Book review: Ready Player One

Two of the last three novels I’ve read have been first-time efforts. The previous one I’d read was Brian Keene’s The Rising, which I found mediocre and fairly filled with first-time authorisms. Ready Player One has its share of flaws, too, but as a debut I felt it worked much better.

The main character of Wade/Parzival seemed a little too prone to silly actions and emotional speechifying. The most cringe-inducing moments in the book were usually when several characters engaged in dialogue. But as they are mostly teens or near-teens I found this forgivable, even realistic. Having been a teen once (that was enough for me) I can attest to the propensity for silly actions and saying Very Serious Things Stop Laughing At Me, so in RPO it works, for the most part.

The key concept of the OASIS was fleshed out just about right — the technical ins-and-outs of this proto-holodeck are presented with enough detail to make it seem plausible without descending into unnecessary Star Trek-level technobabble.

This is very much a niche book. While a movie version would be more accessible, simply due to the visual experience, the novel’s constant and key references to all things 1980s (or thereabouts) makes the story best-suited for those who grew up in that era. Being a massive nerd is probably essential, too. Since I qualify in both regards I enjoyed the nostalgia trip, even as I stopped to wonder if the occasional detail was right or not.

The ending is a bit pat and as others have said, Wade has a whole lot of coincidental knowledge that turns out to be precisely what he needs. The ability to memorize countless movies, books and games is a stretch, too — you pretty much have to handwave it or the whole story collapses on itself.

The character of Art3mis didn’t quite click for me. Her actions felt more like they were in service to the plot than organic or natural.

Still, there’s no denying the spectacle, the villains are suitably over-the-top and it’s a fast-paced, effortless read. If you’re at all nerdy and know your 80s references, you’ll probably have a good time with Ready Player One.

Steve Jobs, gone at age 56

I couldn’t think of a more poetic headline and besides, those are impossible to deal with when doing a search years later.

Today Steve Jobs died. The Apple site has a simple page to him dedicated here. The statement on it is from current CEO Tim Cook and reads:

Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.

I have a love/hate relationship with Apple. I’ve applied to work for the company. I’ve mocked the iPad for bringing iBooks to Canada with no actual books to purchase. I’ve owned three iPods, two of which sit on the desk where I’m writing this, alongside my iPhone 4. I’ve dismissed the original iMac (the one with the hockey puck mouse). I’ve marveled at the elegant design of the current iMac. But through all of my mockery and admiration I have acknowledged that Apple would not be the company it is today — not even close — without one of the most utterly capable CEOs any tech company has ever seen.

Steve Jobs wasn’t just a visionary — he not only oversaw Apple and the introduction of a slew of incredibly successfully, industry-defining products (iPod, iPhone, iPad, the iTunes music store, the mock turtleneck sweater) but also an entirely different company as well — Pixar. To be so successful with just one company is amazing. To be so successful with two — simultaneously! — is insanely amazing. Unlike a lot of people with vision, Jobs was able to transform his into reality. He was also a terrific speaker and showman. When he reappeared earlier this year to introduce the iPad 2 people ate it up, ignoring how much thinner and frail he looked.

And in the end life was cruel to him. Having survived pancreatic cancer in 2004 and a liver transplant in 2009, he took medical leave in January of this year, resigned as CEO in late August and today, just weeks later, is gone, felled by an illness that money and power cannot ward off. He was only 56.

The world has lost a uniquely talented individual. It will be interesting to see where Apple goes in the years to come with Jobs’ guidance. It would not surprise me if it falters, his imprint was so strong. But it’s also likely he planted the seeds to keep the company strong, knowing his time was coming to an end.

Rest in peace, Mr. Jobs.

 

Book review: Majestic

Since it was just recently reprinted ans I missed it back in the day, I read Majestic, Whitley Strieber’s ‘true fiction’ account of the Roswell Incident. It’s partially epistolary in nature, as some chapters are told directly from the memoirs of the (fictitious) character of Will Stone, an ex-CIA officer who was deeply involved in the Roswell crash recovery and subsequent cover-up and who ultimately confesses the secrets of what happened to a reporter for The Bethesda Express (in 1989, the year the novel was originally published). The remaining chapters are told from the first person perspective of the reporter as he recounts the stories he is told and the material he uncovers in his research.

The story starts out fairly grounded (ho ho) but as it moves beyond the initial discovery of the crashed disk it gets progressively weirder, with Strieber projecting the behaviors of the ‘visitors’ from his book Communion onto the aliens. Said visitors go on to seriously screw around with the minds and bodies of several people, some of them actual historical figures. The government stuff is handled believably, with everyone up to the president appropriately freaked by the potential an alien invasion could have — and the orders to both shoot first and cover up the whole thing not only works perfectly for conspiracy theorists, it’s plausible as something the government would probably do in such a situation.

My biggest disappointment with the story is probably in regards to the details of what is found. There are several scenes with scientists and military men gathered to discuss findings and propose strategies but the emphasis is clearly on the military side of things, leaving a lot of potentially interesting bits on the alien technology only hinted at.

Still, this is a short and breezy read. For those looking for a (fictional) take on Roswell, it may be worth checking out. Just be prepared for more emphasis on trippy happenings and less on government shenanigans as you get further in

R.E.M. calls it quits

This story on R.E.M.’s official website announces that the band is amicably splitting up after 30 years together. So it turns out Bill Berry quitting did break the band up, as he had feared it might, it just took 14 years longer than expected!

As I said on Quarter to Three’s forum, this makes me sad but it’s not too surprising. They seemed to be drifting since before Bill Berry left the band in 1997.

They did their ‘rock’ album in 1994 with Monster, a deliberate change-up from their previous sound but the follow-up to that album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi felt at times like an awkward blend of the two previous albums, Automatic for the People and Monster, suggesting the band was unable to settle on a direction.

Once Berry left they got more experimental and production-heavy, with dense arrangements that were pretty much the antithesis of their IRS records. There was some good stuff in there but some of it felt labored or worse, was forgetful. The latter albums also felt (to me, anyway) as if an individual band member drove each one — Accelerate was Buck’s album, Around the Sun was Mills’, Up was Stipe’s, there was a sense that the group no longer shared a vision, they just worked agreeably together.

I quite liked Accelerate, their self-described attempt to stay relevant. In all the years since 1986 it’s the album that most recalls my favorite, Lifes Rich Pageant. In retrospect it was a penultimate last hurrah.

Still, 30+ years is a hell of a run.

And I’ll admit, I’d pick up a Mike Mills solo album.

Annual birthday post, 2011 edition

Today is my birthday.

The good: celebrating it with a loving partner, getting a nice present and eating a couple of apple fritters.

The bad: getting older.

The bad is also part of the good, as the alternative is a lot worse.

Silent running

Distance: 11.08 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20ºC
Wind: slight
Calories burned: 774
Average pace: 5:19/km
Total distance to date: 1053 km

I have discovered of late that the longer I go between runs the harder it is, as if I lose my conditioning faster by not running as frequently. On the plus side I have also noticed that I recover quicker than before in terms of soreness/achiness and the like.

And so with four days off since my last run I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty and it wasn’t. In terms of discomfort it was probably the worst run I’ve had in quite awhile — and yet I still managed to beat my previous run by three seconds on average, probably due to the lower temperature and running Burnaby Lake clockwise, which slopes more downwardly. And despite the lower temperature I still felt hot and sweaty. A rare light breeze came up but only long enough to be a tease. It felt like a portent of changing weather.

Along the way I felt a nagging pain in my right shin but has subsided dramatically over the course of 24 hours, leading me to cautiously believe that it was sore and not hurt. I also had a weird phantom twinge of pain flare up during the first half of the run in my left upper thigh. It came out of nowhere and left the same way. I think it may have been responsible for the absolutely huge drop between my first and second km — 8 seconds, which may be some kind of record. By the end of the run I had my stamina back and was starting to feel a bit better but overall it was a dismal affair.

I knew things were not going to go well when I could not select a playlist at the start of the run. Apparently my iPod did not sync properly so I had to run for 60 minutes with only the sound of my own wheezing to serenade me. I did not prefer this to music.

Here is hoping the next run is an all around more pleasant experience.

Chart (All runs at Burnaby Lake except those in blue which are at China Creek):

km Sep 12 Sep 7 Sep 2 Aug 31 Aug 26 Aug 19 Aug 15 Aug 11 Aug 8
1 km 4:49 4:52 4:52 4:51 4:51 4:50 4:55 4:54 5:04
2 km 4:57 4:56 4:57 4:53 4:55 4:54 4:57 4:55 5:05
3 km 5:02 4:59 5:00 4:57 4:58 4:57 4:58 4:58 5:07
4 km 5:05 5:02 5:02 4:58 5:01 5:00 5:02 5:00 5:09
5 km 5:07 5:06 5:03 4:59 5:05 5:01 5:05 5:02 5:11
6 km 5:09 5:08 5:04 5:01 5:08 5:03 5:06 5:03 5:12
7 km 5:12 5:11 5:06 5:03 5:10 5:05 5:08 5:04 5:14
8 km 5:14 5:13 5:07 5:05 5:12 5:07 5:09 5:06 5:16
9 km 5:16 5:16 5:08 5:06 5:14 5:09 5:11 5:08 5:16
10 km 5:17 5:18 5:09 5:08 5:16 5:11 5:13 5:08 5:17
11 km 5:19 5:20 5:10 5:10 5:18 5:12 5:14 — 5:17
12 km — 5:22 5:10 5:11 — — — — —

The weirdly warm early September run

Distance: 12.73 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 25ºC
Wind: none
Calories burned: 890
Average pace: 5:21/km
Total distance to date: 1042 km

It seems summer was shifted forward one month. After a tepid and cloudy July, August was pretty nice and September so far has been spectacular, with temperatures well above normal for this time of year. That’s the good news. The less-good-news is the run at Burnaby Lake was very warm (25ºC when I started), very humid and generally uncomfortable until the final few km when the lateness of the hour meant it finally started to cool a little.

I decided to run counter-clockwise (the usual way) and after having done the previous two runs clockwise I can now say with certainty that clockwise is easier. The south side of the lake has a low but steady uphill slope which serves as a braking mechanism in the latter part of the run. Going in the other direction, the north side of the lake has one much steeper but shorter climb and nothing else noteworthy, being mostly flat. I suspect my sluggish pace would have had a few seconds lopped off it had I run clockwise.

And sluggish it was. Despite starting with a typical 4:52/km I immediately gained four seconds on the next km and added three or four seconds for every km after until the 5 km mark, dooming my overall time (at 5 km my pace was a lowly 5:06/km). I plodded on and on the plus side my shins did not feel nearly as tender as on the previous run and I’m only experiencing some minor soreness now. I also managed my longest run once again, adding 400 m for a total distance of 12.73 km, so that was pretty good. The number of slugs was down, too.

I also had a train running alongside me on the north side of the trail for the first time. Weird that it hasn’t happened before. The clacking of the wheels on the track is oddly soothing. I also jogged by a horsey near the end of the run. Yes, a horsey. And apparently there is a law forbidding men from having horses now because every one I see has a woman attached to it.

Chart (All runs at Burnaby Lake except those in blue which are at China Creek):

km Sep 7 Sep 2 Aug 31 Aug 26 Aug 19 Aug 15 Aug 11 Aug 8 Aug 4
1 km 4:52 4:52 4:51 4:51 4:50 4:55 4:54 5:04 4:51
2 km 4:56 4:57 4:53 4:55 4:54 4:57 4:55 5:05 4:54
3 km 4:59 5:00 4:57 4:58 4:57 4:58 4:58 5:07 4:59
4 km 5:02 5:02 4:58 5:01 5:00 5:02 5:00 5:09 5:04
5 km 5:06 5:03 4:59 5:05 5:01 5:05 5:02 5:11 5:07
6 km 5:08 5:04 5:01 5:08 5:03 5:06 5:03 5:12 5:09
7 km 5:11 5:06 5:03 5:10 5:05 5:08 5:04 5:14 5:11
8 km 5:13 5:07 5:05 5:12 5:07 5:09 5:06 5:16 5:13
9 km 5:16 5:08 5:06 5:14 5:09 5:11 5:08 5:16 5:14
10 km 5:18 5:09 5:08 5:16 5:11 5:13 5:08 5:17 5:15
11 km 5:20 5:10 5:10 5:18 5:12 5:14 — 5:17 5:16
12 km 5:21 5:10 5:11 — — — — — —

The 12.33K run

Distance: 12.33 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 19ºC
Wind: none
Calories burned: 862
Average pace: 5:10/km
Total distance to date: 1029 km

I knew I would feel more discomfort in my shins tonight because of the two back-to-back runs a few days back and sure enough that is how tonight’s run began. In fact they felt so tender I wondered if I would even complete the run at all. You can see this early on where despite starting with a decent time I add an impressive five seconds after the first km. The achiness never got worse so I managed to keep my pace stable. Then something weird happened.

The endorphins kicked in, I found my zone or something clicked because I managed to make up for that slow stretch over the rest of the run and recovering from a sluggish start is something that doesn’t happen very often. By the end of the run I not only managed to match my previous pace, I ended up exceeding it (the iPod actually said my average pace was 5:09/km before the Nike+ site cruelly rounded it up to 5:10). With the pain receding and my energy bursting I felt like I could have kept on going strong (my pace for the 12-12.33 km stretch was 4:44) but knowing I might regret this performance in the coming days I cooled my jets.

I ran the loop in reverse again and am almost leaning toward preferring it this way, though I can’t say exactly why just yet. During the 12+ km stretch there is only one small spot where you have to cross a road that leads to the rowing center and it’s usually dead quiet there. Tonight as I emerged from around a blind corner (carefully, as it is a blind corner) a motorcycle came roaring around with the driver evidently one of those “There can’t possibly be anyone else ever on the road!” types, as he came far too close to me for my liking. I later nearly had a fellow jogger smoosh into me doing the same thing on another blind corner. Pay attention, people! Please. 🙂

Chart (All runs at Burnaby Lake except those in blue which are at China Creek):

km Sep 2 Aug 31 Aug 26 Aug 19 Aug 15 Aug 11 Aug 8 Aug 4 Aug 1
1 km 4:52 4:51 4:51 4:50 4:55 4:54 5:04 4:51 4:51
2 km 4:57 4:53 4:55 4:54 4:57 4:55 5:05 4:54 4:52
3 km 5:00 4:57 4:58 4:57 4:58 4:58 5:07 4:59 4:56
4 km 5:02 4:58 5:01 5:00 5:02 5:00 5:09 5:04 4:58
5 km 5:03 4:59 5:05 5:01 5:05 5:02 5:11 5:07 5:00
6 km 5:04 5:01 5:08 5:03 5:06 5:03 5:12 5:09 5:01
7 km 5:06 5:03 5:10 5:05 5:08 5:04 5:14 5:11 5:04
8 km 5:07 5:05 5:12 5:07 5:09 5:06 5:16 5:13 5:06
9 km 5:08 5:06 5:14 5:09 5:11 5:08 5:16 5:14 5:07
10 km 5:09 5:08 5:16 5:11 5:13 5:08 5:17 5:15 5:09
11 km 5:10 5:10 5:18 5:12 5:14 — 5:17 5:16 5:10
12 km 5:10 5:11 — — — — — — —

Another social networking site I never use, hooray! (Google+)

Google+ has some neat ideas and overall I like the look and functionality more than Facebook. As a bonus there are no stupid games to block, at least not yet.

But like most social networking sites I find after setting up an account it quickly goes fallow/gathers cobwebs or whatever metaphor works best for you.

But here it is, my Google+ profile. It is also conveniently linked along with all my other never-used profiles over to the right under My Links.

Coming soon: my never-to-be-used Twitter account!

Book review: My Work Is Not Yet Done

Thomas Ligotti’s My Work Is Not Yet Done is a book that was recommended by several readers on Quarter to Three and I’m always willing to try a new author, so I gave it a go recently. The experience was a bit confusing, not because of Ligotti’s prose, but rather the borked formatting of the Kobo ebook version I was reading, which presented incorrect jumps to the wrong chapter or section. Fortunately the table of contents worked properly and I was able to complete the book without going totally mad.

The heart of the book is a short novel in which the protagonist faces off against seven other ‘swine’ in an office where he correctly figures himself the lowest of the low. He ultimately plots revenge against his co-workers via copious amounts of gunfire but when he suddenly finds himself with supernatural powers he plots out more (extremely) grisly and imaginative ends to the people who demean and mock him. The story is told in the first person and the time spent in Frank Dominio’s mind is at turns fascinating and amusing but ultimately without reward. None of the primary characters in the story are remotely likable.

Ligotti does a good job keeping a consistent and clear tone with the narrative. You may not like Dominio but you will understand him and the frustrations he feels, even as you remain unconvinced that he is not just, as he fears he will be remembered, a kook. More broadly, My Work Is Not Yet Done serves as a philosophical statement on the corporate realm, its inhabitants constantly referred to as swine, its goals and purpose consistently derided. The frank exchanges between the characters in their numerous meetings are simultaneously amusing and depressing.

I enjoyed the craft of the story more than the actual story itself. I’ve not read Ligotti before and have heard this collection may not be fully representative of his work. He is a fine writer but My Work Is Not Yet Done is unrelentingly bleak. The sarcastic, droll observations of Dominio lighten the tone but only slightly. Still, I can’t deny Ligotti’s imagination and skill, so I may seek out some of his other work.

Just not right away.

The 12K run

Distance: 12.04 km
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 19ºC
Wind: none
Calories burned: 841
Average pace: 5:11/km
Total distance to date: 1017 km

This was the first time I’d done back to back runs in, well, so long that I don’t recall the last time I did it. Sometime during the Jurassic era, I think. I was curious to see how I would feel and happily the consecutive run days did not have any negative effects that I can detect.

With my energy level improving I opted to shake things up a little at Burnaby Lake by running the loop in reverse. Overall it didn’t feel much different though it may be slightly easier in reverse as the ground tends to slop more downhill this way. I took one minor wrong turn but it only extended the run by a very small amount. I almost made a wrong turn down the path to the Nature House and while it sounds terribly quaint it is also very much the wrong way to go. I made a quick u-turn and felt a bit like one of those tankers having to turn in a narrow strait. This was more due to my speed and limited space than girth, however. I barely missed stepping into the ditch. That also would have been the wrong way to go.

I was at the 5 km mark before I started to feel anything at all in my legs and the achiness was fairly minor tonight. I pressed on and did my first 12K run, finishing with an average pace of 5:11 (5:08 for 10K). I’m pretty pleased with the result.

Chart (All runs at Burnaby Lake except those in blue which are at China Creek):

km Aug 31 Aug 26 Aug 19 Aug 15 Aug 11 Aug 8 Aug 4 Aug 1 Jul 27
1 km 4:51 4:51 4:50 4:55 4:54 5:04 4:51 4:51 4:56
2 km 4:53 4:55 4:54 4:57 4:55 5:05 4:54 4:52 4:54
3 km 4:57 4:58 4:57 4:58 4:58 5:07 4:59 4:56 4:55
4 km 4:58 5:01 5:00 5:02 5:00 5:09 5:04 4:58 4:56
5 km 4:59 5:05 5:01 5:05 5:02 5:11 5:07 5:00 5:00
6 km 5:01 5:08 5:03 5:06 5:03 5:12 5:09 5:01 5:02
7 km 5:03 5:10 5:05 5:08 5:04 5:14 5:11 5:04 5:04
8 km 5:05 5:12 5:07 5:09 5:06 5:16 5:13 5:06 5:06
9 km 5:06 5:14 5:09 5:11 5:08 5:16 5:14 5:07 5:07
10 km 5:08 5:16 5:11 5:13 5:08 5:17 5:15 5:09 5:09
11 km 5:10 5:18 5:12 5:14 — 5:17 5:16 5:10 5:10
12 km 5:11 — — — — — — — —