Monthly Archives: February 2023

February 25, 2023

Rucker: Juicy Ghosts

For today’s Sci-Fi Saturday, we have Juicy Ghosts (2021), the latest novel from mathematician turned science fiction writer Rudy Rucker. The library blurb describes it as “a fast-paced adventure novel, with startling science, engaging dialog — and a happy ending. […] It’s also a redemptive political tale, reacting to the chaos of a contested US presidential election.”

It’s very clear from the text — and explicit in his Afterward — that the novel was inspired by recent American politics. The story features a cruel tyrannical President who, backed by Big Money, steals a third term.

And is taken out by technological wizards. As the blurb said, a happy ending.

4 Comments | tags: Rudy Rucker, science fiction, science fiction books, SF, SF Books | posted in Books, Sci-Fi Saturday

February 23, 2023

George Carlin

By Wyrd Smythe

Last time I described how my feelings changed about what was once my favorite TV series, NCIS. In this post, I’ll describe how something similar has happened with my feelings about George Carlin (1937-2008), who was once, by far, my favorite standup comedian.

In both cases, I have a sense that my dying affection involves a combination of prolonged exposure magnifying perceived flaws, evolution on my part, and changes on their part. With Carlin, the way he changed in the late 1990s is the lion’s share of my disenchantment. I still revere early George, still rank him among the greatest.

But I never liked “angry George” and his writing from that era is disappointing.

5 Comments | tags: George Carlin, standup comedy | posted in Books, Rant, Society

February 21, 2023

NCIS: Over and Out

By Wyrd Smythe

‘Tis human trait that, when we love something or someone, we accommodate and excuse flaws. We may not even see them. The classic example is the love a mother has for her child. Very similar is the love any pet owner has for their pet. (Of course, dogs don’t have flaws, so it’s extra easy to love the little darlings.)

Conversely, not loving something or someone tends to amplify flaws. Sometimes to the point it’s all we see. We lose sight of the good, especially over something we once loved. [As Danny DeVito says about Bette Midler in Ruthless People (1986), “I hate the way she licks stamps!” Great line.]

Which brings us to the TV series NCIS.

21 Comments | tags: Doctor Who, NCIS, South Park, The Blacklist, YouTube TV | posted in TV Tuesday

February 19, 2023

Disbelief

By Wyrd Smythe

When I was in college (multiple lifetimes ago) I took a class where we studied the nature of belief and disbelief. It was actually a class about logic and situational analysis, but (despite being raised Lutheran) I attended a Jesuit college, so the emphasis on belief versus disbelief was well aligned with their gestalt.

I loved the class (for many reasons, not all of them scholastic). The topic of what we believe — or disbelieve — has fascinated me ever since. It’s a key branch of philosophy under the umbrella of epistemology, the theory of knowledge.

Because our beliefs affect everything from science to politics to personal relations.

5 Comments | tags: belief, epistemology, ideas and beliefs | posted in Philosophy, Politics, Society

February 17, 2023

Friday Notes (Feb 17, 2023)

By Wyrd Smythe

This is a special edition of Friday Notes. I was planning one this month, just not necessarily today. But I want to share a story about doing my taxes. In particular, as a dedicated misanthropic curmudgeon, it’s rare that I get the chance to be positive about something besides the occasional good book or movie.

I also have a lot of notes that accumulated in my Apple Notes app over the years. For years I’ve meant to publish them here so I could delete them from that app.

Better late than never!

17 Comments | tags: Jack Reacher, Minnesota, money | posted in Friday Notes

February 15, 2023

ALL the Ants!

By Wyrd Smythe

It has been a while since the last Wednesday Wow post. Not so much due to the lack of things that made me go “Wow!” so much as a lack of genuinely interesting things that made me go “Wow!” I suppose the older one gets, the more jaded (and faded) one gets. [Don’t grow old if you can avoid it. It kinda sucks.]

But I found myself actually (literally!) exclaiming “Wow!” (and LOL-ling) when I watched the video that’s the centerpiece of this post. To fill out the post, I’ll include some similar videos they’ve done. It’s all about framing size comparisons to help communicate the smallness (or largeness) of something.

In this case, ants. All the ants. In the world.

2 Comments | tags: ants, CGI, YouTube | posted in Wednesday Wow

February 9, 2023

Grandpa Came to Play!

By Wyrd Smythe

Somewhen in 2020 I decided, for my own peace of mind, to eliminate news and especially politics from my life. The former has become utterly vapid and useless (extra especially any form of TV news), and the latter has become disgustingly polarized and pointless. I genuinely haven’t missed either, not one iota.

But two things combined to make me seek out a stream of President Biden’s State of the Union address this past Tuesday. Firstly, this post of mine from 2016, about President Obama’s last SOTU address, got a bunch of hits. Secondly, there were accounts that it was pretty awesome.

And, in more ways than one, indeed it was.

6 Comments | tags: Joe Biden, President Biden, State of the Union | posted in Politics, Rant

February 7, 2023

The Umbrella Academy

By Wyrd Smythe

Over the last week or so I’ve been watching The Umbrella Academy (2019-2022; Netflix; three seasons; 10 episodes each). Speaking as someone who is beyond being over live-action superhero stories, I rather enjoyed it. Enough that I plan to check out (in both senses of the word) the same-named graphic novels the show is adapted from.

And that right there says even more about my enjoyment of the series. How many times have I written here that doing a live-action adaptation of comics or animated shows is a mistake that usually ends badly? (A lot is the answer.) And it’s a Netflix show to boot.

Yet, despite some small annoyances, I found it quite engaging.

6 Comments | tags: adaptations, Netflix, superheroes | posted in TV Tuesday

February 6, 2023

P.D. James

By Wyrd Smythe

Yesterday I at long last dipped my toe into yet another author I’ve been meaning to explore for (quite literally) many decades: P.D. James (1920-2014). My dad — from whom I inherited my love of mysteries — thought she was pretty good, so she’s been on my list for a long time.

While not nearly as prolific as the great Dame Agatha Christie, James very much follows in, and even extends, the tradition of British murder mysteries.

So far, I’ve only read a bunch of her short stories and gotten started on one of her novels — which I’ll be returning to and curling up with as soon as I finish this (hopefully short) post.

18 Comments | tags: Agatha Christie, P.D. James, Tony Hillerman | posted in Books, Mystery Monday