Monday Morning Commute: Liam Neeson’s Ghost

Welcome back to MONDAY MORNING COMMUTE! By the time you read this, you’ll most likely have completed your first day of the workweek and will be primed for some solid entertainment. But not if you work the graveyard shift. Which is a bummer, unless you actually work at the graveyard, `cause then you get to meet zombies and mad scientists and packs of goth kids playing Ouija!

In any case, I’m going to give you the rundown on some of the shit that’ll be keeping my spirits high over the course of the next week. Your mission – should you choose to accept it – is to hit up the comments and show which sidearms you’ll be using in this workweek showdown.

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Readin’/The Sirens of Titan (Vonnegut)

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve read any Kurt Vonnegut, so I decided to give a go at The Sirens of Titan. I had no clue what the novel was about before I picked it up, but Caffeine Powered’s been singing praises of it for over a decade. Oh shit – I’m getting old. Eh, so it goes.

A bit more than halfway in, The Sirens of Titan is goddamn amazing. I think I forgot just how well Vonnegut blends science fiction, comedy, and philosophy to create a story that is narratively engaging; in short – he’s a, if not the, absolute master. The novel tells the tale of Winston Niles Rumfoord, an American who (along with his dog) becomes dislodged from space and time after flying into a chrono-synclastic infundibulum. Oh, if you don’t know what that is, it’s just a wormhole in the fabric of existence in which all truths, even the seemingly contradictory, co-exist at the same time.

The novel also branches out into related subplots regarding American billionaire Malachi Constant, an invasion of Earth at the hands of Martians (who are not an independent species, but relocated Earthlings), the mysterious visions of babes living on Titan, and of course the nature of existence itself.

Salo, Rumford’s crony on Titan, was a messenger from another galaxy who was forced down on Titan by the failure of a part of his space ship’s power plant. He was waiting for a replacement part.

He had been waiting patiently for two hundred thousand years.

His ship was powered, and the Martian war effort was powered, by a phenomenon known as the UWTB, or the Universal Will to Become. UWTB is what makes universes out of nothingness – that makes nothingness insist on becoming somethingness.

Many Earthlings are glad that Earth does not have UWTB.

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Contemplatin’/The Various Blade Runners!

Let’s not waste time debating whether or not Blade Runner is bad ass. It is. If you disagree, just move on down to the next entry and let us replicans have our nerd-fest.

Okay, so over the weekend I finally watched 2007’s Blade Runner: The Final Cut. Although I’m generally opposed to creators going back to meddle with the work that their fans adore, I really enjoyed the film. With that being said, I’m not sure that I’m well-versed enough to pick out every difference between the latest incarnation and the 1992 Director’s Cut. As such, I’m considering running train on the DVDs and watching all of the different versions.

Blade Runner fans – what’re your thoughts? Do you prefer every amendment Ridley Scott has made or are some superfluous? Is the `92 edition your favorite? Do you actually like the voice-overs of the theatrical cut? Give me guidance!

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Spiritual Journey/Devin Townsend Live

Tomorrow night I will be fortunate enough to see the Devin Townsend Project open up for Children of Bodom. I’ve been really digging HevyDevy for the last few years and I can’t wait to see him unleash his nerd-fury. In addition to writing some of the affective music I’ve ever stumbled across, the dude is also a killer performer, a frontman whose confidence and antics are cited by Mikael Akerfeldt as having helped him develop his onstage persona (which is also incredible). While shredding through mindblowing tunes, Devy encourages fans to download his music illegally, waxes philosophical on Dungeons and Dragons, and wears sick bunny hats.

Shit’s going to be straight-up spiritual.

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So that’s my week – literature, film, and music. And all of it is somehow connected to science fiction!

Now, go ahead and show me the better parts of your week