My mother just sent this to me...

[charloween]

"Imagine a world in which generations of human beings come to believe that certain films were made by God or that specific software was coded by him. Imagine a future in which millions of our descendants murder each other over rival interpretations of Star Wars or Windows 98. Could anything -- anything -- be more ridiculous? And yet, this would be no more ridiculous than the world we are living in." -Sam Harris, author (1967- )

Comments

[piratefanatic.livejournal.com]

That makes me think of those few news reports we've heard about people getting killed for PS3s or the like. Which makes me sad.

It also makes me think of something, but I'm not sure what. There's a plot or a story or a book or something hovering just at the back of my brain where I can't quite reach it.

[naturelf.livejournal.com]

It is sad-making.

[piratefanatic.livejournal.com]

Dude. Was that an intended Scott Westerfeld/Uglies reference? 'Cause if it was... my life is complete.

If it wasn't, I probably look like a babbling fool. :D

[naturelf.livejournal.com]

*blank stare*

*drools on self*

It's just... something we say... 'round these parts.

Catching up on ooooold comments

[piratefanatic.livejournal.com]

Scott Westerfeld is a young adult author who wrote a brilliant trilogy of dystopian fiction: Uglies, Pretties, and Specials. In it, the society is split (into Uglies and Pretties, no less): the Uglies are not attractive but retain their intelgence and the Pretties are attractive but rather stupid. The Pretties have a very distinctive slang, based in the adjective-verb construction, like sad-making. Also, they refer to people being stupid as "bubble heads," a fantastic phrase I think should be introduced into modern English.

[naturelf.livejournal.com]

I've called someone a bubble head. To be accurate, I use it as an adjective, as in "that bubble-headed so-and-so". I'll check for those books at the library. I love made-up slang! There's a recent novel called Burndive (I may have mentioned it before) that's a first person narrative in a neat neo-cyberpunk dialect.

Some of my wacky slang comes from Firefly and other Whedon shows. His characters (no matter what the series) have that kind of archaic-yet-postmodern way of constructing a sentence. ie: "Here lies my dear wife, less lovely now that she's all corpsified and gross." He's a writer who likes language, and that I can respect.

[piratefanatic.livejournal.com]

I've also picked up some Whedon slang from Buffy. Mostly Willow and Giles slang. Of course, I can't think of anything offhand. But that's ok.

Burndive sounds familiar. And cyberpunk is So Much Fun. Have you read anything by Neil Stephenson? I think that's how you spell his name. Cryptonomicon (which is only sorta cyberpunk), Snow Crash, and the like.

[naturelf.livejournal.com]

I more-than-highly recommend Burndive because it's a great book, and because it and the other two in the series make up a great space-sf trilogy that's all character study. There are still explosions and space battles, but they mostly happen off-screen and... the person who turned me on to Stargate also tossed the books in my direction. They're nothing like Stargate, but um... similar interests. *fails at describing stuff*

The only Neal Stephenson (I'm copying his name off the spine of the book beside me) I've read was the so-very-bad-it's-almost-good Baroque Cycle books. Pirates! Natural Philosophy! Newton is crazy and also he's gay! philthe25th told me they're also prequel-y for his more contemporary novels tomes.

[piratefanatic.livejournal.com]

Burndive looks really good, and your description makes it sound even better. If the library doesn't have it, I may resort to purchasing. Is it good enough to warrent purchase by a college student? Also, NoveList* tells me it's actually the sequal to Warchild, but it could be an unconnected sequal.

Hey, I don't suck at spelling today.

Oh, the Baroque Cycle was painful. Snow Crash was rather less painful, but is still a bit plodding at times. It's not a book I'd recomend above all else, but it's an entertaining read.

*Yes, that was a shameless plug.

[naturelf.livejournal.com]

It's a very connected sequel, same world, most of the same characters, but a different character POV per novel and slightly overlapping action.

I read Burndive first, and it's the most interesting linguistically.

I've sworn that the only time I'll read Stephenson *or* Tad Williams ever again is if I'm on a Greyhound across the United States. They seem more suited for a long bus trip than more interesting books you'd be sad to lose at a truck stop in Topeka.

[piratefanatic.livejournal.com]

I'm all about linguistic variety. That's one of the reasons I'm so attracted to Neil Gaiman's writing; even when read aloud (perhaps especially when read aloud), his work has a very distinctive flair. Oh Tad Williams. I read The Dragonbone Chair while up in the mountains with no running water and no electricity. It worked then, but William's is not an author I'll pick up for a bit of light reading. Come to think of it, Williams isn't really an author I'd pick up for heavy reading either. Bus trip across the States would do it. Or perhaps stranded on a desert island.

I kinda get the feeling that writers like Stephenson and Williams are writing because they can and because it makes them feel special. Reminds me think of the "I'm smarter than you 'cause I know what my play is about" sort of playwrights. *coughIbsencough*

So. Other than Burndive what wins a place on the Books That Alina Must Read Soon list?

[naturelf.livejournal.com]

"I'm smarter than you 'cause I know what my play is about"
This morning in class we watched a film where a woman (who performs her gender identity closer to the masculine) shoves thistles down her pants and then takes them out again. For several minutes. ...which is to say I know exactly what you mean.

I can't remember if I finished the series started in The Dragonbone Chair. I know I made it up through To Green Angel (pt 1), but I don't know if I read the last one. It's kind of crazy. Stranded on a desert island would work, 'cause then I'd be able to use pages for firestarter when I'm done and not feel too bad.

Books Soon list? Uuuuuuuuuuuuum. Silver Metal Lover. Girl/Robot OTP. For most of the book she's a whiny juvenile bitch but then you realize that's the *point* because she grows as a character and the writing style changes accordingly.

Robin Hobb is okay. Um. OH! Covenants, by Lorna Freeman. More fantasy! But really great fantasy, with an awesome sense of humour. ...I think I'm going to have to go read it again.

What else, what else. Management Secrets of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

What have you been into?

[piratefanatic.livejournal.com]

That film? Wow. As much as I really like Beckett (Samuel, that is. Not Carson. 'Cause I love him.), he's got one play called Breath (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breath_%28play%29). It's... special. There's a fine line between Theatre of the Absurd and What's The Point of This Theatre. "Breath" crosses that line.

Silver Metal Lover? I'm not familar with it. Will have to find it as it sounds really exciting. Also don't knoe Lorna Freeman.

Robin Hobb! I just picked up the Mad Ship series again- read them awhile ago, decided rereading over winter break would be a good idea.

I'm all about fantasy and sci fi, particularly when it's good, well written fantasy and sci fi. Deathstalker by Simon R. Green is an example of Really Really Bad sci fi. Highly amusing, and worth the read for the humor.

Hmm. Who else? I read large quantities of children's and YA fiction thanks to my work. I'm not complaing, though. Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge is great fun- lots of wordplay. It's really only YA in the sense that there isn't lots of sex or harsh language. There's also Spohie's World by Jostein Gaarder, which is sorta fantasy and sorta philosophical and lots awesome. It takes metafiction to a whole new level.

[naturelf.livejournal.com]

My only interaction with Samuel Beckett was through Film (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_%28film%29), which is a pretty dumb name for a movie. Buster Keaton's in it.

Thanks for the recs! I'm going to see if I can grab them from the library. :D

Silver Metal Lover is by Tanith Lee, was written in 1981 and is pretty far away from her **OMG Unicorns!** fantasy books. What I like most about it is how she uses her teenage protagonist to render mundane a world that her readers would find fantastic. Rather than writing about cloud cities and androids (MANDROIDS!) with a sense of reverance or wonder at the awesome possibilities of human achievement in the future, the voice of her protagonist really grounds the narrative.

I could say equally eloquent things about the Lorna Freeman book, but I really need to hustle my bustle out to the streetcar. All you need to know: the protagonist's parents were hippies and they named him Rabbit. But it's set in more-or-less yer typical feudal fantasy world where humans encroach on Magical Beasties' territories and mages happen. Somehow there're still hippies. AH! If I tell too much I'll take away the pleasure of reading the (very dry-humoured) book.

I lived for a while with a roommate who really enjoyed the bad. Movies, tv, books, fic... *shudder*. I can't do that. Luckily she also liked good stuff, too, and had every single Lois McMaster Bujold novel. Win!

Simon R. Green, eh? I've seen the books but I've never cracked one, not yet. Maybe now I will...

[guitarromantic.livejournal.com]

Have you read the God Delusion? Very similar stuff.

[naturelf.livejournal.com]

I've seen it advertised, but I haven't picked it up. Given my atheistic upbringing, I read the title, nodded in agreement and moved on. However. I'll put it on my list for books to get into over the summer.

[thucyken.livejournal.com]

Hm. Red Dwarf made a similar point with Cat's people- they had it that Cat's people killed each other off over whether their God and Creator's name was Cloister or Clister. (Also I think the colour of hat he wore). When of course it was Lister... rather a sad episode, altogether.

[naturelf.livejournal.com]

I remember that one.

...I really liked Cat.




ps - what's your new mailing address? I'm going to get that AIDS musical* from SMIL and copy it for you and then I'm going to send you the stuff.