A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Doctor Who: "The End of Time: Part 2" - Just realized I never covered this after seeing it. Well... let's see... I enjoyed the intensity of the Time Lords, and how the Doctor described them as they were at the end of the Time War. I do wonder who that woman was that Wilf and the Doctor both saw, and yes, I know who she is "supposed" to be. But future writers aren't stuck with that. Longest regeneration ever! To be honest, it made me want to rewatch all of Tennant's run. Maybe I will.
• Heroes: "Pass/Fail" - I love Hiro's dream/nightmare. Everything else seemed secondary in this episode.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Sidekicks Assemble" - Aqualad! I hoped that at the end all three characters would change into their "adult" outfits: Tempest and Arsenal along with Nightwing. But this ending wasn't too bad.
• Ghost Hunters International: "Quarantine" - The gang goes to Sydney Australia and visits the quarantine station where many people were isolated in sickness and died. Again, a very cool place, but not a lot of evidence. EVPs do not convince me, nor do pictures that could just as easily be shadows.
• Heroes: "The Art of Deception" - Samuel is a manipulative jerk. Sylar is scary, and Matt did good. Pity Peter got involved. I so want Samuel to get what's coming to him. And annoying triplicate guy as well.
• Ghost Hunters International: "Port Arthur Penitentiary" - Another great location, this one in Tasmania. I sometimes think of this show as almost a travel suggestion show. I'd love to visit that place. The evidence was again less than impressive, but just a *tiny bit* more convincing than usual.
• Robin Hood: "Something Worth Fighting For, Part 1" - Oh, heartbreak is about to start. Wait, what do I mean, "about to"? It's started already with the end of this one. Ouch.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Clash of the Metal Men" - Opening sequence: EEEP! Didn't we get a previous "to be continued" with Starro? Oh, and introducing the Metal Men. Though, really, it's the opening that got me.
• Numb3rs: "Devil Girl" - Another pretty cool episode. I was definitely squicked out by the description of how the first victim we are shown was found. Ick. The rest of the show wasn't quite as disturbing. I love how Colby seemed resigned to dealing with Nikki's machismo. His backward walk into the elevator was almost a highlight of the episode. I also liked Lazlo's motorcycle knowledge. Don needs a group like that.

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This week's movie was Green Lantern: First Flight. It showed up as part of hero weekend on Cartoon Network, so hubby-Eric and I DVRed it and watched it. Fun stuff. Not exactly what I was expecting from the plot, but a nice reimagining of Green Lantern's origin. I like these movie efforts from DC, and would love to see a really good Aquaman one.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released January 13th 2010:

• Super Friends #23 - I've always considered Aquaman to be a fish out of water in space stories, and that's one reason I really don't care for them. I'm just not a fan of DC's space books. And the Aquaman stories set in space don't impress me much either. But this one was fun, from the underwater escape to the comment about royalty. I just love this book, and want a lot more.
• Incredibles #4 - I like seeing Dash deal without powers. How does he ever sit still through a school day anyway? Intriguing mystery, and I'm just waiting to see what happens next issue.
• Doctor Who Ongoing #7 - Ah, an inside the TARDIS adventure. I'm not really sure about these companions... and maybe it's the artwork that is turning me off. I guess I'll have to wait and see how the next issue goes.
• DMZ #49 - Oh Matty. Oh my. Not your finest moment.

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My library book this week was The Dragons of Ordinary Farm by Tad Williams and Deborah Beale. Two typical kids get sent to the country for a summer on their great-uncle's farm. Oh man, I want more. I want much more. I want the next book right now. Hear that Tad? NOW! Ok... um... it's a nicely solid young adult novel, featuring a wonderful set of fantasy rules that will be a delight to learn more about. The characters are nicely developed from useful stereotypes to people you might want to hang out with. There is quite a bit about history and mathematics and deeper concepts. I'd give this to a curious kid and just watch as they started looking up some of the ideas presented to them. Definitely a good read, and worth getting a kid interested in if you've got a teen handy.

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Agatha Christie this week was After the Funeral from 1953, also published as Funerals Are Fatal. A woman is viciously murdered after attending a family funeral. Oh man, she got me again! Completely and utterly fooled me. I saw the clues, I knew they had to mean something... heck, at one point she practically spells it out for the reader. But I missed it. Just totally and utterly failed to see it. GAH! I thought I had picked the murderer, thought the clues were supporting it overall, then BAM it's somebody else altogether. And she was careful, oh yes. I had to go back and reread a chapter to make sure she hadn't contradicted herself, and no... she most definitely hadn't. It was just worded so carefully that my mind filled in the blanks and got the wrong answer. ARGH! Oh yeah, is Poirot the original egghead? He's always described as having an egg-shaped head and using his little grey cells.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

Haiti

If you've been following me on Facebook, you probably know most of this already...

My cousin has been trying to adopt two children from Haiti for years now. The process was nearly done, they were only waiting on some final paperwork, when the earthquake hit. It was several days before we knew that their Haitian son had survived and was safe, and it was longer before we heard about their Haitian daughter. But both children are alive and currently, as of this writing, still in Haiti. The orphanage that I mentioned on the 13th is intact, pretty much everyone made it through.

My cousin-in-law went down to Haiti with a group of folks working to help out the orphanage a few days ago. He's managed to get their son, and he's in their custody, more or less, at the moment. The daughter is unreachable, but at least we know she's alive.

As of this writing, my cousin-in-law is waiting on a tarmac to be allowed to load his son and a number of other children onto a plane, one that they chartered and paid the fuel costs for during a frantic fundraiser. The pilot has told the folks at the airport that the plane isn't moving until the children are on board. The paperwork is done. It just needs to be signed off.

These kids have been through a lot. They are mostly toddlers, they've lived through a terrible earthquake, and extreme poverty and starvation before that. People here in the States have been doing everything possible to keep the kids at the orphanage alive and healthy (my cousin even got an experimental water purifier for the orphanage so they could have clean water). And now some of them, not all, can get away from the aftershocks and broken buildings.

Before the earthquake Haiti was a disaster. Now it's even worse. If you can, spare a thought for the folks still in Haiti. They are going to need everything they have to remake their country. As for my family, we are now forever tied to Haiti through my cousin, and will do what we can to help.

If you have a buck or two to spare, Hope For Little Angels of Haiti is the foundation for the orphanage. It was originally founded to make sure the kids had food, the new goal is to rebuild the orphanage (with rebar and proper support). Even a few dollars will help.

E-Reader Review

My Father-in-Law mentioned recently that he'd gotten a new e-reader, so when hubby-Eric and I visited for the weekend, I looked it over. And I've got to say that he choose very well.

I was impressed by the first edition Kindle that Granny showed me a couple of years ago, less impressed by the second generation that dropped a couple of the features that impressed me about the first (loss of the SD slot was a killer for me). But I was always a little bothered by the fact that the Kindle is a wireless device as well as an e-book reader. It's not a strict reader, it's more. And some people like that. But I've got a HUGE collection of legal ebooks in various formats, including text and PDF, that I want to be able to read on an e-book reader. As a result, I care much less about the ability to purchase books on-the-fly, and much more about simply being able to read what I want on the reader I buy. The Kindle did NOT meet my expectations in that area.

Enter the Sony Reader Touch:

It's sleek, small, and full of just the right features for an e-reader. My FiL's device was about the size of a hardcover, but MUCH thinner. The controls are really simple. Five buttons allow you to page back, page forward, go Home, change font size, and access other options. The touch screen allows you to page forward by touching it, and you can select options on the screen by touch. A stylus is included for making notes and text selection. And this thing allows just about any format ebook I want to read (ePub, BBeB Book, PDF, TXT, RTF, and Word). And it has a nifty SD slot alongside a Memory Stick PRO Duo slot. The main transfer method AND power source is by USB cable, so my FiL didn't even notice the SD slot until I pointed it out.

I will mention here that I didn't play with the connection software at all, so I don't know how well it syncs up with a computer. I know that my FiL had no troubles with it, but beyond that I have no first-hand experience in it, so I can't review that bit. Sorry.

The main downsides would be the lack of wireless access (which I actually consider an upside!) and the greyscale display. Still no color. The price doesn't please me... at $300 it's still too rich for my blood. But give it a couple of years and maybe we'll get color screens (comic books!) and a lower price and I'll be able to buy one of these suckers and read my ebooks on the go. But even with the flaws, I would love to have one of these guys. So if anyone feels like giving me a great present... or if someone from Sony is reading and wants me to do a review of the connection software as well... *grin*

No Sunday Review

Not enough TV watched, comics read, or books read. Next week. Sorry.

Hotlinking

I've had to put stricter measures in place to prevent hotlinking from my website. I'm not happy about it, I prefer to have open access to the pictures I provide. But some people were abusing that access and posting my images to high traffic forums that have been eating my bandwidth at an alarming rate. So I'm trying to prevent hotlinking from any non-authorized site.

This doesn't mean my images are locked. You still have the ability, if not necessarily the right, to download the image to your own server and use it from there. I just don't want to end up paying an extra fee because some dip on a forum thinks my picture of Wil Wheaton with Torvald is funny and posts it as his user icon directly from my site.

So you might notice some glitches. If you do see a "no hotlinking" image on one of my websites that is clearly a mistake on my part, please let me know. I've tried to make sure every website I own or contribute to is an exception, but I cannot tell for sure if I a) got them all and b) wrote the code correctly.

ArtieCam

Since nobody is calling me on Skype, I went ahead and set up my little webcam to take regular pictures and upload them to my website. So, any time I'm not using the webcam and can turn on the program I'm using, it will be taking regular pictures which you can view here.

I can't promise that the images will be at all interesting. I'm sure I'll point it out the back sliding door to follow the weather some mornings. As of this writing, I've got it aimed at Torvald, keeping an eye on his activities.


So who knows what you'll see?

Happy Birthday Eric!!!

A wonderful happy birthday to my wonderful, handsome, funny, sexy, brave, strong, lovely, awesome, exciting, thrilling, excellent husband, Eric!

So... About That RFID...

I got my enhanced driver's license, which has an RFID chip inside to facilitate travel across the borders in North America. Nifty! When I went to the DOL, they gave me a little pocket to put the card in once I got it that would prevent it from "broadcasting"* when I didn't want it to. But they sent it to me in an unprotected envelope through the US Mail. Hmmmm...

*RFID tags are passive, so someone would have to aim a reader at it to trigger it.

Birthday Cake

It's my birthday! And I'm alone for most of the day... that's ok, big weekend ahead. But I wanted cake today. So I made a mug cake and topped it with chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup:

The Origin of Om Nom Nom

Om Nom Nom!

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Ghost Hunters International: "Silver Shadow" - Argentina to Australia in one episode! Eden Hotel in La Falda, Argentina is the first place, and it has some good stories with it. I like the guide, Rose. Deep Thought: When people see a figure that turns a corner and vanishes, why do they always think GHOST! and not NINJA!? Lots of sounds, and a couple of strange experiences. As usual, nothing convincing. Next up is the Monte Cristo Homestead in Junee, Australia. I love the stories. Sometimes I think I only ever watch these shows to hear the great stories people tell of what they've experienced. Again, nothing much more than EVPs, which I don't take as proof, and other sounds.
• Heroes: "Close to You" - Not sure what to think. More Hiro and Matt is good, though. That finale seems to be pulling all the plot threads together.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "The Golden Age of Justice" - Hubby-Eric was very excited about this one, because of the JSA appearance. I was amused by the pre-credits sequence with Detective Chimp.
• Robin Hood: "The Enemy of My Enemy" - Coming up on the end of the series, as Guy and Robin join forces to hunt down their brother. The writing is working well to keep the surprises going and to get everything twisted and confused. I don't blame Little John's reaction, and I knew there would have to be a moment when Guy rescued him later on. Looking forward to the last two episodes.
• Numb3rs: "Arm in Arms" - Those are some really nasty guns. Both as weapons and in the way they backfire. Lots of math thoughts in this one. Otto's reaction to the dead was a nice touch. Overall another good episode of a great show.

I've been watching a lot of Animal Planet lately, just to have background noise while I'm working. One show that caught my attention is The Haunted, which features true ghost stories that involve animals. And I say "true" in the sense that the people involved believe that they experienced something supernatural. I've been enjoying the goofy and dramatic way the show is presented, usually without any evidence that could be considered significant enough to support the tales. But it's chillingly good stories. Looked at as an anthology of ghost stories it's not a bad show.

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Here are reviews of the DCBS comic book shipment that arrived this week, of books originally released Dec 16th, 23rd, 30th and Jan 6th (whew!):

• Green Lantern Corps #43 - Natu and Guy mourn Kyle in their own ways. Heh. Yeah, that pretty much sums up the entire issue. Heh.
• Justice League of America #40 - Psychological examination of the Detroit League, courtesy the Black Lanterns. At least it had some Aquaman.
• Power Girl #7 - Amusing. Power Girl is ... courted... by an alien dude with a big ego. Amusing.
• Tiny Titans #23 - Robin has animal problems. I love the recurring Aqua-Ohs as the breakfast cereal of the sidekicks. It makes me happy every time I see it.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12 - The stakes couldn't be higher than this one. Christmas disasters almost read like the new Doctor Who's Christmas adventures.
• PS238 #42 - More on Captain Clarinet and his origins as the son of SupermAtlas. Good stuff as usual. Want more, as usual.
• Doctor Who #6 - On the one hand, it would have been nice to get this before the final episodes aired in 2009, but on the other hand, there are some unexpected developments here.
• Marvelous Land of Oz #2 - Ah, the translation scene, one of my favorites in all the books. Jellia has some nerve here. Poor Tip, left behind in the dust.


• Green Lantern #49 - Ok... interesting... John Stewart's dead are examined, then we get back into the main storyline with Mera! I love how Mera compares life within the ring to coral. This bit with Mera, Atom, and Black Lantern Jean is very talky, but it explains quite a bit of what this whole thing is about. In fact, you get the whole reason superheroes come back from the dead right here in these pages.
• Blackest Night: JSA #1 - At least we got a little bit of Ma Hunkel. I like to think she'd react a little better to a zombie, but hey. Can't have everything.
• Justice Society of America #34 - I wish I knew a little more JSA history. Ok, I like this side of the team, and I'm enjoying the humorous aspect of this book. And I know that Mordru has some major significance, but I'm not sure what it is. Maybe next month will tell, or maybe I'll look it up online before the next issue arrives.
• Powers #2 - Flashback to Christian's past. I always like seeing more of what he was before he became a detective.
• Northlanders #23 - Ships arrive, possibly offering help in a brutal winter. But this book is pure brutality. Wow. Not expecting that to happen.
• Usagi Yojimbo #125 - Oh, Usagi. Way too trusting. He untangled a nasty situation, only to get more trouble heaped on his head. I do love this book.
• Beasts of Burden #4 - The Beasts of Burden Hill fight off a horrible *something* in a graveyard. Ooooh, I'm liking this series. More please! Nice to get this so quickly after reading the last issue. Not something I'm used to anymore.


• Blackest Night #6 - Despite the appearance of Mera, this was not worth having my comics delayed over. But then... Mera's change in this one was surprising and yet true to her character (especially the mini-series where she left Aquaman). I wanted to see more of that Mera/Wonder Woman fight... good thing Mera is a guest in the next book I'm reviewing.


• Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #2 - Wonder Woman versus Mera for the match of the day! Not a bad appearance, and certainly makes it clear that Mera is a strong character who ought to be used more.
• JSA All Stars #2 - Um. Ok. Let's see... I like that the AI plays on common AI themes to be silly. I've always been intrigued by Johnny Sorrow. And the back up story is a nice touch, particularly that opening. But I'm still not sure what's going on at all.

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My library book this week was How Beautiful The Ordinary edited by Michael Cart. This is an anthology of twelve stories about sexual identity involving teens. And I've got severely mixed feelings about it. My conservative side is screaming that the depictions of sex are too blatant for teenagers, while the side of me that recognizes reality points out that kids know about sex already. And anything that will lead teens to a better understanding of themselves and others is probably a good thing. Let's tackle the stories one by one, and see what my screaming conservative side feels:

• A Word From The Nearly Distant Past by David Levithan - the shades of those persecuted for being gay haunt the current generation. This is a striking way to examine how much life has changed for the better for kids who realize they are gay. Very powerful little story.
• Happily Ever After by Eric Shanower (comic book format) - two gay teens find a genie in a bottle and split a wish. Both funny and sad, and yet filled with a strange optimism.
• My Life As A Dog by Ron Koertge - a boy's life as a dog is easier than being a gay teen. Slightly confusing at first, but as the comparison becomes more obvious the horror of the situation is more powerful.
• Trev by Jacqueline Woodson - a little girl realizes that she's not, and makes the world deal with it. I was a bit taken aback by this one, recognizing a little of me in Trev. Altogether an interesting story.
• My Virtual World by Francesca Lia Block - girl meets boy online, and boy turns out to originally have been a girl. A simple love story. Nicely done.
• A Dark Red Love Knot by Margo Lanagan - The Highwayman is reimagined with a different motive for the ostler than love for the landlord's daughter. This is the first story that my conservative side screamed loudly about, as the ostler and a soldier share a moment.
• Fingernail by William Sleator - a Thai man meets a foreigner who inspires him to greater things. Sleator is a part of my childhood, and this story... well, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting from him. But it was good. My conservative side was very disturbed by the casual sex.
• Dyke March by Ariel Schrag (comic book format) - a young woman attends a march for lesbians. Not impressed. But then, I was never impressed by that sort of scene (and I mean the kind where people get together and drink a lot and act stupid - not the protest march part).
• The Missing Person by Jennifer Finney Boylan - a boy becomes a girl in her own mind. Another strong story that my conservative side didn't object to at all. After the last three, conservative me breathed a sigh of relief.
• First Time by Julie Anne Peters - two teenage girls do "it" for the first time. Conservative me just had an aneurysm and collapsed after I read this. Good to get rid of her for a bit.
• Dear Lang by Emma Donoghue - a lesbian writes to the child she and her partner started to raise together, before they broke up and she was never allowed to see the child again. Heartbreaking story. I mean, it just hurt to read the genuine pain.
• The Silk Road Runs Through Tupperneck, N.H. by Gregory Maguire - a novella about a college fling. This story is told with a mix of flashback and "twenty years later". Again, the casual sex disturbs me, but it disturbs my conservative side in heterosexual stories as well, so I'm not sure why I'm complaining.

Overall, again, I've got mixed feelings about this. I'm trying to tell myself that it's no worse than a ton of books I read as a teenager (Anne McCaffery's books spring to mind as having quite a bit of sex, and I read those in middle school). For some reason there's a voice inside me that is terribly disturbed by the amount of sex in this book. And that's strange, when I adored the love stories and found the little girl who insisted she was a boy to be wonderful moments. To be completely honest, I guess I've never been comfortable with any depiction of casual sex in literature (and I've read a LOT as an English grad) and because this book is entirely about sexual identity, it just makes me uncomfortable in general. I tried to visualize myself reading this as a teen, and couldn't. It just wasn't the same time. Those ghosts that the first story talks about were still walking around, although it was changing. And I was a very different person, who would've believed, wrongly, that homosexuality was a choice. I don't know for sure if this book could have changed my mind. Would I let teens read it? Well, I wouldn't stop them. But I'd want to be there to talk with them about it if they had questions.

On another note, while reading this anthology, I've also been following the Trial of Prop 8 in California. Prop 8 is the California hate law that prevents homosexual marriage and relied on repeated lies and scare-mongering to pass. The trial was originally going to be recorded and broadcast live to YouTube and other courtrooms, but the supporters of Prop 8 didn't want anyone to see them, and begged the courts to prevent the airing of the trial. The courts gave in, mostly due to a historical disdain for open courts rather than on the strength of the Prop 8 supporters fear of retribution. (Yeah, when Prop 8 supporters have been beaten and murdered brutally then I'll feel pity for them. Until then, they are just cowards lacking the courage of their convictions.) But because of their faux fear, I've had to follow the trial via The Prop 8 Trial Tracker and Firedoglake. In any case, one of the testimonies, on Day 5, hit me pretty hard. The transcript of Helen Zia's testimony is here. If you read her testimony on both sites, you might see why I felt it so strongly.

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Agatha Christie this week was A Daughter's a Daughter from 1952, written as Mary Westmacott. Yup, it's another one of the Westmacott Christies. Not a mystery, but a depressing slice of life book. This one is about a woman who gets happily engaged when her daughter is on a vacation to France, and what happens when the daughter returns to find a stranger about to move in with the family. It's depressing. Very very well written, but sad. The characters, however, do learn from their mistakes. And there's a great character named "Laura", so that's a bonus for me. This book also hearkens back to Absent in the Spring when one character (Laura, in fact) talks about how much better everyone would be if they spent some time alone in a desert learning about themselves. Another strange aspect of this story: I wouldn't be at all surprised if someone told me it was originally intended to be a play. The room descriptions sounded like scene-setting, the action happened almost entirely in dialogue, and there are a limited number of characters and places. When reading it, at times I felt like I was reading a play. Not a criticism, just something I noticed. While I would avoid the first couple of Westmacott books, the others so far have been not bad. I'm actually looking forward to the last one.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

Updating the Troll

I've been a little busy over at Torvald's page tonight trying to get it updated and ready for the influx of new images that will be added when I go to Emerald City ComiCon 2010, including (I really hope) perhaps Stan Lee and Leonard Nimoy!

In any case, I've got a lot of work to do to add all the missing images from various events that I just haven't had the energy to edit and post yet. I've only managed to add one page, and most readers of this blog will have seen the paltry few images on that page. Except maybe this one:

I've also been careful to make sure that the friends page is up-to-date with all the folks Torvald has met.

I was hoping to make some "I've been Trolled!" buttons, but I saw how much I'd have to pay for them and realized that it really isn't an option. Maybe someday. In the meantime, I'll have the little half-cards I gave out before.

In any case, there should be a few more images showing up over the next couple of weeks as I get this done. Including images from an incredible road trip Torvald took without me OR Eric. In the meantime, here's one more of the "new" pictures:

Moment of the Earthquake

For the Record

I don't watch Leno or Conan. My late night choices are Daily Show, Colbert Report, and Craig Ferguson (albóndiga!). Even then, I watch those on DVR. So I don't care when Leno and Conan air, or what channel, or anything else.

I'm more interested in watching the news from Haiti and hoping the best for my cousin's friends.

To My Readers ... Help...

As you know, there has been a massive earthquake in Haiti, a country that can ill-afford any more disasters. My cousin has been trying to adopt from Haiti for a few years now, and the children she loves are in Carrefour, entirely too close to the epicenter.

If you have heard ANYTHING about the "Hope for Little Angels of Haiti" orphanage in Carrefour, please let me know. If you possibly have some angle, someone who can go and check and would be willing to find out what happened to them, please get back to me. You can email me at my name.

And if you can't help, spare a thought for Nathan and Jessica, and for the other children in the orphanage. I can't imagine the horror of a major earthquake in a place with no infrastructure. No power. No clean water. No medical help. In the poorest nation in this hemisphere.

If you donate money, consider giving to Operation USA, a great organization that makes sure the money goes to helping the people and not to just raising more money.

A Sunday Review

TV this week:

• Ghost Lab: "If Walls Could Talk" - The Lemp mansion was a nice little place, if depressing with depressing stories. The second place was even more depressing. Nothing quite so sad as a decaying old grand house. And that's what I call a dangerous ghost hunt. The place is literally falling apart.
• Robin Hood: "Bad Blood" - A stranger reveals that Robin and Guy have a brother in danger. Well, this episode gave us quite a bit about the history of those two. More than I expected to see. This show is close to wrapping up, and I want to finish watching it soon.
• Ghost Hunters International: "Ghost of Hitler" - The team go to the Hotel Vienna in Miramar Argentina to investigate reports that Hitler survived the bunker and eventually ended up in Argentina, where his ghost now haunts a half-destroyed hotel. The story was interesting, if unlikely, and the location was a nice place for a ghost hunt. I love Dustin and Joe getting a shock on the roof. But other than a lot of thumps, no ghosties.
• Heroes: "Upon This Rock" - I like Hiro's delusions. I don't like triplicate guy much, so I was happy to see Claire outwit him. I hate that Samuel has found Emma.
• Heroes: "Let It Bleed" - Poor Edgar getting taken down so easily. And Sylar's reappearance was nicely dramatic. I really like when Peter and Claire hang out together.
• Numb3rs: "Scratch" - Why did this episode make me want to go out and get a lottery ticket? The lotto is only for fools, but I sometimes feel like a fool and get a ticket. This was a pretty good episode, but we figured out the guilty party pretty quickly.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: "Aquaman's Outrageous Adventure" - YES! MORE AQUAMAN! Ok, this isn't my favorite version of Aquaman, but it was a funny episode with Aquaman, Mera, and Artie Jr on an RV trip across America. I loved Artie Jr's outfit and his clamshell accessory (similar to the accessories that *all* modern teenagers seem to have). Mera's hair was... outrageous.

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This week's movie was Avatar. Hubby-Eric and I actually went to a theatre while on the Seattle-side and saw it in 3D. We went to a matinee, but it was still surprisingly (to me) crowded. The movie itself was breathtakingly beautiful. The clever and understated use of 3D managed to make the world an immersive experience instead of just another movie. Technologically, this movie ROCKED. Plotwise... well. I'm an English grad, I have a decently honed sense of plot, and I'm sorry, but this plot was well-trodden and obvious. Within the plot itself there were no surprises. Not one twist worthy of the name. I'm not saying it was bad, per se. Just a little too trite. Amazingly, the visuals overcame the plot enough that I really enjoyed the movie. I think that I would see it again if the opportunity arose, just to see more of the world. And I'd probably enjoy it every time. Definitely worth seeing, just don't expect anything exceptional from the story itself.

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Here are reviews of a couple of comic books I got while over in Seattle and finally managed to read:

• Beasts of Burden #3 - A story focusing on Orphan, the cat, and a little rescue he embarks on. I love this series. I can hardly wait for the last issue, which I think will be in my next DCBS shipment.
• Origins of Siege #1 - This was free. Nice little recap origins of the characters of Marvel's universe. And I think that I could go in and pick up this Siege series and understand what was happening. The only glitch is that I haven't got a clue who Parker Robbins is and why he's perfect for this job. But since I'm not getting the series, it doesn't really bother me.

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My library book this week was The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell. Wow. This was an interesting read. Vowell has a very readable writing style, and includes lots of documentation and supporting information for everything she reports on. And if you think Puritans are boring, well... I didn't find this the slightest bit boring. Deep at times, and deeply disturbing at other times, but never boring. And I've come away with a new Puritan "hero", Roger Williams. Like Vowell, I don't think I like the guy at all, but I surely can't help but love him for his ideas and ideals. It almost makes me want to visit Rhode Island. In any case, well worth reading if you have a taste for history and want another piece of the puzzle of why America is the way it is.

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Still on hiatus from Agatha Christie, but I'll get back to her works very soon, promise.

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Past Sunday Reviews -- Comics at Amazon.com -- Previews -- My Wishlist

Snow Across Great Britain

I really thought the image was fake, but it's real: The BBC has it, and the original is at NASA's Earth Observatory (click on the image for the full size).

The Perils of Being a Teacher's Wife

My hubby-Eric is a math teacher, and this year he's also an advisor for the Senior Class at the little High School he's teaching at. Which means that he has to go and supervise some of the fundraising efforts of his students. And so one night in December I get a call from him saying he's working the basketball game tonight, wanna come and help? Ok, I think, why not?

And so I end up sitting in the lunch area of a high school people-watching and monitoring the water bottles the kids are selling (they are also selling Italian Sodas). I have to admit that people-watching is very amusing to me. I am not a terribly social person, so dealing with a group of High School students is very difficult for me. I like to think they tolerate me, although I can't imagine I'm really that impressive to them. But they are always very polite and act like I'm ok.

Anyway, this night something odd happened. A guy with a wife trailing him approached and asked for water. We started to hand it over, telling him the price when he shouted, "WHAT? I have to PAY? You aren't just going to give it to me?"

For a moment I thought he was kidding, but his outrage was real. I looked at the students, who looked as stunned as I was feeling. The guy started to say something more, but then said, "Just forget it!" and stormed off. His wife looked really embarrased. The students looked at each other and me, and we all started asking if anyone knew who the guy was. No one had a clue.

So investigator Laura sprung into action. I found the Coach of the team and asked him, pointing out the guy carefully. Turned out the guy was one of the refs for the JV games. If he had been in uniform, we might have at least understood his temper tantrum. But even the refs should understand that the water is being sold as part of a fundraiser, and by asking for it free he's taking money from the students.

Flash forward a couple of hours. Three refs in uniform have arrived for the final game of the night. Two of them have cash on them and quickly buy bottles of water. That's right, they buy the water. The third looks a little sad and admits he hasn't got any money. He looked longingly at the water, but doesn't ask for favors. After the arrogance of the other guy, however, I feel a great deal of sympathy and gratefulness to the moneyless ref. And so I pull out some change I have, buy a bottle, and hand it to him. He attempted to give it back, but I told him that he would look funny without one because the other two both had one. "We need a matched set of refs," I said.

The students seemed amused, the refs were happy, and life felt good. It almost made up for the long night sitting around with High School kids.

New LEGO Catalog

*sigh*

The new LEGO catalog is out, and I'm afraid I may have to find some way to get some. The first exciting thing is a new theme: Atlantis. Evil, LEGO, Evil.

Now, the Manta Man doesn't look like much, but he could be a Black Manta's lackey. The Shark Man is a dead ringer for King Shark, and I think I need one of him. There's also a squid guy, but he's not as adaptable to the DCU.

Also of interest: Toy Story. I don't care about most of them, but I really REALLY want a couple of set of those Army Men. Heck, I'd like a dozen of those sets. I'm not sure why, but they appeal to me on many levels.

If I had a lot of money and space to put it in, I'd definitely get the new Imperial Flagship. Awesome looking set!

Overall, I'm really liking the new LEGO this year. Lots of houses and buildings in the Town sets, instead of just cars. I wish I could afford the Medieval Market Village. I drooled over that set when I first saw it at a LEGO con a year ago. I'm disappointed in the direction the trains theme is going. I didn't like the RC trains when they first came out, and I still don't like them. But other than the trains, I think LEGO has a good collection of sets coming out this year. Wish I was still a kid!

CameraPhone Zen

The Tea Progression

In the winter, I drink herbal tea throughout the day. I've just realized that I've been following a pattern the last few days.

First, out comes the Tension Tamer from Celestial Seasonings, a mild minty tea that works as a wake-up but isn't as harsh as the peppermints that I used to drink.

Next is the True Blueberry, which is new to me as I haven't found it out here and hadn't tried it before I left the Seattle area. It's got decent flavor and is a good tea for while I'm working

Then I move on to Orange and Spice from Bigelow. It's not as intense as most spice teas, many which I can't endure because they are too nasty.

After that I have Wild Raspberry tea from Stash Teas. This is one of my favorite regular teas, and also not available out here. When we went to Seattle for Thanksgiving, hubby-Eric bought me three boxes.

If I have another tea later on, it'll be either Chocolate Raspberry Bliss or Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride from Celestial Seasonings. Sadly, it appears the Chocolate Raspberry may not be made anymore, but it's an excellent dessert tea. The Sugar Cookie tea tastes exactly like real sugar cookies, but has no calories.

I'm sure you are all fascinated by my tea choices. But I had to do some useless writing to work out all the serious writing I've been doing.

Haiku Zen

Roadside snow piles:
Dirt and slush turns to grey slop.
Winter in Churchville.

Patter of snowmelt
from the gutterless rooftops
reminds me of home.

CameraPhone Zen

No Sunday Review

I saw one movie, and my review of that can wait until next week. So... nothing this week.

Skype

Ok, I finally made the plunge. I installed Skype, ordered a webcam, and tested it out with my Rosetta Stone headphones (it worked perfectly) and have attempted to make contact with a few folks I know have Skype. Including my Mom, my brother, and Eric's Granny who we saw this last week.

I'll admit, my test call from my ex-boss put chills up my spine in the sense that it was my first videophone call. When I actually get video on my side I suspect it'll be even stranger.

Welcome to the future...

CameraPhone Zen