Novel In Progress
It has been a hectic few weeks here at Entropy Central. Business side has been keeping me busy, so Proxima Centauri, the sequel to Rigel Kentaurus, had to be put on hold. On top of the client work, I’m also teaching a summer class that consumes too much of the business day. Hopefully I will be able to pick the novel back up soon.
Yes in Concert
Saw Yes in concert at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix a week ago. Steve Howe looks a lot like this guy,
but man can he still play a mean guitar. They started out a bit flat, but The last third of the concert consisted of a play-through of The Yes Album, and it was incredible. Steve Howe really showed his virtuosity when he played Clap. See for yourself from his performance last March:
Jon Anderson apparently has no interest in touring so they hired a younger guy named John Davidson who sounds pretty close. His voice is a bit different in the lower register, but is spot on up high.
Chicago (band)
Thinking of going to see Chicago next month, but I’m not sure. There are only a fraction of the original guys left, including all three horns. I guess horn players would have a hard time finding a better paying gig than Chicago. I took a look at the set list and it’s mostly older stuff, including several off of Chicago Transit Authority, still one of their best after all these years.
Next concert I have tickets for is America, but that’s all the way in November.
George Zimmerman Trial
Everyone has an opinion on the George Zimmerman verdict. I do not. I was not in the courtroom. I did not watch it on TV. I don’t even know if it was aired on TV. Bottom line is that I do not have enough data to base a decision upon, therefore, I have not formed an opinion.
Ender’s Game
The Ender’s Game movie is a difficult subject for me. I have a lot of friends wounded by Orson Scott Card’s words on gay marriage and other topics. I also spent a week with Scott in 2005 learning the craft of writing with thirteen or fourteen other people, the most well known of whom are Bradley Beaulieu and Mary Robinette Kowal.
I also spent a good deal of time with Scott five or six years ago at the Desert Nights, Rising Stars writers conference at Arizona State University when he was one of the guests. There were three genre writers amid hundreds of literary writers, many with the all too stereotypical but oh, so real opinions of themselves and of genre fiction and writers. Those three were me, Michael A. Stackpole, and Orson Scott Card. I introduced Stackpole and Card, and they had a joint panel, but Mike had other obligations and was on and off campus.
I spent quite a bit of time with Scott, chatting about writing, chatting about other things in life, and walking down to the local ice cream shop for milkshakes. I like Scott. I like him a lot, even if I don’t agree with some of his opinions.
I am not boycotting the movie because it’s hard to say I am boycotting a movie I probably would not have seen anyway. That said, there are hundreds of people who work on movies for a living, and pretty much all of them are not Orson Scott Card. They come in all varieties–gay.straight, trans, white, black, Asian, Hispanic, from rich producers to not so rich makeup artists.
What makes it difficult for me is that I am friends with people on both sides of the debate. While I tend to lean toward the live and let live philosophy, it’s painful to watch people I like beating up on other people I like, even if they have very valid reasons.
Writer Wednesday
The hiatus that has been enforced for Wednesday Writer is coming to an end. I have promised several writers a list of questions by the end of the month. Stay tuned!
