Monday, September 24, 2007
ACL Fest again
Another ACL Fest has come and gone, and this one didn't disappoint. It was the first time Becky attended, and she was duly impressed by the crowds. Some highlights this year were Ghostland Observatory, Billy Joe Shaver, Regina Spektor, Reverend Horton Heat, and Butch Walker and the Let's Go Out Tonites. Bjork was strange, as expected, and the Killers and Blue October put on shows equal to their albums, but nothing surprising. We brought chairs, the first time I've done that, and didn't get there until 3-4pm Saturday and Sunday, but didn't miss many acts I wanted to see, and didn't suffer from exhaustion like I have in the past. Bob Dylan played some of his hits, although he didn't allow closeups on the Jumbo-trons. Still, I'm glad I got to see him. It wasn't too hot, and it didn't rain, so I was happy.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Lord of the Wheel of Time
I found out yesterday that over the weekend Robert Jordan (aka James Oliver Rigney, Jr.), possibly my favorite writer, passed away over the weekend. He was working on the final book of his Wheel of Time series, the 12th book. At least two of those books reached more than 1,000 pages, and none of the paperbacks is less than 700 pages.
This is sad news, not just for his family but for his millions of fans. I remember the first time one of his books debuted at number one on the New York Times best seller list, Entertainment Weekly got one of the character's names confused with her profession, and had to print a correction in the next issue, undoubtedly due to passionate reader response. I believe each subsequent book has also topped the list, but they haven't made any more mistakes reporting it. For all their popularity, his books have continued to feel like a well-kept secret among his fans.
Around the midpoint of the series, I read Jordan claimed to have written as many pages of notes on the world and characters of the series as he had published in the books themselves. It's my hope his estate will publish some or all of these when the series is completed, which it undoubtedly will be, either by a family member or another author (see: Frank Herbert's Dune). It's a good sign that Jordan reportedly told the entire story of the ending to his family before his death, so between that and his notes I hope for a truly great ending to the Wheel of Time, as the author intended.
It's true, as many online fans have griped, that the second half of the series has suffered from a decline in quality, of the pacing if not the writing, but Jordan's accomplishment in the first six books has earned him a rightful place in the ranks of the greatest fantasy and sci-fi writers of all time. And even if the later books don't live up to the promise of the first, there are still flashes of greatness woven throughout them, and he had set the bar awfully high anyway. The end of book six, Lord of Chaos, is simultaneously the most thrilling, horrifying, and heartbreaking I've ever read, complete with an edge of your seat final page that leaves me begging for more every time I re-read it.
Rest in peace, and thanks.
This is sad news, not just for his family but for his millions of fans. I remember the first time one of his books debuted at number one on the New York Times best seller list, Entertainment Weekly got one of the character's names confused with her profession, and had to print a correction in the next issue, undoubtedly due to passionate reader response. I believe each subsequent book has also topped the list, but they haven't made any more mistakes reporting it. For all their popularity, his books have continued to feel like a well-kept secret among his fans.
Around the midpoint of the series, I read Jordan claimed to have written as many pages of notes on the world and characters of the series as he had published in the books themselves. It's my hope his estate will publish some or all of these when the series is completed, which it undoubtedly will be, either by a family member or another author (see: Frank Herbert's Dune). It's a good sign that Jordan reportedly told the entire story of the ending to his family before his death, so between that and his notes I hope for a truly great ending to the Wheel of Time, as the author intended.
It's true, as many online fans have griped, that the second half of the series has suffered from a decline in quality, of the pacing if not the writing, but Jordan's accomplishment in the first six books has earned him a rightful place in the ranks of the greatest fantasy and sci-fi writers of all time. And even if the later books don't live up to the promise of the first, there are still flashes of greatness woven throughout them, and he had set the bar awfully high anyway. The end of book six, Lord of Chaos, is simultaneously the most thrilling, horrifying, and heartbreaking I've ever read, complete with an edge of your seat final page that leaves me begging for more every time I re-read it.
Rest in peace, and thanks.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
The big trip
The big news I've been putting off writing about is my trip to New York City a few weekends ago, which went off without a hitch. Aside from our flight back to Austin being delayed, and me not bringing the right shoes for all the walking we'd be doing, things couldn't have gone better.
I'd been wanting to see NYC for several years, even hoped I might get sent to a conference there for my previous job, but things kept coming up. When Becky told me her plans to go with her roommate, I asked to tag along and she agreed.
We stayed in what's usually an off-campus apartment for Juilliard students 64th St. When class is out for the summer, they rent them to tourists for cheap (one bedroom, one bath, pull out couch, TV, oven, fridge, microwave - $120/night). We got to check in early, so we had more time than expected to look around the first afternoon. We used it to walk Central Park for a few hours, then did some shopping at the corner store to stock the fridge with breakfast and sandwich stuff for the next four days, followed by Phantom of the Opera that night. Afterward, we walked to Times Square and had a couple Long Island iced teas before a cab ride back.
The next couple days are a blur of touring the streets, all kinds of notable buildings and landmarks, back to Times Square for more pictures and shopping. Friday it rained pretty consistently once we got to Little Italy in the afternoon, so we retired early that night only. Saturday was absolutely beautiful. On Sunday, we met some friends of Becky's for lunch and convo, and saw the oldest pub in the city, McSorley's. That night we went to the top of Rockefeller Center despite the cloudy conditions, and got ten minutes of clear weather for pictures. Even surrounded by clouds, the city was impressive from that vantage point. They had to kick us out to close.
Our last day was less eventful, simply because we'd run so hard to see everything since we got there. We went back to the library to see inside, since it was closed the first time we walked by it, and got some shots of the U.N. building and the rivers, then back to New Jersey for our flight home. We got in after 1am, and I had to work the next day. I took more than a hundred photos, supplemented by almost 400 of Becky's. Thanks, babe!
I'd been wanting to see NYC for several years, even hoped I might get sent to a conference there for my previous job, but things kept coming up. When Becky told me her plans to go with her roommate, I asked to tag along and she agreed.
We stayed in what's usually an off-campus apartment for Juilliard students 64th St. When class is out for the summer, they rent them to tourists for cheap (one bedroom, one bath, pull out couch, TV, oven, fridge, microwave - $120/night). We got to check in early, so we had more time than expected to look around the first afternoon. We used it to walk Central Park for a few hours, then did some shopping at the corner store to stock the fridge with breakfast and sandwich stuff for the next four days, followed by Phantom of the Opera that night. Afterward, we walked to Times Square and had a couple Long Island iced teas before a cab ride back.
The next couple days are a blur of touring the streets, all kinds of notable buildings and landmarks, back to Times Square for more pictures and shopping. Friday it rained pretty consistently once we got to Little Italy in the afternoon, so we retired early that night only. Saturday was absolutely beautiful. On Sunday, we met some friends of Becky's for lunch and convo, and saw the oldest pub in the city, McSorley's. That night we went to the top of Rockefeller Center despite the cloudy conditions, and got ten minutes of clear weather for pictures. Even surrounded by clouds, the city was impressive from that vantage point. They had to kick us out to close.
Our last day was less eventful, simply because we'd run so hard to see everything since we got there. We went back to the library to see inside, since it was closed the first time we walked by it, and got some shots of the U.N. building and the rivers, then back to New Jersey for our flight home. We got in after 1am, and I had to work the next day. I took more than a hundred photos, supplemented by almost 400 of Becky's. Thanks, babe!
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