I prefer not to read anything that is deeply personal . Something are best shared between friends away from a forum such as FB, where even the most casual of acquaintances can read everything one posts. I don't believe, for example, that posting details of bereavement or loss is appropriate. Certain events are too serious for what is supposed to be a casual and fun site.
I prefer not to read anything that is deeply personal . Something are best shared between friends away from a forum such as FB, where even the most casual of acquaintances can read everything one posts. I don't believe, for example, that posting details of bereavement or loss is appropriate. Certain events are too serious for what is supposed to be a casual and fun site.
This sentence caught my eye as I was walking through my small town. And I found myself wondering what sort of upgrade I could get, A few extra inches in height? longer hair? twenty, no, thirty points added to my IQ?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could just upgrade ourselves whenever we wanted to, and if we could, what would we wish for?
Although I’m reasonably happy with myself as I am, I’m painfully aware that there is room for improvement (Oh boy, is there room for improvement !I suppose that my first upgrade would be a removal rather than an addition. I wish, I truly wish, that I could lose my addiction to internet scrabble, there are so many other things I could be, or should be doing every day. I have refined procrastination into an amazing talent. I know I should be doing something other than trying to think of triple score , seven letter words composed entirely of consonants or vowels. But somehow the day slips away from me and nothing has been accomplished.
Sadly the title sentence was referring only to my mobile phone, it seems that if I am to be upgraded , I’ll have to do it myself .
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Film Review; Prometheus
Let me first say that I enjoyed this film, it had all the right tick boxes for me.
1. Genre. I love science fiction.
2. SFX, really good spaceships.
3. A robot that wants to be Peter O’Toole, really, he does.
4. A strong female lead character.
5. The film passes the Bechdel Test, but only just.
Now for the things that didn’t quite work for me.
SPOILER ALERT
Some of the characters seemed to be very one dimensional, in fact several of them seemed quite pointless as they played no real part in the story.
For example Vickers, ostensibly she is on the ship as a representative of the Weyland Corporation; however she is curiously separate from the rest of the crew. She has no function either on the ship or on the mission to investigate the alien planet. When she does give an order she is totally ignored . I can’t help but think that someone somewhere thought that the cast needed a hot blonde.
Which brings us to two of the scientists who, having signed on for the exploration and subjected themselves to two years in cryosleep, then spend the entire time bitching about it while on board. And, when they finally get onto the planet they quickly become scared and want to rush back to the ship. Who screened these people before hiring them? The geologist Fifield, wanted to take a weapon onto the planet, I thought okay, he must be a security guard with the expedition party, but he turned out to be a geologist, but he took no tools of his trade with him, not even one teeny little rock hammer.
Once there, he took one look at the dead alien, and promptly decided that that there was nothing on the planet for a geologist to investigate and headed back to the ship. It was a planet for God’s sake; he was surrounded by alien rocks!!
His sidekick, I’m still not entirely sure what sort of scientist he was decided to tag along. You might just as well have made them carry signs saying ‘Dead Meat’ or even just gone the whole hog and put them in red shirts!
The ship’s pilots were there in order to die heroically, that’s all. I don’t think that we even learned their names.
But the main problem I have is, why would aliens go to the trouble of creating humans, leave us maps to the planet in the archaeological record, only to try to destroy us once we get there? And why would they want to infect Earth and get rid of us completely. Were we a failed experiment, or are the aliens playing with us and getting bored with their toys?
I will definitely go and see the next installment, if only for an answer to that last question, but I’m not really expecting to be completely blown away as I was with the sequel to Alien.
Brand new post on brand new blog. I plan to use this blog to chronicle my efforts to write my first novel.
Along the way there’ll be photographs, book reviews, cartoons, and possibly intensely serious and in depth musings about politics, religion and the weather (not really, well, maybe the weather.).
There may be ice cream, but it will have to be low calorie chocolate flavour (I’m very picky)
There may be the odd rant, but not often as I’m quite easy going (i.e.Too lazy to get excited about much)
I like coffee and tea, science fiction and fantasy, rain and sunshine and chinese food 
This second book follows directly on from its predecessor Farlander.
Ash, the Farlander of the previous book is in Q’os seeking retribution for the murder of his apprentice Nico. As a Roshun assassin such a search for personal vengeance is against everything that he has been taught. His target, the Holy Matriarch of Man leaves Q’os at the head of an army , her plan is to conquer the fortress of Bar-Khos, a city that has been besieged by the Mannians for ten long years. Ash follows, waiting for his opportunity to strike.
Che, a trained killer of the state, also trained as a Roshun assassin, questions his loyalty to Mann as he travels with the matriarch to Bar-Khos.
Meanwhile in Bar-Khos preparations are made to repel the Matriarchs army. Bahn a shell shocked soldier and veteran of the siege queries whether or not he is brave enough to stay in the city or should he escape with his family.
Curl, a new character in this book is a refugee from her island home, fleeing the Mannians who destroyed it.
This book was a very enjoyable read. The characters are complex and beautifully realised by the author. Even the Matriarch herself, while completely ruthless and bloodthirsty is acting in revenge from a severe personal loss she suffered in the previous book. So the reader can understand why she acts in the way she does, even though she is not really a very sympathetic character.
Ash is an old man and it is occasionally rather incredible that he survives the trials and tribulations that he is faced with. But you do find yourself cheering him on.
If I have any quarrel with the book it is that I do like a book with a female character who is both strong and likeable, and while Curl, who starts out as a drug addicted prostitute eventually joins the army as a medic is both of these, she really plays quite a small part in the story and I was kind of hoping for more from this book, especially as the previous installment didn’t really have any women in it except for Matriarch of course.
But this is a relatively minor quibble and I am looking forward to the next installment, hopefully it won’t be too long.
