Surface Detail, Iain M. Banks

I just finished Surface Detail, by Iain M. Banks: one of his Culture novels (2010). I’ve read and reviewed several of his novels in this series before, so I’ll be brief (note: although the Culture novels are a ‘series’, each novel is a stand-alone story).

I thought this was one of the better Culture novels, with an interesting idea of a virtual-reality hell, which is used by certain societies as a punishment system to purportedly maintain a moral civilization. The virtual hells are only a part of the novel’s story, but I found it difficult to slog through these sections (it is an interesting idea, but I could have done with fewer pages devoted to the depictions of hell).

As usual, Mr. Banks provides some interesting characters with differing motivations that move the plot along quite successfully.

My favourite quote (p. 540):

“They set off, whirling down the steps so fast it was almost falling.” (my emphasis on the last two words, which were the key to my enjoyment)

Recommended.

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Too long in the mall…

Damp heat seeped through my pores. Breathing was difficult: the air was viscous, heavy: the basis of my claustrophobia. Fractal light swam through the thick canopy dozens of meters above. There were sounds from all sides: jungle life, I reasoned. I came to a clearing and saw a man — by his looks, a native. He stared at me with a mixture of curiosity, fear and signs of temporary insanity. I had walked about fifty meters and was nearly done-in. He pointed at me and said, “Hkzzt-t-t kumar, bonk!,” looked up, toward the sky, said, “fioir kapuet regdt,” twirled his hand above his head and spat out: “Spthhht!”

It was definitely time to get outside, into fresh air…

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…The white homunculus replaced the orange hand and I ebbed across the street amid a heard of humanity.

A VW microbus — with a bumper sticker declaring that the driver breaks for hallucinations — limped through the intersection (to my left) and bounced off the far curb. This educed a chorus of “ahs” from the herd (like in Pink Floyd’s  Run, on Dark Side of the Moon).

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I relaxed somewhat.

While everyone else was focused on the van’s progress, I surreptitiously sniffed my left underarm (the worst of a bad pair) and scratched cheek on shoulder as a cover. Not bad, I decided — it was fairly blustery out anyway. Perhaps I was followed by something odious, but nobody could connect the two of us, surely…

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Favourite reads in 2012

It’s a few days early for a year’s best-of list, but I’ve got over four-hundred pages left to read in my current book and reading time is scarce at this time of year, so I feel safe claiming which books form the dozen that I’ve enjoyed the most in 2012.

In no particular order, the list:

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Soul Mountain, by Gao Xingjian

Half-Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan

The Snow Leopard, by Peter Matthiessen

Air (or Have, Not Have), by Geoff Ryman

The Use of Weapons, by Iain M. Banks

Roadside Picnic, by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky

For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway

The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick DeWitt

The Map and the Territory, by Michel Houellebecq

The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

Dhalgren, by Samuel R. Delany

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Merry Christmas, best of the season, and happy reading!

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Winter Soltice

The first big snowfall of the season came a couple of days before the winter solstice; but, for me, the snow marked the beginning of the Christmas/Winter season. I’m off work now until the end of the year, but two days ago I was wishing my holidays started slightly earlier: it took me three hours to get home, and that was after a half-hour spent digging my car out of the snow bank created by a plough. After a snow dump of 15 cm, it rained, which caused very icy conditions, especially in heavy-traffic areas.

I must admit, a snow-ladened landscape is incredibly stunning, but it’s so much easier to appreciate while at home, sitting on the sofa, warm and comfortable by the fire.

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The Chronoliths, a book review

The Chronoliths is the first book I’ve read by Robert Charles Wilson, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The title is a clever portmanteau, combining the words Chronology and Monolith. One-by-one, monuments are arriving, proclaiming victories in future battles: inscriptions on the ‘Chronoliths’ proclaim that Kuin, an enigmatic ruler, is the man behind the conquests. The continuing arrival of monuments induces a societal feeling of inevitability, a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the youth of the world begin to accept a pre-determined future world leader: a fanatical portion of society even feels that to fight the inevitable would be illogical, and possibly harmful.

The novel is well written, but I was never fully drawn into the plight of the characters: the plot felt a bit contrived, and there wasn’t enough depth to become immersed in the story. The novel is a light, social-science fiction read with some interesting ideas, and I recommend it as a pleasant diversion.

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Derek Amato’s Acquired Savant Syndrome

Derek Amato is one of about thirty people in the world with Acquired Savant Syndrome, which spontaneously bestows profound abilities to individuals who have suffered head trauma.

Derek dove into a shallow pool and ended up in the hospital with a severe concussion. As a consequence of the accident, he suffered a thirty-five percent loss in hearing, memory difficulties, and issues with over-stimulation of his mind. But he gained some qualities as well…

When Derek was released from the hospital he visited a friend who is a guitarist. Derek had dabbled in guitar playing, but was never proficient: he watched his friend play, but Derek’s hands began to twitch and he had a curious impulse to play the keyboard, which was also in the room. He sat at the keyboard and — even though he’d never had a piano lesson, couldn’t read music, and had never played the keyboard — he began to play a classical-type composition that he saw as flickering black and white squares in his mind. He played for hours into the night; apprehensive, but feeling as though a spiritual channel had arisen.

He has since been diagnosed with Acquired Musical Savant Syndrome (the only documented case known) and a form of Syneteshia, a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.

After absorbing the remarkable phenomenon of this story, it occurs to me that the human mind is a far more complex organ than we imagine.

Check out the video below for more on this intriguing story, including Derek playing some of his music:

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The Dumbo Octopus

found at http://isite.lps.org

The Dumbo Octopus (genus Grimotheuthis) — named after the famed Disney elephant — has ear-like fins that are used for propulsion through the water. They also use water-jet propulsion and swim with a rhythmic thrust of their arms, like other octopods, but flapping their ear-fins seems to be a favoured form of propulsion.

Not a lot is known about this rarest of the Octopoda species. They have been found as shallow as 400 meters below the surface, but are most commonly found at depths of 3,000 to 4,000 meters. One species was discovered at a depth of seven thousand meters, deeper than any other known octopus. They hover above the ocean floor and feed on worms, molluscs and crustaceans; but, unlike other octopods, they swallow prey whole because they have no radula (a tongue with teeth on it).

The male has an adapted section on one arm that is probably used to convey spermatosphores into the female.

I wonder how many unknown, strange creatures lurk in the dark depths…

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Muse: the brainwave sensing headband

Have you ever wanted to control objects with only your thoughts?

A company called InteraXon claims they have invented a device that will eventually “let you do more with your mind than you ever thought possible.”

Their product — Muse — is a brainwave-sensing headband; in their words, a comfortable, sleek four-sensor headband (to me, it looks like something from a bad science fiction movie, but I’m not exactly a fashion plate, so you should make your own determination).

InteraXon claims that their device will facilitate self-improvement in your brain activity. Muse measures your brainwaves and sends them to your smart phone or tablet and you can instantly gauge your brain’s effectiveness; for example, you can see if you are creating gentle, meditative, low-frequency alpha waves, or the intense, jagged peaks of ultra-creative beta waves. In this way, they claim, you will be able to improve your brain’s operation.

InteraXon is planning to enable brainwaves to control devices in the real world; devices that will respond to your thoughts. The Muse headband connects wirelessly, using Bluetooth, and will translate your brainwaves into directions to control your electronic devices, apps, and games.

InteraXon has an account on Indiegogo, hoping to raise the funds necessary to deliver brain-controlled computing to the masses.

Early-birds can get their hands on a Muse headband for a pledge of $135. For more information, check out the video on their website.

I suppose I’m just a bit paranoid, imagining the worst, but I’m slightly concerned about my brainwaves — my thoughts — being captured digitally and possibly re-used and manipulated: it gives me a bad case of the willies.

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Dave Brubeck

Dave Brubeck, iconoclastic jazz composer and pianist, passed from this world earlier today.

He was inspired by the rise of West Coast jazz, but he became famous for his unconventional meters; in particular, for his 1959 album Time Out, a personal favorite of mine. The entire album is fantastic, but there are two pieces that stand out:

Blue Rondo à la Turk is the opening number on the album. The piece’s theme includes an unusual 9/8 rhythm (the theme contains three measures of 2+2+2+3 followed by one measure of 3+3+3).  Apparently, Brubeck first heard the rhythm performed by Turkish street musicians. When he asked about the rhythm, they replied that the rhythm, to them, was like the blues to him; hence the piece’s name. This piece is commonly — and erroneously — thought to be based on Mozart’s Rondo ala Turca.

The other stand-out piece on the album is Take Five, which was written by Paul Desmond, whose flowing, ethereal alto saxophone helped propel this album, and The Dave Brubeck Quartet (Brubeck, Desmond, Eugene Wright (b), and Joe Morello (d)),  into mainstream culture.

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I mourn Dave Brubeck’s passing, but will continue to revel within the genius of his musical vision.

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The Logic of Law

A woman from Pemberton B.C. may lose her home to the lawyer she hired to help save it.

Dale Fotsch was sued by her ex-husband, who was trying to acquire a percentage of her property. The case dragged on for nine years (three weeks of which were in court), but Ms. Fotsch eventually won her case, and the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered her ex-husband to pay her court costs, which amounted to ~ $90,000. Unfortunately, her ex-husband declared bankruptcy and her lawyer is taking legal action to foreclose her home so he can collect his fee.

I hope things turn out positively for Dale Fotsch, but this should be a precaution for the rest of us: the story doesn’t exactly fill me with faith in our legal system.

For more information: CBC News

There is also an Indiegogo campaign set up for Dale Fotsch for anyone that wants to help her out (at http://igg.me/p/289261/x/1851988)

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