Tonight we were reading to PG some original Beatrix Potter stories from about 100 years ago. There were a lot of references in one 1904 story, "The Tale of Two Bad Mice," to stuff that people don't have or use anymore, such as "perambulator," "the oilcloth under the coal-box," "Sago," "bolster," and "a crooked sixpence." It got me to thinking what words might be potentially confusing 107 years from now, in 2118.
Possibilities:
calculator
iPod
mouse (as it pertains to a computer... I assume mice will not go extinct in the next 107 years)
DVD
penny
gasoline (dare to dream)
cable box
ATM (all monetary transactions being done via smartphone)
smartphone
batteries
Anybody have anything else?
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Monday, September 29, 2008
A Trunk Full of Puddin'
We went to the Baltimore Book Fair on Saturday, because M had to work the Mt. Vernon Cultural District tent, and she wanted company. Also, the plan was for PG and me to wander around and look at books. PG is a big fan of books.
The wrench that got thrown into this plan was the torrential downpour that began pretty much as soon as we got there. PG and I hung out in M's office and got tomato all over one of her cabinets (PG: Also a big fan of tomatoes and lunchtime) before going out in rain and joining M at the tent. It was a miserable experience for M and me. PG didn't seem to care one way or the other.
Since nobody was coming by the tent, M got to leave early, and while we were walking to the car in the parking garage, Michael Ian Black drove past us.
You probably know him from Ed or the Sierra Mist commercials from a year or two ago, or Viva Variety on Comedy Central about 10 years ago, or, of course, The State, which was on MTV in the early-mid 90's and has a DVD compilation currently in release date Limbo. He was there to promote his new book, and he drove right past us in his BMW with Connecticut plates. It's indicative of his level of celebrity that he had to drive himself down from Connecticut, but was able to do so in a very nice BMW.
In case you are unfamiliar with The State and therefore don't get the reference in the title of this post, here's some context for ya. It's kinda weird. The State was kinda weird in general.
The wrench that got thrown into this plan was the torrential downpour that began pretty much as soon as we got there. PG and I hung out in M's office and got tomato all over one of her cabinets (PG: Also a big fan of tomatoes and lunchtime) before going out in rain and joining M at the tent. It was a miserable experience for M and me. PG didn't seem to care one way or the other.
Since nobody was coming by the tent, M got to leave early, and while we were walking to the car in the parking garage, Michael Ian Black drove past us.
You probably know him from Ed or the Sierra Mist commercials from a year or two ago, or Viva Variety on Comedy Central about 10 years ago, or, of course, The State, which was on MTV in the early-mid 90's and has a DVD compilation currently in release date Limbo. He was there to promote his new book, and he drove right past us in his BMW with Connecticut plates. It's indicative of his level of celebrity that he had to drive himself down from Connecticut, but was able to do so in a very nice BMW.
In case you are unfamiliar with The State and therefore don't get the reference in the title of this post, here's some context for ya. It's kinda weird. The State was kinda weird in general.
Friday, July 27, 2007
A Little Bit Pottered Out
Note: This post will be spoiler-free, but if you all want to discuss plot points in the Comments, go ahead. People who are still reading Book 7: There might be spoilers in the Comments!!!
After much to-do over the past few months, I have finally finished Harry Potter 7. I found the book to be pretty good, though I suppose there's one hole in the plot, which I shall elaborate upon in the Comments. So I guess that means there will definitely be at least one spoiler in the Comments now.
Now, when I say "much to-do," I'm really referring to the last few weeks. Re-reading Books 2 through 4 (I had already done Book 1 in early 2006 and saw no point in reading it again so soon) was a walk in the park, but by mid-June I was still only halfway through Book 5, and it was looking fairly certain that I was not on pace to get done in time.
As fate would have it, M decided to go on a road trip to Charlottesville, VA around that time and further decided to get some audiobooks from the library. One of those books: Harry Potter 6.
I listened to some of Book 6 and found it to be just as good as reading it. Since my morning and afternoon commutes are each an hour or so, I decided that supplementing my lunchtime reading with drivetime listening would be a great way to get Books 5 and 6 done in time.
The trick was finding Book 5 in CD format at the library. Our local branch was fresh out, as were most of the other branches. There was, however, one branch that, according to the website, had plenty of copies, so M went there while running errands one day. It turns out that the apparent plentitude was but an illusion - that branch was being renovated and had no audiobooks at all. Since no audiobooks were checked out there, I guess the system just defaulted to showing full capacity. M went ahead and put in a Hold request, which meant that a copy would be sent to that branch for later pickup.
Hoping to get a copy sooner, I took another look at the library system website and saw that another branch that wasn't unduly out of M's way showed themselves having one copy. So M went there. No dice, but they looked at their actual on-site computer network and found a branch on the other side of town that had a copy. So the nice lady there called that branch and had them set the CDs aside for M to pick up. And, bless her heart, M dragged herself and PG all the way across town to get the Book 5 CDs for little ol' me! Thanks, Sweetie!!!
So, with the Book 5 CDs at my disposal, and renewed Book 6 CDs waiting for me when I was done with 5, I got all the pre-Book 7 reading done in plenty of time.
Having caught the audiobook bug, I went back to the library to see about reserving the Book 7 CDs so I could get through that more quickly and be ready sooner to discuss the book with friends and family and complete strangers online. The library lady at my local branch was happy to reserve it for me, but when I asked if I should just show up on Saturday the 21st to pick it up, she said "Oh, nooooo," in much the same way one would respond to me asking if it was OK to park my car by the Periodical Rack when I came to pick it up. Y'see, I was the 162nd person to request such a reservation (over 500 people had reserved the book,) so I had to wait for a lot of people to check out the library's copies and return them before I could get a crack at it. She asked if I still wanted to reserve a copy, and I was tempted to say never mind, but I decided I may as well stay on the list, even though I wouldn't get to check the CDs out until probably after the next Presidential election.
But the audiobook idea was so appealing to me that I ordered the CDs from Amazon. I thought the CDs might have the Guaranteed Release Day Delivery that the book enjoyed, but I found to my sadness that the CDs would not ship until Monday the 23rd. Even with One-Day Shipping, which wouldn't be all that expensive since I had just signed on for a free trial month of Amazon Prime, the CDs wouldn't be at my house until Tuesday and thus not available for listening on my commute until Wednesday.
My plan had been to buy the book as soon as Target opened their doors at 8 AM on the 21st, since I figured that ordering from Amazon probably would mean not having the book until noon or later that day. But now I was wondering if giving myself all that extra time to read would make owning the CDs pointless, as I would be much further along through the book by Wednesday if I had all Saturday morning to read.
I might have canceled my CD order from Amazon then, but then I realized a few things. First, M would not be reading the book at the same time as I was, because this time we were only getting one copy for the household. Further, my brother was getting ready to move (for the second time in a year, one might add) and wouldn't be able to read it much either. Even further, I had no social occasions coming up that would require my having finished the book so that everyone else could talk openly about it (this happened with Book 5, when I had to get through something like 500 pages in a day so I wouldn't hamper conversation with my dinner companions that evening. Not that I'm complaining, ksL and Dodi.)
What that all added up to was very little pressure to get the book as soon as possible so I could finish it as soon as possible. I put in the order for the book with Amazon, and kicked back, confident in the knowledge that my Harry Potter reading plans were firmly in place.
And so, on the morning of the 21st, I got up in no big rush, since I no longer felt the need to hurry off to Target. My only concern was that Amazon might not bring my book before M, PG and I had to leave for Artscape, where M's work had a booth, at 11:00. My fear was that a rush delivery would require a signature, and I wouldn't get the book that day at all unless the local UPS facility was still open when we got home. That fear ended up unfounded, of course. As you can probably tell by now, I was a bit of a headcase about reading the new Harry Potter book.
Anyway, I went on the computer to do my daily fantasy baseball lineups (I probably wouldn't have gone on the computer at all that morning if it hadn't been for that) and checked my e-mails while I was there for baseball-related news. In my Inbox was an e-mail from the library, letting me know that my CDs were ready to pick up. "Great timing," thought I, "The Book 5 CDs are finally ready the day I'm about to start Book 7." But a closer look revealed that the e-mail came from my local branch, not the branch that had taken the reservation for Book 5, and that the CDs in question were Book 7.
M and I found this to be most surprising. A mistake, on the part of the library? Could there really be a set of Book 7 CDs ready for me, Mr. 162?
We went to the library and got there a few minutes before they opened their doors. There were quite a few people standing outside (maybe a total of 15 or so,) which M expressed surprise over, since libraries aren't the most popular hangout spot on a sunny Saturday morning. But, as you may have guessed, most, if not all, of them were there for Harry Potter.
We were third in line at the Checkout desk, and the two people ahead of us got Harry Potter books, making me the first to get the CDs. I gave them my card, and they gave me the CDs, no problemo! We asked how many copies they had gotten to give out and they told us...
As many as there had been reservations.
Mind you, the lady behind us had been #700-something for the book, and she was able to get her copy that very day. I could just imagine the massive piles they had in the back room from which everyone's books and my CDs emerged.
One also can only imagine how they were able to get clear slip covers and County Library stickers on all 700-something books (and stickers on all 162+ CD cases) before 9:00 that morning, when no living soul was allowed to handle the books until midnight, a mere nine hours earlier. We're guessing that an entire shift was there at midnight the previous night, and that another shift was probably still working on the pile in the backroom, as we stood out by the checkout desk, happily oblivious to the plight of the library workers.
And so, M, PG and I got in the car and started listening to the final Harry Potter book. It was a bit of an exhilarating moment, hearing Jim Dale reading the opening quote from "The Libation Bearers" by Aeschylus and "More Fruits of Solitude" by William Penn, which was, in and of itself, something new for a Harry Potter book. Made it more dramatic.
Once we got home, I canceled my Amazon order for the CDs. When asked for a reason, I said, "The library had them available much sooner than expected. Why didn't you have a Release Day Guarantee for the CDs too?" I told them what's what!
Good thing we got the CDs as early as we did, because it was the only access we had to Harry Potter 7 for most of the day. Amazon didn't deliver the book before we had to leave, but we had the CDs to listen to in the car to and from Artscape. I was through the first few chapters before I ever laid hands on the book, which was waiting for me behind the screen door when we got home around 3:30.
Here's what the box looked like:
In other news, I'm not the only one into Harry Potter, as you can see from this recent episode of The Colbert Report.
So that's my epic tale of getting a hold of the Harry Potter book and CDs. Before I close, I remind you... People who are still reading Book 7: There are spoilers in the Comments!!!
After much to-do over the past few months, I have finally finished Harry Potter 7. I found the book to be pretty good, though I suppose there's one hole in the plot, which I shall elaborate upon in the Comments. So I guess that means there will definitely be at least one spoiler in the Comments now.
Now, when I say "much to-do," I'm really referring to the last few weeks. Re-reading Books 2 through 4 (I had already done Book 1 in early 2006 and saw no point in reading it again so soon) was a walk in the park, but by mid-June I was still only halfway through Book 5, and it was looking fairly certain that I was not on pace to get done in time.
As fate would have it, M decided to go on a road trip to Charlottesville, VA around that time and further decided to get some audiobooks from the library. One of those books: Harry Potter 6.
I listened to some of Book 6 and found it to be just as good as reading it. Since my morning and afternoon commutes are each an hour or so, I decided that supplementing my lunchtime reading with drivetime listening would be a great way to get Books 5 and 6 done in time.
The trick was finding Book 5 in CD format at the library. Our local branch was fresh out, as were most of the other branches. There was, however, one branch that, according to the website, had plenty of copies, so M went there while running errands one day. It turns out that the apparent plentitude was but an illusion - that branch was being renovated and had no audiobooks at all. Since no audiobooks were checked out there, I guess the system just defaulted to showing full capacity. M went ahead and put in a Hold request, which meant that a copy would be sent to that branch for later pickup.
Hoping to get a copy sooner, I took another look at the library system website and saw that another branch that wasn't unduly out of M's way showed themselves having one copy. So M went there. No dice, but they looked at their actual on-site computer network and found a branch on the other side of town that had a copy. So the nice lady there called that branch and had them set the CDs aside for M to pick up. And, bless her heart, M dragged herself and PG all the way across town to get the Book 5 CDs for little ol' me! Thanks, Sweetie!!!
So, with the Book 5 CDs at my disposal, and renewed Book 6 CDs waiting for me when I was done with 5, I got all the pre-Book 7 reading done in plenty of time.
Having caught the audiobook bug, I went back to the library to see about reserving the Book 7 CDs so I could get through that more quickly and be ready sooner to discuss the book with friends and family and complete strangers online. The library lady at my local branch was happy to reserve it for me, but when I asked if I should just show up on Saturday the 21st to pick it up, she said "Oh, nooooo," in much the same way one would respond to me asking if it was OK to park my car by the Periodical Rack when I came to pick it up. Y'see, I was the 162nd person to request such a reservation (over 500 people had reserved the book,) so I had to wait for a lot of people to check out the library's copies and return them before I could get a crack at it. She asked if I still wanted to reserve a copy, and I was tempted to say never mind, but I decided I may as well stay on the list, even though I wouldn't get to check the CDs out until probably after the next Presidential election.
But the audiobook idea was so appealing to me that I ordered the CDs from Amazon. I thought the CDs might have the Guaranteed Release Day Delivery that the book enjoyed, but I found to my sadness that the CDs would not ship until Monday the 23rd. Even with One-Day Shipping, which wouldn't be all that expensive since I had just signed on for a free trial month of Amazon Prime, the CDs wouldn't be at my house until Tuesday and thus not available for listening on my commute until Wednesday.
My plan had been to buy the book as soon as Target opened their doors at 8 AM on the 21st, since I figured that ordering from Amazon probably would mean not having the book until noon or later that day. But now I was wondering if giving myself all that extra time to read would make owning the CDs pointless, as I would be much further along through the book by Wednesday if I had all Saturday morning to read.
I might have canceled my CD order from Amazon then, but then I realized a few things. First, M would not be reading the book at the same time as I was, because this time we were only getting one copy for the household. Further, my brother was getting ready to move (for the second time in a year, one might add) and wouldn't be able to read it much either. Even further, I had no social occasions coming up that would require my having finished the book so that everyone else could talk openly about it (this happened with Book 5, when I had to get through something like 500 pages in a day so I wouldn't hamper conversation with my dinner companions that evening. Not that I'm complaining, ksL and Dodi.)
What that all added up to was very little pressure to get the book as soon as possible so I could finish it as soon as possible. I put in the order for the book with Amazon, and kicked back, confident in the knowledge that my Harry Potter reading plans were firmly in place.
And so, on the morning of the 21st, I got up in no big rush, since I no longer felt the need to hurry off to Target. My only concern was that Amazon might not bring my book before M, PG and I had to leave for Artscape, where M's work had a booth, at 11:00. My fear was that a rush delivery would require a signature, and I wouldn't get the book that day at all unless the local UPS facility was still open when we got home. That fear ended up unfounded, of course. As you can probably tell by now, I was a bit of a headcase about reading the new Harry Potter book.
Anyway, I went on the computer to do my daily fantasy baseball lineups (I probably wouldn't have gone on the computer at all that morning if it hadn't been for that) and checked my e-mails while I was there for baseball-related news. In my Inbox was an e-mail from the library, letting me know that my CDs were ready to pick up. "Great timing," thought I, "The Book 5 CDs are finally ready the day I'm about to start Book 7." But a closer look revealed that the e-mail came from my local branch, not the branch that had taken the reservation for Book 5, and that the CDs in question were Book 7.
M and I found this to be most surprising. A mistake, on the part of the library? Could there really be a set of Book 7 CDs ready for me, Mr. 162?
We went to the library and got there a few minutes before they opened their doors. There were quite a few people standing outside (maybe a total of 15 or so,) which M expressed surprise over, since libraries aren't the most popular hangout spot on a sunny Saturday morning. But, as you may have guessed, most, if not all, of them were there for Harry Potter.
We were third in line at the Checkout desk, and the two people ahead of us got Harry Potter books, making me the first to get the CDs. I gave them my card, and they gave me the CDs, no problemo! We asked how many copies they had gotten to give out and they told us...
As many as there had been reservations.
Mind you, the lady behind us had been #700-something for the book, and she was able to get her copy that very day. I could just imagine the massive piles they had in the back room from which everyone's books and my CDs emerged.
One also can only imagine how they were able to get clear slip covers and County Library stickers on all 700-something books (and stickers on all 162+ CD cases) before 9:00 that morning, when no living soul was allowed to handle the books until midnight, a mere nine hours earlier. We're guessing that an entire shift was there at midnight the previous night, and that another shift was probably still working on the pile in the backroom, as we stood out by the checkout desk, happily oblivious to the plight of the library workers.
And so, M, PG and I got in the car and started listening to the final Harry Potter book. It was a bit of an exhilarating moment, hearing Jim Dale reading the opening quote from "The Libation Bearers" by Aeschylus and "More Fruits of Solitude" by William Penn, which was, in and of itself, something new for a Harry Potter book. Made it more dramatic.
Once we got home, I canceled my Amazon order for the CDs. When asked for a reason, I said, "The library had them available much sooner than expected. Why didn't you have a Release Day Guarantee for the CDs too?" I told them what's what!
Good thing we got the CDs as early as we did, because it was the only access we had to Harry Potter 7 for most of the day. Amazon didn't deliver the book before we had to leave, but we had the CDs to listen to in the car to and from Artscape. I was through the first few chapters before I ever laid hands on the book, which was waiting for me behind the screen door when we got home around 3:30.
Here's what the box looked like:
In other news, I'm not the only one into Harry Potter, as you can see from this recent episode of The Colbert Report.
So that's my epic tale of getting a hold of the Harry Potter book and CDs. Before I close, I remind you... People who are still reading Book 7: There are spoilers in the Comments!!!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Harry Potter and The Last(?) Sonogram
M just pointed out to me that I neglected to mention yesterday's sonogram, earlier. Sorry about that.
We were hoping that they would be able to give us an idea of when they might induce labor (GD babies tend to get induced a little early), based on their sonogram findings, but no such luck there. What they did tell us is that Baby 2K7 is estimated at about 7.5 pounds right now (give or take a pound - sonograms are not the best tools for determining weight), which is in the 87th percentile for a fetus at this stage. What's a bit alarming is that the abdomen is in the 97th percentile. Baby 2K7 hasn't been the most active baby, so that's probably the reason for the gut. Well, that and the GD. On the plus side, the legs are especially long. We may have ourselves a long jumper or high jumper! I can see it now: Olympic endorsements and a secure retirement for me and the missus!
It's possible that there will be another sonogram before Baby 2K7 enters the world, but that one was probably the last. Either way, we'll be seeing Baby 2K7 again soon!
********************
I was checking tonight's TV listings on IGN.com, to see if Smallville is a rerun tonight (it is) when I saw a link referring to Harry Potter covers. Being as I hope to see if the cover design to Deathly Hallows has been released yet every time I go to IGN, I went forth without delay and found that the cover design had indeed been released.
I figured that there would be a dominant color in the design, being as Book 5's was mostly blue and Book 6's was mostly green. Wasn't expecting it to be orange, though. I was predicting black or red.
Incidentally, the cover I have showing here might look a little blah, but that's because it doesn't show the back cover, which features Voldemort. You can see the full front-and-back design at the IGN link above.
We were hoping that they would be able to give us an idea of when they might induce labor (GD babies tend to get induced a little early), based on their sonogram findings, but no such luck there. What they did tell us is that Baby 2K7 is estimated at about 7.5 pounds right now (give or take a pound - sonograms are not the best tools for determining weight), which is in the 87th percentile for a fetus at this stage. What's a bit alarming is that the abdomen is in the 97th percentile. Baby 2K7 hasn't been the most active baby, so that's probably the reason for the gut. Well, that and the GD. On the plus side, the legs are especially long. We may have ourselves a long jumper or high jumper! I can see it now: Olympic endorsements and a secure retirement for me and the missus!
It's possible that there will be another sonogram before Baby 2K7 enters the world, but that one was probably the last. Either way, we'll be seeing Baby 2K7 again soon!
********************
I was checking tonight's TV listings on IGN.com, to see if Smallville is a rerun tonight (it is) when I saw a link referring to Harry Potter covers. Being as I hope to see if the cover design to Deathly Hallows has been released yet every time I go to IGN, I went forth without delay and found that the cover design had indeed been released.I figured that there would be a dominant color in the design, being as Book 5's was mostly blue and Book 6's was mostly green. Wasn't expecting it to be orange, though. I was predicting black or red.
Incidentally, the cover I have showing here might look a little blah, but that's because it doesn't show the back cover, which features Voldemort. You can see the full front-and-back design at the IGN link above.
Friday, December 09, 2005
The Weather Outside Was Kinda Frightful
We just had our second Almost Big Snow this week. It snowed enough to make driving a kinda hairy experience, but not enough to justify staying home for a while. I was lucky that the actual storm had passed, and that the drivers on the interstate were mostly considerate and non-idiotic. I did see a red pickup sitting in the median lawn perfectly upside-down. Wheels directly up. I'm guessing it happened while the storm was still going on.
In other news, I have finished reading The Perfect Mile. It tells the true story of Roger Bannister, John Landy, and Wes Santee as they all try to become the first man to run the mile under four minutes. If you know your history, then you probably know who does it first, but it builds the suspense so much that you almost forget. Plus, I didn't know if either of the other two guys ever got under four minutes too. It ends with a major race between two of them (with the third doing commentary on the TV broadcast) that turned out to be very exciting.
I grew up very exposed to the world of track and field, so I found the book to be very captivating. I don't know how a layperson would like it, but I think it would draw such a person in too. It is, according to the cover, a bestseller, so there has to have been plenty of non-track people who went out and bought the book.
Anyway, I'm now set on getting my mile time back under at least seven minutes, and maybe even six. I haven't run a sub-six mile since the mid-90's, so it will probably take a lot of work to get that. I'm finding that, despite having the running bug again, my overall laziness is keeping me from actually doing anything related to running, however. Looks like it's gonna take a whole lot of work.
In other news, I have finished reading The Perfect Mile. It tells the true story of Roger Bannister, John Landy, and Wes Santee as they all try to become the first man to run the mile under four minutes. If you know your history, then you probably know who does it first, but it builds the suspense so much that you almost forget. Plus, I didn't know if either of the other two guys ever got under four minutes too. It ends with a major race between two of them (with the third doing commentary on the TV broadcast) that turned out to be very exciting.
I grew up very exposed to the world of track and field, so I found the book to be very captivating. I don't know how a layperson would like it, but I think it would draw such a person in too. It is, according to the cover, a bestseller, so there has to have been plenty of non-track people who went out and bought the book.
Anyway, I'm now set on getting my mile time back under at least seven minutes, and maybe even six. I haven't run a sub-six mile since the mid-90's, so it will probably take a lot of work to get that. I'm finding that, despite having the running bug again, my overall laziness is keeping me from actually doing anything related to running, however. Looks like it's gonna take a whole lot of work.
Monday, October 17, 2005
A Respite from Lucasian Drivel
A few months ago I saw a movie I really wanted to like, yet afterwards I felt empty and a little bit violated.
That movie was Revenge of The Sith.
[I should mention now, before you scroll down too much, that plotpoints of the aformentioned movie will be touched upon a few paragraphs from now. If you're waiting for the DVD before seeing the movie, and you don't want to know details, then considered yourself duly warned.]
A short time later, while standing around the book section of the local Target, waiting for M to finish her shopping, I had occasion to page through the novelization of the movie. From the 2 pages I read, I could tell that the author had at least a casual grasp on the concepts of characterization and drama, something G. Lucas lost at some point between 1983 and whenever he got it in his head that Greedo was a lousy shot. As good as the book seemed, the $20 price tag precluded purchasing it. I decided to bide my time and wait for the price to come down on Half.com.
Over the months, I forgot about it until the day after my wedding, when M, her 2nd cousin, and I found ourselves in an antique shop (more like a secondhand shop, but I'm pretty sure they had the word "antique" in their name). We were in a bit of a hurry, since the cousin had a flight that needed catching, but The Force told me I needed to puruse the bookshelf first.
As you may have guessed from all the set-up, the novelization of Revenge of The Sith was on that bookshelf for a low, low price. $4. Cha-ching!
I am now just up to the part where Anakin stops Palpatine's arrest, but before he gets his new name (rhymes with Garth Paid Her). And let me tell you, the conversion of Mr. Skywalker makes a lot more sense after reading about it. The writer does a good job of fleshing out the bare bones that were thrown up on the screen. I still haven't gotten to the part where Vader slaughters 6 year olds, so I'm not completely sold on the direction Lucas chose to take in telling the story of Anakin's conversion, but now I really get why he turns against the actual Jedi.
I expect I'll get to the part with the 6 year olds during lunch today (not the best time to read about such things, but beggars can't be choosers), so maybe I'll have more insight in my next post.
That movie was Revenge of The Sith.
[I should mention now, before you scroll down too much, that plotpoints of the aformentioned movie will be touched upon a few paragraphs from now. If you're waiting for the DVD before seeing the movie, and you don't want to know details, then considered yourself duly warned.]
A short time later, while standing around the book section of the local Target, waiting for M to finish her shopping, I had occasion to page through the novelization of the movie. From the 2 pages I read, I could tell that the author had at least a casual grasp on the concepts of characterization and drama, something G. Lucas lost at some point between 1983 and whenever he got it in his head that Greedo was a lousy shot. As good as the book seemed, the $20 price tag precluded purchasing it. I decided to bide my time and wait for the price to come down on Half.com.
Over the months, I forgot about it until the day after my wedding, when M, her 2nd cousin, and I found ourselves in an antique shop (more like a secondhand shop, but I'm pretty sure they had the word "antique" in their name). We were in a bit of a hurry, since the cousin had a flight that needed catching, but The Force told me I needed to puruse the bookshelf first.
As you may have guessed from all the set-up, the novelization of Revenge of The Sith was on that bookshelf for a low, low price. $4. Cha-ching!
I am now just up to the part where Anakin stops Palpatine's arrest, but before he gets his new name (rhymes with Garth Paid Her). And let me tell you, the conversion of Mr. Skywalker makes a lot more sense after reading about it. The writer does a good job of fleshing out the bare bones that were thrown up on the screen. I still haven't gotten to the part where Vader slaughters 6 year olds, so I'm not completely sold on the direction Lucas chose to take in telling the story of Anakin's conversion, but now I really get why he turns against the actual Jedi.
I expect I'll get to the part with the 6 year olds during lunch today (not the best time to read about such things, but beggars can't be choosers), so maybe I'll have more insight in my next post.
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