ORIGINAL POST DATE: November 16, 2005

This latest quote is from the book Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell, and addresses the "Grandfather Paradox"" concerning time travel.

"The grandfather paradox poses this riddle: What if a person traveled back in time, encountered her grandfather, got into an argument with the grandfather, and then shot her grandfather to death, thereby ensuring that the granddaughter herself would never be born?

What I like about the grandfather paradox is that it treats time travel not as some lofty exercise in cultural tourism - looking over Melville's shoulder as he wrote Moby-Dick - but as a petty excuse to bicker with and gun down one's own relatives."

I have encountered this paradox in several books dealing with the concept of time, and in EVERY sci-fi TV series I have ever seen, but never has it been presented in such a revealing manner. When I read this I howled with laughter, seeing for the first time, compliments of Vowell's trademark droll humor, just how ridiculous the Grandfather Paradox is. Why such violent ideas associated with time travel, as if it would be impossible to go back in time and not turn into the Terminator? "Grandfather, I'll be baahk".

If you are not familiar with Sarah Vowell I would recommend first hearing her read her essays on This American Life or as a book on tape. I find I cannot read her books without hearing her voice narrating them in my head, and frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way, no matter how psychotic that sounds. Her voice is essential to the delivery; otherwise you just might miss the subtlety of the humor. Incidentally, Vowell is the voice behind the awkward daughter Violet in the Pixar movie The Incredibles.

It is no suprise to me that Vowell would excel at providing voice acting for animated characters, since, until I actually saw what she looked like, I always pictured Velma from the Scooby-Doo cartoons when I heard her radio essays. Even now that I have seen a picture of Ms. Vowell I still think she looks like Velma (without the glasses). If they make another live action Scooby - Doo movie (not that I'm hoping they will) I think they would do well to cast Sarah Vowell as Velma and make it her movie: Then everyone could share my vision. If the main plot line involved time travel Vowell (as Velma) would have the opportunity to act out the Grandfather Paradox on the big screen providing for some great action scenes, i.e. Velma as the Terminator with a sawed-off shotgun in hand. I can hear her in my head now - "Jinkies, Granddad, I'll be baahk".