Friday Morning Flash

I finished Neuromancer two nights ago, and I do have to say that I’m a little disappointed with the ending. It made sense with the story, but I grew so attached to the characters that it actually disappointed me that they went their separate ways. Also, I went 11/12 of the book thinking that main character was supposed to be Neuromancer. The twist worked really well. There’s two more books in this trilogy (Count Zero & Mona Lisa Overdrive), but right now I’m jumping back into some more contemporary stuff. However, I do want to look into some of his other works.

In one of my IT courses we are experimenting with Adobe Flash. This program is a lot more complicated then Photoshop, and it leaving me pulling hairs out. We’re trying to construct a kaleidoscope effect, but the directions are geared toward a later edition of the program. I’m not exactly sure that what the directions are asking for is possible. If it works, I’ll try to post it on here via html.

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Book Hunting

When my professor told me she had been searching used book shops for Ellison for almost ten years, I didn’t consider that he might still be this hard to find.  The internet is wonderful with locating books, but I’m trying to find a cheap paperback that won’t run me like $10 in shipping. “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” is probably my favorite short story, and I am determined to find an anthology with it. Since I’m on a cyberpunk/sci-fi binge, I’ve also been looking for Neuromancer, but my book hunting hasn’t been too successful.

Even if you’re not finding pearls in the sand, used book shopping is incredibly therapeutic. At our Salvation Army today, I picked up Kurt Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkey House, Manette Ansay’s Midnight Champagne, and a book about the craft of fiction writing by Percy Lubbock.

I’ve also started reading George Martin’s A Game of Thrones. When I talk to people about the fantasy genre, this is typically a book they recommend. I’m only 100 pages in, but it’s been a pretty good read. There’s a quote in the beginning I really liked by Bran’s (One of the main characters) father. He said, “A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.” Not trying to throw controversy around, but I think this idea is timeless.

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