The NYT‘s Linda Greenhouse and Slate‘s Thomas Baker preview the coming Supreme Court term, which we already know won’t involve appeals by Roy Moore, credit card companies, or telemarketers. Update: Dahlia Lithwick talks Blakely.
Month: October 2004
Payton’s Place, Pippen to Pasture.
With the sports world focused on the baseball playoffs right now — I’m rooting for the BoSox as usual, but that’s more a tip-of-the-hat to my many friends among the Nation than it is a deeply-felt affection on my part — some news of the coming NBA season has nevertheless begun leaking out with the start of training camp. Despite rumblings to the contrary, Gary Payton showed up in Celtics Green on time and ready to give it a go, as did Vince Carter (still) in Toronto. Meanwhile, Scottie Pippen gave notice and the Knicks signed Tracy Murray, who’s a pretty one-dimensional 3-ball shooter when you get right down to it, and who probably won’t make much of a dent in the Power Rankings.
The Road to Hell.
“The redemptive power of suffering is, in my experience at least, vastly overrated.” Over this past weekend, I finally got the chance to read Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow, and, while it becomes a dark journey indeed for Emilio Sandoz, our Jesuit protagonist, over the course of the novel, I heartily recommend it. In fact, it’s probably the best science-fiction book I’ve read since Perdido Street Station (although Russell’s book is much less phantasmagoric than Mieville’s more fantasy-tinged stuff.)
A former paleo-anthropologist and academic jack-of-all-trades, Russell has retold the standard First Contact type of story here with a blend of straight-up hard sci-fi, Columbian commentary, and devastating ruminations on the price of faith and the laws of unintended consequences. While the story here seemed self-contained, I’m now rather looking forward to picking up her sequel, Children of God (although the reading queue is pretty backed up right now.) At any rate, if you like your sci-fi literate, intelligent, and ultimately somewhat nightmarish, think about checking out The Sparrow. Update: You can read the first chapter here. Also, if you haven’t read The Sparrow, stay out of the comments, where the end of the book is being discussed.
The Voice of Reason.
Hammer to Fall.
No more DeLay? As allegations of corruption swirl closer to the House Majority Leader’s roost, Salon reports that the Exterminator’s empire may soon be ending.
OneShip to Rule Them All.
Score one for the “model builders”! SpaceShipOne won the X Prize this morning, with nary a barrel roll in sight. This is big news, indeed. Might be time to start saving up my pennies.
It’s All Greek to Me.
The final trailer for Oliver Stone’s Alexander hits the web. I dunno…I like Stone’s movies more than most, but I’m getting a serious Moreau-vibe from Val Kilmer, and Angelina Jolie appears to be channeling Kate Beckinsale in Van Helsing.
Rohan vs. the Martians.
Human reinforcements arrive as Team Human Nature/Ian and Eowyn, a.k.a. Tim Robbins and Miranda Otto respectively, spell Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning in Spielberg’s War of the Worlds. Good. I generally root for all of these actors, Code 46 notwithstanding.
HM:2?
What has gotten into John Woo these days? Apparently, he’ll now be making He-Man after finishing up Spy Hunter with The Rock. I mean, I know the guy needs a hit, but this is an even worse idea than Metroid. (And between this and The Punisher, Dolph Lundgren must be wondering at this point when Rocky IV is getting redone.)