Apostrophe S

OK, admitadly, I’m reading a slower pace than I was earlier in the year. But I’m still in the black, so to speak. Meaning that I’ve already read 11 books and this is only the fifth month of the year. I’ll get back on track. I promise. Anyway…

I have read a few of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” novels and enjoyed them very much. What draws me to Herbert’s writing is his sense of scale and ability to create huge and believable worlds that share similarities with our own, but are far enough removed to give them a fantastic quality. The scale of “The Eyes of Heisenberg” is rather small compaired to the “Dune” universe, but that’s probably because “Eyes” is only 157 pages, as opposed to the eleventy billion pages that compose the writings concerning “Dune,” including the stuff that Herbert’s son is working on. I found myself wondering if “Eyes” was supposed to fit in the “Dune” timeline, just much earlier.

The premise of the book is constructed around the notion that in the future — about 80,000 years into the future, as a matter of fact — humans are no longer born the “ancient” way, that is via the mother’s womb. They are instead grown from embryos in vats that provide all the necessary nutrients. In addition, skilled surgeons inspect the DNA of the embryos and make corrections, called cuts, to cure disease and affect appearance and temperament. These surgeons are apparently so skilled that the various classes of people are cut in distinct ways, so that surgeons can identify what “cut” an individual is just by looking and talking to them. Genetic manipulation has also led to the creation of the Optimen, a class of humans that are more than human. They are called the live-forevers because, well, they are immortal. Or so they think…

Continue reading ‘The Eyes of Heisenberg by Frank Herbert’

So I haven’t posted a movie review in a while. Mostly because I really haven’t seen many movies lately. Sad, I know, but it seems like I’ve been watching a lot of TV shows lately. Not really watching TV — I download them — but watching serialized moving pictures nonetheless.

Anyway, “Lonesome Jim”. The movie was playing at a film series at McMenamins this week, so Michelle and I checked it out. I’ve been waiting for this movie to come out for a while, ever since I heard that it was being filmed and set in Goshen, (or, more precisely, Cromwell) Indiana.

The movie stars Casey Affleck as Jim, a young guy from rural Indiana who moves back home to live with his parents after a failed attempt at a writing career in New York City. He claims to suffer from “clinical despair.” His brother is no better; divorced, a father of two girls whose basketball team just can’t seem to win, and still living with his parents, Tim ends up in a coma after he purposefully ran his car into a tree.

Jim meets Anika, played by Liv Tyler, a nurse and single mother of young Ben. They both seem to like Jim, despite his seeming lack of likeable qualities. A weird romance ensues, Jim’s mother ends up in jail, and Jim comes to realize a few things about his life. That’s pretty much the plot.

Really the only reason I wanted to see the movie was because Goshen was the county seat in Elkhart County, where I grew up. I know the town pretty well. And it’s totally a place where a character could successfully suffer from “clinicial despair.” I also like Casey Affleck, about 17 times more than I like his more famous brother. I can identify with some of the rural Indiana despondency portrayed in the film, but I think it relies on a few too many Midwestern clichés, even if some of them are true.

Overall, it’s a weirdly heartwarming story about realizing the good things you’ve got and not turning your back on a those good things, etc, etc. I recommend it. Especially if you’re from Michiana. And especially especially if you’re from Goshen, and somehow managed to get out. It’ll make you feel better about yourself.

Oh, and I just read that Casey Affleck named his first child Indiana. How charming.