44/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sarah Pinsker’s “Signs of Life” was the standout for me in this issue.
Personal
The stuff about me and my life. The “diary” side of blogging.
Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
43/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1997 Hugo Best Novel
Earth is in crisis as Mars continues to transform, terraforming spreads through the rest of the solar system, and expanded lifespans prompt questions of population, ploitics, and how the mind and memory adapts to living so long. An excellent end to the series.
Retro News: Gigs Music Theater Closes
A blast from the past — two news reports on the closing of Anchorage’s all-ages music venue Gigs Music Theater, in August of 1998. There’s even a quick shot of me (long-haired, shirtless, and muddy after the ¡TchKung! performance) DJing at the 1:56 mark.
Thanks to Mark Romick and his daughter for recording these way back then, and then unearthing and uploading them (originally to the Facebook ’90s Anchorage Alternaculture group, then I copied the video to YouTube with Mark’s permission and added subtitles).
Clarkesworld Issue 213 edited by Neil Clarke
42/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Favorites this month were “Artistic Encounters of a Monumental Nature” by S.B. Divya, “Himalia” by Carrie Vaughn, and “Off Track” by Luc Diamant.
(Last) Summer Vacation Photos
It took longer than planned (as many projects often do), but I finally completed processing my photos from our vacation last summer.
If you’d like to spend a little time browsing through someone else’s vacation photos, there are four albums up on my Flickr account:
Part one: From Seattle to New York City by cross-country Amtrak.
Part two: Two days in New York City.
Part three: New York City to London by transatlantic cruise on the Queen Mary II.
Part four: Four days in London, and then flying home.
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
41/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Backman is incredibly good at being simultaneously heartfelt and serious and hilariously silly. This story of several people caught in a hostage situation after a bank robbery goes awry is really touching and often had me laughing out loud (something that has been common with all of Backman’s books that I’ve read). Definitely recommended. (And see? I do occasionally read something that isn’t sci-fi!)
Elusive Salvation by Dayton Ward
40/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A fun standalone-but-sequel-of-sorts to Ward’s earlier From History’s Shadow, with time travel, Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln, and lots of fun nods to Trek timeline shenanigans, both canon and literary, including Greg Cox’s Rise and Fall of Khan Noonian Singh books. Kirk just can’t keep away from the 20th century….
Little Audio Upgrade
Just replaced my computer’s old Logitech Z323 2.1 (stereo plus subwoofer) computer speaker setup with a small stereo amp and two small bookshelf speakers, and even just half an hour in, with hours to go before the amp and speakers are really performing at their best, it’s already a noticeably better sound. Fuller and more well-rounded, and as a bonus, not having a subwoofer sitting on the floor of my office means I won’t bother my wife downstairs nearly as much. Well worth it!
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
39/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1996 Hugo Best Novel
As good as every other time I’ve read it, and I think it’s still my favorite of Stephenson’s novels. “Modern Victorians with ubiquitous nanotechnology create a fancy children’s book” might not sound like that fascinating of a concept, but it definitely is. In addition to the oft-mentioned things about Stephenson’s writing that always work for me but don’t work at all for others — the snark, digressions, and sidetracks — it’s his ability to convey highly technical concepts in understandable form, which is highlighted here in some of the stories that the Primer tells, that has always been a big part of the appeal of this book for me.
The Latter Fire by James Swallow
38/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
While following up on a relatively newly encountered alien race, the Enterprise finds itself dealing with a much larger issue than expected. A somewhat predictable primary antagonist, but balanced with a very interesting major threat to all parties.
