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newnumber6And there's a bunch of books to take care of at once, fell a bit behind in reporting:
Finished: Tesseracts 5 (short stories)
Same general mix of okay and not so great. This time, unlike previous ones, the one by Elisabeth Vonarburg
left me pretty well completely cold. My favorite was probably "All Good Things Come From Away", by James Alan
Gardner. I actually thought at first it was a bit cheesy, what with their blatant metaphors (seriously, one alien race was Americans, and pretty well most of the Canadian stereotypes about Americans... I think the humans were Canadians, and the alien race that was the focus of the story were... well, I don't know if the metaphor continues that far), but they faded away, and the story itself was quite well done. Peter Watts and Karl Schroeder's works were also pretty good.
Finished: Pirate Sun (Book 3 of Virga), by Karl Schroeder
Quite liked this one. I'm not sure if it's the best of the series, but I certainly liked it much more than the second book (which I also enjoyed, just thought it was a bit weaker). Lots of fun with gravity, compelling, believable characters who, even when they're antagonists, are usually relatable and even decent (one of Schroeder's strong suits), and just a lot of fun. I hope at least some of the revelations about Artificial Nature and elements of the first book turn out to be not entirely as they seemed, but still, I'll be sticking with this series.
Finished: The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi
Pretty good. I'll go into spoilers for this one because there was one plot point that I figured out easily and thought the characters really should have considered, but generally, about the same level of quality as Old Man's War, and like that at least there's some questioning going on over elements of the first book that I found unappealing or implausible. Anyway, that plot point being that the traitor's daughter, who's death is believed to have spurred him to go traitor, is actually alive. Granted, considering I knew there was a book in the universe called "Zoe's tale", and the daughter's name was Zoe, it's not that much of a leap, but even before that it just seemed to be glaring red signs pointing out, "hey, she's probably still alive!" (granted, I thought of it in terms of 'being used to blackmail him'). So, yeah. Hoping the next book in the series continues some of the questioning of the International Fleet's motives and how it relates to other races... the fact was, even though his methods were wrong, the traitor's explanation of the political situations that led up to it rang very true.
Finished: The Wolves of the Calla, (Dark Tower V), by Stephen King (reread)
Well, this is a reread, so what do I need to say. It's enjoyable, although we're well into the area of the series where 'Ka' starts to be annoying as hell. Not in terms of what happens, but because it feels like every step the characters take is predestined in advance, to the point where if they DECIDED to go walking off a cliff, eyes closed, a magic carpet would magically arrive just as they stepped off the edge, because it's Ka.
Started for 2011:
Mainspring, by Jay Lake
Song of Susannah (Dark Tower VI), by Stephen King (reread)
2010 Book List
My complete reading list of the year, in roughly chronological order:
1. Nebula Award Winners 27 (short story collection)
2. The 1982 Annual Year's Best SF (short stories)
3. The Peace War, by Vernor Vinge
4. Machines that Think: The Best Short Stories about Robots & Computers (short stories, coedited by Isaac Asimov)
5. Nebula Awards Showcase 2007 (short story/essay collection)
6. Accelerando, by Charles Stross (reread)
7. Old Twentieth, by Joe Haldeman
8. Glasshouse, by Charles Stross (reread)
9. The Year's Best SF #13 (short story collection)
10. Sun of Suns (Book One of Virga), by Karl Schroeder (reread)
11. Shadow's Bend, by David Barbour and Richard Raleigh
12. Midshipmans Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
13. Queen of Candesce (Book Two of Virga), by Karl Schroeder (reread)
14. Challenger's Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
15. Prisoner's Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
16. Saturn's Children, by Charles Stross
17. Fisherman's Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
18. Voices of Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
19. Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds (reread)
20. Singularity Sky, by Charles Stross (reread)
21. Patriarch's Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
22. Children of Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
23. Iron Sunrise, by Charles Stross (reread)
24. To Your Scattered Bodies Go... (Riverworld Book One), by Philip Jose Farmer (reread)
25. When Gravity Fails, by George Alec Effinger (reread)
26. A Fire in the Sun, by George Alec Effinger (reread)
27. Excession, by Iain M. Banks (reread)
28. The Fabulous Riverboat (Riverworld Book Two), by Philip Jose Farmer (reread)
29. Year's Best SF 6 (short story collection) (reread)
30. The Exile Kiss, by George Alec Effinger
31. Ender in Exile, by Orson Scott Card
32. Diaspora, by Greg Egan
33. Tatja Grimm's World, by Vernor Vinge
34. The Dreaming Void, by Peter F. Hamilton
35. Blindsight, by Peter Watts (reread)
36. Tesseracts (edited by Judith Merril, and signed by her too!)
37. The Gunslinger: Dark Tower I, by Stephen King (reread)
38. The Drawing of the Three: Dark Tower II, by Stephen King (reread)
39. Tesseracts 3 (Short story collection)
40. The Waste Lands: Dark Tower III, by Stephen King (reread)
41. The Temporal Void, by Peter F. Hamilton
42. Wizard and Glass: Dark Tower IV, by Stephen King (reread)
43. Tesseracts 4 (Short stories)
44. Tesseracts 5 (short stories)
45. Pirate Sun (Book Three of Virga), by Karl Schroeder
46. The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi
47. The Wolves of the Calla: Dark Tower V, by Stephen King (reread)
47 is more than last year (44), but not as much as the year before (broke 50).
So, not bad.
Anyway, as I was checking my book list for last year, I came across this Year-In-Review Meme, so I figured I'd do it again with the dates changed. If you want to copy and do it, go ahead.
Most of my answers are the same as last year, but a couple are different,
1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
I had a sitdown meeting with a science fiction author to talk about my writing. That was pretty cool.
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I never make them. I did fall down on my general writing resolutions (not New Years, just general goals I've had over the year) a lot, and hope to pick them up again in 2011, but that is not a New Year's resolution, it's just a regular resolution that happens to start near (but not on) the New Year.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
If they had, I think I'd have noticed!
Nobody really close, I think there was at least one birth, probably more, among the cousins/stepfamily, but I don't even know if they were this year or before.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully, not anyone particularly close. However, for the first time, and within a few months of each other, two people I had light connections to were both murdered.
One was comic (and cartoon) writer Steve Perry. I'd given him a little bit of money because there was a story about his being possibly on the street due to not being able to pay medical bills, and we corresponded a little since, mostly him giving bulk e-mail updates to his life and situation to everyone who contributed,but once in a while something personal responding to something only I sent. Then, suddenly, he disappeared, and it turns out he was murdered. You can look it up if you want the details.
The second person was a guy I used to play D&D with, long ago. He was really more a friend of my brother's, but we got along, he was always a nice guy, pretty laid back. The best that I can determined was that he was murdered by someone who thought his music was too loud, confronted him, and beat him into a coma that he never recovered from.
He's probably the strangest, since most other people I've known who died were either so distant from me that I don't have much connection to them, or weren't really much in my life anyway, but him, the way he sort of would occasionally appear once in a while for a few years and then not at all for another few, like he was drifting in and out of my life, well... I can still picture him just drifting in one day, but I guess that'll never happen.
5. What countries did you visit?
Canada. Once again, I visited the hell out of Canada. I visited the hell out of Toronto. More specifically, I visited the hell out of my apartment, work, the streets to and from work, and occasional visits outside that range, but all still within Toronto.
(Same as last year).
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
Oh, you know, the intangibles, love, a reason to continue existing, super powers, fame, fortune, ambition.
7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 1st. Because it's the 1st, and that's a pretty damn easy date to remember.
Seriously, I don't remember dates, even for significant events.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Hmmm... probably that Writer-In-Residence meeting with Karl Schroeder. Both for the 'getting over my social issues' aspect, and also for him saying generally positive things about the story I submitted.
Smaller ones: Bought an X-Box, bought a computer, got a pay increase at work, and managed to financially thrive despite not depositing my tax return.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I've still fallen down significantly on writing, and submitting. I did finally get a printer, though, so that'll help somewhat, once we get it set up. Also in the last month or two I've finally been getting workable ideas once again.
That and the usual failure to improve my life in any significant degree or get out and interact with people.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Minor scrapes and illnesses here and there (have a cold right now), but nothing major.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Either my new computer or my X-Box 360. Both are shiny, and I've been playing a lot of zombie games.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Lots of people, but I can't think of anybody to single out.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Again, lots of people, but I try not to dwell. I just can't remember, if somebody pointed out something someone did in 2010 I'd appall and get depressed about it, but I just can't bring any to mind.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent and food. More than my fair share of both, too. Otherwise, books. Well, and big chunks towards the computer and X-Box.
Not so much on comics, this year, I'm down to one book a year, and I'm dropping that for a crossover soon. Way to go, Marvel.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I can't think of any thing. I don't do really really really excited. I do mildly excited.
The Eleventh Doctor, though, I got a bit excited about, and The Walking Dead. Both at least met my expectations, and the Eleventh Doctor exceeded them.
And I suppose I got excited when I went to that Writer-in-Residence thing.
16. What songs will always remind you of 2010?
Are there any with 2010 in the title? Because if not, they're not going to do it. I don't listen to music.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Sadder, I guess. I feel about the same, but increasing tolerance to sadness and the objective entropic decay of my life suggests that it has to be sadder.
ii. thinner or fatter? About the same, I think. Maybe a bit fatter. I need to balance things out a little.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer. Fairly significantly so. I got a little more work and the net effect was that I make about double what I did last year. Unfortunately, my expenses have also increased, or rather, the amount above my share of the rent that I have to pay. Still, even with that, I'm well ahead where I was last year.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Writing.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Wasting my time to no productive use.
20. What are you glad you did more of in 2010?
Playing video games. Killing zombies. Or alternatively, being zombies and killing Survivors.
21. How did you spend Christmas?
With my family, which was nice.
22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Nope. Not even a crush, really. Vague, "she's rather pretty, might be nice to see her again" thoughts, but that's about it. I think my heart hasn't given up wanting, but it's probably given up trying, which puts it more in synch with the rest of me, at least.
23. What was your favourite TV program?
Hmmm.. I think this year, Stargate Universe. TV's really kind of sucked this year, in terms of new shows. Walking Dead was the only new one I really, unreservedly enjoyed, and it was too short to count as a favorite. Stargate Universe, Caprica, and Doctor Who were all in the 'very good' category this year, but I think Stargate Universe wins out a little.
What sucks even more? Next year, Doctor Who and Walking Dead will be the only ones left.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, I'm not a big one for hate.
25. What was the best book you read?
Of the few new books I read this year, probably Pirate Sun.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I don't listen to music.
27. What did you want and get?
An X-Box 360, a new computer, books.
28. What did you want and not get?
Already answered above, why belabor the point?
29. What was your favourite film of this year?
I didn't watch many films so I'm going to give it to... Kick-Ass. Which really was mostly just okay, but I can't think of any other new movie I watched this year.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 32 and I didn't do anything of note. Dinner with family. On the plus side, I can now count my age in hexidecimal, and tell people I'm 20.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I think this question has been asked many times in several different forms, and so I'm not doing it again. Look back.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Jeans and a t-shirt. That's it. (Sung to the tune of "Shave and a haircut, two bits")
33. What kept you sane?
Mister Meme, you do not know me at all.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Summer Glau?
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
From last year, still applies: As stirred as I get, sane copyright reform and the attempts to take it away, gay marriage (pro), and AI rights which never actually came up anywhere except in my own head.
For this year: Wikileaks. Haven't talked about it much lately, but I'm pro-Wikileaks and anti-anybody trying to take them down or who suggests that they should be. When it first started being a big story, it was like something long thought dead awoke - the thought that somebody might actually be trying to do REAL Journalism, instead of the crap that passes for it in the mainstream media. Of course, naturally, everyone tries to shut it down.
36. Who did you miss?
Nobody that I wasn't already missing in 2008.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
Well, I didn't really meet anybody on a personal, regular acquaintence level that I didn't already know, at least not that stands out, but I met four people in a 'wow, wasn't it cool to meet them' sense: Summer Glau, Dean Stockwell, Adrian Alphona (artist of Runaways, when it was good), and Karl Schroeder. Although the first three were cool from the perspectibe of fanboy glee, Karl Schroeder was the most all-around satisfying.
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:
There are two pieces of universally applicable advice. "This, too, shall pass." And "Add more ninjas."
Okay, that's not a new life lesson, I learned that before and used it last year. But it always bears repeating.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Repeat: He's a real Nowhere Man,
Sitting in his Nowhere Land,
making all his nowhere plans
for Nobody...
40. What will you be doing to ring in 2011?
Sleeping, probably. I don't know, maybe hanging online, waiting for family to call.
Anyway, last night I had a dream. Basically, it was a dream that I was reading or just read a short story (although at times, for no reason I can think of, it was an episode of Babylon 5 instead). I won't go into details, but in the dream and the few seconds after waking I was thinking, "Hmmm, there are a couple cool ideas here, but the turn at the end was a little manipulative and kind of cheap. Then a few minutes later, when I realized it was a dream, that nobody had actually written it, I thought, "Hey, I can steal that!" I'm not above stealing the manipulative and cheap given the opportunity! :). Anyway, I might change that part. Or maybe not. I don't know. Still, it's an idea at least.
Finally, the mnemonic device I use to instantly calculate the day of the week any day of the year falls on, this year will be:
Sages Turned To Face Superior Warriors.
For Minutes, The Samurai Tutor Thoroughly
(For those that don't know, the start of each word in the phrase points to a day of the week. The month at the Nth position in the phrase starts with that day of the week. The 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th of the month also start on that day of the week, so the rest is easy calculation. So for March 24th, my birthday, it goes like this: March is the third month, you go to the third word, To. The word "To" is the start of Tuesday, so the 22nd is a Tuesday. That means the 24th is a Thursday.)
It's not the best of them, but I can't think of any better right away. I may keep working on it. Last year's was "Few Metals Match The Sandworm's Tooth. They'll surely work for MY water." which was memorable because I could associate it with Dune.
Finished: Tesseracts 5 (short stories)
Same general mix of okay and not so great. This time, unlike previous ones, the one by Elisabeth Vonarburg
left me pretty well completely cold. My favorite was probably "All Good Things Come From Away", by James Alan
Gardner. I actually thought at first it was a bit cheesy, what with their blatant metaphors (seriously, one alien race was Americans, and pretty well most of the Canadian stereotypes about Americans... I think the humans were Canadians, and the alien race that was the focus of the story were... well, I don't know if the metaphor continues that far), but they faded away, and the story itself was quite well done. Peter Watts and Karl Schroeder's works were also pretty good.
Finished: Pirate Sun (Book 3 of Virga), by Karl Schroeder
Quite liked this one. I'm not sure if it's the best of the series, but I certainly liked it much more than the second book (which I also enjoyed, just thought it was a bit weaker). Lots of fun with gravity, compelling, believable characters who, even when they're antagonists, are usually relatable and even decent (one of Schroeder's strong suits), and just a lot of fun. I hope at least some of the revelations about Artificial Nature and elements of the first book turn out to be not entirely as they seemed, but still, I'll be sticking with this series.
Finished: The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi
Pretty good. I'll go into spoilers for this one because there was one plot point that I figured out easily and thought the characters really should have considered, but generally, about the same level of quality as Old Man's War, and like that at least there's some questioning going on over elements of the first book that I found unappealing or implausible. Anyway, that plot point being that the traitor's daughter, who's death is believed to have spurred him to go traitor, is actually alive. Granted, considering I knew there was a book in the universe called "Zoe's tale", and the daughter's name was Zoe, it's not that much of a leap, but even before that it just seemed to be glaring red signs pointing out, "hey, she's probably still alive!" (granted, I thought of it in terms of 'being used to blackmail him'). So, yeah. Hoping the next book in the series continues some of the questioning of the International Fleet's motives and how it relates to other races... the fact was, even though his methods were wrong, the traitor's explanation of the political situations that led up to it rang very true.
Finished: The Wolves of the Calla, (Dark Tower V), by Stephen King (reread)
Well, this is a reread, so what do I need to say. It's enjoyable, although we're well into the area of the series where 'Ka' starts to be annoying as hell. Not in terms of what happens, but because it feels like every step the characters take is predestined in advance, to the point where if they DECIDED to go walking off a cliff, eyes closed, a magic carpet would magically arrive just as they stepped off the edge, because it's Ka.
Started for 2011:
Mainspring, by Jay Lake
Song of Susannah (Dark Tower VI), by Stephen King (reread)
2010 Book List
My complete reading list of the year, in roughly chronological order:
1. Nebula Award Winners 27 (short story collection)
2. The 1982 Annual Year's Best SF (short stories)
3. The Peace War, by Vernor Vinge
4. Machines that Think: The Best Short Stories about Robots & Computers (short stories, coedited by Isaac Asimov)
5. Nebula Awards Showcase 2007 (short story/essay collection)
6. Accelerando, by Charles Stross (reread)
7. Old Twentieth, by Joe Haldeman
8. Glasshouse, by Charles Stross (reread)
9. The Year's Best SF #13 (short story collection)
10. Sun of Suns (Book One of Virga), by Karl Schroeder (reread)
11. Shadow's Bend, by David Barbour and Richard Raleigh
12. Midshipmans Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
13. Queen of Candesce (Book Two of Virga), by Karl Schroeder (reread)
14. Challenger's Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
15. Prisoner's Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
16. Saturn's Children, by Charles Stross
17. Fisherman's Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
18. Voices of Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
19. Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds (reread)
20. Singularity Sky, by Charles Stross (reread)
21. Patriarch's Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
22. Children of Hope, by David Feintuch (reread)
23. Iron Sunrise, by Charles Stross (reread)
24. To Your Scattered Bodies Go... (Riverworld Book One), by Philip Jose Farmer (reread)
25. When Gravity Fails, by George Alec Effinger (reread)
26. A Fire in the Sun, by George Alec Effinger (reread)
27. Excession, by Iain M. Banks (reread)
28. The Fabulous Riverboat (Riverworld Book Two), by Philip Jose Farmer (reread)
29. Year's Best SF 6 (short story collection) (reread)
30. The Exile Kiss, by George Alec Effinger
31. Ender in Exile, by Orson Scott Card
32. Diaspora, by Greg Egan
33. Tatja Grimm's World, by Vernor Vinge
34. The Dreaming Void, by Peter F. Hamilton
35. Blindsight, by Peter Watts (reread)
36. Tesseracts (edited by Judith Merril, and signed by her too!)
37. The Gunslinger: Dark Tower I, by Stephen King (reread)
38. The Drawing of the Three: Dark Tower II, by Stephen King (reread)
39. Tesseracts 3 (Short story collection)
40. The Waste Lands: Dark Tower III, by Stephen King (reread)
41. The Temporal Void, by Peter F. Hamilton
42. Wizard and Glass: Dark Tower IV, by Stephen King (reread)
43. Tesseracts 4 (Short stories)
44. Tesseracts 5 (short stories)
45. Pirate Sun (Book Three of Virga), by Karl Schroeder
46. The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi
47. The Wolves of the Calla: Dark Tower V, by Stephen King (reread)
47 is more than last year (44), but not as much as the year before (broke 50).
So, not bad.
Anyway, as I was checking my book list for last year, I came across this Year-In-Review Meme, so I figured I'd do it again with the dates changed. If you want to copy and do it, go ahead.
Most of my answers are the same as last year, but a couple are different,
1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
I had a sitdown meeting with a science fiction author to talk about my writing. That was pretty cool.
2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I never make them. I did fall down on my general writing resolutions (not New Years, just general goals I've had over the year) a lot, and hope to pick them up again in 2011, but that is not a New Year's resolution, it's just a regular resolution that happens to start near (but not on) the New Year.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
If they had, I think I'd have noticed!
Nobody really close, I think there was at least one birth, probably more, among the cousins/stepfamily, but I don't even know if they were this year or before.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Thankfully, not anyone particularly close. However, for the first time, and within a few months of each other, two people I had light connections to were both murdered.
One was comic (and cartoon) writer Steve Perry. I'd given him a little bit of money because there was a story about his being possibly on the street due to not being able to pay medical bills, and we corresponded a little since, mostly him giving bulk e-mail updates to his life and situation to everyone who contributed,but once in a while something personal responding to something only I sent. Then, suddenly, he disappeared, and it turns out he was murdered. You can look it up if you want the details.
The second person was a guy I used to play D&D with, long ago. He was really more a friend of my brother's, but we got along, he was always a nice guy, pretty laid back. The best that I can determined was that he was murdered by someone who thought his music was too loud, confronted him, and beat him into a coma that he never recovered from.
He's probably the strangest, since most other people I've known who died were either so distant from me that I don't have much connection to them, or weren't really much in my life anyway, but him, the way he sort of would occasionally appear once in a while for a few years and then not at all for another few, like he was drifting in and out of my life, well... I can still picture him just drifting in one day, but I guess that'll never happen.
5. What countries did you visit?
Canada. Once again, I visited the hell out of Canada. I visited the hell out of Toronto. More specifically, I visited the hell out of my apartment, work, the streets to and from work, and occasional visits outside that range, but all still within Toronto.
(Same as last year).
6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
Oh, you know, the intangibles, love, a reason to continue existing, super powers, fame, fortune, ambition.
7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
January 1st. Because it's the 1st, and that's a pretty damn easy date to remember.
Seriously, I don't remember dates, even for significant events.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Hmmm... probably that Writer-In-Residence meeting with Karl Schroeder. Both for the 'getting over my social issues' aspect, and also for him saying generally positive things about the story I submitted.
Smaller ones: Bought an X-Box, bought a computer, got a pay increase at work, and managed to financially thrive despite not depositing my tax return.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I've still fallen down significantly on writing, and submitting. I did finally get a printer, though, so that'll help somewhat, once we get it set up. Also in the last month or two I've finally been getting workable ideas once again.
That and the usual failure to improve my life in any significant degree or get out and interact with people.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Minor scrapes and illnesses here and there (have a cold right now), but nothing major.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Either my new computer or my X-Box 360. Both are shiny, and I've been playing a lot of zombie games.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Lots of people, but I can't think of anybody to single out.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Again, lots of people, but I try not to dwell. I just can't remember, if somebody pointed out something someone did in 2010 I'd appall and get depressed about it, but I just can't bring any to mind.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Rent and food. More than my fair share of both, too. Otherwise, books. Well, and big chunks towards the computer and X-Box.
Not so much on comics, this year, I'm down to one book a year, and I'm dropping that for a crossover soon. Way to go, Marvel.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
I can't think of any thing. I don't do really really really excited. I do mildly excited.
The Eleventh Doctor, though, I got a bit excited about, and The Walking Dead. Both at least met my expectations, and the Eleventh Doctor exceeded them.
And I suppose I got excited when I went to that Writer-in-Residence thing.
16. What songs will always remind you of 2010?
Are there any with 2010 in the title? Because if not, they're not going to do it. I don't listen to music.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? Sadder, I guess. I feel about the same, but increasing tolerance to sadness and the objective entropic decay of my life suggests that it has to be sadder.
ii. thinner or fatter? About the same, I think. Maybe a bit fatter. I need to balance things out a little.
iii. richer or poorer? Richer. Fairly significantly so. I got a little more work and the net effect was that I make about double what I did last year. Unfortunately, my expenses have also increased, or rather, the amount above my share of the rent that I have to pay. Still, even with that, I'm well ahead where I was last year.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Writing.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Wasting my time to no productive use.
20. What are you glad you did more of in 2010?
Playing video games. Killing zombies. Or alternatively, being zombies and killing Survivors.
21. How did you spend Christmas?
With my family, which was nice.
22. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Nope. Not even a crush, really. Vague, "she's rather pretty, might be nice to see her again" thoughts, but that's about it. I think my heart hasn't given up wanting, but it's probably given up trying, which puts it more in synch with the rest of me, at least.
23. What was your favourite TV program?
Hmmm.. I think this year, Stargate Universe. TV's really kind of sucked this year, in terms of new shows. Walking Dead was the only new one I really, unreservedly enjoyed, and it was too short to count as a favorite. Stargate Universe, Caprica, and Doctor Who were all in the 'very good' category this year, but I think Stargate Universe wins out a little.
What sucks even more? Next year, Doctor Who and Walking Dead will be the only ones left.
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, I'm not a big one for hate.
25. What was the best book you read?
Of the few new books I read this year, probably Pirate Sun.
26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I don't listen to music.
27. What did you want and get?
An X-Box 360, a new computer, books.
28. What did you want and not get?
Already answered above, why belabor the point?
29. What was your favourite film of this year?
I didn't watch many films so I'm going to give it to... Kick-Ass. Which really was mostly just okay, but I can't think of any other new movie I watched this year.
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 32 and I didn't do anything of note. Dinner with family. On the plus side, I can now count my age in hexidecimal, and tell people I'm 20.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I think this question has been asked many times in several different forms, and so I'm not doing it again. Look back.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Jeans and a t-shirt. That's it. (Sung to the tune of "Shave and a haircut, two bits")
33. What kept you sane?
Mister Meme, you do not know me at all.
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Summer Glau?
35. What political issue stirred you the most?
From last year, still applies: As stirred as I get, sane copyright reform and the attempts to take it away, gay marriage (pro), and AI rights which never actually came up anywhere except in my own head.
For this year: Wikileaks. Haven't talked about it much lately, but I'm pro-Wikileaks and anti-anybody trying to take them down or who suggests that they should be. When it first started being a big story, it was like something long thought dead awoke - the thought that somebody might actually be trying to do REAL Journalism, instead of the crap that passes for it in the mainstream media. Of course, naturally, everyone tries to shut it down.
36. Who did you miss?
Nobody that I wasn't already missing in 2008.
37. Who was the best new person you met?
Well, I didn't really meet anybody on a personal, regular acquaintence level that I didn't already know, at least not that stands out, but I met four people in a 'wow, wasn't it cool to meet them' sense: Summer Glau, Dean Stockwell, Adrian Alphona (artist of Runaways, when it was good), and Karl Schroeder. Although the first three were cool from the perspectibe of fanboy glee, Karl Schroeder was the most all-around satisfying.
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:
There are two pieces of universally applicable advice. "This, too, shall pass." And "Add more ninjas."
Okay, that's not a new life lesson, I learned that before and used it last year. But it always bears repeating.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
Repeat: He's a real Nowhere Man,
Sitting in his Nowhere Land,
making all his nowhere plans
for Nobody...
40. What will you be doing to ring in 2011?
Sleeping, probably. I don't know, maybe hanging online, waiting for family to call.
Anyway, last night I had a dream. Basically, it was a dream that I was reading or just read a short story (although at times, for no reason I can think of, it was an episode of Babylon 5 instead). I won't go into details, but in the dream and the few seconds after waking I was thinking, "Hmmm, there are a couple cool ideas here, but the turn at the end was a little manipulative and kind of cheap. Then a few minutes later, when I realized it was a dream, that nobody had actually written it, I thought, "Hey, I can steal that!" I'm not above stealing the manipulative and cheap given the opportunity! :). Anyway, I might change that part. Or maybe not. I don't know. Still, it's an idea at least.
Finally, the mnemonic device I use to instantly calculate the day of the week any day of the year falls on, this year will be:
Sages Turned To Face Superior Warriors.
For Minutes, The Samurai Tutor Thoroughly
(For those that don't know, the start of each word in the phrase points to a day of the week. The month at the Nth position in the phrase starts with that day of the week. The 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th of the month also start on that day of the week, so the rest is easy calculation. So for March 24th, my birthday, it goes like this: March is the third month, you go to the third word, To. The word "To" is the start of Tuesday, so the 22nd is a Tuesday. That means the 24th is a Thursday.)
It's not the best of them, but I can't think of any better right away. I may keep working on it. Last year's was "Few Metals Match The Sandworm's Tooth. They'll surely work for MY water." which was memorable because I could associate it with Dune.
