The Drawing of the Dark, by Tim Powers
I first tried to read The Anubis Gates in high school, and didn't get very far. However, 5 years ago, I found a copy of The Stress of Her Regard at the Santa Clara County Library and found it to be an incredibly good read, combining some of my favorite themes into a nice historical fantasy package.
The Drawing of the Dark, sad to say, does not rise to the heights of The Stress of Her Regard. It's light hearted, easy going, and one can guess the identity of the protagonist long before he is unveiled for the reader (or even to himself). It breaks no new ground, and is light entertainment for about 2 or 3 hours. Recommended when you don't want to use your brain too much.
"How old are you, Brian? You ought to nkow by now that something always breaks up love affairs unless both parties are willing to compromise themselves. And that compromising is harder to do the older and less flexible and more independent you are. It just isn't in you, Brian. You could no more get married now than you could become a priest, or a sculptor, or a greengrocer."
Monday, October 17, 2005
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Iron Sunrise, Charles Stross
Stross is an excellent plotter, but with not much of a voice. For the first 6 chapters or so I thought I was reading something by Stephen Baxter. The characters aren't great, but the concepts are brilliant, and of course, the little nods towards Computer Scientists. He ends the novel with room for a sequel which would not be unwelcomed.
The UNI headquarters campus hadn't changed visibly in Rachel's absence---the same neoclassical glass-and-steel skyscraper, looming over old Geneva's stone arteries and quaint domes, the same big statues of founds Otto Von Bismarck and Tim Berners-Lee sitting out front in the plaza...
Stross is an excellent plotter, but with not much of a voice. For the first 6 chapters or so I thought I was reading something by Stephen Baxter. The characters aren't great, but the concepts are brilliant, and of course, the little nods towards Computer Scientists. He ends the novel with room for a sequel which would not be unwelcomed.
The UNI headquarters campus hadn't changed visibly in Rachel's absence---the same neoclassical glass-and-steel skyscraper, looming over old Geneva's stone arteries and quaint domes, the same big statues of founds Otto Von Bismarck and Tim Berners-Lee sitting out front in the plaza...
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Piaw's Home Page Revived
It's quite a bit worse for wear, unfortunately, old pictures are no longer up --- I have to dig through some old Kodak CDs to recover some of that stuff), and of course, it's several years out of date. It did have quite a bit of interesting content, though, so I'll keep it up for a bit, and will eventually use it as a hub for more travel stories and other ideas that the blog format doesn't work well on.
It's quite a bit worse for wear, unfortunately, old pictures are no longer up --- I have to dig through some old Kodak CDs to recover some of that stuff), and of course, it's several years out of date. It did have quite a bit of interesting content, though, so I'll keep it up for a bit, and will eventually use it as a hub for more travel stories and other ideas that the blog format doesn't work well on.
Buffy the Soundtrack
An surprisingly good soundtrack. I do remember that some of Buffy's episodes had live bands that were quite good and thought I'd get a chance to hear some of the songs all the way through. I was right. Impressive tracks include:
An surprisingly good soundtrack. I do remember that some of Buffy's episodes had live bands that were quite good and thought I'd get a chance to hear some of the songs all the way through. I was right. Impressive tracks include:
- Lucky - Bif Naked
- Virgin State Of Mind - K's Choice
- Already Met You - Superfine
- Nothing But You - Kim Ferron
- It Doesn't Matter - Alison Krauss & Union Station
- Wild Horses - The Sundays
- Pain (Slayer Mix) - Four Star Mary
- Charge - Splendid
- Close Your Eyes (Buffy/Angel Love Theme) - Christophe Beck
Monday, October 10, 2005
A bit of Cycling History
John Wilckonson is running a multi-part series about Greg Lemond over at VeloNews. It's an excellent series, and very much worth reading:
- The exceptionally gifted LeMond
- LeMond's first rainbow jersey
- The closest fought end of season in history
- An Epic Lombardy
- Anglos take aim at the Tour podium
- When Lemond reached the Tour podium
- LeMond, Hinault and the Tapie connection
- The Dramatic '85 Tour de France
- The Real Story between Hinault and Lemond
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Now I feel really cool...
My picture with Neil Gaiman shows up on his blog. Now if I can get everyone to link to my blog, I will finally be able to displace the Professional Insuance Agents of Wisconsin on a google search for Piaw.
My picture with Neil Gaiman shows up on his blog. Now if I can get everyone to link to my blog, I will finally be able to displace the Professional Insuance Agents of Wisconsin on a google search for Piaw.
A Deepness In The Sky
The prequel to A Fire Upon The Deep. This time, the aliens aren't as beautifully imaginative or interesting, but the human characters are much better, as are the (very human) villains. The ending wraps up a little too pat, with everyone paired off, but there are Shakespeare plays that do that too, so I suppose it's in the grand tradition of story-tellers.
The prequel to A Fire Upon The Deep. This time, the aliens aren't as beautifully imaginative or interesting, but the human characters are much better, as are the (very human) villains. The ending wraps up a little too pat, with everyone paired off, but there are Shakespeare plays that do that too, so I suppose it's in the grand tradition of story-tellers.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Orson Scott Card raves about Serenity
I'm not sure Joss Wheldon would make a good Ender's Game, however. Maybe if Card was willing to have Ender be a girl, Wheldon would do a great job.
I'm not sure Joss Wheldon would make a good Ender's Game, however. Maybe if Card was willing to have Ender be a girl, Wheldon would do a great job.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Religious Socities are worse off
Many liberal Christians and believers of other faiths hold that religious belief is socially beneficial, believing that it helps to lower rates of violent crime, murder, suicide, sexual promiscuity and abortion. The benefits of religious belief to a society have been described as its “spiritual capital”. But the study claims that the devotion of many in the US may actually contribute to its ills.
The paper, published in the Journal of Religion and Society, a US academic journal, reports: “Many Americans agree that their churchgoing nation is an exceptional, God-blessed, shining city on the hill that stands as an impressive example for an increasingly sceptical world.
“In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies.
Many liberal Christians and believers of other faiths hold that religious belief is socially beneficial, believing that it helps to lower rates of violent crime, murder, suicide, sexual promiscuity and abortion. The benefits of religious belief to a society have been described as its “spiritual capital”. But the study claims that the devotion of many in the US may actually contribute to its ills.
The paper, published in the Journal of Religion and Society, a US academic journal, reports: “Many Americans agree that their churchgoing nation is an exceptional, God-blessed, shining city on the hill that stands as an impressive example for an increasingly sceptical world.
“In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Adam's Curse, by Bryan Sykes
Sykes is a rare bird: an accomplished scientist who can write for the layman. He describes results of recent research into the history and future of the Y chromosome, which is special: unlike the other chromosomes in the body, it does not get to participate in recombination, thereby it is the chromosome that accumulates errors and is now excessively specialized. The book is an exciting read, and a real pleasure --- easily one of the best science books of the year for me. His description is clear even for someone who's not a geneticist.
If the book has a fault, it is that he claims that sexual selection is directly responsible for many of the ills today --- women are attracted to powerful men (or in the case of Genghis Khan, who has 16 million modern men carrying his Y chromosome, were forced into bearing the children of powerful men), and power as well as money are hereditary in most patriarchical society, thereby increasing the amount of greed and avarice and rapacious treatment of the environment. In reality, however, even if women were the only gender in the population, the desire to achieve better environments for one's offspring is just as strong in the X chromosome, which imply to me that the world would be in no better shape if only women existed. I've certainly met enough short-sighted and greedy women to realize that those traits are not entirely driven by testosterone.
If you're going to buy this book, buy the updated paperback version. I read the older hardcover, but it should be the same material.
Sykes is a rare bird: an accomplished scientist who can write for the layman. He describes results of recent research into the history and future of the Y chromosome, which is special: unlike the other chromosomes in the body, it does not get to participate in recombination, thereby it is the chromosome that accumulates errors and is now excessively specialized. The book is an exciting read, and a real pleasure --- easily one of the best science books of the year for me. His description is clear even for someone who's not a geneticist.
If the book has a fault, it is that he claims that sexual selection is directly responsible for many of the ills today --- women are attracted to powerful men (or in the case of Genghis Khan, who has 16 million modern men carrying his Y chromosome, were forced into bearing the children of powerful men), and power as well as money are hereditary in most patriarchical society, thereby increasing the amount of greed and avarice and rapacious treatment of the environment. In reality, however, even if women were the only gender in the population, the desire to achieve better environments for one's offspring is just as strong in the X chromosome, which imply to me that the world would be in no better shape if only women existed. I've certainly met enough short-sighted and greedy women to realize that those traits are not entirely driven by testosterone.
If you're going to buy this book, buy the updated paperback version. I read the older hardcover, but it should be the same material.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
| Advanced You scored 92% Beginner, 92% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 73% Expert! |
You have an extremely good understanding of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of each of these three levels' questions correct. This is an exceptional score. Remember, these are commonly confused English words, which means most people don't use them properly. You got an extremely respectable score.
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My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
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| Link: The Commonly Confused Words Test written by shortredhead78 on Ok Cupid |
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
The Cheating of America, Charles Lewis
A so-so book about tax evasion. Rather than presenting a coherent case about tax evasion, how it happens, and what legislation went into making it possible, the book is just one series of stories after another about successful tax evasion. Sure, it makes your blood boil, but after the umpteenth story, you feel kinda defeated instead of angry.
Read Perfectly Legal instead, a much better book about the same topic.
A so-so book about tax evasion. Rather than presenting a coherent case about tax evasion, how it happens, and what legislation went into making it possible, the book is just one series of stories after another about successful tax evasion. Sure, it makes your blood boil, but after the umpteenth story, you feel kinda defeated instead of angry.
Read Perfectly Legal instead, a much better book about the same topic.
Monday, September 26, 2005
A Distant Soil 2: Ascendant, by Colleen Doran
The pace finally picks up and the story coheres. Doran steers away carefully from many adult issues, however, so the book never quite gets to the level of maturity I've seen from more seasoned writers. Again, something you should check out from the library but not buy.
The pace finally picks up and the story coheres. Doran steers away carefully from many adult issues, however, so the book never quite gets to the level of maturity I've seen from more seasoned writers. Again, something you should check out from the library but not buy.
Orbiter, Warren Ellis and Colleen Doran
A comic book that works too hard to inspire. I'm a science geek and I definitely believe that man should find a way to go to the stars. Having said that, glorifying the space shuttle is not the way to go. There are lots of other more innovative approaches (such as the Space Elevator) that deserve consideration that NASA's budget wouldn't allow if it was all spent taking care of the shuttle.
A comic book that works too hard to inspire. I'm a science geek and I definitely believe that man should find a way to go to the stars. Having said that, glorifying the space shuttle is not the way to go. There are lots of other more innovative approaches (such as the Space Elevator) that deserve consideration that NASA's budget wouldn't allow if it was all spent taking care of the shuttle.
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