This book is a treatise on human culture, with an emphasis on faith and spirituality. It is sci-fi as set in contemporary 21st century. The book can feel a bit dated, and it helps to imagine the US in the 60s to get some perspective. I particularly enjoyed the early experiences of Mike Smith (the “Man from Mars”) as he encounters human civilization for the first time and tries his best to “grok” it. His discoveries present interesting quirks of humanity that make one chuckle and laugh. Laughter itself makes a revealing impression on Mike.

Thanks to the Multnomah County Library!

Book page on Amazon.com
Book page on Wikipedia

I noticed the other day that when Netflix shows me ratings for a movie that I haven’t rated (the red stars), it is not showing me what I thought that was. The red stars show me what Netflix thinks I will rate the movie rather than the average of what others have rated. It is a prediction. This is not news, but is news to me. I don’t like it. I’d like to see the average rating given by others instead of the predicted rating for me. I’ve taken to hovering over each film’s title or image to get that information. It’s annoying but doable and I prefer it to the misleading red stars.

Recently when Liz was away for a few weeks, I had a plan to watch a bunch of action flicks and such-like that I wanted to see and knew the she wouldn’t want to see. Not that she isn’t into action films; the other day we greatly enjoyed Inglourious Basterds. So I browsed for those films that I had heard of and those that folks recommended, added them to my queue, and moved them to the top. Soon enough they started showing up and I had a great time catching up on that genre. Now that Liz is back, the queue is as it was before she left and I’m faced with a slight problem. When I come across a film in the aforementioned genre, I would like to store it for another similar time in the future. However, I can’t just add it to my queue without constant annoying maintenance. I’d like a feature using which I can make a list of movies called “Sam’s Must-See Action Flix”. When Liz travels, I can make this list my active queue in one click. And then one-click should return the active queue to the regularly scheduled list when she returns. Simple.

The “Watch Instantly” feature of streaming movies is most excellent. I love it, despite the fact that it causes my browser to crash once each time I use it. I’ve been using it to see movies I’ve enjoyed before but not seen in a long time and also for those times when you just want to see something right away but aren’t in the mood for the DVD lying on the table. It would be most awesome if it worked directly with my PlayStation 3 but from what I’ve read that is not likely to happen anytime soon.

It has been a little over eight months since I bought the Wii. Even though my best video game experiences have been on a PC, the Wii holds its own and is a pleasure to play.

I started with the wonderful Super Mario Galaxy and it was the only Wii game I played until a couple of months ago. Then, for five days each, I rented Transformers, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, one after another. And although I didn’t really get in to Brawl, I thoroughly enjoyed the other two.

Then came October, and my awesome mother-in-law completely surprised me with two Wii games for my birthday. Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Both are based on movies that I haven’t seen. I’ve enjoyed The Mummy more than Pirates.

Then came November, and keeping in mind that Liz and I will be off to Asia during Christmas, my mom-in-law sent our presents early. Guess what I got, among other things? Yea, that’s right, two more Wii games! Iron Man and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Each based on a movie that I have seen multiple times. Awesome! I haven’t played Fantastic Four yet, but Iron Man has been fun so far.

Next week Liz and I leave for a vacation to Asia, but when I’m back in January, I’ll sure have a bunch of Wii games to play

When I was a kid, I enjoyed tapping on tables in the style of a Tabla player. The sounds were fun. My mom used to say that I should learn the instrument. I never did. I think that was for the best since I don’t seem to have any talent in playing a musical instrument.

Even in those young days I had heard of the music of Ustad Zakir Hussain. Zakir is regarded as the foremost player of the Tabla in the world. He has achieved unparalleled recognition and mastery with the Tabla and is a household name in India. Last night, Liz and I went to the Schnitz for a concert by Zakir Hussain and the Masters of Percussion. It is an annual event hosted by Kalakendra. The group does a tour each year and the musicians change regularly. It was such beautiful and wide ranging music from a dozen different instruments of various Indian Classical schools. I was enthralled by the solo and group performances, especially the Tabla, the Sarangi and the Sitar.

Afterwards, we got to meet and chat with Zakir. He had such a jovial and warm demeanor. This was my first time at the event and I hope to go again.

I bought a Nintendo Wii today. They are still in short supply. The local Fred Meyer does a raffle when they get some stock. Last night they got twelve units. The raffle was scheduled for 6:45am today, fifteen minutes before opening time. I was first in line. Eleven people showed up. Everyone got a Wii.

I also got Super Mario Galaxy and played it a bit today. It is so much fun.

If you like playing games, you should get a Wii.

Apart from being concise, short stories stay focused and leave a lot to the imagination. They appeal to the minimalist in me. They build around a key idea or theme and my favorite kind have a twist or climax at the very end. An extreme and wonderful example is Ernest Hemmingway's six word story: "For sale: Baby shoes. Never used".

Here are some short stories that I came across on the internet in recent times. I think they are marvelous and recommend them to you, my imaginary readers. One for each of you three

• The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Last Question by Isaac Asimov
• Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

If you have a short story recommendation, leave a comment!

The theater manager informed us that it was the largest turnout in their current series of classic films. The print was an original one, scratches and all. There was even a bit of trouble with it towards the end, which caused a pause in the show. That brought on comments, the likes of which are only heard when the audience comprises fans of a cult classic.

There are many cool things about this movie. The dialogues are peppered with Nadsat, which Burgess invented. Some things made sense only on repeat viewing. That is probably one of the hallmarks of a cult movie, I guess. The movie is beautiful to look at, with lovely locations and colorful costumes. The performances are superb. But the best part, in my opinion, is the music. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony forms a part of the story and is partially heard in Wendy Carlos’ electronic rendition.

See it. Again.

The first is All Songs Considered. It is hosted by Bob Boilen (sometimes in conversation with guests) and features newly available music from various artists. The selection is eclectic and I’ve found some great new artists from listening to the show.

The second is Science Friday. It is hosted by Ira Flatow. He discusses various current issues in science with guests who are prominent members of the scientific community. The conversations are interesting and introduce me to a larger scientific domain than what I’m used to hearing about in the computer science area.

They are both weekly shows, so it’s not that hard to keep up. Check them out!