Blog, Jvstin Style

How Do You Organize Your Library?

John Ottinger III @ Grasping for the Wind [http://www.graspingforthewind.com]: asks:

As an avid reader, you probably have scads and scads of books. How do you like to organize them? Category, title, author, ebooks only, or some mix thereof? Explain your organizational system for books, (or lack of it) and why it works for you.

Organization? What is this word of which you speak?

Seriously, I have too many books to really organize them well, given space limitations. This has been doubly true since moving in with My Friends the Olsons.

I do roughly classify and store them as follows:

Fiction: This is almost exclusively science fiction and fantasy, or stuff that is very close to it (e.g. Jorge Luis Borges, Lewis Carroll).

Roleplaying books: I have plenty of these, ranging from a first edition D&D DMG to the latest stuff from Evil Hat, Chad Underkoffler, and the Forge.

"Reference books": This is what I call non fiction that I like to dip in, and use ideas for games and writing and whatnot. Historical atlases, history books, a tarot book, a dictionary or two on mythology, and more. I also think of this as "browsing reading", stuff to be gleaned and glanced over at my leisure.

Five Question Meme

Via Rich Ditullio

How to play:
- Leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile".
- I'll respond by asking you five questions to satisfy my curiosity.
- Update your blog/journal with the answers to your questions.
- Include this explanation and offer to ask other people questions.

Rich asked me interesting questions...

1. What national parks are at the top of your list to visit someday?

Most of them. But I will limit myself to three:

Mount Rainier. I thought this would be the place I would get to first step on a Glacier, but I managed that feat in Canada. Still want to see this most impressive mountain anyway!

Grand Canyon: One of the natural wonders of the entire World. I'm there for it.

Yosemite: Because its so damned beautiful. Even if my friends and I made a drinking game out of Ken Burns National Parks show based on the number of times they showed pictures from Yosemite, even if the episode had NOTHING to do with the Park...

2. What is the RPG that you most want to play but haven't found a group for?

Probably Swashbucklers of the Seven Skies. I really want to see what PDQ can do and the setting is just made of win.

3. By a strange quirk of fate, you are selected to be the next Doctor. What do you choose for your outfit?

Me, the Doctor? Good grief!

Judging from past Doctor's and the patterns in clothing...

Button up grey and blue-grey shirts, always buttoned to the top button. No tie unless I was trying to get into a formal occasion of some kind.

To get that infinite pocket advantage, my coat would be a light windbreaker, bright blue with grey trim. (I can imagine an episode set on some iceball where my companion is aghast that I am so apparently under dressed for the occasion)

Brainy specs ;)

Sensible white and blue sneakers. If I am going to be the Doctor, I have to do an insane amount of running.

Belt with a silver buckle, inscribed with an infinity symbol.

4. What book or short story would you most like to see turned into a movie?

So many, and I realize that none would ever really be done right.

But if I had to choose one, I would love to have Jack Vance's Planet of Adventure series turned into a series of movies. And with CGI as it is these days, it could definitely be done and done well.

5. What are your favorite moments that have come out of Strange Bedfellows?

I've been running SB for a bloody long time. I've had disappointments, failures, and catastrophes. But the game still runs, so I and players I've had must be doing something right...

...like Jayson facing off and taking Brand to a stalemate in combat.

...like Ederyn making a snap decision and accepting the fealty of the Weir as Eric's son

...like tuckerizing myself and my friends the Olsons into a cameo appearance.

...like the shock that Alex's player had when she realized OOC that Alex was facing off against a Dalek

...and although it was a bit of a clusterflock, the Battle of the Fount at the Keep of Four Worlds.

And many others!

What am I reading now?

Via SF Signal and other places.

1. What Book Are You Reading Now?
2. Why did you choose it?
3. What's the best thing about it?
4. What's the worst thing about it?

1. Into the Looking Glass, John Ringo
2. I wanted to try Ringo again after a negative previous experience.
3. Competent protagonists that drive the narrative forward
4. The liberal-bashing politics is getting old, fast.

The Best Genre-Related Books/Films/Shows Consumed in 2009

Sf Signal has been asking luminaries in the SF field what they considered the best Genre Related books, films and shows they consumed in 2009. Note that the material does not necessarily need to have come out in 2009, they just have had to consume it.

Unlike Gaul, the Sfsignal article is divided into four parts:


http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/12/mind-meld-the-best-genre-related-booksfilmsshows-consumed-in-2009-part-1/

http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/12/mind-meld-the-best-genre-related-booksfilmsshows-consumed-in-2009-part-2/

http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/12/mind-meld-the-best-genre-related-booksfilmsshows-consumed-in-2009-part-3/

http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/12/mind-meld-the-best-genre-related-booksfilmsshows-consumed-in-2009-part-4/

Behind the cut, my own choices!

Books:

I read over 50 books this year, many of them in the genre. The ones I liked best were:

Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance
There was no way that this tribute anthology to Vance's work would miss being on this list. A real treasure.

Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera, Book 1). I've come late to the Calderon party. I listened to the first book and a half of the Codex Alera series on vacation, read the remainder of the second book, and now am going to tackle book three. Epic Fantasy done right, and with more than a little Roman flavor.

Three Unbroken (Novel of Celestial Empire). I really like Chris Roberson's work, and this is the latest novel in his Celestial Empire universe, where China and the Aztecs duel over the planet Mars...

Films

It was a good year for SF films:

Star Trek (Single-Disc Edition). Star Trek is a reboot done right. Even with that darned overuse of lens flare, Star Trek lives again!

Back to the Future - The Complete Trilogy (Widescreen Edition). I picked this up this year. I recall being less than enthused, back in the day, with the third film. On this watch through, though, I have come around to its charms. And the first movie is a classic, period, full stop.

Up. I should be shot if I didn't include what might be the best Pixar movie yet.

Avatar: Sure, the story is weak, but the technical aspects of Avatar put it on this list. You must see this film and see what Cameron's use of technology has wrought. You simply must.

Shows:

Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series. The last fourth season of the Doctor, and how! From Pompeii to the Medusa Cascade, another trip of a lifetime, with a heartrending ending to boot.

Sanctuary: The Complete First Season. Although I didn't really like it at first, watching episodes at my friends house has warmed me to this series. And certainly, on cable, it has less of the tsuris that, say, Dollhouse has gotten itself into.

Doctor Who: The War Games (Story 50). This classic episode, the last of the Troughton era, was recently re-released on DVD. A perfect swan song for the Second Doctor, Zoe and Jamie.

What are the worst or most disappointing endings in science fiction/fantasy novels

John Ottinger asks:

What are the worst or most disappointing endings in science fiction/fantasy novels? Why?

I'm going to limit myself to just one...

My nomination, and it pains me to do it, because I like the novels so much otherwise, is Peter F Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy.

Big scale space opera, lots of cool technology, returned dead plaguing human space. Hamilton thinks big, writes big and loves the cast of thousands with viewpoint characters spread across a wide swath of locales and situations. Peter F Hamilton is a leading star of the "New Space Opera".

But the ending, Peter, the ending! The novels are let down badly by the denouement. The denouement of the trilogy is, unfortunately, a complete and literal deus ex machina. Joshua Calvert literally finds a lost God (a naked quantum singularity) to undo all of the damage (and change the nature of human space in the bargain). I felt cheated by this. After thousands of pages, the book ends like a bad medieval morality play.

I am very happy that subsequent novels from Hamilton have had much better endings, but this series just fails on that level. I wonder if Hamilton rewrote the novels today if he wouldn't be able to do it better. (He could hardly make it worse!)

The Dan Brown Sequel Generator

Via Michael Flynn

The Dan Brown Sequel Generator!

Zombie Attack Meme

You are in a mall when the zombies attack. You have:
1. one weapon.
2. one song blasting on the speakers.
3. one famous person to fight alongside you.

Weapon can be real or fictional, you may assume endless ammo if applicable. Person can be real or fictional.

Weapon: With no offense to the US Military, I want the most basic, reliable assault rifle in the world. I can't afford a jam, I need to kick Zombie a**. I want an Ak-47.

Song: "Holding out for a Hero", the Jennifer Saunders (Shrek 2) version

Person: I want the guy who has saved the world in his movie already, fighting every step of the way. I want Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) from The Fifth Element.

Zombies won't stand a chance.

Why did I wait so long... Meme

Have you ever read a classic novel (of any genre) and had the realization, mid-novel "Why did I wait so long to read this?"

Or perhaps it was a classic movie that, in the midst of it, you had the same reaction? Or even a music album of some sort?

I'm having that reaction right now, reading Alfred Bester's THE STARS MY DESTINATION.

What stories do you have to share of similar experiences?

(Or do it on your own blog/LJ. Think of it as a meme)

Five Fictional Characters I want at my side

Here are five fictional characters that I want on my side when the apocalypse comes.

1. Flash Gordon. I need a Big D*mn Hero.
2. Indiana Jones. Because if I need someone to translate an ancient text AND get into the ancient temple to find what it points to, I want Indy.
3. Princess Fiona of Amber. I probably want a sorceress at my back...
4. Samantha Carter of SG-1. Strange alien technology? She'll figure it out!
5. Hoban 'Wash' Washburne of Firefly/Serenity. If we have to get off the Earth, I want him as pilot.

Your turn!

Spelling name in Flickr

Via Kathryn Cramer

Spell with Flickr

Meme of Fours

The Washington Monthly

Via Kevin Drum, my answers in the extended Entry.

Four jobs you've had in your life: Newspaper Delivery in a hospital, tutor, Assistant Price Integrity Coordinator for a Supermarket, Stuffing envelopes for an Irvine housing association

Four movies you could watch over and over:
Star Wars, eXistenZ, The Matrix, The Truman Show

Four places you've lived: Staten Island, NY, Santa Ana, California, Anaheim, California, Blaine, Minnesota

Four TV shows you love to watch:: Battlestar Galactica, Good Eats, NY Giants Football, Headline News

Four places you've been on vacation:
Niagara Falls, NY, London, U.K., New Orleans, LA, Silver Bay, MN

Four websites you visit daily:Amazon.com, livejournal.com, gmail.com, washingtonmonthly.com

Four of your favorite foods:
Chili, Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Nathan's Hot Dogs, Drake's Yodels

Four places you'd rather be:(To visit): New York, NY, London, U.K., The Pyramids, Egypt, Where any of my long distance friends live.

Cardinal Directions

Here is a Meme that I am hoping people will pick up, since its one of those things that interest me about myself, and other people, and its relatively fun and easy. And if it doesn't, well you will learn a little more about me anyhow.

I call it, for lack of a better title, Cardinal Directions

UPDATE: Cleared up a couple of things on the meme.

Slight update for clarification: I generally am curious about the boundaries as far as land goes. It's harder and not quite as fair to use things like the height an airplane reaches above the ground, nor the path of an airplane on a great circle route.

As far as East/West goes, I do realize the Greenwich Meridian and the International Date line complicates matters. The way I mentally think of East and West are as relative directions from your hometown, as measured by the shortest distance. This is to say, from NYC, Greenwich England is the furthest East I've been, even if it is technically also the furthest West. Of course people who have circumnavigated the globe can't really answer the East/West question.

What is the furthest North you have ever been?

The north suburbs of London, England, visiting the RAF museum there.

The furthest South?

St. Petersburg, Florida.

The furthest West?

San Simeon, Hearst Castle, on the California coast

The furthest East?

Greenwich Meridian, London, England (in the Western Hemisphere: Black Rock, Connecticut)

The highest elevation?

A little more than a mile above sea level, at Idyllwild, California.

Whig and Federalist Test

Whig and Federalists Quiz

Got this via Ginger, a political quiz for the alternate political parties in the alternate world that the author has cooked up. You know me...alternate history, I'm there.

I wound up as a Moderate Whig in this alternate universe. Considering how the politics in this world are different, I think it was probably a tossup between that and Moderate Federalist. (At least as far as I understand his two parties)

Sevens

Got this meme via Ginger, who got it via Tim Hall.

Maybe this will help me feel better, thinking about something OTHER than my situation...note these are not in any sort of ranking order. And it is admittedly incomplete

Seven Things That Make Me Laugh:

1.Monty Python
2.It's a Mad Mad Mad World (movie)
3.A weird spot on my hip/thigh
4.Dilbert (comic)
5.Get Fuzzy (comic)
6.Terry Pratchett novels
7.Political cartoons

Seven Things I Love:
1.The Sciences
2.Stargazing
3.NFL Football
4.Waterfalls
5.Maps and Atlases
6.Computer Strategy Games
7.Roleplaying

Seven Things I Loathe:
1.Fox News Network
2.Fundamentalists of any stripe
3.Beef Liver
4.Telemarketers
5.Hazy, Hot, Humid Days
6.Spam
7.Morons

Seven Things on my Desk:(at work)
1. My band-broken watch
2. Post it notes
3. Tape dispenser
4. Pencil
5. Staple remover
6. Bottle of Propel water
7.Unfinished roll of Spree

Seven Facts About Me:
1.I'm the only person in my family to have lived in three time zones
2.I've visited both Disneyland and Disney World
3.My laughing has been compared to "Mutley"
4.All of my computer knowledge is self-taught
5.I suffer from moderate to severe motion sickness
6.I dream in color and in full sound
7.I collect ammonite fossils

Seven Things I Can Do:
1.Multitask on a PC
2.Put my leg behind my head
3.Create RP scenarios on the fly
4.Rattle off two dozen digits of pi
5.Name twilight zone episodes from watching the opening scene
6.Conduct microbiological lab experiments
7.Orient myself by the stars

Seven Things I Can’t Do:
1.Sing
2.Dance
3.Play sports well
4.Walk by a bookstore without stopping inside
5.Drive stick-shift
6.Tie a bowtie
7.Do those magic-eye puzzles

Seven Famous People I Want To Meet:
1. Stephen Hawking
2. Patrick Stewart
3. Jimmy Carter
4. Phil Simms
5. Brian Greene
6.Patrick McGoohan
7.Queen Noor

Seven Albums People Should Give a Listen:
1. Time, by ELO
2. One, by the Beatles
3.The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Soundtrack
4.90125 by Yes
5.Traveling Wilburys Vol 3, by the Traveling Wilburys
6.2112, by Rush
7.Journey to the Center of the Earth, by Rick Wakeman

Monday Mashup: Fantastic Four

This week's Monday Mashup is: The Fantastic Four

I'd do the Fantastic Four as a Nobilis game. The idea of familia is one already in Nobilis, its possible that an Imperator would have chosen four members of an already existing family to be his or her Powers. Naturally, it would be a rather odd Imperator with estates of Fire, Transparency, Stone(?) and Flexibility(?) but I've seen odder combinations on the Nobilis List. Considering the Richards family's devotion to Mankind, they would be Nobles of the Light, of course.

I don't thinK I'd give them the full points; making this a little underpowered (to, say Amber character level than full Nobles) would make for a more satisfactory game experience. But with Excrucians and agents of the Dark as opponents, it would certainly be a more action packed Nobilis game than the usual...but I think it could be a lot of fun, as well.

Quote of the Day

"Friends don't issue thinly veiled threats to sue friends."

--Paul Weimer