Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
A Sunday Review
TV this week:
- Battlestar Galactica: "Flight of the Phoenix" - Ah, a good old group project to build trust, strengthen ties and reduce stress. Starbuck really has a nasty streak, letting Apollo think she's gone for so long. Good episode.
- Ghost Hunters: "Edith Wharton Estate" - Three different buildings, all of them old and creaky, in the snow. Beautiful location, but I wouldn't want to wander around that place in the dark. I like the new equipment they deploy in this one. They aren't quite truly scientific yet, but they seem to be getting closer.
- Heroes: "Cold Snap" - Ah, Rebel makes perfect sense. I wonder why I didn't figure that one out. And hey, more Hiro makes this show much better.
- Battlestar Galactica: "Pegasus" - Wait, didn't this happen in the original show? The other battlestar showing up and trouble resulting? I wonder if this one will end the same way? The guys from the Pegasus are brutal, and I don't blame Chief and Helo for stopping them.
- Smallville: "Hex" - Zatanna is good. And the Chloe switch was well done. And that last scene... "Aquaman - on-line!" Yes! So she's not Oracle, but she's gonna be cool in that role. I wish this show would stop playing around and just get on with the superheroics.
- Food Detectives: "Liquid Nitrogen Cocktails" - I don't have much interest in freezing alcohol, because I don't drink (or eat) alcohol if I can help it. The piece on making food taste better by improving the presentation was very interesting. Same food, but a huge difference in rating. Does drinking ice water burn calories? Yes, but not a large amount. But maybe I'll try to drink very cold water more often, just for the boost of a couple of extra lost calories.
This week's movie was Quiz Show. It wasn't illegal at the time. It was entertainment. The sponsors were pressuring the shows for high ratings, and the human drama of the quiz shows could deliver. But when they weren't scripted they were boring. So... naturally the producers made the shows more exciting by giving the answers to the contestants who generated more ratings. This movie is about the scandals when the news broke that the shows were fixed. It's a very long movie, and covers the whole thing fairly well. Freedman's point at the end of the story was true enough. It was a crime with no victim. The shows got high ratings, the public was entertained, and the contestants got money. And as Goodwin said, he was after television, but only managed to take down the lower level fall guys. Ultimately a good movie. Also of interest is Van Doren's article about the whole thing.
This is the off-week for DCBS, so I thought I'd try something a little different. First let me explain the situation for the one of two of you who might care. Since hubby-Eric and I moved from the Seattle-area to Eastern Washington, the nearest comic shop to our location is at least 40 miles away. And while that's not an impossible distance, it is long enough that with fuel prices the way they've been that I'd rather not make that drive every week. In addition, establishing a pull list at an unfamiliar store just didn't feel worth the effort. And I special order enough stuff that if I wanted to make sure I got the comics I wanted, I'd have to make an effort and possibly visit the store more often than once a week.
So, with some reluctance, I started to order my comic books through DCBS, the most-recommended among the people I asked. So far, service has been good. However, I opted for twice-a-month shipping and not weekly, so my comic books only arrive ... well, twice a month. For most months, that's every other week. Any month with five Wednesdays there will be a two week gap (like next month).
I could dole out my comic book reviews so that I don't have any gaps. I might even do that from time to time. Sometimes I won't read the books fast enough to get a review up the week they arrive. But however I do it, the point is that there will be weeks with no comic book reviews. And that irks me, because I'm a big comic book fan. So I'm going to try to fill in those weeks with reviews of comics in other forms. For this week, I'm going to do a VERY short review to make up for writing so much about why I'm doing this.
So I'll start with a webcomic about which I haven't got much to say: Chainsaw Suit. Kris Straub is an awesome artist, and I love the Aquaman sketch he did for me. I like Starslip, another webcomic he does, but was unfamiliar with Chainsaw Suit until fairly recently. For me, Chainsaw Suit is hit-and-miss. The humor is fairly juvenile all the way through, but sometimes it's over my line and other times it hits it right on. For example, I laughed aloud at Iron Chef Extreme and Sylar Spock. But a lot of the other strips just left me cold. Still, there's enough funny there for me to let you all know about it.
My library book this week was The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau. Set a few months after the escape from the City of Ember, this book continues the adventures of Lina and Doon by taking them back to Ember. Like the other books, this is aimed at younger readers, maybe pre-teen. The writing is a little simplistic for my tastes, but DuPrau is a decent storyteller and the action moves along at a good pace. The reveal at the end is a little annoying, but it ties the prequel book into the rest of the series a little more closely, so I guess it isn't terrible. Just one question, why doesn't anyone planning for the future make extra copies of the instruction manuals?
Agatha Christie this week was Death in the Clouds from 1935. This is the book that the Doctor held up in the final scenes of the Doctor Who episode that got me to start reading Christie's works from the beginning. The Doctor's copy of this book had a wasp on the cover... mine just has a plane. The murder takes place on a plane, and yes, involves a wasp. And, as usual with the Poirot novels, I didn't come close to figuring out the guilty party before Poirot announced it. *sigh* Just once I'd like to beat Poirot to the punch. I thought the mystery writer in this story was a hoot, no doubt a character meant to tweak people's perspectives of what Christie herself might be like.
Fortean Times #247, May 2009. The spine proudly proclaims this a "Special Death Issue" and the cover has a panicked eye staring up from the dirt it's been buried under. Very very freaky.
Strangedays is a speculation on former Nazi scientist Mengele's activities in South America, with a hypothesis that an area with a large number of twins might have been his laboratory. The article is balanced with a good chunk of reason (and other examples of cities that have lots of twins). There were also Purple Squirrels and Blue Eggs, and a ghost story or two complete with dodgy photographs. There was a good article in the Science section about the role of viruses in genetics. The Archeaology section has an example of very early chemical warfare. Yuck. Ghostwatch concerns people who have been driven from their homes by supernatural activity, and even one story of a ghost that apparently followed a young man home. The UFO Files has more on the wind farm that was supposedly hit by a UFO, with still more evidence that it was a perfectly natural event.
The big article is about Raising the Dead in Finland. It's terribly thick with atmosphere, but a bit thin on any provable events. But then, Monty Python is invoked in the first paragraph, and the author of the article is clearly as skeptical as a reader ought to be. Following this story, we have a bit about the Naples skull cult, a group of poor women who adopted skulls in a graveyard grotto (the Fontanelle). The cult, and the cave, were closed in 1969... but workers of a 2000 renovation tell of a woman who came when the place was reopened and demanded to see "her" skull.
A very cool article goes into the history of the Illustrated Police News, a Victorian periodical that sensationalized crime and horror, complete with "lurid illustrations" that any fan of artwork will recognize in style, if not specifically. The article covers stories from the IPN of folks being buried alive, and includes many examples of those great illustrations.
In the interests of making this review less than twenty paragraphs long, I've skipped a LOT of stuff in this one. As usual, I read it cover-to-cover, and enjoyed most of it. The reviews were good (one book got a 1 and one book got a 10, both rare events). The letters were good. The other articles were good. The whole magazine got me thinking, which is what it's for, in the end. Despite the freaky cover, another solid issue.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tegan's Coin Box
I'm a coin collector. Not one of those people who collects valuable coins, but a person who loves the interesting and unique of the coin world. If you know anything about a coin I post here, please use the comments link to let me know more about it. Note: due to lighting issues, some coins may appear gold when they are really silver. I can't seem to fix it with my poor equipment, sorry.
These are exactly the same coin from two different years. I find these to be very cool. Naturally, I prefer the wavy bordered one to the more standard round coin. On the Queen side, both coins say "Queen Elizabeth The Second". The other side says "East Caribbean States" and "One Cent" on both coins. The wavy bordered coin is from 2000, the round coin is from 2004.
This is a beautiful big coin. I love the sailing ship, Endeavor, on the back. It's a New Zealand coin from 1967. Like pretty much all Commonwealth coins, it features the official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. My only question would be, 50 what?
Friday, March 27, 2009
Links
If Maps Could Fight, a comic strip about WWII.
Colleen Doran publishes Boadicea (Boudica?) Warrior Queen of the Celts from the unpublished The Big Book of Wild Women.
Picture Is Unrelated. A blog of unrelated odd images. NSFW. Not Safe for Sanity, either.
Doctors make patients sign EULAs that forbid online reviews. If my doctor asks me to sign such a thing, I'll have to ask what she's afraid of.
The Health Care Debate. I support a single payer system. I'm tired of for profit insurance execs deciding who lives and who dies.
The United States of Obesity.
Joe's 13 things that creep me out. I'm linking to this because of number 8, although number 9 is one of my childhood nightmares as well.
Sita Sings The Blues is free and available to watch. Read the links on the bottom of the post for the whole story.
For the in-laws: PUG WEEK at Sheldon! Monday! Tuesday! Wednesday! Thursday! Friday!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
It's Coming
My current plan is to be there on Saturday with my evil twin Lisa and Torvald the troll. On Sunday Torvald and I will make an encore appearance and drag along hubby-Eric. I will attempt to troll as many folks as I can that haven't already been trolled.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A Surprise Moment
Out here in Churchville, we are hundreds of miles from the nearest ferry. Thus I was mildly surprised when I entered Churchville library and found ... a stack of ferry schedules for the Seattle area ferries. I looked at them for a moment, then started to talk with the librarian, pointing at the schedules I said, "Is that...?"
He smirked and chuckled and said, "Yup, we just got those in!"
"Um, ... why?"
"No idea! Maybe because we're a library? They just figure we need any resource we can get."
"Um, as a matter of fact, I'm going to be in Seattle in a couple of weeks... and..."
He handed me a schedule, grinning now, as his boss walked up behind him and said, "Somebody actually needed one?"
Made my day.
Deep Thought
Libraries are a sign of true civilization. The better the libraries, the better the civilization.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
A Sunday Review
TV this week:
- Smallville: "Infamous" - Oh joy. Water girl again. Just a few minutes into the episode I can tell that the cosmic reset button is going to be hit. More joy. Total cringey episode.
- Numb3rs: "12:01 AM" - This was a very disturbing episode. It's true, the convict clearly deserved his fate. But it was equally clear that justice hadn't been served in at least one sense. The side plots were funny... but Larry is going to have to pay for bringing in those ringers, I think.
- Food Detectives: "Smells Delicious" - The test they did proved that smell is closely linked to taste. The fried food segment didn't completely settle the question. The cutting board story went pretty much the way I expected it to, though.
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Trials of the Demon!" - Golden Age Flash! Pumpkin stealing! Gentleman Jim makes a good Victorian villain. Fun episode.
- Smallville: "Turbulence" - Poor Chloe. Looking forward to seeing what they do to Zatanna next episode.
- Ghost Hunters: "Star Island" - An island and a castle? Cool locations! The island looked pretty primitive, and the investigators were clearly very cold. The EVP was cute. The debunking on the stairs was nicely done. The rest seemed natural rather than supernatural. The castle was just an awesome place. Not sure about the ghost horse, but it would be an interesting experience to have a ghost horse breathing over your shoulder, I guess.
Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released March 4th and 11th:
- Green Lantern Corps #34 - More of a set-up issue than anything else. My respect for Soranik has dropped even further.
- Supergirl #4 - Another nearly incomprehensible issue. Streaky was ok, particularly at the end.
- Captain Britain and MI13 #11 - If I liked vampire stories more, I'm sure I'd be enjoying this storyline more. It's not bad, I just have less interest than I want for a book like this.
- Northlanders #15 - Did I miss an issue? While his story seems to flow evenly from the last issue, what happened with Brigid? How could she have gone from where she was in the last issue to where she is in this one?
- DMZ #40 - So, Matty figures out how to deal? Maybe. I thought this series couldn't last, but there is still a lot of story in there to tell.
- Wonderful Wizard of Oz #4 - What is there to say about this that hasn't already been said? It's a very faithful adaptation of the book, and I'm looking forward to seeing some of the lesser known bits showing up in later issues.
- Doctor Who Classics Series 2 #4 - I remembered the first story, but had forgotten the second one. These are pretty good tales from a good era of storytelling in Doctor Who history.
- Sir Apropos of Nothing #5 - Final issue, I think I can say it ends well.
- PS238 #38 - Nom Nom NOM! Loved it. Loved the entire issue. Want more. NUTMEG! NUTMEG!
This week's movie was Night at the Museum. I've sort of wanted to see this one since it came out. The idea of a museum coming to life strikes a chord with the little kid in me. And, as it turns out, the movie wasn't half bad. It had a few sour notes, but overall it was a good little adventure with fun characters and exciting bits of action. One thing that amuses me immensely is the sequel... what could they do with all of the Smithsonian to play in? This is not heavy fare, if you need a light movie, watch this one.
My library book this week was Voices by Ursula K Le Guin. This is the second book in the Annuals of the Western Shore series, and while it's not a direct follow-up, it does include Orrec and Gry in the story... as secondary characters. The main character is a girl who has lived her entire life in an occupied city, trying to exist and grow under an oppressive reign that considers books to be demonic tools. Naturally, as an avid reader I found the story compelling as well as distressing. The ultimate conclusion was not entirely satisfying in the Le Guin way of not being satisfying, but it was right. Now I'm looking forward to the next volume of this series.
Agatha Christie this week was Three Act Tragedy from 1935, the first of two mystery novels she published that year. Tired of waiting for my new library system to find this book for me, I went to KCLS and was able to download a copy using the library card that I offered to turn in when we moved, but the librarian said to keep. There are distinct disadvantages to reading a book on the computer, not the least of which is the eyestrain issue, but at least I can read some of the books that I had trouble getting through Interlibrary Loan. Anyway, turning back to the book itself, I was surprised to find that this one features Mr Satterthwaite as the observer and point-of-view character. But instead of Harlequin, we get Poirot! I'm not sure I like this, as Mr Satterthwaite seemed to me to belong to the supernatural stories over the plain mysteries, but the two seem to get along pretty nicely. Again I was completely fooled by the ending, although as usual it was tightly written enough to make perfect sense once I re-examined the facts.
A note on DRM. I do not like DRM and don't like reading any file that restricts me to using a poorly written program like Adobe Digital Editions to be able to read it. I have this general feeling that if I buy a media file, I ought to be able to use it on any computer or device I own. This particular DRM doesn't allow that... HOWEVER, this particular DRM is on a library book. I don't have any intention of keeping this book, and I didn't pay for it. So I really don't have any issue reading this book or any other I check out with this DRM on it. I wish that the program they've chosen to force me to use with this file was actually designed with readers in mind, but I can live with it for the simple joy of not having to deal with Interlibrary Loan to read some of these books.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Linkdump
Comic Book Legends Revealed #197: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Art Thibert, and Savage Finster. Comic Book Legends Revealed #198: Skippy Peanut Butter, Bluto/Brutus, and Gone With the Wind. Comic Book Legends Revealed #199: Rube Goldberg, Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League, and D.B. Cooper.
CBC Article on Vaccines (ht to Carolyn for the link).
Seattle Sketcher visited my old stomping grounds and did some sketching.
Pictures of Pripyat, Ukraine from 2009. This is the home of the the workers of Chernobyl.
Disturbing news about an old baseball trade.
I wouldn't call this brainteaser "tough" so much as "annoying".
Friday, March 20, 2009
Hugo Noms
The nominations for The Hugo Awards have been announced.
Best Novel
(639 Ballots)
Best Novella
(337 Ballots)
Best Novelette
(373 Ballots)
Best Short Story
(448 Ballots)
Best Related Book
(263 Ballots)
Best Graphic Story
(212 Ballots)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
(436 Ballots)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
(336 Ballots)
Best Editor, Short Form
(377 Ballots)
Best Editor, Long Form
(273 Ballots)
Best Professional Artist
(334 Ballots)
Best Semiprozine
(283 Ballots)
Best Fanzine
(257 Ballots)
Best Fan Writer
(291 Ballots)
Best Fan Artist
(187 Ballots)
The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
(288 Ballots)
*(Second year of eligibility)
A total of 799 nomination ballots were cast.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Hmmm, Is It Too Early?
Well, maybe. It might be a little early to post this warning, but I've seen some signs of people getting ready for it, so I'll post my usual annual warning about the holiday of the internet.
Remember: Most of the time the internet is pretty much unreliable. It's a mess of people, and most people have no obligation to be honest. So every day you should be critical and think about what you read and see on the 'net, and don't trust anything until it's been verified by multiple sources.
There is one day that's thrown entirely out the window. On April 1st, don't believe ANYTHING you see on-line. It might be true, but presume it isn't.
At the moment I have no plans for an April Fools' Joke. Should I come up with one... well, you'll find out on April 1st, right? But consider this your warning from me.
On a related note, a good April Fools' Joke has certain qualities. It must be believable, but people should be able to check it. It should never be cruel. It should not lead to harm. It should be funny, either in and of itself, or once people realize it's a joke. Sometime on April Fools' Day I'll attempt to round up a list of jokes played that day, and will no doubt revisit some of my favorite classics. Hopefully, it'll be a good one this year.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Citibank = Scum
Citibank is now on my list of companies never to do business with ever again. Like Countrywide, I'd rather make a deal with the devil, at least I'd know that I was being cheated.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Shallow Thought
Countrywide is definitely NOT on your side, despite their annoying ads. I'd sooner get a mortgage from the devil himself than another one through them.
Update: Puget Sound Energy, however, IS on your side, and calling them when you have a problem will result in a quick and painless solution. They are helpful, courteous, and genuinely do their best to make life better.
Can you tell I'm trying to deal with bills today?
Sunday, March 15, 2009
A Sunday Review
TV this week:
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Game Over for Owlman!" - Another fun episode, this one also featured Aquaman in a non-speaking role! Outrageous! I loved the solution Batman came up to Owlman's team of nasties. I think I recognized which Elseworlds some of those alternates were from.
- Numb3rs: "First Law" - Artificial Intelligence is achieved! Well, maybe. And I once again picked the wrong one as the baddie. Oh well. The one I picked was bad, just not the way I thought.
- Battlestar Galactica: "Final Cut" - Xena goes colonial on yer ... ahem. I love Lucy Lawless' true accent. It's lovely to listen to. Nice little twist at the end of this one.
- Food Detectives: "Small Plate Club" - I was most interested in seeing the plate size piece, but I was also interested in how they demolished the "alcohol burns off when you cook it" myth. In short, no, the alcohol doesn't burn off. It's still in there, just in slightly smaller quantities. There was also a piece on water intoxication, which explains the science behind how drinking too much water can kill you. The results of the plate test definitely argue that size of the plate matters. So replace those big plates with smaller ones, and lose a little weight.
- Ghost Hunters: "Betsy Ross House" - Two investigations in this season premiere, and two inconclusives. The first house was old enough that the sounds could have mostly been natural. Again, I don't think much of EVPs, so they don't convince me. The Betsy Ross House was a little more interesting in terms of sounds, but again, nothing convincing. Fun ep, and nice to see Jay and Grant again.
- Ace of Cakes: "Ghoul's, Ghosts and Chocolate" - The Charlie Brown cake was simply amazing. I loved how the chocolate bars were delivered to the bakery, as well. And that wedding cake! I like the couple's style, getting married Hallowe'en style.
- Heroes: "Shades of Gray" - Ok, this is getting a little better. I was actually engaged most of the episode. The comic shop bit was pathetic, but funny. And I was really hoping for more Hiro and Ando, and glad when they popped up. Just not enough of them.
- Supernanny: "Del Re Family" - Twins and a older sister in New York, with a cop for a dad. The older girl is simply COOL. Nine years old, going on sixteen. I seriously thought her dad was going to say no to the sleepover, but by trusting her now he's going to prevent serious issues later. That head butt the boy did to the mother looked genuinely painful. I kept thinking they ought to check the mom for a broken nose. And the younger girl's bit of naked rebellion is going to make great viewing for prospective boyfriends.
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Mystery in Space!" - Depressed Aquaman is a sad sight to see. He's really a wet blanket. I've never been a big fan of Rann, but it made a good backdrop for Aquaman's sadness. Aquaman drawing a frowny-face in the sand had to be the highlight of the episode.
No comic books nor Agatha Christie this week. My library is doing its best, but I can't get everything as quickly here as I did when I lived in the Seattle area. And with comic books there will always be an off-week as long as I get them mail-order. If I can get my act together, perhaps I'll think of something else to review in the off-weeks.
This week's movie was The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Hubby-Eric wanted to watch this movie in part because hubby subbed at Finn Hill Junior High School in the classroom next to Steve Wiebe's science classroom. I had pretty much no interest in the movie. The whole thing was depressing, seeing the politics of video gaming is the same as any small pond politics. It's important to remember that the movie fictionalizes some of the facts and plays fast and loose with the dates, but is generally correct. The way the people in the arcade gaming world treated Steve was ... disgusting is one word for it. Entering his house after his wife had asked them to wait? Disregarding his record because he got the chips in his game console from someone who's a twit, even though there was no evidence of wrongdoing? And Billy Mitchell comes off really poorly in this one. He could use a haircut. A depressing movie about another small pond world of fandom.
My library book this week was The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America by David Hajdu. I wanted to love this book, but I had a very difficult time getting into it. The text is densely filled with detail and digression, to the point where a reader can easily get lost. Especially in the early chapters, when you aren't sure where the writer is going with this tale or what he's trying to convey. The text begins to come alive when Hajdu reaches the story of Wertham's book and Gaines ill-advised testimony, but by then you are over halfway in! It isn't bad, it's just written in a disjointed information overload style that didn't sync up well with my reading style. For me, the first half of the book was a grind to read.
Once I got past the stylistic difficulties, this turned out to be a comprehensive history of the censorship of comic books starting with a pretty decent history of how comic books came into existence. Frequent digressions in the text give potted histories of individual comic book creators, enough for a reader to get a good sense of who was making these books, and why they seemed so radical to the establishment. The book becomes chilling when recounting the Nazi-style book burnings conducted by children under the guidance of self-righteous adults. The testimony of the people involved in those burnings makes for disturbing reading.
While the book burnings were the most chilling part of the story, the most sobering for me was the appendix of this book. It is a list of comic book creators who never again worked in the field of comics after the purge of the 1950s. And it includes early Aquaman artists Louis Cazeneuve and John Daly, and early Aquaman writers Joe Samachson and Don Cameron.
The book has extensive non-intrusive footnotes (listed by page at the end of the book, no note markings in the text) and a comprehensive bibliography. The list of people consulted reads like a Who's Who of comic books (and in fact Jerry Bails, creator of the Who's Who, is also credited). This is a well-researched book, and while I don't think it quite succeeds in covering how the scare changed America, it certainly tells the story of how it changed the lives of a great many people. It's worth reading, if you can get into it.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
It's Pi Day!
3.1415926535 8979323846 2643383279 5028841971 6939937510 5820974944 5923078164 0628620899 8628034825 3421170679 8214808651 3282306647 0938446095 5058223172 5359408128 4811174502 8410270193 8521105559 6446229489 5493038196 4428810975 6659334461 2847564823 3786783165 2712019091 4564856692 3460348610 4543266482 1339360726 0249141273 7245870066 0631558817 4881520920 9628292540 9171536436 7892590360 0113305305 4882046652 1384146951 9415116094 3305727036 5759591953 0921861173 8193261179 3105118548 0744623799 6274956735 1885752724 8912279381 8301194912 9833673362 4406566430 8602139494 6395224737 1907021798 6094370277 0539217176 2931767523 8467481846 7669405132 0005681271 4526356082 7785771342 7577896091 7363717872 1468440901 2249534301 4654958537 1050792279 6892589235 4201995611 2129021960 8640344181 5981362977 4771309960 5187072113 4999999837 2978049951 0597317328 1609631859 5024459455 3469083026 4252230825 3344685035 2619311881 7101000313 7838752886 5875332083 8142061717 7669147303 5982534904 2875546873 1159562863 8823537875 9375195778 1857780532 1712268066 1300192787 6611195909 2164201989 3809525720 1065485863 2788659361 5338182796 8230301952 0353018529 6899577362 2599413891 2497217752 8347913151 5574857242 4541506959 5082953311 6861727855 8890750983 8175463746 4939319255 0604009277 0167113900 9848824012 8583616035 6370766010 4710181942 9555961989 4676783744 9448255379 7747268471 0404753464 6208046684 2590694912 9331367702 8989152104 7521620569 6602405803 8150193511 2533824300 3558764024 7496473263 9141992726 0426992279 6782354781 6360093417 2164121992 4586315030 2861829745 5570674983 8505494588 5869269956 9092721079 7509302955 3211653449 8720275596 0236480665 4991198818 3479775356 6369807426 5425278625 5181841757 4672890977 7727938000 8164706001 6145249192 1732172147 7235014144 1973568548 1613611573 5255213347 5741849468 4385233239 0739414333 4547762416 8625189835 6948556209 9219222184 2725502542 5688767179 0494601653 4668049886 2723279178 6085784383 8279679766 8145410095 3883786360 9506800642 2512520511 7392984896 0841284886 2694560424 1965285022 2106611863 0674427862 2039194945 0471237137 8696095636 4371917287 4677646575 7396241389 0865832645 9958133904 7802759009 9465764078 9512694683 9835259570 9825822620 5224894077 2671947826 8482601476 9909026401 3639443745 5305068203 4962524517 4939965143 1429809190 6592509372 2169646151 5709858387 4105978859 5977297549 8930161753 9284681382 6868386894 2774155991 8559252459 5395943104 9972524680 8459872736 4469584865 3836736222 6260991246 0805124388 4390451244 1365497627 8079771569 1435997700 1296160894 4169486855 5848406353 4220722258 2848864815 8456028506 0168427394 5226746767 8895252138 5225499546 6672782398 6456596116 3548862305 7745649803 5593634568 1743241125 ... and so on. Whew.
Friday, March 13, 2009
BLEARGH!
You don't want to hear how sick I am, or whether or not the little dots keep climbing the walls (they do), so I think I'll find a link or two. It took me five full minutes to type that sentence. Ug.
I've told the tale of the hungry couch, but this couch has ours beat.
It's official: Congress makes Pi Day a holiday. Here's the resolution (H.RES.224):
Whereas Pi can be approximated as 3.14, and thus March 14, 2009, is an appropriate day for 'National Pi Day': Now, therefore, be itUm, cool. Tomorrow is Pi Day. I need to make pie. I wish I was healthy enough to make pie. Maybe I'll make hubby-Eric go buy a pie.Resolved, That the House of Representatives--(1) supports the designation of a 'Pi Day' and its celebration around the world;
(2) recognizes the continuing importance of National Science Foundation's math and science education programs; and
(3) encourages schools and educators to observe the day with appropriate activities that teach students about Pi and engage them about the study of mathematics.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Still Sick
Not much to say except little dots of dark and light have been running up and down the walls, I've been curled up in the bed letting it rock me to sleep, and I apparently told hubby-Eric that he was a hallucination when he came home today.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Too Sick to Blog
So I'll just point out that one of my favorite webcomics, Digger, has a new website with free archives. I haven't read the earliest strips, since I discovered the comic later on, and it's previous home had subscription only archives. But this is one of those webcomics I intend to buy in paper form once I've got money.
If you want to read from the beginning, start here.
Monday, March 09, 2009
From a Soldier in Iraq
This is a postcard my sister got from a soldier that has been receiving my comic books. As you may recall, just before we moved, I decided to get rid of my comic books, and my sister said she would send them to soldiers in Iraq. So we made "care packages" of comic books with enough room for my sister and mom to put some other stuff in each box for the soldiers. This particular soldier has been distributing my comics further into the ranks after he gets done with them.
And this is a thank you postcard, which mentions me as an afterthought!
"Dear Lisa
When I get home I need to take you out for a night on the town. Thank you (and your sister) so much for the comic books, I'm being a good caretaker and making sure they find a good home over here."
Sunday, March 08, 2009
A Sunday Review
TV this week:
- Battlestar Galactica: "Home: Part 1" - I'm to the point that if an episode has Baltar in it, I kind of wish it would end immediately. The character makes me squirm. Fortunately, he's only in one scene. I wonder if the new Boomer will survive very long in that crowd of hostile humans? Then again, if Apollo wasn't a main character I'd worry about his survival with the original Apollo plotting against him.
- Numb3rs: "Cover Me" - One of the crew goes undercover to test Charlie's theory on how to stop a new drug from taking over the market. This was an uncomfortable episode, as the drug trade is an uncomfortable and nasty sort of business anyway. And Charlie's bright-eyed enthusiasm for his formulas was a vivid contrast to the nitty-gritty of what happened on the streets.
- Heroes: "Exposed" - Singing, "Three plots for the Heroes, which one will the fangirl like?" I'm not liking the Nathan plotline, and the Aquaman plotline is fun to see. Claire's mom is really coming into her own. Sylar's history is just disturbing.
- Ghost Hunters International: "Karosta Prison" - A former Soviet prison in Latvia? Wow. I like how Joe had to jump to turn off the lights. Watching them run around chasing shadows in that building made me feel cold. They looked like they were freezing. I liked how Barry nearly had a heart attack when Rob called to end the investigation. The bobsled fun was great, I even called in hubby-Eric to enjoy it with me. But the evidence was shaky at best. Ah well.
- Battlestar Galactica: "Home: Part 2" - The Baltar bits were amusing. Finally he checks to see if he's got a chip! I like the new Sharon. And I like how she reacts and confronts her problem. I also like "the map". Is it enough to find Earth?
Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released Feb 18th and 25th:
- Green Lantern #38 - I've been sick of Blackest Night for awhile, this is just making me more bored with it. The bleedin' black from the eyes Oan is really grating.
- Justice League of America #30 - A threatening Shadow Thief? Nah, couldn't be. What's the deal with Green Arrow and Hawkgirl? TMI. More annoying "origin" back-up story, but it has a panel of Aquaman so I almost forgive it.
- Justice Society of America #24 - Marvel Family story. The backup had Ma Hunkel in it, which rescued it from being complete crap. But it was a close thing.
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold #2 - Well, Batman does Tron. This was ok, but nothing too special.
- Tiny Titans #13 - Aqualad likes soap a little too much.
- Noble Causes #39 - Explanations, flashbacks, fun. Too bad there's only one issue left.
- Land of Oz The Manga: Return to the Emerald City #3 - I don't remember these scenes from the book... but then it's been years since I read the book. Looking at the original, this seems about as faithful an adaptation as you can get.
- Doctor Who: The Whispering Gallery - What a depressing planet. Good thing the Doctor showed up, eh?
- Usagi Yojimbo #118 - Have I mentioned before how much I like this book? DANG, I like this book. This is the middle part of a multi-part story, but it's still compelling, well-drawn, and has some historical info in the letter column that is fascinating. If you haven't ever read Usagi, you should find a volume (preferably the first) and start.
This week's movie was Mamma Mia. You know, watching this, I almost wish I knew ABBA songs a little better. Hubby-Eric's giggles every time he recognized what song was coming up were a delight to hear. Meryl Streep is FANTASTIC as Donna, but they really should have dubbed Pierce Brosnan's singing. I suddenly want to go buy ABBA albums. This is pure FUN movie. If you don't like fun, don't watch this one. If you want plot, high concept, or adventure, this one isn't for you either. But if you just want to sing along, get this one. I loved the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun action of the Dancing Queen number. Lovely!
Fortean Times #246 (April 2009). The cover story is a dual tribute to Darwin and Monty Python. Strangedays starts out the mag with a fairly detailed article showing how a normal event got interpreted as a UFO attack on a windmill. The main articles of the issue focus on Darwinism and the flaws in the theory of evolution. While there are flaws, I found the concepts of the articles a little difficult to swallow. I was more interested in the article on the Almasty, a Russian Sasquatch that is a bit less shy than the American version. The reviews were good as usual. There's a review/interview of The New Annotated Dracula, which I have on my shelf but haven't gotten through yet, that describes the goal of the book and how the annotations put the story into context for modern readers. Suddenly I have the desire to read it. There's a slightly amusing Dalek cartoon on the letters pages. All in all, another pretty good issue.
My book this week was Dreamweaver's Dilemma by Lois McMaster Bujold. This book features the earliest tale set in the Vorkosigan universe, so I just had to get a copy. The library system failed me, so I used the tiny bit of Amazon credit I get when people buy stuff through my links and got it that way. And I'm pleased. It's a solid little package. True, I have some of the material in other books, but the Sherlock Holmes pastiche is surprisingly excellent and the title story was pretty darn good too. The highlight of the book is probably the essays by Bujold. I was struck by a paragraph in "The Unsung Collaborator" that was about the deficiencies in the original Star Trek but could just as easily apply to the original Doctor Who:
"They thought that what they were seeing on the screen, the plot and effects and dialog, was all there was. They had no conception of how much work our willing brains were doing on the initial stimulus after our senses took it all in. We took the show in and fixed it, and it was to this fixed-up version that we gave our passioinate response."The point of the essay is that any work is a collaboration between the author/creator of the work and the audience. Something that sometimes I wonder if modern creators forget. But I digress a bit... this is a good collection of materials for Bujold fans. Snag it if you have a chance.
Agatha Christie this week was Parker Pyne Investigates, a collection from 1934 featuring a new character. Parker Pyne has a newspaper ad that simply asks "Are you happy?" His clients are unhappy people that just need a little something in their lives. Pyne supplies that something, often with great panache. This collection has twelve stories in it:
- The Case of the Middle-aged Wife - A husband is messing around... how can the faithful wife be happy? Pyne comes up with a somewhat predictable solution, but still fun to read.
- The Case of the Discontented Soldier - An old soldier longs for the days of excitement he used to have. I like how Pyne gets two birds with one stone in this one.
- The Case of the Distressed Lady - A woman wants to redeem a crime. Ah, this is more like Agatha's clever mysteries.
- The Case of the Discontented Husband - His wife wants a divorce, but he's still desperately in love with her. Pure comedy, especially the end.
- The Case of the City Clerk - A man is just getting by in life, but wants a little adventure. I like how the dramatics are faked but the man truly gets the adventure he desires.
- The Case of the Rich Woman - She's rich, widowed, and bored. Pyne's solution is a tad extreme, but you have to admit it worked really well for her.
- Have You Got Everything You Want? - A woman on a train has formless fears, and runs into Pyne by coincidence. This was much more like a Christie mystery, with only the solution requiring Pyne's unique way of looking at the world.
- The Gate of Baghdad - Pyne lives up to the name of detective during a trip in the desert. Twisted as usual. I had some difficulty with all the characters in such a short tale, but otherwise a good little mystery.
- The House at Shiraz - A woman living alone after her servant dies draws Pyne's attention. The detail that caught Pyne's attention was a nice touch in the study of genetics.
- The Pearl of Price - A lost earring has a lot more than money riding on it. Pyne again becomes a detective in this one, and certainly helps people out with that happiness thing.
- Death on the Nile - A nasty woman who snaps at everything requests Pyne's help. Another pure mystery with a solution that Pyne gets at through his study of human nature, and that I didn't guess at all.
- The Oracle at Delphi - When a kidnapping takes place, the victim's mother is relieved to find Pyne is nearby to help. I have to admit, this is a story that you could never do on TV, the written word is the soul of this one.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Friday, March 06, 2009
The Final Cake
The cake turned out really well. A little bland, I'm glad I added chocolate chips. The icing actually turned out not half bad, but I think I'll hunt for a different recipe next time I make a cake. All-in-all, this was a wonderful first attempt at making a cake from scratch.
Leah continues to influence people for the better. Thank you, Leah.
It's Aqualad's Birthday
And so, in memory of Leah, I made a cake.
I've done this three years running now, and I hope to manage it every year. Last year I posted some pictures of the finished cake, but didn't go into detail on how I made it, like I did in 2007. This year I feel like a little detail.
I'm going to digress for a bit here and tell you about my baking experiences. My mother is a fantastic cook. She cooked amazing meals for seven children, although there was always at least one child that "hated" whatever she made. In addition, she taught a cultural class while I was growing up that inspired her to make dishes from other countries... but before she'd serve them to the class, she'd try them out on her children. So I was exposed to a lot of different cuisine early in life, and to cooking and baking techniques from childhood as we all got to pitch in on occasion. So it's not my mom's fault that I can't cook. She tried.
The problem for me was the insane measuring system that I simply could not wrap my head around. I just could not "get" a pint or a cup or a teaspoon. It didn't (and still doesn't) make any sense. When I saw tsp written in a recipe, I had to ask what it meant... every single time. There was a time that I decided to just go for it and make Nestle Toll House cookies all by myself. I mean, c'mon, Toll House cookies... I can't mess that up, right? HA. I confused Baking Soda and Baking Powder and apparently confused tablespoon with teaspoon for good measure and ended up with rock hard chocolate studded lithobiscuits that not even the dog would eat.
That pretty much scared me away from baking for a very very long time. The waste of chocolate chips alone was devastating!
I didn't take up baking again with any seriousness until... well, until I realized I had to keep Leah's tradition of baking a cake for Aqualad alive. So in 2007 and 2008 I used boxed mixes and made pretty normal if lopsided birthday cakes in memory of Leah (and Paul Norris, creator of Aquaman). In between, I started making a few more little items of baked variety here and there, and trying new things and old recipes I hadn't tried in a long time. I started to expand my knowledge, in other words, and I had some success.
I didn't realize until Monday that the anniversary was coming up, so I didn't pick up a cake mix at the store on Sunday. When I realized I'd forgotten, I decided to hit the store as soon as I could and get my cake mix so I could make the cake... but I wished I could only make half the box, because we really didn't need a two-layer cake. A single round would be more than enough for hubby-Eric and I. As I thought about it more and more, I wondered if I could make a cake from scratch. I haven't done that, ever. I have made a biscuit pizza crust from scratch, and done so recently. But a cake... so much more difficult. I remembered the lithobiscuits, but decided that I had to give it a go.
First difficulty was finding a recipe. I found in our recipe books alone five different recipes for a basic yellow cake... each completely different. Ack. Which one do I trust? I went online. I started reading recipes for yellow cake and ... every one seemed completely different. How can there be so many ways to make the most basic of basic cakes?!?? I have a logical mind at the best of times, so I started to note what the recipes had in common. First: the majority of the recipes agreed that the eggs and butter should be at room temperature when you start. The pans should be greased and floured. The normal cooking temperature was 350 degrees F. Almost all recipes included flour, sugar, butter/shortening/oil, milk and eggs. There are two distinct mixing methods: 1) cream butter and sugar first, and 2) dry ingredients first with egg last. Method 2 requires only one bowl.
I finally decided on this recipe based partly on the reviews, and also on the fact that it has a handy calculator so I could halve the recipe easily. Which I did. I planned on one 9 inch round for my cake.
When I got up this morning, I set out the butter and egg to get to room temperature.
After I was sure they weren't cold, I put my dry ingredients in my bowl, then put in the butter and milk and vanilla and mixed and rediscovered that flour flies all over when you use an electric mixer on it like that. I added the egg a little more carefully, and got a strange colored batter when it was fully mixed.
My addition to the recipe was half a bag of chocolate chip cookies, which I just felt were needed for this particular cake.
And so I mixed them in and poured into the waited greased and floured pan.
All my anxieties came rushing back as I waited for the cake to bake. No way could it turn out good. But looking at it in the oven, it seemed to be baking just fine.
Jumping the gun a little, I got out our meager supply of decorating icing and candles, and decided that I had enough. I planned to make a nice buttercream frosting, also from scratch, to go with the cake.
After 25 minutes, I tested to see if the cake was done. It sure LOOKED good, nice color and the smell... oh, what a great smell for a cake! Wow! However, some batter still stuck to the toothpick, so it went back in for another two minutes.
After two more minutes, the toothpick came out clean, so I set the cake to cool while I did other housey stuff.
Annoyingly, I apparently left it to cool in the pan too long, because when I came back to take it out, the cake stuck rather firmly. Because I had read that leaving it in the pan was bad, I'll put this one down to my own mistake and not an error in the recipe. The damage is going to make this cake really hard to ice... but the chunks that came out allowed me to get a taste of the cake and it's really good!
After I was sure the cake was cool, I started on the buttercream icing. First time I'd done this icing, it's simply powdered sugar, butter, milk and a little vanilla mixed together. Unfortunately, it seemed to be a tad lumpy.
Forging ahead, I added the blue food coloring to make a blue icing. Ah, food coloring! Allowing us to make foods with colors that shouldn't exist in nature!
Icing the cake was a little too easy. The icing turned out slightly runny and very lumpy. Ah well, if I wanted to make a perfect cake, I would actually practice and train with a baker. As it is, this one just has to satisfy me.
The decorating icing turned out to be MUCH harder to use than I expected, and the nice "Happy Birthday Aqualad!" and "In memory of Leah" turned into something very simple. Someday I will take a cake decorating class and learn how to actually use these things. For the moment, this cake will have to do.
I don't think I'll be able to find any Swedish fish to put on the cake this year. So this is the very simple cake hubby-Eric and I will enjoy after dinner tonight. In the meantime... Happy birthday Aqualad, and I miss you Leah.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Thursday Linkdump of Doom!
Well, no real doom here, but I like to pretend...
No offense meant to Colbert, but I prefer the name Serenity.
The New York Times now has "Graphic Books" Best Seller Lists.
Five Reasons to Check Out Captain Britain and MI13. It's a good book, and I agree with everything in this article. Ok, except for the vampires on the moon. Sheesh.
I'm getting pretty sick of The Watchman promos and talk and everything, but this is just wrong. It's wrong in every single way possible. If you haven't read the original material (or, I suppose, seen the movie) then you probably won't get how wrong it is. At least it intended to be wrong, and isn't that way accidentally.
Wil Wheaton put his new book for sale in non-DRMed PDF format. It quickly made him a lot of money. "Sometime overnight, the total PDF sales exceeded the total print sales. I've still earned more via print sales, though PDF is rapidly catching up. Here's something cool about the gap between them: whenever it looks like PDF is going to overtake it, a bunch of people (presumably because they read the PDF) buy the print copy, and it leaps ahead. I wish I could do an animated visualization of the sales, like a little horse race, because it sure would look awesome."
I can read a lot on-line, but even free, Red Mars is too much. I'd want a paper copy if I were to reread that book.
A mermaid.
Let's wipe out toilet paper. One man's quest to reduce waste.
Speaking of waste, more proof that Diebold shouldn't be making voting machines. And any voting precinct that has bought voting machines from them should get a full refund plus damages. This is just fraud on the taxpayers and fraud on the voters. Diebold/Premier should be sued out of existence.
More reasons to be nervous about drug testing: false positives are really common. Experiments with the D-L test described at the end of the report found that "patchouli, spearmint, and eucalyptus tested positive for marijuana, while lavender, cypress, and oregano (which previous studies showed produced false positives with the D-L test) gave inconclusive results." In tests using just the NarcoPouch KN Reagent kit, 33 of 42 substances—including vanilla, anise, chicory, and peppermint—tested positive for cannabis.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Is It Wednesday?
From Web to Print, John Klima at Tor.com looks at two webcomics making the jump.
This MetaFilter entry takes me back. I played a LOT of those old games, and Defender of the Crown was a favorite (once I figured out how to joust).
Three-Armed Romance. Be sure to read the author's take.
The Doctor Who theme played on Tesla Coils. In other Doctor Who news, is Zimbabwe's Mugabe holding missing Doctor Who episodes? Um. Sure. And more on Doctor Who: Morgan reports that Doctor Who wins international Visual Effects Award. And I'm with M, the show was constantly innovating, which is why many of the effects look dated now. They did a lot with very little. Speaking of little, Dalek found in pond.
The Nine Weirdest Public Service Videos Ever Made. And they are BIZARRE.
Filesharing witnesses wife gets flowers from filesharers. The whole Pirate Bay trial has been a mockery, as made clear by the accused remotely fixing server problems during the trial.
Why We Immunize. Even if you don't read the rest, READ THIS. And then, if you have time, read this comprehensive overview of the entire antivaccination movement that pretty much demolishes their arguments from top to bottom. As I've said before, I have no problem with people choosing to not vaccinate their children. However, if they are unvaccinated, they should be kept apart from vaccinated children so they cannot damage herd immunity. If they catch polio or measles or whatever, the unvaccinated should die alone, not risk children who were vaccinated but for whom the vaccines didn't work.
More LOLCat Theology.
Pug for the in-laws.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Linkdump
Now it can be revealed! Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed is going to Book Form!. I've been saying the articles should be collected into a book for some time, great to hear it's happening.
Oh, yeah here's Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #196: Punisher, Vince Colletta, and Jack Kirby.
I wonder if this treatment could be used to reduce the triggers for depression?
Speaking of Depression, here's Great Depression Cooking with Clara. As of this writing, there are seven YouTube videos featuring Clara, a great grandmother who tells stories of life during the Depression while she cooks a dish.
And, speaking of dishes, I almost wish I had a grade-school child so I could make cool Bento boxes.
And speaking of Japanese food (boy, I'm stretching this), here's yet another sushi belt video. I like what happens when the camera gets to the kitchen, very near the end of the video. I just really like this cinema veritas type of film, and the sushi belt seems to be a lovely manifestation of it.
Something I forgot to mention to Jack Pendarvis when he got my oatmeal tips from Facebook is that I used to take mine with honey, but honey has become so expensive lately that I've had to give it up. Especially since I have this "thing" about pure honey. I miss my honey.
Quick, call Aquaman!
Monday, March 02, 2009
The Continuing M&Ms Challenge
I'm still collecting data for this, and will continue to collect for the foreseeable future, so if you feel like participating, please just:
1) Get yourself a bag of Milk Chocolate M&Ms.
2) Note the size of the bag (in oz or g or both)
3) Open bag. Do not eat any (yet).
4) Count the number of Green M&Ms. Do not eat any (yet).
5) Count the TOTAL number of M&Ms (including green). Ok, you can eat them now.
6) Post the size of the bag, the number of green M&Ms and the total number of M&Ms.
7) FUN!
Note: Counts for other types of M&Ms are welcome, but please indicate what the type is when you post the information. Silliness is fine, but please make sure the data is true.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
A Sunday Review
TV this week:
- Supernanny: "Sachs Family" - This one was very normal for Supernanny, except for the New York city background. Again, I really want to see follow-ups to these families in a few years.
- The Oscars - WAY too long as usual. Good bits: Hugh Jackman. Yum. Man on Wire balances Oscar on his chin. Combining the song from Wall-E with a song from Slumdog Millionaire... neat! Spirit of Tigger! I want an Oscar Shampoo bottle. I could trim this down to three minutes (including all winners) and lose nothing of interest to most people.
- History Detectives: "Slave Songbook; Josh White Guitar; Birthplace of Hip Hop" - This was an amazing episode. Wonderful information and stories that I'd never heard. And hearing was the operative word with this one, featuring three very musical stories. Another good episode of a great show.
- Food Detectives: "Moldy Cheese" - The mold comparisons that started this one made me quickly lose my appetite. Even with the obvious reminders of foods we eat that are made of mold, it still was pretty gross. The dirty water hot dog piece was also gross, and predictable. The burnt tongue piece was informative and possibly useful.
- Heroes: "Cold Wars" - Good news in this one! Otherwise... we see the only way torture ever could work. If you have a mind-reader. Even then, I'm not sure that Noah didn't manage to manipulate those sessions.
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Deep Cover for Batman!" - Evil Aquaman! YAY! Oh, and Batman was ok too. Not really enough of evil Aquaman. No speech from him or good Manta.
- Ghost Hunters International: "Ghosts in the City of Lights" - Neat Chateau in France's wine country. I wasn't convinced by any of the evidence they presented, though. As for the second investigation... are they seriously being allowed into the catacombs of Paris? No, just a part of the Paris Underground, the Capuchins Quarries. Still cool. Ok, I wouldn't go down there, but still interesting. I like the explanation they came up with for the green mist of death.
- Battlestar Galactica: "The Farm" - Well, more of the plan is revealed. And another Cylon for that matter. And Starbuck proves again she's got brains and skills. As is often the case, the deleted scenes added a new dimension to the story.
We finally visited our old comic shop and picked up a couple of books leftover from orders made before we moved. There is only one I wanted to review:
- Noble Causes #38 - This issue has a pretty good Rusty story with a bunch of other bits. The time jump still annoys me, even after all these issues. Ah well, it'll be interesting to see how this series wraps up, and if there will be minis after the end.
This week's movie was Coraline in 3D. I read the book a few years ago and really enjoyed it. After hearing a lot about how great the movie was, particularly in 3D, hubby-Eric and I went out to see it Thursday night. We decided to spend the money after seeing numerous reviews that raved about the quality of the 3D and realized that there was no way Netflix and our old TV would match the theater experience.
And, you know, it was really worth it. It's a fantastic movie, dark and engaging with just enough changes from the book to give someone familiar with the story a few surprises (including a new character). The voice acting is great, particularly Keith David as the Cat and Teri Hatcher and Mel Jones and the Other Mother. French and Saunders as Spink and Forcible is just genius casting, and Hodgman is also good as Charlie Jones and the Other Father. The pace of the movie is somewhat slow, but it moves quickly in just the right spots. It never really comes to a climax, but it maintains a solid atmosphere of creepiness to make up for the lack of edge-of-the-seat moments.
As for the 3D... well now. When I think of 3D movies, I think of the pictures of people in the 1950s sitting with those ugly glasses on. I won't say the glasses for this weren't ugly, but they weren't flimsy paper glasses either. The 3D started in the previews with a preview of Monsters vs Aliens, which looked fun but not so much fun I would go out of my way to see it. (We also saw the Star Trek preview - which made me think Sylar is a Trekkie, and the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince preview - which looked ok, and the Race to Witch Mountain preview - which I giggled through, and a 3D Ice Age preview - which was just odd). However, once we got into the movie itself, the 3D experience definitely worked to draw me into the world of the movie completely. It was almost breathtaking at times. I have not engaged with a movie as deeply as I did with this one in years. If you can see it in 3D, do. The only problem I had with the 3D was during the closing credits, when the dogs flying around the text made me very dizzy. And yes, the final two words of the movie, after the credits and dancing mice, have meaning.
This is not a movie for everyone, but it's certainly a great movie for Neil Gaiman fans, fans of spooky movies, and kids who can handle a little scare or two. To be honest, I thought the opening sequence was just about the spookiest in the movie, and its significance didn't become clear to me until I sat down to write this review. I actually think I'd like to see this one again. Probably not in 3D next time. Movies are far too expensive for us to go to them except as a special treat.
My library book this week was The Sharing Knife: Horizon by Lois McMaster Bujold. The fourth and last volume of this series. This follows the concept of thinking of the worst things you can do to a character then doing it to them. Every time life seems to finally be shaping up for them, another disaster happens. I love the family that gathers around our main characters. Bujold's books are all about community building, not just character building. And the best thing about this one is how it pulls together at the end. I was satisfied and yet still wanted more. Overall, a really good series. Nothing like the Vorkosigan books, and yet just as strong. The series starts out slow, but the last two books make up for the groundwork laid in the first two.
I've managed to get one of the two remaining Agatha Christie books from 1934. Both are collections... and all the stories in the collection I didn't find via inter-library loan are reprinted in later collections. So I've decided to skip The Listerdale Mystery and review those stories when I get to the later collections. But that means I'm going to want to change the way I review collections... and do a little more coverage of the actual stories in them instead of just looking at the whole. You'll see if I succeed when I review the 1934 collection I got through IL next weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
