Space Zombies! (spoilers for Star Wars: Death Troopers)

Just finished my first book of 2010.  Walking through the library last week, a Star Wars novel caught my eye.  Having read every single Star Wars novel (including the Young Adult titles) published between 1978 and early 2001, I considered myself a huge fan of the Star Wars novels.  What happened in 2001, you ask?  That was when the first novel set in the prequels was released. It was with some trepidation that I picked up Rogue Planet by Greg Bear.  I had been throughly disappointed by the Phantom Menace movie and was worried that it would carryover to the books.  It did.  The book was as lifeless and dull as the other prequel material.  It was the last I would read of any books set before A New Hope.  I still dutifully read the post-ANH books and thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of the New Jedi Order series set 20+ years after ANH.  But that series dragged on and on and on and well you get the point.  21 books in all and by the end I was burnt out.  I was done with Star Wars books.  From 2004 to the present, I returned to the Star Wars twice.  The first was Timothy Zahn's Allegiance which was a great read.  It triggered a slight renaissance in which I re-read the X-Wing series of novels.  Set after ROTJ the X-Wing novels follow Wedge Antilles and the rest of Rogue (and later Wraith) Squadron.  They're fun light reading (what I call popcorn books).

So, when Death Troopers caught my eye, I was surprised that I stopped to look at it.  Reading the dust jacket I got the impression that it was a zombie story set in the Star Wars universe shortly before ANH.  From the dramatis personae, it appeared that the book followed none of the characters from the movies.  that intrigued me, so I picked it up.

I started the book the night before I left for a two day car trip to Baltimore for work.  Let me be clear, it was a zombie novel set in the Star Wars universe.  I wasn't expecting (and nor did I get) literary fireworks.  I did get a good popcorn read for the first half of the book, but it quickly left a funny taste in my mouth.  The story revolves around an Imperial prison ship being stranded in space and coming across an abandoned Imperial Star Destroyer.  The Imperial Star Destroyer had been transporting a biological agent that infected and then killed the crew and transformed the dead into zombies.  Halfway through the novel, one of the main characters (an Imperial Doctor with a heart of gold) realizes that any prisoners in solitary wouldn't be infected.  She devises an antidote and heads down to solitary where she releases the two prisoners-who just happen to be Han Solo and Chewbacca.  I was actually annoyed that they were shoe horned into the book.  It made no sense.  This book is set in the period just prior to ANH and here are Han & Chewie in a prison barge and the Millennium Falcon had been impounded (and subsequently auctioned off) by the Empire.  Han is completely out of character, not acting like the self absorbed scoundrel that he is in ANH.  The ending of the book leads a lot to be desired.  The action gets wrapped up too quickly and through no action of the main characters.  The zombie threat isn't really dealt with, it's just left to drift in space.  Han and Chewie exit stage left after stealing an Imperial shuttle during their escape and selling it.  Han graciously gives half the credits to the other survivors (something I can't see the ANH Han doing.)  We're left to believe that Han is able to parlay that money into somehow tracking down the Falcon and re-buying it.  Really?

All in all, it was a decent read; the first half was very suspenseful and well written, but once Han & Chewie show up, the novel starts to lose it's focus and by the end I was glad it was done.  Perhaps the author was using the novel as an allegory of the literary Star Wars genre.  The first 25 years of the novels were lively, but since the introduction of the prequels, they have been lifeless and soulless creations that just don't know they're dead.

Blah-day

Ate too much pizza today. Did Wii Fit Plus tonight. Hope they balance out.
Need to get motivated and write something. Maybe tomorrow.

Plucking fruit from the family tree

Spent a couple hours this afternoon getting reacquainted with my genealogy research.  It's been many months since I spent anytime researching.  I have traced my paternal family line (the Gendreau name) all the way back to France in the 1500's.  I was very fortunate in that I personally traced my line back to Quebec in the late 1700's and then made the acquaintance of a professional researcher who had traced the family line back to France.  I have traced my father's maternal line (the Supernaw and Curtis names) back to the early 1800s in upstate New York.  I'm hoping to travel up to upstate New York this summer for a day of research.

On my mother's side, I have traced her mother's line (Balukonis) back to Lithuania in the mid 1800s.  I have run into a roadblock there seeing as how Lithuania has gone from being part of the Russian Empire to being  independent (1918) to being annexed by Poland (1920), then annexed by Nazi Germany (1939), given to the USSR (1940), invaded by Germany (1941), "liberated" by the USSR (1944) and declared independence in 1990.  I'm not even sure where to begin researching.  

Which brings us to my mother's paternal line.  My mom has always been reluctant to talk about that side of the family.  My grandfather died as a result of drowning before I was born.  All my mom could give me was his parents (her grandparents) names Francis Deedy and Catherine McGowan.  I have been able to trace them back through the census and his WWI draft card and today found out that they were married in Amherst MA on November 25, 1908.  I've requested a copy of the marriage certificate and I'm hoping that leads me further up the family tree.  I had previously found out that Francis Deedy parents were Michael Deedy and Kate Dunney.  I'm hoping the marriage certificate helps me find out more about Catherine's parents.  I have found a Catherine McGowan who arrived in America in 1882 at the age of 1 with her parents Thomas and Sarah from Ireland.  The birth year I have from the US censuses puts Catherine being born in 1884, so it's a longshot or as they say, the lady lied about her age.  The marriage certificate should help.

34 Points

Sometime ago, my wife joined Weight Watchers and I decided to tag along as support.  I don't actually go to the meetings, just follow along at home.  I have found the program to be amazingly helpful.  It forces me to take a look at exactly what is going into my body.  Based on your age, weight, gender and activity level you are given a point threshold.  My point total right now is 34 points a day.  Every food you eat has a point value and you can eat whatever you want as long as you don't go over the point threshold.

Pretty simple, huh?  It is, but in the first few days of the program it took a lot of adapting.  Just as an example, my usual Taco Bell meal consisted of 2 bean burritos, 1 chicken chalupa, nachos and a Mountain Dew.  That adds up to 36 points.  And that used to be just my lunch!  How about a Mac & Cheese Breadbowl from Dominos?  It's one item, it certainly looks like it should be one serving (Dominos only provides one fork per bowl).  Wash that puppy down with a Mountain Dew and I just consumed 42 points.  Again, just one meal.  I estimate my daily intake pre-diet point totals had to be easily 75-80 points.

Since "joining" Weight Watchers in September I have lost 51 pounds.  As I said in my resolutions I would like to lose 40 more pounds.  With the holiday season and work being so busy, I got away from calculating my points.  I didn't slip up so much as I didn't lose as much as I could have.  I'm OK with that; I needed to survive the holidays.  So as of this morning, I'm back to calculating points.  Breakfast was two homemade breakfast sandwiches (each sandwich = 1 egg, 1 slice turkey bacon and 1/2 slice of cheese on a multigrain english muffin) for a total of 9 points.  Compare that with 2 Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuits from McDonalds: 20 points.

Here's a chart of my weight loss since I started (thanks to my wife!)

Now that we're exercising more (played Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort last night for an hour), I'm hoping to see the progress continue!

Open letter to John Grisham (spoilers for the Associate)

Dear John (yes, it's going to be that type of letter),

I know we've been seeing each other off and on for 18 years, but I'm sorry to say the thrill is gone.  I think back to those heady first days of our relationship.  The Firm swept me off my feet; then A Time To Kill.  You had me by the time I finished Pelican Brief.

You published a book and I was there.  Working in the book industry, I got to see you before the public.  We had something special.  Runaway Jury?  Read it weeks before the rest of the world.  Street Lawyer?  I was out of the book industry then, but I was there the day it was released.  I plunked down my $24.  I read it all that night.

And then something happened.  At the turn of the century, your books changed.  Subtly at first, and then more drastic.  I labored through The Brethren for you.  One bad book.  It happens.  I had faith.  Painted House? Skipping Christmas?  Where was the love we shared?  The passion?  But then word came out.  The Summons was your return to legal thrillers.  A 'return to Grisham greatness' some critic said.  But it wasn't.  I was left feeling like you didn't care anymore.  There was some flashes of the lost passion in King of Torts, Last Juror and The Broker.  Not great, but good.  The love was still there, it just needed to be kindled.  And then 2006?  Nothing.  Nothing?  Well, you must be recharging your batteries, I thought.  You'd be back.  And you were...with Playing for Pizza?!?  For this I waited? Really?


The Appeal  came out about two years ago and you left me unfulfilled.  I admit, I waited until it was in paperback.  Speaking of confessions, I'll admit that while you've been unfaithful with your "literary" fiction, i too have strayed.  Brad Metzler, Vince Flynn, Richard North Patterson, Scott Turow.  With the exception of Scott, none of them matched the thrill I had with you and your first novels.

And now, today.  I just finished The Associate.  Really?  Do you care about me anymore?  This feels like you mailed it in.  I saw it in the library.  The cover blurb compared it to The Firm.   I'll admit I hadn't even known the book was out.  That's how far we have drifted John.  I borrowed it from the library.  This too shows how far we have drifted.  I started reading and it happened-I had been waiting for this for 5 or 6 novels.  The old magic was there.  I cared about Kyle.  How was he going to pull this off?  How would he do the right thing, get the girl, screw the legal profession and still live happily ever after?  I'll admit that I thought Kyle should have handled things a bit differently in the beginning.  Maybe confide in his dad, go to the authorities, try to reconcile things with Elaine.  You know, common sense things; but where would the novel have gone?  Where would the suspense be?  I trusted you.  You were going to give a ride like I hadn't said since The Firm.  We had secret visits to a spy shop.  Hidden communications between friends.  A smart girl friend who could help. Kyle was putting together a plan.  And then it happened.  You must have had to wrap this up pretty quick, because all of a sudden Kyle is confiding in his dad, going to the authorities and trying to reconcile things with Elaine.  And the novel was over.  The bad guy gets away.  The girl friend pretty much disappears.  The law firm is still screwing everyone.  And Kyle may live happily ever after, or he may not.  Really?  After everything we've been through together, John?  This is what it's come to?

Well, this is it for me, John.  It's been an amazing ride, but looking back it's all been downhill from A Time to Kill.  Those were some great days, John, but I have to stop living in the past.  I loved you man, but it's over.

Yours no more,
Mad Dog