Several weeks ago I wrote a 350 word story for the New Scientist 2010 flash fiction contest, which had the theme Forgotten futures. Stories about futures that never were. Alternate history, in other words. I found out two weeks ago that I had made the shortlist out of over 700 entries. That was great, but even better was the fact that Neil Gaiman would be the one making the final selection of a winner and two runners up. That meant he would be reading (and ranking) my story. The entries were stripped of identifying features, so he wouldn’t know who wrote what, but I’d know. One of those geeky moments that it’s hard to explain to many people why I think it’s cool. My daughter also thinks it’s cool—she’s a big Gaiman fan. When I tweeted about being shortlisted, I was surprised that Gaiman responded to the tweet, saying that all of the finalists were excellent. That was very nice of him.
The shortlisted stories will appear on New Scientist’s CultureLab blog in late January. When mine goes up, I’ll be sure to post the link here.
I’m making good progress on Savages by Don Winslow. I hit Chapter 150 this morning (no, that’s not a typo), and am about 2/3 of the way through the book. It’s a fast read (especially compared to Against All Things Ending by Stephen R. Donaldson). It’s also a treat to be back reading from my Kindle. The Donaldson book was heavy, especially when reading in bed. I find Winslow’s style in this book quirky and infectious. Makes me want to sit down and write something in a similar vein. Perhaps not with the broken lines or the occasional interjection of screenplay segments, but something rapidfire, stark, terse, and pedal to the metal.
Supposed to reach 78° today, but will be back down to freezing overnight by the weekend. The weather’s been a rollercoaster these past few weeks.
I read the other day that The Closer is going to end after the next season. Supposedly this is Sedgwick’s decision. I’m not sure when I stumbled upon the show, and I suspect that there are a couple of seasons that I haven’t seen, but I like it well enough. Some great characters, and clever resolutions. However, this week’s episode was a carbon copy of an episode of Law & Order: Los Angeles. Maybe there was a real-life case that they both decided to use? Someone who worked at a medical marijuana grow-op used a series of robberies at other establishments as a cover for murdering a co-worker. Provenza was funny in his reaction to this type of business and gloated when it turned out that he was fundamentally right: people who sell drugs kill each other, usually out of greed. There was one character who had just consumed triple the recommended dose of hash brownies who was a scream. Reminded me of the old Barney Miller episode. Funny exchange of the episode, Chief Delk: “How old are you?” Provenza: “Six chiefs and counting.”
By acting serious, Tony only served to accentuate how goofy his character normally is on NCIS. He was bummed because he found out that a casual fling checked herself into the hospital for depression, so he decided to become a changed man. Early to work, paperwork done, no movie references, no pranks. Even Gibbs was questioning whether he was okay. Abby doing the turkey trot to the Maple Leaf Rag was the episode highlight. I don’t think my legs ever bent that way. The overbearing son of two psychologists was amusing. He made Palmer cry.
I’m liking Men of a Certain Age better this season than I did last year. Fewer cringe-worthy moments, mostly. I liked Terry’s revenge on his prankster coworkers, and was surprised that Bruce was in on the gag. They say living well is the best revenge, but showing up at a bar with the hot woman who was in the commercials everyone’s been ribbing him about worked well, too. Albert’s adventure was good, too. He’s been so timid that for him to go to a party by himself and get into trouble for drinking, that was a revelation. His father had to get mad and lay down the law, but you could tell he was secretly impressed that he had shown that much independence. Did he actually drink the triple espresso? That might have lit a fire under him. Funny scene of him running down the street behind his dad’s car to get back to the school on time. Wasn’t there something like that in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? The plot involving Owen and his wife was especially well written. It felt real. Owen realizes he’s being an ass, but he can’t stop himself from talking. Then he reflects on it and apologizes. Then she expresses her goals, but they don’t align with his. And yet they make peace.
Noted in passing: I talk to other drivers the same way Joe does.
Is it just me, or does Two and a Half Men seem more like a reality TV show than a comedy these days? Oh, it’s still funny, one of only a few shows guaranteed to make me laugh, but Charlie’s character is almost self parody. Jane Lynch as his therapist always cracks me up, too. So deadpan.
