Number6's Journal

Finished: Nebula Award Winners 27, (short story collection)
Started: Machines That Think (short story collection)
Finished: The 1982 Annual Year's Best SF, (short stories)

Since the last two finished books are short story collections, I'll deal with them as one, because it's pretty much the same. It's okay, but no standout. There were a few more iffier stories in the 1982 collection, and fewer 'wow, that was good' ones. The Nebula collection also had a couple interesting essays (including one discussing pretty much each SF movie released in 1992 in detail). So a bit meh, over all.

Started and Finished: The Peace War, by Vernor Vinge
Started: Nebula Awards Showcase 2007, (short stories)

The Peace War was not Vinge's best, but then, it was one of his earliest. I still enjoyed it, but I felt a bit disappointed just by the comparison. I do think the idea was pretty cool (back of the book type spoilers behind cut, along with more detailed thoughts). ( Read more... )

What else have I been doing lately? Not a whole lot, really. Starting another extra-depressive phase, as I usually do after Xmas. Have managed to keep up with my writing, even if nothing's really caught my mind on fire. Watching a bit of old movies. Some quick thoughts (spoilers behind cuts)

V For Vendetta: I liked most of it, but a few of my favorite bits from the GN version seemed to have been missing and ( Read more... )

Wanted: Stupid, but kind of fun in a 'silly actiony' sort of way.

Push: Surprisingly good. It was a little rough over all. It felt like there was a really good movie struggling to get out of there, and it never quite managed it, but it did a pretty good job of setting up an appealing world and even throwing in some cool twists. If you're a fan of 'people with powers in a realistic world', I recommend at least giving it a look. I've heard some people are eyeing it as sort of a Heroes style TV series, and I'd certainly be willing to give that a look. I especially dig the ( Read more... )

Terminator Salvation: Hmm. Kind of mixed. I really think Terminator works best when you leave the post-apocalypse off-screen. Because when it's off screen, you don't have to wonder, "gee, why haven't the machines just won already, because they clearly could." And they don't even do obvious things like ( Read more... ). There were a few nice surprises, though. Anton Yelchin gave a good performance, and there were a few decent plot twists, ( Read more... ).

I wonder a bit about "where do we go from here" with the Terminator franchise. I mean, I think it's obvious that they're probably going to make more, and they'll probably make more in the post-apocalypse world, too. But like I said, that doesn't really work for me. To me, Terminator isn't about what happens after Judgement Day, it's about a crazy story nobody else will believe, it's about races through city streets full of people completely unaware of what's going on, it's about contemplating destiny vs. free will. The series maintained this, even at a low budget, the new movie doesn't really, it's just "another post-apocalypse". Now, there might be neat things to be done with the idea of expanding beyond the traditional war, making peace with factions of the machines, but if it's just war war war, YAWN.

Another option is just a straight up reboot. This could be doable. Killer robots are still pretty far away in the future, so you can start from scratch and make a new Terminator sent back to kill Sarah Connor, only in the present day. Plan it out a little more in terms of what the sequels would and could be, and while they might never match the original, they might catch some of the spirit. Might be heresy to some of the fanbase though.

I'm going to go suggest 'balls out crazy choice #3'. Take the Terminator franchise SIDEWAYS. Posit that, in addition to their studies of time travel to prevent their destruction, a desperate Skynet launched another initiative... to break into PARALLEL WORLDS. One where Judgement Day never happened at all. The goal being to recreate Skynet in the new world, with each Terminator carrying a piece of it in their skulls. You can include time travel, so they show up in the "present day" instead of alternate 2027s. You could possibly even include John Connor, as a person living an average life with no idea why people are trying to kill him (or, if the reason Judgement day was averted was because of T2, knows, but was certain he averted the apocalypse), just because they have leftover program. Otherwise, you'd probably focus on new people who are in danger because they found out, or members of the resistance who want to make sure Skynet doesn't spread and create an unassailable base on another world to continue the fight on their world. Yeah, okay, so it's a bit silly and goofy and hard to pull off, but I kind of like the idea of a franchise just randomly taking a step to the left (and then a jump to the right).

Anyway, I think that's about it. Time to eat, I think.

But work. Which is somewhat nicer now that they changed the time to earlier. Since I didn't have comics to pick up afterwards, I got home around noon and had the afternoon to myself.

In other news, I finally got around to watching Romero's Diary of the Dead this weekend. It was... okay. Some good ideas, but too much crap that didn't work and the performances weren't all that hot. A bit more detailed, a bit more spoilery, behind the cut.
( Read more... )

In other news, I've been experimenting with Twitter. Mostly just to prove to myself that my updates would be as boring as I'd imagined they'd be every time I thought about doing Twitter. So far that bears out.

Oh, and the Ships & Giggles Forum, my last remaining message board forum to discuss comics and such, died a couple months ago, apparently due to accident with one of the site admins or something. Well, it's back in a new location finally. So, there's that. I don't think any of my flist were regulars there, but for me it's nice at least.

Happy Easter to all of you that celebrate it. I don't celebrate it religiously (that is, as a religious event), but I do enjoy the familyness... however, for me, Easter is _next_ weekend, the awesomeness that is Greek Easter, and so this weekend I didn't do much different than what I normally do, and so this is a fairly normal update.

So, today I finished Fallout 3. Mildly fun, althoguh I was somehow expecting more from the reviews I'd heard and hype about it being the best game of the year. (minor spoilers behind the cut, but mostly just discussions of specific issues, and good points)
( Read more... )

TV. Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead was on last night, and... ehh, it was okay. Felt like an average episode (and really, with normal episodes being something like 50 minutes, and this one being a whopping 58, lets stop calling these 'extra long specials'. It barely qualifies. When they said instead of a full season we were getting 4 extra long specials I would have hoped that they were at least 1.5 times a regular ep), and nothing really all that special. On the other hand, it didn't make me want to throw things at the screen, so for a RTD-written episode, that's a success. (Minor spoilery comments behind cut) ( Read more... )

And the other big TV is the last 2nd season episode of Terminator, the Sarah Connor Chronciles, and possibly the end of the series entirely. And if the last part is true, then DAMN YOU. DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL. I so want to see where they go from here. Good ep, and giving me a lot of what I wanted to see when the series was announced. (spoilers) ( Read more... )

Dollhouse was also pretty good. Only other thing I've been watching lately besides Heroes (which is still lame, but getting a _tiny_ bit better at least in the general writing category) and a few "whatever's on" shows is Lost, and it's pretty good this season but I don't find myself with a need to talk about episodes in my updates. I dunno why. *shrug*. So that's it for TV.

Finally, a meme, several installments worth. I've put off these for a long time, usually because I didn't want to post _just_ them, or a post I was already posting just got too long. But, it's about time, so here we go...

Interview Me Meme
1) Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me!"
2) I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3) You will post the answers to the questions (and the questions themselves) on your blog or journal.
4) You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5) When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. And thus the endless cycle of the meme goes on and on and on and on...


Btw, if I asked for questions from you and you gave them but they're not here, it might have been one of those instances where LJ didn't send me the comment notification. If you're really interested you'll have to reply to this and either ask them again or link to them. So, here we go...

From thebitterguy...

1. Were there any comics of note in the '90s? I mean, was the entire decade not a wasteland of graphic novel mediocrity? ( Read more... )
2. If I shot Ben Browder in the face, would you cry? ( Read more... )
3. Do you consciously not use tags on your LJ? Or is it just something you never got around to doing? ( Read more... )
4. I see you just re-read the Wild Cards books. Have they aged well? ( Read more... )
5. Is runaways readable in floppies? I've only read the first run as hardcovers, and got the Whedon series as floppies. I found the Whedon's not very engaging until I read them as a single story. ( Read more... )
From soleta_nf...

1. What do you love about Toronto? ( Read more... )
2. What do you dislike about Toronto? ( Read more... )
3. Is the current economic situation affecting you personally very much? ( Read more... )
4. What's your favourite comic book movie? ( Read more... )
5. Who is the next Canadian Barack Obama? ( Read more... )

From calliopes_pen...
1. If you had the chance to travel with the Doctor, which Doctor would you want to travel with? And where would you want to go first? ( Read more... )
2. Are you superstitious at all? If so, about what, in particular? ( Read more... )
3. If vampires were real, what would you do? ( Read more... )
4. What is the one job you would never want to have? ( Read more... )
5. If you were trapped on a deserted island, what one book would you want
to have with you? ( Read more... )

And that's it. See you all out there in Post-Apocalyptica, people.

Edit: Oh, and this seems to have exploded everywhere since I originally posted this post, but I figure it deserves spreading even more since I'm against censorship and bigotry and this has elements of both: Amazon.com is censoring it rankings and search results, specifically targetting non-pornographic GBLT books as 'adult' content (while leaving things like Playboy fully searchable).

I'll start with TV. SCC was pretty good this week. I'm going to miss the series when it's gone, as I'm feeling is likely (but not officially confirmed yet, so I hope I'm wrong), despite the big, sudden events in this ep. Dollhouse has also been getting better. It's still nowhere near as good as any of Whedon's other shows, but I find myself watching it as opposed to leaving it on in the background while I do something else.

And found another episode of Prisoners of Gravity. I know none of you care but I do, helps me if I want to find a particular interview later.

This one's on Children in SF & Fantasy.

Part 1: General introduction, John Clute on stories about children and adolescents in general in SF and the SF as 'right of passage' (and the actual book by that title). Kristine-Kathryn Rusch on why SF has so few child characters compared to fantasy, the host lists some examples of kids in SF.
Part 2: (mostly) Kids in Fantasy. Mercedes Lackey on how much she draws on her own childhood to write kids, and the life of kids in medieval times. Robert Holdstock (the Bone Forest) on why he likes writing from the child's perspective, Jane Yolen on the difference between writing about children vs writing for children, and rules for writing for kids. Nancy Kress back on the topic of the lack of children in SF.
Part 3: Nancy Kress again on how having kids affected her view of the world. Other SF writers on how kids have affected their writing careers (Gwyneth Jones, Esther Friesner, Pat Cadigan). More general interview with Monica Hughes (of the Isis Trilogy): how she started writing SF for children, inspiration for the Isis Trilogy, and whether she feels she's competing with the more commercialized entertainment for children.

Speaking of children in SF/Fantasy, writing update. Really, it's mostly been slogging it again. I haven't felt particularly inspired about anything recently. However, while I was exhausted of writing one of the things I was writing on last, I still had words to write for the week and went to an old story, one of my longer unfinished novel-like works. ( Read more... )

Anyay, I think the reason I still have the lack of writing-excitedness is I'm still in my winter depression, despite the fact that it's spring. I don't really feel much like _anything_ except the occasional fancy that strikes me. You're supposed to go away now, thanks! Oh well, at least I seem to have shaken that cold (or series of colds) that've been dogging me for months.

And since this post is going to be using the canadiana tag anyway, just for an idle bit of fun. A number of my friends have mentioned the Law and Order: UK series. So, as is my wont, I began to think about Law and Order: Canada. So a Canadiana Challenge for any Canadians on my flist who want to participate (either in comments or your own journal). Cast a Law and Order Canada. The rules:
( Read more... )

Finally, I think I'll talk about the biggest of my recent timesinks lately. As you may remember, I got a new new computer recently. Now, my old new computer was rather old, and so I couldn't really play much in the way of games on it (I still have my old old computer, but it's pretty much just for web browsing my favorite sites, writing, and e-mail). I think the newest (non flash or simple puzzle) game I played on it was Planescape Torment. Or maybe Black and White. Whichever was newest. But now I can actually play new games. And, as it turned out, my brother had a copy of Fallout 3. So, I've been playing that. It's a post apocalyptic semi-RPG, semi-shooter. And it's reasonably fun. I think I'm about halfway through the main quest, but there are so many side quests I keep getting distracted with. I'm playing Good, because, well, I find it hard to play evil. I even started a new character to play evil for a while and whenever I tried to choose the evil conversation options I thought, "I don't want to say that, that's mean!". Not to mention things like blowing up a whole town.
Anyway, the game is fun but there are some annoyances, like characters who you just finished talking to a few seconds ago, asking you if you're back from the assignment they _just_ sent you on. And unrealistic things like where you see something happening, go away, do something else for a few days of game time, come back, and the people you left are all pretty much doing the exact same thing, as though no time had passed for them. Which got me thinking. What if you made a game that made use of that failing as a game mechanic, much like Planescape: Torment did with dying and respawning. And continued thinking and came up with a general plot sketch:
( Read more... ) In conclusion, I should totally write for video games!! Anyway, given that games play with time a lot, and how little I'm 'plugged in' to gaming news, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody already did something much like that. But it amused me anyway.

In comics, Marvel's announced Dark X-Men with a lineup of mostly people not usually in X-books, and continuing Marvel beating the adjective Dark into the ground. Personally, I'm waiting for Dark Runaways, with a returned Alex leading Topher (brought back to life for Dracula's war effort), Excavator, Penance/Hollow, and an alternate universe Squirrel Girl where she's a master thief who stole Doctor Doom's universe-travelling gear, her killer giant mutant squirrel Monkey Joe, and Mordred the Magician who's astrally inhabiting the body of Lotus, who accidentally summoned him. Or not. Anyway, although the lineup (of Dark X-Men) is kinda-sorta interesting in parts, I'm not bothering and can't wait until Marvel unDarks everything.

I think that's it for today. I do have a few memes saved up I need to get to but this is getting a bit long so I'll save them for a bit later.

Edit: Weird, while I was looking up the link to my review of Planescape: Torment, I stumbled on this post, from 2006, where (among other things), I relate a dream, that seems to be the general concept of (the most recent) New Warriors, combined with the title of Young X-Men. Marvel, are you reading my journal and stealing my ideas and making them crappier? Or reading my dreams?

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Noble Drifter in a Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland. Does that count? I mean technically it doesn't exist yet (here).

For 'real' jobs, I think I'd go with Executive Producer of a long-running science fiction show or franchise. Get to do what I love, be famous enough that I get some of the perks but still obscure enough that I can go about in public, good money, and if I'm executive producer for a long-enough running series, even once it ends I should be able to get another such job fairly easily and explore different ideas. Plus I have a team of writers to collaborate with in instances where I have a good idea but can't really execute it.

Writing in a smaller capacity would also be nice.

This week I got one book:

Runaways #6 (bit of a weak end to the arc)

Full reviews as usual at my comic reviews site for anyone interested.

Work was okay, though late, however it (and the walk to the comic store) were a bit of a pain because of a snowstorm. It wasn't especially cold, and thankfully, at least most of the time, not especially slushy, but the snow was falling the whole time and meant I couldn't really read while walking. The snowstorm probably also contributed to the lateness at work.

Anyway, some random bits of news and such that may be of interest.

Kim Manners, director of a number of SF shows including X-Files and Supernatural (and in fact, who directed the recent SN episode "Family Remains" has died. RIP.

In TV news, NBC had greenlit a pilot for a new series, called Day One. It's described as a post-apocalyptic series after a global catastrophe destroys the world's infrastructure. Sounds like my kind of show. The writer of the pilot has worked on Heroes, Lost, and Alias. So that might be good or bad. He was one of the co-executive producers let go when NBC realized the Heroes ship was sinking and needed dramatic efforts to rescue it, though. I'll give it a chance, because, well, me-likey post-apocalypse.

ABC's greenlit a pilot for a remake of V, by one of the co-exec producers of The 4400. Also may or may not be worth a look.

Also, like Jane Austen? Like Zombie Apocalypses? Well, I have the book for you! It's a posthumous collaboration with Jane Austen is an upcoming novel, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". Yes, really. Apparently it combines actual text from the Austen novel with new material making a plot about a zombie uprising, making it a comedy of manners during a zombie apocalypse. I dunno, I kinda dig that kind of thing, at least in theory.

And if you're not sick of zombies yet, apparently there will be an upcoming horror-comedy Zombieland, starring Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslyn.

And there's some more word on casting for the DW Specials this year, over at Gallifrey One's News Page, but I won't be specific because it may be spoilery to some.

Had a Supernatural episode in a dream. Not so much a dream about Supernatural, but actually a plot (albeit, not a complete one). ( Read more... )

So, this post I'll be giving my thoughts on all the series I watched regularly, as how they stand on the midseason point. This includes shows which've only aired one apisode (Who), and ones which only have two episodes left to go in their entire run (Atlantis). My criteria for inclusion is if I watched it with most of my attention, most of the time.

So, here we go.

Prison Break: Major spoilers for the newest season so far. In short: Kinda enjoyable for most of it, but turned sour around the end.( Read more... )

Heroes: Major spoilers for Vol 3: Villains. In short: What a cluster$!@$. ( Read more... )

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Major spoilers for S2. Short version: Bit of a down-turn in quality from S1, but still some interesting things going on. ( Read more... )

My Own Worst Enemy (Cancelled): I watched this mainly because it was right after Heroes and nothing else was on. No real spoilers. Short version: Not especially going to miss it. ( Read more... )

House: This is kinda episodic, so there's not much to say. Minor spoilers for relationshippy stuff in the newest season. Short version: Still enjoyable for what I watch it for, the ongoing stuff doesn't thrill me though. ( Read more... )

Criminal Minds: Another episodic show. I don't even know why I like it, especially since the awesome Inigo Montoya (that's his name for me from now on) left, but I still mildly enjoy it. No spoilers, no cut. Still enjoying it, maybe because it's my only real 'serial killer crime' show I watch.

Bones: Another show I watch more by circumstances than choice - it's on, nothing else is, and I like it enough to watch it regularly so long as nothing conflicts. Some spoilers but mostly for the end of last season and how it plays out this time. ( Read more... )

Pushing Daisies (cancelled): Minor spoilers for ongoing plots of S2. Short version: Too bad it's cancelled. ( Read more... )

Supernatural: Relatively low on spoilers. Short version: Mixed, not feeling the arc so much but still enjoy the series. ( Read more... )

The Office: Don't have too much to say about this. I kinda feel bad for Andy though. This is probably my one half hour comedy show left.

Stargate Atlantis: There's only two episodes left before the series is over, so this is almost a season-in-review. But not quite. Anyway, no spoilers really. Short version: Enjoying it, but it's a bit weaker and I'm already kind of more excited about Universe.( Read more... )

Survivors (BBC): Only minor spoilers, since I don't think anyone on my flist's watched it. Or probably planning to. Short version: Actually the show I've been most looking forward to this month.( Read more... ) I'm glad it's getting a second season.

Doctor Who (2008 Christmas Special only): Oh, RTD, you did it again. Decent character work at first, with a crappy plot you must have wrote in the bathroom because it's made out of tissue paper. Major spoilers. Also a bit of fannish speculation for what happens next for the baddies.
( Read more... )

I think that's about it. If there are any other shows you know I watch (or wonder if I watch) that I left out, feel free to comment and I'll let you know what I think.

Edited to add:
Wolverine and the X-Men: Not really many spoilers, except perhaps for characters appearing. Short version: Quite liked it.( Read more... )

Boxing Day. However, I decided to avoid the boxing. Not much I would have wanted to buy (the things I might have considered buying because of the deal are generally too rare to make it worth going out and looking, or too expensive such that I don't have the money on hand and that I need to know if I'm getting certain other money I'm owed before I can consider it. Or both). Did have to work, and it wasn't too bad, though they were a bit idioty in ordering too much. Ah well.

So let's do some Book Foo. I don't know if this'll be the last of 2008, still a couple more reading days and there's a chance I might finish another one or two.

Finished: Wild Cards, Vol 5: Down and Dirty, edited by George R. R. Martin (reread)
Started: Wild Cards, Vol 6: Ace in the Hole, edited by George R. R. Martin (reread)

Down and Dirty's somewhat enjoyable, although the story sort of meanders. Minor spoilers.
( Read more... ) I'll probably end my rereading of the series with Vol 7 (which takes place at the same time as Vol 6).

Started and Finished: Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow (available online, and read that way) (reread)

Just was bored last weekend and felt like a reread. Still rather enjoyable, no furthur comments.

Finished: Parable of the Talents, by Octavia Butler (Nebula Award Winner, 1999)
Started: Forever Peace, by Joe Haldeman

Comments and a quote, behind the cut, some spoilers but relatively minor, plus some thoughts on the religion in the book. Overall: Enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
( Read more... ). Anyway, while I probably wouldn't seek out the Parable of the Sower specifically, if I happened to find it used for a good price, I might well pick it up, just to see how the story started.

Because Canada is awesome and didn't get delayed.

This week I got two books:

Captain Britain and MI13 #3 (My Pick of the Week, but a little confusing)
Young X-Men #4 (rapidly losing patience)

Full reviews as usual at my comic reviews site for anyone interested.

Work was okay, but hot and tiring. Meh.

Had Taco Bell for lunch on the way home, their 5 taco deal. Mmm, tacos.

What else... things I saw on the way home:
A weird police procession which I believe may have included a guy bound and gagged in the passenger seat (either that or a passenger was weirdly goofing off in a way that just looked like that)
A potted plant beneath one of the street level grates. And someone asked me directions and I was able to give them correct ones! For some reason whenever people ask me directions, I either don't know, or am momentarily confused and give them the wrong information and don't realize it until after they're gone. But yay, not today.

Hmmm... the BBC is doing remake of Survivors... now, I like a good post-apocalypse story so maybe I'll check it out. And Freema Agyeman (Martha)'s apparently in it too. Don't _think_ I ever saw the original, but it's possible I did long ago and just can't remember.

This new show Flashpoint keeps showing commercials, and I have decided I will watch the first episode and then only watch furthur episodes if I'm able to pretend that it's Keith Mars who has taken a new law enforcement job in Canada while his daughter Veronica is at the FBI academy.