More Books

Over at the official blog of my first sci-fi novel, The Seventh Day, I listed some sci-fi authors and books that have influenced my thought and writing.

More Pics

I recently updated my Flickr page here.


You can't tell, but I'm actually smiling.


Here I am in my "hootch," my home away from home. This is where the majority of my posts were composed when I was in Iraq. I know it looks small and cramped. But don't let the camera fool you. It's actually VERY small and cramped.

Reading is Fun!

As I've mentioned before, I really like to read. So I decided to make a few recommendations, so that next time you're at the library, bookstore, or Amazon, you'll have a few new ideas on what to check out (or what to avoid, depending on what you think of me. Whatever)
I don't know if you've noticed, but the political views I've expressed, as well as some of the other sites I link to, tend to lean a tiny bit to the right. Therefore, in the interest of fair and balanced blogging, I'm giving my first plug to liberal author Al Franken. I respect Franken because he appears to genuinely care about the troops, instead of just using their hardship to justify his political prejudices. He's done several USO shows in Iraq, and claims to be the first comedian to perform at Abu Ghraib Prison. In fact, I saw him at the Baghdad airport as he was coming and I was leaving. After I saw him there, I knew I had to go out and buy his book. Though I don't agree with everything he says, his talent is undeniable, and his arguments are well written and funny.
I'm not really a fan of history books. When I found this book in a pile of used books at an MWR in Baghdad, I knew it would be a good oppourtunity to supplement my knowledge of The Vietnam War, which I am embarrassed to say is somewhat lacking. What I found is a quite extraordinary book. (It's funny how some of the best books I've ever read have been books I just found in a pile or on a shelf somewhere, chosen just because the cover looked interesting.) Al Santoli tells the history of Vietnam by breaking it down into stories told by the different kinds of people who actually experienced it; generals, diplomats, Cambodian refugees, American soldiers, and Vietnamese soldiers from both the South and the North. Mr Santoli doesn't claim to tell the "whole story." But I find myself much more informed now than before.
I write science fiction, so of course I'm interested in what futurists have to say about things to come. One really fascinating idea is that of the "Singularity." If you've never heard that term before, Google it. It's totally trippy. Lemme give you a very, very short definition. The Singularity is a period of computer AI aided human technological advance, unprecedented in history, world-changing, and even unimaginable; which futurists believe will happen in the near future, like, thirty years. I know what you're thinking. No one can predict the future. This could all be bullshit. But it's interesting bullshit, dammit! And the observations that Kurzweil makes about modern technological trends are spot on. Lot's of authors are writing about the Singularity, and Kurzweil is the best.

V for Vendetta

I just saw the most awesome movie, a futuristic thriller called V for Vendetta.

WARNING, plot spoilers!!!




In it, the main character, V states that artists lie in order to show the truth. No one shows us the truth better than the artists of the Hollywood movie industry. And in today's political environment, no movie can be more relevant that V for Vendetta, with it's plot threads that are so similar to what's happening in America today, it will shock everyone who sees it. For example, in the movie, the British government secretly orchestrates a biological terrorist attack in order to manipulate and control the population, just like how the American government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. In future England, there is only one news television station, the BTN, just as Fox News is the only news station allowed in America. Americans have the Internet. The future Brits have the "Interlink." In the movie, the Brits eat something called "eggy in a basket," and Americans eat eggs in a basket! The most disquieting similarity is the way Natalie Portman's innocent character, Evee is tortured by government officials for her associations with the terrorist, V. The allusions to Gitmo and Nazi concentration camps are clear. I got up and went to the bathroom at this point, so I missed exactly how V was able to rescue Evee from the government prison. And I don't understand why she seemed so upset with V for saving her. But, ah well. The movie ends happily with everyone wearing the exact same outfit, thus allowing the true spirit of Anarchy to triumph.

I give it ten stars!!!!