Know what a pralltriller is? It’s an inverted mordent. I wouldn’t lie to you.
Mar 10 2009
Maybe Ayn Rand Was Right After All
In my misspent youth I decided I wanted to know how the economy worked, so I asked. A wiser head than mine recommended reading Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. It was an interesting read, but she should have stopped writing once she made her point, rather than droning on and on and on.
Her philosophy was objectivism, the notion that man’s own happiness is “the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” (God doesn’t figure into it.)
The point of Atlas Shrugged was that if society is collapsing under the weight of socialism, it’s the job of the producers (i.e., job-producers and tax payers) to get out of the way, let it fall, then step in and rebuild from the ashes. For half a century or so, AS was considered an interesting philosophical thought piece. Now, given the state of our nation, people are beginning to consider whether she was onto something.
One of the things Rand got wrong in Atlas Shrugged is the way the country descends into a socialist morass. In her version, the country slowly decays through ineptitude and laziness. In the 2009 real-life production, it’s a calculated effort by the party in power to emasculate the nation’s economy.
It was only a matter of time, I suppose, but folks are beginning the call to “Go Galt.”
Who is John Galt?
Mar 02 2009
Six-Word Sci-Fi Novels
Turns out that this was a part of this excellent collection. Here’s more and here: (Credit to the authors)
“Hello Son,” it said, tentacles waving.
—G. SuleaOsama’s time machine: President Gore concerned.
—Charles StrossWe went solar; sun went nova.
—Ken MacLeodLast man on earth. Hears knock.
—Pete BergMachine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time
—Alan Moore“The Earth? We ate it yesterday.”
—Yann MartelThe baby’s blood type? Human, mostly.
—Orson Scott CardLie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses.
—Richard PowersThey awaited sunrise. It never came.
—AS ByattFrom torched skyscrapers, men grew wings.
—Gregory MaguireVacuum collision. Orbits diverge. Farewell, love.
—David BrinComputer, did we bring batteries? Computer?
—Eileen Gunn
Feb 21 2009
The Six-Word Novel
Lie detector glasses perfected: civilization collapses.
-Richard Powers (from wired.com “Very Short Stories” November 2006)
Nov 11 2008
Since We’re Meming
Jamsco tagged me for this one. Grab the nearest book, go to page 123, count the 6-8th sentences.
“I said SCRAM!”
“Klingons don’t ‘SCRAM’.”
“I see they do limp.”
From Enormously Foxtrot.
Aug 22 2008
And Your Word of the Day…
Ambisinister: Clumsy with both hands. (Literally, with two left hands.)
Jul 31 2008
Lunch, Anyone?
Interesting question from Mmmm, That’s Good Coffee…:
If you could have dinner with anyone (besides Jesus), who would you have it with, and where would you have it?
I’d have to say lunch with Admiral Lord Thomas Cochrane, the model for Jack Aubrey, Horatio Hornblower and any number of ‘Age of Fighting Sail’ sea captains. The only place to have it would be aboard HMS Victory at Portsmouth, UK.
Yours?
Jun 26 2008
Books That Changed My Life
Which books have changed your life? I’m not talking about good or even great books, or memorable ones, or favorite ones. I mean books that altered your behavior, changed your mind, redirected the course of your life. These books added something permanent to me – an insight, a vision, an attitude.
Here’s my list, in roughly the order they entered my life:
- 50 Short Science Fiction Tales
, edited by Isaac Asimov and Groff Conklin. This one opened my eyes to the incredible possibilities of sci-fi and speculative fiction. I’ve read this one many times over the years.
- Worldbook Encyclopedia. Okay it’s not a book. I used to pick a volume and just start reading. I discovered that there is knowledge outside my sphere of experience.
- Flap, novelization of a Clair Huffaker screenplay. An eminently forgettable 1960s movie starring Anthony Quinn as a drunken Indian. Mom saw me reading it and was aghast that I would read such a thing at my tender age. The incident (not the book) made me understand the power of books to influence – and offend – others.
- The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R Tolkein. This was my first introduction to the concept of exceptional talent in an author. It made me a dyed-in-the-wool bookworm.
- Illusions, by Richard Bach. Everything is an illusion and we create our own reality. I ran into this New Age mumbo-jumbo in my teens and it screwed me up for years.
- Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. Showed me the destructive decadence of modern liberalism. Rand is a tediously self-important writer, but her concepts blew me away.
- Razor’s Edge, by Somerset Maugham. Another one that screwed me up for quite awhile. The story of a disillusioned WW1 fighter pilot who seeks enlightenment. He finds Buddhist ‘wisdom’ on a mountaintop. I found this book when I was searching for The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. I should have read Douglas Adams instead.
- The Bible, by God. I didn’t know any better, so I started at Genesis and read to Revelation. I’m glad I did.
- Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge. Eldredge is frequently criticized for his answers, but not for his questions, namely, why are Christian men wimps, and what are you going to do about it?
- Stand Into Danger, by Douglas Reeman (writing as Alexander Kent). The second or sixth or eleventy-twelfth book in the Richard Bolitho series of nautical fiction set in the Age of Sail. It was while reading this book that I decided I could write at least as well as the author.
- On Writing, by Stephen King. Exceptional insight into what it takes to be a writer.
What’s on your list?
May 27 2008
Prince Caspian: Two Thumbs, Way Up
I saw the latest Narnia offering tonight, and have to say that it’s the best action/ adventure/ fantasy flick I’ve seen in quite a long time. I would rank Prince Caspian at least on par with the Lord of the Rings films, and probably better, in many respects. It was also a much better film than The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and it’s even reasonably close to the original story, though the producers took a few artistic liberties. The faith message was pretty clear – there is a time for less ‘doing’ and more faith.
Even Joe Carter at Evangelistic Outpost seemed to appreciate it, and he doesn’t like anything.
May 21 2008
Greatest Novel Ever Written
KingDavid has posted what he considers to be the great novel ever written (The Count of Monte Cristo). I respect KD, but he’s way out to lunch on this one. True, an assessment of ‘the Greatest Novel Ever Written‘ would be weighted to books I’ve actually read, so here’s my cut at the top five greatest novels of all time (that I’ve read):
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Nobility, honor and grace in the midst of the horrors of the French Revolution.
- David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. A brilliant story that showcases coming of age while overcoming fierce adversity.
- Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. What can I say? Sweeping magnificence by an incredibly perceptive and inventive author.
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Simply classic. The sequels uniformly stank.
- Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. Another brilliant novel that shows nobility and honor, but also hints at how easily we can be drawn into fascism. The movie was pretty much an abomination.
What are your top five?
Next Page »
