Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Prolonged Detention: The Constitution's Death Blow

Watch this.



Preventative Detention. A separate "legal regime" to ensure the new system works.

Under this new "law" (and I use that word in the absolute very, very loosely), you can be imprisoned solely on the theory that you might commit a crimes. There will be no trial, because there has been no crime committed. You can remain incarcerated indefinitely, for having done nothing. Only because some bureaucrat somewhere feels that you might be a threat.

Are you scared yet? I'm terrified.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Monster Hunter International (A Shameless Plug)

On one otherwise normal Tuesday evening I had the chance to live the American dream. I was able to throw my incompetent jackass of a boss from a fourteenth-story window.

Now, I didn't just wake up that morning and decide that I was going to kill my boss with my bare hands. It really was much more complicated than that. In my life up to that point I would never have even considered something that sounded so crazy. I was just a normal guy, a working stiff. Heck, I was an accountant. It doesn't get much more mundane than that.

That one screwed-up event changed my life. Little did I realize that turning my boss into sidewalk pizza would have so many bizarre consequences. Well, technically, he did not actually hit the sidewalk. He landed on the roof of a double-parked Lincoln Navigator, but I digress.

My name is Owen Zastava Pitt and this is my story.



So opens Monster Hunter International, a novel by Larry Correia. This book is now on the top of my must-read wish list. You gotta hear how I heard about it.

Last year, I was cruising around the internet when I across various plugs for a book called Monster Hunter International. It was a self-published work by a guy named Larry Correia. All I knew about it was basically about a group of Monster Hunters. Fantasy/Horror isn't usually my thing, though, so I ignored it at first.

Eventually, I came across the author's blog, which has the first chapter of MHI posted. I read it, and was immediately hooked. Unfortunately, Correia having recently signed a contract with Baen Books, the self-published version was out of print. Curses!

Anyway, the Baen version of MHI hits shelves in August, but Baen recently posted the first seven chapters online... for free! w00t! I highly reccomend checking the sample out. You can read it here.

Now I gotta wait three months for the book to come out so I can read the rest.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Reacting to Star Trek

I saw the new Star Trek film Saturday. I honestly don't know why I went to see it. Maybe it was because the ticket was free, maybe it was because I really didn't have anything better to do, maybe I just decided "what the hey?" and went for it.

I'm almost ashamed to say this, but I liked it. I mean I really, really liked it.

You have to understand, for me, this is big. I really, really, do not like Trek that much. Okay, parts of it, I flat-out despise. Said despised parts include most of the original series (which, honestly, would have been infinitely better without William Shatner), the early TNG episodes, DS9, and all but 2 of the movies. And don't even get me started on Enterprise.

But for some reason, I liked this movie. I don't know why. Maybe it's because it didn't have the campy, cheesy feel that the old TV shows and movies had. Maybe it was because that the characters actually seemed to know what they were doing. Maybe it's because there was a real, menacing villain. Maybe a combination of all three. I don't know. All I know is that I liked it.

I thought that all of the characters had been nailed down perfectly. As soon as you saw/heard a character for the first time, you knew that's who it was. I especially liked Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy: he has the character down perfectly.

The story was also pretty good, although there is the requisite Trek "junk science" (Red Matter) that is never really explained, though it doesn't really feel forced or unnatural. Likewise, the pre-requisite cliches and tribute lines ("Live long and prosper," "Dammit, I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" "I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain!", etc.), none of them feel forced or fake. In fact, the whole film feels quite natural, as it were. The one cliche they didn't have (and I didn't miss) was how ineffective the Enterprise's phasers are: the ship kicked @$$ and took names in this film.

The way I see it, if you like Sci-Fi, and if you're a caual Trek fan, then you should see this movie. If you're a hardcore Trekkie, you might not like it. But see it anyway. 'Cause like it or not, it's a really good movie. And I still can't believe I think that.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Enemies & Allies

The Dark Knight Meets The Man of Steel.

That's the new book I'm reading. Bought it yesterday at Barnes & Noble. It's called Enemies & Allies. It's one of those Batman meets Superman stories, only this one is set in the late 1950s, at the height of the Cold War. So it's (really) a combination of a Superhero novel and a Cold-War thriller. Which, I'm not ashamed to admit, are two of my favorite genres. It's also written by Kevin J. Anderson, an award-winning science fiction writer.

I'm not very far into it - Batman and Superman haven't even crossed paths yet - but I'm already hooked. I definitely recommend it for anyone who likes either superheroes or a good mystery or thriller... or both.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Nevermind

So much for getting back on a regular posting schedule. I thought that once school let out, I've have tons of free time on my hands. Yeah, right. Turns out I've been pretty busy around here. Couldn't find a job, so Momma Raptor and Papa Raptor have me doing odd jobs around the house. I'm getting paid (theoretically at least, so that's good, I guess.

When I'm not working, I'm spending most of my time on my novel, Justice Delayed, which is now titled Save Grace. Yes, there's a legit reason for the change (and not because I thought it sounded cooler), but I can't tell you without giving away a major new twist in the plot. I've also come up with a new ending, as well as a pair of potential sequels.

So, between working and writing (I aim to have the first draft finished by September), I haven't really had much time to devote to the blog. Maybe that will change, but maybe not. We'll see.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

I'm Back

I apologize for not posting anything for the last few weeks. It was finals week last week (and this week too). I just moved back from campus yesterday. Feels weird being home to stay for the first time since January.

Anyway, long story short is that I'm back, I'm done with school, and regular posting with my usual content will resume shortly.