I'm on duty.
This is not at all a bad thing, because
a) I'm not the partying type, so I'd probably just stay home and surf the internet;
b) My internet connection at home is down. (Grrr!)
So this affords me the chance to sit back, relatively free of distractions, and think about the past year.
It's been a good year. It went by too quickly (good grief, that makes me sound old!) but many good things happened, and the bad things were all weathered without too much trouble.
I hope y'all have a Happy New Year.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Christmas Eve
Merry Christmas, everyone! From the always-helpful Christian Quotation of the Day email server:
Come worship the King,
That little dear thing,
Asleep on His Mother's soft breast.
Ye bright stars, bow down,
Weave for Him a crown,
Christ Jesus by angels confessed.
Come, children, and peep,
But hush ye, and creep
On tiptoe to where the Babe lies;
Then whisper His Name
And lo! like a flame
The glory light shines in His eyes.
Come strong men, and see
This high mystery,
Tread firm where the shepherds have trod,
And watch, `mid the hair
Of the Maiden so fair,
The five little fingers of God.
Come, old men and grey,
The star leads the way,
It halts and your wanderings cease;
Look down on His Face
Then, filled with His Grace,
Depart ye, God's servants, in Peace.
... G. A. Studdert Kennedy
Come worship the King,
That little dear thing,
Asleep on His Mother's soft breast.
Ye bright stars, bow down,
Weave for Him a crown,
Christ Jesus by angels confessed.
Come, children, and peep,
But hush ye, and creep
On tiptoe to where the Babe lies;
Then whisper His Name
And lo! like a flame
The glory light shines in His eyes.
Come strong men, and see
This high mystery,
Tread firm where the shepherds have trod,
And watch, `mid the hair
Of the Maiden so fair,
The five little fingers of God.
Come, old men and grey,
The star leads the way,
It halts and your wanderings cease;
Look down on His Face
Then, filled with His Grace,
Depart ye, God's servants, in Peace.
... G. A. Studdert Kennedy
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Baxter's Ambiguous Alternate
So, after picking it up and putting it down several times, I finished Stephen Baxter's Conquerer.
It's the second book in his "Time's Tapestry" series, about a prophecy delivered (apparently by time travel) to ancient Britain; and the way it affects the many generations of people who encounter it.
The prophecy is a complicated work of Latin poetry which describes the history of Britain by intervals, with dates linked by the regular return of Halley's Comet. As the series progresses, it becomes obvious that the prophecy is accurate- though its meaning is sometimes unclear until it comes to pass.
The legend surrounding the prophecy says that it was written by "The Weaver," a manipulator from the future who is trying to bring some historical incident to pass. It's unclear where this legend came from, or why people would preserve it since it makes the prophecy heretical; though of course as science fiction readers we understand its meaning at once.
Which comes to the odd part (or, I guess, the interesting part): it's unclear if the Prophecy is working. It undoubtedly changes individual lives; many people live or die because of its influence. But every historical incident it impinges on seems to work out in just the way it did in our actual historical record. Either it's very subtle, or it's not working, or else our history is the one it's trying to bring about.
This second book strongly suggests the second possibility; things haven't worked out as expected. But, of course, that's all a matter of perspective.
It's the second book in his "Time's Tapestry" series, about a prophecy delivered (apparently by time travel) to ancient Britain; and the way it affects the many generations of people who encounter it.
The prophecy is a complicated work of Latin poetry which describes the history of Britain by intervals, with dates linked by the regular return of Halley's Comet. As the series progresses, it becomes obvious that the prophecy is accurate- though its meaning is sometimes unclear until it comes to pass.
The legend surrounding the prophecy says that it was written by "The Weaver," a manipulator from the future who is trying to bring some historical incident to pass. It's unclear where this legend came from, or why people would preserve it since it makes the prophecy heretical; though of course as science fiction readers we understand its meaning at once.
Which comes to the odd part (or, I guess, the interesting part): it's unclear if the Prophecy is working. It undoubtedly changes individual lives; many people live or die because of its influence. But every historical incident it impinges on seems to work out in just the way it did in our actual historical record. Either it's very subtle, or it's not working, or else our history is the one it's trying to bring about.
This second book strongly suggests the second possibility; things haven't worked out as expected. But, of course, that's all a matter of perspective.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Mustang by Moonlight!
I haven't posted much this month; for most of it I was at sea with touch-and-go internet access, and then I discovered the same problem when I got home.
But! I am on Christmas leave, which means that I've rented a car to take the trip home to South Carolina. It turned out that my car was a Mustang.
I've never driven one of these before. It was funny how all the rental attendants kept telling me, "Watch your speed!"
And then I got in and took off. And it all became much clearer. A Mustang is a fun car to drive; especially when you've got a long highway trip that lasts all night.
But! I am on Christmas leave, which means that I've rented a car to take the trip home to South Carolina. It turned out that my car was a Mustang.
I've never driven one of these before. It was funny how all the rental attendants kept telling me, "Watch your speed!"
And then I got in and took off. And it all became much clearer. A Mustang is a fun car to drive; especially when you've got a long highway trip that lasts all night.
The Wolves of Chernobyl
From the Independent:
Chernobyl: Lost world
Two decades after disaster struck, Chernobyl's wastelands are now teeming with wildlife. Should they become a nature reserve?
On 26 April 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred at the Chernobyl power station in the former Soviet Union. More than 135,000 people – and 35,000 cattle – living within 30 kilometres (19 miles) of the stricken nuclear reactor were evacuated and an unprecedented "zone of exclusion" was established around the site, close to the border between the Ukraine and Belarus...
Scientists have had access to limited data when it comes to assessing the true facts within the 4,000 square kilometres of the "zone of alienation". Photographs of the abandoned city of Pripyat, near Chernobyl, reveal that trees and shrubs have started to sprout through the roads and buildings. Nature has begun to reclaim what was originally lost to urban development and agriculture.
Scientists from the International Radioecology Laboratory in Slavutych have documented an increase in sightings of large animals that were rare or absent before the disaster. Several packs of wolves have appeared and they seem to have made easy meals of any stray dogs left behind by their owners. (Wolves Eat Dogs is the title of a novel based on the exclusion zone by Gorky Park author Martin Cruz Smith.)
The rare Przewalski's horse from the Russian steppe has been reintroduced, along with European bison. Beavers and boars are beginning to reshape the forest ecosystems, European lynx have been sighted and many rare birds, such as the black stork and white-tailed eagle, have returned, along with many swans and owls.
For some scientists, the sight of wildflowers growing through the cracks in the concrete roads of Pripyat and the many and varied species of larger animals within the zone are signs that something positive has come out of the disaster. These researchers believe that the detrimental effects of the radioactive fallout have been exaggerated, while the true impact of human activity has been overlooked.
"The benefit of excluding humans from this highly contaminated ecosystem appears to outweigh significantly any negative cost associated with Chernobyl radiation," said Robert Baker, a biologist at Texas Tech University, who has made more than a dozen scientific excursions into the zone. Baker believes that the diversity of animals and plants within the zone is what could be reasonably expected to be seen in a nature park dedicated to conservation. Indeed, there have been calls to turn the Chernobyl exclusion zone into what would become Europe's largest nature reserve...
--------------------------
There's a lot more to the article at the link. But it amuses me that nature can handle a nuclear accident a lot more easily than it can handle the ongoing presence of human beings.
(Or, alternately, there's a lot of hidden mutation going on; and in a few years the animal-men from Kamandi will erupt from their hidden lairs to take over the world. This is also possible.)
Chernobyl: Lost world
Two decades after disaster struck, Chernobyl's wastelands are now teeming with wildlife. Should they become a nature reserve?
On 26 April 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred at the Chernobyl power station in the former Soviet Union. More than 135,000 people – and 35,000 cattle – living within 30 kilometres (19 miles) of the stricken nuclear reactor were evacuated and an unprecedented "zone of exclusion" was established around the site, close to the border between the Ukraine and Belarus...
Scientists have had access to limited data when it comes to assessing the true facts within the 4,000 square kilometres of the "zone of alienation". Photographs of the abandoned city of Pripyat, near Chernobyl, reveal that trees and shrubs have started to sprout through the roads and buildings. Nature has begun to reclaim what was originally lost to urban development and agriculture.
Scientists from the International Radioecology Laboratory in Slavutych have documented an increase in sightings of large animals that were rare or absent before the disaster. Several packs of wolves have appeared and they seem to have made easy meals of any stray dogs left behind by their owners. (Wolves Eat Dogs is the title of a novel based on the exclusion zone by Gorky Park author Martin Cruz Smith.)
The rare Przewalski's horse from the Russian steppe has been reintroduced, along with European bison. Beavers and boars are beginning to reshape the forest ecosystems, European lynx have been sighted and many rare birds, such as the black stork and white-tailed eagle, have returned, along with many swans and owls.
For some scientists, the sight of wildflowers growing through the cracks in the concrete roads of Pripyat and the many and varied species of larger animals within the zone are signs that something positive has come out of the disaster. These researchers believe that the detrimental effects of the radioactive fallout have been exaggerated, while the true impact of human activity has been overlooked.
"The benefit of excluding humans from this highly contaminated ecosystem appears to outweigh significantly any negative cost associated with Chernobyl radiation," said Robert Baker, a biologist at Texas Tech University, who has made more than a dozen scientific excursions into the zone. Baker believes that the diversity of animals and plants within the zone is what could be reasonably expected to be seen in a nature park dedicated to conservation. Indeed, there have been calls to turn the Chernobyl exclusion zone into what would become Europe's largest nature reserve...
--------------------------
There's a lot more to the article at the link. But it amuses me that nature can handle a nuclear accident a lot more easily than it can handle the ongoing presence of human beings.
(Or, alternately, there's a lot of hidden mutation going on; and in a few years the animal-men from Kamandi will erupt from their hidden lairs to take over the world. This is also possible.)
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Heat of Fusion
The Heat of Fusion is a collection of John M. Ford's short stories and poetry. It's marvellous, though (as is usual for Ford) the writing is dense and often ambiguous in meaning.
Ford seems to like a sort of political-psychological story; many of his works are about revolutionary psychology and its darker, more Orwellian elements.
In "Chromatic Aberration," one of the best works in the book, the revolt has succeeded; and part of the new regime's cultural revolution is the invention of new colors. The author claims, with all sincerity, that the revolution has changed human psychology and perception so completely that people can now see real colors; whereas the colors we saw before were just reactionary illusions. The story is creepy in its understatement; Ford creates the impression of a nightmare society without ever actually "breaking character" and telling us about the horrors that may be going on in it.
More lightly, here's one of his sonnets:
------
Janus: Sonnet
Sufficient time for faith and miracles
We find we cannot fit into our days;
And nothing's left at all that joyous dwells
Inside the heart. The spark of spirit stays
Too small for dreamburst, and all earth may prove
Inadequate for art. No human is
This potent all alone, and fear kills love...
Love kills fear, and alone; all-potent, this.
No human is inadequate for art,
For dreamburst; and all earth may prove too small.
The spark of spirit stays inside the heart
That joyous dwells, and nothing's left at all
We cannot fit into our days. we find
For faith and miracles, sufficient time.
------
It's a sort of sonnet palindrome: everything in the second half is perfectly reversed to achieve a meaning the exactly opposite to the first half.
Ford's work is terribly underrated; he was one of the most literate and capable science fiction writers to ever work in the field.
Ford seems to like a sort of political-psychological story; many of his works are about revolutionary psychology and its darker, more Orwellian elements.
In "Chromatic Aberration," one of the best works in the book, the revolt has succeeded; and part of the new regime's cultural revolution is the invention of new colors. The author claims, with all sincerity, that the revolution has changed human psychology and perception so completely that people can now see real colors; whereas the colors we saw before were just reactionary illusions. The story is creepy in its understatement; Ford creates the impression of a nightmare society without ever actually "breaking character" and telling us about the horrors that may be going on in it.
More lightly, here's one of his sonnets:
------
Janus: Sonnet
Sufficient time for faith and miracles
We find we cannot fit into our days;
And nothing's left at all that joyous dwells
Inside the heart. The spark of spirit stays
Too small for dreamburst, and all earth may prove
Inadequate for art. No human is
This potent all alone, and fear kills love...
Love kills fear, and alone; all-potent, this.
No human is inadequate for art,
For dreamburst; and all earth may prove too small.
The spark of spirit stays inside the heart
That joyous dwells, and nothing's left at all
We cannot fit into our days. we find
For faith and miracles, sufficient time.
------
It's a sort of sonnet palindrome: everything in the second half is perfectly reversed to achieve a meaning the exactly opposite to the first half.
Ford's work is terribly underrated; he was one of the most literate and capable science fiction writers to ever work in the field.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Fatal Revenant
It's the second book in the last Thomas Covenant trilogy!
Good grief.
Fatal Revenant suffers from the normal second-book-in-a-trilogy problems (i.e. you have to remember what happened in the first one, which is important since Donaldson keeps referring back to it; and you don't really get any resolution yet.)
Against that, you get some genuinely-interesting historical stuff. (Some!) We find out more about Berek, Demondim, the Forests, and so forth. Donaldson doesn't mind retconning his previous writing for the sake of moving the present story forward; sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't.
The notion that no one knew about the Despiser until Kevin's reign is a little jarring; but it mostly works. The Insequent are another matter; they're so prominent that you have to wonder where they've been before this trilogy.
Decent, but not marvellous. On the other hand, I'll definitely read the last book.
Good grief.
Fatal Revenant suffers from the normal second-book-in-a-trilogy problems (i.e. you have to remember what happened in the first one, which is important since Donaldson keeps referring back to it; and you don't really get any resolution yet.)
Against that, you get some genuinely-interesting historical stuff. (Some!) We find out more about Berek, Demondim, the Forests, and so forth. Donaldson doesn't mind retconning his previous writing for the sake of moving the present story forward; sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't.
The notion that no one knew about the Despiser until Kevin's reign is a little jarring; but it mostly works. The Insequent are another matter; they're so prominent that you have to wonder where they've been before this trilogy.
Decent, but not marvellous. On the other hand, I'll definitely read the last book.
War and Peace (Not Tolstoy!)
Donald Kagan's On the Origins of War (and the Preservation of Peace) is one of those books that I've been meaning to read for several months. Now that we're out at sea, with a tenuous internet connection that leaves me little opportunity for time-wasting, I've finally gotten around to it.
It's a series of case studies- not of wars themselves, but of several situations that led to wars. Kagan jumps from the ancient world (the Pelopennesian War between Athens and Sparta, and the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage) to the 20th century with both World Wars. He finishes, optimistically (?) with the Cuban Missle Crisis.
(Well, it's optimistic in the sense that war didn't break out. Though Kagan's picture of the crisis is very different from what I've read before.)
Kagan's points are clear and pretty well-established in his work here. We think of war as an interruption of the natural state of things; but it's not. War historically is much more common than times of peace. We are prone to conflict.
Peace, Kagan says, doesn't exist without someone making an effort to maintain it. It requires proactive behavior, diplomatic skill, and political will; and even then it may fail.
It fails because all nations pursue three things: honor, interests, and security. These are unstable, insatiable pursuits; no matter how much you have, you can never really be done with them. And they often conflict with other nations' pursuits; so it comes to war to resolve them.
Kagan's study of honor was perhaps the most interesting part of the book. He uses the term to cover prestige, respect, reputation; these psychological forces are a real form of power, and nations will fight to keep them. (Paradoxically, if they don't, the result may also be war: because a nation that loses the respect of others will have to fight to prove its strength. Its diplomacy won't be taken seriously on its own merits.)
There's a lot here I still have to digest. But Kagan has shaped and reshaped a lot of how I view international relations.
It's a series of case studies- not of wars themselves, but of several situations that led to wars. Kagan jumps from the ancient world (the Pelopennesian War between Athens and Sparta, and the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage) to the 20th century with both World Wars. He finishes, optimistically (?) with the Cuban Missle Crisis.
(Well, it's optimistic in the sense that war didn't break out. Though Kagan's picture of the crisis is very different from what I've read before.)
Kagan's points are clear and pretty well-established in his work here. We think of war as an interruption of the natural state of things; but it's not. War historically is much more common than times of peace. We are prone to conflict.
Peace, Kagan says, doesn't exist without someone making an effort to maintain it. It requires proactive behavior, diplomatic skill, and political will; and even then it may fail.
It fails because all nations pursue three things: honor, interests, and security. These are unstable, insatiable pursuits; no matter how much you have, you can never really be done with them. And they often conflict with other nations' pursuits; so it comes to war to resolve them.
Kagan's study of honor was perhaps the most interesting part of the book. He uses the term to cover prestige, respect, reputation; these psychological forces are a real form of power, and nations will fight to keep them. (Paradoxically, if they don't, the result may also be war: because a nation that loses the respect of others will have to fight to prove its strength. Its diplomacy won't be taken seriously on its own merits.)
There's a lot here I still have to digest. But Kagan has shaped and reshaped a lot of how I view international relations.
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