Quotes and Thoughts
"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty.
The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass! Whose been pinching my beer?
And at the other end of the bar the world is full of the other type of person, who has a broken glass, or a glass that has been carelessly knocked over (usually by one of the people calling for a larger glass), or who had no glass at all, because he was in the back of the crowd and had failed to catch the barman's eye."~The Truth Terry Pratchett
Ah, Mssr. Pratchett. I really love the way you see the world. If you haven't read any of his books. And for unrelated book ramblings
I read this last night. It was a quick read. Most of the Animorphs books are. And damn Rachel is just stupid in this book. But let's start at the beginning.
This starts out with Rachel and Cassie going to the zoo on a field trip. Of course, usually when the zoo is brought up, a morph is then acquired. So they're standing there watching the alligators (crocodiles?) when this kid sits on the railing and falls into the pit. In the intervening chaos, Rachel goes to save him, acquiring a crocodile morph.
Okay, I know that she had to get the crocodile morph somehow. And the theme of this book seems to be something like heroism or idolization or something like that. Or doing stupid shit because it's the right thing to do. But that is such an obvious set up. I mean a kid being stupid enough to sit on the railing like that probably happens 1/100 times-- and I imagine a school field trip would be better chaperoned. So how freaking convenient. It's just a minor quibble, but there has to be a more organic way to get a croc morph in there.
Second, in order to promote the Sharing, the Controllers recruit Tween/Teen sensation Jeremy Jason McCole, an obvious stand in for Johnathan Taylor Thomas. (oh Nostalgia) To reiterate what the Opinionated Animorphs Book Guide said: he is flat, shallow and stereotypical. Well not an exact quote but you catch the drift. It's how most celebrities are depicted in kid's programming I think: Really a nasty person, not fond of the fans, just doing it for the easy money etc, which leads to the main character's disillusionment and abandonment of the ideal. It's used to throw negative light on hero worship. I think it would have made a stronger statement if he was more three dimensional.
Third, I thought Rachel was pretty stupid in this book. I suppose that's all part of her characterization, but going on Live TV when you know that extreme emotion will make you morph? Really, girl, what were you thinking?
All that being said it was a really exciting book, full of tension as Rachel's morphs got out of control and incredibly tense scene with Chapman when her feet grow to bear feet. Though this brings me back to something the Opinionated Animorphs guy said: "When a middle aged man sees a teenage girl come in, he's looking at her face. When she leaves, he's looking at her ass." Really? Really? Was that really necessary to say? That's so disgusting. While I have no doubt that it's true of some middle-aged men, it really can't be all. And especially if it's a school principal. That is 100 levels of creepy right there. In short, not a funny joke, dude.
Still, my favorite parts came at the end of the book at the TV show, with the Animorphs infiltrating the set. Marco as a llama (due to a conveniently scheduled animal person on the same day.) Jake as a Palmetto Bug (South Carolinian for Cockroach) and Cassie acquiring a Rachel morph and using it when things go all wahoony shaped.
Once again I'm impressed by the violence and tension in these books. The violence can be a little harsh but it's just enough to impress the seriousness of the situation without being gratuitous. All the violence serves a purpose. But I seriously doubt the same would fly in the kid's books of today.
Otherwise--
Things are going well. I even have some sort of schedule. Though I still wake up later in the day and I haven't exactly caught up on my list, I'm still getting there. But one day I will get it all. :3
In the interim, I'm just babbling around the journal. I figure one day I'll post something insightful and mind-bending. Or yanno not. Who knows. XD Who cares? It's fun, ne?
also:
The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass! Whose been pinching my beer?
And at the other end of the bar the world is full of the other type of person, who has a broken glass, or a glass that has been carelessly knocked over (usually by one of the people calling for a larger glass), or who had no glass at all, because he was in the back of the crowd and had failed to catch the barman's eye."~The Truth Terry Pratchett
Ah, Mssr. Pratchett. I really love the way you see the world. If you haven't read any of his books. And for unrelated book ramblings
I read this last night. It was a quick read. Most of the Animorphs books are. And damn Rachel is just stupid in this book. But let's start at the beginning.
This starts out with Rachel and Cassie going to the zoo on a field trip. Of course, usually when the zoo is brought up, a morph is then acquired. So they're standing there watching the alligators (crocodiles?) when this kid sits on the railing and falls into the pit. In the intervening chaos, Rachel goes to save him, acquiring a crocodile morph.
Okay, I know that she had to get the crocodile morph somehow. And the theme of this book seems to be something like heroism or idolization or something like that. Or doing stupid shit because it's the right thing to do. But that is such an obvious set up. I mean a kid being stupid enough to sit on the railing like that probably happens 1/100 times-- and I imagine a school field trip would be better chaperoned. So how freaking convenient. It's just a minor quibble, but there has to be a more organic way to get a croc morph in there.
Second, in order to promote the Sharing, the Controllers recruit Tween/Teen sensation Jeremy Jason McCole, an obvious stand in for Johnathan Taylor Thomas. (oh Nostalgia) To reiterate what the Opinionated Animorphs Book Guide said: he is flat, shallow and stereotypical. Well not an exact quote but you catch the drift. It's how most celebrities are depicted in kid's programming I think: Really a nasty person, not fond of the fans, just doing it for the easy money etc, which leads to the main character's disillusionment and abandonment of the ideal. It's used to throw negative light on hero worship. I think it would have made a stronger statement if he was more three dimensional.
Third, I thought Rachel was pretty stupid in this book. I suppose that's all part of her characterization, but going on Live TV when you know that extreme emotion will make you morph? Really, girl, what were you thinking?
All that being said it was a really exciting book, full of tension as Rachel's morphs got out of control and incredibly tense scene with Chapman when her feet grow to bear feet. Though this brings me back to something the Opinionated Animorphs guy said: "When a middle aged man sees a teenage girl come in, he's looking at her face. When she leaves, he's looking at her ass." Really? Really? Was that really necessary to say? That's so disgusting. While I have no doubt that it's true of some middle-aged men, it really can't be all. And especially if it's a school principal. That is 100 levels of creepy right there. In short, not a funny joke, dude.
Still, my favorite parts came at the end of the book at the TV show, with the Animorphs infiltrating the set. Marco as a llama (due to a conveniently scheduled animal person on the same day.) Jake as a Palmetto Bug (South Carolinian for Cockroach) and Cassie acquiring a Rachel morph and using it when things go all wahoony shaped.
Once again I'm impressed by the violence and tension in these books. The violence can be a little harsh but it's just enough to impress the seriousness of the situation without being gratuitous. All the violence serves a purpose. But I seriously doubt the same would fly in the kid's books of today.
Otherwise--
Things are going well. I even have some sort of schedule. Though I still wake up later in the day and I haven't exactly caught up on my list, I'm still getting there. But one day I will get it all. :3
In the interim, I'm just babbling around the journal. I figure one day I'll post something insightful and mind-bending. Or yanno not. Who knows. XD Who cares? It's fun, ne?
also: