Latest Happenings
I’m currently finishing up the last leg of “Accelerando” by Charles Stross, a post-cyberpunk hard science fiction novel that’s full of absolutely insane ideas, but lacks the human element I desire from such books. The plot is mostly incomprehensible, commenting on the ramifications of post-human existance and the forthcoming singularity, but I’m afraid I’m on the opposite side of the issue from Stross (at least, I think I am). Granted, I’m not finished with it, but it lacks a lot of focus, and I don’t see it tying itself up very nicely by the end. I’d mildly recommend it, with the caveat that it’s more interested in ideas than characters or story. It’s definitely in the Neil Stephenson/Thomas Pynchon school.
Season three of Battlestar Galactica proves that the writers aren’t capable of telling a long story well — that 20 episodes is way too much for them, and 13 (which they’re going back to next year) is a much more manageable number. The finale has been far superior to most of the season. In fact, I think you could take the New Caprica storyline from the first half, include the three or four episodes following that which dealt with the fallout from New Caprica and combine them with the finale to make a reasonably good season. Most of the middle — including the absolutely dreadful “Eye of Jupiter” two-parter that was essentially a rehash of the Kobol storyline from Season one and Season two — could be easily amputated.
Unlike others out there in the blogosphere, I actually like what’s been done with Lee Adama (about time if you ask me — he hasn’t been interesting since he took command of the Pegasus in season two), and I’m excited about the revelation of the final five Cylons. In particular, I was very surprised by the identities of at least one of these people — it’s a gutsy move, but I think it sends a clear signal that we’re probably heading into the home stretch. I hope the fact that Galactica is clearly ending its run next January will lead to a continued improvement in overall story quality. I’d hate to continue watching the show flail around as it heads towards an inevitable cancellation, much as my once-beloved Farscape did in its dreadful fourth year.
I downloaded the new Modest Mouse record, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank” from iTunes this morning. I haven’t heard it all, but I’m enjoying it immensely so far. “Dashboard” stands up there with the singles from the last record. Although I do think it suffers from overproduction, it still contains enough of what “Modest Mouse” is about to overlook the commercial overtones. It’s interesting to note what an influence new guitarist Johnny Marr (The Smiths, Electronic, etc., etc.) is on the record. His guitar style is very distinctive, and I think it’s safe to say that it blends nicely with the band. It’s weird that an alternative rock guitar legend has joined a perrenial indie favorite two whole generations removed from his glory days, but it works. Kudos to Modest Mouse and Marr for taking a big chance.
