Old Man's War

I have finished John Scalzi's "Old Man's War" some time ago, and it was really nice, solid Science Fiction in my humble opinion. Although some compare it Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" I cannot say the same. While Heinlein's novel has kind of the same structure as Scalzi's work, it has more depth in terms of military background and a more philosophical approach. Scalzi's work on the other hand is more science orientated and the description of the alien societies is far more intriguing.

What's the story? Here's the back cover teaser from the book:

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First, he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce - and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So, we fight, to defend Earth and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity’s resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don’t want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You’ll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You’ll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you’ll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets. John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea of what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine. And what he will become is far stranger.

Would I recommend "Old Man's War"? That's a definitive yes, if you like Science Fiction in general and military SF in particular.

By the way, In the meantime I have finished the sequel "Ghost Brigades", although sequel is maybe the wrong term here, since it is located in the same universe, but from a totally different perspective this time.

Monks

This week I had to stay in Munich, Germany on the weekend due to job obligations. Since I didn't have to work on Sunday, I took the opportunity to take a tour of Munich. My main point of interest was the Alte Pinakothek, which has an impressive collection of german and dutch paintings from the 15th to 17th century. After taking a look at these paintings (you should do, too), I strolled through Munich's inner city area and took some additional pictures.

Left: The Glyptothek is a museum with a collection of Greek and Roman sculptures.


Right: Detail of one of the niches on the façade.

Left: Lenbachhaus with the last day of a Wassily Kandinsky exhibition.


Right: Alte Pinakothek is an old art museum, which suffered greatly during World War II.

Left: Pinakothek der Moderne, although I didn't enter it today, it's possiblly one of the next I want to visit.

Right: The New Munich Townhall at the Marienplatz.

The Mechanist vs. AntAntagonizer

As witnessed in Fallout 3: Mexican Standoff in Canterbury Commons:

The Mechanist vs. AntAntagonizer

P.S.: The screenshot is quite large (~6 MByte).

For the Win

Presidental Debate & Beyond

Last week I was in the USA (job-wise), and took the liberty to watch the second presidental candidate debate between Barak Obama (D) and John McCain (R) in order to see what was the big deal about these debates. And I was sorely disappointed, in fact it was quite boring .. I would have expected a more livelier debate when it comes down to the most powerful political office in the world. It always seemed that both candidates shied away from any statement that might offend (even so small) group.

I think I'll stick to the VP candidate debate as witnessed on Saturday Night Life (SNL):

Avatar: The Last Airbender

You would guess I am too old to watch this show (aired on Nickelodeon), but hey the story is good, the animation is great, so why not?

.. You Have to Fight

"The first rule of fight club is... you do not talk about fight club.
The second rule of fight club is... you do not talk about fight club.
Third rule of fight club, someone yells "Stop!", goes limp, taps out, the fight is over.
Fourth rule, only two guys to a fight.
Fifth rule, one fight at a time, fellas.
Sixth rule, no shirt, no shoes.
Seventh rule, fights will go on as long as they have to.
And the eighth and final rule, if this is your first night at fight club, you have to fight."

-- Tyler Durden in "Fight Club".

Sweet Home Alabama

No, not really Alabama, not even on the same continent. Here are some pictures from near where I live.