Dying of the Light

George R.R. Martin is officially part of the big time. An author in great demand who seems to have been able to win over everyday readers as well as a significant fraction of the literati. Most folks know him through his uber popular A Song of Ice and Fire series (aka his Game of Thrones work). You can definitely count me as someone who is a big fan of his writing style, his skill at building worlds, systems of magic, characters who take on flesh and bone, his dialog, and his pacing. However, until recently my only exposure to Martin's writing was through his Game of Thrones novels. I decided that I would begin to work my way through some of his other fantasy and science fiction works, beginning with his first published novel, Dying of the Light.

The story takes place on Worlorn, a rogue or free-floating planet that orbits the outer edge of the galaxy directly, instead of remaining closely tied to a central star. Thus the majority of the time, Worlorn is a frigid, dark, and lifeless rock. However, for a period, Worlorn's orbit brought it near a red giant star and it was settled. In fact 14 major cities were established to celebrate the diverse cultures of 14 different planetary systems. As Worlorn moved out away from the red giant, the planet was abandoned by all but a few individuals.

The protagonist of the story is Dirk t'Larien who was apparently called to Worlorn by his ex-girlfriend Gwen Delvano. Dirk's life has been empty and without purpose since Gwen left him, and her call sparks hope. When he arrives on Worlorn, he finds that Gwen is married to a warrior from the planet High Kavalaan, whose home-world culture is based on honor and clan loyalty. Dirk's sudden appearance on Worlorn however seems to be a surprise to Gwen and his presence leads to conflict on a number of fronts. The story is played out under the dying light of the star on the planet surface and the dying life of humanity that once filled the festival cities that were constructed to celebrate life and humanity's spread across the galaxy. Against this forlorn backdrop, Dirk finds himself immediately in conflict with the Kavalars on Worlorn whose own culture is dying just as everything around them.

The novel is relatively short for all of the development of peoples and cultures and worlds that Martin introduces, yet he handles this development with aplomb. A very gritty novel in which many of the characters face their own personal fears of life and death. Some might find this work too minimalist, too sullen, too moody. For me, I found it more introspective and a refreshing change from the typical novel endings where everything is tied up into a package with pretty wrapping and a neat bow. I will definitely move on to other works by George R.R. Martin, so stay tuned.

Absurdities 2

I have a lingering collection of things that I have stumbled across in my travels and daily life that have made me laugh or shake my head whilst uttering expressions such as, "What has this world come to?". In this series I share the absurdities with you. Enjoy.

• From the files of folks who have way too much time on their hands, I give you an announcement of the "Annual meeting of Abe Lincoln impersonators" (for those who think that I am making this up, see the story).
  
• Folks can get awfully melancholy when their sports heroes can no longer perform as they once did. I was given a harsh reminder when I saw the following mid-game box score for a recent Lakers game:
  
  
• The following sports headline put a wacky image in my head of a watermelon smashing, mustachioed bald guy affecting the outcome of a NHL game:
  
  
• To folks who claim that I have used a word incorrectly, I glibly reply, "A language is defined by its usage." My own retort has come back to haunt me as it was just announced that the fine folks at Oxford have added the word, "al deskco" to their dictionary. Its definition is one who eats lunch at their desk. Perhaps, just perhaps, we have enough words already.
  

Quick Hits 32

Sometimes I hear an utterance or catch a quick visual of something that sticks in my mind. As this sensory input rolls about in my head, several different outcomes are possible. It might be the case that after a moment of consideration, the input is deleted as uninteresting, trivial, or too much for me to deal with. However, another possible outcome is that the input keeps demanding my attention. It somehow wants me to wrestle with it and give it more than just a passing notice. In such cases, they can end up here, in my blog series called Quick Hits.

If someone were given one wish that would come true, would you think less of them if they wished to be a billionaire instead of wishing for world peace or a cure for cancer? What fraction of such wishes do you think would end up being an absolute disaster?

What do you think?

The Fi5th Gospel

I was turned onto a devotional entitled The Fi5th Gospel by my online friend (and pastor) Bill. This book was written by pastor Bobby Conway. The title may seem a bit curious as the New Testament in the Christian bible contains only four "Gospel" books, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. So what is this business of the "fifth" (stylized as "fi5th") gospel? Conway explains that this notion of a fifth Gospel is meant to be an incarnation of how Christians live out the good news declared in the four Gospel books. Just as the four Gospels of the bible point people to Jesus, so too should each of our own lives. Conway notes two important points that form the basis for his devotional,

#1 - We often forget that Christianity is not a philosophy to be argued but a Person to be known.

#2 - People generally have a skewed mental portrait of God. And, for better or worse, that perception is largely formed by their interaction with Christians.

This devotional is designed to not only point each of us Christians to Jesus, or at least point each of us Christians more toward Jesus, but moreso to give Christians a way to help point non-Christians toward Jesus. Each chapter confronts a different area of relevance that can be considered for individuals or for small groups. Conway's advice is consistently practical, consistently realistic, and consistently biblical. If you are looking for a spark to rekindle your approach or just a devotional to keep you thinking straight, this might just be a book that you will enjoy.

Observations 78

My occasional blog series "Observations" was created to be an outlet to share a variety of topics that pop into my field of view as a result of a condition that many bloggers are afflicted with known as "blogger's eyes". In this state we view the world on the constant look-out for topics on which to write about. Today's blog came about from random odds 'n ends of things that I have noticed over the past few weeks.

• Observe pretty much any commercial on T.V. and you will see line after line at the bottom of the screen of unintelligible small print consisting of blurry, white letters on a white background. This is a wholly accurate reflection at once of both our legalistic society and the ever-present con-artists grabbing every open loophole.
  
• Have you ever had a sales representative get all snarky and rude with you when you are trying to place an order with their company, one where you have placed well over a million dollars of orders in the past few years? Yeah, me too.
  
• Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were just elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I can name one of their songs, "I Love Rock and Roll". See if you can name another. Go ahead, I'll wait.
  
• The other night I was watching an NBA game on TV when a player checked into the game whose first name was Festus. That made me chuckle. You don't come across too many Festuses (or Festi) these days.
  
• What's that? You say you want to hear more quotes from fully self-absorbed, prima donna athletes? How about this from Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys about his contact negotiations?
  "It's all about respect. I am a very loyal person, but just don't test my loyalty."
  

The Alloy of Law

I give Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn epic fantasy trilogy my highest marks. Demigods, kings, class warfare, and power struggles among the privileged, pitted good against evil and forced us to see that oftentimes labels may be a matter of perspective or opportunity. In this series, Sanderson created a system of magic known as "allomancy" that fit perfectly within his setting and his story. Individuals known as allomancers have the ability to use ingested metals in order to trigger a variety of physical and mental enhancements and abilities. In an age of relatively low technology, these rare individuals, especially those with enhanced powers, were especially revered or feared. The self-contained trilogy wrapped up with "i"s dotted and "t"s crossed. However, in several interviews, Sanderson has presented his future plans for developing additional books in this series set in a more modern age. Sometimes authors can be a bit too greedy and overextend themselves, thereby somehow tarnishing the original seed. That idea entered my mind as I began to read Sanderson's most recent entry in his Mistborn world, entitled The Alloy of Law.

This story takes place some three hundred years after the original Mistborn series and is part of his Wax and Wayne trilogy. The story begins in a western-style frontier land, where two allomancers, lawman Waxillium "Wax" Ladrian and his right-hand man Wayne, are doing their part to keep crime in check and stay ahead of the rogues, bandits, and ne'er-do-wells who seem to congregate in these settlements. Wax is actually the heir of an important noble family back in the big city of Elendel and must return to see to his house's affairs after his uncle is killed in an accident. As Wax needs to project an air of refined and dignified power to ensure the success of his house's business interests, he is forced to set aside his crude, shoot-from-the-hip style and settle into the role of a high lord. However, that mien doesn't last long when Wax is pulled into the fray caused by a mysterious crew known as the "Vanishers" who are hijacking train cargos as well as kidnapping various ladies of high society, including the woman who is set to become Wax's wife.

This story amounts to a sort of buddy comedy with Wax and Wayne as western-style partners in the mold of Riggs and Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The characters have a wonderful chemistry and humor that sees them through the direst of situations with trust, purpose, and panache. The main villian, one Miles Dagouter, is an allomancer with powers that make him nearly immortal. Miles once served as the lawman in the neighboring frontier province to Wax, but turned to crime as he became bitter and jaded watching the nobility pass laws simply to protect their interests while turning their backs on the working classes. A wonderful story that made me even a bigger fan of Sanderson as he pulled this new direction off without a hitch. Highly recommended reading. The next entry in this series, Shadows of Self, is tentatively scheduled for release later this year.

iTunes Latest - 24

I have been a user of iTunes since 2011. This service has allowed me to bring music back into my world and to reconnect with so many great songs from my past. One of the things that I really like about music is that so often a given song has a strong association with a time or moment in my life. I have also found that every now and then a recent song inspires me. So, I thought that I would share my latest five downloads and a bit about my thoughts on each song.

• Head Over Heels - Tears for Fears (1985) - Songs from the Big Chair was an album that dominated the sales charts from the mid-80s and its songs were in heavy rotation on every stop on the dial. This was my favorite song from that album and it takes me back to my days in college. Definitely an association with a teenage version of me.
  
• Let it Please - The New Old Fashions (2014) - A haunting song of longing and pleading from my worship pastor and his wife. Unique, musical, and well paced.
  
• Love Changes Everything - Honeymoon Suite (1988) - I have recently connected to this group that was gaining steam back when I was in college. They had a great 3 album run before they fell off the map. This song is a pop piece that reminds us that relationships can pull us back into life no matter how long we have been away.
  
• All Along You Knew - Honeymoon Suite (1986) - When I say "rock flute solo", most folks would think Jethro Tull, as well they should, yet this song has a great little flute riff that works into this song about affairs and their associated struggles.
  
• All the Little Lights - Passenger (2012) - Passenger is not a band, but the stage name of singer/songwriter Michael David Rosenberg. After I came across the gem Let Her Go on the album All the Little Lights, I also gave a listen to the title track from this work. A melancholy, soulful, and reflective piece about losing one's innocence one little light at a time until they have all gone out.
  

In the News 8

While I have not touched an actual newspaper in some time, I do skim through the online news headlines each day. There is always something that catches my attention, whether it involves human conflict, a human interest piece, the sports wrap, or just the usual absurdities. In this series, I carve out a space for my opinions, reminiscences, or comments.

Mario Cuomo - Mr. Cuomo was the governor of New York from the mid-80s to the mid-90s. It seemed like he was a regular presence in the news when I was in high school and college. While I do not know much of anything about politics and know still less of Mr. Cuomo's leanings or record, he was just a larger than life public figure that was part of a very formative time in my life before my pudding was set and I became jaded. Mario Cuomo died at age 82 on January 1, 2015.

Donna Douglas - When I would get home from high school I would watch a bit of T.V. before working on my homework. Back in those days before cable television, we only got four channels, the affiliates of ABC, NBC, and CBS, which broadcast soap operas in the afternoon, and a local channel out of Boston, MA that showed reruns of The Beverly Hillbillies. For some reason, even then, that show seemed like something from a long ago time, and it left its imprint on me and my childhood. Donna Douglas played the part of sweet, innocent, tom-boy Elly May Clampett who loved her critters and her rasslin' down by the cement pond. Donna Douglas died at age 81 on January 2, 2015.

Quick Hits 31

Sometimes I hear an utterance or catch a quick visual of something that sticks in my mind. As this sensory input rolls about in my head, several different outcomes are possible. It might be the case that after a moment of consideration, the input is deleted as uninteresting, trivial, or too much for me to deal with. However, another possible outcome is that the input keeps demanding my attention. It somehow wants me to wrestle with it and give it more than just a passing notice. In such cases, they can end up here, in my blog series called Quick Hits.

Suppose you won a contest that gave you the choice of $10,000 or having dinner with your favorite athlete, which would you choose?

What do you think?

MLKJ Day 2015

Today is a national holiday in the United States. For most folks they will take the opportunity to sleep a bit later than normal and just enjoy an extended weekend. Some will linger about the television or do some errands or some items on their to-do lists. It wouldn't surprise me that most folks won't take even a moment of their day to reflect on why this is a holiday and who the MLKJ is behind this MLKJ day.

M - Martin Luther King, Jr. - Born as Michael King on January 15, 1929. Died on April 4, 1968.

L - Legitimized through his award of the Nobel Peace Prize on October 14, 1964 for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. His cause was not just for black against white, but for all colors black, yellow, red, or white.

K - Killed by an assassin's bullet to the head. To this day it is not clear who was involved in the plans for his murder, but most believe that it was not a single gunman. Those in power most certainly did not want their way of life changed by those they deemed beneath them.

J - Justice was a keyword in King's legacy, as in justice for all people. This legacy has lived on in the nearly 50 years since MLKJ's untimely end.

The Hero of Ages

The third and final book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy is entitled, The Hero of Ages, and its narrative follows about a year after the end of the second book, The Well of Ascension. Since the overthrow of the Lord Ruler, the world has been hastening towards its end. The ash from the active volcanos that has been raining down slowly for a millenium is now coming down like never before, smothering the land with its incessant accumulation. The mists that were once relegated to the nights, are now lingering longer into the day. More than just an effect that chokes out the sun, they are somehow responsible for killing those who get caught in them. Violent earthquakes, marauding savage monsters, civil unrest, lack of food and clean water, all seem to spell doom for the planet and its inhabitants. Emperor Elend Venture is trying his best to keep his world intact, from imploding in upon itself. However, he is only human and still learning to be what he has become. As soon as he puts out one fire, another four or five spring up. He is spread far too thin.

Elend's wife Vin, who assassinated the Lord Ruler, is following her own path. She has become convinced that she is the Hero of Ages described in the myths of her people. Left with only scant details whose missing pieces she is trying to fill in, she finds herself completely caught up in and overwhelmed by situations and forces far beyond her grasp. However, as the end draws near, she begins to glimpse at least some semblance of reason and purpose to mysteries that she has encountered again and again since her childhood. She was chosen as a special vessel, with a critical purpose toward saving humanity. But is Vin the legendary Hero, who will come upon the land in might and overwhelming power, or is there another soul more nuturing and patient who draws upon her strength that will be the savior of the land and its peoples?

I found the Mistborn series to have a power and pull like few other fantasy stories that I have read. Sanderson has developed a complete and fully fleshed out world, where his mythology and his ars arcanum hold in such a satisfying and organic manner. The characters that he developed were wholly three-dimensional to me and they fit naturally into their setting and their powers. Furthermore, his pacing and his layered story development meshed perfectly with his over-arching purpose and goals. Sanderson has said, "An author's ability to solve conflict satisfactorily with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic." To his credit, Sanderson understands this principle and it is apparent in how he unfolds his tale. I highly recommend this series.

Sanderson is now working on and planning other stories in his Mistborn world. The first book in his Wax and Wayne trilogy, entitled The Alloy of Law, takes places some one hundred years after this story. Other releases are planned for the next several years.

Observations 77

My occasional blog series "Observations" was created to be an outlet to share a variety of topics that pop into my field of view as a result of a condition that many bloggers are afflicted with known as "blogger's eyes". In this state we view the world on the constant look-out for topics on which to write about. Today's blog came about from random odds 'n ends of things that I have noticed over the past few weeks.

• It never seems to work out when a professional athlete tries to market themselves as a brand before they play a single down, take a single shot, or pitch a single inning. They just seem to make themselves into a target that everyone shoots at.
  
• There was an ad on the radio the other day from the U.S. Postal Service that clearly stated, "We treat every package like it's from our own Aunt Cathy." I don't know how you feel about this. As for me, I have never met this alledged "Aunt Cathy". How do I know that she isn't a total bed-wetting loser who deserves mis-treated packages?
  
• Why is there always some doofus in every restaurant who makes a fool of themselves clapping and hooting like a deranged seal whenever a waitress drops a tray?
  
• Have you ever noticed that when you tell someone that you will be going to the hospital for surgery, invariably they feel compelled to relate a story about some friend or relative who went to a hospital for a minor operation and died unexpectedly?
  
• A story on CNN used quotes from a basketball player who was yelling expletives at his teammates during practice. Curiously they blanked out every cuss word but one. They used "m***** f*****", "s***", but they spelled out "God****" (without the *'s). I guess that means it is O.K. to use this liberally in conversation.
  

In the News 7

While I have not touched an actual newspaper in some time, I do skim through the online news headlines each day. There is always something that catches my attention, whether it
involves human conflict, a human interest piece, the sports wrap, or just the usual absurdities. In this series, I carve out a space for my opinions, reminiscences, or comments.

Kosta Karageorge - The word tragedy has become so overused that it has been rendered inert. However, when a 22 year old college student takes his life by shooting himself in a dumpster, the word seems applicable. Kosta was a defensive tackle on the Ohio State University football team and had been dealing with concussion-related symptoms. Kosta was found dead on November 30, 2014.

Craig Ferguson - As a college student, watching late-night TV with Carson and Letterman was a big part of my day. I would come home from studying and take a few hours to unwind and relax. Somewhere along the line, my body required me to be in bed before the evening news came on. However, over the past 10 years, whenever I have had a bout of insomnia and flipped on the TV, I found another late night host that helped me to unwind. Craig Ferguson began as the host of The Late Late Show in 2005. This is a man who is just naturally funny, engaging, and quick-witted. Every time I tuned into his show it was apparent that he was having the time of his life. I never found him to be just going through the motions with the same old boring, tired attitude and pretentious rote interviews with his guests. Craig's last show as host of The Late Late Show was December 19, 2014 and I will miss my occasional time with him.

Broadcast Delay

In radio and television, the notion of a broadcast delay refers to the practice of purposefully delaying the transmission of a live broadcast. These few second delays have been deemed necessary to prevent profanity, violence, wardrobe malfunctions, or other unsuitable material from airing. Of course, the necessity for including such delays has been learned through painful experience. Think back to Bono on the Golden Globes, Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl, and any utterance by Howard Stern. It is clear that if you give folks an inch, they will take a mile, whether through purposeful intention or ill-breeding.

Get the ... bleep ... out of this ... bleeping... place you say? Well, I have said enough absolutely inane, ill-considered, stupid, and hurtful things to others in my lifetime to sink a moderately sized ocean-going vessel. If only I came outfitted with my own personal FCC agent with a nervous finger lingering over the button, this world would likely be a better place. From inner city dump to a sparkling land of rainbows and pleasant unicorns. Imagine that just when you utter some nasty, negative garbage, your handy-dandy personal content monitor (aka censor) would make sure that nobody heard your foolish utterances. Oh, how I would definitely pay for such a service.

However, that is not reality. Most of us seem to be lacking a content filter. Too often we say things that offend and hurt others. But with each occurence we have a chance to make at least two changes for the positive:

• Learn from our mistake and work to improve.
  
• Make amends to those we have affected.
  

Quick Hits 30

Sometimes I hear an utterance or catch a quick visual of something that sticks in my mind. As this sensory input rolls about in my head, several different outcomes are possible. It might be the case that after a moment of consideration, the input is deleted as uninteresting, trivial, or too much for me to deal with. However, another possible outcome is that the input keeps demanding my attention. It somehow wants me to wrestle with it and give it more than just a passing notice. In such cases, they can end up here, in my blog series called Quick Hits.

I recently learned that several colleagues of mine live more than 50 miles away from where they work. They have been commuting back and forth like this for more than 10 years. Could you live in this situation?

What do you think?

The Well of Ascension

The second book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy is entitled The Well of Ascension and follows a year after the events of the first book in the series, Mistborn. There we were introduced to a world formed into what is known as The Final Empire, ruled over by a tyrannical despot known as the Lord Ruler. The different regions of the kingdom are comprised by the nobility and a race of slave workers known as the Skaa. The different nobles scratch and claw for power and control under the watchful eye of the Lord Ruler. In the land there are people known as allomancers, with special powers that were said to have been created by the immortal Lord Ruler. The rarest among these gifted people are the Mistborn, nearly invincible with the powers that they control. Nobles who control such creatures are men who should not be crossed.

At the end of Mistborn, the Lord Ruler had been deposed by the mistborn Vin. In the wake of this incident her legend has swept far and wide. The largest city in the Final Empire, Luthadel, was the seat of power of the Lord Ruler. It is believed that his vast cache of treasures is stored there, and with his removal, two powerful nobles, Lords Straff Venture and Ashweather Cett, have raised armies and marched on the city to take possession of the Lord Ruler's treasuries. The new king of Luthadel is Straff Venture's son Elend, who has fallen deeply in love with Vin. The story's power is the tension between the two massive armies encamped outside the city walls, each alone easily more than a match for the small force under Elend's control, but each posturing against the other. Against this backdrop is the gripping love story of the powerful mistborn Vin who is trying to understand who she is and why she has the powers that she has. She struggles with coming to understand Elend and her place in his life. On the one hand she knows that she is loved, but she is overwhelmed by protecting him from the assassins who have been charged with killing him and by the fact that she feels like a tool used by the king to protect his kingdom. On the other hand, Elend, a man with no powers of allomancy, struggles to understand the demons that his dear Vin must face on a regular basis, all while trying to find some path to save his people against overwhelming odds.

In this story, Vin is drawn to find the legendary Well of Ascension, a mythical and mystical place where it is said the Lord Ruler became a god and rose to power. She comes to believe that this place is the source of her power and that she is called to find it in order to save her people. Yet when she finally makes sense of the ancient texts and finds the well, she is in for a horrible truth. Instead of saving the land and its people, she seems to have expedited their doom. A grand, exciting, and absolutely superb story, just as was Mistborn. If you like fantasy novels, then these works should be at the top of your list. The final story in the trilogy is entitled The Hero of Ages.

Observations 76

My occasional blog series "Observations" was created to be an outlet to share a variety of topics that pop into my field of view as a result of a condition that many bloggers are afflicted with known as "blogger's eyes". In this state we view the world on the constant look-out for topics on which to write about. Today's blog came about from random odds 'n ends of things that I have noticed over the past few weeks.

• This just announced via a headline on CNN news, "Jose Canseco says human beings will rule the galaxy by traveling via comet." It is amazing what passes for "news" at what is supposed to be a serious reporting outlet.
  
• The whole spat between North Korea and Sony seemed like a wholly staged affair. I wonder what Kim Jung Un's cut was of the box office for The Interview?
  
• A colleague of mine who I had not seen in many years came up to me at a recent conference that I attended. Instead of saying, "Good to see you.", I may have said instead, "I thought that you were dead." Smooth.
  
• Have you ever come up in traffic behind one of the big honchos at your place of work, the type of high-powered honcho who wears a suit and tie to a weekend barbeque, and witness that they are an absolute menace on the highway? To call them a bad driver doesn't capture just how much of a danger they truly are on the roadways. What does one do with such information?
  
• What fraction of folks do you suppose actually keep gloves in the glove compartments of their vehicles?
  

Derivative Schemes

From the moment that I was introduced to the television show, The Big Bang Theory, I became a fan. A show about a cadre of nerdy physicists and their hijinks is something that I can personally relate to as my occupation as noted on tax forms is "nerdy physicist". There was one line from the show that has stuck with me. The character of Leonard, an experimental particle physicist, was telling his mother about his research. His mother, a famous and well respected psychologist, is a humorless, distant, analytic cold fish. After listening to Leonard, she was clearly unimpressed and responded dismissively, "So your work is largely derivative?".

This response resonated with me because I have experienced this first-hand several times in my career. Specifically, scientists who seldom have any particularly original ideas of their own, but who, more often than not, seem to end up involved in high-profile, cutting edge work that brings them notoriety, prestige, and, of course, additional funding for their research program. Witnessing their approach reveals a few clues about their methodology.

• Step #1: Repeat some of the original work in a hasty and ham-handed manner. (Plan)
  
• Step #2: Align themselves with the original researchers by giving public presentations noting that they had been working on these ideas for some time. (Scheme)
  
• Step #3: Suggest to the original researchers to merge their efforts. (Infiltrate)
  
• Step #4: Inflate the level of their contributions and take credit as an equal partner of the
  original researchers. (Manipulate)
  

Even though these folks have done nothing wrong or illicit by the letter of the law, their approach does border on somewhat sketchy ethics in my book. However, sometimes justice hoists these parasitical types by their own petards. A colleague of mine who has repeated this strategy multiple times, became known for what at first seemed to be an important discovery. He took every opportunity to make sure that he received every shred of credit and that every spotlight was directed firmly upon him. However, when the research results were later discredited, he was the only one upon the stage to face the music.

A.D. 30

A.D. 30 is the latest novel by prolific author Ted Dekker. This work falls into the category of historical fiction, with Dekker weaving his tapestry of a story with various New Testament accounts of Jesus and his teachings during the time when Jesus was just beginning his earthly ministry. His approach struck a carefully measured balanced between laying out a sweeping epic that stands on its own strengths and relating who Jesus was and why his power enraptured those who heard him speak. I was quite impressed with how skillfully he pulled this feat off.

The story begins in the center of power of a bedouin tribe in the Arabian desert. Dumah has grown into an abundant oasis in the desert under control of Rami bin Malik, a sheikh whose vast wealth is due to his control of a number of key trade routes. Rami's control of the region was cemented through marriage to Nashquya, the niece of King Aretas of Petra. Nashquya has developed a strong bond with Rami's illegitimate daughter Maviah, who he had sold into slavery shortly after she was born to protect his reputation. However, after Maviah brought shame to her master's house for an unintended slight, she was sent back to her father. Her presence was barely tolerated in her father's palace and she was treated with contempt. However, when Rami's bedouin kingdom was overrun by desert raiders, he entrusted Maviah to restore her people by making a pact with King Herod Antipas in Palestine.

The story follows Maviah and her protectors as they made a harrowing journey across the unforgiving Nafud desert and up to Palestine. There we see a broken slave girl rise to fulfill her role as queen of her people before Herod. There she learns of a mystic named Yeshua who is preaching and teaching with a power never before witnessed. When she meets with Yeshua she is forever changed and her life is filled with his power only after she has been stripped of all of her strength and is laid bare before the sword of betrayal and death. I really enjoyed my time with this book and look forward to the continuing story in A.D. 33, slated for release next year.

iTunes Latest - 23

I have been a user of iTunes since 2011. This service has allowed me to bring music back into my world and to reconnect with so many great songs from my past. One of the things that I really like about music is that so often a given song has a strong association with a time or moment in my life. I have also found that every now and then a recent song inspires me. So, I thought that I would share my latest five downloads and a bit about my thoughts on each song.

• Holiday - Green Day (2005) - This band's music is labeled as punk rock, a genre that I am not a fan of. However, this is a pure rock anthem song that fully energizes me. This song is not anti-American, it's anti-war!
  
• Billy's Got a Gun - Def Leppard (1984) - Pyromania is an iconic work of rock n' roll that dominated the mid-80s. Though I was swept away in its magic at the time, I don't find that it holds up all that well today. In a moment of nostalgia, I picked up what many would consider a "B-side" track from that album, but it was as strong as any other tune on that work.
  
• Fall Down - Toad the Wet Sprocket (1994) - A band with a quirky name that had a handful of hits in the early 90s. They sound like a clone of The Gin Blossoms or the other way around. Sometimes I find it difficult to tell their original pop songs from the later Muzak elevator versions. However, this song, which came out at the end of my time in graduate school, has always been one that made me turn the volume up a couple of clicks. Definitely a tune to call your Dulcinea.
  
• New Girl Now - Honeymoon Suite (1984) - This band was definitely a rising act in the mid- to late 80s but was quickly forgotten once Nirvana and the grunge movement came on the scene. Yet this song from their debut album is one that made me dream of being a rock star. It just exudes an attitude of cool.
  
• The Big Money - Rush (1985) - When I was in high school in the early 80s, one of my friends was a huge fan of the band Rush. To be a contrarian, I decided that I wouldn't like them. However, when The Big Money was released, I thought that it wasn't too bad. When I found out that the band was only a trio, I was floored that so few folks could produce such a layered, intricate, and full sound.
  

Mistborn

The first book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy is entitled Mistborn - The Final Empire. The story involves a world run with a cruel, unforgiving, and absolute hand by the Lord Ruler. A creature that is believed to be immortal, a god that rose to power as a man before he defeated some encompassing darkness that enabled him to be elevated to his position. The Final Empire is divided into a number of cities and outlying areas. The noble class rules over a peasant class known as the skaa. The skaa are treated as little more than fodder for the nobility, to serve them without question. If they die, so be it, there are plenty more to plug into the gaps.

It is believed that millennia ago, the Lord Ruler gave a special gift to his closest allies, those who had helped him seize power. This gift known as Allomancy allowed those chosen to ingest special metals that could be used to enhance the person's abilities. One metal for strength, one metal to control emotions, one metal to enhance the senses. These abilities were hereditary and those few so called Mistings who have the power to use metals in this fashion, typically only have the ability to control use of one metal. An extremely rare power is that to use all of the different metals, controlled by the Mistborn.

The story of Mistborn begins with a small crew of skaa rebels who survive by thieving. This crew begins to work with the skaa underground rebellion. Through the leadership of one powerful skaa Mistborn, Kelsier, they begin to have success affecting the kingdom and dream of someday overthrowing the Lord Ruler. Kelsier finds a timid skaa thief named Vin who he believes initially to be a Misting, but soon enough he releases that she too is a Mistborn. Together Kelsier and Vin, along with their dedicated, hard-working, and close-knit crew, eventually deliver the skaa from their seemingly endless oppression.

This story was top-notch from beginning to end. It is one of those stories that stood out for its originality, its wonderful character and world-scape development, and its layered and detailed approach to laying out the narrative. I definitely give this my highest recommendation. The next story in the trilogy is called Mistborn - The Well of Ascension.

Happy New Year 2015

Hey. Can you believe that we are at the start of another year? ... I know. I shouldn't be surprised that after the passing of 365 days, we are starting the Gregorian cycle anew. ... Yes, I understand that is fully according to convention and expectation. ... But, don't you feel something entincing about the opportunity to start again with a blank slate, even if it is a bit contrived? ... Oh, of course not. I should have realized ...

Folks, for me there always seems to be an odd feeling in my tummy as one year passes through complete and another starts on its way. Another trip around the sun as they say. Another chance to give this whole life thing a better go. Perhaps that odd feeling is hope, perhaps promise, perhaps eagerness. However, I hope that wherever you find yourself today, this year truly is your best one yet. Smile more. Love more. Celebrate more. Less excuses. That sounds like a template that should net an improved showing.

As for me, my new year tends to get off to a great start as I celebrate the birthday of my daughter, born on this day 17 years ago. Happy birthday angel face.