by Zacharias @ http://inexactitu.de . January 25, 2009 . 5:01PM
I am notoriously dismissive of investigative reporting making a literary experience worth dissecting, for what may be flimsy reasons. In order to have an impartial crusade against anything is quite a tall order, one that either circumstance or predisposition easily makes partial. In this case, we have an investigative reporter, with a history of showing unfair treatment of both pro athletes by law enforcement and the judiciary.
While the core statistic of the book, the “hook,” if you will of 40% of NBA players having some sort of criminal past is simply full of caveats. The statistic method isn’t quite something I’m qualified to remark on, however, one is left with the feeling that there are indeed holes in this method. An example: the method counting campus police records. Campus police are much more likely to be involved with more “non-crimes” such as noise complaints, underage drinking, and such in comparison to their municipal or state counterparts. All in all, I just can’t bring myself to trust these statistics.
The crux of any review should be a piece of consumer advice: is the book worth buying? Not really. I paid $4 for this book – I needed something to read in a weird place. For someone better at full-lengh investigative reporting, check out some Hearsh.
Meta: $4 at Temple University’s bookstore, 4 hours to read during the last week of December.
by Zacharias @ http://inexactitu.de . January 25, 2009 . 7:35AM
So, it’s the new semester, and I just love college kids.
Designer boots: $150
Designer sweater: $120
Designer Jeans: $80
Bag and Wal-Mart Phone: $20
Almost making Middle-Class: Priceless
For the things you need, go get a job. For everything else, there’s Student Loans.
by Zacharias @ http://inexactitu.de . January 19, 2009 . 6:01PM
by Zacharias @ http://inexactitu.de . January 11, 2009 . 8:53PM
Recession, meet corrourgated carboard.
by Zacharias @ http://inexactitu.de . January 10, 2009 . 9:21PM
A little background information: This is a paper I wrote for my somewhat provacatively-titled Third World History Class. Unfortunately for me, I wrote it like an English paper.
Leveraging his own roughshod childhood as a Dominican in New Jersey, Junot Diaz creates a multigenerational tragi-comedy with his first full-lengh novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. The book, which begins and ends with the story of the titular character’s life story told through various third parties, takes the reader through three generations of a family’s curse, or fuku.
Speaking about this book in the order it was written can become as confusing as the first viewing of Pulp Fiction, or trying to figure out the order of all Thomas Harris’s Hannibal cannibal festivals. Instead let us go through each phase as time and narrators change, chronologically.
(more…)
by Zacharias @ http://inexactitu.de . January 10, 2009 . 6:13PM
R.A. Salvatore’s dynamic duo, a shadowy drow and cold-blooded assassin team up in some self-motivated hyjinks in the three part Sellswords Trilogy. The first of these, The Servant of the Shard, is more famously a meander from the main storyline in the Paths of Darkness four-pack. The other two, first published in 2005 and 2006, continue the travels (and eventual breakup) of Artemis Entari, the human assasin, and Jarlaxle Baenre, the adventerous mercenary leader. Some interesting other non-plot elements in this series include: the story of Jarlaxle’s birth, some powerful realms NPCs being reintroduced to the Salvatorian realms, including a fighter from H1 (so old it took Combat System!), dragon sisters (!!!), and a flute to open one’s heart. As far as the usual fare — the combat is still described with the texture that’s expected, the enemies are varied, and what do you know, Artemis actually loses a piece of equipment. Entari’s glove of making noobs out of wizards and psions gets cooked for the majority of the last two volumes, making him a much more vulnerable man.
As far as the books themselves: There’s a bit of discomfort changing gears between the first volume and the second two. However, this isn’t one that’s exactly uncomfortable as others I’ve had. This can be best described as a one-shot and two-part story, and quite the yarn it is. Watching Artemis Entari fall in love (TWICE!) and become a king in the same box is worth any price of admission. The bloodstone lands, long forgotten by both writers and game developers, were very well fleshed out and the introduction to some powerful NPCs such as the dwarf with Glassteal (it’s like translucent win!) twin morning stars (notabally here, Lockwood biffed up the look of that on the back of book two, Promice of the Witch King).
It’s also nice to see that Chaotic Neutral is making a comeback. After years of being “the closest to evil without being evil.” to see a character actually go from (neutral) evil to CN is a trip worth taking and an excellent example how alignment can be used as a construct for characterization and roleplaying. I’ve been reading these Forgotten Realms books from the perspective of alignment and game stats, comparing how these characters fit into “cannon” and sourcebooks versus how they act. Some people play their characters, some play the game, what can I say?
by Zacharias @ http://inexactitu.de . January 9, 2009 . 1:27PM
Those nasty Drowsies (turns out, not all drow are inherantly good, moral outcasts) are at it again, this time feeling the effects of their deitie’s absence in The War of the Spider Queen. Based in the rich underground world (the Underdark) that R.A. Salvatore created in the Homeland-Exile-Sojurn trilogy, TWOTSQ follows a well-balanced party of Wizard, Meatshield, one to three powerless priestesses (one half-Bard), and a Rogue in thier attempt to first, stave off a slave rebellion, and secondly, discover the reason for thier half-spider, half-drow goddess’ silence. If there was a main character of this story, it’d be the wizard of the group – an unabashedly blashemous and self-centered male who delights in his newfound usefullness to the cause.
The events unfolding are much larger than the participants, of course. Hints in the three-volume box point towards Lloth, the aforementioned spider/demon/goddess engaging in a rebirthing process. In the meantime, however, groups such as a macho assasin’s guild, invisible dwarves, undead squidmen, and god-sons (literally a god and a son) – not to mention the forces of good here and again. The party’s inability to hug it out and love each other may just be the biggest antagonist beyond simple chunks of XP running about. The climax of this journey of hatred and just plain spite can be found in the Demonweb Pits, with a titanic battle between immortals.
The overarching story is definately expertly crafted, one would almost say, Salvadorian in it’s foreshadowing, moving perspectives, and carefully small amounts of time between the violences. These books suffer from a few flaws, however. The characters are often one-dimentional and simply evil beyond any redemption. This breaks with tradition, sure, but the allure of being evil is doing whatever you want. This breaks down somewhere in the second volume, which in my opinion is the weakest of this trio. On the whole, this boxed set is definately enjoyable, easy to read, and well-paced. The characters, however flawed they may be, definately are articulated well in the beginning. Like any good game of D&D, watching the characters grow and get phat lewts is really the primary draw for many players/observers (such as myself). By the end of this trilogy, however, the wheels might not fly straight off, but the creaking is evident.