The Quorum of Gentlemen

The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 06:02:00 +0000

March 14, 1974-November 9, 1989

A must for die-hard Trekkies, volume 1 of the Eugenics War books fills in the origins of Khan (TOS- which I believe is now referred to as the Prime Universe as opposed to the Alternate Universe of the new films) as well as filling in all of the gaps of the 1970 and 1980's Trek Universe history.

The book focuses on Gary Seven and his assistants Roberta and the mysterious cat Isis, characters who had originally been meant to have their own television series. Greg Cox nicely fulfills the potential of the characters by fleshing out a variety of situations that fit the campiness of the sixties spy duo without sacrificing the seriousness most fans feel about the continuity of the Trek timeline.

The largest complaint about this book is Cox's constant pop culture references, inserted to validate the chronology of the stories (which are already updated at the top of each chapter). Although occasionally cute or relevant, they mostly serve to prove that Greg Cox has a tongue-in-cheek humor and knowledge (or wikipedia access) to the top movies and books of the seventies and eighties.

The most satisfying part of the book is, in fact, Khan's growth into adulthood. The Rise of Khan, arguably the point of the novel, is a difficult task to tackle, having recently been so mishandled in the origin of his contemporary Anakin Skywalker. Although Cox borrows many of the same pages from Lucas, Khan gets his chance to be a bad-ass Sikh, and it is thoroughly enjoyable- and never drawn out.

The Dark is Rising

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 05:17:00 +0000

1974

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Although this is the second book in the series, it essentially revamps the character and story and could be considered a good starting point. In fact, the series became known as 'The Dark is Rising Series' with the delivery of this sequel. The first book, cuter and milder in tone and without references to the grander story developed here, can be considered more of a prequel.

Where the first book constantly hints at magic and mythology but never really delivers anything wonderful, this book wastes no time in establishing the characters and plot devices needed for an epic saga. While it is nothing so original as Narnia and Middle-Earth, it certainly predates the story of a young boy awakening one day to a magical inheritance and destiny as a 'chosen one'.
While many parents have enjoyed the more modern versions of this story as novels and movies, no one will forget that this is a short book written for young readers. But it is a must-read for lovers of magic and myth, and I eagerly await tracking down the rest of the series.

My eleven year old son, who is fully versed in all of the pretenders to Harry Potter's throne, found the first book, Under Sea Under Stone, completely uninteresting and didn't read more than a few pages. But I dropped 'The Dark is Rising' on his nightstand and anxiously await his verdict (Update: He never brought himself to read it. A premature teenager, my recommendation frequently has the impact of a bio hazard warning). But to be clear: This book borrows heavily from English mythology and traditional storytelling (Merlin is more of a direct presence here), but most readers will see the Dark is Rising protagonist, Will Stanton, as the exact source material for a certain popular 11-year old wizard boy.

There is a movie based on this book. When every internet contributor in the world can agree on something's awfulness, it's best to avoid that thing.

Bermuda Triangle

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Sat, 05 Apr 2014 23:14:00 +0000

1974

This 1973 examination of the Bermuda Triangle starts off as a scientific and factual examination of the myth and events that led travelers to request flights that avoided the western Atlantic ocean, but quickly descends into campy theories that makes the book hard to take seriously. Nonetheless, Berlitz treads the line between science and science-fiction in a way that makes both interesting. There is enough credible research to make you doubt the naysayers and actually get a little creeped out at times.

The bottom line, though, is that despite the author's ability to reasonably present information in a way that makes you view the Triangle and other urban legends with a fresh perspective, he still pushes his love for Atlantis way too hard in this forum (probably to make up enough material for a full sized book), and also the fact that this "#1 bestseller" is tied directly to the "blockbuster movie" titled the Bermuda Triangle completely destroys the last shred of dignity. I had to look the movie up online, and it is a complete mockery of any aspect of the triangle that might be real.
This book is for lovers of urban myths and Atlantis.

Created, The Destroyer

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 04:53:00 +0000

1971

In the early seventies as Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris and a variety of martial arts schools and styles were emerging in popular culture, The Destroyer arose as a satire or perhaps evolution of pulp novels by combining the excessive violence and gunplay of book serials like the Executioner and merging it with the philosophy of Oriental fighting.

In this first novel Remo's teacher Chuin had not yet rose prominently as a lead character, figuring in rather exactly as Yoda does ten year later in the Empire Strikes Back- a teacher more of wisdom than power who only plays as a mid-story turning point for the protagonist. Hence this book lacks much of the fun interpersonal play that helps the Destroyer series to stand out (and provided the only good bits from the movie adaptation). But Remo stands on his own here in his debut appearance. He is tough as hell, and likable even through his worst actions. Even the villains of the story, short lived and somewhat under-developed, are the type of guys you love to hate.

"I plan on loaning this book immediately to the nearest person I know who enjoys a good action story." That's what I wrote in my GoodReads review three years ago. I then gave the book to a certain co-worker, who is still in possession of said book. I hope he reads it. Or gives it back so I can loan it to someone who will read it. But then again, my bookshelf is filled with books and graphic novels loaned or gifted to me that I haven't touched yet. But at least I provide reasonable anecdotal evidence that I'm working on it!

Cyborg

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 04:14:00 +0000

1972
Cyborg
by Martin Caidin

As a child, anyone who re-enacted any sort of action in slo-mo, had to do so while making "CH-CH-CH-CH-CH" sound effects, emulating the Six Million Dollar Man. Before Star Wars toys took over the playrooms of young boys in the late seventies, Steve Austin dolls were the prized possession of any cool kid.

But before Lee Majors popularized the idea of a man who could jump fences and run in slow-motion, Martin Caidin had speculated about the use of bionics to rebuild- and strengthen- a human. The novel Cyborg spawned the TV movie and following television show. Caidin writes a technically correct and detailed story and description of the first bionic man. The story of Steve Austin's crash, physical and mental transformation, and rebirth is told in a technical and often dry manner. The details of his surgeries takes up the bulk of the book, examining in a fairly realistic way how a man might cope with being a triple amputee and being a government science experiment- all issues that the TV show basically encapsulated into a six second intro.

My copy was full of grammatical, spelling and printing errors. The characterization of all but the main characters is shallow, and the two action sequences at the end of the book are a small payoff for anyone who opened this book hoping for a great adventure story.
Overall this book should receive more credit for its groundbreaking work on cybernetic theories, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see much of Caidin's guesswork on bionic limbs finally come to fruition in the near future (if perhaps 50 years too late).

Two notes of interest- The first is that much of the book takes place in my recently adopted home of Colorado Springs, as the secret bionic lab is located deep in the bowels of NORAD in Cheyenne Mountain. Who knew, right?

The other is Caidin's nod to crossover fiction, as noted in the Cyborg Wikipedia entry: In the 1990s, Caidin wrote the novel Buck Rogers: A Life in the Future based upon the Buck Rogers comic strip of the 1930s. In this book, Caidin pays tribute to Cyborg by having Buck Rogers receive bionics transplants following his 500-year coma, including several direct references to Steve Austin himself. Again, who knew?

Although I can't really recommend the book on it's own merits, I would love to hear about your memories of the TV show, or its subsequent spin-offs and reboots.

Artwork/photo credit:
http://volveralpasado.bligoo.cl/el-hombre-nuclear-the-six-million-dollar-man#.UjvIrIznaU
Mark Thiessen/National Geographic

Hellstrom's Hive

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Thu, 23 May 2013 02:36:00 +0000

1973

Hellstrom's Hive

First, some blog housekeeping. I know so many of you have been clamoring for me to return to blogging.

Okay, that didn't happen. But I was reminded last night that I haven't touched this blog since I started my new job last November. It was already difficult to recall the details of books I had read two years earlier, and now I've pushed that to a 30 month deficit. So just in case anyone is out there reading this blog with a critical eye towards my review skills, I apologize that no one is paying me to write this blog and do it well. I think I'm reasonably safe from the whole 'in case anyone is reading this blog' bit.

Now, on to a very very short review of a book by the author of one of my favorite books.

I really really really liked Hellstrom's Hive. I've always been a fan of Dune but have just recently started reading Herbert's other earlier stuff. You can tell Hive is where he really starts picking up the steam that made Dune possible. Intruiging characters, culteral clashes and a view of society and personal relationships that transcends norms and general comfort- this is the stuff that great sci-fi is made of. My only complaint is that it ends too soon and leaves you wanting much much more.

A very short re-cap would be to say this book starts out as a bit of a spy thriller, but quickly descends into a madhouse story of science fiction and mysterious cults. Herbert's ecological themes start to move to the forefront of his storytelling, toe to toe with his command of humanity's social fixations, nicely captured in insect-ology (as opposed to his stark desert settings that have become synonymous with his name).

Seeing as I have shelves of unread books to read, many of which were borrowed by good friends nearly a decade ago, I won't be re-reading any books soon, but like Dune, this is a book I would happily consume again, knowing that it strikes the perfect balance between fun pulp and thoughtful commentary.

Ancient Mariner Problems

noreply@blogger.com (red5cmb) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:45:00 +0000

     Shlomi Dinar, the Associate Professor and Associate Director for the School of International and Public Affairs of Florida International University and "hydro-politics" expert, suggests that "the wars of the next century will be about freshwater" (Dinar 2009, 109). Although smaller regional skirmishes would be expected, it is unlikely that an interconnected global community will resolve critical resource inadequacies with acts of hostility.

     Conflict, violent or otherwise, is essentially a measurement of degrees of cooperation. For example, a multi-national treaty to divvy up resources and play well with others represents a very high degree of cooperation. While two states vying for a single resource could possibly represent only an assumed cooperative agreement to compete violently in the theater of battle. Therefore, the scarcity of a resource desired by more than one State, can influence to what degree of cooperation States are willing or able to enter into. There is a “direct relationship between scarcity and cooperation,” (Dinar 2009, 110) and as the population of the Earth drives exponentially onward to the point of critical mass the resources that we all need to survive are becoming exhausted.

     To examine to what degree international States can be expected to cooperate when the most essential of resources, namely fresh water supplies, becomes contested, we must consider first other factors that influence the likelihood of a cooperative scenario. The modern era has seen an unprecedented level of interconnectivity between States. Interconnectivity nullifies the zero-sum game and creates a greater need to cooperate at a higher level. Because “interdependence not only highlights the sensitivities between countries, but also their reciprocal vulnerabilities” (Dinar 2009, 114) States are more apt to cooperate at a higher degree in order meet their basic needs as well as their social and political requirements.

     Although the idea of sharing a finite resource does not meet the realist ideal of State self-sufficiency, it is important to remember that, while bygone eras saw the State as the primary actor in most international relations scenarios, the power to influence cooperation is not necessarily a State held function in contemporary global society. Also, because “Decision-makers are usually not theorists” (Mowle 2003, 563) the worldview of international policymakers, be it a framework of liberalism or realism, could have less influence than motivated structures or individuals who seek to encourage or discourage cooperation as a function of resource division. It is important to be flexible enough to “shift the level of analysis from the State—which has neither intent nor independent action—to the individuals within the state who direct purposive action” (Mowle 2003, 562). It is this shift from State held influence to a greater degree of individual or structural impact, along with the growing interconnectivity between States and populations that assures that some degree of cooperation will be utilized to deal with the impending scarcity of fresh water resources.

References

Dinar, Shlomi. "Scarcity and cooperation along international rivers." Global Environmental       Politics, February 2009: 109-35.

Mowle, Thomas S. "Worldviews in foreign policy: realism, liberalism, and external conflict." Political Philosophy 24, no. 3 (September 2003): 561-92.

Pain is in between the forefinger and the thumb of the beholder.

noreply@blogger.com (red5cmb) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 04:12:00 +0000

There is no certain tyranny more obstructive to the spirit of man than an ill placed pimple. I realize that sounds theatrical. But consider nostril or taint, for examples of the extreme, as particularly painful placements of said flare-ups. Earaches and dental woes are not to be disregarded and I've known men more virile and sturdy than most that have been leveled by lower back tenderness. And fibromyalgia or other exotic conditions of the nerves or supporting systems do not sound very fun at all. All kind of injury and insult to the human frame could be listed here as complaints that would theoretically best the errant zit on the hierarchy of hurt. However, it is the anyday nuisance of an upsurge of an infected sebaceous gland, in the least opportune situation, that inspires my most tearful wincing and uncharacteristically unmanly quivering.

Marvels

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:28:00 +0000

1939 to 1974

In the haze of the early nineties I accompanied a close friend, Ben C., up to Washington state. I don't know what we were doing, I am sure I was completely along for the ride with no concerns as to destination or purpose. I do recall, however, it had to do with the fact that he was on a paintball team, and that the bulk of our visit was spent at a teammate's house.

This teammate was a family man, and being an irresponsible but 'grown" kid myself, I was a bit anxious that I was left alone with an actual physical child while Ben discussed paintball business with his colleage. My inhabitions relaxed, however, when I saw that this kid had a stack of comic books. I asked him if he'd mind showing me what he had, and he was happy to oblige.

What he had was, in fact, mostly garbage. In the early nineties the two major comic companies had taken everything that made simple cheap comics so great in the seventies and eighties and twisted it, regurgitated it, commercialized it, overpriced it and dumbified it. But one series the kid had stuck out like a sore thumb and drew my attention like a Blue Morpho butterfly at a maggot convention.

Marvels has two very major spins on traditional comics that launch it's success and work so very well together. The first is that it was the initial showcase of Alex Ross's photo-realistic painting. Using paint in comics had been done before, but never with the care, love, detail and realism of Ross. The second is that the story takes place in the Marvel Universe, but deals with it strictly from the viewpoint of a normal every-man family guy who watches New York get runover by power-mad robot freaks and Atlanteans on a weekly basis. The one-two punch of three dimensional depth and color combined with a story that fleshes out the reality of the Marvel U hypnotized me. Years and years later I still force my wife to gaze upon some of Alex Ross's exceptional cover artwork and admit it's excellence.

Not anyone could've pulled it off. Both Ross and writer Kurt Busiek imbue the Marvels series with an adoration and knowledge of the characters and their history. There is no attempt to re-write the stories for younger audiences or revamp tham to modern trends. The entire series is true to the original Lee and Kirby eras, both in style and content. The setting is very much from World War II into the seventies, covering major turning points in Marvel history from the viewpoint of a Daily Bugle photographer, concurrent with the timeframe of the original comics, much as how I am reading all of my books and comics. Nowadays it just seems like Peter Parker gets bit by a super spider every two years, and the story gets tweaked each time, doesn't it, kids? Well, this is how it all orginally happened, gang- No fancy Oscorp tech or Sam Jackson Nick Fury, just a bunch of nerds in corderoy suits and bow ties, driving '68 Plymouth Valiants.

While not everyone will be amused by the Marvel Universe retrospective or Ross's cameos of real and fictional stars, Alex Ross should earn a Marvel Universe Nobel Peace Prize for his photo-realistic watercolor style which has truly redrawn the comic book industry and made him one of- if not the most- sought out artist in the comic book business.

Education of Oversoul Seven

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 22:56:00 +0000

1973

Based on the teachings of Seth! Seth is apparently a spirit - or oversoul, I guess- who communicated with the author, Jane Roberts, in a psychic fashion. The Books of Seth are transcripts of her conversations with Seth. This I learned from wikipedia.

The Education of Oversoul 7 is a fictionalized account of the history and future of mankind as described by Seth. I guess. I inherited this book in a collection of science fiction novels from an out-of business bookstore, and sci-fi is definately where this book belongs, regardless of how much anyone may beleve in Seth.
There are some suprisingly advanced sci-fi concepts to be found in the story, but the overall kookiness of the oversoul structure and 'Ancient Astronauts' concepts so popular in the seventies leave the reader quite confused about how to regard this book. I regard it as something fun I read but better left in a used-bookstore shelf.

Essential Classic X-Men, Vol. 3

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 23:15:00 +0000

1969-1973

My understanding of the prefixes involved in this volume is that 'Classic' means 'reprint done for money' and 'Essential' means 'done in black and white to save money'. I usually avoid these black and white collections. These comics are antiquated enough, why make them even plainer? Seriously- comics made in b&w are often stylish and designed to look cool in a film noir fashion, especially with color splashed in al'a Sin City. But these old Marvel comics were inked by people who were preparing them for color, and reprinting them to look like generic comics in the newspaper seems to diminish them. But this large tome was the easiest way to access a key span of time in the early X-Men stories that I had never read, and since my library doesn't charge me any more or less for what books I borrow, I happily got essential. And classic.

I'll admit the format allowed for a better appreciation of Neal Adam's artwork. The cover highlights the underappreciated work the infamous Roy Thomas and Adams put into their failed effort to save the X-Men from being canceled. Much of the penciling does shine through in the essential format. And while the introduction of Havok- a Summers kid who is actually more angst-ridden and whiney than his older bro, Cyclops, did nothing to boost sales and prevent the X-Men from getting shit-canned (temporarily), I've always been a long-time fan of Thomas and I think the work, as broken up as it is, holds up as an epic era for the X-Clan.

The real hidden gem was the origin of the Beast (the further mutated Hank McCoy, that is). How Marvel figured their best bet at keeping the X-Men alive was in a Beast solo title is beyond me, but watching his evolution from ape-like humanoid to black furry superbeing to blue fuzzball up to the point where he had to finish his storyline in The Incredible Hulk is pretty interesting stuff to a Marvel-ite who had only read about it in The Official Handbook previously. Nowadays it's pretty common to revamp comic characters, switching up their costumes, powers, personalities, appearance and even origin. But to have Hank leave the X-Men, go solo, mutate farther than any mutant had at that time, and start title-hopping were all very bold moves in 1972. It also set the Beast on the course of his Marvel career- nearly every writer who has touched him has toyed with his mutations and team-status. McCoy will always be the X-Man who may call himself an advisor, a friend or partner to the team, but in truth always has been and always will be an X-Man.

Colonel Butler's Wolf

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 20:04:00 +0000

1973

When my wife brought me home several boxes from the science fiction section of an out-of-business bookstore, there were quite a few novels that had clearly been overflowed from other sections. I found a good number of books in the spy-action-mystery genre, written in the seventies through the nineties. I figured that when I had read them I would pass them along to my father, who is more interested in espionage and intrigue. That was over ten years ago, and this is one of the only book's I've gotten to so far.

A stand alone story which is part of a larger series, I was disappointed by the choppy flow of this book as well as having a hard time following the lingo and culture of early seventies Brits. Interesting main characters gave the book some color and interest, but rare and clipped bits of action were eclipsed by meetings among the characters that dragged on over the course of several chapters. I wanted to like this book, and wouldn't rule out giving Price another try, but can't say this was a good novel by any standards.

Photo Copyright © 2011 Rachel Day.
My favorite part of the book is a throwaway scene in which one of the main characters (Col. Butler, perhaps! I don't remember.) is snooping through a closed building at night and encounters a bad guy who has somehow gone and caught himself on fire. The flaming baddie charges the Colonel and his reaction is to be understandably startled and afraid. While his super-spy brain understands that he is being rushed by a man on fire, he still has a primal reaction of fear at the strange visage. The point is that he compares the man on fire to a demon from James Blish's novel Black Easter. Having just read Black Easter I was very tickled at understanding the arcane reference, and perhaps felt a bit self-congratulatory about my timeline reading clusters.

Anyway, I gave this book to my dad on his last visit to Colorado, and am still awaiting his review.

ADDENDUM: For a much more educated and in-depth review and interview of Anthony Price and his work, please see the blog from which I snagged the pic of the author here.

Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 22:24:00 +0000

September 18, 1970

When my friend and occasional Gentleman Shmoove loaned me this rock and roll graphic novel I was relieved to know that it would only rest in my collection a short time. Written from the perspective of Jimi Hendrix, perhaps, watching his life flash before his eyes on the verge of his own death, it was pretty easy to pinpoint the setting timeline-wise.

This book is a fantastic graphic arts approach to the glory and haze that was Jimi's life. Perhaps less detailed or clear than more formal biographies, Voodoo Child does an excellent job of conveying the emotional impact of the music and life of a rock god.

It came with a CD which Shmoove did not risk loaning to me, understandably. I understand it is rarities and demos, lacking in sound quality but oozing pure Hendrix awesomeness. The inclusion of the disc locks in Voodoo Child as a must-have for Hendrix fans.

I could go on and on about the great artwork, and the legacy of Hendrix on rock, the sixties and the culmination of all that is cool in the world, but instead I direct you to watch the following video NOW.

If you watched the whole video and can't say that your day is a little better for doing so, you are a LIAR.

The Yokota Officers Club

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 06:05:00 +0000

1969 I read this book on the basis of having lived on a military base in Asia as a child, and the recommendation of a fellow "Army Brat" who had read it. I was wary that the setting would be secondary to some kind of 'Joy Luck Club' plot, which would not fit in well with my usual diet of science fiction or comedy. But since I trust my friends I forced myself to be open-minded and check the book out. It is true that the main character does spend the bulk of the novel anguishing over her relationship with her parents and siblings in a way that threatened to lose my interest several times. The military dependant backround did bring back some nostalgia, but my family was never actually in the army or air force, so I didn't truly relate to the angst of an officer's spouse and family. What locked in this book for me is the characters. The mother, Moe, the bratty kids, the mysterious Japanese nanny, Bobby the comedian- they all succeed at breathing life, conflict, humor and love into the story. I'm not sure who to recommend this book to. Army brats? Sure. Affectionados of the military presence in the post WWII pacific arena. I guess. Mostly I suggest it to those interested in the human interest appeal. A great story about great people during an interesting time in an interesting place.

Inherent Vice

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:56:00 +0000

1969 Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon I heard about this book when it came out in 2009 when I read a review that largely focused on the era-specific soundtrack. The description of both the classic rock which plays such an integral part of the setting as well as the idea of a well-respected author tackling the counter-culture drug culture of the late sixties in a crime noir story seemed very appealing to me. My understanding is that most of Pynchon's writing covers historical, political fiction and non-fiction and is generally considered dense and unapproachable. 'Vice', however, draws on a very accessible pop-culture content and humor that brings to mind Cheech and Chong more than the NY Times bestseller list. The main character, Doc Sportello, is a lovable mix of The Dude and Fletch who stumbles his way through a parade of intrigues, supernatural and existential mysteries and a cast of characters begging to be performed by a mega-cast in an unavoidable big-screen adaptation. Much of the convoluted and stoned out plot-line is awash with the semblance of social commentary on the excesses of the sixties, the racial tensions and cultural divides of the time, and the onset of a decade sliding quickly toward a technological and monetarily driven eighties. That stuff is there, but is largely overshadowed by the marijuana smoke of hippie humor, free love and deranged mystery action. Serious Pynchon readers may poo-poo the silliness, and serious mystery fans may poo-poo the hallucinations which de-rail any pretense of structured plot. But fans of rock'n'roll, counter-culture and weird humor will revel in this quick and fun read. I doubt Doc Sportello will reappear in my timeline history, but he'd feel very comfortable mingling with anything that came his way there. He and his supporting cast are the sort of folks who most likely were real people at one time, and exist now as super-fictionalized versions of themselves that will live on in fantastic crossover literary universes. By the way, the 'Godzillagans Island' cartoon illustration is ripped shamelessly from Ward Sutton's review which should be reviewed in full here.

Ghandhi's Truth

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 05:03:00 +0000

1969 Ghandhi's Truth Another book which was pressed into my reluctant hands by my Indian friend at work. Once again, I am not sure to what extent my friend has any real interest in Ghandhi per se, or just enjoys making people read something that may perhaps reflect back on him in a literate and worldy way. While most of my co-workers who received this large tome of historical recounting responded by taking it home for a few weeks and then returning it unread, I took it home, made a decision about where it may fit into my timeline and committed myself to the daunting task of forcing my way through a large volume that I had uncertain interests in. Why? I ask myself this question still today, nearly two years after the sludgery of downing dry historical and socialogical musings about a dead (great, but dead nonetheless) man whose excellence was often best personified by inaction. Was it out of a debt to my friend? Was it a semi-conscious urge to better myself by reading something not containing little green men or dudes in capes? Did I think it would give me a better perspective on contemporary graphic novels about Hinduism? Perhaps I was wanting to expand my understanding of the early twentieth century setting of my readings. My overall interest was, it has to be said, just not there, though. In truth the book did contain a lot of interesting facts and musings on Ghandhi's early life, as well as many stories of his early involvement with labor strikes and unions. I read the book as set in the late sixties, as that is the timeframe in which the author visited India and collated interviews and research on Ghandi's life. It is interesting to hear friends and acquantences of Ghandi speak of him. I am quite sure that there were a few passages I read aloud to my wife, as they may have been very interesting, suprising or humorous stories about the man. Although the book served very well as something I could read on an airplane and look intellectual, and it also was a super good paperweight, it mostly worked effectively as a sleeping aid. The length seemed doubled as I could often only get through half a page at a time without nodding off. I recommend this book only to die-hard Ghandi historians. And people who are easily pressured by friends from India.

The Heaven Makers

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Thu, 31 May 2012 06:39:00 +0000

1968 The Heaven Makers is a science fiction story written by legendary Dune scribe, Frank Herbert. Like much of his writing, it was originally serialized in a sci-fi magazine and later sold as a novel. Although written around the same time as Dune, it lacks the depth and scope of his masterpiece saga, and comes across much more like a satirical send-up of Hollywood. I was thoroughly unimpressed by the book on almost every level, and was not surprised to find other online reviewers sharing my opinion. The story, while hardly worth going into, is about aliens hiding in our oceans and using their advanced technology to film humans while they subtly manipulate our lives to make for entertaining footage. These films are edited and used as mass media entertainment back on the home world. The story rotates both around a human who catches on to the alien presence, as well as an alien investigator sent to sniff out the abuse of power by the Earth-based crazed director and leader. The criticism that this is one of Herbert's worst books is accurate, but there are glimpses of talent and even genius in this otherwise silly and unfleshed short novel. The premise is a dead-on prediction of modern reality TV and commentary that only a deranged alien mind would use human beings as playthings for mindless entertainment. But it is interesting to contrast the broad and cartoonish perspective on the immortality of the Chem against the prolonged life and immortality of the God Emperor of Herbert's much more famous Dune, which took an entire series to develop. It was also a very interesting comparison to read this at the same time as previously reviewed Black Easter by James Blish. In both cases my previous view of the author was upended, but in dramatically opposite directions. I recommend this book to sci-fi fans who still watch cartoons and won't be insulted by the lack of effort Frank Herbert puts out in what has to be considered one of his worst pieces of literature.

Batman: The Long Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:28:00 +0000

1968 The first comic to rebuild Harvey Dent (aka Two-Face) into a household name, The Long Halloween is not full of much originality, but does an incredible job of blending so much of what makes Batman great into a film-noir style cinematic masterpiece. Jeph Loeb is not a household name, but has been behind a lot of popular entertainment going back all the way to the original Teen Wolf and Teen Wolf Too which he co-wrote with his future Heroes collaborator Tim Kring! He has worked on superhero television shows like the Flash and Smallville as well as mega-popular Lost. But he's been collecting comic books since the seventies and writing them since the nineties. Although I think much of his work is over-rated, he consistantly writes with high standards and a love and respect for the genre that better writers often struggle with. The Long Halloween is probably Jeph Loeb's best work, a murder mystery and character piece capped by an artistic vision which is necessary for all great works in the comics world. The quantity of full page Batman spreads does nothing to undermine the fact that Batman just looks... f*ckin' bad-ass in this series. The fantastic art work that captures Batman's awesomeness and also makes old standbys like the Joker and Catwoman seem so fresh is by Tim Sale. I've been a fan of Tim's since his earliest work on my much-beloved Myth Adventures series. Although Loeb and Sale list themselves as mutual storytellers in their frequent collaborations, my opinion is that Loeb's notable works would be far less notable without Sale's style and Eisner-winning talent. The setting was a problem for me. I have been reading some collections of Best Of DC comics characters, such as Batman, and have been reading them according to when they were written. Cartoon and comic characters like these just never traditionally aged, like Charlie Brown and Bart Simpson. But unlike the Sunday funnies, Marvel comics came along and started taking their storylines seriously and DC followed suit. So eventually DC Comics had to address their decades of continuity by wiping out the 50 years of unaging backstory in the first historic Crisis and relaunching the origins and backstories of all the DC characters. I haven't read a lot of those relaunches (aka 'Year One'), and I truly don't know if they were given any specific time-setting other than 'prior to now'. But I do own and covet the Frank Miller Batman Year One. The Long Halloween is generally conceded as occuring in that universe. In reviewing both volumes, I made the call that the fashion and technology reflected in the art was a gritty late-sixties look. Maybe 15 years is too long a span than mid-eighties writers had in mind... Maybe I should have waited until I got to the eighties to read all of the Year One volumes and then bounce back into modern continuity... Maybe I should have sheltered my kids from all Star Wars media so they wouldn't know who Vader was when they first saw Episode IV.. The bottom line was that I was pumped to read Long Halloween and made the call that 1968 was a good time frame. Especially in light of knowing the huge influence it had on the recent Dark Knight movie. And although the storyline is convoluted enough that I had to re-read the plot on Wikipedia to remember the conclusion of the mystery, I was not disappointed in the least. I gave the graphic novel 5 out of 5 on Good Reads, and would whole heartedly recommend it to casual Batman fans who may not read comics normally but could dig getting into something with substance. If you liked the latest Batman movies, or would like to read a series that is likely to stay on the top ten list of Batman comics for a very long time, then The Long Halloween is a must read.

Black Easter

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 06:48:00 +0000

1968 *

James Blish is a science-fiction author who should be idolized by true Trek fans. He wrote the original adaptations of the original television show, and published the first original Star Trek novel, Spock Must Die! Hundreds of published authors have followed in his footsteps and thousands of fans as well. It's a shame that Blish passed away before The Motion Picture came out and Star Trek actually hit it's prime.

The TOS adaptations are god-awful. They are basically drawn-out summaries of each episode's plots. They remain remarkable primarily because they've never been re-done to my knowledge, and because they were printed at a time when Star Trek had no commercial support and no organized fan-base. Spock Must Die! is a much better piece of literature in comparison to Blish's other Trek work, but is still a thin novellette on a par with an episode of the television show. I love them all nonetheless.

But because of their quality, it never occurred to me to read anything else James Blish wrote, until his name popped up when I was reading up on Aleister Crowley. Black Easter's focal point, the dark wizard Theron Ware, is apparently one of many fictional characters modeled after the real-world Crowley, although the name originates from a more literary reference. And although Ware is a vile villian who (SPOILER!) releases enough demons on mankind to actually kill God, he is still portrayed in a somewhat more sympathetic manner than what the historical Crowley generally warrents- A businessman with a lack of moral compass as opposed to someone relishing in evil for the sake of evil.

I read this at the same time as Frank Herbert's 'The Heavenmakers' and it was interesting to compare Herbert's (arguably) worst book against Blish's (arguably) best. Where Herbert was known for sweeping sagas of great depth in detail and philosophy, Blish had his most commercial success in those awful Star Trek adaptations. But in Black Easter Blish truly suprised me with a rich story full of great characters and a plot that truly kept you guessing, all steeped in a very authentic (and researched) world of historical magic in the 'modern' world.

The theme and commentary of good versus evil set in a nuclear age setting has been very thoughtfully commented on in a way that is very prevelent online for an out-of-print and hard-to-find book (Hugo winner though it may be). The sequel is even harder to track down, but I understand it elaborates much farther on the premise of how Satan handles stepping back into the void left by God. Both books, I imagine, handle superficial silliness like wizards, demons and the Devil with a seriousness and eloquence that leave you feeling as though you've been ingesting much headier subject matter.

Nonetheless, readers who find magic silly in any form will be turned off by the cartoonish presence of demons and wizards as advertised so clearly on the cover. Those who are drawn to arcane incantations and perhaps a marginally veiled reincarnation of Aleister Crowley should move this book to the top of their reading list.

* I am aware that the cover shown above mentions a futuristic setting, and I can see that an apocolyptic ending may warrant the dystopian future label, but I found nothing in the book to dissuade me from thinking that Blish intended the story to take place in his current timeframe of the late sixties.

Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:26:00 +0000

1966

Nick Fury is a bad-ass, not the first by any means but few characters in fiction so perfectly exemplify machismo. With his eye-patch, constant cigar and permanent stubble, not to mention the last name FURY, the guy is solid gold manhood on a platter.

Without checking any wiki pages on his history, I can tell you that Nick Fury got his start as the lead in a WWII comic, Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos. Within a few years the swinging sixties spawned the James Bond movies and multiple copycat spy dudes with slinky ladies and pychedelic dance music soundtracks in the cinemas. Marvel responded by revamping Fury to be a modern day spy. I don't even think they explained the transition at the time- in the early days of Marvel there was no swarm of fans demanding continuity. *1 It was explained eventually that Fury was taking an elixer that slowed his aging. Apparently one or two of his war buddies took it, too, since guys like Dum-Dum Dugan are still around. Oh, and every other major comic book character, too.

Nick Fury has been a mainstay in the Marvel Universe since then, popping up in every major comic as a superhero liason G-Man and exposition dude. He was the first time-traveler I know of who tried to kill off Hitler (the Fantastic Four stopped him from altering history). Despite that god-awful David Hasslehoff movie, Nick never made it to public mainstream awareness. The guy has no superpowers, no major storyline, and is too easily portrayed as a knock-off of manly archetypes.

Then Marvel launched the Ultimate series of comics. Not necessarily geared toward younger readers, the Ultimate comics were designed to start fresh with the Marvel books and draw in new readers. Storylines were started fresh, and the big Marvel icons like the Avengers and Spider-Man were fresh-faced superhero newbies, presumably more relatable to young readers than the old grizzled veterans that I grew up with in the eighties.

They tweaked a few things; mostly costumes, but also storylines and a general updating of forty year old origins. But the most drastic change, in my mind, was ole' Nick Fury. First of all, they changed him from a cigar-chompin' unshaved war veteran into... Samuel L. Jackson. From what I understand they actually asked SLJ for his permission to have the new Fury modeled after him.

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, how cool is Sam Jackson? The most die-hard cynic has to still admire Sam Jackson for an overall career of bad-ass-hood. His worst movie roles have still been cult or critic favorites. Say what you want about the Star Wars prequels, Mace Windu is pretty cool, and that part was made for him- so that's two major geek universe characters designed to look like Samuel L. Jackson. And Samuel loves it- I think he's the kind of guy who goes to Comic Con and genuinely enjoys it.

Also- I like the inversion of modeling fictional characters after real-world counterparts- as opposed to the tradional process of looking for an actor that can portray a character like Superman. It demonstrates a powerful co-existance of Hollywood and comic fandom that was perhaps born when Marlon Brando first donned Krytonian robes.

Still... you changed Sgt. Fury's race??!! And made him bald??!! Wait.. is that a kango? I can be a purist and resistant to needless change. It just seems a total denial of everything that was originally cool about the character. I realize that this sounds very crotchety- like something your slightly racisct grandfather would say. And yes, I realize that the original cigar smoking Fury is intact- But doesn't the whole thing smell like a marketing ploy when it's all said and done? The fact that the movie version Of Fury, which will now get more exposure than ever with the upcoming Avengers, actually features S. Jackson fulfilling the role modeled after him both excites the fanboy in me and irritates the grown cynic I've become.

Just this afternoon (well after I started writing this tirade a week ago) I passed by the TV and caught my nine year old watching yet another animated version of the Avengers on TV, a ploy that even my children recognize is marketing for an upcoming movie as opposed to an original production with artistic merit. Sure enough there was an African-American Nick Fury (but with hair- so totally different from the other versions- ushering a newly awakened Captain America about the modern world. I recognize the need to keep 46 year-old characters fresh and induct new fans like my kids, but you'll never stop professional Haters like me from stomping my feet and shouting that Nick Fury ISN'T AN AVENGER! And wasn't responsible for the formation of the group- no matter what revisionist history is the current / popular version.

And while I recognise that I'm getting farther and farther away from a review of Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., let me comment briefly (if possible) on X-Men: First Class, which I just watched for the first time the other day. Here is a movie that is as revisionist as anything (Darwin an original member... Havok older than Cyclops.. Phooey!) and yet completely retains the SPIRIT of the original. And makes many nice nods to the original X-Men comics, the greatest of which is using the original setting of the sixties. Certainly liberties have been taken with the characters and stories (the X-Men didn't know the Hellfire Club existed until the eighties (shouts the crotchety blogger)) but the core dynamic of ethical ambiguities in the light of persecution and bigotry is portrayed beautifully. One can only hope that the big screen tent-pole production (is that a new term?) of the Avengers retains the same glory of the original... oh wait, The Avengers has always been a big-screen story of star-spangled super-powered doofs banging out their internal issues through violence and spectacle.

What we won't see in the Avengers is the psychedelic and epic art of Jim Sterenko. Sterenko is awesome. He took what should have been a campy rip-off of James Bond using a campy WWII comic book character during the era of campy Stan Lee-Jack Kirby comics and slowly infused it with late sixties psychedlia and pop culture coolness. His backrounds and effects ooze groundbreaking art pastiches that took the rest of the industry years to emulate. The equipment and outfits he gives Fury are so cool it takes even the most hardened reader back to elementary school daydreams of 'wouldn't it be cool if..' And even Fury's hap-slappy dialog and Dum-Dum backslapping get toned down over the course of this collection of fifteen page short stories to portray more dimensional and real characters. Sterenko is the reason that Nick Fury survived the Golden Age of comics and is still around for Sam Jackson to try and pump new life into.

*1 We do that now, but it doesn't stop comic book writers from both companies retro-ing characters and stories whenever and however they want.

Over Sea, Under Stone

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 06:03:00 +0000

1965

Merlin

Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures. Geoffrey combined existing stories of Myrddin Wyllt (Merlinus Caledonensis), a North Brythonic prophet and madman with no connection to King Arthur, with tales of the Romano-British war leader Ambrosius Aurelianus to form the composite figure he called Merlin Ambrosius (Welsh: Myrddin Emrys).

Well, that's what Wikipedia says. For the moment I'm less concerned with Merlin's etymology and am strictly dealing with the over romanticized Merlin of crossover fiction. Merlin (and Arthur) have been portrayed numerously in both literature and movies and television, from the dark ages to the SyFy channel. The beauty of such magical (and near omnipotent) characters is the idea that of all magicians they are the ones most likely to actually possess time and dimension (and parallel world) travel abilities.

Here are a few of my favorite crossover incarnations of Merlin.

Marvel comics: A confusing amalgram of various characters used as a villian, trouble maker or general plot device.

DC comics: A more straightforward version of the same Marvel comics wizard.

Doctor Who: Duh.

There are a dozen more, from Mark Twain to SG-1. I hope I get to them all. But for now I concern myself with the Dark is Rising series. These books are inevitably compared to the Chronicles of Narnia, as they feature a group of young siblings and assorted children encountering a world of magic amidst dry English settings. The older guardian and guide to the children is a mysterious fellow known as Merriman Lyon, a thinly veiled incarnation of Merlin. The storyline draws heavily upon an assortment of mythology, primarily Arturian legend. If you were to think that the description so far would lead one to believe that these books are not terribly original, you'd be right.

And yet author Susan Cooper does an excellent job of creating some compelling characters and weaving an intruiging modern legend of the Old Ones versus the Dark Ones in a somewhat epic battle. Where the series never gained major popularity (at least in the States) and only has some tepid made-for-TV movies to mark as adaptations, there is still a cult-like following of folks who read them as kids or discovered the books as young adults.

I found this book in my collection of science-fiction books my wife purchased from a book store going out of business. I knew nothing about it until the day I picked it up and started reading it.

The first book in the series, Over Sea, Under Stone is like the Hobbit in that it is more of a prequel than the beginning of the main saga. It is unlike The Hobbit in that it is a bit drier and harder to read than the main saga. I think Susan Cooper truly was using the Narnia blueprint of kids exploring their relatives dusty summer house and discovering a magical device as a way to kick start her own concepts for a fantasy series. Some online reviewers suggest skipping this book altogether since it bears absolutely no relevance to the second book and doesn't factor in much to the rest of the series either. But a completist like me has to read every book (especially the ones I own), and I would argue that the introduction of 'Uncle Merry' and the youngest of the protagonists, Barney, is key. Barney seems to have the most instictive understanding of the magic at work, although he is immediately overshadowed and under-used in the remaining books. The pacing may be slow compared to modern Harry Potter expectations, but the fact that the magical elements are slowly doled out is a nice change of pace from the Alice in Wonderland plotlines.

It's tempting to lump these books together and just do a 'Dark is Rising' post, but there is a good span of time between the releases of each volume, and I think I'll honor the spacing in my timeline by doing the same in the blog. Plus, multiple posts that tag Merlin are a good thing.

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 07:39:00 +0000

1961-69

Crazy. Castenda does little to convince the reader (or himself) that Juan's hallucination-induced shamanism involves actual magic or influence by diety, but still fleshes out an ancient and very in-depth belief system that can make the shallowest person understand and believe that our universe consists entirely of how we perceive it.

I was suprised at how many of my friends admitted familiarity with this book, and how many people coyly admitted having read it. I also had a hard time tracking it down at the local library system and reading it before another library patron demanded it. Clearly the merging of the Yaqui mystical use of natural hallucinegens with the growing awareness of youth culture in the late sixties in drug experimentation touched a nerve that still is a little raw and exposed today.

Anyone who has experienced a fraction of Castenda's visions for themselves will know that Don Juan's rituals are more than a primitive way to explain the universe, even if only an insight on the human brain's functionality.

Although shaman magic and spiritual drug use can both play a major role in some of the fiction I read, I'm not aware of any direct crossover appearances of Don Juan in literature. I've certainly met a few dudes who espoused the benefits of taking peyote in the desert, and one or two who claim to have done so, and I would go as far as saying I wouldn't be totally opposed to trying something like that myself. But I think that the drug-induced transformations into a crow and visitations with a higher power are best left to the mists of mythology, religion and Jim Morrison.

Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men: Vol. 2

noreply@blogger.com (B Phat) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:15:00 +0000

1965

The Sentinals. Juggernaut. A backstory that explains Xavier's true intent when forming the X-Men- the future of mutantkind? No! Alien invasion!!

Okay, sure, these comics are cheesy like all old comics. Kirby was great, but like all of Stan Lee's work you have to try and read these comics as though Marvel was still a ground breaking phenomenon instead of a flimsy outline of what other writers and artists would do in the following decades.

But if you can swallow that pill of cynical suspension, these stories really are awesome. Where I recommended volume 1 to only diehard loyalists, this volume is a much more entertaining and well rounded collection of stories that truly expanded the X-Mythos and made all that incredible storytelling in the 70's, 80's, 90's and beyond possible.

life is short

noreply@blogger.com (red5cmb) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:04:00 +0000

The neighbors used to have an idea about what was going on with your kids. Maybe a few family members were in the circle of trust. It's possible that the guys at work knew a little bit about your marital troubles. Maybe you trusted the clerk at your 7-11 enough to bitch and moan about your boss. If you were a mature and well adjusted adult....you may have kept the private stuff private from everybody except your shrink.

Parenting was never as civic as it is today. It takes a village. And it's probable that the whole freaking village just read your status update that your 5th grader is failing math. Marriages are falling apart publicly. Half those marriages originated from an online sponsored rendevous. Your boss is likely to surf the interwebs to dig up dirt on you....and he may very well discover that tweet where you referred to him as a greasy douchenozzle.

Everybody has a mobile sharing device in their pocket. Blackberry got us tapping at handhelds. We think we look like Dr. McCoy....but really we all seem more like Koko the gorilla. And then Steve Jobs put Facebook in all of our pockets. And now the guy who sat behind me in Social Studies is looking at pictures of my son's first day of school in Beaverton, Oregon while eating Nutella on an english muffin, in a cafe that he is the undisputed Foursquare mayor of, in San Juan, Costa Rica.

We now share our family with a pretty large sphere of confluence via social networking and 21st century communication channels. It’s so much easier to reach out to friends and family near and far. So the stuff that consumes our daily energy is now commonplace fodder for chit-chat. The gravity of real-life is not just limited to soul searching conversations between me and my shrink. Actually, I don't have a shrink. And not because I don't need one. But, because I can effortlessly ask for advice from an old college buddy via text message.

Me: "dude, my dad got cancer"
Buddy: "sorry to hear that, you ok?"
Me: "yeah"
Buddy: "life is so short"
Me: "true dat"
Buddy: "hang in there"
Me: "k"

What makes me think.

noreply@blogger.com (red5cmb) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:07:00 +0000

What makes me think? This is a key element to communicating with womenfolk.

I'm not referring to dendrons or grey matter. I'm talkin' 'bout inspiration and motivation and warm fuzzy shit.

Does life experience or cultural norms play a significant role in the underlying processes that perpetuate our thoughts? Are my ideas just the common denomination of emotional whims, hormonal responses and the ambient temperature of the room? How often are thoughts the end result of a bunch of autonomic bodily functions? Can a fart inspire?

Anyway….it’s clear that I need to consider the genesis of a thought before communicating it to my wife. Simple computational data responses are not useful info for her. Crunched numbers and paths of least resistance do not usually give her the type of input she needs to move forward. She needs to know WHY I think what I think. She's like a math teacher demanding that I show my work.

“What makes you think you can say something like that?”, she asked.

What makes me think? I never thought of that before. I've always just taken my ideas for granted.   Until now I've managed to think my way through life in an organic, unforced manner.   I've never questioned why spherical objects feel like a disingenuous expression, that I prefer spumoni ice cream served in a metal bowl or that sock, sock, shoe, shoe, starting with my right foot, is a better order of operations than starting with my left foot or going sock, shoe, sock, shoe.

But this is exactly what my wife needs to know.   Why do I feel the way I do?   This reverse engineering request is tripping me up.   Going backwards to prove my work is putting a kink in my mental flow.   Questioning the thought process is influencing the outcomes.

Last night I expressed my preference for the lusty whores featured in the Game Of Thrones series over the Cylons on Battle Star Galactica.

“What makes you think you can say something like that?”, she asked.

I don't know why.   I really don't. Once I considered the origin of my opinion....evaluating my literary leanings, weighing my experiences with fantasy vs. sci-fi and then traversing all the way back to my adolescent masturbatory fantasies....I lost interest in the idea and started thinking about Mexican food.

Chubby Middle Earth women are sexier than sleek modern robot temptresses.   And fajitas are delicious.   This is just the truth right now.   And I can't really explain why I think I can say something like that.