Jones and I hung out this afternoon. Around 4:00, we got some Subway and went to see The Prestige. After getting disillusioned by The Illusionist (rofflecopter), I wasn’t super excited about seeing another turn-of-the-century magician movie. And for the first forty-five minutes or so, I thought my fears had been confirmed. But then brilliant things started happening — I was glad to have someone with me for the car ride home because there was so much to talk about. Even hours later I’m still thinking about the film. There’s some terrific foreshadowing and metaphor in it, plus (very surprisingly) a not-insignificant amount of ethics and philosophy. Great movie.

Terraforming Earth is turning out to be a quick read. As I’d hoped, Williamson doesn’t obsess over Lunarian minutia. But this seems to come at the cost of leaving out real world science almost entirely. It’s weird to read this fantastic style that doesn’t concern itself with physics or chemistry after spending so long immersed in hard SF. And where I was afraid the book might begin to ape Robinson’s Mars trilogy, it seems Williamson only wants to use the bizarre setting as a vehicle to tell stories about a half-dozen kids who have adventures on alien worlds. (Granted, those “kids” are actually multiple generations of clones and the alien worlds are all Earth, plus n million years.)

Well, time to watch some Studio 60 and drink a Fresca before bed. Man, this place sure is exciting.

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