Ever since I realized it was possible to strain so hard while defecating that you can actually push a coil or two of intestine out, I’ve been thinking about a revolutionary new weight loss treatment.

Why not tapeworms?

Tapeworms are parasites that live in your intestines, attaching themselves to the intestinal wall and leaching nutrients from the foods that you ingest. Serious tapeworm infestations have been known to kill people who eat larger than normal amounts of food, simply because their nutrient absorption is severely mitigated by the parasite. In essence, they starve to death, no matter what they eat.

But what if…

What if you could closely control the growth of the parasites to such a degree that you could use them as a weight loss treatment? Imagine…eat what you want, when you want. You want to eat a large pizza and a cheesecake? Go right ahead. You aren’t absorbing all those delicious calories. Want to eat a marbled ribeye and four dozen chocolate chip cookies? Nothing’s stopping you with your handy tapeworm companions.

The question you’re probably asking at this point, if you’re a responsible venture capitalist, is this: “Why did you mention the whole anal prolapse thing?” That, my potential investor, is the real beauty of my scheme. You see, tapeworms reproduce by passing out of the body in fecal material. No one in the FDA is going to let you process a finished pharmaceutical (even if it is a weight loss treatment) out of poo.

The best thing to do is to find a willing person who commonly suffers from the above referenced prolapse. About once a week, give him a powerful laxative (maybe something that they give to horses, like EquiShine). One he prolapses, put him a in a clean, sterile area and harvest the tapeworms directly from the prolapsed intestine. Sterilize them in a manner that preserves their viability, package the proglottids (sections of tapeworm “eggs”) in a gelcap form, and then sell the drug at your local apothecary.

Tapeworm infection is relatively easy to treat. Once you’ve lost the desired weight, see your local doctor for de-worming and you’re ready for bikini season!

My suggestion would be to use overweight college girls for tapeworm farms. Girls that fall victim to the dreaded “freshman fifteen” would be eager to earn some extra cash and contribute to science. Serving as a tapeworm farm could be presented with the twofold benefit of serving science and preserving the potential to have a boyfriend again. My suggestion would be to pay them a flat rate for being the host with bonuses for tapeworms above and beyond their weekly quota.

It’s foolproof. People are always getting fatter, so you’ll never run out of potential clients.

Venture capitalists, please send letters of intent using the “Contact Info” button at the upper left side of the site. Thank you for your interest.

Click the picture to see how you would do.

Biden is everything Obama isn’t. Is Obama admitting that he couldn’t do the job now? Or is this a sop to the people who thought that he couldn’t do the job, but in reality, he always could? I’m not sure where his head is.

Given that I’m under informed on this issue, I’ll pass the ball to a couple of you regular guys. Was this a smart move? Does this harm Obama’s appeal as a Washington outsider? Does Biden’s moderate record hurt McCain’s campaign for President?

I’ll be at DragonCon this weekend. It is one of the largest science fiction/fantasy/comic book fan conventions in the nation, held in downtown Atlanta, GA. Just like last year, I will be providing daily picture updates of all of the freaky geeks in costume, as well as any star/author sitings.

Tentatively, I owe Patrick Rothfuss and Tom Kratman food and/or frosty beverages as a thank you for the interviews they’ve done here on The Hodge. John Ringo will be there; hopefully I can ask him what the hell he was thinking when he wrote the second half of Ghost. I also hope to hook up with John Scalzi for at least a little bit. He was charming as always at Penguincon, and even recognized me (by name!) from a panel he was moderating.

I’m also somewhat of a fanboy when it comes to the potential for meeting Nathan Fillion, Jewel Staite, and Morena Baccarin; they’re all going to be on a Firefly-related panel at one point in the weekend. There is also going to be a pretty decent turn-out from the BSG cast, although my secret crush on Katee Sackhoff will remain unfulfilled due to her recent cancellation.

On top of all the goodness above, there are the typical panels for writers and literary enthusiasts, so I expect to find myself inundated with good techniques and advice for struggling writers. It can’t hurt, right?

There are definitely some good things about the novel (that I’ll get to in a moment) that should keep Weber fans satisfied. However, there are some flaws as well, and I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention them due to the frustration that I experienced with the text at several moments.

Weber has plotted this series exquisitely so far. He shows a great eye for intrigue and political machinations. His world works the way its drawn. His characters are also incredibly detailed given how little time he spends with each of them. This is more a credit to Weber’s skill as a writer than anything, that he can fill in the small idiosyncrasies of even minor characters to a degree that they are memorable. Setting is likewise well-done; everything from the economics of each “player’s” position to the wildlife and the weather is handled adroitly.

If all this is so good, then what complaints do I have?

Simply put, the novel is unwieldy because of its attention to detail. There are too many characters, too many subplots, and too much of a “God’s eye view” to really do anything more than be a series of episodic narratives. Weber ties them together with (arguably) more skill than Tom Clancy ever did, but readers are left with a feeling of dissatisfaction. It’s like eating a tasty meal that doesn’t quite fill you up.

I have a real issue with the way in which Weber is choosing to spell his character names. They are common names, but John, for example, is spelled “Zhan.” Most of the “i” sounds are replaced with a “y.” There are other irregularities, but it is somewhat jarring to be cruising along in the narrative only to be faced with the odd spellings. One odd spelling is charming, two or three might give a flair for nationality. An entire cast of characters with odd spellings makes for a difficult read. 

Weber should be commended for not making cookie-cutter villains. Very few of his “bad” characters are ever stupid, but in this series, they are showing remarkable capability. Weber perhaps makes them a bit too sympathetic for the purposes of his narrative, diluting the true purpose of his anointed heroes and heroines with perspectives inside the enemy’s head.

I suppose the thing that bugs me the most is that the first book in this series showed so much promise that the second book failed to deliver in the expected fashion. I’m not sure quite what I expected, but after reading Off Armageddon Reef, I was prepared for another series as epic as Dune (Herbert), Foundation (Asimov), or Hyperion (Simmons). Weber may have had to write a “bridge” novel to get us through the to the third book in the series; if so, I’ll reserve judgment until the end.

How will they decide who owns what? I think Eddie Izzard said it best.

We saw Russia lay claim to the arctic with a ceremonial flag planting and I can only see this kind of saber rattling causing even more strife as habitable land and resources start to run out with over population. Perhaps Robert Heinlein was right and the moon will be a place we send all our degenerates. She will certainly be a very harsh mistress.

Mostly all I want to do is vegetate with a book or a video game to take my mind off of how much my throat hurts and how loopy I feel.

I do, in fact, have the flu. I am one of the first confirmed cases of it for this season in my area. Go me!

I probably won’t post a whole lot until Monday.

I have intentionally laden several layers of cliché into the text. See if you can pick them out.

It’s not easy to kill yourself.

The moon and stars were obscured by angry clouds, lit softly from underneath by the mercury glow of street lamps. I lay on my back in an alley, clutching one of the splintered remains of a wooden pallet in my left hand. In my other hand, I held a hammer that had once belonged to a nameless handyman who was still drinking his nightly dose of forgetfulness in the bar behind me.

The center of my back was over a small pothole–combined with the length of the wood, it should seal my fate nicely. The dirty storm water had soaked through my black wool peacoat. The feel of it was clammy against my back, but somehow different than what I had remembered before. I felt the form without substance, as though I weren’t really cold. Perhaps my nerve endings were crying out with the memory of sensations that could no longer be mine.

I tried to shiver. I tried to feel remorse. I tried to feel anything but grim resignation to end it all with a few well-placed blows from a hammer. When I felt nothing but hollowness, I placed the sharp end of the pallet splinter just to the left of my sternum. My knuckles whitened on the grip of the hammer. Awkwardly, I rapped the end of the wood, biting back a cry as the impromptu stake pierced my flesh. The first strike had not been adequate to pierce the dense cartilage of my rib cage.

I raised the hammer to strike again, willing myself continue. I summoned the strength that was both my boon and my curse. Lightning flashed directly overhead, followed by a clap of thunder, startling me as I drove the hammer downward. I felt the sharp edge of the wood scrape across my ribcage and penetrate my lung to the left my heart. I gasped and choked on a fluid that was no longer blood. I had missed my heart.

Worse, I had driven the stake deep into the soft gravel and dirt of the pothole, effectively pinning myself to the ground. I screamed a cry of defiance, but my enhanced strength had seen to it that I was firmly pinned. It would take an acrobat or a fellow denizen of the night to remove me from my predicament.

I felt my body rally against the injury, repairing it with a speed and efficiency that no surgeon could hope to match. What good would it do to repair damage when the source of that damage remained in place? I had no control over the processes that animated my body, so I could only writhe in repeated agony as my sinew tried to knit itself closed over the horrible wound in my chest.

The steel door behind me opened with a clang, rebounding off of the dingy brick wall behind it. I craned my head to see Johnny Jangles, the leader of my order, silhouetted against the harsh, fluorescent light of the kitchen behind him. He moved with the precision of a dancer, his wrists jingling with the sound of the brass charms he wore. His chosen monicker was at odds with both his features and his voice. We all thought that he was trying to pick an American name that made him sound like a gangster.

“Tommy,” Johnny said sadly in a thick Eastern European accent. “Always you try this, and always you fail.” He gripped the wood piercing my chest and turned it cruelly, tearing my flesh anew. “When will you learn to accept the gift I’ve given you?”

I spat blood in his face. “It’s not a gift,” I replied angrily. “It’s a curse. I’m trying to end it.”

Johnny stopped his idle torture. “If it would not please you so, I would release you from this curse,” he said. He yanked the stake out of the ground and brandished the bloody end of it in my face.

“Do it,” I grated, laying perfectly still.

I held a tense breath as Johnny held it over me. “I think not,” Johnny said, laughing. He tossed the piece of wood into an open garbage bin with a jingle from his bracelets. He offered a hand to me. “Get up,” he said. “You look look like you could use a drink.”

I took his hand with an inward sigh. Muck from the alley coated my fashionable jeans, the back of my peacoat, and the trendy button-down shirt. A ragged, bloody hole was just off center on my chest where the stake had pierced me. I could already feel my skin closing over the wound; my breathing became easier the longer I stood still.

“I should go home,” I said.

Johnny shook his head. “Tonight,” he said eagerly, “we feed.”

John Scalzi’s new novel, Zoe’s Tale, is a continuation of the story in the Old Man’s War universe. It is available as of yesterday in most bookstores. As the title implies, the novel features the precocious daughter of the main characters, telling the events of the The Last Colony through her eyes. I wasn’t a terrific fan of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Shadow (which covered the events in Ender’s Game as told by Bean), so I’m hoping that this one showcases Scalzi channeling Heinlein’s writing karma. I’m expecting a story similar to Podkayne of Mars here.

S. M. Stirling’s Scourge of God is also in stores now. This is a continuation of his Emberverse series. The Sunrise Lands, the previous novel in the series, was one of my personal favorite novels of last year. I have every reason to expect that this one will live up to Stirling’s high standards. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Stirling is likely one of the most underrated science fiction authors of the modern age.

John Ringo’s new novel, The Last Centurion, is a post-apocalyptic novel written blog style. From my perusal in the local bookstore, I saw that Ringo has pulled no punches in his indictment of liberal progressivism, but the writing seemed a bit scattered and heavy-handed at first glance. Still, it’s John Ringo. How can you really go wrong?

Sly Mongoose, Tobias Buckell’s latest novel, fills me with some excitement. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was initially reluctant to read his fiction, but his great sense of adventure and plotting make his novels some of the best diversionary reading I’ve had in a long time. Toby is talking about the world he created for Sly Mongoose over on the Whatever right now. Click through and give it a look.

What are you guys looking forward to?

Why is this genre so popular on the market? Why is vampirism such a key fixture in the dark fantasy/horror/science fiction genre? We see a genetic vampire in Peter Watts’ Blindsight. There are three different types of vampires in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. Stephanie Myers is making big news with her teen girl focused vampire novels. During this rise of fiction, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was on television for seven seasons. Laurell K. Hamilton has been writing book after book featuring Vampires. Her work (among others) has penetrated almost every facet of the geek mainstream, even making an appearance in the popular web comic Penny Arcade. What gives?

Even I’m not immune to it. I recently finished Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian, which is an excellent, suspenseful thriller about three generations of historians and their quest to uncover the truth of (you guessed it) the Dracula legend. Despite myself, I found myself drawn into the moody atmosphere of the book. It was written in a very literary fashion (reminiscent of British Literature at the turn of the twentieth century) and packaged in such a way that I didn’t mind that it was a(nother) story about Vampires. (Yes, yes, “OMG! You read lit fic!” Get over it, already.)

What makes us so fascinated with the act of sucking blood? Why do we want to believe both the best and the worst of the walking undead?

Personally, I think that the whole idea of vampirism lends the dark side in all of us to desire two things–immortality and sin without consequence. (I use the term “sin” loosely here, not necessarily in a religious sense,  but in the sense that the possession of living, breathing humans through the act of vampirism can be classified as the basest sort of evil. I’m sure many of you can give me fictional examples of “good” vampires who must “convert” their victims to “save” them, but the end result is the same.) Who wouldn’t want to live forever? Who wouldn’t want to indulge in the sort of rampant sensuality that seems to be the vampiric inheritance? For some, even the admission price of eternal undeath isn’t enough of a barrier.

And that’s where we’ve been headed in the fictional world. 

Unless I somehow can re-imagine the whole concept (not likely), this is territory that I am unlikely to tread. No one wants to pay me stupid amounts of money (if you do, email me) to write such a story, and I can’t imagine crawling around in the head of the undead (haha) long enough to make a coherent novel.

Obama in August.

In January, it was kosher to pull money from the space program to fund schools in the inner city. After all, he had to distinguish himself from his fellow Democrats by appealing to the one demographic most likely to give him an edge in the elections–inner cities.

Quoted from the January position paper:

Obama will support the development of this vital new platform to ensure that the United States’ reliance on foreign space capabilities is limited to the minimum possible time period.

In the wake of nationalistic pride generated by the Chinese hosting the Olympics, the issue of the space race has once again come to the forefront. China’s spoken intent is to put a man back on the moon by 2020. The USA performed the same feat with less advanced technology, going from space in 1959 to a moon landing in 1969. With China’s resource and technology base, isn’t it fair to assume a moon landing within twelve years?

Quote from the August position paper:

Speeding the Next-Generation Vehicle: Obama will expedite the development of the Shuttle’s successor systems for carrying Americans to space so we can minimize the gap. This will be difficult; underfunding by the Bush administration has left NASA with limited flexibility to accelerate the development of the new systems.

Obama accuses the Bush administration of underfunding the space program. To make that statement truly accurate, say: “Bush and the Democratically controlled Congress have hamstrung the space program with successive budget cuts.” I find it odd that Obama accuses Bush of that, when he was going to do the same thing, as illustrated in this education plan [emphasis mine]:

Barack Obama’s early education and K-12 plan package costs about $18 billion per year.  He will maintain fiscal responsibility and prevent an increase in the deficit by offsetting cuts and revenue sources in other parts of the government.  The early education plan will be paid for by delaying the NASA Constellation Program for five years, using purchase cards and negotiating power of the government to reduce costs of standardized procurement, auctioning surplus federal property, and reducing the erroneous payments identified by the Government Accountability Office, and closing the CEO pay deductibility loophole.  The rest of the plan will be funded using a small portion of the savings associated with fighting the war in Iraq.

Which is it? Are we expediting the new crew vehicle for the space program, or are we delaying it five years in the name of an education program?

Now that Obama is mainstream, language that touches even tangentially on Welfare is going to be a sore sport for swing voters in typically red states. Obama must do something to counter the Chinese ambitions for their own space program, so he releases a slightly modified position paper. 

Neither one of these position papers amounts to anything more than arm waving. How is Mr. Obama going to expedite the new crew vehicle? Can he promise the American public that our space infrastructure won’t rot away while we funnel money into enabling the poor to stay poor? What will he say when our skilled aeronautical engineers and technicians are laid off from NASA, and they find themselves paid high salaries in China, Japan, and Russia?

Quite frankly, our lack of manned space delivery systems couldn’t come at a worse time.  Who knew that we would be hitch hiking to LEO in a Russian space capsule that uses forty year old technology?

It shoots better (for me) than a Glock, but not quite as well as a Sig. (Disclaimer: I have small hands, so most who like the Glock will level the “girl hands” criticism at me.) My groups are all in the eight ring on a silhouette the first time I put rounds through it. After some tweaking to my grip/stance, I tightened up the group quite a bit (although I was still about half in the eight ring). With practice, I imagine that this will be my new go-to sidearm when I want a full-size carry. 

The real reason why I like this handgun is that the magazines are interchangeable with my CX4 Storm carbine. One load out lets me carry ammo for both.

It is worth every penny. And for those who loved the movie the first time, a second viewing shows a whole bunch of little details that you might have missed the first time. The opening scenes of the movie and several of the larger action set pieces are filmed in IMAX. Other than that, most of the outdoor camera shots are also IMAX.

If you have an IMAX theater in your area, go see it.

Like many fantasy readers, I have mixed emotions about the Wheel of Time series. The first several books are absolutely incredible–they hands down some of the best fantasy novels ever written. Jordan weaves together so many disparate elements of fantasy and history to create his world that the result is nothing less than stunning. However, his constant antagonistic characterization of the male/female relationships in the book wears after a while. This is a necessary evil from the way in which “magic” works in the world, but it does weaken the overall interaction of men and women.

That being said, The Eye of the World, which is the first book in the series, really ought to make a great movie. This is a great intellectual property; with the right director, the movies based on these books could rival Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings saga. The story is epic, the books themselves are full of action, and there’s a strong element of romance for several characters throughout the series (despite the aforementioned antagonism).

West Helena, Arkansas is under martial law. Well, not really. But they do have a 24-hour curfew in effect to curb rampant violence in their town. Police officers are reportedly carrying all types of great murder machine hardware, including M-16s, shotguns, and night vision scopes. Is this one of those cases when I should haul out the old “those who trade security…” quote? Based on what I’ve heard of the situation here, I think not. The police are doing what they can to restore order, and I applaud the steps they’re taking to do so. Contrariwise, if this is a power play by the city council and the reports of violence are exaggerated, they should be removed from office for gross misuse of power. I suppose history (and the media) will be the judge here.

Is China cheating in the olympics? The right-leaning American Thinker blog thinks that they are. My wife, a massive fan of women’s gymnastics, pointed out that despite the age of the competitors, they did at least possess the skill set to win a gold medal. Whether the smaller size/weight of the Chinese gymnasts is a factor (particularly on the beam competition) is a fairly moot point now. Other allegations by other countries are starting to hit the mainstream media. Who can say how this end up for China?

Ain’t It Cool News recently pulled a negative review of the upcoming Clone Wars animated Star Wars movie at the demands of Lucasfilm. Say what you will about journalistic integrity (something I’ve said before in regards to reviews from AICN), the review sounds extremely passionate. I was not alone among my friends and cohorts in having high expectations for the movie. Seeing that a true fan thinks so little of it makes feel like Jar Jar Binks just punted me in the nut bag.

Last is our token space advocacy story. It appears that solar systems analogous to ours are somewhat rare, with a high incidence of gas giants in close orbit around their suns.This calls into question our current theories on planetary formation and provides interesting speculation on whether or not worlds depicted in science fiction (Yavin 4 in Star Wars or Allen Steel’s Coyote) could readily exist. I’d be interested to know if Kepler’s law still holds up in the wake of all these discoveries.

You guys know what to do. (Poor horse.)

…that fantasy I had involving Jessica Alba and the Cookie Monster outfit. (Don’t ask.)

And didn’t I say: “Don’t ask?”

I’m struck by the general lack of intelligent design behind the spam messages. Take, for example, the most recent spam that I received that advertised breast implants for a famous pop singer. It was unclear from the spam message what I would see when I clicked on the hyperlink. Would I, perhaps, get to buy breast implants removed from the starlet? Would I get to see a before and after shot and marvel at the difference in size? Would I, perhaps, be privy to a scandal in which I would see an extremely pixellated close-up of some scar tissue?  It could be that I would see scar tissue indicating that my favorite fun bags were as fake as that fantasy I had involving Jessica Alba and the Cookie Monster outfit. (Don’t ask.)

Savvy internet users will never click on a blind URL, because they know the kind of unscrupulous digital huns that await behind every blind re-direct. If you’re going to spam, spam smartly, so at least you have a chance of ambushing my computer with heinous malware.

Here’s some ideas for good spam:

1. URLs rife with vulgar names for anatomical parts/functions are generally right out. Approach your interactions from a more polite standpoint and add a dash of mystery. Example: “Casey would like you to probe the dark secrets of her past using a variety fresh produce.” Who wouldn’t want to know how Casey’s past could be revealed using a pumpkin?
2. Promising an increase in dimension to my ”pulsing manhood” doesn’t work. Instead, opt for an instructional course that tells the women of the world how to please me. This is personal internet time, people! I get nothing out of turning a hot dog into a turkey leg.
3. Nigeria is obviously a hotbed of deceit and lies. The next time you want my bank account number, try impersonating my rich uncle. Bonus points if you get his name right.
4. Appeal to the sentimental side. Tell me that if I don’t send you money, millions of puppies will die. Images of starving children in Africa are notorious for hardening American hearts, but show those same Americans a Golden Retriever puppy who’s being mistreated in a puppy mill and watch the donations pour in.

I’ve not read Michael Chabon’s Yiddish Policeman’s Union, but I’m a bit frustrated at his win here. I have read three of the other nominees, and each of the three would have been a good choice for a Hugo nod for various reasons. I can’t help but feel that whatever talent Chabon brings to the table, he is essentially a science fiction outsider who has now swept the Nebula and the Hugo awards. I suppose now I’ll have to read the book to avoid second guessing the other voters.

If his book isn’t fantastic, I’m going to be pissed.

In the end, it was the discovery of perchlorate that was supposedly so momentous. 

Perchlorate is an anion with four oxygen atoms and one chlorine atom. The chlorine atom has an oxidation state of +7 in order to accommodate the the demands of bonding to the oxygen atoms. Despite its high oxidation state, it is actually quite stable due to two things–one is that in that oxidation state with four oxygen atoms, the chlorine is considered to be a “closed shell,” which lends stability to an otherwise potentially unstable species. The other is that the perchlorate is likely stabilized by several “resonance” forms, in which the the electron density of the covalent bonds is distributed more or less equally across the entire molecule.

Perchlorate is typically formed in areas devoid of water that have a high salt content, such as deserts or dry lake beds. It can be formed industrially by reacting chlorine gas with a strong base. Perchlorate can be used in rocket fuel and fireworks, due to its high oxidation potential and its relative stability. My first thought when I heard the the Phoenix lander had found perchlorate was that somehow, the lander had contaminated the sample site. However, NASA claims that the Phoenix lander used a pure hydrazine fuel (two amine groups linked by a single N-N bond), which rules out contamination. 

Are the conditions proper for the spontaneous formation of perchlorate? At this point, further laboratory tests are needed to verify that the conditions on the Martian surface are correct. There is evidence that this can happen on Earth, but given the wildly different levels of temperature, pressure, and UV exposure, I would feel more comfortable with results which illustrated the formation of the anions.

A strong oxidizing compound isn’t always good news for species struggling to survive, but there is at least one example that I could find that shows that perchlorate could be used as an energy source for a bacteria-like organism. Again, given the harsh conditions on the surface, I’m not sure how much this could be true.

At this point, no one can say anything for sure, aside from two facts:

1. There is water in the regolith on Mars. NASA cannot accurately quantify the amount. At best, all they can do is guess. Anyone that tries to provide a quantity here is acting with insufficient data.
2. There is the presence of a compound that could act as an energy source, but this is atypical of life as we know it.

This brings up my last point, in that we are anthropomorphizing our search for life. Who says that life has to operate according to our known parameters? There may be a completely different way of energy acquisition and waste processing that we can’t even fathom because we’ve been so blinded by our evolutionary history and mechanisms of energy production. I’m completely for the search for “life as we know it,” but I feel as though we should be prepared mentally for “life as we don’t know it.” Too often, we’ve been blinded by our own preconceptions that we miss the answers that are right in front of our collective faces. I’d hate to see that happen now.

The early reviews are all very positive (mine among them). Did you anticipate such a warm reception? Has this translated well into sales?

Frankly, I didn’t know what to expect. I’m a little new at this you know. Everything I’ve done before has always been more . . . objectively qualitative. When I built a fine flintlock fowling piece, for example, I knew it was good from years of experience. I also knew other people would know it was good. Differing tastes might or might not appreciate the style of carving or engraving, but there was no question that it was a well-made piece. Writing is different, more subjective, beyond simple varying preferences in decoration. It involves a subjective appreciation of entertainment, and people’s tastes in entertainment can be wildly personal.

That being said, I guess I am a little surprised by how well “Into the Storm” has been received. I’m gratified beyond measure by the reviews and I can’t tell you how glad I am when I get a letter from someone telling me how much they like it. After all, that’s what I set out to do: write a fun, thought-provoking story, with a few old-fashioned values thrown in, that people would enjoy.

As far as sales are concerned, I don’t have any firm numbers yet and it’s a little too early to say, but it seems to be doing well and my publisher is pleased.

Your next book is due in October, which is a scant four months after your first release. Did you have the second novel already written? Are you comfortable with a second book coming out so closely on the heels of the first?

Yes, the second book, “Crusade,” was already “in the can.” At first I was a little dubious and thought I might have liked to see some feedback before it was too late to make changes. Then I remembered that I started this series with a “vision” for its direction, and it really didn’t make much difference. People’s tastes are as diverse as the people that have them. They will enjoy the tale or they won’t. I would like to have had the opportunity to change any historical issues more informed readers might catch, and I’ve already received some interesting ideas about secondary storylines that might have been fun to pursue, but regarding the primary “vision,” I won’t hold my finger in the air and chase good opinions. That’s a losing proposition, and nobody can please everybody.

How many books do you foresee in the series?

Three . . . so far. But the “Earth” the Destroyermen find themselves in is just as big as ours and the “trilogy” will end with an awful lot of it unexplored . . .

You feature several sketches on your Web site. Are you the artist of those sketches?

Yes. I used to draw a lot - mostly pen and ink - but with gun-making, etc, my artistic expression became more and more three-dimensional.

Have you served in the Navy previously?

No, but I love ships and the sea, and a fair percentage of my very good friends over the years have been Navy men.

Your Web site tells the story of your serving as a script consultant for historical war movies. How receptive is Hollywood to a dose of realism? Did you ever find that your advice was overruled or discounted?

Not so much regarding dialog - that usually has little to do with “official” scripts. I haven’t seen many scripts that have much dialog during action sequences of the kind I help with. (Battles.) Usually it’s just “so and so does this, the cannons fire, and such and such happens.” Often, that leaves quite a “hole” that scriptwriters don’t necessarily know how to fill. That’s when directors or AD’s ask “But what would he SAY?! What commands would he give?” That sort of thing. Usually, my advice is given on the fly, or sometimes privately to an actor before a scene.

I have had technical advice over-ruled before, with occasionally silly consequences, because the storyboards called for something else. A few times, I have asked not to be credited as an advisor because I didn’t want to be “blamed” for a particularly ridiculous artillery scene. I have also asked to be credited as “Artillery Trainer” instead of advisor before, because I was proud of the crews I trained, but not some of the things they had them do.

How did you come by your expertise in artillery?

Doesn’t everybody love cannons? I always have. I’ve fired flintlocks since I was a kid, but I’ve always been fascinated by the “great guns.” I have been fortunate enough to meet many people who knew a lot about cannons, and I built a little mountain howitzer about 25 years ago. Then I built another one. About that time, I discovered that there was such a thing as cannon competitions! I have always enjoyed competitive shooting and the idea of a cannon shoot was awe-inspiring. I formed a crew - most of whom are still together - and we built a 6pdr on an 1841 #1 carriage. We competed with that for many years, firing solid shot and canister. Eventually - since there aren’t a lot of guys running around with cannons - we started doing movies.

We immediately realized that movie people, for the most part, don’t know much about cannons and we had to assert ourselves when it came to safety issues. (Even blanks from a 6pdr can blow you in half.) Over time, we gained a reputation for being safe and competent and unafraid to yell at people - even directors - when they wanted something stupid or dangerous done with cannons. We take safety seriously. In all our years of shooting cannons, live and blank, and training guns crews for movies, etc, no one has ever been injured on, or by our guns, and neither has anyone under our instruction. We are proud of that.

In addition to movies and documentaries, we have done a lot of living history and reenactments over the years, but our main focus has always been live fire. Cannons eat a lot and we only take them out a few times a year, but when we do, we learn so much that has been lost! Trajectories, pressures, velocities, penetration, accuracy - these are things that we strive to learn more about. A few years ago, we did a documentary for the History Channel and fired a 6pdr over 5,000 frame per second video. We saw things I don’t believe anyone ever has. It can be very exciting. Needless to say, we have also become conversant in the various sounds all sorts of projectiles make in flight.

We have fired many different types of artillery - I’d have to think a while to name them all - but the ones we shoot most are a 3″ Ordnance rifle - as accurate as any direct-fire modern cannon - and a new 6pdr. We finally retired the old one for a well-deserved rest after numerous movies and about 3,000 live rounds. It now resides in a museum.

A great many of my readers are kindred spirits, in that we shoot in rifle/pistol competitions and get the thrills both from seeing things explode and controlling a firearm accurately and safely enough to achieve an objective. Do you have any videos of the competitions in which you compete online that I can point the readers to? 

We do have videos, but we’ve never put any online. It honestly never occurred to me before. Maybe we will, now. Cool idea. Hmm . . . If we do, I’ll sure let you know. My cannons can be seen and heard at work in a number of movies, but about the only way to see what they are capable of is a single picture of a “counter battery” target under the “bio” section of my website. If people show enough interest, I may post more pictures. We have a number of pictures that show the results of matching a 19th century 3″ Ordnance rifle against a tracked ammo hauler. Wow. The last time we went down to Ft. Hood to shoot - just for practice - we engaged an M-60 tank that was leaning slightly towards us at 1,000 yds. We put 3 rounds, one after another, down the commander’s hatch.

One video I wish we could post is one we did for the History Channel at the YPG in Yuma. The problem is, with the exception of a few scenes used in the show, the rest is the property of the Army. I received verbal permission to use it in a safety training video, but I never could get written permission, and subsequent queries went unanswered.

Can you share how you came to be published?

I suppose I’ve been blessed. I read all the time about authors who’ve been trying for years, have jumped through all the hoops, and done everything right - and still can’t seem to break through. My heart goes out to them because I know if I can do it, anyone probably can. In retrospect, I was incredibly lucky. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I decided to write a book, did it, and then just bumbled along trying to find an agent. (That much I knew I had to do.) I began sending out query letters, but continued teaching and building guns and working on shows. I kept writing, too. Every now and then I’d get a form-letter rejection - usually polite, sometimes not - and I’d shrug and shake my head because none of the letters ever gave any reason why. It was frustrating, but I had other things to do.

I probably got 20 or 30 rejections and had just about given up. I hadn’t given up on my story, or writing, but I figured I was doing something wrong and I’d try to find out what it was when I had the time.

Then, all of a sudden, I got a rejection that was different from the others. An agent named Russell Galen had actually taken the time to tell me why - in great detail. He believed in the story too, and carefully enumerated its many fatal flaws. Within a couple of months, I thought the flaws were fixed and re-submitted the manuscript. About a month after that, I had a contract. It was amazing.

I now know agents are incredibly busy, and for Russell to take the time he did with me was extraordinary. But it also goes to show not only how essential agents are, but how important it is to have one who will get behind you and push. Russ is the best, and I’m proud to call him my agent and my friend.

Taylor, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions. If you’re going on a book tour in the near future, please let us know and we’ll post the information on the site here.

Writing doesn’t pay my bills. My blog would earn only minimal cash (and looks like it would earn barely enough to cover my hosting costs if I sold advertisements), and while I’ve had positive feedback from many regarding my stories and the podcasts we (sometimes) produce here, I don’t kid myself that people are lining up to pay me for my “talent.”

There has to be something, then, that drives each of us who struggle to write to sit down and do just that. A genre writer who can earn enough to support a family and pay a mortgage seems to be a rare breed, so if I commit to writing science fiction and fantasy, I need to be willing to make the sacrifices involved. That means that I’ll keep my full-time job as a scientist and balance my time writing with my family and my other interests.

It’s those other interests that keep getting in the way. I have other hobbies than writing. After a hard day at work, sometimes I want raw escapism. Sitting down to write can feel mechanical and job-like on those days. It’s one more thing to cross off of my to-do list before I can finally rest my head on the pillow and read myself to sleep.

Before I became serious about writing, I found it to be recreational. I would write for a night here and there, finishing a short story or sketching a plot idea, but never really taking it anywhere. When I realized that I would like to try it seriously, it became an intermittent consuming passion. My desire to create the art and practice the craft became almost obsessive. I would think about what I was writing to the extent that I would lose myself in waking dreams, twisting the skeins of plot together in my head until I was satisfied. After a week or two of this, I would burn out and find myself playing video games, reading books, or catching up on old science fiction television shows. Slowly, I would regain my ardor and begin the cycle anew.

The trick that I haven’t mastered is the consistent dedication required to constantly hone and polish the craft. There are days that the last thing I want to do is write. Those are the days that I have difficulty writing anything, including the mental regurgitation that sometimes splashes these hallowed pixels. I need to find a way to overcome the difficult days when my muse isn’t whispering in my ear. In short, I need to learn to sit down with a blank screen and begin to type. If I can’t write to the outline that I’ve established for a given project, I should start pushing keys and see where the words take me.

The rave reviews kept coming in. I finally decided that I would snag the book and give it a fair shake. I’m glad I did.

At its core, Crystal Rain is an adventure novel. It has elements of Steampunk, a definite science fiction element, and almost an alternate history/fantasy vibe. The action is fairly fast and furious, and the plot holes are glossed over quickly with an action scene, a bit of intrigue, or a revelation of a previously (un)suspected plot thread. It is entertaining without being pretentious. It doesn’t aspire to epic status, instead relying on mostly well-crafted writing and brutal descriptions to carry the reader to the inevitable climax. It has its share of science fiction tropes, including the “amnesiac hero,” but these are handled with enough skill that the reader hardly notices.

The dialogue takes some getting used to. Buckell writes as though he is channeling the language of his childhood home. To my untrained ear, it seems mostly authentic, although I found the dialogue to be slightly jarring at first. Reading the way his characters spoke would occasionally harm the immersion that Buckell was trying diligently to create. Since a couple of characters spoke “proper” English, this would further damage my ability to slip into the book. I ultimately got used to it, but the first fifty to a hundred pages were a little difficult.

I shan’t discuss the plot much. It basically boils down to a man who has forgotten his past. He lives in a world that is barely at the eighteenth century level of technology, recovered at great expense after a planet wide EMP destroyed every electronic device in ages past. In the early days of a war between an Aztec culture and the Caribbean culture, he loses his family and manages to make his way over land and air to the capital city, evading capture and sacrifice to do so. Once there, he is given an important mission to secure a piece of alien technology that could turn the tide of battle. The rest, as they say, is history.

If you’re looking for a good plane or beach read, I would recommend his one. For a debut novel, it is outstanding. If you’re looking for something more epic, you could probably skip this one.

Tyson replaces Labor Day with a Muslim religious holiday. In a recent union negotiation, Tyson, the ubiqitous packagers of poultry products, granted their workers at a plant in Tennessee a Muslim religious holiday in exchange for Labor Day. My natural bias leads me to be outraged here, but the argument could be made that the western world is typically off for Christmas. I want to rant and rave against this, but I just can’t. *sigh*

Here is a case of the punishment not fitting the crime. San Francisco wants to fine residents $1000 for not sorting their trash. Recycling is a necessary component of good stewardship of our resources, but this takes it a little too far. This is another example of the “nanny” government exerting its influence over us.

Kate, a self-professed reformed MMO addict, provides her reflections on re-entering the fold as a casual gamer. First with Age of Conan, and second with World of Warcraft, she’s exploring her rekindled love for the genre. She also has an interesting perspective on the current state of the PC Game market, in which developers are pushed to release games before they’re ready.

SpaceX fails to get its rocket into orbit. I’m very optimistic about the future of this company, but I’d like to see them get their quality control issues under wraps long enough for a successful launch. Elon Musk, the original owner of PayPal (who reported sold it for around $1.5 billion to eBay), has used his money as capital to get the company “off the groud.” (Pun intended). According to the article above, he had this to say after the launch:

In Mr. Musk’s statement, he insisted that the company will not be deterred and still has strong support from its backers. “SpaceX will not skip a beat in execution going forward,” he said, and added that the fourth flight, currently scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter of the year, and fifth flights are being prepared, and that he has given the go-ahead “to begin fabrication of flight 6.”

And, he added, “We are in very good financial basis here. We have the resolve, we have the financial base, and we have the expertise” to identify the problem and go forward. “There should be no question about that.” In a version of the statement distributed to employees, Mr. Musk said that the company “recently accepted a significant investment” that, along with the company’s current cash reserves, will ensure that “we will have more than sufficient funding on hand to continue launching” the Falcon 1 and the larger Falcon 9 vehicles.

Here’s hoping!

Taylor, also a native Texan, has graciously agreed to spend a couple of days with us to talk about his novel, his writing, and his hobbies. He is an interesting person with a diverse list of skills. Through the course of our interview, our conversation meanders around the topics of writing, naval combat, and period artillery.

With no further ado, I give you Taylor Anderson.

Taylor, thanks for agreeing to do the interview!

It is absolutely my pleasure.

The “castaways in time/alternate universe” plot has been written many times before, but what I love about your novel is that you take a very unique perspective to the whole idea. What made you choose the setting that you did?

That’s a very good question, and there’s not really a simple answer. Much of the decision was driven by the unique, and in most people’s minds, already exotic nature of the setting. Even in “this” world, Borneo - and all of Indonesia - is a fascinating, primordial place of exquisite beauty, mystery, and potential danger. New species are often found there even today. The entire region, including the relatively shallow sea within the Malay Barrier, is like an island surrounded by abyssal depths. Besides the fact that it is a “path less trodden” in a literary sense, the possibilities for alternative evolution there are limitless.

Most of the decision however, was driven by historical context. I wrote about this in some detail in an essay for ROC, which is also featured on my Website; www.taylorandersonauthor.com The odyssey of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet - another obscure element of the story - is the “frying pan” from which the characters leap into the “fire,” and the former Dutch East Indies is where that fleet met its ultimate fate.

You weave several disparate elements together–fantasy, science fiction, and military adventure, creating a seamless mix. What influenced this mixture? Is there a work of fiction that had a particular impact on your work?

I love all three of the “elements” you listed and I guess it just never occurred to me that they should be mutually exclusive. Maybe you don’t see them all lumped together very often, though, and that may be why some people seem a little confused when trying to categorize the series. What influenced the mixture? Beyond my own interest in the various genres, I’m not really sure. I will readily admit I am a big fan of Steve Stirling, but I also love the work of Patrick O’Brian, Larry Niven, Herman Melville, Allan Eckert, Homer, David Weber, H.G. Wells, Bernard Cornwell, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, David Drake, Bernard DeVoto. . . Gosh, I don’t know. Maybe I mixed them all up.

Do you think that this lack of easy categorization ultimately helps or harms you? (In my case, I can say that I found the mix both refreshing and charming, but I long ago learned that others don’t necessarily share my tastes.)

On the whole, I think it has helped. I may have offended a few “genre purists,” but the vast majority of the feedback I get is positive. I most often hear that, like you, readers find it “refreshing.” In that respect, I think I’m in good company. Bernard DeVoto wrote some of my very favorite histories, yet in his time, he was vilified by many “traditional” historians for writing in a readable, entertaining, literary style. Today, DeVoto’s work is still widely read and appreciated, while many of those who attacked him are forgotten. I won’t compare the style or quality of my work to Bernard DeVoto, but a friend of mine, Stephen Hardin has his “flair,” I think. One of his books, “Texian Illiad,” is not only highly entertaining, but is - in my view - the definitive book on the Texas War for Independednce.

Why pick a World War I era destroyer as the crucible for your characters?

Again, much of the decision was based on historical context. “Four-stackers” were about all there was left, particularly toward the end. The cruisers that were there, Houston, Boise, Marblehead, Exeter, Perth - not to mention the Dutch cruisers - all had well-documented careers and, in most cases, dramatic ends. I could have “added” one, like I did the destroyers in the story, but another cruiser in the right place at the right time might have made some small difference. Two more old four stackers couldn’t have.

Despite that, I was also determined to use real ships for a number of reasons. Most obvious of these was, having chosen four-stackers, it would have looked silly to just tack extra numbers onto the end of the class, and besides, those numbers were given to later, more modern ships that had “wartime” records. I felt that using any such ships with real combat careers - on which veterans alive today might have served - would have been disrespectful. I decided to use ships that could have actually been there if they hadn’t already been scrapped, or otherwise disposed of. The ships I chose, USS Walker (DD-163) and USS Mahan (DD-102) had distinguished, but short, careers. I didn’t think any old destroyermen who might have served aboard either one would begrudge them a little longer, fictional, life.

I was also motivated by a sense of irony, I think. The old four-stacker destroyers epitomize the “Alamo-like” situation faced by the Asiatic Fleet at the outbreak of WWII. They were worn-out, under-gunned, almost useless antiques, compared to their Japanese adversaries. They were utterly expendable. For a couple of them to survive the impossible odds stacked against them before “The Squall,” only to become - on another world - the most modern, powerful ships known to their crews or the creatures they meet, appealed to my sense of irony.

What made you cast the mammalian species as the “good” guys and the reptilian species as the “bad” guys?

It certainly wasn’t bigotry (I like lizards) and I don’t think I was really influenced by other works as much as my own carefully considered opinions (I won’t say “theories”) regarding what types of societies the two species might evolve. Besides, after only a single installment in a longer tale - an installment in which the primary quest of the characters is to discover what they face - I will taunt you with a tiny hint: who says all the mammals are “good” and all the reptiles are “bad?”

That’s an interesting direction to take. When you decided to build the societies that you did, what types of research did you do? Did you try to match the Lemurians to primitive human societies, or did you feel free to create them with only your imagination to limit you?

For the most part, Lemurians are a product of my imagination, but there are some occasional similarities to early human civilizations. Humanity’s roots are so diverse, it would be almost impossible for there not to be. As far as the Grik are concerned, as readers learn more about them, they may discover a number of parallels. I think I’ll let them see if they can figure out what they are.

Many authors invest a bit of themselves into a character (or characters) in their novels. Who, in this book, is your doppelganger? Do you wish that it was someone different?

That’s a tough question. Most of the characters are at least loosely based on people I know (they know who they are,) but in every case, they are also composites. No one character is based on any one person. I suppose the same is true regarding any characters I may have somehow . . . influenced myself. For example, I like to think that in a similar situation, I would behave like Captain Reddy. He probably displays a little of my own, grown-up, more thoughtful philosophy, and since I was “in his head” the most, I probably fashioned his reactions to certain things to reflect that.

I do enjoy banter however, and there was a time when I couldn’t have refused an opportunity to play a - mostly harmless, I assure you - prank. There might be a little of me in Dennis Silva too . . . although he is mostly . . . someone else.

Do you tell the people that you based the characters on know that they have a shadow in a fictional universe somewhere? If they do know, do you think that people are flattered when you use their personality as a rough outline for a character sketch? I’ve talked to several brand-new writers (or writers struggling to break in to the business) and this is usually a hot topic of debate.

I can see how that might cause debate, but in my case, generally, they do know. They also know those characters are composites - composites of real people with radically different backgrounds whom I have known for twenty or thirty years. I may have been a teacher, but I’m certainly no academic. My wild variety of pursuits over the years - fully immersed in the “deep end of the pool”- have given me the opportunity to meet an equally wild variety of people. Some have been quite “wild” themselves. I’m always amazed how people from such diverse backgrounds can work together in complete harmony to accomplish a common goal. War brings that quality to the surface, certainly, but so can other things. I think “using” them for inspiration adds a lot to the authenticity of the characters, as does their cheerful input regarding how “they” would react to similar situations.

The technical details of both the combat and the operation of the ship are rendered in exquisite detail. In your opinion, does it help to be passionate about a subject (as you obviously are) to put that kind of realism into your writing?

Absolutely. Passion is essential, and so is research. In fact, I don’t see how you can “do” one without the other. I’m sure I’ve made a bundle of technical errors - there are no four-stackers left to study after all - but I am passionate about learning. I even built a huge scale model of a four-stacker so I could “see” what the characters could “see” from wherever they might be standing on the ship. I learned a long time ago that you can read everything ever written about a subject, a battle for instance, but you will never truly understand it unless you view the ground. It’s the same with ships. Since there aren’t any four-stackers left, I had to make one.

I have explored ships of similar size and draft. The few remaining old DE’s are perhaps the closest. I have talked with veterans and studied the construction of the battleship Texas, which is about our last remaining example of that era of naval architecture. I have sailed the seas and I have fired cannons of every description. Having accumulated as much knowledge as I could, it was much easier to write with passion, because I am passionate about the things I experienced to gain the knowledge.

The novel is very character driven. I’ve noticed that some alternate history novels tend to sacrifice character development for clever plotting or at the expense of setting. What made you choose this style over the other? Did you have to fight the urge to stay inside Lt. Commander Reddy’s noggin?

Sometimes, but not too often. It would have been much easier to tell the story from a single perspective, but I think it would have been impossible to do it well. So much is constantly going on aboard any ship - particularly one such as those depicted in the series, with all their battle damage, aches and pains, grunts and groans . . . No matter how competent a captain may be, he simply can’t be everywhere, doing everything, all at once. Even on a ship as relatively small and uncomplicated as Walker. And Walker is very much a character in her own right, kind of like a primitive, dilapidated, Starship Enterprise. She can’t tell a story from her own perspective, but those tasked to maintain and operate her can, in a way.

That’s an excellent point. In some worlds, portions of the setting can become a character on its own. At one particular point in the novel, one of the sailors watch Walker sail away and remarks that it is his “home.” Is this something you set out to do, or is it the natural reaction of sailors to their ship?

Both. In addition to members of other branches (and one in particular) I have known a lot of Navy men. All are “attached” in some way to ships they have served on because, regardless of what they thought of them, for a time, they were “home.” I have seen guys who never had a kind word to say about a ship get misty-eyed when they describe her loss, or even hear she has gone to the breakers.

Few of the men in “Into the Storm” could possibly be satisfied with their ship’s capabilities, but she is their home, and even as they do their best to keep her afloat and ready to fight, you always kind of get the sense she’s doing her best for them.

Another choice you make is to use an ensemble cast, rather than focusing specifically on one point of view. Lt. Commander Reddy’s character is interesting enough that you could have easily chosen differently. What made you take the path that you did?

I decided before I wrote the first word that this story couldn’t be told from a single point of view. That’s why the series is called “Destroyermen.” As the title suggests, the story is about not only Captain Reddy, the Lemurians, a ship, or even really just the adventures they have. It’s about ordinary, somewhat worldly, but conversely extremely insular men (and women) called upon to achieve extraordinary things. Some of them aren’t up to it, but the majority - just like they historically were - are. They come from different backgrounds and have wildly different attitudes and personalities. Some are downright weird - or at least eccentric. But somehow, given all that, they manage to work together (for the most part) and survive in a situation beyond their wildest imagining.

Then, of course, you have the “Lemurians.” There is an inevitable period of confusion and “getting to know each other,” but without their perspective, as pivotal as they are, not only would readers have difficulty ever understanding them, but they become crucial, ultimately, to understanding the destroyermen themselves.

But what of the Grik? I have been asked why I chose not to “flesh” them out more in “Into the Storm.” The answer is simple. Neither the human destroyermen nor their Lemurian friends know very much about them. There are ancient legends and tales passed down, as much by word of mouth as anything, that give the humans, Lemurians and readers all the information there IS about the Grik in the first book. Is it fair, or more importantly, exciting and compelling, for readers to know more about the “mysterious enemy” than the characters do themselves? All Captain Reddy and the rest ever really know in the first book is how little they actually know - a frustration they are grimly familiar with after their Asiatic Fleet experience.

Ultimately, when it is appropriate, the Grik will be “fleshed out,” and readers will come to know slightly more than the characters do - through the eyes of the Grik themselves.

Come back next week (Friday, August 8th) for the conclusion of the interview! Taylor will talk about his days as a script consultant and his experience with firing period artillery pieces.

Rapper Ludacris has written some urban poetry (I don’t dignify any rap with the notion that it’s music) about Obama. In it, he makes a few inflammatory remarks.

Full text/lyrics here.

I have a  couple of curious observations about this phenomenon.

1. The article’s headline is “Ludacris Releases Song Attacking Hillary Clinton,” but there is an equally abhorrent attack on John McCain. Funny how that didn’t make the headline.
2. The rapper rhymes president and (ir)relevant twice in the same song. I thought rappers were supposed to be creative!
3. He should get a job at Fox News. He’s fair and balanced enough to bash Jesse Jackson.
4. Did this guy not learn how to spell? I don’t find the name Ludacris to be clever–I think it glorifies a lack of education. But then again, I am a right-of-center white guy.
5. The appeal to get everyone out to vote is interesting, but the call to vote is drawn not on issues, but on racial lines. This is a huge mistake. Anytime a subset of our culture identifies itself independently of our nation, I expect trouble to follow.

Will this hurt Obama’s campaign? Probably not. I would never have known about this had I not gotten the link from four different people. It doesn’t really change my opinion on Obama, because I could care less what a wannabe-thug says about him. I’ve evaluated Obama on the issues and decided that I can’t stand behind him as a candidate for that reason alone. Hopefully others will feel the same and not count the actions of this guy against Obama.

Is this urban poetry offensive? I’d have to say…maybe? I don’t mind the verbiage toward Hillary Clinton (name calling is nothing new), but the wish for a severe, debilitating condition on John McCain is a little over the top. I would have preferred if he’d called McCain “the old bastard.” At least that way, he’s in the same league as Hillary.

Am I up in arms over this? No. Should I be? No. At the end of the day, these are the ramblings of someone not important enough to influence the way that the majority of mainstream society thinks. I’ve never bought into the politically correct mentality, even when I can use it in an instance such as this to eviscerate someone who should be clinging to its tenets.

Mr. Heller, of Heller vs. Washington D.C., is at it again. He’s filed a second suit which claims that the city of Washington, D.C. goes too far in its restrictions against semi-automatic handguns. He futher alleges that the requirement for ownership of a firearm in the home precludes its use for self-defense.

I predicted this would happen in an earlier post. I’m delighted to see it come to fruition.

The novel opens with an old destroyer in the Asiastic fleet running from a superior Japanese force. The destroyer, USS Walker, is poorly suited for the realities of naval combat in WWII. It is steam driven, undergunned, and outmanned. Nevertheless her captain and crew made a valiant effort to stem the tide of Japanese aggression in Indonesia, buying time for the Pacific fleet to arm and reconfigure after Pearl Harbor. In a battle that seems lost, Walker steams into a squall to hide from her enemies and ends up…somewhere else.

That somewhere else is a world where nature is more savage than our own. Two intelligent races are locked in a battle–one for supremacy and one for survival. Walker, fresh from one war, finds itself immediately in another one that is no less terrifying than the one they left. This time, though, they aren’t the undergunned ship that they were in 1942. There, they are the pinnacle of technology with the ability to tip the scales in favor of one people.

The characters draw heavily from military archetypes. The ship’s captain is conscientious, dutiful, and weary from the position of ultimate responsibility. His true battle isn’t with the enemy. He fights it everyday within himself as he struggles to come to grips with not only his position, but the future of his ship and his crew. Anderson avoids cliché in his characterization by humanizing Lt. Commander Reddy through several interactions with his officers and crew.  The crew also make colorful appearances, including a gunner’s mate, the bosun, and two engineering hands who have a background in wildcatting. The suspense of disbelief needed for having that expertise in the engineering department of a steamer isn’t that difficult. Anderson also treats the conflict between the humans themselves realistically, providing a nice subtext to the overall plot.

Anderson’s work defies easy categorization. It is marketed and sold as science fiction, but it has elements of fantasy and military fiction as well. His novel is anchored by a strong ensemble cast of characters, a diverse world that is beautifully sketched, and a firm grasp of the function and use of a WWI-era four stacker destroyer. You can get a glimpse of Anderson’s passion for the subject in every detailed description that he writes.

This is one of the must-read books of the year. Filled with technical details that will make most grognards swoon, it will also  appeal to the  obsessive compulsive nature in the pickiest science fiction reader. Destroyermen: Into the Storm does not fail to satisfy.

Sam Raimi wants to make Evil Dead 4.

If you’re a normal human being, you’re asking: What’s Evil Dead, and why have there been three others? Truthfully, there have only been two Evil Dead movies, because the third was was called Army of Darkness. The latter should receive the title as the most-quoted B-movie ever made, as well as one of the most ridiculously funny ones. 

The series centers around Bruce Campbell’s character of Ash, an S-Mart employee who finds himself beset by evil. One fateful night, evil got into his hand and it went bad. Really bad. He resorted to cutting it off with a chainsaw to save himself and his girl, replacing his missing limb with the same chainsaw that saved him from evil. From that point on, cheesy gore ensues while he fights zombies and saves the world. 

Army of Darkness tops this plot line by sending Ash back in time to the court of some English knights. Ostensibly sent to help them stop an army of “deadites” from overrunning their castle, Ash goes on several mysterious adventures in his quest to obtain the Necronomicon, which is the tome of all evil.

Sound like fun yet?

To think that Sam Raimi (keep in mind this is the guy who directed the Spider Man movies) would have the budget to do another movie in this universe is one that makes me squeal with glee. (Yes, squeal!)

Here’s the trailer for Army of Darkness, which includes a few of the good one liners:

You know the drill.

Boo to the critics who complain that the movie is only an “extended television episode,” or to the ones who complain that it lacks action that was typical of the series. Boo to the naysayers who say its been too long since the series ended for them to resurrect a franchise out of it. This movie does not contend with the alien mythology, nor does it answer any of the questions left open by the series. It succeeds admirably as a reintroduction to the show, establishing the characters after the years since the last episodes.

Dana Scully is a doctor at a Catholic hospital, practicing cutting edge medicine in an environment that is intentionally characterized as old and dilapidated. Her life after the FBI has been spent productively, helping those in need as best she can. Mulder, on the other hand, has turned into an obsessive recluse. He collects newspaper clippings of unsolved cases and broods on a picture of his sister, Samantha.

When the FBI looses an agent to mysterious circumstances in rural West Virginia, Mulder and Scully are called into to aid the FBI in what looks to be an X-File. A Catholic priest (a convicted pedophile living in a self-policed community of post-incarceration sex offenders) has psychic visions of the missing FBI agent and is convincing enough that one Special Agent in Charge (played by Amanda Peet) uses Mulder as a consultant to verify or debunk the psychic potential of their would-be informant. 

What follows is typical X-Files–creepy twists and turns, an interesting statement on humanity, and the brilliant interplay of Scully and Mulder, writ large across the silver screen. Scully is still the doubter, after everything she’s seen and observed. It is her own struggles with faith that keeps her from believing that a sinner, no matter how vile, could find forgiveness and even atonement by helping them catch a monster. 

The only qualm that I have with the movie is that Callum Keith Rennie (who played Leoben on Battlestar Galactica) is terribly under-utilized as one of the primary villains. His intensity and focus are palpable, but he is given few lines and ever fewer chances to show his acting chops. His part in the big reveal near the end of the movie is fairly disturbing in a horror-movie archetype sort of way, but I was left slightly unsatisfied by it.

Gillian Anderson is still beautiful. She definitely shows her age a little bit, but the calm certainty with which she plays her role has improved with her time away from the show. David Duchovny looks a little wild (even sporting a beard in the opening minutes of the movie), but this is likely a greater metaphor for the state of his character, mirroring his own confusion and frustration with his life post FBI. Mitch Peleggi even makes a surprise appearance as Direct Skinner later in the show, which pleased me and will likely please other long-time fans of the show.

If you’re not a series fan, I think the movie still provides enough of a mystery plot that you’ll be entertained, even if you miss all the references to the show or to the character’s pasts. There are a couple of genuine scares in there, and they are handled with the low key style and direction of a modern-day Hitchcock. My appetite has been whetted; now I’m ready to see Scully and Mulder tackle some of the remaining questions in the show’s mythology.