed"? No wonder he was so popular in the 1960's.

My first exposure to The Hobbit came when I was very young and it was assigned reading in the 6th Grade. I read The Fellowship of the Ring shortly thereafter, but wasn't mentally prepared to understand it just then; I couldn't maintain the momentum and abandoned The Two Towers very early on.

Years later, when the films were in development I decided I needed to read them before then-largely-untested filmmaker and schlockmaster Peter Jackson committed them to film; I finally read the whole thing back-to-back-to-back in 1995. I've read the whole thing again a couple of times since then, as well as The Atlas of Middle Earth and some of the supporting books put out by Christopher Tolkien in more recent years that serve as a kind of "making of" guide. I've also read all the supporting books behind the films: The Art of..., the Making of..., etc. I thought the book on Weapons and Warfare was particularly brilliant, giving insight to the practical whys and wherefores of some of the finer details of the visual medium.

I don't want to over expose it (neither the books nor the films) by reading it or seeing it too many times like I've done with most of my childhood films. However, I have read the second chapter of Fellowship about a jillion times. It is an info dump of epic proportions, and I love it to death. It is pure genius the way they broke it up in the films between the aftermath of Bilbo's party, the Mines of Moria, and the beginning of The Return of the King.

The Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin remain on my shelf. I may read either of them this year, but I kind of doubt it. Maybe though.

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was born on this day in 1920. He was a 20th Century renaissance man, a real honest-to-goodness polymath of the modern age.

His short stories "The Last Question" and "All the Troubles of the World" are favorites of mine. I've owned a paperback copy of Foundation for 20 years; maybe 2011 is the year I'm destined to read it. Hari seldon would know. I'm also keenly interested in The Caves of Steel and The Gods Themselves.

Asimov died in 1992.

Quote of the Week

"Take something you love, tell people about it, bring together people who share your love, and help make it better. Ultimately, you'll have more of whatever you love for yourself and the world."

-DC Comics editor, the late Julius Schwartz

Schwartz almost singlehadedly ushered in the Silver Age of comics at DC where he oversaw the late '50's/early 60's revitalization of such iconic titles as Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkman, The Atom and Adam Strange. It's a pretty good philosophy for any line of work.


Happy New Year, fellow Readers!

J.D. Salinger

Noted recluse and occasional author J.D. Salinger was born on this date in 1919.

He is probably best remembered, as an author, as the man who wrote The Catcher in the Rye. I read it for the first time when I was in college; I bought a nice hardbound retro-esque copy of it 10 years ago but still haven't read it. He went on to write numerous other short stories, many of which focus on the Glass family. I'm looking forward to re-reading Nine Stories this year.

He is probably best remembered, as a person, as the old man most likely to tell you to get the hell off his front lawn.

Salinger died last January. I keep hoping that he wrote more stories that were never published, and that they will one day; I consider that possibility less likely by the day.