February 15, 2009
Stranger In A Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
1961
Stranger In A Strange Land tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith’s arrival on the planet Earth. He is a human born on Mars and raised by Martians, ignorant of the ways of his species. The book describes his interactions with a handful of people as he learns the ways of human culture, and then begins to forge his own influence into the culture through the formation of a new church. Central to this book the concept of ‘grokking’, a term my sweetheart uses a lot. Basically the expression describes complete and totally understanding and oneness with a subject. The book was written at a time of great upheaval in North American culture, and you can see Heinlein pushing at the acceptable in this novel.
I found the first half of the book the most enjoyable, while Mike was discovering the world and how it worked. The second half of the book was really odd, revolving around Mike’s new church, which seemed like a cross between a hippie commune and a cult, and sex and its role in human culture. All in all, though, I did really like the book.
One other little thing that bothered me was Heinlein’s lack of use of quotation marks. This book is mostly dialog, and it was often difficult to know exactly when something was speech, thought, or simply exposition.
I’ve been reading a lot of ‘golden age’ science fiction lately. This is the first Robert A Heinlein novel I have read, and I quite enjoyed it. It is not an action-based sci-fi book, but more about human interaction, as is most sci-fi from this era. However, I am getting frustrated by the role female characters get to play in this era, relegated to traditional roles of cook and secretary when important dialog is occurring, and in a book that pushed the envelope in so many other ways, it is unfortunate that this role wasn’t expanded into non-traditional areas more.
Shannon Patterson, filed under Reviews |
February 14, 2009
Alan corrected me. He got me 22 pink & red roses, not 12. My bad.
Shannon Patterson, filed under Uncategorized |
I’m not all about Valentine’s Day. I never have been. I’m more into Friday the 13th. Thirteen is my lucky number and I kinda like embracing a day others find superstitious. As such, I’m going to pretend the evening Alan and I spent together last night was to celebrate the 13th, not the 14th of February.
Friday nights are typically pizza and laundry nights, and last night was no exception. Except that we didn’t do laundry. We drank wine, ate pizza and cake, and watched Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (pretty funny), and Alan gave me a dozen pink and red roses. I hope that I can expect similar treatment every Friday the 13th.
Today has been a relatively full Saturday. We got up early, and I read for about 3 hours, watched this week’s 30 Rock (pretty funny) and My Name Is Earl (meh), and Alan and I went out for Dim Sum. We found an all you can eat Sushi & Dim Sum place, August 8, which was excellent, especially after a disastrous previous experience involving all you can eat sushi. After our lunch, we checked out some waterfalls on the mountain – Felker’s Falls and Devil’s Punch Bowl, and investigated some green space we couldn’t identify from our apartment. When we got home, I finished my book (quite good) and watched last night’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Shirley Manson sorta rocks). Now I’m considering watching the first episode of Dollhouse, or starting another book.
The only disappointment was that my Mom was supposed to come visit this morning and help me finish my quilt, and she had to cancel because she hasn’t been feeling well. However, the quilt isn’t going anywhere and I know there will be a better day to finish it up. Expect reviews for the book and maybe some of the other media later.
Shannon Patterson, filed under Uncategorized |
February 10, 2009
Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn’t Fucking Work
Got to work this morning to find this in my feed reader. After a couple of rough days, was very welcome. Made me laugh a lot because swearing is funny. My favourite phrase? ‘Time Vampire’.
Shannon Patterson, filed under Uncategorized |
February 9, 2009
Coraline Poster
Coraline [2009]
This past Friday night, Alan and I went to see Coraline in 3-D. The film was quite enjoyable. I’m not convinced I loved the 3-D experience, because I found it very hard on my eyes, but the film was beautiful and fanciful and just the right amounts of creepy.
First off, this is not a kid’s movie, though I think a lot of kids would love it. Based off a book by Neil Gaiman, it’s a story about a girl who finds a portal to a parallel universe in her new home. The parallel universe seems perfect at first, her neighbours are more fun, the food is much better, and her parents build a world that revolves around her needs. The only drawback? Everyone has scary button eyes that hint that this parallel world may be far creepier than it seems at first glance. This film is about Coraline’s adventures uncovering the truth about this parallel world.
Coraline was made by the same people as made The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the colours and look of the movie was just incredible. I really enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to pretty much everyone I know. As for the 3-D experience, it was used to enhance the movie, and didn’t feel like a gimmick, but I’m not sure my eyes would love to see it in 3-D again.
Shannon Patterson, filed under Life |