Neil Fein's Blog

Yes, I know it's now 5767. This is the last in a series, The Year 5766 Blogged.

What have I done in the last year? I've dome more with writing and recording than in the previous year. And I've reworked my epilepsy meds (I think, successfully).

The most interesting bits from this series of writings are my columns on Yom Kippur, and the series I did on building the sukkah.

Folks in our 5766 sukkah (about a year back). we'll use the same backdrop this year, hopefully with more decorations. Click on the pic for more info.

I skipped writing about Purim, because not much really happened (we were sick), and I had no time at Passover. But I got most of the holidays I set out to.


Martha tries out her shofar for the first time in years. It sounded as funny as it looks. Click on the pic for... etc, etc..

Tags: Judaism

Labels: judaism

The starter mic placement I set up for the flute recording session that never happened tonight. (I got the dates mixed up.) We were able to reschedule.

Labels: music, SETI

Mammoth, by John Varley

John Varley has taken some time off from his Eight Worlds series of late. It's been rumored by Mr. Varley's fans that the wonderful Steel Beach and it's sequel The Golden Globe will have a sequel called Iron Town Blues. But this book will have to wait.

This time-travel tale brings a mammoth child into the 21st century. Due in part to the efforts of a physicist, Matt Wright, who is continually plagued by being unable to articulate his theories (conveniently for technobabble-worn readers), and an elephant trainer, Susan Morgan, Fuzzy ends up performing in the circus of wealthy businessman and collector, Howard Christian.

The scenes of theme park extravaganza are the most appealing and memorable in the book. Christian is the most interesting character, and the others, particularly Matt, are somewhat weak. The character of Fuzzy is a pleasant surprise, and there are plot twists in abundance. It's easy to forget that the story happens within the framework of a typical time-travel plot. When the mammoth is brought into the present... I'll not spoil that for you. But it's a delightful scene.

Even a very weak John Varley's novel (which this is not) would be quite good. Mammoth, while not Mr. Varley's masterful best, is a credible, thoughtful novel that does not disappoint.

books

Labels: books

Since it be Talk Like a Pirate Day, I thought this be the mightiest, spiciest picture I had in the hold-o-flickr-pics with a pirate in it. Ahoy!

Homeward Bound, by Harry Turtledove

Patience, n. A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue.
Ambrose Bierce

The American temptation is to believe that foreign policy is a subdivision of psychiatry.
Henry Kissinger

The alien Lizards have conquered about half of Earth, while much of it -- particularly the countries with nuclear weapons -- have stayed independent from the aliens. Lizard colonists have settled on an Earth they expected to be subjugated, but the rate of technological progress among 20th century, World-War II-era humans, has astounded them. At the end of the previous, and seventh, book, humanity was gaining a foothold in space, with the hope of visiting the Lizards' homeworld soon.

If the previous paragraph made little or no sense to you, you haven't been reading Harry Turtledove's Worldwar Saga, in which World War II is interrupted by alien invasion. He followed that with the Colonization series, and now with the standalone Homeward Bound, where the protagonist, Sam Yeager, is Humanity's ambassador to The Race.

While the book shares the faults of its predecessors -- too long, too many characters, and far too many recaps -- the characters are excellently drawn, the history (what there is that hasn't been sundered by this point) is impeccably researched. Many of the characters from previous books play key roles: Atvar, Fleetlord of the invasion fleet and now reluctant Ambassador to Humanity; Kasquit, a human raised as a Lizard in a disturbing "experiment" by Race scientist Ttomals.

But the biggest "character" is the populace of Home, the Lizards' planet. They are at once uncaring, enlightened, bigoted, imperial, self-centered, and fearfully intelligent. One can almost overlook that they are not all that alien.

The Race is really a plot device, bound by routine beyond all reason, considering their obvious intelligence, and far too weak for a force that can cross light-years to invade a planet.

However, Mr. Turtledove has a gift for making straw men seem like flesh and blood, and he succeeds here. And the historical -- and non-historical characters are a joy to read, even the minor characters such as pilots Flynn and Johnson, confined to zero-gravity for the rest of their lives, and the 37th Emperor Risson, the Emperor of the Race, is a thoughtful, intelligent being I wouldn't mind meeting. Even the Emperor's protocol flunky is a wonderful character, and only mostly a parody.

There are surprises at the end of he book, and I was looking for more pages to read when I finished the last. This is also the closest to a standalone novel in the entire series. Recommended.

books

Labels: books

Counting Up, Counting Down, by Harry Turtledove

What it you could go back in time, and speak to your younger self? and maybe, just maybe, arrange things so things would work out with your girl -- the one you've been carrying a torch for all these nineteen years?

Well known for alternate history, and in particular for the amazing The Guns of the South, this volume is Mr. Turtledove's latest collection of alternate history, science-fiction, fantasy, and mixes of the genres. As in his other books, Mr. Turtledove is the Tom Petty of alternate history -- the man is incapable of writing badly. Even so, too many stories feel like filler, and I was wondering when the story would end.

Forty, Counting Down and Twenty-One, Counting Up bookend this latest collection of Mr. Turtledove's short stories. Perhaps the time-travel idea is not the most original, but it's well-executed, and the character(s) of Justin live on their respective pages. But stretching it throughout two stories is a little much.

There are gems here. An academic goes to work for a road crew of sorts in Deconstruction Gang, a story that struck a chord at a time when my wife is searching for work. Must and Shall, a civil war alternate history where the North won the war, but Reconstruction did not take place. The South that endures is a conquered possession, a true nightmare to live in. And there is an excellent parable, The Decoy Dock, a tale Mr. Turtledove's "Videssos" universe, that shows the collision of two religions, an analogy of Christian missionaries.

If you can read the few stories I've recommended elsewhere (and most are available as e-books from the author's website), I'd suggest that as the best choice.

Tags: books

Labels: books

Last year's sukkah. I like this photo.

Labels: judaism

Don't forget, tomorrow is Talk like a Pirate Day.

Tags: pirates; avast, ye readers!

This has to be one of... no, this is the strangest things I've seen on Flickr.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you the Flickr group: You Wearing A Glass (or tupperware) Bowl on Your Head


Photo by angel_shark (with her approval)


Tags: photos

New recording! When I Was a Monkey, MP3, about seven megs.

Please listen if you have broadband and/or patience, and let meknow what you think of the arrangement. I know that Bruce at least hates it.


Tags: music

Labels: music

Bruce and I last week, at an open mic. The full set is here. Adem-West-angled photos by Martha.

After passing this sign on route 9 for years, I finally ate at this restaurant, for Nate's surprise birthday party. It's a decent enough Tex-Mex place. And that sign looks gorgeous at night.

Check out Nate's writeup about the party, it's quite good.

One isn't supposed to start building the Sukkah until after the high holidays are over. We recently heard from Amelia that you can, indeed, build the frame of the sukkah, beforehand. Just put the roof on after the high holidays, which is what actually turns it into a kosher sukkah in any case.

Since Martha is teaching at night during the week, building in advance was necceary this year. (Sukkot is in October this year.)

We put up pretty much the same sukkah as we did
last year, with the same wood. Nadine, Steve, Arthur, and Howard all came over to help. (Martha stayed inside with Jackie and Ben.) Thanks to everybody who helped!

Pictures


Tags: Judaism

Labels: judaism

Nine Princes in Amber
The Guns of Avalon
Sign of the Unicorn
The Hand of Oberon
The Courts of Chaos
by Roger Zelazny

"I drove along it for awhile, and I saw a road which was much less kept up. I turned onto that one, and later on I hit a dirt road and I tried it, and pretty soon I came to a place that wasn't on the map. It was just a little settlement. There were log cabins there, and horses pulling carts, and it looked physically as if I'd driven back into the 19th century."
Roger Zelazny, from the interview "Forever Amber"

"You can comission assassins. Lay ambushes. Pull close relatives out of your sleeve like concealed weapons."
Mike Carey. "The House of Windowless Rooms", 2000

"Imitation, in a broad sense, is how memes can replicate."
Richard Dawkins, "The Selfish Gene", 1976

As a teenager, I fell in live with the Amber books. Roger Zelazny's descriptions of the reality-bending royal family of Amber, peppered with his military and automotive obsessions, make for a nearly perfect prose saga of a superhero world.

To replace my battered, slim, paperback Amber books, I recently re-bought the Amber books, used, in book club hardcover editions. (One volume containing the first two books, one volume of the last three.) Of course, the series continues, and has been collected as The Great Book of Amber, an unweildy tome reprinting all ten books. But I never read the sequel series when I was young, maybe another five books seemed daunting. (There's a third series coming out now, "Roger Zelazny's Shadows of Amber" by John Betancourt, years after Mr. Zelazny's death.)

The series' first book is, as I remembered, the best. The introduction to Corwin and Random, two of the royal brothers, and Corwin's bid for the throne, is the most exciting story, and that with the most substance. The scene of Corwin walking the Pattern, the maze that confers superhuman powers to travel through the realities, is still tediously wonderful.

It's not until the later books that I remember that Corwin's brothers all have an air of royal, spoiled plywood. While there are of course differences between the siblings, only those needed to the story right now seem like human beings of note, and even then only when they're on-stage. But this is a minor quibble, as this is the story of Corwin, and Dworkin the court magician and family mystery.

Corwin's moments of philisophical thinking and tip-of-the-iceberg planning are welcome breaks in the often relentless pace. Ruminations in the nature of reality go with the territory; the royal family's dogma considers Amber to be the one, true reality, the other planes referred to as "shadows".

I had forgotten the ending, and was a little surprised by a few twists in the last two books. There's room for a sequel, but not an inevitable one. The Amber series makes for fine, fun, and quick reading. Maybe I will start the next series after all.

books

Labels: books

Found on teh intertubes:

(CNN) -- As part of its coverage of the fifth anniversary of 9/11, CNN Pipeline will stream CNN's television coverage of September 11, 2001, in real time, as the events of the day unfolded.

The free replay on Monday will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET, minutes before the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York.

Monday's live stream of CNN's coverage of 9/11/01 is the first in an occasional series of historical days that CNN Pipeline plans to present.

Link to original article. Found it via this journal

Re-airing this is pretty much a form of lobbying to the Republicans. The replay will stir up fear of terrorism, making people more willing to take their gel odor-eaters out of their shoes when they fly. And it'll distract them from the mess in Iraq.

It'll also stir up hatred towards Arabs all over again. And Pakistanis, and Indians, et cetera, for people who don't know there's a difference.

Nine-eleven (a reprehensible name, but we're stuck with it) was a true tragedy. The final death toll is still up for grabs, and may well never be fully counted. It's a bona-fide historical event, like Pearl Harbor or Hiroshima. History will see George W. Bush as The Nine-Eleven President. He's also President Bush The Second, and the Second Iraq War president, trying to win the war his Father (perhaps wisely) didn't.

If CNN wants to note this day that should be noted, and should be kept in the public consciousness, they could air an evenhanded analysis of what happened, what went wrong, and what happened (or failed to happen) afterward. What mistakes were made? What was done correctly? This would be much, much more valuable than a replay of horrors, or than Michael Moore's one-sided treatment.

I know, I'm a dreamer.

If you agree, then just don't watch. CNN will certainly be advertising for this, and noting how many people watch the streaming video. If enough people do this, CNN will see it. They're in it for the dollars, as any network is (and to some extent, should be).

The Democrats have yet to show a candidate for 2008 that has a faith-based prayer of a hope of getting in the Oval Office. But maybe this'll ultimately help get some president, any president, into power who will actually do something about this mess.

Tags: politics

Good set, from all accounts I think we sounded good, although we couldn't hear ourselves. Due to feedback problems, Dennis (filling in for Spook) had to turn the stage monitor almost all the way down. Millicent also had tuning problems, although that could have been an illusion of almost-feedback on stage. ("I sound out of tune", "sounds fine to me", etc.) Set list:

Good Riddance (Time of your Life) [vox Neil]
Hypothetical Twist [vox Bruce]
There's That Song [vox Neil]
A Day in the Life [Vox Bruce/Neil(bridge)]
When I Was a Monkey [vox Neil]

EDIT: Pictures!


Tags: music

Labels: music

A close friend of my wife's stayed over this weekend, a woman who lives in an orthodox Jewish community in Milwaukee. She mentioned to her a local Rabbi that she was staying here, and he found this blog, through a websearch I suppose.

Does this mean that, if I looked shady, he would have forbidden or discouraged her to make the trip? I really don't know the answer to that one.

On the other hand, this could well be just plain curiosity. And the Rabbi could well be the sort who loves a good argument like air. (Knowing Martha's friend as I do, I wouldn't be surprised a bit.)

Knowing my religious views could certainly make me seem dangerous to some orthodox folks. Or they could make me seem thoughtful and sincere. It all would depend on how open a mind one has.

Tags: Judaism

Labels: judaism