Book Recommendation: One Door Away From Heaven

With alien-angels versus many colorful layers of evil (kind of like Neapolitan Ice Cream), Dean Koontz's writing is true-to-form, comfortable and in a familiar, par-level groove. This problem-themed story contains several intricate and interesting characters who narrowly escape death about every fifteen pages (until the last chapter when they escape every fifteen sentences or so). Although nothing new for quality Koontz, it also -- however -- contains nothing surprisingly unexpected or extremely engrossing. A 'quick read' which is skillfully crafted and enjoyable; don't spend more than a buck for the paperback at a used book store if it is not available for free at your local library.

snaarked film meme

1. Total number of films I own on DVD or video: 49 DVDs. No video (any longer).
   
   
2. Last film I bought: Hero (Ying xiong), 2002, directed by Yimou Zhang, starring Jet Li (Keeper-obviously).
   
   
3. Last film I watched: Mindhunters, 2003-2005, directed by Renny Harlin, starring LL Cool J and Val Kilmer (WFD, full review in a few weeks).
   
   
4. Five films that I watch a lot or mean a lot to me:
   
   • The Seven Samauri is the best 3 1/2 hour b&w film ever made. A litmus test film. Someone who falls asleep or can't sit through it can probably only be an aquaintance of mine, never a close friend.
     
   • High Fidelity; John Cusack making life-lists to the camera - hilarious and insightful.
     
   • Clerks; I loved laughing at it in the 90's waaaay too much.
     
   • The Quiet Earth; Although I haven't watched it in a while, it's one of those Aussie films that sticks in my head.
     
   • Bladerunner is one of the few films I re-watch/listen-to for background while painting.
     
   
   
5. To which five people am I passing the baton? No one, of course. Meme's, by their very nature, are in no need of my assistance; making their own way thru the ehr-waves.
   

berserk helix (k-cain-day lix)

digital rendering by veach st. glines, creative commons license 2005

Summary of Annual Meteor Showers

This excellent encapsulation by Mike Reynolds, of all things which are bright and moving -- fast -- through the night sky of the northern hemisphere, is available for purchase online (about 15$US). Everyone who enjoys shooting-star gazing should own a copy. I find this excerpt very helpful (major showers are in bold):

ANNUAL METEOR SHOWERS

Active Period	Peak Days	Zenithal Hourly Rate
28 DEC - 7 JAN 28 DEC - 28 JAN 14 DEC - 14 FEB 13 JAN - 13 FEB 31 JAN - 23 FEB 2 FEB - 19 MAR 13 FEB - 8 APR 14 FEB - 25 APR 24 FEB - 27 MAR 10 MAR - 21 APR 10 MAR - 6 MAY 5 APR - 21 APR 16 APR - 25 APR 15 APR - 7 MAY 21 APR - 12 MAY 1 MAY - 9 MAY 8 APR - 16 JUN 19 MAY - 19 JUN 21 MAY - 16 JUN 10 JUN - 21 JUN 1 JUN - 15 JUL 19 MAY - 2 JUL 27 JUN - 5 JUL 2 JUN - 29 JUL 9 JUL - 20 JUL 14 JUL - 18 AUG 15 JUL - 11 SEP 1 JUL - 18 SEP 12 AUG 17 JUL - 24 AUG 16 JUL - 10 SEP 9 AUG - 30 AUG 26 JUL - 1 SEP 11 AUG - 10 SEP 25 AUG - 6 SEP 1 SEP - 14 SEP 12 AUG - 7 OCT 20 SEP - 2 NOV 22 SEP - 23 OCT 7 SEP - 27 OCT 6 OCT - 9 OCT 10 OCT - 27 OCT 15 OCT - 29 OCT 17 SEP - 27 NOV 12 OCT - 2 DEC 25 SEP - 5 DEC 14 NOV - 21 NOV 13 NOV - 2 DEC 8 DEC - 2 JAN 16 NOV - 18 DEC 9 NOV - 18 DEC 6 DEC - 19 DEC 12 DEC - 23 JAN 17 DEC - 25 DEC 11 DEC - 21 JAN	3-4 JAN 8 & 21 JAN 17 JAN 24 - 31 JAN 5 - 10 FEB 22 FEB 3 - 9 MAR around 20 MAR around 18 MAR around 20 MAR 7 - 18 APR 14 - 15 APR 21 or 22 APR 30 APR (varies) 5 MAY 6 MAY 18 - 19 MAY 9 JUN 10 JUN 15 JUN 18 JUN 20 JUN 28 JUN 27 JUN 14 JUL 29 JUL 1 AUG 6 AUG 12 AUG 12 or 13 AUG 13 AUG 13 - 14 AUG 18 AUG 25 AUG 1 SEP 7 SEP 11 SEP First Week of OCT 6 - 15 OCT 8 OCT 8 OCT 19 OCT 21 OCT 30 OCT - 7 NOV 4 - 7 NOV Around 14 NOV 17 NOV 21 NOV 8 - 9 DEC 10 DEC 11 DEC 13 - 14 DEC 19 - 29? DEC 22 - 23 DEC 31 DEC	45 - 200 varies Up to 4 varies varies 3 - 5 2 - 5 3 - 4 1 - 2 1 - 3 5 - 10 up to 5 10 - 20 varies 20+ 2 - 6 2 - 3 1 - 2 10 up to 8 5 6 1 - 2 about 2 - 4 1 - 2 15 - 20 6 - 14 7 - 8 1 - 2 50 - 60 minimum up to 10 4 up to 6 5 - 10 up to 9 1 - 4 up to 5 varies varies 3 - 5 1 - storm of many thousands 1 - 2 25 - 30 about 7 about 7 up to 5 10 - 15+ 1 - 5 1 5 1 - 2 50 - 100 varies 10 - 20 varies

book recommendation: Nightwings

In the early 1970's Robert Silverberg was an author with an agenda. Not satisfied with merely penning a story with a moral or with an underlying message (which most writers do to some extent) this future-fantasy focuses on the vast mistakes of genetic tampering and mankind's callous disregard (disdain?) for other life-forms. From beginning to end, the "bad humans" dead-horse is kicked and kicked some more.
When I read an author who handles any subject with a heavy hand, I immediately suspect personal politics and religious zealotry guide the author's hand more than any imagination and creativity.
I enjoyed the characters, the setting(s), and the smoothly eloquent writing style, but I suspect the reason this book won a Hugo Award was because of it's 1974 political relevance.
This book is available at most major libraries.

Respite

Friendly and attentive readers,

This blogger is headed on a vacation to the White Mountains. Pine cabins, fireplaces, hiking, swimming, reading, and all things non-electric. I depart immediately after a morning Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy matinee, and will not be blogging again for a week or so.

In the interim, visit any of my standing ovationable blogs, and -- if time permits -- visit my applaudable blogs. All are worthy of your viewership or a long read.

book recommendation: The Architect of Sleep

Because the central characters are intelligent raccoons, many may consider this a work of fantasy. In my opinion, it's simply an alternate-universe speculative fiction story with communication as the primary focus.

The first pages snagged me with their smooth, believable style. However, once the back cover of the book loomed closer, I suspected and eventually realized there was no fucking way this story would be completed in one throw. On the last three pages, readers are left with a muddy, confusing, unresolved dangle over the edge of an unknown abyss.

I re-examined the front and back covers. (Although I always look for series-traps, especially when selecting sf or fantasy novels, I doubted myself and re-scanned everything.) Not one hint. No mention of: “First in the Truck series” or, “Book one of …” and, worst of all, the covers contained quotes using the word: book; nowhere was the word trilogy used.

If QT released Kill Bill and neglected to mention it was the first of a two-part film, audiences would have felt like suckers. This is worse. This book is almost a quarter of a century old and Stephen R. Boyett never wrote a sequel (although I’ve — now — learned it may be partially poorly written and just unpublishable). The author has a website where he begrudgingly blames himself for being 'young when he wrote it'). The publisher (Ace) gets much bashing and blame. I blame only the author. I no longer give one hoot why no caveat lector was included on the book cover. He sold an unfinished story. I’ll never pick up another book of Boyett’s. Neither should you.

Consider this the last book in the world worth reading. If there's a planet-wide catastrophic holocaust and you find yourself in an underground bunker with this book: It's not completely useless. You'll need something to wipe your ass with.

Keeper Alert

To provide more timely reviews for Keeper films, (it can be difficult to catch a film at a first-run theater if following bi-seasonal reviews) I will be providing 'Keeper reviews' with more immediacy as well as every six-weeks.

Off the Map (2003) directed by Campbell Scott (Big Night, 1996); starring Valentina de Angelis and Joan Allen: Snaprating=Keeper, RE-ORDER theme (CHARACTER secondary theme). The WFT film Secondhand Lions aspires to become as tightly directed and wonderfully scripted as this insightful glimpse of a precocious 12 year old girl, her family, and friends.


Kung Fu Hustle (Gong Fu) (2004) directed by Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, 2001); starring Stephen Chow and Qiu Yuen: Snaprating=Keeper, PROBLEM theme. Far more over-the-top than a Warner Brothers cartoon, kung-foolishness fans (who enjoy Jackie Chan movies) will get their fill of giggles while being thrilled by constant CGI-slap-stick, stomp-stick, and crush-stick.

Critique of the Critic

Film critics — both professional and amateur — are, mostly, verbose assholes. Amateur does not mean unprofessional (in this instance) but merely someone providing altruistic film recommendations.

Everyone needs a film umpire; I’m no exception. I suspect, however, that most professional critics are confused as to why they write film reviews. Since the only reason to read a review is to determine if a film is worth watching — there’s only one reason to write them, which is to either recommend a film to readers, or warn them away from one. That’s it. The film reviews I read (and the critics who write them) fall into four categories:

1. Name Droppers feel the need to prove they really watched the film and also accomplished extensive research afterwards. They pack their rambling reviews with obscure references, titles, famous names, and about a hectare and a half of unneeded shit.
2. Book Report-ers always include a near-complete description of the entire film. Unless they’re paid by the word, there’s no reason to incessantly blather about details, which have no bearing on recommending or not recommending the film.
3. Film Snobs believe their ability to construct a complex sentence using non-vocabulary words, somehow improves their review. Bullshit. It only proves they don’t know their readers, or why they are writing. Film Snobs dislike most films and are condescending in their reviews.
4. Gen Y-ers think the attention span of their audience is as short as their own and, therefore, rant in sound-bytes. They never compare films to others and expect readers to follow their advice without explanation or reason.

My film reviews are constructed to be concisely informative and assist my readers in selecting films. This was extracted from my ‘early spring 05’ review:

Millions (2004) directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 1996); starring Alexander Nathan Etel and James Nesbitt: Snaprating=Keeper, PROBLEM-theme (CHARACTER secondary theme). Etel's adorable quirky-sweetness causes this 'Sleepless In Seattle meets Pay It Forward' to shine above the mass of other British 'found loot' films.

In less than fifty words, my encapsulation of Millons offers the following blocks of information:

• Title.
  
• Year of release. (To avoid confusion with like-named films)
  
• Director’s name. (Film makers create consistently — remember your favorites)
  
• Previous film from this director. (For those who forget their favorite directors)
  
• Main actors. (For those who want to watch their favorite actors)
  
• Snaprating. (Best to worst: Keeper, Cheaper, WFD, WFC, WFT)
  
• Theme(s). (All films fit into four: Milieu, Character, Problem, Re-Order)
  
• Brief comparison. (with others which share its characteristics)

Michael Wilmington, a critic with the Chicago Tribune, utilized over 675 words to recommend Millions. Beginning by awarding three and a half stars out of a possible four (although I can find no explanation for his stars, what they mean, or why nine ranks — with zero as the lowest — are needed), and then in typical Book Report-er style, he describes the entire film in unnecessary detail [“…not millions actually, but 229,320 pounds…more than $400,000…”]. In his twelve paragraphs, Wilmington’s redundancy competes with his personal bias. He cites the director three times and lists Trainspotting as a previous film of his, twice. In Name Dropper style, Wilmington lists unneeded proof of his research [“…ace Dogma 95 cinemtographer Anthony Dod Mantle…”] and provides his opinion as to what was in the director’s mind [“…It’s a fable…a Christian morality play/fantasy about Mammon and the soul of man…”].

Nick Schager, a critic with Slant Magazine, only needed 400 words to label Millions as worthy of two and a half stars out of a possible four (ditto on his explanations). In a perfect combination of Film Snob and Name Dropper (a must, in order to be a Slant employee), Schager trumpets his disdain from his opening [“Sure to be Sally Struthers's all-time favorite film…”] to his close [“…given the devalued state of current Hollywood kid's pictures, Boyle's lighthearted fairy tale nonetheless slightly outperforms…”].

Kyle Smith, a reviewer with the New York Post, (who hasn’t seen many films in his short life) also used a little over 400 words to label Millons as worthy of two and half stars out of a possible four. In strong Gen Y style, Smith throws around a flurry of snippets [“Flashy, messy kids' tale.”], [“…a jittery jumble, a weird Christmas fable…”], [“…a fantasy even less likely than a visit from Saint Nicholas, but never mind] and [“…this enchilada is so overstuffed, it's falling apart.”] but with all his pointless paragraph-sentences, he doesn’t communicate anything of value.

film reviews (early spring 2005)

Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003) directed by Prachya Pinkaew (US directorial debuit); starring Tony Jaa and Petchtai Wongkamlao: Snaprating=Cheaper, PROBLEM-theme (MILIEU secondary theme). Martial arts fans looking for a new face performing non-CGI, non-wired, ass kicking's--in the tradition of Fists of Fury--will be legitimately enthralled by the loosely choreographed roughness and may forgive poor lighting and sophomoric editing.


Robots (2005) directed by Chris Wedge (Ice Age, 2002); voices of Ewan McGregor and Robin Williams: Adult Snaprating=WFC, Gradeschool Snaprating=Cheaper, MILIEU-theme. Very young animation fans will laugh at the fart and butt jokes and enjoy the many first-person roller coaster scenes (done better in Polar Express) but may not catch every rapid-fire gag jammed into this worn-out, retreaded, hick-makes-good-in-the-city script.


The Upside of Anger (2005) directed by Mike Binder (Blankman, 1994); starring Joan Allen and Kevin Costner: Snaprating=WFC, RE-ORDER theme. Fans of the subdued, intense, character, which is consistantly portrayed by Allen (The Contender) will be pleased to watch her banter with Kostner's familiar ex-baseball character in this plodding melange rife with directorial filmic errors.


Millions (2004) directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 1996); starring Alexander Nathan Etel and James Nesbitt: Snaprating=Keeper, PROBLEM-theme (CHARACTER secondary theme). Etel's adorable quirky-sweetness causes this 'Sleepless In Seattle meets Pay It Forward' to shine above the mass of other British 'found loot' films.


Tarnation (2003) directed by Jonathan Caouette (directorial debut); starring Jonathan Caouette and Renee Leblanc: Snaprating=Cheaper, CHARACTER-theme. Fans of What the #$*! Do We Know!? will adore the exceptional editing and soundtrack of this stunning, unique, autobiographical-documentary, which--like an angst-driven, 90-minute expressionist video--plays the emotionally-charged card quite well.


Frank Miller's Sin City (2005) directed by Robert Rodriguez (Once Upon a Time in Mexico, 2003); starring Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy and many others: Snaprating=Keeper, RE-ORDER-theme (MILIEU secondary theme). Graphic novel afficionados and fans of Pulp Fiction will worship this tight yet over-the-top stagesque rendering and character melange, which moves the 'unique bar' high, so very high.


Downfall (Der Untergang) (2004) directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (The Experiment, 2001); starring Bruno Ganz and Alexandra Maria Lara: Snaprating=WFD, CHARACTER-theme. Historical film fans will overlook the length and claustrophobic settings of this war movie and applaud Hitler's secretary's perspective of his last few days.


Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) directed by Brad Silberling (Moonlight Mile, 2002); starring Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep: Snaprating=WFD, PROBLEM-theme (MILIEU secondary theme). Jim Carrey fans will enjoy his familiar antics and overlook the weak script in this cute yet unfunny attempt to do what The Princess Bride (a Keeper) accomplished in pre-CGI days.


Schultze Gets the Blues (2003) directed by Michael Schorr (directorial debut); starring Horst Krause and Karl Fred Müller: Snaprating=WFD, CHARACTER-theme. Fans of slice-of-life films depicting odd characters turning over a new leaf, like The Station Agent, may enjoy this 'still-waters-run-deep' film.


The Woodsman (2004) directed by Nicole Kassell (directorial debut); starring Keven Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick: Snaprating=WFC, CHARACTER-theme. Poorly directed, with a simplistic story-line sparse on between-the-lines message, this snapshot would have gone direct to dvd without big name actors (and should have gone direct to cable).


The Chronicles of Riddick (Directors Cut) (2004) directed by David Twohy (Pitch Black, 2000); starring Vin Diesel and Alexa Davalos: Snaprating=WFD, RE-ORDER-theme (secondary MILIEU theme). Riddick fans, and fans of the Blade trilogy, will overlook the grainy CGI, humorous costumes, and campy script to enjoy a familiar suspense in new settings.


Vera Drake (2004) directed by Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, 1996); starring Imelda Staunton and Richard Graham: Snaprating=WFC, CHARACTER-theme. If fans of PP-BOATS (Period Piece's, Based On A True Story) can overlook Leigh's signature 'garbled dialogue' further confabulated with incessant bleary-eyed whining, they may be intrigued by this moral-legal debate with lack-of-criminal-intent as it's focal point.


Japón (2002) directed by Carlos Reygadas (directorial debut); starring Alejandro Ferretis and Magdalena Flores: Snaprating=WFT, MILIEU-theme (weak secondary CHARACTER theme). Fans of sad characters plodding through a beautiful landscape pock-marked by pain, may be duped (by the misguided belief: "art is difficult to understand") into thinking that the grainy quality, sloppy direction, and weak story are intentional. Bullshit. The fools at Cannes who awarded it are naive for not recognizing it as such.


Ray (2004) directed by Taylor Hackford (An Officer and a Gentleman, 1982); starring Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington: Snaprating=WFD, CHARACTER-theme. Not to down-play Foxx's superb ability, but bio-pic fans will discover this to be just another attempt to make up for plot-shortage by allowing a character's weaknesses and mistakes to dominate and overshadow the life story.