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Absolution Gap - Rant and Review

Started by Salty, August 05, 2012, 01:24:08 AM

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Salty

Not necessarily in that order.

OR, I'm THAT GUY.

There's different level of nerdiness you know. At the BLECH end of that spectrum are most certainly those Geek-Chic types who have to constantly impress you with their expansive love of all things Geek(TM). It's just another sort of funny hat. Not that I have a problem with funny hats...

We know better though, so let's please not pretend this rampant self-identification is anything more than a soothing salve for an aching mammal brain looking for community, a sense of belonging. And that's OK. Thankfully, we Discordians have escaped this terrible peril. You know I'm off on a tangent here...

NERDS. That's it. There's different levels, as with any subgroup people put themselves into. We shape many of our desires out of our need for that sort of thing. You like that feeling of watching football with people you care about, especially when you're young--->Fantasy football has an appeal. Or something. I'm not trying to lay down science here, mostly rambling. Point, was...

I do not enjoy Star Trek. I no longer enjoy Star Wars, at least not without some sense of self-loathing. I cannot abide Dr. Who. In fact, and I realize I may hurt people dear to me when I say: Dr. Who sucks. It's terrible, IMO. Blech.

More to the point: I didn't enjoy Wall-E. The first half was amazing, silent robot love story. I'm so there. The other part...the part where Disney Pixar tells me that over consumption may not be a great idea in the long run, and that I may want to get outside more make me do terrible things with fire. Also, another thing. Two things:


  • Imagine: I am a big sack of lazy meat with no sense of reality. I depend of robots for my entire existence. I hear the phrase "Rouge Robots" I shit my pants until I die. Flabby flesh VS Mechanical Arm? Complete morons vs an AI that can open a fucking airlock and space whomever...I mean shit didn't any of those Pixar nerds ever read 2001? Huh? HUH? C'mon.
  • *Breathe, just breathe* Also: Those people were supposed to be up there for 700 years, right? And somehow they just stay in stasis, culturally? Beyond the basic application of science and history...if there is a message in there somewhere saying we don't grow as people because we're so wrapped up in our consumption and technology...UM...no. Look out the fucking window. People aren't in stasis. They are stagnating, they are allowing widespread doom to people so that they can live in a way they think of as happily. People will always find a way to shit on other people. And yeah, I know that things are better now than they've been before for many people. But you shove people into a metal can for 700 years and Shit is going to Happen.

Ok, I may have lost some friends with that one. But I warned you. Now, why am I like this? Why can't I, after having watched this movie many, many times just not let it go.

Because, in part, of this man:

Alistair Reynolds. Now, he's Welsh, but he's also a great writer. I'm going to just assume you haven't read him because then I can blab.

He was an astrophysicists at the European Space Agency for 12 years before pursuing writing full time. I will say right out of the gate that his biggest flaw is: EVERYONE IN SPACE IS AN ASTROPHYSICIST. To a dull, aching degree at times. He has others, but that's the big one.

His best book, IMHO is Chasm City. It's like a detective nior in space. That one has humanity's first attempt to get to another start via Generation ships. Thousands sleep, frozen, and families stat alive and die and have kids who takeover taking care of the frozen. "Some mistakes you only make once." And why? because people are nasty things, especially when they've been cooped up to long. Great book.

THIS one, Absolution Gap, is the last of three. Each one is very much its own story (as opposed to Game of Thrones which is much more one giant book) with a neat, impressive arc. It was pretty damned sweet.

I guess, what I mean to say, is that I'm a nerd too. But I keep it at home, where kids can't see.

The world is a car and you're the crash test dummy.

Freeky

I haven't seen all of wall-e, just the bits after (it sounds like) it stopped being a robot love story. I do have to say, though, from what I saw I agree with your assessment.

Also, uh, Congrats in embracing your inner nerd?

Salty

You know, I actually had a bunch of stuff to say about Absolution Gap, and that guy's writing in general, but it all slipped away in a fit of rage. I drank coffee for the first time in three months today.
The world is a car and you're the crash test dummy.

SmogofCogs

lately i've been a bit fascinated with that theme although differently. that you can shove people into a tin can for 700 years and not have shit happen. that some architect is cunning enough to create an environment that humans can't escape from. that's a representation of the theme in a physical form. in a more abstract form would be something a la inception (spoiler alerts i suppose). to me it didn't matter what "level" of the dream cobb was on. there was no real level. sure he might have started out (or his memory) at level 1, but he could have went up or down (or left or right or diagonal). the only thing level 1 had was starting off in a stable, reliable environment and having a stable, reliable memory. in the end cobb just chooses any level so that he may have a reliable environment and memory so he doesn't go insane wrapping himself up in strange loops of meaning. how does this relate? well i feel that the architecture that we exist in prevents us from ever putting a solid logical foot down. thus we can't climb to transcendence because our starting point is always suspect. this leaves the only transcendence to realizing this or becoming one with this or some bullshit. so basically we're trapped in an ouroboros like mother fucking fat people on a mother fucking space ship