A note to political pundits

The adjective "serious" should probably not be ascribed to anyone who proposes a budget plan whose goal is to preserve tax cuts for rich people at virtually any other conceivable cost. Thank you.

Bloggus Interruptus

Sorry for the silence the last day or two, but connectivity was hard to come by at Casa Jaquandor yesterday, hence the complete radio silence. We'll just defer Sentential Links for another week, too. Keep the faith! Keep reaching for the stars! In blackest night! Yada yada yada!

No evil shall escape my sight!

With the exception of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2, there's no movie I'm looking forward to this summer more than Green Lantern. I know that after the original trailer was released popular opinion that the movie is going to suck started to calcify, but I actually liked that first trailer...and this footage, abridged from footage that was displayed at WonderCon this weekend, only excites me even more:



Forget Thor and Captain America -- it's Green Lantern for me!

Sunday Burst of Weird and AWESOME!

Oddities and Awesome abound!

:: I don't normally use content from Cracked.com in this series, not because I don't love Cracked.com, because boy howdy I do, but because it's too easy. I could rely on Cracked.com exclusively and never want for content for the Sunday Burst, and that would just be too darn easy. But once in a while I've just got to link something from there. Such as this list of hilarious bootleg toys. My favorite, by far, is this bootleg Buzz and Woody from Toy Story. What's so funny about this? Watch the video.



I'm pretty sure that what the Woody doll says was never, ever, ever uttered in the Toy Story universe, much less any of the three movies featured there!

:: I'm not sure that I'll ever get to Prague, so this will help matters a bit.

:: I'm also unlikely to ever get to Buenos Aires -- my inability to speak Argentinian is a problem -- which makes me sad, after I saw this bookstore. (via)

More next week!

Saturday Centus

Before I get to this week's prompt, an apology to other participants: I've been lax the last two weeks on reading your own efforts. Really lax. I'll try to do better, I promise!

And now, without ado of any kind:

"This was your spot?" Molly asked. The sign above her read "Exit 181, 1/2 mile ahead."

Her father nodded. The country highway crested here on a hill that overlooked a distant lake and the town on the other side.

"We'd come up here on July 4th and watch that town's fireworks reflect off the lake. On our third 4th together, I proposed. You came along a year later, so we missed that one...and then we moved." He smiled and shook his head. "Never been here since."

They talked a while, scattered Mom's ashes, and talked a while more...mainly of three nights on a hill.

Something for Thursday Friday

It's April 1, so....

A Silence of Three Parts

A few years ago, I started seeing mention of a new fantasy author in some of the blogs I read, a guy by the name of Patrick Rothfuss. His debut novel had just come out, called The Name of the Wind, and by the time I heard of this, Rothfuss was apparently starting to have some trouble with the sequel to his first book. I remember reading this in the context of the fan ire that bubbled over towards George R.R. Martin, whose ongoing struggles with the fifth book in A Song of Ice and Fire is a constant topic of vexation among fantasy fans. I didn't actually read The Name of the Wind until just a few months ago, however, when I finally decided to see what the fuss was.

So, what was the fuss? A novel that, it turned out, I had several different reactions to. I loved it and found it to be a compulsive page-turner, so much so that I really didn't find the book's length cumbersome at all. Yes, I loved The Name of the Wind -- and yet I wanted to like it more than I actually did.

The Name of the Wind falls, categorically speaking, in line with other recent fantasy novels that use a more modern approach to language to telling a story that is an epic fantasy. (Another example of this type of book is Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora.) And yet, the language is a major element to the novel, and language is also a major theme of the novel.

There are two stories at work in The Name of the Wind. We begin in that old stalwart setting of fantasy novels, the inn in a small, unremarkable village. The inn is run by a man who goes by the name Kote, and he is doted upon by an assistant named Bast who is not what he first seems to be. There are hints that there are troubles in the world at large, with demonic creatures on the loose, harvests failing, and business at the inn down. A scribe arrives who only goes by the name Chronicler, who recognizes Kote as a long-disappeared hero named Kvothe, and Chronicler convinces Kvothe to tell him his story.

At this point, most of the book takes place as flashback as Kvothe tells his life story. His life is deeply complex, and most of the pleasure of the book for me came from following Kvothe's life as he struggles to overcome the horrible things that happen to him. He first grows up as a member of a traveling troupe of musicians and actors, but then his entire family is murdered by beings called the "Chandrian", because his parents "have been singing entirely the wrong sort of songs". Kvothe escapes, and ends up living on the streets in a brutal and filthy town. Using his innate intelligence and competence, he makes his way to the University, where he starts to learn about magic. This may sound like a Harry Potter tale, but Kvothe's story has a very different feel, and despite the fact that Kvothe is intelligent, witty, and good at most things he tries, his life has the feel of constant disaster as he fails to recognize enemies even as he makes them, annoys teachers, commits errors of judgment, and falls in love with a woman named Denna who comes and goes with little or no warning.

This book is long and rich, and it's so packed with stuff going on that it's clear that Rothfuss is liberally scattering story seeds everywhere; the book is full of characters and details that scream out as "important somewhere down the road". Part of the pleasure will be seeing how it all fits together, in the end, and how the two stories – Kvothe's earlier experiences, and his adulthood after he has set aside his life as a hero – come together. My main, and really only, reservation, lies in the way Rothfuss often uses more modern idioms and methods of speech than one might usually find in a fantasy novel. I found the way a lot of the characters talked jarring and out of place, and it wasn't something that I was able to quickly get used to. Nevertheless, the pages keep turning, and the richness of the story sneaks up on me. This novel would be a good book to give someone who doesn't love fantasy all that much. Or for those who do love fantasy all that much. Basically, it's good for people who like good stories that don't always go where you think they're going and which have engaging characters.

(My review of the sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, will be appearing on GMR, probably a little bit after I write it. A preview: It's good. Really good. I am now a Patrick Rothfuss fanboy. That cover art up there, also, is the German cover. I don't have that cover art, obviously, but I love the way it looks, a lot more than the American paperback art that I ended up with.)

A Random Wednesday Conversation Starter

Which rank of nobility is cooler: Duke, or Baron? Or choose between Duchess and Baroness.

Where is he?

I love Pearls Before Swine:

A teevee quiz!

From SamuraiFrog I get a quiz. Huzzah! Hooray, quizzes!

1. What is your favorite "Classic" TV show?

Star Trek.

2. What character from a "Classic" TV show would you like to be?

Dr. McCoy.

3. On which "Classic" TV Show would you have loved to have a walk-on role?

If I can't be Dr McCoy, I'd like to be something else on Star Trek. Maybe a red shirt guy, and I could ham up a horrible death!

4. Can you remember a line you liked from a "Classic" TV show?

Of course I can! From the Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark": "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!" And I'm always excited to tell people that "Quadrotriticale is a high-yield grain."

5. Which TV doctor would you choose to remove your appendix?

Dr. McCoy wouldn't have to remove my appendix. He'd give me a pill and it would go away.

6. Which TV doctor would you not let touch you with a 10- foot pole?

Morris on ER. Part of that show's fall from grace came when they started morphing that guy from idiot screw-up to actual doctor. (More on why I stopped liking ER here.)

7. Which TV doctor/hospital would you choose for the best medical care?

Whatever hospital Dr. House works in, although I'd ask if he's currently clean or if he's hopped up on Vicodin again before I let them wheel me in the doors.

8. Everyone knows nurses run the hospital. Who was/is your favorite TV nurse?

Carol Hathaway on ER.

9. Do you consider yourself a "fan" of reality TV?

No. I like specific shows. I'm not drawn to genres in particular.

10. What's your "can't miss" reality TV show (or shows)?

The Amazing Race, Hell's Kitchen. I also enjoy Undercover Boss somewhat, and Gordon Ramsay's other shows, although most of those are of the "a little goes a long way" variety. I've become a Survivor fan, although I'm boycotting this season as long as Boston Rob and Russell are on. (One is gone, I'm told. I hate seeing these guys turn up like bad pennies every other season on these shows.)

11. What reality TV show do you suppose the devil plays on the TV in Hell as punishment?

I remember ten years or so ago when FOX was roundly pilloried for producing Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?. Now, The Bachelor is on, what, it's ninth or tenth season? And I just can't stand Dancing with the Stars.

12. If you were given a free ticket to be on any reality show, which one would you choose?

I don't want to be on the show as a contestant (maybe), but if The Amazing Race ever had its pit stop in Buffalo, I'd love to be the person standing next to Phil on the mat saying "Welcome to Buffalo!" as teams arrive.

13. What shows would make up a perfect night of TV viewing for you?

8:00: The Big Bang Theory
8:30: How I Met Your Mother
9:00: Mike & Molly
9:30: 30Rock (although I've missed all of this season thus far)
10:00: Castle

14. What show(s) would you cancel without a moment's hesitation?

Two and a Half Men.

15. Is there a show (previously canceled or just no longer airing) that you'd bring back, original cast and all?

Firefly, Once and Again

16. You get to create one show to put on the schedule, with any stars you choose. Who and what would it be?

Hmmmm. I don't know, but it would involve Sela Ward as the captain of a spaceship.

17. Is there a game show (past or present) you think you would do really well on, as a contestant?

No. I'd get "OMG, the camera's on!" syndrome. Or I'd be like those unlucky folks on Jeopardy! who can't get the buzzer to work right. (But then, those game shows that Nickelodeon used to air – the ones hosted by that Mark Summers guy, the ones that invariably featured lots of pie-throwing – would have been up my alley, too.)

18. Is there a game show you think is the stupidest thing you've ever seen?

I find Million Dollar Drop really stupid. And I hated Weakest Link when it was on. The lady on that show was really creepy. (Yeah, she was just a character, but so what?)

19. Is there a game show you watch, but don't like to admit to watching? (A guilty pleasure!)

Nope. I don't believe in guilty pleasures, anyway. I only watch Jeopardy! sporadically now.

20. Who is your favorite game show host? Who is your least favorite?

Bob Barker was awesome! I actually remember quite a few "old school" game show hosts: Bert Convy, Bill Cullen, Jack Barry. Those guys were good. Oh, and Wink Martindale! Least favorite? I dunno...I guess the creepy lady from the afore-mentioned Weakest Link.

21. Who is your favorite (past or present) TV cop?

Wow, game shows to cops. Right now, Detective Kate Beckett on Castle. All time? There have been a lot of great cops! I guess I'll go with NYPDBlue's Andy Sipowicz.

22. Which TV cop do you think was the most crooked, or the most inept?

Sheriff Roscoe P. Colltrane, I guess.

23. Which TV show had the best ensemble cast of police officers?

NYPDBlue was masterfully done, especially since it turned over its whole cast (except for Dennis Franz, the glue holding it all together) more than once.

24. You need to hire a bodyguard for yourself. Which TV cop do you choose?

Secret Service agent Ron Butterfield from The West Wing.

25. Who is your favorite stand-up comedian of all time?

George Carlin.

26. Which one could you do without? (Not your type of humor, or just plain stupid!)

Andrew Dice Clay. Ugly, idiotic humor that I hated. I wasn't a Sam Kinison fan, either.

27. Which comedian do you think has gone on to have a great career aside from doing stand-up?

Either Steve Martin or Jerry Seinfeld, I suppose.

28. If you went to a comedy club on amateur night, and they gave you some jokes and a microphone, would you go onstage?

No.

29. Who is/was your favorite TV mom?

Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch), or Lily Manning (later Sammler) on Once and Again.

30. Was she a realistic mother, or more of a TV fantasy type?

The former, fantasy; the latter, realistic.

31. Which TV mom did you find the most unrealistic? Or if you’d rather: creepy – sappy – mean – you choose the adjective, and you name the mom.

Howard's mom on The Big Bang Theory. But then, she's pure comedic effect.

32. No disrespect to your dear old mum, but which TV mom did you think it might be neat to have as your own?

I never thought of teevee moms in this way. Seems weird.

33. What show would you like to see brought back for an hour or two episode, to see how the characters are doing now? (This should be a show that it might be possible to do a reunion on.)

Once and Again. Firefly. The West Wing. Friends. And I'd love to know what happened with Frasier Crane's following of the Laura Linney character on Frasier.

34. Pick a show that could not realistically be brought back for a reunion, because some or all of the cast members are gone. What if they could have done a reunion before it was too late? Name the show you'd most like to see.

I'm not sure, honestly.

35. Which reunion show have you watched and thought "Wow, they should have left that one alone!"

I can't recall any reunion shows.

36. Which do you prefer- a "reunion" episode of the series, or a "cast reunion" where the actors sit around and talk about the making of the show?

Depends on the show, I suppose. If it's been so many years that the characters are geriatric, then the latter, I suppose. Like the Happy Days reunion of a few years ago.

37. What is your favorite TV theme song?

Actual song with lyrics: The Big Bang Theory. Theme music without lyrics: Star Trek Voyager. (Wonderful theme for an ordinary show.)

38. Which song drives you crazy enough to hit mute on the remote?

That salsa-thing for Dancing with the Stars. Ugh.

39. Which song are you proud to say you remember (most of) the lyrics to???

It's not a matter of pride, really, but I do know all the words to the theme from The Brady Bunch. As you might expect.

A Promise

If and when I am ever a published author, if you give me a bad review on your blog, I promise that I will not show up in your comments section and make an ass of myself.

You have my word, folks!

More answers....

I think I'm almost done...these ones are political, so I'm going to put them after a page break. (I also use some language.)

Crap on toast.

This morning I had one of those "Ohhhh!" moments of writerly epiphany, when I realized why I've been finding the last three or four chapters of the Work-In-Progress something of a struggle, where the run up to that point had been really fairly easy. It's because I screwed up and shouldn't have written those chapters. I took the story in entirely the wrong direction, and I've ended up in this awful spot where nothing's been happening; just a whole lot of exposition and introducing my main characters to new people for four chapters.

The good news about the epiphany is that I know exactly what I did wrong and where I did it. The bad news? I've been working on Chapter 13...and now, tonight, after I re-read the thing to refresh certain details in my head and prime the pump, I'll be back on Chapter 9. Oh well.

Sentential Links #241

Time for linkage. Brace yourselves!

:: There they were. Walking home from work one day, all I could see was something that looked like lots of hair.

:: And I just learned yesterday that Doritos (any of the bright-orange nacho-cheese junk snacks, actually) pair best with Pinot Noir. I thought that was weird. (But what crunchy, salty snack pairs best with Valpolicella? I love a nice Valpolicella.)

:: So, let not my lack of ranting confuse you; in most cases, I tend to side with the labor unions, even though, I should point out, I do not belong to one.

:: Among the things we do is to tilt at windmills. We do this because we also fight City Hall, and sometimes the windmills look as thought they might be City Hall. We fight City Hall because that's the only way to keep the system honest, and keeping the system honest is a lot more important than the guilt or innocence or rightness or wrongness of any particular individual or cause.

:: Blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere. (Holy crap.)

:: The point is that the unit value of "song" is not the same as the unit value of "novel." The comparison is more song ==> short story or song ==> chapter, and album ==> novel.

:: It got me thinking, “what is the next homeowner going to think of some of my decisions?” Whenever I make changes or repairs to the house, I try to do it at least as well or better than a professional would. Not that I always succeed — sometimes I don’t have the skill or the time. I’m sure there are some things that I just live with that would make another person shake his head.

:: Three days ago I woke up thinking, “I wonder how Diana Wynne Jones is doing? I should crochet her a shawl.”

More next week!

Two of Three

_DSC8763-1, originally uploaded by preloc and kanar.

Last week saw the birthdays of William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) and Leonard Nimoy (born March 26, 1931). Best to both! It's too bad DeForest Kelley is no longer with us; way too many folks think of Star Trek's "Original Series" characters as Kirk and Spock instead of the real dynamic of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. (Kelley was born January 20, by the way; if he were still around, he would be 91.)

The best recent tribute to Leonard Nimoy, of course, comes from the Christmas episode of Season Two of The Big Bang Theory. In the episode, Penny tells Sheldon that she has got him a Christmas present, which gives Sheldon pause, as he had no intention of exchanging gifts with Penny, and now he feels he must, out of social obligation. But he devises a strategy: he will buy a whole bunch of gift baskets from Bath&Body Works, and when he sees what Penny's gift is, he will give her the basket that he judges the best match for what she has given him. Hilarity ensues.

(What does that have to do with Leonard Nimoy? Watch the clip!)

Off to Arrakis!

Off to Arrakis!, originally uploaded by Jaquandor.

OK, Cal. Now we shall see what is up with this favorite book of yours. Oh yes, we shall see.

"Supposably?"

Here's a weird observation: does anyone else out there ever have the experience of seeing a word in print that you've seen in print thousands of times before, and yet suddenly thought upon seeing it again, "Hey, that word looks pretty weird!"



I saw this picture on another blog last night, and after look at the image for a minute, I suddenly thought: "Wow. 'Pepsi' is a pretty odd word."

Anyhoo....

Sunday Burst of Weird and AWESOME!

Oddities and Awesome abound!

:: Via SamuraiFrog: Deaths in old-school arcade games.



I miss arcades, although I spent a lot less time in them as a kid than others my age, owing to my parents' odd notion that there were better things for me to be doing with my saved-up money than changing it all to quarters and playing video games. (But hey, I thwarted them by saving up my money and then blowing it all on comic books! HA!!!)

Kidding aside -- they were right, of course; as much as I loved the old-school video games of that era, I had zero concept of time management, money management, or "Hey, I should probably crack open that book that Teacher X assigned me to read/study/do homework out of." I was unfocused enough; adding regular arcade time to the mix would have been, shall we say, unwise. But I did manage to squeeze in arcade visits now and again. Loved 'em, even if my favorite games tended to be monopolized for hours at a time. Nothing frustrated more than rushing into the arcade, knowing I only had twenty or thirty minutes, tops, before I needed to be someplace else, running to my favorite game, and seeing a crowd of people standing around with their quarters lined up on the console. Ugh!

(And now I find that I can't even remember the name of my favorite late-80s/early-90s era video game, which I owned in college. I made that game my bitch...and I can't remember for the life of me what it was called, so I can't find out if a version exists for any other gaming system.)

:: I want this.


see more Hacked IRL - Truth in Sarcasm

The glass of milk would have to be pretty epic, though. I'm thinking you'd need a glass flower vase filled nearly to the top with milk.

:: I'm not a big fan of commercials, especially this one, which is pretty poorly filmed. The picture gets really blurry at the end. Or maybe it's something with my eyes.



More next week!

Saturday Centus (Sunday edition)

Late with this week's prompt as well, because yesterday was an abnormally packed Saturday here at Casa Jaquandor: we got up freakishly early (for a Saturday, anyway) to drive ninety minutes for a pancake breakfast, and then I had to grocery shop, and do two loads of laundry, and put away all of those groceries (which included dividing the 6.5-lb package of ground beef into 8-oz portions for the freezer), finishing a book that I need to review (and for which I started the day with more than 300 pages left to read), and...taking a nap or two. So I didn't get any of the writing done yesterday that I wanted to.

This week's prompt is to write a poem using the prompt. And Jenny specifically says, "The rhyming kind", so I can't just whip off a nice bit of blank verse, either. (Nothing wrong with blank verse -- I love me some blank verse, and I find it a lot harder to write something that's not awful poetry in blank verse than a lot of people suppose is the case.) I toyed with notions for a sonnet, but...well, one idea just bobbled to the top and stayed there, so here it is. A couplet.

Epitaph for the Stupid Kid

"I'm not a chicken and I know it!"
And he did a stupid thing to show it.

Something for Thursday

In honor of Elizabeth Taylor's passing yesterday, here is the love music Alex North wrote for Cleopatra.



I may watch that movie this weekend....