Having finally finished Quicksilver, let me just talk books for a bit, but not before noting that today was REALLY REALLY hot, and sucked a lot, in the following fashion:
[18:15] Dwip: So we're all kicking it at work, and Satan walks in, right?
[18:15] Dwip: And he's like "Crap, dude. It's HOT in here. I'm going back to Hell, where it's cool."
[18:16] Dwip: And since Hell is, you know, ON FIRE, you can imagine how work was.
[18:16] Maelfactor: Neat!
[18:19] Dwip: Because I guess it's upwards of 104, and work is a big metal building.
[18:19] Dwip: With no insulation or anything.
[18:19] Dwip: And no air flow.
Also, this picture, thanks to Suzanne, who's graduation party this is at. Because I not only had both cats leaping all over my car, the rooster attacked my license plate.
So, ok, books. Starting with Quicksilver, which is...a strange book. Set in 17th century Europe, it concerns itself a lot with the various scientific changes taking place at the time (Isaac Newton features prominantly, and humorously), and also with the politics, and does both of them amusingly and interestingly. I once said of Guy Gavriel Kay that he could leave one longing for the glorious tapeworm kingdoms of old. Neal Stephenson doesn't QUITE bring up tapeworms in Quicksilver, but I'm guessing you never thought about the humor potential for kidney stones, did you?
Go, read it. I'll be reading the next two.
On a slightly more nonfiction note, Jason Hartley's Just Another Soldier was good, humorous, interesting, and various other things besides. Along with being the author's memoirs of Iraq, it's also part of a trend that seems to be emerging of soldiers blogging their experiences and then coming back and writing books (I read a good chunk of the book back when it was a blog), which I think is fantastical interesting and cool, being the historian that I am. I love the fact that it's easier to find a wide variety of this sort of thing than for pretty much any other war we've ever had, but I just wish more people paid attention to it, which is a rant for another time when I'm more concious.
The third and last book is Paul Bremer's (you should've heard the name) My Year In Iraq, which I think is a highly important book, not so much for the author's conclusions, some of which I agree with, a few of which not so much, but for his depiction of the politics of Iraq and the reconstruction thereof. There was plenty in there that I was either vaguely aware of at the time or not aware of at all, and it's good to have some context. It also brings us straight back to that rant I want to write when I'm more concious.
For now, it's time to go see if I can stomach some NWN.
Posted by Dwip at June 26, 2006 8:39 PMSo, would you hate me if I told you I have to bring a sweater to work because they have the AC up too high?
Posted by: suz at June 27, 2006 5:18 PMI used to have to wear long sleeves when I worked at CCI. They ran the AC at like 60 degrees in the summer. Then it would be 85 in the winter. Daft I tell you.
Posted by: Whir at June 29, 2006 10:02 PM