Things that make Mat happy

[matgb]

Part xvii, comment notifications that make me smile. Where? here:

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From coffeechica on my comment editing suggestion.

Red Dwarf series iii. Backwards & Bodyswap, two of my more favoured episodes, with Bodyswap having one of the best sample quotes to hit the charts ever (Carter USM sampled Rimmer's fat bastard speech).

Buffy VTS special Faith DVD. Because, y'know, Faith. Buffy still a whiny preaching moraliser, but Faith = cool.

Books. Specifically, have now also finished Bester's The Stars My Destination, which I'd never read before. Gaiman's right (the Gollancz classics edition has an intro from him), it's prot-cyberpunk and then some, complete with magic mcguffin. Definately deserves the description one of the great SF novels, and although it's got some elements that are incredibly dated (I just don't see jaunting leading to the repressive society with women effectively locked away as described), overall as a future dystopia novel it's not bad.

That puts me on 5 books read so far this year. Considering last year I could find about 20 total, maybe I'm back to my old ways?

I also bought a copy of John Rawls' Political Liberalism. I've read (and studied) A theory of Justice, but not the follow up work. Given I've read the great 17th, 18th and 19th Great Liberal Thinkers, I really ought to finish of Rawls, right? And then I'll add back a little Nozick just to make sure I'm not going nuts...

Comments

[waka-laka.livejournal.com]

Faith was AWESOME. I blame the way I am today on her.

[matgb]

OK, you take Faith as an influence?

*runs and hides*

[waka-laka.livejournal.com]

...

Ba dum dum chh.

[matgb]

Incidentally, your new layout, Flexible Squares? I thought you hated S2?

[waka-laka.livejournal.com]

I do. And I HATE Flexible Squares.

But... :( It makes for a pretty layout! And I was sick of Opal! (which is also S2 what. S2 makes better layouts but it's harder to customise!

[tyrell.livejournal.com]

Bester's The Stars My Destination

Awesomeness. Zelazny's "Damnation Alley", too.

[matgb]

See, this is the thing. I've always liked SF books, I've been reading them since I was a little kid.

And I'd not heard of Bester until a few months back, and I've never heard of Zelazny. I think there needs to be a list of "books everyone should have read" somewhere. Wonder if there is? hmm...

I feel a topic for a post coming on.

[tyrell.livejournal.com]

Everything on this list, starting at number one.

http://www.sfsite.com/lists/orion01.htm

I hadn't heard of Zelazny until I read "Lord of Light", which I didn't like much. Then I read his (10 book) Chronicles of Amber, which were a bit American and fantasy, and then Damnation Alley which seemed to be from a different author entirely: red-hot, nasty, apocalyptic biker violence. Fab.

GodDAMN that list is great. Just reading the titles has me whooping in delight at some of the stuff on there.

[matgb]

Ah, Amber. I've heard of Amber. Cool. Will look at list when Mike's finished playing WoW:TBC gone to sleep.

[tyrell.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, it's THAT Tuesday the 16th :)

[matgb]

Yup, the install just finished, he's getting angsty waiting already.

So I have to go start ringing people with rooms to let (again). Still not getting very far.