whosiwhatsnow?

Seven years ago today, i was hoping to make a bit of a difference.

The election and the political climate was a mess.

source: www.meteoweb.eu

It's odd today on the eve of the upcoming election that there is not much to say - vote for Rebecca Dallet - but in 2011, we were in a different and scary moment in Wisconsin... and in America.

Rounders is playing in the background right now - and that movie is a conglomeration of poker cliche's.  But it's also a movie about bottoming out.

It's a bit like the moment of your life when you realize it all hasn't been set up for you (apologies for those of you who haven't realized this yet).

Edward Norton is the finest actor of his age...  He's so good - and it's lovely to see him do most everything.  Win and sometimes lose at cards... Get hit by tanks because he's the secret Hulk...  realize he's not friends with the coolest guy in the room,,, but instead he IS that guy!

It's a Rob Roy situation, and a maddening life swatch kinda situation... 

Ready for Ready

It started with my damn Apple news feed...  An article about Ready Player One, that i did not need to read.  But, it had the promise of classic 80s video games online.

Source: Polygon.com

I do not love the algorithms that know what we will want to read, and present it to us.  I have read (and watched) this all before.  Dystopias come in many shapes and sizes - but a lot of them rhyme.

I knew as soon as it came out, of course, that Ready Player One was going to be a book (and then a movie!) for me.  It's in my lane, but i resisted.  In part, because Vernor Vinge's exceptional book Rainbows End felt like it was being ripped off (at least in the descriptions i heard of Cline's book).

With the premiere of Spielberg's movie fast approaching, i recalled while playing a couple of (dozen) rounds of Joust that i had downloaded the audiobook of Ready Player One (narrated by Wil Wheaton!) a while back during one of my stints of Audible membership.  I knew that if i didn't listen to it before the movie premiere, i would likely never read the book.

And so i dove in a few nights ago... and i am HOOKED.  The geek culture made relevant, and powerful.  It's so good - not great, but tons of fun, and referential.  I've finished a third of the novel - i love the Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey nod, and feel like i may finish the rest in not too many days. 

And then will probably just go straight out and see the movie as soon as it's out too... because because.