Tag Archives: books

Books Matter

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Technology drives society. It creates. It innovates. It matures and it dies, falling victim to newer iterations that continue our evolution in an inevitable cycle. It is an unavoidable fate. However, there are some technologies that are so close to perfection that their existence persists in spite of this fate. Books exemplify this.

The codex transformed the world. With the help of movable type it conquered the scroll and spread information equitably among the literate. Once a status symbol of the rich, books made their way into the hands of the People spawning an entire age of enlightenment. It was profound.

It was in this history that books married themselves to the human condition. As the vehicle to learning and development, and, more importantly, personal freedom. It is hardly hyperbole to proclaim books as a key to technology.

Yet now, in our digital age, technology has wrought a formidable alternative to the codex; digital readers that can house an entire library in a single, well designed package. More so than just storing our books, it gives us access to search for, purchase, archive and scan the written word in a limitless on demand fashion. In most respects, these eReaders are magic books, ready to fill a blank page with an endless supply of words.

The Book is dead. Long live the Book.

While its dominance will erode to convenience, the physical artifact will be forever treasured by many—call us purists if you’d like. There is not a digital reader in this world that can compete with the subtle experience of buying a book, opening it, and smelling its fresh pages as you curiously thumb through them for the first time. It will not supplant the wonderment of admiring its binding, reading through the prologue and being touched by the dedication. The eReader will never look quite right stashed on a nightstand or held in a lap. And finally, the accomplishment will be cheapened by never ‘reaching’ that last page; by never placing the book proudly upon your shelf where it can take its place of personal prominence among your growing cache of previous exploits—a very real reminder of the progress in us all.

History is inextricably tied to books and it is history that will keep books inextricably tied to us.

Star Wars: Ten People Who Should Write Live Action TV Episodes

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Darth Vader with the Imperial LogoUnless you’ve been hunkered down for winter on the Ice Planet of Hoth for the past two years, you have undoubtedly heard of the much anticipated live-action Star Wars TV series starring none other than Boba Fett.

I write this post in an effort to guard against a resurrection of Jar Jar Binks or any other Lucasisms that might tarnish the series and ruin its potential.  I have decided to generate a list of 10 notable science fiction writers or directors who would do a far better job than George Lucas of writing episodes for the new series.

Star Wars Heir To The Empire by Timothy Zahn1. Timothy Zahn: The genius behind the Grand Admiral Thrawn trilogy of books.  He brought us characters the likes of Mara Jade, Talon Karde, and Grand Admiral Thrawn.  It is thanks to books like Heir to the Empire that the Star Wars expanded Universe has developed into what it is today.  If I had my pick, Zahn would write both the pilot episode and the season finale.

Star Wars Jedi Search 2. Kevin J. Anderson: This author took the work started by Timothy Zahn and continued in quality fashion with the Jedi Academy Trilogy.  He then continued to pop up in other solo novels and as part of several series and comic books in the Star Wars Universe.  In addition, I’m sure his wife, Rebecca Moesta, would be a valuable consultant at his disposal considering she has also written many installments in the expanded universe.

3. Kevin Smith: Let’s not forget about comedy.  C3PO and R2D2 were  the Abbott and Costello of the original trilogy.  Also, Han Solo’s constant badgering of Threepio added yet more comic relief to an otherwise serious trilogy.  Kevin Smith is the only writer I can think of competent enough in both Science Fiction and Comedy to pull of a much needed funny episode of the series.

4. Stan Lee: He is the father of the Marvel Comic Empire.  This one might be a stretch but I think The Hulk throwing a fit is perfect parallel to a Sith Lord channeling his anger through the Dark Side of the Force.  Lee has shown over and over again that he can both imagine great characters and write great stories to go along with them.

Star Wars X-Wing Rogue Squadron by Michael A. Stackpole5. Michael A. Stackpole: Dogfights are a must in this series.  Stackpole was author of the X-Wing series that featured some very well written fighter combat sequences.  How about an episode with Wedge Antilles going toe to toe with some upstart TIE Fighter Ace with a reputation for vaping Rebel pilots?

6. George A. Romero: Ok, so I have a soft spot for Zombies.  But perhaps there might be an episode buried in here.  How about some out of the way planet infected with a biological weapon conjured up by the Empire that turned the natives into cannibalistic Zombies?  Remember, you need to blast ‘em in the head!  Just a thought.

7. Anne Rice: I am sure about this one. Perhaps she could write about some type of Force Wielding life form lurking in the shadows that survives by using the force to drain the life out of unknowing victims just as her famous character, The Vampire Lestat does.

8. M Night Shyamalan: I have said it before and I’ll say it again, the prequels major downfall was the lack of a plot twist such as the one that made the original trilogy such a success.  Who better than Shyamalan to write a Science Fiction plot twist.  He will have to have a cameo in the episode of course.

9. J. Michael Straczynski: Perhaps another point of contention for many of you but I truly enjoyed the space combat sequences he wrote for Babylon 5.  The Star Wars TV series had better feature at least one major Space Fleet battle and Straczynski does an excellent job of infusing contemporary naval battle tactics into a space-faring environment.

Star Wars The Courtship Of Princess Leia10. Dave Wolverton: As the author of the novel The Courtship of Princess Leia, he introduced an new aspect into the Star Wars universe:  Amazonian domination.  Both the Hapans and the Jedi-like Witches of Dathomir were societies of warrior women who dominated their own male population and held their own against the Empire.  This could make for a very interesting episode.

Image Used in this Post

Darth Vader Imperial Logo image courtesy of Flickr user gogen001 published under the CC license.

~Man Overboard