Starlost Addendum
We finished with The Starlost last night, and I think the best part of the four discs was the seven-minute pitch reel included as an extra on the final disc. It was clearly made before shooting had started, as evidenced by the different name for Keir Dullea’s character and substantially different pilot plot described. They also laud Douglas Trumbull’s Magicam system, which apparently didn’t make it into production (neither did Trumbull), but might have made the miniature sets other than laughable (see the Wikipedia Starlost article for more detail—I’m pretty sure they mean “did not work reliably”).
Alfresco Review
Alfresco. Tolerable. Put together the amazing talents of Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Ben Elton, and Robbie Coltrane (and Siobhan Redmond, whom you’ve likely not heard of) in 1983, and what do you get? A sketch comedy show that, in 2009, is rather disappointing. I’ll get the second series, but mostly out of contractual obligation. I don’t know how to apportion the blame among youth (of the cast), Ben Elton’s domination of the writing (if the credits are to be believed), and age (of the work); I expect all of them play substantially in its failure to completely delight this audience. Nevertheless of historical interest.
“Turns out, he was crazy”
Best last line to a local news story in a while, and again it should be in the headline: “The sheriff’s office is looking into whether the group actually exists.”
Jonathan Livingston Seagull Review
Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Bad. I don’t hate this movie as much as it probably deserves, maybe because I spent a lot of time looking into its history instead of watching it. I don’t know whether it could have been good, but it hamstrings itself by not choosing a lane: it wants to be a beautiful wildlife documentary, and a voiced-over quasi-cartoon, and a fair capturing of Richard Bach’s monster best-seller; and in being unwilling to let go of any of those, it fails at all of them.
Shot before routine Humane Society supervision of animal treatment, the film reportedly was responsible for dozens of gulls’ deaths. Those sensitive to animal abuse should definitely take a pass.
Book of God and Physics Review
The Book of God and Physics: A Novel of the Voynich Mystery, Joven. No. To be completely fair, I didn’t give this book much of a chance. In my defense, after skipping an introduction and enduring a prologue, I had rather hoped Joven might, well, get on with the story. I was disappointed and not in possession of sufficient patience to hang on.
Mechanics: insufficient data
Style: Two pages of actual novel bored me out of the book. A random page (well, sentence) in the middle did nothing to persuade me I had judged too hastily.
May Reading
Albert and the Others, Guy Delisle
I really liked Delisle’s books on Burma and North Korea, this is his first fiction graphic novel I have read, an A to Z of men in wordless vignettes. I like his visual style, but the stories didn’t grab me. Actually, I found them fairly unsettling. Hm. Two stars.
Brave New World, Huxley
I had very much wanted to read this after having read 1984, since they were books on similar themes from writers who were friends. I am left wanting to learn more about the present it was written in, since having sufficient background to 1984 really increased my appreciation. Which is to say, my appreciation wasn’t all that high for BNW. I came away thinking “great writer, ok book.” Well, great use of language and description, poor structure and storytelling. I can’t think of this as a great SF book where there is a whole chapter of two characters discussing the themes of the book. Guh. Show, don’t tell. Three stars.
Veeps by Bill Kelter; artist, Wayne Shellabarger
A historical overview of US Vice presidents, with nice illustrations. The best part was the overview of the political wrangling that leads to the selection of a running mate. The worst part is that the book didn’t seem to have been proofread. Three stars
Bonk: the curious coupling of science and sex, Mary Roach
I like Roach’s style, but again I liked her first book (Stiff) best. This book also covered a lot of genital surgery, which was pretty gross, and the audiobook reader wasn’t amazing. Two stars.
Getting the girl: a guide to private investigation, surveillance, and cookery, Susan Juby
I do really love how Juby captures the voice of her characters and the thinking of a semi-oblivious person without being condescending. That said, she takes on some deep stuff with a touch that was maybe too light? I’m not sure, I may have to digest this one. Three stars.
Space history & unlikely helmets
A newsflash from the Daily Mirror website: an excellent illustration of a pioneering monkey. Timely, as I am hoping to visit a space monkey grave next week.
Collected Roger Zelazny Vol. 2 Review
Power & Light: Volume 2: The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, ed. Grubbs, Kovacs, Crimmins. Yes. It continues to be a delight to be able to read things previously uncollected, and sometimes unpublished, though my delight is mitigated by some mechanical issues.
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Crazed by Cigarettes
Crazed by Cigarettes
(Special to The World)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 28. — James L. Householder, aged nineteen, died in the arms of his sweetheart, Miss Lue(?) Gilliam, aged seventeen, at her home in this city last night after taking carbolic acid. The young man left a note for his mother stating that Mack Dryser would explain all.
Dryser said to-day that Householder had told him he had helped to kill a man in Atlanta two years ago, was about to be apprehended and intended to kill himself. The boy’s father believes that his mind had become temporarily unbalanced by the use of cigarettes.
The World, New York, New York. Tuesday, December 29, 1903, Page 3
