The Wheel

Monday, June 13, 2016

Review: Seveneves

From Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson:

The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason."

What a great first line. Unfortunately, it's the best sentence of Neal Stephenson's novel "Seveneves." Still, this long novel features a global crisis that prompts some what-if questions that can be very entertaining to ponder (as long as it's only fiction).

After the jump, my review.

POTD: Elephant Help Desk

From 2016 02 09 Jaipur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India, where elephants are used to carry tourists up the hill to the main courtyard of the fort. I prefer to believe that the existence of a help desk for the Elephant Owners Development Society is evidence that the animals are treated humanely. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

The Wheel Award for Excellence in Motion Pictures

Oscar night is long gone. "Spotlight" was the Academy's pick for "Best Picture." I couldn't say at the time whether it would be my own pick for best movie of 2015 because I hadn't seen most of the nominees at that time. Well, now that it's summer, I've can finally say I've seen all eight Oscar nominees for 2015's "Best Picture" and I can pick a winner. Can I get a drum roll?