At Target today, I bought a new Star Trek dvd, volume 2 of the best of the original series. This one has the following blurb on the back cover:

Where No Man Has Gone Before
Warp speed goes wild when a Starfleet propulsion expert and his alien assistant come aboard the Enterprise to increase efficiency. The ship mysteriously rockets to an area previously unexplored by humans. Now in danger at the edge of the universe, the crew must uncover the link between space, time and travel if they hope to make it back alive.

Intriguing story. Unfortunately, that's not the story told in "Where No Man Has Gone Before." Neither is it any story in the original Star Trek. I have a vague recollection of a really bad "Wesley" story perhaps having that plotline in NextGen, but as I avoid Wesley stories with a nearly religious fervor, I can't say for certain. But you'd think that somebody at Paramount would have watched the story they're trying to sell. Probably too difficult to find the time to watch a 50-minute tv show in the past 45 years...

I saw "The Invention of Lying" today; it's a very good movie, funny & insightful. I can see why it didn't get better reviews -- it has a very cynical, dare I say "truthful," attitude toward religion. Not just organized religion, but the very basic concept of religion. Refreshing.

I read and enjoyed Jack McDevitt's new novel, "Time Travelers Never Die," and that prompted me to re-read one of his earlier novels, "A Talent For War." It's a good read, about an antiques dealer perhaps 15K years in the future probing a historical mystery of a war a century or so before his time. First in the Alex Benedict/Chase Kolpath series, by perhaps the best* (and my favorite) science fiction writer of this present-day.

Anyhow, I've done a lot of historical reading of the ancient Mediterranean world since I last read "Talent," and it amuses me to realize that in my first read, I totally missed that the future space war McDevitt's writing about, a war between the scattered and disunited human worlds and the telepathic alien race, the Ashiyyurean, uses as its template the wars between the ancient Greeks and the Persian Empire. I missed this, even with the major hint that one of the main characters in the historical mystery is himself a historian of that period. It's good that I can be amused by my own obtuseness, occasionally.


*Science fiction only. Terry Pratchett is the best fantasy writer in today's world, and perhaps the best writer of any stripe extant, in my not at all humble opinion. (English language only -- I make no claims toward knowledge of writers in other languages, other worlds, or alternate realities.)

I just finished Jack McDevitt's new novel, "Time Travelers Never Die," and it's a good one. In this story, McDevitt retreats from the galaxy and sticks close to Earth, in a splendid tale of pair of near-future young men who come into possession of a time machine. (It's about the size of a I-Pod -- time travel technology has advanced since Mr. Wells' day.) McDevitt also steps back from the idea that causing changes in the past simply splits off a new reality branch; this story is filled front to back with grandfather paradox possibilities. It also has a good story, interesting characters, and is a history geek's dream come true. A good read from one of my favorite writers.

This book also raised many questions in my mind about my own time travel desires. I'm a history geek and a reader and a lover of science fiction, so...were I to come into possession of a time machine, what era of history would I want to visit? To avoid? What period of my own life would I like to stalk? Who, out of all those who lived, would I like to meet?

1) Despite my fascination with the American Civil War and various periods of military history, battles are not a tourist destination. Not safe. You're likely to get killed, get drafted, get in trouble.

2) I would love to be in the crowd watching FDR's first inaugural: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." That would've been a day to recall.

3) First editions of so many books! First issue of Doc Savage magazine. A copy of Lovecraft's "Outsider," hot off the press. A complete run of Weird Tales, a complete run of Black Mask. First edition of all of Wodehouse's works.

4) Gettysburg Address.

5) Imperial Rome -- fascinating, but not for the faint of heart.

6) I'd love to ride on any of the great dirigibles, but the idea that you're riding in a vehicle owned by Nazi Germany and adorned with a 90-foot swastika is just too creepy for words.

7) Glenn Miller. Benny Goodman. Harry Houdini. So many great musicians, actors, performers, all live and in person. My father, in the Marines in World War 2, got to see Boris Karloff perform live in "Arsenic and Old Lace," playing the character who says, "I killed him because he said I looked like Boris Karloff." Sigh...Raymond Massey was excellent in the movie, but he wasn't Karloff.


And now...out of books to read -- other than the 3000+ in this room, the closet, and the attic. Think I'll hit Half Price Books tomorrow night. And maybe Shinders the next night, pick up the new Doc Savage/Batman comic book.

reading...
I'm about 5/7 of the way through The Gathering Storm, volume twelve of the late Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, this one finished by Brandon Sanderson. I've no idea if it's to the credit of Jordan, Sanderson, or of Jordan's widow & editor, Harriet McDougal, or to all three of them, but this is the best novel in this series in possibly a dozen years. The pacing has returned to its proper speed. There are twice as many chapters as in recent volumes, with more happening in a 25-page chapter as in one of the 80-pagers of recent years. Old familiar characters are interesting once more. And, the story is moving. You can feel events pulling the reader and the characters along to whatever end will come, two volumes hence. I am really enjoying this read.

**********
and stuff...
A couple of friends of mine dropped by last night for trick or treating and a short visit, the one my best friend in the world, the other her ten-year old son. (They hadn't been over in a year, since last Halloween, in fact.) She and I talked briefly, while her son glanced around the place, just seeing what he could see. And then he turned to me, saying, "Hey! You've got a new DVD player." He was right, I do. But what makes it interesting is that he hadn't been over in a year, and this little guy's mind is sharp enough, smart enough, observant enough, that he picked out "What Is Different In These Two Pictures?" when the two pictures in question were brief visits spaced a year apart. Sherlock Holmes would be proud. Me, too.

***********
more stuff...
Went to a late Halloween party last night. Had a good time, talked with a number of people I hadn't seen in ages, but my energy levels (from the %&#@ shingles attack) are still woefully inadequate, and I only made it to 12:30 or thereabouts before I had to make my regrets and head home. A shame, as it was a good party, but I'd reached the point where conversations were seeming blurry and pointless -- and when you're drinking root beer, that's ungood -- and bed was a necessity. Still...excellent party.

Lots of new books entering my life recently and in the near future...

I bought and read Terry Pratchett's latest, "Unseen Academicals." The wizards at Unseen University and various citizens of Ankh-Morpork find themselves in an organized football league. It's a good novel, funny, with some good new characters, and occasional cameos by old familiars such as Rincewind, Vimes, Angua, etc. My favorite Pratchett novels tend to be those about the City Watch, but any of them set in Ankh-Morpork always find favor with me. I liked this one; it's a good read.

A good few weeks ahead for my Jack McDevitt reading. He's a very good science fiction writer, with a new novel, "Time Travelers Never Die," coming out in about ten days. I'll be buying that as soon as it hits the shelves. I also found a nice used trade pb of two of his earlier novels today at Half Price Books: "The Hercules Text" and "A Talent for War." I've read the latter, but not the former, and that'll soon change.

I sold my soul to the devil and ordered the new Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson "Wheel of Time" novel from the Science Fiction Book Club. I've been reading this damn story for something like 15 years, and the idea that the last tale in this neverending story had to be divided into three more 800-page novels is just tooth-grinding. I can't bring myself to pay full price to read it, so I ordered Wheel of Time 12.1 (on a special) for $9.99 from SFBC. The sad thing is that I really think the late Robert Jordan had a helluva good story to tell, but he let the publishers talk him into padding his story until it turned into mostly crap. I think if it had been told in six or seven volumes, Jordan would've had a story that would have rivaled The Lord of the Rings in the hearts of fantasy fans. But at 14 or more volumes, I think it'll just be remembered sadly, as what might have been.

I also have a splendid pulp reprint on the way: "The Spider versus the Empire State." 1930s pulp fiction at its violent best, with the borderline sane psycho vigilante Richard Wentworth battling a Fascist takeover of the state of New York through three novels straight from the pages of The Spider pulp magazine. Clean your .45 automatics, slip a few dozen extra clips into your pockets, slip into your finest cape, and join the fun!

Books are good.

Drove way the hell up to Fridley this afternoon to shop at the Half Price Books in that neighborhood, the reason being that that location seems to acquire a lot more books that interest me than any of their other stores. Anyhow, today I found a couple of good books that I want to read, but also an oddity, an Ace paperback from 1958: "Red Alert - A Novel of the First Two Hours of World War III" by a Peter Bryant. I was leafing idly through it, noting a SAC general going mad and sending his wing off to drop thermonuclear bombs on Russia, the President in the War Room involved in tense negotiations with the Russian Premier, a doomsday device in the Urals, all that good stuff. In a word, "Doctor Strangelove." Truth be told, I had no idea that Dr. Strangelove was based upon a novel, let alone a serious anti-war book. Might be interesting, though near as I can tell with a quick skim, not one damn character says, "Gentlemen! You can't fight in here! This is the War Room!"

1) I realized today that the recent James Bond movies with Daniel Craig have spoiled most 007 movies for me. I can still watch most of the classic Connery films, though "Diamonds Are Forever" seems pretty lame, and George Lazenby's solo shot still rings true**, but most of Roger Moore's efforts* are bad, only one of Timothy Dalton's is decent, and all of the leaden Pierce Brosnan's 007s resound with dull and dreadful pomposity.

*"For Your Eyes Only" is Moore's best, except for the horribly embarrassing teen-nympho iceskater subplot. "The Spy Who Loved Me" is cornball fun. The rest are ghastly.

**That may be more the amazing skiing chase, plus my lifelong worship of Diana Rigg, talking.

2) Stargate Universe is getting better, or I'm liking it more, or both. I do wish they'd turn on the lights inside the ship, and that they'd drop the talking-into-the-camera documentary stuff. But I'm developing a serious curiosity in where the ship and the show are headed, and that's a good sign.

3) I really really really want to see "The Men Who Stare At Goats." It looks seriously insanely funny. No Goats! No Glory!

4) I've tried watching "Sanctuary" on the SyFy Channel, but I still haven't warmed up much to it.

5) I need to watch a good horror movie or three pre-Halloween. A Frankenstein monster marathon, perhaps. Or possibly a selection from the Hammer Studios. The original Eighth Wonder of the World, maybe.  Or maybe a haunted house marathon: "The Haunting" -- original, not the addleheaded remake, plus the wonderfully spooky "Legend of Hell House."  "The Old Dark House" from the early 30s. Maybe even "The House on Haunted Hill." And of course, the greatest of them all: "Young Frankenstein." And possibly "Ghostbusters."

6) I HATE the "Saw" movies, and I wish that all involved with them should be punished in some horrible fashion, perhaps by being forced to listen to Lorne Green singing the theme song of "Bonanza," over and over again, until their brains liquify even more than they already are.

7) A bit down today, moody & tired, so I'm going to close the day with a wonderful movie: "Bringing Up Baby" (1939), still one of the funniest movies ever made. Highest recommendation.

I like this cover. It'll be published in November by Hard Case Crime, and was written by Jonny Porkpie, "The Burlesque Mayor of New York City." They're having a book release party in late November featuring the writer, the two cover models, a murder (of the author), and fun all around. More details at HardCaseCrime.com. Slip 'em a double sawbuck 'n' tell 'em Mugsy sent you! (The password is "Swordfish.")

Missed three full days of work last week; never done that before. Feeling better now, though far from feeling my best. Anyhow...

In my brief while at work last week, I made my baseball playoff predictions with the other sports fans. (I didn't join the pool, just made a casual prediction.) I said that it'd be the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, with the Cards beating the Sox. So, this weekend, both the Cards and the Sox lost. Neither team won so much as one game. My sports predictive powers remain something out of legend. :)

Well, s---, d---, and f---!

I've come down with shingles, a nasty little viral infection grandfathered into my body by my having had chicken pox when I was seven or eight. It's one of your creepier little bugs, marked by oozing pustules -- I hate that word! -- and by being extraordinarily painful. Every few minutes, it feels like a very large, very strong, very angry man is trying to force a Phillips head screwdriver straight through my skull. I've been to Dr. Anderson, whose name I always give the "Matrix" pronounciation, and he diagnosed and prescribed. I'll be taking a horse pill five times a day for a week, and then I should be healthy and non-contagious once more. 'Til then, I wash my hands even more than the usual, and I make like Nero Wolfe and don't shakes hands with anybody. No haircuts, no touching, no sex (not even with my imaginary girlfriends!).

Not to brag, but this is more painful than anything in my experience: lower back problems, hamstring pulls, burns, adventures with electricity, anything!

*Dr. Zachary Smith, "Lost in Space"

Not a review, as I'm in the 2nd day of a skull-splitting sinus headache, but just some thoughts that come to mind:

1) An hour of story & action packed into a two-hour opening episode. Not a good omen.
2) The only character who stood out as potentially interesting is Dr. Rush, who may be the spiritual descendant of Lost in Space's Dr. Zachary Smith. This could be good or bad; we shall see. But when he assumed command by claiming to have been in communication with Earth and ordered to take charge and none of the military personnel present told him that they'd have to confirm that order -- as they should & would -- they lost my credibility.
3) This is a personal gripe: why must TV always depict fat people as either stupid or cowardly or at any rate, possessing far more negative than positive qualities? Writing to stereotype is lazy writing -- just ask Amos 'n Andy about that, they'll set you straight.
4) Too many flashbacks -- not confusing, just not particularly interesting.
5) SGU is at present, way too derivative of Battlestar Galactica and Lost. If it doesn't find its own voice, and soon, it's toast.
6) Turn some damn lights on in the ship -- shows set in eternal shadow to show how dramatic everything is is old hat, boring, and hard to see.
7) There are several capable and attractive actresses on SGU, but to the best of my recollection, not a one of them said or did anything the slightest bit interesting in the premiere episode. If this doesn't change, again: toast.
8) They're going to need to come up with a villain you can put a face on -- struggling against their situation would make for an interesting novel, but will not likely work in episodic television. Of course, they may be trying to prove that old adage wrong, but I doubut it.
9) I dislike almost any show with a Gilligan's Island premise, in that the cast is placed in a quandry the solution to which will end the series. Virtually every show I can think of with that style premise has been a failure. Quantum Leap might be an exception, but on the other hand, I was always bored silly by Quantum Leap. The ones that come immediately to mind: Gilligan's Island - Time Tunnel - The Invaders - Star Trek Voyager - Lost (sorry, folks, it bores me to tears) - Battlestar Galactica (in the end, they were both failures. The 2nd, a noble failure, but a failure nonetheless) - Sliders - lots more that'd come to mind if my skull wasn't cracking open.


And on a different note: I saw a preview of ABC's "V", a miniseries remake of the 80s miniseries. I thought the first one embarassingly bad, and I imagine that this one may not be much better.
But my oh my, Morena Baccarin is HOT!!!!!!!!!! And she looks so fine with short hair, she may bring short hair on women into style.

A wonderfully bizarre dream last night: I was a homicide detective in Minneapolis, investigating a murder at a cafe-style bookstore, a place with only a scattering of books but plenty of couches and chairs and ferns. The first complication was that my partner either was or previously had been the chief suspect in the case. We'd introduce ourselves to witnesses and begin to ask questions, and the first thing out of their mouth was, "But didn't she kill him?" while pointing at my partner. We'd explain that no, she hadn't done it -- though I was holding onto some residual doubts -- and proceed with the investigation.

However, that wasn't the only complication. More concerning to me than the murder and my partner's possible complicity was the fact that I had forgotten my partner's name. I didn't have the slightest hint as to what her name was, though in the dream I'd known her for years. I kept checking pieces of paper I'd produce from my pocket, convinced that I'd written her name down somewhere, but at dream's end, she was still nameless. (Though not Bill Pronzini's Nameless Detective.)

Anyhow, in order to solve the murder, I came up with the "brilliant" idea of re-creating the scene of the crime at a similar bookstore. So, our superiors sent us to Louisville, Kentucky (??????), along with all the suspects, to a similar cafe bookstore. And of course, the Louisville in the dream bore no slightest resemblance to the actual Louisville, a city I've visited twice. And while we were at the 2nd bookstore, a brick wall fell down on one of the customer's and squashed him like a bug, but since he wasn't one of the suspects, we just went on as though nothing at all had happened.

Never did catch the killer. Or discover my partner's name. Somehow, I don't think I'm cut out to be a detective...

I went to eat at my favorite casual restaurant, Camille's on Main Street in Hopkins, and found that between lunch and dinner, the place closed, out of business. No more "Best Carrot Cake in the Twin Cities," alas.

I should've gone to Plan B, takeout from Star Wok in Hopkins, but instead I decided to try a new place. So, a few minutes later, I was at Burger Joe's, down near Lake Calhoun.

Bad decision. I got seated right by the kitchen, in that gentle way restaurants have of treating solo diners with contempt. More to the point: $20 for a cheeseburger, fries, and a root beer. I wouldn't have minded if the food had been terrific, or the service excellent, but such was not the case. The service, indifferent, with four different waitrons attending to my table at one time or another. The food was not much better. The cheeseburger wasn't bad, but I've made better burgers myself, and they toasted the bun to a fare thee well, which I hate (gets crumbs all over my clothes). The fries were fairly good, nothing special. The root beer was nearly tasteless, lacking fizz and verve and snap.

The short order: mediocre food, overpriced. Bad root beer -- $4.00 a glass, by the way. Burger Joe's: don't bother.

So why in the name of all that's wonderful does the Syfy Channel -- or anyone else, for that matter -- feel the need to make yet another "Children of the Corn" movie? Has the world not paid enough for this particular sin of Stephen King?

On a more positive note, I'm optimistic about Syfy's new Stargate: Universe series. I'm not wild about the Gilligan's Island premise -- the cast is marooned in distant space, and their rescue would dramatically ends the series -- but I like the idea of taking the Stargate story into a post-Battlestar Galactica world. I do wish they'd make another SG-1 movie or three, however; I do like that bunch the best. (Especially Claudia Black and Morena Baccarin!)

So enough with the vampires, already!

I think the whole TV/book/movie vampire obsession has gotten real old, real quick. Vampires are a valid fantasy subject, and I've read more than a few good vampire novels, seen more than a few good vampire movies, over the years. But I'm getting weary of dropping into a bookstore and seeing the entire new books section dominated by cover art of sexy women in tight leather pants, all either ready to bite necks or battle neckbiters. (And just to point out here: I am a certified lech, fully in favor of sexy women in or out of tight leather pants.) It's just that my experience has been that anytime a literary genre comes to be entirely dominated by a single concept, as vampires are today by the bastard grandchildren of Anne Rice, one of the 20th century's most undertalented & overcopied writers, most of the stuff being written is probably an understatement of Sturgeon's Law* -- call it 98% crap. Let's expand our fantasy horizons, create new entities and new takes on old entities, and cease & desist xeroxing the lesser icons of fantasy fiction.


*Theodore Sturgeon: "90% of everything is crap."

The World Science Fiction Convention -- Renovation -- will be in Reno, Nevada, in August, 2011, and I find that am developing a real yen to attend this one. Haven't been to a WorldCon since my one & only -- IguanaCon, Phoenix, 1978 -- and this sounds interesting. Pricey, but interesting. (Though I have 23 months to assemble the moolah.)

Certain advantage to the trip: Reno's only a 125 miles or so from Sacramento, where my sister and her family live, and I could combine the con with a family visit. And then, San Francisco is only a bit further, so if I really put together a big stack of currency, I could do a seriousquality vacation here.
Another advantage: Reno is on an Amtrak route, so I could combine this trip with a journey by rail, something I've been wanting to do again.

I shall have to do some thinking and planning here.