BMOC - A book review
Originally published at www.paganvigil.com/C1874472463/E20061225074356
BMOC - A book review
Novel by libertarian blogger and fellow Arizonian Warren Meyer is not as good as I hoped, but still plenty of fun.
BMOC
Warren Meyer
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When I was reading Warren Myer's Coyote Blog, I saw that he had written a mystery, BMOC. Intriguing, Arizona libertarian and businessman, now novelist. That justified ordering it from Amazon.
This book does a fantastic job showing some actual extreme abuses from tort law, and a pretty good job revealing the incestuous relationship that can happen between tort lawyers, legislators, and the media. That alone will bring it kudos from the libertarian crowd, including me.
I loved two of the characters, Susan Hunter and Preston March. I'm a sucker for strong women, so I am always pleased to see a confident female character. And for Preston March, anyone who thinks outside the box gets my attention, especially if he is successful.
I was less enthusiastic about the LA cop. I've got nothing against smart characters, and I think the old Columbo-type routine of pretending to dumb to put the criminals off guard can be very effective. I know it works in business. My problem was that once he dropped the act, he came across as too perfect, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I'm also not quite sure why he started trusting Susan well enough to be himself around her, especially when he was investigating a murder.
The Mafia types came off as clichés.
The first thing that bothered me was some of the language. Not that it was offensive, just unusual. “Eschew” popped up twice in one chapter. That is a word I have seen maybe three times before in the last ten years, and never in a novel. I got the feeling that the old thesaurus program was working overtime. Some of the phrasing was a bit odd too.
But what really got me was the improbable situations that seemed like deus ex machina. Once or twice, maybe. It's bad though when one of the characters actually cites the Improbability Drive from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as a way to describe the story's events in LA. Things just seemed contrived. I kept wanting to feed the story into Dramatica Pro to fix it.
It was a fast read and an exciting read, at least until the first run on the beach. Some of Preston March's ideas aren't so far out, there could be money there.
If you overlook a couple of rough edges, BMOC is worth it.
Posted: Sun - December 24, 2006 at 08:11 PM
Roots of government power
Which laws are necessary and which ones are wasteful? Here is what you can count on a libertarian to say.
Read More...“Protecting” the children
Freedom of speech
Pinaka update
This is a page from the original version of Pagan Vigil. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.paganvigil.com/C1722892404/E20060405163316
Were the genocidal remarks misinterpreted?
The controversy surrounds comments made during two recent speeches in which Pianka discussed the need for population control and the impending disease pandemic that might well just take care of it. Some heard the comments as simply a warning. To others, however, it sounded like Pianka was advocating the use of deadly viruses to kill off millions of people.
Pianka, who calls the latter interpretation nonsense, says the whole thing has blown out of proportion. Many, however, seem to be taking his critics seriously. Pianka said he is scheduled to meet with FBI officials today.
"Someone has reported me as a terrorist," he said. "They think I'm forming a cadre of people to release the airborne Ebola virus into the air. That I'm the leader and my students are the followers."
There's no denying that Pianka, even at first glance, seems a little eccentric.
His office, which he has inhabited for 38 years, is cluttered with books, stacks of paper, bones and even a few beers. There's a photo of him dressed like British naturalist Charles Darwin. Scattered pictures of lizards and a copy of his semi-autobiography, "The Lizard Man Speaks," reveal his area of expertise — lizards and evolutionary ecology. On his desk, he keeps a stuffed likeness of the Ebola virus that was sent to him by students who enjoyed his speeches.
He is particularly troubled by the recent explosion in the human population. He says we now take up about 50 percent of all livable space on Earth and that people should have no more than two children. Humans, and the way they've multiplied, are "no better than bacteria," he says.
Dr. Pinaka is not denying the remarks, just their interpretation. Without context, it's hard to say who is right. But it is certainly worth watching.
Posted: Wed - April 5, 2006 at 04:33 PM
University of Texas professor advocates genocide?
This is a page from the original version of Pagan Vigil. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.paganvigil.com/C1722892404/E20060403053519
Killing off 90 percent of humans
Up to now, it's been a very private thing.
Here is the first public entry. Eric R. Pianka, who evidently has been very naughty.
If true, he's damn right the general public is not ready for his theories. However, I have to be honest here. The man making these claims is a Creationist and may have an agenda. Either way this situation bears close watching.
I'll will consider this genocidal solution for a microsecond when the professor volunteers to be exterminated first. Then I will dismiss it with prejudice.
Here is his web address.
Posted: Mon - April 3, 2006 at 05:35 AM