Wow, I haven't posted in awhile....

...but I've been reading.

Time has become the second most precious commodity in my life. There is just never enough to accomplish everything that simply must be done, much less those things that simply need to be done. I am afraid that this blog is way down my list of things that I can spend time on. And its going to get worse. I work retail, so an econmoc downturn means that staff is cut, but expectations are raised. In January, I will become a step-grandfather to a grandson that will live in my house with his mother. I am still married to my most understanding wife and I have two other step-children who must get to school. sporting events, private trumpet and dance lessons, work, etc.

All that just to say my posts may become even more sporadic. I will try to make up for like of quantity with quality. And the next two posts are actually about books! Enjoy and I'll post when I can.

Finished at Last!

Ok, it took me the better part of a year, off and on, to read this. Its not particularly easy to read unless you have an interest in etymology. I have a newly expanded vocabulary and now know what words like clinquant mean.. (Look it up! I had to...) But after adding dictionary.com to my favorites (my collegiate dictionary didn't have the words I was looking for), I have fished the book.

And it was superb!!

This guy Donaldson, he can spin a grand and sweeping epic of a story. The Land is still wonderful with larger than life vistas and characters. Every emotion in the world is evoked in the reader. Revelstone, Andelain, The Staff of Law....they are still able to provoke visions of splendor and majesty. And the characters we love to hate and hate to love. This is a study in conflict and it involves the reader deeply.

The First and Second Chronicles were great, but the conflicts, while evident, were mostly expressed externally to Thomas Covenant. In the Last Chronicle, Linden's conflicts are expressed internally and evidenced externally. We see what she's feeling and how her decisions or lack thereof effect the other characters instead of how the characters decisions effect her. It is masterful story-telling by a master. It is, basically, a re-telling of the best anti-hero story ever told from an internal perspective, from the mind and priorities of the anti-hero.

At the end of the last book, Thomas Covenant had returned with Linden's adopted son and needed her help. In this book, we learn the true condition of her son, we find out who her friends are and who is not. There are the same old antagonists and some new ones. We meet the maker of the first Staff of Law, Beren One-Hand, in person. We are shown the limits of Law and why there is a need for wild magic.

Read This! Start now so you can finish by next Christmas!

Twilight - Ok, I Admit It...Its Good

*sigh* Once again my kids have dragged me into reading a book, and once again, its not bad. Make no mistake, Stephanie Meyer is not going to be compared with Hermann Melville or Issaac Asimov, but then again, she's probably made more money than both of them combined. This is perfect for its target market: teenage girls.

The hero is a major, major hottie, he's the most dangerous thing on the planet, and he's willing to change for the girl he loves. O-M-G! He's perfect! He drives a great car, even! And he rescues her from the bad guys...it just keeps getting better and better for our heroine.

I can see how this caught on. And, on top of that, its a truly original story told pretty dad-gummed well. Will I sit on the edge of my seat for the next one? No. But I'm over 40 and male. I wouldn't have done it for Elvis, either. Will I read the next books? Probably. Its, to me, (pardon the phrase) bubble-gum. Its entertaining, it doesn't take a lot of talent or effort to consume, and it tastes pretty good. I like a good easy read now and then.

Do I recommend it? Tough call. Are you a die-hard SF fan? This is NOT for you. Are you 13-20 and female? You will sigh a lot. Are you open to a good story with original characters that aren't too deep and have very uncomplicated emotional histories? You could read this. Do you like comic books? This is for you. I liked it. I did not love it, but then I wasn't supposed to.

OK, Maybe I'm Not My Kids...

As fate would have it, I got the books I ordered on Ebay. And they were so damaged and beat-up that I asked the seller if I could return them. She was nice enough and said yes - at my expense. *Sigh*

This, of course, means my kids think that now I should go back to Barnes and Noble and buy new books. I simply refuse to do that. I have a long and rewarding history on Ebay. I have bought and sold there for almost 10 years and this is my first negative experience. I will not pay retail, dammit!

And , of course, that earns me the coveted "Eye Roll" award from each of my three kids. Who could ask for more?

Living Vicariously

Its happened. I have become my kids. Let me explain....

My stepson needed a Spanish dictionary for school, so off I trot to Barnes and Nobles to procure one (this, of course was after the stop at Best Buy to upgrade his computer's memory and get a wireless card). My stepdaughter has ridden along and we have no more than stepped in the door than the laws of physics shift. Gravity is now emanating from the Stephenie Meyer Twighlight series and they, being smaller (NOT!) and weaker (definitely NOT!) than me, are sucked into the black hole produced exclusively by these novels of all the novels in the store.

I, on the other hand, have been living in la-la land, because, while I had heard of them I had no idea what they were about other than they contained vampire stories. I was also stupid enough to say so in front of these gravity-riddled masters of Facebook. I was quickly and efficiently imbued with all the information my synapses could handle - and in stereo no less. Then came the "no's". "No. I am not buying four novels at Barnes and Nobles at $23 a pop." "No. I will not advance your allowance." "No. You can't ask your mom and if you do, she will say no, too (I hope)."

So, of course, I run straight home, find them on E-bay, put in a bid on a set ending in two hours, win the bid and in 2-9 days, I will be the proud owner of four Stephenie Meyer novels, which I have staked out to read first. I may rent them to the step children to re-coup the expense, but I'd just have to give it back as allowance.

Sigh!

And I'll probably love them and just have to have the 5th book (which has been delayed because a draft was leaked - where else? - on Facebook). Senility has set in. I regress to 19 years old. Think my hair will grow back?

Tune in again soon for reviews....

Wholly Good Book -Unholy Domain by Dan Ronco

For the action adventure fan out there, this one's for you. Religious terrorists, power hungry and ruthless technocrats, post-apocolyptic culture and society - its all in there. This is Silence of the Lambs versus Jim Jones and everybody stands to lose if our mild-mannered hero doesn't save the day.
SPOILER!SPOILER!SPOILER!SPOILER!SPOILER!
DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW!
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!


My only problem with this book that at the height of the clash, it ended. No resolution, no idea of the fate of the characters, no justice meted out. Can you say "Sequel"? I have stated before that I generally loathe series work, and this is a classic example of why. This isn't a series of building climaxes and accompanying denouments, its one long story broken up into seperate books. Its a dad-gummed soap opera. I HATE that. Why would you do that to your readers? Its like selling somebody junk bonds and skipping out when the market goes bad. I shall have to write to the author and ask him when to expect the rest of the story.

Otherwise, it is a well-written, captivating story with shoot 'em ups, showdowns, intrigue, full-out combat, and a little romance thrown in to spice things up. The bad guys (and there's a bunch of 'em) hate each other more than they want to rule the world (rather one is in the way of the other) and the interplay there is fascinating. It reads almost like a Robert Ludlum novel, accept the hero is a true innocent but fully cognizant of his past and the players affecting his future. Its good reading - not great - but darned good.

I probably would have given this 4 stars, but that ending just ruined the 4 stars for me. Its still worth reading just for the authors take on future technology, but if you want the whole story, you're probably going to have to buy (borrow, steal) another book.

Gone Away World Isn't Gone - Its Soon To Be On Your Shelves!

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book at the author's behest. I warned him that I had a list of titles I was valiantly trying to read through and that it might be awhile before I got to it. He assured me that he was personally familiar with that phenomenon and that he was untroubled by my slow approach to his writings, he just would like for me to read it. That's it, just read it. No opinions, no posts, no obligation whatsoever were necessary. So, of course, I read it immediately.

Every once in a while, one reads a book that encompasses a vast emotional palette in the reader. It elicits stark laughter, desperate sadness, pathos you could spread like peanut butter, satisfaction and triumph that absolutely require that one pump one's fist repeated from the shoulder height in a rapidly downward motion while mouthing an incomprehensible "YES!". This book is one of those. It is a treatise on humanity from the weird ( not "weird " as in geas or testament, just "weird" as in strange, offbeat).

It is a tale as only the British author can tell it, since they alone of the authors in the world seem to have the ability to say upfront to the reader, "OK, so it rubbish and completely unbelievable. Its still right good!". And just to provoke discussion, they write a damn good story. The Lord of the Rings is the most improbable collection of creatures ever assembled, yet its story is enduring and, ultimately, uplifting. The Hitchhikers Guide was asinine, yet enduring and funny and read and enjoyed by millions. Gone Away World is not anything remotely like these, but its still a tale of perilous decisions made by ineffective people, resulting in the small and disparate powers for "good" facing the organized, overwhelming, and clear-sighted powers of "evil". In other words, its "Mom & Pop vs. Erich Von Walmart to determine the fate of the world". (And no, there is no mention of Walmart in the book).

There is no point at which one can take this book for granted. The surprises are boundless and wonderful. The last line at the end of the climatic battle scene will soon be sported on T-shirts. It is perfect and just off-beat enough that one must be "on the inside" to truly appreciate it. It is the next "grok". And getting to the point where the line is uttered by our hero is what makes the line so satisfying to the reader. The build up is as long as the whole book, its delivery brief, it effect - perfect. It is both simple in its scope, and so encompassing of the whole story that it simply feels good to read the words.

I guess I should point out that I loved this book. Its not quite out in America yet, but it will be soon. Don't wait. Pre-order yours now and get all the goodies that come with that pre-order, because you are going to be hearing about this book and it will end up on your shelves one way or another. It is a classic, or at least, it will be. I am dusting off my 5-star rating for this one. Get this book! Read it! Or else remain ever ignorant. Ignorance, in this instance, isn't bliss. It is a loss. Read it, read it, read it, then pass it on so that the Voiceless Dragon lives! (Cryptic enough for ya?)

From The Minds of the Masters

I found this at another bloggers site and loved it. The great writers of the 50's and 60's that literally laid the foundations for today's modern speculative fiction tell us candidly their opinion of their own creations. Its very dry but informative.

Making it to The Bigs!

Mr. David Anthony Durham dropped me a note about his new book, Acacia. It seems that relatively soon it might be possible for audiences to enjoy his work without having to read a word. Relativity Media has bought the production rights and hired a screenwriter to adapt his book to the big screen.

You can check it out here.

Congrats!

Deep Inside?

Ok, maybe this one is just a little out of my league.

Ms. Frost very graciously asked me if I would read her book of erotica, supernatural erotica. She sent me a copy and I dutifully read it. It is a collection of short fiction meant to be highly erotic, she told me.

This is where it leaves my usual bailiwick. I HATE to pan books, really HATE it. But this one was not very erotic, and to my way of thinking, not even very good. While some of the stories were very romantic (not in the classic sense, more like some very twisted individuals highly romaticized), they weren't at all entertaining, nor erotic, nor even titillating. Erotica is NOT my thing, per ce, but I loved Poppy Z. Brite's Love In Vein. That one would raise the Titanic. It was incredibly hot.

Deep Inside made it much easire to read my next books. They are engaging, I identify with the characters, I can suspend disbelief and enjoy them, None of which happened while reading Deep Inside. My recommendation? Give it a bye.

Just a note

I have done what every blogger does eventually. I have started a new blog that has absolutely nothing to do with specualtive fiction. Its mostly rants, but feel free to visit and rant at me. Its at htpp://thoughtspinning.blogspot.com and it is my sincere hope that what I say there makes you angry, sad, or satisfied. I just hope that it give you sufficient cause to think. Rant over. At least here....

A Bright Spot

Kay Kenyon's Bright of The Sky is the first book in her new (and first) series, The Entire and The Rose. I've read and discussed Mrs. Kenyon's books before amd have been quite impressed. Its very hard to describe, so it might be easier to describe what it is not; it is not hard science fiction, it is not fantasy, and it is not a classical romantic adventure novel. Yet is has elements of all of these and much more. She is a exceptional character writer, which lends much needed help to the reader in the suspension of disbelief. Her premises are absolutely fantastic and fantastical. But her characters seem to see them as such and react to them in very believable and sometimes very profound ways.

In Bright of the Sky, Earth is ruled by corporate entities that scour the populous for intelligent, productive people and pay the rest to stay out of the way. One of the super intelligent elite spurns the status quo to be a pilot, navigating through the FTL tunnels that are corporately created and maintained. During one of his flights, the tunnel collapses supposedly killing him, his crew, his wife and his very young daughter. Weeks later, he turns up on a planet, delirious, spouting nonsense about an alternate universe where his family is stranded. He refuses to recant and is corporately ostracized. He is given retirement and paid to stay out of the limelight.

Then, an AI in charge of maintaining one of the tunnels, is fed a problem in quantum physics by a student. It goes bonkers, shutting down the tunnel and killing several people in the collapse. But the data that is retrieved shows that particles exist and are shooting through the tunnels. Particles that can only come from a quantifiable and therefore existing universe that is different from our own. It exists across a thin quantum barrier that FTL technology inadvertently penetrates. And it turns out that one human being has been there and come back to tell the tale.

Oh! The profit potential of taking shortcuts through our universe by going through another! Can it be done? Will the denizens of the alternate reality be friend or foe? Is it even possible? Or will there be conflict? (The answer to that last one? This IS a series...).

Mrs. Kenyon has again painted broad scenes of fantastic proportions and developed characters that are multi-dimensional (no pun intended). This was a great read. The only problem I have is that after reading the book, the story is just starting. I have the second book and will read it forthwith because, dammit, its a good story!

Finally! A Book Review!

I had to wait to talk about this one until my step-daughter finished reading it. Ms. Harrison made a visit to my little piece of the world, so we visited her and had her personalize a copy to the step-daughter. While we were there, Ms. Harrison dropped a hint or two about Rachel's future: We will definitely find out who killed Kisten, and there are 4 more books in this series. But this step in the journey concerns The Outlaw Demon Wails....

If you've read my reviews, you realize that I pretty much detest series work, unless the are exemplararily written and that basically they are a single story told in several volumes. An incredibly good writer can write complete books that stand alone in and of themselves, and are integral parts of a much longer story. Lois McMaster Bujold is the past master of this as evidenced by the Miles Vorkosidan series. Watch out, Mrs. Bujold, here comes Kim Harrison.

In this installment, the tension between Rachel and Ivy is settled (pretty much), we find out much more about Trent, and the world of demons comes into a clearer focus. Are there still mysteries? You betcha, but the reader leaves satisfied that the characters have grown, that the present challenges have been well and truly met. There are the inevitable loose strings, but the strings are vague, and like the characters, the reader is completely happy to leave them for another day.

In possibly the best book of the series thus far, Ms. Harrison further develops her core characters, introducing only one new somewhat minor character (doubtless to be developed later). She does vastly develop characters that were minor in previous installments, but the reader is already familiar with them and has already formed attitudes about what to expect from these characters....most times even correctly.

Our: Story:

Rachel is heartbroken about Kisten and depressed. Ivy is still trying to find a bllod balance with her. A new man is introduced (more than one, actually, but see the last paragraph about correctness of readers' assumptions) for Rachel's love interest, but that's undeveloped in this story. Ceri, the elfin princess that was Al's familiar, is, as one would expect, the savior of the elfin race. But her partner is surprising in both his identity and his character developments in this tale. Jenks is Jenks. All in all, its damned hard to write this review without spoilers. The Hallows have become such a comfortable place to visit that one just wants to talk about their adventures there and show off the pictures taken while on sojourn there. Rachel must save the day, defeat the nefarious bastards that are trying to kill her, and keep her soul and personality intact at the same time....again. Its a familair plot line, but the characters make this a more personal story than just the kick butt, shoot 'em up that it looks to be on the surface. Each character has their vunerabilities and weaknesses, even Al.

If you want to learn more, you'll just have to read this one. When you do, let me know what you think.

Geez! I thought I had a pretty good vocabulary...

Goodness gracious! I have been deperately trying to get through Fatal Revenant for over a month. Its not that its a bad book, it isn't. Its just very heavy reading. I have to stop about every 5 pages, grab a dictionary, and look up what Mr. Donaldson is trying to tell me. His words, once the definitions are clear, are spot on and very descriptive. But Dang! I'm only about 1/3 of the way through and I'm just now getting into the action.

I'm going to set it aside again and read some Kaye Kenyon, Kim Harrison's new book from her Rachel Morgan series, and then maybe I'll come back to this. Its just taking forever for me to read this, and I consider myself a pretty fast reader.

Of course, maybe my vocabulary isn't what I thought it was. Its truncated rather than expansive. My comprehension is less than proliferate, maybe even circumscribed. *Sigh*
Ain't that a downer! I was a-thinking my teachers had done learned me real good.

Sci-Fi Love - Ain't It Grand?

I was, of course, sniping ideas from other blogs and one of my favorites had a list of her favorite love stories in science fiction. So, of course once again, I'm going to steal it. Here's my list:

Neo & Trinity - The Matrix

What is a good savior story without a love interest? Neo had to love Trinity to overcome his own shortcomings in a lot of ways. His miraculous "removal" of the virtual bullet that was killing her in RT was how he discovered how fully he could manipulate The Matrix. Of course her death in real time removed his last obstacle to giving himself to save Zion and the Machine World from total annihilation. There's nothing like a Christ story to get the blood pumping (Read Frank Herbert's The Jesus Incident if you want a hard science fiction look at Christian dogma from a skewed perspective). This is a recurring theme in SF/F. Jonathan Michael Valentine Smith, Neo, Thomas Covenant and the VR brain in Otherworld. Agape at its best.

Beren & Luthien - The Silmarillion

How else would one describe the first union between the Elves of Middle Earth and Men? One word - Epic! Luthien was the daughter of one of the most powerful elves of Middle Earth. He rules hidden Dorthonion, the last of the great eleven kingdoms to fall to Morgoth and to be ruined by the Silmarils. But before Darthonion fell, Beren met and fell in love with Luthien. Men and Elves were not so estranged as they later became and Beren's father and Beren himself served Thingol and Melian (she, as was Tolkien's habit, was actually the power in Dorthonion. She was one of the Maia, a lesser god. Thingol was an Elf that had never left Middle Earth to go to the West and had built Doriath and later, with Melians help, he built and she hid the city of Dorthonion there). Beren stumbled into forbidden Doriath after a battle and was sick and wounded. Luthien found him and healed him. Love grew between them and Beren sought Luthien's hand from her father. He did NOT aprove. Thingol sent Beren to fetch the Silmaril that Morgoth had set in his crown, despite the warnings from his wife that there was no outcome that was good in doing so.

Beren, being in love, sets off to fulfill this requirement. Luthien sneaks away and joins him. And despite overwhelming odds, they succeed. On the return trip to Doriath, Morgoth sets his dog, Carcharoth, on them. Attempting to use the Silmaril to ward off the dog, Beren held aloft the jewel in his right hand. The dog bit it off. The Silmaril killed the dog, eventually. Luthien once agin healed Beren, but could not restore his hand. They returned to Dorthonion and confronted Thingol. Thingol demanded the Silmaril. Beren, now called One-Hand, held up his stump and declared that, even now, the Silmaril was in his right hand. Then Beren and Luthien departed the sight of elves and men for the remainder of their lives. Luthien chose to fade rather than live without Beren. And they were never seen again. Thingol never saw his daughter again, because she never entered the Halls of Mandos.

But from Beren , son of Beor, and Luthien, daughter of Thingol and Melain, came the race of Kings of Numenor. But that's another story...

Miles & Ekatrin - The Vorkosigan Saga

What good is space opera without a good love story? I've made no secret that I think the Vorkosigan Saga is probably the best space opera ever written and thus, this is one of its best love stories. Is there anyone out there who deosn't know who Miles Vorkosigan is? (If you do not, do yourself a huge favor and investigate thoroughly immediately! E-mail me if you need help.) The last four books in this amazing story are about Miles falling in love with and winning the heart of Ekatrin Vorsoisson. She is independent, smart, loyal, and beautiful. Which scares Miles to death. But, being Miles, he comes up with a battle plan. Only problem is, winning a woman's heart isn't a battle..its war!


These are my top 3 love stories. If you haven't read them, perhaps you should. Then we can have an argument about which was best. Which is great! Then we can make up and that's always fun!

Once Bitten...Bite Me Again!

Ok, I have a small confession to make. I started reading MARVEL comics when I was about 5 years old (one of my babt-sitters discovered it was a great way to keep me quiet and out of trouble--I was hooked!). I still love Spider-Man, Daredevil and the Fantastic Four. Now this may seem immaterial, but its not. Into this challenge to the suspension of disbelief slinks Jaz Parks, ex-vampire slayer turned CIA assassin.

She is the proto-typical comic book heroine with a cast right out of MARVEL comics (and to be fair, DC as well). She is tough, yet haunted and vunerable. She is loyal and thus inspires heroic loyalty among her peers and comrades. She's smart, strong, sassy and daddy's little girl, the girl-next-door all rolled into a fast action, rock 'em, sock 'em heroine against the "We're going to end the world so we can rule what's left" bad guys. Its classic!

Jaz is introduced mid-story, we get glimpses of prelude as we go through the current story, including a mysterious benefactor that grants certain "advantages" to Jaz in her quest to save life, liberty and the American way. She and her 300-year vampire partner are given an assignment to take out a terrorist. But as they investigate, we are introduced to what every comic book character needs: the arch-nemesis. In this case its someone you never see called The Raptor. He is the brains behind the scenes pulling the strings as his minions attempt to release a curse that will, quite literally, consume the planet.

Is this "fantasie-haute"? Definitely not. Is it a great, larger-than-life story that tells the reader than, somewhere, some how, they can be better? Yep. Its a quick read and Mrs. Rardin is whipping them out faster than I can read them (3 books in six months), But, the first one is definitely worth reading. Especially for all those super-hero/heroine fans out there. Fortunately, that includes me.

Selling Out by Justina Robson

In yet another interminable series (that's right, there will be more), I must say that this one is pretty entertaining. The characters are multiplying like crazy, our heroine is even more insecure thatn the first novel, and there are plenty of unexplained phenomena to frustrate the reader. Having said that, Ms. Robson's blending of pretty hard sci fi with classic fantasy elements is flawless. Her characters are all flawed in very human ways and therefore approachable if not downright likeable. I really hate to admit it, but PYR has brought out yet another great speculative work that deserves to be read. (I HATE series!)

The drawbacks: It is incredibly necessary that you read the first book prior to this one, or you will be completely lost. It IS a series book, so the story is not complete. Characters and places are becoming numerous - very numerous, with independent story lines a-plenty. I find that while this adds depth to the major characters, it can (and in this case does) detract from the central story.

Lila Black is sent to Demonia to research a tourist book for Ootopians (read: humans). While there, she inevitably gets caught up in local politics which are particularly nasty as can only be expected from demons. Meanwhile, her elvin boyfriend gets caught in Thanatopia from which all things elemental flow, but which cannot sustain any other kind of life as we know it. Meanwhile, (see what I mean?) her fairy partner is sailing the depths of non-space looking for ghosts with a renegade research group. Meanwhile, ... you get the idea.

This is a good book and, so far, an enjoyable series. If you've read Keeping It Real and enjoyed it, then you will definitely enjoy this one. If not, I recommend that you start immediately.

Whew! February At Last!

I don't know about anyone else, but January was a busy, hectic and generally unproductive month for my little piece of the world. February promises to be a bit different; my promotion at work has been finalized (no more 14 hour days!), Spring is just around the corner, and things are happening!

Now, unfortunately for blogging purposes, I am taking my first real vacation in about 15 years. My wife and I are going on a cruise in the Western Carribean and generally eat too much and over imbibe for days! I am packing up two or three books to take along, so when I get back maybe I can post more than one review.

Don't bet the farm on it.

I have three books going right now; Fatal Revenat, Once Bitten Twice Shy and Selling Out. Of the three, only Fatal Revenant promises to take a while to read. (Why does reading Stephen Donaldson always make me feel like I have an awful vocabulary?) SO buck up, dear readers! Reviews will be seen here once again!

Thanks for stopping in. I'll have something actually worth reading soon (at least I hope so - in both instances!)

Well...Posting To A Blog...Who'd a Thunk It Was Tuff?

Here it is, more than half way through January and not a single post.

Huh....

Yassee, I'm being promoted at work and I'm in transistion between one position and another. I am taking on new responsibilities while still keeping up with the old ones. I have to train my replacement when he comes along. We've rolled out a new and extremely complicated tracking process for new orders that I had to go through training on, and then go back and train my people on it, then follow up and make sure that we placed it in effect and that we were doing it according to SOP, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

The short tale is that I've been away from the computer in general, I haven't had a lot of time to read, and I've been playing with my Christmas present - an Ipod Touch. I've now just about filled my hard drive with videos of Farscape and Andromeda and I have 3 seasons of Andromeda left to watch.

I've finished about 6 chapters of Fatal Revenant and I just can't seem to stay with it. (Its a VERY heavy read).

Soooooo...

I'm going to chunk Revenant for awhile and read Jennifer Rardin's Once Bitten, Twice Shy and see how that goes. I'll let you know as soon as I can. I'm not quitting, I've just had other priorities temporarily. Things should calm down in February and I'll be boring you once again with my opinions.