two quick hits as i catch up

kraquehaus gives Ray Nagin's words the Hunter S. Thompson treatment.

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nyar gives Intelligent Design a fair shake and finds it seriously wanting.

two quick hits as i catch up

kraquehaus gives Ray Nagin's words the Hunter S. Thompson treatment.

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nyar gives Intelligent Design a fair shake and finds it seriously wanting.

not been good with book reviews

palecur turned me onto James Alan Gardner.  Expendable is his first book, and it's OK; interesting ideas, characters that could be interesting but aren't too well developed, a bit too much angst for my taste.  Vigilant is much better; an old character reappears and is solidified, and the story is much more compelling and interesting.  Good SF.  Paul also lent me Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon, which was grim and gritty but definitely entertaining.

Moving Pictures is possibly the worst Discworld book.  It was wretchedly boring; it seems to me that parodying the movie industry is very difficult without good insider knowledge (for example, Mamet's State and Main).  Reaper Man was much better, but not among the top in the series.

I'm currently reading C. S. Friedman's In Conquest Born.  I've decided that "space opera" is code for "fantasy, but with spaceships instead of horses and aliens instead of elves".  The book alternates between good bits and nearly melodramatic bits.

not been good with book reviews

palecur turned me onto James Alan Gardner.  Expendable is his first book, and it's OK; interesting ideas, characters that could be interesting but aren't too well developed, a bit too much angst for my taste.  Vigilant is much better; an old character reappears and is solidified, and the story is much more compelling and interesting.  Good SF.  Paul also lent me Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon, which was grim and gritty but definitely entertaining.

Moving Pictures is possibly the worst Discworld book.  It was wretchedly boring; it seems to me that parodying the movie industry is very difficult without good insider knowledge (for example, Mamet's State and Main).  Reaper Man was much better, but not among the top in the series.

I'm currently reading C. S. Friedman's In Conquest Born.  I've decided that "space opera" is code for "fantasy, but with spaceships instead of horses and aliens instead of elves".  The book alternates between good bits and nearly melodramatic bits.

you know how couples start to look alike after a while?

Is it just me, or has Bush's smirk-like rictus over the few past years come to resemble Cheney's twisted grimace?

you know how couples start to look alike after a while?

Is it just me, or has Bush's smirk-like rictus over the few past years come to resemble Cheney's twisted grimace?

gig review: rocinante/sex (with jon)/the heavenly states @ the attic

When Kim and i went to see We Followed Tigers, i really enjoyed one of the opening bands, Rocinante.  Their guitarist mentioned they'd be playing at The Attic on the 29th, so on that day i headed to Santa Cruz.  After getting a damned speeding ticket on the way there (all my fault, wasn't paying attention to my speed and i was coming down the Hwy 17 hill), i parked and headed into a well-lit and decorated space.  I had their Mate Chino tea while i waited for the band to set up.

Rocinante opened and played all of their 5 songs, which were all excellent.  I pestered them again to set up a Web presence and press a disc.  They have my work e-mail, so i hope they send me some info soon.  I'm not sure how to describe their music with any accuracy; it's rock with definite gusto, but not peppy.  The songs were deep but not complicated.

After them, it was Sex (with Jon)'s turn.  They had a theremin on stage and a knob twiddler to the side (who, during one song, performed a trombone solo).  They were definitely wacky, and they had a lot of fun covering Pink Floyd's "See Emily Play".  The thereminist and the guitarist (Jon) alternated singing duties.

I'd watched the lead singer for The Heavenly States moping around while the other bands played.  Then he came on stage with the rest of the band and he lit up like he reached back to flick on the Stage Presence switch.  They rocked out hard, although they started off with their single, and i think they should've saved that for later in the set.  Near the end of their set, in between songs we could hear the thumping techno from the gay bar downstairs, but it didn't get in the way of the show.

Tonight, Kim and i are going to see Michael Penn at Cafe du Nord... right now, in fact.  Bye bye.

gig review: rocinante/sex (with jon)/the heavenly states @ the attic

When Kim and i went to see We Followed Tigers, i really enjoyed one of the opening bands, Rocinante.  Their guitarist mentioned they'd be playing at The Attic on the 29th, so on that day i headed to Santa Cruz.  After getting a damned speeding ticket on the way there (all my fault, wasn't paying attention to my speed and i was coming down the Hwy 17 hill), i parked and headed into a well-lit and decorated space.  I had their Mate Chino tea while i waited for the band to set up.

Rocinante opened and played all of their 5 songs, which were all excellent.  I pestered them again to set up a Web presence and press a disc.  They have my work e-mail, so i hope they send me some info soon.  I'm not sure how to describe their music with any accuracy; it's rock with definite gusto, but not peppy.  The songs were deep but not complicated.

After them, it was Sex (with Jon)'s turn.  They had a theremin on stage and a knob twiddler to the side (who, during one song, performed a trombone solo).  They were definitely wacky, and they had a lot of fun covering Pink Floyd's "See Emily Play".  The thereminist and the guitarist (Jon) alternated singing duties.

I'd watched the lead singer for The Heavenly States moping around while the other bands played.  Then he came on stage with the rest of the band and he lit up like he reached back to flick on the Stage Presence switch.  They rocked out hard, although they started off with their single, and i think they should've saved that for later in the set.  Near the end of their set, in between songs we could hear the thumping techno from the gay bar downstairs, but it didn't get in the way of the show.

Tonight, Kim and i are going to see Michael Penn at Cafe du Nord... right now, in fact.  Bye bye.