My Favorite Books Read In 2014 (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery and Thriller)

In 2014 I read 70 books; they were all novels, in the genres of mystery/thriller and fantasy/science fiction. By far, the biggest fraction of books that I read are mystery/thrillers. I have recently made it through all 18 of Peter Robinson's DCI Alan banks mysteries and am currently making my way through Michael Connelly's Detective Harry Bosch series (which I think is quite good) and Leighton Gage's Chief Inspector Mario Silva's series, which is also good and tragically cut short by the author's untimely death.

I had previously read all of Henning Mankell's Inspector Kurt Wallander books and the Steig Larsson trilogy and now definitely consider myself a full-fledged fam of Scandinavian noir. I was unprepared for how good the Inspector Harry Hole thrillers by Jo Nesbø are and surprised by the level of suspense in the first Department Q novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen!

Overall, however, my favorite reads of the year were from authors familiar to me (James S.A. Corey, Peter F. Hamilton, Daniel Abrahams, Brent Weeks, Tana French) continuing to bring me joy with their work.

I'm always looking for good books and authors to start reading! Feel free to make suggestions of books or authors you think I would like in the comments.

Favorite Science Fiction Novel Read In 2014: Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey

Cibola Burn is the fourth book in the best-selling space opera series known as The Expanse. I have been a huge fan of these books from day one, and am very excited that the television adaptation of the books is slated to come to SyFy as a 10-episode miniseries later this year. Cibola Burn follows events in a planet which has opened up outside of our solar system as a result of the events that occurred in Abaddon's Gate. Cibola Burn is space opera at its best, with interesting ideas about conflicts between corporations and colonists, all in the context of a visionary future for humanity combined with non-stop action and peril for the familiar characters of Holden, Nagata, Amos and Avarasala. Corey also introduces some new characters and resolves some plot points which have been developing since the very first book in the series (Leviathan Wakes). This was my favorite novel (of any genre) that I read in 2014. At this point, I fully expect that Book 5 in The Expanse, Nemesis Games, to be my favorite science fiction and overall read in 2015. And from what I can tell about the television series so far, I expect that to be one of my favorites as well.
Yes, these are really that good.



Runner-Up Favorite Science Fiction: The Abyss Beyond Dreams by Peter F. Hamilton.


The Abyss Beyond Dreams is a return to the Commonwealth Universe for British sci-fi maestro Peter F. Hamilton, whose earlier books like The Reality Dysfunction and The Neutronium Alchemist turned me on to space opera in the first place. This book is intended to be the first book in another Hamilton duopoly called The Chronicle of the Fallers. His first duopoly in this universe was the brilliant Pandora's Star / Judas Unchained books which he returned to, somewhat obliquely, with his Void Trilogy (which are set a few thousand years in the future from the events in the first two books and inside a space anomaly called The Void in which advanced technology is stifled but mental powers like telekinesis and telepathy are possible). Despite the intriguing setting, The Void Trilogy were not as successful as the original Commonwealth Saga books (in my humble opinion). However, in The Abyss Beyond Dreams Hamilton has been able to combine the best parts of both of these prior works to produce a work which, while not as groundbreaking as the classic sci-fi of his Night's Dawn trilogy, is still as enthralling and engaging as anything the genre has to offer. And it's fun and funny as well. That being said, I am pretty surprised (and somewhat pleased) that I have found an author in James S.A. Corey who I think produces space opera as good as anything Hamilton has produced, but on a much more frequent timetable. It was still nice to see that the old master was able to show that "he's still got it" with his latest book, and I look forward to the concluding book in the series an I hope that he does NOT follow his promise (threat?) of never writing in the Commonwealth Universe again after he finishes the Fallers duopoly. (Unless he does so because he goes into Confederation Space, because that would be awesome!)

Honorable Mention (Science Fiction): Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross.
I have had difficulty finishing Charlie Stross books before despite the fact that he regularly gets recognized as producing some of the best speculative fiction around (multiple consecutive Hugo and Nebula nominations in the last decade). I picked up Neptune's Brood because it was nominated even though this is the sequel to Saturn's Children which I had not read (and still have not). This book was a whole bunch of fun, brimming with exciting ideas and lots of action set in well-imagined universe. Exactly what I love to get out of reading science fiction. One of my favorite sci-fi genre reads of 2014.

Favorite Fantasy Novel Read In 2014: The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks

I actually read the all three of the currently available books in Brent Weeks Lightbringer series in 2014: The Black Prism (2010), The Blinding Knife (2012) and The Broken Eye (2014) and it's hard to say which of the three is the best. I think the third book has had the biggest impact on me of the three since now I have lived with these characters for well over 2,000 pages I am very invested as to what happens to them in the future. I believe that Weeks is improving as a writer; this series is already better than his Night's Angel series and there's (at least!) one more Lightbringer book to come. The main character is Kip, who is an out-of-shape, socially awkward 16-year-old who also happens to be the illegitimate son of the most powerful man in the world (Gavin Guile, known as The Prism for his powerful abilities to convert all spectra of light into solid objects and other forms of energy). Weeks has developed a fantasy series with a very interesting magic system  based on the seven colors of the rainbow and incorporated this into a complicated but intriguing political system and culture with many nuanced characters and exciting plot developments. The action is often breathless and the humor sometimes off-putting but once you start one of Brent Weeks novels they are often very hard to put down, and you are very glad that you didn't put it down until the end.

Runner-Up Favorite Fantasy: The Widow's House by Daniel Abrahams

I think of myself as someone who likes fantasy novels, but a review of my reading list in 2014 reveals I'm much pickier about titles in the fantasy genre than in the others that I consume. If I don't get caught up by a fantasy book early I am far more likely to give up on it than I would be if it were a mystery or science fiction book. One fantasy book I greatly enjoyed in 2014 was The Widow's House by Daniel Abraham. It is the penultimate book in the Dagger and the Coin series which is scheduled to be five books long. Amazingly, Abrahams has managed to keep to a schedule of releasing one book per year in the series for the last four years. Even more amazingly, he has been doing this while he has been adhering to the same schedule as one half of the writing team that produces The Expanse novels under the name of James S.A. Corey (see above). I don't know how they do it, but I am very happy that they do! The last book in the series will almost certainly come out this summer, and I expect The Spider's War to be awesome. Somehow Abrahams manages to have multiple strong female characters in a sword and sorcery tale that has monetary policy as one of its central organizing principles. If you are (or were) an economics major then this series is the one for you!

Favorite Mystery Novel Read In 2014: The Black Echo (and others) by Michael Connelly


Well over half the books I read last year were mysteries and 2014 was finally the year I discovered Michael Connelly. I'm not sure why it took so long; I like police procedurals and mysteries, and have read books of this genre set in Dublin (Tana French), Edinburgh (Ian Rankin), northern England (Peter Robinson) and London (Robert Barnard and Richard Galbraith) for years. I live in Los Angeles and love my adopted hometown. I knew intellectually that Connelly and Robert Crais set their books in this area but it wasn't until this past year that I discovered the joy of recognizing the setting in a book as a place I know in real life all too well (i.e. traffic on the 101 freeway, Griffith Park, Echo Park, et cetera). I still haven't read anything by Crais, but I expect that will happen eventually. I read twelve Harry Bosch books in 2014 and its hard to decide which is the "best" but I'm pretty confident the first one, The Black Echo, would be on the shortlist. I would also say that The Concrete Blonde, Trunk Music, The Last Coyote, A Darkness More Than Night and The Narrows are all excellent. I am only reading the Bosch series, not the other Connelly books featuring what I consider "side" characters (Mickey Haller, Terry McCaleb). I would say that The Overlook was not very good and so I hope that Connelly returns to form with the more recent books in the series. I'm not sure what I am going to do when I finish the last one, The Burning Room, published in 2014. I don't think I am interested in watching the Amazon series based on the books (called Bosch) but I am hopeful that regardless of its success as television fodder, Connelly will continue to produce more books featuring Harry Bosch.

Runner-Up Favorite Mystery: The Secret Place by Tana French


Tana French has long been my favorite mystery writer, (in)famous for her literate, genre-defying novels based around various detectives in the Murder Squad of the Dublin Police Department that began with stunning debut In The Woods (2007). Sadly, she has only written five books so far and some observers think that her first work was her best and things have gone downhill from there (I disagree). French's books are collectively known as the Dublin Murder Squad series and I think it is an interesting choice the author has made to not stick to a single main detective whom readers get to know more about and become comfortable with in book after book. (I think this may have been a problem with Peter Robinson's books--towards the end of that series the books were definitely declining in quality. However, my counterexample would be Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series, which I think got better as it went on, but that may have happened because Siobhan Clarke's role grew larger and so the cast of characters to care about was expanded.) Anyway, each of French's books is very different, and about very different mysteries. The Secret Place is about the death of a teenage boy on the grounds of a private girls school where one of the quartet of prime suspects is the teenage daughter of one of the few characters who has appeared in more than one of French's books: Francis Mackey. This ensures tha longtime fans of French's work are heavily invested in the outcome of the mystery in The Secret Place (could Mackey's daughter really be a killer?) The story involves digging into the tangled webs of deception and desire and envy and emotion that connect nearly a dozen hormonal teenagers and resulted in one of them on the ground with his head bashed in. The reader gets to see the investigation both from the perspective of the police investigators and from the student suspects; it is an interesting tightrope that French pulls off well. There are some aspects of the book which will not wear so well on some readers: much of the dialogue is in the argot of contemporary teenage girls and texts are central communication mechanisms to the story. In my opinion, the most glaring of these weaknesses is French's ill-advised decision to include actual supernatural elements as part of the narrative. Overall, The Secret Place is another unusual but memorable novel (with some flaws) from a superior mystery writer.

Favorite Thriller Novel Read In 2014: The Snowman by Jo Nesbø.

In addition to Harry Bosch, 2014 was the year that I discovered Harry Hole, the Norwegian alcoholic serial killer hunter. Hole springs from the creative mind of Jo Nesbø, who along with fellow Scandinavian authors Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson is one of the creators of a subgenre of mystery/thrillers known as Nordic noir. I think it is true that if you liked Mankell's Kurt Wallander books you will enjoy Nesbø's Harry Hole books. However, I would say that Nesbø's series on a whole is superior to Mankell's. They are for more suspenseful and action-filled, for the most part. Hole is an even more self-destructive anti-hero of the books than Wallander, but somehow the reader becomes attached to Hole and the supporting cast of characters in the Oslo Police Department. I read the first eight of Nesbø's Harry Hole books in 2014: The Bat, Cockroaches, The Redbreast, Nemesis, The Devil's Star, The Redeemer, The Snowman and The Leopard. In general I would say that each book is better than the last with The Snowman perhaps edging out The Leopard for the most thrilling read I had in 2014. I would strongly recommend the Harry Hole books for anyone who likes detective mysteries with pulse-pounding action and suspense. Nesbø will give you that and have you gasping for more even while you despair for Harry's future.

Runner-Up Favorite Thriller: The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen.

This book was a complete surprise to me. The Department Q novels, of which this is the first one, were recommended to me because of my interest in Jo Nesbø books by amazon.com's algorithm. (I guess my attraction to Nordic noir was easy to suss out from my wishlist and browsing history.) Jussi Adler-Olsen sets his books in Copenhagen, and his main detective is Carl Mørck, a detective who has been relegated to his own department of cold cases, in the basement of the police station primarily because no one else wants to work with him and because his bosses feel sorry for what he went through when two of his colleagues were shot right in front of him. This was a tougher slog to get through than any of the Michael Connelly books because Carl is not a compelling character but his sidekick, a Syrian emigre named Assad is great and kept me coming back to the story through the initial slow bits. And the ticking time bomb plot device (which I don't want to spoil here except to say it involves an abduction and kidnapping) makes the book literally impossible to put down from about halfway through the book. I had previously grouped mysteries and thrillers together as one genre but now I see that books like The Snowman and The Keeper of Lost Causes are more than just about solving the mystery of who did the crime, but also about drawing in the reader so that they are honestly worried about the well-being of the characters and curious and concerned about their ultimate fates. The Keeper of Lost Causes had me almost skimming the pages in order to advance the story to find out what happens, and isn't that what one wants in a thriller?

Honorable Mention (Thriller): The Quiet Game by Greg Iles.   
This is the first book in the Penn Case series of mystery thriller written by Greg Iles set in Natchez, Mississippi. After reading the first one I quickly devoured the next three (Turning Angel, The Devil's Punchbowl and Natchez Burning) and am looking forward to the forthcoming The Bone Tree  with baited breath.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Where Are The Godless? See The Map!

Gallup has published data on how the states compare on weekly church attendance, which I am taking as a proxy for "godlessness" (i.e. the less likely you attend church weekly the more godless you are.) The most "godly" states are the usual suspects of Utah, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. I'm sure Texas must be very upset that it's tied for tenth place with 39% of respondents saying they attend services weekly. It should be noted that even in Utah a bare majority say they go to church once a week.

Joe Jervis prints this map indicating the various geographical distributions of the rates of church-attendance around the country:

California is surprisingly high, no?

POLL: Even Republican Primary Voters Support Mariage Equality

Joe Jervis today blogged about a Washington Post poll that shows that even among Republican primary voters, who are more conservative than the country as a whole, more of them think opposition to marriage equality is an unacceptable position for their presidential nominee than think it is an acceptable position.

There is some question as to whether Republican voters were too dumb to even realize that the question was asking about support for marriage equality, since the way the question is asked it in the form of a double negative.

It should also be noted that for Democratic voters in those same states the number of respondents who found a presidential candidate who opposed marriage equality acceptable were: 26% (Iowa), 18% (New Hampshire) and 32% (South Carolina).

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

EYE CANDY: Yusuf Myers (Again!)

Yusuf Myers is one of my all-time favorite Eye Candy models. He has been featured here many times before(September 9, 2012, June 25, 2012, July 7, 2009) even when I did not what his name was, only that he was just one of the hottest member of the "City Gym Boys." According to his Model Mayhem profile, Yusuf is multiracial, black and latino (Blatino!) and is currently 31.

As you can see, a lot of his best work has been done with photographer Dallas J. Logan. He is on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I thnk you can see why he's one of my faves!

GRAPHIC: Age Gap In Same-Sex Couples Generally Greater Than Straight Couples'

Five Thirty Eight did an analysis of the average gap in ages between couples, and included male-male and female-female pairs in their data set (which was taken from Facebook). The results are interesting, because there is a significant difference:

Using anonymized data from U.S. users who say they are in relationships, Facebook found that the average age difference in gay couples tends to get bigger the older people get. Those in their early 20s have an average age difference in their relationships of about two to three years, but once people get into their 40s, that average age gap increases to about seven years. The age difference increases for older male-female couples, too (shown in red below), though not by as much. (Remember, this is self-reported data from people who make their relationship status public on Facebook.)

Any thoughts about why this age gap among gay and lesbian couples increases with age? The age gap between me and my Other Half is 37 months (just over 3 years), but we are in our forties so we are clearly outliers.

Happy Valentine's Day (Weekend)!

SATURDAY POLITICS: LA Times Endorses Molina for Los Angeles CD14

MadProfessah has been following the race between Jose Huizar and Gloria Molina for the 14th District Seat on the Los Angeles City Council for quite awhile, since I live in the district in question, the incumbent Huizar is my Councilmember and the race seemed interesting, especially after Huizar admitted to an affair with one of his staff. I've generally been in favor of Molina, although Huizar seems to be running the more visible campaign (he clearly has a lot of money in his campaign coffers) because his lawn signs and billboards are EVERYWHERE in the Highland Park/Glassell Park/Eagle Rock/El Sereno sections of the district.

This week comes the news that the Los Angeles Times has made an endorsement in the race, and it is not for the incumbent:

Molina, who also served in the Assembly and had one previous term on the City Council, is the best candidate for the job. She is well known for her independence — a characteristic that is sorely lacking in City Hall at the moment. She has never shied away from questioning the status quo or challenging the power structure, though at times she has been more combative than productive. (A county department head once collapsed and had to be hospitalized during one of her grillings.) She was a fierce advocate for her district, developing neighborhood-level solutions in areas that had been long neglected. Molina became far more fiscally conservative after the county neared bankruptcy in the 1990s; her hawkishness on spending and labor demands is one reason the county didn't face the kind of severe budget crisis the city faced during the recession, and didn't have to lay off employees. Los Angeles needs more leaders who can say “no.”

Interesting development. The election is a little over two weeks away, but absentee voters (like myself have our ballots at home now and can send them in any time before March 3).

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Kate Brown To Become United States First Openly Bisexual Governor (D-OR)

Kate Brown will become the nation's first openly bisexual Governor today when she is sworn in next Wednesday after Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber resigned announced his resignation in the wake of an ethics scandal. Brown was formerly the Secretary of State of Oregon (since the state does not have a Lieutenant Governor!)

The Washington Post The Fix blog reports:

An open LGBT governor has never been elected, although New Jersey did have an openly gay governor briefly in 2004, after Gov. Jim McGreevey (D) came out as gay and admitted an affair with a man he had appointed to a key job. He resigned three months later. 

Brown is married to husband Dan Little; she has publicly discussed her bisexuality in past campaigns. She is already arguably the highest-ranking bisexual elected official in America; Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) became the first bisexual member of Congress in 2013. There are about 525 openly LGBT public officials in office at all levels of government, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. Most of them are Democrats, said interim executive director Denis Dison, and only about 20 are Republicans.

Strange we haven't had an openly LGBT person elected as Governor yet, but maybe that will happen soon, maybe if Brown decides to run for the office in 2016?

QUEER QUOTE: Federal Judge Issues Order Enjoining Alabama Officials To Issue Marriage Licenses

Federal District Court Judge Callie Granade issued an order enjoining probate judges in Mobile, Alabama from refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite spurious declarations from Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama State Supreme Court that the fact that the United States Supreme Court refusal to issue  a stay on Granade's previous order striking down Alabama's discriminatory marriage amendment caused marriage equality to go into effect on Monday February 9th.

This excerpt from the federal order is today's Queer Quote:

Accordingly, the Court once again makes the following declaration: It is ORDERED and DECLARED that ALA. CONST. ART. I, § 36.03 (2006) and ALA. CODE 1975 § 30-1-19 are unconstitutional because they violate the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Probate Judge Don Davis is hereby ENJOINED from refusing to issue marriage licenses to plaintiffs due to the Alabama laws which prohibit same-sex marriage. If Plaintiffs take all steps that are required in the normal course of business as a prerequisite to issuing a marriage license to opposite-sex couples, Judge Davis may not deny them a license on the ground that Plaintiffs constitute same-sex couples or because it is prohibited by the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment and the Alabama Marriage Protection Act or by any other Alabama law or Order pertaining to same-sex marriage. This injunction binds Judge Don Davis and all his officers, agents, servants and employees, and others in active concert or participation with any of them, who would seek to enforce the marriage laws of Alabama which prohibit or fail to recognize same-sex marriage. DONE and ORDERED this 12th day of February, 2015. 

Boom!

Hat/tip to Chris Geidner 

NOW THERE ARE 37! Marriage Equality Comes To Alabama!

With the Supreme Court's 7-2 vote to deny their request for a stay on a federal judge's ruling striking down Alabama's ban on marriage equality, the Cotton State becomes the 37th in the union to allow same-sex couples to get married. Only Justices Scalia and Thomas would have approved Alabama's request for a stay.

Same-sex couples are getting married in the majority of the counties in Alabama today, despite attempts by Chief Justice Roy Moore and Governor Robert Bentley to not follow the rule of law as clearly articulated by the federal judiciary. Gee, when has that happened before?

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

EYE CANDY: Brandon Espy

Brandon Espy is a model, actor and photographer (see http://besphyphoto.com). He is active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I think you can see why he is out first Eye Candy model for Black History Month. (Yes, he's phyne!)

Better Call Saul (Breaking Bad spin-off) Debuts Tonight!

Since the Super Bowl is over, television is returning to original programming and tonight is the debut of Better Call Saul, the spin-off from Breaking Bad starring Bob Odenkirk's character, the morally challenged lawyer Saul Goodman. The first (ever) episode airs tonight and then the second one airs tomorrow.

I never saw the original Breaking Bad on television, instead The Other Half and I streamed the entire 5 seasons on Netflix. But I am excited to see if Better Call Saul can match Breaking Bad in its brilliance.

Also returning with new episodes tonight is The Walking Dead, which is television's most-watched drama, and will serve as the lead-in to Better Call Saul. Both air on AMC.

Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Today, February 7th,  is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: 25 Years Ago, NYT Noted "First Black Elected To Head Harvard's Law Review"

25 years ago today the New YorkTimes ran an article about Barack Obama, the first African-American elected to head Harvard's Law Review. Interestingly, in the very first paragraph they mention he was born in Hawaii and the races of his father and mother.

Hat/tip to Wonder Man

Science Fiction Authors Featured For Black History Month

This is an interesting video which somehow I missed last year which is perfect for celebrating Black History Month. The video discusses the contributions and accomplishments of science fiction authors who happen to be Black or African-American, including some I have heard of like Octavia Butler, Walter Mosley and Samuel Delaney and some I had not, like Virginia Hamilton.

Noted fantasy author N.K. Jemisin (The Inheritance trilogy) is quoted in the video saying:

“When there were people of color in these books, they were in the background, or they died quickly, or any number of other stereotypes. For the most part, they just weren’t there. And in Octavia Butler’s works, they not only were there, they were prominent; they were protagonists.”

Enjoy the video, and Happy Black History Month!

SHOCK! Serena Agrees To Play At 2015 Indian Wells; Ends 12-Year Boycott

Serena Williams has published an article in Time magazine today to explain why she is ending her boycott of Indian Wells, the second most prestigious (and lucrative) tennis tournament held in her home country.

Thirteen years and a lifetime in tennis later, things feel different. A few months ago, when Russian official Shamil Tarpischev made racist and sexist remarks about Venus and me, the WTA and USTA immediately condemned him. It reminded me how far the sport has come, and how far I’ve come too. 

I have thought about going back to Indian Wells many times over my career. I said a few times that I would never play there again. And believe me, I meant it. I admit it scared me. What if I walked onto the court and the entire crowd booed me? The nightmare would start all over. 

It has been difficult for me to forget spending hours crying in the Indian Wells locker room after winning in 2001, driving back to Los Angeles feeling as if I had lost the biggest game ever—not a mere tennis game but a bigger fight for equality. Emotionally it seemed easier to stay away. There are some who say I should never go back. There are others who say I should’ve returned years ago. I understand both perspectives very well and wrestled with them for a long time. I’m just following my heart on this one. 

I’m fortunate to be at a point in my career where I have nothing to prove. I’m still as driven as ever, but the ride is a little easier. I play for the love of the game. And it is with that love in mind, and a new understanding of the true meaning of forgiveness, that I will proudly return to Indian Wells in 2015. 

I was raised by my mom to love and forgive freely. “When you stand praying, forgive whatever you have against anyone, so that your Father who is in the heavens may also forgive you” (Mark 11:25). I have faith that fans at Indian Wells have grown with the game and know me better than they did in 2001. 

Indian Wells was a pivotal moment of my story, and I am a part of the tournament’s story as well. Together we have a chance to write a different ­ending.

Wow. I was going to go to Indian Wells this year  (like last year) anyway but this makes it 2-3x more likely I will go, and maybe for multiple days. It's only a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles, and near Palm Springs!

The only question now is, is Venus going also?

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Religious Theme Park Suing Kentucky For State Funds

Ark Encounter is a "Biblical" theme park being built by Answers in Genesis, the people who brought you the Creation Museum which features humans and dinosaurs frolicking together. AIG has decided to sue the state of Kentucky in federal court for denying previously announced tax rebates to the Ark Encounter theme park because AIG refuses to follow state and federal laws against discriminating on the basis of religious belief. In order to be able to work at Ark Encounter you must attest to the "biblical truth" that the great flood happened and that humanity continued only because there were humans in an Ark. Godless or believers in other religion need not apply for employment there. Needless to say, Kentucky realized it could not use state funds to support such a project. But AIG is suing anyway:

Answers in Genesis (AiG), developer of the Ark Encounter theme park in Northern Kentucky, confirmed today it is filing a federal lawsuit against state officials for denying the park participation in the state’s tax rebate incentive program. Although the program is available to all qualifying tourist attractions seeking to build in the state, AiG’s application was rejected solely because of the religious identity and message of AiG. The lawsuit explains how this action by Kentucky officials, including Gov. Steve Beshear, violates federal and state law and amounts to unlawful viewpoint discrimination.
[...]
After Kentucky granted preliminary approval in 2014 for AiG to receive a rebate of some of the new state sales taxes the Ark will generate after it opens in 2016, secularist organizations exerted tremendous pressure on state officials to rescind the approval. Anti-Christian groups objected to AiG’s statutory right to limit its hiring to people of the Christian faith, and to the content of the messages that will be presented at the Bible-themed park. Bowing to this pressure, state officials (including Gov. Beshear) announced a reversal on December 10, 2014. Included as defendants in the lawsuit are Gov. Beshear and Robert Stewart, Kentucky’s Secretary of the Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet.

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

My Top 10 Films (Released In 2014)

This post contains the list of the Top 10 films that I saw in 2014. The year before my favorite film was  12 Years A Slave. This year it was very hard to decide between the very best film of the year, with three contenders essentially tied with each other but each had a very powerful impact on me in their own way.

Anyway, here is my Top 10 list of the films released in 2014 that I saw last year. This year I saw roughly 17 films in the movie theaters and then another half dozen or so through other channels (at home on television via premium cable or iTunes) and on planes.

10. Blackbird. This is the latest film by Black gay wunderkind Patrik-Ian Polk (Punks, Noah's Arc). It stars Mo'Nique in her first film role after winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Precious and is a film adaptation of the classic book by the same name about a young Black boy coming of age in the South. Unfortunately, Blackbird still has not found a distributor but I was able to see the film twice in 2014, once at the Pan African Film Festival, and then several weeks later at Outfest Fusion. The main strength of this film is its authentic portrayal of a gay teenager's life and love, and even though the actual twists of the story are melodramatic, it felt good to see representations of Black gay men like myself on screen. If you get a chance to see Blackbird, grab it!

9. Snowpiercer. I had heard of Snowpiercer but it just looked like another bat-sh*t crazy Tilda Swinton movie. My interest was piqued when I discovered that the always fun to watch Chris Evans (Captain America) was also in it. Sadly, Evans has an extensive beard and shows almost no skin in the film but delivers an effective performance that grounds the film, even though, by any measure, Snowpiercer is a pretty wild ride of a film. It is reminiscent of other wild, visually arresting classics like Brazil, The Fifth Element and The Matrix. Just like those movies, the story doesn't make much sense but somehow you can not stop watching it. Definitely a movie I will remember years from now, probably more so than some of the higher ranked films on this list.

8. Big Hero 6. This was the best animated film that I saw in the theaters this year. (The LEGO Movie I saw on AppleTV soon after it left the theaters and despite what the Oscar voters say, it is better than Big Hero 6.) Like Edge of Tomorrow, Big Hero 6 is based on content from another source, this time a popular Marvel comic of the same name. The best thing about Big Hero 6 is the inflatable robot named Baymax, although the main character of Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter) is a close second. I guess one of the main reasons why I liked Big Hero 6 is that it reminds me somewhat of one of my favorite movies, The Incredibles.

7. Edge of Tomorrow. If you had told me when I wrote last year's Top 10 list that a Tom Cruise science fiction flick would be one of my favorite movies of the year I would not have believed you. But Edge of Tomorrow also stars Emily Blunt in a big screen adaptation of a Japanese graphic novel with a fiendishly clever script, directed by a well-respected action director (Doug Liman, known for his work on the Bourne series starring Matt Damon). Since the film was so badly marketed I went it to the theater with low expectations, which were happily easily exceeded.

6.  X-Men: Days of Future Past. This latest entry into the X-Men franchise was directed by animating force behind the reboot: Bryan Singer, which is a good thing. The key feature of this movie is that it featured Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart from the first set of X-Men films as well as Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy playing the same characters (Magneto and Professor Xavier, respectively). It's really fun to have both sets of actors in the film, even though they basically have no scenes together (since they are playing the same characters in different eras). Another strength of this film was the plot which, although it depended on a somewhat cheesy time travel device allowed the film to be mostly set in the early 1970s, which was an inspired choice. 

5. The LEGO Movie / Guardians of the Galaxy. At the beginning of the year I guess I might have been one of the many people who did not know the name of the actor who plays the young, tall, goofy white dude on Parks & Recreation but there are very few people who don't know who Chriss Pratt is now after he appeared in not one but two of the biggest box-office hits of the year. The LEGO Movie sounded like it would be a painfully bad attempt to leverage a well-known nostalgic brand (Battleship, anyone?) but instead was a surprisingly clever romp strengthened by the voice talents of Pratt and Morgan Freeman, the silly but hyper-infectious theme song "Everything is awesome!" and a snarkily satirical script. The Lego Movie was fun and a huge hit but since Pratt does not physically appear in the film it took the summer blockbuster
Guardians of the Galaxy to really send Pratt's profile into the stratosphere. Guardians of the Galaxy  can not be considered a surprise sleeper hit like The Lego Movie since it is one of the Marvel suite of comic-book movies but even in that context, Guardians of the Galaxy is a surprisingly effective entertainment. And Pratt is front and central to the movie's runaway success, in all his attractive goofiness.

4. Gone Girl. Regardless of what Oscar voters think, in my opinion David Fincher's representation of Gillian Flynn's blockbuster mystery novel was one of the best directed  and most thrilling movies I saw in 2014. Even though I read and quite enjoyed the book, I was very impressed with how much of the book was able to be included in the film. There are very strong performances by a bevy of well-cast actors, starting with Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as the (un)happily married couple Nick and Amy Dunne at the center of the film, and also including Carrie Coon as the suspicious detective who investigates Amy's disappearance,  Neil Patrick Harris as Amy's obsessive childhood crush and even Tyler Perry as Nick's buffoonish but media savvy defense attorney. Fincher's film also includes a wickedly dark sense of humor that adds oomph to the impression it leaves on the psyche.

3. The Imitation Game.  This film was another one of my most anticipated films of  2014 that also lived up to my expectations. Additionally, it also provided a fair number of surprises by giving information about the story of Alan Turing's life and work that I was unaware of even though I was generally familiar with the broad outlines of his heroic contributions to society and the tragedy of his personal biography. In fact one of the key strengths of The Imitation Game is its ability to present a British period piece in a way that is both compelling and suspenseful, even though we know how the story ends. Another major strength are the performances by Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley as well as the structure of the screenplay adapted from Andrew Hodges classic biography.

2.  The Grand Budapest Hotel.  This is the only film that I saw multiple times throughout the year and was also one of my most unexpected pleasures at the cinema all year long. I have not been a huge fan of Wes Anderson's work in the past (I still have not seen Moonrise Kingdom) but was convinced by friends to see this one and found it absolutely delightful. The screenplay is so clever, and the film is anchored by the hysterical and self-possessed performance of Ralph Fiennes  as M. Gustave, the concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel as well as an impressive debut by Tony Revolori as the Lobby Boy. Additionally, the huge supporting cast (Willem Dafoe, Tilda Swinton, F. Murray Abraham, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton) and surprising cameos (Bob Balaban, Jude Law, Tom Wilkinson, Jeff Goldblum, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Fisher Stevens) present an inexhaustible supply of smiles and giggles that cement this film as one of the most enjoyable films of the year.

1. Interstellar. When I started thinking about this list I did not place Christopher Nolan's film at the number one spot, although I was pretty sure it would be somewhere in my Top 5. However when I went back and looked at my written reviews I saw that I had basically felt that The Imitation Game, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Interstellar were all essentially tied as my favorite films of the year. Then as I reflected more upon the three I realized that Interstellar was not only my most anticipated film of the year it was also the film that had the strongest emotional impact on me after viewing. It was not a perfect film (some of the dialogue is painfully bad) by any means but there's no question that it was the film which had the most memorable visuals of anything I saw in the theaters all year long. The suspenseful plot and the always rock-solid performances by Sir Michael Caine, Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Matthew McConnaughey are other impressive strengths. I still do not think it was as compelling conceptually as Nolan's Inception (2010), which possesses one of my all-time favorite soundtracks and is a film that I have seen and enjoyed multiple times.

 There ya go. There are still some very well-regarded 2014 movies which I have yet to see, such as Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, Selma and Foxcatcher.

Some Honorable Mentions that could be on this list are Divergent (mostly for Theo James' hotness), and Birdman (although overall I think it is somewhat self-indulgent and a bit too-"inside Hollywood" for me).

Looking forward to seeing more movies in 2015!

EYE CANDY: Jacob Sumana (3rd time!)

Jacob Sumana has appeared here as Eye Candy twice before (December 30, 2013 and March 31, 2014). According to his Model Mayhem page he is 6-foot-2, 230-pounds. He is also active on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Follow him on any of these social media sites and I think you'll agree he is Eye Candy material!

2015 AUS OPEN: Djokovic Beats Murray For 8th Major; 5th In Melbourne

Somewhat surprisingly, Novak Djokovic demonstrated (again) his dominance over his friend and rival Andy Murray with a four-set 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-0 win in the men's final of the 2015 Australian Open. Djokovic, 27, has now won 8 majors, tying him with other all-time greats like Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors and moving ahead of John McEnroe. Murray, also 27, has lost 4 finals in Melbourne and 3 overall to Djokovic. The Serbian becomes the first player n the modern era to win 5 Australian Open titles, although he is still one behind Roy Emerson's overall haul of 6.

The first two tiebreak sets took over two-and-a-half hours and featured extended rallies and brilliant shotmaking from both sides of the court. Djokovic struggled with a finger and ankle injury and when Murray went up 2-0 to begin the third set it looked like things might be going his way at last. But Djokovic found another gear and Murray unraveled, losing 12 of the next 13 games, including the last 9, to lose the 3rd and 4th sets 6-3 6-0.

The question for me now is where will both players go from here? Murray is now 2-6 in Major finals and Djokovic is 8-6. They are approximately the same age. Can Djokovic complete the career slam, can Murray win another? I believe the answer to both these questions is yes.

WATCH: Trailer for Season 5 of Game Of Thrones (Which Starts April 12)

The first trailer for Season 5 of Game of Thrones has been released. Season 5 will almost certainly include story developments for some of the character which have not been revealed yet in the books by George R.R. Martin from which the show is adapted. The show returns to HBO on Sunday April 12, 10 weeks from today.

2015 AUS OPEN: Men's Final Preview (and Semifinals Review)

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs. Andy Murray (GBR) [6] 

This is my post previewing the men's final at the 2015 Australian Open. Last year I incorrectly predicted that Rafael Nadal would defeat Stan Wawrinka in the men's final of the 2014 Australian Open. This year I correctly predicted that Serena Williams would beat Maria Sharapova in the women's final and also correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 2 of 2 men's semifinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

Men's Semifinals Review: How They Got Here
Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] d. Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [4] 7-6(1) 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-0.  After two years where these two provided scintillating tennis at this tournament this time the match-up failed to live up to the hype. Both players were surprisingly flat and out of sorts, both hitting more errors than winners. Djokovic was -22 (27 winners to 49 errors) while Wawrinka was even worse, at -27 (42 winners but 69 errors). Most observers expected a fifth set again, but no one could have expected that this time that fifth set would be a bagel won by Djokovic (instead of last year's 9-7 win by Stan and the 12-10 win by Nole in 2013). Wawrinka clearly just ran out of gas in the end, finally succumbing to the pressure of defending his surprise title from last year.

Andy Murray (GBR) [6] d. Tomas Berdych (CZE) [7] 6-7(6) 6-0 6-3 7-5. Last year's finalist Nadal was expected to be in this semifinal, perhaps playing Roger Federer again but instead Andy Murray was able to benefit by beating Nick Kyrgios (who beat the person who eliminated Federer in the 3rd round) while Berdych played the match of his life to demolish Nadal in straight sets (including a rare bagel set!) in the quarterfinals. Despite having a career head-to-head over Murray, Berdych was unable to play his best tennis, while Murray continued his re-energized play, not panicking after he lost the first set tiebreak and taking advantage of a lull from his opponent to bagel him and use that momentum to cruise to victory.

Men's Finals Preview: Who Will Win? 
This must be the first time in a long time that both finalists have won a bagel set in their immediate previous match played. Although Djokovic is the World #, has a 15-8 career head-to-head lead (including winning all 4 matches played on hardcourts in 2014) and seven major titles to Murray's two I give Murray a very good chance to win this match. The Brit has a 5-4 lead in tour finals and the two are 2-all in their four major finals (2011 Australian Open, 2012 U.S. Open, 2013 Australian Open and 2013 Wimbledon) with each of them alternating victories. Murray is 2-5 in major finals overall while Djokovic is 7-6 and in particular is 4-0 in Australian open finals.

For most of the tournament Djokovic played like he was unbeatable, not losing a set through the first five rounds, and demolished a top 10 player like Milos Raonic. However, what I saw in his match against Wawrinka is pretty troubling. If that Nole shows up, I am confident that Murray will win. Murray has lost two sets to reach the final, but both were tiebreakers against very good opponents (Grigor Dimitrov and Tomas Berdych) and Murray won every other set he played. The stats indicate that Murray is playing slightly better than Djokovic overall, with 58 more winners than errors (compared to Djokovic's +54). I agree with Murray that it will be an upset if Murray wins this match, but that's what happened last year. Maybe we can have two years of surprise champions?

MadProfessah's prediction: Murray.

2015 AUS OPEN: Serena Beats Sharapova For 16th Consecutive Time To Win 19th Major

As I predicted yesterday, Serena Williams defeated Maria Sharapova for the 16th match in a row to win her 6th Australian Open and 19th grand slam title, 6-3 7-6(5). This win means that Serena is now only 3 behind Steffi Graf's 22 majors and improves to an incredible 19-4 in major finals and an undefeated 6-0 in Australian Open finals.

For Sharapova, the #2 player in the world it must be frustrating to have had so many opportunities and so many losses in the last 11 years. However, on the bright side, this was one of the Russian's better performances against Serena. It was only the third tiebreak set in 42 sets the two have played against each other, and one of the very few where Serena has failed to break her serve, despite having multiple opportunities, including one at 4-5 that was a Championship point! 

In the second set, Serena started hitting more errors, but also, more aces. In the first set she hit 3 aces and 3 doubles faults, but in the second set she had only one double fault and hit 15 aces (including one on her third championship point, the first on her own serve). At some point in the future (although probably not in a major final) Sharapova will reverse the streak (I think). Another thing Sharapova can look forward to is that she is 5 years younger than Serena and can possibly have success when Serena either exits the stage or her game starts to deteriorate with age.

As for now, though, Serena looks well placed to reach or exceed Graf's 22 majors and possibly even Margaret Court's 24!

2015 AUS OPEN: Women's Final Preview and Semifinals Review

Serena Williams (USA) [1] vs Maria Sharapova (RUS) [2]

This is my post previewing the women's final and reviewing the women's semifinals at the 2015 Australian Open. Last year I correctly predicted that Li Na would defeat Dominika Cibulkova in the women's final of the 2014 Australian Open. This year I correctly predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals, 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals, 2 of 2 men's semifinals and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals.

How They Got Here: Women's Semifinals Review
Serena Williams (USA) [1] d. Madison Keys (USA) 7-6(5) 6-2. By her performance against the World #1 Madison Keys demonstrated that her breakthrough results of beating 2-time Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova and 7-time major champion Venus Williams on her journey to the 19-year-old's first major semifinal. Keys rushed to a 3-1 lead in the first set before Serena was able to right the ship and break back to even the score. The match continued on serve until the tiebreak, with Keys demonstrating her ability to match (and perhaps overmatch, on the forehand side) the 18-time major champion's powerful groundstrokes. Then, in the tiebreak Keys was able to save 2 set points with consecutive aces before Serena won the set on her 3rd set point with a service winner. In the second set it was Serena who sprinted out to a 5-1 lead and despite having 7 match points in this Keys service game, Serena was unable to impose her will on her opponent, instead she was forced to serve out the match in her next service game. Hopefully, Keys will take confidence from this result to improve her day-to-day result on the women's tour and try to replicate this success at the other majors.

 Maria Sharapova (RUS) [2] d. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) [10] 6-3 6-2. Sharapova has been playing some of her sharpest hard-court tennis in years, which her left-handed compatriot discovered right away when Makarova was unable to convert any of the four game points she enjoyed in the first two games of the match and quickly found herself down 0-3. With a lead on the scoreboard Sharapova could really go for her shots and this forced Makarova to go for too much in order to compensate, and making far too many errors to ever make this semifinal much of a match, which was a pity because Sharapova had previously displayed frailty against another Russian earlier in the tournament. In fact, ever since she survived two match points against Alexandra Panova in the second round Sharapova has been playing with increased intensity (which is saying something since it is not like Sharapova plays lackadaisically at the worst of times.)

Who Will Win: Women's Final Preview

By getting to the final, Serena insured that she will retain the World #1 ranking despite what happens in this match. Of course everyone knows that Serena has won their last 15 meetings over the last ten years, and in 2007 played what I consider one of her best matches of her career by demolishing Sharapova 6-1 6-2 in the women's final. It's really hard to explain why the rivalry is so one-sided in Serena's favor but the statistics are ugly. In the last 15 matches the two have played the Russian has struggled to win games, let alone sets. In 7 of those matches Sharapova failed to win more than 5 games! She has only won 3 sets and lost 30.

With that being said, Sharapova is playing excellent tennis and does have the game to beat Serena, it is just hard to see how this will come to pass if Serena is healthy and motivated. And the one person she will always be motivated to beat is Sharapova. It is Serena's 23rd major final and 6th in Australia (she is 18-4 overall and 5-0 in Melbourne). It is Sharapova's 10th final and she is 5-4; she's lost Australian Open finals to Victoria Azarenka (in 2012) and Serena in 2007. She has also lost a Wimbledon final to Kvitova and a French Open final to Serena.

MadProfessah's prediction: Serena in 2 sets.

QUEER QUOTE: Mormon Church Expresses Grudging Support For LGBT Non-Discrimination

Today's Queer Quote comes from an unlikely source, Elder Dallin Oaks of the Mormon Church, discussing the Church of Latter-Day Saints new position in support of LGBT non-discrimination, with the HUGE caveat that it allow exemptions for "religious beliefs." I have previously blogged about several Utah politicians' willful ignorance of civil rights law (namely Gov. Gary Hebert and Dallin Oaks himself) and this latest move by the Church reflects this misapprehension.

"We call on local, state and the federal government to serve all of their people by passing legislation that protects vital religious freedoms for individuals, families, churches and other faith groups while also protecting the rights of our LGBT citizens in such areas as housing, employment and public accommodation in hotels, restaurants and transportation — protections which are not available in many parts of the country."

However, what this means in practice does not sound or look like what most LGBT people would call civil rights protections. Instead, what it looks like to Andrew Rosenthal at The New York Times is that the Mormon Church wants "The Freedom To Discriminate."

“Mormon leaders still want to hire and fire workers based not only on religious beliefs, but also on behavior standards known as honor codes that require gays and lesbians to remain celibate or marry someone of the opposite sex. The church also wants legal protections for religious objectors who work in government and health care, such as a physician who refuses to perform an abortion, or provide artificial insemination for a lesbian couple.”

As the Human Rights Campaign points out, this position is not faithful to the principles of equal rights for all.

“We share the church’s commitment to freedom of religion. We embrace the principles of the First Amendment and believe churches do and should have the right to make determinations about who fills their pews. But non-discrimination protections only function when they are applied equally. It should be stated that there are countless LGBT Mormons, and Mormon allies, who support equality, not in spite of their faith but because of it. All Americans should have the right to be employed, receive housing and services in environments free of discrimination. We await the day the church embraces that fully, without any exceptions or exemptions."

It shall be interesting to see how this develops...

2015 AUS OPEN: Men's Semifinals Preview

The men's semifinals are now set at the 2015 Australian Open. This year, I predicted 2 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly.Last year I correct predicted 1 of 2 men's semifinals and 1 of 2 women's semifinals. I have also previewed this year's women's semifinals.

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs  Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [4].  This is the match everyone has been waiting for when the draw was released. For the last two years one of the best matches of the year has been played between Djokovic and Wawrinka at this tournament. In 2013, Djokovic won their amazing 4th round showdown 12-10 in the 5th set and ended up winning the tournament. Last year, Wawrinka won their almost equally amazing showdown in the quarterfinals, and went on to win the tournament. So, the pattern would indicate whomever wins this match will likely win the tournament. I think that is going to be Djokovic, who has been playing flawless tennis, and has yet to drop a set. Wawrinka definitely impressed with his straight set dismissal of #5 seed Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinal but I think the main reason Djokovic will win is that he has a dominating 12-3 head-to-head record against Wawrinka (and two of those losses were early in their careers). The last set these two played was a 6-0 won by Nole. I don't think that will happen, but I don't see Stan winning this match. Mad Professah's Pick: Djokovic in 4 sets.

Andy Murray (GBR) [6] vs. Tomas Berdych (CZE) [7] Rafael Nadal (ESP) [3]. This was supposed to be the showdown between Federer and Nadal in the semifinal, if things had gone according to seeding. But after Nadal easily dismissed Federer in last year's semifinal, like he has in all six Grand Slam matches the two have played since 2008, this Federer fan was not looking forward to another result like that, but an off-day dismissal in the third round still stings. Berdych is playing inspired tennis, and his straight set beatdown (of a clearly underprepared Nadal 6-2 6-0 7-6(5) in the quarterfinals is a major accomplishment that should give him confidence against a player he has always matched up well against in the past. The two are 3-3 on hard courts and 1-1 in Grand Slam matches, although I think it is significant that Murray won their 2012 meeting at this same stage at the U.S. Open, on his way to winning his first major. Regardless, I think this match will be quite close, especially since Berdych now has Murray's former fitness coach Jez Green Dan Vallerdu in his camp. However I doubt that any new insights Jez provides will be enough  to swing the result. Mad Professah's pick: Murray in 5 sets.