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So long, Sir Terry

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(I was sad – surprisingly sad – when I heard today that Sir Terry Pratchett had passed away.  It wasn’t completely unexpected.  I’d been preparing for this day ever since he announced that he had Alzheimer’s — and he made clear his intention to die with dignity.

Even with that preparation, however, it was sad news to hear.  He’s been one of my favorite authors for many years (as seen from this photo of part of my Pratchett collection) and I’ve written about him and his work on this blog before.  I still remember the short story he wrote that made me fall in love with him: it was a story about a group of chickens just trying to cross the road…but that road was a busy LA highway (and the story included the greatest throwaway line about Captain Kirk ever!).

So to lose him — an author that not only meant so much to me but was also one of the world’s most poignant, insightful, and wittiest observers — is tough.  He took on everything from torture and religion (in Small Gods, the first Discworld novel I read), to removing a monetary system from the gold standard (in Making Money), to Death taking over for Santa Clause (in Hogfather).  And, of course, he took on the apocalypse with Neil Gaiman in Good Omens.  Along the way, he created witches who were special because they could see things as they actually were (Tiffany Aching), the funniest wizard ever (Rincewind), vampire lawyers, troll guards, and the best suitcase in the entire world (the Luggage).  Not to mention turning death itself into a lovable character that we often rooted for (although not in this case).  (Plus, he used footnotes — often and well.  And footnotes are the way to this legal geek’s heart!)

And he did all of this in a world very similar to ours, except it was flat, carried on the back of four elephants, all of whom rode on the back of a giant turtle swimming through space.  In addition to making me laugh and look forward to every page, Sir Terry also exemplified the idea that fantasy and science fiction are often the best tools authors have to hold up a mirror to the world — to show us who we really are.

Thank you, Sir Terry.  You will be missed.

 

The Legal Geeks’ First Year: Oh what a year!

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Close-up of a vampire zombie in mid attack.

I can’t believe I’ve been a Legal Geek for a year already (I’ve been a dork for decades more)!  I wasn’t sure what to expect when Josh and I started this adventure last summer but I have to say it’s been more exciting than I could have anticipated.  While it’s all been great, below are some of my personal highlights from my first year as a Legal Geek:

Josh_Reading_Countdown

Meeting and working with my geeky partner, Josh.  Josh is a ton of fun and I’ve learned more from him about US Presidents than I learned in high school.  Plus, he’s one of the most creative attorneys I know (certainly far more creative than I am), so I always enjoy reading his posts!

io9!  I still remember where I was when I found out io9 was going to publish my piece on judicial opinions with Star Trek references (I was at the Dells with my little girl, who wasn’t impressed).  I’ve been a fan of io9 for a long time so it was a personal highlight to have something I wrote on that website.  Plus, I was very impressed by the judges’ creativity.

Gavel

And speaking of creative judges, I’m so glad I’ve had the opportunity to meet and talk with some great judges through this blog, especially Judge Sciarrino.  I met him at a conference in Park City and we’ve done some fun video posts together.  He’s creative, clever, and I’ve never met anyone else who knows as much about Star Wars.

Close-up of a vampire zombie in mid attack.

 

Letting my geek colors fly!  Having the opportunity to talk about some of my favorite shows, books, and movies is awesome.  I’m a huge fan of Buffy, Veronica Mars, Robert Heinlein, John Carter, Terry Pratchett, Star Trek, and many more sci-fi authors and shows.  And I know this may be hard to believe, but I don’t get to talk about this stuff much in my ordinary life.

Finally, as my friends and family know, I’m obsessed with Howard Stern and his show.  So when one of my favorite Stern Show producers actually retweeted my post – and then I got to have a brief Twitter conversation with him – I was over the moon with excitement.  Even my kids were excited for me that time!

‘Tis the Season: My favorite sci book for this time of year.

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HolidayI was thinking about the next post I’m doing, discussing my favorite holiday movie (along with a movie that is not holiday-like but is coming out on Christmas Day), and it got me thinking about holiday sci-fi books.  I could only think of two sci fi books that deal with Christmas, although Google revealed this list of holiday-themed sci fi books (which fails to mention my favorite).

The first story I thought of is an Arthur C. Clarke one I read in high school – The Star.  The ending is cool but otherwise I wasn’t crazy about it.  My second Christmas sci fi book, however, is one of my favorite books, written by Terry Prachett.  Pratchett is my favorite living science fiction author (an easy decision for me to make because Asimov, Heinlein, and Herbert are all dead) and I’ve been looking for an excuse to write about him.

I first fell in love with Pratchett when I read his short story, “Hollywood Chickens.”  It’s funny overall but I knew I found a keeper when a reference was made to a Star Trek episode that was found on the side of an LA freeway.  The next line described the episode as “the one where Captain Kirk falls in love with the girl.”  Maybe I’m a huge dork, but I thought that line was hysterical (and if you don’t get it, I’m not going to explain it to you).

Anyway, Pratchett’s Christmas-themed book is Hogfather.  Hogfather is the twentieth of Pratchett’s books to be set on Discworld, a flat world balanced on the back of four elephants who ride on the back of a giant turtle.  Discworld is similar to our world, although there St. Nick is replaced by Hogfather, who delivers presents on December 32.

HogfatherThe brilliance of Hogfather the book is that the man himself has been “killed,” so Death has to take over delivering presents.   Meanwhile, Death’s granddaughter, Susan, has to track down and rescue Hogfather.  While there are many movies (and possibly other books) that base a plot on someone stepping in for Santa Claus, no other character is as funny a replacement as Death.  And Death, who appears in several of the Discworld books, is always likable and relatable (a testament to Pratchett’s brilliance).

Pratchett’s skill lies both in taking humorous jabs at our world and in creating lovable, unforgettable characters.  In addition to Death, Rincewind the incompetent wizard is a funny, fantastic character who shows up in many of the Discworld books.  The leading law firm in Discworld, while not central to any of the stories, is still worth a mention because the three founders are a zombie and two vampires (how many law firms would secretly love such monsters as their lawyers?).  Moist von Lipwig is a con-man and the Postmaster General who takes Ankh-Morpork off the gold standard in Making Money (a storyline my brother, the law and economics guru, would appreciate).  Granny Weatherwax is also great, as are the Wee Free Men.

I could go on all day about the greatness that is Discworld and the characters Pratchett has created, but for now, let me just say…If you’re looking for a good holiday read, read Hogfather.  It’s holiday magic!