Monthy Archive: September 2005
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September 01, 2005

Life : Kepler's RIP

Kepler's book store, the finest independent book store in Silicon Valley, unexpectedly closed its doors yesterday. Kepler's was where Jerry Garcia hung out before he had a band. It was where Joan Baez shopped for books in the 60's. Kepler's was to the 60's what City Lights was to the 50's and the beat generation.

But it was also much more than that.

Even when the hippies had all grown up and gotten high tech jobs, Kepler's remained everything that an independent book store was supposed to be. They kept pace with changes in the community, and stayed relevant, hosting book signings for everyone from Al Franken to Barbara Bush to Lauren Bacall to Salman Rushdie.

They were the place to go for books published by small publishers that would never get shelf space in a Borders or a Barnes and Noble. I don't think I ever managed to visit them without making a purchase of some book I never would have known about if I hadn't see it on their shelf.

Word is that the lease they signed at the peak of the dot-com boom killed them – that Clark Kepler (son of the founder, Roy) had been putting his own money into the operation to keep it afloat; but finally ran out.

Whatever the reason, they will be missed. I think it is a fitting tribute to the store that two days after Hurricane Katrina, news of Kepler's closing made the front page of the major newspaper here in silicon valley. It was that kind of store.

Posted by Steven at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 14, 2005

TV : The Prisoner

One of my Birthday presents this year (thanks Anne) was the boxed set of DVDs for the old British TV series "The Prisoner". I had wanted this for a long time; but the price was just high enough that I never got around to buying it for myself. Perfect present-fodder.

I remember watching the show many times (usually on the local public TV station). The first time (when I was rather young), I watched for the action and adventure and found many parts incomprehensible. As I grew older, I began to appreciate the show more and more as allegory and parts that didn't make sense before now did. I can now appreciate how subversive some of the episodes were in their day ("Free For All" is a rather nasty commentary on the political process).

Unfortunately, while more of it makes sense to me now than it once did, the final episode remains beyond my ken. OK, I do understand why number six is actually number one (and as many people have pointed out – they tell you that in every episode: "Who is number one?" "You are number Six"); but what happens after he discovers that still doesn't make any sense to me. Up until then I would say that the episode is about how every revolution becomes the next orthodoxy which (inevitably) will become the subject of the next revolution. Perhaps the point of the end is that the only way out of that cycle is pure chaos? I don't know – but now at least I can watch it as often as I want to see if I can finally "get it".

Posted by Steven at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Introspection : The things you learn when blogging

Doing a blog can be a very enlightening experience – you learn a lot about yourself. You discover in what ways you care about what other people think. You become more aware of what you find interesting, or not. You clarify your thoughts on subjects which otherwise would have passed casually by.

As some of you may have noticed, I have had a bit of a dry spell lately. There just hasn't been anything I wanted to say. I'm not depressed. I'm not particularly busy (I'm actually on vacation this week). But there just wasn't anything I had been thinking deeply about for me to write about.

What I find interesting is the realization that I never would have been aware of this dry spell had I not been doing the blog. Thinking back I am sure I must have had many seasons where I just floated along "in the moment", not pondering any great subjects; but I never had reason to think about not thinking.

Now of course, through the magic of blogging, not having anything to say suddenly becomes something to say.

Posted by Steven at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

September 15, 2005

Books : American Gods

American Gods
By Neil Gaiman

While I have read a couple of his shorter works, this is the first novel I have read by Neil Gaiman. My general reaction to Gaiman as an author is that he's a "thinking man's Roger Zelazny". What stands out in my mind about Zelazny's work is how he always mixed the mythic with the modern – most of his stories were based on historic mythology, but set in modern times. Gaiman's seems to follow suite; but brings even more depth and complexity to his stories.

As to American Gods in specific, I thoroughly enjoyed the book; although it went in a different direction than I initially hoped (the climax was completely different from what I expected). On face value the story is about the conflict between the "old gods" (creatures from various ancient mythologies – Odin, Horus, Kali, etc.) who are scraping by without worshipers in America vs. the "new gods" of Media, Internet, Government, etc. who are afraid that they too will become obsolete. At a deeper level it is about how America is "not a good country for gods" – that we are a fickle people who discard our heritage quickly.

In addition to an excellent story and theme, there are many other things to enjoy about the book. For instance - trying to figure out who the various characters are as most go by pseudonyms, although ones related to their identity (for instance Odin goes by the name "Mr. Wednesday"). It is also amusing to see what the various old gods do when they are no longer worshiped. Czernobog (Slavic god of death) ended up working as a "knocker" (the one who actually killed the animals) in a Chicago slaughterhouse before the slaughterhouse closed down. Anubis, Egyptian lord of the dead, works as an undertaker. Fertility goddesses ended up working as prostitutes, etc.

I also enjoyed the concept that there are "places of power" that people are inherently drawn to; but that the effect is different in modern America. While in other countries and times, people might have been drawn to build shrines or temples on these locations; in America, we tend to build roadside attractions. I loved the idea that places like "Wall Drugs" and "South of the Border" are Americans "shrines".

I will definitely read more of Neil Gaiman's works.

Posted by Steven at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 17, 2005

TV : Fall TV Season 2005, part 1

Well, it's that time of the year when I watch the first episodes of a lot of shows, the second episodes of a few shows, the third of even fewer shows, and so on until I reach my small set of "keepers" for the season. While the premier season is still young, I currently have two shows which are still on my "I'm still watching" list.

First the losers:

Prison Break
I'm not sure how you make a series out of it; but the concept is great – a structural engineer who redesigned a prison gets himself sentenced to it as an inmate so he can stage a prison break to rescue his brother who is on death row. He goes into the prison with a "perfect plan" which does not survive contact with reality. Good idea, good drama. I watched two episodes before I punted on it.

The reason I gave up is that I found really didn't care if the prison break was a success or not – all of the characters were so flawed (including the hero and his brother) that I never got invested in the story.

Reunion
This was a long shot going in; but I wanted to give it a try just in case. The idea of each episode being flashbacks from a specific year that led to the events in the present was interesting (kind of like "24" with a longer timeframe). Unfortunately, it turned out to be just another primetime soap. Rich kids, poor kids, boo hoo.

I do believe that we are all the products of the some total of our pasts, and I think there is an opportunity out there for a really cool TV series out there to show that – to show some characters in the present and then show the events in their lives that made them that. "Jack and Bobby" tried to do that; but it didn't quite work. "Reunion" promised it; but didn't deliver. I still hope someone figures out how to make that work.

The War At Home
OK, I'm a sucker for the old "Breaking the fourth wall" gimmick; but if you are going to have your characters talk to the audience, please give them something worthwhile to say.

Now the (temporary) winners:

Bones
This is likely to devolve into just another police procedural drama; but I'm willing to give it a couple more tries because I find the characters interesting. I love the gender role reversal (the woman is a distant, detached, intellectual; and the man is involved, emotional, intuitive). I definitely got the sense from the pilot that these characters have depth and if they can use that to make an interesting show about the people, not just the cases, it might end up a keeper. Although one wonders – just how many cases a year are there that need the services of a forensic anthropologist?

Threshold
Yes Virginia, based on the final scene, I'd say we are definitely on page 42 of the manual (If you have seen the show that will make sense, and I suspect you'll agree).

Very interesting. While not the blow-me-away pilot that Lost gave us last year, this was certainly a pretty wild ride, and I think I like where it is taking us. Among the things I like:

- The characters are very real. They are scared. They are uncertain. They make mistakes. While they are good at what they do, they aren't unrealistically hyper-competent. OK, the linguist on the team needs more depth; but the rest of the characters acted a lot like real people with their credentials would under the circumstances.

- While you have several engineers and scientists as characters, no one pulled any "magic" solutions out of thin air to save the day. The one "invention" was shown as a completely unexpected result methodical trial and error investigation; and when they went to use it, it didn't even do quite what they expected. Again, this is much more what one would expect in reality.

- Likewise the bad guys didn't do anything particularly stupid; and to be fair, the ending makes clear they are very much winning.

My only concern is that the pilot tended to cross the line from drama to horror, and horror doesn't have a good track record on TV.

Posted by Steven at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 18, 2005

Introspection : Missing Poetry

When I was young and didn't have a head full of facts and knowledge, I used to write poetry. It was my way to express thoughts and ideas that I didn't understand enough to be able to explain in prose. While I could not explain them, I could at least express them in the word pictures and metaphors of poetry. Most of my poetry wasn't very good; but it served its purpose, just as this blog serves a different one.

As I grew older I started to understand more, and my life began to revolve more and more around the need to understand and explain things – to not take things at face value; but rather work to understand them. As I discovered how self-deceptive people (including myself) could be, I became increasingly skeptical of simple explanations and always wanted to dig deeper.

Unlike Cypher in the movie The Matrix, I do not regret my decision to "take the Red Pill" – to live an examined life as Socrates would put it; but yet I recognize that there is a cost to that approach to life. By always dissecting the ideas and opinions around me, I find myself constantly surrounded by the flayed corpses of my investigations – some shown to have been creatures of truth, and others merely stuffed animals made to look alive. However in all cases my critical investigations have removed the mystery that gave them life.

Put another way, I have given up poetry to gain prose.

And to be honest, sometimes I miss the poetry.

Posted by Steven at 07:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

September 23, 2005

Introspection : Thomas Wolfe was right

You cannot step twice into the same river; for other waters are continually flowing in.
- Heraclitus

Change is inevitable.

Change is life's one constant. Change is the irresistible juggernaut that will crush all those who stand against its steady but certain movement. We see it at work in our bodies, our communities, our relationships.

This was brought home to me this week as I visited my father in Florida and the two of us drove a few miles north to visit Cocoa Beach, where we lived for part of my childhood. The place was virtually unrecognizable. One of the two houses I lived in no longer exists, having been replaced with a more modern structure (how's that for "You Can't Go Home Again"); and while the other house still stands, the neighborhood had changed so much that we had trouble finding the street as all of our familiar landmarks had been replaced with new and different buildings. It was a very strange experience.

My father and I were likewise visibly older – he commented on my grayer hair and need for glasses.

Change is inevitable.

Human nature tends to lead us to recognize the unpleasant aspects of change first. We quickly miss the family member, friend, store, restaurant, TV series, magazine, etc. who had been a part of our lives but is no longer there; but we are slow to grow in appreciation of new people, places and things. We quickly dislike new aspects of culture – music, language, manners, etc. that are not what we grow up with; but only slowly discover new aspects of culture we enjoy.

Yet change is inevitable.

I'm old enough now to have seen a lot of change, and have grown to realize that struggling against that current is futile. I have come to two conclusions about how to respond to change. First, there is a place to mourn for the past – not just for people; but also for places, events, culture, language, whatever. There is value in taking a moment to honor those things which have been (or are being) mowed down by the endless wheel of time.

Second, and more important, having taken that time to acknowledge what has been lost, at least as much energy (if not more) should be put into seeking new sources value in the world. We should be making new friends, finding new places, seeking new experiences to replace those that have been lost. I am convinced that while there are individual events in life that in isolation are clearly "bad", that the overall tide of change carries within it both good and bad, and that fulfillment in life can only be maintained by actively seeking those good elements which are part of "the new".

The alternative is to find oneself riding in the ocean on an ever melting iceberg. The past you are comfortable with might have started out as large and stable, but it is constantly melting away; and if it is all you have to cling to, you'll soon find yourself floating on your own in the open sea.

Posted by Steven at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

September 25, 2005

Books : Dune, Dune and More Dune

I just finished reading the last (?) of the Dune prequel novels and thought I'd comment on the set.

For those who are unfamiliar, "Dune", by Frank Herbert is one of the great classic novels of Science Fiction (its numerous sequels are also generally good reading; but not up to the original in my opinion). While the story has a SciFi setting, it is primarily a political thriller, with various noble houses and secretive organizations vying to gain, or at least not lose, power in a vast interstellar empire. The story is a Byzantine mix of plots within plots within plots which would make Machiavelli dizzy.

When Frank Herbert died, he left his son, Brian (who is also a writer), his notes on the universe of Dune including all of the back-stories that set up the original Novel. Over the past several years, Brian Herbert has been working with Kevin J. Anderson to produce two prequel trilogies which cover the events leading up to Dune, and I have just finished reading the last of them. For those who are Tolkien fans, these books are to Dune what the Silmarillian was to Tolkien's Rings novels.

The first prequel trillogy published was "House Atreides", "House Harkonnen" and "House Corrino". These books cover the events immediately prior to Dune and focus on putting the various characters from Dune in place for that story. We see Shaddam IV become emperor. We see the various retainers of House Atreides (Duncan Idaho, Gurney Halek, Dr. Yueh ) come into the employ of that family. We find out why the Baron Harkonnen is so fat. We see how the Lady Jessica was conceived and see Paul (the hero of Dune) born. There are also a number of tips to events which occur in the later sequels. The writing is excellent and the stories are up there with the best of the Dune sequels.

The second prequel trillogy published was "The Butlerian Jihad", "The Machine Crusade", and "The Battle of Corrin". These books cover the events of the distant past in the Dune universe, specifically the Butlerian Jihad, and focus on putting the various institutions from Dune in place. We see the establishment of the Empire, the Spacing Guild, and the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, the Suk Doctors, and the Swordmasters of Ginaz, The Fremen, etc. The writing again is excellent, and in most cases the stories are interesting and add to the original novels. While I originally thought it was too much of a coincidence for all of these institutions to come into being at the same time, the story actually fits them together so it makes perfect sense.

Only two things ended up bothering me, both in the last book. First, the origin of the Mentats is given short service. I got the feeling that Brian & Kevin got to the last book and suddenly realized "Ooops! We forgot the Mentats" and squeezed them in at the last minute. Then again, perhaps Herbert's notes were also thin on this subject. The other problem was a bit of a continuity challenge for them. In Dune it is established that the enmity between House Harkonnen and House Atreides is because of an act of cowardice by a Harkonnen ancestor at "The Bridge of Corrin" – a great battle that established the empire. The problem is one of scope – Corrin is a planet, and the scale of the battles was global. Finding a way for a "bridge" to take a significant role in such a conflict was a challenge, and in my opinion their solution was not satisfying.

However that being said, all six books were well worth reading, and must-reads for any real fan of Dune.

Posted by Steven at 07:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 28, 2005

TV : Fall TV Season 2005, part 2

Surface
Strange (and often enormous) sea monsters start showing up in the world's oceans and eating people, ships, etc. The show follows three independent threads. There's the government team who are investigating the creatures and working to keep it all a secret (putting out cover stories to distract the public). There are two people who encountered the creatures and want to know what's going on; but are being stopped by the government (one of them is a marine biologist who saw them from a mini-sub, the other's brother was killed by one). And then there's a kid who found one of their eggs and hatched it. The show focuses mostly on the two "outsider" stories with the government team thread mostly providing background and menace (its clear the government scientists know a lot more than the audience are being shown).

This is on my "so good so far" list. They are disclosing just enough about the creatures to keep the mystery level high and make me want to know what is happening, and the multiple points of view make for interesting story telling.

Invasion
I'm going to give this a second try because some critics I respect like it; but so far this hasn't grabbed me. Based on the pilot this seems like a basic variation of the old "invasion of the body snatchers" story – strange lights show up in the middle of the hurricane and people who were caught out alone start to behave strangely, including working to isolate the town. Meanwhile someone who wasn't affected finds a body that looks "alien". Been there, done that, seen the movie(s). If there's nothing new in the second episode to make this seem fresh, I'll punt.

E-Ring
This was promoted as "The West Wing" in the Pentagon; and it is. Unfortunately, it is late season West Wing without Aaron Sorkin's snappy dialog or meaningful discussion of real issues. I may give it another try just to be sure it isn't heading someplace interesting; but I doubt this is a keeper.

Kitchen Confidential
After having seen Tony Bourdain (on whose book this is based) over the summer on the travel channel's show "No Reservations", this fictionalized version is downright boring. There are some good jokes; but just as many that rely on shock value as opposed to real humor. Punt.

My Name is Earl
I commented in an earlier post that every show needs someone who is likeable, or at least unlikable in an interesting way. This comedy manages to deliver both in the same person. Earl is clueless, dishonest, redneck who is trying to turn his life around. He and his friends by nature fall into the "unlikable in an interesting way" category; but then Earl really wants to change which gives him moments of likeability. All that provides a wonderful context for humor which isn't the same old situation comedy stuff we have seen many times before. This is definitely a keeper.

Commander in Chief
The vice president (who was added to the ticket as a "stunt" to get votes) becomes president; but no one wants her, including the dying president. The pilot was very nicely done. While not up to season 1 West Wing, the writing was good, with a balanced mix of drama and humor (mostly at the first husband's expense); and Geena Davis certainly has the skill to pull off this role. The supporting characters are rich with possibilities. I definitely want to see where they plan to take this.

Posted by Steven at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 30, 2005

Movies : Finding Whedon's Serenity

I was never a big fan of the TV show "Firefly" when it was on the air. After the first few episodes I put it into my "I'll watch it if I'm around; but don't bother recording it" category. It wasn't until the DVDs came out and I could see the episodes all together that I began to appreciate the show.

Of course I should have known better of a Joss Whedon TV show. He always works at multiple levels - there are individual shows and then there is the quilt he builds out of them which is always far greater than the sum of its parts. It's not just that there's an arc to the show (there are many TV writers that do that - having a big plotline that is played out over many episodes). What Joss does is more subtle than that - creating themes at the grand scale that are barely visible when you see an individual episode.

It's like a mosaic made out of photographs. You look close and see each picture (each episode) and enjoy it, and step back you see the mosaic (the season, the arc) and enjoy it on another level. But then you realize the choice of individual pictures also tells a third story - the fact that the blue in the mosaic is made of pictures of the sky and not of water or something else becomes meaningful, connecting the individual stories to the arc in ways unrelated to the plot. That's Whedon's genius.

Which brings us to the movie "Serenity" which continues (concludes?) the story he began telling in his cancelled TV series "Firefly".

Where there are a few times the engine stutters, overall this is an excellent movie. For someone who has seen the TV show, I think the only complaints will be the price that is paid by the characters (Joss was never one for completely happy endings). In one case the price paid will seem to be random and arbitrary; but I'd say that's whole point -in real life the guilty are not the only ones who are hurt.

While I think there are many moments in the movie that will be more significant for those who have seen the TV show, the movie overall should be quite enjoyable without that background. I do think the scenes where they visit Shepard Book will ring a bit hollow if you didn't watch Firefly; but that's a small part of the show. The fact that they never really explain what Inara does for a living won't be missed by those who don't know (it isn't a factor in the story being told by the movie). My only concern is I don't think they get across in the movie that this is a bilingual culture (English/Chinese), so the one time River starts speaking Chinese, it seems more like raving than actual communication.

The bottom line is that it is an enjoyable story, told with great humor and drama and well worth seeing.

Posted by Steven at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)