Cory Doctorow – Little Brother and Heartland

After devouring a few more of Doctorow’s books, he is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.  I previously gave a glowing review to Pirate Cinema, and then moved on to Little Brother and Homeland, the original book and sequel about the exploits of Marcus Yallow, otherwise known as M1k3y.  The story begins with Marcus hacking his way out of his high school’s security in order to participate in an on line game, but quickly turns into a suspenseful and intriguing tale about terrorism and conspiracy.  This is meant to be a YA novel, but the themes are very mature, venturing into civil liberties, social activism, the danger of Homeland Security and the role of torture in stopping terrorism.  As I pointed out in my review of Pirate Cinema, it is clearly as Left Wing in its ideology as Flashback is Right Wing.  Doctorow makes no bones about slamming governments for disregarding civil liberties and for abuse of power.  Some have claimed that the themes are too mature for a YA novel, but I would disagree.  People who make such claims are same idiots who are killing young people’s (especially boys’)desire to read by wanting to make everything sanitized and politically correct.  The sixteen year old character has to deal with some pretty extreme situations, including an introduction to sexuality.  But it’s all, in my opinion, dealt with in a very truthful and authentic manner.

I would give these two books an A+, but read them in order.  I also have to say that the second book, while still exciting and a good story, is definitely a little preachy.

Take a look at the letter sent to Cory by a young reader.  I quote a small part here, but the entire letter can be found on the craphound .com.  This was written by a twelve year old boy.

“Little Brother is one of those drastically important books that deals with real issues affecting everyone. This book was, in my opinion, more than just a book; it was a persuasive, life-changing book, the kind of gem that comes around too infrequently.

Before I read Little Brother I was scared to try something different. I surrounded myself with the same old young-adult novels (you know- goes on a quest, learns many things, big fight with a troll, the end) and never dared to step out of my little box.”

Little Brother alludes to Big Brother, and it’s comparison to Orwell’s classic is notable.  While some may say that Doctorow’s portrayal of corruption within Homeland Security and the violence it perpetrates on its own citizens in the novel is farfetched, I would tell them to look carefully at the news.  Look at the stories of protestors being kettled in the G12 demonstrations in Toronto.  Look at the peaceful Occupy… protestors being attacked with pepper spray.  Or look back at the last era where there was effective protest against government dominance and witness the killing of 4 students when the National Guard opened fire on a peaceful demonstration in Ohio, or the clubbing of protestors during the Chicago Democratic Convention in 1968.  Doctorow exaggerates, but it is little more than an extrapolation of what we see in the news.  That’s what good Science Fiction does.  That’s what 1984 did.

Doctorow lives what he preaches.  All of his books are available on his website free of charge.  His bio is very interesting, and when you read about his parents and his upbringing you quickly understand the roots of his ideology.  The video below is pretty long and technical, but watch at least the first few minutes, if you’ve find this at all intriguing.  It gets really, really interesting at about the 15 minute mark!!!  Also, take a look at his web site.  It’s full of amazing things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nZFg-uq5zBA

[Can't seem to embed this.  Don't know why.]

However, in fairness to good reviewing, I have to say that I did not find the most recent Doctorow book, written with the very weird Charlie Stross,  “The Rapture of the Nerds”, to be less than optimally readable.  I couldn’t get into it.  It is a “post-singularity” novel, which is a unique idea.  The “singularity” is a future event, popularized by Ray Kurzweil which describes a time when nano-technology, genetics and AIs have transformed us in unimaginable ways.  “The Rapture of the Nerds” takes place in such a universe.  Many people may enjoy this, but I found it just too far out and had to abandon it after about 50 pages.  Maybe others would enjoy it more.

Nexus by Ramez Naam

The other book that I recently devoured was Nexus, by Ramez Naam.  This novel turned into an interesting discussion about public right to scientific information, and so was an interesting follow-up to Pirate Cinema.  Naam is an eminent neurological and technological researcher, prominent in the development of hardware and software connecting computers with the human brain.  He knows what he’s talking about.

Form Naam’s web site:

Who decides what you can put in your brain? Who draws the line between human and non-human? How do we choose between liberty and security?

This is a scifi novel that relies on hard science, meaning that there is a fair bit of technical jargon and theory involved in the story.  However, I was pleased to discover that there was, indeed, a great story supporting it all, complete with chase scenes, political intrigue and some interesting takes on the future of sex.  The drug, Nexus, is based on a nano-technology that allows intimate communication between the brains which have been dosed with it, and between brains and hardware.  Naam includes a Postscript, supplying details about scientific discoveries currently being made which will likely lead to such tech advances.  It’s another example of how rapid change in technology is evolving faster than our laws and values are able to adjust.

Of course in the novel, the government is opposed to all of this, claiming that it threatens the sanctity of what is considered “human”.  Hence an exciting ride that goes from colleges in America, to the illegal back streets of Thailand.  Naas doesn’t illuminate the government with much kindness.

I would give this book an A-.

Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow

So, after the right wing propaganda of Flashback, fate chose to drop on me a few novels that are quite the opposite.

Pirate Cinema is classed as a YA novel, but you’d never know it.  Typically, the main character is an adolescent boy coming of age and all, but the bulk of the story is quite mature and fascinating, even if a little simplistic.  In the opening chapter, sixteen year old Trent McCauley is caught pirating videos and gets his family’s Internet access terminated.  This is a disaster for his family, affecting their lives in all kinds of ways, including his sister’s education and his father’s job.  Feeling disgraced he runs away to London, where he experiences homelessness, dumpster diving, and house squatting.  While a little less than realistic, and unfortunately likely to make many people view homelessness as less traumatic than it really is, it is still interesting and adventurous.

But the core of the novel is Doctorow’s fairly obvious rant against the government, big business and copyright laws.  It is the perfect antithesis to Simmons’ Flashback, with Doctorow speaking from a very liberal and environmental, pluralistic idealism.   It’s not as overtly preachy as Simmons.  There are few outright speeches, although there are a few at the end when the pirates hack the government.  Once again we are presented with an entertaining thought experiment.

Like Flashback, Doctorow makes a lot of idealistic ideological points without considering the opposing view.   His points are valid and thought provoking, but since they are unchallenged they sometimes come across as a little shallow.  His point, that stiff penalties for illegal downloading are overkill, is a valid one.  His presentation of big business being able “buy laws” and government trying to sneak unpopular legislation through being undemocratic is simply a valid reality.  His claim that artistic freedom should allow pirate cinema to go unchallenged is not fair to some of the economics of the situation.  Whatever you may feel about pirating and big business, -and I have strongly opposed the claim that the entertainment industry is suffering-, it is still true that intellectual property requires some respect so that people can reap some benefits from their creation.  Artists require some kind of protection.

However, a study released today and reported on the news claims that movie studio revenue increased in the period following a crackdown on major movie pirating sites were shut down.  What a crock!  The study is flawed in a multitude of ways.  First of all, it didn’t look at either cinema ticket sales, or DVD rental at all, only overall revenue.  Secondly, effects on a corporation’s revenue is going to be dependent on all kinds of things and is not going to respond very quickly to any sort of external event.  It’s a rather shaky correlation at best.  Thirdly, major pirating sites were completely unaffected, meaning that the closing of a few hardly dented the amount of downloading.  Thirdly, I know a lot of people who dl movies.  They are mostly people who attend cinemas very regularly.  What is downloaded is very unlikely to affect their movie attendance or DVD buying.  The economic impact is going to be a small fraction of the practice.  Economic impact on movie theatres is much more likely to be a result of on-demand movies being provided through cable TV.  There are many more intelligent, unbiased studies showing almost no impact of pirating video or music on the fiscal bottom line of big corporations.  The drop in their revenue over the past decade or two is a result of them no longer having a monopoly on their media (due to legitimate competition) and a change in demographics because of a shift in the baby boom generation.  They’re greedy corporations, as papered as many of the spoiled stars that work for them, and that don’t want to see their heyday come to an end.  Even though it already has.

So, I have an implicit biased for Doctorow’s message in Pirate Cinema.  Even if I didn’t, like Flashback, it is an adventurous and engaging view of the near future, and food for much thought.

I would give this book an A-.  It is definitely on the list of those books I’d try throwing at teenage boys to encourage them to read.

Piers Morgan IS a Bully

Here’s a clip from Piers Morgan’s interview with Ben Shapiro around the date of Jan. 10.  Whether you agree with Shapiro or not, he is a fantastic debater and, as the title suggests, “owns” Morgan.  Watch as Morgan squirms when accused of “standing on the shoulders of the dead” to make his point.  I am sympathetic to gun control activists, but even I can see the point that Shapiro is trying to make.  It’s true.  If a guest’s opinion on gun control differs from Morgan’s, he tries to make them look guilty for ignoring the death of innocent children.  The Newtown deaths were a terrible tragedy, but were also a virtual drop in the bucket compared to child deaths from handguns or from countless other social ills, like poverty.  To put them in the centre spotlight is a valid emotional response, but not a rationally sound one.

Watch Morgan change the subject when Shapiro’s arguments cut through the hypocrisy that Morgan’s been spouting for the past months.  Watch Morgan desperately try to control himself when finally faced with a pro-gun person who wasn’t hand picked because he or she was a nut job.  Watch Morgan sidestep the important questions which are brought up with Shapiro, deflecting them with his usual tactic of ignoring direct question that are posed to him and retreating to talking points much like a Republican leadership nominee or two.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it here, again.  As long as the anti-gun people insist on resting their arguments on emotional foundations, there is not likely to be a change.  Moderates will look at Morgan’s interviews and see it for the emotional swill that it is, thereby siding with the people who are afraid that misguided liberals are going to take their guns away and tell them what they should and shouldn’t do.

Bad tactics.

Acadamy Awards Night

Now that I’ve actually seen all the films in question I find that my original choices are little changed.

Best Picture:  I’m still rooting for “Life of Pi”, although it seems increasingly unlikely that it will win.  It definitely has the best literary, technical and even acting qualities.  I still think that “Argo”, “Lincoln” and “Zero Dark Thirty”, while all decent films, are the popular due to American flag waving.  This is especially true with “Argo”, which depicts the events as glorified American actions, while history (and Jimmy Carter) shows that Canadians played a far more important and critical role than is suggested by the limp Canadian characters in the movie.  Typical.

Best Actor:  Joaquin Phoenix in “The Master”, which is a movie that has received far less acclaim than it deserves.

Best Actress:  Emmanuelle Riva in Amour.  The movie itself is incredibly slow and painful to watch.  I believe it lives up to the intention of the director to show a very distressing situation, and Riva does that tremendously.  A very depressing film, though.

Best Supporting Actor:  I have never understood what distinguishes a supporting actor from a principal role actor.  In this case, Waltz, as the dentist in “Django Unchained” is as much a primary character as is Jamie Fox.  I don’t get it.  He stands out far more than any of the other nominees in this category.

Best Supporting Actress:  Anne Hathaway in “Les Miserables” .  Mainly because the others are not really such hot stuff.

Cinematography:  “Life of Pi” without a doubt.  It is a visually beautiful film.  “Django Unchained” would be an acceptable second choice.

Director:  I’d have to go with “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, another film that has received far less attention than it deserves.  I just feel that it would have been the most difficult situation for a director to work with.  “Amour” is a great directing job, but really, there are only two people in a room that need direction.  (Plus, they could have shortened the movie by half an hour by taking out all the dramatic pauses.  But that’s Editing, I guess.)

Documentary Feature:  Not only is “The Invisible War” an excellent and important documentary, chronicalling the abuse of women in the U.S. military, but it was responsible for the Secretary of Defense taking action to help solve the problem.  “Searching for Sugarman” is an entertaining film, but doesn’t pack the same power.

Foreign Language Film:  “Amour” will probably take this one, but “A Royal Affair” was, to my mind, a spectacular and superior film.

Original Song:  How the heck do they choose these?  There are lots of songs I’ve heard in movies this year that are as good as or better than the crop they’ve collected.  They need to show some imagination.

These are not my predictions for what will win, but rather what I feel should win.  The petty politics and flagwaving, and the usual snubbing of the most successful films of the year, will probably rule the night.

Finished Flashback

There is no doubt that Simmons’ Flashback has a rather strong right wing bias.  Some reviews that I read called it “Right Wing disaster port” and a “Conservative’s wet dream”.  These are fairly accurate descriptions.  There are a few passages in the book where all pretense at literary license is abandon and the character or narration breaks into an anti-entitlement, anti-Liberal, even anti-Obama diatribe.  While citing entitlement as the cause of the great ongoing recession, no mention is made of the role played by greedy and corrupt banks in causing the biggest part of the debt crisis and triggering the economic problems.  This alone is a serious shortcoming in the objectivity of the novel’s setting.

In spite of that, I found it a very engaging book.  It is not unusual to have to suspend your sense of reality when reading Science Fiction or Fantasy, so it wasn’t that hard to do so in this case.  As a thought experiment, it’s very interesting, and there are some points in it that are thought provoking.  We do see the danger of cultural erosion currently playing out in some European countries.  This morning on the radio I did hear news reports about four children senselessly shot in Toronto over the past month, some seemingly for the fun of it, some just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  This is disturbing when reading about the dystopic gang violence in Flashback, similar to that you see in the movie “A Clockwork Orange” (which could just as easily be accused of political bias).

Yes, it is thought provoking.  As bias as it is, the exaggeration of certain social issues carried to their dysfunctional conclusion has to give us pause to think.  Certain aspects of Liberal political philosophy have a negative underbelly.  While it is noble to have universal health care and to want to take care of the less fortunate in our society, there’s still a right and a wrong way to do that.  To do it inefficiently and with a complete disregard for fiscal responsibility, is the wrong way, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way.  Capitalism has a negative, ugly underbelly as well.  We see it in the greed of financial institutions and the exploitation of workers by big businesses.  But that doesn’t mean that the basic principles of Capitalism need to be thrown out, like the baby with the bath water.

The critical issue is not Liberalism or Capitalism.  It is the way it is done.  If both are done with opportunism and greed, both will fail.  If each are done with integrity and with reasonable boundaries, they will yield success.  That is the difference between the U.S. and Canada.  The reasonable boundaries that we’ve put on Capitalism, and that we need to use more of with regard to Liberal entitlement issues is what has allowed us to weather the economic woes of the past five years with greater success.  We don’t want to be more like the U.S.  Look at the consequences.

This is what Simmons totally fails to address in his book, Flashback.  In that regard it is a shallow book.  However, if you suspend that judgement, it is a thought provoking and engaging read.  The story and mystery are well done.  Simmons is not the first SF author to explore this kind of dystopia.

I would give this book a B+.

“Flashback” by Dan Simmons

Picture a near future where Israel has been nuked, the recession is going into its thirtieth year, minorities have carved up the United States into individual districts, terrorism is an everyday event and youth gangs rule.  This is the world of Dan Simmons’ Flashback.  I’ve only read about one third of it, but whether right wing, anti-liberal propaganda or an interesting social commentary thought experiment, it is undoubtedly the most terrifying prediction of the future I’ve ever read.  And I’ve read a lot of novels describing dystopias.

Add to this a drug addled society, addicted to a new drug called “Flash” which allows users to vividly relive any part of their past lives, and you have a society rotten to the core and spiraling downwards.  While Simmons has utilized almost every nightmare we might have projected onto the future, his prophesy is still eerily plausible, which is the most disturbing part.

Superimposed on this dark scenario is a murder mystery made all the more engaging by the characters’ ability to flash back on events to confirm facts and find new clues.

All in all this is a fantastic read, so far. It makes you think hard about what the consequences might be if we do, in fact, get it all wrong.

Music List – 2012

For what it’s worth, here’s my list of my top choices in music for the past year.  Like I’ve often said, this year has been a little lean.  I think that can be seen in the major music mags focusing on artists like Dylan, Cohen and Springsteen for many of their top choices.  Can’t say I agree with any of those choices, having found all of them very mediocre.

Even my choice has a fair bit more main stream stuff in it than it usually does.  Most of those mainstream choices are albums that I stumbled on and enjoyed prior to their popular fame.  Oh well.

1. Kaiser Chiefs – Souvenir :  I identified this album late in the year, but quickly found that I’d heard and loved most of the songs on it.

2. Bat For Lashes – The Haunted Man :  Channeling Kate Bush.  And I love Kate Bush.  Original, truly haunting, well produced.

3. Mumford & Sons – Babel  :  More of the same, but the same is pretty good.

4. Django Django  :  No, nothing to do with the movie.  Winner of this year’s Mercury Award.

5. Joe Walsh – Analog Man  :  A great album both lyrically and musically by the ex-Eagle.

6. Calexico – Algiers  :  This band never stops amazing me.  Classy music with just the right touch of Mexico.

7. fun – Some Nights  :  Yes it sounds just like Jellyfish, but catchy and interesting.  A guilty pleasure.

8. Of Monsters & Men  :  Great album as long as you don’t hear them live.  The strange vocals that she pulls off on recording don’t come across as well live.

9. David Byrne & St. Vincent - Love This Giant  :  A whole new sound for Byrne, with good use of horns.  Lively and original.

10. Walk The Moon – I Want  :  First half a lot better than the second half.

11. Lana Del Ray – Born To Die  :  So sexy.  Like Amanda Lear or Marlena Deitrich.

12.  Beach Boys – That’s Why God Made the Radio  :  Whatever you think of the Beach Boys, there are solid new songs on this album.  Brian Wilson is a genius.

Honorary Mentions:  Neil Young, Imagine Dragons, Band of Horses, Kathleen Edwards, The Magnetic Zeros, Patrick Watson

Best Movies of 2012 – my list

Not a bad year for movies, although there have been better.  TIFF was a lot of fun this year and I was lucky in my selection.  The following list is a mixture of popular and intellectual films.  There is an entertainment and an artistic facet to films.  The best ones strike a balance between the two, although occasionally a movie, like The Avengers, can be mindlessly entertaining and still be a huge success.  It’s harder for one to be strongly intellectual but low on entertainment and still be accessible to more than just a few people with a specific interest.

1.  The Avengers
2. Life of Pi
3. The Master
4. God Bless America
5. Dark Knight
6. Cabin In The Woods
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. Hunger Games
9. Chronicle
10.Cloud Atlas

With special mention going to the following:  Queen of Versailles; I Declare War; Turn Me On; Judge Dredd; Man on a Ledge; Monsieur Lazhar;

Movies I haven’t gotten to yet, but look promising:  Skyfall, Jiro Dreams of Sushi; Les Miserables; Red Hook Summer; Invisible War; Sister, The Hobbit

You’ll notice the Argo and Lincoln are not on the list.  I found Argo to be a middlin’ good movie at best.  The story is interesting, but neither the acting nor the cinematography are anything special.  I saw it close to Life of Pi and thought the latter was far superior in many ways.  I haven’t seen Lincoln and the reviews don’t encourage me to.  I think the praise both of these movies have gotten is more of a political nod than an artistic one.

I don’t hold out much hope for The Hobbit as I think stretching it out to three movies is going to make it drag.  It’s a shame.  Two would probably have been fine.  When you see something like that, you can’t help but think “greed”.

Hunger Games is an odd one for me to include on the list, but I did really think that it was a solid, well done film.  Plot, acting, setting, special effects, even theme were all well crafted.  It has everything from comic book action to social commentary.

READY PLAYER ONE By Ernest Cline – a review

It’s been a long time since I’ve been as enthusiastic about a book as I am about Ready Player One.  I read it in two days because I couldn’t put it down, which I think is a record for me.

The story is slightly reminiscent of Reamde by Neal Stephenson in that it centres around a worldwide video game which permeates all aspects of normal life.  The difference is that in Ready Player One, the game is the setting for most of the novel, and the ideas and the workings of it are central to the plot.  This leads to a fair bit of explanation about how it all works, but it is truly fascinating and so not tedious to get through.  The whole concept is developed in a very plausible and realistic way.  This book may be a very accurate depiction of the future on several different levels.  In addition to predictions about game play, it also provides interesting social comment about centralization of power through the media.

The twist which Cline uses to add extra interest to the novel is the fascination with the pop culture of the 1980s.  It is a theme that runs through the whole plot and is used in the problem solving segments of the story.  It’s not name dropping like in Walton’s Among Others, but is much more effectively integrated into all parts of the story.  Certainly the book is a little more enjoyable if you recognize the references to everything from PacMan to Rush’s 2112, but it also must be fun to discovery this ancient pop culture for the first time.  It is the ultimate video or pop culture geek novel, and I mean that in the most positive and complimentary way.

I can’t help but think that this would make such an excellent TV show, making extensive use of CGI and animation.  Somebody out there needs to do that.

Update:  After writing this it occurred to me that this would be the perfect novel for a parent and teenage child (especially father and son) to read together.  The younger one would relate to the futuristic game playing and the older one could fill in the info about he 80s.  It would give them a lot to talk about.

This would be my top pick for books read this year.  The others would include:
Blackout by Mira Grant
Divergent & Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Rule 32 by Charlie Stross
and, of course,
A Storm Of Swords by George R.R. Martin

GOD BLESS AMERICA

I first saw this film at TIFF last September and was moved to watch it again last night.  It is probably the most and the least appropriate movie to watch following the Newtown shootings.

It is the least appropriate to watch because of its blatant and frankly depraved gun violence.  There is no question that, with a baby shot in the first 5 minutes of the film, most people would see it as a monstrous film.  That is a shame as it is a masterpiece of social commentary.

It is the most appropriate film to watch because it does an excellent job of explaining one motivation behind the violence.  In between the shooting sprees you find an very clear description of the insane culture that pushes the gunman over the edge, presented through TV clips from reality shows and the other incidents in the character’s life.  It, of course, doesn’t justify the violence, but I found myself with a kind of empathy for the shooter, appreciating how the insanity of our culture could drive a weak person absolutely nuts.  Yes, the craziness in the media is a bit exaggerated, but actually, really, only a bit.

God Bless America is one of those films that accurately portrays the illness of our current culture, most clearly found in the U.S., but threatening other countries as well.  It’s not a happy film or a pleasant one to watch.  Actually, it’s a little painful.  But it’s rawness presents a perspective in collective insanity.  I think it was made precisely to address the situation now facing us.

Other films that expose the underbelly of our culture are Winter’s Bone,  V for Vendetta, The Ice Storm and Idiocracy, just to name a few.  I’d be interested in any suggestions for others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sxQQNyoTTY0

 

The Life of Pi

I read the book about ten years ago and judged it to be … odd.  I remember thinking that they could never make a movie out of it.

Well, I was wrong.  Great scripting and editing combined with fabulous and realistic special effects combine to make this one of the best movies I’ve seen in years.  On the production side, it is excellent with great acting and absolutely beautiful cinematography.  It is a visual pleasure to watch.  Add to that a story which combines action and adventure with a philosophical undertone.  I watched it and wondered why they didn’t make teenagers any more who read Camus and wondered about the meaning of life beyond the construction of their next Skyrim character.  Did they ever?  Yes, I can testify that they did.

I heard several people comment as they left the theatre that it was possibly the best movie they’d ever seen.  That says a lot.

I would give this film and A.