[crouton] Nathaniel Trost: De-ice De-ice Baby

[crouton at lists.powerblogs.com]

Posted by Nathaniel Trost:
De-ice De-ice Baby
http://crouton.powerblogs.com/archives/archive_2006_03_05-2006_03_11.shtml#=
1141871515


   I didn=E2t mean to write my weekend round-up on Wednesday, but so it
   goes. I did indeed vanquish the ice age that was my freezer on
   Saturday, despite waking up with a soul-crushing sinus headache. After
   about five hours unplugged with the freezer door opened, the hoary
   coat covering the roof and walls of the freezer melted away. This left
   only the giant ice cube that comprised the lower half of the freezer.
   That is not an exaggeration; the sliding basket below the shelf
   couldn=E2t be removed because it was embedded in a giant block of ice
   that was frozen to the floor of the freezer. Making headway required
   leaving a hairdryer propped up on full blast for nearly an hour.
   Finally, the combination of the hot air and the heating of the metal
   framing allowed the basket to be lifted free. Mind you, this hadn=E2t
   melted all the ice, the basket still looked like it was ready to sit
   on a lab table next to a prehistoric cave man, but at least it was out
   of the freezer.
   I=E2m happy to report that the exercise achieved its primary goal:
   making the fridge cool properly once again. Eventually I=E2ll retrieve
   the thawed basket from the patio and reintegrate it into the freezer.
   Eventually. Someday. Soon.
   In other aspects of productivity, I did indeed finally crack open the
   Word file containing my aborted hardboiled sci-fi detective novel,
   which I pretty much agreed to write on a dare back in 2000. On Sunday
   I doubled the length, it is now roughly 3,000 words. I know the basic
   plot, I have no idea how I=E2m going to get there, reach 90,000 words or
   have it be any good at all, but at least I=E2m writing the silly thing.
   Of course, I then had to spend the latter part of my Sunday evening
   finishing my reading of [1]The Sparrow , which made me feel even more
   dirty and ashamed to be writing crappy pulp sci-fi. For all the books
   I read, it is still uncommon for one to resonate with me strongly on
   an emotional level. When it does happen, I can=E2t always identify just
   why a text hits so hard or makes such an impact. It=E2s a beautiful
   book, with deep human characters and rich with both joy and profound
   sadness. As a melancholic, I find the two so generally intertwined on
   anything other than say, surface pleasures that it was a rare book I
   had to read in chunks, because it just became too much. Mixed up with
   all of it was surprisingly thoughtful and intimate explorations of
   faith. If decades of crap like Left Behind and the Purpose Driven
   Toenail Clippers weren=E2t enough reason to torch the nearest Zondervan,
   the irony that the most haunting and genuine fusion of elements of
   Christian spirituality and science fiction come from an agnostic
   writing a book involving Jesuits published as mainstream secular
   fiction. I think the reason why the book affected me as much as it
   did, however, boiled down to the dynamics between the major
   characters, the authentically messy interactions and intimacy and
   blending and family that isn=E2t family and the pain and effect of loss.
   At a time in my life where I=E2m having to face a lot of issues
   involving my own family and choices I make in how to relate to people
   in the future, the themes of the book definitely hit me on a multitude
   of levels. That said, I give it a high recommendation regardless,
   either as science fiction or literature in general.
   Now freshly arrived and in the queue: [2]Judas Unchained , [3]The
   Ghost Brigades , and [4]A Feast for Crows .
   These days, I rarely see movies in the theatres. In fact, I rarely
   bother watching movies on DVD. There are enough solid TV shows to
   occupy my limited viewing time and I just haven=E2t seen releases that
   make me want to break down and make the trek to Blockbuster or
   Hollywood. However, my friend Thomas, currently staying with me while
   doing an internship, had passes and wanted to see Ultraviolet. I had
   low expectations, and they were=E2=A6met. It was both better and worse
   than I had anticipated. I hadn=E2t realized it was the same director
   from Equilibrium, which explained a lot. The problem is, if you=E2ve
   already seen Equilibrium, you=E2ve seen almost everything which is
   remotely cool about Ultraviolet, and if you thought the gun-kata was
   silly, it=E2s even more over the top now. That said, despite the
   horrendous script, frequently distractingly cheesy virtual city CGI,
   Clone Wars qualify dialog, it wasn=E2t painful-pain bad, I found it
   painful-entertaining bad. But then I wasn=E2t paying to see it. Verdict:
   1.5/5. Worth seeing if it happens to be on cable and you have it on in
   the background while doing something productive. Otherwise, don=E2t
   bother. I=E2ve never cared for Mila=E2s looks (and she certainly can=E2t
   act), if you do then it=E2s probably a 2/5 rating. Needless to say, I=E2m
   crossing my fingers on V for Vendetta and A Scanner Darkly, but not
   getting my hopes up. The trailer I saw for Silent Hill, which ran
   before Ultraviolet, did probably sell me on seeing the movie, which
   isn=E2t something I had planned on.
   I=E2m happily watching the evolution of the increasingly inaccurately
   named iTunes Music Store. They are now rolling out Multi-Pass and
   Season-Pass purchase options for tv shows. This is how I want my tv. I
   went right ahead and bought a multi-pass for The Daily Show and
   Colbert Report because A) that=E2s how I want to get my TV, B) I don=E2t
   have cable and C) They are damn funny shows. It=E2s just too bad this is
   developing a couple years too late for, oh, lets just say Firefly.
   Reading impressions of [5]Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter is severely
   testing my resolve not to blow lots of money on an Xbox 360 that I=E2ll
   never play. What makes it even worse is if I bought a 360, I=E2d have to
   buy some sort of HDTV. Mind you, the largest actual TV I own is all of
   13=E2, you=E2d think I was downright un-American or something. Must.
   Exhibit. Self. Control.
   In a conference call yesterday I identified our incoming party as "3-6
   Mafia". I'm bad.

References

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