Just to finish up my quota (with surprisingly little filler this month. Guess you do more reading when you aren't playing pokemon all the time. Black and White 2 in a week!!) today was the same, and also different. There are always going to be characters that you run into, or just espy from the corner of your eye.
Today I had these two kids hang out with me while I was supposed to be securing stuff and whatnot. They were a really tall ten year old, and a really short 14 year old (so, equal size). Naturally I couldn't help but wonder at how much they have yet to experience. I got to teach them that the one hat that looks like a jaguar pelt (no, kid, if it was cheetah the spots would be more solid coloured) was actually made of rabbit fur. Say- whaaaaat? They were surprised. When ten learned this, he quizzed 14, and sort of good naturedly lorded over him how he knew something the other guy didn't. Now they're both up to speed.
To see how far in or out of synch I am with the kids today I asked about pokemon- ten collects the cards, and hilariously kept talking about having double X cards or whatever, even though I repeatedly told him I had no idea what he was talking about. They've even seen Dragonball Z, though they don't dig it, which is fair enough. Ten likes the Family Channel, and likes that I like "Drake and Josh". I was impressed that he knew what Drake and Josh was. Maybe it's just my youngest brother that can't remember things past a week ago (seriously, ask him about any of the big cultural milestones that myself, Jordan, or Simon are CONSTANTLY celebrating, and you'll get a big blank out of the guy. It's definitely up to me to teach his upcoming baby about Darkwing Duck.) and everyone else is pretty culturally up to speed.
Oh, but when ten was talking about how they don't let him bring pokemon cards to school anymore, I pulled on my years-of-experience hat and told him about the time kids were so crazy for pokemon cards that some kid stabbed another kid, then boom, the cards got banned.
Whoah, really? With a knife?!?
Uh, yeah, I assume with a knife.
I gambled that these kids were too young to have heard about that, but that they would still find the news somewhat shocking and interesting. Looks like I won out there.
They were good kids, good luck to them.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
The Outsiders
Hopping back over to the classics section of the library (not that Othello isn't a classic) I found the section sadly much smaller than it used to be. Probably they just shuffled the books back amongst general fiction, which is fine, except that it doesn't let me be as snooty with my book choices. Boo.
However, The Outsiders was in the classics section that remains, a short little book (redundant?) but tremendously engrossing. It reminds me of Catcher in the Rye (I forget what I said last time about Catcher in the Rye, I know I did a bit of a study of the author a year or so ago... this of course being the reason why people should add tags to their posts. My response? Never!!), starring a sort of low-born, low-brow, but good natured, sensitive, and highly intelligent protagonists.
The degrees vary- I think I'd rather hang out with Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders than uhhhh Catcher in the Rye kid... whatsisname Holden Caufield. I'll have you know I didn't need google to remember that, I used my brain. It's a little thing called effort, BRAIN effort.
The Outsiders is about a gang of "greasers" in the 60's that have to contend with being born on the wrong side of the tracks, without any of the breaks that the "socs" (short for "socials", and I read that it's supposed to be read as soshes or something... well nuts to that, I read it as "socks". Harder consonants, sock hops are a thing, socks to the jaw, I wouldn't be surprised if the greasers didn't have socks. Plenty of good reasons to read it my way) have.
The protagonist, Ponyboy, over the course of the novel, learns to empathize with others, particularly the socs, that they've got their own problems, and more importantly, are just as human as his greaser buddies. He also gets insight into the hardness of his eldest brother (Darry), his own selfishness in regards to the worries of the middle-older brother (Sodapop- yes, that's his name), and figure out a bit of what makes Dally (a violent hood, but still a "brother" in the greaser gang) tick.
"If we listen to each others hearts, we'll find we're never too far apart." Yeah, that's basically the message of the book, summed up in the line from the final song in A Goofy Movie. How often am I going to go back to that Goofy Movie well? Hey, it's not MY fault that movie is so relevant!!
When I was walking around with this book in hand I ran into a highschool fellow goer toer at the time I went, and he asked what I was reading. The Outsiders. Oh, I read that in middle school.
How have I not heard of this book until now? Second question, why is it not a bigger deal?
Let me just copy a couple of things down from the book.
First, there's this letter that Johnny wrote to Ponyboy before Johnny (spoilers!!) died.
"Ponyboy, I asked the nurse to give you this book so you could finish it. The doctor came in a while ago but I knew anyway. I keep getting tireder and tireder. Listen, I don't mind dying now. It's worth it. It's worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for. Some of their parents came by to thank me and I know it was worth it. Tell Dally it's worth it. I'm just going to miss you guys. I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everythings new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep that way, it's a good way to be. I want you to tell Dally to look at one. He'll probably think you're crazy, but ask for me. I don't think he's ever really seen a sunset. And don't be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There's still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally. I don't think he knows. Your buddy, Johnny."
Boy that's sad. Especially with Dally (spoilers!!) having died already, commiting suicide by cop in his grief over Johnny dying. Man, I am spoiling everything!
Let me try and find the actual poem from the book that was just referenced:
Okay, so Johnny and Pony are talking about a sunset and so:
"The mist was what was pretty," Johnny said. "All gold and silver."
"Uhmmmm," I said, trying to blow a smoke ring.
"Too bad it couldn't stay like that all the time."
"Nothing gold can stay." I was remembering a poem I'd read once.
"What?"
"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."
Johnny was staring at me. "Where'd you learn that? That was what I meant."
"Robert Frost wrote it. He meant more to it than I'm gettin', though." I was trying to find the meaning the poet had in mind, but it eluded me. "I always remembered it because I never quite got what he meant by it."
I greatly enjoyed this book. You know it was written by S.E. Hinton, a 16 (wait, maybe 17) year old girl in high school in 1967 (okay, published in '67, probably written the year before, but whatever). It's classified as a "young adult" novel, but I think that's lame. It's a good book, well written, that just happens to have young protagonists. Call Harry Potter "young adult" novels all you want.. those things are written like rubbish. Don't get me wrong, very fun books, but stylistically very lame.
Read The Outsiders. It's only 135 pages. They go by in a flash. Sorry about all the spoilers.
However, The Outsiders was in the classics section that remains, a short little book (redundant?) but tremendously engrossing. It reminds me of Catcher in the Rye (I forget what I said last time about Catcher in the Rye, I know I did a bit of a study of the author a year or so ago... this of course being the reason why people should add tags to their posts. My response? Never!!), starring a sort of low-born, low-brow, but good natured, sensitive, and highly intelligent protagonists.
The degrees vary- I think I'd rather hang out with Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders than uhhhh Catcher in the Rye kid... whatsisname Holden Caufield. I'll have you know I didn't need google to remember that, I used my brain. It's a little thing called effort, BRAIN effort.
The Outsiders is about a gang of "greasers" in the 60's that have to contend with being born on the wrong side of the tracks, without any of the breaks that the "socs" (short for "socials", and I read that it's supposed to be read as soshes or something... well nuts to that, I read it as "socks". Harder consonants, sock hops are a thing, socks to the jaw, I wouldn't be surprised if the greasers didn't have socks. Plenty of good reasons to read it my way) have.
The protagonist, Ponyboy, over the course of the novel, learns to empathize with others, particularly the socs, that they've got their own problems, and more importantly, are just as human as his greaser buddies. He also gets insight into the hardness of his eldest brother (Darry), his own selfishness in regards to the worries of the middle-older brother (Sodapop- yes, that's his name), and figure out a bit of what makes Dally (a violent hood, but still a "brother" in the greaser gang) tick.
"If we listen to each others hearts, we'll find we're never too far apart." Yeah, that's basically the message of the book, summed up in the line from the final song in A Goofy Movie. How often am I going to go back to that Goofy Movie well? Hey, it's not MY fault that movie is so relevant!!
When I was walking around with this book in hand I ran into a highschool fellow goer toer at the time I went, and he asked what I was reading. The Outsiders. Oh, I read that in middle school.
How have I not heard of this book until now? Second question, why is it not a bigger deal?
Let me just copy a couple of things down from the book.
First, there's this letter that Johnny wrote to Ponyboy before Johnny (spoilers!!) died.
"Ponyboy, I asked the nurse to give you this book so you could finish it. The doctor came in a while ago but I knew anyway. I keep getting tireder and tireder. Listen, I don't mind dying now. It's worth it. It's worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for. Some of their parents came by to thank me and I know it was worth it. Tell Dally it's worth it. I'm just going to miss you guys. I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everythings new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep that way, it's a good way to be. I want you to tell Dally to look at one. He'll probably think you're crazy, but ask for me. I don't think he's ever really seen a sunset. And don't be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There's still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally. I don't think he knows. Your buddy, Johnny."
Boy that's sad. Especially with Dally (spoilers!!) having died already, commiting suicide by cop in his grief over Johnny dying. Man, I am spoiling everything!
Let me try and find the actual poem from the book that was just referenced:
Okay, so Johnny and Pony are talking about a sunset and so:
"The mist was what was pretty," Johnny said. "All gold and silver."
"Uhmmmm," I said, trying to blow a smoke ring.
"Too bad it couldn't stay like that all the time."
"Nothing gold can stay." I was remembering a poem I'd read once.
"What?"
"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."
Johnny was staring at me. "Where'd you learn that? That was what I meant."
"Robert Frost wrote it. He meant more to it than I'm gettin', though." I was trying to find the meaning the poet had in mind, but it eluded me. "I always remembered it because I never quite got what he meant by it."
I greatly enjoyed this book. You know it was written by S.E. Hinton, a 16 (wait, maybe 17) year old girl in high school in 1967 (okay, published in '67, probably written the year before, but whatever). It's classified as a "young adult" novel, but I think that's lame. It's a good book, well written, that just happens to have young protagonists. Call Harry Potter "young adult" novels all you want.. those things are written like rubbish. Don't get me wrong, very fun books, but stylistically very lame.
Read The Outsiders. It's only 135 pages. They go by in a flash. Sorry about all the spoilers.
Othello
Uncultured swine that I am, I haven't read or seen Othello- until now! I finished it on the way to work this morning, wait, maybe it was during my break... probably it was on the way down there. Regardless, I read it. The only characters I knew of were Othello (buh) and Iago, but I clearly had no concept of either going in.
Othello as black guy is pretty well advertised, but did you know that there are schools of thought that have him as more of an olive skinned dude? Well, there is. Of course thanks to pop culture osmosis and the weight of assumptions by people through time, the farther into the future we go the less likely it will be that people will consider anyone other than a straight black portrayal. Just a little critique of our selective cultural memory.
Also suggested is that Othello had trouble seeing, which certainly helps set the stage for deception, not only in that evidence can be falsified, but that he'd naturally have a learned trust and dependance on "good" Iago.
Turning to Iago, I'd always pictured him as a sort of vindictive old man. Well, I got the vindictive part right- turns out the guy is 28 or somewheres thereabouts. It's actually Othello who's the oldest person in the play, thought to be in his 40's or 50's. This adds to the surprise when Desdemona marries Othello in secret, more than just the mixed race relationship, there's the gulf in status and age, with all signs pointing to Desdemona being 15, or at least in her teens. Yes, a culturally accepted practice at the time, but still, even back then people must've been able to appreciate the difference between a young woman in her teens and one in her twenties. Maybe wives were universally expected to be seen and not heard, so it didn't matter what she had to add to the conversation.
I think I conflated Iago with Shylock... he said, despite the fact that he doesn't think he's read the play with Shylock in it. If it's Merchant of Venice, then I definitely haven't read it, that's the one I always blow during Jeopardy. So, it's just pop culture osmosis again that tells me Shylock is an old man.. and you see how well that knowledge base served me in knowing Iago. I'd have had better luck if I just took everything I knew of the parrot in Aladin, made it a human, and bam.
To be fair, I could have subconciously done this already, and it's just that Gilbert Gottfried, regardless of his actual age, will always sound like he's a million years old. Or whatever age a screaming parrot is. In other news, the role of the parrot Iago was perfectly cast.
Uh, but anyways, yeah, that Iago. He sure messed with everybody like a jerk.
The End.
:)
Othello as black guy is pretty well advertised, but did you know that there are schools of thought that have him as more of an olive skinned dude? Well, there is. Of course thanks to pop culture osmosis and the weight of assumptions by people through time, the farther into the future we go the less likely it will be that people will consider anyone other than a straight black portrayal. Just a little critique of our selective cultural memory.
Also suggested is that Othello had trouble seeing, which certainly helps set the stage for deception, not only in that evidence can be falsified, but that he'd naturally have a learned trust and dependance on "good" Iago.
Turning to Iago, I'd always pictured him as a sort of vindictive old man. Well, I got the vindictive part right- turns out the guy is 28 or somewheres thereabouts. It's actually Othello who's the oldest person in the play, thought to be in his 40's or 50's. This adds to the surprise when Desdemona marries Othello in secret, more than just the mixed race relationship, there's the gulf in status and age, with all signs pointing to Desdemona being 15, or at least in her teens. Yes, a culturally accepted practice at the time, but still, even back then people must've been able to appreciate the difference between a young woman in her teens and one in her twenties. Maybe wives were universally expected to be seen and not heard, so it didn't matter what she had to add to the conversation.
I think I conflated Iago with Shylock... he said, despite the fact that he doesn't think he's read the play with Shylock in it. If it's Merchant of Venice, then I definitely haven't read it, that's the one I always blow during Jeopardy. So, it's just pop culture osmosis again that tells me Shylock is an old man.. and you see how well that knowledge base served me in knowing Iago. I'd have had better luck if I just took everything I knew of the parrot in Aladin, made it a human, and bam.
To be fair, I could have subconciously done this already, and it's just that Gilbert Gottfried, regardless of his actual age, will always sound like he's a million years old. Or whatever age a screaming parrot is. In other news, the role of the parrot Iago was perfectly cast.
Uh, but anyways, yeah, that Iago. He sure messed with everybody like a jerk.
The End.
:)
Dangerous snoozing
You know when you're tired and want to go back to sleep, but you have to go to work, and so you hit the snooze button once, and then the alarm goes off again, and then you hit the snooze button again, and then the alarm sounds again, and then one of two things will happen.
One reality- you turn off the whole blamed alarm clock, sleep in until, inevitably, you wake up ten minutes after you're supposed to be at work, panic and explode out of bed in a burst of fruitless energy hoping to go 88 miles per hour to go back in time. Spoilers, it won't work.
The second reality- you're painfully aware of the first reality, and force yourself up and out of bed, stumbling down the hall, knocking over what must be a two decade old video cassette from a bookshelf and slowly evolving back to homo sapiens via the combiation of light and a bowl of cereal.
I'm currently living in the second reality. The darkest timeline.
Speaking of darkest timeline, I dreamed a relatively unoriginal Community premise were people were going crazy and seeing everyone as shapes, until the last sane person admits they were seeing the shapes the whole time. Also, in a perfect Community type line, one guy I saw was made of balloons, and someone said that meant he was black (whaaaaat??) and then someone else said "sorry, that's the science."
Cool Geoff, it's up to you to tell me that's funny and not the weirdest form of racism.
Also, I dreamed up a McDonald's manager who was trying to tell me PJ had quit from there (guess I can't dream a Jetson's Juicy Burger) and I said to the people he was talking to that he was a liar, and generally caused a huge ruckus. The manager then threatened to never allow me to eat there again and I fully started laughing in his face. "Oh no! I'll never eat at a McDonald's again?? What'll I do?? I guess I'll have to make healthy life decisions." Then I threw a fry at him that was covered top to bottom in salt, continued laughing, and then got everyone in the store to help rearrange the furniture so no one could sit down, and no one could access the garbages.
If anyone else is surprised at the rebelliousness and belligerence displayed, I'm a little surprised too. And who dreams of a jerky McDonalds store manager? Not counting the people that work at McDonalds of course, where that probably happens all the time.
One reality- you turn off the whole blamed alarm clock, sleep in until, inevitably, you wake up ten minutes after you're supposed to be at work, panic and explode out of bed in a burst of fruitless energy hoping to go 88 miles per hour to go back in time. Spoilers, it won't work.
The second reality- you're painfully aware of the first reality, and force yourself up and out of bed, stumbling down the hall, knocking over what must be a two decade old video cassette from a bookshelf and slowly evolving back to homo sapiens via the combiation of light and a bowl of cereal.
I'm currently living in the second reality. The darkest timeline.
Speaking of darkest timeline, I dreamed a relatively unoriginal Community premise were people were going crazy and seeing everyone as shapes, until the last sane person admits they were seeing the shapes the whole time. Also, in a perfect Community type line, one guy I saw was made of balloons, and someone said that meant he was black (whaaaaat??) and then someone else said "sorry, that's the science."
Cool Geoff, it's up to you to tell me that's funny and not the weirdest form of racism.
Also, I dreamed up a McDonald's manager who was trying to tell me PJ had quit from there (guess I can't dream a Jetson's Juicy Burger) and I said to the people he was talking to that he was a liar, and generally caused a huge ruckus. The manager then threatened to never allow me to eat there again and I fully started laughing in his face. "Oh no! I'll never eat at a McDonald's again?? What'll I do?? I guess I'll have to make healthy life decisions." Then I threw a fry at him that was covered top to bottom in salt, continued laughing, and then got everyone in the store to help rearrange the furniture so no one could sit down, and no one could access the garbages.
If anyone else is surprised at the rebelliousness and belligerence displayed, I'm a little surprised too. And who dreams of a jerky McDonalds store manager? Not counting the people that work at McDonalds of course, where that probably happens all the time.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Seeing it eye to eye
My brother watched A Goofy Movie with my dad last night, so today I work I got the last song stuck in my head (not that I could hear it or anything, it's just a great, memorable, bit). It made me very smiley, and me smiling at people got them to smile. The song, if you couldn't piece it together, is all about understanding each other, seeing things from their perspective.. so WHILE I was singing this to myself, I was also thinking about these various people in front of me. How we're not so different and whatnot.
Here's the link to the song: http://youtu.be/1UpByCTPTHo
Here're the lyrics (sorry about the "I-2-I" stuff at the end, I'd have rather the words, but whatever):
I got myself a notion
One I know that you'll understand
To set the world in motion
By reaching out for each other's hand
Maybe we'll discover what we should have known all along
One way or another together's where we both belong
If we listen to each other's heart
We'll find we're never too far apart
And maybe love is the reason why
For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye
If a wall should come between us
Too high to climb, too hard to break through
I know that love will lead us
And find a way to bring me to you
So don't be in a hurry. Think before you count us out.
You don't have to worry, I won't ever let you down
If we listen to each other's heart
We'll find we're never too far apart
And maybe love is the reason why
For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye
If you're ever lonely, stop. You don't have to be
After all its only a beat away from you to me
TAKE A LOOK INSIDE AND SEE (YEAH)
If we listen to each other's heart
We'll find we're never too far apart
And maybe love is the reason why
For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye.
Seein' it I-2-I
Seein' it I-2-I
We're seein' it I-2-I, baby
For the first time
For the first time
I-2-I
Seein't it
Seein' it, baby
Seein' it I-2-I
For the first time ever
Hey yeah
Seein' it, baby
We're seein' it I-2-I
Seein' it
(C'mon, baby)
I-2-I
I-2-I
I-2-I
I-2-I
Yeah
I-2-I!
And here's a pic:
Here's the link to the song: http://youtu.be/1UpByCTPTHo
Here're the lyrics (sorry about the "I-2-I" stuff at the end, I'd have rather the words, but whatever):
I got myself a notion
One I know that you'll understand
To set the world in motion
By reaching out for each other's hand
Maybe we'll discover what we should have known all along
One way or another together's where we both belong
If we listen to each other's heart
We'll find we're never too far apart
And maybe love is the reason why
For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye
If a wall should come between us
Too high to climb, too hard to break through
I know that love will lead us
And find a way to bring me to you
So don't be in a hurry. Think before you count us out.
You don't have to worry, I won't ever let you down
If we listen to each other's heart
We'll find we're never too far apart
And maybe love is the reason why
For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye
If you're ever lonely, stop. You don't have to be
After all its only a beat away from you to me
TAKE A LOOK INSIDE AND SEE (YEAH)
If we listen to each other's heart
We'll find we're never too far apart
And maybe love is the reason why
For the first time ever we're seeing it eye to eye.
Seein' it I-2-I
Seein' it I-2-I
We're seein' it I-2-I, baby
For the first time
For the first time
I-2-I
Seein't it
Seein' it, baby
Seein' it I-2-I
For the first time ever
Hey yeah
Seein' it, baby
We're seein' it I-2-I
Seein' it
(C'mon, baby)
I-2-I
I-2-I
I-2-I
I-2-I
Yeah
I-2-I!
And here's a pic:
Dredd 3D
Doc, why do we always cut these things so close?
I've got to get cleaned and and go to work, but a quick moment on Dredd. Went to see it last Tuesday after an evening of coincidental meetings, cornbread and uh, chili type stuff, and learning this game where you build a pan asian train system. Pretty cool stuff.
Dredd was great- very simple, ridiculous story. The antagonist, Ma Ma, has almost certainly been in the comics at some point- Dredd's been around for 40 years, that's a lot of material, but there's little chance that she was ever anything but a minor villain character. The creators here eschewed the allure of the BIG movie, where the world is on the line, and the hero must fight his arch nemesis, who turns out to be his father, or long lost brother, or what.
How about a small story, showing how cool the larger than life (if not quite a "super hero"- I'd rather reserve that moniker for less kill-y guys) characters can be. A movie can barely contain a well fleshed out comic tale without becoming bloated to near collapse. And this movie got that! One could almost see this as a sort of anthology movie, like Matrix Animated or Gotham Knights, that after the credits are done rolling a whole new adventure will start with an entirely different stylistic bent.
It takes the pressure off the creators and audience both, and we get to sit back and have a blast.
Incidentally, I read that the story is basically "The Raid" but with Judge Dredd. Well, I didn't see The Raid, so this one was for me I guess.
One very weird bit to me is the fact that almost every move the bad guys made turned the hopeless situation into a marginally more possible one to live through. The best example being how Dredd was running low on the special ammo that his super gun runs on, then Ma Ma hires some crooked Judges to come in and take out Dredd. Well, they didn't last, and now Dredd has ammo again. Good job, Ma Ma.
Okay, off to work.
I've got to get cleaned and and go to work, but a quick moment on Dredd. Went to see it last Tuesday after an evening of coincidental meetings, cornbread and uh, chili type stuff, and learning this game where you build a pan asian train system. Pretty cool stuff.
Dredd was great- very simple, ridiculous story. The antagonist, Ma Ma, has almost certainly been in the comics at some point- Dredd's been around for 40 years, that's a lot of material, but there's little chance that she was ever anything but a minor villain character. The creators here eschewed the allure of the BIG movie, where the world is on the line, and the hero must fight his arch nemesis, who turns out to be his father, or long lost brother, or what.
How about a small story, showing how cool the larger than life (if not quite a "super hero"- I'd rather reserve that moniker for less kill-y guys) characters can be. A movie can barely contain a well fleshed out comic tale without becoming bloated to near collapse. And this movie got that! One could almost see this as a sort of anthology movie, like Matrix Animated or Gotham Knights, that after the credits are done rolling a whole new adventure will start with an entirely different stylistic bent.
It takes the pressure off the creators and audience both, and we get to sit back and have a blast.
Incidentally, I read that the story is basically "The Raid" but with Judge Dredd. Well, I didn't see The Raid, so this one was for me I guess.
One very weird bit to me is the fact that almost every move the bad guys made turned the hopeless situation into a marginally more possible one to live through. The best example being how Dredd was running low on the special ammo that his super gun runs on, then Ma Ma hires some crooked Judges to come in and take out Dredd. Well, they didn't last, and now Dredd has ammo again. Good job, Ma Ma.
Okay, off to work.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
OOO
I was supposed to write here this morning, instead I spent all day on tvtropes. That's fine.
I've recently finished the Kamen Rider OOO (pronounced "oze" or "O's") series, and I know I keep saying that I'd tell you about one of these shows, well I'm definitely doing that now!
After the high that was the Kamen Rider W series I wasn't sure where to turn to next. Wait, that's a lie- I went from there to Kamen Rider Den-O because of how popular that series was, and how often characters from that show turn up in crossover movies (again, due to their immense popularity). This was a great choice on my part, because, yes, I was quite correct that I'd need that show to see a bunch of other stuff.
But hold up, I'm trying to talk about OOO.
It was from Den-O that I wasn't sure where to go, and OOO had a couple of things working against it. The biggest was that, after reading the basic premise, that OOO fought the "Greeed" and their "Yummy" monsters- for a merchandise driven series, the hypocrisy of such a premise tasted bad to me.
And what a merchandise driven series! The Kamen Rider this time out transforms via a number of coloured "core medals" (think coins) that, depending on the combination, would yield different battle forms- collect them all!
However, the series isn't a straightforward divide between selfless heroes and greedy/desirous bad guys, things are more nuanced than that, with an emphasis placed especially on the idea that desire isn't in itself a bad thing. While OOO himself (the characters name is Hino Eiji, but that's harder to remember than just saying OOO all the time) generally fits the mold of that messianic, selfless figure, other characters are allowed to have their own dreams/desires. Also, nearing the end of the series OOO lack of desire actually became a PROBLEM for all the characters, as in the bad guys could have won if Eiji didn't get his own desire.
This is obviously a reversal of how the heroic ideal is usually presented, and is reflective of the common criticism of superheroes as reactive beings, working to maintain the status quo without actively making things better. It's the same reason we see Doctor Horrible as the protagonist of his story, not just because his name is in the title and everything, but because Captain Hammer is such a clod that all he can do is punch out people and absorb applause.
As someone who, ever since learning and considering the phrase "the root of suffering is desire", consciously tries to have as little desire as possible, this is all very interesting to me. Valid points are being made!
The biggest proponent of desire on the show, surprisingly not the Greeed, is the president of the whatever company (forget) who is a large ham that goes around baking cakes to celebrate birthdays ALL. THE. TIME. He's vaguely villainous throughout the series, but I'll spoil it for you, he's an okay dude, just very, uh, weird. He'll often be screaming "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" if you thinks you've made some kind of fresh start in life (good luck if it's your ACTUAL birthday I guess) and he usually doesn't care if you do something underhanded and sort of betray him, so long as it's in service to your desire, because again, he thinks desire is awesome. Desire is the spark of life, the driving force of creation and evolution. We were one thing, then we wanted to be something else, then we became something else.
I was turned off at first by this president character, but now he's probably one of my favourite things about the show.
The guy that gives OOO the ability to transform (or rather, "Henshin!") in the first place is Ankh, a turncoat Greeed that, due to an unforseen accident 800 years ago, is now just a floating hand. He's arrogant and selfish, but beneath his hard exterior lies... a pretty hard interior as well! Yeah, he softens a bit, and in the end sort of earns himself a soul so he can stick around when his body is destroyed (spoilers, I know I know) but overall I found it hilariously amazing how little this angry little guy changed through the course of the show. Important to note is that he spends most of his time possessing the body of this comatose detective who would die without Ankh being attached, at least until the last quarter of the show when the detective wakes up.
The detective, when we finally get to learn more about him, is a sweet, hard working guy, that cares about justice, and mostly loves his sister. He's really nice, I'm glad he didn't die.
The detectives sister is Hina, another main character. Because it's a kids show they're never anything but friends, but you can tell she really digs Eiji/OOO. She's also got super strength that's NEVER explained, but it's not supposed to be, and it's more of a joke than anything else. Which is the kind of gag I really get behind.
There's also the "second Rider" or "seventh Ranger" to talk about. Okay, first let me explain those terms just now. Whenever I explain the concept behind Kamen Rider to someone I like to start by saying it's like if the sixth Ranger (think Power Rangers) had his own show. Pretty awesome, right? The lone wolf, going out, being great. Good stuff. Well, about a quarter of the way through the show, the bad guys are getting tougher, and the sixth ranger protagonist, Kamen Rider, is starting to have some trouble. That's when his mysterious rival appears. Some new Rider, aka, the second Rider, aka the seventh Ranger. Makes sense? Great.
So in this show it's Kamen Rider "Birth". This Rider system/power/belt/whatever was created by a fairly mad scientist in the employ of that president dude. And so obviously the president names the Rider "Birth". Again, he's odd that way. So when Birth shows up we expect it to be this guy Gotou, a really serious guy that wants to "save the world". But he's too insistent on it, gets in the way, and so the President gives it to some other guy.
Actually, the mad scientist WAS going to give the Birth driver (as it's called) to Gotou, so long as Gotou would ignore this one little breach of protocol that the scientist did. But no way, he had too much integrity! Gotou-chan, nice!
Ha, ah man, I love this guy: Date Akira ends up being Birth. He's working towards a goal of a hundred million yen payout, so it looks like all he cares about is money, and the first thing out of his mouth is very cool and straightforward... but then he immediately retracts it, worrying whether that sounded too cold, and reintroducing himself. In short, he's a seriously goofy guy. He eventually teams up with Gotou, taking him on as an apprentice to train him to be the NEXT Birth when Date has to leave to get some life saving surgery (the whole point behind him taking this high risk job is to get the money so he can live), so whenever Gotou does something good or whatever, Date looks to him, throws a thumbs up and says "Gotou-chan, nice!" The nice is in english, it's hilarious and amazing. I'm also INCREDIBLY glad that Date got through this series alive. I was pretty worried about it.
I've probably spent too long talking about this, I've got other stuff to do today (and honestly, I started writing this up yesterday...) so I'll quit here. As you can see, there's a reason I haven't quite dived into telling you about these Kamen Rider series- I get into too much detail.
I should just go:
Eiji/OOO- good guy, you can't help but like him
Ankh- you'll love him, because he's an amazing jerk
President- Amazingly over the top
Gotou-chan- nice!
Date Akira- Awesomely fun guy. Likes udon soup. Is actually a doctor!
Obviously I'm skipping out on a bunch of characters, like all the major bad guys for one... yup, well, I guess you should watch it! (That way you can save Kamen Rider W for after... that one is still my favourite!)
I've recently finished the Kamen Rider OOO (pronounced "oze" or "O's") series, and I know I keep saying that I'd tell you about one of these shows, well I'm definitely doing that now!
After the high that was the Kamen Rider W series I wasn't sure where to turn to next. Wait, that's a lie- I went from there to Kamen Rider Den-O because of how popular that series was, and how often characters from that show turn up in crossover movies (again, due to their immense popularity). This was a great choice on my part, because, yes, I was quite correct that I'd need that show to see a bunch of other stuff.
But hold up, I'm trying to talk about OOO.
It was from Den-O that I wasn't sure where to go, and OOO had a couple of things working against it. The biggest was that, after reading the basic premise, that OOO fought the "Greeed" and their "Yummy" monsters- for a merchandise driven series, the hypocrisy of such a premise tasted bad to me.
And what a merchandise driven series! The Kamen Rider this time out transforms via a number of coloured "core medals" (think coins) that, depending on the combination, would yield different battle forms- collect them all!
However, the series isn't a straightforward divide between selfless heroes and greedy/desirous bad guys, things are more nuanced than that, with an emphasis placed especially on the idea that desire isn't in itself a bad thing. While OOO himself (the characters name is Hino Eiji, but that's harder to remember than just saying OOO all the time) generally fits the mold of that messianic, selfless figure, other characters are allowed to have their own dreams/desires. Also, nearing the end of the series OOO lack of desire actually became a PROBLEM for all the characters, as in the bad guys could have won if Eiji didn't get his own desire.
This is obviously a reversal of how the heroic ideal is usually presented, and is reflective of the common criticism of superheroes as reactive beings, working to maintain the status quo without actively making things better. It's the same reason we see Doctor Horrible as the protagonist of his story, not just because his name is in the title and everything, but because Captain Hammer is such a clod that all he can do is punch out people and absorb applause.
As someone who, ever since learning and considering the phrase "the root of suffering is desire", consciously tries to have as little desire as possible, this is all very interesting to me. Valid points are being made!
The biggest proponent of desire on the show, surprisingly not the Greeed, is the president of the whatever company (forget) who is a large ham that goes around baking cakes to celebrate birthdays ALL. THE. TIME. He's vaguely villainous throughout the series, but I'll spoil it for you, he's an okay dude, just very, uh, weird. He'll often be screaming "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" if you thinks you've made some kind of fresh start in life (good luck if it's your ACTUAL birthday I guess) and he usually doesn't care if you do something underhanded and sort of betray him, so long as it's in service to your desire, because again, he thinks desire is awesome. Desire is the spark of life, the driving force of creation and evolution. We were one thing, then we wanted to be something else, then we became something else.
I was turned off at first by this president character, but now he's probably one of my favourite things about the show.
The guy that gives OOO the ability to transform (or rather, "Henshin!") in the first place is Ankh, a turncoat Greeed that, due to an unforseen accident 800 years ago, is now just a floating hand. He's arrogant and selfish, but beneath his hard exterior lies... a pretty hard interior as well! Yeah, he softens a bit, and in the end sort of earns himself a soul so he can stick around when his body is destroyed (spoilers, I know I know) but overall I found it hilariously amazing how little this angry little guy changed through the course of the show. Important to note is that he spends most of his time possessing the body of this comatose detective who would die without Ankh being attached, at least until the last quarter of the show when the detective wakes up.
The detective, when we finally get to learn more about him, is a sweet, hard working guy, that cares about justice, and mostly loves his sister. He's really nice, I'm glad he didn't die.
The detectives sister is Hina, another main character. Because it's a kids show they're never anything but friends, but you can tell she really digs Eiji/OOO. She's also got super strength that's NEVER explained, but it's not supposed to be, and it's more of a joke than anything else. Which is the kind of gag I really get behind.
There's also the "second Rider" or "seventh Ranger" to talk about. Okay, first let me explain those terms just now. Whenever I explain the concept behind Kamen Rider to someone I like to start by saying it's like if the sixth Ranger (think Power Rangers) had his own show. Pretty awesome, right? The lone wolf, going out, being great. Good stuff. Well, about a quarter of the way through the show, the bad guys are getting tougher, and the sixth ranger protagonist, Kamen Rider, is starting to have some trouble. That's when his mysterious rival appears. Some new Rider, aka, the second Rider, aka the seventh Ranger. Makes sense? Great.
So in this show it's Kamen Rider "Birth". This Rider system/power/belt/whatever was created by a fairly mad scientist in the employ of that president dude. And so obviously the president names the Rider "Birth". Again, he's odd that way. So when Birth shows up we expect it to be this guy Gotou, a really serious guy that wants to "save the world". But he's too insistent on it, gets in the way, and so the President gives it to some other guy.
Actually, the mad scientist WAS going to give the Birth driver (as it's called) to Gotou, so long as Gotou would ignore this one little breach of protocol that the scientist did. But no way, he had too much integrity! Gotou-chan, nice!
Ha, ah man, I love this guy: Date Akira ends up being Birth. He's working towards a goal of a hundred million yen payout, so it looks like all he cares about is money, and the first thing out of his mouth is very cool and straightforward... but then he immediately retracts it, worrying whether that sounded too cold, and reintroducing himself. In short, he's a seriously goofy guy. He eventually teams up with Gotou, taking him on as an apprentice to train him to be the NEXT Birth when Date has to leave to get some life saving surgery (the whole point behind him taking this high risk job is to get the money so he can live), so whenever Gotou does something good or whatever, Date looks to him, throws a thumbs up and says "Gotou-chan, nice!" The nice is in english, it's hilarious and amazing. I'm also INCREDIBLY glad that Date got through this series alive. I was pretty worried about it.
I've probably spent too long talking about this, I've got other stuff to do today (and honestly, I started writing this up yesterday...) so I'll quit here. As you can see, there's a reason I haven't quite dived into telling you about these Kamen Rider series- I get into too much detail.
I should just go:
Eiji/OOO- good guy, you can't help but like him
Ankh- you'll love him, because he's an amazing jerk
President- Amazingly over the top
Gotou-chan- nice!
Date Akira- Awesomely fun guy. Likes udon soup. Is actually a doctor!
Obviously I'm skipping out on a bunch of characters, like all the major bad guys for one... yup, well, I guess you should watch it! (That way you can save Kamen Rider W for after... that one is still my favourite!)
Saturday, September 22, 2012
My show would be "Ryder: PI"
I've started my new full time job, standing guard at the Michael Kors at both the Yorkdale mall and at Bay and Bloor streets. It's pretty terrible. You just stand there, ticking the time away. It kills my back, though that should become less true as I get used to it. Even still, even at Ontario Place when you had "gates" shifts, you were at least taking peoples tickets, and the shift was rarely any longer than 5 hours. Plus you did get a break.
Not so here, my shortest shifts are 7 hours, and my Friday and Saturday shifts are an interminable 9 hours. Two 9 hour shifts, then three 7 hour shifts, then two days off before repeating the whole Sisyphean undertaking.
From my first official shift with them yesterday (I've had five or six other shifts with them, but that's when I was filling in for others, and didn't think I'd ever have to cross the threshold again..) I've decided that three months will be my maximum time there.
So December 21 will be it, with my two weeks notice coming before that, all right and proper.
I (thankfully) had today off for a trip that didn't end up happening, so all together that should make for something like 64 more shifts all together before I'm out of this purgatory.
In the meantime I'll have to do some training so as to avoid ever getting stuck with this kind of job long term ever again. Filling in for someone is fine, but otherwise enough is enough. And the fact is the pay, while ever so slightly better than the condo stuff, isn't enough to satisfy my goals.
I need to look up what my next move will be. Probably getting the online 'smart serve' training, followed by handcuff training. We'll see what happens from there.
Yesterday I had a fantasy about how undeniably cool I'd be as a motorcycle riding private investigator (obviously the motorcycle bit comes from all the Kamen Rider stuff I've been watching- but if I ever wanted to afford a vehicle, a bike is looking more and more like the smarter/possible-est option). I realized, and I don't know if this is scary or good or what, but I'm actually closer to becoming that motorcycling private eye than I am to becoming ANYTHING else I could dream of.
So, yikes, I guess?
Ah, yes, realizing ones dreams/desires. I have to tell you about Kamen Rider OOO next time I'm here.
Not so here, my shortest shifts are 7 hours, and my Friday and Saturday shifts are an interminable 9 hours. Two 9 hour shifts, then three 7 hour shifts, then two days off before repeating the whole Sisyphean undertaking.
From my first official shift with them yesterday (I've had five or six other shifts with them, but that's when I was filling in for others, and didn't think I'd ever have to cross the threshold again..) I've decided that three months will be my maximum time there.
So December 21 will be it, with my two weeks notice coming before that, all right and proper.
I (thankfully) had today off for a trip that didn't end up happening, so all together that should make for something like 64 more shifts all together before I'm out of this purgatory.
In the meantime I'll have to do some training so as to avoid ever getting stuck with this kind of job long term ever again. Filling in for someone is fine, but otherwise enough is enough. And the fact is the pay, while ever so slightly better than the condo stuff, isn't enough to satisfy my goals.
I need to look up what my next move will be. Probably getting the online 'smart serve' training, followed by handcuff training. We'll see what happens from there.
Yesterday I had a fantasy about how undeniably cool I'd be as a motorcycle riding private investigator (obviously the motorcycle bit comes from all the Kamen Rider stuff I've been watching- but if I ever wanted to afford a vehicle, a bike is looking more and more like the smarter/possible-est option). I realized, and I don't know if this is scary or good or what, but I'm actually closer to becoming that motorcycling private eye than I am to becoming ANYTHING else I could dream of.
So, yikes, I guess?
Ah, yes, realizing ones dreams/desires. I have to tell you about Kamen Rider OOO next time I'm here.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Ugly night
I just had a scarily horrible, violent dream. I woke up and started crying. And I'm mad that I either don't have, or don't feel that I have, someone to talk to about this.
On a different note, yesterday I accepted a new security gig standing around two differnt Michael Kors stores. I pretty much hate it already. It's an incredibly useless job- I'm just standing there! I don't DO anything! There's not much I CAN do!
At least at the condo I could read, so I wasn't wholly wasting my time.
Obviously I need to make some changes. A lot of changes maybe.
I need to try and get back to sleep as I do have work tomorrow. Rather, I have work today, starting in eight hours, followed by the seven hour countdown to my leaving for the day (with the side countdown to my half an hour break, a brief glimpse of a freedom).
I may go out for a haircut after work. Get nice and trim and together looking.
On a different note, yesterday I accepted a new security gig standing around two differnt Michael Kors stores. I pretty much hate it already. It's an incredibly useless job- I'm just standing there! I don't DO anything! There's not much I CAN do!
At least at the condo I could read, so I wasn't wholly wasting my time.
Obviously I need to make some changes. A lot of changes maybe.
I need to try and get back to sleep as I do have work tomorrow. Rather, I have work today, starting in eight hours, followed by the seven hour countdown to my leaving for the day (with the side countdown to my half an hour break, a brief glimpse of a freedom).
I may go out for a haircut after work. Get nice and trim and together looking.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Some dithering while I wait for the energy to un-recline
I have been seriously neglecting things here. Not just here. Groceries need to happen, and I need to put some effort into the job stuff. It's pretty easy to trick myself into thinking it's all good because I DO still have time before things get dire.
I've been going out a bunch lately, and that isn't cheap. Well, it's cheap if you compare it to how much it costs everyone else. There was that time I was leaving this one event and the guy thought it was amazing that I got out of there having only spent $20ish for food.
Well, I know the siren call of spending $60 on rounds of drinks for other people- with your parents money- is strong, but, you know, I somehow managed to resist it.
I've missed plenty of good oppourtunities to do the dream journal thing here. I know last night I was on a lunar city that had a temporary atmosphere, and that I needed to blast off back to Earth before said atmosphere ran out. That's pretty crazy if you stop to think about it- how often does one dream about being on the moon, post industrialized or not. I was also really cold last night, so I've been tired since I got up.
Jordan was playing an online pokemon doubles match against a guy named Jesus, but Jordan accidentally disconnected before even the first move could happen. So Jesus won without using a single attack. Typical.
I'm about 40 pages from finishing Sewer, Gas, and Electric. It was due back at the library last Tuesday I think. Oops. It's pretty fun, but it doesn't strike me as something beyond what I could write, and obviously if you think something is within your own abilities to do you respect it less. And by "within your own abilities" I do mean less than a 100%. So at my very best I would write something better than this novel. Good luck getting 100% efficiency out of me though.
For starters though, I don't think I'd allow any novel of mine to be QUITE so broad, with such an impossibly diverse cast of characters (numbers-wise I mean). The bonds between the groups are so very tenuous as to look like blatant padding. Unless something amazing happens in these last 40 pages to change my mind, so I'll keep you informed.
But any novel I write will certainly be tangent filled. With additional tangents to explain the tangents because I won't trust the readers to remember back the three paragraphs to the last thing of note that I'm actually referencing.
I should get started on that.
I've been going out a bunch lately, and that isn't cheap. Well, it's cheap if you compare it to how much it costs everyone else. There was that time I was leaving this one event and the guy thought it was amazing that I got out of there having only spent $20ish for food.
Well, I know the siren call of spending $60 on rounds of drinks for other people- with your parents money- is strong, but, you know, I somehow managed to resist it.
I've missed plenty of good oppourtunities to do the dream journal thing here. I know last night I was on a lunar city that had a temporary atmosphere, and that I needed to blast off back to Earth before said atmosphere ran out. That's pretty crazy if you stop to think about it- how often does one dream about being on the moon, post industrialized or not. I was also really cold last night, so I've been tired since I got up.
Jordan was playing an online pokemon doubles match against a guy named Jesus, but Jordan accidentally disconnected before even the first move could happen. So Jesus won without using a single attack. Typical.
I'm about 40 pages from finishing Sewer, Gas, and Electric. It was due back at the library last Tuesday I think. Oops. It's pretty fun, but it doesn't strike me as something beyond what I could write, and obviously if you think something is within your own abilities to do you respect it less. And by "within your own abilities" I do mean less than a 100%. So at my very best I would write something better than this novel. Good luck getting 100% efficiency out of me though.
For starters though, I don't think I'd allow any novel of mine to be QUITE so broad, with such an impossibly diverse cast of characters (numbers-wise I mean). The bonds between the groups are so very tenuous as to look like blatant padding. Unless something amazing happens in these last 40 pages to change my mind, so I'll keep you informed.
But any novel I write will certainly be tangent filled. With additional tangents to explain the tangents because I won't trust the readers to remember back the three paragraphs to the last thing of note that I'm actually referencing.
I should get started on that.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Public Works Trilogy I guess
I told a friend of mine that I'd tell him all about the book I'm reading in a facebook message, since I decided to leave his party a bit prematurely (and yet still only catching the last of the subways by the end of my trip, so I left at a good time). As I'm unlikely to write more than this on the subject even when I finish reading the book, I may as well add the message here, and give any additional info later when I finish the book.
The message reads thusly:
"alright Simon, let's tell you about that book I've got now before I forget, never do it, and am forever labelled "BAD FRIEND" (I'm sure ol' Jamie is just itching to put his label maker to use..)
So the novel is called 'Sewer, Gas & Electric The Public Works Trilogy' which I THINK means there are three distinct sections, possibly stories, in this one book. The other possibility is that this is the first of a trilogy and I have to find the later installments later. But again, I'm reasonably sure that isn't the case.
It's the second novel from Matt Ruff, and yes, that is a ridiculous name, evocative of both dogs and sand paper.
The book is dedicated to Ayn Rand, which Jamie says is why I shouldn't be reading it at all, but I assured him that I was reasonably sure it was an ironic dedication. Though now that I think about it, your second book out of the gate, and you're going to ironically dedicate something? I guess that doesn't really sound right... well, it all depends on how this book turns out. If it really IS an ironic dedication, well, that's amazing.
The novel has an extensive cast of characters, as well as a list of said characters on the first page. Naturally, I keep having to flip to the front to make sure whether or not I know the latest character on the scene. After a 20 page break it's easy to think "Oh, this is another new character. Great!" when it's actually someone you've already met.
As to what it's actually about, well, 80 pages in, and I still don't know (it's about 450 pages altogether, you really need that first 100 to get in the zone). The novel was written in the early 90's and the story is set in 2023. Naturally that makes it more fantastical and the world has a better economy than a speculative fiction story for 2023 would have if it were written now. Also, they use fax machines in tandem with holo-confrencing.
That looks weird, I've clearly never had to spell confrence before. Conference? Yeah, that looks better.
In the early 2000's a plague happened that specifically wiped out most of the world's black population. This had consequences. The biggest consequence presented to us readers is that a particularly wealthy businessman named Gant has a PR problem in that most people prefer to buy his robot servants that have black person coloured synthetic skin, and are colloquially known as "electric negroes". The PR problem is specifically called "The Negro Problem".
Gant's ex-wife Joan, despite the fact that she could be living in the lap of luxury, works as a sort of mutant sewer animal hunter. When we meet her she is suitably awesome, and I guess it's that same awesomeness that let's her survive when the rest of her team is killed by a (sewer) great white shark attack. That she defended herself with a grenade that was tampered to work in the methane environment (grenades, in the future, usually have a helpful device stopping them from being used in such dangerously ignitable areas.) , blowing up a great deal of property in addition to the shark, meant that she was immediately fired from her job.
Gant is also menaced by an eco-pirate prankster named Philo Dufresne who captains an advanced submarine named the Yabba Dabba Doo. Dufresne loves to create property damage, but will absolutely never take a life, what with his strict Amish upbringing. He's also, though he doesn't let on to the public at large, one of the few remaining black people on the planet. He sinks a Gant vessel that was on it's way to drill for oil in Antarctica.
It's POSSIBLE that the book will turn into a murder mystery, since apparently a business rival of Gant's has been murdered (off page I guess, unless my memory is REALLY bad) by an electric negro, which makes it a case of the plot of I, Robot, but specifically the movie with Will Smith.
Also, I've just been introduced to a one armed 180-something year old woman who served in the Civil War and is continually astounded by the modern world.
Yup, a weird post modern book. Almost certainly influenced by Thomas Pynchon, throw in some Douglas Adams too.
Believe it or not, I've actually left stuff out for brevity's sake. Happy birthday!"
and that was my message.
The message reads thusly:
"alright Simon, let's tell you about that book I've got now before I forget, never do it, and am forever labelled "BAD FRIEND" (I'm sure ol' Jamie is just itching to put his label maker to use..)
So the novel is called 'Sewer, Gas & Electric The Public Works Trilogy' which I THINK means there are three distinct sections, possibly stories, in this one book. The other possibility is that this is the first of a trilogy and I have to find the later installments later. But again, I'm reasonably sure that isn't the case.
It's the second novel from Matt Ruff, and yes, that is a ridiculous name, evocative of both dogs and sand paper.
The book is dedicated to Ayn Rand, which Jamie says is why I shouldn't be reading it at all, but I assured him that I was reasonably sure it was an ironic dedication. Though now that I think about it, your second book out of the gate, and you're going to ironically dedicate something? I guess that doesn't really sound right... well, it all depends on how this book turns out. If it really IS an ironic dedication, well, that's amazing.
The novel has an extensive cast of characters, as well as a list of said characters on the first page. Naturally, I keep having to flip to the front to make sure whether or not I know the latest character on the scene. After a 20 page break it's easy to think "Oh, this is another new character. Great!" when it's actually someone you've already met.
As to what it's actually about, well, 80 pages in, and I still don't know (it's about 450 pages altogether, you really need that first 100 to get in the zone). The novel was written in the early 90's and the story is set in 2023. Naturally that makes it more fantastical and the world has a better economy than a speculative fiction story for 2023 would have if it were written now. Also, they use fax machines in tandem with holo-confrencing.
That looks weird, I've clearly never had to spell confrence before. Conference? Yeah, that looks better.
In the early 2000's a plague happened that specifically wiped out most of the world's black population. This had consequences. The biggest consequence presented to us readers is that a particularly wealthy businessman named Gant has a PR problem in that most people prefer to buy his robot servants that have black person coloured synthetic skin, and are colloquially known as "electric negroes". The PR problem is specifically called "The Negro Problem".
Gant's ex-wife Joan, despite the fact that she could be living in the lap of luxury, works as a sort of mutant sewer animal hunter. When we meet her she is suitably awesome, and I guess it's that same awesomeness that let's her survive when the rest of her team is killed by a (sewer) great white shark attack. That she defended herself with a grenade that was tampered to work in the methane environment (grenades, in the future, usually have a helpful device stopping them from being used in such dangerously ignitable areas.) , blowing up a great deal of property in addition to the shark, meant that she was immediately fired from her job.
Gant is also menaced by an eco-pirate prankster named Philo Dufresne who captains an advanced submarine named the Yabba Dabba Doo. Dufresne loves to create property damage, but will absolutely never take a life, what with his strict Amish upbringing. He's also, though he doesn't let on to the public at large, one of the few remaining black people on the planet. He sinks a Gant vessel that was on it's way to drill for oil in Antarctica.
It's POSSIBLE that the book will turn into a murder mystery, since apparently a business rival of Gant's has been murdered (off page I guess, unless my memory is REALLY bad) by an electric negro, which makes it a case of the plot of I, Robot, but specifically the movie with Will Smith.
Also, I've just been introduced to a one armed 180-something year old woman who served in the Civil War and is continually astounded by the modern world.
Yup, a weird post modern book. Almost certainly influenced by Thomas Pynchon, throw in some Douglas Adams too.
Believe it or not, I've actually left stuff out for brevity's sake. Happy birthday!"
and that was my message.
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