When
· Naughties
· · 2005
· · · July
· · · · 04 (3 entries)
Iron Sunrise · This is the latest from Charlie Stross, and it’s what space opera ought to be. It’s got interstellar Nazis, a star maliciously blown up starting on Page One, detailed descriptions of how you go about dying when your star blows up, killer robot dogs, a whiny but appealing teenage Gothick chick named Wednesday, a first-rate deus ex machina, a hard-drinking intergalactic warblogger (no, really, he gets the girl even), uh did I mention the really really evil Space Nazis? And you know what? The suspension of disbelief holds. Plus, the characters are appealing and the story moves right along. OK, well maybe the denouement is a little forced and overextended, with U. Portia Hoescht out of character. Compared to the previous Singularity Sky, the atmospherics are maybe a little weaker, but the storytelling is a lot stronger. Plus our friends Rachel and Martin from that book are back; plus there are obviously lots of sequels in the pipeline. I sure enjoyed reading it.
Live 8: Real News · I went straight from Java One to a mini-vacation, thus mostly missing the Live 8 noise. But it’s not too late to get your name or your face on the list, and—more important—send a personal communication (I’d suggest FAX or voicemail) to your own Member of Parliament or Deputy or Congressperson, saying you’re a voter and you think they should pass the word along to take the Live 8 message seriously. I’ll do that, and for those who wonder why the Live 8’ers are moaning about trade policy, here’s why. And on that subject, there’s good news: Apparently, President Bush said this morning that he’d drop the idiotic US agribiz subsidies if the Europeans would drop their even-more-idiotic ones. Good on ya, W, and to my American readers: right now would be a good time let your local politician know you approve.
News From Norway · Via Eric Scheid, an article entitled Norwegian Minister: Proprietary Formats No Longer Acceptable in Communication with Government. This sounds like an enlightened policy for any government.
