My dear friend F Paul [I still love you, Paul, even though another libertarian not only received the next RJ book before me, he also reviewed it! ;-) ] twigged me to the following site a while ago, but for some mysterious reason lost to mankind forever, I didn't mention it here. And again, for some mysterious reason I decided to revisit the site today, and see that today is Anniversary Number 98.

Why, of Robert A Heinlein's birth, of course. And the site I'm referring to is Heinlein Centennial, gearing up for a celebration of the grand master's hundredth birthday in Kansas City. I'm hoping/planning to be there. You?

To celebrate the anniversary of his birth today, I'll share some Heinlein ramblings. You're invited to play along; please let us know where your thoughts are recorded by putting your link in a comment.

I'd read precious little scifi prior to my first Heinlein book ... some Asimov (in the robot series, and it fairly quickly struck me as boring and redundant since much of it revolved around conflicts with the three laws) ... The Mote in God's Eye, which was more interesting than the Asimov but did not pique my interest in the genre. I believe it was reading some of LeGuin's scifi that led me to Heinlein.

The first Heinlein I read was Stranger in a Strange Land -- the unabridged version. It was all good until the church got going; that disturbed me for some reason. (Note: I was not a libertarian at the time I picked up this book. It doubtless sped my awakening, however.) Even though I've read and re-read other Heinlein novels, I've not picked this one up again. Maybe one day I will.

My favorite Heinlein character is Dora (both). Why? "EF or FF?" "Both!" That and her indomitable, exuberant (yet touchingly gracious at times) spirit -- what a great role model for a woman. (I failed to grok what got so many feminists up in arms over Heinlein's female characters ... that's not to say that I thought his characterizations of women enjoying pregnancy weren't far-fetched -- until I did exactly that with both my pregnancies. So I guess I've a little of the Heinlein heroine in me after all.)

Favorite book? Eep, that's a toughie ... Even though I've re-read Time Enough for Love countless times, it's a tossup between it and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Predictable, I know ...

Several fiction authors have gotten me to think about things in new or different ways; I credit them with helping me be a little smarter, a little more precise in my thinking. Heinlein is one of a select few whom I credit with helping me be a better human.