Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Despite the loss of the skiffy-associated favorite, David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas — which I haven’t read — I’m very pleased to hear that the Booker prize went to the novel by Alan Hollinghurst. I haven’t yet read The Line of Beauty either, but I did just happen to read his first novel, The Swimming-Pool Library, a couple months ago, and was sufficiently impressed that I immediately ordered every other book of his I could find — which numbers only two other novels, The Folding Star and The Spell, prior to this new one that came out in Britain a few months ago and in the US just this past month. I ordered the UK editions of them all.

He’s a terrific writer, for reasons that have nothing to do with the current novel’s Thatcher-era social criticism, or the gay-protagonist themes of all his books. I can only explain it by saying that he writes descriptions of characters and incidents that make you aware of things you’ve been witness to without actually having been conscious of. He shows you dimensions within the ordinary that you didn’t suspect existed. It’s exhilarating writing. Michael Dirda reviewed the US edition just 2 or 3 weeks ago — though I can’t seem to find the link just now. When I have more time I’ll find a paragraph to quote.

And when it does, sometimes it pours. A series of tropical storms has blown through the area the past few days, beginning Saturday night, when, very uncharacteristically for socal rainstorms, the rain gusted in bursts of two or three minutes, loud enough to wake me from sleep in the wee hours several times during the night, before dying down to long intermittent inaudible drizzles. More rain on Tuesday, and Tuesday night.

Rain is good, especially this time of year, since it dampens the dry foliage in the hills that otherwise might erupt into firestorms, as happened almost a year ago, when I blogged about the glows of fires 50 miles east.

Busy week, with little time to post here, though I have several topics to write about that I’m reluctant to specify in much detail lest I defuse the latent impulse to discuss them in full detail–about R.E.M. and music, about Joe Haldeman and reading.

I will mention that the security certificate for locusmag.com has been installed, so those concerned about such things can go ahead and order or subscribe without worries. The general format is such that any page on the site, usually accessed as http://www.locusmag.whatever, will also work as https://secure.locusmag.whatever, where the latter format will make available the details of the secure certificate. (It pops up in some browsers; in others, go to view/properties.) Links from the homepage to the various order forms have been revised to the secure format, e.g. https://secure.locusmag.com/About/Subscribe.html.

I had a note on my calender to check the results of the German Phantastik awards, scheduled for October 9th, because locusmag.com was nominated in the ‘International Internet Site’ category. Alas, the site didn’t win; it came in last, behind StephenKing.com, Lordoftherings.net, World-of-Fantasy.com (a German site), and Theonering.net.

Nothing substantial this evening. One (1) person responded about ‘compleat’; thank you. Compiling notes on new books this evening; my ordered copy of Liz Williams’ collection arrived today, and I saw new books by Hamilton and Koontz today at Borders. Hope to have page updates on the website, for the past two weeks’ new books, by this weekend.

Also will have something to say about the new R.E.M. album… (hi, Jonathan!)… which I’ve listened to about twice now.

So, what is the significance of the spelling ‘compleat’ rather than ‘complete’? I’ve wondered this occasionally over the past few decades (The Compleat Enchanter, etc.) and never figured it out. This link is no help. A review copy of a book of Tolkien essays sent me last week is belligerently nonhelpful: it asterisks the word to a footnote “look it up”.

Behind on everything as usual; evenings have been rather nonproductive of late, domestic circumstances being more than typically unsupportive.

Several readers have advised Locus about the expired security certificate on the website, when accessing the subscription order page and other order pages. It was supposed to have renewed automatically, but somehow did not, and expired. I placed an order with the current hosting service, CI Host, for a new certificate a full week ago; they responded last Friday that a new certificate had been installed and that the appropriate access via https://secure.locusmag.com would be in effect within 24 hours. That was 5 days ago. I keep querying them.

Frankly, though, while our customers may always be right, my own paranoia does not extend to worrying about sending credit card numbers over a website, or via email. Is this really a common mode of identity theft? In point of fact, my own credit card number was stolen a couple months ago, and used fraudulently. I spotted it quickly because I’m in the habit of checking my bank and credit balances via websites every couple days. When a package of recovered mail arrived from the post office, I realized that someone had simply stolen a day’s paper mail out of my mailbox. I installed a lock on the mailbox. I hand my credit card to restaurant waiters once a week or so. I worry more about that, than the remote chance that someone might intercept my email or web form submission with my card number on it. Other opinions invited.

I saw “Sky Captain [etc]” over the weekend, and was duly impressed by the visualization of a fantasy world. I’m nowhere near as expert on early comics and films as are Howard and Lawrence, who wrote the review I posted, but I can recognize the homage aspects of the film, and I can less agreeably accept the Hollywood fantasies of expert piloting (through the caverns of New York City) and the good guy/bad guy policy in which the heroes of the film are never killed or injured. What I wish for, seeing such a film, is some alternate project in which such sophisticated CGI effects are used to create a true alien or futuristic world that is believeable, in the way that the best literary SFnal fantasies are believable. Have I missed such a film? Will any one ever be made?

Similar reactions to the latest Myst game, Myst IV: Revelation, which I’ve ‘played’ (an inadequate word) for about 3 hours now. The Myst games are determinedly steampunk, imagining fantasy worlds with primitive, intuitively comprehensible technology (which details and settings you have to figure out to solve the puzzles). I keep wishing for an equivalent game that makes you figure out truly alien technology, understand alien worlds or an alien mode of comprehension. I may easily have missed such a game, since I determinedly have not pursued the gaming field beyond the Myst franchise; I might become sucked up and abandon books altogether. I enjoy Myst games every year or three, but that’s enough; my heart belongs to print.

I hear tales, from my PC consultant friend who administers IT for a small company, about computer users who, no matter how many times they are told, ignore instructions about not opening unexpected attachments in emails. Viruses ensue; thus the world goes round.

I try not to be too harsh in my opinion of such people because, really, computers are incredibly complex devices that even technically savvy experts have trouble keeping in control. I myself have a mathematics degree and work for an engineering firm, and still get stumped by seemingly unexplainable problems.

Two cases just today. I installed some new software. (OK, it’s the latest Myst game, Myst IV: Revelation.) Install went fine. Launching the game advised me that I needed to update my graphics card driver. OK, went to the Nvidia site, downloaded the appropriate file, executed the file, and halfway through the installation an alarming notice informed me that the driver had not been certified as safe for Windows XP, that I might compromise my operating system if I completed the installation; Microsoft advised me to cancel immediately. Well, OK, I clicked the option to cancel the install. Subsequently, the install program advised me that installation was successful and complete. So, did the new driver install or not? I don’t know. Yes is no, or maybe no is yes.

Meanwhile, my laptop, currently the PC in the house that I manage my email from, was fine this morning but dysfunctional when I got home from work. Both Outlook and Internet Explorer said no connection available. Network Connections advised me that the wireless signal from the router downstairs was enabled and very good. I rebooted. I carried the laptop downstairs and connected it by cable to the router. Still nothing. After an hour of various trials and errors, powering the router off and back on solved the problem; the laptop abruptly found its connection and was fine. What happened? Why today? Who knows. Alice knows.

My summer cold has passed with no complications — no chest cold, cough, etc. — and I am coming back up to speed. Today is mailing day for the new issue of the magazine, so I was diligent to post the new issue pages today, as has become the practice, though they send me the files and pics a week or more earlier (when the office staff completes the issue and sends files to the printer).

Finally finished the month’s monitor-reprint pages, ‘new in paperback’ and ‘classic reprints’. I’m getting more diligent about seeking out expected reprints, mainly by closely parsing the complete forthcoming books lists that the magazine staff compiles, and printing out a ‘shopping/spotting list’ to take with me on my semiweekly rounds to Borders and Barnes & Noble. I’ve become so efficient that monthly updates to these pages seem insufficient; there are enough items to post a couple pages in each category a month. Already, today, I’ve seen several more items for those pages… but those items will have to wait for the next updates.

I see Jonathan has a new look.

Was pleased to see today this Salon article about my favorite singer/band that almost no one else has ever heard of, Neil Finn and his brother Tim and their former band Crowded House. I’ve alluded to his songs before (“straw daylight desire”). I’m still curious about an aspect of Neil’s songs I’ve never seen discussed (not even in this Salon article) — the fascinating ‘pendant’ melodies (as I think of them) which occur at the ends of some songs, after the principal melody has resolved, when Neil launches into a new melody altogether, usually very simple and even minimalist, which decorates and spices and illuminates the main song. Primary example: “Catherine Wheels”:

She’s gone

vanished in the night

broke off the logic of light

…

Or from what I still think (despite the current album) is Neil’s best album, One Nil, the final song, “Into the Sunset”.

And I’m away from home

And it’s a way of life

…

But you’d have to hear them to understand.

Sniffles early last week turned out not to be merely allergic response to the dry Santa Ana winds, but the advent of a (so-far relatively mild) summer cold; sniffles, head congestion, and general lassitude, so far, the lack of energy to do much else this weekend besides sit and read and occasionally nap. Well, and I did manage to finish up New Books listings for the past couple weeks, posted earlier this afternoon. Still to go, New in Paperback and Classic Reprints pages for this month; plenty of material seen and on hand for both pages.