Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 262
December 8, 2010
30 years ago
John Lennon was murdered. He was only 40 years old. I was 25. It still bugs me.
So listen to this song, which still matters. It really does.
So listen to this song, which still matters. It really does.
December 7, 2010
I've seen the final cover art for The Wild Side
and it is gorgeous and hot and perfect for the book. No, I can't show it to you yet--I can only tease you--but as soon as I can, I will.
Well done, Dan Dos Santos!
Well done, Dan Dos Santos!
December 6, 2010
On the road again: Las Vegas, day 4
Almost all of last night went to a fabulous dinner at Robuchon, one of America's few Michelin three-star restaurants and a bastion of French cuisine in the U.S. We opted, of course, for the largest menu, the sixteen-course Menu Degustation, and then we added a seventeenth course, a selection from the spectacular cheese trolley. One of the treats of this restaurant is its amazing bread cart, which offers over a dozen types of bread that they bake daily. We sampled entirely too many of them.
The result was a delicious meal in which we hit the food wall; we ran out of room and waddled out of the place like over-stuffed penguins.
After entirely too little sleep--the meal took nearly five hours--I arose at a time I frequently go to sleep, showered, and headed for the airport. The flights have been on time, however, and I'm in first class and enjoying bandwidth, so I cannot complain at all.
I'm posting now because I'll go straight from the airport to Scott's concert and from there to the usual whirlwind of settling in work at home.
Another trip to Las Vegas has passed without poker; I really must fix that!
The result was a delicious meal in which we hit the food wall; we ran out of room and waddled out of the place like over-stuffed penguins.
After entirely too little sleep--the meal took nearly five hours--I arose at a time I frequently go to sleep, showered, and headed for the airport. The flights have been on time, however, and I'm in first class and enjoying bandwidth, so I cannot complain at all.
I'm posting now because I'll go straight from the airport to Scott's concert and from there to the usual whirlwind of settling in work at home.
Another trip to Las Vegas has passed without poker; I really must fix that!
December 5, 2010
On the road again: Las Vegas, day 3
I should probably be embarrassed that I'm in Las Vegas and doing little more than whiling away the day resting, but I'm not; I need the rest.
I should confess that I am also doing some research for the special project I'm not willing to announce yet. That is taking some time. More on it in a few months.
Tonight's dinner promises to be quite lovely, a meal at Robuchon, but I'll report on it tomorrow.
Back to the small tasks and resting.
I should confess that I am also doing some research for the special project I'm not willing to announce yet. That is taking some time. More on it in a few months.
Tonight's dinner promises to be quite lovely, a meal at Robuchon, but I'll report on it tomorrow.
Back to the small tasks and resting.
December 4, 2010
On the road again: Las Vegas, day 2
I slept enough last night that I awakened feeling a little rested, which after the previous night's minimal sleep was quite a welcome change. After some work and a shower, I joined our group at the appointed time, and we headed over to the Venetian for brunch at Bouchon. Damn but it was good, with every dish tasty and food spilling off the table.
Afterward, we dragged our food-clogged selves around the high-end shops, a trip that included a stop at the Louboutin store.
From there, we caught a cab to the Palms and the Ultimate Fighter Finale, the event we came here to see. The fights were almost all quite entertaining, with a handful being very exciting. The guy I had hoped would win it all--Jonathan Brookins--did so, which was a nice treat.
Dinner was at Craftsteak, where we'd also dined on the same night last year. The meat was amazing, the sides good, and we all had a very nice meal.
A little more work, and then I shall crash.
Afterward, we dragged our food-clogged selves around the high-end shops, a trip that included a stop at the Louboutin store.
From there, we caught a cab to the Palms and the Ultimate Fighter Finale, the event we came here to see. The fights were almost all quite entertaining, with a handful being very exciting. The guy I had hoped would win it all--Jonathan Brookins--did so, which was a nice treat.
Dinner was at Craftsteak, where we'd also dined on the same night last year. The meat was amazing, the sides good, and we all had a very nice meal.
A little more work, and then I shall crash.
December 3, 2010
On the road again: Las Vegas, day 1
I'm a guy who doesn't need a ton of sleep, but 70 minutes--all I got last night--is not enough even for me. So, while I was able to work on the first flight thanks to the on-plane bandwidth, I dozed off and on for much of the bandwidth-free second leg. Still, I can't complain about on-time flights in which I was sitting in first class.
I hit the hotel room and dove into work. After catching up, our group hit the Bellagio for sightseeing and some gelato, then walked around a bit and wound our way to the new Aria. We ate dinner at the buffet there, which was over-priced and okay but not up to the top buffets in town (which for my money are those at the Bellagio, the reigning champ, and the Wynn).
The evening's entertainment was Cirque du Soleil's new show, Viva Elvis. We all had a good time at it, but I'm the only one of our group who would see it a second time. It was definitely too long on dance and too short on the sort of athletic entertainments that typically characterize a Cirque show. It also rather predictably presented a wholly whitewashed view of Elvis' life. Despite all that, it worked for me, though I would rank it the second weakest (with Zumanity far and away the weakest) of the Cirque shows in town.
I do hope to have a very long sleep tonight.
I hit the hotel room and dove into work. After catching up, our group hit the Bellagio for sightseeing and some gelato, then walked around a bit and wound our way to the new Aria. We ate dinner at the buffet there, which was over-priced and okay but not up to the top buffets in town (which for my money are those at the Bellagio, the reigning champ, and the Wynn).
The evening's entertainment was Cirque du Soleil's new show, Viva Elvis. We all had a good time at it, but I'm the only one of our group who would see it a second time. It was definitely too long on dance and too short on the sort of athletic entertainments that typically characterize a Cirque show. It also rather predictably presented a wholly whitewashed view of Elvis' life. Despite all that, it worked for me, though I would rank it the second weakest (with Zumanity far and away the weakest) of the Cirque shows in town.
I do hope to have a very long sleep tonight.
A blast from the past: a Balticon 2009 interview with me
I just received a message that the good folks at the Balticon podcast have put up the interview they did with me in 2009. Apparently, I discussed not only my writing but also my zombie survival plan. I don't remember the conversation very well, so if you hear anything interesting, let me know. You can check it out
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
December 2, 2010
Update on my health: eating better!
I'm definitely healing--and well ahead of the doctor's predictions. I spent all day Monday and Tuesday, as well as until dinner on Wednesday, eating exactly as the doctor ordered: the BRAT diet. Wow, is it dull! Here's my menu for those days:
Lunch: turkey and rice soup, two pieces of dry white toast
Dinner: chicken noodle soup, two pieces of dry white toast
Late-night snack: applesauce--once on two pieces of dry white toast
My beverages were water, rather a lot of it, and about eight ounces of Gatorade a day.
Wednesday night, though, was Gina's Hanukkah party, and I was feeling good, so I indulged in two latkes, one with sour cream and the other with applesauce, two small glasses of Coke Zero, some chips, and a small bowl of dessert (small piece of ice cream cake, two bites of chocolate cake). My body handled it without a problem, for which I am grateful.
Today was my company's monthly all-hands meeting, at which we always serve pizza. I normally go the meat route, but this was my first pizza in some time, so I opted for two pieces of plain cheese pie. No problem. I gave my stomach a more formidable challenge tonight at a friend's birthday dinner at a local burrito place she favors. Again, no problem.
So, I conclude I am progressing nicely, which is good, because I leave for Las Vegas at oh-dark-thirty!
Lunch: turkey and rice soup, two pieces of dry white toast
Dinner: chicken noodle soup, two pieces of dry white toast
Late-night snack: applesauce--once on two pieces of dry white toast
My beverages were water, rather a lot of it, and about eight ounces of Gatorade a day.
Wednesday night, though, was Gina's Hanukkah party, and I was feeling good, so I indulged in two latkes, one with sour cream and the other with applesauce, two small glasses of Coke Zero, some chips, and a small bowl of dessert (small piece of ice cream cake, two bites of chocolate cake). My body handled it without a problem, for which I am grateful.
Today was my company's monthly all-hands meeting, at which we always serve pizza. I normally go the meat route, but this was my first pizza in some time, so I opted for two pieces of plain cheese pie. No problem. I gave my stomach a more formidable challenge tonight at a friend's birthday dinner at a local burrito place she favors. Again, no problem.
So, I conclude I am progressing nicely, which is good, because I leave for Las Vegas at oh-dark-thirty!
December 1, 2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
More than any movie I've seen recently, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,
Part 1 plays perfectly to the faithful--and very badly to everyone else. If you love either the books or the movies (or both), you will find this one a very good way to spend two and a half hours. If you're in neither camp, though, you'll end up bored, annoyed, and frustrated.
The same characteristics trigger both sets of reactions.
The movie is full of close-ups of the three young leads as they wrestle with their relationships with one another, the stresses of the bad guys chasing them, and their teenage angst. If you care about the characters already, you won't mind all these lengthy reaction shots; in fact, you'll rather like them. If you don't, however, you'll want to yell at the screen almost as much as all but the hardcore faithful did in the Star Trek films with the original cast.
Similarly, the film abounds with exotic, gorgeous location shots, which you'll find beautiful and entrancing if you love the saga--and beautiful but ultimately annoying if you don't. As Scott observed, it's almost as if they used every cool place in the book in an attempt to hide the fact that the plot doesn't progress very far at all.
I've read only the first two books, but I've seen and quite liked all the movies, so I thoroughly enjoyed this film and never checked my watch once. Others in our group, however, were bored within the first quarter hour. If you haven't already seen it, decide which camp is yours before you head to the theater.
Part 1 plays perfectly to the faithful--and very badly to everyone else. If you love either the books or the movies (or both), you will find this one a very good way to spend two and a half hours. If you're in neither camp, though, you'll end up bored, annoyed, and frustrated.
The same characteristics trigger both sets of reactions.
The movie is full of close-ups of the three young leads as they wrestle with their relationships with one another, the stresses of the bad guys chasing them, and their teenage angst. If you care about the characters already, you won't mind all these lengthy reaction shots; in fact, you'll rather like them. If you don't, however, you'll want to yell at the screen almost as much as all but the hardcore faithful did in the Star Trek films with the original cast.
Similarly, the film abounds with exotic, gorgeous location shots, which you'll find beautiful and entrancing if you love the saga--and beautiful but ultimately annoying if you don't. As Scott observed, it's almost as if they used every cool place in the book in an attempt to hide the fact that the plot doesn't progress very far at all.
I've read only the first two books, but I've seen and quite liked all the movies, so I thoroughly enjoyed this film and never checked my watch once. Others in our group, however, were bored within the first quarter hour. If you haven't already seen it, decide which camp is yours before you head to the theater.
November 30, 2010
In which my brain goes all Zen on me
I was staring at my lunch today--the same as yesterday, a bowl of turkey and rice soup, plus two pieces of dry toast, just what the doctor ordered--when I realized that one could learn valuable basic life lessons from a bowl of soup.
For example, you can learn that you can't gauge a thing's power by its size. The bowl of soup is tiny compared to me, but its energy is enough to warm me through and through.
You can also learn the importance of perspective. If I handed most people an empty soup bowl and told them to fill it with a soup spoon, they would say how stupid the approach was. Give them the same bowl full of soup, however, and emptying it a spoon at a time is only natural.
Of course, the most important lesson is probably that thoughts like these are why people prefer when I'm focused on work during lunch.
For example, you can learn that you can't gauge a thing's power by its size. The bowl of soup is tiny compared to me, but its energy is enough to warm me through and through.
You can also learn the importance of perspective. If I handed most people an empty soup bowl and told them to fill it with a soup spoon, they would say how stupid the approach was. Give them the same bowl full of soup, however, and emptying it a spoon at a time is only natural.
Of course, the most important lesson is probably that thoughts like these are why people prefer when I'm focused on work during lunch.
