Fan Art!

I wrote sometime last year about fan art and how I may try my hand at it one day. Well, I was inspired by the super cool opportunity that Scott Sigler is having as a design a logo contest for his upcoming book The Starter. The goal is to design a logo for one of the GFL football teams - a chance to win $50 and see my stuff in print. Too cool.

But alas, I'm a temperamental artist. My work ended up being unsuitable as a logo (they get reprinted very small, so they must look good when super teeny). So what I have now is a piece of fan art, for a fictional football team that plays an incredibly small role in the book I'm sure.

Nonetheless, here it is, my motivational poster for the New Rodina Astronauts:

*I did eventually submit a much lamer version of this for the contest.The rules said no gradients so I submitted a very flatly colored version.*

Battle Royale Round One: Sci-fi vs. Fantasy

Hello all, it's been a pretty interesting few weeks for me. Busy busy busy. Much is on my mind and I thought I would try my best and settle into a single issue that is near and dear to my heart: Sci-fi and Fantasy novels. I read an article that really got me thinking about the topic, and unlike many other things in this world that I find interesting, I think I have something to add.

That isn't to say what I have to add to the conversation is insightful, but it feels like it is. The article linked above points out why the author gravitates away from fantasy as a genre and towards science fiction. I must say that I agree with most of the points made, even if a large number of the commenter's on the piece rightfully point out that science fiction suffers from eerily similar problems when poorly written. However, one commenter in particular made a very insightful post that I think is worth repeating.

I'm of the opinion that the main issue is that bad Fantasy still sells and populates the best seller charts whereas bad Science Fiction does not.  And on top of that most of the fantasy lovers that I come across are fans of Bad Fantasy. 

 I think that hit the nail right on the head. Last year, before my several rants about the amount of fantasy I find at my local bookstore when compared toe sci-fi I decided that the problem was really with me, I have read too narrowly and needed to branch out. So I went to one of the more popular fantasy series of the modern era and decided to read and get caught up in a fictional universe where magic reigned and science was never a part of the story. Enter Terry Goodkind.

His series of novels about the seeker has generated a fortune for himself, a tv show based on his works, and entire shelves dedicated to only his books at my local Borders, the man is an industry of one.

So The Wizard's First Rule made its way to my reading list. It's a tomb of a book, but I can read the longer piece of work when the mood catches me. I did get through the LOTR trilogy in one go round, I enjoyed it. But aside from my single visit to the Tolkien universe I've never really read much pure fantasy.

That being said, I read in amazement as every cliche and stereotype I've ever heard of regarding fantasy novels unfolded before my eyes. Only my inability to leave things unfinished made me finish the novel. That isn't to say that some passages weren't moving, entertaining or well written, it's just that as a whole, the book was a thousand pages of a four year old telling a story as a single run-on sentence that never really had an ending in sight.

That book is exactly why I don't read fantasy. If that is representative of the genre as a whole then it's all a big ugly mess, and proof of the decline of the American educational system. I rarely feel passionately about anything, but the quote I posted above rings quite true to me.

Look, the realist in me understands that the bulk of science fiction is probably on par with the bulk of fantasy in terms of product quality, but my experience (as limited as it may be) hasn't provided me with that exceptional piece of fantasy literature that hooks me and forces to me to refuse to leave the genre in an effort to find something else that evokes that kind of enjoyment.

Regardless, the fine folks over at i09 gave us a great little story about gateway books for fantasy lovers. It made me interested in at least a few of the novels I've never heard of before.

It Was Already Bad... But Now This?

Hello all, I've been busy as a beaver of late and haven't been updating. I guess anyone whose bothered to see how I post can see that I have no schedule at all. But I post when I can.

I've read a few books of late, I made it through all the Rama books. On a lark I tried Bright Messengers by Gentry Lee... Uh, I don't have much good to say about that one so I'll leave it alone.

I also read Eon by Greg Bear. I think that one was a semi-classic of hard sci-fi but for whatever reason I never really made an effort to read it. Well, now it's done. I'm sorta torn over it though. I honestly feel like I have no idea what happened during that book. It was hellaciously complicated - to the point I'd nearly call it confused, but I'll forgo that moniker for now- and I think I'm glad I'm done with it.

Too bad, the giant macguffin in the sky is one of my favorite premises for a book. But unfortunately it quickly descended into a mess of 34th century politics and physics lessons on multi-dimensional transit systems. Oh well.

The real point of news for me in the past month or so is that I visited my local Border's again. I know, after that rant I went on about them previously, you'd think I would never go there again. But the fact of the matter is that I visit them regularly. The family seems to enjoy the place and all I can do is moan and complain about them as I continue to purchase from their crappy selection of items.

I was there bemoaning their overall lack of anything good science fictional when I thought I was spotting something odd regarding their sci fi/fantasy selection.

Sigh. See all those empty spots? I've got a brilliant idea: Why don't you put books there? I wondered around the section and found rack after rack of partially emptied shelves on nearly every rack they had in their sci fi area. If their idea of a great money saving gesture is to cut their inventory down to zero I think they've mis-interpreted how running a book store should work. Maybe they expect me to just come in and buy coffee and go buy one of their million copies of Twilight. I just don't get it.

I know it may seem I am overreacting a bit, and I concede that I could be. After all, perhaps they were about to revamp their selection. They could have heard my complaints and decided to clean up their act and fill their shelves with a more varied selection of books. But this happened on a Saturday night, most likely one of their busiest shopping times of the week, and I saw no evidence of replacement books waiting in the wings. No workers were scurrying about and attempting to restock these shelves.

However, I wasn't there for me, the kids had earned their rewards for some good deeds and we were there to buy them a book. They made their selections and I went to the register. Now, for the past few years I don't think I've gone to Borders and not had a coupon that had been previously emailed to me good for 20 to 40 percent off. I know that they are offering me a discount from their already everyday low prices to to lure me in and they don't actually owe me one... but after a few years of this I have sort of come to expect it. It is the reason that 80% of the time I'm out I'm shopping there instead of B&N. I would actually prefer to shop there, but their membership costs me money.

So when I walk up to the counter I kindly mention to the teller that I didn't get my coupon for this week. She informed me that one didn't go out. I shook my head incredulously and said, "I don't think that has happened to me in 2 years!".

At that point I don't know what I expected her reaction to be, but standing there with $50 dollars in books with no coupons means I'm paying 10 to 20 dollars more than I might have had to otherwise (Multiple books means my wife uses her membership to get the same discount). Did my cashier nod sympathetically and shrug? No. Did she offer any sort of contrite action to try to make me feel any less frustrated? No. She decided to confront me on the accuracy of my statement.

"That isn't correct sir," she said, "we had a week a few months ago when we didn't offer any in store coupons."

Geez, I feel better already.

I wasn't going to disappoint the kids, who were very excited to be getting the books, so I nodded, saying something witty, like "touche" and pulling out my wallet.

She did ask if I wanted a bag. "No," I said, "won't be needing it."

She nodded and ran my card, only after handing me my receipt did she say anything else, "I'm sorry, did you say you wanted a bag?"

"No, won't need it" I said again. Trying my best to be polite and just get out of there.

She smiled and shoved my books in a bag and handed it to me. "Have a nice night," she said, holding the bag at arm's length for me to take.

I was flat out dumbfounded. I'm sure the other folks in line would have thought me the idiot for just standing there not taking my bag, but I was just stunned at the passive aggressive attitude I was getting from that nutty cashier. What the hell is going on?

That crazy bitch lady gave me a bag... and I didn't want one. I half expected her to cuss me for destroying the environment by not refusing the bag she offered.

All in all, Border's has increasingly become a place I don't like going and I no longer go there when the choice is mine to make. Well, that location is no longer my first choice anyways. Anyhow, I'm happy that the ugly incident is over now. Maybe an e-reader is the way to go after all. I wanted to wait until another gen or two hit the market before getting one, but who knows. Maybe the iPad will be an acceptable choice. I'll just have to see.

Tinker Time

Just an FYI to all the faithful out there (including me there should be at least one). I think I'm gonna play with the layout some. So beware of ugly and/or disastrous changes.

And beware of evil computers.

Flipbook Awesomeness

You know, after seeing this on nearly every single blog I visit I figured that everyone in the world must have seen it already. But then again, for the two or three of you that might not have, check this out:



17 years old and doodling for an art class. 2100 doodles later and you have the history of the world. I think more time should have been spent on the role evil computers play in our world, but still...

Awesome.

A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Not Too Far Away

What does the Death Star look like? Pristine instrument of planetary destruction?

The famous Star Wars crawl at the beginning of each movie, cartoon, video game or whatever else tells us that the the story takes place a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. I think that's shit. It happened right here, in our solar system, many eons ago. Here is what a Death Star looks like when it's been sitting around for a few billion years.

Even the mighty empire finds its glorious wonders in ruins after a long enough period of time. The universe is very old. I'd wager they could still make the lasers work though. Just needs a little elbow grease.

Cassini is taking some new pics of one of Saturn's moons (this isn't one of those new pics).

Read more - http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/02/15/the-raw-face-of-the-death-star-moon/

The Second Judgement

I've been reading again. I'm sure I deserve a reward. I finished a book in the past week I found to be interesting to say the least. But to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. At times I was excited and on the edge of my seat, while at others I was bored and thinking of quiting the book altogether. That doesn't happen to me very often. I think this is probably the product of a talented but not-yet masterful author who is putting forth a great effort - just not quite ready for prime time.

The book was fine though, at it's heart it's really a story about Eugenics. Interesting topic to say the least, if it weren't for Hitler it would possibly still be practiced today in much of the civilized world.

It's easy to forget, but at the dawn of the twentieth century evolution was still a somewhat newish concept and many intellectuals were wanting to take an active role in shaping the future evolution of mankind. Like breeding of dogs, cattle, or sheep, people would be encouraged to breed if they were deemed smart, healthy and attractive while those that weren't were to be sterilized. Despite the revulsion I'm sure it makes everyone feel now, laws were put in the books in many U.S. cities and towns that did force persons below a certain IQ level to be neutered, or even forbidden to marry. Do yourself a favor and read the Wikipedia entry on the subject It'll blow your mind.

So this story is another take on the subject. What if aliens told ancient humans that they've failed as a species, that they were doomed to extinction by a wrathful alien entity... unless they could improve their stock over the course of a few thousand years?

A group of prehistoric humans are whisked away from earth and transplanted on an engineered world near the galactic core where they spend several thousand years enacting a rigorous Eugenics plan to improve the species before the aliens arrive to judge humanity again.

I like the concept and I was intrigued from the get go. However, I think I was disappointed in the end by the feeling that the dialog that the characters use throughout the book reminds me of what I might have found from a fantasy book from the 70's, that is to say, it feels a bit silly. The teenagers (as all the main characters in this novel are) might have also been pretty preoccupied with screwing one another, but the way that the the second half of the book unfolds I spent too much time rolling my eyes at how the characters acted - I kept waiting for an impromptu orgy to break out.

So the answer to the unasked, yet still burning question - what is the end result of thousands of years of intense evolutionary pressure to produce the perfect human? Horny teenagers.

But that orgy never did break out, and despite my annoyance at every character in the book - I still enjoyed it. This isn't classic literature, but it's still entertaining. The author at least tries to answer some of the questions that get raised during the story at the end and that is commendable. After all, I am a sucker for that sort of stuff.

For a guy that spent his adult life as a politician, he does a nice job as a sci-fi writer, the flaws of the book aren't enough to turn me off to him. My advice to William Drinkard: Stay out of politics, write more sci-fi.