ekr is a force for good in computer security and the Internet in general as well as being a unique human. In a good way. What I didn’t know was that he’s willing to give advice on other matters on the record.
It’s like knowing a celebrity. Kinda. Without any of the, yknow, perks.
Reviews of I Am America (And You Can Too), Born Standing Up, and The Physics of Superheroes are up on Bell, Book, and Candle. Mmmmm, Christmas books.
This is long overdue.
Badger Saves the World #1, Baron and Caron. I liked this much better than Badger: Bull in terms of presenting the Badger. There’s more space to breathe and a little more time to let readers ease into his world. The art still isn’t my cup of tea. It seems a little cramped and much less dynamic than I think the Badger needs.
While the pacing is better, things still seem a little uneven. There’s a Badger vs. demon battle that feels tacked on and rushed, as if to show that Badger’s not just crazy. Without room to change tone, it just feels confusing.
Overall, I’d still send people to the back issue bin to see the Badge at his best. Boy I’d love to see a set of Badger reprints like Grimjack and Jon Sable have been getting.
Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #3-4, Palmiotti, Gray, and Arlem. This one’s still in guilty pleasure land. I do continue to like the art, though it isn’t always simple to follow. It is stylish and matches the tenor and pace of the story, which are considerable plusses.
The writing is more troubling. Every issue seems to add a subplot to the mix without resolving any of the existing danglers, which is a little alarming for a half-over 8-issue mini. I do like the consistent nods to the complexities of the real world, but that isn’t really enough characterization. I guess I’d prefer less going on and more characterization – or even more spectacular punch-ups – to rushed characterization and new subplots. It’s still a fun read, though.
Gravel #0, Ellis, Wolfer & Caceres. Beginning of a new series featuring Warren Ellis’s combat magician. Bought more or less on a lark. So far there’s plenty of Grim’n’grtitty dialogue, but not much beyond that. Gravel’s had a run of mini-series and hasn’t died out, so I’ll stick around a while to see what’s here, but this issue was not anything very special.
Black Summer #4, Ellis & Ryp. Very clearly a pacer issue. Several pieces of the chess game move to new positions, but very little happens in terms other than plot. A bunch of ordinance and people are destroyed by the Guns, John Horus shows he’s a bad ass, and Frank Blacksmith is moving new Guns into position. All well and good, but no one will ever say this is their favorite issue of Black Summer.
Captain America #33, Brubaker, Epting, Guice, and D’armata. Like Black Summer above, this is mostly pacing and plot. Bucky mixes it up with Iron Man and a surprise twist that’s only minimally surprising is revealed. I know why Brubaker needs to incorporate the twist, but the real test will be if this book remains readable after it’s added.
Grendel: Behold the Devil #2-3 (of 8), Wagner. Matt’s getting readers into Hunter’s world at a reasonable pace, though it’s starting to take a toll on his characters. As they start to see what goes on in Grendel’s operatic world, it’s difficult to ccntinue to see it as a game. Unless you’re Hunter, of course. For me it’s interesting to see these characters again, but I wonder how new readers are seeing this whole thing unfold.
Will Eisner’s The Spirit #12, Cooke, Bone & Stewart. Looks like we’re not done with Cooke and Co., and I couldn’t be happier. Another updating of an Eisner character where the team does an excellent job keeping the emotional resonances intact while updating the action for the modern reader. That story is so strong, and the updating done with such care, that this remains classic stuff.
Doktor Sleepless #4, Eisner & Rodriguez. Now, this is the way to keep the pot bubbling. We learn some more about the Nurse, there’s an interlude with the Doktor complaining about the state of music today, and then some strange rumblings of badness to come. Each segment is spooky, oblique and raises more questions than it answer.
Looking at the big stack of comics I’m reviewing I was struck by how clean Rodriguez’s art is and how well he tells the story. There are plenty of subtleties to the art, repeating visual motifs, hints in the backs of panels, and such, but his art never looks cramped or busy. It’s art that so well done that it’s easy to miss.
And what can you say about a series that features disemboweling as a repeating motif? Good stuff.
Fell #9, Ellis & Templesmith. While one of the joys and goals of Fell is that each issue tells a complete story, that doesn’t mean that its world is static. This is another great issue in itself, with a tense plot and unusual crime to unravel, but the real tension comes from seeing the long term effects on Richard Fell. It’s becoming clear from both the issue itself and the backmatter that things will be changing more for detective Fell in the coming issues, and it also seems clear that this will not be a pleasant experience. For anyone.
Except, of course, those of us reading about it. Grab the trade paperback and then join in.
Bobby Fischer passed away this week.
When I was in High School, I played chess seriously enough to learn the language and develop an appreciation for the esoteric, mathematical beauty of the game. It’s really remarkable how expressive a few pieces of plastic and a shared understanding of the world that they imply can be. I’ve seen players joke, threaten, rage, panic and nearly everything else within the confines of 64 squares. Even without outside commentary, you can see players talk to one another in the moves they make. Between humans, it’s a framework for interaction and understanding that goes beyond the constrained aspects of play.
Once you’ve learned to converse a little in that dialect, Fischer’s name comes up a lot, and not just for the popularization and politicization of the game that he catalyzed. He was a genuine chess genius. He blazed new trails of play and revitalized lines of thought that were believed to be dead ends with his passion and brilliance. People make analogies between his ability and Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan, but if anything, his presence in chess is larger. Even if he’d never been on the wider world stage, the chess world would remember him as a revolutionary, and rightly so.
Unfortunately, on virtually every other axis he seems to have been unbalanced. Of course, I’ve never met him, so I can only say what I’ve seen reported, but it seems undeniable that he was a dedicated anti-semite and generally a whack-O outside the world of chess.
It’s heartbreaking when someone is clearly superhumanly talented in one area, but so prosaic in others. Outside the game, Fischer was just a guy, and not a guy I had much respect for. That’s just being human, I suppose, but it’s a sad reminder of how many different aspects that game has.
The amazing Rod Van Meter points out this piece of American entertainment history. Words fail me.
If that weren’t enough, a link from the video on that page led me to ShatnerVision. It’s been some time since the Internet scared me (outside of the Warren Ellis context), but I think ShatnerVision has done it.
I know he’s a big name and all, but I’d be tempted to turn down an endorsement with the stink of loss about it. Who’s Mondale behind this year?
Heh. That question was intended to be rhetorical, but I guess it’s not. Apparently we have a horse race after all.
Brenda and I left 32169 in El Paso on our holiday trip because of delays in getting a fuel cap to replace our leaky one. Today I brought her home.
I dwell too much on not making a trip (I’m working hard not to come right out and say failure), as all pilots do, so this holiday trip left a bad taste in my mouth. It’s easy to remember the few problems of the trip, rather than all the fun.
This morning I was at El Paso International bright and early to head home.
In my sad little head, I was thinking “limp home,” but really everything went fantastically well. The plane was raring to go – that new magneto really makes starts smooth – and the weather was great throughout the day. The only sad thing was my empty co-pilot seat.
The first leg to Phoenix Goodyear was marked primarily by stiff headwinds. I kept an eye on the progress with choices in mind in case we couldn’t make the full leg, but we continued to stay within my conservative estimates. It was still almost a 4 hour leg.
Along the way I found myself wanting to get a better idea of our average speed. The GPS provides an instantaneous ground speed sample and an estimated arrival time based on it, but there was enough fluctuation that I didn’t want to subconsciously plan for the best time I’d seen. There may well be a way to get the GNS 430 to use a longer time to calculate its ground spped for me directly, but I used my cardboard E6B. It was cool to see I could still do a time-distance problem given how much I lean on the electronics.
The stop at Goodyear was pretty short, but I did get to see this replica mustang:
and Goodyear has this mysterious boneyard of old transport aircraft:
They cheerfully popped some gas into the plane and off we went for home. The trip to Santa Monica (SMO) was really uneventful. Well, no flight is really uneventful; I saw a pair of F-16s in flight, was alternately eagle-eyed and blind in spotting traffic. Even the winds slowed down. And flying the last leg for home from a long way is always exciting.
Landing at SMO was hampered by low visibility caused by mist in the afternoon sun. Since SMO is my home field, that was more an annoyance than anything else. I’m pretty good at safely winding my way back there.
When’s the next trip?
I’m out in El Paso, bringing 32169 back to SoCal.
Without Brenda, my heretofore unbroken streak of showing up in El Paso and having a reasonable room available has been, well, broken. I managed to find a room near the airport, though for more than I expected to have to pay. Apparently there’s something up in El Paso today; several places were full, and the remaining rooms were at a premium. There is an upside, though. The desk clerk booked me into a suite at no premium. It’s a pretty nice place to crash for the night.
Weather looks good, so hopefully we’ll be back tomorrow.
Aaron Falk’s keen eye brings this tale of love and centralized backups to you from gizmodo.
People ask me how I know of so many movies, but never seem to see any. These summaries might be the reason. You really don’t want to miss The Wrath of Khan in 5 Seconds or Attack of the Clones in 5 Seconds.
Brenda pointed these out to me.