You did it

Dear Abraham,

You did it! By George, you did it! I can't believe you did it, but indeed you did.

Kindest Regards,
Colonel Pickering

PS Proof:

Now join me in a brandy or whatever the devil it is we drink.

Thanksgiving with Carl Sagan Music Videos

Nothing says "Happy Thanksgiving" quite like a musical remix of Carl Sagan quotes. Nothing says "Happy Thanksgiving" like the above video. And yet, please allow me to give it a try: Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Enjoy your turkey/ham/duck/pork roast/tofu/clams and be thankful, or else.

Another NaNoWriMo Update

First on the platter, I have installed a little word-count meter on the right that I snagged from the NaNo website. You'd think they could have gone with a look that was at least remotely attractive. Mind you, there are many many blog themes and looks -- so I guess they aimed to make the widget ugly for everyone, all the time.

Number two on the list: as of this writing, the word-o-meter stands at 23,029 -- with a little still in the tank for the rest of this day. I am not as far ahead as I was, or would like to be, a product of my first major crisis.

Trouble started on the ninth, when I procrastinated until, well, at least 10:00 PM, when I wrote my first word. The next day was even worse. But, I somehow squeaked by, writing a little over 1,200 each day. Two days ago, the eleventh, was a total flop. I managed a jaw-dropping eighty-three words. Woo! I guess I hit what you might call the "sophomore slump" of novel writing. After my initial excess, but still too far from the finish line to see it, I lost my nerve and my desire.

But, hey, I bounced back, with over 2,000 words yesterday and another solid day today. My NaNo sails are now, once again, propelled by a steady wind of enthusiasm. Hell, high water, or even a combination of the two could not stop me. In fact, all that steam might be good for me.

Review: Gift From the Stars, by James Gunn

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Don't quote me on this, but I seem to remember reading a little blurb on the dust jacket that said something like, "This book tells the story of how first contact with aliens would really happen." God, I hope not.

A disillusioned aerospace engineer happens upon the design plans for an alien aircraft inside a book he finds at a used book store. He sets about building this thing and, a decade or two later, he is off to unknown islands in the sky. He is accompanied through all this by the book shop's owner, a generally annoying older woman who has a bad habit of relating their crazy experiences to famous books.

She sails through space on a mysterious spaceship designed by aliens and later spends considerable time in their "lairs," yet she can't seem to tear her mind from the pages of "Alice in Wonderland" and the similar. There is nothing inherently wrong with a character occasionally mentioning hallmarks of literature, but Gunn's approach only annoys the reader and disrupts the story's flow.

So, yes, this is some goofy stuff, not recommended to anyone looking for a serious sci-fi experience. At the same time, I can't recommend this to fans of humorous or absurd science fiction, either -- it takes itself far too seriously.

Try as I might, I can only see Gift From the Stars as a poor attempt by James Gunn at recapturing the relative fame and glory attained in the Seventies by The Listeners.
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