Oh I’m amusing myself John. Mostly with some old sci-fi from our collective youth. Moving pictures… In COLOR even!
Myself included, with the self amusing stuff as much as possible here at work, “work” being the circulation desk at the public library. (if they didn’t pay me, I’d pay to work here)
When digitalatheist said old sci-fi, my mind went to two items in particular we just weeded for lack of use. Silent Running, with Bruce Dern, and Koyaanisqatsi* (Life out of Balance), by Godfrey Reggio, music by Philip Glass. The latter not being sci-fi per se, but very good as a visually pleasing and musically entrancing Zen like experience. Not a word of dialogue but oh, the music is so good. Needed that lately.
Mr. Scalzi, you’re my solstice of late, I’m so happy to be here.
bcb
* also see Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi.
What a shame to pull those out of circulation. I think it might be time to get out “Silent Running” for another watch. I’ve been trying to stick to lightweight, cheerful fare lately for those rare times I turn the TV on.
TEA FOR THE TILLERSON
.
by Jonathan Vos Post…
.
Tea for the Tillerson
State Secretaroaurus Rex
Putin’s choice for next
nominee of V.P. Trump
All salute the Pro-Kremlin Oil-Person
.
10:20 a.m.
Saturday 10 Dec 2016
@Bruce, I was thinking more “Logan’s Run”, both novel and movie, but been a dog’s age since I saw “Silent Running”.
Where’s that ‘Dune’ dvd? For something truly truly awful, look for the film version of Poul Anderson’s ‘The High Crusade.’ Actually makes ‘Starship Troopers’ look good by comparison!
I’ve been trying to convince DH that we need to start watching the original Star Wars: A New Hope as a Christmas eve tradition, but all he does is shake his head and give me funny looks. Oh well, i tried.
You’re telling us to “amuse yourselves somehow,” and my horoscope tells me, “Tonight: Choose a favorite stressbuster.” It’s like the stars are aligning to tell me to get drunk and pleasure myself tonight, hahaha.
Sorry for that.
@dana Heh.. believe it or not there are some parts of the movie version of Dune that I like Mind you, I like the mini-series better. And as for Starship Troopers? I like both novel and movie for different reasons. While the movie isn’t super faithful.’ them bugs are some beasties i’d not wanna be on the wrong side of. :-)
Well, I’m going to be enjoying the second half of the weekend better than the first, mostly because today is only forecast to get into the high twenties rather than the high thirties, which means (if I’m very lucky, and the wooziness left over from this summer cold has actually cleared) I may be able to finally do some more of the Christmas baking. Our kitchen has no ventilation, no air-conditioning, and a very cheap stove with minimal insulation around the oven, which means if I do any kind of cooking using the oven in summer, the whole house heats up and becomes intolerable. Ah, the joys of extremely cheap rentals.
Hey John and all who posted,
Thanks so much for the Whatever Holiday Gift Guide. Got some great ideas for friends and family. I am new to the Whatever World. But it is one that feels as comfortable as my old easy chair next to the fire with the next good book in hand and my 50lb lap dog sharing the space.Thanks for Everything You do. Keep the home fires burning!
Ha ha, Megpie71 – the weather here was also in the twenties, but in Fahrenheit. Winter Is Coming to Maryland.
I have been amusing myself with a book (what else). “Invisible Planets,” stories translated by Ken Liu. Very good.
Planning to put up holiday lights on the outside of the house, and holiday tree inside with help from my two teenage boys tomorrow. Tree to be covered with Start Wars and Star Trek ornaments, of course. Given the forecast temps of high 30’s low 40’s, putting up outside lights should be “amusing” for certain values of that word.
bruce, the cat talking librarian@2, Thanks for mentioning Silent Running, loved the book and movie as a kid. Had to go order the blu-ray.
Got Heavy Metal, and 2001 Space Odyssey blu-rays too while I was at it. Serious gaps in my collection. Had the VHS versions but no longer even have a VHS player.
digitalatheist, I enjoy both versions of ‘Dune’, or at least parts of both. But ‘Starship Troopers’ makes my ‘5 all-time worse movies’ list with room to spare. Even ‘Barney Stinson’ couldn’t save it.
Still searching for the Dune dvd but I found ‘Forbidden Planet’! Popcorn!
MadLibrarian, watching SW-A New Hope on Christmas eve sounds fine, IF you first see ‘Rogue One’. If you time it right the Death Star will be blown up at midnight ;-)
I’m amusing myself by finally starting to read The End Of All Things (by that internet sensation John Scalzi).
I was struck by the sentence “I kind of wish I hadn’t of gotten the gig.”
That “hadn’t of” is a construction which I don’t believe I’ve ever read before, although I know I’ve heard it plenty of times. Thanks for the amusement.
Mr. Scalzi — new thoughts or citations to your blog or fiction — .
We will very soon have 40% unemployment in the U.S.A, same as in depths of Great Depression, because the 2 top labor categories will be taken over by A.I. — food-beverage-hospitality service workers, average $18,000/year salary, and drivers of cars, trucks, bus, all robotized, self-driving, so who will bail us out? Putin? Maybe the trillion-dollar Tech sector?
@dana I learned a long time ago to divorce media A from media B. Which might explain that in my head I see Starship Troopers as A) a book, and B) a movie that share some things in common but aren’t the same. A friend of mine hates the Harry Potter movies because they don’t follow the books detail for detail. I disagree with here because I like both. LOL. The same goes for my Logan’s Run. viewing this weekend. Book and movie are diff… Seriously, which is scarier? Dying at 30 or 21? Yet I enjoy both takes.
I know that when Old Man’s War hits the screen it won’t be the same. It can’t because Media A and Media B are different animals, but my bucks will be piled at the ticket window. :-D
I’m trying to figure our how I can port my WordPress ID to other sites, and not having much luck.
re digitalatheist – “@dana I learned a long time ago to divorce media A from media B. Which might explain that in my head I see Starship Troopers as A) a book, and B) a movie that share some things in common but aren’t the same. ”
I agree with that. *But* imo if a movie is ‘based on’ a book it should at least try to retain the ‘spirit’ of that book. Which Troopers does not. At all. jmo/ymmv
Oh I’m amusing myself John. Mostly with some old sci-fi from our collective youth. Moving pictures… In COLOR even!
Myself included, with the self amusing stuff as much as possible here at work, “work” being the circulation desk at the public library. (if they didn’t pay me, I’d pay to work here)
When digitalatheist said old sci-fi, my mind went to two items in particular we just weeded for lack of use. Silent Running, with Bruce Dern, and Koyaanisqatsi* (Life out of Balance), by Godfrey Reggio, music by Philip Glass. The latter not being sci-fi per se, but very good as a visually pleasing and musically entrancing Zen like experience. Not a word of dialogue but oh, the music is so good. Needed that lately.
Mr. Scalzi, you’re my solstice of late, I’m so happy to be here.
bcb
* also see Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi.
What a shame to pull those out of circulation. I think it might be time to get out “Silent Running” for another watch. I’ve been trying to stick to lightweight, cheerful fare lately for those rare times I turn the TV on.
TEA FOR THE TILLERSON
.
by Jonathan Vos Post…
.
Tea for the Tillerson
State Secretaroaurus Rex
Putin’s choice for next
nominee of V.P. Trump
All salute the Pro-Kremlin Oil-Person
.
10:20 a.m.
Saturday 10 Dec 2016
.
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-12-09/giuliani-withdraws-as-candidate-for-trump-s-secretary-of-state
.
@Bruce, I was thinking more “Logan’s Run”, both novel and movie, but been a dog’s age since I saw “Silent Running”.
Where’s that ‘Dune’ dvd? For something truly truly awful, look for the film version of Poul Anderson’s ‘The High Crusade.’ Actually makes ‘Starship Troopers’ look good by comparison!
I’ve been trying to convince DH that we need to start watching the original Star Wars: A New Hope as a Christmas eve tradition, but all he does is shake his head and give me funny looks. Oh well, i tried.
You’re telling us to “amuse yourselves somehow,” and my horoscope tells me, “Tonight: Choose a favorite stressbuster.” It’s like the stars are aligning to tell me to get drunk and pleasure myself tonight, hahaha.
Sorry for that.
@dana Heh.. believe it or not there are some parts of the movie version of Dune that I like Mind you, I like the mini-series better. And as for Starship Troopers? I like both novel and movie for different reasons. While the movie isn’t super faithful.’ them bugs are some beasties i’d not wanna be on the wrong side of. :-)
Well, I’m going to be enjoying the second half of the weekend better than the first, mostly because today is only forecast to get into the high twenties rather than the high thirties, which means (if I’m very lucky, and the wooziness left over from this summer cold has actually cleared) I may be able to finally do some more of the Christmas baking. Our kitchen has no ventilation, no air-conditioning, and a very cheap stove with minimal insulation around the oven, which means if I do any kind of cooking using the oven in summer, the whole house heats up and becomes intolerable. Ah, the joys of extremely cheap rentals.
Hey John and all who posted,
Thanks so much for the Whatever Holiday Gift Guide. Got some great ideas for friends and family. I am new to the Whatever World. But it is one that feels as comfortable as my old easy chair next to the fire with the next good book in hand and my 50lb lap dog sharing the space.Thanks for Everything You do. Keep the home fires burning!
Ha ha, Megpie71 – the weather here was also in the twenties, but in Fahrenheit. Winter Is Coming to Maryland.
I have been amusing myself with a book (what else). “Invisible Planets,” stories translated by Ken Liu. Very good.
Planning to put up holiday lights on the outside of the house, and holiday tree inside with help from my two teenage boys tomorrow. Tree to be covered with Start Wars and Star Trek ornaments, of course. Given the forecast temps of high 30’s low 40’s, putting up outside lights should be “amusing” for certain values of that word.
bruce, the cat talking librarian@2, Thanks for mentioning Silent Running, loved the book and movie as a kid. Had to go order the blu-ray.
Got Heavy Metal, and 2001 Space Odyssey blu-rays too while I was at it. Serious gaps in my collection. Had the VHS versions but no longer even have a VHS player.
digitalatheist, I enjoy both versions of ‘Dune’, or at least parts of both. But ‘Starship Troopers’ makes my ‘5 all-time worse movies’ list with room to spare. Even ‘Barney Stinson’ couldn’t save it.
Still searching for the Dune dvd but I found ‘Forbidden Planet’! Popcorn!
MadLibrarian, watching SW-A New Hope on Christmas eve sounds fine, IF you first see ‘Rogue One’. If you time it right the Death Star will be blown up at midnight ;-)
I’m amusing myself by finally starting to read The End Of All Things (by that internet sensation John Scalzi).
I was struck by the sentence “I kind of wish I hadn’t of gotten the gig.”
That “hadn’t of” is a construction which I don’t believe I’ve ever read before, although I know I’ve heard it plenty of times. Thanks for the amusement.
Mr. Scalzi — new thoughts or citations to your blog or fiction — .
We will very soon have 40% unemployment in the U.S.A, same as in depths of Great Depression, because the 2 top labor categories will be taken over by A.I. — food-beverage-hospitality service workers, average $18,000/year salary, and drivers of cars, trucks, bus, all robotized, self-driving, so who will bail us out? Putin? Maybe the trillion-dollar Tech sector?
@dana I learned a long time ago to divorce media A from media B. Which might explain that in my head I see Starship Troopers as A) a book, and B) a movie that share some things in common but aren’t the same. A friend of mine hates the Harry Potter movies because they don’t follow the books detail for detail. I disagree with here because I like both. LOL. The same goes for my Logan’s Run. viewing this weekend. Book and movie are diff… Seriously, which is scarier? Dying at 30 or 21? Yet I enjoy both takes.
I know that when Old Man’s War hits the screen it won’t be the same. It can’t because Media A and Media B are different animals, but my bucks will be piled at the ticket window. :-D
I’m trying to figure our how I can port my WordPress ID to other sites, and not having much luck.
re digitalatheist – “@dana I learned a long time ago to divorce media A from media B. Which might explain that in my head I see Starship Troopers as A) a book, and B) a movie that share some things in common but aren’t the same. ”
I agree with that. *But* imo if a movie is ‘based on’ a book it should at least try to retain the ‘spirit’ of that book. Which Troopers does not. At all. jmo/ymmv