Highlander: Episode 1 The Gathering

Netflix is a thing of wonder*. While initially I was disappointed that the shows I really wanted to watch weren’t available (Netflix options are far more limited in Canada than the US), I’ve been pretty entertained since we got it.

Today, I bit the bullet and decided to start watching Highlander: The Series from season 1. I loved this show when I was a kid (I was 11 when it premiered – I don’t know if I was watching it as it aired, or reruns, or if I didn’t see it until later seasons, or what). I’ve been curious if it’ll be as awesome now that I’m an adult and used to modern day special effects.

4 minutes in, I had to pause it so I could start writing.

Here is my list of Tweets I Never Made. ****

1. I love Queen. Does Highlander have the best opening credits song of all time? It just might.
2. The show starts with a blurry, soft-lighted sex scene. I giggled. Way to capture the audience’s interest.
3. Richie made me giggle before he said or even did anything. He’s wearing a bandana and a leather jacket, so he’s CLEARLY some kind of rebellious kid. But he’s also clean shaven with cute hair, so you know he’s not really all bad. Hello TV tropes of the 80s and early 90s. I’ve missed you.
4. When Duncan goes to investigate the shop, all shirtless and shiny, it actually makes sense that he’s all shirtless and shiny, because he was just having Teh Secks.
5. The Immortal with the creepy metal mask really should have invested in some extra plates to cover his neck. Just seems logical to me.
6. I never realised that Connor MacLeod made any appearances in the show! RAD.
7. Eight minutes in. MANY broken windows*****. Sugar glass is the new door.
8. Just watched a cop put his glasses on as punctuation. He’s no Horatio Crane.
9. MORE BLURRY NUDITY
10. Can’t tell if Tess’ jacket is supposed to be haute couture or defense against arrows.
11. Love it when the antagonist stops what he’s doing in order to provide us with some exposition.
12. The bad guy puts on his creepy metal mask, proclaiming he’s protecting his most valuable asset. He should value his neck more. Just sayin’.

I was going to make some jokes about Duncan and how my mom thought he was dreamy, but I can’t actually remember if she ever has said anything that indicates that to me. She had a big thing for Kevin Sorbo, though.

 

 

She probably thought Adrian Paul was steamy too.

In other related stories, while looking for an appropriate Highlander picture I found this:

…which made me go HUH. And also this:

…which made me giggle. Not that I doubt Wesley could effectively wield a sword (well, efficiently ruthless Wesley of later Angel years, at any rate) but I very clearly searched “Highlander the series”. Maybe I’ll be surprised with an appearance by Alexis Denisof?

 

 

*It is also a thing of mass procrastination**, but we aren’t going to talk about that.

**So (obviously) is the internet in general, and this blog more specifically.***

***We aren’t going to talk about that, either.

**** Hashtag #Highlander or #RewatchingHighlander or maybe #OldSkoolTeeVeesAreAwesome

***** MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY

Opinions Unsolicited: Fringe–Concentrate and Ask Again

I saw tonight’s episode, I understand why the shippers are all up in arms.

But please. Stop. Think.

Sam has intentionally misled Olivia in the past to get her to where she needed to be to heal. What’s to stop him from doing the same with Nina? Also, please note: he said the machine has the power to create as well as destroy. And then only talked about destruction. I’ve been watching this show long enough to know that things might not be as straightforward as we’re being led to believe they are. Also, there are no throw away lines. If it was said, it’s important.

But then, maybe I just want to believe that the fate of the universes don’t rest in the hands of a convoluted love-triangle.

As per the note: It is so vague as to be meaningless. Was he listening long enough to understand the complexity of what’s going on? How was he even able to distinguish between one Olivia and the other in such an abstract form? The “her” in the note could just as easily refer to our Olivia as Fauxlivia. And even if it is about Fauxlivia, of course he still has feelings! It would be ridiculous to think otherwise. What the note doesn’t do is specify what those feelings are, or how they are being intellectualised. Having a feeling is not the same as acting on a feeling. And then there’s also being in the position of having your feelings betrayed—in my experience, it doesn’t change those feelings, it simply adds a layer of pain on top of them.

There are a lot of issues for Peter and Olivia to work through here. They have to learn to reconcile with the truth of what happened, and that couldn’t possibly happen overnight. They have to also re-learn how to relate to one another from a place where the hurt Fauxlivia’s covert operation caused isn’t a driving factor.

And then there’s the episode title: Concentrate and Ask Again.

Sure, it could just be a reference to the magic 8-ball.

To me, it sounds like we’re being told to think harder.

Opinions Unsolicited: Bay of the Dead by Mark Morris

My friend Chandra (find her at either SakuraLovesTea on Twitter or on her blog Dreaming in Red) sent me home on Christmas Eve with bags of things to read. BAGS. So after reading those two Doctor Who ebooks, I thought it was time to move on to new subject matter and a different format.

So I read the Torchwood novel that she’d thrown in the bag.

I’ll come right out and say it: it’s only okay. I was expecting a more advanced read, frankly, considering the subject matter of the show. Other than the gore, this book seems to be intended for a much younger audience than the show is aimed at. It was a reasonably simple plot, and very a quick read (I blew through the 238 pages in under three hours).

The main reason I picked this book out of my enormous pile of things to read is this: I miss Ianto. I know, I know, I only finished watching Torchwood about three days ago, but there you have it. I would happily read every last Torchwood book just to take in all the amusing Iantoisms. And pleasingly enough, the cover of Bay of the Dead features Ianto, looking sharp as usual, wearing an uncharacteristically bold red shirt (just ignore the blood spatter and dismembered corpses in the background….)

 

Why, yes, I am easily amused. Why do you ask?

 

The plot revolves around Cardiff being overwhelmed with zombies. Just think of any zombie movie in recent memory, but our team is divided into two groups throughout most of the book rather than working as a single unit, with Gwen and Rhys running around trying to get… somewhere… while Jack and Ianto are tasked with actually trying to sort out what’s going on. (This book takes place after Toshiko and Owen have died. Well, after Toshiko died and Owen’s reanimated corpse got trapped in a nuclear plant containment cell. I can think of half a dozen ways his character could be brought back given the circumstances set up within the show. But anyway, I’m writing about the book. I could write a detailed essay about my opinions and feelings about the deaths of main characters in the series. Maybe one day, I will.)

My favourite part of the book might very well be when Jack gets his throat torn by a zombie, falls and knocks himself unconscious. Ianto is so used to him dying he deosn’t bother to check for a pulse, and just assumes he’ll revive and heal himself, meanwhile Jack is frustrated he didn’t die because now he has to deal with the pains of concussion and bruising. I giggled. A lot.

Yes, yes. Easily amused. We covered that already.

Also a big point in the book’s favour: the word ersatz was deftly used more than once. A+ to Mr Morris.

I don’t think I actually have anything more to say about the book. So I’m going to throw out a few amusing quotes that have to do with Ianto, because those were my favourite bits to read.

 

Jack had once remarked that you could cook eggs on the heat of the sexual tension between him and then statuesque policewoman. Ianto hadn’t been sure whether Jack was joking, and therefore couldn’t now work out whether he ought to be jealous or not.

##

”I’m always careful,” Jack said out of the corner of his mouth. “Just be ready with the handcuffs.” 

“If I had a penny for every time you’ve used that line,” Ianto deadpanned.

##

”I don’t ‘scamper’. I stride. Briskly but with dignity.”

##

And, very likely my favourite quote of the book:

”Just ignore him. He likes to show off. He’s not even a real American.”

Opinions Unsolicited: Human Nature vs Human Nature

The second of my Doctor Who ebooks is Human Nature, by Paul Cornell. In the third series of new Who, there’s a two-parter that starts with an episode of the same name, with the same premise, written by the same person. The book, however, was written in 1992, while the episodes Human Nature and Family of Blood aired in 2007.

So basically, this has been an exercise in comparing and contrasting.

Which I adore because I’m an enormous dork.

Within the first several chapters, I noticed (as would any fan of the show) a couple of fun coincidences between the book and the episodes which simply could not have been intentional. When Cornell wrote the book it was 92, there was no inkling yet of the show starting up again, or who would be cast in the role. Yet the John Smith in the book believes himself to be Scottish. And one of the villains of the tale tries to pass himself off as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor as part of a ruse.

I know, I know. Coincidence! But it amused me deeply.

Overall, the stories are quite similar, but there are notable differences. The book is about the 7^th Doctor, and he becomes John Smith not to hide, but for respite from himself. His companion here is Professor Bernice Summerfield, who poses as his niece and rents a small house in town. Our villains are still after Time Lord, but for different reasons; in the show, they wanted to feed off a Time Lord, and John Smith simply would not do, while in the book they weren’t after Smith at all but rather the Pod that contained his Time Lord data (which was a pocket watch in the show).

The book makes reference to characters I haven’t encountered in the old series yet (Ace again, Romana, Lord Rassilon, and I think there was even a veiled reference to the Master in there), but I know enough about the mythos of Doctor Who for that not to be an impediment to my enjoying the story. And how I enjoyed the story! After the first few chapters, I found I forgot almost entirely about my exercise in comparing the book to the show. Cornell introduces a bevy of fascinating characters, Alexander Shuttleworth, Richard Handleman, Constance, and of course Bernice. I adored them all, and was eager to learn how they would all deal with the plight they found themselves in. (Of interest (to me): Benny has a “portable history unit”, which basically is a wifi e-book or tablet pc and allows you to browse the books of whatever library you have accounts with. Mr. Cornell saw the future of reading technology. Fun times!)

I think I preferred the Joan Redfern of the show than the one in the book, but that could have to do with the ways in which the stories are different (and also the ways in which John and the Doctor are different). Either way, Joan loves John Smith, but in the show she struck me as a quieter, stronger woman. In the book, she is not a nurse but a science teacher, though she is called upon to tend injuries on more than one occasion. (Her profession has nothing to do with my preference for one version over the other, it was merely an observation).

We also still have young Tim finding the Pod (or pocket watch in the series), though he plays a much larger part in the book. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise, really, since a writer has the luxury of giving its players considerably more to do with a couple hundred pages than it does with ninety minutes. I enjoyed his expanded role in the book a great deal. He is still tormented by the other boys at the school, far worse than was shown on screen, but he comes through it even better than Tim did in the series.

I was disappointed there isn’t a Baines in the book, but then, the family doesn’t operate in the same way. In the show, they possess the humans they come in contact with; in the novel, they are shape shifters that were able to take on the form of any flesh they consumed. (The book was considerably gorier than the show). And anyway, half of the appeal of Baines was the delivery of his lines, which wouldn’t have come across the same way in the book. Another point of interest, the young girl (called Aphasia in the book) has her red balloon that goes everywhere with her. Her evil, horrible, red balloon. Whenever I rewatch the show, I’ll look at the red balloon and shudder.

Some of the biggest differences I noted had little to do with who was or wasn’t present, but were in the Doctor himself. In the show, you discover the Doctor was running from the Family of Blood in order to be kind to them – he knew he would do horrible and cruel things to them to prevent them hurting anyone else. In the book, he becomes John Smith in order to escape himself. I don’t know what’s happened to leave him so disillusioned (in Nightshade he was attempting to find himself as well, and considering settling down and retiring from his adventuresome ways), but obviously it’s something enormous. Whatever the cause, this difference in character motivation drastically changes the outcome of the romantic plot. 10 tells Joan he is capable of everything John Smith was, that everything Smith was came from a place within him. 7 tells Joan he is incapable of the feelings John Smith had because he is in no way human. In one story, the Doctor is refusing to be the man Joan wants, in the other, Joan is refusing to be with the Doctor who is the man she loved but also—terrifyingly—more.

Also interesting to note, in the show, the Doctor became human in an attempt to be kind, to prevent cruelty and harm, but in the novel, that is why John Smith allowed himself to become the Doctor once more. I find this reversal fascinating; within the context of their respective stories, bearing in mind the other differences at play in the character development of the Doctor, both decisions make sense. In the book, the Time War hasn’t occurred, Gallifrey is still kicking around with its orange sky. In one story we have the Doctor as yet untouched by the loss of his home planet and people, while in the other we have the more hardened Doctor, who has had to make unconscionable decisions and deal with loss the likes of which I can’t begin to fathom. The same Time Lord we know and love, responding to events around them differently due to changes in circumstance.

I’ve often wondered what would have happened how 9 would have coped with Donna, or how 11 would have reacted to that first encounter with Jack. Put 10 in 11’s place to deal with the alien menace in The Lodger, and things would have worked out quite differently (I think 10 would have run upstairs the first chance he got, eager to push mysterious buttons). This book has done exactly that. Instead of 10, we have 7 in a similar set of circumstances, and the differences in character cause the story to evolve differently.

And I love it.

There were a few scenes in the novel that I really wish had been kept in the show, but for budgetary and general feelings of squikiness I can understand why they didn’t blow up the school with a bomb that turned all the people within it to fused glass. It would have looked cool, though.

And sadly, the book had no creepy scarecrows.

 

Wow. This turned out longer than anticipated. And I don’t think it’s even that complete, or smooth a read…

If only I could bring myself to work on my own writings this way. I’d be three pages closer to down Asylum!

Opinions Unsolicited: Nightshade

While cruising around feedbooks.com looking for free poetry, classic horror, and tales of Oscar Wilde (with the intent of making my reading selections more distinguished and refined—because hey! I have class! Or something…) I stumbled upon a couple of perhaps-not-quite-so-classy-but-oodles-of-fun gems: no-cost Doctor Who tales. There were a handful of them available for free, but the two I grabbed had a particular draw; they were authored by fellows whose names I recognise from the writing credits for the show.

Furthermore, one of the two books is titled Human Nature*, which happens to be the first half of one of my favourite two-parters in the series.

I read Nightshade first, penned by Mark Gatiss, who wrote the episodes “The Unquiet Dead” (in which we first learn about the rift in Cardiff), “The Idiot’s Lantern” (in which televisions steal people’s faces; also the episode that inspired me and Mr. B to wail HUUUUUNGGRYYYY whenever we find ourselves feeling peckish), and “Victory of the Daleks” (in which 11 holds the new Dalek forces at bay with a jam-cookie). He also played the part of Professor Lazarus in “The Lazarus Experiment” (in which the fountain of youth machine yields unpleasant side-effects).

Nightshade was a difficult book for me to read. The first several chapters are about being introduced to new characters and then being taken on a trip down their memory lane, only to be brought back to the present day (in this case, the present day is the 23^rd of December, 1968) and start the process over with a new character. While it becomes obvious why this emphasis on the character’s pasts exist later on, I found it somewhat tedious in the beginning. The eeriness and overall mystery of the situation kept me ploughing through, however, and I’m glad that I stuck through it.

It could be confusing at times, dealing with a companion I’m not familiar with (Ace) and therefore not being certain which incarnation of the Doctor I’m supposed to be imagining; I suppose that just means I need to get caught up on what old Doctor Who serials I can find on Netflix (see this arm? Made of rubber). **

All told, the mood and the characters kept me going through the story, even when I was frustrated that some person or another needed to go back to whatever place they just left yet again. There was a lot of travelling back and forth between two locations that could somehow have been streamlined. I’ve noticed this in a lot of television programs as well. Come to think of it, the first Doctor Who serial I watched—The Aztecs—suffered from this same issue. I shrugged it off as writers struggling to bridge the gap between radio scripts and television ones, but perhaps this was a hallmark of the shows early days?

I enjoyed Nightshade well enough to want to write about it, although I don’t seem to be doing a very good job at writing much that’s positive about it. Shame on me. It has atmosphere, an interesting villain with an eerie modus operandi, and engaging characters. I struggled through the first bit of the book, but once I crested the sixth chapter, any thoughts of giving up on the book fled my mind.

Now I’m going on to read the second of the books I downloaded. I’ll write something up about that one when I’ve finished it.

* That’s right, Human Nature. Written in 1992. About Dr. John Smith teaching history in a boy’s school with WW1 on the doorstep. I couldn’t resist.

**A quick trip to Wikipedia informed me that the Doctor in question here is 7. It looks like I have a long way to go before I get to meet him in the Netflix queue.

Opinions Unsolicited: Need by Carrie Jones

I finished reading this last night.

I liked the story, mostly.

I liked the characters, mostly.

I really love the cover.

The premise: Zara is shipped off to live with her grandmother in a small Maine town after her stepfather's death [by heart attack, which Zara had the displeasure of witnessing] has left her an emotional void.

Over and over again throughout the book, I was pulled out of the narrative. It's a good story, but I have issues with certain elements. Sometimes the issue was word choice - for several pages at a time I would find the same word being used to describe different actions. Often I was frustrated with how none of the adults behaved as adults.

I was also frustrated with the way everyone knew everyone else. I understand its a small town, and that people know each other. But Zara was the only stranger here, and instead of this giving me, as the reader, an impression of her outsider status, it gave me the impression that it was done for convenience's sake.

And I kept finding that particular niggling annoyance over, and over again. Half-hearted explanations for important plot elements; overly simplistic character arcs.

I used to love reading YA fiction. Maybe I need to move past that, because I'm finding myself having similar frustrations over and over again.

I liked the book. I wouldn't have finished it otherwise. I loved Zara's voice, particularly Zara when she was detached and broken. It was brilliantly done, and there were many observations she made in that state that resonated with me. I've been depressed, and I related very well to the thought processes and the skewed outlook, and also the quiet re-awakening of her more normal self throughout the story.

I liked Betty, her grandmother, even though she sounded more like a teenage older sister than a grandmother. I liked the mythology within the novel, even though I felt like it needed some extra flesh to hang from its bones.

I liked the overall story, even though I was able to predict all the 'twists' save one or two. I felt as though it were an okay story that could have been mind-blowing if someone had asked the author some hard questions during the editorial process.

I'd read more of her books, or at least, more following these particular characters to see how things evolve. Carrie Jones didn't win me over with Need, but she piqued my interest enough that I'd give her a second chance.

Opinions Unsolicited: Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr

I started reading it yesterday afternoon. I finished it sometime after midnight. That was with a break to visit with my neighbours and a dinner break as well.
I tend to do that with Melissa Marr’s novels. I just find myself so drawn into the story that the idea of putting the book down before I know what happens next is a vile, loathsome thing.

Mr. B. Probably thinks that my retreat into the pages of a book that is nigh impossible to distract me from is a vile and loathsome thing. I’m fairly certain you could set me on fire, and I wouldn’t notice until my hands were burning and thusly could no longer hold the book.

But anyways, we’re talking about Fragile Eternity here, not my propensity to get so wholly absorbed in words on a page that I stop responding to the world at large.
The third instalment of Marr’s Faery series centers around Seth Morgan, who is, if you haven’t been keeping up with the series, the boyfriend of Aislinn — the teenage girl turned faery Queen of the Summer Court who is trying to balance having a somewhat normal human life with being the ruler of a troupe of the very beings she spent her entire life avoiding at all costs.

In Fragile Eternity, Seth is dealing with being stuck between two worlds. He’s too human to be a part of the Faery world, and he knows too much about faeries and their world to walk away and return to a purely human state of affairs. Add to the mix the coming of summer, which dials up the magical imperative his girlfriend is burdened with to be constantly near the Summer King, and things aren’t looking too keen for poor Seth.

I really enjoyed this instalment. In Wicked Lovely, we saw Seth through Aislinn’s eyes: he was her rock, her confidante, and he was perfect. I appreciated him then, even if we were only given a one dimensional view through Aislinn’s love-tinted glasses. Everyone should have someone that they feel is there for them, no matter what, and Seth was undeniably there for Aislinn.

In Fragile Eternity, we are given the reverse: we see Aislinn and how she’s changed through Seth’s eyes. He’s still there for her as much as he can be, but due to his fragile human state, it can’t be as often as he’d like. We see his frustration with Aislinn’s growing power and how he feels like he’s losing her, we see his envy of the faeries of her court, and his jealousy at Keenan’s machinations. He’s maddeningly, woefully human surrounded by magic and power that he can’t hope to touch or understand.

Until he realises that there is hope, after all.

It makes for a wonderful story.

I couldn’t help but feel terrible for Seth, but I also felt terrible for Aislinn. She was born human, and has been at this faery business for less than a year by the time the novel starts. She has to learn that she can’t behave like the teenage girl she still thinks that she is, she has to discover that those who were her friends while she was a fledgling faery are only her friends now if it doesn’t interfere with the needs of their respective courts. And Keenan’s misdirection and manipulations help to ensure that he is the only ‘friend’ that Aislinn has left. It’s unfortunate that Aislinn trusts Keenan so much, but with no one to give her solid reasons not to trust him, she can’t really be faulted for wanting to believe he is a good person.

Which, on occasion, he is. But not nearly enough to make up for all the shady things he says and does for the ‘benefit’ of his Court.

I can’t wait to read the fourth instalment.

Opinions Unsolicited: Goblins - Life Through Their Eyes

Goblins is not a webcomic that needs any sort of endorsement from my blog or its two regular readers.

I've been reading and loving this comic since before I owned this portable magic thinky box*, and if any of the two of you happen to decide to read it, be aware that it is not a thing to pick up in the middle. You'll want to go through the entire archive here. We're talking years of story there. Also: you'll appreciate a whole lot more with some D&D understanding under your belt.

No, this isn't an endorsement.

It's somewhat of a plea.

For a Very Long Time Now, we've been in the midst of a battle scene. It's very awesome. The graphic nature of the comic sometimes makes me cringe a little, but that isn't what has me upset.

What has me upset is the current cliffhanger, and I've been going back repeatedly throughout the course of the week hoping that the author might have put up the new update early. It's a little pathetic that I am such the bleeding heart that I am so concerned about characters that I didn't even meet until a page ago, but could you please let these two have a Not Horrible Ending? I'd really appreciate that.

kthxbai

* to understand this reference I send you Scary-go-round, mid-story. Do not worry, it is not scary, only awesome. For the full amusing set-up you can either go to the beginning of Chapter 32: Giant Days from the Chapters link at the top of the page; for a shorter more to the point set-up, hit the previous button twice.

Opinions Unsolicited: The Wild Hunt

I finally got around to reading The Tarot Café: The Wild Hunt, which was written by Chandra over at Dreaming in Red.
I say ‘finally’ only because, although the book was released in January, due to a mix-up at the local comic shoppe where I tried to pre-order it I wasn’t able to get my own copy until earlier this week. And I had to get that copy from Chapter’s. I wasn’t going to wait a day past St. Patrick’s day for the comic store to get it in though. Chandra was having a signing, and I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to be there to get my book signed.

As it turns out, I also got a book signed for a friend who couldn’t make it. And I’m regretting my lack of funds, because I should have gotten a copy for the Mummabear too. It’s too bad I’m not friends with the author and don’t know how to get a hold of her or anything.

Yeah, sometimes I’m not so good at fibbing.

The book is geared for the YA crowd, and I was really pleased with the plot mechanics. I haven’t read the graphic novel series that the novel is based on, although several discussions with Chandra helped me form an impression of the world. Which I liked. But I was uncertain as to how she was going to translate that to novel format.

I mean, it’s called The Tarot Café for a reason, right? We have a café, in which Tarot cards are read. And I know that the reader is just that, a reader. An awesome reader, but I didn’t expect that she was going to read the cards and then decide to embark on an adventure with the querent. That’s just not what a reader does. A reader interprets the cards and offers advice, and maybe provides some ideas of where to seek further help if there is help needed*. So I was left anticipating how the story would play out.

I only considered the mechanics of the plot as I was reading the novel because it was honestly something that I had actively been curious about before I had read it. I don’t usually read books with the intention of working out how the story will be told, I promise you. When I made it to the fourth chapter or so and realized that the bulk of the novel truly was going to be about the Tarot reading and how it related to the querent, well, I was excited. It means that as each card is drawn in the Celtic Cross spread, we get to go down a little memory-lane trip with Bryn. [Bryn is the querent** I keep mentioning, thought that might be worth eventually mentioning….] Since I was excited about it, I felt it was worth mentioning first [although it got mentioned second… oops].

I suppose I could talk about the story itself, instead of how it was put together.
The truth is, this story is a little out of my usual genre. I like the paranormal, this is true, but I’m not usually one for romance. And considering this was romance geared towards a younger audience, I mostly found myself feeling my age. The writing itself is wonderful – vivid and bright, even though the story is dark; I was always able to see in my mind’s eye what had been written upon the page. The story is interesting and new—I appreciate a non-typical ending [especially in young adult fiction] and the emotions were all ones I could identify with given the situation. But in the end, I felt the same as Belus did about the whole affair. Where there was talk of soul-mates and a love that had to go on at any cost, I kept thinking that vision of love is sweet but terribly naïve and unrealistic. And then I felt like a jaded old fogey. I understand this is a tale aimed at people considerably younger than myself; people that [hopefully] haven’t had the ill-fortune of having those idealistic views of romance and love dulled and chipped by the reality of life.
Had I been in Bryn’s shoes, I can see myself easily making the same mistakes she had. Unintentionally hurting someone with poorly considered words is something that almost everyone wrestles with having done. The choice she makes in the end… I can see why she did it, feeling the way she did. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.

My favourite parts of the story overall have to do with the subtle things that were going on in the background. Jack’s muse, for instance—we get his name once, from Bryn’s lips, in one of the flashbacks. And when he shows up later, it is not at all in a capacity that you would expect. Belial is a character that is mentioned less than a handful*** of times, and never met. But his presence is heavy and dark, and even more so once we are able to consider the reasons his name appears. I want to know what that deal is all about. [See what I did there? Double meaning, for the win!] That little mystery I want to see unfold.

I haven’t even discussed Pamela, or Andrew [I like Andrew, he was cheerful and sweet with a dark sad filling; he’s huggable], or any other number of characters. It’s getting late, and I’m getting tired. The only thing I can think of right now is: Luned? Where did you get that name from? I kept mistaking it for words to do with the moon. You know, the way lunatic has to do with the moon. And sometimes I’d read it as lured, and man that made for weird sentences. Also, I find myself pronouncing the last syllable ‘éd’ and have no idea if that was right. I know Chandra puts a lot of thought into the names that she chooses, so I’m really curious about this one.

I would have liked to see more of Jack, but I understand how that would have skewed the narrative. I just felt like I didn’t know very much about him, other than he was a painter, Bryn loved him intensely, and he was missing. It would have been nice to have a little more sense of him as person and not simply the man of Bryn’s unfettered affection. I also kept hoping that Cora’s sudden departure was going to play into the plot more. I was very intrigued by the comparisons drawn between her and Pamela.

I really enjoyed reading The Wild Hunt, I started this morning on the bus to work and finished a few hours after I made it home. I have to confess I was confused at first because the first page didn’t seem like a normal first page to me—the first line wasn’t indented, there was no chapter number or graphic, and it seemed to start midsentence.

On my lunch break I realised that the table of contents had simply stuck to the first page and I started on page two. Go me.

But anyway, it’s an interesting tale told well, it leaves me wanting to read more stories [and it is written in such a way to leave the door open for more stories]. If I weren’t so broke I’d even consider reading The Tarot Café graphic novels to see how many of the questions I have are answered there. But I’d rather see Chandra get the opportunity to write more of them.

At the back of the novel there is a bonus comic by the artist/author of The Tarot Café comics. Considering it’s in The Tarot Café novel as extra content you’d think that it might have something to do with The Tarot Café.

It doesn’t.

The artwork is pretty. That’s about the only nice thing I have to say about it. It’s got nothing to do with the characters or the word I’ve just invested my imagination in. It has a twist in the middle that didn’t feel like a twist so much as being blindsided with Bad Story™. By the time I finished it I was making exasperated sounds and consciously putting the book down gently so as not to harm the novel that my friend had graciously signed for me. My dislike of that short comic is why I’d need to consider whether to buy the graphic novels or not.

Read the novel, but ignore the comic at the end. I am so happy I read it first, and therefore got it out of the way.

This ‘little’ commentary I thought I was going to write turned into 1,675 words. Yeowch.



*I work with an astrologer/tarot reader at one of my day jobs, so my ideas about the profession might be too based in reality to apply to a series of fiction that is planted in the realm of paranormal romance, but these things need to be said to understand the position that I’m coming from. The reader’s [in this case, the reader of the book, not the reader of the cards] personal knowledge and proximity to the subject matter is of course going to colour their expectations as well as their curiosities and enjoyment.

** Querent is a person asking a question, and the commonly used term for the subject of a Tarot reading. Since this is a novel about a Tarot reading, I’m using querent rather than protagonist as it seems a little more in keeping with the nature of the book. Also, because as much as this is Bryn’s story (she’s the one with the choices to make and the journey to embark on) I feel strange calling her the protagonist. Don’t ask me why, I’m not sure how to answer that yet, but I thought this was another tidbit that warranted being eventually mentioned as well.

*** I don’t really know how many times a name would fit in my hands, but you get the idea.

Opinions Unsolicited: Jekyll

Mr. B. and I recently finished watching Jekyll, a six episode mini-series done for the BBC.

After the first episode, which we watched quite some time ago, Mr. B. was disappointed with my assertation that although the show was excellent, it was too intense for me to be willing to watch more than one episode in a night.

We watched the following two episodes over the course of the next week or so. And then [due to outside circumstances] we weren't able to watch anymore for about a month. Just a few nights ago, we watched the fourth episode, and followed it with the fifth and then the sixth, all in successsion. The story was still compelling, but the intensity had diminished enough that I didn't feel the need to follow the show up with something light and fluffy. Mr. B. figured that I'd just had enough time to get used to Mr. Hyde's character, and I grudgingly conceded that might be the case.

And then, I was searching about the intertubes for information about the show - when exactly did it air? Was it available yet on DVD? Were there plans for a second set of episodes? [2007, Yes, and not as far as I can tell even though the DVD is labelled 'Season One']. I also learned that there were two directors for the series, one did the first three episodes, and the other the final three. So perhaps that's what caused the sudden ease in viewing for me.

Either way, I did not enjoy any particular half more than the other; I'm merely noting there was a discernible difference in flavour. As a whole, this is a great story that is resolved well and leaves you [or me, at any rate] with just enough questions to contemplate once you've finished watching.

And then it takes it a mite too far. A smidge. Just a titch.

For my personal tastes, and I'll say this without being spoilery, the show should have ended about fifteen seconds sooner. The subtlety and the suspense that were the main tenets of the series were slapped in the face in those last fifteen seconds. It was a situation where less could have accomplished so much more. It made what should have been an eerie and dramatic revelatory moment kitschy. But that's not a reason to avoid the show, its honestly the only quibble I had. And it truly is the difference that a mere fifteen seconds can make. Mr. B. thinks it might even be fewer seconds. Don't avoid the show because it goes on a single sour breath too long. It's a great show, and deserves your attention.

James Nesbitt's ability to play both the mild-tempered and exhausted Dr. Jackman and the dangerously lascivious and monstrous Hyde is unnerving. Brilliant, but unnerving. In and of itself, that should be enough for most viewers.

The series is not a modern take on Robert Louis Stevenson's tale - its more like a sequel, or a modern tie-in. The show references the story more than once, initially as an ill-received [by the main character] explanation of events and then eventually as a reluctantly believed historical 'fact'.

The show starts out with Tom Jackman hiring a psychiatric nurse to act as a personal assistant of sorts for both himself and his alter-ego. It's an interesting and effective hook.

Throughout the show's narrative, we learn of Jackman's twin sons and estranged wife, the conspiracy surrounding his condition, and most-importantly, we get to know Hyde.

And the amazing thing? Hyde is not the bad guy in the series. He's not necessarily likeable; he's depraved and violent and unrepenting. He is a very bad man. But he is not our bad guy. You might think so at first, but you'll eventually see that isn't the case. How can he be when he is so inextricably tied to the obvious 'good guy'?

Hmm... I may have said too much.

Serious love here. I'd be ecstatic if I learned there was going to be a second series. If there wasn't ever a second series, that would be okay too - the story is told, there are just other stories that could be looked at within the world that's been created. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't terribly curious.

Opinions Unsolicited: Comics, Laptops, and Adorable Boyfriends.

Hola! Its been a while. It took me some time to realise that I can still write entries at the boyfriend's place even if he doesn't have access to the intertubes here. That is the wonder that is laptops. So, here I sit, on the futon in the living room, plugging away at the lappytop and listening to the sounds of Depeche Mode [Violator album] and Mr. B. tidying the kitchen.

I heart my laptop. Its shiny and useful, and if necessary could be used as a blunt weapon. That might damage the contents and condition of it, but hey, my safety comes first, yes?

And onto Mr. B.: He's adorable. In a masculine way, of course. He makes me lunch to take for work when I stay the night at his place, he doesn't tease me when I cry at movies, he gets all smiley and proud when I do better at Guitar Heroes than he does, and we can be silly together and have fun and it's completely comfortable and relaxed. A girl could get used to this. Except that girl has to be me, because I don't share well.

And now onto the reviewish thing:

Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

Issues 1 & 2

To start this off, I'm going to have to type an intro that I have seen already in various formsabout the intertubes and even in the lettercol at the back of both issues.

When I heard Gerard Way was going to be authoring a comic book, I was afraid that the My Chemical Romance frontman was simply banking on his celebrity status to make more moulas in a different field. I was just as curious about the series as I was apalled. The funny thing? I can't even tell you why I don't like his band. I couldn't name a song by them if I wanted to. I do remember seeing a music video of theirs once, at Miss Meggles house, while we were drinking and making fun of Much Music videos. I don't think the sound was actually turned on. And all I thought throughout this video was drowned out by the hysterical laughter that my brain produced. Not the laughter that comes out after a particularly good punchline, the other kind of laugher. The bad kind. The kind that has nothing good to say about the cause of the outburst.

Anyway, the series, so far, is damn good.

The first issue starts off with a typical-in-a-not-so-typical-way intro to the premise, first with the excerpts of The Monocles notes about seven children he has adopted, and then with a few pages of how The Monocle came to adopt them and why. The first page is one huge panel dedicated to the finishing move of a wrestling match between some absurdly large human named Tusslin' Tom Gurney and an even more absurdly large space-squid from Rigel X-9 who sadly goes unnamed.

After the intro, we find a two-page spread title page. The entire title of issue 1 is: The Umbrella Academy featuring Sir Reginald Hargreeves A.K.A. The Monocle, in... The Day The Eiffel Tower Went Berserk, being part one of six in the story: Apocalypse Suite.

The Day the Eiffel Tower Went Berserk? Hells, yes.

The second issue sports some notes on the back cover by Vanya Hargreeves [00.07] about her 'siblings' excerpted from her book Extra-Ordinary: y Life as Number Seven. The silly long title? “The Umbrella Academy featuring the mortal remains of Sir Reginald Hargreeves A.K.A. The Monocle in: We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals”.

I appreciate the morbid humour. I appreciate the experi- mental surgery that left number One, a.k.a. Spaceboy a.k.a. Luther with what appears to be the body of an ape and perma-tubing going from a backpack to his neck and belt and little superhero briefs. I appreciate the little black masks they wore as children and the numbers one and two still wear as adults that remind me of the Incredibles. I appreciate number seven and her misery at not seeming to have any powers. I appreciate lines such as And just as I suspected-- Zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel!

I think that about says everything I wanted to say, really.

Opinions Unsolicited: Buffy, Comic-Style

Buffy Season 8, Issue 11: A Beautiful Sunset

My first impression reading this issue was that the artwork is improving. It was pretty stellar to begin with, and it just keeps getting better.

I appreciate how Buffy dealt with the Satsu situation; didn't invalidate her feelings, actually thanked her for them, and then went on to discuss her “newfound” angst – loving the Buffinator is a dangerous business. And the big exclamation point to the point she was making is Twilight, our Big Bad, showing up to dish out some hurting. That sentence had a lot of points in it, and none of them were a stake. But there were stakes in the issue. The whole conversation amidst vampire fighting was very awesomely done. There was also a big pointy church steeple... I'm digressing.

I have a... maybe not a concern, but an observation: Twilight made a comment in an earlier issue [can't remember which one just now, I intend to reread these all tonight, I'll perhaps edit this then. Although I sincerely doubt there's anyone reading this that will care that much about the specificity] that he wants to rid the world of this pesky magic stuff. Yet he flies. This reminds me of the Initiative from Serenity – fighting to create a world he truly and wholeheartedly believes is better, despite that world not leaving a place for him in it. If this is the case, well, it certainly says something interesting about Twilight's psychological profile.

The near-reveal of Twilight is what cinched this season for me. Up until now, I've been enjoying the series, the dialogue in particular [the dialogue was the thing I loved most about the show], but if asked, I wouldn't have been able to say I was terribly invested in the series. And then suddenly, there was Twilight, about to take of his mask, only he didn't. And it was funny, but it was frustrating. I hadn't realised until that very moment that I was even anticipating a big reveal.

I'm okay with not knowing yet. I can let the anticipation stew for a while longer.

I've read on some forums speculation as to Twilight's identity. He's masked, which lends to the hypothesis he is someone that people will recognise from the series, or he is someone that is already acting in another capacity within the comics. Some have speculated that Twilight is Spike or Angel; others have disproven that idea by pointing out that in Angel: After the Fall, they [along with everyone else in L.A.] is in Hell. Or Hell locked everyone in L.A. Whichever.

As far as I'm concerned that's not the reason that Spike and Angel [and even Riley, really] can't be Twilight. It's been pointed out several times throughout both Buffy and Angel that time moves differently in other dimensions. Nearly an entire human lifespan in a Hell dimension in the episode Anne was merely a day on Earth. It's entirely feasible that the Angel crew is back on earth by the time the events of the Buffy series take place. It's also entirely feasible that Angel and Co. are in a dimension that time moves faster in, and when they get out of Hell, they could be a couple hundred years in the future. That line of speculation makes me really want to read Fray....

Anyway. The reason I don't dig the whole Twilight is one of Buffy's exes idea is that I can't believe that she wouldn't recognise them. Mask aside, and even voice modification [if that's what the fancy font Twilight's words are written in means] can't account for the fact that Buffy would pick up on speech patterns. Or at the very least, the way he throws a punch. She has fought or sparred with all of them. At the very least, she would pick up a familiar vibe. It may have been a long time since she saw any of them [and as far as she knows, Spike is dead], but I would have a ridiculously hard time believing that she wouldn't recognise their countenance.

I do have some ideas as to who Twilight is, but I'm keeping them to myself until there is more information to go on.

I was going to write about Angel: After the Fall #3 here. But I think the Buffy talk was long enough. I'll write about Angel later this week.

My geekdom knows no bounds.

The image was taken from some site or another that you can order the comic from.

Opinions Unsolicited: Farmer Giles of Ham, Between the Beautifuls, and The Night Watch

Farmer Giles of Ham is a tale by J.R.R. Tolkien. It has nothing to do with Middle Earth. It does have to do with a farmer who has some hobbit-like qualities [mostly in that he just wants to be

left to mind his own business, otherwise he is rather curmudgeonly and somewhat of an unpleasant fellow] who sets out to rid his village of a dragon.

One thing I especially enjoyed about this story were the names involved. Nevermind that I can't read or hear or think the name Giles and NOT think of Anthony Stewart Head; the other names are simply brilliant. We are offered the likes of Chrysophylax Dives, Caudimordax Tailbiter, and Fabricius Cunctater, which name [in no particular order] a sword, a blacksmith and a dragon.

The story itself is simple, but in a typically Tolkien way – he uses ten words where three might have done. And of course there is the commentary on language; even in a tale that's directed at children, there are many references to words in other languages [well, Latin, at any rate] and their translations into the 'vulgar'. Otherwise known as 'Plain English'. I get the impression that Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler may have been a fan.

It's a fun whimsical tale, I need to add it to my collection. But not this copy, because it was leant to me by a co-worker some months ago [approaching five of them], and he has been hounding me to get it back.

This weekend, I bought Hawksley Workman's newest album, Between the Beautifuls.

What can I say, other than love? The cover of the album is essentially black and white, with the colour of the daffodils pulled out by some
technique I don't know the word for. All throughout the booklet, there are nature shots in a similar style, all stunning in their simplicity.

But the music is not pictures in a booklet.

If you are familiar with Hawksley's catalogue, Between the Beautifuls lies at the crossing of For Him and the Girls and Lover/Fighter. Amongst my favourites are All Alone (ballads of bunches of things), Piano Blink, and Pomegranate Daffodil. But I adore the whole album.

Hawksley here is the Hawksley I love the most: whimsical, poignant, exceptional.

I just finished reading The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko. I started reading it near on a year ago, got distracted, and then finally picked it back up yesterday. And finished it.

It's an engaging tale of Light vs Dark, set in Moscow. The Watches are set up in order to regulate and keep tabs on the opposing side. The Night Watch guards against infractions by the Dark, and the Day Watch does the same for the Light.

The book is divided into three different stories that all focus around the same characters, with Anton at the centre of it all. They are all told from his perspective. At it's root, all the stories [which are all subsequently divided into chapters] are really just one large, overarching story.

It's a very engaging tale about Anton, who starts the story out as a fourth grade magician, as he goes from assignment to assigment that make no sense to him – he's not a field operative, why is he being sent out in the field then? I don't feel like writing a book report here, so I'm just going to say that this novel presents an interesting take on the good vs evil dichotomy, and how sometimes good people do bad things to achieve even greater goods, and how sometimes bad people will use good deeds to bring about devastating results.

There were two things I especially enjoyed about this book.

1- Anton has a tendency to put his walkman on random throughout the novel, and the music seems to always fit his mood. I enjoyed this little detail tremendously, as well as the fact that Anton makes a point of naming the artist most of the time this happens. I like musics that are not in english. So this gives me many artists to look up that are Russian.

2- I enjoy reading translated books. I can get the feeling reading it, that while the grammar is correct, it wasn't meant to be read in english. There are little cultural cues and quirks of speech that are simply not natural in English that are obviously observed in Russian, and I like observing that. Since I can't speak Russian, reading things translated from Russian is the next best thing.

So, here's another book that I can finally return! If you had any idea how huge my To Be Read list was, you'd shake your head in shame. And possibly call a fire marshall to investigate my house.

I have other entries planned, one about cooking, another soymilk experiment [hopefully the last], and I intend to write a tarot entry at some point. I better get cracking if I want to post all that before the next Opinions Unsolicited goes up [which, by the by, I am totally failing at making a regular Sunday installment so far].

Farmer Giles picture from here.

I got the Between the Beautifuls photo from Hawksley's site.

The Night Watch picture was usurped from here.

Opinions Unsolicited: Funky Llama, The Way of the Gun, and Voltaire [but in a different order]

Voltaire: The musician, not the French writer. I discovered Voltaire through StumbleUpon. The artwork on his website was awesomely fun. When I was in Whitehorse this past December, I found one of Voltaire's comics in the comic store. I told my friend to buy it for me, since he'd just finished telling me that I should have told him to buy me some other book I'd seen somewhere else.

So what do I have to say about Deady volume 4? Well, the fact that I'm not going to link it says something all on its own I think. The artwork is fun. The writing is juvenile and the humour is beyond me. There were a few things that could have been funny in a subtle way, but were drawn attention to in annoyingly lame way. It was kind of like when you listen to someone tell a joke, and it turns out its a pretty good joke, but they overplay it or butcher it in such a way that it stops being funny before you even get to chuckle.

His music is still pretty damn good though.

This is one of my favourite songs of his lately. I don't think he has actual music videos, which is unfortunate because the instrumentation is fabulous in his songs when he has an entire band playing with him. Although, I confess that the little, uh, “intermission” is amusing.

Funky Llama: I remember a time when I didn't know whether or not I liked wine.

But I had bought some pretty wine glasses and figured I needed to find out.

How did I go about this learning process? Well, I certainly didn't ask the people that work at the liquor store for suggestions. Bah. I saw a bottle with turtles on the label and thought 'Squeeeeeeeeee! Turtles!'

And lo it was good.

This method has, on occasion failed me. But not with the Funky Llama. That was some tasty vino. I don't really know what else to say, other than, in the absence of wine glasses [I was drinking at a friend's place, he lacks in the glasses for wine department], it was wonderful to consume straight from the bottle.

Also should point out that I do not recommend drinking this wine to the point of causing spins-induced vomiting. Its pretty acidic coming back up.

Not that I ever drink. Drinking is bad. Shame on you.

The Way of the Gun: The day after massive amounts of Funky Llama was consumed [and since I'm going to assume that you read the bits above this segment, I'm also going to assume that you aren't assuming I ate rotten llama meat. Although that could probably account for some morning after ickiness as well – one would assume....]Um. Where was I? Right. The day after consuming the massive amounts of wine, we all went out for breakfast, and then back to the wineglassless dwelling to hang out. And this is what we watched.

I liked it. There was only one scene that was bordering on too much for me too handle, and it was handled very well. This movie does not treat its viewers like idiots. It didn't spoon feed me the subplots. All in all, it was very open ended, left a lot to the imagination, and that was pretty awesome.

I can't think of the other bits that I wanted to say about the movie. It was two days ago, and now I'm watching Buffy. Or more specifically, I'm watching Spike. He's talking about onions. Um. Stuff. Smiles!

The Deady comic image was thievered from this site.
Funky Llama picture was stolen from here.
Way of the Gun picture kidnapped from here

Opinions Unsolicited: Rufus! Rufus! Rufus!

Well, I can't be said to known much about Judy Garland, or her catalogue as it extends beyond The Wizard of Oz and that one song they used in Down With Love. I do know that my Aunt Lesley loves her, and that I had a picture taken of me with my hands in Judy's handprints at Grauman's Theatre when I was there. I should probably get on with forwarding that picture to Lesley. She's not likely to know that I took it for her if I never, you know, show it to her.

I can be said to be mildly obsessed with Rufus Wainwright. He belongs to my coterie of famous boyfriends that I'm never going to meet. I have most of his cds [still missing the first one, alas], I have his other DVD All I Want courtesy of an online purchase in which I was amongst the first however-many-people-it-was-limited to preorder and thusly have a signed copy of the DVD jacket. I once bought an issue of Rolling Stone magasine just so I could rip off the cover and tack it to my wall.

I got the new DVD Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! does Judy! Judy! Judy! as a gift this holiday season. I remember reading Jim's entry about the L.A. performance with massive envy. I use the ticket stub that Lyle gave me as a souvenir as a bookmark. There is no word for the shade of green I turned when I realised that people I knew got to go.

This show is awesome. They went with the performance from the London Palladium for the DVD. And unlike the All I Want DVD, they have the performance from beginning to end; there's no cutting out of the bits between songs in which Rufus tells stories, cracks jokes, talks to the others on stage.

The first thing I noticed about the show is Rufus' outfit. Wow. The second thing I noticed was how the stage lights made his hair seem an appealing shade of cherry black. Like hair candy. Tasty.

I'm a strange girl, I've been made aware.

I love it. I love his comments about Judy, I adore his mannerisms throughout the show, his sense of homour... I do not have enough good things to say about Rufus. Towards the end of the show, Rufus gives way for others to take part. His glittery sister Martha takes over for Stormy Weather [and I do mean she is glittery], his mother Kate McGarrigle and a lovely dame by the name of Lorna Luft co some songs with him, as well as sing some outright during the encore. Whether this is in order to save Rufus' voice from the strain of singing through thirty numbers straight or simply because he enjoys splitting his limelight with his family some [and that Lorna lady, whom I've never heard of*] I just don't know.

I can't really comment on how he compares to Judy, since, like I said, I don't have a wide knowledge of her musics. But as a Rufus fan, this is a fabulous addition to the collection. I enjoyed listening to him sing from a catalogue not his own. I never tire of his voice, or his charisma. Watch it through once, and save subsequent viewings for background music for dinner parties, or a fun evening of pretending you know how to dance to jazz with your sweetie. As much as I adore concert videos, I find them difficult to watch with attention undivided more than once. But as something to listen to during knitting projects, they are perfect, since there is rarely much plot – if any – involved.

I am, however, disappointed that I didn't get to see Rufus in the tuxedo jacket and stockings and fedora. That apparently was a just a treat for people who got to see the performance in L.A. or
something. That green stuff is coming on again.

All in all, I'm ecstatic to add it to my collection. It just finished playing it through and now I am going back to my favourite tracks [Puttin' on the Ritz, San Francisco, Zing! Went the Strings of my Heart, Swanee, Get Happy]. I enjoy the bits where Rufus forgets the words, I enjoy his obnoxiously loud yellow glittery suit from the first portion of the show, I enjoy the banter between family members. I just enjoy Rufus.

*So, anyone who has seen this DVD will know from those comments that I was typing this before the DVD was actually over. Had I been patient and waited to see the entire DVD before writing about it, I would have known that Lorna is one of Judy Garland's daughters. I am shamed. But not so shamed that I will go delete that bit. This is why they don't pay me any bucks at all, let alone any good ones.

I thieved the picture of Rufus in the sexy stockings and jacket from here. I cannot attest to whether or not that person stole from someplace else or took it themselves.

I thieved the picture of Rufus in the yellow suit from this article.