A Few of My Favorite Things

I thought I should explain that in my first post, when I said that I expected 2 cents a word from my parents for these entries. That wasn't wishful thinking. I'm actually getting that money. I'm saying this as a warning to anyone who might be following this blog. Expect quantity, not quality.

That's why I've decided to make this post with a hackneyed 'facebook note'-like premise. Things that I like:

The Dune series: When you are a person that likes to watch star trek or star wars, it's very easy to be identified as a nerd. Simply say, "I really like Star Trek" and BAM! Everyone within earshot knows what you are. However, yell out, "I really like Dune" and watch as your nerdiness flies over the head of everyone around you. However, this lack of response can get quite boring, so I've decided to enlighten you all (you're welcome).

Dune is a science fiction series of novels written by the late Frank Herbert, mainly circled around a planet, named Arrakis (nicknamed Dune), completely covered in a nearly uninhabitable desert. This planet however, happens to be the only place where the all important 'spice' can be found. Spice is kind of like a super drug. A drug that lets you see small glimpses of the future. With the only side effect being the physical effect of having awesome blue on blue eyes, it's understandable that everyone in the universe would seek control of Arrakis, and of the spice.

The depth of the dune series can be staggering, especially when opening that first book. And I'll admit that a second reading is required to grasp all the subtleties is the plot. Not to say the first reading isn't enjoyable. It's as exciting as any action book. Knife fights, betrayals, harsh environmental conditions (it is a desert after all), Dune has got it all.

But I suppose what sets Dune apart from most sci-fiction works is the questions it brings up about destiny and religion. What are the moral implications of inadvertently becoming the messiah of a people based solely on the fact that they were preconditioned to accept you as such? Are you still their 'messiah', even if you do lead them to their exultation? Or were you just in the right spot at the right time? And if that's true, couldn't it be that messiahs in the wrong spot at the wrong time pass us every day?

Oh also, the book has giant wurms that live in the desert and can consume an entire village in one go. Even a city, if the wurm is big enough. Which is totally and completely AWESOME.

Next up, Agatha Christie novels: Now, while Sherlock Holmes is my favorite detective, Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot is a close second. But unlike with the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the detective isn't the reason I read these books. Ms. Christie has a certain feel for the criminal mind. What is it that brings a person to murder, to steal, and to lie. And the stories and characters surrounding the crime are what make these mystery novels compelling. So compelling, that her Mouse Trap play remains the longest running play in London with 23,074 as of April 10th, 2008.

Of the many that she has written, and of the ones that I have read, I would recommend 'Murder on the Orient Express' and 'And Then There Were None' (Possibly under the new title of 'Ten Little Indians'). Really good stuff.

The Sandman graphic novels: I opened with something nerdy, I'll end with the ever-nerdy (to the uninitiated) graphic novel. I'm not sure how to go about describing The Sandman, other than it is the darkest, cleverest, and over-all strangest comic* I have ever read.

The story circles around Dream, one of the endless (the others being Death, Desire, Delirium, Destiny, Destruction, and Despair). I suppose I could go into the story but, it being a comic* series, there's quite a lot to go into. For instance, there's the episode where Dream commissions Shakespeare to write "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and then to perform it in front of the real Oberon, Titania, Puck, and a hundred other little fairies and goblins.

*I say 'comic' because graphic novel takes too long to type, but I know a lot of people who get upset when you mix the two up. But really, who cares?

Anyways, all of these things are excellent and I really like them. I just got back from the library where I checked out one of each of these, and I'm really looking forward to reading them.

But that reminds me, does anyone else think that the 'safe place' sign they have at the library looks more like an adult snatching a child away? I don't think I'm the first person to ever say this, but whenever I see that sign that's all I can think about.

Also, since I feel like this post was kind of lacking in humor here's a joke:

Two peanuts were walking a subway.

One was BEAT UP.

Wait, no...