Little Toy Robot

There are always a lot of fluff pieces written during Spring Training, but I enjoyed this, about one of the coolest players around, Julio Franco.

Franco repeated his goal of playing until he’s 50 — or four more seasons. He turns 47 in August.

Last year we saw him become the oldest player in the majors ever to hit a grand slam.

Ricky Gervais, star of The Office, will be on Letterman this Friday night pimping Flanimals.

Michael Chabon is interviewed in the February issue of Alter Ego, “Roy Thomas’ Swingin’ Comics Fanzine.” This is a refreshing interlude to the deluge of Final Solution reviews and the typical comics-are-not-just-for-kids fluff pieces.

Roy Thomas focuses on the acknowledgements at the end of Kavalier & Clay, in which Chabon thanks several comics luminaries from the Golden Age and provides a bibliography. It’s an interesting insight into the genesis of the novel and the influence of specific creators like Will Eisner, Stan Lee, and Gil Kane, who all gave Chabon some of their time to discuss the good ol’ days. Chabon also discusses some of the books he used as references, such as Jules Feiffer’s well known The Great Comic Book Heroes. Thomas also probes Chabon about some of the throwaway superhero names and comic titles strewn throughout the novel.

This, however, is the most tantalizing bit of the interview:

Roy Thomas: I’ve heard rumors of a planned sequel to Kavalier and Clay. Are they true–assuming you don’t mind this being mentioned in the interview?

Chabon: I won’t rule it out. I would love to tell a story set in the New York of the early 70’s, about the guys, like this Thomas fellow [meaning the gentlemen who is interviewing him!], who were writing and drawing the comics I grew up loving.

Idle speculation, perhaps, from a writer who is not among the most prolific. However, the Kavalier and Clay postscript that made it into the catalogue of the exhibit at the Bremen musuem does in fact trace the story into more modern times, as do the occasional essays in the Escapist comic books, so you know it’s something that’s been on Chabon’s mind.

The MonkeyBrain Books site has been updated to include the cover art for its 2005 releases. All three books–and the cover art!–look great.

Adventure
Edited by Chris Roberson
November, 2005

ADVENTURE, the first volume of an annual anthology of original fiction in the spirit of early twentieth-century pulp fiction magazines, features stories from all genres, promising both literary sophistication and pulse-pounding action. Contributors to the first volume, among them leading lights and award-winners in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and western, include John Edward Ames, Lou Anders, Neal Asher, Kage Baker, Barry Baldwin, O’Neil De Noux, Paul Di Filippo, Mark Finn, Michael Kurland, John Meaney, Michael Moorcock, Chris Nakashima-Brown, Kim Newman, Mike Resnick, Chris Roberson, Matthew Rossi, and Marc Singer.

The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana
by Jess Nevins
Introduction by Michael Moorcock
November, 2005

This enormous volume is the first comprehensive encyclopedia of fantastic literature of the nineteenth century. From detective fiction to historical novels, from well-known authors like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, to Russian newspaper serials and Chinese martial arts novels, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FANTASTIC VICTORIANA is a truly exhaustive look at every aspect of fantastic literature in the days of Queen Victoria. Readers of science fiction and fantasy will be surprised to find here the roots of genres thought to be strictly contemporary, and students of literature will be amazed at the breadth and scope of writings produced in the Victoriana era. This is an invaluable reference, and truly one-of-a-kind.

Myths for the Modern Age:
Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe
edited by Win Eckert
[November?] 2005

In his classic “biographies” of fictional characters (Tarzan Alive and Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life), Hugo- and Nebula-award winning author Philip José Farmer introduced the Wold Newton family, a collection of heroes and villains whose family-tree includes Sherlock Holmes, Fu Manchu, Philip Marlowe, and James Bond. In books, stories, and essays he expanded the concept even further, adding more branches to the Wold Newton family-tree. MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE: PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER’S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE collects for the first time those rarely-seen essays. Expanding the family even farther are contributions from Farmer’s successors—scholars, writers, and pop-culture historians—who bring even more fictional characters into the fold.

I especially can’t wait for Jess’ Encyclopedia, which was supposed to come out this Spring, and is based on his site.

The verdict on Seth Green’s latest project, Robot Chicken: Two robo-thumbs up! Robot Chicken is about ten minutes of non-stop pop culture satire told with toys in stop-motion animation with some computer effects (mouth and eyes). I think.

I don’t know if the quality of the show can be sustained over any period of time, but it has definitely earned its chance.

And if you happened to be watching, you may have seen Clunky Robot in his brand-new Sealab 2021 commercial!

Well, Corner CD is going out of business. It’s barely worth visiting at this point–over the weekend, all they had left were some posters and a bunch of CDs nobody would ever want. The staff didn’t seem as bitter as I thought they might. I have to admit that, although I like to support small businesses when I can, as a consumer they just didn’t have much to offer. They couldn’t compete with Decatur CD or Criminal Records.

In a fit of local loyalty, though, I made sure to patronize two other businesses by my home that I simply couldn’t live without: Aurora Coffee and the Atlanta Book Exchange.

Like fantasy baseball? I do. If picking, playing, and trading baseball players during the 2005 season with a bunch of other bookish geeks sounds like a good time to you, check it out.

Michael Chabon (a Giants fan) is editing the next Best American Short Stories, and his table of contents is slowly leaking out on the big Net. This is going to be good.

And speaking of Chabon, The Rake (also–coincidentally?–a baseball fan!) has a great overview of a recent lecture.

A word about Blueberry Boat by the Fiery Furnaces . It is many things: melodic, abrasive, dense, experimental, high-concept, childish. For my money, though, it is the best thing I’ve heard in years. It is difficult to listen to, but it is extremely rewarding. And the lyrics! Who else could throw a little English countryside murder mystery into the middle of a synthesizer-heavy indie pop album like this?

Damp in Dumbarton dip about the 14th of May.
The publican dropped me a line thought there had been foul play:
The farmer up the hill came in with his knife
He mumbled something darkly about his young wife.

Riding up on the postcoach I thrummed on my notebook.
The wind was up, I held on my hat. I do up my coat, look:
The farmer stumbled past holding his gun
He mumbled something darkly about his young son.

About your wife, sir.
What about her?
Pray, where is she?
Nowhere you’ll see.

Locked him up in the store room of Mrs. McVeigh’s Inn.
Take tea up in the manor Sir Robert Grayson.
The farmer through the window came in with his sword;
He mumbled out of breath Forgive me m’lord.

Plus, one song has a verse almost entirely in Inuit.

I’m reading these in alphabetical order! So far. Not really on purpose.

Hell’s Half Acre, by Will Christopher Baer
Baer’s third Phineas Poe book is not as good as the first, and perhaps better than the second, but it does provide some much-needed continuity for the series. It’s just not a Phineas Poe book without Jude!

Jennifer Government, by Max Barry
Fast-paced satire with cookie cutter characters and nothing really insightful to offer.

The Man Who Was Thursday, by G.K. Chesterton
An extremely effective surrealistic mystery/thriller. Some laughs and some action, but at its heart this is a story about the slippery boundaries of order and chaos.

Falling Angel, by William Hjortsberg
As good as its supposed to be. An occult detective novel that has Harry Angel, your typical noir P.I. in late 1950s NYC, follow the trail of a forgotten crooner who got himself mixed up in voodoo. It starts as good as any hard-boiled novel and slowly introduces supernatural elements. It’s also got Coney Island circus freaks, Harlem jazz, and a few trips to the New York Public Library. Excellent.

The Seven-Percent Solution, by Nicholas Meyer
Powers of Detection, ed. by Dana Stabenow
The Year of Our War, by Steph Swainston

Haven’t read these yet!

Yay, we have more Decemberists tour dates!

They’ll be in Atlanta on May 9.

Laura Miller on HPL. “H.P. Lovecraft built his reputation as America’s greatest bad writer on a loathsome edifice of unspeakable, hideous filth whose nauseating tendrils reach into the nightmarish depths of hyperbole.”

The Man With the Golden Library. “Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, amassed a big collection of rare books, covering golf to Einstein. Andrew Lycett leafs through his treasures.”

Planetary 22 Parody. This used to be my absolute favorite comic, before the irregular schedule and long lapses between issues caused me to lose interest.

Der Ruritanische Widerstand - The Ruritanian Resistance. A different look at Anthony Hope’s Ruritania novels!

Giambi apologizes — but won’t say the ‘S’ word.

Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! Can you believe that’s an actual headline for a Reuters article? After you read it, you’ll believe it.

Oh, and happy V-Day:

I never got the chance to meet Mike Wolf, but he was a friend of a friend and I could tell from reading his blog that we had a lot in common. A bunch of people are leaving their condolences as comments to his last post from yesterday. I figured it was the least I could do to mention it and encourage you visit.

There’s a great essay by Witold Rybczynski revisiting Celebration, Orange County’s “Disney town,” on Slate:

The happy exceptions are the bumptious “Mediterranean” houses that occur here and there. They exhibit a good-natured Floridian vulgarity that is refreshing among all the good taste. . . .

What to make of Celebration? Like all American real-estate ventures since colonial days, it’s a mixture of vision, business, and blarney. . . .

The truth is that despite its best efforts, the populist Disney Co. has produced an elitist product.

With pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training camps in just a few days, and that deplorable gladiatorial spectacle known as the Super Bowl behind us, I am feeling a familiar tingle in my bones. OK, that might actually be from my third cup of coffee this morning. But anyway, the baseball season is slowly creeping up on us, and I can’t wait.

For those of you who may be struggling to decipher my tangle of contradictory team allegiances, it’s really quite simple. I follow the teams from the cities I have lived in. I hope to give more detailed and irreverent and poorly worded summaries of these teams’ prospects for the upcoming season in the next few weeks.

The New York Yankees
As I mentioned before, Don Mattingly was my idol when I was a kid. My Yankee fandom has sort of degenerated into a sick fascination bordering on abusive hatred at times, but it really is in my bones. It is also the point of departure for my well developed hatred of the rival Red Sox and Mets.

The New York Mets
I really hate the Mets, but I follow them anyway in order to hurl curses upon them and their sorry fans.

The Oakland Athletics
I only lived in the East Bay for a year as a kid, but this was the year that Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco (bastard) broke into the league and I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for the yellow-and-green ever since.

The Florida Marlins
Another team I dislike, as much as I wanted to be a fan. I don’t know; maybe it has something to do with being forced to read The Old Man and the Sea multiple times when I was in High School in South Florida.

The Atlanta Braves
My respect for the Braves has grown exponentially over the past year as they defied all expectations to finish on top of their division. Again. I am going to be even more of a fan this year as they fend off threats from the payroll-bloated Mets.

The party line on Richard K. Morgan’s Broken Angels is that it is not as good as Altered Carbon, its predecessor, but it’s still good. I don’t agree. I found the book to be slow moving, dense with infodumps, and pitted with plot holes.

I think Altered Carbon worked because it was a noir mystery at heart, with a Science Fiction sheen that tended to amplify the story and not distract from it. The book moved at a good pace but character development didn’t suffer. The world was carefully revealed through Kovacs’ own ignorance of Earth’s culture and his own struggles to grasp it. The story introduced us to an incredibly interesting dilemma in the romance subplot with Kristin.

Broken Angels tries to succeed without any of the strengths of Altered Carbon. We have an extremely tenuous romantic interest or two. We have a bunch of problems: how can Kovacs, who ranks so highly in his mercenary unit, disappear for so long without being punished? Why does he care so much for his new companions, yet his pack loyalty to the other Wedge soldiers is so easily overcome? How can Kovacs, who should be in trouble, talk back to his commander with such insolence? I am willing to suspend my disbelief enough to allow for Martians, but Kovacs returning after his stint as a reluctant loner P.I. to be a high ranking mercenary is a bit too much to swallow. It’s all possible, but it just doesn’t feel right.

The most promising part of the book is the contact with the remnant Martian culture which is the focus of the plot, and while I don’t mind some things being left uninvestigated (Morgan’s at his best with his throwaway references to the richness of his Universe outside the stories, such as Semertain and Hand’s voodoo religion), I think the book would have been a thousand times more interesting if it had spent a few more pages within the Martian ship instead of on the fucking beach.

Stylistically the book suffers from the plague of having each character speak in the same voice, a problem which happens to China Mieville’s characters as well. This was easily forgiven in Altered Carbon, but it seems that Broken Angels piles on the burly dialog a little too often. I hope the next Kovacs novel finds him a little less of a superman, a little more vulnerable and believable, and hopefully a little more grounded and focused in his story.