| (no subject) |
[Aug. 14th, 2006|09:34 pm] |
I perform LIVEJOURNAL NECROMANCY at the request of my dear friend Erica at Okazu. Sorry we haven't spoken in ages, Erica, but I'm too busy dealing with crazy people and evil children at my job, and being a magic troll in World of Warcraft!
1. One book that changed your life?
The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Campbell's concepts of the universal heroic myth was the closest thing I had to a religion for many years. The influence over my early writing was enormous, and while I've become skeptical about Campbell's theories as an adult (in the same way I am skeptical of the theories of Jung, from which he drew), much of the adult I am was made in this book.
2. One book you have read more than once?
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander, and all that follows from it. This was MY series from about ages 8-13. I expect I read the whole Prydain chronicles at least twenty times between those ages, and the books sunk into my consciousness as the epitome of fantasy before I even cracked The Lord of the Rings.
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
I won't cheat like Erica and mention more than one. ;) I'd take a collected Shakespeare. I'd get bored of that eventually, but it would take longer than most.
4. One book that made you laugh?
Riotous Assembly by Tom Sharpe, and its sequel / prequel (I can't remember which, it's been a while), Indecent Exposure. These are very mean and very funny books set in apartheid-era South Africa, and some of the only books I've ever laughed out loud at.
5. One book that made you cry.
I cry at books very easily (and in real life hardly at all), but the ending of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagles will reliably make me bawl.
6. One book you wish had been written?
I wish The Canterbury Tales had been finished. I am somewhat obsessed over lost or incomplete works of literature. I get shaky when I start thinking about how paltry what we have of classical literature or medieval English theatre is compared to what we know was written. Perhaps that's one of the reasons I'm in the profession I am (although you wouldn't know it by how viciously I weed old books--though I do send last copies to our reference libraries!)
6a. One book by someone else you wish you had written.
Little, Big by John Crowley. Erica, I don't know if you've ever read this guy before, but if you haven't, I recommend you do--he's phenomenal. Try the short fiction first, collected in Novelties & Souvenirs.
7. One book you wish had never been written?
A hard one, this. I could think about this one seriously and nominate one of the foundational tomes of one of the many authoritarian creeds (perhaps something by Plato). But instead I'll be frivolous and say I wish Robert Jordan had never written The Eye of the World so I wouldn't have occupied so much of my time reading eight books in that damnable series before I managed to make myself stop. Does anyone remember that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine keeps on eating subs to fill out her sub club card to get a free sub, even though she hates subs, because the card is already half filled? That's me and the Wheel of Time. I got hooked by the passable first few books and kept reading even though I began to hate it with a passion, because I wanted the payoff of an ending for my time invested. Oh God the wasted time. :(
8. One book you are currently reading?
I am currently working my way through Tony Hillerman's Navajo mysteries (on The Ghostway at the moment). These are real gems--solidly-plotted thrillers with an additional flavoring of Navajo lore and culture.
9. One book you have been meaning to read?
Too many to count. I do have Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson sitting around, a gift from my father when I moved into my first apartment. I keep on meaning to read it in more detail, so I can understand things like how to air my bedsheet, and why I separate whites and coloureds in the laundry, but damn it, I'm busy playing my magic troll...
10. Now tag five people.
Good luck with that. I think this is the first time I've posted on this journal in about two years, and that's only because Sean brought Erica's post to my attention. |
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| Season 1, Episode 1: "Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire" |
[Jan. 10th, 2005|09:37 am] |
As promised, I have now watched the first episode of the first season of the Simpsons not once, but twice, the second time with the commentary track on. I have never been a big commentary listener--I can probably count the number of DVD commentaries I've listened to on one hand. But I gave this one a throw, and will try to do the same in the future for those episodes with commentary. There are some interesting insights into the thoughts of the creators and the progress of the show; I also found it easier to not get squirmy during the dead stretches (there are several in this first episode; the commentators make note of how much slower-paced the early episodes were).
One of the things I've realized about myself is that I've become an interactivity junky. I usually find it difficult to be entertained by anything where I'm not making choices if alternatives are available. Measured in terms of hours invested, I would rather play a video game than read a book (this is a difficult thing for someone who majored in English to admit). Most of my reading is done in situations where there are no alternatives, such as on the subway or bus. That said, I'd rather read than watch television. Television is the ultimate non-interactive medium; I can put down a book or pause a DVD midway through or whatever, but if I want to watch a particular television show, I have to do it at the scheduled time, I can't stop watching it whenever I want and resume, etc (maybe I could with a Tivo, at least until the big media companies finish completely making Tivo and the other DVR manufacturers into their bitches via laws and strongarming). The only times I can bear to watch long hours of television (or DVDs, even) is when I'm with friends; I can get that interactivity stimulation via conversation, either about what's being watched, or other things altogether.
Anyway, where I am going with this: listening to the DVD commentary gives kind of a simulacra of conversational stimulation. I can't actually take part, but I can agree or disagree with what's being said, reflect upon it, etc. There is a kind of dialogue going on, and when Groening says something like (paraphrased): "A show sometimes raises standards of what's acceptable, and people follow along.", I find myself thinking about that and drawing my own particular conclusions. Personally, I think Groening's entirely correct; the show really did raise the bar, not just for animated shows, but for regular sitcoms. I'm sure we wouldn't have had Futurama or King of the Hill without The Simpsons; I'm not sure we would have had Arrested Development either.
I'll also note that one of the most hilarious things about the commentary in the context of recent events is their mention of how nervous Fox was about things like using the word "groin". Fox! The people who made Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?
OK, to write about the actual episode itself: "Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire" is sort of the prototypical early-season episode for me. There's the typical mix of cyncism and sap (the sap diminished, the cynicism increased, later on; much the same follows for my own personality; here is The Simpsons as life-metaphor; how Joseph Campbellian). The voices are "off", and some of the character designs are as well (eagerly awaiting the commentary tracks on the episodes with Black Smithers). I could say other obvious things, but in an attempt to be more than that...
One of the things that surprised me was that this episode was better than I remembered. There are some good gags. I actually laughed, especially at a couple of lines:
- "It's the best present a mother could get, and it makes you look so dangerous." (Bart's imagined response from Marge to his getting a "Mother" tattoo)
- "Attention all personnel. Please keep working during the following announcement."
- "It says it's for dogs, but she can't read.
(Homer buying Maggie a rubber pork chop for Christmas)
I'll be interested to see if this impression holds true throughout the early, experimental episodes, before the show really founds its "voice" (I would say this happens somewhere around third season). There are some episodes from the first two seasons I have never actually seen.
Tomorrow: the second episode of the first season, prefaced by more of my random ramblings. |
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| Not Dead |
[Jan. 10th, 2005|08:11 am] |
Just busy. Though it's not like I update this thing much anyway. But last term (my second-to-last in my master's program) was one of my busiest times ever: I started a new job and did a three-month internship in addition to full-time classes. I also got badly addicted to the excellent MMORPG City of Heroes, which ate up most of the limited free time I had. This is my first MMORPG (not counting when I used to actually play MUDs by Telnet back in, roughly, The Dawn of Time), and I've had a blast with it since I discovered what really makes a MMORPG fun (bear with me here, I am extremely insular by nature and this was relatively new to me): PLAY WITH OTHER PEOPLE, NUMBNUTS.
I also finally finished the Second Chronicle of Thomas Covenant, due to the release of the first book in the Last Chronicle of Thomas Covenant, the Runes of Earth. I may do a more lengthy post on these later, but I will say that while I found the scope and ambition of the First Chronicle impressive, I thought Donaldson's execution somewhat lacking. This feeling entirely goes away in the Second Chronicle, and each book in it is a masterpiece.
Anyway, what I am actually posting here for is to annouce to the tiny number of people who actually read the posts I make every equinox and solstice that I am embarking on a writing project using this journal as the medium, more for myself than anyone else, and in an attempt to make myself write more. I have recently acquired the third, fourth and fifth season boxed sets of The Simpsons (when the show actually started getting good), and in watching some of what I consider the best episodes the series had, I am realizing something I suppose I knew on an unconscious level for ages: this show basically shaped my adult sense of humour, and probably far too many other things about my adult self.
So what I will be doing is attempting (emphasis on attempting, I may get bored and stop at any time, but will try not to) to watch the episodes in chronological order, one per day, and write something about each one here. The time commitment is small, the effort probably smaller. I will undoubtedly write about other things as well in the process; one of the points of this is to give me a kernel of regular commitment around which to build more frequent posting.
So I am now off to make myself a cup of tea and engage in self-examination via The Simpsons. Expect another post soon. |
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| Surprisingly fascinating... |
[Aug. 25th, 2004|03:50 pm] |
Insurance as Governance
Doesn't that sound dull? I can already hear seangaffney cringing.
This book was recommended to me by my dad after a discussion regarding post-9/11 perceptions of security, and while the title makes it sound dry and academic (and in fact it is rather dry and academic), it is utterly fascinating, a sociological analysis of the role of insurance companies as a kind of shadow government, acting and operating in similar ways to the elected government of a country through things like managing risk, defining means and morals, etc.
I'm simplifying tremendously, but this book is interesting, in the way really great and insightful sociological analysis can be, because it makes me nod my head and go "of course, of course"; I had never really thought about these things before, but reading them as they are presented, they make startling amounts of sense.
I suspect the ideas contained within might be even more meaningful to Americans, whose lack of "universal" health care like we have in Canada means the insurance companies play a significantly larger role.
The book's by Richard V. Ericson, Aaron Doyle and Dean Barry. There aren't any elves or dragons yet, but I'm only a hundred pages in, so here's hoping! |
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| Continuing the proud tradition of irregular posting... |
[Apr. 21st, 2004|12:00 am] |
I've finished out my first year of my Master's. Halfway done (and half a librarian, or something like that). By this time next year I will be scrambling for full-time work along with the hundred or so other people who will be in my graduating class (thanks, FIS, for letting in three times as many people in my year as you usually do).
Conversation between one of my profs and I--
Prof: So, Alan, what are you going to do after you graduate?
Me: Same thing everyone else will do. Apply for 200 jobs and take whichever one I'm offered.
Books of Late:
Anything by Tim Powers. The guy is amazing, I wish I'd read him years ago.
The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker
Support Canadian fantasy; this is an amazing first novel. I've heard it criticized for excessively florid prose, but I've been guilty of that enough myself that I can't really fault it in others. I have no idea when the second one in the series is coming out, though. :(
Fables : Animal Farm by Bill Willingham and others
Second volume collecting this amazing comic series. First graphic novel I've bought in a year or so.
The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin
I bought this because of the wonderful title. It's a disappointment, the kind of "ha-ha nudge nudge you are reading a humourous fantasy novel" British fantasy humour that makes me cringe. The title is the best thing about it. Admittedly, it is a great title.
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Jesuits In Space! This is a good "first contact" novel with a religious bent to it. The religious themes are well-handled (although fairly one-sidedly in favour of the "believing in something is great!" side of things), and while the sheer shininess of all the main characters is sometimes hard to take (too much reinforcement of just how good and nice these people are, until you get sick of it), the overall plot is really stellar. |
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| (no subject) |
[Feb. 3rd, 2004|12:59 pm] |
So the Martin government's Throne Speech promises more money for cities, starting with a rebate on the GST, and possibly proceeding onto other things, like a share of the gas tax.
Nice promises, but we'll see if anything comes from them. I remember the provincial Liberals promised gas tax for the TTC as well. Wait and see, wait and see. |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 31st, 2004|11:23 pm] |
I have amazed myself by actually efficiently managing my time this term so far. Usually I can only keep up the "this term it's going to be different, no more scrambling at the last minute to finish everything" act for about a week, but I've actually completed several papers and assignments up to two weeks before they're due this term. I fear I may be becoming responsible. Or maybe it's just the extra free time--I've got a Friday off this term, the first time I've had a completely free day in my entire university career.
The weather outside is awful, one of those times when a ton of snow falls, and then the temperature drops, so you get to slog around in huge piles of snow while freezing wind gnaws at your face. I hate Toronto winters; they're extremely scungy.
Recently-finished books...
The Anubis Gates and On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers. A friend of mine recommended this author to me; I'm very glad he did, as the two books I've read are wonderful. This guy writes slightly off-key speculative fiction better than almost anyone I've read.
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. Rereading this one. An absolutely wonderful novel. Time travel is an element of the book, but it's really only a framing device. The real plot is in the relationships of the characters in both the past and the present. One of the most humane and compassionate sci-fi novels I've read.
User Error : Resisting Computer Culture by Ellen Rose. Interesting book, but rather one-sided. The author constantly apologizes for her consistent oversimplification of computer business and computer culture, but this doesn't make up for the one-sided portrayal, and the suggestions she offers for remedies to current problems feel slender and incomplete precisely because she doesn't fully consider the other side of things. Good to read because the problems she does talk about are definitely problems, but there are a lot of things I was expecting at least a mention of that she does leave out (she never seems to have have heard of open source, Linux, or any kind of software not produced by big commercial companies, for example) that weaken her overall argument. |
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| Book O' the Day |
[Jan. 10th, 2004|11:34 pm] |
Systemantics by John Gall.
Ought to be required reading for anyone interested in system design (not necessarily electronic or computerized) or systems theory, and, more tangentially, information and communication. This is a very clever, insightful and rather funny book about the myriad ways in which systems not only fail to accomplish their stated goals, but sometimes actively impede them. It makes its points with extreme cases, but they are good and valid points. |
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