Silicon Valley Days » Books

Ray Bradbury – Bicycle Rider

Silicon Valley Dazed — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:52:55 +0000

Link via LA Times

Though he didn’t drive, Bradbury could often be spotted out and about Los Angeles. A familiar figure with a wind-blown mane of white hair and heavy black-framed glasses, he’d browse the stacks of libraries and bookstores, his bicycle leaning against a store front or pole just outside.

My favorite Bradbury short story is Kaleidoscope. Reading it in 3rd grade, it was such a shock to realize all stories don’t have a happy ending.

Thumbs up for Jennifer Lawrence playing Katniss Everdeen after watching Winter’s Bone

Silicon Valley Dazed — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:21:38 +0000

I was very interested in watching Winter’s Bone after reading that Jennifer Lawrence was cast to play Katniss Everdeen in the movie adaptation of the Hunger Games. When I first heard of the casting choice, I was somewhat disappointed that a blonde, fair-skinned actress had been cast to play a character described in the book as someone with dark hair and olive skin. Jennifer Lawrence, who is 20, will also be playing a 16-year old. But after watching Winter’s Bone, I now know why they chose Jennifer Lawrence for the crucial role of Katniss Everdeen. First of all, although Jennifer Lawrence is 20, she looks young. The audience will have no problem believing her as a teenager. More importantly, there’s a spare depth to her acting which is perfect for the Katniss Everdeen role. The harsh circumstances of Winter’s Bone also reflect the background of The Hunger Games, although the setting is more fantastic. In Winter’s Bone, Lawrence’s perseverance in preserving her home and family is a notable part of her character that will be needed again in The Hunger Games. Jennifer Lawrence’s outward appearance can easily be changed with hair dye, contacts, and makeup for the Katniss Everdeen role, but her acting ability won’t need to be changed at all, which is a much more important aspect of playing the role of Katniss Everdeen.

Regarding Winter’s Bone the movie, I was wondering where I had seen a character in the movie before when I realized it was “Laura Palmer”. It was also fun to see two characters from Deadwood in the movie. I liked how the movie dealt with the unprecedented destructiveness of methamphetamine on some local rural communities. Some would call parts of the movie overblown, but overall, the presence of meth was treated as just part of the day to day life of the characters in Winter’s Bone.

Rereading The Man in the High Castle

Silicon Valley Dazed — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 04:13:29 +0000

The first time I read Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle was back in high school before the first movie based on Dick’s works, Bladerunner, came out. With the recent publication of his third wife’s memoirs during the period when he wrote The Man in the High Castle and the announcement that Ridley Scott would be producing a 4-part mini-series based on the book for the BBC, I thought it was a good time to reread the book.

As with many of Dick’s works, the main themes of The Man in the High Castle deal with reality and identity. In the alternate universe of the book set in the early 60s when the book was written, Japan and Germany won World War 2, and the U.S. has been split between the two powers. In the book within a book, an author in Cheyenne, Wyoming (the man in the high castle) has written a novel of a world where the Allies won the war. Interestingly enough, this reality is also different from ours since Churchill remains in power 20 years after the end of World War 2, and the U.S. is a close ally with mainland China and Chiang Kai-Shek who won the civil war with Mao Zedong.

I appreciated the book much more upon its second reading because much of the book is set in San Francisco. The first time I read the book, I had only visited San Francisco for a day on a family road trip. Now, I’ve lived in the S.F. Bay area for almost 20 years, and I have more empathy for the scenes set in the city. In the intervening years, I’ve also had a great interest in books and movies depicting the highly influential events and characters of World War 2. Dick does a great job of extrapolating the political intrigue and competition that would have occurred if the Axis powers had won the war much like how Russia and the U.S., once allies, engaged in a long cold war.

Reading Sandkings on Kindle for PC

Silicon Valley Dazed — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:59:55 +0000

I started reading Sandkings on Kindle for PC for the kids last night. Both kids were really wrapped in the story, and I’ll try to finish the other half tonight. It is nice to be able to purchase a book and easily access and read it on my iPod Touch and PC. Just a warning that Sandkings involves death by fire, laser, sword, and mandibles and cruelty to a puppy.

The Road

Silicon Valley Dazed — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:10:01 +0000

I started reading Cormac McCarthy’s The Road last night, and I should be done with it later on today. I was expecting an extended opus like Stephen King’s The Stand based on reviews I had read about the novel, but I think I had this misconception because the reviewers kept mentioning the sisyphean drudgery of the characters and journey in The Road. Instead, The Road is a short book with spare sentences and paragraphs. Its atmosphere reminds me of the comic book series The Walking Dead. As I turned on the light this morning at 5:30 am to read more of The Road, my 5-year old son came running in to my room and jumped in my bed. I pulled him close and smelled his hair. This was real. I appreciate the love between us, and that’s what The Road is ultimately about – the love between a father and his son.