The Cambias Digression

Notes and thoughts on everything from what I had for breakfast to the fate of the Universe.

  • Movies I Want (Part 2)

    A while back I listed five classic science fiction novels that I'd like to see made into films. Here is a second list of five. I'm trying to limit myself to stories which could easily survive the Hollywood process and still retain some of their original appeal. • Ringworld, by Larry Niven. The story is…

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  • On Camping Out Indoors

    We got sick of the grubby linoleum, the decaying cabinets and counters, and the lack of a proper stove vent, so we're redoing the kitchen. Actually, that's not true: we're not doing much beyond writing checks. A professional contractor and various skilled subcontractors are redoing the kitchen. When they're finished (in another couple of weeks,…

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  • Work In Progress: Corsair (Part 4)

    Well, it's done. I beefed it up by nearly a third and sent it out to my agent. I hope it finds a home. One thing which expanding Corsair has allowed me to do is to give the minor characters more spotlight time. One of them — Anne Rogers — got promoted from a secondary…

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  • Movies I Want (Part 1)

    Science fiction has won the battle. Until the 1980s, big-budget science fiction films were few and far between. Now SF movies make up a significant fraction of the movies released by Hollywood. It's a safe, dependable genre, like romantic comedies or thrillers. Legions of effects creators, makeup artists, and prop builders can earn steady incomes…

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  • A Message To Rock Musicians Everywhere

    I have a particular handicap: I listen to song lyrics. Now, don't get me wrong — I'm not one of those people who thinks long and hard about the profound and secret meaning of song lyrics. (No, Charles, I don't think that's what "Helter Skelter" is supposed to be about.) But I do pay attention…

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  • Top Three Cartoon Moments

    I've been a fan of the classic Warner Brothers Looney Toons cartoons since I was about six years old, sitting in front of the old black and white television on Saturday mornings. There are plenty of people who have compiled lists of the greatest cartoons, but this is a little different. This is my three…

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  • Iron Man 3

    I don't want to get into the habit of acting like a poor man's Roger Ebert and reviewing every movie I see. I'm not a moviemaker, I'm not a particularly representative moviegoer, and my eyes start to glaze over when I see the word "cinema."  But I do want to talk a little about Iron…

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  • Work In Progress: Corsair (Part 3)

    In my previous posts about Corsair, I mentioned that I have to expand my first draft to make it a proper book-sized book. Doing that revealed a structural problem. The original short story "The Barbary Shore" had extensive flashback sections, since it was simultaneously about Captain Santiago of Orbital Command battling Captain Black the Space…

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  • Battleship (Part 3): Aliens

    I write science fiction. A lot of my stories have alien beings in them. I like to think I'm pretty good at creating aliens and alien civilizations. Which is why I am developing an irresistible urge to drive out to California and shout at every screenwriter who has used aliens in a film during the…

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  • Battleship (Part 2): What Could Have Been

    I'm going to continue posting my reactions to watching the movie Battleship. Today I want to talk about a startling thought I had when it ended: It could have been a good movie. In fact, I have a strong suspicion that it began as a much better movie than it ultimately became. I don't have…

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The Worldbuilding Index