Directed by Martin Scorcese, Hugo follows the titular character as he struggles to recover from the loss of his father. Asa Butterfield delivers an award-worthy performance as Hugo. In an odd yet successful casting, Borat plays the station inspector, adding a perfectly light dusting of humor. The costumes and set design deserve special note for their subtle touch. The clockworks of all sizes through the film impressed.

I recommend Hugo to those who enjoy imaginative, visually impressive films.

As both a long-time reader of August and one-time (horrible) juvenile clarinetist, I feel like I am qualified to comment…

I think August is sincere in what he wrote. I disagree with much of what he writes but I agree with what I think is one of his motivations: maximizing what musical instruction children get. There is certainly something to be said for starting children on an “easy” instrument where they’ll feel successful quickly. I assume that’s why my kids learned the recorder first and not something else. I’m happy to trust that the music teachers of the world know more about how to teach my kids music than I do.

I learned the piano first but switched to clarinet because I no longer found the piano interesting. I can’t accept that I would have been better off being forced to stick with the piano or not play an instrument at all. From what I’ve seen, schools already have more than enough of an emphasis on producing good little workers and could use more of an emphasis on producing well-rounded people.

Like most children, I had a fair amount of experience singing with others and the odd castanet or tambourine playing. But piano lessons were my first foray into actual instruction. After a couple of years, when I was about twelve years old, I switched from piano to clarinet, which I played for four years, including two years of marching band in high school. I did a stint with handbells and, like my father, sang in many a choir over those years. After university, when I could afford a Jackson and an amp, I took guitar lessons.

It would be unfair to give the impression that I gave up on playing musical instruments. Rather, I discovered empirically that I have no musical talent. The trauma of public performance taught me that I have no talent in the performing arts, but I also have no compositional talent when it comes to music. I attribute this in large part to my being a visual thinker, but tinnitus is something of hindrance, too.

I love music; I always have. I fervently wished I could be a musician and spent a lot of time trying to be one. But I eventually had to acknowledge that I am a music lover, not a music maker. As much as I wanted to be able to play music, I did not enjoy the actual playing thereof enough to overcome my inherent ineptitude to get to the tens of thousands of hours of practice needed.

I have no regrets about my musical journey. I had the opportunity to learn a little about music and a lot about myself. That I would rather read a book than play an instrument is no shame to me. (I can always listen to music whilst reading a book.) Focusing education solely on maximizing skills in adulthood feels like powergaming with our children. Sometimes it really is the process, not the product.

Jason Segel, who cowrote the script, serves mostly as the straight man for his Muppet brother and the others in the film. Amy Adams brings her scene-stealing appeal in an understated way. Because the stars of the film are obviously the Muppets. With a knowing wink to the audience, the plot borrows from previous Muppets features. But the charm of the film lies in the charm of the Muppets themselves.

If you love the Muppets, you’ll enjoy The Muppets. I, a bloke who discovered he is more of a Muppets fan than he thought, highly recommend it.

I heartily recommend Munchksgiving to gamers. If nothing else, it nowhere near as painful as Slapsgiving.

Larry Miller holds the LMDS RFC T-shirt

About a year ago I read “THESE ARE COMICS. Rugby players drink half as much, are twice as neat and not nearly as promiscuous.” in a blog entry (a.k.a. “clog”) from Larry Miller. Being somewhat experienced with both, such a bold statement caught my attention. It takes quite a bit to best rugby players in drinking, filthiness (pun intended), or promiscuity.

Of course, I saw an opportunity to get excited and make things. Since Larry had made the crest of the Larry Miller Drinking Society available as digital images, I fired up Acorn and got to work. A few fortnights past I shipped to him his very own Larry Miller Drinking Society Rugby Football Club T-shirt.

I waited (impatiently) but podcast after podcast came and went without a mention. Ten days ago I could stand it no longer and sent an email to the show, asking if Larry liked the T-shirt. A week ago I received a response suggesting I check out that week’s show.

I kept checking every hour until the episode was available for download. Lo and behold, there I was as the boy tenor. (It’s a running gag on the show.) He even uploaded a photo of him holding the T-shirt aloft. I was so happy I squealed like a little schoolboy.

Or at least like a boy tenor.

Thus it was with no small amount of pride that I watched my kids discover Al for themselves. As part of a school assignment, my eldest wrote him and asked for a signed photo. I was a bit anxious because I had no idea where the request of a kid would fall in the to-do list. Sure, he might have an assistant who handled things like this. But this is a Grammy-winning musician who probably has important things to do.

I need not have feared. Some weeks later a signed headshot of Al arrived in the self-addressed stamped envelope. We framed it and now it occupies a position of honor in my eldest’s room. The kids have subsequently attended a Yankovic concert and are even bigger fans. As a parodist, he might not get the accolades, but Al is awesome, not weird, in our house.

Brown wrote, “Forcing all major characters in YA novels into a straight white mold is a widespread, systemic problem which requires long-term, consistent action.” Certainly forcing all characters into any mold is counterproductive as it would frustrate the primary purpose of telling a good story. Racism and homophobia obviously should not be tolerated. But publishers are businesses who must be concerned with marketing their products.

Brown added, “The overwhelming white straightness of the YA sf and fantasy sections may have little to do with what authors are writing, or even with what editors accept.” My intuition is that she is correct. SF and fantasy authors are (Orson Scott Card notwithstanding) more tolerant and less racist and homophobic than the general populace. Editors thereof are, if not writers themselves, at least readers of SF and fantasy and show similar tolerance. My experience with marketeers (albeit not in publishing) is entirely consistent with sales and marketing avoiding anything unconventional or out of the ordinary, hence the striking lack of characters who play rugby, for example.

This seems to me to be entirely compatible with the majority of marketing. Advertisements now consistently show different races but just as consistently show only one specific kind of appearance. Despite some companies that target consumers that think differently, most companies focus on the mainstream. Publishers aiming for brick-and-mortar stores and libraries have an economic incentive to avoid the long tail because what is mainstream takes less explaining and sells more easily.

Brown declared, “This does not make for better novels. Nor does it make for a better world.” I oppose making a story worse by insisting that a character be white or heterosexual. I also oppose making a story worse by insisting that a character not be white or heterosexual. (For example, Sarah Rees Brennan writes non-heterosexual characters who are better for it, not worse.) Artists should make the very best art that they can. Not all authors are just artists, though. Those who support themselves with their writing are also businesspeople. As such, they can find themselves balancing the business against the art.

I hope that newer business models will allow authors more freedom from the demands of marketing. For that matter, I hope that newer business models will allow everyone more freedom from the demands of marketing.

I have always loved art. After years of trying I finally learned that I have no talent in the performing arts, just the compositional arts. Even though I refused to use my fingers to paint (why else did FSM give us brushes, eh?) I loved art in school from my earliest memories. When my eldest took art in school last year, my spouse commented that I was more excited than any of the kids. (They have a kiln!) The only thing that could get me to even consider leaving the house in the evenings after working a full day was an adult-ed class in making raku.

Certainly due somewhat to nurture, but also I think in no small degree due to nature, I have a fondness for caretakers. Not in the sense of the creepy guy who looks after the Hall of Oddities, but in the sense of those who take care of others. That gentle, protective, affectionate energy really resonates with me. I appreciate those-formerly-known-as-secretaries in part for the role they serve as caretakers.

So I suppose it should be no surprise that I cherish cooks. They combine compositional art with caretaking. For me, “happy home smell” is the smell of home-cooking.

I do not remember who originally introduced me to Not Invented Here so I do not know to whom to give thanks. (My best guess is that it was Dave Kellett of Sheldon.) But I have been reading Not Invented Here for some time now. It is one of the first comics I check every day. The artists’ hands-on experience in the software industry shines through every panel.

I heartily recommend Not Invented Here to anyone who likes comics and works or knows someone who works in software.