"Ninefox Gambit" by Yoon Ha Lee (2016)

"She had no idea how to respond to that, so she kept silent.  He was her superior.  He demonstrably knew how to break her.  And yet she was supposed to be able to judge him and kill him if necessary.  How did Kel Command expect a Kel to be able to deal with this?  The fact that he was always present, always watching her, only made it worse."

Ninefox Gambit is the first book in the Machineries of Empire trilogy.  After this trilogy Yoon Ha Lee would pivot to writing Young Adult fiction, a genre which has proven more financially lucrative for her/him/they.

I use the "her/him/they" above because Yoon Ha Lee is a trans man.  Wikipedia uses "he/his," but I'm not sure if the author would agree with how the personal and possessive pronouns ought to be used in his/her/their biography.  No, I'm not trying to get all "woke" here, but in the context of someone's life story these details do matter.

Besides, Yoon Ha Lee's status as a trans man is very relevant to the book under discussion, given that it involves a lesbian (or perhaps bisexual) character living with a bisexual male character "implanted" in her consciousness.  It's not hard to see questions of gender and sexuality explored in Ninefox Gambit, and it's easy to speculate on the author's own orientation with regard to his/her/their gender.

Other pertinent details from the author's biography are his/her/their experiences as a Korean immigrant (or near-immigrant) in the United States, his/her/their background in mathematics, and his/her/their presence at several Ivy League institutions.  All of these details play into the novel, and all of them make Ninefox Gambit feel both extremely autobiographical and extremely metaphorical at the same time.

In the novel Cheris, a psychologically conditioned soldier in the service of a galaxy-spanning empire, is promoted to the rank of brevet general and tasked with the recapture of a distant fortress held by a heretical organization.  As part of her promotion she is outfitted with the consciousness of Jedao, a disgraced general who's there to advise her.  The dynamic between Cheris and Jedao is very interesting, and the inner dialogues shared between the two characters add a lot of pathos to what would otherwise be a very, very dry novel dealing with military engagements and the human cost of war.

Most of this book would fall more under the heading of Speculative Fiction rather than Science Fiction.  Aside from glancing references to mathematical concepts, there's really no way to differentiate the technology in this book from magic, and in place of starships this novel could have easily taken place in a far away kingdom, where characters travel on horseback.

It's an excellent book, however.  In 2017 it won the Locus Award for Best First Novel, and yes, in comparison to most of the other first novels I've read this one is truly on another level.  I'll be sure to read the other two books in the trilogy if I happen upon them this summer.  I'm eager to see how Cheris proceeds against the Empire in those other two novels.

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Still More 00s Movies 3: 2005 - 2007

I'll be adding to this as I go along.  The movies below are ranked from "best" to "worst."

1. The Grudge 2 (2006)

I'm going out on a limb for this movie, but I think it's very underrated.  It's an American(ized) sequel to the Japanese original, but it retains the same director and tone as the first.  There are some great, spooky moments in it and I really liked how the plot collapses back into itself in the end.  Those more familiar with manga like Uzumaki might get more out of it than most of its intended (American) audience, but I really enjoyed it.

2. La Moustache (2005)

A Frenchman suffers from a bizarre type of retrograde (and anterograde) amnesia, he slips between timelines for no apparent reason, or none of the above.  Whatever this movie's really about, it's French surrealism at its best.

Fun Fact: The "friend at the dinner party," Mathieu Amalric, might seem familiar.  He played James Bond's adversary in Quantum of Solace.

3. Proof (2005)

Searching account of a mathematician's daughter and her attempt to cope with grief.  Every now and then I'll see an (older) movie and think: "Gwyneth Paltrow was a pretty good actress," and this film is just another example.  She manages to hold her own against Anthony Hopkins in Proof, and while watching it I was again reminded that she'd probably have a more robust acting career if she wasn't so eccentric.

Surprisingly the weak link here is Jake Gyllenhaal, who isn't given enough to do.  Proof would have been better without his character and the attendant love story he represents.

Fun Fact: John Madden also directed Paltrow in the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love several years before.

4. The Dark (2005)

An old spooky house on the Welsh coast, a mother and daughter's strained relationship, and a vanished cult with suicidal tendencies.  There isn't a lot in The Dark that most horror fans won't have seen before (or recently, in movies like The Mummy), but there are a couple disturbing scenes and for this reason alone I recommend it.

5. Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006)

Extremely Canadian buddy cop movie set between Quebec and Ontario.  You might recognize Colm Feore from the thousand and one films he's appeared in as a character actor.  It covers very familiar territory, but there's a great chemistry between the leads and it never gets boring.

Fun Fact: This movie might be the highest-grossing domestic release in Canadian film history, but some claim that, adjusted for inflation, 1981's Porky's still holds that title.

6. She's the Man (2006)

Yet another teen adaptation of Shakespeare, in this case the play in question being Twelfth Night.

Films like this require characters who are slow on the uptake, but it works well enough and there are some funny bits.  Amanda Bynes doesn't pull of "dude" so much as "obvious lesbian," but if you're willing to overlook that She's the Man is OK.

It's difficult, however, not to compare this movie to the much earlier Just One of the Guys.  Just One of the Guys wasn't, um... Shakespeare either, but I think it's a better film nonetheless.  "Where do you get off having tits?" is a funnier line than anything you'll see in She's the Man.

7. Memory (2006)

Billy Zane, that movie star that almost was, stars as a doctor who relives his parent's memories after coming into contact with a South American powder that's definitely not cocaine.  I have the feeling that the script was very good, but it was indifferently directed, with several tonal shifts that don't accommodate the story it's trying to tell.  In better hands this movie could have been a hit, but as it is it's a watchable film in which good ideas are squandered.

Fun Fact: Anne-Margret is in this.

8. Just My Luck (2006)

On par with She's the Man above.  Lindsay Lohan stars as a New York girl with good luck, with Chris Pine as a New York boy with bad luck.  OMG they kiss and their luck switches!  You may be able to anticipate the rest.

9. Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)

Jim Carrey tones himself down too much while the rest of the cast desperately tries to make up the difference.  It's a remake of a much better 1977 movie about a husband and wife who turn to crime after losing their jobs.  I laughed maybe twice and kept checking the timer to see how much more of the film remained.

10. Man of the House (2005)

Texas ranger Tommy Lee Jones watches over a house full of cheerleaders for reasons that are never made clear.  The best thing I can say about this movie is that the black and Latina cheerleaders are hot.  I could see it going down better in Texas, but the rest of the country was probably wondering why they bothered.

Just about any gag or joke in this film will have been seen in some other, better film long before.

Fun Fact: One of the writers, Scott Lobdell, is the same Scott Lobdell who wrote all those X-Men comics in the 90s.

11. Flicka (2006)

If you're the kind of person who grew up (or who is growing up) in the kind of place where people consider cowboy boots, where people deal with livestock, and where people attend rodeos you might relate to this movie.  If you're not then you probably won't.

Maria Bello, who plays the mom in Flicka, also stars in The Dark above.

Fun Fact: This movie has a long, long history.  The film My Friend Flicka was released in 1943, and was based on a novel published in 1941.  The film spawned a TV show which ran from 1956-57.

12. Deepwater (2005)

Movies like this always prove to be the end of someone's career.  In this case it was the end of the line for director David S. Marfield, who doesn't even have his own Wikipedia page.

It was amusing to see the guy from Friday Night Lights and Tokyo Drift (Lucas Black) in another movie, but he struggles against his Alabama drawl and this attempt at film noir is way, way off the mark.  By the time the plot twist came around I couldn't have cared less.

13. I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006)

...and I've already forgotten what they did last summer, even though I just finished the movie.

"The Fisherman" strikes again.  I guess.  It's worth noting that the fourth installment in the series completely ignores this one.

14. The Sandlot 2 (2005)

A sequel to a movie I never liked.  Even so the original is much better than this aborted attempt to recap whatever "magic" the first one had.  James Earl Jones aside, the cast needed a few more acting classes before stepping in front of a camera.  Some of them perform so badly they take you right out of the movie.

For 1972 the soundtrack is a bit off.  "Taking Care of Business?"  Wasn't a hit until the following year.  That kid in the "Sweet" shirt?  Assuming it's a reference to (The) Sweet, they were nowhere near popular enough in the States to warrant a T-shirt at the time.

If you've got kids into baseball just show them The Benchwarmers instead.  It's way sillier, but satisfyingly so.

15. The Man (2005)

Anyone else remember that movie in which Sam Jackson and Eugene Levy starred together?  The one that somewhat resembled 48 Hrs.?  Anyone?  Anyone?

The Man is a trainwreck from start to finish - the single, solitary laugh being the scene where Levy farts in the car.  There are unfunny comedies, there are less than funny comedies, and then there's The Man, which Samuel L. Jackson probably wishes we could all forget.

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Thoughts on 1966-1967's Ultraman TV Show 2

I'll watch Ultraman, love it for a while, and then need to take breaks.  One can only endure so much silliness for so long.

My rather loose plan is to watch all of the original Ultraman TV series, splitting its 39 episodes into three entries for the sake of my own sanity.  After these three entries I might move on to Ultraseven, the show's sequel, but it's early yet and I might change my mind later.  Ultraseven has 49 episodes (not counting the banned episode), and watching all of them would take up a fair chunk of my life.

Anyway, on to this installment of Ultraman!

1. Episode 13: Oil S.O.S.

Another Iran connection!  The monstrous Pestar begins his rampage in the Iranian oilfields, and is only later spotted in the vicinity of Tokyo.

In this one Ide goes off the rails and blows up part of Tokyo Bay, leading to his going too far in an attempt to extinguish a fire at an oil refinery later in the same episode.  The team forgives him of course, primarily because he's the comic relief, and without him the show would be way too serious.  Can't have that now, can we?

Pestar is one of the weirder-looking Ultraman villains.  He's basically two guys in a starfish-shaped suit holding a head between them.

2. Episode 14: The Pearl Defense Directive

Akiko gets MAD after a pearl-loving monster threatens Japan's pearl crop!  The rest of the Science Patrol chides her over this, but what do men understand of a woman's love for pearls?

One of the scenes near the end of this episode resembles a paid advertisement for Japan's pearl industry.  Akiko selects a pearl necklace, pearl earrings and a pearl ring at the local jewelry store while smiling lovingly at the camera.

I'm assuming that Akiko and Ide are dating by this point in the series.  Why Ide, Akiko?  Hayata's a much better choice!

3. Episode 15: Terrifying Cosmic Rays

Cosmic rays make a boy's crude drawing come to life because SCIENCE.  The Science Patrol shows up to handle business as usual, but they make everything worse to the point where Ultraman has to take out the (monster) trash.

Might want to bring some good weed along for this one.  The monster in question disappears at sunset and then turns into a star.  This monster could have also, I assume, been defeated with an eraser.

4. Episode 16: Science Patrol into Space

They loosened things up a bit for this one, with a rocket bound for Venus meeting Alien Baltan from an earlier episode.  Baltan doesn't seem to have the same powers as he did in that earlier episode, but he's still up to no good and Ultraman still gives him a good thrashing in the end.

Ultraman has a couple new powers in this one as well.  He's able to shoot beams from his eyes, and he can throw an energy disc that cuts his opponents in half.

5. Episode 17: Passport to Infinity

Things get weird again in this one, with a "fourth dimensional foe" that transports unsuspecting people into another dimension.

Four-Dimensional Monster Bullton is kinda fun.  It's able to mess with the laws of physics.

6. Episode 18: Brother from Another Planet

Alien Zarab turns into a fake Ultraman to make everyone think the real Ultraman is BAD!

And hey Tokyo, are we at all worried about the residual effects of that radioactive cloud that was hanging over the city?  Or how easily your governmental institutions were tricked by an alien walking around with a portable translation machine?

7. Episode 19: Demons Rise Again

The Science Patrol and an archaeologist (?) discover a time capsule from the lost civilization of Mu.

Knowing what we now know about the show, what happens next?

1. They conduct a rigorous scientific examination of the time capsule and its contents, exercising strict protocols regarding the preservation of the find and possible biological contaminants, or:

2. The time capsule winds up in a truck, lightning strikes it, and monsters are unleashed upon an unsuspecting Japanese populace.

I felt sorry for the red monster.  It was kind of cute, but it gets melted by the green monster before Ultraman even shows up.

8. Episode 20: Terror on Route 87

The ghost of a dead boy inhabits an archeopteryx.  But OF COURSE it does!  Happens all the time!

And in the end they just decide to let this one go.  Why?  Because Akiko randomly decides that it's wrong to interfere with archeopteryxes inhabited by ghosts.  She says it, everyone else buys that line of reasoning, and that's that.

9. Episode 21: Breach the Wall of Smoke

Akiko almost breaks through the glass ceiling keeping her down at work, only for the annoying boy to show up in the jet on the way to her first solo mission.

Later on the jet crashes and she gets knocked out.  What's the annoying boy to do?  Naturally, being the more rational, capable male he is, he takes control of the situation, setting the stage for the Science Patrol's defeat of Poison Gas Monster Kemular.

At the end of this episode Akiko wakes up in the hospital, the guys have a laugh over their supposed male superiority, and she's effectively been put back in her place.  I get that it was 1966, but this episode annoyed me nonetheless.  It really is quite chauvinistic.

Come on, Science Patrol, do better!

10. Episode 22: Overthrow the Surface

One of the more memorable episodes, featuring a plot which is in some ways reminiscent of the Fantastic Four comics that Marvel produced around the same time.

In this one a race of underground people who lack eyes impersonate a French member of the Science Patrol in an attempt to use Ultraman for EVIL.  Their plans almost succeed but for one flaw: the fact that they perish in direct sunlight.  The monster in this episode is more of an afterthought, but this episode gets surprisingly creepy and intense for a show aimed at kids.

11. Episode 23: My Home is Earth

Could have been a tearjerker, but they rush through the story so fast there's no time to feel anything about it.

And how the hell does the Paris HQ guy know Jamila's backstory?  How did he or anyone else observe all of that stuff happening?  A spacecraft gets lost, goes all the way to another planet, and they just assume that the monster is a returned astronaut?

This episode is, I think, the first to establish that the Ultraman series takes place in the future.  The French HQ guy refers to the Cold War as happening in the (distant) past, so there you go.

Not that this has anything to do with anything, but Jamila kind of reminded me of Belial, the insane conjoined twin from the movie Basket Case.  Someone ought to reboot that movie...

12. Episode 24: The Undersea Science Center

Bonus points for Akiko in a wetsuit.  She's kinda hot at times.  Or maybe I've just been watching too much Ultraman.

In this one Abyssal Undersea Monster Gubila disrupts the operation of a new undersea science base, while some "President" guy freaks out and endangers everyone else on board.

13. Episode 25: The Mysterious Comet Tsuifon

One of the more random episodes.  Everybody gets worried about a comet that looks as if it's going to strike the Earth and render humankind obsolete, then they all kind of forget about it and start worrying about Red King, a monster that previously consumed a few hydrogen bombs before retreating into "the Japanese Alps."

Of all the episodes I've seen so far this one is the most "pro wrestling."  An abominable snowman thing and a dragon-y thing with shower curtain wings square off in a mountain plateau, and after Red King arrives it only gets more ridiculous.  At one point the monsters are tapping one another into the "ring," with the result that Red King emerges victorious - only to be dismembered by Ultraman soon after.

14. Episode 26: The Monster Highness (Part 1)

This and the following episode are two halves of the same story.

An ancient dinosaur called a "Gomorasaurus" is revived from his ancient slumber after the Science Patrol tries to airlift him back to Japan for the sake of an exhibition.

And then Ultraman actually loses!  Yep, in this one Ultraman gets his ass BEAT, and in the midst of that resounding defeat a monster-positive young boy winds up with Hayata's beta capsule.  What will happen next?  Stay tuned for next week's exciting conclusion!

15. Episode 27: The Monster Highness (Part 2)

The funny thing about this episode is how the Science Patrol makes it a point of honor to protect Osaka Castle from Gamora, only to stand by and watch as he rips it to shreds minutes later.

I would tend to agree with the kid and his dad in this episode.  Given the number of monsters I've seen in this show, it doesn't seem like there'd be much point in evacuating anywhere.  Maybe there's a kaiju under our apartment building, maybe there isn't.  Maybe there's one coming to our city, maybe there isn't.  Why worry?

Ultraman rips Gamora's horn off at the end of this episode.  Seems a little harsh to me.  Gamora was just chilling on his South Pacific island after all, it wasn't like he wanted to visit Japan.

27 Down, and 12 More to Go!!  Here Comes Our Ultraman!!

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"Interior Chinatown" by Charles Yu (2020)

"'For my friend Fong,' he says, and begins singing John Denver.  If you didn't know it already, now you do: old dudes from rural Taiwan are comfortable with their karaoke and when they do karaoke for some reason they love no one like they love John Denver."

Charles Yu is a Taiwanese-American author and lawyer who lives in California.  Besides Interior Chinatown he's written one other novel, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and two short story collections.  Interior Chinatown won the National Book Award and was adapted into a TV series.

Interior Chinatown illustrates the life and times of Willis Wu, an aspiring Asian American actor living in Los Angeles' Chinatown.  Typecast in a number of familiar Asian-centric movie and TV roles, Willis strives to become a "Kung Fu Guy," a function within the Hollywood industry that he's coveted since his earliest years.

The novel is written in the form of a screenplay, and in my opinion this format sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.  I wasn't always sure if what was happening was "real" or if it was some kind of metaphor, but perhaps that sort of ambiguity was the author's intention.

I think Interior Chinatown is a good book, though I do have certain objections to it.  In terms of narrative structure it's relatively solid, even if the character's trajectory is a bit predictable.  I enjoyed the author's observations on what it means to be a Taiwanese immigrant in America, though after a certain point one wonders if Willis Wu isn't just feeling incredibly sorry for himself.  Is there a point in wanting a country to love and respect you?  Maybe my saying so is a reflection of my age, but I think carrying around an expectation that strangers - and by extension an entire nation - will understand you the way in which you want to be understood is somewhat pointless.

Does America have a history of discrimination when it comes to Asian immigrants?  Certainly.  But I'm not sure what good it does anyone to regurgitate racist laws from the 1800s, or to expect that the outside world is going to see beyond the handier aspects of one's culture.  That kind of social justice thinking can only be carried so far, and if you're meditating upon it all the time you're probably only causing yourself a great deal of distress.  People are racist sometimes.  Stereotypes exist.  It doesn't make you (or them) any less American.  I suspect it might be better to approach others and their assumptions with forgiveness, rather than seeing in their (sometimes false) assumptions some sinister plot to keep you and yours down.

Besides, it's 2026.  Assuming that society has doomed you to life in Chinatown - or any other ghetto - is too much like playing the victim.  Injustice exists, but if you want something or if you want to be somewhere then it's up to you to go out and make that happen to the best of your ability.  No one's going to give it to you.  You have to go out and take it.

And yes, this "going out and taking it" is itself an Asian-American story, and moreover one we would all do well to remember.

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