Private Mars Rocket II

If there was any doubt about the moral bankruptcy of MAGA, events of this week should remove them. As a child, Amy Acton, Democratic candidate for Senator in Ohio, was raped by her stepfather with the support of her mother.

Her MAGA opponent ran an attack ad featuring the mother, a woman who hasn't seen her daughter for 40 years, in which the mother calls her daughter a liar. (Oh, and the mom helped her husband flee arrest.)

Now I see MAGA defenders on social media defending the ad by asking such questions as "why didn't Amy report the abuse sooner?"

When people tell you who they are, believe them.

Over the past week, I've been watching the new Netflix mini-series version of John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden. I've not read the book and don't intend to, so I can't really comment as to how close the series hews to the book. What I can comment on is motivation, or as we refer to it in criminal justice, motive.

In the mini-series, the main antagonist, Cathy Ames AKA Kate Trask, is played by the 30-year-old actress Florence Pugh, who is also an executive producer. Pugh has been making the rounds of social media saying that this series would show Cathy's motives. I've seen commentary that suggests making Cathy's motives clear would make the character seem less evil.

Not so, at least in this viewer's eyes. I've been very deliberately using the term motive because, well, evil people usually have some reason to be evil. Now, in the mini-series (and I'm told the book) Cathy explicitly does not want to move to California. This is motive but not excuse for what she does next.

I also noted that the mini-series gets a lot of mileage out of the phrase "you didn't listen." On several occasions, a character will say "I didn't know you felt X about Y" and the other character will (accurately) say "you weren't listening."

The series, at seven hours, is a bit long, and even so removes almost all references to the Hamilton family. I would rate it as interesting but not riveting.

Appropos of my most recent post (which was a hot minute ago) about forgetting the Alamo, I decided last night to watch the 1960 John Wayne movie about the battle. It reminded me a lot of another movie, the 1965 movie Battle of the Bulge. Both movies were good as movies but really bad as history.

In both movies, there's a slow buildup to the actual battle. In "Alamo" John Wayne's buildup takes a good 45 minutes and includes a pointless romantic side-trip, while "Bulge's" buildup is more on point. Wayne's movie has two (2) (!!) raids launched by the Texicans against the Mexicans, niether of which happened. Frankly, they appear to have been added as padding and to give the appearance that the Alamo's defenders could have left if they wanted to. (Spoiler alert - they could not.)

So, both movies are bad history, but "Battle of the Bulge" is somewhat better as a movie.

Herewith is my schedule for Windycon 52, to be held October 9-11 in Rosemont IL. Astute readers will note that this is a month earlier than usual.

Friday October 9

8:00 PM - The Obligatory Star Trek Panel: Did Discovery Jump the Shark?

Star Trek: Discovery boldly went where no series had gone before, but did its final season take one trip too far? The controversial final season built its central mystery around an ancient technology and storyline previously explored in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Was this a clever callback to Trek history, a fitting way to bring the series full circle, or a sign that Discovery had finally jumped the shark?

Join our panelists for a lively discussion of Discovery's final season, its connections to The Next Generation, and the choices that shaped the series' final voyage. Did the callbacks work? Did the story earn its place in Trek lore? And after all those seasons, did Discovery stick the landing?

9:00 PM - Bending, Blending, and Neverending

Is Ryka Aoki's Light from Uncommon Stars a science fiction novel or a fantasy?
It contains demons (not to mention donuts). Do we write from within parameters or disregard them and get on with the story? Is Romantasy a Romance or Fantasy? Do SF stories within Western themes get placed in the Western section of Barnes & Noble (if they even still have one) or only on the SF/Fantasy shelves? Oh, and by the way what about all those neverending series that clog up our shelves? Are they just a sophisticated version of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew? Or is there more to what we look for in series books?

Saturday October 10

1:00 PM - The Obligatory Star Wars Panel: Has the Original Vision Been Lost?

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a simple story about good versus evil, heroes finding their destiny, and a galaxy-changing battle between the light and the dark. Six decades of movies, television, books, comics, games, and expanded lore later, that story has become something much, much bigger.

But has Star Wars grown beyond the vision that started it all? Have the prequels, sequels, spin-offs, and ever-expanding universe enriched the original story, or have they buried it under layers of new lore? Join us for a lively discussion about how Star Wars has evolved, what has been gained along the way, and whether the heart of the original saga is still at the center of the galaxy.

Bring your favorite trilogy, your strongest opinions, and your own answer to the question: Is the Force still strong with the original vision?

2:00 PM - Chicago Science Fiction Book Club

Join Chicago Science Fiction Book Club to discuss the Hugo Award-winning Startide Rising, David Brin's classic novel of a crew of humans and dolphins desperately trying to repair their disabled starship as the galaxy around them stands on the brink of interstellar war.

Sunday October 11

1:00 PM - Frankenstein Lives! Why the Monster Still Haunts Us

More than 200 years after Mary Shelley first introduced Victor Frankenstein and his infamous creation, the story continues to capture our imaginations. From classic horror films to modern science fiction, Frankenstein and the monster have become some of the most enduring figures in popular culture.

Why does this story still resonate after two centuries? Join our panelists as we explore Frankenstein's journey from Shelley's original novel to the countless books, films, adaptations, and reinterpretations that followed. We'll discuss how the story has evolved, what its characters have come to represent, and why we just can't seem to let Frankenstein's monster rest.

The monster lives, and apparently, so does our fascination with him.

2:00 PM - Reading - I read from my latest SF novel, Gunmaker

The highlight of this day was the sail up the Endicott Arm to Dawes glacier. We entered the Arm at 6 AM, got to the glacier face at 8, and were gone by 10. Trust me on this – if you do an Alaska cruise, buy binoculars and get a cabin with a balcony! I was able to sit on my balcony in privacy and out of the wind to see everything.

After ice-peeping, I did some writing. To be honest, my main goal in booking the cruise was to see Alaska while having people with common interests to talk to. I did, however, have a secondary goal – figure out why my query letter on a mystery novel wasn’t getting any bites. As mentioned in a previous entry, I had a breakout session with an agent, and so I spent this day fixing the query. This required a minor rewrite of the underlying novel, which I completed.

Lastly, we actually got some sun. In the afternoon, when I finished the rewrites, I went up to the pool deck for a swim. It was just a little too cool for that, but I read Matt Hughes’ novel One More Kill.

We (accompanied by three other cruise ships) arrived at Skagway at 8:30 AM. I had booked a 9 AM ride on the White Pass and Yukon Railway, so it was an early morning as the ship herded several hundred people to the train. The railroad was originally built in the 1890s to get gold rush people over the White Pass. We covered a twenty-mile long segment that rose 2,880 feet in elevation. Trying to do that on foot is nearly unimaginable!

The railroad kept working hauling ore and supplies until the mid-1980s when commodity prices dropped too low for the line to be profitable. They then converted it to a tourist line for the cruise ships. The engines are more-or-less modern (1960's diesels) as are the cars. They are, however, replicas of 1890s cars and so you can stand on the platform. I really can’t speak highly-enough about the whole experience.

As far as Skagway? Well the town has just under one thousand permanent inhabitants, and it’s almost entirely stores for the tourists. I was underwhelmed enough to go back to the ship after the train ride. That decision allowed me to start fixing my query letter – a fix that required a minor rewrite of the underlying novel.

Our first day out was an at-sea day. I did not partake of the morning classes, feeling that they were aimed more at beginning writers. The necessity of providing something for everybody means that one needs to pick and choose. I did get to attend a breakout session on writing query letters and got a lot of useful advice as to why my query letter for one of my novels isn’t working.

This is probably as good a place as anywhere to note something new (to me, at least) in cruise ships, at least at Royal Caribbean. Cabins at night tend to be pitch black, and turning on a light, even the over-the-bed one, can be disruptive. Well, now ship’s cabins have a nightlight by the exit door / door to the toilet. It’s dim and on a motion sensor, so it comes on automatically. It also has a 30-second timer, allowing one to get back to bed before total darkness.

It can be reported – I recently returned from a seven-day cruise and writer’s retreat, sponsored by the podcast Writing Excuses. This is the last sea-based retreat they plan to hold for a while, and they decided to go out with a bang. Herewith, thoughts.

The cruise, on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Sea, left from Seattle, which required me to fly there from Chicago. I had points from Southwest, and Midway is my closest and preferred airport, so that decision was a no-brainer.

Southwest has become a pale imitation of itself. Assigned seating, nine boarding groups, and fees to check a bag mean that it’s just like any other airline. Well, I was told by a gate agent that the boarding groups are mostly structured so that window seats board first and aisle seats board last, so a bit of the old Southwest thinking out of the box survived.

There were two minor bits of good news on the flight. First, my flight, despite multiple announcements from the gate agent, was NOT completely full and I was able to enjoy both armrests as the middle seat was empty. Second, I got a free drink out of Southwest! Unlike other airlines, they don’t use the drink cart – flight attendants take your order then come back with your drink on a tray. They never came back to collect any money and I certainly did not chase anybody down to pay.

Six-plus months into Trump's disasterous two-week war with Iran, I find it useful to revisit something I posted back in March - why fascists are bad at war. The original article I was linking to can be found here.

Now, I am not going to argue as to whether or not Trump and Hegseth are truly fascists or not. (Well, maybe I will a little, in that I think Trump is too stupid and self-centered to have any ideology.) In any event, here's a tl;dr as to why facsists are bad at war.

First, let's define "bad at war." The original post uses a simple definition - "did you win?" The two most famous fascist regimes, WWII Italy and Germany, obviously did not, in fact losing so comprehensively as to encompass the destruction of their nations. Expanding the circle of regimes does not change the win / loss record. So why are they bad? Let us count the ways, and I'll highlight where I see parallels with the current war in Iran.

1) Appearance vs. capability: Facsicsts love themselves a parade and have really snazzy uniforms. See Hegseth's fascination with physical fitness, "maximum lethality," and Trump's military parade.

2) Facsists pick fights they shouldn't: Germany, AFTER failing to invade Britain and invading Russia, declared war on the USA in support of their "ally" Japan. Contrast this with our decision to attack Iran for a second time.

3) Fascists are "condemned to lose wars because they are constitutionally incapable of objectively evaluating the force of the enemy:” Yep - Hitler thought Britain would fold. Hesgeth in 2026 disbanded a US Army unit focusing on how to fight with and against drones. Just spitballing here, but we might need to know how to do that. (Ask Commander Fifth Fleet if he misses his HQ building.)

4) Loyalty vs. performance: To be fair, this is more Authoritarianism 101 then just being restricted to fascists, but in these regimes, loyal idiots trump (pun intended) smart people.

Here endeth the lesson.

My parents were having computer problems which prevented me from remoting into their systems. So, I had to drive down and back this weekend. I used the opportunity to finally try my Cadillac's hands-free cruise control, supercruise. Thoughts.

1) It will engage and work on a 2-lane road (Illinois 49, for those in the know.) There are several 90-degree curves on it and cruise will handle some but not all. Also, when approaching a town, the car will (correctly) insist that I do the driving.

2) Speaking of curves, I find the handling of curves and turns to be unsettling - the car takes them faster then I would and not as smoothly.

3) On the Interstate, supercruise works better, although the auto-lane change is again, not as smooth as I would like.

Overall, I think supercruise is okay for brief breaks but not an all-the time thing.