Category Archives: Uncategorized

Lost in Code

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I try my best to keep the geeky parts of my existence out of this site, but sometimes, there’s a convergence that’s unavoidable.  Case in point: the end of Lost.  I’ve watched it faithfully since its second season, and I’m not sure if there’s ever been a TV show that has been both quarterback-cool and wedgie-worthy.  Like millions of others today, I’ll be glued to the television set, and here’s my silly contribution to the Lost universe.

The code below is written in ColdFusion, and it’s using component architecture, something I’ve recently really come to embrace.  It’s a slapdash concoction that I knocked together in about fifteen minutes, so take it for what it is, a goofy tribute to one hell of a show.  The resulting execution of these bits can be seen here:

http://www.sjwoo.cf-developer.net/lost/default.cfm

The nice indents have been removed by the blog, so it’s not so easy to read the code below.   Not that you’d want to read this, anyway.  Perhaps Daniel Faraday would be interested…

default.cfm

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN”>
<html>
<head>
<title>Lost</title>
</head>

<body>

<!— CFCs —>
<cfobject name=”IslandCFC” component=”lost.cfc.island”>
<cfobject name=”SurvivorsCFC” component=”lost.cfc.survivors”>

<h1>L O S T</h1>

<!— This scope is available as a variable —>
<p>Created by <cfoutput>#IslandCFC.creators#</cfoutput></p>

<!— crash Oceanic 815 —>
<cfset crashedPlane = IslandCFC.crashPlane(“Oceanic”,815)>
<cfoutput>#crashedPlane.message#</cfoutput>

<!— get a list of the survivors —>
<cfset arraySurvivors = SurvivorsCFC.getSurvivors(“#crashedPlane.flightName#”,crashedPlane.flightNumber)>
<p><strong>List of survivors:</strong> <cfoutput>#ArrayToList(arraySurvivors)#</cfoutput></p>

<!— summon smokey, who’ll also kill the chosen survivor —>
<cfset structSurvivors = IslandCFC.summonSmokeMonster(“#ArrayToList(arraySurvivors, ‘|’)#”,”Mr. Eko”)>
<cfoutput>#structSurvivors.message#</cfoutput>
<p><strong>Remaining survivors:</strong> <cfoutput>#ListChangeDelims(structSurvivors.newListOfSurvivors, “,”, “|”)#</cfoutput></p>

<!— summon bombOnSub, which will kill more survivors —>
<cfset structSurvivors = IslandCFC.bombOnSub(“#structSurvivors.newListOfSurvivors#”,”Jin,Sun,Sayid”)>
<cfoutput>#structSurvivors.message#</cfoutput>
<p><strong>Remaining survivors:</strong> <cfoutput>#ListChangeDelims(structSurvivors.newListOfSurvivors, “,”, “|”)#</cfoutput></p>

</body>

</html>

Continue reading →

Evidence of Good Writing: Alix Ohlin’s The Missing Person

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What is good writing?  Of course this is a highly subjective topic, but sometimes it’s right there on the page.  Right now I’m reading Alix Ohlin’s The Missing Person, and here’s the evidence I’d like to present to the Court of Good Writing, on page 48 (paperback edition).  Our narrator, Lynn, is driving in her brother’s Chevy Caprice, through the deserted desert landscape of Albuquerque:

The Sandias were brown in the distance.  The houses were brown.  The highways were brown.  Everything was brown.  The car’s wheezing air-conditioning blew a stream of tepid air over my right shoulder.

The magic of this excerpt is the last sentence, the part I boldfaced.  One of the golden rules of good writing is not relying on adjectives and adverbs and opting for concrete nouns and verbs.  I believe the same can be said of sentences, that the more specific you can make it, the stronger its impact will be.  Ohlin could’ve easily written this sentence instead:

The car’s wheezing air-conditioning blew a stream of tepid air.

I hate to admit it, but this is probably how far I would’ve gone.  I mean there’s nothing wrong with that version, but wow, having the stream of air hit me on my right shoulder is so much more specific, so much realer.

This is not an isolated incident.  On page 43:

A woman’s laughter sounded loud and shrill above the din, repeating at intervals, like a ringing telephone.

That repetition, and the simile with the telephone — it gives great specificity to that sentence.  This book is chock full of moments like these.

J. Robert Lennon’s Video Game Hints, Tricks, And Cheats

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All hail the e-book!  The talented J. Robert Lennon has decided to put  a collection of his material into electronic format.  From his website:

Video Game Hints, Tricks, And Cheats is a collection of random, mostly comic writing from the past dozen years, including pieces published in Harper’s, Granta, The Los Angeles Times, McSweeney’s, and elsewhere. Most of the pieces here are available on the “Read Online” section of this website, but quite a few have never been seen before.

Since I don’t have an iPad, I downloaded the old-school PDF version.  There’s quite a few gems in here, too many to name, so it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’ll laugh your head off more than a few times.  Lennon hopes that other writers will follow suit.  I’d love to, except I’ve yet to amass enough material!  Which means instead of writing this post, I really should be writing.  OK, gotta go.

Kartika and Sulu

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1) The latest issue of Kartika Review features a special section called “Meditations of Home,” and you can read my own personal view on this subject.  Fine writers such as Alexander Chee, Don Lee, Min Jin Lee, Yiyun Li, and Ed Lin also participated in the project, so it’s really an issue worth reading.  You can get the journal  in PDF, or better yet, you can have Lulu crank out a paper copy.

2) Speaking of Ed, I had an absolute blast at the The Sulu Series last night!  We were there to celebrate his latest novel Snakes Can’t Run, and there was poetry and fiction and songs, too, and even a short film at the end.  I’m not used to being out in the city so late on a school night, but wow, was it ever worth it.

Matt Blesse

Cynthia Lin

Catzie Vilayphonh

Ed Lin

Ed Lin

Many more pictures here.  I read from a short story titled “Faith,” something I had completed a week ago.  I’m not entirely happy with the story as it stands, so most likely it’ll change, but for those who want to know how it ends (at least for now), you can read it here (now published here);  search for “END OF SULU READING” to find the exact spot where I stopped reading.

By the way, I should mention that I was inspired to write this story after reading Rhian Ellis‘ novel After Life; in fact, the premise is identical.  I can only dream of writing with Ellis’ prosaic precision, so there is no comparison — everyone should read her fabulous novel.

“The Sulu Series” This Sunday

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As a lifelong trekkie, how can I not partake in an event called “The Sulu Series“?  I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be reading, but I’m also there to support my good friend and excellent writer Ed Lin, who’s got a new book out, Snakes Can’t Run!

Sulu Series
Sunday April 18, 8:00 pm
reading with Matt Blesse, Cynthia Lin, Catzie Vilayphonh, and Ed Lin
Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery (at First Street)
New York City
(212) 614-0505

Complaints About the Complaint Box

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After a Complaint Box essay, the good folks at the Times follow up with various reader reactions.  As of now, there are 151 comments from the readers on the web, and I think these two might be my favorite:

1. Better loud and occupied than silent and empty or worse yet, visited only by cranky Sung J Woo.

2. I’m dismayed see you lead off with yet another hackneyed stereotype of librarians: “…and the occasional shush — delivered with an index finger crossing the lips of a bespectacled, cardigan-wearing librarian.” Get with it, Mr. Woo. I’m a librarian, and I shop at Express.

Way to put me and my best Andy Rooney impression in my place!  I love it.  As a writer, it’s a rare gift to see so many direct opinions from readers.  Thank you to all who have contributed — keep them coming!