Wet Wild Weekend

Quiet

Things are quiet; the calm before the storm. I start at Job B on Monday, and I'm very excited about it, but it's interfering with my ability to concentrate on anything else.

Trailer Days

We were up at the Greek and Ladybug's trailer this weekend, along with the Parents Ladybug and the Rocket and TH. Let me tell you, when you've been driving in the rain and the dark for a while, and you're good and lost, and all you can think about is how much fun it won't be to put up your tent in the rain, there are few sights in the world more welcome than a friendly Greek standing in the rain with a flashlight, waiting to tell you that dinner's ready, a warm trailer is waiting for you to sleep in, and the beer is in the fridge.

An excellent weekend all around. Everybody took care of one of the meals and the food was both delicious and plentiful. The Rocket and TeamHooking learned to play Mille Bornes. DiveBunny and BigHugs came out for a day. The Greek got a big fire going Saturday night and we sat on new camp chairs and drank amaretto liquor.

Also, we watched Roadhouse, truly a classic of modern cinema.

Good times.

RIP, WOT

Robert Jordan, author of the Wheel of Time series, passed away yesterday, eleven books into his Magnum Opus. I gave up about book seven or eight. As shoddy Tolkien clones go, the series started off okay, but it became mired in confusion, needless plot threads, endless unimportant characters and a thorough inability to keep the plot in the crosshairs.

Jordan was aware of his ill health and was aiming to make the half-done book 12 the last one in the series. I'm sure he left notes so it could be completed by someone else. I'm suspecting, however, that the publisher is going to find someone who isn't afraid to add three or four more books before finishing the series. Money is money, after all, and people do seem to continue to buy the latest installments of the Fantasy equivalent of the Bataan Death March.

Jordan was a talented writer. His Conan stories were well written, well paced and engaging. It's a shame that he was allowed to waste so much time on a series that would have been dramatically improved by a little bit of self control and a whole lot of editorial discipline.