I know, I know. What, you are no doubt wondering, am I doing STILL buying books – or, to quote an editor friend of mine, dabbling in “dead tree media”? Well, truth be told, I do own a kindle which I find very convenient…whenever I travel. But, the rest of the time, nothing beats the looks and feel of a good old-fashioned real book. And nothing beats perusing a bookstore and picking up a title that just happens to catch my eye, something far less likely to happen when shopping online. In fact, four out of the five titles pictured above were impulse buys. The fifth was the reason I’d made the trip to Chapters in the first place, a book whose release I’d been anxiously looking forward to for months.
Crackpot Palace is the latest collection of short fiction by one of my favorite authors, Jeffrey Ford, whose work ranges from delightfully curious to mind-blowingly inventive. I plan to ration these stories out, two a night, because this is a book I fully intend to savor.
If you’d like to check out Jeffrey Ford’s amazing work, might I suggest you start with The Empire of Ice Cream or The Girl in the Glass : A Novel or The Shadow Year: A Novel.
Hey, speaking of upcoming releases, look at what’s scheduled to hit the shelves just in time for my birthday month celebrations:
October 23rd! Circle the date. No one writes epic fantasy like Joe Abercrombie, delivering dark humor, colorful characters, and visceral action in novels that upend the staid genre in enormously entertaining fashion. If you’re interested in checking out Joe’s work, might I suggest starting with The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One).
Resuming our trip down Stargate Atlantis memory lane…
THE ARK (316)
As much as I find great satisfaction in arc-driven episodes, I love these truly SF stand-alone stories simply because they’re so hard to do. Shep and co. discover a deserted space station hidden within a moon. Their subsequent investigation leads to a surprising discovery, a shocking double-cross, and a seat-of-your pants ride down from a rapidly deteriorating planetary orbit. Great performances all around.
An inadvertent bit of product placement occurs in one scene, the result of someone leaving a water bottle and Snickers bar in the shot. Nobody noticed – until AFTER the episode aired. It has since been fixed by the VFX department. I think.
The notes session on this script gave rise to one of the most memorable executive utterances. Just as the conference call got underway, Brad was asked to clarify something: “So, just to be clear…is this Earth’s moon?”. Earth’s moon? This series takes place in the Pegasus Galaxy. Welcome to Stargate: Atlantis, season 3.
I love going to the bookstore. In fact, I’m in there every Wednesday night waiting for the older kiddoe to get done with youth group. And half the time, I come out with books. 🙂
Have a great night!!!!
There were also two other pieces in the episode that you would recoginize if you worked in the telephone industry. After Sheppard closed the hatch and is lying on the floor you can see a half of a
“waffle case” which is a closure for phone cables in manholes. And later you can see on the wall by Sheppard’s head a yellow voltage detector, which we also call a “188A”. Having been outside as a splicing tech for the last 15 years I was pretty excited when I saw those two items.
The Snickers and water bottle are still there, at least in the DVD copy that I have. I completely missed it on first viewing, but after listening to the commentary for the episode I went back and rewatched that part and sure enough, they’re there – plain as day!
Teehee, you said arc-driven.
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@gforce – same here for a Netflix copy I had.
Just watch the episode. Nope, They were in the scene and Martin Wood made mention of it. I would not have notice it had Martin not noted it and the water bottle. Then the storage device that was supposed to be on the puddle jumper is below Sheppard when he climbs up into the flight deck. Not sure how realistic it is to think a shuttle craft locked inside moon station would really make it to the ground but we need to keep are main characters alive. Great vis affects! Martin worked hard to make all the shaking appear so natural. Hopefully they do not share the same fate as a race will in an ep. soon to come.
I love the look and feel of a well made book. I have a nice library of classy books some I am still wishing I had time to read. I have been reading book from my dad’s library. Thinks you wont find on Kindle or I-book.
Thanks for the continued well-wishes. I’m doing much, much better today; I had to keep myself from overdoing. I still get tired quickly, though, and fell asleep reading Les Miserables this afternoon.:-)
I liked “The Ark”. Not in my top ten SGA episodes, but a good premise well done.
I, too, prefer a book in my hands to reading from a screen.
Audiobooks became part of my life when I had papal edema (I think I spelled that correctly) over 20 years ago. Light hurt my eyes. Later, I listened to audiobooks while I knit and crocheted. Wonderful way to spend time. Now, I like to solve Paint by Number puzzles (also called O’ekaki, Hanjie, Griddlers, Picross, Nonograms, etc.) while I listen to a book.
Anne Teldy
Snickers bar present and accounted for in my DVD. What I want to know is what word was edited out at the very end when Teyla is in the infirmary. They are talking about how she looks, and Sheppard says, “She does look a little ____” cut! What did he say that got cut out?? The Ark is one of my favorite espisode. I thought it was a great story and very intense, like a little soap opera with lies, betrayal, a save-yourself leader, and a grieving suicidal science genius ready to take anybody around him with him. Ronon fixing his own shoulder – ouch! “That’s disturbing.” The special effects were outstanding, and the humor was still there . . .
McKay: “I figure it would be nice if we were all together as we burn up.”
Shep: “McKay…”
McKay: “I’m sorry! I mean as we get rescued. I always get those two confused.”
Speaking of which, Sunday is next. Which has the plot twist which I personally found to be the most ridiculus in the whole Stargate francise and made a joke of the season in general.
That said I wasn’t a fan of Carson Beckett leaving, and of course the method he left.
But you and Paul fixed that huge monumental mistake and righted the wrong and brought Carson back, so all is forgiven 🙂
Sometimes, I really wonder about these execs. How do they even get their jobs if they can’t grasp simple things like where the show takes place?
Hey guys, had to put Molly (the little Cocker Spaniel) down tonight. I’m a mess, especially after having to put Elway down 3 months ago and Summer right before that. It was a horrible night, but she’s at peace now.
@Deni: I’m so sorry! Hugs.
Anne Teldy
@anneteldy: Thank you, sweetheart, hugs very much appreciated.
You said something about wanting to eat Southern food. I’m looking for places for you. Here is a place that everyone is Nashville is crazy about: http://www.lovelesscafe.com/eat/cafe-menu/ That place would be a big perk for us moving back to the Nashville area!
Here is a good place in Downtown Memphis: http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Overview/67/little-tea-shop I’ll keep looking for you. Personally, I would love to head to Louisiana and try all their fare. I’ve heard great things about the food there. It’s on my bucket list but it will probably have to wait until my kid heads off to college in a couple of years. Empty nest syndrome won’t be a problem. We’ve got plans.
The Ark: I didn’t notice food in any scene. Even if I did, I would have explained it away somehow. I forgive a lot in Sci-fi.
Deni: Oh Deni, this year has been rough on you. Hugs. I know when the baby comes, joy will be in your house again.
I’m quite comfortable with an e-reader but I still love book stores. There is something about “book smell” that brings back good memories. How do you find storage space for all those books though? That is my problem. I still have tons of real books and we have shelves in every room that are full. That’s after we’ve donated several boxes! A big plus: You don’t have to worry about incompatible formats with a real book.
Anneteldy: So sorry you are having to deal with eye problems too. I only have dry eyes, which can make my eyes sting and irritated. Nothing like what you’re going through. Any idea when you’ll be feeling yourself again? What is your favorite Audiobook so far?
So very sorry, Deni! 🙁 Our furry babies make us so happy in life, and so very sad in death. Your in my heart and in my thoughts. {{{hugs}}}
~Deirdre
@Tam and Das: Thank you so much. It really has been a hard year, but my dogs all got old at the same time. We still have Gumbo (and he’s not doing that well, either), and young Ms Riley, and they’ll keep us busy. Thanks for the love, girls. xoxo
@Deni:
Sorry to hear about your loss. I hope you’re doing okay.
@Tam Dixon:
Your Loveless Cafe link is beautifully timed! Barb and I are heading to Nashville in a month (so that I can man the company booth at a Navigation Conference) and we are turning it into a mini-family vacation. For my part, I was looking for foodie places in Nashville to try that would be teenager-friendly and this one looks to fit the bill perfectly!
I can’t wait to try them for Breakfast (BBQ Pork Omelet!) and it looks like it has all the staples (Fried Okra, Fried Green Tomatoes, Grits and Beans) plus a few interesting variations (Southern Greens with Pot Liquor? I normally had these with vinegar!) My Georgia grandmother used to make most of the items listed on the menu, so it’ll be interesting to see the Georgia versus Tennessee variations.
I loved this line from their FAQ:
What? Who would go to a Southern Food restaurant for Granola?!? Guess that’s for those vegan/omnivore blended families. 😉
Thanks again for the link!
By the way, for those interested, our centerpiece won! It was part of a three-way award due to a fabulous 1:8 scale Atlantis Gate entry, and entries by a college student who fashioned her own Goa’uld symbiote and ribbon device (she came dressed as Sam Carter). It was a fun, busy and very tiring weekend.
Deni! Am so sorry about Molly. 🙁 You’ve had way too many goodbyes this year, three now? Oh dear… Take everything slowly. Do what you can, when you can. *Big Hug* Tam had a good point. Joy will be coming to your house. Not that you can ever “balance” loss, but at least there will also be three hellos this year: Riley, Lauren back home, and baby grandson to-be, “Anakin.” He may become a Star Wars fan just out of curiosity. Sending prayers! Tell us a Molly story some day when the time is right. We’ve lost a cocker spaniel here too. They can have such sweet furry, souls.
Anneteldy, it’s sooooo good to see you on the blog more often. Sending prayers for healing, and that you’ll be your old sassy self in short order. Hugs. 🙂
If you can’t wait for ribs, Joe, or steak, saw a couple places in Vancouver. Don’t know their Zagat rating.
Re-Up BBQ, ribs & oysters / Labour Day
http://reupbbq.com/
Black+Blue, aged steak w/ food blog (scroll down), featuring beef from Wagyu province:
http://www.glowbalgroup.com/blackblue/#menu_section
Thanking my lucky stars for my blog “family”, thanks to all of you for being there for me. xoxo