Category: uncategorized

~ Mark

I particularly hate that phrase about women “wanting to have it all.” Because that’s not about women, it’s about humans. The humans want to have it all! Blame the fucking humans who situated themselves halfway between the beasts and the gods and then discovered it was an uneasy place to be.

Jenny Offill.

Write Flight: When White Hoops Writers Run Away from White Players

~ Mark

Most journalists have gotten over using the archaic terms of past generations. Every once in a while that coded language will flare up again (as it did during Jeremy Lin’s emergence a couple of years ago, and when Richard Sherman went off a couple of months ago) but for the most part we know better. We don’t connect ability to chromosomal sequences anymore. Well, except for white basketball players.

Not looking for pity for the white man here, but it’s something I’ve noticed, too. Thoughtful writing on race, sports journalism, and lazy thinking.

Write Flight: When White Hoops Writers Run Away from White Players

Duplex

~ Mark

I read Kathryn Davis’ Duplex, but I didn’t finish. There’s some neat stuff in here – robots! sorcerers! – but the writing was a bit opaque for me this go-round. Readers with a bit more patience who are willing to re-read will probably be rewarded. (More recent reading.)

The Joy of Typing

~ Mark

When you can type quickly, there’s a joy to the iterative quality of writing. You start bashing out a sentence, then realize about half-way through that it’s not quite what you want — the phrasing or ideas are “off”, clichéd, flat, barbaric. So you instantly delete all but the first few words and rewrite, zipping back and forth and trying out various microexperiments in phrasing and conception. This is delightful and fun, and pretty much impossible if you can’t type fluidly.

Proponents of handwriting tend to romanticize the physicality of the pencil and paper, while failing to appreciate the rich physical and kinesthetic joys of the keyboard.

Good to see this argument for both/and rather than either/or.

The Joy of Typing

The Obstacle Is the Way

~ Mark

I read Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way, at least to the point that I realized it’d be better to peck at it here and there, else the pile-on of stories and reminders would become tedious just chugging straight through. If you’ve been paying attention to Holiday’s must-subscribe reading newsletters, you’ll see many of those works and people and themes resurface here. I’ll keep it nearby to knock off a few more chapters as needed.

The Left Hand of Darkness

~ Mark

I read Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness because it’s regarded as one of those high points in the scifi canon. It’s about an envoy on an ambisextrous planet, which is a great start. I wish the political intrigue hadn’t been derailed by a particular journey toward the end, but still enjoyed most of it.

Tumble Home

~ Mark

I read Amy Hempel’s Tumble Home. The title novella didn’t do much for me, but the short stories were so crisp and weird and vivid. From page 21, one of my favorite images of the year: “the halved-apple faces of owls”. Short and sweet.

Edge of Tomorrow

~ Mark

Edge of Tomorrow. THIS. This is the kind of genre action film we need. Superheroes can suck it. The best Cruise performance in a good while, and his character has a great arc from coward to competence (always likeable, though). I love the film’s learning curve, too. Just enough to string you along, while not weighing you down with unnecessary repetition. For 2014 releases, I have to put this up there with The Lego Movie and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Godzilla (2014)

~ Mark

Godzilla (2014). This movie precisely met my expectations, which is kind of a treat in itself. I like how you end up rooting for the big guy. That said, I’m not sure I can describe how tired I am of seeing monsters roar at the screen. We’ve worn it out. The HALO jump scene is one of my favorites this year. Elizabeth Olsen is criminally under-featured. No good reason to waste all that talent, unless you’re also doing it with Watanabe, Binoche, Hawkins, Strathairn, Cranston… This movie is probably better overall, but Pacific Rim had better fightin’. I liked it.

Submergence (review)

~ Mark

I read J.M. Ledgard’s Submergence, and while I was hoping for something more plot-y, I came to enjoy its vignettiness, bopping between two characters and their lives with terrorists, hostages, deep ocean science, deep reminiscing.