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Merry Christmas to all
Dec. 25th, 2011 11:40 amand to all a good night!
Breaking Bad
Dec. 14th, 2011 06:16 pmThis is not exactly how I'd LIKE to return from a hiatus, but heavens forbid I forget Sparklerita Night! The History of Twilight the Fourth, Part One is: 20% NOT ENOUGH SHIRTLESS WEREWOLVES; 20% TOO MUCH SHIRTLESS PASTY VAMPIRE ABS; 20% AUGH GOOD GOD WHY DOES BELLA LOOK LIKE A PERUVIAN MUMMY; 10% OM NOM NOM PILLOWS OM NOM NOM; 10% he fell in love with WHAT?!; 5% naming your child "Renesmee" may cause abdominal pain, spinal cord fractures, seizures, premature labor, and even death; 4% incomprehensible werewolf growling; 1% Bella's wedding dress was pretty fugly, what gives? and ONE MILLION PERCENT I NEEDED MORE ALCOHOL FOR THIS.
How to Train Your Cursed Magical Bear
The Adventures of Girl!Faramir and Thor
The Adventures of Girl!Faramir and Thor
thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably
Oct. 27th, 2011 01:55 pmShakespeare post!
What I Did On My Summer Vacation, by Joss Whedon, Age 9: Part II!
AKA, interviews with Joss and the stars of his secret production of Much Ado About Nothing that he filmed at his house with all his buddies. There is nothing that is not awesome about this concept.
COURTNEY: Wait... Branagh directs Thor. Whedon directs The Avengers. I smell some sort of bet or one-upmanship here. Are they playing Director Bingo now? Is Branagh's next project a witty supernatural tv show?
DAVE: Then Joss will direct Mary Shelley's (But Not Really) The Last Man, and Kenneth Branagh will produce Lady Death's Sing-A-Long Twitter Feed...
Meanwhile, Anonymous is ::gasp!:: filled with historical inaccuracies!!! (I think zombie!Marlowe might be my favorite. He can hang out with zombie!Oxford as he writes all the Shakespeare plays published after he died in 1604.) And the great Oxfordians vs. Stratfordians debate has truly reached its pinnacle and landed its very own Fandom Wank entry.
Unfortunately, no one has mentioned whether or not in Anonymous "Shakespeare" has to outrun an explosion (probably from the Globe catching fire). That's what *I* want to see in a Roland Emmerich movie.
What I Did On My Summer Vacation, by Joss Whedon, Age 9: Part II!
AKA, interviews with Joss and the stars of his secret production of Much Ado About Nothing that he filmed at his house with all his buddies. There is nothing that is not awesome about this concept.
COURTNEY: Wait... Branagh directs Thor. Whedon directs The Avengers. I smell some sort of bet or one-upmanship here. Are they playing Director Bingo now? Is Branagh's next project a witty supernatural tv show?
DAVE: Then Joss will direct Mary Shelley's (But Not Really) The Last Man, and Kenneth Branagh will produce Lady Death's Sing-A-Long Twitter Feed...
Meanwhile, Anonymous is ::gasp!:: filled with historical inaccuracies!!! (I think zombie!Marlowe might be my favorite. He can hang out with zombie!Oxford as he writes all the Shakespeare plays published after he died in 1604.) And the great Oxfordians vs. Stratfordians debate has truly reached its pinnacle and landed its very own Fandom Wank entry.
Unfortunately, no one has mentioned whether or not in Anonymous "Shakespeare" has to outrun an explosion (probably from the Globe catching fire). That's what *I* want to see in a Roland Emmerich movie.
AND THEN I GOT STOOD UP ANYWAY.
On the plus side, last weekend I went to NYComic Con with Courtney (I was femme!Eleven, she was the Black Canary: together, we FIGHT CRIME! And go to panels featuring Tamora Pierce), and this afternoon I'm heading down to Homecoming! Hopefully I will not arrive only to discover that William and Mary has shut down and completely vacated the premises, leaving only empty buildings and tourists.
Thirty Days of Genre
( Day 6: Most Annoying Character )
Arrrrrrrrr
Sep. 19th, 2011 05:26 pmAhoy, me hearties!
Grace O'Malley: Pirate Badass of the Week
While ruling an empire of Viking Highlander Pirates is sweet and all, O'Malley was a tough lady herself as well, more than happy to wade into combat herself, and this was definitely not the sort of chick you wanted to cross swords with on the smoke-swept deck of a burning merchantman.
One story claims that she gave birth to her third child on the high seas during a trading expedition to the Mediterranean. As she was popping the kid out, word came down that the vessel was under attack by Turkish pirates, so she finished giving birth, grabbed her gun, then immediately ran out to bust caps in pirates and command the defense of her ship.
Another time one of her boyfriends was captured and executed by a rival clan, so she waited until the leaders of the Clan landed on an island for vacation, attacked the island, burned their ships, and killed everyone she could find. After wiping out the leadership of the Clan, she then led her soldiers to assault the Clan fortress, capturing it and reappropriating it for her own use.
On yet another occasion a local English Earl refused to let Grace in when she stopped by for dinner, so she kidnapped the Earl's son and held him for ransom, only returning him when the Earl decided he'd cook her some bacon and leave an extra place setting out for the rest of his life, just in case she ever decided to show up again (this is a tradition that the family maintains to this day).
Grace O'Malley: Pirate Badass of the Week
What a twist!
Sep. 14th, 2011 10:52 amNY Magazine vs. The Killing Disease
(Haha, I like the alternate title in the URL.)
I'm always glad when people take on this trope, since just because Anyone Can Die doesn't mean anyone SHOULD die. Too often the wanton slaughter of main characters is used as a cheap way to achieve True Art Is Angsty and not as a legitimate storytelling decision with consequences and thematic relevance. (And even then, fridging someone isn't exactly a great artistic decision, either.) Just because it's depressing doesn't mean it's good! Any trope can be used for good or evil.
...And this concludes your irregularly scheduled tropebombing.
(Haha, I like the alternate title in the URL.)
I'm always glad when people take on this trope, since just because Anyone Can Die doesn't mean anyone SHOULD die. Too often the wanton slaughter of main characters is used as a cheap way to achieve True Art Is Angsty and not as a legitimate storytelling decision with consequences and thematic relevance. (And even then, fridging someone isn't exactly a great artistic decision, either.) Just because it's depressing doesn't mean it's good! Any trope can be used for good or evil.
...And this concludes your irregularly scheduled tropebombing.
TRADEGY PART 2
Sep. 10th, 2011 11:47 amLegend of Korra delayed to 2013
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY :(
(On the plus side, comics! Wherein everyone is happy to be back having adventures except Zuko and his epic eyeroll. Of course, he's never happy.)
Thirty Days of Genre
Day 5: Character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).
When I was eleven, on the first day of summer vacation between fifth and sixth grade, I tripped over a curb and broke my arm. Since I couldn't go swimming at the pool, my mom took me to the bookstore to buy me some new books to help occupy myself, and I stumbled across (literally, it was on a pile on the floor) Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce. It had everything I wanted in a book (awesome heroine! adventure!), and more (magic! camping! baby dragons!); even better, Daine (the aforementioned awesome heroine) had brown hair and blue-gray eyes just like me. Amazing! Granted, it was unlikely, but I too had a chance at becoming the protagonist of an epic fantasy series, despite not being a spunky youngster with red hair (or a blonde princess)! I devoured the rest of Pierce's books and eagerly awaited the conclusion of Daine's story, set to come out that winter, and incidentally sealed my fate in becoming a huge fantasy geek.
(Of course, in the last book 16-year-old Daine ends up hooking up with her teacher, which I identified waaaaaaaaaaaaay less with (DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME) and my love of Pierce's books cooled somewhat. Fortunately, I later discovered that all of Tolkien's coolest characters had dark hair and gray eyes. I mean, they don't have baby dragons, but you have to admit that the elves and the Numenoreans are kind of badass.)
That's just looks, of course. I didn't realize it at the time, because fish don't notice their water, but one of the reasons I enjoyed so happily the snark, battles of wits, bitching, and cheerful scorn heaped upon one another by characters in The Belgariad was that it basically reflected every one of my family gatherings ever. Because seriously, I would never make it through an epic quest without baiting my friends and complaining about the weather either.
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY :(
(On the plus side, comics! Wherein everyone is happy to be back having adventures except Zuko and his epic eyeroll. Of course, he's never happy.)
Thirty Days of Genre
Day 5: Character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).
When I was eleven, on the first day of summer vacation between fifth and sixth grade, I tripped over a curb and broke my arm. Since I couldn't go swimming at the pool, my mom took me to the bookstore to buy me some new books to help occupy myself, and I stumbled across (literally, it was on a pile on the floor) Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce. It had everything I wanted in a book (awesome heroine! adventure!), and more (magic! camping! baby dragons!); even better, Daine (the aforementioned awesome heroine) had brown hair and blue-gray eyes just like me. Amazing! Granted, it was unlikely, but I too had a chance at becoming the protagonist of an epic fantasy series, despite not being a spunky youngster with red hair (or a blonde princess)! I devoured the rest of Pierce's books and eagerly awaited the conclusion of Daine's story, set to come out that winter, and incidentally sealed my fate in becoming a huge fantasy geek.
(Of course, in the last book 16-year-old Daine ends up hooking up with her teacher, which I identified waaaaaaaaaaaaay less with (DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME) and my love of Pierce's books cooled somewhat. Fortunately, I later discovered that all of Tolkien's coolest characters had dark hair and gray eyes. I mean, they don't have baby dragons, but you have to admit that the elves and the Numenoreans are kind of badass.)
That's just looks, of course. I didn't realize it at the time, because fish don't notice their water, but one of the reasons I enjoyed so happily the snark, battles of wits, bitching, and cheerful scorn heaped upon one another by characters in The Belgariad was that it basically reflected every one of my family gatherings ever. Because seriously, I would never make it through an epic quest without baiting my friends and complaining about the weather either.
1. Rain whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :(
2. Magic Phone whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :(
3. STEVE THOMPSON WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY :(
2. Magic Phone whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :(
3. STEVE THOMPSON WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY :(
ira neptuni
Aug. 23rd, 2011 10:01 pmOH GOD: The First Photo of the DC Earthquake Devastation
Yeah, PRETTY MUCH.
(I also love this picture. That dude in the back wishes he had some pearls to clutch.)
Yeah, PRETTY MUCH.
(I also love this picture. That dude in the back wishes he had some pearls to clutch.)
Jesus Christ on a flaming chariot
Aug. 19th, 2011 12:05 pmParadise Lost: The Movie
With Bradley Cooper. As Satan.
...
WHAT.
On the other hand, it doesn't sound like they'll be skimping on the fight scenes! At last, maybe we'll finally get to see why you should never bring a cannon to a mountain fight asGod Satan BRADLEY COOPER WTF Milton intended.
Thirty Days of Genre
Day 4: Your guilty pleasure book.
You know, one of the good things about being an English major is that I can argue the merits of even utter crap quite convincingly, so clearly none of my favorite books are guilty pleasures. But for works I love despite, ah, certain flaws, I would probably have to pick The Belgariad by David Eddings (which hasn't aged well in certain spots, but generally makes up for it with SNARK APLENTY) or Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (which somehow manages to feature cardboard supporting characters, a wonky time line, a main character who is literally Boy-in-the-Iceberg!Katara ("I JUST HAVE ~SO MUCH HOPE~!"), and so many plot twists at the end that they start twisting for things that have absolutely no relation to the current plot (one word: PIRATE) -- and yet is still made of win.) Because Awesome can carry you a looooong way.
Off to the Philly Folk Fest this weekend!
With Bradley Cooper. As Satan.
...
WHAT.
On the other hand, it doesn't sound like they'll be skimping on the fight scenes! At last, maybe we'll finally get to see why you should never bring a cannon to a mountain fight as
Thirty Days of Genre
Day 4: Your guilty pleasure book.
You know, one of the good things about being an English major is that I can argue the merits of even utter crap quite convincingly, so clearly none of my favorite books are guilty pleasures. But for works I love despite, ah, certain flaws, I would probably have to pick The Belgariad by David Eddings (which hasn't aged well in certain spots, but generally makes up for it with SNARK APLENTY) or Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (which somehow manages to feature cardboard supporting characters, a wonky time line, a main character who is literally Boy-in-the-Iceberg!Katara ("I JUST HAVE ~SO MUCH HOPE~!"), and so many plot twists at the end that they start twisting for things that have absolutely no relation to the current plot (one word: PIRATE) -- and yet is still made of win.) Because Awesome can carry you a looooong way.
Off to the Philly Folk Fest this weekend!
touched by his noodly appendage
Jul. 18th, 2011 02:29 pmWow, last week was busy. I had three goals: 1) finish two stories to submit to Machine of Death 2; 2) finish Diana's Slytherin scarf for HP 7.2; 3) finish Basara so I could give all 27 volumes back to Courtney. Naturally, I only accomplished one of these things (1). And then, on Thursday when I had a million things to do, I came down with bizarre chest congestion and general blah and have felt like a woeful Dickensian orphan all weekend.
But I did see HP 7.2 on opening night! ( I was underwhelmed. )
And then I drove up to Boston to see Courtney! On Saturday, we went to the MFA:
ME: ...Does that say "Cthulu"?
COURTNEY: I think it's the Chihuly exhibit.
TURNS OUT WE WERE BOTH RIGHT. Little did we know that for all appearances the world of glass-blowing is merely a cover for the Elder Gods to break through to our universe. ( I don't really know what else would explain the theme of extra-dimensional tentacles... )
On a similar note, adherents of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster are now permitted to wear pasta strainers as religious headgear for driver's license photos in Austria.
Thirty Days of Genre
Day 3: A genre novel that is underrated.
(Look, they don't say thirty CONSECUTIVE days.)
I can't think of a specific book, but I can think of a specific author: Patricia McKillip. It seems that no one has anything bad to say against her, but she rarely gets brought up in discussions about classic fantasy novels, and I think she's one of the most consistently good authors in the genre. She's awesome at riffing on some of fantasy's most compelling themes -- the power of nature, music, and story-telling -- and using its most familiar tropes in new and interesting ways while never really repeating herself. She also has a beautiful dream-like style of writing AND a knack for creating likable characters. What's not to like?
Here, have some reviews of her stuff:
The Sorceress and the Cygnet/The Bell at Sealey Head
The Cygnet and the Firebird
But I did see HP 7.2 on opening night! ( I was underwhelmed. )
And then I drove up to Boston to see Courtney! On Saturday, we went to the MFA:
ME: ...Does that say "Cthulu"?
COURTNEY: I think it's the Chihuly exhibit.
TURNS OUT WE WERE BOTH RIGHT. Little did we know that for all appearances the world of glass-blowing is merely a cover for the Elder Gods to break through to our universe. ( I don't really know what else would explain the theme of extra-dimensional tentacles... )
On a similar note, adherents of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster are now permitted to wear pasta strainers as religious headgear for driver's license photos in Austria.
Thirty Days of Genre
Day 3: A genre novel that is underrated.
(Look, they don't say thirty CONSECUTIVE days.)
I can't think of a specific book, but I can think of a specific author: Patricia McKillip. It seems that no one has anything bad to say against her, but she rarely gets brought up in discussions about classic fantasy novels, and I think she's one of the most consistently good authors in the genre. She's awesome at riffing on some of fantasy's most compelling themes -- the power of nature, music, and story-telling -- and using its most familiar tropes in new and interesting ways while never really repeating herself. She also has a beautiful dream-like style of writing AND a knack for creating likable characters. What's not to like?
Here, have some reviews of her stuff:
The Sorceress and the Cygnet/The Bell at Sealey Head
The Cygnet and the Firebird
( And thus began the Battle of the Rogue Rhododendron. )
In other news
- I got a new job! Well, technically, I got ANOTHER job. I get to review Shakespeare plays! Big Grandmother apparently does not approve:
- By way of Katherine: welcome to Oregon, where the beaches will fucking kill you.
- American Gods is being turned into a tv show!
Good: produced by HBO, Tom Hanks, and Neil himself, and will have an actual budget!
Weird: "six seasons, each [...] of 10-12, [sic] hour-long episodes". Sixty episodes? I don't think American Gods even has that many chapters.
- I'm going to see LotR: FotR: Extended Edition in theaters tonight!
Which leads us to:
Thirty Days of Genre
Day 2: Your Favorite Character
"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend..."
<3 <3 <3 ~*~*~*~Faramir~*~*~*~ <3 <3 <3
It was hard to pick just one, but Faramir wins because he stands for a whole archetype of my favorite characters: the badass pragmatist who is nevertheless a (not-so-secret) idealist underneath. Whether they are staring down a Nazgûl, blowing up the Pegasus, or dropping a mountain on an invading demon army, my favorite characters cradle their honor close to their hearts. It's a lot easier to hit the bad guys with, that way.
(You can expect a lot of fist-shaking when I go see The Two Towers next week.)
In other news
- I got a new job! Well, technically, I got ANOTHER job. I get to review Shakespeare plays! Big Grandmother apparently does not approve:
- By way of Katherine: welcome to Oregon, where the beaches will fucking kill you.
- American Gods is being turned into a tv show!
Good: produced by HBO, Tom Hanks, and Neil himself, and will have an actual budget!
Weird: "six seasons, each [...] of 10-12, [sic] hour-long episodes". Sixty episodes? I don't think American Gods even has that many chapters.
- I'm going to see LotR: FotR: Extended Edition in theaters tonight!
Which leads us to:
Thirty Days of Genre
Day 2: Your Favorite Character
"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend..."
<3 <3 <3 ~*~*~*~Faramir~*~*~*~ <3 <3 <3
It was hard to pick just one, but Faramir wins because he stands for a whole archetype of my favorite characters: the badass pragmatist who is nevertheless a (not-so-secret) idealist underneath. Whether they are staring down a Nazgûl, blowing up the Pegasus, or dropping a mountain on an invading demon army, my favorite characters cradle their honor close to their hearts. It's a lot easier to hit the bad guys with, that way.
(You can expect a lot of fist-shaking when I go see The Two Towers next week.)
five by five
Jun. 3rd, 2011 12:34 pmEliza Dushku to star in Torchwood spin-off series
1. Rusty is closer than ever to actually becoming Joss Whedon.
2. Is it really a good idea for Faith to hang out with Bad Life Choices Central?
3. It's called Torchwood: Web of Lies (not to be confused with "The Velvet Web", "The Web Planet", or "The Web of Fear"). GET SOMEONE NEW TO WRITE SUBTITLES.
1. Rusty is closer than ever to actually becoming Joss Whedon.
2. Is it really a good idea for Faith to hang out with Bad Life Choices Central?
3. It's called Torchwood: Web of Lies (not to be confused with "The Velvet Web", "The Web Planet", or "The Web of Fear"). GET SOMEONE NEW TO WRITE SUBTITLES.
twice the me!
May. 26th, 2011 10:44 am::blows dust off journal::
Have a meme!
30 Days of Genre
(I'm always kind of tickled when sff gets referred to as "genre". There should be a literary term for "co-opting a categorical title for one specific subcategory so you feel less inadequate". Personally, I feel like that a truly "genre" book would be a sff romance detective adventure. Which I would totally read.)
(...Actually, you could probably classify several of the Vorkosigan Saga books as sff romance detective adventures, so I HAVE totally read a genre book. You should too! They're awesome!)
Day 1: Your Very First Genre Novel
Calling on Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede (yes, I read the third one first. We were at the beach and I finished all my other books, so I stole it from mea soror). I was only in third grade, but I was already a big fan of both fairy tales AND fractured fairy tales (mainly due to Rocky and Bullwinkle). The lulz and bamf heroine just made it even better.
Runners up: The Belgariad, by David Eddings (first proper fantasy series, 5th grade), and Wild Magic, by Tamora Pierce (the book that actually hooked me on reading sff all the time, 6th grade).
Have a meme!
30 Days of Genre
(I'm always kind of tickled when sff gets referred to as "genre". There should be a literary term for "co-opting a categorical title for one specific subcategory so you feel less inadequate". Personally, I feel like that a truly "genre" book would be a sff romance detective adventure. Which I would totally read.)
(...Actually, you could probably classify several of the Vorkosigan Saga books as sff romance detective adventures, so I HAVE totally read a genre book. You should too! They're awesome!)
Day 1: Your Very First Genre Novel
Calling on Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede (yes, I read the third one first. We were at the beach and I finished all my other books, so I stole it from mea soror). I was only in third grade, but I was already a big fan of both fairy tales AND fractured fairy tales (mainly due to Rocky and Bullwinkle). The lulz and bamf heroine just made it even better.
Runners up: The Belgariad, by David Eddings (first proper fantasy series, 5th grade), and Wild Magic, by Tamora Pierce (the book that actually hooked me on reading sff all the time, 6th grade).
I was SUPPOSED to see the broadcast of Frankenstein today, but a CERTAIN NAMELESS SOMEONE (whose NAME rhymes with SCHMIRSTIN) OVERSLEPT, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS AFTER NOON, and we ended up being late. So we saw Jane Eyre instead.
( My layabout sister said it best: it's a good movie and a decent adaptation. ) It wasn't my version of Jane Eyre, but it was a respectable showing nevertheless.
( My layabout sister said it best: it's a good movie and a decent adaptation. ) It wasn't my version of Jane Eyre, but it was a respectable showing nevertheless.
The new Torchwood poster!
1) ::refrains from making obvious comments about who accidentally lit the fuse::
2) No wonder they're having problems, they're using Mac OS 7. Don't worry, there's a fix for that:
1) ::refrains from making obvious comments about who accidentally lit the fuse::
2) No wonder they're having problems, they're using Mac OS 7. Don't worry, there's a fix for that:
