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posted by admin on Jul 19

Awful Library Books.

“The future is now! Soon every American home will integrate their television, phone and computer. You’ll be able to visit the Louvre on one channel, or watch female wrestling on another. You can do your shopping at home, or play Mortal Kombat with a friend from Vietnam. There’s no end to the possibilities!”

Awesome!

posted by admin on Mar 16

This evening I (finally) finished Dan Simmons new novel Drood. Although I have not read it, the novel seems to have more in common with his last work The Terror than some of his more famous works (i.e. Hyperion). But the novel still contains the wonderful, insightful and often essential allusions to classical works of literature seen throughout Simmons work. In this case he has taken on Dickens’ oeuvre and elevates the thriller genre to an elegant literary level with a gothic mystery filled with subtle humor and Dickensian touches.

The novelist (and friend of Dickens) William Wilkie Collins serves as narrator and eventually plays Salieri to Dickens’ Mozart. Simmons avoids some of the obvious pitfalls of an intentionally mediocre narrator by adopting a subtle humor in the occasionally overwrought style and a blatant hypocrisy in Collins’ opinions versus his actual narration. In this aspect the prose is delightful but also demonstrates the strength of the characters to carry the novel at times. In one of several Dickensian inspirations small, exceptionally drawn characters populate the world and the novels length is due to amount of time given to so many of these characters. This time never feels distracting or frustrating but serves to further envelope the reader in the mystery as well as make the novel exist over a long breadth of time.

In hindsight we spend shockingly little time with the titular character Drood but the way he haunts every page of the novel after his initial appearance at the scene of a train wreck makes him an unforgettable villain. A mystical figure with the power to control other men he exerts a tension on the novel as the logical part of the reader demands he be seen as a 19th century boogeyman but gruesome, indescribable events demand his existence with equal strength. This mystery along with what power this fearsome villain has over Dickens drives the reader through the final pages with a vigor matching the portrayal of the famous author.

I would like to say the novel exceeds mere genre but worry my affinity for the writer is coloring my impressions. Perhaps some more time to think will sway my opinion one way or another but I feel extremely confident recommending the novel to anyone looking for a well-written thriller. The familiarity of Dickens and his works (who doesn’t know Tiny Tim?) grounds the novel to make it more accessible to readers unfamiliar with gothic mystery or who might be turned off by some of the more supernatural elements in the novel. Simmons is at the peak of his craft and I anxiously await his next novel.

posted by admin on Mar 12

Just watched tonight’s “The Word” on The Colbert Report about conservative TV pundits, bloggers and many others using Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged as a criticism of the new stimulus package and possible tax increases for the upper class and I find this infuriating beyond measure.

I generally agree with Ayn Rand’s philosophy, the virtue of selfishness, but have a few important reservations. I won’t go into those but will go into the significant problems of how people are using how work. I am also doing no research about this but using my own knowledge. I think any small discrepancies will be forgiven in exchange for my opinion being more informed then people on national television claiming to be experts on the topic. The point being don’t borrow opinions from TV pundits because they spew ideology. Anyway.

First of all, it’s extremely important to understand the context of Rand’s work and the full body of her work. Rand formed her philosophy after growing up in the early days of the U.S.S.R. Her high praise of capitalism is certainly due to the abysmal conditions she lived in under communism. In fact her first novel, Anathem, was more a warning against conformity in communism then a statement on economics. In her rejection of communism Rand pursued the extreme and much of her work is criticized for simplifying complex issues in an unrealistic manner. Her novels are powerful and moving but often at the expense of logic.

Second, if you have actually read Atlas Shrugged with any level of intelligence you would see that Rand would detest the people who have plunged the country into economic chaos. In fact, her novel is a call for people, like TV pundits, who produce nothing to get the hell out of the way and allow intelligent people to solve the problems. One can certainly view Ayn Rand’s novel as prescient but not in regard to Obama’s policies but in regard to the short sighted, ignorant greed displayed by Wall Street (etc.) in destroying the economic foundation of the country.

Finally, if you are going to use Rand’s philosophy on economics as a foundation for an argument why not use the god damn book she wrote about her philosophy, The Virtue of Selfishness? But I guess that doesn’t sound as catchy when your beating your viewers over the head with ignorance. And it probably doesn’t help when you don’t understand her philosophy.

This is why I have to make a concentrated effort to not check out of the system (ironically, Atlas Shrugged-style, well, if I actually produced something). I know little about politics, nothing about economics yet people forming the national zeitgeist are painfully ignorant to me.

The silver lining here is that when Rush Limbaugh becomes relevant things can’t get any worse.

posted by Mike on Jul 22

Posting will continue to be infrequent for another month or so but I came across some cool stuff I wanted to pass along.

For NPH fans.

I’ve only watched Act I but it’s pretty funny and incredibly unique. It’s also obvious everyone involved is having a blast making this which scores major points in my book. Worth checking out. It’s available on iTunes but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on YouTube as well.

Prepare for March 6th.

I have no idea how the Watchmen movie will turn out (bad I’m guessing, it’s just too long and dense) but them turning the graphic novel into a Flash movie? Hell, yes! If you haven’t read the book, or even if you have, this is well worth checking out. Oh, and it’s free, so yeah, that’s a nice feature.

The Dark Knight is awesome. If Batman is whatever Gotham City needs him to be then Christian Bale is whatever the scene needs him to be. His subdued and introspective performance allows the other actors, notably Ledger and Eckhart, to take their superb performances over the top. The attention to detail in the script is stunning. I’m also thrilled that Christopher Nolan, one of my favorite directors, will be able to do whatever the hell he wants. I can’t wait to see his next non-Batman movie (as well as the next Batman movie).

Wall-E is the best movie of the year. Don’t argue with me, it’s true.

I love The Venture Brothers.

My life is fairly ridiculous. In a one month period I’m going to have been in 9 different states.

posted by admin on Feb 9

A little more than halfway through The Somnambulist and I am very intrigued by Mr. Moon and the bizarre people that populate his universe, the narrator especially. He most certainly has to be a character in the novel (and I have my ideas as to which character) and I can’t wait to find out his identity. Everything in the book hinges on the point of view and while I suspect it will be the obvious choice I hold out hope there is something more because the prose is quite inventive and well thought out.

The novel is rife to be made into a movie. Certainly, a few things, like appearances, would need to change but I think it would work better as visual art because the world and characters are so bizarre. I would love to see Tim Burton get a hold of it.

Thus far I strongly recommend it to anyway who enjoys detective stories with a bit of the occult.