Thoughts on the arts, society, politics, and various geeky topics.
This is the blog of Janice Dawley. Why is it called “Central Cortex”? Well, the Cortex was the interplanetary equivalent of the internet in Firefly, a show I was totally into back in 2003 when I first created this blog, and I’ve never changed the name since then. Strangely enough, I’ve barely written anything about Firefly here, but I’ve written a LOT about other TV shows and movies, as well as literature, politics, various cultural topics, and my own life.
I just watched the 1979 animated movie Watership Down, based on the book by Richard Adams. When I was in my teens I read the novel somewhere between 10 and 15 times. It’s in my bones in a way that only, maybe, The Lord of the Rings can rival. Now that I think of it, these books might have appealed to me in similar ways. They’re long, and lumpy, and full of detail and landscape...
I recently finished the first three books of the Elemental Logic series by Laurie J. Marks. They are grave and thoughtful books about violence, personal responsibility, and friendship in an occupied land where magic works in unusual ways. The issues that are dealt with are serious, and I feel I owe the books (and author) the respect to say both what worked and what didn’t in the series.
You’re To Kill a Mockingbird! by Harper Lee Perceived as a revolutionary and groundbreaking person, you have changed the minds of many people. While questioning the authority around you, you’ve also taken a significant amount of flack. But you’ve had the admirable guts to persevere. There’s a weird guy in the neighborhood using dubious means to protect you, but...
I’ve never done a linkdump type thing before, so I think it’s time. Without further ado, my list of recent notable things. Springfield, VT chosen as site of Simpsons Movie premiere. I was amazed to learn that Springfield, a town of approximately 9,000 inhabitants, even has a theater. Two more China stories from the NY Times, here and here. Only partly negative! Bonus from following...
I’m back from the convention. I spent some quality time with Laura Q, and we met up with Angry Black Woman for a pleasant breakfast on Saturday, but overall this was a much less social experience for me than WisCon. Nevertheless, I did enjoy it, particularly all the exposure to Karen Joy Fowler, who I had never heard speak before, despite her presence at several other conventions I’ve...
In just a couple hours, I’ll be off to another SF convention: Readercon. This will be my fourth time at this convention (my two previous con reports can be read here and here), but it’s been quite a while since my last one, so there should be a good sparkle of the new. And Laura Quilter and I will be sharing a room again — fun! The schedule has been posted on the web site, so...
Opening this month — on my birthday, even! — is The Simpsons Movie. I’ve never considered myself a super fan of The Simpsons. I don’t go out of my way to watch it, or try to get other people to watch it. Yet I have seen a lot of it over the years and often find it to be hilarious. Mr. Burns is one of my favorite cartoon characters ever; I’ve had a little paper cut...
What’s with all the negative articles about China in the New York Times lately? Our household has been getting the Sunday Times for the past couple of months, so I’ve been paying closer attention to their content. The first couple of China articles were interesting and disturbing. But after the third and fourth, I started to wonder, are things really that bad in China? Or does the...
I probably shouldn’t have bought a cheap copy of World of Warcraft when I was on vacation. It isn’t like I needed a sleep deprivation aid, or had ever seriously considered trying the game. I was simply suckered by the cheap price on the endcap at Target. Oh woe! The day I bought the product that has taken over my life for the last two weeks. So what is it, anyway? It’s a...
I just turned off the “Notify Me” option on the sidebar because not a single real person has used it since I enabled it. Instead I’ve gotten a slow continuous supply of spam email addresses registering. I’m sick of them, so… blammo!