Book review: Halo: The Fall of Reach
I am not sure why I wanted to read Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund. I suppose it is because I enjoyed playing the Halo video games on the Xbox and was intrigued by the story contained in the games and wanted to read more about it. Combining that with what seems to be overwhelmingly positive reviews on Amazon.com got me to give the book a shot. After starting to read it, I am not sure why I finished reading it. I think because the book is a short and fast read I felt it was worth continuing to see if it ever got better. It really didn’t. I had hoped that the book would focus more on the story of the Covenant and/or the ring world of Halo. But the Covenant are only briefly described beyond being the token bad guys and Halo isn’t mentioned until the epilogue. The rest of the book focuses on the origin of Master Chief and Captain Keyes from the game. Their origin and back stories involve fairly typical military sci-fi stuff. If military sci-fi is your type of thing and you want to learn more about Master Chief and Captain Keyes, then this book would be worth a read. But I am not really a fan of military sci-fi and expected the book to focus more on the Covenant, which is why I didn’t really enjoy this book.
Rating: 3 out of 10.
Hard to believe environmental studies
Two news stories that I have come across touting ways to help the environment seem hard to believe. Those stories are:
UN says eat less meat to curb global warming
and
Revealed: the environmental impact of Google searches
The first article goes so far as to say that giving up meat is not enough to save the environment because “vegetarian diets that included lots of milk, butter and cheese would probably not noticeably reduce emissions because dairy cows are a major source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas released through flatulence.” Apparently we are doomed to suffer global warming because of cow flatulence.
The second article asserts that Google’s data centers use large amounts of energy and therefore performing Google searches contributes carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Talk about a stretch. There are probably millions of things you can do that use more energy than performing a Google search. Yet why the Times of London chose to single out Google can only be to bring themselves publicity and not because of any true scientific value. If publicity is the reason, then they have succeeded, because how do you think I found their article? By emitting a few grams of CO2 through a Google search.
Book review: The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
Winner of the first ever Hugo Award, The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester is what a Hugo Award winning novel should be. In the 24th century, murder has not been committed in over 70 years because of the existence of telepaths. These telepaths make up a small percentage of society but are able to pick up on a murderer’s thoughts before the act occurs. But Ben Reich, a successful businessman bent on revenge on a competitor, devises a way to pull off a murder.
The main characters of the book are the aforementioned Ben Reich and the telepathic detective named Lincoln Powell who is out to solve the murder case. The cat and mouse game played by Reich and Powell, along with the contrasts and similarities between these characters, is a part of what makes the book enjoyable. But there is a feel to this book that I can’t quite put my finger on which makes it stand out among its peers. While this is not a long book (only 250 pages or so), there are numerous little details that make it different from anything else I have read. The best example of these details is the use of interesting typography representing how telepaths communicate and even play word games with each other in their minds.
Even though it was written in 1953, the book does not seem dated at all. The themes of murder and revenge are timeless, and the only futuristic concept (telepathy) in no way distracts from the timeless quality. The Demolished Man won the Hugo Award in 1953 and (in my opinion) would undoubtedly win that same award if it was released this year.
Rating: 9 out of 10.
Recent New York Baseball stories
A few comments on some recent news regarding the Mets and the Yankees:
I still can’t figure out why the sale of Bernie Madoff’s Mets tickets on ebay was such a big news story. Big sporting events sell for top dollar on ebay all the time, yet for some reason because Madoff was forced to sell his tickets, it’s big news.
Regarding ticket prices in general, why is all of the talk about Yankee stadium ticket prices only on the few seats that sell for four figures? Tickets in the upper deck (or whatever they call it now) sell for $20. I figure that all the emphasis on new stadium ticket prices in New York is some attempt at shock: Madoff tickets sell for $7,500! Yankee tickets cost $2,600! Saying that upper deck tickets cost $20 might be just as shocking because of how inexpensive they are.
Since when did the Mets claim “ownership” of Jackie Robinson? When Major League Baseball celebrated the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, the ceremony was held at Shea Stadium. Fans enter Citi Field, the Mets new stadium, through the Jackie Robinson rotunda, which has a statue of Jackie Robinson, a sculpture of the number 42, and other things to highlight the career and life of Jackie Robinson. It all looks great but the last time I checked, Jackie Robinson never played for the Mets. He played for the Dodgers.
Speaking of new stadiums, all of the “firsts” mentioned and talked about in the two New York stadiums has worn thin. While I am a fan of baseball history and find it poetic that Babe Ruth hit the first home run in the original Yankee Stadium, I really couldn’t care less that Jody Gerut hit the first home run at Citi Field, never mind who had the first hit, first walk, first RBI, first win, first save, etc., etc., which have been talked about seeming ad infinitum by the local broadcasters in New York. Does anyone really care who had the first balk?
MLB Week 1 Fact or Fiction
Now that one week of the 2009 Major League Baseball season is under wraps, let’s play a little fact or fiction:
The Tampa Bay Rays will make the playoffs in 2009: Fiction.
One piece of fiction about the 2008 Rays was that none of their players had career years. Are you kidding me? Just look at their pitching staff: Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine, and James Shields all had career years last year, so if even a couple of them fall back to earth in 2009 it will mean that the Rays won’t make the playoffs. Add to the fact that the competition in the AL East is better in 2009 than it was in 2008, and you’ve got the Rays being left out when October comes around.
The Florida Marlins fast start is for real: Fact.
It’s so real in fact, that I’m going to say the Marlins will make the post-season this year. In a division with the World Series Champion Phillies, the Marlins went 84-77 last year. Hanley Ramirez is an MVP candidate and the young pitching staff is now experienced enough to take this team to the next level.
Matt Wieters will win this year’s AL Rookie of the Year: Fiction.
While all signs point to the Baltimore Orioles top prospect Matt Wieters being a great player, it is very difficult for a young catcher to come up from the minors and make an immediate impact. There is still too much for Wieters to learn in the big leagues for him to win Rookie of the Year this year.
Stephen Strasburg will be the first pick of the 2009 draft by the Washington Nationals: Fact.
The Nats need all the help they can get and getting one of the top prospects to come along in quite some time is an opportunity the Nats cannot afford to pass up. No matter that Strasburg, a pitcher out of San Diego State, is represented by Scott Boras, the Nats will open up the checkbook to sign this kid.
Music review: Burnt Weeny Sandwich by Frank Zappa
Burnt Weeny Sandwich begins a two album transition from the original Mothers of Invention to the Flo & Eddie lineup that Frank Zappa would employ beginning on Chunga’s Revenge.
Burnt Weeny Sandwich opens and closes with covers of doo-wop songs. Frank Zappa’s version of “WPLJ” (which stands for “White Port and Lemon Juice”) inspired the New York radio station to adopt the song title as their call letters. “WPLJ” and the album closing cover of the song “Valarie” are the only songs that contain any lyrics. The rest of the album is a mix of different types of instrumentals. “Igor’s Boogie, Phase One and Two” are short odes to Igor Stravinsky, “Theme from Burnt Weeny Sandwich” contains some good guitar work, and “Aybe Sea” is Zappa’s take on a sea shanty, which sounds odd but the results are quite catchy.
The album really revolves around the two longer instrumentals, “Holiday in Berlin” and “Little House I Used to Live In.” “Holiday in Berlin” is a classic Zappa theme, which becomes a part of Zappa’s “conceptual continuity” with the melody becoming a part of “Would You Like a Snack?” on 200 Motels and the guitar solo being used in “Inca Roads”. “Little House I Used to Live In” is a 19 minute theme and variations that features several solo sections including guitar, violin, and piano, with the work of Sugar Cane Harris on the violin being the highlight.
Is Burnt Weeny Sandwich essential Zappa? No. But the eclectic style of the instrumentals mixed with two good doo-wop songs make the album enjoyable.
Rating: 7 out of 10.
I saw the fnords!
Today, Monday, April 6, 2009, I saw the following headlines on nytimes.com:
Gates Budget Plan Reshapes Pentagon’s Priorities
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced a budget that cuts traditional weapons programs while adding resources to fight insurgencies. Fnord!
Continental Airlines
BusinessFirst to Europe Now On Sale.
Obama Says U.S. Is Not at War With Islam
President Obama said that U.S. relations with the Islamic world would not be centered on opposition to Al Qaeda. Fnord!
uscanteen.com
Say NO to plastic – YES to style! 50% OFF CANTEENS!
A New Push to Squeeze Defendants
Advocates for the poor are urging other states not to follow Florida in aggressively pursuing those who owe fines. Fnord!
Top Posts
I have been writing this blog for about 2 years now, and it is interesting to see which posts have been the most viewed in that time. My top 5 posts are:
- Reviews: 2112 by Rush and Anthem by Ayn Rand
- Zappa Top 10 lists
- Division I-AA College Football
- Book review: Dune by Frank Herbert
- Book review: The Creature from Jekyll Island
I’m guessing that there must not be all that much information about both the Rush song 2112 and the short story Anthem by Ayn Rand in the same webpage, or at least not an analysis/review of each on the same page.
I suspect that the reason my Zappa Top 10 lists gets a lot of hits is because I list about 17 different albums in a single post. So if you were to search for any of those the albums listed on that page, it meets the search criteria. It is also interesting to note that none of the individual reviews of Zappa albums comes close to being one of my top posts.
I have no clue why my post about Division I-AA College Football is in the top. I wrote it as a response to everyone who said that Appalachian State’s victory over Michigan in 2007 was one of the greatest upsets in sports history. Even though my point about how the best Division I-AA football teams could compete with Division I-A teams still holds true today, I wrote the post to address a specific issue at a specific time, which I thought would not have continued to be read.
The next two posts are book reviews of two of my favorite books of all time, probably my favorite fiction book, Dune, and my favorite non-fiction book, The Creature from Jekyll Island, so I’m pleased to see these in my top posts. With something as good as Dune, I found when writing the post that it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be to articulate the praise that it deserves. The Creature from Jekyll Island is noteworthy because it is by far the newest of any of my top posts, having only been written 5 months ago. I suspect that like me, the current state of the economy has sparked interest in people who want to learn more about how our monetary system really works and The Creature from Jekyll Island is a perfect place to start.
