per me si va tra la pertuta gente.
1. You might be losing it if, when sprinkling bran on your kid's cereal, you begin to hum not the Mission: Impossible theme, but the Inspector Gadget theme song. And then you laugh. And then you say, "I wonder if those are on DVD." And then you say, "I wonder if those are on Netflix." And then you say, "I wonder if those are on Netflix Instant play."
And then you facepalm.
2. Kid: (babbles about Caillou, her new bf. Notes later about how kid is attracted to bald men.)
Me: That should be a band name.
Kid: Yeah.
Me: Post-industrial punk hip-hop ska.
Kid: Ohhhh, sure!
3. I have been reading.
Star Wars: Omen, by Christie Golden. It had been a while since I had picked up this series, and the last one was Allston's first novel, Outcast. Allston is never disappointing, and his writing partners for the extended series, Troy Denning and last time, Karen Traviss, were phenomenal. Traviss managed to make me really feel for Boba Fett, and this time is no different, really. The whole Admiral Daala being the head of the Galactic Alliance really works for me, and the sickness that the younger Jedi are afflicted with is scary and I like now they're connecting it to the Maw, and whatever sinister thing is there. They also brought back the Sith, not as a piffle master and apprentice deal, but an actual race or philosophy of peoples who number way more than two. That's awesome.
Luke and his son being exiled and traveling about to see where Jacen turned to the dark side is great, because I like to watch Ben especially, scramble to understand the alternate paths that Force users (or deliberate not-users, like the Aiing-Ti) might take. The Force isn't black and white, the Aiing-Ti argue, but a rainbow.
I appreciate that Ben learned to Flow-Walk to the past, even though his dad doesn't want him to, and when he does it, he goes not to the moment of Mara's death, but to that place where Jacen learnt the same skill.
All of this is topped with the engagement of Jaina and Jagged Fel. They have some great moments dodging reporters, one of whom I am sure is related to the Jedi illness. But he could just be a red herring.
Star Wars: Abyss by Troy Denning. The illness spreads at a rapid and alarming rate. I really liked the power struggle between Daala and the Jedi. Kenth Hamner is proving to be too much of a yes-man to be Grand Master, and I feel for him, I really do. Daala has made some serious missteps, and what I like about the books is that they illuminate current political struggles or recent US struggles. To Daala, no one is above the law, not even the Jedi, and as far as she is concerned, the only way to keep society safe at large from a huge danger is to freeze the Jedi in carbonite. I get that, and when the Jedi start hiding the newly insane in the basement asylum of the temple, I get why she would be upset. This is one of those things where everyone is a little bit right and a little bit wrong.
Luke and Ben travel to the Maw and meet the mind drinkers. In a lot of ways they have his Gulliver's Travels thing going on and probably will continue to do that except that now they are following the Sith, who attacked them at the Maw.
LOVE: That the maw is back in action, that the installation has been going haywire since the destruction of Centerpoint, and that that is when young Jedi who were HIDDEN IN THE MAW DURING THE YUHZAN VONG WAR are starting to go bonkers and then are called back to the Maw. LOVE that we are reminded that Centerpoint was built by the Krilliks (we haven't heard about them since the Swarm War), and that they've dragged Raynar out of the asylum. He's reformed, better, useful, which means that he's going to either be a red herring, or a pivotal key point, since he was leader of the Dark Nest.
HATE: I don't hate it really, but the parts with the Sith main character are boring. I find myself skipping them. But I always thought the Sith meditation sphere, a.k.a. Ship was the most boring part of the last series. That whole thing with Ben on Ziost, the Sith homeworld, and all that crap just bored me to tears. This is an issue then, because Abeloth is in the Sith parts, and she seems to be the main Bad in this series. She has tentacles and is only truly visible in her real form to Keshara, so that's got to be a bad sign.
OH HEY! I love when Luke gets his lightsaber on, and him cutting that Sith into quarters? FUCKING SWEET.
Also, I really really like two things especially that they must have all three agreed on in the series: 1. That Ben and Luke have a healthy relationship. Ben is a rebellious teenager, but he has a level head, and he's been through too much battle and intrigue to be a bratlet, and they give him that immaturity in a better way. When they argue about Flow-walking, Ben gets sullen and withdrawn, but not belligerent, and he does it anyway, and Luke doesn't stop him. But he doesn't stop talking to Luke, and eventually, he realises that Luke is right. Likewise Luke lets him make mistakes, and also LUKE MAKES MISTAKES, especially when he leaves his body with the Mind Drinkers and Ben is left to tend his body as it slowly emaciates. Ben is forced to go after him, and drags his life essence back to his body before he dies. It's a great moment as they cross the Lake of Forgetfulness, and Ben is telling his dad to leave, but it takes Jacen's apparition telling them that they have all the time in the world for Luke to realise that Ben is right and they should leave.
The other thing is the way they explain the alternate ways of seeing the Force. That has always been a great draw for me in these books. I loved the Fallanassi and their matriarchal ways, and the witches of Dathomir. The Baradun in Outcast are a monastic order who hide a secret. Even the Sith have a philosophy that is understandable, just not very recommendable. Hell, in the Yuzhan Vong series, the Vong couldn't be sensed in the Force because they were from outside the galaxy. The writers do a great job of explaining these philosophies through dialogue, in a time when it could get bogged down with mumbo jumbo. The Mind drinkers, especially, I can see where they are going to be a problem, as they insist that this world, the world that we see and touch, is the dream, and that as everything is the force, on is only truly freed when they leave the trap of their body, to the extent that you should leave it and allow the body to waste away and die.
Okay. Yeah.
Buffy, season eight: Predators and Prey I really wanted to like this, and in some ways I liked that it was a series of one shots in a way that all tie together, but like a lot of graphic novels that are just collected issues, and they have solutions, but not to the big issues. No one is closer to finding out anything big about Twilight. Oh! There's a great Dawn story, and a fantastic Harmony story (thank god they brought her back. It was penned by Jane Espenson, but Jane seems to have phoned it in, really. Formulaic and...more bashing of the television format. Harmony gets a reality TV show. Of course she does, Jane.). There's a great Faith and Giles story, which I was happy to see because I was missing them. And while I could have lived without most of the Buffy story with Andrew, I LOLed at where the monster came from, and the full page panel where Andrew just geeks out for about...oh hell five panels that I was able to follow completely to my shame was hysterical, especially when Buffy stops him as he says the name Daniel Craig and they have a moment when they FINALLY have something in common. This while Buffy-loves-Daniel-Craig thing is pretty funny, especially since the only two people she's told-Willow and Andrew-can't claim that they understand the attraction (well, Andrew doth protest too much.).
There's some great nods to the show-Xander gets some great lines, and Andrew is still saying Vampyres. LAWL.
Kennedy and Satsu have a good ep, and that made me smile because they end up fighting demonic Hello Kitty vampire dolls in Japan made by Santrio. And of course the dolls are intended for the slayers and possess them, so that they turn into "proper girls" (shades of Ethan's princess costume for Buffy in season 2).
Also, I love the concept of a Thricewise. I have to look into it.
Anita Blake, The Laughing Corpse, Vol 1 by Laurell K. Hamilton, art by Ron Lim. I admit it, I have both volumes of Guilty Pleasures, and I like them. The art is a mix of cheesecake and interesting interpretation. There are things that I never expected and I say to myself, "that is-no way." Like how everyone looks thirty. Anita's boobs (I'm torn on them. I'm like, "wow! She has a chest and hips! She would! She's short and chesty and she would look like that to some extent if she was a fit curvy woman." Because Anita is fit. But yeah.). The artist may make her body questionable, but he doesn't rip her clothes off, and she's fully dressed the way Anita dresses. The scene where she tries on the bridesmaid dress in particular, is fantastic, and humorous, The artist looks to have some Disney facial expressions down, and I loved that.
LOVES: OMG DOMINGA SALVADOR. The editor of the text is fantastic. Adapting a comic from a novel can be a train wreck, and they do a great job of pulling out the parts that are essential but also entertaining. They leave the jokes in without sacrificing vital context. Dominga is a thin, old, composed lady who looks like she's wearing a twin set. Terrifying.
OMG ZEBROWSKI HAS A MULLET. I didn't see that coming, but it's SO VERY TRUE. He is, however, like Dolph, too young.
OMG IRVING IS BALD ON TOP. YES. AND LUTHER AT DEAD DAVE'S. HE HAS A CIGARETTE. THANK YOU.
They really....the crime scene art is disgusting, which is saying a lot, because they're looking at ripped apart bodies and they decided not to shy from that. I appreciate that. And Lim pays attention to detail. When Anita is at home, in her bedroom, the penguin collection is there. The narration doesn't have to point it out, because it just is. When she's at the office, her mugs are offensive, but the narration doesn't say anything (Burt is way too young.).
HATES: Jean Claude. I'll give Lim this: Hamilton must have showed him the art that Patti has drawn her over the years, because aside from the fact that he TONED DOWN THE FRO, he's pretty much got that ALABASTER OPENSHIRTED SIX PACK THING GOING. The art, like I said, is mercilessly cheesecake (I fear to see Richard, no wait, I don't. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE JASON AND NATHANIEL. OH DEAR GOD I HOPE THEY GET THERE.), but it's that kind of art that you look at and say, "That's pretty." because Jean Claude is supposed to be gorgeous. Anita is, no matter how you feel about her, supposed to be pretty. Hamilton talks about her boobs, She talks about her height. She mentions her hair (a lot). It doesn't take itself too seriously, so it's an enjoyable read, even if you have read the books, because the art brings things to life what you pictured in your head. A lot of the time I really did find myself saying, "OMG that is just it! It is!"
OMG NEXT VOLUME-JEAN CLAUDE AND ANITA GO SEE WHEELCHAIR WANDA. LAWL. YES.
All the serious books are in the next batch. I was distracted by fannish reading. :D
4. Kai-Lan has taught me this week that Chinese for "awesome" is ZHAN BANG. SAY IT WITH ME: ZHEN BANG!
And then you facepalm.
2. Kid: (babbles about Caillou, her new bf. Notes later about how kid is attracted to bald men.)
Me: That should be a band name.
Kid: Yeah.
Me: Post-industrial punk hip-hop ska.
Kid: Ohhhh, sure!
3. I have been reading.
Star Wars: Omen, by Christie Golden. It had been a while since I had picked up this series, and the last one was Allston's first novel, Outcast. Allston is never disappointing, and his writing partners for the extended series, Troy Denning and last time, Karen Traviss, were phenomenal. Traviss managed to make me really feel for Boba Fett, and this time is no different, really. The whole Admiral Daala being the head of the Galactic Alliance really works for me, and the sickness that the younger Jedi are afflicted with is scary and I like now they're connecting it to the Maw, and whatever sinister thing is there. They also brought back the Sith, not as a piffle master and apprentice deal, but an actual race or philosophy of peoples who number way more than two. That's awesome.
Luke and his son being exiled and traveling about to see where Jacen turned to the dark side is great, because I like to watch Ben especially, scramble to understand the alternate paths that Force users (or deliberate not-users, like the Aiing-Ti) might take. The Force isn't black and white, the Aiing-Ti argue, but a rainbow.
I appreciate that Ben learned to Flow-Walk to the past, even though his dad doesn't want him to, and when he does it, he goes not to the moment of Mara's death, but to that place where Jacen learnt the same skill.
All of this is topped with the engagement of Jaina and Jagged Fel. They have some great moments dodging reporters, one of whom I am sure is related to the Jedi illness. But he could just be a red herring.
Star Wars: Abyss by Troy Denning. The illness spreads at a rapid and alarming rate. I really liked the power struggle between Daala and the Jedi. Kenth Hamner is proving to be too much of a yes-man to be Grand Master, and I feel for him, I really do. Daala has made some serious missteps, and what I like about the books is that they illuminate current political struggles or recent US struggles. To Daala, no one is above the law, not even the Jedi, and as far as she is concerned, the only way to keep society safe at large from a huge danger is to freeze the Jedi in carbonite. I get that, and when the Jedi start hiding the newly insane in the basement asylum of the temple, I get why she would be upset. This is one of those things where everyone is a little bit right and a little bit wrong.
Luke and Ben travel to the Maw and meet the mind drinkers. In a lot of ways they have his Gulliver's Travels thing going on and probably will continue to do that except that now they are following the Sith, who attacked them at the Maw.
LOVE: That the maw is back in action, that the installation has been going haywire since the destruction of Centerpoint, and that that is when young Jedi who were HIDDEN IN THE MAW DURING THE YUHZAN VONG WAR are starting to go bonkers and then are called back to the Maw. LOVE that we are reminded that Centerpoint was built by the Krilliks (we haven't heard about them since the Swarm War), and that they've dragged Raynar out of the asylum. He's reformed, better, useful, which means that he's going to either be a red herring, or a pivotal key point, since he was leader of the Dark Nest.
HATE: I don't hate it really, but the parts with the Sith main character are boring. I find myself skipping them. But I always thought the Sith meditation sphere, a.k.a. Ship was the most boring part of the last series. That whole thing with Ben on Ziost, the Sith homeworld, and all that crap just bored me to tears. This is an issue then, because Abeloth is in the Sith parts, and she seems to be the main Bad in this series. She has tentacles and is only truly visible in her real form to Keshara, so that's got to be a bad sign.
OH HEY! I love when Luke gets his lightsaber on, and him cutting that Sith into quarters? FUCKING SWEET.
Also, I really really like two things especially that they must have all three agreed on in the series: 1. That Ben and Luke have a healthy relationship. Ben is a rebellious teenager, but he has a level head, and he's been through too much battle and intrigue to be a bratlet, and they give him that immaturity in a better way. When they argue about Flow-walking, Ben gets sullen and withdrawn, but not belligerent, and he does it anyway, and Luke doesn't stop him. But he doesn't stop talking to Luke, and eventually, he realises that Luke is right. Likewise Luke lets him make mistakes, and also LUKE MAKES MISTAKES, especially when he leaves his body with the Mind Drinkers and Ben is left to tend his body as it slowly emaciates. Ben is forced to go after him, and drags his life essence back to his body before he dies. It's a great moment as they cross the Lake of Forgetfulness, and Ben is telling his dad to leave, but it takes Jacen's apparition telling them that they have all the time in the world for Luke to realise that Ben is right and they should leave.
The other thing is the way they explain the alternate ways of seeing the Force. That has always been a great draw for me in these books. I loved the Fallanassi and their matriarchal ways, and the witches of Dathomir. The Baradun in Outcast are a monastic order who hide a secret. Even the Sith have a philosophy that is understandable, just not very recommendable. Hell, in the Yuzhan Vong series, the Vong couldn't be sensed in the Force because they were from outside the galaxy. The writers do a great job of explaining these philosophies through dialogue, in a time when it could get bogged down with mumbo jumbo. The Mind drinkers, especially, I can see where they are going to be a problem, as they insist that this world, the world that we see and touch, is the dream, and that as everything is the force, on is only truly freed when they leave the trap of their body, to the extent that you should leave it and allow the body to waste away and die.
Okay. Yeah.
Buffy, season eight: Predators and Prey I really wanted to like this, and in some ways I liked that it was a series of one shots in a way that all tie together, but like a lot of graphic novels that are just collected issues, and they have solutions, but not to the big issues. No one is closer to finding out anything big about Twilight. Oh! There's a great Dawn story, and a fantastic Harmony story (thank god they brought her back. It was penned by Jane Espenson, but Jane seems to have phoned it in, really. Formulaic and...more bashing of the television format. Harmony gets a reality TV show. Of course she does, Jane.). There's a great Faith and Giles story, which I was happy to see because I was missing them. And while I could have lived without most of the Buffy story with Andrew, I LOLed at where the monster came from, and the full page panel where Andrew just geeks out for about...oh hell five panels that I was able to follow completely to my shame was hysterical, especially when Buffy stops him as he says the name Daniel Craig and they have a moment when they FINALLY have something in common. This while Buffy-loves-Daniel-Craig thing is pretty funny, especially since the only two people she's told-Willow and Andrew-can't claim that they understand the attraction (well, Andrew doth protest too much.).
There's some great nods to the show-Xander gets some great lines, and Andrew is still saying Vampyres. LAWL.
Kennedy and Satsu have a good ep, and that made me smile because they end up fighting demonic Hello Kitty vampire dolls in Japan made by Santrio. And of course the dolls are intended for the slayers and possess them, so that they turn into "proper girls" (shades of Ethan's princess costume for Buffy in season 2).
Also, I love the concept of a Thricewise. I have to look into it.
Anita Blake, The Laughing Corpse, Vol 1 by Laurell K. Hamilton, art by Ron Lim. I admit it, I have both volumes of Guilty Pleasures, and I like them. The art is a mix of cheesecake and interesting interpretation. There are things that I never expected and I say to myself, "that is-no way." Like how everyone looks thirty. Anita's boobs (I'm torn on them. I'm like, "wow! She has a chest and hips! She would! She's short and chesty and she would look like that to some extent if she was a fit curvy woman." Because Anita is fit. But yeah.). The artist may make her body questionable, but he doesn't rip her clothes off, and she's fully dressed the way Anita dresses. The scene where she tries on the bridesmaid dress in particular, is fantastic, and humorous, The artist looks to have some Disney facial expressions down, and I loved that.
LOVES: OMG DOMINGA SALVADOR. The editor of the text is fantastic. Adapting a comic from a novel can be a train wreck, and they do a great job of pulling out the parts that are essential but also entertaining. They leave the jokes in without sacrificing vital context. Dominga is a thin, old, composed lady who looks like she's wearing a twin set. Terrifying.
OMG ZEBROWSKI HAS A MULLET. I didn't see that coming, but it's SO VERY TRUE. He is, however, like Dolph, too young.
OMG IRVING IS BALD ON TOP. YES. AND LUTHER AT DEAD DAVE'S. HE HAS A CIGARETTE. THANK YOU.
They really....the crime scene art is disgusting, which is saying a lot, because they're looking at ripped apart bodies and they decided not to shy from that. I appreciate that. And Lim pays attention to detail. When Anita is at home, in her bedroom, the penguin collection is there. The narration doesn't have to point it out, because it just is. When she's at the office, her mugs are offensive, but the narration doesn't say anything (Burt is way too young.).
HATES: Jean Claude. I'll give Lim this: Hamilton must have showed him the art that Patti has drawn her over the years, because aside from the fact that he TONED DOWN THE FRO, he's pretty much got that ALABASTER OPENSHIRTED SIX PACK THING GOING. The art, like I said, is mercilessly cheesecake (I fear to see Richard, no wait, I don't. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE JASON AND NATHANIEL. OH DEAR GOD I HOPE THEY GET THERE.), but it's that kind of art that you look at and say, "That's pretty." because Jean Claude is supposed to be gorgeous. Anita is, no matter how you feel about her, supposed to be pretty. Hamilton talks about her boobs, She talks about her height. She mentions her hair (a lot). It doesn't take itself too seriously, so it's an enjoyable read, even if you have read the books, because the art brings things to life what you pictured in your head. A lot of the time I really did find myself saying, "OMG that is just it! It is!"
OMG NEXT VOLUME-JEAN CLAUDE AND ANITA GO SEE WHEELCHAIR WANDA. LAWL. YES.
All the serious books are in the next batch. I was distracted by fannish reading. :D
4. Kai-Lan has taught me this week that Chinese for "awesome" is ZHAN BANG. SAY IT WITH ME: ZHEN BANG!