Previously, in Trip's Life...
28 February 2006 - Tuesday
I got up an hour and a half early to go to the doctor and still get
to work on time, which all worked, and did not cause the doctor to think
I was about to die, but it meant I was very sleepy when I looked at the
queue and found it full of people who had broken their Minis early
Tuesday morning.
* * *
The interwebs are MINE! MINE, I tell you! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!
This is because I was clever enough to apply all the patches and then
reboot, which is maybe not that clever at all, but hey, my Airport
shines a cheerful green and sends my packets to the DSL modem.
* * *
Mmmm, the pizza of Hawaii!
I think people like Bleach, despite the annoying
audio/video missync in my copy of episode 2. Wum!
We thought that Ghost in the Shell had no doom, but
tonight we saw the doom.
We are not surprised by doom in Scrapped Princess or
Full Metal Alchemist, of course.
Next week we finish Scrapped Princess and
GitS! After that, um! Samurai Champloo and
Shadow Star, probably, unless someone presents a strong
case for why not.
* * *
Cats: Dani seems to be using her voice more and more. I have no idea if
this means she's been taking IMPACT, or just that she had
laryngitis when she was most sick. But she is adorable.
Writing: check.
Dani's voice! by Ayse (Thu Mar 2 20:44:08 2006)
Yay talkative Dani! Talky cats are *so cute*.
I was going to come over tonight and nihao them but I ended up realising that being so sleepy that I skipped my last class does in fact translate into being too sleepy to move or speak coherently. Soon, soon I will snooze.
re: Dani's voice! by Trip (Fri Mar 3 10:13:34 2006)
She's still not very talkative, but at least now she actually makes a miau-like noise instead of opening and closing her mouth silently. And she is pretty cute anyway, especially with her upside-down-ness and her tummy!
But she is still pretty coughisneezy, and seems to spend most of her time lying near the space heater in the back room. Possibly I should take her to the vet again, but last time wasn't very helpful. :(
Make a comment!
27 February 2006 - Monday
Hey! Where did all this weather come from?
I should probably get the apartment people to fix my balcony door so
it doesn't leak spookily when the wind blows on it. But that would
require compiling the list of everything that's broken and then not only
admitting to it, but letting strange people into my apartment. Er. As
opposed to the strange people I normally invite over.
Anyway, instead of doing that, I ventured forth into the downpour,
which was not as bad it sounded when I was listening to it on my
windows, and grocery shopped without drowning. Then I continued to not
be terrifically useful by heating up some food and watching more
Battlestar Galactica.
I would pay good money to watch PZ Myers and his Cephalopod
Army vs the Cylon God-Weirders. Not that I don't like
BSG, mind you.
* * *
Cats: Spooked by the strange wind noises, yet still orange.
Writing: check, just barely.
Make a comment!
26 February 2006 - Sunday
I went back to sleep after turning off my alarm, and now I am paying
for it with headachiness and lethargy. And a complete lack of
accomplishment.
(I suppose technically heating up frozen pizza in the oven instead of
the microwave is something I've accomplished, but I don't think it
really merits much mention.)
* * *
Hm. I wonder if I'm sick. Not only is my tummy a bit oogy, but I went
into a bookstore and came out with no books! (Who am I, and what have I
done with Trip?!)
* * *
Cats: Marmalade is a Top Shelf Cat! Of course, he only broke into the
hall linen closet so he could nest on the blanket of Marith's I put in
there to keep it from getting covered in cat hair.
Writing: check.
Make a comment!
25 February 2006 - Saturday
Hey, look, Christy and Chrisber aren't dead! I know this, because
they showed up to see Night Watch with Earl and I at the
Aquarius.
We agreed that Night Watch is very Russian, since there
is plenty of doom for everyone, but each character brought his own
doom upon himself.
Despite being billed as horror and having a somewhat disturbing psychic
surgery scene, it's really pretty straight-forward urban fantasy of the
"secret underground world of magic" subvariety. But with extra Russian
doom!
After the obligatory coffeeshop hangout to discuss the movie, we went
back to Earl's place and attempted to game, but mostly sat around reading
InSpectres, OctaNe, and The Mountain Witch until hunger overcame us and
we had to pillage Chef Chu's. Mm, sizzling rice soup! (It's nice to go
out to eat with people instead of just by myself; more variety!)
Finally, we returned to Earl's (but he warned Cat, so we didn't
interrupt her half-naked DDR session) and played Inspectres. We wrote up
the first franchise in Moscow (funded by the mafiya moll's boyfriend)
and investigated a famous TV tower fire, which did not involve getting
the moll eaten by blood-thirsty electrical equipment. Also, rocket
truck!
We sort of flailed at how to work Stress rolls into the narrative,
but otherwise it went okay. We must try again at some point! Also, if we
can get Earl or someone drugged heavily enough, I want to try OctaNe.
* * *
Cats: Maramalade found Dani's collar! Of course I rewarded him by
taking away the shiny jingly toy, so if this happens again he'll
probably hide the collar somewhere and not tell me. Anyway, I recollared
Dani, and she doesn't seem to be unhappy about it, so I don't think she
deliberately ditched it.
Writing: check.
Make a comment!
24 February 2006 - Friday
I think I need to vacuum. Marith was only able to watch three
episodes of Saiyuki Reload before her allergies forced her
to flee.
* * *
Cats: Somehow, Dani has managed to escape her collar! Unless she has
a higher Tool Use skill than I find plausible, she must have snagged it
on something and activated the stretchiness, but I can't find it hanging
on any obvious corners or projections. Hmph!
Writing: check. Yet, somehow, I have not done anything with any of
the thoughts about Transmundane I had on the way back from
Roseville last weekend.
Make a comment!
23 February 2006 - Thursday
Cats: Orange.
Writing: check.
Make a comment!
22 February 2006 - Wednesday
No Dragonblooded again, because Ken's job is still beating him with
live weasels. (Also, Mike is in Mouseland.)
* * *
Still can't get DSL working. Bah!
First disc of Jubei-chan 2: enh. It wasn't actively bad,
but it had too much random wackiness and not enough forward motion.
* * *
Cats: Orange, orange, orange! Marmalade has been sort of standoffish
lately, but tonight he came and purrbucketed me for a while, so I feel
less guilty about collaring him.
Writing: check.
Make a comment!
21 February 2006 - Tuesday
Bah, virtual Monday. And look at all these customers who are offended
that we didn't answer them within thirty seconds on a business holiday.
They must all be slapped with fish.
* * *
The new DVD I burned works in Dave's DVD player (unlike the previous
one, which works in mine but not his), so we were able to experience the
impending doom which is Full Metal Alchemist. Whew!
Paranoia Agent sort of makes sense in the end, although
it does leave the question "Why her?" unanswered. Dave noted
some similarities to Magical Shopping Arcade
Abenobashi.
Next week... uh... something else! Maybe Bleach, since I
have like 60-65 episodes out of 71 already downloaded, and the rest are
probably downloadable now, or will be by the time we finish what I
have.
* * *
Cats: So! Much! Dani-love! I don't know if the apartment is too cold or
what, but at bedtime she came and snuggled and purred and rolled over to
have her tummy petted and generally reminded me why cats are not
suitable for use as mittens.
Writing: check.
mittens and cats by Ayse (Wed Feb 22 21:53:30 2006)
Why are cats not suitable for use as mittens? Except that if a ca t is sleeping on one's hands the hands are likely to fall asleep, I guess. Mine usually do when Jinian lies on them. When Aime lies on my hands she tends to end up grooming them...
Re: mittens and cats by Trip (Wed Feb 22 22:21:27 2006)
"The Duke is fond of kittens..."
Make a comment!
20 February 2006 - Monday
Musaman beef. Shopping. More shopping. Finished reading
Fledging, which apparently is the result of Octavia Butler reading
too many vampire books and going, "I can do better than that!"
(She can, being a Real Writer. Also, her protagonist reminds me more
than somewhat of Candy from Emergence (David R Palmer).)
Marith came over and made me show her some more season 5
Buffy. Oh, the horror.
* * *
Cats: Still so very very orange!
Writing: check.
Make a comment!
19 February 2006 - Sunday
Suddenly, my telephone said "Dim sum!"
I'm not sure what I was going to do, but dim sum was clearly better!
Especially dim sum that only cost $8/person! Then we played Hunters and
Gatherers of Carcassonne, which is like Carcassonne but with more
saber-toothed tigers and also more fish and shiny rocks. It was
just different enough from stock Carcassonne to be somewhat confusing,
but eventually we figured it out and Ken destroyed us in the usual
manner. Then we played Tigris & Euphrates, and were crushed again.
But then we had fajirritos, or something like that, which were entirely
yummy even though Ken complained bitterly about the perfidy of his
stove. Dave had not quite keeled over from hypoglycemia by that point,
so we were able to revive him.
By stages, we drifted into playing D&D, which may have been a mistake.
I, at least, was utterly incompetent, but on the other hand I so rarely
contribute anything that it may not have mattered. Anyway, the barghest
got away clean and we looked like idiots.
* * *
Cats: I think Marmalade tried to tussle with Dani, but she was so
surprised when he pounced her that she bonked her head on the coffee
table and ran away. I am still not certain that they actually entertain
each other at all.
Writing: check.
Make a comment!
18 February 2006 - Saturday
I wonder what it means, that I will get up earlier to game with Sherilyn
than to work for a living.
Because Ayse and Ken were not available, Marith had to drive Dave and I
up (Harold, as usual, travelled separately from his lair in SF), but we
allowed enough time to flail, and apparently Presidents' Day isn't a real
holiday with real holiday traffic, so we all arrived in good time to
play...
Amazon Quartet of Justice Xc: "Theft is a Legitimate Military
Tactic!"
A combination of bribery and magic convinces the captured yuan-ti to
lead the way to his home base, so Marika escorts the caravan the rest of
the way to Newburg and the other four Amazons go to rescue the hostages,
crush the yuan-ti threat in this region, and perhaps learn something
about the dark elves and goblins that the yuan-ti are arming with all
the weapons they are stealing and buying from across the world.
Beneath a mountain on the border of Nööl is the great
lavafall that the yuan-ti described, but ethereal scouting finds nothing
behind the molten rock but more mountain. Whatever teleportation is used
to get from this point to the secret base is obviously going further
than that. Amaryllis attempts to impersonate a hapless halfling babe
looking for Shinbo (the cutest evil monk of Hextor), but whoever is
scrying on the cave is not mammalian enough to be addled by its
perspective on Amaryllis's bodice.
Plan B is to use divination magic to find the physical location of
the place the hostages are being held, and when it turns out to be deep
beneath the roots of the mountain, travel there ethereally. Several
humans are there in a cage in a small room, guarded by two yuan-ti.
After a bit of careful pre-positioning, the Amazons drop into the
material plane and kill one guard before he can more than blink. The
magician concealed among the prisoners fills most of the room with an
anti-magic field, but it doesn't quite reach to the corners, so the
other guard in the room and the one who breaks through the wall
Amaryllis builds across the doorway are dispatched in short order. The
magician and the other guard from outside flee before they suffer a
similar fat.
Two of the hostages were incinerated when the half-red-dragon guard
tried to burn Alyra, but the others are mostly intact, and exploration
of the underground complex turns up a few more, adults and children
both. Derwin's wife is there, but not his children -- there are clear
signs that a party of yuan-ti dragged several humanoids to a black pool
of evil like those found in other dark temples and perhaps into it, but
there are no volunteers to follow past that point.
The other interesting discovery is a series of storerooms containing
large quantities of military materiel. Seizing the opportunity, Our
Heroines teleport to Pelagos (with an unscheduled detour through
Louis-town) and inform King Penn of what they've found. The
military-minded monarch leaps into action, and within an hour, the
Amazons are on their way back to the warehouse with a pocket dimension
full of elite Pelagian troops and strong-thewed laborers.
The two guards who escaped from the previous fight and a comrade are
lying in wait among the rows of crates, of course, but although they
corner Alyra and severely wound her, Amaryllis stuns two of them so they
can be finished off. The third, badly hurt, turns into a snake and escapes
through one of the many narrow crevices in the rock.
That seems to be the extent of meaningful resistance for the moment.
A couple of soldiers are killed by groups of serpent-formed yuan-ti who
ambush them from the crevices, but the snake monsters take worse
casualties as none of them can stand up to the Amazons at all. By the
time Amaryllis runs out of magic, the first warehouse (of three) is
mostly empty and the supplies are being examined and stored in a
Pelagian naval base.
It is generally assumed that the yuan-ti will have reinforcements by
the next day, but the Amazons will have replenished their magic by then,
and Penn and his troops are up for another raid, so plans are laid and
arcane spellcasters sent to bed.
* * *
We called it there, since it was getting late and the next scene was
obviously going to be a huge fight. There was some discussion of what to
do about Fresa feeling personally responsible for the kids who got
killed in the first fight and wanting to raise them from the dead, but
no consensus was reached. My preferred solution is to say that normal
people don't come back from the dead. In 3.0, the subject of
resurrection magic gets to choose whether to return, so it seems
reasonable that most people are either in a heaven and don't want to
leave, or are in a hell and can't leave. Only people who have critically
important unfinished business and aren't trapped in hell come back to life.
I'm fine with avoiding the contentious moral issues, because this is
D&D, not Dogs in the Vineyard.
Then Harold went back to his mate, and the rest of us gaming weirdos
gook Sherilyn out for diner food and grown-up conversation. I ate too many
fried things, but only stole a tiny bit of milkshake.
* * *
Home before midnight, although not by much.
* * *
Cats: Orange!
Writing: check.
getting up to game by kit (Tue Feb 21 04:00:21 2006)
Oh, I'd say that probably it means gaming is more fun than working.
Look! Look! I have the password to leave comments on your site again! Yaaaay! :)
Re: getting up to game by Trip (Tue Feb 21 11:55:25 2006)
Yah think?
Yay comments! YAY!
Make a comment!
17 February 2006 - Friday
Cats: My apartment is more orange, but the cats are somehow not less
orange! I tried to get Marmalade a collar that would fit with less
sticky-out bit, but the pet warehouse was sold out.
Writing: check.
orange apartment by kit (Tue Feb 21 04:01:02 2006)
O, How I Feel Your Pain. :)
Re: orange apartment by Trip (Tue Feb 21 11:17:19 2006)
I figure I'll just wait until I can scrape all the orangeness together and build a third cat.
Step 3: Profit!
Make a comment!
16 February 2006 - Thursday
Oh. Apparently the reason I can't get DSL to work is because it's not
set up. The email I got from Covad only says that they agree that they
can set up DSL, not that they actually have. I was misled by the green
LEDs on my DSL modem.
I'm not sure if a failure of reading comprehension is more or less
embarrassing than a failure of networking fu. Possibly each is more
embarrassing than the other.
* * *
After determining the above, I punted on doing computer stuff for the
rest of the night and watched the second disc (first four episodes after
the miniseries) of Battlestar Galactica. It was pretty
good! (Mm, cooties.) Certainly there were some apparent plot holes, but
for a visual medium, not bad at all.
* * *
Cats: Orange! Possibly not as affectionate as before they got stylish
black collars, but Dani does come and sleep on me sometimes, which I
interpret as a mark of favor.
Writing: check.
Make a comment!
15 February 2006 - Wednesday
ARGH! I have DSL, but I can't get spore to talk to it! I tried to use
wireless like I had before, but although the wireless network from the
AirPort Express showed up, I couldn't get the setup utilities to admit
that it was there to be configured, even after resetting the AirPort to
factory defaults. ARGH! Trying to connect spore directly to the DSL
modem makes both ends of the connection think nothing is plugged in,
even after I went out and bought a new ethernet cable. ARGH!
I think some of the problem is that it's difficult to get OSX to
change its mind about what hardware it's using for network connectivity
(wireless vs modem vs ethernet), and I may not have fully convinced it
to switch back from modem. There may also be something wrong with the
AirPort, or with the DSL modem, but I can't tell.
Sullen parasite.
* * *
Cats: Marmalade was so neglected when I was trying to beat spore into
submission instead of playing with him! Saddest cat ever! Then
I tormented him and Dani both by strapping things to their necks! So
cruel! But now they have stylish black collars with their names and
phone number, and don't seem too upset. I wonder if they've had collars
before.
Writing: check.
cats and phones by Ayse (Thu Feb 16 22:59:07 2006)
I read about the stylish black collars to Ken! Now our cats are saying 'Why do we not have our own phone? Marmalade has his own phone!'
Ken says, "But that is not how it works, oh cats!"
'We are so busy and important!' say the cats. 'We have so many phone calls to make! For instance, we must call Marmalade, since he has his own phone...'
(Ken agrees that this is an accurate summation of events.)
Re: cats and phones by Trip (Fri Feb 17 09:41:04 2006)
Does it help to point out that Marmalade has to share his phone with Dani and me?
Anyway, I'm sure Marmalade and Dani would be delighted to receive calls from your cats, although since they are also so very busy and important they might have to have a Lesser Servitor take a message.
Make a comment!
14 February 2006 - Tuesday
The DVD of Full Metal Alchemist that I burned doesn't
work in Dave's DVD player (although it worked in spore), so we were
forced to watch an extra episode of Ghost in the Shell. The
tragedy!
Paranoia Agent continues to be weirder and weirder. Next
week, we will find out if it really does make sense in the end.
* * *
Cats: Marmalade made a break for it when I tried to re-enter my lair
upon returning from work. He only made it about two meters before he
paused long enough that I was able to grab him, but perhaps Marith is
right that he and Dani should have collars.
Writing: check.
Collars by Jeremy (Wed Feb 15 15:25:48 2006)
If they dislike the collars, they'll remove them pretty easily. Try that, but get them 'borged by your vet, too. The RFI service wasn't very expensive when we did it.
'Course, the registry still has us listed at our old apartment in Mountain View. Good think Jim's phone number hasn't changed, so they'd track us down eventually. I should update that someday.
Re: Collars by Trip (Thu Feb 16 11:01:49 2006)
Getting them chipped is a good idea! Actually, I should find out if they already are.
A collar has the advantage of being readable without a trip to the vet, though.
Make a comment!
13 February 2006 - Monday
Argh! Got up 1½ hours early to go to my doctor's appointment
before work, and the doctor called in sick! And, she's going on
maternity leave next week, with only one appointment slot open between
now and then and that in the middle of the day. Bah!
* * *
Oh well, I'm at work early. That's gotta be good for something.
* * *
Finished the first disc of Lost. Okay, it actually is
pretty cool. I still like Said (Sayeed? Sayid? Saeed?) best. If more people
listened to him, I'd give better odds on any of them surviving.
Good job with the characterization so far. Even the annoying dipshit
(Sawyer?) has at least two dimensions. And look, a fat person who, if not
one of the three heroes, is unambiguously less worthless than the skinny
blonde floozy!
All the things I'm wondering about now are the obvious things
everyone was wondering about after "Walkabout", so I guess I don't need
to mention any spoilers or anything.
Apparently I know more about spear use than any of the characters on
the show, but I'm a weirdo.
* * *
Cats: Orange!
Writing: check.
Make a comment!
12 February 2006 - Sunday
Space... Pirate... ZETAAAAAA!
All my hard work and agonizing over starship design was mostly for
naught, but we successfully rescued a hot babe from being lost in the
depths of interstellar space forever, got some idea what she was up to
while being shot at with nuclear weapons, pirated valuable cargo, rescued
slaves, and found a very strange variant humanoid. No buckles were actually
swashed, but we've probably pissed off the Peacekeepers (the ones with
nuclear missiles) so next session should be exciting.
I find Earl's numbers for interstellar travel via compressed-space
corridor unromantic but I don't know if anyone else will agree with
me.
* * *
Marith and I went to Chef Chu's and ate way too much food, but it was
tasty food.
* * *
Cats: Knowing that I have to get up early tomorrow to go to the
doctor's, they demanded extra attention at bedtime.
Writing: check.
Make a comment!
11 February 2006 - Saturday
Cats: Dani is even more adorable when she rolls over so I
can pet her tummy.
Writing: check!
Make a comment!
10 February 2006 - Friday
I have been saved from the falling sand game! I wasn't able to use a
computer for a couple of hours this morning, so once I was able to do my
job, I had to scuttle frantically to keep up. I did manage to survive to
the end of the day, though.
* * *
Hey, wait, I have a modem! And I have a phone line which mostly
works. This is a lot like internet access, so long as I don't care
whether people call me on the phone!
* * *
Cats: Marmalade displaced one of my stuffed animals so he could sleep
in her place. Sheesh!
Writing: FAILURE.
Make a comment!
9 February 2006 - Thursday
Argh! Meant to get up early and go to the doctor's to get my ichor
extracted, but I stupidly ate breakfast. Bah.
* * *
Uh oh. I got the falling sand
game to run on my work computer. Doooooom.
* * *
Cats: Orange!
Writing: TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
Make a comment!
8 February 2006 - Wednesday
I must
have one.
* * *
My DSL will return in a few days!
* * *
I must not have one. I can
tell, because when I tried to take Marith her Katamari discs, I was
trapped for an hour or more.
Eventually I escaped and watched the first episode of
Lost, because Al keeps hyping it. It was okay, I guess.
:)
* * *
Cats: Orange! Cuddly!
Writing: TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
Make a comment!
7 February 2006 - Tuesday
I have gotten TPC to promise to reconnect my phone line tomorrow!
Soon, I will be able to communicate!
* * *
Paranoia Agent is still SO. WEIRD.
The next disc of Ghost in the Shell is still sealed! Not
even I know what will happen next! But there will probably be crime and
the Laughing Man.
* * *
Hey, cool, my phone is already working! DSL still horked, though.
* * *
Cats: Still orange. Still adorable.
Writing: TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. (But not for much longer!)
Make a comment!
6 February 2006 - Monday
Bah, stupid SBC still hasn't fixed my phone, and I forgot to hassle
them while I was at work.
* * *
Marith came over to watch Inu Yasha and photograph the
cats (who did not cooperate).
Inu-Yasha taunted us with plot but then foisted off some
romantic comedy on us. The cats purred.
* * *
Cats: SO. ORANGE. Also, Dani got her last
medicinal nugget today. Presumably she will someday stop looking nervous
when I approach her in the morning or evening.
Writing: TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
Cats! by Ayse (Tue Feb 7 20:02:31 2006)
Oh my goodness! So very very very orange.
Seeing pictures of them makes me want to pet them!
Re: Cats! by Trip (Wed Feb 8 10:22:13 2006)
Eventually I will remember to give you a key so you can pet the cats and ABC my books!
Make a comment!
5 February 2006 - Sunday
Ayse is teaching and Marith has gone to be camerawoman, so apparently
I will just sit here today going bdebdebde. Still, that's better than a
lot of things I could be doing with my weekend!
* * *
I finally got around to watching In the Mouth of Madness,
which Earl lent me weeks and weeks ago. It was pretty good, although I may
by now be completely incapable of taking Lovecraftian horror seriously.
* * *
Cats: Still orange!
Writing: TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
Make a comment!
4 February 2006 - Saturday
Polaris! There was some lateness because Ayse lost her engagement
ring, but finally she left Ken to look for it and do laundry and we
zoomed to the Southern Suburbs
It went pretty well, although everyone agreed that it was less steady
than the first session, probably because drawing plotlines together and
resolving them is more difficult than spinning them off.
More demon babies! Sir Al Thalimain trapped in a magic spring while
his arch-nemesis gloats! Lady Altair has to kill a demon who looks like
her star-crossed lover! Doom for everyone!
It might have been mean of me to inflict so many demon babies on
expectant father Neil, but I have a solution for next time.
After returning home, we fell apart.
* * *
Watched more Popotan. Still weird. I like the maid.
* * *
Cats: I'm getting better at medicating Dani! Or else she's getting
more resigned. Or, I suppose, she's found a secret place to barf up the
pills, but she is getting better so I'm presuming not.
Writing: TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
Make a comment!
3 February 2006 - Friday
Ayse is all frazzled from teaching and learning and stuff, so
anime-watching fell by the wayside (somewhere near the corner of Cliche
Drive and Overused Way). After some adoration of the orange fuzzles, we
went to Ayse's and lay around reading/studying/geeking.
Flump!
* * *
Cats: It has now been a whole week since Dani has had to go to the vet!
Yay! Also, still orange.
Writing: TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
Make a comment!
2 February 2006 - Thursday
New (to me) webcomics: Misfile,
and The Wotch. Added to my Web
Habits 'cause I'm a big freak! (No bonus points awarded for figuring out
why.)
* * *
Cats: Orange! I think I'm getting the hang of how to medicate Dani,
and she's not holding it against me too much.
Writing: TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
Make a comment!
1 February 2006 - Wednesday
Recent reading: Creatures of Man, by Howard L Myers.
This is more old SF reprinted by Eric Flint/Baen, as they have been
doing recently.
All the stories in this book were written in 1970 ± a couple
of years, which apparently was the whole of Myers's writing career: he died
at 41. Although he was unmistakably a product of his decade (this is
especially visible in any bits involving women, sex, or both), Myers had a
few ideas that were well ahead of his time. For example, the Admiration
Economy in the almost-post-scarcity future of "All Around the Universe",
which is very similar to that in Down and Out in the Magic
Kingdom (Cory Doctorow) from 2003. Uplift of nonsapients appears in
the title story as well as "Questor". The ubiquitous human enhancement (to
the point of interstellar travel in shorts and Tshirt -- remember "Remember
spaceships?" in "Original Sin" (Vernor Vinge)?) in the stories of the
Chalice Cycle isn't seen much even now, at least in written SF. Comics have
been doing it for a while, but even good superhero comics are rarely decent
SF -- "What if you had three wishes?" vs "What if everyone had three
wishes?".
Recommended, at least for people who aren't offended by books written in
older, more evil times.
* * *
Hm. My DSL appears to not be working, apparently because TPC hasn't
gotten around to reconnecting my phone line. Bah!
Well, I can still waste my time on zangband, since that runs
locally. Almost everything else (like, say, writing) I do on idiom,
though.
* * *
Yay more Utena! We have entered the final plot arc,
which mostly consists of the bit at the end of the arc that plummets
steeply into the abyss.
The red car officially represents Adolescence, by the way.
Also, pumpkin cheesecake of DOOOOOOOM!
* * *
Cats: Dani has forgiven me for making her swallow yucky things,
but I don't think she will ever be as affectionate as Ginormous Orange
Purrbucket Marmalade.
Writing: TECHNICAL DIFFFICULTIES.
Make a comment!
|