Stoner Soup - The Mount Olympus

-The Mount Olympus

The abode of the Gods, claimed in glory for Zeus amongst the hated and malicious titans who had spread their power outrageously.  The home of the Pantheon amongst the clouds.  Taking a sharp knife, slice one whole ripe banana into manageable slices, making sure to dispose of the peal and end caps.  Place the slices of the banana at the bottom of the bowl.  Make sure that none of the slices are stacked.  Wash and remove strawberry stems.  Flay two strawberries  into delicious ribbons and place into the middle of the bowl into a mound of sorts.  Using the remaining strawberry, remove top and invert strawberry; placing the stem side slice down on top of the mound.  Next spoon strawberry yogurt around mound.  Finally, as you reach the summit of your creation; pour Honey Nut Cheerios until all you can see is the peak of the inverted strawberry.  Add ice cold Milk generously and enjoy.

Hardware:
Cutting Board
Sharp Knife
Large Bowl, preferably not flat bottomed.
Soup Spoon

The Goods:
Three large strawberries
One whole ripe banana
Strawberry Yogurt
Honey Nut Cheerios
Milk, chilled to near freezing

What I Am Reading - East Wind Returns

East Wind Returns

William Peter Grasso

350 pages, read in paper-back

In October 1945, just after the passing Monsoon season, The United States is poised for invasion.  Large Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Army assets from the south will begin with operation Olympic; followed in the Spring of 46 by another initiative which will enter from the east, titled Operation Coronet.  The invasion is expected to cost the allied forces millions in human lives.  On August 6th 1945, the United States dropped the first of its atomic arsenal on Hiroshima, soon followed on August 9th with a second bomb delivered to Nagasaki.  These bombs killed an estimated 150,000- 246,000 deaths with no Allied losses and six days later Japan surrendered to the allied forces.  But what if...we never succeeded in building a bomb that could be delivered via long air voyage and pin point accuracy drop methods?  What if the Empire of the Rising Sun possessed a nuclear bomb and Allied forces did not?

East Wind returns in a piece of historical fiction that deals with that last question, what if Japan had a nuclear bomb and we do not, through the eyes of John.  John is an officer stationed in Okinawa prior to the invasion and mans a P-38 Lightning stripped of all offensive capability and laden with aerial photography equipment.  John's job is simple, fly through hostile airspace and penetrate the interior to take reconnaissance footage and of course return with the footage.  With no guns and in hostile airspace, John must rely on his speed and capability to save him.

Grasso's writing is superb for the subject matter and it is obvious he has done his research on both the war and aviation for the time period.  The chapters are short and organized perfectly; I don't think I saw one out of place chapter or chapter without purpose.  Each chapter covers what needs to be covered without a lot of frills unless needed.  One thing in particular that I want to call out is Grasso's ability to facilitate the absolute chaos and panic that a World War II fighter pilot would have to endure while still being able to describe the maneuvers of planes and overall action of the embroiling aerial combats simultaneously.  It's fantastic. 

What I Am Reading - Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti

Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti

Genevieve Valentine

284 pages, Read it in paper-back

This has been sitting on my stack for about a year and I finally decided that I should conquer it, and thus I did.  Less than eight hours of reading time and it was swallowed, it was that easy of a read.

As the title says, Mechanique is a story of the Circus Tresaulti and takes place in some unknown time in our future.  A future that has seen the earth shattered by weapons and war.  The circus however is a traveling act, not unlike what you would have seen in the rural parts of our country during the great depression.  Much like the circus of that time, they travel from place to place and attempt to stir the populace out from their broken and blasted homes with the promise of entertainment and a beer in an actual glass.  The acts of the Mechanique are everything that you would expect to see, but with a bit of a 'steam-punk' twist.  There are trapezius's, tumblers, dancers, music, and everything else, but this circus has surprises and secrets enough for everyone.  Things get complicated when a 'government' man shows interest in the circus talent that he had seen when he was a kid and the circus must make some tough decisions that will ultimately steer the course of the circus or prove it's undoing.

It was entertaining, which is all I can really ask for.  I wasn't super impressed but it was definitely fun.  The writing was on par for the material.  One thing I did find annoying was the exhaustive use of parenthesis that plague the book.  This kind of material really shouldn’t have this much in my opinion and it breaks the prose, removes the reader, and is unflattering to the book.  In some instances it works, in most it did not.

What I Am Reading - Embassytown

Embassytown

China Mieville

349 pages, read in Hardback

What a pretty little gem.  I have been watching Mieville crank out works for some time but never quiet committed myself to take a dip.  This was first plunge into the pool, but I had not realized that plunging into Mieville meant diving head first into the deep end where the water is frigged cold and salty.

Since Mieville was first published in 1998 he has won a host of awards, most notably the Bram Stoker, Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and any other award you could think of for shorts and full lengths.  It shows in Embassytown. 

Embassytown is a colony that exists on a back-water planet called Arakie, home of the Arakien who are also known as Hosts.  The Hosts themselves provide life in the form of breathable air, food, power, buildings, etc.; for humans and other alien species that live in Embassytown.  The town is a blend of human technology and the biotech of the Hosts.  The humans that coexist with the Hosts are only able to speak via Ambassadors who work in pairs to communicate with the Hosts.  The only way a Host recognizes a human is when two speak as one, with one motive or intention which mimic how the Host's speak.  Accurately called the Turn and the Cut.  These Ambassadors commit their life to such dedication as Language is an art of sorts.  For the Hosts, thought is language and they can only speak in truths.  Things start to get mixed up when some of the Hosts begin to learn the foundation of how to lie and a new Ambassador comes to Embassytown.  

Mieville's diction is superb and I found myself frequently having to check or resort to looking up the word to ensure.  Why this normally is something that detracts for me, I instead found it perfect.  The fluid feel and direct meaning that Mieville whishes to convey in each passage require words without sloppy meaning.  As an avid reader, its exhilarating and a joy.  With that said though, I most certainly would not recommend this to casual readers.  Embassytown is complicated in every respect and I think it is easy for a unseasoned reader to get lost.  The descriptions of some things are granular while others are barely glossed over and I found some of the things often glossed over where important to the story.  These are the areas that someone could get lost or even give up in.  So in a way, reader beware. 

I myself greatly enjoyed it and will be reading more from Mieville in the future, hopefully with the same delight and ferocity that I consumed this one with.

What I Am Reading - Death is a Lonely Business

Death Is a Lonely Business

Ray Bradbury

278 pages, read it in paperback.

Ooh la la, a Noir set in 1949 Venice, California.  Yes please.

I found this at a local book store in downtown Issaquah.  I don't remember the name of the place but there are always books piled on the floor in boxes and if I am lucky I get the owner.  The owner is helpful and nice, as well as his daughter.  His wife and son on the other hand are usually less than helpful.  Nonetheless here I was perusing the wares scattered across the floor when I came upon this, my first Ray Bradbury book.   While I should have probably started on his classic title 'Fahrenheit 451' I chose to dive into this instead.  I was excited to find out that Bradbury is still alive and kicking at the age of 91.

The story itself follows a young writer whose name is never given as he attempts to find a killer in Venice.  The character seems a lot like Bradbury, as I pour over his Wiki article.  Some have even hypothesized that it is a loose interpretation of himself.  Along the way we meet plenty of eccentric people who help as they can or are simply wrapped up in the mystery, or are even potential victims of the killer.  One thing that all of the victims have in common is that they are crumbling just as the Venice pier and that all of the deaths are presumed accidents.  Along the way the main character enlists the help of a detective who helps steer the story along and also provides some entertaining wit to the story.  The interactions between the detective and the character being some of my favorite passages in this novel.

It closed nicely and I was happy with the read.  I was a rather big fan of the style.  It is however a piece that takes place in 1949 and most of the music, and cultural references date to the 20's and 30's.  It wasn’t so distracting that it took away from the story, I am just not as well versed as I probably should be about that time period.  Either way, a quick fun read.