In spite of our exhaustion (neither Joy or I are morning people) we arrived safely at her apartment in Napa at almost exactly noon. This was three hours sooner than Joy's appointment with the manager, who was not in her office when we arrived. Having several hours to kill, we went off to downtown Napa, where we ate at a wonderful little cafe called Christopher's Fine Foods.
After eating, we went to check out the local fair. After some difficulty, we found the fair and discovered that it was small, most of the the space being taken up with carnival rides and the air full of cheesy Disney music. The price of admittance was ten dollars and neither of us felt like paying that much to go in, so we went to visit the Oxbow instead. The Oxbow is a magnificent (if small) indoor market located not coincidentally by a river oxbow. The market has all kinds of local businesses, including a tea shop, a chocolate shop, an artisan olive oils shop, a cheese shop, and of course a wine shop. Almost everything has samples and it is all of high quality. Also, there's a local food grocer, so it's pretty much total win.
After a short visit there, the apartment manager called to let us know we could come in. Signing the lease took Joy about an hour and in the meantime I texted with friends and tried to keep from falling asleep in the lounge (I'd been an utter fool and stayed awake till one the night before). Finally, my day came to its climax with a rousing nap, from which I awoke with a miserable sinus headache that consumed the rest of the evening.
Around seven my dad arrived with the truck and we unloaded it, while Joy ran for sinus medicine (I felt like my brain was twice it's normal size and was pushing against my head, which was about to explode from the pressure).
It was the headache which prevented me from posting a blog last night, and so I write this one now. Look for a post on our second day in Napa later tonight. I'm going to go have diner, and maybe even some of that famous Napa Valley wine.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Road Trip: Day One - On to Napa
Today begins the first day of my road trip to Vancouver, Canada to visit Regent College, and thus also begins my accounting of the trip. The plan, as some of you know, is to make nightly posts about the progress and events of the trip.
I originally planned to leave with my friends on Sunday the 16th, but the best laid plans, as the say... My sister Joy got a job in gorgeous Napa Valley and needed to move up post haste. Since our road trip passed through that area, Joy asked if I could go up with her and help with moving. Thus, now I sit in my sister's new car, ridding up to Napa, starting out before even the sun rises to start its fay.
Once we (and the truck my dad is driving) arrive, I'll help her move in and then spend a couple of days relaxing in wine country. My friends Nate and Tyler are still leaving on the 16th and will meet me in Napa on Tuesday to continue our trip to Oregon and beyond... The infinite... Er, Canada that is.
I originally planned to leave with my friends on Sunday the 16th, but the best laid plans, as the say... My sister Joy got a job in gorgeous Napa Valley and needed to move up post haste. Since our road trip passed through that area, Joy asked if I could go up with her and help with moving. Thus, now I sit in my sister's new car, ridding up to Napa, starting out before even the sun rises to start its fay.
Once we (and the truck my dad is driving) arrive, I'll help her move in and then spend a couple of days relaxing in wine country. My friends Nate and Tyler are still leaving on the 16th and will meet me in Napa on Tuesday to continue our trip to Oregon and beyond... The infinite... Er, Canada that is.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Review: Anathem
Anathem by Neil Stephenson
Anathem is the smartest book I have ever read. That isn't to say it's the best book I've ever read, but every page drips with philosophy and science. What makes Anathem incredible, though, is the skill with which Neal Stephenson incorporates the ideas into the flow of the story.
The book is about an order of monks dedicated to science rather than God, and cloistered by the world for fear of what they might accomplish were they unrestricted in their pursuit of knowledge. The book is full of platonic ideas, quantum mechanics and discussions of consciousness. There are times when it can seem like Stephenson is just having his characters talk about an idea simply for the heck of it, but in the end almost every philosophical dialogue has an important impact on the story. Stephenson is smart, and he assumes the reader will be able to keep up with him, which probably means it's not for everyone.
Really, Anathem could serve as an introduction to philosophy and basic particle physics were it not for the fact that Stephenson changes the names of everything (for example, Occam's Razor is Gardan's Steelyard). The density of philosophy in this book made it highly pleasurable for me as a philosophy major. The only issue I have with the philosophy of the book is that it's rather anti-religion, but that's just personal.
In the end, however, the point of a novel is to tell a story, and in this Anathem also succeeds. It's not the greatest story ever told, but it's compelling and even mostly believable.
Stephenson's writing style is a bit frustrating at times, his descriptions of things can be hard to follow and the characters memories of things sometimes seem rather distinct for a first person account.
In the end, I recommend this book to anyone who loves philosophy, ideas and science fiction and if I don't miss my guess this one will be winning the hugo and nebula awards this year.
Anathem is the smartest book I have ever read. That isn't to say it's the best book I've ever read, but every page drips with philosophy and science. What makes Anathem incredible, though, is the skill with which Neal Stephenson incorporates the ideas into the flow of the story.
The book is about an order of monks dedicated to science rather than God, and cloistered by the world for fear of what they might accomplish were they unrestricted in their pursuit of knowledge. The book is full of platonic ideas, quantum mechanics and discussions of consciousness. There are times when it can seem like Stephenson is just having his characters talk about an idea simply for the heck of it, but in the end almost every philosophical dialogue has an important impact on the story. Stephenson is smart, and he assumes the reader will be able to keep up with him, which probably means it's not for everyone.
Really, Anathem could serve as an introduction to philosophy and basic particle physics were it not for the fact that Stephenson changes the names of everything (for example, Occam's Razor is Gardan's Steelyard). The density of philosophy in this book made it highly pleasurable for me as a philosophy major. The only issue I have with the philosophy of the book is that it's rather anti-religion, but that's just personal.
In the end, however, the point of a novel is to tell a story, and in this Anathem also succeeds. It's not the greatest story ever told, but it's compelling and even mostly believable.
Stephenson's writing style is a bit frustrating at times, his descriptions of things can be hard to follow and the characters memories of things sometimes seem rather distinct for a first person account.
In the end, I recommend this book to anyone who loves philosophy, ideas and science fiction and if I don't miss my guess this one will be winning the hugo and nebula awards this year.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Book Review: Strangers from the Sky and Spock's World
Strangers from the Sky by Margaret Wander Bonanno and Spock’s World by Diane Duane
As a general rule of thumb, I try to avoid reading Star Trek novels, not because they’re all terrible, quite a few of the ones I’ve read have been very good (though the lack of effect on the cannon is upsetting) but rather because of my aims as a writer. Essentially, I want to write science fiction, and my exposure to science fiction has already been so steeped in the world of Star Trek that I want my science fiction resources to be expanded (I also generally apply the same principle to Star Wars books). However, I was recently down in Mexico for my sister’s wedding, and despite spending a lot of time exploring Peubla I still had a great deal of downtime in which to do reading. Because of this, I finished the two books I’d brought with me and turned to reading two Star Trek books my mom had brought with her. So, I read and enjoyed them and it seems appropriate to do a review of them.
The first book was called Strangers from the Sky, and detailed a Vulcan crash landing on Earth prior to the official first contact with the alien race, as well as an adventure of Kirk and Spock that happened early in their careers. The book is an older one, and fills in a lot of details regarding the early space exploration of Earth that have afterward been filled in differently by the show. The second was called Spock’s World and dealt with Vulcan considering succeeding from the Federation, as well as chapters on the history of Vulcan.
Both are actually quite interesting reads, and for the most part their conception of things are better than what the shows eventually demonstrated. For one thing, Earth is not a boring monoculture, but still has a plethora of languages and belief systems. Of the two novels, Strangers is the better, mostly because of its portrayal of the Vulcans. Spock’s World attempts to give the Vulcans a greater cultural range than we usually see, and has some interesting ideas about the Vulcan conception of God, but unfortunately the author goes a bit too far with Vulcan’s having emotions to the point where they don’t really feel like Vulcans anymore. On the other hand, Strangers is brilliant in its portrayal of Vulcans, making them into a regal and admirable race. Strangers also gets the dialogue of the familiar Star Trek characters Bones, Spock and Kirk, to the point where I could hear the actors voices as I read, while the characters in Spock’s World don’t sound quite right, especially Bones. I do not want to disparage Spock’s World too much, however, it’s an extremely interesting read and many of the concepts put forth in it are fascinating. I especially enjoy the ideas about the difficulties of universal translators and the portrayal of the events that led up to the Romulan exodus.
These are certainly not great works of literature, but they’re fun, and are even better than some of the award-winners I’ve read so far (*cough* The Moon and the Sun *cough*). If you like Star Trek, these two are probably worth a read for you.
As a general rule of thumb, I try to avoid reading Star Trek novels, not because they’re all terrible, quite a few of the ones I’ve read have been very good (though the lack of effect on the cannon is upsetting) but rather because of my aims as a writer. Essentially, I want to write science fiction, and my exposure to science fiction has already been so steeped in the world of Star Trek that I want my science fiction resources to be expanded (I also generally apply the same principle to Star Wars books). However, I was recently down in Mexico for my sister’s wedding, and despite spending a lot of time exploring Peubla I still had a great deal of downtime in which to do reading. Because of this, I finished the two books I’d brought with me and turned to reading two Star Trek books my mom had brought with her. So, I read and enjoyed them and it seems appropriate to do a review of them.
The first book was called Strangers from the Sky, and detailed a Vulcan crash landing on Earth prior to the official first contact with the alien race, as well as an adventure of Kirk and Spock that happened early in their careers. The book is an older one, and fills in a lot of details regarding the early space exploration of Earth that have afterward been filled in differently by the show. The second was called Spock’s World and dealt with Vulcan considering succeeding from the Federation, as well as chapters on the history of Vulcan.
Both are actually quite interesting reads, and for the most part their conception of things are better than what the shows eventually demonstrated. For one thing, Earth is not a boring monoculture, but still has a plethora of languages and belief systems. Of the two novels, Strangers is the better, mostly because of its portrayal of the Vulcans. Spock’s World attempts to give the Vulcans a greater cultural range than we usually see, and has some interesting ideas about the Vulcan conception of God, but unfortunately the author goes a bit too far with Vulcan’s having emotions to the point where they don’t really feel like Vulcans anymore. On the other hand, Strangers is brilliant in its portrayal of Vulcans, making them into a regal and admirable race. Strangers also gets the dialogue of the familiar Star Trek characters Bones, Spock and Kirk, to the point where I could hear the actors voices as I read, while the characters in Spock’s World don’t sound quite right, especially Bones. I do not want to disparage Spock’s World too much, however, it’s an extremely interesting read and many of the concepts put forth in it are fascinating. I especially enjoy the ideas about the difficulties of universal translators and the portrayal of the events that led up to the Romulan exodus.
These are certainly not great works of literature, but they’re fun, and are even better than some of the award-winners I’ve read so far (*cough* The Moon and the Sun *cough*). If you like Star Trek, these two are probably worth a read for you.
Book Review: The Foundation Trilogy
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
Hugo Award for Best All-Time Series
For someone who loves the genre of science fiction as much as I do, it’s really surprising how little of the work of the big three I’ve read. Indeed, I’ve read almost none of their work. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, the big three were Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. In the eyes of many, they are the pillars upon which all of modern science fiction stands. When I was younger, my mom read me an Asimov short story about a woman tasked with being a caretaker for a Neanderthal who was brought forward in time, and it was a delightful little story, but when I read The Gods Themselves around Christmas last year I was highly disappointed. Still, Asimov is one of the greats, and one of his most praised pieces of work is The Foundation Trilogy, and my sister gave it to me for Christmas, so I finally got around to reading it.
The basic premise of the story is that almost the entire galaxy is settled by humans, who are all under the reign of a vast interstellar empire, but a scientist named Hari Seldon has figured out by the use of mathematical sociology that the empire is going to fall and that this will lead to thousands upon thousands of years of a galactic dark age. Seldon develops a plan, however, to shorten this dark age by founding two colonies of scientists, called Foundations, at opposite ends of the galaxy. From these Foundations, a second empire will arise much sooner than it otherwise would have. That’s just the background, however, and the book follows the thousands of years of the Foundations development.
The book is far from perfect, but it’s an extremely fascinating world and an exciting story. Sometimes the writing can be awkward, the fact that it was originally published serially means we get a summary of what the story is about at the beginning of every section of the book and it sometimes falls into the trap of expositional dialogue. Ultimately, however, the book is about ideas and in this arena it succeeds. By far the best part of the book is that which centers on the Mule, but I can’t say anything more about that without spoiling what makes it great.
I definitely enjoyed this trilogy, and if you’re someone with an interest in science fiction you should pick it up. If nothing else, you see where a lot of people got their inspiration. Trantor is a proto-Corruscant, and the Imperium of Man from Warhammer 40k borrows heavily from the ideas in the trilogy.
Note: I do, however, think it’s entirely absurd that this trilogy won the one time Hugo Award for “Best All-Time Series” over The Lord of the Rings. That, is a travesty.
Book Review: Deep Economy
Deep Economy by Bill McKibben
It doesn’t take a genius to see that the world economy is headed for trouble. No, I’m not talking about the current downturn in the American economy, or even a depression, but something far worse. I’m talking about the kind of economic trouble that leads to war and famine. The simple fact is, the world is a closed system, within it are a limited number of resources with a limited rate of renewability. We are consuming things at a greater rate than they can renew. This has had some good effects, such as technological innovation, but it has also led to such horrors as the growth of illegal slavery. Worst of all, the situation seems hopeless. The West is locked into its pattern of mass consumption, and is dependent for its very survival on a system of agriculture that uses unprecedented amounts of water and petrol. To make matters worse, the East is rapidly catching up, and who can blame them? For people at the level of poverty experienced in that part of the world, the wealth that industrialization creates brings a marked improvement in quality of life. Frankly, the situation scares me, and it is for this reason, that I am deeply grateful for Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy.
The book starts out with the prognoses described above. McKibben talks about the overconsumption of resources and the deterioration of our environment. He then goes on to discuss how the continued pursuit of more economic growth has failed to bring us more happiness. After stating the problem, he goes on to present a multitude of solutions, all centered around the idea of smaller, localized economies that are not growth based, but instead sustainable. McKibben makes a powerful case for such an economy, and what is more he shows how it could work by highlighting places in the world where it has already started to come into being.
His suggestions aren’t without their problems (the proposal of localized currency is downright stupid), and it’s hard to see most modern Americans changing their lives in the ways he suggests. Still, his plan is for the most part realistic, it doesn’t ask that we all become radical liberals living in some socialist utopia, it simply asks that we restructure our economy in a way that will benefit both humans and the world around us. This book provides a concrete plan, and a definite hope. Oh, and it's also extremely well written and is a pleasure to read. I heartily recommend it this book to anyone concerned about the condition of our world.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that the world economy is headed for trouble. No, I’m not talking about the current downturn in the American economy, or even a depression, but something far worse. I’m talking about the kind of economic trouble that leads to war and famine. The simple fact is, the world is a closed system, within it are a limited number of resources with a limited rate of renewability. We are consuming things at a greater rate than they can renew. This has had some good effects, such as technological innovation, but it has also led to such horrors as the growth of illegal slavery. Worst of all, the situation seems hopeless. The West is locked into its pattern of mass consumption, and is dependent for its very survival on a system of agriculture that uses unprecedented amounts of water and petrol. To make matters worse, the East is rapidly catching up, and who can blame them? For people at the level of poverty experienced in that part of the world, the wealth that industrialization creates brings a marked improvement in quality of life. Frankly, the situation scares me, and it is for this reason, that I am deeply grateful for Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy.
The book starts out with the prognoses described above. McKibben talks about the overconsumption of resources and the deterioration of our environment. He then goes on to discuss how the continued pursuit of more economic growth has failed to bring us more happiness. After stating the problem, he goes on to present a multitude of solutions, all centered around the idea of smaller, localized economies that are not growth based, but instead sustainable. McKibben makes a powerful case for such an economy, and what is more he shows how it could work by highlighting places in the world where it has already started to come into being.
His suggestions aren’t without their problems (the proposal of localized currency is downright stupid), and it’s hard to see most modern Americans changing their lives in the ways he suggests. Still, his plan is for the most part realistic, it doesn’t ask that we all become radical liberals living in some socialist utopia, it simply asks that we restructure our economy in a way that will benefit both humans and the world around us. This book provides a concrete plan, and a definite hope. Oh, and it's also extremely well written and is a pleasure to read. I heartily recommend it this book to anyone concerned about the condition of our world.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Politics (and Life): Governor Schwarzenegger Suggests Eliminating the Cal Grant
So, our Governor Schwarzenegger has decided, in an effort to address the state's budget issues, to suggest the phasing out of the Cal Grant. If his plan goes through, only those students currently receiving funds will continue to get money, and any new or future students (including transfer students for the '09-'10 school year) will not get anything. For many, including myself, this could force an end to any college aspirations. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee will be meeting to discuss cuts to education this week and the elimination of the Cal Grant is on the agenda. Please, write the members of the committee and let them know that this cannot stand. Also, it would be beneficial to contact your specific Senate and Assembly state representatives and let them know how you feel. Your specific representative can be found at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/memberinfo.
Thank you for your help.
Members of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee
Assemblymember Noreen Evans - Chair
Phone: (916) 319-2007 Fax (916) 319-2107
Email: Assemblymember.Evans@assembly.ca.gov
Assemblymember Roger Niello - Vice Chair
Phone: (916) 319-2005 Fax: (916) 319-2105
Email: Assemblymember.Niello@assembly.ca.gov
Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield
Phone (916) 319-2040 Fax: (916) 319-2140
Email: Assemblymember.Blumenfield@assembly.ca.gov
Assemblymember Brian Nestande
Phone: (916) 319-2064 Fax: (916) 319-2164
Email: Assemblymember.Nestande@assembly.ca.gov
Assemblymember Kevin De Leon
Phone: (916) 319-2045 Fax: (916) 319-2145
Email: Assemblymember.DeLeon@assembly.ca.gov
Senator Denise Ducheny - Chair, Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
Phone: (916) 651-4040 Fax: (916) 327-3522
Email: Senator.Ducheny@sen.ca.gov
Senator Robert Dutton - Vice Chair
Phone: (916) 651-4031 Fax: (916) 327-2272
Email: Senator.Dutton@sen.ca.gov
Senator Mark Leno
Phone: (916) 651-4003 Fax: (916) 445-4722
Email: Senator.Leno@sen.ca.gov
Senator Alan Lowenthal
Phone: (916) 651-4027 Fax: (916) 327-9113
Email: Senator.Lowenthal@sen.ca.gov
(This information came from the UCLA financial aid office).
Thank you for your help.
Members of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee
Assemblymember Noreen Evans - Chair
Phone: (916) 319-2007 Fax (916) 319-2107
Email: Assemblymember.Evans@assembly.ca.gov
Assemblymember Roger Niello - Vice Chair
Phone: (916) 319-2005 Fax: (916) 319-2105
Email: Assemblymember.Niello@assembly.ca.gov
Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield
Phone (916) 319-2040 Fax: (916) 319-2140
Email: Assemblymember.Blumenfield@assembly.ca.gov
Assemblymember Brian Nestande
Phone: (916) 319-2064 Fax: (916) 319-2164
Email: Assemblymember.Nestande@assembly.ca.gov
Assemblymember Kevin De Leon
Phone: (916) 319-2045 Fax: (916) 319-2145
Email: Assemblymember.DeLeon@assembly.ca.gov
Senator Denise Ducheny - Chair, Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee
Phone: (916) 651-4040 Fax: (916) 327-3522
Email: Senator.Ducheny@sen.ca.gov
Senator Robert Dutton - Vice Chair
Phone: (916) 651-4031 Fax: (916) 327-2272
Email: Senator.Dutton@sen.ca.gov
Senator Mark Leno
Phone: (916) 651-4003 Fax: (916) 445-4722
Email: Senator.Leno@sen.ca.gov
Senator Alan Lowenthal
Phone: (916) 651-4027 Fax: (916) 327-9113
Email: Senator.Lowenthal@sen.ca.gov
(This information came from the UCLA financial aid office).
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