Jurassic Park 3D

Today we went to watch Jurassic Park 3D. There isn't much to review other than saying that we loved it. Judging by the applause at the end everyone else in the theater was quite satisfied.
My wife and I always loved Jurassic Park. I still remember when I went to watch the original release a long time ago when I was just a bit older than what my oldest kid is now.
One VERY positive note is that the production resisted in committing Star Wars' ugly sin of adding CGI or external elements to the movie. The UNIX graphic that looked so cool in the 1990s in the scene in which the girl browses the compound security files is still the same (although today it looks sluggish and quite primitive).
Strongly suggested. We might go watch it again.

Review MLB/MiLB - Opening week

Spring is officially here and we all know that of course because on Sunday, March 31st 2013 baseball season started when Matt Harrison (TEX) pitched the first ball of the year. The pitch was ruled a ball that eerily predicted the ending of the game: Harrison was smashed by the Astros offense and the Rangers lost 8-2.

 

4/1/2013 Opening Day:
Brice Harper hits two homers on opening day, Kershaw (LAD) is able to pitch a shutout and hit a homer, NYY just sucked with their weak lineup, while Josh Hamilton hit the winning HR in 13th inning. NYM smash SD. Andrus signs a long and pricey contract with the Texas Rangers.

American League
Boston 8 N.Y. Yankees 2
Chi. White Sox 1 Kansas City 0
Detroit 4 Minnesota 2
Seattle 2 Oakland 0

National League
Washington 2 Miami 0
N.Y. Mets 11 San Diego 2
Chicago Cubs 3 Pittsburgh 1
Milwaukee 5 Colorado 4 [10 innings]
L.A. Dodgers 4 San Francisco 0
Atlanta 7 Philadelphia 5
Arizona 6 St. Louis 2

Interleague
L.A. Angels 3 Cincinnati 1 [13 innings]

4/2/2013:
Big disappointment on Tuesday night when Rangers’ Yu Darvish came one out close to his first no-hitter and perfect game. It would’ve been nice, but Astros’ Gonzalez hit the last pitch strong enough to reach first base. Darvish was quite amazing and can’t be faulted for anything. Nevertheless, the Rangers were able to score seven runs and get the win. Darvish pitched for 8.2 innings, with only one hit and a monstrous 14 SO for a 0.00 ERA. Another interesting result for the AL was Seattle’s hammering of the Athletics for a 7-1 final result. In the National League the Giants were able to defeat the Dodgers and the korean pitcher Ryu at his first MLB outing. He pitched for 6.1 innings, with 10 hits, and one run for a final ERA of 1.42. Keith Olbermann believes the Nationals will win the World Series. I agree.  

American League
 Baltimore 7 Tampa Bay 4
Cleveland 4 Toronto 1
Texas 7 Houston 0
Seattle 7 Oakland 1  
National League
Colorado 8 Milwaukee 4
St. Louis 6 Arizona 1
San Francisco 3 L.A. Dodgers 0

Minor League and Prospects According to latest "Baseball America" (4/3/2013) Virginia Tech's Chad Pinder might earn a first round draft pick and should be closely observed.  

4 /3/2013
Diamondbacks beat the Cardinals after 16 innings, which translated in 5 hours and 32 minutes of play, thanks to Chris Pennington's walkoff homerun. Another walkoff (single RBI) authored by Votto allowed the Reds to go past the Angels. Another walkoff was hammered by Tampa Bay's Joyce allowing his team to win past Baltimore. Rangers' Ogando was surprisingly good, with 10SO in 6.1 innings and just 4H. Yankees lost the second game of the opening series with the Red Sox, going down 4-7. This is the first tune since 1999 that the Red Sox are 2-0 after two games. Lincecum lost control of his pitch, allowing 7 walks but the Dodgers are unable to use that to their own advantage. It was a good day for prospect Jose Fernandez; due to a series of injuries to Marlins' rotation they made the stunning decision of calling up prospect Fernandez straight from Double-A. According to USA today the Astros are on the road to beat am awful record, that for most strikeouts. ( http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/04/03/houston-astros-striking-out-so-so-much/2050841/ )  

American League
Texas 4 Houston 0 Chi.
White Sox 5 Kansas City
Minnesota 3 Detroit 2
Boston 7 N.Y. Yankees 4
Cleveland 3 Toronto 2 (11 innings)
Tampa Bay 8 Baltimore 7
Oakland 6 Seattle 2

National League Washington 3 Miami 0
Pittsburgh 3 Chi. Cubs 0
Atlanta 9 Philadelphia 2
N.Y. Mets 8 San Diego 4
Colorado 7 Milwaukee 3
Arizona 10 St. Louis 9 (16 innings)
San Francisco 5 L.A. Dodgers  

Interleague Cincinnati 5 L.A. Angels 4


4/4/2013
Yankees are able to avoid being swept by the Red Sox. Phillies' Cliff Lee got his first win of the year. American League
Minnesota 8  Detroit 2    

Kansas City 3  Chi. White Sox 1    

Baltimore 6  Tampa Bay 3 

Oakland 8  Seattle 2 

N.Y. Yankees 4  Boston 2    

Toronto 10  Cleveland 8 


National League
Chi. Cubs 3  Pittsburgh 2    

San Diego 2  N.Y. Mets 1    

Washington 6  Miami 1    

Philadelphia 2  Atlanta 0 

Interleague
Cincinnati 5  L.A. Angels 4 

Minor League Baseball starts today. Prospect Profar hits twice for three at bats with one run and Round Rock Express (Rangers AAA affiliated) goes 3 to 1 past Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA KC affiliated)
Games on MiLB TV: Rochester Red Wings - Buffalo Bisons Fort Wayne TinCaps -Great Lakes Loons Binghamton Mets - Akron Aeros Toledo Mud Hens - Louisville Bats Dayton Dragons -West Michigan Whitecaps Bowie Baysox - Harrisburg Senators Midland RockHounds - Northwest Arkansas Naturals Charleston RiverDogs - Greenville Drive Charlotte Knights - Gwinnett Braves Columbus Clippers - Indianapolis Indians Jackson Generals - Jacksonville Suns Durham Bulls - Norfolk Tides Pawtucket Red Sox - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Tennessee Smokies - Pensacola Blue Wahoos Springfield Cardinals - Corpus Christi Hooks Oklahoma City RedHawks - Memphis Redbirds New Orleans Zephyrs - Nashville Sounds Omaha Storm Chasers - Round Rock Express Tulsa Drillers - San Antonio Missions Frisco RoughRiders - Arkansas Travelers Iowa Cubs - Albuquerque Isotopes Reno Aces - Colorado Springs Sky Sox Tucson Padres - Salt Lake Bees Tacoma Rainiers - Fresno Grizzlies Las Vegas 51s - Sacramento River Cats

04/05/2013
Home opening day for Rangers, Giants, Tigers. Yankees are humiliated by Detroit, while the Rangers are able to go past the Angels in a dramatic game which saw the return on Josh Hamilton in Arlington. Obviously Hamilton, who went 0 for 4, was booed. Speaking of humiliations, Kansas City destroyed Philadelphia the same day Cincinnati slammed Washington. I did not expect the Nationals to lose so badly and even worse I did not expect them to give up six homeruns!

American League
Detroit 8  N.Y. Yankees 3     

Texas 3  L.A. Angels 2     

Baltimore 9  Minnesota 5  

Boston 6  Toronto 4     

Tampa Bay 4  Cleveland 0     

Oakland 8  Houston 3  

Seattle 8  Chicago White Sox 7 (10th Inning)
 

National League
Colorado 5  San Diego 2     

San Francisco 1  St. Louis 0     

Miami 7  N.Y. Mets 5  

Cincinnati 15  Washington 0     

Atlanta 4  Chi. Cubs 1  

Arizona 3  Milwaukee 1     

L.A. Dodgers 3  Pittsburgh 0     


Interleague
Kansas City 13  Philadelphia 4 

Minor League Baseball:  Prospect Billy Hamilton stole three bases (!) for Louisville. Amazing!
Omaha Storm Chasers - Round Rock Express 1-3
Toledo 4 - Louisville 6

04/06/2013
Yankees lose again. I would say they are in big trouble and clearly one of the reasons is the absence of Jeter and A-Rod. Texas Rangers lose badly in Arlington vs. the Angels with Pujols who hits not one but two homeruns. Matt Harrison was unconvincing for the second time in a raw and this could by troubling new for the Rangers. Nationals are back winning and the good news is that Bryce Harper hit the third homerun of the year. Red Sox's RHP Lackey suffered a bicep strain while pitching vs. Blue Jays. Upton brothers homers in the ninth inning. TB Rays David Price got the Cy Young Award.

American League
Toronto 5  Boston 0     

Chicago White Sox 4  Seattle 3     

L.A. Angels 8  Texas 4      

Detroit 8  N.Y. Yankees 4      

Minnesota 6  Baltimore 5      

Tampa Bay 6  Cleveland 0      

Oakland 6  Houston 3      


National League
N.Y. Mets 7  Miami 3      

Washington 7  Cincinnati 6   (11th inning)    

St. Louis 6  San Francisco 3      

Atlanta 6  Chicago Cubs 5      

Arizona 9  Milwaukee 2      

Colorado 6  San Diego 3     

L.A. Dodgers 1  Pittsburgh 0 
    

Interleague
Philadelphia 4  Kansas City 3 

I believe it's too early to analyze the standings...
MLB Standings after Week 1 (From ESPN):

American League
EAST	W	L	PCT	GB
Baltimore	3	2	.600	-
Boston	3	2	.600	-
Tampa Bay	3	2	.600	-
Toronto	2	3	.400	1
NY Yankees	1	4	.200	2
CENTRAL	W	L	PCT	GB
Minnesota	3	2	.600	-
Chicago Sox	3	2	.600	-
Detroit	3	2	.600	-
Cleveland	2	3	.400	1
Kansas City	2	3	.400	1
WEST	W	L	PCT	GB
Oakland	4	2	.667	-
Texas	3	2	.600	.5
Seattle	3	3	.500	1
LA Angels	2	3	.400	1.5
Houston	1	4	.200	2.5
National League
EAST	W	L	PCT	GB
Washington	4	1	.800	-
Atlanta	4	1	.800	-
NY Mets	3	2	.600	1
Philadelphia	2	3	.400	2
Miami	1	4	.200	3
CENTRAL	W	L	PCT	GB
Cincinnati	3	2	.600	-
Chicago Cubs	2	3	.400	1
St. Louis	2	3	.400	1
Pittsburgh	1	4	.200	2
Milwaukee	1	4	.200	2
WEST	W	L	PCT	GB
Colorado	4	1	.800	-
Arizona	4	1	.800	-
San Francisco	3	2	.600	1
LA Dodgers	3	2	.600	1
San Diego	1	4	.200	3

Minor League Baseball:  Frisco RoughRiders lose 4-3 at Arkansas Travelers in the 10th inning.

College Baseball: I went with the wife, kids and two kid's friends to see CSU Bakersfield at UT Arlington, played at Clay Gould Ballpark. UTA won with two runs in the ninth for a final score of CSUB 2 - UTA 3.

UT Arlington - Clay Gould Ballpark - Play Ball!

In the bottom of the seventh UTA's Derek Miller (LF) was hit by a pitch straight to the helmet, it was quite scary at first. I was behind plate so I heard the loud pop from Miller's helmet. Gladly, after a couple of minutes on the ground he walked away without any problem.

UT Arlington - Derek Miller (LF) after being hit by pitch (head). He walked away fine.

UT Arlington - Clay Gould  Ballpark - Panoramic View

Review: Moneyball

One thing should be clarified as soon as possible: if you liked 'Moneyball', the movie with Brad Pitt, there are good chances that you might not like 'Moneyball' the book written by Micheal Lewis.

The movie is mostly based on Billy Beane and it is a semi-fictional story of his plan to fight big league baseball teams with just a handful of dollars. The movie is a mandatory viewing even for those that do not like baseball. Directed by Bennet Miller and written by Aaron Sorkin it casts Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill at their best. It should be noted that the character portrayed by Jonah Hill (Peter Brand) does not exist in reality and therefore is not mentioned in the book.
The book is quite different than the movie. Still loosely based on Beane, it's not his story but that of an idea that would revolutionize baseball, economics and other fields. Beane is just the implementer of such idea, or the person that understands that even with a minimal amount of weapons a worthy war can be fought against the most powerful of the enemies.

Lewis' work shows the methods, the battles and the circumstances that allowed a sucky team like the Oakland A's to obtain surprising results. It's a non-conclusive analysis of what developed from the ideas of Bill James' a guy that in his free time started analyzing baseball - and its stats - in order to make it less subjective and more objective.
Reading it was a true pleasure and I confirm that it should be read by any baseball fan. While in some instances it is a bit technical it is never boringly dressed of statistics or math so that even a vaguely interested person might find benefit in reading it. 10 stars!

MiLB.com book suggestions

Benjamin Hill published a nice article about nine books that in his opinion should've made into Kaplan's "501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read Before They Die".
Here's the link:

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130314&content_id=42737876&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb

And here's the list:

1. The Bus Leagues Experience, by the writers of BusLeaguesBaseball.com
2. Going for the Fences: the Minor League Home Run Book, by Bob McConnell
3. Knocking on Heaven's Door, by Marty Dobrow
4. Minor Moments, Major Memories: Baseball's Best Players Recall Life in the Minor Leagues, by Mark Leinweaver
5. Pitchers of Beer: The Story of the Seattle Rainiers, by Dan Raley
6. Rickwood Field, by Allen Barra
7. Root for the Home Team: Minor League Baseball's Most Off-the-Wall Team Names, by Tim Hagerty
8. Stolen Season, by David Lamb
9. The 26th Man, by Steve Fireovid

Habemus Papam

Franciscus, 266th Pontiff

Coffee, coffee, coffee. Review. "Coffee - Philosophy for everyone"

After reading "Sisterhood of Dune" I decided to read something completely different. I was enjoying a nice Starbucks' Grande medium roast while browsing the nook bookstore so for lack of inspiration half jokingly I entered inn the search box the word "coffee". One of the results was "Coffee - Philosophy for Everyone" (beautiful tagline: "Grounds for debate") edited by Scott F. Parker,  Michael W. Austin and Fritz Allhoff. The title and sample were interesting enough to give me the reason to spend some time on the book. I was looking for a simple reading that would have not taught me anything and I felt pretty sure that I was in for a good time waster.
Oh my, I was wrong. Big time. This little book has a lot to offer without pretending to be a positive substitute for your deep daily Plato readings or of your local coffee guru.
In just a few pages not only I learned to look differently at Folgers but also philosophical - mostly existentialist - concepts that might be of interest or at least that should be known.
"Coffee - Philosophy for Everyone" is composed by several essays written by different authors that more or less define themselves as philosophers. I am not sure they are what they claim, but every single piece gives some food for thought.

The book discusses about many topics, from the reasons why coffee shops are what they are, why philosophers prefer to hang put at coffee shops rather than Irish pubs, what determines the quality of coffee (or lack of it), and the importance of self sustainable growth mixed with fair trade.
The book stresses a lot the importance of fair trade up to the point of making the subject slightly repetitive and boring, but it's a price I was very willing to pay for everything else that can be read in the pages of this collection.
I am quite sure that readers will find something of value in it, especially if one is willing to meditate as much as possible over a cup of coffee.
As for myself, being an avid coffee drinker, I ended up believing I can enjoy discussions with Aristotle or Thomas Aquinas, provided the black drink is on the table.
The book is part of a series on philosophy edited by Fritz Allhoff; I am not familiar with the other books of the series and I do not plan to read any of those. 

One thing is certain. As one essay rightfully teaches to us if you wake up in the middle of the night the question in your mind should not be "what is the purpose of the Universe?" but "should I cut my caffeine intake?".

And here's one for coffee lovers:

"Sisterhood of Dune"

Right now I am reading "Sisterhood of Dune" on my nook. I will post a comment as soon as I am done reading it.

Review: Fantasy and Science Fiction, November/December 2012, Vol. 123, No. 5 and 6, Issue 704

Issue seven-oh-four of F&SF is truly a gem. I liked every story in it.
Not only Kritzer's country is back (see my review of Liberty's Daughter here), but the magazine also gives us an amazing tale, title Katabasis, by Robert Reed. Well, if you are still unhappy (and you must be a difficult person if at this point you're not satisfied!) then you get a beautiful short story by Steven Popkes.
Let's start with a quick review of the main stories, but let me repeat again that this volume is worth the dollars and the reading time.

• "High Stakes" by Naomi Kritzer is a direct follow-up of "Liberty's Daughter" and it's based in the same not-regulated country called New Minerva. What would appear to look like heaven on earth (especially if you have a membership to the Tea Party movement) shows all its paradoxes and quirks when a reality show lands on New Minerva. Reading of "Liberty's Daughter" is suggested but absolutely not necessary.
• "Katabasis" by Robert Reed is as close as you can be to a masterpiece. I am sorry it is not a novel. It is based on his Great Ship universe, of which I am not really familiar with. Katabasis is not only the title but the name of the main character. The readers will learn to walk with Katabasis and for this reason it seems that the story never stops marching. Trust me on this, this work of fiction is painful to read but in a good way. Louis Tilton did a good review on Locus, but it contains some spoilers. Great job, Mr. Reed.
• "Application" by Lewis Shiner is incredibly short but incredibly good. After you read this story you will not sell that old computer that you left in the attic of which you forgot about and that you will find again one day.
• "Claim Blame" by Alan Dean Foster. Not a great story, it revolves around a resolution of a dispute. Readable.
• "Breathe" by Steven Popkes. Parasites/Vampires can steal breaths from other people. What are the moral implications? Beautiful idea.

There are other stories. They are all nice but not outstanding. Here's a full TOC taken from F&SF website:

November/December 2012 • 64th Year of Publication
NOVELLAS
Katabasis	–	Robert Reed
NOVELETS
High Stakes	–	Naomi Kritzer
The Problem of the Elusive Cracksman	–	Ron Goulart
Heaventide	–	KJ Kabza
SHORT STORIES
Claim Blame	–	Alan Dean Foster
Application	–	Lewis Shiner
Breathe	–	Steven Popkes
The Ladies in Waiting	–	Albert E. Cowdrey
If the Stars Reverse Their Courses, If the Rivers Run Back from the Sea	–	Alter S. Reiss
Waiting for a Me like You	–	Chris Willrich
DEPARTMENTS
Editorial	–	Gordon Van Gelder
Books to Look For	–	Charles de Lint
Books	–	Elizabeth Hand
Films: Apocalypse, Mon Amour	–	Kathi Maio
Coming Attractions	–
Competition #84	–
Index to Volumes 122 & 123	–
Curiosities	–	David Langford
CARTOONS
Arthur Masear, Tom Cheney, Bill Long, Danny Shanahan, J.P. Rini
COVER
Cory and Catska Ench for "Katabasis"

Review: "Asimov's Science Fiction" - December 2012 - Vol. XXVI, no. 12, Issue 443

Being awfully late in my reading queue I started reading December's edition of Asimov's with a worrying amount of delay. As a matter of fact I already got my January 2013 issue before I was half through with December's so I read it in a rush. In addition a banana I forgot in a backpack damaged the digest sized magazine irremediably (I won't go into detail, but you can imagine my happiness when I found about it).

Issue 443 gives us a beautiful novella by Steven Popkes and a few other good stories. I enjoyed reading most of this issue and I would suggest buying it for the cover price.

• "Sudden, Broken, and Unexpected" by Steven Popkes is the only novella in this issues and it's worth reading it. This story uses Artificial Intelligence and music to serve the purpose of making the answer to the question "What is human?" a little bit closer to being answered. I think this story is well written, Dot is characterized wonderfully and most readers will find Popkes's work enjoyable.
• "The waves" by Ken Liu is a novelette and is pleasant to read. If your "self" could go surfing through the universe, sharing a sort of Borg-like knowledge (but keeping individuality), than this would be the perfect adventure. It's a tale of immortality and I recommend reading it.
• "The Caramel Forest" by Chris Beckett is a short story and it is the cover story. It's a nice tale in which two children will discover that not everything looks like what it is. I found peculiar that the goblins could speak to the human's minds.
• "The wizard of the 34th Street" by Mike Resnick will remind most readers of the TV series "The booth at the end" starring Xander Berkeley. I enjoyed reading it, especially the final twist, but I found it too similar to its TV show counterpart to think of it as a truly original work. Don't get me wrong, it is darn good so if you haven't seen the TV series you will find much pleasure in it.
• "The Black Feminist's Guide to Science Fiction Film Editing" by Sandra McDonald. In a partially dystopian future movies are edited so that women are the heroes of the movies. "Total Recall" star is not Arnie but Sharon Stone. In such society all the 1980s macho movies must be revised which is not an easy task. In this story the main character finds the last copy of the movie "The Ginger Star" and will start thinking deeper about her job. What I found of particular interest is the fact that the first part was quite funny, while the second part was quite serious. 
• "The Pipes of Pan" by Robert Reed. Ok, don't bring this story to any Creationist's Museum. Interesting read, but in my opinion too obsessive.

As I said previously, this issue is quite enjoyable and I recommend it to you.

Review: Weird Tales - Fall 2012 - Issue 360 - Vol.66 No.4

I could not expect a better gift for Halloween than Weird Tales. And so it was: on October 31st 2012, while preparing the kids for trick or treating, the mailman delivered the magazine. Unfortunately, I failed to notice if his eyes showed the unmistakable empty look of a cultist who just read a small portion of the Necronomicon. He probably did.
With such excitement I started observing the creepy cover picture by Danielle Tunstall. Good news: the old WT logo is back.

Before I proceed in the analysis of Issue 360, some warning is due:

• This is the first issue edited by Marvin Kaye and his gang. Ann VanderMeer's involvement is now officially over. Thank you Ann for your amazing work in being the Herbert West of such a niche magazine.
• This issue contains an important tribute to late Ray Bradbury. I will not review it, but I suggest everyone to take a look at it. I loved the back cover by David Hartman.
• Although I generally enjoyed most of the stories, I have serious issues regarding two subjects. I will discuss them in the "Philosophical Issues" section of this post.

The Stories.

Issue 360 is packed with stories. There are no interviews or any other distracting material. I do not know if there were any originally intended for Issue 360 and later removed because of Bradbury's tribute, but I admit that at least quantitatively this is a packed up magazine, with seven stories related to the Elder Gods and four non-thematic stories. In addition there are four poetry pieces. I will try to keep the spoilers to a minimum.

• "The Long Last Night" by Brian Lumley is quite enjoyable. London is overwhelmed by the usual monstrosities we would expect in a strange tale and is also towered by a weird twisted structure. In this story there are two characters, one is the narrator and one is an old guy; they are trying to reach the evil tower by using the subway (ok, tube!) tunnel system. The plot and setting are interesting, but the narrator seems like an idiot during the whole story except at the end. He is seriously too passive and this gave away the ending. This is a story themed around the Elder Gods.
• "Momma Durtt" by Michael Shea is another enjoyable story about small-time criminals, real human monsters and toxic environments. In this story we learn what a dude, Lazarian, is up to. This is a story themed around the Elder gods.
• "The Darkness at the Table Rock Road" by Michael Reyes. This is a dream-like state story in which two veterans meet after being together in a campaign located in the middle-East. One of the two, Robert Blake, claims to have become rich. Is he hiding something? Hell, yeah! This is a story themed around the Elder Gods.
• "The Runners Beyond the Wall" by Darrell Schweitzer. A poor kid dies in the XIX century when his ship, with his parents on it, wrecks on the Cornish coast. In his afterlife the kid will meet Lord Blessingleigh, an evil son of a bitch which expects the kid to accept him as father. This story is twisted enough to be probably the most enjoyable among the various works in this issue. This story has an aftertaste of "Dante meets the Elder Gods" and is quite well written. This is a story themed around the Elder Gods.
• "Drain" by Matthew Jackson. Have you ever feared that something might crawl from the drain hole in the bathtub? Well, if you do, this story will creep you out enough to pour gallons of acid in it, just for safety. Not that it would work. Read, sit back and enjoy even thou the story itself is pretty dumb. I admit I felt much pleasure in reading about the whole situation around the thing crawling in the narrator's house. This is a story themed around the Elder Gods.
• "The thing in the Cellar" by William Blake-Smith. Funny! Yes this flash-fiction story is quite funny and makes fun of all of us, the lovecraftian idiots that secretly wish that the Necronomicon was true and that Cthulhu was as sweet as the plushes. This exchange between the narrator and his stepfather was quite epic:

"Sir, I think that some dark spawn nameless terror has torn its way into our cellar seeking to swallow the living souls of the innocent." I spoke clearly and slowly.
He looked at me and winced. "What?" he moaned.
"Shapeless horrors are loose in the cellar. Mankind may be in danger." I said, rephrasing to correct for his ignorance of the proper nomenclature.
"You've been reading that Lovecraft crap again, haven't you?" he said.
"Uh, no Sir," I lied. "Just trying to keep you informed of the house's little quirks."
"Your mother and I told you not to read that junk," he said.

• "Found in a Bus shelter at 3:00AM, Under a Mostly Empty Sky" by Stephen Garcia. At first the strange editing looks cool, but it distracted me too much. Honestly I do not really understand the meaning of the whole concept other than "looking cool". This is a story themed around the Elder Gods.
• "To be a Star" by Parke Godwin. When you prepare your Christmas tree you feel that someone is telling you... something. Well, this story explains why. Very enjoyable.
• "The empty city" by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. This is more fantasy than anything else, it is a nice voyage in a forgotten city. Will you get stuck in there?
• "Abbey at the Edge of the Earth" by Collin B. Greenwood. Flash-fiction. There isn't much to say other than it's a trip in someone's doomed destiny.
• "Alien Abduction" by M.A. Brines. Another piece of flash fiction. I will just say it's not exceptional and it is very very short.

Philosophical Issues.

While I certainly enjoyed reading WT360, I have some issues with two concepts that have been introduced with the new management: 

1. The anthological idea
2. Lovecraft (I can't believe I am saying that).

According to the editors, from now on WT will have one theme which will differ from issue to issue. For example, WT360 was "The Elder Gods Issue" and WT361 will be the "Fairy Tales Issue". This might lock WT writers from releasing new interesting material and, especially, new ideas. The editors claim to be available to publishing every sort of genre, but putting such a limit - leaving complete freedom to just a few stories - might damage irremediably the freedom that is necessary to an "out of the boundaries" magazine. I could understand two "locked" issues in a six-issues a year magazine, but I really can't accept that all the four issues are bounded so tightly. I personally think that this move will remove good parts of the necessary imagination that made Weird Tales the important pulp magazine it is. In other words, I think anthologies exist already and I am not sure the public needs an anthological magazine. If I want several works related to the Elder Gods, I simply go to my local library or B&N and I get it. If I want several works related to Fairy Tales, I just go get it. A magazine, such as Asimov's SF, Analog, Ellery Queen and so on contain variety. That's their strength. In Ellery Queen I read a story inspired by Agatha Christie and the next story is completely different. How beautiful is that in a magazine? I might be wrong - I hope I am, and it wouldn't be the first time I am; just ask my wife! - but I think that in the long term this will be a move that will be regretted.

The second issue, is Lovecraft. Disclaimer: I love HPL. I love Cthulhu, I think Azathoth is quite cool. I play Arkham Horror and I love reading HPL's epistolary. However, Lovecraft is not Weird Tales and Weird Tales is not Lovecraft. The editors affirm that HPL will be an integral part of the magazine and I dread this decision. I do not even get the meaning of their idea. Okay, HPL is cool and made WT what it is today. So does R.E. Howard (his Conan is more famous than Cthulhu and any of the Elder Gods). So does Seabury Quinn that published in WT more than HPL and any other author (see S. Connors in "The Weird Fiction Review", Number 1, Fall 2010). So, why HPL over Howard? Why HPL over Quinn? I don't see why Lovecraft's shadow should be all over Weird Tales, why should we expect the readers to read lovecraftian horror? I strongly suggest reading Jeff VanderMeer's article about Lovecraft on his Weird Fiction Review (http://weirdfictionreview.com/2012/09/moving-past-lovecraft/). I completely agree with him. One day I will explain how R.E. Howard liberated me from the tentacular fiction of H.P.Lovecraft. WT editors claim that one of the reason is that they have a lot of material intended for H.P.Lovecraft Magazine. Well, then publish that magazine and leave WT free of any chain. Do not hold readers and writers accountable of the apparently sinful idea that Lovecraft is necessary to Weird Tales. He is NOT. The weird tale used Lovecraft, he was merely a tool. A darn good tool, nonetheless a tool. Lovecraft's spirit will always live in one form or the other on Weird Tales, and he will always affect strange tales writers anywhere. He will always be somewhere in any writing even from new masters such as Stephen King. It doesn't need any push from the editors. Listen to Mr. VanderMeer, and listen to Lovecraft: Cthulhu doesn't need the cultists and so Weird Tales doesn't need Lovecraft.