Where have I been the past few weeks and why haven’t I been blogging? Take your pick:
- Freeboating at a fancy-schmancy LexisNexis conference in Boston with my wife
- Diligently avoiding sharp objects in an attempt to avoid despair at the still-unfinished state of MultiReal, the sequel to Infoquake
- Falling increasingly behind on a number of web projects
- Starting half a dozen rants about this or that topic and coming to the realization that none of them are blogworthy
So in an effort to break my dry spell, I’m going to just spill a few random things that have been on my mind the past few weeks.
- X-Men: The Last Stand was actually really, really good. I had heard so many horrible things about this film pre-release that I decided not to spend the money to see it in the theater. But I was pleasantly surprised after buying the DVD to discover that, not only was X-Men 3 a great film, it might actually be my favorite of the three. That’s not to say it’s flawless — there are too many damn subplots, the pacing is erratic, and a few of the characters just disappear without a trace (i.e. Cyclops) — but overall it’s a richly imagined, three-dimensional film wherein much ass is kicked. And as for those who complain that the movie eviscerated the Dark Phoenix saga from the comic books… so?
- I will be at CapClave in Silver Spring, Maryland this weekend. Schedule TBD, but I think there will probably be a reading and/or a coupla panel appearances in there. Which means that I will be busy this week making more Infoquake promotional CDs to give away.
- Am I the only Democrat on the face of the Earth who’s underwhelmed by Rep. Mark Foley’s crimes? I’m not saying I approve of Foley’s actions, or that the guy should be nominated for Congressman of the Year. I’m simply wondering what happened to our sense of perspective, and whether this scandal would have been such a big deal if Foley were not a) homosexual, and b) a Republican four weeks away from the mid-term elections. The nation seems to believe that Foleygate is some kind of Morality 9/11. Right now, as we speak, 11-year-olds are being frogmarched into debaucherous orgies with drunken, leering senators behind closed doors while lobbyists shower them with wads of cash! Mark Foley has admitted his wrongdoing. He has resigned his seat in Congress and left his spokespeople to mouth some weaselly words about alcoholism and abuse. There are government investigations underway. Move on.
- Why do all PDA phones suck? I recently moved from a lousy, kludge-y Palm-based Treo 600 to a lousy, kludge-y Windows Mobile-based Treo 700. The thing crashes every single frickin’ day, and I’ve gotten more “critical ActiveSync errors” these past few weeks than I can count. (And I can count at least to 20.) Steve Jobs had better get on the case and produce an Apple Phone quickly. Although come to think of it, my iPod is pretty creaky, kludge-y, and crash-prone as well.
- Paul Cornell raves about Infoquake. The inimitable novelist and screenwriter Paul Cornell (recently nominated for a Hugo for his work on Doctor Who), has published a very nice review of Infoquake on his blog. Sez Paul: “It’s conceptually exciting, the current expressed as the future and the future as a refreshing crash through the ranks of those who say there is none…. I have faith in this Mundane masterpiece.” Thanks, Mr. Cornell!
- Futurismic also raves about Infoquake. Another Paul, Paul Raven (who blogs under the name Armchair Anarchist), has had some great things to say about Infoquake as well in his review on Futurismic. “The hyperbole surrounding this novel seems justified — drawing on cyberpunk and singularitarian themes, it boldly places a banner for what is arguably a new sub-genre of science fiction.” Proof positive that you can have a nosering, an earring, and a lip ring, and still enjoy business-oriented science fiction. (FYI, if you’re looking for a great place to follow science fiction and technology in the blogosphere, you can’t do much better than Paul’s Velcro City Tourist Board blog.)
- I have a knack for coming up with great band names. To wit: Carpal Chunnel Syndrome, The Hanukkahs, The Eat Shit ‘n Dies, Fartknocker, Broiled Flounder, The Dog Ate My Homework, The Simchat Torahs, Floating Face Down. Now if only I still had a piano, I could actually use one of those band names.