Reading, reading, and movies
Finished two books recently, The Worth of a Shell by MCA Hogarth (haikujaguar and rereading Alison Bechdel's Fun Home. I also finished Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice for All Creation, which had been in progress for about a year. I'm almost done Catherine Asaro's The Charmed Sphere, but will reserve review until I see the ending.
The Worth of a Shell by MCA Hogarth
I loved this book. I read several of MCAH's short stories about the Jokka, a fictional race of humanoid aliens with three sexes (male, female, neuter) and two puberties during which one can change sex. In the short stories, I felt I caught a glimpse of the Jokka and was interested but not overeager to see more. After this book, I am solidly a Jokka fan. The story centers on two Jokka, one an exile and one a fugitive, who set out to survive and in that start to change their world. I don't know how to talk about the book without making some really deep concepts and powerful writing sound trite. I urge you instead to read the copy from the back, and perhaps the author-posted excerpt. More info is available by navigating the tops of those pages.
Really this book brought me a lot of both joy and thought, even the few (entirely necessary) squicky bits. Hogarth's writing has a quality of bringing insights on about all manner of things: from the path of an individual's life to gender politics to societal values and customs. I admire her ability to write well about a variety of alien settings with distinct cultures. The Ai-Naidari were nothing like this.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
The plot is Bechdels' story of growing up the daughter of the town undertaker, coming out in college, only to have her father come out back. It's really about silences, all the not-talking many families (including mine) do. Her example is extreme, but there are echos in all sorts of relationships. Graphically rich, deadpan, hilarious treatment of some pretty heavy topics. Hearing Bechdel talk about putting the book together and read the first chapter with a slide show helped me slow down and appreciate the details of the story, the background, and the production. Do check it out.
Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice for All Creation by
A Professor of Evolutionary Biology makes science fun! Very readable, mostly enjoyable. The treatment of rape and incest in the animal world left me a little queasy, in part for her less-than-subtle implications about human behavior. The rest of the book was pleasantly and cheekily informative.
Onward to Film!
Ponyo
Watched this gem tonight, and it was glorious. The eldest (but still quite young) daughter of a once-human sea-wizard goes exploring, finds a young boy (Sosuke), and falls in love. More than anything, she wants to see him again. So she does. And the story builds from there. The main characters are children, and well done down to the details. As usual, there are lush visuals with this moving story from Studio Ghibli. They mix some scary-looking but harmless creatures in with the fantastic sea scenes. Look out for the octopi! This one is less about growing up, more about other changes we make for good but personal reasons.
Do yourself a huge favor and watch with Japanese audio and subtitles for your language of choice. The English audio is star-studded with the likes of Matt Damon, Tina Fey, and Betty White. Some of them are OK, but the voices of Sosuke and Ponyo (who are the main voices in the film) are positively awful. Seriously, I wanted to know what Ponyo's voice sounded like and the minute I heard it I wished I hadn't. Also, in the English track they change some of the dialogue so it's more blatant, like smacking you over the head with a magazine. The Japanese subtitles reflect this difference.
Overall: Gorgeous, cute, and sweet film. A++ let's watch it again!
The Blind Side
It was a football movie I liked. That alone is a ringing endorsement. But wait there's more! It's a "from neglect to success" story that starts out by caring for one's neighbors. There are Christians who live up to the beatitudes but have failings AND personality. There is a somewhat realistic treatment of race, class, privilege, how little a lot of us do to remedy these problems, and a proposal for what one person can do. And one scene when Michael's running down the field with the opposing team's offense-man that was sweet sweet gravy.
The Worth of a Shell by MCA Hogarth
I loved this book. I read several of MCAH's short stories about the Jokka, a fictional race of humanoid aliens with three sexes (male, female, neuter) and two puberties during which one can change sex. In the short stories, I felt I caught a glimpse of the Jokka and was interested but not overeager to see more. After this book, I am solidly a Jokka fan. The story centers on two Jokka, one an exile and one a fugitive, who set out to survive and in that start to change their world. I don't know how to talk about the book without making some really deep concepts and powerful writing sound trite. I urge you instead to read the copy from the back, and perhaps the author-posted excerpt. More info is available by navigating the tops of those pages.
Really this book brought me a lot of both joy and thought, even the few (entirely necessary) squicky bits. Hogarth's writing has a quality of bringing insights on about all manner of things: from the path of an individual's life to gender politics to societal values and customs. I admire her ability to write well about a variety of alien settings with distinct cultures. The Ai-Naidari were nothing like this.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
The plot is Bechdels' story of growing up the daughter of the town undertaker, coming out in college, only to have her father come out back. It's really about silences, all the not-talking many families (including mine) do. Her example is extreme, but there are echos in all sorts of relationships. Graphically rich, deadpan, hilarious treatment of some pretty heavy topics. Hearing Bechdel talk about putting the book together and read the first chapter with a slide show helped me slow down and appreciate the details of the story, the background, and the production. Do check it out.
Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice for All Creation by
A Professor of Evolutionary Biology makes science fun! Very readable, mostly enjoyable. The treatment of rape and incest in the animal world left me a little queasy, in part for her less-than-subtle implications about human behavior. The rest of the book was pleasantly and cheekily informative.
Onward to Film!
Ponyo
Watched this gem tonight, and it was glorious. The eldest (but still quite young) daughter of a once-human sea-wizard goes exploring, finds a young boy (Sosuke), and falls in love. More than anything, she wants to see him again. So she does. And the story builds from there. The main characters are children, and well done down to the details. As usual, there are lush visuals with this moving story from Studio Ghibli. They mix some scary-looking but harmless creatures in with the fantastic sea scenes. Look out for the octopi! This one is less about growing up, more about other changes we make for good but personal reasons.
Do yourself a huge favor and watch with Japanese audio and subtitles for your language of choice. The English audio is star-studded with the likes of Matt Damon, Tina Fey, and Betty White. Some of them are OK, but the voices of Sosuke and Ponyo (who are the main voices in the film) are positively awful. Seriously, I wanted to know what Ponyo's voice sounded like and the minute I heard it I wished I hadn't. Also, in the English track they change some of the dialogue so it's more blatant, like smacking you over the head with a magazine. The Japanese subtitles reflect this difference.
Overall: Gorgeous, cute, and sweet film. A++ let's watch it again!
The Blind Side
It was a football movie I liked. That alone is a ringing endorsement. But wait there's more! It's a "from neglect to success" story that starts out by caring for one's neighbors. There are Christians who live up to the beatitudes but have failings AND personality. There is a somewhat realistic treatment of race, class, privilege, how little a lot of us do to remedy these problems, and a proposal for what one person can do. And one scene when Michael's running down the field with the opposing team's offense-man that was sweet sweet gravy.