I've ranted about this at length elsewhere and at much greater length than I tend to post here.
I read a lot of books. A good trilogy really gets me excited.
That said, however, I'm done with Honor Harrington. I'm done with Harry Dresden.
You reach the point where you no longer fear for the protagonist. I thought the first few books in both series were excellent. But, by the time you start hitting book eight, you realize that there's no reason to fear for the character's survival anymore.
And yes, I know that (SPOILER WARNING) Harry Dresden was killed off at the end of one of his books. But you can't write The Dresden Files without Harry Dresden, so he'll be back. You'll see.
Honor Harrington exists in the "Honorverse." And you can have Honor's universe without Honor herself - and David Drake seems aware of this. He has expanded the universe a bit and has written books that feature other characters. Whether this is because he's bored of the character (like I am) or because he wants to make sure he can kill her off and still have a career ... well, it makes a difference.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was great. But each successive book lowered its quality compared to the preceding book to the point where it was a real struggle to get through Mostly Harmless.
Writers? Give me a trilogy. In a trilogy, I can still fear for the protagonist. Don't go much past that, though. Please.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Basketball
When I was younger, I disliked all sports. Every one of them. Now that I'm grown, I enjoy a few of them, but I don't understand the appeal of basketball. At all.
Most games, the offense and defense are somewhat balanced. In basketball, the defense is almost unimportant. Many of the games I've sat through boil down to Team A Scores! Team B Scores! Team A Scores! Team B Scores!
It's the ball moving back and forth and back and forth and ... well, being uninteresting.
If basketball had more or better-balanced defensive options, I might find it worth watching. Soccer and Hockey have designated defensive players. Football almost has two separate teams. Baseball ... baseball is weird.
The winner in a basketball game tends to be the team who sinks 3-point shots instead of the usual 2-pointers. Or manages to pull off even a single defensive play.
Is there skill involved in shooting the ball through the hoop? Yes. Absolutely. Are these people athletes beyond my ability? Yes. Absolutely.
Do I want to participate and/or watch it?
No. Absolutely not.
Most games, the offense and defense are somewhat balanced. In basketball, the defense is almost unimportant. Many of the games I've sat through boil down to Team A Scores! Team B Scores! Team A Scores! Team B Scores!
It's the ball moving back and forth and back and forth and ... well, being uninteresting.
If basketball had more or better-balanced defensive options, I might find it worth watching. Soccer and Hockey have designated defensive players. Football almost has two separate teams. Baseball ... baseball is weird.
The winner in a basketball game tends to be the team who sinks 3-point shots instead of the usual 2-pointers. Or manages to pull off even a single defensive play.
Is there skill involved in shooting the ball through the hoop? Yes. Absolutely. Are these people athletes beyond my ability? Yes. Absolutely.
Do I want to participate and/or watch it?
No. Absolutely not.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Coffee
When I was a kid, I was really excited about becoming a grownup, so I could drink coffee, because that's what my dad drank (and continues to drink). For me, being a grownup was synonymous with drinking coffee.
By that standard, I plan to never grow up.
The first time I had coffee, it was so amazingly bitter that I couldn't understand why anyone would voluntarily drink it.
My second sip was worse.
I've tried sugar and milk and cream and honey and just about everything else people put into their coffee to make it palatable - and it's still completely revolting.
Those of you who don't know, I live in Seattle. We're the coffee capital of the US, and have inflicted Starbucks and Seattle's Best Coffee and Tully's and several other brands on the rest of you. We triggered that "artisan coffee" craze. And it all tastes the same.
I can't tell the difference between Javan, Sumatran, Kona, and Columbian. I don't care if it's fine-ground, coarse ground, home ground, whole bean or powdered. Instant, drip, slow-brewed, campfire-brewed and flash-brewed all taste exactly the same to me.
I can't see why anyone would voluntarily ingest this stuff.
By that standard, I plan to never grow up.
The first time I had coffee, it was so amazingly bitter that I couldn't understand why anyone would voluntarily drink it.
My second sip was worse.
I've tried sugar and milk and cream and honey and just about everything else people put into their coffee to make it palatable - and it's still completely revolting.
Those of you who don't know, I live in Seattle. We're the coffee capital of the US, and have inflicted Starbucks and Seattle's Best Coffee and Tully's and several other brands on the rest of you. We triggered that "artisan coffee" craze. And it all tastes the same.
I can't tell the difference between Javan, Sumatran, Kona, and Columbian. I don't care if it's fine-ground, coarse ground, home ground, whole bean or powdered. Instant, drip, slow-brewed, campfire-brewed and flash-brewed all taste exactly the same to me.
I can't see why anyone would voluntarily ingest this stuff.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Garfield
Garfield.
Yes, that one.
When I was a kid, Garfield was hilarious. But he only has a few jokes:
- Mondays
- Food
- Sleeping
- Beating up Odie
- Jon's Patheticness
Sadly, all five of those jokes have been beat to death. At this point, Jim Davis is milking a dead cow - and making money at it.
When I was a kid, that limited selection of jokes was enough for me. These days, I need a wider variety of humor to keep me entertained, and Garfield just doesn't do it for me.
Jim Davis - the cartoonist - is apparently a pretty cool guy. But there are dozens of cool people out there, and most of them don't write Garfield. Maybe Jim Davis should join the rest of them.
Yes, that one.
When I was a kid, Garfield was hilarious. But he only has a few jokes:
- Mondays
- Food
- Sleeping
- Beating up Odie
- Jon's Patheticness
Sadly, all five of those jokes have been beat to death. At this point, Jim Davis is milking a dead cow - and making money at it.
When I was a kid, that limited selection of jokes was enough for me. These days, I need a wider variety of humor to keep me entertained, and Garfield just doesn't do it for me.
Jim Davis - the cartoonist - is apparently a pretty cool guy. But there are dozens of cool people out there, and most of them don't write Garfield. Maybe Jim Davis should join the rest of them.
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