Media Round-Up
Finished: One disappointing Doctor Who novel, featuring the Fourth Doctor, K9 and Romana. Unfortunately it was the lamest lame that ever lamed, and I'm very glad that I only spent $0.50 or so on it about a year ago.
Just started: Genocide featuring the Eighth Doctor and Sam, which is much better. I anticipate finishing it tonight at work.
Finished: Wyrd Sisters and Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett, both of which I loved. Wyrd Sisters was especially brilliant -- but I was surprised how much I enjoyed Interesting Times, considering how I loathe Rincewind. I still don't care for him, but Genghiz Cohen and the Horde more than made up for it. Also, there was a funny line about intelligent life evolving from arts graduates. I keep meaning to put in my AIM profile or as a quote on Facebook or something. Anyway, perusing the local Half-Price for more Discworld is now on my agenda, as I have been thoroughly hooked.
Finished: Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card. I almost forgot to include mention of this -- unfortunately it was that unmemorable as to escape my recollection. It started out with an intriguing premise and a neat twist on the typical time travel plot, and I guess in the end that was worth the read -- but overall it was fairly mediocre. The jumping viewpoints from far future to 15th century often seemed jarring, the moral of the story was too heavyhanded, and there were contradictions that bothered me -- for example, the Pastwatchers send three of their own back in time, knowing that the minute one lands in the past, it will undo the future's current existence. But they send their three past-changers to three different points in time -- so wouldn't that mean that if one person is sent to 1475, and another to 1492, the person in 1492 would be undone by the arrival of the person in 1475? A good concept, but the execution lacked.
Finished: Wicked by Gregory MacGuire. I was tod by some that the book was teh awesome, and by others that it read like bad fanfiction. I think I found it to be somewhere in the middle.
The overall idea? Fascinating. Worldbuilding? Phenomenal. The politics and intrigue? Fantastic. The characters? Well... quite a few of them left something to be desired; Elphaba was great, but I wasn't convinced by Glinda's characterization. I found it uneven. The wordcraft? A bit purple, trying too hard to be Inventive and Impressive. The ideas? Too many of them, to the point that some of the details MacGuire found necessary to include seemed, to me, extraneous and incomplete. Will I read the sequel? Maybe, if I happen across it, but I'm not compelled to rush out and buy it.
Halfway through: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I WAS BORED AT WORK AND SOMEONE LEFT IT THERE, OKAY! IT WAS THE ONLY THING I HAD TO READ!! OMG I SUCK DUN H8 ME PLZ. I didn't think it was possible for a Brown novel to be worse than The Da Vinci Code... but I was wrong. My favourite bits (read: the ones that make me roll my eyes the most): a priest's recollection of the Prayer of St Francis as, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change." Which, of course, is the beginning of the (very common and well-known) Serenity Prayer. The (also very common and well-known) Prayer of St Francis begins, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace." Also, the sooper mysterious ambigrams, that NO ONE IN TEH WERLD CAN DUPLICATE! and have DEFIED ALL SYMBOLOGISTS AND SCIENTISTS AND ARTISTS AND EVEN COMPUTERS 4EVA!!! Somehow, it's hard to suspend disbelief about the impossibility of replicating these things when I'm looking at them drawn in the pages of a paperback book. Dear Dan Brown, if you actually want us to believe that this stuff is so masterfully created, you might want to tone it down a bit and stop pretending that it's sooooooooo beyond technology's capabilities.
PS: Stop it with the English translations of people's Italian thoughts. No one translates their own thoughts in their heads.
Despite expressing desire for a good old MST3K time, I have not made it out to see either M:I:III or The Da Vinci Crap. However, I've heard from everyone I know who has ventured into theatres to waste 8+ bucks on it, that the latter is incredibly slow and boring.
Now, though I thought the novel was largely unmitigated tripe, I will say that it did succeed in being fast-paced and all that jazz -- perfect fodder for a brainless summer action flick. So how exactly did it become America's #1 Snorefest? I suspect it might have to do with Ron Howard, oh, I don't know... taking it seriously or something. Yawn.
I have been to the movies to see X-Men 3 though. SPOILERS, MKAY? Overall? It seemed a bit lacking in the characterization department -- I felt it spread itself too thin and we only got glimpses of anyone's motivations or developments, which in turn made portions of the plot seem weak. I mean, did Archangel serve any purpose other than to look cool? I think not. And how come Logan didn't just use one of the 890328043890818978927 vials of anti-mutant serum on Phoenix instead of killing her outright? (I'm sure one of you comic geeks has an answer for that.) In any case, I found it to be the weakest of the three films. Worth the admission, I suppose, but not worth seeing it again.
It did come with a hilarious trailer to Snakes on a Plane, though. That, my friends, is the pinnacle of MST3K-able movies this summer. And I will so be there. And I know someone wants to come with. Right? Riiight.
In television: for some reason, I did not get my dose of Doctor Who last week. (I didn't get it last night either, but that was because I was at work. This also means I missed the rerun of the House Season 1 finale. WAH!!) But anyhoo, last week, in favour of Doctor Who, do you know what Sci-Fi was showing?
FRANKENFISH. Franken. Fish.
Oh Sci-Fi, airer of such lameness, why must you fill Who's time slot with the crappiest of crap? I don't know what was worse: the fact that it caused me to miss my weekly Doctor Who, the fact that it included a scene in which our triumphant heroes make out in a swamp whilst covered in Frankenfish guts, or the fact that I watched enough of the movie to see that.
On the other hand, I did get to see "Three Stories", the House episode that everyone has raved so much about... and lo, it was as awesome as they say. And it made me really excited to see the Season 1 finale... which I missed because of work. Stupid work.
Speaking of, I should probably be getting dressed right now. Another night of coffee for me, joy of joys.
Just started: Genocide featuring the Eighth Doctor and Sam, which is much better. I anticipate finishing it tonight at work.
Finished: Wyrd Sisters and Interesting Times by Terry Pratchett, both of which I loved. Wyrd Sisters was especially brilliant -- but I was surprised how much I enjoyed Interesting Times, considering how I loathe Rincewind. I still don't care for him, but Genghiz Cohen and the Horde more than made up for it. Also, there was a funny line about intelligent life evolving from arts graduates. I keep meaning to put in my AIM profile or as a quote on Facebook or something. Anyway, perusing the local Half-Price for more Discworld is now on my agenda, as I have been thoroughly hooked.
Finished: Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card. I almost forgot to include mention of this -- unfortunately it was that unmemorable as to escape my recollection. It started out with an intriguing premise and a neat twist on the typical time travel plot, and I guess in the end that was worth the read -- but overall it was fairly mediocre. The jumping viewpoints from far future to 15th century often seemed jarring, the moral of the story was too heavyhanded, and there were contradictions that bothered me -- for example, the Pastwatchers send three of their own back in time, knowing that the minute one lands in the past, it will undo the future's current existence. But they send their three past-changers to three different points in time -- so wouldn't that mean that if one person is sent to 1475, and another to 1492, the person in 1492 would be undone by the arrival of the person in 1475? A good concept, but the execution lacked.
Finished: Wicked by Gregory MacGuire. I was tod by some that the book was teh awesome, and by others that it read like bad fanfiction. I think I found it to be somewhere in the middle.
The overall idea? Fascinating. Worldbuilding? Phenomenal. The politics and intrigue? Fantastic. The characters? Well... quite a few of them left something to be desired; Elphaba was great, but I wasn't convinced by Glinda's characterization. I found it uneven. The wordcraft? A bit purple, trying too hard to be Inventive and Impressive. The ideas? Too many of them, to the point that some of the details MacGuire found necessary to include seemed, to me, extraneous and incomplete. Will I read the sequel? Maybe, if I happen across it, but I'm not compelled to rush out and buy it.
Halfway through: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I WAS BORED AT WORK AND SOMEONE LEFT IT THERE, OKAY! IT WAS THE ONLY THING I HAD TO READ!! OMG I SUCK DUN H8 ME PLZ. I didn't think it was possible for a Brown novel to be worse than The Da Vinci Code... but I was wrong. My favourite bits (read: the ones that make me roll my eyes the most): a priest's recollection of the Prayer of St Francis as, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change." Which, of course, is the beginning of the (very common and well-known) Serenity Prayer. The (also very common and well-known) Prayer of St Francis begins, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace." Also, the sooper mysterious ambigrams, that NO ONE IN TEH WERLD CAN DUPLICATE! and have DEFIED ALL SYMBOLOGISTS AND SCIENTISTS AND ARTISTS AND EVEN COMPUTERS 4EVA!!! Somehow, it's hard to suspend disbelief about the impossibility of replicating these things when I'm looking at them drawn in the pages of a paperback book. Dear Dan Brown, if you actually want us to believe that this stuff is so masterfully created, you might want to tone it down a bit and stop pretending that it's sooooooooo beyond technology's capabilities.
PS: Stop it with the English translations of people's Italian thoughts. No one translates their own thoughts in their heads.
Despite expressing desire for a good old MST3K time, I have not made it out to see either M:I:III or The Da Vinci Crap. However, I've heard from everyone I know who has ventured into theatres to waste 8+ bucks on it, that the latter is incredibly slow and boring.
Now, though I thought the novel was largely unmitigated tripe, I will say that it did succeed in being fast-paced and all that jazz -- perfect fodder for a brainless summer action flick. So how exactly did it become America's #1 Snorefest? I suspect it might have to do with Ron Howard, oh, I don't know... taking it seriously or something. Yawn.
I have been to the movies to see X-Men 3 though. SPOILERS, MKAY? Overall? It seemed a bit lacking in the characterization department -- I felt it spread itself too thin and we only got glimpses of anyone's motivations or developments, which in turn made portions of the plot seem weak. I mean, did Archangel serve any purpose other than to look cool? I think not. And how come Logan didn't just use one of the 890328043890818978927 vials of anti-mutant serum on Phoenix instead of killing her outright? (I'm sure one of you comic geeks has an answer for that.) In any case, I found it to be the weakest of the three films. Worth the admission, I suppose, but not worth seeing it again.
It did come with a hilarious trailer to Snakes on a Plane, though. That, my friends, is the pinnacle of MST3K-able movies this summer. And I will so be there. And I know someone wants to come with. Right? Riiight.
In television: for some reason, I did not get my dose of Doctor Who last week. (I didn't get it last night either, but that was because I was at work. This also means I missed the rerun of the House Season 1 finale. WAH!!) But anyhoo, last week, in favour of Doctor Who, do you know what Sci-Fi was showing?
FRANKENFISH. Franken. Fish.
Oh Sci-Fi, airer of such lameness, why must you fill Who's time slot with the crappiest of crap? I don't know what was worse: the fact that it caused me to miss my weekly Doctor Who, the fact that it included a scene in which our triumphant heroes make out in a swamp whilst covered in Frankenfish guts, or the fact that I watched enough of the movie to see that.
On the other hand, I did get to see "Three Stories", the House episode that everyone has raved so much about... and lo, it was as awesome as they say. And it made me really excited to see the Season 1 finale... which I missed because of work. Stupid work.
Speaking of, I should probably be getting dressed right now. Another night of coffee for me, joy of joys.