Stuff Matters

Stuff Matters, Mark Miodownik

Another fab pick by @mrbsemporium - this time a non-fiction volume on the seemingly arcane subject of materials science. Using a photograph of the author drinking coffee on a roof terrace, it's a brilliant tale of 10 materials that we utterly take for granted in our modern lives. While it touches on the underlying science in places, it never comes close to being too heavy. And you leave it feeling much cleverer about the world around us.

Success and "failure" of Arrival

We finally caught the increasingly non-recent science fiction "thinker" (and 2017 Oscar nominee) Arrival. While I'd whole-heartedly recommend it for fans of the genre, nit-picker that I am, I have a few reservations as well. So this is less a review, more a niggle. Needless to say, spoilers ahead for those who've not made the journey so far.

First, what it gets right. Build-up is great, with only fleeting glimpses of the alien spaceships until the big reveal in a beautiful, cloud-wreathed valley in Montana. Their unworldliness begins with their design, as largely featureless geometric shapes, and is nicely underscored by the short distance they effortlessly "hover" above the Earth's surface. The aliens themselves are also handled well, if a little too much like squid, both in general appearance and in their use of extruded "ink". Making their audio extraneous for communication (an early misstep by their interrogators), and their language written yet initially indecipherable as communication works really well. And I liked what ultimately came to be their "gift" and why they made it, although it's mentioned so fleetingly that many may miss it.

What mostly-works but slightly-doesn't is that the film is one of those that makes more sense when you reflect on it afterwards. That's a good thing in my book, but I can well imagine that most people will leave this film utterly perplexed by what they've just seen. It's all there to make sense of it, but it's presented rather subtly at times, and often in an order that requires reflection to make sense of. For instance, a central conceit of the film (and a very clever one) is that Sapir-Whorf is true at a deep and fundamental level, but it's quite gently introduced to the viewer at a point where its relevance is opaque. And the consequence of this is illustrated by out-of-order glimpses of a child in what appear at first to be past memories, but which turn out latterly to be something else. However, the viewer is slightly misled by the presentation of some of this material upfront, seemingly as backstory, when it would arguably make more sense to introduce it latterly (narratively, perhaps, but maybe not emotionally).

My only "proper" reservation is, as ever, time travel - technically, I guess it's not exactly time travel, but, well, ... It's nowhere near as blunt as Interstellar (a film I forgave on a second viewing), but messing with the space-time continuum is a sure-fire way of getting my hackles raised. Especially here, where the film has its cake and eats it by allowing agency and then kind-of suggesting fatalism. However, it is still one of the cleverest uses of time-bending in film, so despite my hackles, I'm much more forgiving here.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, it really is one of the smartest science fiction films in recent years (or decades, even), presenting the sort of deep ideas that, while not uncommon in literary science fiction, rarely make it off the page. It does all of this gently and subtly without any of the distracting pace and action routinely misused in conventional "science fiction" films. And it does it while blending a human story of love and loss in with the central MacGuffin. Two thumbs up for sure.

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P.S. I should just add that, with their relationship with time, the aliens reminded me of my favourite aliens, the Invaders of John Varley's novels. Although the Invaders still win because of their disinterest / disdain in humanity.

Dodgers

Dodgers, Bill Beverly

Another excellent pick from @mrbsemporium of Bath. A nicely literary crime tale that sees an underaged team of LA drug pushers sent on a cross country road trip to make an ambiguous hit. What starts out fairly conventional for viewers of The Wire takes a latter third turn where the lead character catches a long glimpse of a life more ordinary. Apart from a slightly rushed ending, a really enjoyable read.

Daughter of Eden

Daughter of Eden, Chris Beckett

An unfaultable return to Dark Eden by Chris Beckett. Revisiting richly-drawn characters from Mother of Eden, and playing up the role of storytelling in building the social fabrics of the Davidfolk and Johnfolk, Daughter of Eden is a worthy successor to its predecessor novels. Remarkable both for its presentation of a neo-stone age society and an exceptionally thought-through alien ecology. Highly recommended, though I fear it's the last visit to the remote, alien Eden and its band of displaced and struggling characters.

Annihilation

Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer

My second book from @mrbsemporium and what a good book it was. I don't usually go for psychological horror or distorted reality, but this book held me from the get-go. In part because it played its mystery well (easy when the Southern Reach sequels bear that load), in part because its protagonist was a biologist, but mostly because it's just so well written. As well as handling its weirdness with aplomb, it realistically fleshes out its protagonist's reflections on her predicament and how she came to be there. I'll definitely be seeking out its successor volumes.

The Collapsing Empire

The Collapsing Empire, John Scalzi

A fast, fun read set in a vast trading empire reliant on a cosmological force known as the Flow. As the Flow shifts and cuts off whole solar systems, the empire, and its squabbling guilds, belatedly face down the barrel of calamity. It can easily be read as a fable about climate change, but the author - a new one to me - is mostly having fun with an amiable cast in an imperial setting. I'll definitely be following him up.

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, Brady Udall

Rambling, quirky to a fault, massively overlong - but not much of a miracle. It's a seemingly ambitious tale of an Apache child runover by a postal worker, abandoned by his parents, and consigned to abusive health- and social-care authorities. But its incoherence, mishandling of characters, overconfident stylistic florishes, and unjustified length just make it a big old slog. It's not terrible, but it's not an orphan I'd recommend making space in your home for.

Icehenge

Icehenge, Kim Stanley Robinson

A great triptych of linked novellas telling the stories of doomed revolution on Mars, a break for interstellar space, archaeology in ruined Martian cities, an enigmatic monument on Pluto (the eponymous Icehenge), and unravelling the secrets of a reclusive Saturnian businesswoman. Refracted nicely through the prism of autobiography and the limits of memory.

Mr. B's Emporium

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, Brady Udall

My @mrbsemporium reading subscription starts here ... with a book I've (very pleasingly) never heard of!

Revenger

Revenger, Alastair Reynolds

A welcome, if unexpected, return to form for Alastair Reynolds. A whole new story, in a whole new subgenre (pirate-SF fusion), set in a whole new universe (and what a universe!), and all wrapping up sufficiently in one volume. I expect he'll be back to raid it again (appropriately enough), but as this is his best in several years, it deserves it.

Virtual Light

Virtual Light, William Gibson

An ostensible classic, but one whose great ideas get lost at times in Gibson's deliberately obscurantist prose. Even by the end, the full nature of the MacGuffin was a bit hazy - and what I could see of it didn't seem to justify the events it set moving.

This Is How You Lose Her

This Is How You Lose Her, Junot Díaz

This Is How You Lose Her, a most excellent - if philandering - read

Poseidon's Wake

Poseidon's Wake, Alastair Reynolds

A disappointing conclusion to a minor trilogy by Reynolds. Stuffed full of boring or annoying characters, dulled by long-winded step-by-step plotting, and rendered immediately forgettable by the squandering of its own mysteries. None of which is helped by its packaging up of a basic fact of life ( = the universe is meaningless and finite) as a much-talked-about plot device, The Terror. Douglas Adams did that much better - and much funnier - with his Total Perspective Vortex.

The Twentieth Day Of January

The Twentieth Day Of January, Ted Allbeury

A trashy - but surprisingly Trump-prescient - 1980s spy thriller. Eminently quotable at the moment - though, compared to the book, the ending in reality is proving a lot less satisfying ...

War Factory

War Factory, Neal Asher

Trashy sci-fi - what I've come to expect (and secretly enjoy) from Asher.

Mother Of Eden

Mother Of Eden, Chris Beckett

A birthday book ticked off - "Mother of Eden". The best kind of science fiction - compelling, allegorical, credible but boundlessly imaginative.

I Capture The Castle

I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith

Finally finished this gem after having it for 4 years (a World Book Night present from my old Warwick friend, Ruth). Really enjoyable, and difficult not to fall in love with its lead, Cassandra (as I'm sure its writer, Dodie Smith, intended).

Dear Jeremy

[Sent in response to a rallying "united we stand ..." missive from JC]

Dear Jeremy,

Thank you for your message. I agree strongly with the sentiment – we do need to be united. However, being united needs to apply more broadly than the Labour Party’s base. And appealing to the wider British public requires a recognition and engagement with the issues that they – rightly or wrongly – consider serious. In the recent referendum that you mention, your leadership of the Labour Party ignored this engagement. It preferred instead to focus on a message that clearly had no traction with the wider public and with, in particular, the Party’s historic base. With such a narrow loss of the referendum (a less than 5% swing of Leavers would have done it), it is difficult not to conclude that your leadership – or the lack thereof – is, at least in part, a contributing factor. For an issue as central to the progressive cause as EU membership this is completely unacceptable. Your leadership at this time has helped undercut the very livelihood and future of our young – among whom are the core constituents of the Momentum organisation that supports you. While you may very well be successful at rallying these very people, you should reflect on how your actions have helped to disenfranchise them. Being united means reaching out beyond the base, and you are doing nothing to achieve this. Again, please reflect on your actions.

[signed]

A new toy

[A posted review of my new toy]

This is my third Windows Phone (Lumia 800 to Lumia 925 to Lumia 950), and each iteration has - in my experience - been better than the last.

I delayed upgrading from my Lumia 925 because there appeared to be some downsides with Windows 10 Mobile (namely that it seemed to be a work-in-progress), but in the end I needn't have worried. While it's not perfect, it's a solid step upwards with only a few deficiencies relative to Windows Phone 8.1. The only noticeable glitches I've seen so far are occasional - and temporary - freezes, where it feels like the phone may be waking up (a legacy of W10M's origin with W10 on desktop PCs?), and the app-killing interface being slow - though this has the feel of being designed-in (= a future fix?) rather than an actual glitch. In any case, as W10M shares the kernal of W10, I would expect that Microsoft will be giving W10M much better and more consistent support than it did WP8.1 (which was still a pretty great OS).

As for the phone itself, the only downside is that its body - wholly plastic rather than part metal - is a little less premium, though I was well aware of this aspect before purchasing. The rest of the hardware is great, with a great screen (including Glance and fantastically dark blacks), an excellent camera (though this has been the case with Lumias since the start), a replacable battery (no equivalent in Lumia 925), an expansion slot (no equivalent in Lumia 925) and a much zippier GPS sensor (judging from the performance of the sat-nav app). As the camera has also been slightly repositioned, it's also nice to finally be able to use some little lenses that I've got with it (and, finally, a selfie stick).

One brand new feature worth a mention is so-called Continuum. This lets you plug the phone into a small dock and then connect it to a monitor or TV (e.g. via HDMI), and then use it as if it was a PC. While not all of the apps work in this framework, a lot do, and it has potential if you don't want to lump around a laptop or tablet computer. One of the most convincing things I've done with this is access and interact my desktop computer via the TeamViewer app - this works just brilliantly. If you're a business user, it's worth seeking out a demonstration of this feature, as it's really quite unique. (I should quickly add that the dock isn't free - unless, that is, you're able to take advantage of the same Microsoft deal that I was!)

While the app gap remains (if this bothers you; it probably doesn't by now if you're with Windows), it feels slightly narrower with W10M, and I've noticed upgrades with certain apps that never made it to my Lumia 925 (e.g. Instagram, sat-nav). Most of the apps that I used on WP8.1 on my Lumia 925 seem to have transitioned well to W10M, and I've found a few nice new ones to fill some minor gaps. The only omission I've felt so far is that the post-Nokia sat-nav app - while great, and much faster than before - doesn't appear to have the traffic function of its Nokia precursor.

Anyway, overall, I'd really rate this phone. It's not perfect, but no phone I've used is. And the unique interface that attracted me to Windows in the first place still stands out (and is pretty much better than ever). But be aware that the body isn't quite so premium as earlier models, and that the app gap hasn't much changed. But if you can overlook these relatively minor downsides, it's a definite step up from previous models.

Is it just me, or are there a lot of dead celebrities at the moment?

If nothing else, 2016 is shaping up as a bumper year for dead celebrities. At the moment, it feels like you can't listen to the radio or turn on the television without hearing of the death of some luminary. It probably started with Bowie. Unexpected both because of his relatively slight age (69) as well as his then-recent album release. But since then a litany of famous figures have popped their clogs. Earlier this week, we had a double whammy, with Ronnie Corbett and Zaha Hadid joining the choir invisible on the same day.

So, is this a real thing? Or is it just my perception and bad memory that make it feel like there are a lot more famous dead people right about now? And leaving aside this first order question by assuming the affirmative, what could explain the seeming upswing in reported mortality of musicians, artists, comedians, architects, and so on?

There is obviously a sensible, analytical route to the answer based on careful study of media reporting of expired stars in previous years. But I'm too lazy for that, so am going to stick to baseless speculation and armchair argument. To wit, I'm assuming that I'm right about the numbers - and why wouldn't I do that? - and focusing instead on what's behind it all. Or what could be behind it all if I'm honest.

The simplest explanation is that, as time passes, we should expect to hear of more celebrity deaths simply because the human population of Earth - and, presumably, that of human celebrities (we don't know any alien ones yet) - is still very much on the up.

A more conspiratorial explanation is that the contrasting costs of proper journalism and lazy, echo chamber journalism, mean that when filling a news schedule, the temptation is focus on easily-assembled items on dead famous people. Go to the clips archive, ring a few of their upset friends, job done. However, I'm going to discount this one since - being a BBC fanboy - I'm pretty sure that this can't cover all the bases (although I'm still suspicious of how the media picks topics to cover).

A further explanation - and my favourite - is that the dominant factor is that we now have many more celebrities per head of population than we did in the past, and that we should expect this to occur. Essentially, with the advents of mass publishing, radio, cinema, television and now the internet, there are now far more routes by which everyday people can be elevated to the realms of celebrity. That is, to have some sort of following beyond that of the people they know and interact with (let's not get sniffy about "celebrity"). And then, ipso facto, the population of people in the public consciousness - and that of their obituaries - will inevitably rise.

In essence, this is a corollary of Andy Warhol's famous / infamous statement concerning "15 minutes of fame".

Of course, all of this is wholly based on idle speculation on my part, and I certainly won't be following it up to work out how wrong I am - and why would I do that? But I am still interesting in knowing if this really is "a thing", or if it really is "just me".