Whatever: Random Blatherations

In light of me having nothing coherent to say I've decided to spell out some things that have been cycling around in my head the past few weeks. And I'll do it all using the magic of bullet points!

• East of Eden is one of the greatest American books ever written. Hands down. And yeah, it's better than Grapes of Wrath. Shut up, it is. Now don't get me wrong, Grapes of Wrath is certainly an outstanding book. And if we're talking road novels here, it just might just be one of the best American books ever written. That being said, however, Grapes of Wrath is a bit overrated, especially when viewed in in light of the full spectrum of Steinbeck's later work. Steinbeck billed East of Eden as his epic masterpiece. The capstone of his career, and, well, it is people. It's his best writing. It's his best story. And the dialogue and characters are simply unforgettable. Thou mayest want to check it out, I think you'll enjoy it.
• Battlestar Galactica's ending didn't suck. (Spoilers ahead.) This statement is mainly prompted by Brad Templeton's ranting essay in which he makes the case that BSG's conclusion was, in fact, "the worst ending in the history of on-screen science fiction." I'm assuming Templeton said that just to incite tempers, and that's fine. But I mean really Brad? Really? The worst ever? Did you see Transformers? (To be fair, I didn't.) What about Hancock? Newsflash: They sucked hard. A lot harder than BSG. I'll even put my neck on the block and say BSG's ending was, in fact, pretty damn good. Yeah, you have to block a few things from your memory -- namely, the "150,000 years later" bit and the closeup cameo of Ron Moore's head. But here's some advice to all the haters: erase those scenes from your memory (I know it's tough). I'll always remember the show as ending with the panoramic shot of Adama atop the mountain surveying his new home and finally getting that much sought after rest. If you remember it there you'll have fond memories of the ending as well. Heck, you might even tear up a bit.
• Another TV thought -- season three of Heroes isn't as bad as everyone says. Let's get some perspective here. It's a show about people flying, shooting fire from their hands and sawing open heads using telekinesis. Stop taking it so seriously. Sure, some of the dialogue is cheesy. And the whole "But wait! (S)he's not really dead!" trope is annoying. But I'm still pretty interested in most of the characters. Well, okay, I really only care about Hiro, Sylar and HRG, but whatever. It's still a cool show. I'm glad it got renewed and I'm (sorta) excited about what's in store for season four.
  
• This month's edition of Fantasy and Science Fiction is one of the best I've read in years. I won't spoil any of the stories (I've posted a few blurbs about them here), but there's a lot of good writing this issue. Check it out.
• Summarizing random ideas in bullet points is a lot easier than trying to graft out a coherent narrative. I will remember this. Because I am lazy.