by Doctor Science
liberal japonicus seems to have been eaten by a grue again, so I'll do the open thread.
I can't see Ray Bradbury's death this week as a tragedy: he lived an extremely long, fruitful, and honored life, shaping the imaginations of millions of people, myself included.
The fact that his death occurred during the last Transit of Venus for the next hundred years makes me think of his story All Summer in a Day, one of the Bradbury stories burned most searingly into my mind.
Of course, I also think of Bradbury and Mars together, so have some Martian art:
Talk about Bradbury, vacation spots of the solar system, or whatever.
Sorry again, I'm on my annual jaunt to Hue, but this time 4 of my Japanese university students are with me and I'm trying to set up a more permanent program here, so I thought that I would have some time, but as the wi-fi here has gotten more ubiquitous, I've not had the time to post because I'm sending google chats and the like to all and sundry. Strange that.
Posted by: liberal japonicus | June 08, 2012 at 11:35 PM
I really haven't readmuch Bradbury. I did read Dandylion Wine while in high school or junior high school and loved it. I remember it as being a rather nostalgic even sentimental book with scary parts, but perhaps my perceptions where affected by my age.
Up until a year ago I didn't read much sci fi or fantasy. Sice then I swwallowed the Game of Thrones series in one long gulp, and deperae for more, read Paul Hoffman's Left Hand of God series, the first in the Stepehn King collagoration series called something like Mongoliad (I'm gettig aphasic) and just finished a very wierd book about werewolf politics and Strange Gods by James Egan.
The problem for me is that all these books are parts of a series and none of the series are finsihed!
Posted by: Laura Koerbeer | June 09, 2012 at 10:52 AM
Laura :
May I recommend
Planet of Exile
The Dispossessed
Rocannon's World
by Ursula K. Leguin, and then, if you liked those
The Telling
and her masterpiece
The Left Hand of Darkness
Earth Abides
George R. Stewart
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Walter Miller
Lord of Light
Roger Zelazny
You might find that Louis McMaster Bujold's
The Curse of Chalion
charms you in much the same way as George R.R. Martin's Ice and Fire series. If so, you may like
Cordelia's Honor
Marion Zimmer Bradley's
The Mists of Avalon
is very fine.
Posted by: joel hanes | June 09, 2012 at 01:01 PM
Oh, and
The Doomsday Book
by Connie Willis
Posted by: joel hanes | June 09, 2012 at 01:02 PM
China Miéville's stuff, is blowing me away, right now.
In junior high school (mid 80's), I was bused to a LAUSD magnet school right next to Palos Verdes, where Bradbury lived. He was notorious for privileging places he could ride his bike. We read Martian Chronicles, Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes, and at the end of the semester Bradbury paid us a visit. It blew me away.
He was so cool, and he knew so much about comic books. And prepared us for Romeo and Juliet and Cyrano de Bergerac. It was very special.
Posted by: someotherdude | June 11, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Walter Miller's "Canticle for Leibowitz"
Posted by: AmityNick | June 11, 2012 at 12:20 PM
On whatever: How is it that a weather forecast can show a 70% chance of rain on a given day, while also showing a 100% chance of rain for given hours during that same day? Maybe one of our math Phds can weigh in on this one.
Posted by: hairshirthedonist | June 12, 2012 at 12:45 PM
On other whatever (from here):">http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2012/06/house-republicans-try-to-create-the-worlds-worst-criminogenic-environment.html">here):
Posted by: hairshirthedonist | June 12, 2012 at 12:56 PM
The reason there has been no serious investigation is that any investigation is likely to clarify the relationships between government policy, the policymakers, financial institutions and the financial meltdown. While some number of private sector people might be indicted, maybe even convicted, the fallout would impact too many people in the government to make an investigation a realistic expectation.
It is ultimately the same reason that there was no serious investigation into anything in the Bush administration, there were too many Democrats that either knew too much, or should have, to isolate the blame adequately.
Of course, this is my opinion, only supported by the lack of action (or even demand for action) from the leadership of either party.
Posted by: CCDG | June 12, 2012 at 02:02 PM
Sure, but that doesn't explain the other half of the picture: what we do going forward - defunding the enforcers of existing law and regulation, and fighting tooth and nail against enacted and proposed regulatory legislation, because big finance has such a good track record of self-regulating. Citizens United!
Posted by: hairshirthedonist | June 12, 2012 at 03:26 PM
But, everyone does it.
Both sides equally.
For every action there is a corresponding and precisely equal yeah but.
Like these two guys, taking potshots at each other. Well, one shoots, the other bleeds, but the bleeder couldn't bleed without the shooter. In fact, the bleeder enables the shooter by his merely existence in the path of the bullet, thus both equally complicit.
http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/184379/man-hitchhiking-crosscountry-for-memoir-titledthe-kindness-of-america-memoir-shot-on-side-of-highway/
One lawmaker wants to regulate the shooter and his weapon before the shooting can take place. The other wants to gut that regulation and persuade the guy sitting and minding his own business to sit somewhere else and mind his own business (buyer beware) out of the line of fire, to preserve the shooter's freedom.
Plus there's that freedom to bleed that also mustn't be interfered with. It's in the Constipation, if you strain hard enough.
If only the bleeders understood and appreciated that.
One day, the shooters will have so much money behind them via Citizens United that even the bleeders will be persuaded to vote against their interests.
Posted by: Countme-In | June 12, 2012 at 07:25 PM
"ure, but that doesn't explain the other half of the picture: what we do going forward - defunding the enforcers of existing law and regulation, and fighting tooth and nail against enacted and proposed regulatory legislation, because big finance has such a good track record of self-regulating. Citizens United!"
My initial response to this would be a long thoughtful comment on the fine lines of all the proposed regulatios, the broad hammer is not really effective due to the secondary effects, etc, blah blah.
After thinking about it, the self regulation has been easily as effective as any government regulation.
If the problem really has to be solved, I have my doubts, then Glass-Steagall type redefinition is more effective than Dodd-Frank government management. G-S is regulation, drawing limits and creating context that allows the entities to work with less intrusion in a pool we feel safer about. Dodd-Frank tries to micromanage these companies externally, making them less sound and, (I suspect,IMHO, etc), more likely creating more hidden unintended consequences.
Posted by: CCDG | June 13, 2012 at 09:49 AM
...then Glass-Steagall type redefinition is more effective than Dodd-Frank government management.
You'll get no disagreement from me on that.
Posted by: hairshirthedonist | June 13, 2012 at 01:21 PM
Thanks for the suggestions, Joel. I am going to try several,starting with The Doomsday Book which sort of suits my mood these days.
Posted by: Laura Koerbeer | June 13, 2012 at 09:58 PM