Neil Fein's Blog

After sleeping 'till noon on Saturday, I spent the afternoon getting ready for a DJ gig. This is the Purim party I DJ every year as a favor to Haboger. Getting CDs ready, hooking up the equipment in the rack, and most importantly testing out the new CD player. Okay, it's not new, I bought it last year when I saw it on sale at Sam Ash in the DJ stuff section. It doesn't take up any less room, but it automates a lot of things like cueing and chopping off slow intros. It also has features that let you beat-match songs, but I haven't tried that much yet.

The dance floor was a little less crowded than in previous years, I think because there were mostly men there. I was tempted to announce, "Attention all guys, you look like idiots when you dance no matter what. So go do it anyway." It couldn't have hurt, no?

But I did get folks to "help" me out, testing my equipment to see what it would take to get the new CD players to skip! (The one in my car is more skip-resistant. Although not for long... that's another story.)

Having done a few of these parties, I think I've gotten better at the actual DJing part of deejaying. (I was originally trained in this in summer camp, later in college, both at amateur radio stations.) My transitions between songs are smoother, the tunes are better chosen, and I'm more confident. The tunes themselves... MAT has been a tremendous help, showing me what music is danceable and what is utterly not.

I did spend the entire time drinking first coffee (we filled up a thermos on the way) and when the coffee ran out, Dr. Pepper. Whee!

With luck, Celeste and Haboger will continue to have these things. This is great fun!

music

Berserker
by Fred Saberhagen

"At last man had a use..."
(from the back cover)

The Berserkers are machines left from an ages-past alien war, fought before mankind entered the galactic scene. They exist to destroy all life, which they do with frightening efficiency. The human race has been relearning the ways of war to fight them.

Mr. Saberhagen has been skillful enough, over the past few decades, to use this simple theme to explore a wonderfully diverse future. Humanity has colonized many diverse worlds. And we get to see them all through the lens of imminent doom.

Berserker is the first of many books about the alien killing machines, and contains the first stories in this landmark series. The stories get more sophisticated over the years, as the author hones his craft significantly. But these stories contain the seeds of events that will be referred to time and again, not the last of which is the landmark battle at the Stone Place. Berserker does an excellent job setting the stage for all that is to come. Highly reccomended.

books

Golden Fleece
by Robert J. Sawyer

Setting the stage for an odd murder mystery in space: While she is running a late-night experiment, Diana is murdered by the ship's computer JASON on board the starship Argo in the first chapter of this short novel. This short novel takes place from the point of view of the criminal trying to cover up his crime. The main character, however, is not the computer. With some clever plot devices (and some spurious science), we ride along with Aaron, Diana's ex-husband, as he obsesses about the, ahem, incident.

This book is not Mr. Sawyer at his best. But Golden Fleece does set the stage for later Sawyer works. Artificial intelligence, looking at humans from outside, murder done in the name of a good cause, unrevealed background in service of the plot -- these are all themes the author will later explore, with greater maturity and depth in books like Calculating God, Flashforward, Starplex, and Illegal Alien.

That said, Golden Fleece is a fun read, and my attention never flagged from the story. A good, fun book that hints of great things to come.

books

Robin held a fun Haboger potluck tonight. Jenn was there, in from the Bronx. Jackie and Steve were there, but in reverse of the usual situation, Jackie was social and talky all evening, while Steve dozed in a chair. And most of the usuals were in evidence. Much fun. Most of the evening's conversation shall not be repeated here. But imagine if it were!

These are books I read over and over and over, whem I'm too tired to start a new book. No matter how much I loved the book, if I didn't re-read it, it won't be here. The Shadow of the Torturer, Perdido Street Station, and Cryptonomicon may be some of the best books I've ever read (possibly better than some ofthe books on this list) but they just aren't, to me, re-readable.

Jake was telling me at tonight's potluck that he tends not to re-read books. But he reads a lot of non-fiction, I think; I don't re-rean non-fiction books, but I do refer back to them on ocassion.

• Where Do We Go From Here?, Isaac Asimov, Ed.
  This anthology introduced me to science-fiction in general, and Larry Niven in particular.
  
• Dangerous Visions, Harlan Ellison, Ed.
  I read this anthology for the first time in college, and have been re-reading it ever since.
  
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
  I was tempted to put its sequel, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe as well. Little need be said about this, the king of comedy sci-fi. (And I really don't care for folks who don't like the name sci-fi. Deal.)
  
• Ringworld, by Larry Niven
  Speaking of Mr. Niven... I've worn out four copies of this book. His collection Neutron Star is a close second.
  
• The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
  I read through this incessantly when younger. In particular, I own a version illustrated by Ian Miller that holds fond memories.
  
• The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
  I forgot about this one. I've reread it perhaps five or six times. Job, a Comedy of Justice, Starship Troopers, Methuselah's Children, and Stranger in a Strange Land are close behind.
  
• The Stainless Steel Rat, by Harry Harrison
  The original Rat, before we had to deal with his wife and kiddies whining at him.
  
• The Illearth War, by Stephen R. Donaldson
  So far, the best of the Covenant books, and the one I've re-read the most often.
  
• The Man Who Folded Himself, by David Gerrold
  Good, clean homoerotic, narcissistic fun. The scenes on prehistoric earth are particularly meaningful. His collaboration with Larry Niven, The Flying Sorcerers is also excellent.
  
• The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
  One of the best novels I've read, period. The sequel isn't worth your time. All My Sins Remembered is almost as good.
  
• The End of Eternity, by Isaac Asimov
  His best and by far the most underrated of his novels. And the one with the grandest scope, and that includes the excellent Foundation Trilogy. The novels The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun are also excellent, as is the collection I, robot.
  
• Callahan's Croostime Saloon, by Spider Robinson
  The first three books are kinda one big book, but this is where it all started.
  
• Dune, Frank Herbert
  Been through three copies of this epic. It was given to me by a teacher in grade school I kept in touch with.
  
• Steel Beach, by John Varley
  One of the newer books on this list, but the book of his I've reread the most. The Ophiuchi Hotline is a very close second.
  
• Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut
  The cumulation of many of Vonnegut's interlocked novels. His short story collection welcome to the Monkey House is also a personal favorite.
  
• Gateway, by Frederick Pohl
  The lead character, Robinette Broadhead (sp?) is one of the most memorable characters I've encountered.
  
• Macroscope, by Piers Anthony
  This is what Mr. Anthony could produce if he stopped churning out unicorn books.
  
• The Lathe of Heaven, by Ursula K. LeGuin
  On some days I think that The Left Hand of Darkness is a better book, but I have a sentimental attachment to this one.
  
• A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle
  Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin will live forever in this book.
  
• Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion, by Dan Simmons
  This is the only entry with two books, as these two are really one long novel published in two volumes.
  
• Flatland, by Edwin Abbot.
  The oldest book on this list, I've read both the original and an edition annotated by Ian Stewart.
  
• The Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
  This is the best first-contact story I've ever read. By that singular entity, NivenPournelle. Their Inferno is also excellent.
  
• The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
  Followed closely by The Demolished Man
  
• A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving
  The only book on here about gravestones.
  
• Cosmos, by Carl Sagan
  Also check out Broca's Brain.

There are many, many other writers I love such as Gene Wolfe, Neil Gaiman, Terry Bisson, Orson Scott Card, Malcolm Gladwell, Alan Lightman, and Simon Winchester. Their books just don't lend to my re-reading them. Maybe it has something to do with when I first read these books.

Originally crossposted from my LiveJournal. Will update this if I think of anything I've missed.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell

Modern emergency rooms use codified decision trees as a diagnostic tool, and the tree used for heart attacks intentionally limits the information used. More data is not always better, argues this tool, and many physicians resisted this when it was first introduced in a Chicago hospital. This technique is now saving lives in ERs, allowing for a quicker response to a situatuation that demands it.

The 21^st century is information-saturated. Decisions made in haste by someone with an informed opinion can, Blink argues, sometimes be better than drawn-out, considered conclusions based on studies and focus groups.

Thin-slicing, as Mr. Gladwell calls it, is a vastly underrated method of making decisions. Determining the authenticity of a statue, reading whether someone is lying, even listening to your gut when gambling or deciding who to date -- these are all examples used in the book of thin-slicing. While the individual stories are fascinating, and the writing is up to the usual high standards of any Gladwell book or essay, these stories don't hang together well enough to be called a cohesive book.

The theme of listening to your gut is there throughout all the chapters, but I wasn't convinced that the book was much more than a set of excellent essays, sometimes essays that made the same point in different ways.

Don't expect the miraculous, cohesive quality of Mr. Gladwll's first book, The Tipping Point, cobbled together out of New Yorker essays. However, if you enjoy good writing, by all means, pick up Blink. It's an enjoyable book.

books

Recorded Woke Up On the Fourth on Sunday. (And I missed a poker game while I was recording. What we sacrifice for art...) It sounds good, very similar to the version I recorded -- and liked very much -- the version that got trashed by my equipment. This is before I started recording on the Mac. It needs:

• Work on the vocal. The version there is a dummy vocal only.
  
• It's too busy. I added a piano and an electric piano, need to edit those MIDi tracks so they're just playing in the bits I need them to.
  
• Some sort of basic mixing, of course.

music

I got an unsolicited IM about my blog from a stranger. It's kinda cool, in that my audience is more than just the three friends who read it (MAT doesn't even read it!). But. I'm wondering if comment spam will be far behind, since this site is pretty visible on google. Well, I'll deal with that if and when it happens. But to the anonymous IMer: Thanks for reading, keep it up. Send me an email if you want to chat and I'll be much friendlier; I don't take well to out-of-the-blue IMs. Call me a luddite blogger.

I've not posted of late, 'cause things have been pretty quiet. Go to work, do work, come home, read comic books and fall asleep. Repeat. My Aunt's gotten surgery that brings the total of bionic close family members to 2.

Books: I have two books on my desk I've read I need to review, I'm reading a third, and a fourth arrived at the bookstore (special order). Much book goodness to come.

We saw "Be Cool", it was dissapointing. I loved "Get Shorty", I was looking forward to this one. Well, we have the upcoming Wallace and Gromit film, as well as the Hitchhker's film. (There's Episode 3, but that's more along the lines of finally finishing something distasteful.)

Have been very reclusive on the weekends, and recording a lot. Will hopefully resume gigs Real Soon Now.

music, other stuff

Edit: Wrote this back in March, forgot to post it. Maybe Imeant to expand this into a full entry, like with full sentences and all that luxurious baggage?

Have been forgetting to have fun in the studio

Spent an evening just playing music with Leah
Haven't done that in a while

Need to start going to the guitar pull again

writer's block:

• have had it before, and each time something new snaps me out of it.


• Once it was someone telling me that she just had the confidence it would return; that becomes more difficult as time passes.


• once writing a silly song about swiss cheese got me out of writer's block. that's not working now.

fortunately I have recording to keep me busy while my brain reboots.

music