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15th of October, 2009

12:29 pm - Something for my author friends Ever wondered about how your publisher is going to promote your new book? This little article from the New Yorker helps you know what's coming. Current Mood: amused Tags: books, humour, writing

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14th of April, 2009

06:25 pm - Long overdue update It's been some two months since I wrote anything here so I thought I should let you know I'm still alive. Uni has settled into classes and courses. The text book issue was resolved. It turns out that both lists were incorrect and the class had no texts assigned as the Bookshop person had said. Our lecturer thought it would be cheaper for us if she just uploaded the various extracts online for us to view. After some discussion in the first couple of tutorials the overwhelming preference was to pay the copyright fee for printing and get them collated into a student reader. I know I vastly prefer having printed reading material than reading it online. Apart from being more practical it doesn't make your screen go funny when you write on it with a highlighter. I've renewed some acquaintances from last year though most of the people I was friends with from last year are not doing the same classes as me this semester. Have to organise to catch up with Sarah for lunch at some point. The horrible cow went to Italy over the summer and did a course on Italian art. So very jealous. The classes themselves are interesting. Though the Nazi Germany one is certainly more of a brain struggle. Mainly because there's a lot more being added to it than the usual tropes of "here's what the Nazis did and they were bad M'Kay". And so far its mostly been the origins. I know bits of this but the actually history is far more complex than I've given it credit for. cold_echo will be pleased to know that the glass cabinet has finally been given a home in the hallway and it is now out of the lounge. I discovered a tobacconist in Frankston, Cignall Specialist Tobacconist who must be one of the few remaining places in Melbourne that deal with pipe smokers. For those who may be unaware I have had the occasional smoke on the clay pipe I acquired for re-enacting. I then moved on to using a long stemmed Ropp Cherrywood that I believe used to belong to my uncle. I might only smoke once a month or so but I do find it rather relaxing. Anyway the vulcanite stem on the Ropp broke and the clay one had snapped both during the house move. Since finding pipe suppliers is harder than finding stems I gave them a ring to see if they could help. I headed down a few days later and came away with a replacement stem for the Ropp that I was able to fit in with a little bit of sanding, two types of tobacco and a pipe lighter. I'm not going to be paying off any of his kids school fees with what I will buy but I had possibly one of the best customer service experiences I've had in years. Uncle Kev's incentivasation payment arrived and I've had a little splurge on Ebay, though mostly replacing VHS with DVDs, paid some bills and put some aside to get the windscreen replaced. But after today I'm glad I had the money in the bank. My watch is an old Seiko given to me as my 13th birthday present. It's a damn good watch but it was in dire need of a service. I took it into the service centre today and they said they'd need to send it off to Seiko, but it was going to cost me $120. I just about died. Yes I know it's a good quality watch and as such parts might cost a little bit more but for a clean and re-oil I wouldn't have thought it would be even half that. Ouch! I'm also hoping to use Kev's cheque to pay for some wool fabric for the costume I want to make for Continuum. If anyone knows of any good suppliers for jacket wool in red please point me their direction. I am so out of touch with costuming suppliers it's not funny. Current Mood: busy Tags: books, continuum, costuming, dvds, re-enacting, uni

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12th of November, 2008

11:55 am - Deryni movie in the works The Hollywood Reporter has news that Katherine Kurtz's novel Deryni Rising may soon be turned into a film. The deryni novels have been going since the 70s and are close to 20 books. The Deryni are a psionic or "operant" people who are able to perform things like telepathy, truth reading, healing, and other feats that, in a pseudo 12th century British Isles are pretty much "magic". The Church in the series is based on the historical one, though without the Pope. The Church has decreed that Magic is evil and therefore the Deryni are the Spawn of Satan (or pretty close to it). The first novel follows the story of young Prince Kelson who has just come of age (14) and is now King of Gwynedd. Duke Alaric, his father's loyal advisor, is half Deryni, and Kelson begins to suspect there may be something fishy about his own heritage. I'd hardly call these books well known, so they're certainly not going to be getting a budget within sniffing distance of The Lord of the Rings. I suppose the only hope is that it isn't given the butchering given to Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising, recently released as The Seeker. If done right, they would certainly be a franchise. You've got handsome knights, political intrigue, magic, romance and your actors don't have to sit through 4 hours of make-up to look like dwarves or elves. I've been reading the series since I discovered them in High School. Though I admit I haven't read the two recent "Childe Morgan" stories yet. Fingers crossed they don't botch it. Current Mood: apathetic Tags: books, movies

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6th of November, 2008

12:17 pm - Valé Michael Crichton A man whose novels Westworld, Jurrasic Park, and Timeline seemed to imply some pathological hatred of theme parks has died. Some people have written that he was anti-science. I always viewed his writing that it was not the science that was at fault but that what corrupt people will do with that science that was the problem. I always enjoyed his books. I'll miss him. Current Mood: busy Tags: books, dead 'uns, history

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3rd of June, 2008

05:01 pm - Chinese futurism (or steampunk) While hunting for things on the web, today I stumbled across a reference to an post on Jess Nevin's blog about some turn of the century Chinese SF that included Airships and flying cars. From the post: "In this tale, Europe is a Chinese colony and it describes the Chinese government’s suppression of an uprising planned by European "restoration" rebels. The Chinese Emperor orders the generalissimo in charge of Europe, Wen Suchen, to suppress the rebellion with flying warships. Generalissimo Wen not only conquers all seventy-two European nations but continues on to the moon and Jupiter as well. The most marvellous part of this tale is that Jupiter is described as being covered completely with gold and abounding with flora and fauna–the perfect destination for migration. Wen is then appointed Governor of Jupiter. From then on, the means of communication and transportation between Earth and Jupiter is, naturally, by flying ship." The story? Lu Shi'e's Xin Ye Sou Pu Yan (1909). A shame it will never be translated--I think it'd make for fascinating reading, if only as a counterpoint to the Victorian colonialist sf. Now to try and find a copy of this and convince some of the Asian Studies students to translate it. Current Mood: curious Tags: books, geek, history, steampunk

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25th of May, 2008

12:01 am - Valé Robert Asprin Bob Asprin passed away yesterday (May 22nd his local time). He was one of the most fun writers I've ever had the pleasure to read. Creator of the Myth-Adventures series and Phule's Company stories, as well as editor of the long running Thieves' World series, it was the Myth books that were my favourite. Heavily pun driving (but funny, unlike Piers Anthony's Xanth novels) it was actually from following the work of Phil Foglio that I found them in the first place. I met him briefly at a Canberra Con during the late 80's where I was one of several people who got him to sign their entire collection of Myth books :-) He apparently died with a Terry Pratchett book in his hands. He'll be missed. Current Mood: sad Tags: books, dead 'uns

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25th of April, 2008

03:37 pm - Fan Wikis Wikipedia has been around for many years and the software it used has spawned many and varied encyclopaedic database offspring. Just an example of some of the stuff out there: Girl Genius Wiki - for all things relating to the Girl Genius webcomic. Memory Alpha - for all cannon Star Trek material Memory Beta - for Star Trek licenced spin off stuff like comics and novels. Star Trek: Expanded - Star Trek fan projects Futurepedia - The Back to the Future Wiki - Back to the Future Wiki Wookieepedia - Possibly the best known Star Wars wiki Star Wars Merchandise Wiki - A wiki for all the toys you used to have. One Wiki to Rule Them All - Yep, a Lord of the Rings wiki. Firefly and Serenity database - Joss Whedon's SF foray. Buffyverse Wiki - Joss Whedon's more famous effort. The Bionic Wiki - Watch as your wiki runs in slow motion (unless it's the movie with Sandra Bullock). The Lyorn Records - Wiki for Steven Brust's Dragaera novels. The Jaunting Pad - The Tomorrow People TV series. Chronicles of Astinus - Dragonlance wiki (still small). Uncyclopedia - Parody site ofr Wikipedia. Indiana Jones wiki - All about Dr. Jones. Muppet Wiki - Every Muppet you've ever heard of and then some. Doctor Who Wiki - Who?. Little House on the Prairie Wiki - I kid you not. And this is not including things like Astronomy wikis, History wikis and all the stuff about factual information. Boy there's some stuff out there. Current Mood: geeky Tags: books, computer, geek, movies, tv, weird shit

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22nd of April, 2008

11:46 am - Pearls of the net There's a lot of chaff on the net but occasionally someone points you at some of the pearls. ceruleanst wrote a selection of pieces of William Shakespeare's screenplay for Pulp Fiction. This got metaquoted and Boing boinged. And as a result a Wiki has been set up for those who want to try and flesh out the rest of the screenplay at Pulb Bard. A lovely start to the morning :-) Current Mood: amused Tags: books, humour, movies, weird shit, writing

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20th of March, 2008

12:43 am - It went for how much!!!! Holy crap! Just reading a report from The Register where a first edition copy of The Hobbit has sold at auction for £60,000. Yes kiddies, POUNDS! I remember MANY years ago in the late 80s when my girlfriend at the time had wanted to buy me a very special present I had jokingly said that a copy of the first edition of The Hobbit would be nice. I didn't get it but at that stage one could be had for $8,000 Aussie dollars. If only my own income kept up with that sort of inflation. Current Mood: shocked Tags: books, geek, weird shit

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12th of March, 2008

11:43 am - "On the road again..." *Sighs* Last week I got a lovely little letter from my Real Estate agent informing me my Landlord was giving me notice. I have until the end of June to find a new place. Since Uni will be my main focus for the next few years I'm going to try and find something back over towards where I was living. Ironic no? It's a pity my cousin Ding is no longer alive. Not only would she have had room in her Research home, she was a former university lecturer on the History and Philosophy of Science. But I digress. The thought of packing *again* has filled me with some apprehension, but has also made me look at some of the crap I have been carting around: like the large quantity of records. Most are classical, with a fair selection of Soundtrack albums, and there's even an album from The Super Flying Fun Show which those of you old enough to remember it even existed will have probably forgotten about. So why is this an issue? Well apart from probably being unable to find a place this big that I could afford, for the entire time I've lived here the stereo has not been plugged in. So not having used it recent years, much less even assembled it in the last 12 months, it's obviously not something I need. So the stereo, the records, possibly some books, maybe even a cleanout of the costume wardrobe will become part of the move. Gods I hate moving. Current Mood: blah Tags: books, moving, uni

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5th of December, 2006

07:07 pm - Christmas Present suggestions Righto. I'm trying to find a suitable book for my 9 year-old niece for Christmas. Last year I bought Neil Gaiman's Coraline but it was a little too advanced for her (according to her mother). I was thinking the illustrated edition of Stardust might be a bit better this year though I'm not sure if it might still be a little advanced (her school report says she is reading 12 months ahead of her age group). Someone else suggested Lloyd Alexander's The Black Cauldron from the The Chronicles of Prydain series. I also bought her The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe which she apparently enjoys. Anyone have any other suggestions? Or thoughts on the ones so far? Current Mood: busy Tags: books, christmas

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21st of October, 2006

03:23 pm - DM of the Rings Oh this is beautiful! Brings back so many memories :-) http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=612 Current Mood: amused Tags: books, gaming, geek, humour

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02:10 pm - "Influential" is such a subjective term Via lucy_anne. The list of the 101 most influential people who never lived, from the book of the same name, has some interesting choices on it. When you start saying "influential" it's very much a matter of opinion. There's some names on the list that I'd never heard of, there's some there that I disagree with entirely on the basis that they're not *people* (you can stretch the argument to include Bambi as she talked but the Loch Ness Monster?). Of course then there's quibbling over the actual ranking of the list. But what's most glaring are some of the more obvious omissions. Hester Prynne (from The Scarlett Letter) makes it onto the list, yet Charlie Brown isn't there. Nor is Homer Simpson, someone who's language has become part of mainstream speech. Also not there is Frodo Baggins, or Gandalf. Given how The Lord of the Rings influenced so many music acts and "counter culture" groups, not to mention it's ranking as Number 1 on so many book polls, it's hard to fathom it's absence. No Mulder or Scully, no Winnie the Pooh, and no Big Bird who I would have rated far over the inclusion of Elmer Gantry. Still, as I said, it's very subjective. Current Mood: blah Tags: books

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9th of October, 2006

01:50 am - Weekend shennanigans Friday was MSFC's Trivia Night and I had been drafted in a Quiz Master at relatively short notice. However a large chunk of the questions had been sent inso my work was hugely difficult. I shall post the questions later. Winner on the night was king_espresso who is a big nerd. Saturday spent with the Jobhunt and sent off various "pick me" applications. Got tangentially into the idea of wanting make myself a diary/organiser for next year but to personalise it a little more. Started hunting the web figuring there should be some sort of template that could be customised to my heart's content. Alas no luck. Got an SMS at about 7:30 that jolted me out of my focus and made me realise how late it was. By this time I felt it rather late to be braving the PT system into the Eastern Suburbs to get to dcrip's party. So no party for me. Though the advice on the PT was something I should have kept in mind for today. The plan was to make my way out to the boonies raven_'s but after I: missed the train I wanted; had the next train cancelled; then discovered that buses were operating between Box Hill and Ringwood, I was beginning to wish I had stayed home and slept. I've become rather jaded with second-hand clothing. There's usually a tonne of blouses, dresses, skirts and bags but rarely much in the way of men's wear and even less that fits the *sturdier* gentleman. I was mainly going out for some socialising as I hadn't seen them in ages, so it was with much surprise that raven_ produced a vintage pair of trousers that not only fit round the middle but didn't need altering for length! Lovely dark grey/black with a shot light grey thread running through them. Nice heavy fabric with a button fly. Bargain! Special thanks also to bar_bar_ella and kits_the_dm for giving me a lift home and saving me from the PT return journey. I have a list of phone calls to make tomorrow so hopefully something will come from that. Current Mood: chipper Tags: books, costuming, job hunt, socialising, writing

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28th of September, 2006

01:01 am - Babb Chronicles update Ah. After an absence of many months, babb_chronicles has finally updated again. Now I can snark over the worst in Potter-fic without the actual pain of having to read most of it. Turn away if you value your grammar! Current Mood: amused Tags: books, writing

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4th of September, 2006

07:02 pm - Valé Colin Thiele With seemingly much less notice than Steve Irwin but with far more legacy, Colin Thiele also passed away today. While most people of my age would at least remember Storm Boy he leaves a great collection of children's liturature behind him. He'll be missed. Current Mood: sad Tags: books, dead 'uns

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24th of August, 2006

03:38 am - Occult loving Nazis As a side note not having a job at the moment is playing havoc with my body clock (not that it's ever been particularly attuned to daylight). Which explains why I'm still awake at 3:30 in the morning. Anyway... Most people by now have come across one conspiracy theory or another dealing with the occult background of the Nazi party. Whether it's the Thule-Gesellschaft or Raiders of the Lost Ark you've probably seen something. On Monday I watched an SBS documentary called The Nazi Expeditions that looked at Ernst Schäfer and Bruno Beger's involvement with the Ahnenerbe SS, a group that I had not heard of until then. I'm currently reading Charles Stross's The Atrocity Archives. Imagine the Lovecraftian horrors are real. Then imagine that the people charged with keeping them at bay are the British Civil Service. Which is scarier? Anyway as part of the background for the plot a character mentions that the Holocaust was actually human sacrifice on a massive scale for an occult summoning that would have made the Manhattan Project look like amateur night. The concept is one that's made my head spin and go *wha?* I've never read of that idea being used in that way before. I am really enjoying his books. They really make you think about things in a new way. Current Mood: awake Tags: books

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23rd of August, 2006

04:12 pm - Interesting links It seems in the Chinese village of Huangyangtan hosts what must be the strangest military installation have built. A 900x700m scale landscape of the disputed area on the Chinese/Indian border. Long-lost Jacques Cartier settlement rediscovered at Quebec City. The remains of the fort that predate the 1608 founding. George Bush now says Iraq had ‘Nothing’ to do with 9/11. Sort of like Weapons of Mass Destruction... One for mortonhall. New York, done in Lego. I'd love to see and aerial shot of this. It must be huge. And lastly Red-Hot and Filthy Library Smut. No, not that sort. Perfectly work-safe. Though I'll admit to getting rather excited at some of the photos. Current Mood: blah Tags: books, history, politics, weird shit

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27th of July, 2006

12:22 am - My Books Via revolution_grrl They can't sing, can't dance and pronounce "books" likes it's 'burkes' but they get several large amounts of points for both amusement and original idea content :-) My Books! Current Mood: amused Tags: books, humour

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11th of July, 2006

05:46 pm - Best packaging ever I received a book today from the US (Karl Wagner's Exorcisms and Ecstasies). It's secondhand but the packaging ensured there was now way this book was going to be damaged in transit. First, the book was wrapped in gladwrap, then wrapped in a layer of bubble-wrap. Over this was several pages worth of newpaper wrapping. And finally into a box filled with packing peanuts. No chance this was ever being damaged in the Post! Current Mood: blah Tags: books

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10th of July, 2006

10:43 pm - Book meme Via sebastian_tombs ( How many Hugo winners have you read? Me= 19/52 ) Current Mood: geeky Tags: books, quizes & memes

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4th of July, 2006

03:57 pm - Top Review! Many years ago Laurell K. Hamilton started writing the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter books. I liked them. The world was one where vampires had been recognised as citizen under US law but how do you lock up a criminal who can bench-press your average Mercedes? You don't. You send the Executioner in. Anita also had a steady job raising zombies - mainly for contested wills though sometimes in murder cases. Anita had a very sarcastic sense of humour and wasn't afraid to pull guns on any monsters she came up against. Then she started getting "power of the week". In addition to Necromancer stuff, she got Vampire Marks, then some voodune stuff, then vampiric control over wolves, then the "Triumvirate", then the "ardeur" and the books are now pretty much about which supernatural beasties (and I do mean plural) Anita is bonking this week. Early on one of the fanlists coined the phrase "necroboinking". It's got well past that. I gave up in disgust at book 11. Read what one ex-fan thinks of Hamilton's 14th instalment in the series. What's the Jumping the Shark equivalent for fiction series? Hat-tip bondchick_nett Current Mood: amused Tags: books

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19th of June, 2006

08:33 am - Updateness Last Thursday mortonhall came round to give me a hand at putting things on Ebay. I've bought before but never sold. Might have to get some final words of wisdom from raven_ but should have some stuff up fairly soon. Though it seems I'll need to get myself a set of kitchen scales. (Though a friend asked on Saturday how I baked without them. I responded with a blank look and said "I buy it from a cake shop?") :-) Friday night I caught up with binka_boo at a jazz club called Dizzy's. The music was quite good and seemed to be more of a jam session for various people rather than a set band. Saturday I was rather lethargic and missed getting up to see Bravo! but I'll get myself along soon. Went to the Combined Clubs mini-Con and enjoyed some interesting discussions about fan-clubs and fans. Thought I'd drop in on thebaronmk1 & missmargaret to see how their move had gone and found a few others had similar ideas. Ended up staying for dinner and a few drinks. Sunday was another Continuum meeting discussing the programme. It's all looking good. I also started Charlie Stross's The Family Trade on Thursday and am about 3/4 of the way through. Absolutely love it (and said as much to Charlie in my last email. Moi? Fanboi?) As for last weeks post about feeling like absolute crap I'm feeling *better* but stil not great. I think catching up with friends (and having a few people ring) helped. Though I really feel like I need a break. I've had time off but never anything of length in the last two years. Though the way the job hunting is going I may get a break all too soon :-/ Current Mood: blah Tags: books, geek, non-virtual life

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15th of June, 2006

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29th of April, 2006

02:50 am - Books and selling them This evening I was talking with dcrisp and mortonhall about replacement value for books, which lead into thoughts of possibly selling a couple of books to pay off debts. The two in particular that I mentioned I checked via Advanced Book Exchange to see if the turned up. They did. Codex Derynianus. Listed for $1799.50 USD. Mine is either 5/500 or 'S' (I believe some additional copies for the authors were "numbered" with letters). The other was the centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings, slipcased and signed by ALan Lee. Selling for between $1750.00 and $2000 USD. Even a poor condition copy is still selling for $675.00 USD. Assuming I *could* sell them that's probably $5000 AUD right there! Might really have to think hard on this. Current Mood: contemplative Tags: books

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11th of April, 2006

06:46 pm - For a true book collector? Police are trying to locate the owner of a 300-year-old ledger, bound in human skin, found in a Leeds road. Makes you wonder what the thief was after in the first place. Current Mood: intrigued Tags: books, weird shit

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20th of March, 2006

03:53 pm - Recent media consumption I've caught up on a few things recently that I've been wanting to look at. Life Aquatic Possibly one of the most boring films I've seen in ages. I've read some reviews that called it a great comedy. I didn't laugh once. I think it might have been a very particular satire on some of the documentary film makers but as far as being entertaining goes you could could watch paint dry. At least the fumes might make for a diversion. The Proposition I found the most ironic thing of the movie was that as something set in Colonial Australia, written by an Australian, and staring a large portion of Australians in the cast, it was a "UK Films production". It's a pity that Australian produced films are nearly extinct. Anyway I quite enjoyed this one. The settings were very realistic and though some of the violence may have been a little close to the edge for dramatic purposes, none of it felt gratuitous. Some great performances from Ray Winstone and John Hurt (though I thought David Wenham was rather flat) and it was nice to see Emily Watson again. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman *Finally* got round to reading this (thanks to drjon). A very enjoyable book. While I'd heard large chunks of it thanks to Neil's reading last year I still managed to hear Lenny Henry's voice every time one of the West Indian women started talking :-) It also reminds me that I need to read American Gods again though I've been informed there's an extended "Author's Cut" available. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope One of the classic 19th century novels that has since become the cliche of doubles and mixed identities. With a few anachronisms in it's social values it still reads remarkably well today. Very inspiring for my own writing. Current Mood: busy Tags: books, dvds, movies, reviews

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20th of January, 2006

10:12 pm - Hello hansom? Last weekend some friends told me about a book called The Mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume which had originally been published in the late 1800s. What was unusual about the book was that in addition to critical acclaim at the time the story was also set in Melbourne during the same period. Talk about a godsend for period research! Anyway I was looking around various second-hand listings and found it was readily available being most recently reprinted in the 80s. This evening on my train ride home I end up sitting opposite a woman who is just starting to read the same book! Being unable to resist I apologise for disturbing her and ask if she'd purchased the book recently. Turns out she works for the local publisher and they're in the process of reprinting the book (it's released in about 2 weeks) as Hume's book will be part of the VCE this year. I tell her about my recent discovery of the book and she kindly offers to give me her copy as she can get another from work. Score! Current Mood: hot Current Music: Pirates of Penzance - I Am A Pirate King Tags: books, history, weird shit

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13th of January, 2006

12:10 am - Costume Pr0n There's a new book coming out called The Tudor Tailor. While I've never really been interested in the Tudor period per se, I can see that many of the fashions and pieces could quite easily be adapted to other costumes (like a Landsknechte if I'm ever feeling adventurous). But what's got me really excited is that their next project is going to the The Stuart Tailor: reconstructing 17th century dress ! Squeeeee! So I'm going to buy a copy of the book. You should too! *nods* Current Mood: weird Tags: books, costuming

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8th of January, 2006

08:17 pm - Updates, some annoyances and news Friday night I headed down to Mum's to fix the headlights on the Volvomort. Chris had bought a replacement switch but the socket that it fitted into was out of stock. Thankfully my brother said this wouldn't be a problem and, after stirring me about actually completing something to do with car maintenance myself, stripped the old socket and re-clipped the wires to fit directly onto the switch. At times it can be handy to have an electrician in the family. We also fixed the angle of one of the headlights as it had fallen forward. Saturday I helped Mum out with a few computer things and looked through the Christmas scrapbooking pages she's making. There's some old memories there! I also sat through One Magic Christmas which turned out to be ok though rather predictable. Mum and I headed off to the local Safeway to try and find a sink strainer: the little metal thing you put in the kitchen sink that that stops most of the bits left over from washing your dishes going down the drain. You'd think they'd be common as muck right? Both the local Safeway here didn't have any nor did the Coles. The K-Marts in Northcote and Preston didn't have them nor did the two Coles Express stores in the city. Or Target. Ans it turns out that while both the Coles and the Safeway in Pakenham do normally stock them they're both out of stock. Has this item suddenly become the "must have" item for 2006? It's just bizarre! And while I'm on the subject of hard to find items, Kiwi black shoe cream. I've been trying to find this for nearly 6 months. There's a tonne of navy cream around but I can't find any black. I finally gave up and bought some shoe cream from the Myer shoe department. Got some more read on The Historian which is proving rather enjoyable. Saturday night went round to raven_'s and was there when they received some wonderful news. Bouncy happy people :-) Current Mood: curious Tags: books, car, dvds

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17th of December, 2005

05:02 pm - Week in review Tuesday: Saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with horngirl, dcrisp and quiet101. I enjoyed this one. While not my favourite of the 4 so far it has some great moments though things seem very rushed. Considering how much the story has been condensed I wasn't really surprised. It's NOT a kid's movie though. Stories I've heard of parents taking in 8 or 6 year-olds just stun me. Must write the review this evening. Friday night was the Rawdon's Regiment of Foote break-up dinner at the Hofbrauhaus. I haven't been there in years. Despite the expense it was a great night out. Good thing I didn't drive! Today I called in to Slow Glass Books to pick up some books I've had on order. New books: Class Dis-Mythed by Robert Asprin & Jody Lynn Nye The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova Apprehensions and Other Delusions by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro These should keep me busy for a bit. I also managed to catch up on a bit of movie viewing by finally watching The Island (very impressive), Bad Santa (meh), Be Cool (pretty average) and The Prince & Me (no, I don't know why either). Now I'm off to make my nephew a Jedi costume for Christmas. Current Mood: tired Tags: books, costuming, dvds, re-enacting

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8th of December, 2005

11:58 pm - The death of creativity. [rant on] Re-imagining, re-invention or just fucking it up? I know there are many writers who are one trick ponies. Sometimes they'll come up with an idea but rather than move on they'll milk it for everything its worth. The broader example of this is the committee process that goes in to making a TV series or a movie. Rather than focusing on producing something new or something interesting often all the public gets is a rehash of the same crap they've had dozens of times before. Occasionally there's a new twist that makes it all fresh but more often than not it's a rather turgid reheating. Neil Gaiman's blog mentions Disney's latest attempt of "updating" a rather timeless story. Maybe it's just the impossibly cosy nature of the 'hood, but for 80 years there has been no change in the resident line-up of the Hundred Acre Wood. Guess who's coming for honey? As part of a barrel-full of Winnie the Pooh anniversary events, Disney is working on a new animated series that will replace Christopher Robin with a 6-year-old girl. This sort of shit has been tried before. Not long ago Warner Brothers tried to revamp the Loony Toons characters into some sort of digital hip thing. A few years ago a prat remake Psycho using exactly the same shooting script! Actually the whole concept of "remaking" movies is a relatively new one. I know some early movies were remade to take advantage of sound but mostly once something was filmed that was it. Occasionally you'd get remakes of classic stories like Shakespeare or some of the Dickens' stories but remaking Gone with the Wind? Nope. Remake The Wizard of Oz? Nope? What about a remake of The Great Escape? Or how about a remake of Cassablanca? There is a reason that many films and books become iconic. Usually it has something to do with the right mix of details that mean that even after the era they were produced they find new people who appreciate them. The Lord of the Rings is over 50 years old yet has never been out of print. Same for the Chronicles of Narnia. Same for Winnie the Pooh for that matter. There was a time when the PC police tried to snip anything that might be bad out of things like Noddy or Huckleberry Finn (but it says "nigger"!) but they've never tried to re-write it with new characters. Will they produce new editions of Peter Rabbit with a black funky talking rabbit to make it more appealing? Or what about remaking Little Women with a brother instead of a sister? But it seems that the world's biggest hacks can't seem to take something "as is". They'll take out the knives in the feet for the Little Mermaid (and no dieing at the end for that matter), they can make Pocahontas into a love story, they can update Jane into a more modern woman for Tarzan, they can even try to resurrect a sad and pathetic VW. Even then it's usually a story that's been written by some-one else that they's bought the rights to. It's no wonder they're the biggest proponents of extending copyright expiration: they haven't had an original idea in about 50 years. Just leave it the fuck alone! Current Mood: annoyed Tags: books, movies, weird shit

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26th of October, 2005

05:00 pm - Anne Rice finds god You all know who Anne Rice is: horror writer who had a really good idea and then squeezed it for all she could until she was pushing its battered equine corpse across the desert. Well it seems she's found religion again. Which is fine. But sadly she wants to write more stories and now she'll put Jesus in them. While I'm big fan of historical fiction even this is not enough for me to be willing to go back to Anne Rice. Current Mood: good Tags: books

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11th of October, 2005

04:03 pm - Scary people Via sebastian_tombs The Harry Potter Dancers. The pain! The Pain! Current Mood: Yes Tags: books, geek, weird shit

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6th of September, 2005

10:46 pm - Harry Potter fandom People used to hang shit on Star Trek fans for having no life. People still hang shit on Doctor Who fans. And Star Wars fans are thrown the "get a life" thing as Star Wars loses its cool factor again. But Harry Potter fans. I'd originally thought they were mostly either kids or teenagers. Then I read the books and enjoyed them but wasn't a *hardcore* fan by any stretch of the imagination. Then I discovered that whole realm of Potter-slashfic. Now I am quite open about my dislike of fanfic. Most slash I dislike because they rework the characters so hard to get them into the situations that they're no longer the characters (Harry and Draco? Puh-leez!) Even the hetero "shippers" are no better. Some of the more painful efforts are collected here babb_chronicles and are enough to make you wish you couldn't read. But the worst I've found? http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ultimate_betrayal Fer fuck's sake! These fans make people who get married in full Klingon attire with Klingonese wedding vows seem normal. Get over it! Aren't there enough 'tards in the world without you lot? Geez! Current Mood: aggravated Tags: books, geek, weird shit

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24th of August, 2005

11:55 am - Harry Potter ( Half-Blood Prince discussion follows. Yes there are spoilers. ) EDIT: and because saying "Yes there are spoilers" in the cut text isn't enough for some people I'll say again: *Spoilers!* If you haven't read the book don't read the post! Current Mood: pleased Tags: books

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20th of July, 2005

02:19 pm - Harry Potter Conversation to share This was just too good not to share with every one. By fahrenheitbbv in this post in customers_suck: Another lovely customer from my local Blockbuster. Man: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, please. Me: We don't sell books here. Man: (universal "Are you stupid?" look) I'm looking for the movie! Me: The movie hasn't been made yet, sir. Man: Then what's all this I'm hearing about the new Harry Potter? Me: It's the new Harry Potter book. Man: All that hype for a book based on the movies? I don't think so! It must be a movie! Me: The movies are based on the books. And this is a new book, so I estimate the movie is still a long way off. Man: I saw someone coming out of here just now, with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. (As it turned out, my co-worker Tyler, who had just left, had his copy with him to read on his break) Me: That was one of our co-workers, and.. Man: Oh, I forgot! Blockbuster employees can rent anything they want and hide it from the customers! (I don't know what that was about. Maybe about the fact we can rent new releases a week early.) Me: No, what I'm saying is that was his own personal copy. He didn't get it from here. Man: That's impossible! It was thick, and rectangle shaped, like a video! (Or like a book?) Me: Sir, Half-Blood Prince is only a book. And we don't sell books. Man: I'm just going to come back and talk to someone who knows what they're talking about. I wish we had that luxury. Current Mood: amused Tags: books, geek

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12th of July, 2005

11:21 am - Preparing for Harry Potter Since some of the drooling fangirls on my friends list are extremely anxious about the pending release of the next Potter book, people should be pointed The EMPIRE Guide To Preparing For HBP. Here at the campaign headquarters of EMPIRE (Everyone Must Post In Reasonable English), it has become almost impossible to ignore the increasing levels of tension and anticipation that are permeating the small but somewhat excitable world that is the Harry Potter fandom. Don't say: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! Do say: I am excited by this forthcoming literary event. Don't say: WHERE IZ DA HOT SLASHY 2-BOY ACTION????? JK you SUXIN repressed BITCH!!!111 Do say: Marcel Proust, wouldst that thou were living in this hour! Current Mood: amused Tags: books, geek

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12th of June, 2005

12:00 am - Laws of Olde England My favourite little snippet from this book I meant to post earlier but I'll put it in now. Before peers lost the right to be tried before the House of Lords, a woman could be married to two men and not be found guilty of bigamy - if the first of the two marriages was to a commoner and the second to a peer of the realm. As a peeress, she would have had the right to be tried by the House of Lords, who would have been obliged to acquit her - if they had tried to convict her, they would have established the first marriage in law, which would mean that she was not a peeress and they would have no jurisdiction. Equally, if the crown court tried to convict, it would acknowledge the rank conferred by her second marriage, negating its own jurisdiction. Gotta love it. Current Mood: gloomy Tags: books, history, weird shit

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7th of June, 2005

10:37 am - A book to add to my list Darknet : Hollywood's War Against the Digital Generation I think I might have to add this one to my wishlist. It certainly looks like it will be an interesting read. Current Mood: blah Tags: books, copyright & censorship, geek, movies

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