Asimov's Influence

No mention of author's or books that have shaped the way I think and hence act is complete without a mention of science fiction author Isaac Asimov. He has been one of my favourite writers, and my absolute favourite writer for a good many years, before I lost all my lovely childish ideas of absolutes. Don't you just remember with cold dread the days you could have an absolute best friend, and an absolute favourite movie, when the world was in black and white? I much prefer my shades of grey.
But I digress, as usual. You should at this point lean back in your chair and breathe a sigh of relief that this post does not, incredibly, revolve around or introduce food at any time. Back to it, then.

Yes, Isaac Asimov. The first thing I read of his, and my favourites to this day are his short stories. They are also the first things he wrote, starting at what must have been my age for pulp SF magazines. The short stories are works of art, weaving ideas of science with philosophical and societal conundrums with perfection and ease. They, in a short package, explode with creativity of thought and a simplicity of language. His later stories are almost Wodehousian in nature, with their language and style, yet with a content that simply cannot be recreated, sometimes prophetic in nature.
My understanding of what motivates people probably stems from reading Asimov, for in his own way, he conveys the message far greater than any of the classics writers ever could.

My own short stories, of which I will say I am proud, started off modelled on his Robot Stories, the first one even used (with prior creditation) his three laws of Robotics, and was called "he who laughs last". It was not a patch on his, and I suspect the idea for it was a mish mash of a couple of his stories, but I cannot be sure. You never can anymore, about which idea is original and which is not, because everything seems to have been done before. It's a great tragedy.

After the short stories, I read The Foundation Saga in toto and the Robot Novels, both of which were exceptional. If the short stories gave you a brief of human psychology, Foundation gave you the full fledged "Encyclopedea Galactica" entry. (The story was also good, by the way)

But here's the deal. These books, these authors, they can't really influence per se the way you think. To some people, Asimov is just another author, to some people, Fountainhead is just another book. The fact is, works of literature put in concrete form ideas that existed in your mind. They open doors for you, then don't furnish the room.

Review: Hitch

Will Smith in a romantic comedy? Who'da thunk it, he pulled it off quite well, and the best part of this movie is that it worked without any of the now terribly ridiculous hollywood style "Black Guy" cliches, he was a person more than a community that is to say. The story is, as many reviews will have told you, very Bollywoodish, and is thus very good timepass in a nicely timed short package. The humour is good, fast paced, and makes you watch Doug from King of Queens and Will Smith dance. These two people, I assure you, should not be allowed to. It reminds one eerily of my friend Souvik Da, the best part about whose dancing can be said to be energetic.

The movie however did disturb me greatly. It involved Smith and the Female Lead Googling for information about dates, and I found that very disconcerting. But it is a little late to find that disconcerting as I am, by the nature of my blog, ultimately googlable, and should thus just hope never to have a date who googles me. The thought frightens.

All said and done, it was an enjoyable watch, and I reccomend it to anyone who has the time to spare.