As you can see on the toolbar to the right, the email address for the blog has been set-up. It is speculativedispatches (at) gmail (dot) com
You just need to remove the spaces and replace the (bracketed) words with the appropriate symbols. Sorry for the extra trouble, it is just to stop spam harvesters from finding the address.
So feel free to email me anytime with news, tips, review feedback or anything blog related. Even just to introduce yourself!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
What I'm...
Celebrating - the joy that is Book Mooch. How else could I get a copy of the Dragonlovers Guide to Pern sent to me all the way from the USA!
Investigating and planning involvement in - BookCrossing
Looking forward to - my new job which starts next week.
Dreading - my exams which start in just over 3 weeks. Aah!
Listening to - Volta by Bjork.
Playing - Animal Crossing, Viva Pinata, Forza Motorsport 2 when the demo has finally finished downloading.
Watching - Heroes, Lost, Torchwood - please Channel 10 treat this slab of genre programming better than you do Battlestar.
Reading - A Song of Ice and Fire - a complete series reread in preparation for A Dance with Dragons, whenever it sees the light of day.
Setting up - an email address for the blog so I can be easily contacted.
Investigating and planning involvement in - BookCrossing
Looking forward to - my new job which starts next week.
Dreading - my exams which start in just over 3 weeks. Aah!
Listening to - Volta by Bjork.
Playing - Animal Crossing, Viva Pinata, Forza Motorsport 2 when the demo has finally finished downloading.
Watching - Heroes, Lost, Torchwood - please Channel 10 treat this slab of genre programming better than you do Battlestar.
Reading - A Song of Ice and Fire - a complete series reread in preparation for A Dance with Dragons, whenever it sees the light of day.
Setting up - an email address for the blog so I can be easily contacted.
Monday, May 21, 2007
What I'm...
Reading/devouring - Reaper's Gale by Steven Erikson.
Playing - Animal Crossing, Crackdown & UNO.
Marvelling at - the Vision Camera and the whole Live experience.
Celebrating - my new job. Does a happy dance into the sunset...
Playing - Animal Crossing, Crackdown & UNO.
Marvelling at - the Vision Camera and the whole Live experience.
Celebrating - my new job. Does a happy dance into the sunset...
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
It's here!
The postperson delivered my hardback yesterday afternoon, so I am now up to my elbows in Malazany goodness. Joy!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
What I'm...
Waiting on - the results of a second interview for a new job with a good firm. Send positive thoughts my way!
Being impatient about - Reaper's Gale where are you? Hurry up Australia Post!
Reading - nothing new until Reaper's Gale turns up - see above.
Playing - Oblivion, Pokemon Pearl, Soul Calibur 2 (thanks for the back compat update Microsoft), Halo, Gears of War.
Watching - Lost, Heroes, Doctor Who S2 on DVD.
Listening to - Lior, Portishead, Triple J.
Being impatient about - Reaper's Gale where are you? Hurry up Australia Post!
Reading - nothing new until Reaper's Gale turns up - see above.
Playing - Oblivion, Pokemon Pearl, Soul Calibur 2 (thanks for the back compat update Microsoft), Halo, Gears of War.
Watching - Lost, Heroes, Doctor Who S2 on DVD.
Listening to - Lior, Portishead, Triple J.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Micro Review: Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley Robinson
Book Three of the Science in the Capital Series
Publisher's Synopsis
MY REVIEW
The Science in the Capital series marks Kim Stanley Robinson's best work so far (for an author with the Mars Trilogy and The Years of Rice and Salt under his belt - that is saying something).
Sixty Days and Counting, picks up after the election of Phil Chase as President of the United States of America. All of the major characters from the previous books return - the Quibblers, Frank Vanderwahl etc.
The novel has the same engaging mix of smart science and excellent characterizations that has been the hallmark of the series. The portrayal of Frank Vanderwahl in particular, sticks with the reader and the conclusion of his story arc is very satisfying.
In contrast with the previous two books, which focused on the dramatic effects of abrupt climate change, Sixty Days and Counting has a much more optimistic tone, as the new President and his administration start to tackle abrupt climate change head on. Don't get me wrong, the hugely damaging impact of abrupt climate change is still felt heavily in this novel, but in Sixty Days and Counting if feels like the human race may actually have a chance of rising to the challenge.
Sixty Days and Counting also has a much better pace than the other two novels in the series and feels more focused.
All in all, Sixty Days and Counting is a worthy conclusion to this series, which should be required reading for every climate change denier on the planet (particularly conservative politicians in the Western world).
9 out of 10.
Publisher's SynopsisBy the time Phil Chase is elected president, the world’s climate is far on its way to irreversible change. Food scarcity, housing shortages, diminishing medical care, and vanishing species are just some of the consequences. The erratic winter the Washington, D.C., area is experiencing is another grim reminder of a global weather pattern gone haywire: bone-chilling cold one day, balmy weather the next.
But the president-elect remains optimistic and doesn’t intend to give up without a fight. A maverick in every sense of the word, Chase starts organizing the most ambitious plan to save the world from disaster since FDR–and assembling a team of top scientists and advisers to implement it.
For Charlie Quibler, this means reentering the political fray full-time and giving up full-time care of his young son, Joe. For Frank Vanderwal, hampered by a brain injury, it means trying to protect the woman he loves from a vengeful ex and a rogue “black ops” agency not even the president can control–a task for which neither Frank’s work at the National Science Foundation nor his study of Tibetan Buddhism can prepare him.
In a world where time is running out as quickly as its natural resources, where surveillance is almost total and freedom nearly nonexistent, the forecast for the Chase administration looks darker each passing day. For as the last–and most terrible–of natural disasters looms on the horizon, it will take a miracle to stop the clock . . . the kind of miracle that only dedicated men and women can bring about.
MY REVIEW
The Science in the Capital series marks Kim Stanley Robinson's best work so far (for an author with the Mars Trilogy and The Years of Rice and Salt under his belt - that is saying something).
Sixty Days and Counting, picks up after the election of Phil Chase as President of the United States of America. All of the major characters from the previous books return - the Quibblers, Frank Vanderwahl etc.
The novel has the same engaging mix of smart science and excellent characterizations that has been the hallmark of the series. The portrayal of Frank Vanderwahl in particular, sticks with the reader and the conclusion of his story arc is very satisfying.
In contrast with the previous two books, which focused on the dramatic effects of abrupt climate change, Sixty Days and Counting has a much more optimistic tone, as the new President and his administration start to tackle abrupt climate change head on. Don't get me wrong, the hugely damaging impact of abrupt climate change is still felt heavily in this novel, but in Sixty Days and Counting if feels like the human race may actually have a chance of rising to the challenge.
Sixty Days and Counting also has a much better pace than the other two novels in the series and feels more focused.
All in all, Sixty Days and Counting is a worthy conclusion to this series, which should be required reading for every climate change denier on the planet (particularly conservative politicians in the Western world).
9 out of 10.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Aussie Virtual Console Update
New to the Australian Wii Virtual Console this week is Open Tournament Golf for the NES. Come on Nintendo, that is a pretty lame selection even for the ugly stepsister that is the Aussie VC. Bring on the N64 games!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
You learn something new everyday PART 2...
Zeitgeist:
Source
OR
Source
The characteristic thought, preoccupation or spirit of a particular period.
Source
OR
a term used to describe the trend of opinions, morals, thoughts, unquestioned assumptions, and other influences on an individual that are understood to be part of a certain culture, science, or art at any point in time.
Source
Sunday, May 6, 2007
The 30 Book Challenge
Lately I have been worrying that I have not be getting enough reading done.
So I thought I would adapt the '50 book challenge' internet meme that seems to turn up on most blogs sooner or later. I am setting myself the challenge of reading 30 books between now and the end of the year. Hopefully, by making myself post an update on my progress every few weeks, it will encourage me to stick with the challenge.
So here is my list so far:
1. Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien.
2. Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley Robinson (in progress).
So I thought I would adapt the '50 book challenge' internet meme that seems to turn up on most blogs sooner or later. I am setting myself the challenge of reading 30 books between now and the end of the year. Hopefully, by making myself post an update on my progress every few weeks, it will encourage me to stick with the challenge.
So here is my list so far:
1. Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien.
2. Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley Robinson (in progress).
SF/F Writers Who Blog
This post is rather self explanatory, the good folks over at SF Signal maintain a very useful resource - a list of Speculative Fiction authors who blog. You can find it here.
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