Quick Hits 1

Too much going on to write a long post, so here’s a bunch of quick thoughts:

Cory Doctorow is currently reading Bruce Sterling’s The Hacker Crackdown on his podcast.  THC is an excellent history of the beginnings of the internet and the rise and subsequent bust of cyber crime.  The book covers it all, culminating in the eponymous crackdown in the early nineties.  To have Cory Doctorow read it is a double shot of hawesome, or hawesome squared, if you will, as both Doctorow and Sterling are major influences on creative thought and internet practice writing today.

I’ve just started in on Peter F. Hamilton’s Judas Unchained, the sequel to Pandora's Star, and am finding it to be more fast paced than PS and a little bit more exciting.  Only another 900 pages to go, no exaggeration.

Warren Ellis’ Planetary and Ministry of Space came from Amazon and I devoured them in a night and an hour, respectively.  MoS was especially cool because of the brilliant retro-futuristic artwork by XXXXX.  Planetary was cool because of the premise and the variety of tributes and homages inherent in the stories.  Both are highly recommended.

9 Songs is the most erotic film I have ever seen and not for anyone who is squeamish about raw sexuality or explicit sex on screen.  The story is a beautifully told romance between an American girl and a British man over the course of a year.  The movie is roughly a series of sequences that feature Antarctic documentary footage, concert performances by some of the best bands available today, and raw, passionate sex.  Recommended but with the warning that this is a graphic, experimental film and not for the easily offended.

(As a side note, I find it very interesting to note that on the IMDB message boards, there are people lined up eight deep to call Margo Stilley a whore and to accuse her of making a porno, but there is almost nothing on Kieran O'Brian's page.  The difference between U.S. and U.K. sensibilities or just the standard schism between male and female sexuality?)

My wife and I watched The Departed the other night.  I really enjoyed it.  My wife, however, prefers the original Chinese version (Infernal Affairs) which I have not yet seen.  We were both impressed with DiCaprio’s and Damon’s performances though.  I understand why it got the Oscar, but I don’t feel that this was Scorsese’s best.

This week I am going to be screening The Karate Kid for my advanced students, at their request; I watched it today to make lesson notes.  I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it.  I had also forgotten how goof-ball some parts of it are, not to mention the obvious lack of chemistry between Ralph Macchio and Elizabeth Shue.

Finally, Script Frenzy ends soon and I’m 17,000 words (out of 20,000) done with my script.  I’m not sure that is any work of genius, but there is a coherent plot, recognizable themes, and a character arc, so, maybe it will be readable after a polish or three.

I finished the painting I was working on for a friend’s wedding.  I’m not entirely thrilled with it but there’s nothing left to be tweaked.  It’s as good as it’s going to get; I gave it my best shot, so, as Buckaroo Banzai said “No matter where you go, there you are.”

(Disclosure:  all Amazon links in this post are affiliate links.  Basically, if you purchase one of the books through one of these links, I get a tiny kickback.)

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