Here’s a good site for your Sunday browsing: a collection of opening hooks from various novels. I should look at my shelves and see if I can think of anything worthwhile to contribute. If you have a favorite literary opening hook, post it here.
Laura Branigan, one of the first voices in pop music that penetrated my consciousness back in the early 80s, died today. I’m going to see if I can legally download any of her songs.
Speaking as a member of Generation X, can we please, please stop dragging out the bloody carcass of the Vietnam War every four years? The Swift Boat sideshow seems to be finally fading away, but it amazes me how the events of thirty years ago can still dominate discussions of our nation’s FUTURE. it’s baby-boomer narcissism at its worst and both parties are guilty of perpetuating it. Instead of talking about issues like the increase in the number of Americans living in poverty, we’re obsessing over how close someone was to the Cambodian border in 1968. I can only hope that my generation avoids such tit-for-tat sniping when Iraq vets start running for office.
The Guardian interviews scientists about their favorite science fiction films and Blade Runner tops the list. Hmm. I liked BR, but it always struck me as a film that emphasized style over substance. I’m torn between Close Encounters and Aliens. Two films that are very different in tone, but they are both models of superb writing and directing.
People with hearing and speech disabilities can now use AOL’s instant messenger service to make regular telephone calls via relay service. The deaf community already makes extensive use of IM and this is an obvious extension of that application. AIM has a dominant presence on wireless devices as well, which means that people will be able to utilize relay service from any location that has cellular service. I may even give it a try myself. I don’t think my speech is that difficult to understand, but sometimes I have the occasional phone conversation where I must repeat myself a few times. This is especially true when I make calls for things like technical support. I don’t think those support techs in India have much experience interacting with people on ventilators. I can only imagine how freaked out they would be if they had to talk to someone who used a speech synthesizer. Let’s hope that the other big IM providers like Yahoo and MSN also implement this capability.
My building has been without hot water for the last couple days and my morning showers have become minor cardiac events. I have no idea how civilization endured before the invention of the water heater. It makes me realize that I could never cut it in a post-apocalyptic world. I’d be constantly whining about the things I missed like hot showers and cable television and air conditioning. Except that there wouldn’t be any electricity for my vent, which means I wouldn’t be whining for very long.
Now, I know that not every Republican is a fan of the Charlie Daniels Band and Christian music. Nevertheless, the organizers of the Republican National Convention insist on presenting such acts to represent the cultural palate of the party. If Bush really is the uniter that he claims to be, then where’s the hip-hop? Where’s the speed metal and the nu metal and the SoCal punk? Where’s the jazz and the blues and ska?
And for God’s sake, where is the zydeco?
So much for creating a big tent.
Popular Science has an article about a dilemma facing sf writers. With the state of science evolving at breakneck speed, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to predict what a future world will look like. Personally, I’ve never been terribly interested in the plausibility of the science in science fiction. What captures my interest is how characters respond and interact in the context of the author’s imagined wonders. I don’t care that warp speed or time travel are scientific improbabilities. All I care about is whether the characters and their actions are believable. That’s why I usually don’t go for hard sf; the science may be solid but the characters and dialog feel stiff and underdeveloped. It feels more like reading a documentary than a novel.
This morning, I discovered that news of my Humphrey Fellowship was posted on the intraweb at work. Got several nice e-mails and comments from various colleagues. It’s a little odd because I’ve been so preoccupied with Kerry campaigning and other stuff that I haven’t given much thought to the Humphrey thing. It doesn’t even begin for another month.
My new wheelchair still isn’t ready. They brought it to me on Saturday after making a slight modification, which of course didn’t do anything to address the core issue of balance. I remain unimpressed with the supply company and their efforts to get me a working chair. They aren’t very good at listening to my suggestions, which is typical of businesses that “serve” people with disabilities. But I’m stuck with them and all I can do is hope they get it back to me before Halloween.
Senator Cleland went down to Crawford, Texas to deliver a letter asking Bush to explicitly condemn the Swift Boat ads. Nobody at the ranch would accept the letter until somebody from the Bush campaign dispatched Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson. Patterson offered to accept the letter if Cleland would take a letter from the Bush campaign accusing Kerry of applying a double standard to the whole incident. Cleland declined, saying he would simply drop the letter in the mail. Patterson then offered up this priceless quote:
“I tried to accept that letter and he would not give it to me,” said Patterson. “He would not face me. He kept rolling away from me. He’s quite mobile.”
It’s only going to get more absurd, people. The rabbit hole runs very deep.
Oh, for crying out loud. The October issue of Playboy will feature topless pictures of a video game character. Why bother airbrushing pictures of a real woman when you get things right the first time with a computer-generated model? Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I like my topless models to have some reality outside of a electronic impulses hard drive.
My brother wanted to experience American consumerism after spending a year in Europe, so we went to the Mall of America last night. Visiting that place once a year is more than enough to remind me why I don’t go there more often. The seemingly endless rows of middlebrow retailers, the chain restaurants, the teenagers lugging around shopping bags that probably weigh more than they do…it almost makes me want to take a shower when I get home.
A girl blew me off via e-mail last night. The fact that she blew me off isn’t a big deal; I’ve developed a thick skin over the years. Something tells me she found this blog and decided I was simply too much of a geek to waste any time on. I remain confident that somewhere out there is a cute geeky girl with a nose piercing who digs comics and French pop music and who will totally groove on a cool gimp like me. Okay, she doesn’t have to have a nose piercing. After all, one should keep his options open.
Check out this modified wheelchair crossbow. I could seriously freak some people out with this thing. The guy who made it is from Minnesota, natch.
The three Siegel siblings went out for brunch today at a downtown joint called Hell’s Kitchen. Really good food with a tongue-in-cheek, kitschy ambiance. The walls are painted an infernal shade of red and the wait staff is dressed in pajamas to give the impression that they just rolled out of bed. I had a huge plate of Rosti potatoes that was excellent but I felt a little guilty because I never eat much at restaurants and I usually only make a small dent in my food. But at least I didn’t have to pick up the check this time because my brother and sister split the cost. I almost fainted from the shock.
I was in a bookstore with my brother today and I was kind of amazed by the sheer quantity of books on two disparate subjects: Bush and comic books. Then again, maybe there is a karmic connection between these separate publishing trends.
Here’s a picture of my brief encounter with Senator Cleland:
A genuinely nice guy. I had the sense that he’s more comfortable in the veterans community, but I think he’s trying to expand his reach.
My brother is visiting for a little while before he returns to Germany for his dissertation studies, so blogging will be light for the next few days. I haven’t seen him in a year and it will be good to catch up. .
I need to get back to Miami. This morning I woke up to a crisp autumn breeze…in mid-August. See, this is what we Minnesotans do. We complain about the weather. It’s either too hot or too cold. Too wet or too dry. We live in a constant state of mild dissatisfaction with our climate and we complain and moan because we are Midwesterners. If we didn’t have the weather as a source of conversation, we might start talking about the things that really bother us and then things might turn ugly.
Senator Kennedy’s name was on the Transportation Security Administration’s do-not-fly list. Ah, now we see what the feds perceive as the real threat to our security–liberal senators from Massachusetts. I feel so much safer.