The Big Short

Where I got the book

A friend :)

Why I’m reading

I basically put all of Berlin-Peck’s summer movies on my (extensive, 300+ entry) IMDB watch list -- but this one was the most interesting. We weren’t really in the mood for a comedy or a drama, and a documentary would’ve put us to sleep, so this was more or less perfect.

Expectations

A reenactment of the 2007-2008 housing/financial crisis, with a bunch of famous people, contextual humor, and some fourth-wall breaking to explain the problem in simple terms.

How was it

It was vaguely what I expected, with only a few differences -- the fourth-wall breaking wasn’t as obvious or gimmicky, it followed several separate groups of people who never really meet, and the explanation isn’t as simple as I thought it would be. Of course, that’s not to say I didn’t love the movie; it was fantastic… and the explanation couldn’t be simple. Apparently the crisis was not just irresponsibility, it was IRRESPONSIBLE CRAZYPANTS EVIL STUPID. The story follows several groups of people who saw the housing/financial crisis coming, and shorted the housing market (i.e. bet that the housing market would fail). Housing is traditionally very stable, so it seems like a stupid bet, but there’s tons of corruption happening and no one is doing their homework. But remember: these guys made money in the crisis, but they absolutely did not cause the crisis.

The main players (at least, the guys on the cover…) are:

• Michael Burry (Christian Bale) The nonconformist, brilliant, socially inept, ex-neurologist, metalhead founder of the hedge fund Scion Capital, and (one of) the first to predict the crisis. He goes all-in on sell credit default swaps (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_default_swap) against the housing market. My favorite character, although Carell had the better part and performance.
• Mark Baum (Steve Carell) Head of FrontPoint Partners, a small hedge fund that also shorted the housing market early on. Several of his team members actually go out and visit many of the towns and houses suspected of mortgage fraud. Although his anger management problems were a bit campy at the start, he’s the emotional center of this movie. Based on Steve Eisman.
• Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) A trader who believes Burry’s prediction and tries to sell credit default swaps to hedge fund managers, including Baum -- he makes money on the fees. Acts as the narrator of the story. I found his role the most confusing, really; as far as I can tell, he’s helping himself (sales fees) and Baum (swaps sound stupid, but will actually be profitable) and hurting the bank he works for (which will eventually have to pay out for the swaps).
• Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt), with Charlie Geller (John Magaro) and Jamie Shipley (Finn Wittrock) The latter two are young, small-time investors who jump on the bandwagon. Rickert lends a bit of Oceans 11 fun to the movie, using his experience and connections to let them follow through on their plans.

Recommendation

Anyone looking to understand the crisis -- and yeah, you do actually have to think, it’s not a topic that lends itself to simplification. Great if you’re not in a comedy mood but too tired for drama; it’s a little of both, but doesn’t yank on your heartstrings. Not good if you’re looking for a fun Ocean’s 11 style romp around Wall Street (that’s probably Wolf of Wall Street).

Feels

A little bit documentary, a little bit drama, a splash of Ocean’s 11 -- it’s exactly what every cool economics professor wants to be. It was never going to be a blockbuster, because it did its job too well to be a blockbuster.

Favorites

The renter we meet when Baum’s team goes mortgage fraud sightseeing. He’s fat, in his late 20s, poorly dressed, vaguely hispanic, tattooed, and sleepy -- the perfect stereotype of oh, of course this is the kind of person who caused the financial crisis. But no, no, no -- he’s been paying his rent on time and just settled his little girl in school; it’s his landlord who hasn’t been paying the mortgage. He was on screen less than a minute, and encapsulated exactly the kind of person who was blamed for, and most hurt by, the crisis. Also, the alligator was hilarious. Also, the few times a character turns to the screen and comments on a plot point (i.e. to say whether something dramatic actually happened or was added for drama).

Least favorites

The ending-before-the-ending, where they suggest everything worked out and the people responsible were punished -- just kidding, no one got punished, it’s still going on! They were trying to shock the audience, but I could practically feel the reward centers in my brain reacting as if there really was a happy ending. It was the end of the movie; audiences are already conditioned to expect a happy ending, and the movie gave them one -- it wrapped everything up nicely, and the ‘just kidding!’ had no more impact than a hand coming out of a grave at the end of a horror movie. If they really wanted shock, they should have left it on a dark note.

Best of Apex Magazine. Volume 1

How fun is this cover?!

Where I got the book

LibraryThing Early Reviewers, as an eBook.

Why I’m reading

I just finished For Exposure, an autobiography by Jason Sizemore, the creator and editor of Apex Magazine -- so of course I want to see what all the fuss was about.

Expectations

A collection of (hopefully high-quality) scifi short stories. I’ve got to get the taste of Joy to the Worlds out of my mouth...

How was it?

I started this months ago, but just finished the last few. I love short stories, but collections are hard to finish than novels -- there’s no ‘what happens next?!’ when you finish each story in one sitting. The whole thing blew me away, really; I really haven’t been reading enough of this sort of thing. I was expecting much more strict scifi, but these stories were a fantastic mix of scifi, fantasy, horror (Gothic, not slasher), thought experiments, and old campfire ghost stories. What struck me is that these stories all played to the strengths of the short story, tossing the reader into the middle of a world and letting them figure things out as they go. Some felt unfinished or not fully realized, which isn’t a bad thing. Weirdly enough, it’s something I see often in good fanfiction: stories that are allowed to be ephemeral and experimental rather than definitive. The stories feel shorter than Joy to the Worlds, but I can’t tell if they’re actually shorter or just less painful to read…  

Jackalope Wives // Ursula Vernon
A short, dark fantasy story about shape-changing jackalope wives, in the style of an old fairy tale -- the kind that were weird and twisted and creepy as hell.  

Going Endo // Rich Larson
This whacks you right over the head with the sort of technobabble future-speak that usually comes off trite, but this time it sets a great mood -- it sounds like natural slang, and there are no Importantly Capitalized Nouns. It’s a slice of life from some kind of militarized bio-VR company engineer… and then also sex. Cheeky!

 Candy Girl // Chikodili Emelumadu
A quick and dirty voodoo story that's like something out of a dream - random and strange,but not terrifying. Wickedly vindictive.

 If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love // Rachel Swirsky
Starts out a bit like Neil Gaimon’s The Day the Saucers Came or If You Give a Mouse a Cookie -- mostly nonsense. Ends a bit like the song If You Could See Her from Cabaret.  

Advertising at the End of the World // Keffy R.M. Kehrli
A post-apocalyptic survivor and the hi-tech remnants of advertising culture. A little sad; probably a metaphor for old age. Strangely comfortable.  

The Performance Artist // Lettie Prell
A performance artist explores the connection between self and machines. I didn't really connect with this one, but, well... she nailed performance art. Imaginative, though.

A Matter of Shapespace // Brian Trent
All mass (humanity included) can be transmitted and manipulated electronically, through simple thought commands. A little like The Matrix, a little like I, Rowboat I like it. http://www.flurb.net/1/doctorow.htm  

Falling Leaves // Liz Argall
Two outcast teen girls connect (sort of) in a post apocalyptic society. Post apocalyptic teenage angst. Meh.  

Blood from Stone // Alethea Kontis
Summoning demons and dark, twisted love... except, yeah, I've read tons of stuff that's darker and more twisted. Your standard Gothic fare: not a bad read, but nothing special.  

Sexagesimal // Katharine E.K. Duckett
This one was weird - a trippy and very unique take on death, with an afterlife that runs on a memory-based economy.  

Multo // Samuel Marzioli
Are you afraid of the dark? A simple story that perfectly captures the old childhood fear that kept us tucked safely under our quilts at night.  

Keep Talking // Marie Vibbert
Like contact, a little bit, I guess? But with autism and interpretive dance? I wasn’t a fan of this one.  

Remembery Day // Sarah Pinsker
Another one about memory, this time focusing on memory and war. Definitely a thought exercise on the question of memory: are we better off remembering bad things (like war)? If we could forget, should we -- as an individual, and as a society?

Blood on Beacon Hill // Russell Nichols
Immortal vampires are just as messed up by family and society as mortals are.  

The Green Book // Amal El-Mohtar
Epistolary. A man, his mentor, a talking book who was once a girl, a sort of shadowy religious order, and absolutely zero context. Interesting.  

L’espirit de L’escalier // Peter M. Ball
An endless stairwell three sharpies and a bottle of ashes: that’s it. I love the lack of context.  
Still Life (A Sexagesimal Fairy Tale) // Ian Tregillis
In a palace that time forgot, a clock maker - the only person who can age - falls in love and builds magical time pieces.  

Build-a-Dolly // Ken Liu
We're cruel to our toys.  

Armless Maidens of the American West // Genevieve Valentine
An armless girl (woman?) wandering the forest -- like a local ghost story, except everyone knows she's real and just doesn't pay much attention. A commentary on ignoring suffering of others simply because it's the way things are.

Pocosin // Ursula Vernon
A tired witch and a dying possum god. Very atmospheric.  

She Gave Her Heart, He Took Her Marrow // Sam Fleming
A mentally ill girl in the middle of a sort-of zombie apocalypse. Very confusing at first. Err… very confusing at the end, too. Not quite a zombie story, but I got the same sort of vibe.

Thing Explainer // Randall Munroe

In the spirit of Thing Explainer, this word thing is getting done in simple words using simple writer.  

Why I'm reading
That computer funny image with four letters.

Where I got the book
My local book place; also new job!) It was sticking out of the book holder as I walked by -- probably should be in the big books area, but whatever -- and I grabbed it.

What I think will happen
Things we've learned and done and created written in very simple language.

So how was it?

It was… not not like a school book, to tell the truth. A lot of blue pictures with lots of information and tiny words everywhere. I don’t think it would teach you anything unless you already understand the ideas -- they’re not simple blue pictures; they’re blue pictures with lots of information, written in simple language.

With that said, it’s a fun read. It makes you see things in a new way… and half the fun is trying to figure out what the hell Munroe’s talking about. What is a key lock? It’s used to keep things locked up, but what does it really do? It checks the shape of a piece of metal, and opens for the right shape; so it's really a “shape checker.”

I’d really love something like this for languages, history, and that kind of thing.

Recommendation
[Neeeeeerds.] ;) It’s also a lot like the Green brothers’ Things Hitting Each Other Course!

Feels
Fun and school-book-y?

Parts I like the most
The US Laws of the Land (especially the “serious office” branch!) and the Pieces Everything is Made Of.

Parts I don't like the most
It’s a lot to take in, and to be truth-telling, I rushed through some of the pages I wasn’t interested in (or already mostly understood). The simple language is fun, but I already know how the body and washing machines and ships work, and the language is only fun for so long.

Captain America : Civil War

Why I'm watching
Marvel’s been knocking these out of the park. The first Captain America was alright I guess (Hugo Weaving was massively underused) but Captain America: Winter Soldier was great (and not just great for a superhero movie).

Where I watched the movie
Local theater with just Alan (usually we do these superhero movies with a big group…)

Expectations
Something along the lines of Captain America: Winter Soldier in plot and feel, but with all the A
vengers getting cranky at each other and failing to communicate. I won’t lie, I’m expecting the infighting to be annoying (come on guys, just sit down and talk it out, it’s all a misunderstanding)

So how was it?

Uhhhh…. Really good. Really, really good. I don’t know how they got that many characters together (including two entirely new introductions) and built that complex of a plot without getting confusing, convoluted, bloated, or boring. Are you taking notes, DC? Because the latest Superman reboot managed all four and an insanely bland story.

There’s a lot going on in this one, but the central issue is (I’m not kidding) paperwork. After the disaster in Sokovia, the UN wants control over the Avengers, and the Avengers initially take sides over signing a treaty -- Iron Man is for, Captain America against. The actual “civil war” comes when a bomb goes off and Bucky Barnes (Rogers’ old frenemy, the Winter Soldier) is implicated.

And guess what? It wasn’t all just a misunderstanding. There’s lots of people feeling all sorts of feels, having all sorts of opinions and perspectives, and no one is entirely wrong. (Okay, well, in terms of priorities, Cap’s team is right to go after the bad guy that Stark’s team doesn’t quite know about; there could have been better communication there).

Best villain yet, I think.

Recommendation
Oh, just go see it.

Feels
It had exciting action scenes and a reasonable amount of humor (much less than the Avengers movies) -- but you’re gonna feel some feels. Lots of good people hurting each other because they’re doing what they believe is right. While it avoids pointless grittiness, this isn’t a lighthearted superhero movie.

Favorites
It’s all about the pacing. We get action scenes that are dynamic and interesting (and don’t drag on as characters repetitively bash each other into buildings), slower scenes with some humor (that’s actually funny and appropriate to the situation), glimpses of humanity (without bleeding hearts and dramatic speeches), side characters who actually matter (and aren’t just plot devices)... basically my favorite part is the whole movie.

Part of that good pacing includes just chucking two new superheros into the mix with minimal backstory (especially Spiderman, oh god) or explanation of powers (still not 100% on what Black Panther is or how he does what he does).

Okay, I lied: my favorite part is the central fight, team Cap vs. team Stark -- more specifically, the constant undertone of "Imma beat your face in, but we’re still cool, right? Right."

Least favorites
There were a few things I was iffy about, but ultimately liked. Black Panther’s character was a little weird for the first, oh, third of the movie, because I didn’t have context for him -- but in the end, I love the way they did it.

So what did I really think?

Click "read more"... massive spoilers ahead!

Podcasting...

I spent pretty much all of February listening to hours and hours and hours of podcasts, so why not post them? Summaries taken from each podcast's respective website.


Ask Me Another (NPR)
"Ask Me Another blends brainteasers and local pub trivia night with comedy and music into a rambunctious hour-long show.

Fantastic for keeping me awake on my two-hour commute to work. The trivia is fun, but it's really the interactions (and awful puns) that make AMA so much fun. Plus, there are usually celebrity guests!




Click (BBC)
“the best debate on global technology, social media and the internet,” or “your guide to all the latest gadgets, websites, games and computer industry news”

Fun and conversational updates on technology.






Discovery (BBC)
"Explorations in the world of science."

'Explorations' is exactly the right word for Discovery. The podcast spends about 20 minutes exploring random issues in science, from editing the genome to Einstein's refrigerator patent.






Faith Middleton Food Schmooze (NPR)
Faith and her foodie friends talk about food, share recipes, review cookbooks, and make you SUPER hungry.





  

Freakonomics 
 "...surprising conversations that explore the riddles of everyday life and the weird wrinkles of human nature... with Nobel laureates and provocateurs, social scientists and entrepreneurs" 


 
Fresh Air (NPR)
 "Hosted by Terry Gross, the show features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries."

Interviews and other interesting tidbits on a variety of contemporary subjects. Terry's interviews are great (and it seems like she's interviewed everyone at some point...)



Graham Norton (BBC)
"Graham hosts a vibrant Saturday mix of music, problems and celebrity chat."

Graham Norton is a talk show host for the BBC (pretty much the best talk show host ever, check him out)... and this is his podcast.

Inside Science (BBC)
"...illuminate the mysteries and challenge the controversies behind the science that's changing our world."

More quick stories about random scientific discoveries and problems.


NPR Books (NPR)
A mix of 4-5 minute reviews and 20-30 minute interviews with authors.



NPR Interviews (NPR)
Gathers together a host of interviews from other NPR podcasts: scientists, authors, actors, politicians, comedians, regular people.


NPR Movies (NPR)
5-10 minute reviews of upcoming movies, including many movies I otherwise would never have discovered. Also gathers together movie topics from other NPR podcasts.


NPR Politics (NPR)
 "...where NPR's political reporters talk to you like they talk to each other. With weekly roundups, quick takes on news of the day, and reporting from the campaign trail, you don't have to keep up with politics to know what's happening this election year. You just have to keep up with us."

A relaxed, conversational, and well-informed take on current American politics.


NPR Technology (NPR)
Quick 3-5 minute updates on new advances in technology.

NPR World (NPR)
Quick, 5-10 minute updates on current politics and social issues around the world.


Science Hour (BBC)
"Science, health and technology news and highlights of the week."

More science! I think I'm noticing a trend. This one gets a little deeper into the subjects it covers.







 Seriously... (BBC)
"A rich selection of documentaries aimed at relentlessly curious minds. No subject is too strange, no idea too weird."




 
TED Radio Hour (NPR)
 "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas: astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, new ways to think and create. Based on Talks given by riveting speakers on the world-renowned TED stage..."

Unlike the Ted Talks podcast below, this gathers together several TED talks on similar topics, and knits them together with interviews and new information.



Ted Talks Audio
Audio from new and popular TED Talks. These can be a little frustrating if the TED presenter uses a lot of visual information in their talk.




Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (NPR)
"NPR's weekly current events quiz. Have a laugh and test your news knowledge while figuring out what's real and what we've made up."
 

Very similar to Ask Me Another (I couldn't tell the difference until I moved from radio to podcast).

Deadpool // Ryan Reynolds

Why I'm reading
All the marketing looks hilarious (and c’mon, it’s Deadpool.)

Where I watched the movie
Local theater with Alan again.

Expectations
It’s Marvel, so I wasn’t too afraid of a trainwreck. But Deadpool’s humor is easy to mess up -- either too PG, or relying too much on violence/swearing/sex instead of actually being funny.

So how was it?

Fantastic! Once again, excellent pacing. The whole thing was framed with a narrative, allowing Deadpool to break the 4th wall with impunity (as he should). It starts with an action sequence, then a narrated flashback to Deadpool’s origin story and (I kid you not) surprisingly romantic and fun meetcute with his (prostitute?) girlfriend. Eventually it picks back up after the first scene, and Deadpool meets up with some B-grade X-Men to track down the guy who turned him ugly.

The jokes are spot-on Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds was born the play Deadpool. He’s rude and random and weird and has zero filter -- but without trying to impress us with how rude-random-weird he his (no sporks or penguins, promise).

And yes, there’s a romantic subplot. I don’t hate it. They meet, they make stupid sex jokes, they have hilariously inventive sex, he goes AWOL and gets turned into an avocado-testicle-hybrid, they eventually get back together. The actual relationship part is fairly normal and low-key.

Recommendation
Not for the light-hearted when it comes to sex, violence, and language. NOT a kid’s movie.

Feels
Like a comic book!!!

Favorites
I can’t choose one thing. The sex scenes? His old lady roommate? All the viral marketing?

I guess what really made this movie for me was (I can’t believe I’m saying this) the humanity. Reynolds is playing an irreverent and violent character, but he does occasionally pause to feel some feels; they’re surprisingly normal feels (I love you, I have cancer, I’m ugly now) and he doesn’t overdo it.

Least favorites
I expected to hate Negasonic Teenage Warhead, but her lines were consistently funny and she hit ‘third generation disaffected teenage X-Man’ spot-on.

I didn’t love the CGI on Colossus.

I hated the fight scenes between Colossus and Angel Dust. Don’t get me wrong, she was a great character -- good to have more female roles/superheros/villains, and they didn’t try to jam a backstory into every single character -- but she was way overpowered. Super strength does not mean super invulnerability… and invulnerability is supposed to be Colossus’s thing. If Colossus was just some random other superhero, it would’ve been fine, but… dude, Colossus.
Yes I totally put a romantic comedy tag on this.

Eleanor // Jason Gurley

Why I'm reading
I almost skipped over this -- it seemed like your typical tug-on-your-heartstrings mother-daughter story. Then halfway through the summary, suddenly... Scifi?

Where I got the book
Received this from LibraryThing's early reviewer program.

Expectations
The summary was strange. 99% of it reads like something from Lifetime or Oprah's book list, until I realized trite phrases like "Eleanor's painful reality begins to unravel" and "Eleanor is torn from her world" are happening literally.

So how was it?

Eleanor is the story of three generations of women... mostly making each other miserable. It spans forty years (1962-1996), with a plot that jumps between Eleanor, her daughter Agnes', her daughters Eleanor (junior) and Esmeralda, and -- ready for the Scifi? -- a mysterious rift dimension. Oh, and a series of husbands/fathers who don't really help the situation.

I've been calling this all Scifi, but it's not really Science Fiction. It has the freedom and imagination of Scifi, but there's no science involved; it's closer to mythology. I would probably call it Fantasy, but it has no relation to familiar High Fantasy exemplified by Tolkien.

Recommendation
Extremely similar to the video game Life is Strange -- love, tragedy, time travel, and relationships between women. Vaguely similar to Donnie Darko, except A) it's not super-pretentious, and B) I didn't hate it.

Feels
Deals with grief and pain between generations of women. The cosmology reminds me of Egyptian or Tolkien's mythology.

Favorites
I thought I'd hate the myriad of characters introduced, but it was satisfying once everything came together. The story didn't constantly need to ram its own mystery/suspense down the reader's throat.

Least favorites
I guess I like that it bounced around between characters/times, but it did that a little too much.