The Kriptonomicon
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The Kriptonomicon, Dont read everything you believe
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Sat, 31 May 2008
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
A. and I saw this last weekend. I enjoyed it, but found it rather long. We both agreed that little was done with the potential of all the good actors they'd got. The recreations of 50's america etc were good, as were the special effects. The plot was a little silly, and not very well developed, but it was pulp, after all.
Was it a good follow-up? Probably not - I'll watch the Indy films again, but won't be quite so keen to do this one. Film makers, let me say this clearly - special effects are NOT THE MOVIE. That is all. Thank you.
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Sun, 25 May 2008
Little Brother
By Cory Doctorow
Being firmly embedded into Doctorows promotional stream via BoingBoing and his podcasts, I'd been anticipating this for a while, and got it via
I enjoyed the book - its probably his best work (although I still say "After The Siege" is his best, at least in my memory), as it ties together his interests, activism and even has an ending that doesn't feel like an afterthought! The word on the street is that he's writing a sequel - "Big Brother", but it probably won't be released until 2010.
The books been on my mind for a bit, which shows that its got under my skin more than his other works (again "After the Siege" not withstanding). I can't decide if its a
In that vein, the book did inspire me to check out assorted things. I'm tempted, yet again, to get equipment to play with RFID tags via the excellent
As with all of Doctorow's work, its available from his website;
here.
Also, since he's made it available, the widget for buying the mp3 version of the book below.
Warning! the link to buy the book appears to be http, which if I'm right is a pretty bloody stupid slipup given the books focus on privacy! When I was thinking of buying it, I hunted around for an https link to enter card details, but couldn't find it. Just as well - its $20 - more than the hardback. I know that audiobooks cost more, but even so.. I guess I've been spoiled by all the high quality fiction podcasts I've been downloading for free (yes, legally), via Doctorow's podcast, Escape Pod, Starship Sofa, Podcastle and so on..
Posted at: [/books] permanent link
Sun, 18 May 2008
The Ladybird Book of The Policeman
Ah, I remember
these
from my youth. Well, maybe not exactly like these...
Posted at: [/books] permanent link
Mon, 05 May 2008
Camrider @ Cambourne
Camrider came to Camboure recently, and offered 10 min 'taster' sessions to anyone interested. Several of my friends are keen bikers, so I thought I'd give it a try (some pictures in my Flikr Feed). While I enjoyed it, it did highlight I'm not a natural biker - too risk averse! Just as well, I don't need another expensive hobby, and statistically people who start biking at my age (*cough* mid-life crisis *cough*) are more likely to die in road accidents than those who started when they were younger - the 'late' bikers tend to try and do what the other bikers do and don't have the reflexes any longer...
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Besquillo Strings
This was the second half of the show that Portico Quartet fronted. Pity - they might have been OK on their own, but on comparison they really suffered. Quite a lot of what Jazz is sent up for - clashing, arythmic, disconnected performers, was all in evidence here. When they stopped being pretentious and played slightly more melodic pieces, they were very nice, and after the first 30 mins my ear got slightly more attuned, so they sounded better, but I wouldn't be going to see them again. A shame, especially as they're 'my people' when it comes to instruments - three Violins, two Double Base, and a percussionist (who looked like he was bored out of his mind).
Posted at: [/live] permanent link
Portico Quartet
I bought their debut album after reading a review in the BBC Classics magazine (bought along with Gramophone) for my Jan trip to Seattle to see if Id be interesting in subscribing. I wasn't, although I'd probably choose the BBC one - just more proof of me not being part of the eltist Classic Music scene, I guess.
I'm not much of a Jazz fan, although I've got recordings by Charles Mingus, Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli, Jools Holland but not counting other styles of Jazz like Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and the wonderful Amy Winehouse, and even The Hot Club of Cowtown, or the local band 'Cambridge Blue' (Django's castle, if you must know). iTunes tells me I have 35 albums classified as Jazz, but if that sounds a lot, its nothing in comparison to the nearly 500 albums I have..
Anyway, I'm beginning to appreciate Jazz a little more as I learn more about what musical skill is needed to actually create the music. Portico Quartet are a laid back group using Gamalans (sp?) for a very distinct sound. A. and I went to see them last night at the Junction 'Shed' - just the right venue for them. They were a very tight group, with a lot of energy. They didn't spend much time in dialog with the audience but that didn't make any difference. Really glad we saw them and we'll keep an eye for when they come back - apparently two of the band are from cambridge, so hopefully they'll tour here more often.
Posted at: [/live] permanent link
Black Powder War
By Niomi Novak
Madhatter gave me this and the follow on (the latest book? I think there may be another in hardback). I confess that when I started it, I wasn't quite in the mood, and it took me some time to get into it. However, the book builds the plot, and by the end I was making time to read it as fast as I could. Novak has a good alternative history going, and describes the (partly set in the desert) environment evocatively. She continues to develop the characters, and introduces one that I suspect will be a major player in the future. What I found interesting was that the book was partly set in the timeframe of the first half of 'War and Peace', and seeing the war from the French and Prussian angle, as well as interspersed with Dragons and thier effects on battle strategy helped my understanding of that book - or should I say they both fed into the other!
Novak is developing more of the draconic world, and how they interact, and using this an an excellent way of addressing some of the areas in the first two you might have thought 'but what about..'. She also continues her excellent treatment of the fight scenes - descriptive, but short, yet evocative.
The more I think about it, the more I enjoy her work, and I'm looking forward to the next one, which Madhatter also bought me. I'm pacing myself first, though - I expect the new Walter John Williams book "Implied Spaces" to be released any day soon, and its kind of a follow on, at least in spirit, to "Voice Of The Whirlwind", one of my favorite books. Also, Cory Doctorow's YA book "Little Brother" has been released, and is on order from The Book Depository - my new replacement for Amazon after their appalling screw up of the 'Small Favor' pre-order, so I'm looking forward to starting that. I'm trying to resist buying the audiobook version (released on drm free MP3, of course), as not only is it really expensive ($20! the print book is cheaper than that!). We'll see - it all depends if the book arrives before I run out of podcasts... In the meantime, I'm working my way through the 'to read' section of my bookshelf..
Posted at: [/books] permanent link
Pesudpolis
A. and I went to see this over the bank holiday weekend, at the Picturehouse Cinema. A thoughtfull and sensitive portrayal of growing up in Iran - from the deposing of the Shah all the way to (I think) the 80's. Its an engaging animating that seems to have resonated with A more so than myself, although I certianly enjoyed it.
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