I'm doing a small bit of tinkering underneath the hood. Very small. But I've finally gotten up off of me arse and figured how to implement expandable posts here on Byzantium's Shores, so I'll be able to conceal longer posts (and posts in which I use lots of photos) by hiding the rest of the content behind a link. Which is something that lots of blogs have been able to do since, oh, 2003 or so, but hey, I am quick on the draw!
The personal blog of author Kelly Sedinger, chronicling the adventures of one overalls-clad wanderer.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Something for Thursday
From Fantasia 2000, here's one of my favorite segments: an excerpt from Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto, used to score the fairy tale "The Steadfast Tin Soldier".
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Help me, Readers!
An old friend of mine e-mailed me thusly:
And I can kinda picture a scene in my head like what he's talking about, but nothing specific enough that adds up to a memory. I know I have a number of readers who ought to be right up on their late 70s/early 80s F&SF flicks, so can anyone shed some light on what Mark's movie might have been?
Hey, I was wondering if you would know which older movie featured a battle scene wherein the protagonist and antagonist morphed into various creatures...but since it was well before morph technology, the screen showed neon-like outlines of the animals (in electric blue and neon red, as I recall). Was it Clash of the Titans '81? A Conan movie? Something else entirely? I saw that little bit of the movie as a kid, and it has stuck in my memory ever since. Do you have any idea what I'm writing about?
And I can kinda picture a scene in my head like what he's talking about, but nothing specific enough that adds up to a memory. I know I have a number of readers who ought to be right up on their late 70s/early 80s F&SF flicks, so can anyone shed some light on what Mark's movie might have been?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Make...it...stop....
So. Glee.
A well-done high-school show is a great thing. So is a well-done musical. Glee's popularity seems to imply that it is both of those things. So why is it that whenever I watch it, I'm astonished by the degree to which it is not?
Glee is awful. I hate it. Hate hate hate it. It is so, so, so bad. Here's a partial list of things I would rather do than watch Glee:
Yeah, you get the idea.
(Light blogging for another few days, by the way. I'm trying to clear the decks on several things at home and get up some momentum on a few others.)
A well-done high-school show is a great thing. So is a well-done musical. Glee's popularity seems to imply that it is both of those things. So why is it that whenever I watch it, I'm astonished by the degree to which it is not?
Glee is awful. I hate it. Hate hate hate it. It is so, so, so bad. Here's a partial list of things I would rather do than watch Glee:
Watch Phyllis Diller torture puppies
Eat broccoli
Sit through The Usual Suspects again
Attend an all-Hindemith concert music program
Work my way through the entire discography of Ace of Base
Venture out in public with no shirt on beneath my overalls
Get hit with a pecan pie
Peel 50 lbs of potatoes
Vote Republican
Discuss the Star Wars Prequel trilogy with anybody at Ain't It Cool News
Eat medium-rare chicken
Visit the Creation Museum
Drink a glass of vegetable oil
Yeah, you get the idea.
(Light blogging for another few days, by the way. I'm trying to clear the decks on several things at home and get up some momentum on a few others.)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Sentential Links #224
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd away we go!
:: This is the year of Republican Revenge and all they want is to bring the temple crashing down around their ears in order to enjoy the sight of their enemies being crushed in the rubble.
:: Whew. Scary story. Fortunately, it is only a “what if.” Good thing we voted for change.
:: Snark is easier than describing something delicious.
:: So I have decided to disconnect one day a week to be "alone" without a thousand tweets, comments, status messages, replies, and emails. I will spend one full day a week alone with my thoughts.
:: Kirk and Spock still mean a great deal to me, but I just sort of moved on to other interests.
:: I don't get you, sign-carriers. I mean, setting aside all kinds of other things we could argue about, I'll tell you straight up that the whole "justification by faith" thing makes no flipping sense to me whatsoever. It makes my head hurt. (I'll never, ever understand that, either.)
:: FLAPJACKS: We totally need to set up a D&D game.
ME: There is never a time when that sentence is true.
:: And I’m still trying to wrap my head around Ravelry. I love the whole thing, but its HUGE. Like a secret cult – of fiber folks - that I can’t quite figure out – I love getting lost in the site! (Isn't that the truth! I've watched The Wife spend long periods of time over there.)
:: When I was working full time (from the time I was 18 until I was 59 this year), my life was very structured. Structured to the point of making me crazy, stressed and irritable because of lack of down time. All of a sudden, it's not structured at all. This new loosey-goosey life makes me feel exuberant, worrisome, productive and lazy all at the same time.
More next week!
:: This is the year of Republican Revenge and all they want is to bring the temple crashing down around their ears in order to enjoy the sight of their enemies being crushed in the rubble.
:: Whew. Scary story. Fortunately, it is only a “what if.” Good thing we voted for change.
:: Snark is easier than describing something delicious.
:: So I have decided to disconnect one day a week to be "alone" without a thousand tweets, comments, status messages, replies, and emails. I will spend one full day a week alone with my thoughts.
:: Kirk and Spock still mean a great deal to me, but I just sort of moved on to other interests.
:: I don't get you, sign-carriers. I mean, setting aside all kinds of other things we could argue about, I'll tell you straight up that the whole "justification by faith" thing makes no flipping sense to me whatsoever. It makes my head hurt. (I'll never, ever understand that, either.)
:: FLAPJACKS: We totally need to set up a D&D game.
ME: There is never a time when that sentence is true.
:: And I’m still trying to wrap my head around Ravelry. I love the whole thing, but its HUGE. Like a secret cult – of fiber folks - that I can’t quite figure out – I love getting lost in the site! (Isn't that the truth! I've watched The Wife spend long periods of time over there.)
:: When I was working full time (from the time I was 18 until I was 59 this year), my life was very structured. Structured to the point of making me crazy, stressed and irritable because of lack of down time. All of a sudden, it's not structured at all. This new loosey-goosey life makes me feel exuberant, worrisome, productive and lazy all at the same time.
More next week!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Sunday Stealing
Continuing the quiz I began last week from Sunday Stealing:
26. Do you like someone?
There's this girl from Iowa I'm rather fond of. Luckily I'm already married to her.
27. The last song you listened to?
"Happy Together" was on the radio when I drove home from work.
28. What time of day were you born?
I think it was between 10:00 and 11:00 pm, if I remember right. (That is to say, if I remember what my parents once told me. It's not like I remember that night itself!)
29. What’s your favorite number?
You know, I've never much understood the idea of a favorite number. Different numbers for different contexts, says I.
30. Where did you live in 1987?
Allegany, NY. That's when I was in 10th and 11th grades.
31. Are you jealous of anyone?
I'm jealous of Joss Whedon.
32. Is anyone jealous of you?
Doubtful, but that just mean's they're stupid.
33. Where were you when 9/11 happened?
I was on my way to work when I first heard of the first crash. The second crash, the Pentagon, and the downing of United 93 happened once I was already at work. It was a terrifying day, and it just felt to me the height of absurdity to be making sales calls on that day.
34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
If there's a service desk at the business where it's located, I say, "Hey, that machine stole my money." If not, then I walk away, grumbling. I don't often use vending machines, though. I don't really trust them and find them overpriced and unnecessary, in this day and age when convenience stores are everywhere.
35. Do you consider yourself kind?
Yes, but what kind? Hmmmmm!
36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
Shoulder, or ankle. Someplace that doesn't show too much. (You wouldn't see a shoulder tattoo on me, as I never wear tanktops.)
37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
Russian. Or French.
38. Would you move for the person you loved?
I have, and so has she.
39. Are you touchy feely?
No.
40. What’s your life motto?
"Keep smiling, because you never know what life is going to throw in your face next!"
41. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
There's nothing that I have on me at all times. When I go out, I try to always have my wallet, my cellphone, and my keys. I like to have my pocket knife too, but that's dependent on me remembering to transfer it from one jacket to another.
42. What’s your favourite town/city?
BUFFALO, NY!
43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Some drinks on the way home from Pumpkinville yesterday.
44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
Wrote a letter? Several years, I think.
45. Can you change the oil on a car?
Yes.
46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
Let's see, who do I consider my "first love"? I'm Facebook-friends with a girl on whom I had a wicked crush early in my high school career; luckily that faded reasonably quickly and she and I became good friends after that, then lost track after we both graduated (she a year before me), and then reconnected via FB a couple of years back. The first girl I dated in college? She turned out to be crazy at the time, and I was crazy too, so that just wasn't a terribly good match, but wow, did it sure suck at the time. (It was one of those "I'm really into you! And...now I'm not." kinds of breakups.) As I understand it, she remained crazy for a while, then became sane, and eventually ended up with a guy to whom she's been married and had kids with ever since.
Funny thing? My experience with her took place the first semester of our Freshman year. One day when we were both Seniors, I went with my roommate to get some lunch at Subway. She waited on us...and I didn't even recognize that it was her. It was only when we were walking back to campus that my roommate said something like, "Wow, you let _____ make your sub and you didn't bat an eye!" To which I said, "Wait, that was her? Wow, I guess I'm over that one now! Hooray!"
47. How far back do you know about your ancestry?
My grandparents. That's it. I always feel like I should know more about my genealogy...but I just don't care that much.
48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy?
Define "fancy". I wore a nice sweater and pants to go see Mary Poppins the other night. I haven't put a necktie on since a job interview I had in 2003 (good thing, too, as the company with which I interviewed no longer even exists). I'm not sure I even remember how to tie a tie at this point, and I'm fine with this, as I regard ties as utterly goofy and idiotic. (Bow ties with tuxedos excepted; I do like and admire super formal wear, but occasions for that sort of attire are few and far between. And speaking of which, I do prefer bow ties with tuxes. Not the regular ties.)
49. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
Well, when I stick this needle in my eye, it gives a nice sharp pain! Otherwise, no.
50. Have you been burned by love?
See above! And once more after that. The next one, though? To paraphrase Monty Python, for me the next one was the castle that did not sink into the swamp!
And that's that.
26. Do you like someone?
There's this girl from Iowa I'm rather fond of. Luckily I'm already married to her.
27. The last song you listened to?
"Happy Together" was on the radio when I drove home from work.
28. What time of day were you born?
I think it was between 10:00 and 11:00 pm, if I remember right. (That is to say, if I remember what my parents once told me. It's not like I remember that night itself!)
29. What’s your favorite number?
You know, I've never much understood the idea of a favorite number. Different numbers for different contexts, says I.
30. Where did you live in 1987?
Allegany, NY. That's when I was in 10th and 11th grades.
31. Are you jealous of anyone?
I'm jealous of Joss Whedon.
32. Is anyone jealous of you?
Doubtful, but that just mean's they're stupid.
33. Where were you when 9/11 happened?
I was on my way to work when I first heard of the first crash. The second crash, the Pentagon, and the downing of United 93 happened once I was already at work. It was a terrifying day, and it just felt to me the height of absurdity to be making sales calls on that day.
34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
If there's a service desk at the business where it's located, I say, "Hey, that machine stole my money." If not, then I walk away, grumbling. I don't often use vending machines, though. I don't really trust them and find them overpriced and unnecessary, in this day and age when convenience stores are everywhere.
35. Do you consider yourself kind?
Yes, but what kind? Hmmmmm!
36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
Shoulder, or ankle. Someplace that doesn't show too much. (You wouldn't see a shoulder tattoo on me, as I never wear tanktops.)
37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
Russian. Or French.
38. Would you move for the person you loved?
I have, and so has she.
39. Are you touchy feely?
No.
40. What’s your life motto?
"Keep smiling, because you never know what life is going to throw in your face next!"
41. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
There's nothing that I have on me at all times. When I go out, I try to always have my wallet, my cellphone, and my keys. I like to have my pocket knife too, but that's dependent on me remembering to transfer it from one jacket to another.
42. What’s your favourite town/city?
BUFFALO, NY!
43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
Some drinks on the way home from Pumpkinville yesterday.
44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
Wrote a letter? Several years, I think.
45. Can you change the oil on a car?
Yes.
46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
Let's see, who do I consider my "first love"? I'm Facebook-friends with a girl on whom I had a wicked crush early in my high school career; luckily that faded reasonably quickly and she and I became good friends after that, then lost track after we both graduated (she a year before me), and then reconnected via FB a couple of years back. The first girl I dated in college? She turned out to be crazy at the time, and I was crazy too, so that just wasn't a terribly good match, but wow, did it sure suck at the time. (It was one of those "I'm really into you! And...now I'm not." kinds of breakups.) As I understand it, she remained crazy for a while, then became sane, and eventually ended up with a guy to whom she's been married and had kids with ever since.
Funny thing? My experience with her took place the first semester of our Freshman year. One day when we were both Seniors, I went with my roommate to get some lunch at Subway. She waited on us...and I didn't even recognize that it was her. It was only when we were walking back to campus that my roommate said something like, "Wow, you let _____ make your sub and you didn't bat an eye!" To which I said, "Wait, that was her? Wow, I guess I'm over that one now! Hooray!"
47. How far back do you know about your ancestry?
My grandparents. That's it. I always feel like I should know more about my genealogy...but I just don't care that much.
48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy?
Define "fancy". I wore a nice sweater and pants to go see Mary Poppins the other night. I haven't put a necktie on since a job interview I had in 2003 (good thing, too, as the company with which I interviewed no longer even exists). I'm not sure I even remember how to tie a tie at this point, and I'm fine with this, as I regard ties as utterly goofy and idiotic. (Bow ties with tuxedos excepted; I do like and admire super formal wear, but occasions for that sort of attire are few and far between. And speaking of which, I do prefer bow ties with tuxes. Not the regular ties.)
49. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
Well, when I stick this needle in my eye, it gives a nice sharp pain! Otherwise, no.
50. Have you been burned by love?
See above! And once more after that. The next one, though? To paraphrase Monty Python, for me the next one was the castle that did not sink into the swamp!
And that's that.
Sunday Burst of Weird and AWESOME!
Oddities and Awesome abound!
:: The slow-blogging manifesto.
Yeah, that's all I got this week. I wasn't around as much this week as usual for surfing Teh Interweb. More next week, though!
:: The slow-blogging manifesto.
Yeah, that's all I got this week. I wasn't around as much this week as usual for surfing Teh Interweb. More next week, though!
Impeach! Impeach!
I've seen a bit of discussion around the few left-wing blogs I still read in which folks offer predictions as to if, and therefore when, a Republican Congress will impeach President Obama. So, my take is this: it won't happen in 2011 or in 2012, simply because if the Republicans take Congress this year, they -- and the media that crowns every political development in the United States as great news for Republicans and further evidence for the notion that the US is a "center-right nation" -- will see President Obama as mortally wounded, and they will bank on being able to easily beat him in 2012.
Now, if they're in control of Congress and President Obama wins a second term -- the latter of which still seems fairly likely to me -- then I think the probability of a Republican charge to impeachment on some kind of weird grounds is almost a certainty. Why? Because having a Democrat in the White House makes Republicans just insane.
Now, if they're in control of Congress and President Obama wins a second term -- the latter of which still seems fairly likely to me -- then I think the probability of a Republican charge to impeachment on some kind of weird grounds is almost a certainty. Why? Because having a Democrat in the White House makes Republicans just insane.
Sunrise over Orchard Park
The sunrise sky was particularly striking one morning last week, so I aimed my phone over my shoulder and snapped a picture. Yeah, it's all blurry and stuff, but the colors are the important thing here. We get beautiful sunrises and sunsets here. (I think I read somewhere that Buffalo is the only major city east of the Mississippi where you can see the sun set over water, owing to its position on Lake Erie.)
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Something for Thursday
Here's the snippet of Vangelis's long-form work, Heaven and Hell, which served as the main theme to Carl Sagan's teevee series Cosmos.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The future's pretty cool!
Earlier tonight, I was sitting at my desk, sipping a cup of tea, while I used my portable personal computer to watch video that was streaming wirelessly in my home. The video I was watching was live coverage of something happening. The event I was watching was taking place five thousand miles away: a bunch of people rescuing 33 miners from the hole more than 2000 feet below the ground where they've been trapped for more than two months.
This event is really, really amazing. I can't think of any other words for it. First of all, those miners themselves are astounding. They kept their heads and their wits about them for two months, especially at the very beginning when they were likely the most terrified and confused about what was happening. And the rescuers -- they didn't rush things or stab in the dark. They studied the problem, thought about it, and came up with the best possible plan. Which they then executed perfectly.
Watching today's rescue unfold, I was thinking of the movie Apollo 13, and the true-life events surrounding it. That, too, was a case of people trapped in a life-threatening situation in a place where they could not be easily reached; that, too, was a case of people working together in a staggering display of teamwork to solve the problems to bring them home. Both the tale of the astronauts and the tale of the miners show what humans can accomplish when they're at their best.
Congratulations to everyone involved. What an amazing story!
(I'll bet that rescue capsule is very soon the most popular exhibit in whatever the biggest museum is in Santiago, Chile!)
This event is really, really amazing. I can't think of any other words for it. First of all, those miners themselves are astounding. They kept their heads and their wits about them for two months, especially at the very beginning when they were likely the most terrified and confused about what was happening. And the rescuers -- they didn't rush things or stab in the dark. They studied the problem, thought about it, and came up with the best possible plan. Which they then executed perfectly.
Watching today's rescue unfold, I was thinking of the movie Apollo 13, and the true-life events surrounding it. That, too, was a case of people trapped in a life-threatening situation in a place where they could not be easily reached; that, too, was a case of people working together in a staggering display of teamwork to solve the problems to bring them home. Both the tale of the astronauts and the tale of the miners show what humans can accomplish when they're at their best.
Congratulations to everyone involved. What an amazing story!
(I'll bet that rescue capsule is very soon the most popular exhibit in whatever the biggest museum is in Santiago, Chile!)
A Random Wednesday Conversation Starter
Brief meme-things like to make their way through Facebook with some frequency, and I liked the look of this one, so I thought I'd use it in this spot this week. Here it is:
You and I wake up in jail together. Using only four words, what would you say to me?
Have at it!
You and I wake up in jail together. Using only four words, what would you say to me?
Have at it!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Punking
Castle is just such a good show. It really is. I've sung its praises before, but I really loved last night's episode. It revolved around a murder in the New York City steampunk community, and among the show's usual strengths -- wonderful dialogue, great chemistry in the cast, et cetera -- I liked the depiction of the steampunk community. Basically, Castle did not take the easy way out and depict steampunk as a geeky, nerdy, uncool thing.
Now, I'm not the world's biggest fan of steampunk; I like a good steampunk tale as much as anybody, but I don't love it more than other stuff. But steampunk is cool and fun, and Castle made it look...cool and fun, right down to Castle's pitch-perfect definition of steampunk to Detective Beckett:
How perfect is that! I can't help but wonder how, say, the CSI shows would depict such a steampunk club. They'd no doubt make it a creepy, eerie, nasty thing that only people with horrible social skills could embrace. Kind of like how they depicted furries and "sploshers" and midget conventions and lots of other stuff.
Kudos to Castle! Best show on teevee.
Now, I'm not the world's biggest fan of steampunk; I like a good steampunk tale as much as anybody, but I don't love it more than other stuff. But steampunk is cool and fun, and Castle made it look...cool and fun, right down to Castle's pitch-perfect definition of steampunk to Detective Beckett:
[Steampunk is] a subculture that embraces the simplicity and romance of the past and at the same time couples it with the hope and promise and sheer supercoolness of futuristic design.
How perfect is that! I can't help but wonder how, say, the CSI shows would depict such a steampunk club. They'd no doubt make it a creepy, eerie, nasty thing that only people with horrible social skills could embrace. Kind of like how they depicted furries and "sploshers" and midget conventions and lots of other stuff.
Kudos to Castle! Best show on teevee.
Dear Carl
You know what you are when you hold disgusting, bigoted beliefs because your religion tells you to?
You're a disgusting bigot.
Thanks for the opportunity to clear that up.
BTW, I saw this comment on Facebook this morning:
Yup, I can blame them. They could have chosen a candidate who wasn't a nut, and who would channel their frustration into reasonable policy goals that would move things in a direction they like. Instead, they chose a lunatic whose approach is to say whatever leaps into his brain; who has advanced only a few policy ideas, each of which is a laughable non-starter; whose only appeal to his voters is anger that won't go anywhere at all. Anger can be useful, but Paladino's brand of anger won't be. You can bank on it.
So yes, I can totally blame people for voting for the nut.
You're a disgusting bigot.
Thanks for the opportunity to clear that up.
BTW, I saw this comment on Facebook this morning:
People will vote for him because they don't see the advantage in voting for a "good person," if Cuomo even represents that. How does Carl being bigoted or homophobic affect them? How does having an open minded person affect them? If the open minded person raises their taxes, drives away business, and makes their children leave for NC, can you blame them for voting for the nut?
Yup, I can blame them. They could have chosen a candidate who wasn't a nut, and who would channel their frustration into reasonable policy goals that would move things in a direction they like. Instead, they chose a lunatic whose approach is to say whatever leaps into his brain; who has advanced only a few policy ideas, each of which is a laughable non-starter; whose only appeal to his voters is anger that won't go anywhere at all. Anger can be useful, but Paladino's brand of anger won't be. You can bank on it.
So yes, I can totally blame people for voting for the nut.
55 Questions about books
Brazenly stolen from Sheila! I thought I had done this one before, but after a brief search of the archives, I don't think I have, although some variation of these questions have turned up many times before in other book quizzes.
1. Favorite childhood book?
I probably need to go with The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander here. I've mentioned it in this space many times, but multiple mentions never hurt anybody, did they? It's the series that put me firmly in the "OMG, I love a good epic fantasy!" track, pretty much for life. (Even if it does get harder to find what I consider a good epic fantasy.)
But I also have to mention The House with a Clock in its Walls, by John Bellairs. My love of the gothic, the horrific, stems from that book. It continues to amaze me that there are no film adaptations of Bellairs's books! The Treasure of Alpheus T. Winterborn or The Curse of the Blue Figurine would make amazing books -- albeit with some pitfalls that would have to be handled correctly by filmmakers, specifically the fact that in just about every Bellairs book, the young hero's best friend is an adult. When done poorly, that's just a train wreck.
2. What are you reading right now?
Coyote, by Allen Steele -- an SF book (first in a series) about the colonization of an Earth-like moon 40-some lightyears away. So far, so good.
Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. I'm reading this in small pieces, about ten to fifteen pages a day, and am as of this writing about 150 pages from the end. I'm surprised by the fact that there's not a whole lot of story in the book, and by the degree to which Melville's chapters about whales and the sea are absolutely amazing.
The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of The Beatles, by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines. I'm only a little way into it.
I've also been dipping into What Do YOU Care What Other People Think? Further Adventures of a Curious Character, by Richard Feynman. I like to have books around to "dip" into, like poetry collections, cookbooks, essay compilations, "how-to" books (the "Dummies" books tend to be great for this kind of reading).
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
Right now, none, but I use the library and my request list very frequently.
4. Bad book habit?
Hmmmm. When I want to blog a passage from a book, I often prop it open on my desk, beside the computer, using whatever I can grab to weigh it down so it stays open to the right page. Sometimes this results in the book snapping shut anyway, causing stuff to fall all over.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
The Beatles book and the Feynman book, mentioned above; a few others that I don't recall offhand because the stack is out of my line of sight right now. We go to the library weekly, and I never leave without a few books. Sometimes I come up with nifty stuff from the New Books section; other times I browse the older stuff and grab interesting items. I also like to check out things that look like they're not checked out very often at all, in hopes that my checking it out will give it a stay of execution next time the library weeds the collection.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
No. I suppose I will have to, someday, but I really like paper. Here's a wonderful article about the social aspect of reading that Kindles and the like may damage beyond repair:
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Several. People sometimes ask how I can keep multiple books straight in my head; if the books are different, then it's easy. In fact, it's easy anyway. How do you keep from confusing all the teevee shows you watch straight in your head? Same thing with books.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I don't read any more or less since then, but I do pick up reading recommendations from Blogistan all the time.
9. Least favorite book you read this year?
This year? Hmmmmm...it's been a while since I genuinely disliked something. The last book I really remember disliking was Twilight, but that was almost two years ago. I had to dig through my archives to find the last time I panned a book, and here it is. It's an epic fantasy that just didn't grab me, at all.
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
Guy Gavriel Kay's gloriously beautiful Under Heaven, which I reviewed for GMR and followed up upon here.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Tough question, mainly because I'm not terribly sure of what my "comfort zone" is. I'm more like to choose something to read because it interests me, rather than because it falls within some set of parameters delineating the extent to which I like to challenge myself.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
See above.
13. Can you read on the bus?
Sure, if I was a bus rider. I can read on planes and in cars, though. No doubt I can read on trains.
14. Favorite place to read?
Home. I also like to read in coffee places, though.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
"You will return this, under penalty of death."
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Never intentionally.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
I used to -- I have a bunch of college texts that I suppose I'll never be able to donate anywhere because of all the underlining and marginalia I used to do. Now, though, not as much.
18. Not even with text books?
Ummmm...what?
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English.
20. What makes you love a book?
It depends on what the book is about, right? If it's fiction, I want characters I can understand and care about. I also want a setting that seems real, even if it's not. I love the "sense of wonder" (or "sensawunda") that the really good SF can create. I want adventure, and I don't mind bad things happening to characters, but I don't want unending gloom-and-doom, either.
For nonfiction, I need clarity, good explanations, evidence of the writer's passion, and lively prose. I hate dry, academic writing.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I love it, I'll recommend it...maybe. Problem is, finding someone for whom the recommendation might work. Most of my heavy-duty reading friends are online.
22. Favorite genre?
Science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Huh. I don't read much romance or Westerns, but I don't really wish I did. Not that I avoid those genres; they're just not as much what I like as the stuff I already read.
24. Favorite biography?
Berlioz and the Romantic Century, by Jacques Barzun; Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos, by William Poundstone; Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas, by Dale Pollack; The Moon's a Balloon, by David Niven.
Truth to tell, I don't read enough biographies.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Not many, unless "How To" books count. Stephen King's On Writing, perhaps. Oh wait, that also counts as biography! Score!!!
26. Favorite cookbook?
Oooooh, I love cookbooks. I've always had great luck with Emeril Lagasse's books; my favorite is his Emeril's Potluck book.
27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or nonfiction)?
The afore-mentioned Under Heaven, by GGK. It's inspirational in the way that all great books are.
I also find inspiration in small places: for instance, articles in how-to magazines that teach me something new or that make me simply realize, "Oh yeah, I could totally do that!"
28. Favorite reading snack?
I like to snack, I like to read. When I do one is not necessarily dependent upon when I do the other.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
I wouldn't say this has ever happened, except for times when something hyped turned out to be something I loathed (hello, Twilight!). I have hesitated from reading books that were heavily hyped, though. Such as Dr. Strange and Mr. Norrell or The Lies of Locke Lamora.
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I rarely pay the slightest attention to reviews.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I'll do it if it's a review book for GMR or elsewhere, or if my reaction to the book was so negative that I just have to rip it. (Again, hello, Twilight!) Mostly, though, I don't bother finishing books I don't like, and I rarely bother to write about them.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
Russian.
33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
I don't get "intimidated", per se. No matter how many times Brothers K defeats me, I'll never be intimidated by it.
34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
Again: I'm not intimidated to read.
35. Favorite poet?
Tennyson. Or Shakespeare.
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
Between 6 and 18.
37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
All the time.
I've said this before, but I do like repeating myself, so: I just don't understand readers who don't use libraries. I don't get it. I love to buy books as much as anyone, and if I stopped buying now and only read what I own at this moment until I read everything on my shelves, I suspect that several years will have elapsed. But I'll never ever ever be able to afford to own a copy of every book I'd like to read. Being able to read, for free? What possible rationale could I have for not doing this?
38. Favorite fictional character?
Just one? That's madness, utter madness! But OK, I guess...ummm...Bilbo Baggins.
39. Favorite fictional villain?
Lady Macbeth? Iago? Lord Voldemort? Alpheus T. Winterborn? Father Baart? So many.
40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
I usually bring whatever I'm already reading, plus another book or two and maybe a magazine if I'm planning to be gone more than a day or two.
41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
I'm never not reading, but sometimes I go through "slackish" spells during which I read a lot less.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Brothers K. But I'll get there, oh yes.
43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Teevee. The cats, who decide that their need for attention outweighs my need for literature. The Wife, telling me that dinner is ready.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The Lord of the Rings. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Presumed Innocent was kind of disappointing -- it made a riveting book into a fairly lackadaisically-paced thriller. And maybe I'm stretching things, but as fun as they are, the Spiderman movies take some awful liberties with the Spidey mythos.
46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Around a hundred bucks, probably.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
No set time, really. Some I'll skim a lot before reading; others I won't touch at all from the time I put it on the shelf after purchase to the time I read it.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Characters who bore me; a plot that refuses to do anything interesting. Sometimes I "bounce" off books, too; for one reason or another (and sometimes a reason I can't even put my finger on) I'm just not "feeling it" with that particular book, and it's on to something else.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
To a small extent, but I don't do very well at this, primarily because I don't have nearly enough shelves and thus resort to the dreaded Enormous Stacks of Books On The Floor And Tables Syndrome. Not at all conducive to organization. So when I want to find a specific book, I often have a struggle on my hands.
Once in a great while I'll become convinced that I own a certain book and spend lots of time searching for it...only to eventually remember that while I heavily considered buying it, and maybe even carried it around the bookstore for an hour or two, I ultimately didn't make the purchase after all.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I prefer to keep, but once in a while I do a mini-purge.
51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
I don't necessarily avoid books, but I just keep finding stuff I'd rather read. I've had Master and Commander on my shelf for years, but I just never get round to it. Why? I dunno. No real explanation.
52. Name a book that made you angry.
Hello, Twilight! The stench-filled awfulness of that book really pissed me off. And then there was the Nicholas Sparks book that was a sequel to an earlier book...in which neither of the lovers dies, so guess what happens in the sequel! (And yet, I can't quit the guy. Sigh....)
53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
Hmmmm. I never read anything I don't expect to like on some level. I was surprised at the extent to which I loved Kushiel's Dart; I was just in the mood for a good Fat Fantasy, and it was so much more than that.
54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
I've been disillusioned with George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, ever since the series stalled after the fourth book, A Feast for Crows. The first two books in the series were amazing, wonderful, and brutal; the third was still good, but it started to feel a bit like brutality and shock for the sake of brutality and shock. The fourth, though, was a mess, with Martin actually admitting in the Author's Note that he'd basically taken a much larger book and chopped it in half just to get something out there.
I also expected to like Twilight. I really did. Vampires? Teen romance? If done well, that book would have been awesome. Instead, it was the worst reading experience of my last five years.
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
I don't believe in guilty pleasures. (Except, possibly, for the fact that I don't hate Nicholas Sparks but feel like I maybe should!)
Wow, that was a long quiz. Fun, though!
1. Favorite childhood book?
I probably need to go with The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander here. I've mentioned it in this space many times, but multiple mentions never hurt anybody, did they? It's the series that put me firmly in the "OMG, I love a good epic fantasy!" track, pretty much for life. (Even if it does get harder to find what I consider a good epic fantasy.)
But I also have to mention The House with a Clock in its Walls, by John Bellairs. My love of the gothic, the horrific, stems from that book. It continues to amaze me that there are no film adaptations of Bellairs's books! The Treasure of Alpheus T. Winterborn or The Curse of the Blue Figurine would make amazing books -- albeit with some pitfalls that would have to be handled correctly by filmmakers, specifically the fact that in just about every Bellairs book, the young hero's best friend is an adult. When done poorly, that's just a train wreck.
2. What are you reading right now?
Coyote, by Allen Steele -- an SF book (first in a series) about the colonization of an Earth-like moon 40-some lightyears away. So far, so good.
Moby Dick, by Herman Melville. I'm reading this in small pieces, about ten to fifteen pages a day, and am as of this writing about 150 pages from the end. I'm surprised by the fact that there's not a whole lot of story in the book, and by the degree to which Melville's chapters about whales and the sea are absolutely amazing.
The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of The Beatles, by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines. I'm only a little way into it.
I've also been dipping into What Do YOU Care What Other People Think? Further Adventures of a Curious Character, by Richard Feynman. I like to have books around to "dip" into, like poetry collections, cookbooks, essay compilations, "how-to" books (the "Dummies" books tend to be great for this kind of reading).
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
Right now, none, but I use the library and my request list very frequently.
4. Bad book habit?
Hmmmm. When I want to blog a passage from a book, I often prop it open on my desk, beside the computer, using whatever I can grab to weigh it down so it stays open to the right page. Sometimes this results in the book snapping shut anyway, causing stuff to fall all over.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
The Beatles book and the Feynman book, mentioned above; a few others that I don't recall offhand because the stack is out of my line of sight right now. We go to the library weekly, and I never leave without a few books. Sometimes I come up with nifty stuff from the New Books section; other times I browse the older stuff and grab interesting items. I also like to check out things that look like they're not checked out very often at all, in hopes that my checking it out will give it a stay of execution next time the library weeds the collection.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
No. I suppose I will have to, someday, but I really like paper. Here's a wonderful article about the social aspect of reading that Kindles and the like may damage beyond repair:
Remember when you could tell a lot about a guy by what cassette tapes—Journey or the Smiths?—littered the floor of his used station wagon? No more, because now the music of our lives is stored on MP3 players and iPhones. Our important papers live on hard drives or in the computing cloud, and DVDs are becoming obsolete, as we stream movies on demand. One by one, the meaningful artifacts that we used to scatter about our apartments and cars, disclosing our habits to any visitor, are vanishing from sight.
Nowhere is this problem more apparent, and more serious, than in the imperilment of the Public Book—the book that people identify us by because they can glimpse it on our bookshelves, or on a coffee table, or in our hands. As the Kindle and Nook march on, people's reading choices will increasingly be hidden from view. We'll go into people's houses or squeeze next to them on the subway, and we'll no longer be able to know them, or judge them, or love them, or reject them, based on the books they carry.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Several. People sometimes ask how I can keep multiple books straight in my head; if the books are different, then it's easy. In fact, it's easy anyway. How do you keep from confusing all the teevee shows you watch straight in your head? Same thing with books.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I don't read any more or less since then, but I do pick up reading recommendations from Blogistan all the time.
9. Least favorite book you read this year?
This year? Hmmmmm...it's been a while since I genuinely disliked something. The last book I really remember disliking was Twilight, but that was almost two years ago. I had to dig through my archives to find the last time I panned a book, and here it is. It's an epic fantasy that just didn't grab me, at all.
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
Guy Gavriel Kay's gloriously beautiful Under Heaven, which I reviewed for GMR and followed up upon here.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Tough question, mainly because I'm not terribly sure of what my "comfort zone" is. I'm more like to choose something to read because it interests me, rather than because it falls within some set of parameters delineating the extent to which I like to challenge myself.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
See above.
13. Can you read on the bus?
Sure, if I was a bus rider. I can read on planes and in cars, though. No doubt I can read on trains.
14. Favorite place to read?
Home. I also like to read in coffee places, though.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
"You will return this, under penalty of death."
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
Never intentionally.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
I used to -- I have a bunch of college texts that I suppose I'll never be able to donate anywhere because of all the underlining and marginalia I used to do. Now, though, not as much.
18. Not even with text books?
Ummmm...what?
19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English.
20. What makes you love a book?
It depends on what the book is about, right? If it's fiction, I want characters I can understand and care about. I also want a setting that seems real, even if it's not. I love the "sense of wonder" (or "sensawunda") that the really good SF can create. I want adventure, and I don't mind bad things happening to characters, but I don't want unending gloom-and-doom, either.
For nonfiction, I need clarity, good explanations, evidence of the writer's passion, and lively prose. I hate dry, academic writing.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I love it, I'll recommend it...maybe. Problem is, finding someone for whom the recommendation might work. Most of my heavy-duty reading friends are online.
22. Favorite genre?
Science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Huh. I don't read much romance or Westerns, but I don't really wish I did. Not that I avoid those genres; they're just not as much what I like as the stuff I already read.
24. Favorite biography?
Berlioz and the Romantic Century, by Jacques Barzun; Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos, by William Poundstone; Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas, by Dale Pollack; The Moon's a Balloon, by David Niven.
Truth to tell, I don't read enough biographies.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Not many, unless "How To" books count. Stephen King's On Writing, perhaps. Oh wait, that also counts as biography! Score!!!
26. Favorite cookbook?
Oooooh, I love cookbooks. I've always had great luck with Emeril Lagasse's books; my favorite is his Emeril's Potluck book.
27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or nonfiction)?
The afore-mentioned Under Heaven, by GGK. It's inspirational in the way that all great books are.
I also find inspiration in small places: for instance, articles in how-to magazines that teach me something new or that make me simply realize, "Oh yeah, I could totally do that!"
28. Favorite reading snack?
I like to snack, I like to read. When I do one is not necessarily dependent upon when I do the other.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
I wouldn't say this has ever happened, except for times when something hyped turned out to be something I loathed (hello, Twilight!). I have hesitated from reading books that were heavily hyped, though. Such as Dr. Strange and Mr. Norrell or The Lies of Locke Lamora.
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I rarely pay the slightest attention to reviews.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I'll do it if it's a review book for GMR or elsewhere, or if my reaction to the book was so negative that I just have to rip it. (Again, hello, Twilight!) Mostly, though, I don't bother finishing books I don't like, and I rarely bother to write about them.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
Russian.
33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
I don't get "intimidated", per se. No matter how many times Brothers K defeats me, I'll never be intimidated by it.
34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
Again: I'm not intimidated to read.
35. Favorite poet?
Tennyson. Or Shakespeare.
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
Between 6 and 18.
37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
All the time.
I've said this before, but I do like repeating myself, so: I just don't understand readers who don't use libraries. I don't get it. I love to buy books as much as anyone, and if I stopped buying now and only read what I own at this moment until I read everything on my shelves, I suspect that several years will have elapsed. But I'll never ever ever be able to afford to own a copy of every book I'd like to read. Being able to read, for free? What possible rationale could I have for not doing this?
38. Favorite fictional character?
Just one? That's madness, utter madness! But OK, I guess...ummm...Bilbo Baggins.
39. Favorite fictional villain?
Lady Macbeth? Iago? Lord Voldemort? Alpheus T. Winterborn? Father Baart? So many.
40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
I usually bring whatever I'm already reading, plus another book or two and maybe a magazine if I'm planning to be gone more than a day or two.
41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
I'm never not reading, but sometimes I go through "slackish" spells during which I read a lot less.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Brothers K. But I'll get there, oh yes.
43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Teevee. The cats, who decide that their need for attention outweighs my need for literature. The Wife, telling me that dinner is ready.
44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The Lord of the Rings. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Presumed Innocent was kind of disappointing -- it made a riveting book into a fairly lackadaisically-paced thriller. And maybe I'm stretching things, but as fun as they are, the Spiderman movies take some awful liberties with the Spidey mythos.
46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Around a hundred bucks, probably.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
No set time, really. Some I'll skim a lot before reading; others I won't touch at all from the time I put it on the shelf after purchase to the time I read it.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Characters who bore me; a plot that refuses to do anything interesting. Sometimes I "bounce" off books, too; for one reason or another (and sometimes a reason I can't even put my finger on) I'm just not "feeling it" with that particular book, and it's on to something else.
49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
To a small extent, but I don't do very well at this, primarily because I don't have nearly enough shelves and thus resort to the dreaded Enormous Stacks of Books On The Floor And Tables Syndrome. Not at all conducive to organization. So when I want to find a specific book, I often have a struggle on my hands.
Once in a great while I'll become convinced that I own a certain book and spend lots of time searching for it...only to eventually remember that while I heavily considered buying it, and maybe even carried it around the bookstore for an hour or two, I ultimately didn't make the purchase after all.
50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I prefer to keep, but once in a while I do a mini-purge.
51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
I don't necessarily avoid books, but I just keep finding stuff I'd rather read. I've had Master and Commander on my shelf for years, but I just never get round to it. Why? I dunno. No real explanation.
52. Name a book that made you angry.
Hello, Twilight! The stench-filled awfulness of that book really pissed me off. And then there was the Nicholas Sparks book that was a sequel to an earlier book...in which neither of the lovers dies, so guess what happens in the sequel! (And yet, I can't quit the guy. Sigh....)
53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
Hmmmm. I never read anything I don't expect to like on some level. I was surprised at the extent to which I loved Kushiel's Dart; I was just in the mood for a good Fat Fantasy, and it was so much more than that.
54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
I've been disillusioned with George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, ever since the series stalled after the fourth book, A Feast for Crows. The first two books in the series were amazing, wonderful, and brutal; the third was still good, but it started to feel a bit like brutality and shock for the sake of brutality and shock. The fourth, though, was a mess, with Martin actually admitting in the Author's Note that he'd basically taken a much larger book and chopped it in half just to get something out there.
I also expected to like Twilight. I really did. Vampires? Teen romance? If done well, that book would have been awesome. Instead, it was the worst reading experience of my last five years.
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
I don't believe in guilty pleasures. (Except, possibly, for the fact that I don't hate Nicholas Sparks but feel like I maybe should!)
Wow, that was a long quiz. Fun, though!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Falling
OK, I didn't want my one-sentence rant about Carl Paladino (the next post down) to be the top-most item on this blog for most of the day, so here's a pretty picture. This is Taughannock Falls, located near Ithaca. We were just there last week (more pics to come from that trip). We've gone this time of year for the last three or four years, although we don't stop by Taughannock Falls each year (even though it is very easy to get to). This year, the week preceding our trip was much rainier than usual, so I figured there'd be a lot more water going over the brink than we've seen in the past, and I was right. What a beautiful spot.
(I would have liked to get a pic of The Wife and I there, in front of the Falls, but some putz was taking up most of the scenic overlook with his tripod. My photo, taken by hand with our little $70 Kodak point-and-shoot, probably turned out just as nice as whatever he was doing!)
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