The One With Aldacron

This series of posts was started to address a common justification for the piracy of digital products, the idea that information should be free. In the first post, I examined a related argument, that corporations are evil, and argued that it is no excuse for piracy. In part two, I started to look at the [...]

As a child, I was a rabid fan of Kung Fu. I’d be lying if I said I remember any of it, though. I was way too young. But I do recall that I wanted to be Caine. Now, David Carradine has been found swinging from a nylon rope in a Thai hotel room closet. [...]

I became an avid reader from a very young age. I spent countless hours at the school and public libraries, participated in youth summer reading programs, and generally devoured as many books as I could get my hands on. The ones that stand out most, from the ages of 7 and 8, were the old [...]

A few months back I was browsing my favorite bookstore and discovered that a book I had been on the lookout for had finally made it to Korea. I first saw mention of Eric Clapton’s autobiography in an interview he did with Larry King, which I saw via podcast around the beginning of this year. [...]

History has always held a deep fascination for me. I have an interest in a broad swath of it, but I’m most fascinated by times long past, such as ancient civilizations (particularly Egypt, Greece and Rome) and the Dark and Middle Ages. I do enjoy modern history, just not with the same passion. But one [...]

Lunar New Year’s day was Sunday. That took me away from the computer for a few days with the in-laws. Lots of food. Lots and lots of it actually. I took it easy on the alcohol this year though, so no massive hangovers or silly drunken takes to relate. It was still all very tiring [...]

I picked up The Time Traveler’s Wife on a whim. I’m not much into love stories, which is what this is at its core, but the premise of a guy hopping uncontrollably through time because of a genetic disease really piqued my interest. Once I started reading it, it was really difficult to put down. [...]

This is good science fiction.

So I finished The Da Vinci Code a few days ago. I’m still scratching my head. Not from any mystical revelations or mindbending plot elements in the book, mind you. No, my puzzlement comes from the book’s success. It was an utter disappointment. Angels & Demons is a much better story. It was paced well [...]

I’m a big fan of Umberto Eco. His tale of cabalistic intrigue, Foucault’s Pendulum, is very near the top of my favorites list (and that’s saying a lot, considering that my favorites tend to be from the fantasy genre). My first reading of it in the late 90s left me scratching my head to some [...]