Avatar plot wrecks

As good as the visual effects were in Avatar, the plot was a wreck. I was going to fill this out right after I saw it, but I give up, since it's been done in so many other places. It seems strange how the well-trodden path taken by the plot doesn't seem to hurt this movie. It doesn't help it a whole lot, either. I was most bothered by the frontal assault of the cavalry on the ground against the mecha. That was just dumb, something even a grunt marine should know was futile.

Sherlock Holmes

Went to see the movie Sherlock Holmes, with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. I enjoyed it throughout. The initial presentation of Holmes as a bit off his rocker was pulled off well. Watson's fascination with the cases and Holmes balanced with his frustration with his erratic behavior was front and center.

It's funny, though, the mystery was not so much what was going to happen, but how the evil 'magician' Lord Blackwood actually did it. Reason and science triumph again, and Moriarti pulls some strings and waits for the sequel.

We saw it at the Lumina, and the soundtrack was jarring - the calliope seemed to be too much for the sound system. Oh well.

Info at IMDB.

Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris

I've read them, they're fun. Good mix of suspense, sex, violence, mystery.

Amazon collection of 1-7

Number 8

Number 9 I haven't read, not in paperback until April 2010.

True Blood, season one and two, are fun to compare to the books. They aren't first-person like the novels, so they range much wider following the other characters, especially Tara and Jason. Some elements are obviously aimed at people who've read the books, to surprise them.

Spoiler: the biggest is the continued existence of Lafayette, but the actor/writers in the show are having a great time with him.

The Bottom Billion by Paul Collier, review

I hope that many people in a position to do something have read and considered this book. Most of the recommendations are backed up by studies of the current state of the bottom billion countries. I was out of my comfort zone with this book, and I'm glad - it's made me aware of issues which I didn't know anything about. I am so far removed from doing anything about it, though, that it may just make me more cynical.

Amazon link.

Avatar movie in 3D

That was amazing. I think the gizmodo review got it right. There's not much point talking about the plot, or for that matter the science. But the visual reproduction of an alien environment that really looked and felt real, was accomplished. And I can include the whole panoply of living things that swirl around in that jungle for the first time, including the humanoid aliens. The forms and iridescence of the creatures were chosen to grab attention and impress, but they were plausibly real.

I can't think of one time that I was pulled out of the visual and visceral experience by something that looked fake.

Avatar on imdb.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Engrossing, I was surprised. I have not read his earlier American Gods, but now I intend to. I liked the exploration of some mythic arcs, with the trickster as the centerpiece.
Anansi Boys at PBSwap

Giant puffballs

We ran into some giant puffball mushrooms on Bolin Creek trail a few weeks ago. I haven't looked them up, but I assume there aren't too many kinds of white puffballs that grow to be soccer-ball sized! There were two within 5 feet of each other, just off the trail under some brush and trees; unfortunately we haven't been back to check on them to see how they matured.