It's national novel-writing month again, the month in which we are urged to write an entire novel regardless of quality or talent. I accomplished this once in 2001 with debatable success, but the last few years I've had to skip it. This year I intend to make another attempt. My goal, inspired by the recent Star Wars controversy, is to write a Star Wars style space opera. And no, it's not a satire, it's the real deal, with starships and evil galactic empires and everything. First I should probably watch Star Wars or something though....

Current word count: 0!

Since deciding to write a full-on no-nonsense Space Opera in the Star Wars mode for NaNoWriMO (current word count: 0), and realizing I needed to watch those movies again first, I've been debating between brain hemispheres on an optimal viewing order. Then I stumbled upon this post by Hercules at AICN in which he cryptically insists that the only correct sequence is IV V I II III VI. Huh? But then I realized the method here: this order sets the second trilogy as a flashback following Vader's revelation to Luke about his parentage. (A flashback longer than the story from which it is cast.) Then I saw this dude's analysis of viable viewing orders and I became convinced. IV V I II III VI is in fact the best order. Now to the couch!

Some good obits on the life of the legendary libertarian economist here and here. Now the world spins further off.

Well, this is bad news for my ambition to write a space opera in the Star Wars mode (current word count 0) for NaNoWriMo this November. It was proving challenging anyway. I would be tempted to claim that novel-writing is a younger man's pursuit if Thomas Pynchon himself weren't 70. Maybe it's an older man's pursuit. Whichever is fine.

For now I must wade into Against the Day, an 1100 page behemoth about anarchists, balloonists, mathematics, and 1100 other things. I've been waiting nine years for this. Star Wars will have to wait.