Origami to Astonish and Amuse, by Jeremy Shafer

I own around three dozen origami books -- modest by comparison with some enthusiasts. I sometimes forget which book a model is in.

That is unlikely to happen with this one. The projects in Origami to Astonish and Amuse are united, not by subject matter or difficulty level, but by a creative and wacky point of view.

If you are already a fan of Jeremy Shafer, perhaps from the Bay Area Rapid Folders newsletter, his live unicycle, juggling and flaming origami performances, or his website, you know what I mean. If not, the website is a good place to see if the style suits you, and offers a preview of the book.

But, you say, you want the Paradox World lowdown? This is an outstanding origami book. Diagrams are clear, attractive, and well annotated. The choice of models offers a little of every difficulty level, and treats experienced folders to models new not only in execution, but in subject matter. Consider the Unfortunate Suitor, a flattened man on the sole of a high heeled shoe. Or a variety of Flashers, models collapsed along labyrinthine lines, and spinning open to reveal the center when pulled on.

Another unusual and inspiring feature is the boxed "Thoughts behind the folds" comments near many of the models. These notes tell a little about the genesis of the models, and frequently include challenges to use the technique to create other models of your own.

With plenty of diagrams, many of them challenging, Origami to Astonish and Amuse provides plenty of bang for the buck.

My only qualification is that this might offer too steep a learning curve as your first origami book. Working through a more traditional book or one designed for beginners first may reduce frustration. Dozens of the hundreds of origami books out there cover more or less the same territory. This one makes its own territory, and I appreciate this book's addition of humor-filled and challenging country to the origami continent.

 
A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket. Book 1, The Bad Beginning.

You are reading the Lemony Snicket books, aren't you?

Good. Read them to someone else.

 
Almost Famous, a film written and directed by Cameron Crowe.

Almost Famous is like being in love. It's like the moment when your whole body flows into a song and you become part of the great current of rock and roll. It's every time you felt part of something greater, and it danced you.

It's also about a very particular place and time. Crowe labored to fill in the right details -- so we see albums and miniskirts and curtains from 1973. Almost Famous knows the words and the music.

And, it's about finding your right place in the world, and love sliding on glances from eye to eye, and how very flawed an artist can be and still produce something sublime.

I'm sorry I missed it in the theater. I devoured all the dvd extras the first time I rented it -- even reading the articles on my low resolution tv screen -- and I was as transported this evening on the second viewing. Feeling music like a river of electricity replacing my bones -- feeling young and devoted -- better than satisfied, I felt renewed. And Almost Famous rings of truth, too -- not the empty calories of feel-good formulas, but the living infusion of another's vision.

And one more thing -- let me get in print what I've been saying for some time -- Jason Lee will be a star.

 
Testing

 
Proof, by Dick Francis

I have read all the Dick Francis novels -- he never delivers less than a good read. Proof is one of my favorites. It has an involving story, plenty of action, and a wounded hero who heals. Interesting details about the wine, liquor and catering business add to the usual horse racing milieu. The prose and structure here are among his most graceful, with parallel examples of the appearance and reality of courage. Proof makes great action story summer reading.

As a sidenote -- Dick Francis's strongest books came mostly in the eighties. Proof came out in 1985. I wonder if mysteries set around horse racing accorded better with that materialistic decade than with our own less certain time. My other favorites among his books include Straight, Hot Money, Break In, Come to Grief, Wild Horses and To the Hilt -- the last two are more contemplative and less active than the earlier books. His Odds Against and Whip Hand, I believe, were adapted as British miniseries.

 
Shadow Hearts and Evergrace for PS2

These represent the midpoint and low of the spectrum that Final Fantasy X tops. They are clearly of the same type -- games where you move through territory, talking and fighting and growing more powerful. They're simply not as well executed.

Shadow Hearts has several interesting game mechanisms. Every uncertain action calls up the "judgment ring". A line like a second hand sweeps around a dial marked with colored sections. Hitting x within the colored sections allows you to succeed at your task, whether you are attempting hand to hand combat or bargaining. More difficult tasks require hitting more colored sections to succeed. Other game mechanisms include sanity points which decline during battle and gathering the spirit energy of fallen foes to unlock the main character's power to transform himself into different forms.

The art is acceptable, and so is the music -- neither notably good or bad. Occasional forays into horror imagery seem undermined by longer stretches of anime cheerfulness. The judgment ring gave my thumb quite a workout. The weakness of the game is in the plotting. I play for the reward of story at least as much as for the pleasure of the process -- and this story took arbitrary turns. I was also disappointed when, after carefully working to gather the spirit energy in one section, when the next section began, I had been given a large quantity of it -- and then couldn't use it. Why set the player a goal, and then render it meaningless? I had trouble caring about characters visibly controlled by the plot's strings. I rented this, and haven't finished it.

Evergrace is simply incomprehensible. I'm watching my husband, who has more persistance than I do, and the basic method here is to explore until you have done everything so that you can move to the next area. The story gives little guidance on why you are working on any particular task. Conversations consist largely of strings of non sequitors. The music is unsettling, and the graphics are those 3-D forms that show their polygons, which makes them Evergrace's strongest point.

Characters develop themselves very little -- most progress comes through better equipment. Equipment in use needs constant infusions of palmira, the world's currency. So this game does keep you challenged with maintaining a sufficient cash flow, unlike many games where reaching other goals incidentally provides more cash than you can spend. And the fighting itself works well. But I can't see myself spending hours on "dress up Barbie goes adventuring" as Doug called it. And he wouldn't be playing it if it hadn't come bundled with the PS2 we bought on ebay.

All in all, they're worth about what we put into them -- a rental for Shadow Hearts, and nothing for Evergrace.

 

The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway.

Jill Ker Conway began life on a primitive sheep ranch in the undeveloped reaches of Australia, then continued to push the limits of female acheivement in academics. It is as if she had leapt from a childhood as a pioneer in the Old West to adulthood as a pioneer in the feminist career trenches of the last half of the 20th century. This first book of her autobiography covers her life from childhood to the decision to move to the United States to pursue a university career -- with striking observations of the harsh and beautiful Australian outback, the urban Australian culture still drawing its models from England, and her own careful dance of dependence and separation from a mother who had the strength to do much and was reduced to pushing her ambitions through her children. The story carries enough drama for three novels. And the book is much better written than this review!

I found her experiences and her interpretation of them as illuminating as the harsh light that dessicated their ranch in times of drought. Ms. Conway uses her own life to open a window on wider events in Australia and the world -- including the effects of drought and war on her own family, explaining the particularly Australian development of the large sheep ranches called stations, and the stoicism that served as the best response to an unpredictable climate. The Road from Coorain satisfies on many levels -- as joyfully clear and observant prose, as coming of age adventure, as Australian travelogue, and as revelation of the mind and emotions of a strong woman. If you enjoy any of these types of story, you will enjoy this book -- if you like them all, you will find the sum even better than the parts.

 
Final Fantasy X

Paradox World counts FFX a soul satisfying success. Fans of paradox can start with an appreciation of a title containing both "final" and "X". From there, the pleasures grow only more visceral.

The world is similar to that of Final Fantasy IX. Gorgeous, three dimensional animation adds more beauty and depth to the scenes, and the vocal work suits the characters, if not always the movements of their lips. The dialog has some of that translated from the Japanese awkwardness found in much anime. I quickly began to hear past it to the characters and their stories, and found the characters sympathetic and appealing.

The game play works well. An arrow to the exit helps provide orientation on a minimap in the upper left corner. Battle commands take place in order, from an intuitive menu system, with the most desired options usually highest in the lists. I enjoyed the new ability to switch active characters during battle as often as desired, bringing in useful skills or making sure all characters earned experience.

The story developments provided strong rewards for play. Outstanding cut movies offer visuals more imaginative than 95% of the offerings on the big screen, and animated actors equally as attractive. And this story seemed to maintain its logic to the end.

I reached that end after about 75 hours of game play, a remarkable quantity of three dimensional exploration, fighting and movies to fit on a single dvd. This makes the $50 retail price an excellent value in dollars per entertainment hour. And the ending was so satisfying, that I watched the end credits, and then sat listening to one of many excellent musical pieces playing over the words "The End", just to bask in appreciation of it.

Some replay value remains. I did not complete the subplots about learning the Al Bhed language or collecting a full set of creatures for the arena. I also didn't play any extra blitzball, as reducing a game played in a large sphere of water to movement along a plane rather disappointed me. These side tasks could add more play time to the game. And I would enjoy watching the visuals again, and spending more time with the characters.

Final Fantasy X delights the ears, the eyes, and whatever organ hungers for story. My own story appetite ranks this as impeccable sashimi in porterhouse quantity. A treat!

 
Cybermancy, Incorporated by Chris Roberson

Clockwork Storybook is a print on demand publisher working to build a reputation for quality product. Judging from this offering, they are off to a good start. Cybermancy, Incorporated collects related stories following the extended Carmody family through weird adventures in the last two centuries. Magic works, though it's just out of sight, and it combines interestingly with computers. The modern day sections have a snappy style, while a nineteenth century portion slows enough to recall period prose without dragging. I found it a good, gonzo read, reminiscent of Tim Powers and more cheerful. Check it out at www.clockworkstorybook.com

Postscript: Clockwork Storybook is gone. Chris Robeson's books remain available through Amazon.com.