Letters from the Inside, Michael Swango, #22

[Ed.: The top of the letter has E(pi)+1=0, Euler's Identity. I am not sure why he wrote that.]

Dear KK--

Two letters from you late Friday-always a nice surprise! One was tow of your more "romantic" "Outside the Box" columns. Before getting to your letter, however:

If you don't think there is an economic bias in news coverage, you only had to see the "disaster coverage" these past two days. I'm sure you've seen the video of the wildfires around Santa Barbara, CA. Thirty homes were lost. Yesterday, massive flooding hit the hardscrabble, poverty-ridden hills of West Virginia: 500+ homes were lost. Of course they weren't million dollar ranch-style mansions/nor does a flooded ruined home make as spectacular a picture as a flaming torch filmed from a chopper. But rest assured the human toll & suffering in WVA will be incalculably larger--and the news coverage proportionately less.

Now, to your letter: You mentioned that you like hot better than cold. Once again, we are totally in sync. In my case--hot and humid. In an earlier discussion of Africa--I mentioned Djibouti-which sits near the equator on the Gulf of Aden. Along with Zanzibar [AND by the way, Delhi, INDIA in May & June just before the monsoon], one of the consistently hottest and most humid places on earth. Just lovely!

Surprised to hear "Lymelife" was such a disappointment. Not surprised to hear the same about "The Informers."

Looking at the adverts & previews of "THE SOLOIST" I wouldn't think I would like it much either. Most of these "uplifting" & "hopeful" films tend to wander off into saccharine, schmaltz & cliché. I will definitely see it if I get the opportunity.

Thank you for sharing about your mother. Is her illness controlled or manageable with medication, or is she hospitalized? My thoughts go to her on Mother's Day...

Downey, Jr. is a great talent. I thought he was excellent in "IRON MAN" - an unusual comic book/superhero-type film. I believe production on "IRON MAN 2" is already well underway.

Eyepatches, eh? A little bit kinky, a little bit rock n'roll! [With apologies to Donny & Marie.] There is of course the Russian guy on "LOST"...PLEASE send me a copy of one of your eyepatch photos! Perhaps you can use it on your Christmas card--put one on your Mini as well! Ok-I'll stop now.

DON'T GET MAD! At the risk of incurring the legendary "WRATH OF [Ed. my real last name]" or what Stephen King calls her "unending fury" in Christine, allow me to make the following statement:

YOU DO like SCIENCE-FICTION: GOOD SCIENCE- FICTION, KK!

"LOST" is outstanding science-fiction: but like all good/entertaining literature or TV/FILM: It is the characters and plot that propel the narrative. The fact that the narrative is fantastical or science-fiction OR WAR or Dickensian England or medicine is really secondary.

There is a tremendous amount of crappy, awful science-fiction. It's a genre--and everyone thinks they can write it. Same with fantasy, and "action movies" and"chick flicks"---and any other type of literature or film that you can name.

And OMG! I would hate to be on the band end of one of your reviews! I've been called a lot of things, but "nerd" just cuts to the bone:) Trust me--not since high school! I can only tell you that science-fiction has come a l-o-n-g way from the days of space operas & aliens & Star Trek-like simplistic plots.

The best science-fiction, like the best of anything, is-at its heart-outstanding literature. Same with film-and Lord knows there are a lot of bad SCI-FI FILMS...

Much of the above is tongue-in-cheek. But hating an entire genre is sort of like Jerry Seinfeld "impugning an entire continent" in the episode about the sniffing accountant and the mohair sweater...!

***

Thanks for the heads-up on the novel Flash Forward by Robert J. Sawyer. Anything that inspired J. J. Abrams to create "LOST" definitely sounds worth reading.

Could you, if you have the time, send me the "WIKIPEDIA" entry on the novel, or whatever you can find online? Thanks.

Now to a much more serious set of topics. You being a most intelligent & perceptive woman will understand my need to be somewhat vague...It is not a question of being "comfortable" discussing "certain details," it is a question of what is allowed.

Also, two of your assumptions are incorrect, but there is no way you could know... The sentence is not quite so cut & dried...as I said, subject to "conversations" & "discussions" regarding multiple past "incidents"... And with that in mind--the legal aspects are not all over... So "gory details" of all the above are not exactly open to unlimited discussion.

Hope this clears up some of what appears to be reticence or ambiguity. Thanks for caring, though. Please don't stop opening up...

I think I knew about your quieter, more cultural lifestyle & pursuits. You don't seem like a bar-hopping, party girl--although being the same myself back in the day, I know that doesn't mean you are not every bit as passionate & life-loving & exciting as anyone.

Final note on Alaska. Summer along the truly breath-taking coast from Seattle to Juneau is definitely the time to go. A long time ago, when my family was moving constantly from military base to military base, we lived in Fort Richardson, Alaska, near Anchorage. I was quite young, so my memories are not as vivid as they might otherwise be. It is also very difficult to recall childhood memories for vivid inclusion within one's memory palace.

Must get this in the mail. Will comment on "Patrick the Muse" and "Kelly & Scout" in my next letter. Enjoyed your scintillating if cruel [NERD! Really?!] letter :-). Hope to hear from you again soon. My recent letters should have provided a lot to ponder and comment upon...Take care, KK

Yours,

Michael