Lagrange pointstag:www.gt-labs.com,2008-10-22:/blog//12012-01-13T19:15:12ZJim Ottaviani's journal on comics writing, reading, running, etc.Movable Type Pro 4.34-enFeynman, week #10, at #10tag:www.gt-labs.com,2012:/blog//1.1502012-01-14T19:02:28Z2012-01-13T19:15:12ZThe book Leland and I made continues to do well, and has now made it to double digits on the New York Times Best Sellers List.Barely, but no complaints...the top three (Tintin, Habibi, and Hark! A Vagrant) are all great and the Twilight and Walking Dead juggernauts are tough to beat as well. Even for Richard Feynman....Jim O.The book Leland and I made continues to do well, and has now made it to double digits on the New York Times Best Sellers List.
Barely, but no complaints...the top three (Tintin, Habibi, and Hark! A Vagrant) are all great and the Twilight and Walking Dead juggernauts are tough to beat as well. Even for Richard Feynman. ]]>
The Year in Runningtag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1452011-12-22T01:18:45Z2011-12-17T21:45:40ZAround March I wondered if 2010 was my last good year of running. Not that it was brilliant -- I had my share of injuries and didn't meet my own expectations in any but one race. And no elite Kenyan runner ever gets a worried look when he or she sees me limbering up near the starting line. But still, it was pretty good, and I was pretty healthy. No ankle sprains, for one thing. In 2011 I had more than my share of injuries, assuming my share is zero. Which it isn't. So the one big one that got...Jim O. In 2011 I had more than my share of injuries, assuming my share is zero. Which it isn't. So the one big one that got really...chatty with my hip and lower back, and which has nagged at me for almost two years, and which has resisted both rest (to be fair, I've probably not given it enough of that) and physical therapy (more than enough of that, darn it, and more than enough ibuprofen too!) coupled with a couple of minor re-sprains, made me melancholy. But all in all, I shouldn't complain. I got three decent trail races in, taking home an age-group mug in two of them and a gigantic glass for completing all three in the Running Fit "Serious Series." And Dances With Dirt, always fun, was, well, fun! Thanks Sarah, Merry, Julie, and Dave!
The day after Dirt I left for the book tour, and that meant too many cities with too many unknown routes and having only bits and pieces of days that were my (in theory) own to fit a run in. So training for the Detroit half-marathon became dicey. But I stayed healthy throughout (a miracle given the number of planes I flew on and hands I shook) and mostly pain-free (thank you, naproxen) and was able to get maybe 75% of the work in that I needed. And that included lovely runs in Los Alamos, where the air is thin, along the Hudson and Charles Rivers in NYC and Boston, a lovely trail in Durham, and a long, hot, and dry 9.5 miles of road in Austin that surprised me by not killing me.
So, Detroit arrived and Dave wasn't there to stop me from going out too fast. (His nagging injury this year was worse than mine.) Without the voice of reason I went out...you guessed it...too fast, and was at about last year's pace at the 10K mark without last year's training to back it up. That yielded predictable results: I was already fading during the international underwater mile, and stayed slow for the next five. If the splits are to be believed, I actually picked up the pace again at the end -- the race photos show me grimacing at the finish, so maybe I did -- but a smarter overall run would have netted me a better time. Still, I was about 5 minutes faster than I had predicted for myself the week before, and snuck in under the wire to finish within the time range I predicted in January. By one second, but I'm grateful for that second!
I haven't run since because it's really and truly time to try to heal the tendinosis and the tear underneath the left Ischium. By spring? Here's hoping, because I miss it. Right now.
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Something(s) to read, 2011: Graphic Novelstag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1472011-12-18T21:15:25Z2011-12-19T15:32:48ZUp here above the 42nd parallel the weather is such that I'm staying inside and reading more, and you might also plan to spend extra time indoors in the next few weeks. Or months. So in case you wondered, here are the best books-without-many-pictures I read in 2011, complete with my brief notes to myself about them. They're in no particular order; they're all good and some are even better than that. I hope you find something here that you like!FictionFinder: VoiceMcNeil, Carla SpeedDense and entertaining, as always!Anya's GhostBrosgol, VeraExcellent. I'm not sure why the colors shifted in places, but...Jim O. Fiction
Finder: Voice McNeil, Carla Speed Dense and entertaining, as always!
Anya's Ghost Brosgol, Vera Excellent. I'm not sure why the colors shifted in places, but if it's on purpose I'll find out upon re-reading, and if not it doesn't detract. Really well done.
Shapes and Colors Thompson, Richard Keeps getting better.
The Complete Peanuts: 1979-1980 Schulz, Charles Still has it -- a couple classics ("Have you ever considered you might be wrong?") and a revealing sequence about what must have been a summer bible camp. Revealing in that I'd like to know what prompted it, at least...
Love and Rockets: New Stories 4 Hernandez, Jaime; Hernandez, Gilbert Once again, Jaime H. knocks it out of the park.
Infinite Kung Fu McLeod, Kagan Almost perfectly evokes the best of kung fu movies. Terrific characters, intricate and goofy plot, spot-on dialogue. Great.
Hark! A Vagrant Beaton, Kate Extra commentary, hardcover, fun, hilarious, hurray.
The Complete Peanuts: 1981-1982 Schulz, Charles Particularly good material here. Some of the funniest I can remember, in fact!
Dear Creature Case, Jonathan Unique and beautifully drawn. Charming too -- a great debut.
The Storm in the Barn Phelan, Matt Really good art and effective wordless pages and sequences, simple story, beautifully done all the way through.
Zahra's Paradise Amir; Khalil Tragic and moving. Fast-paced and educational as well. Up there with Persepolis as an introduction to another culture.
Non-Fiction
Dar (vol 1-2) Moen, Erika Honest and charming and funny.
The Stuff of Life Schultz, Mark; Cannon, Zander; Cannon, Kevin Well drawn and fun, even if the abundance of facts slow down the narrative a little.
Evolution Hosler, Jay; Cannon, Zander; Cannon, Kevin Excellent.
Cancer Vixen Marchetto, Marisa Acocella Much better than anticipated, with lots of narrative invention and a not-at-all-sappy (which is what I was betting on going in) throughline.
Paying for It Brown, Chester Clinical and rather ugly, and the end-notes are not convincing to me. (Lots of straw men standing around.) But an interesting book about a taboo subject, and it will stick with me.
Vietnamerica Tran, GB Wrenching, and beautiful on a formal and storytelling level.
The Influencing Machine Gladstone, Brooke; Neufeld, Josh Excellent. It's much like an episode of "On the Media" in print form, with visuals. Josh does a fine job, of course.
Missouri Boy Myrick, Leland Well described on the jacket as a poem, and the last chapter ties things together beautifully.
Manga
Gogo Monster Matsumoto, Taiyo Challenging and complex. Beautifully drawn as well. An exploration of what it's like to have and lose (on purpose?) childhood wonder. I didn't like this nearly as much on first reading as I ended up after the discussion in book club -- there's a lot of depth here.
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Something(s) to read, 2011: Prosetag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1462011-12-17T21:02:32Z2011-12-18T02:20:35ZUp here above the 42nd parallel the weather is such that I'm staying inside and reading more, and you might also plan to spend extra time indoors in the next few weeks. Or months. So in case you wondered, here are the best books-without-many-pictures I read in 2011, complete with my brief notes to myself about them. They're in no particular order; they're all good and some are even better than that. I hope you find something here that you like!Non-fictionStuff of ThoughtPinker, StephenFull of interesting ideas, examples, and facts, but I didn't understand the throughline and don't think it...Jim O. Non-fiction
Stuff of Thought Pinker, Stephen Full of interesting ideas, examples, and facts, but I didn't understand the throughline and don't think it held together as a complete thesis. Maybe it wasn't intended to, and maybe it's an affect of it being an audio book, so I may need to read this again. It was certainly more fun than I anticipated.
Stiff Roach, Mary Excellent, as usual, though I got a little tired of corpses. I read it while eating, mostly, though, so that might contribute to that feeling. It's her first book, and you can see her style and sense of humor develop and mature through the course of it.
The Omnivore's Dilemma Pollan, Michael The best book about food, in all its aspects, that I expect I will ever read. Well written, researched, and lived. In the top five I read all year.
Proofiness Seife, Charles Though too fond of trying to coin new words, this is a good book about how math and numbers (not just statistics) are misused, particularly by politicians. His bias is clearly against the conservatives, but I didn't mind that. He's particularly harsh on Scalia.
The Making of the The President 1960 White, Theodore H. The writing, and some of the ideas and attitudes, is dated. But this is still much more fascinating than I thought it would be, and the chapter on television and Kennedy's speech on religion are classics.
Sleights of Mind Macknik, Stephen; Martinez-Conde, Susana The neuroscience of magic. Entertaining and light, but also interesting. It inspired me to want to learn more about magic.
Martian Summer Kessler, Andrew Detailed and interesting (though narcissistic and disjointed as well) account of the Phoenix mission to Mars. If anyone needed convincing that doing science via robot is hard, this would do it. The 90 (Martian) day mission could have been done in about 10 minutes by a human. It's a tough job. The description of NASA's weak P.R. ability is probably the most telling, and damning, thing about the book.
Radioactive: A Tale of Love and Fallout Redniss, Lauren Beautiful book -- it might be a graphic novel, but it probably isn't. Regardless, from font to the texture of the cover it's terrific.
The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter Davies, Russell T.; Cook, Benjamin Writing successful TV clearly requires a great deal of ego, but there's a great deal of insight into creativity (and work ethic) in the book as well. If nothing else, it prompted me to watch Dr. Who, which is a feat.
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming Brown, Mike Crisp and entertaining and informative. It even has some skullduggery and suspense and some educational and confessional parts to. All in all, excellent. And...sorry Pluto! (And Xena, etc.)
Quantum Man Krauss, Lawrence M. The best introduction to Feynman's technical achievements I've read. I need to read it again (and again).
Feathers Hanson, Thor Excellent book on the natural history, uses, and evolution of feathers. Feynman is up against this in the SB&F awards, and if it loses I won't feel bad. Well, not too bad, anyway.
Lost Detroit
Austin, Dan; Doerr, Sean Amazing stories of the ruins of the city, and the photographs are even better. "Death is the mother of beauty," as Wallace Stevens said. Just wish there was less architectural death in the Motor City.
Fiction
The Summer Book Jansson, Tove Quiet and lovely; I can't figure out why the father says only the one line and it's that one, but that's the only odd note in an unwonderful way. The rest of the notes are wonderful.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Shaffer, Mary Ann; Barrows, Annie Better than its title by a long, long stretch. Nothing shocking, or even mildly surprising, but a pleasing story, well told.
The Final Solution Chabon, Michael A fine novella about an unnamed, late in years, Sherlock Holmes. Rich writing.
Olive Kitteridge Strout, Elizabeth Unsparing, and wonderfully written. It won't make you feel good, but it will make you believe in all of its characters, no matter how briefly they appear.
True Grit Portis, Charles Spare and excellent. It was hard to get the movie images out of my mind, but the movie was so faithful and well-acted that it wasn't a problem. An excellent book.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love Carver, Raymond Concise and harsh.
Science Fiction/Fantasy
The Windup Girl Bacigalupi, Paolo Terrific near (?...hope not!) future science fiction with fully realized characters, settings, conflicts. Genetic engineering gone awry, and our messing with the world's seedstock comes home to roost. Really really good.
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe Yu, Charles Innovative and well done sf, playing with the genre in literary terms reminiscent of Never Let Me Go, though by no means as dark or dour. Excellent.
The Algebraist Banks, Iain M. Huge ideas here, and well developed (see e.g. Stephenson's latest). It felt long, but I started to feel immersed and interested before I got frustrated with the apparent digressions and slow speed. Which was on purpose, I'm sure, given the presence of the Dwellers. A good Culture novel, so thanks to Gina and Leland M. for recommending it.
The God Engines Scalzi, John A lot of story packed into a few words. Terrific atmosphere of horror and failure. One of his best, I think.
Young Adult
Dead End in Norvelt Gantos, Jack A fun book to read on a summer's day. (And that's what I did.)
The Implosion of Aggie Winchester Zielin, Lara A page-turner. Teen melodrama, and not meant for my demographic, but I enjoyed it.
Sports
Sandy Koufax Leavy, Jean Makes the case that he's the best pitcher ever, and from the other things I've read it's probably true. It certainly makes me wish I'd seen him play.
56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports Kennedy, Kostya Provides a glimpse at the setting and context (personal, local, and international) of the hitting streak. As often is the case, I find myself doubting some of the interior dialogue/thinking Kennedy attributes to the various main characters, but they do enrich the texture and mood. The asides as they relate to modern thinking, e.g. about the statistical likelihood of streaks like this happening, are good.
Audio
When You Are Engulfed in Flames Sedaris, David More somber than I expected, but still laugh out loud funny often. Read by him is the only way to go, so...
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The year in picturetag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1492011-12-17T17:10:03Z2011-12-17T17:22:53ZThis sums it up:[Taken October 27, 2011 at the University of Minnesota. Thanks to Margy Ligon.]...Jim O.
[Taken October 27, 2011 at the University of Minnesota. Thanks to Margy Ligon.]
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Science and Oprahtag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1482011-12-14T23:42:34Z2011-12-14T19:51:39ZJim O. Though come to think of it, the context is sort of crazy, as in Feynman is nominated for the American Association for the Advancement of Science's SB&F Prize, and it was also featured on Oprah.com's "BookFinder" last week.
All I can offer in commentary is big punctuation: !!
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Live, from the Ann Arbor District Library: Comics Are Great!tag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1442011-10-25T00:02:31Z2011-10-25T00:08:08ZThanks to Jerzy Drozd, I got to talk about comics with Nick Abadzis (and Jerzy as well)! It was a lot of fun, and as is the case every time I talk to Nick and/or Jerzy, I learned stuff. Watch at Comics Are Great!...Jim O.
Watch at Comics Are Great! ]]>
Levitationtag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1432011-10-23T22:35:10Z2011-10-24T02:37:32ZI wrote a book about levitation, but that was more about mechanical engineering and psychology than physics. Here's the real thing, and the coolest video you'll see today: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws6AAhTw7RA...Jim O.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws6AAhTw7RA ]]>
Book Tour: Two Photostag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1422011-10-15T17:14:58Z2011-10-15T17:36:07ZWhat is a book tour like? It's like this. Sublime... Susan Hwang's Feynman Diagram Pretzels ...and mundane... Self-portait with drying sock...Jim O. Sublime...
Susan Hwang's Feynman Diagram Pretzels
...and mundane...
Self-portait with drying sock
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Bushwick Book Club presents songs about FEYNMANtag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1412011-10-14T03:59:22Z2011-10-13T19:06:12ZJim O.
have to be there. But you'll wish you had been anyway...
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2011 Feynman Book Tour Recap (so far)...tag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1402011-10-11T01:12:04Z2011-10-11T01:15:15ZI've updated the book tour post with some bits about the first big push. Thanks to all who came out to hear about Feynman!Home...I like it here....Jim O.
updated the book tour post with some bits about the first big push. Thanks to all who came out to hear about Feynman!
Home...I like it here. ]]>
Meanwhile, over at Tor.com (again)...tag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1392011-09-17T20:19:26Z2011-09-16T20:22:23ZYesterday was the 40th anniversary of two of the greatest speeches of the 20th century. You can find out what Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong said to Congress over at Tor.com......Jim O.
what Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong said to Congress over at Tor.com... ]]>
Found: Kepler-16b, a planet orbiting two starstag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1382011-09-17T00:05:33Z2011-09-16T18:13:01ZInformally known as Tatooine. Formally known as Very Cool. Thanks NASA, thanks Kepler Mission!...Jim O.
Informally known as Tatooine. Formally known as Very Cool. Thanks NASA, thanks Kepler Mission! ]]>
EarthSky 22: "Richard Feynman is still awesome"tag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1372011-09-15T16:33:01Z2011-09-15T02:52:49ZEarthSky.org/radio aired a podcast interview with me a few days ago, and somehow I missed it. Maybe you did too.Even if that doesn't fill you with regret, there's a lot more than just me on the show (good news!), but they still titled the episode as a whole "Richard Feynman is still awesome". If you listen in, you'll find out that I agree....Jim O.
podcast interview with me a few days ago, and somehow I missed it. Maybe you did too.
Even if that doesn't fill you with regret, there's a lot more than just me on the show (good news!), but they still titled the episode as a whole "Richard Feynman is still awesome". If you listen in, you'll find out that I agree. ]]>
New "Symphony of Science": The Quantum Worldtag:www.gt-labs.com,2011:/blog//1.1362011-09-15T01:22:27Z2011-09-15T01:27:34ZA treat for today!...Jim O. ]]>
Susan Hwang's Feynman Diagram Pretzels 