The Dragons Sleep

Pern-inspired ASCII Dragon Photo source: Benzendream

Advice for aspiring writers:

1. Keep reading. Writers are readers. Writers are also people who can’t not write.
2. Second, follow Heinlein’s rules for getting published:
1. Write it.
2. Finish it.
3. Send it out.
4. Keep sending it out until someone sends you a check.

There are variations on that, but that’s basically what works.

—Anne McCaffrey

The dragons of Pern fly missing man formation today. I learned this morning that their creator, Anne McCaffrey, died of a stroke. She was 85.

The Ship Who Sang explores themes of humanity through human-cyborg interactions.Photo source: calibre2opds

I never met McCaffery, but she was the coolest grandmother figure an adolescent male could hope for. Her imagination took us places we could never have gone without her. Librarything credits 60 books to her pen. Each one had a lesson—maybe not the lesson my parents would have wanted, McCaffery had a strong ethical bent. I read one time that she approached each of her books with a child in mind.

She had a way of making you believe. If a severely disabled girl could control a starship, how could I not try to do whatever mundane thing was bothering me at the time? If the misfit could bond to the coolest dragon ever, maybe this misfit had something to offer. I guess that was her main lesson—believe in yourself. Believe in something.

McCaffery’s earlier works are often overlooked, but they are among her best. Some of her later titles had the subtlety of a sledgehammer, but that comes from following Heinlein’s rule. (Heinlein would also let the story devolve into random preachiness sometimes.) Even so, it was difficult to put her books down.

Somewhere, the ship continues to sing.

RIP: Les Paul

I think more people will recognize the guitar than a picture of the man.Photo by: his1K

OK. I never was a big fan of Les Paul (June 9, 1915 – August 13, 2009). I only recently discovered how much I like the music he and Mary Ford recorded before I was born. But no one can doubt the influence he had on twentieth century music. Where would rock and roll be without the guitar that bore his name?

Ironically, when The Economist showed up in the mail on Friday, the cover featured an angel playing a Les Paul guitar to promote a feature on why we love music.

Les Paul became an inspiration to me a few years ago when I heard an NPR interview with him. Arthritis had all but taken his hands. He could only use one finger on his left hand consistently, sometimes two. But he kept playing. The bit they played on the radio sounded as good as many four-fingered guitarists and better than most.

How did he deal with the pain? He said, if you want to play, you do what you have to.

Les Paul died last Thursday, but today I am grateful for all that he gave us.

Farewell to Michael Crichton

John Michael Crichton (-2008)

Photo source: International Herald Tribune

I learned this weekend that we lost another master last week. Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, and The Great Train Robbery, died unexpectedly of cancer on 4 November. Many of his books, including all listed here, became successful movies. There were even a couple of blockbuster.

A former professor of anthropology at Cambridge University and a graduate of Harvard Medical School, Crichton’s science fiction was always strong on science. His books were always tightly plotted and filled with interesting, believable characters. In short, he was a well-rounded writer whose contributions will live long for a long, long time.

So this Monday, I am grateful for Crichton’s gifts to the world.

Adios, Ladybird

Ladybird and Lyndon Johnson (1968)
Photo Source: LBJ Library

Today we lost someone who has done great things for Texas and the country. Former first lady Ladybird Johnson died at her home this afternoon at the age of 94.

In spite of all the controversy that surrounded her—Viet Nam profiteering, her involvement in high finance, the expansion of the first lady’s role in government—I always thought of her as a kind, gentle figure. But the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin remains her greatest legacy as far as I’m concerned.