Stuff I Like
Alternate History
What if?
That’s one of my favorite questions. What if events in history had gone just a little bit differently? What if the Jews had been conquered before their religion had matured enough to survive? What if Rome never fell? What if a sniper had taken the shot he’d drawn on George Washington, rather than refuse to shoot a man in the back? What if England and France had pressured Lincoln into signing an armistice with the Confederacy? What if the Germans were able to detonate an atomic bomb over Allied forces at Normandy?
The possibilities are nearly limitless, and have proven to be fertile ground for a number of authors in what’s becoming a very popular genre.
Comic Books
Comics aren’t just for kids. In fact, most of the comics out there today are intended for young adults like myself. The stories aren’t simplistic, although some are simple, and the characters have depth and life to them.
So what do I read? Marvel’s “Ultimate” line has hooked me in a very big way; it’s designed to tell comics as though they were a series of feature films or television shows, and they feel all the more “real” as a result. The new GI Joe and Transformers comics from IDW are really good.
Linux
What’s Linux, you ask? It’s an operating system (like Windows or MacOS) developed in 1991 by Finnish student Linus Torvalds. It was based on Unix, which is an expensive, but very good, operating system.
Why do I use it? Well, for one thing, I can download it for free. For another, it’s more stable, and all those viruses you keep hearing about on the news only (or at the least, largely) affect Windows.
Granted, a lot of things work differently in Linux than they do in Windows, so there was a bit of a learning curve when I switched over in 1998. I still use Windows, mostly out of necessity for a few programs, but I’m glad I made the switch. Yes, like any other OS, Linux has its share of problems, but unlike others, the open source nature of Linux means that fixes and new versions come out regularly and frequently.
Robotech
Robotech was the first exposure I ever had to anime, and as such, it holds a special place in my heart. Of the three “generations,” which were actually three unrelated Japanese series recut and edited to flow together, the first, Macross, remains my favorite.
The show was a lot more “grown up” than any other cartoon out there at the time, and I think that was a big part of its appeal to me. People died, and their friends mourned them. Relationships weren’t simple, and they twisted and turned at the slightest misstep. It was a far cry from its more simplisted and formulaic competitors, which had precious little character development, if any, and each of their episodes rarely affected the status quo.
Star Trek
Why do I like Star Trek? It’s not the spaceships, the gee-whiz technologies, or the neat special effects. It’s not the portrayal of a future where humanity is finally at peace with itself. It’s not the funny-looking aliens (although the countless variations on ears, noses, and foreheads are becoming tiresome).
It’s none of those things. It’s all of those things, and more.
What it boils down to is characters. I just love the characters. Everything else is details, background, and window dressing. Read the Star Trek stories I’ve written: it’s all about the characters.
