The family and I went to see Far From Home on this opening weekend. I’m going to hit potential spoiler stuff in here. I’ll try to avoid it, but if you don’t want spoilers you should see the movie before you read my review.
Going to see this movie felt different than other super hero movies since Endgame did what it did. This movie had a lot of ground to cover that wasn’t about Spiderman at all. In the end, it did exactly what it needed to do in that department. There was an explanation of why after 5 years these kids were still in school. There was (albeit brief) discussion of what happened when people “blipped” and found the world they returned to completely changed. It was a good thing to see these questions addressed.
It was also interesting to see the film makers continue to use “what people will believe” in the story line. It maintains all the crazy that has gone before and uses that to advantage in pushing this story forward.
Not being someone who read the comics or watched a great deal of preview stuff worked to my advantage on this film. I didn’t know Mysterio or anything about that character other than a vague recollection of a cartoon involving him in the distant past. I was able to take what was given and just enjoy the ride. I didn’t think too hard about it, and was able to be surprised at little turns the film took.
The biggest thing I can’t say I enjoyed landed right at the end in the first post credits scene. The bad guy pulls something off that did NOT sit well with me. It’s exactly the sort of thing that shows how well a character is written ~ because I loathed that it happened and wrecked the happy ending. I like heroic movies with happy endings and this dug under my skin. I could have done without it at all and been much happier.
IF you’re invested in the MCU, this movie definitely continues that work. IF you’re not, this is still a decent Spiderman movie, but you’ll miss a huge amount of the emotional impact without some background. I hope they get as many of these movies filmed as they can before Tom Holland moves on. I’m now impatiently waiting for the next one…
I posted this review to my Goodreads account first. There was something in the book that didn’t make it into that review that I think is worth considering. I want to note it here because there’s a better than fair chance that I’ll forget by the time we get to discuss this book at Watch The Skies.
The acknowledgements at the end of the book talk about the coincidental timing of the book title vs. the current political climate in the United States. I think it’s noteworthy that the author claims no planned connection. I also believe that however ‘futuristic’ a work of science fiction is, it can not ever be taken apart from the time when it was written. Science fiction is inherently commentary on the time and culture when it was written. While not planned, I don’t think this book is an exception to that.
I got this book as a free download from the publisher. I have read some Scalzi before and had a level of expectation going into reading this book.
This book was a little difficult to get into at first, but it became a quick and easy read within the first couple of chapters.
This book was a far reaching scope and still managed to pull it off. I found myself hoping that good things would come about for the Emporox and go badly for those looking to disrupt her. It took me a while to appreciate Lady Kiva, but in the end I could work around the constant “F” bombs.
I like that the story threads wrapped up in this book, but there is enough world building to make me interested in what comes next. I suspect I will be looking the next book up when it comes out.
It’s always tempting to start with excuses about not blog posting, but I would rather tell you that something new is out there!
My latest story is available now! E-spec books is now selling In Harm’s Way (Defending The Future Book 8). This features my story Sympathetic is in there!
You should pop over to wherever you get books from and get a copy. Then you should get a copy that you can give to a friend. Then you should tell others to go and get one too!
I picked this particular book up for two main reasons. One – it’s a cozy mystery and that’s one of the categories on teh “Read Harder” challenge this year. Two – the author is local and a supporter of my favorite book store.
Three stars is a little low. It’s honestly 3.5 stars. Reading cozy mysteries is outside where I normally go for entertainment, so please don’t let my review put you off. This book had a consistent pace and solid characters. The writing was easy to read and went really quickly for me. I can say I hadn’t picked out the killer by the end when the revelation happened, so that was decent too.
If cozy mysteries are a thing for you, this is a title worth checking out.
Music plays a significant role in getting me through my
days. I am fascinated by it, but it is something that is opaque to me. I am
terrible at musical things. I can’t keep a beat. I can’t hear all the parts I’m
supposed to and I tend to like things that others tell me sound terrible. I
have talents (admittedly small) in myriad other areas, but when it comes to
music there’s only one way to put it. I suck. I can’t sing, I can’t play any instrument,
nor can I dance to any of it.
I’m still hooked. I won’t say all kinds of music because
that’s not true. There are some types of music that simply do not appeal to me.
That’s OK because it gives the things I do like a frame of reference. The
second blog post I ever made had a link to two different musical bits. I’ve
been listening to what makes me happy for a long time.
I have a pair of wireless headphones that I use every day in
the office. I have an almost constant stream of music rolling. While the music
has changed and grown over the years it is something that has been constant for
me. Don’t get me wrong – I’m no Henry Rollins, traveling the globe to hunt down
music festivals in Timbuktu – but I listen. I prefer recorded stuff these days.
I don’t want to go to music festivals or stadium shows anymore.
I’ve been told that I should listen to music for the sake of
listening to music. I can and have, but on a day to day basis I *use* it. Music
becomes the thing that keeps me focused while I’m struggling with something OR
conversely it becomes the escape when I hit some problem that makes me need to
let my mind wander.
Internet streaming services have made this infinitely more
interesting and viable. It’s fantastic for finding new stuff or reviving old
stuff I haven’t heard in an age.
When I started writing this I’m certain I had a link in mind
for sharing the musical bit that inspired this… and now I’ve cycled through a
bunch of other stuff and appear to have lost it.
I enjoy reading Mr. Corriea’s work. There were a couple of stories in here that I’d read before, but reading them again was not necessarily bad. It was fast, light and generally what I was looking for.
I enjoyed the concept of the insurance story that was the last in the collection, but putting in so many personal jabs at particular political stances detracted from the story.
Decent. Looking forward to more monster hunter stuff should it come out in the future.
Read this on loan from a friend. This was something I would not have normally found. Part of the reason I enjoy things like the read harder challenge is finding things that don’t fit my ‘normal’ reading patterns.
I enjoyed this. It was a nice story. I’m super glad there was a positive message and a positive message in here.
I’m not a fan of ‘come to the pay web site to get more story’ bits built into the comic panels, but creators need to make money. It didn’t detract too much, but it did detract for me.
Yes, it’s my birthday. Yes, I am
totally cheating and setting this up to post when it is NOT actually
my birthday (computers and schedules and technology helping me out on
this one).
I’m not going with the posts you see
from so many about how birthdays don’t feel all that different, etc.
but instead will say this one DOES in fact feel different. This year
is a weird one. It’s close to a big birthday, but not quite there.
I’ve started to feel like I’m just getting started on so many things
and that certain aspects of my life are really starting to take off.
Other parts of my life I wonder what the hell I;m doing and why
things I truly enjoy are floundering and waiting and taking so much
time with no clear results.
The world clearly doesn’t particularly
care that it’s my birthday. It’s Monday and I’ll be at the office as
usual. I don’t tell folks there when my birthday is nor do I expect
them to celebrate in any fashion. A quiet and productive day would be
enough.
I look forward to seeing some close friends and having a good dinner for my birthday. I’ve gotten a couple of fantastic gifts so far – and I’m very thankful for them. I haven’t asked for anything – it’s all from people who thought it would be nice to give me something. I have fantastic family and friends. That makes any day better, but birthdays in particular.
I wonder if next year will be better or weirder or just different? Guess I’ll just have to forge ahead and see what this year brings!
This is actually more of a 3.5 stars than a flat 3. I’ve seen Mr. Rollins perform his spoken word tour a couple of times now. I like his way of telling a story. I got this book at one of those shows and he was kind enough to sign it for me.
I dove into this hoping it was going to be like reading a story in his voice. That was NOT the case at all. This book was a list. An exhaustive, extensive and might I add LONG list of names, dates, places and music.
I forged my way through this book in much the same way I feel that Mr. Rollins seems to charge into whatever he’s working on. It’s work. It’s about moving forward. There’s always anger and repetitive things. I fell into this rhythm of going along with whatever mood he was writing about and just moving from entry to entry with no goal and no answers. Perhaps that is what he was going for? I’m not sure. It’s a long book that essentially describes that he travels, he listens to music, he is angry, he takes pictures, he walks the streets whenever and wherever he can and is a ferocious workaholic.
There are tidbits of good stuff in this book, but his spoken word is sincerely much better. I was hoping for a conclusion, a summary of some kind but I didn’t get it. I will close this review with the same words he closed the book with. Fuck it.
As I wrote the post title I was struck
by the number. The 53rd convention from BSFS. I know I’m
the “new guy” to many, having only really started at Balticon 27
but this convention has always seemed like my ‘home con’ if that
could even be such a thing (that’s 26 years for those that don’t want
to ‘math’). I’m not joking about the ‘new guy’ thing either. I know
at least one person that has gone to every Balticon. Part of my
recounting of number of visits to the convention stems from how many
people I didn’t see there this year. I came up with a dozen folks off
the top of my head that, through various circumstances or choices,
simply didn’t make it to the con this year. It felt oddly empty.
Logically it wasn’t, but it felt that way.
I will say that I was very impressed
with the con team this year. Registration *always* has problems with
my wife and daughter. I don’t know why – but the mistress of
registration remembered me and it was much smoother this year than in
years past. The con added a ribbon option this year for people that
wanted to have a clear definition of what pronoun they prefer. I
think this was an excellent option for those that were interested in
having one or felt they needed it. While I did not use one myself
(moving rapidly toward the land of the dinosaur) I did find it useful
from time to time. Thankfully I didn’t see anyone abusing it. The art
show was bigger than I’ve seen it in some time. There was a lot of
great work on display there – and I ended up coming home with two
new pieces. Programming was very strong. They got information out
early, had the schedule posted ahead of their normal time and were
quite active at the con itself… more on that in a minute.
It was an adventure to get to the
hotel. The interstate we take to get there was shut down and all
traffic diverted off to side roads. We managed to avoid the worst of
the traffic, but it sent us off into the wilderness for a while. A
longer ride there than normal.
I started the weekend off with 3 panels
on Friday night. I felt like the panels were decent and that I
contributed without being super awkward or out of place. Writing
military campaigns was my weakest of the day. Genre in the age of
binge watching was decent, but uneven. Bad movie adaptations could
have been better (I’m not a fan of throwing it to the audience right
away). On the upside I was told one of my statements / arguments
actually inspired a panel for next year.
Saturday brought all kinds of weird
with it. At loose ends with no panels for the entire day I could do
as I pleased. I took some time to wander the con and check things
out. I got to spend a lot of time in the art show. I checked out the
vendor tables. I got to sit and chat with my friend Jay and get
started on an upcoming project (totally a secret for right now).
While we were sitting and working, Jay needed to go and be on a
panel. I decided I would be supportive and headed to the panel with
him.
I’m not going to recount all the
details here, but that particular panel was not good. Jay told me I
was ‘not contractually obligated’ to stay, but I felt as if I was
abandoning him to a terrible fate. It devolved so quickly that I
bailed out after about 15-20 minutes. Apparently my fears were not
unfounded. I was told it got worse after I left.
This is the part where I explain how
the programming team was active during the convention. I was
approached later in the day by the head of programming (after being
pointed out by the con safety team and flagged down). I gave my view
of the events of the panel. The head of the convention was called
over. I was asked to recount my view of things again. The problematic
individual was subsequently pulled from all panels for the remainder
of the weekend. I’m not going to call that person out. I was a
witness and not directly involved with the event in question. I gave
my view on matters and that was enough for the incident in question.
I’m certain there were lots of hurt feelings over the whole thing. I
hope the person in question gives the whole thing some thought and
uses it as a learning experience rather than fuel for some kind of
grudge.
Quick tips from my point of view about
convention panels:
1: Being the moderator of a panel does NOT
mean you’re the primary speaker
2: The audience is there for ALL the
panelists generally, and sometimes for ONE in particular – and that
might not be you
3: There are panelists that know more
than you and people that have different experiences than you – let
them speak ( please note that the gender of said individual plays no
part in that statement)
4: Stay as focused as you can
(difficult, I know) on the actual topic of the panel and the stated
level of expertise it’s aimed at
5: Panelists are volunteering their
time. Being angry at them, talking them down, demanding they defer to
the moderator is generally the path to a really bad experience
That list is not all inclusive, but
relevant to the past weekend.
Saturday night featured a riot in the
streets of Baltimore – in front of the convention hotel. No, I’m
not joking. Thankfully I was able to avoid any issues with that, but
a handful of other con goers were not so fortunate. To my knowledge,
everyone came out the other side OK and relatively unscathed.
My Sunday at the con featured two more
panels. I got to talk about traumatizing your characters in your
writing (and why you don’t necessarily need to) AND I got to talk
about the future of energy. The trauma panel was really interesting
and I’m glad I got to be part of it. It was really well moderated and
the discussion was far ranging with many different opinions and story
telling tidbits.
The future of energy panel was an up
and down thing for me. I’m going to do a separate write up for the
actual content from my point of view because it was far more
interesting than I initially thought it might be. I’m also going to
see if I can use some of the notes from my fellow panelist Jim. He
had some great points and information. I hope the audience enjoyed
the panel as much as I did.
There was also shopping, chatting with
friends that were there, games in the game room and a fantastic
dinner out with amazing ice cream immediately following.
I had a nice, relaxing weekend. The
convention itself felt a little like things might be shifting or
changing, but that’s something to think about for next year. This was
a really good con.
