communication breakdown

Conclusions

Today was a day of endings. First, the third season of "24" wrapped up - not a spectacular ending, but still very good, and consistent with the reason of the season. Speaking of "24", could it be the best show of all time? Maybe, maybe not; but for my money, it's certainly the best show on TV right now. Wonderful acting, excellent writing, and you have to love the concept. The only thing that amazes me is that it can only draw 7.5 million viewers when American Idol gets about 86 billion a pop. Only in America. This is a pretty crummy time for TV actually, with May sweeps ending, and thus season finales to all the good shows (24, ER, The Shield, etc.) wrapping up. Thank God for Netflix...

The other conclusion was me finishing The Riftwar Saga series by Raymond Feist. Adam got me started on these with a Christmas gift, and I'm just getting around to wrapping up the 4-book series. I'm a real streaky reader, so I knocked two out real quick, had a long hiatus, then finished the last two up here within the last few weeks. Overall, it's a solid series for anyone interested in the fantasy / sword-and-sorcery genre. It definitely warrants comparison to Tolkien, but at times (especially in the first book) I felt it was a little too much like Tolkien. However, over the course of the 4 books, Feist stakes out his own story and it turns out pretty nicely. I don't think he has the same flare for epic literary descriptions and narratives, but he is certainly creative and knows how to develop a character. If interested, check out the beginning of the series (the "Magician" books) and see what you think. Next up on the reading list: the Harry Potter series....

This week should be pretty uneventful, but the weekend is looking better, as I'm traveling to Wisconsin for a knife defense seminar on Saturday and a black belt course on Sunday. Should be a great way to spend Memorial Day weekend. I'm sure stories (and maybe pictures) will be forthcoming next week.