So, I've been planning to blog for weeks now, but I just didn't have anything profound on the brain to share. Still don't. This may be boring.
-Enjoyed my first real Spring Break. It came just in time. Didn't do much of anything. I bought some shoes, but I already blogged about that.
-I have exactly 8 weeks left of school. Woohoo! Summer vacation cannot be overstated enough as a perk of being a school teacher.
-When I was in about 7th grade, I discovered a comic book/graphic novel that, much like Battlestar Galactica now, signifies the singularity of my own geekdom existence: Elfquest. It claims to be the longest running independent comic book in existence. I just re-read the original 4 Graphic Novels (which tell the story of the original quest) last week. It holds up. With a large cast of 3 dimensional characters and a sweeping epic of a story, I really can't believe that more people don't talk about it like Lord of the Rings. I'm even more amazed that it hasn't been tapped for a movie franchise. The visuals/storyboards are already there. The characters/conflicts/lovestory/sex are already there. And to some extent, the rabid, albeit maybe more sparse fan base is already there. It is a comic book, but that's what all the movie execs are looking for, right? And the big difference is that there's a lot more female characters to work with and to entice female audience than just about any superhero movie. I don't know.
-I also re-read Ender's Game. It's right up there with A Prayer for Owen Meany in the all time favorite books. I just wish I could find something else that came close to it. Any ideas on good "soft" Scifi?
-Benchmarks start in one week. I'm not really looking forward to it. I don't think I'm a bad teacher, but I don't know what else to do to motivate these students and I'm afraid of how those scores are going to look. I still think they're too coddled.
-I should have mowed this weekend, but the lawn mower wouldn't start, so that was enough of an excuse for me.
-I finally ordered a new computer last week. Dell had a good deal I couldn't pass up. I don't spend any money easily and purchases more than about $20 cause me to vacillate incessantly. (incidentally, the last two words of the last sentence would make my 7th graders brains explode...but so would "incidentally".) I also get nervous about buying a mass marketed computer because of the recording applications I use it for. However, I've not really recorded much of anything for quite some time, so why does that matter? why indeed...
-I need to get to writing. I've had some ideas and just haven't sat down and done anything. Again, just because I have a job and I don't have to worry about music providing a living, that doesn't mean that I have any more self-motivation or discipline.
-I have a gig in 5 weeks. I need to figure out how to get some people there and I'd really like to debut at least a couple of new songs. Of course, that means I need to write them. I also need to start playing more so that I have at least a little bit of callouses.
I told you. This was going to be boring.
3 comments:
have you read any of the vorkosigan books by lois mcmaster bujold? they're pretty good. i read a most of them last year, everything from warrior's apprentice on, chronologically.
i haven't read much scifi for comparison, but i read several of the ender books (though a long time ago) and the average vorkosigan book is probably better than the average ender. in fact, the best (certainly the most memorable, least boring) ender i read was the first one (ender's game), and the best vorkosigans were definitely the last two: mirror dance and memory. (i can't say whether they would have the same impact for a reader lacking the back story and character development from the rest of the series. maybe?)
also, curse of chalion is at least as good as any of the vorkosigan series, and it certainly stands alone. also it has a pseudo-spiritual element that's mostly absent from the vorkoisigans. but it's fantasy, not scifi, sorry.
-Trevor
p.s. the whole v series is maybe a bit less "soft" than ender. mirror dance in particular has some bits that are a bit gruesome. but it's a well-executed novel. memory was the most emotionally compelling (again, i surmise that it could lose some potency without the context of the rest of the series). i think i even teared up some. i never do that with books.
you speak of scifi as if it were porn. if there were a way to report dorkiness, i would have to do so.
Post a Comment