Time to look back on all the books we've read this semester. I'll rank them in a Top 10 list sort of way, except that there are only 5.
5. Libra
DeLillo's novel comes in last in the rankings largely due to two things: first, his writing style really threw me off, and second, I am bored out of my skull by conspiracy theories, largely because I am satisfied with the explanation that Oswald did it alone. My inability to separate the fictional Oswald from what I know of the historical Oswald probably also kept me from fully enjoying the book. It got much better towards the end, with the various threads of the plot coming together in a grand mess of an assassination, but I feel that Libra would have been better if it had more in common with Mumbo Jumbo and presented its conspiracy in terms of absolute ridiculousness. DeLillo seems to be taking his own writing a bit too seriously.
My favorite part was probably Weird Beard. Or the Jack Ruby chapters, since he had the weirdness to fit into Ishmael Reed's world.
4. Kindred
Knowing ahead of time that Butler did not intend this to be a science fiction novel saved this book from suffering the fate of Never Let Me Go*. Even so, this book gets #4 on the list because I felt the story was stretched out too much and I never felt invested in the characters. Mostly the characters.
I'm not entirely sure how to explain why, so I'll just give some examples: I felt no pity whatsoever for Rufus. Dana had some nice cynical moments, but just as many where she seemed incredibly naive. Kevin seemed like an add-on. The character I could empathize the most with was Tom Weylin, who at least had a twisted moral code.
Maybe this all boils down to my general dissatisfaction with emotional characters. I like self-repression in fiction. I like it when characters throw away emotion because something needs to get done. Give me Mrs. Dalloway and Bruce Wayne, but keep your Romeos and Juliets at home.
The main problem I faced with this book in class discussion was that I took this book fairly literally; I felt that with the heavily plot-based narrative, a lot of things didn't have to have any hidden meaning. Time travel? Well of course it's time travel and not Dana imagining the past while studying genealogy! She LOSES HER ARM.
My final criticism is that for such a horrific subject matter, Kindred just doesn't have the bleak tone required to pull it off. There's too much of a sense of finality (due to the reliance on plot) in the semi-hopeful epilogue.
3. Slaughterhouse-Five
Third, second, and first place in this ranking are all very close, so their placements are somewhat arbitrary.
Slaughterhouse-Five was the funniest of the novels we read; after all, it's about a massacre! Reed and Doctorow have more subtle humor with a few laugh-out-loud moments, but Vonnegut goes all-out with writing that veers towards Douglas Adams.
Billy Pilgrim seemed like a much more varied character than any of the other protagonists we encountered, shifting from super chill (everything was pretty much all right with Billy Pilgrim) to silently weeping to just plain bewildered.
And who doesn't love telepathic toilet plungers?
As with Kindred, I took this novel literally, and got really defensive when an article for a panel presentation suggested that Billy Pilgrim wasn't really unstuck in time.
2. Mumbo Jumbo
Reed's style and formatting choices threw me off initially, but I came to enjoy the weirdness and lack of standardization. I didn't find the overall story all that exciting, but each scene was fun to read on its own. Mumbo Jumbo packs a lot into a small space and doesn't take itself too seriously, so it doesn't feel drawn-out like some of the other novels.
I'm having a hard time pinning down exact reasons for liking this novel, so I'll just say that it was fun to read and felt more substantial than Libra or Kindred.
1. Ragtime
I love cynical narrators. I love stuff that's too weird to be made up. I like Doctorow's writing style. What more is there to say?
For one thing, characters. Even though we're not always inside their heads, I was more invested in the characters in Ragtime than in anyone in the other books. Goldman is rational. Houdini is repressed. MYB knows exactly what he wants to do, but doesn't know why. Coalhouse is self-destructively emotional, but finishes up nicely. It just boils down to Doctorow and his characters having brains that function similarly to mine, though with different starting values.
Another thing I like about Ragtime: it's so bleak! Everyone dies or gets deported or vanishes except for the abusive, patriotic psychopath, while history just keeps rolling on. Great ending.
I thought Doctorow's story was strange before I read any of the other novels for this class. Now it seems pretty tame. This is good because it kept the story easy to follow while still allowing for entertaining craziness and hidden references (like "Warn the Duke").
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* I went into Never Let Me Go expecting it to go really deep into discussing the ethics of cloning and societal reactions to clones. Instead, it was basically a story about people with terminal illness having relationship problems. The cool premise about citizens whose only purpose in life is to replace other peoples' organs was just an excuse to have the main characters die young.
I will not go so far as to say that the film The Island did a better job at this, though.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Arch is part of a conspiracy!
This is inspired by one of Izzy's blog posts, the link to which is below:
http://parchedforprose.blogspot.com/2014/05/pieces-of-puzzle.html
Anyway, let's go about analyzing the mysterious person known as "Arch Stuart Robison" in a conspiracy light...
---------------------------------
Item 1: Fake names
Just what is he hiding? This blog is written by "ArchR," but the corresponding Google+ account is "CUBirding." There certainly seems to be an implication of stalking. He will C U when you are birding. Potential connection to NSA surveillance. Login names for Scratch and NaNoWriMo accounts point to association with David Zindell novels and the United Sates Navy.
Item 2: He regularly walks around with binoculars and a camera.
Seems suspicious to me.
Item 2.5: He walks around with binoculars and a camera near areas with signs that say "Keep Out: Disease Control Area."
Suspected connection to biological warfare research.
Item 3: Frequently visited websites
He follows several suspicious blogs, including "Goodbye Twentieth Century." Possible connection to Y2K virus. He is also active on a set of internet forums that include posts about the procedure of killing hospital visitors and installing car bombs. If discussing these things with half a million other psychos isn't a sign of conspiracy involvement, I don't know what is.
Item 4: Acquaintances and connections
Met with the mayors of multiple German towns while traveling abroad; additionally, was allowed access to city archives in one of these towns. Has family members who worked for corporations that did contract work for the military, including radar and missile design. Is friends with someone who has a special access permit to the grounds of the Clinton nuclear power station. Worked for a summer with a group of scientists planting tracking devices in the bed of a river.
Item 5: Lack of a driver's license
Eighteen years old and still not allowed to drive? How un-american. In lieu of a driver's license, he has identification documents that allow him to cross national borders and electronically unlock doors.
Item 6: Entertainment choices
Plays Spore and Civ V video games, indicating a possible god complex. Has spent hours playing flight simulation games, pointing to secret pilot training. His main character in Super Smash Bros Melee was previously Zelda, which can only be interpreted as a sign of mental instability.
Disturbing themes appear in his list of favorite works: his favorite movie features a protagonist who commits war crimes; one of his favorite stage productions involves an attempt to violently overthrow the government; he has recently read books featuring early 1900s anarchists, the JFK assassination, and portrayals of Western civilization as the embodiment of evil.
Item 7: Past encounters with authority
Stopped by a US Border Patrol agent in southern Texas; no arrest. Accosted by a member of the Los Angeles Police Department for loitering near airport property; no arrest. Confronted by a US National Guard member for stepping into a restricted area near US military facilities; no arrest.
Item 8: Publication subscriptions
Subscribes to Audubon magazine, which may have connections to clandestine ecoterrorism. Also receives EAA SportAviation (more evidence for Aerospace involvement). Is a member of the "Lego Club," and thus may be receiving bribes from or doing corporate espionage for a Danish toy company.
Item 9: College choice
Is planning on attending a college he had never heard of until the year he applied. Seems rather abrupt. What sort of special offer was involved? Investigate CIA campus recruiting programs.
Item 10: Coincidental similarities to Oswald
Has bad handwriting. Has an older sibling. Wears T-shirts. Does not show his teeth when he smiles. High hairline. Knows specifics of 1950s military aircraft. Reads encyclopedias like they're Tom Clancy thrillers. Knows that a killdeer is a bird. Likes to make puns. Might get a job in Aerospace.
While no conclusion can be drawn at this point, it is very clear that the subject is involved in shady conspiratorial activities.
-----------------------------------------------
...and just for fun, we have a little game: one of the pieces of evidence I mentioned (one of the sentences, not one of the topics) is completely made up. The rest (though perhaps not the interpretations of them) are factual. Try to guess which one is an attempt to mislead obsessive investigators.
Have fun!
http://parchedforprose.blogspot.com/2014/05/pieces-of-puzzle.html
Anyway, let's go about analyzing the mysterious person known as "Arch Stuart Robison" in a conspiracy light...
---------------------------------
Item 1: Fake names
Just what is he hiding? This blog is written by "ArchR," but the corresponding Google+ account is "CUBirding." There certainly seems to be an implication of stalking. He will C U when you are birding. Potential connection to NSA surveillance. Login names for Scratch and NaNoWriMo accounts point to association with David Zindell novels and the United Sates Navy.
Item 2: He regularly walks around with binoculars and a camera.
Seems suspicious to me.
Item 2.5: He walks around with binoculars and a camera near areas with signs that say "Keep Out: Disease Control Area."
Suspected connection to biological warfare research.
Item 3: Frequently visited websites
He follows several suspicious blogs, including "Goodbye Twentieth Century." Possible connection to Y2K virus. He is also active on a set of internet forums that include posts about the procedure of killing hospital visitors and installing car bombs. If discussing these things with half a million other psychos isn't a sign of conspiracy involvement, I don't know what is.
Item 4: Acquaintances and connections
Met with the mayors of multiple German towns while traveling abroad; additionally, was allowed access to city archives in one of these towns. Has family members who worked for corporations that did contract work for the military, including radar and missile design. Is friends with someone who has a special access permit to the grounds of the Clinton nuclear power station. Worked for a summer with a group of scientists planting tracking devices in the bed of a river.
Item 5: Lack of a driver's license
Eighteen years old and still not allowed to drive? How un-american. In lieu of a driver's license, he has identification documents that allow him to cross national borders and electronically unlock doors.
Item 6: Entertainment choices
Plays Spore and Civ V video games, indicating a possible god complex. Has spent hours playing flight simulation games, pointing to secret pilot training. His main character in Super Smash Bros Melee was previously Zelda, which can only be interpreted as a sign of mental instability.
Disturbing themes appear in his list of favorite works: his favorite movie features a protagonist who commits war crimes; one of his favorite stage productions involves an attempt to violently overthrow the government; he has recently read books featuring early 1900s anarchists, the JFK assassination, and portrayals of Western civilization as the embodiment of evil.
Item 7: Past encounters with authority
Stopped by a US Border Patrol agent in southern Texas; no arrest. Accosted by a member of the Los Angeles Police Department for loitering near airport property; no arrest. Confronted by a US National Guard member for stepping into a restricted area near US military facilities; no arrest.
Item 8: Publication subscriptions
Subscribes to Audubon magazine, which may have connections to clandestine ecoterrorism. Also receives EAA SportAviation (more evidence for Aerospace involvement). Is a member of the "Lego Club," and thus may be receiving bribes from or doing corporate espionage for a Danish toy company.
Item 9: College choice
Is planning on attending a college he had never heard of until the year he applied. Seems rather abrupt. What sort of special offer was involved? Investigate CIA campus recruiting programs.
Item 10: Coincidental similarities to Oswald
Has bad handwriting. Has an older sibling. Wears T-shirts. Does not show his teeth when he smiles. High hairline. Knows specifics of 1950s military aircraft. Reads encyclopedias like they're Tom Clancy thrillers. Knows that a killdeer is a bird. Likes to make puns. Might get a job in Aerospace.
While no conclusion can be drawn at this point, it is very clear that the subject is involved in shady conspiratorial activities.
-----------------------------------------------
...and just for fun, we have a little game: one of the pieces of evidence I mentioned (one of the sentences, not one of the topics) is completely made up. The rest (though perhaps not the interpretations of them) are factual. Try to guess which one is an attempt to mislead obsessive investigators.
Have fun!
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
On snipers...
The topic of snipers feeling sympathy for their victims came up in class today. Oswald certainly seems like he doesn't want to take the shot--he likes Kennedy, is glad that Jackie looks good for the immortalizing photos, and feels sorry for hitting Connally. Is this strange for a sniper? Isn't the long range shot a way of distancing yourself from your victim, unlike Ruby's incredibly personal killing of Oswald? You're just supposed to pull the trigger and hit someone really far away.
When this topic came up in class, my mind jumped to some other source I had read/seen/heard that argued the opposite: due to the highly accurate nature of sniping (aiming at specific body parts) and the close-up view offered by a scope, snipers are by necessity emotionally invested in their target--and thus the really good snipers are the ones who can push aside their feelings and pull the trigger knowing exactly what they are doing: taking a life.
Trouble was, I couldn't remember what work of fiction this was from. Was it Enemy at the Gates? I've only actually seen a clip of that movie in Mr. Butler's class. What else do I watch that would go in-depth about sniper psychology? The episode of Quantum Leap in which the protagonist inhabits the body of Lee Harvey Oswald?
Eventually I remembered that it came from the anime series Area 88. I'm not a big consumer of anime, but I watched this series in its entirety while I was sick one time after stumbling across numerous references to it on the Wikipedia page for "aircraft in fiction." I mean, who doesn't love a TV show that consists mostly of what-if battles between Cold War-era fighter planes?
While perhaps not as deep or literary as other sources (and not terribly realistic in its depiction of the nameless sniper, who has the timing and precision to pull off a serial assassination you'd expect from a murderous Rube Goldberg, plus a gun with high-explosive bullets), the eighth episode of Area 88 has a few things to say about snipers and war photographers.
If you don't care to watch 23 minutes of airplanes, explosions, and odd choices of background music, the discussion of sniper psychology starts around 6:56. The audio is Japanese, but there are English subtitles.
If we were to put these fictional long-range shooters on a spectrum, Oswald would seem to be at the "ineffective softie" end and Area 88's sniper at the other, with Raymo in between. Raymo has the precision and focus during the shooting, but as soon as he gets the shot off and sees Kennedy's head explodes he goes into a sort of out-of-body adrenaline mode. The anime villain is little more than a self-aiming gun.
Even with his pseudo-remorse, Oswald pulls the trigger, satisfying Shinjou's assertion that a sniper "does what he does fully understanding that his action leads to the enemy's death." It's just that his actions don't lead to his target's death, since he's inconsistent and isn't using the best rifle.
When this topic came up in class, my mind jumped to some other source I had read/seen/heard that argued the opposite: due to the highly accurate nature of sniping (aiming at specific body parts) and the close-up view offered by a scope, snipers are by necessity emotionally invested in their target--and thus the really good snipers are the ones who can push aside their feelings and pull the trigger knowing exactly what they are doing: taking a life.
Trouble was, I couldn't remember what work of fiction this was from. Was it Enemy at the Gates? I've only actually seen a clip of that movie in Mr. Butler's class. What else do I watch that would go in-depth about sniper psychology? The episode of Quantum Leap in which the protagonist inhabits the body of Lee Harvey Oswald?
Eventually I remembered that it came from the anime series Area 88. I'm not a big consumer of anime, but I watched this series in its entirety while I was sick one time after stumbling across numerous references to it on the Wikipedia page for "aircraft in fiction." I mean, who doesn't love a TV show that consists mostly of what-if battles between Cold War-era fighter planes?
While perhaps not as deep or literary as other sources (and not terribly realistic in its depiction of the nameless sniper, who has the timing and precision to pull off a serial assassination you'd expect from a murderous Rube Goldberg, plus a gun with high-explosive bullets), the eighth episode of Area 88 has a few things to say about snipers and war photographers.
If you don't care to watch 23 minutes of airplanes, explosions, and odd choices of background music, the discussion of sniper psychology starts around 6:56. The audio is Japanese, but there are English subtitles.
If we were to put these fictional long-range shooters on a spectrum, Oswald would seem to be at the "ineffective softie" end and Area 88's sniper at the other, with Raymo in between. Raymo has the precision and focus during the shooting, but as soon as he gets the shot off and sees Kennedy's head explodes he goes into a sort of out-of-body adrenaline mode. The anime villain is little more than a self-aiming gun.
Even with his pseudo-remorse, Oswald pulls the trigger, satisfying Shinjou's assertion that a sniper "does what he does fully understanding that his action leads to the enemy's death." It's just that his actions don't lead to his target's death, since he's inconsistent and isn't using the best rifle.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Weird Beard is real.
He tells us he's not making it up, kids. And he's telling the truth.
"Weird Beard" was a real person, really was a DJ for KLIF Dallas, and testified before the Warren Commission because of his correspondence with Jack Ruby.
Eat your cereal with a fork.
http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/moore_r.htm
http://knightslanding.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/russ-the-weird-beard-knight/
...I just felt like pointing out that little tidbit. When I first read the section where Jack Ruby listens to Weird Beard, it felt clearly metafictional; after all, one of DeLillo's characters was saying "We are for real." As it turns out, many of the characters are for real... including the ones that fall into the category of too strange to be made up.
"Weird Beard" was a real person, really was a DJ for KLIF Dallas, and testified before the Warren Commission because of his correspondence with Jack Ruby.
Eat your cereal with a fork.
http://jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/moore_r.htm
http://knightslanding.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/russ-the-weird-beard-knight/
...I just felt like pointing out that little tidbit. When I first read the section where Jack Ruby listens to Weird Beard, it felt clearly metafictional; after all, one of DeLillo's characters was saying "We are for real." As it turns out, many of the characters are for real... including the ones that fall into the category of too strange to be made up.
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