Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?: Cyberpunk to Hardboiled Detectives

I'm not a huge fan of the cyberpunk genre, but in small doses, sign me up. With the recent news that William Gibson's Neuromancer will finally be coming to your local neighborhood theater, I thought I'd offer my two cents. Philip K. Dick is the Stephen King of science fiction literature. His work is brilliant: Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?: need I say more (film equivalent: Ridley Scott's Blade Runner?)

As the science fiction genre evolved, a new branch prevailed: Cyberpunk. It's tagline: "high tech and low life" or "the hacker as hero." Anyway, the genre is worth an introduction. If nothing else, watch Blade Runner. And if you don't like the content, but appreciate the literary formula, you can always jump over to it's cousin-genre: the hardboiled detective novel. The classics: Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon (Sam Spade); Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep: Philip Marlow.

Thank You For the Heads-up Mr. Orwell

There is a lot to be excited about as we continue to move forward through this Age of Digitalization and Information. But as our favorite law of dualism usually prevails in any situation, with excitement comes its opposite.

I am usually not a fan of annoying political rants (especially those juiced in extremity)—rational and honest discussion/debate is my preferred flavored approach—but the content here is worth exploring. The moral of this post—the same moral with most of my future posts—is that if you currently don't have a stance on an issue, get a stance; and if you need help shaping that stance, turn to the classics in literature or film for help. In this case, read Orwells' 1984!

Goodbye Shutterfly. Hello Picasa!

I wanted to let everyone know that I have moved my photo inventory over to Picasa: once again Google has has aligned themselves with a great company; this time they have acquired a leader in the photo storage/sharing industry. How does this impact my blog? Re-visit all of my below, photo-related posts. You will notice that instead of stand alone pictures, I have embedded slideshows of each event. If that weren't enough, some of the slideshows even have videos dispersed throughout (see: "Our Wedding in Comillas, Spain," June 2004).

Enjoy the revolution in photo-sharing!

Romney, Obama, and Others

Time Magazine: The Religion Test

No, I am not a Ryan Cooper republican, but I do worry about the possible perception of weakness the country may project if the wrong candidate (at this point he/she will be a democrat) is chosen come 2008. We need a leader and Hilary Clinton doesn't cut it; not because she is a women, but because she lacks connection: connection with the American people and connection with the perceived ability to innately lead a nation.

Since 2002, I thought Giuliani was a shoe-in until I heard him speak at the recent GOP debates. That first debate buried him. Why? Because he lacked strength and trust. He used analogies to Reagan to the point of being uncomfortable to watch and he was completely out of his element. Post-9/11, he led the greatest American city through its darkest day and his legacy needs to encompass that period of time in history. He won't be our next president.

Who's next? I think if Obama was chosen, our country would be tested mightily. I think there would be more attacks and I think Obama would lead us through them. Our country needs to be tested again just as we were on September 11th; obviously I am not talking mass causalities, but instead a wake-up call. We have since fallen back into a state of complacency that will prove devastating if control is not taken. Not control by the government, but control by the individual. We each need to look at ourselves and take responsibly of our own lives. We need to open up our eyes and educate our minds to the realities of the world that we have inherited and to the one our kids will be inheriting. We need to return to the values of our grandparents and to the morals that our grandparent's parents encouraged. We can do better than what we are doing now. We need to lead by example in our own lives and we need a leader who can do the same in Washington. While Obama may lack experience, look at what "experience" has brought to us the last seven years.

The dark horse in 2008 may be Romney. He is worth a look: he is articulate, he projects strength and confidence; he has a proven track record for success; he fits the bill as a leader. My vote is still up in the air; I am waiting for a true leader; I am waiting for someone that our country and the rest of the world is proud to be led by. I hope that Romney, Obama, or another candidate emerges. At the risk of sounding too morose, if no such women or man comes forth, life, as we know it in this country will, quite simply, cease to exist.

Baseball Stars: Ode to My Brother

What's the Call Blue? Ode to Dad

Chabon's Gentlemen of the Road

From Wikipedia

Gentlemen of the Road is a serial novel by American author Michael Chabon. It originally appeared in 15 installments in The New York Times Magazine from January 28, 2007, to May 6, 2007. Del Rey Books will publish the novel in hardcover, with new material by Chabon, on November 6, 2007. Gentlemen of the Road is a "swashbuckling adventure" set in the Kingdom of Arran around 950 A.D. that follows two horsethieves, a massive African named Amram and a hat-loving Jew named Zelikman, as they become swept up in a rebellion and try to restore the throne to a displaced prince.

Chabon said he agreed to write the serial because he has "always been intrigued by accounts and legends of the Khazars" and the idea of an ancient Jewish Kingdom. To research the novel (which for a few months had the working title Jews with Swords), Chabon researched the Khazars extensively and "tried to let it all sink in." He also re-read the historical romances of Alexander Dumas, Fritz Leiber, George MacDonald Fraser, and Michael Moorcock, to whom the novel is dedicated.

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WEBSITE: Check out this website for a comprehensive list of all Chabon's writings; I am not sure who is maintaining this but it's an impressive list nonetheless.

"Liberation" by T. Cooney

Check out this recent San Francisco Chronicle essay by a great mentor of mine, Professor Thomas Cooney. Thomas is the Master's of Fine Arts program coordinator at St. Mary's College and my former English professor. He has work coming this fall in the anthology "Howl: A Collection of the Best Contemporary Dog Wit."