Ge, Kiba, I don't think your judgement sounds clouded at all!

(Though I might argue that the best art produces exactly that kind of emotion in people.)

Yup. The best art resonates in ways the creator would never have predicted. Art can change people's lives. t /soapbox

I'm still holding out for A Princess of Mars. Sulk.

Yeah!

I thought that's what I was doing?

Well, as long as you crazy it up.

The other one I wanted to sink my fangs into was Bester's "The Stars My Destination."

Fuck yeah! Tattoo his face!

It's probably my favorite thing in the book.

Please explain more. Whenever I think about grampa getting the first bite of the apple, I shudder.

(Though I might argue that the best art produces exactly that kind of emotion in people.)

Kiba, that's similar to my feelings on "Karma Chameleon." In that on the second viewing, I suddenly realized I was identifying with Jaye so entirely that I was taking any criticism of the episode as a criticism of me. This was during the beginnings of my grad school crisis, as I was really wrestling with whether to stay or go on, what to do with my life, who I was supposed to be, what I was supposed to do with my potential, and that episode just hit all my buttons. All the metaphors, all the themes, all the ideas. I actually don't remember whether the episode was pushing for me to stay in grad school or quit. I think I was still trying to stay back then.

Except that doesn't actually happen, Allyson. Maybe that's why I don't get squicked.

I like Moon better than Stranger. Moon I think stays good all the way through. I think it is the perfect Heinlein in the sense that he maintained some self-discipline as a writer (as in not spending too much of the book on personal fantasies he was not quite good enough to persuade the audience to share) - while otherwise being Heinlein at his best (convincing world building, snappy dialog, playing with interesting ideas (even if I don't agree with many of them)). And it is well plotted which is not something you can say of everything Heinlein wrote. And if the characters don't really hold up to close examination, he managed to maintain a good illusion of characterization to me. I always though Stranger needed someone to crack the whip and tell him to do one more rewrite. Instead of which they went and published an anniversary edition with all the crap the editor (wisely imo) cut out.

Quit.

n that on the second viewing, I suddenly realized I was identifying with Jaye so entirely that I was taking any criticism of the episode as a criticism of me.

Yup. I pretty much think if you call something I like trite, you are insulting my intelligence, and I don't take kindly to that. (I was gonna say that pretty much I feel if someone criticizes a writer I like, they're criticizing me, but that's just not so. People criticize Joss all the time, and if it's something I didn't like either, it really doesn't bug me.)

But isnt that just because there were no spam ads for cialis, back then?