Month: February 2020

Thoughts on Splintergate

I’m not sure if I actually receive more fantasy books than science fiction ones to review, or if it just feels like it. I’d have to go through my list of books and categorize each one to come up with a number. That said, when I do receive a science fiction book, it tends to stand out, which Splintergate certainly did. This review was published in the November 15, 2019 issue of Booklist.  Shortly after I read it, I found myself in line for a rollercoaster at Six Flags talking to some other geeks, and highly recommended the book to them.

Deborah Teramis Christian returns to the world of the Sa’adani with Splintegrate, following the interwoven stories of Hinano Kesada (Kes), a professional dominatrix; Janus, a cartel triumvir; and Metmuri Esimir, a brilliant scientist. Their destinies converge when the Emperor’s right hand, Ilanya Evanit (Eva), embarks on a mission to assassinate Janus just after he travels offworld on a business trip. With assistance from the local authorities and the Imperial Navy base where Esimir explores splitting different facets of a person’s personality into separate clones, Eva rearranges Kes’s world and Esimir’s project to suit her assassination plan. As Eva’s plan reaches its apex, Kes’s life begins to unravel around her, a casualty of a political war she is completely oblivious to. Esimir is impressed with the results of his experiment, yet simultaneously appalled at Eva’s warped approach in using his process, which he realizes matches the Navy’s plan. There is never a dull moment in this thoroughly developed science fiction novel; the adventure and background will delight readers, with cultures and subcultures, science, and interspace politics explained throughout.

Getting involved at a convention

Smaller conventions are typically run by non-profit organizations, and as such, are a labor of love put on by volunteers. I spent last weekend at Capricon, an awesome winter convention in Chicagoland.

You won’t see a lot of big name media guests and lines for signatures at this type of convention.  Instead, you’ll have a handful of guests – authors, artists, musicians, and others – who enjoy interacting with other geeks.  Take a look at WindyCon’s website for an example of guests coming to Chicagoland this fall.

Conventions don’t magically happen.  They’re the result of extensive planning, typically starting more than a year before the event.  If this year’s convention can announce the dates and location for next year, that means there’s a contract for the location and somebody has already been working on next year, all while preparing this year’s convention.  And that’s just the beginning.

There’s a schedule, generally provided in the program book and a portable version called a pocket program.  The schedule encompasses the various departments within the convention – areas that have to be staffed with department heads and more, along with volunteers to help during the convention.  Most small conventions have a con suite, which offers food to attendees.  That means shopping for food and drinks ahead of time, and having people available throughout the hours that con suite is open, including people who can handle food.  (I don’t know what is needed for that, I just know there’s something special.)  

There are typically panels – multiple rooms running various topics concurrently – and gaming.  Somebody comes up with panel topics and finds people who are willing to discuss those with whoever shows up.  If there’s a game schedule, that’s another set of volunteers that somebody needs to coordinate.  Even if there’s no game schedule, there’s a games library and a checkout process.  Plus registration, operations, security, art show and auction… a lot of people are needed to make these conventions happen. 

And then there are the parties, typically run by groups of fans or other conventions… maybe I’ll talk about those next week. 

Setting the mood with music

Music is all around us. There’s the hum of the furnace pushing air into the house, the slight rattle as something tumbles in the dryer, the percussive beat to the cat jumping on the counter, and the subsequent crash of a drying eggshell shattering on the floor.  

In January, I posted a song on Facebook each day as the first song of the day.  These ranged from silly (Mahna Mahna) to fun (Que Te Pasa) to heart-wrenching (Empty Chairs at Empty Tables).  My qualifier was that I post the first song I sang – even if just a snippet – on that day.  The song itself didn’t necessarily set the mood, starting the day singing is always a good thing. 

And assortment of radio stations on Pandora

Some mornings I start by walking on the treadmill; on those days, my first song was more likely to come from Pandora. As you can see from the screenshot, that doesn’t narrow it down much… my stations include Disney, Broadway, 80’s music in English and Spanish, along with some other odd mixes.

At work, if I have any music on, it’s usually classical; I find it hard to focus on working if I want to sing along. In the spring, the music selection will probably be open windows and chirping birds. But for now, there’s snow on the ground and I can’t hear the cardinals at the bird feeder through the closed windows and the humming furnace.

Dolittle… a fun romp with talking animals

Robert Downey Jr. returns to the big screen in Dolittle as an eccentric rich man who takes a young orphan under his wing while demonstrating a tendency towards creating wacky gadgets and talking with animals.  I know, it sounds quite similar to his role as Iron Man, but in Dolittle, the British kid gets to keep his own accent.  And there are multiple animals, instead of just a talking raccoon.  To be fair, Tom Holland may have kept his real accent too… he voices a dog.  (The less that is said of Downey’s variable accent, the better.)

We had seen the previews for Dolittle repeatedly and thought it would be an entertaining pair of hours.  It’s not high quality literature or cinema, it doesn’t even address the personal and social issues that Eddie Murphy delved into as Doctor Dolittle in his incarnation of the role.  The over-arching plot is that Dolittle and sidekicks must search for a miracle cure for the Queen on an undiscovered island, using only notes that Dolittle’s late wife left behind… after they retrieve those notes.

Most of the animals have ongoing issues that Dolittle is supposed to be solving, including a gorilla who’s so frightened of confrontation, he is hesitant to play chess; an injured squirrel who amuses viewers with his occasional commentary; and an emotionally stunted tiger living in the shadow of his brother, who as everybody knows, eats poachers.  The silliness is increased by an over-the-top villain who is clearly envious of Dolittle’s rapport with animals and is desperately trying to outdo him on anything.

This movie’s good for a few laughs.  If you happen to see it at a theater that sells alcohol (and you’re of an appropriate age), the alcohol will probably help.  Especially when Dolittle helps the dragon.