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newnumber6New comic day... only one of the month.
This week I got:
New Mutants #7 (not bad, nice to see some old faces again)
More complete thoughts as usual at my comic review site.
Comic store also had a box full of those various rings for Blackest Night. You know, Black, Green, Orange, etc... $1 each. I was almost tempted, but none of them fit me really. I'm not dead. Don't have willpower. Not especially ragey. Don't have hope. Don't inspire fear. Don't have great willpower. Not especially greedy. Love's forsaken me. And Indigo.. compassion? I guess maybe, but not enough that I'd want a ring of it. There's no "laid back geeky" color. I need a ring based on that. Also they looked too big and kind of cheap looking.
In addition to the comics, I got books. Lots and lots of books. Used bookstore had a bunch of good buys, mostly apparently from a library that got rid of them. So I
snagged the following short stories collection:
Nebula Awards 27 ($2)
The 1978 Annual World's Best SF ($1)
The 1982 Annuel World's Best SF ($1)
Machines That Think: The Best Science Fiction Stories about Robots & Computers (edited by Isaac Asimov) ($2)
And also got Old Man's War by John Scalzi, for $3. Since I had a huge load of books and it was raining, I took the subway back instead of walking it home. I think I made the right call.
Speaking of books, time for a Book Foo...
Finished: Blindsight, by Peter Watts (reread)
Started: Swan Songs: The Complete Hooded Swan collection
Already read and commented on Blindsight a couple times here. Still really enjoy it, I think it's one of my favorite books. Like one of those foods or drink you like because it has a little burn to it, hurts going down, but you enjoy it anyway.
Finished: Eon, by Greg Bear (reread)
Been a while since I read it. I dunno, don't think it was as good the second time around, even though I barely remember it. It's an example of the "Big Amazing Cool Object" SF, and although the object IS pretty cool, the story around it doesn't really work for me, the characters don't come off very engaging and the particulars of the threat feel a little weak. Enjoyable enough, but not memorable, which is probably why I barely remembered it.
Started and Finished: The Year's Best SF 9 (short stories)
Started: Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
Short story collections are always a mixed bag. But this one was actually quite good. Although a few were less memorable than others, there weren't any that I just outright didn't care about, and most I quite enjoyed. There also wasn't any STANDOUT winner, but there were plenty of fun ideas in there. Recommend that one.
And speaking of books again.... since nobody (save one) wanted to guess my favorite books from their first lines, I'll just go ahead and post the answers.
1. The manhunt extended across more than one hundred light-years and eight centuries. - A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge
2. It didn't start out here. Not with the scramblers, or Rorschach, not with Big Ben or Theseus or the vampires. Most people would say it started with the Fireflies, but they'd be wrong. It ended with all those things. - Blindsight, by Peter Watts, guessed by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fiddlersgreen.
3. "The first time was like this. I was reading when Dad got home. His voice echosed through the house and I cringed." - Jumper, by Steven Gould
4. Two hours before dawn I sat in the peeling kitchen and smoked one of Sarah's cigarettes, listening to the maelstrom and waiting. Millsport had long since put itself to bed, but out in the Reach currents were still snagging on the shouals, and the sound came ashore to prowl the empty streets." - Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan
5. It is on a world whose name I do not know, on the slopes of a great mountain, that the Javelin came down. - The Halcyon Drift, by Brian Stableford (knew no one would guess this)
6. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen - Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell (I thought somebody would get this one at least)
7. "I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and I'm telling you now he is the one. Or at least as close as we're going to get." Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
8. "Tonight we're going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man." The guy who said that was a sergeant who didn't look five years older than me. So if he'd ever killed a man in combat, silently or otherwise, he'd done it as an infant. - The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
9. "Stand to!" I roared, but I was too late; even as Alexi and Sandy snapped to attention, Hibernia's two senior lieutenants strolled around the corridor bend. Midshipman's Hope, by David Feintuch
10. In Fort Repose, a river town in Central Florida, it was said that sending a message by Western Union was the same as broadcasting it over the combined networks. - Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank
In other news, had some cool dreams lately that I wanted to get down but I can only remember one, now. Or rather, one particularly vivid image of it. It was a new addictive drug... except it wasn't a drug at all, it was crabs. Or rather, an alien crab/lobster like creature. People would let the crab crawl into their mouths and just sort of leave them in there and get high off it. You could tell when people were using because the 'lobster tail' hung out of the mouth. The end of the arms touched against the mucous membrane of the mouth and delivered a type of drug (this was decided in a few minutes of semi-wakefulness immediately after the dream, almost as strangely creative as dreams themselves). It was kind of weird, but also cool.
And, in other other news, to close off this entry, I've been idly considering going to the Staff Christmas Party for my work. I've been going over the pros and cons... (beware, the many dark and tangled passages of my mind await)
Pro: Free meal, always nice.
Con: Technically not free, since it's far enough away that I'll have to take a bus there and back.
Pro: It would give me a chance to interact with my 'co-workers' (I don't actually work directly with them) outside of work, so they might get to know me and have more chance of conversation at work.
Con: It would give my co-workers a chance to get to know me and they will likely realize I'm a loser and uninteresting and not like me.
Pro: There are a couple girls at work who I find attractive but haven't talked much to.
Con: See previous con, and odds of any interaction at all is very low.
Pro: If it's like the ones I went to years and years ago, there's a chance to win prizes that are quite nice.
Con: While I don't technically believe in luck, in the event I'm wrong and it doesn't exist, evidence would suggest mine is bad and so I'm unlikely to win anything.
Con: Instead of simply signing up on a sheet like previous years, we're supposed to RVSP with our shift managers by the 29th. Since that's an unscheduled conversation with another human being that must be initiated by me, it's unlikely to ever be made.
Pro: I suppose it's possible they'll put up a sign up sheet as we get closer to the date.
Con: I'll probably have to buy a new shirt, jeans, and maybe even a jacket, since my non-work ones of those are wearing out quickly.
Pro: I probably would have had to do those sooner or later anyway.
DoubleCon: Fashion. I hate fashion and worrying about how I look. It's the future, where's the single uniform everybody in the future wears? I don't know what's appropriate for such a gathering or want to look like a fool, probably safer not to go at all.
Con: The awkward moment of arriving and trying to decide where to sit, especially if plenty of others are there and I have to ask to sit beside someone.
Pro: I suppose I could try to get there early.
Pro: It would be good for me regardless.
Con: When have I ever done what's good for me?
My gut instinct right now is that I won't. This is not a statement of my desire or intent. I barely recognize such concerns anymore. Desires and intents don't really mean a whole lot, compared to the simple practical matter of 'can I', which is mostly a guesstimate based on past experience of whether I was able to in those situations.
So, this is merely an evaluation of the future possibilities, based on my knowledge of how my mind works. I expect that I will not be able to mention my intent to come. Maybe if asked outright, or there's a signup sheet. I'm not sure. But time's running out, and the less time I have to mentally prepare myself, even when I AM able to make the decision, the more likely I'll choose the hermit route.
(I understand how, I do not understand why. My mind is a Black Box.)
This week I got:
New Mutants #7 (not bad, nice to see some old faces again)
More complete thoughts as usual at my comic review site.
Comic store also had a box full of those various rings for Blackest Night. You know, Black, Green, Orange, etc... $1 each. I was almost tempted, but none of them fit me really. I'm not dead. Don't have willpower. Not especially ragey. Don't have hope. Don't inspire fear. Don't have great willpower. Not especially greedy. Love's forsaken me. And Indigo.. compassion? I guess maybe, but not enough that I'd want a ring of it. There's no "laid back geeky" color. I need a ring based on that. Also they looked too big and kind of cheap looking.
In addition to the comics, I got books. Lots and lots of books. Used bookstore had a bunch of good buys, mostly apparently from a library that got rid of them. So I
snagged the following short stories collection:
Nebula Awards 27 ($2)
The 1978 Annual World's Best SF ($1)
The 1982 Annuel World's Best SF ($1)
Machines That Think: The Best Science Fiction Stories about Robots & Computers (edited by Isaac Asimov) ($2)
And also got Old Man's War by John Scalzi, for $3. Since I had a huge load of books and it was raining, I took the subway back instead of walking it home. I think I made the right call.
Speaking of books, time for a Book Foo...
Finished: Blindsight, by Peter Watts (reread)
Started: Swan Songs: The Complete Hooded Swan collection
Already read and commented on Blindsight a couple times here. Still really enjoy it, I think it's one of my favorite books. Like one of those foods or drink you like because it has a little burn to it, hurts going down, but you enjoy it anyway.
Finished: Eon, by Greg Bear (reread)
Been a while since I read it. I dunno, don't think it was as good the second time around, even though I barely remember it. It's an example of the "Big Amazing Cool Object" SF, and although the object IS pretty cool, the story around it doesn't really work for me, the characters don't come off very engaging and the particulars of the threat feel a little weak. Enjoyable enough, but not memorable, which is probably why I barely remembered it.
Started and Finished: The Year's Best SF 9 (short stories)
Started: Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
Short story collections are always a mixed bag. But this one was actually quite good. Although a few were less memorable than others, there weren't any that I just outright didn't care about, and most I quite enjoyed. There also wasn't any STANDOUT winner, but there were plenty of fun ideas in there. Recommend that one.
And speaking of books again.... since nobody (save one) wanted to guess my favorite books from their first lines, I'll just go ahead and post the answers.
1. The manhunt extended across more than one hundred light-years and eight centuries. - A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge
2. It didn't start out here. Not with the scramblers, or Rorschach, not with Big Ben or Theseus or the vampires. Most people would say it started with the Fireflies, but they'd be wrong. It ended with all those things. - Blindsight, by Peter Watts, guessed by
fiddlersgreen.3. "The first time was like this. I was reading when Dad got home. His voice echosed through the house and I cringed." - Jumper, by Steven Gould
4. Two hours before dawn I sat in the peeling kitchen and smoked one of Sarah's cigarettes, listening to the maelstrom and waiting. Millsport had long since put itself to bed, but out in the Reach currents were still snagging on the shouals, and the sound came ashore to prowl the empty streets." - Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan
5. It is on a world whose name I do not know, on the slopes of a great mountain, that the Javelin came down. - The Halcyon Drift, by Brian Stableford (knew no one would guess this)
6. It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen - Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell (I thought somebody would get this one at least)
7. "I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and I'm telling you now he is the one. Or at least as close as we're going to get." Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
8. "Tonight we're going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man." The guy who said that was a sergeant who didn't look five years older than me. So if he'd ever killed a man in combat, silently or otherwise, he'd done it as an infant. - The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
9. "Stand to!" I roared, but I was too late; even as Alexi and Sandy snapped to attention, Hibernia's two senior lieutenants strolled around the corridor bend. Midshipman's Hope, by David Feintuch
10. In Fort Repose, a river town in Central Florida, it was said that sending a message by Western Union was the same as broadcasting it over the combined networks. - Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank
In other news, had some cool dreams lately that I wanted to get down but I can only remember one, now. Or rather, one particularly vivid image of it. It was a new addictive drug... except it wasn't a drug at all, it was crabs. Or rather, an alien crab/lobster like creature. People would let the crab crawl into their mouths and just sort of leave them in there and get high off it. You could tell when people were using because the 'lobster tail' hung out of the mouth. The end of the arms touched against the mucous membrane of the mouth and delivered a type of drug (this was decided in a few minutes of semi-wakefulness immediately after the dream, almost as strangely creative as dreams themselves). It was kind of weird, but also cool.
And, in other other news, to close off this entry, I've been idly considering going to the Staff Christmas Party for my work. I've been going over the pros and cons... (beware, the many dark and tangled passages of my mind await)
Pro: Free meal, always nice.
Con: Technically not free, since it's far enough away that I'll have to take a bus there and back.
Pro: It would give me a chance to interact with my 'co-workers' (I don't actually work directly with them) outside of work, so they might get to know me and have more chance of conversation at work.
Con: It would give my co-workers a chance to get to know me and they will likely realize I'm a loser and uninteresting and not like me.
Pro: There are a couple girls at work who I find attractive but haven't talked much to.
Con: See previous con, and odds of any interaction at all is very low.
Pro: If it's like the ones I went to years and years ago, there's a chance to win prizes that are quite nice.
Con: While I don't technically believe in luck, in the event I'm wrong and it doesn't exist, evidence would suggest mine is bad and so I'm unlikely to win anything.
Con: Instead of simply signing up on a sheet like previous years, we're supposed to RVSP with our shift managers by the 29th. Since that's an unscheduled conversation with another human being that must be initiated by me, it's unlikely to ever be made.
Pro: I suppose it's possible they'll put up a sign up sheet as we get closer to the date.
Con: I'll probably have to buy a new shirt, jeans, and maybe even a jacket, since my non-work ones of those are wearing out quickly.
Pro: I probably would have had to do those sooner or later anyway.
DoubleCon: Fashion. I hate fashion and worrying about how I look. It's the future, where's the single uniform everybody in the future wears? I don't know what's appropriate for such a gathering or want to look like a fool, probably safer not to go at all.
Con: The awkward moment of arriving and trying to decide where to sit, especially if plenty of others are there and I have to ask to sit beside someone.
Pro: I suppose I could try to get there early.
Pro: It would be good for me regardless.
Con: When have I ever done what's good for me?
My gut instinct right now is that I won't. This is not a statement of my desire or intent. I barely recognize such concerns anymore. Desires and intents don't really mean a whole lot, compared to the simple practical matter of 'can I', which is mostly a guesstimate based on past experience of whether I was able to in those situations.
So, this is merely an evaluation of the future possibilities, based on my knowledge of how my mind works. I expect that I will not be able to mention my intent to come. Maybe if asked outright, or there's a signup sheet. I'm not sure. But time's running out, and the less time I have to mentally prepare myself, even when I AM able to make the decision, the more likely I'll choose the hermit route.
(I understand how, I do not understand why. My mind is a Black Box.)
