bits and pieces
Jul. 16th, 2006 09:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
highlyeccentric15/7/06
Quote of the Day: but she was naked... and all articulate!- Mal explains why he was kissing a certain young lady. (Firefly "Our Mrs Reynolds") Dad and I laughed so hard and so long over that line that we had to stop the DVD while we composed ourselves.
In other news, the ABC announced a sheep graziers warning for Sunday. Lookout all, we're in for a plague of sheep graziers!!!
Amy's nutcase relatives, part 6678
My small cousin Kate had her fourth birthday recently. Her family are about a month away from moving into the new house Uncle Roy is building. It's got walls and floors and a backyard and all. No plumbing, though.
Kate, like all four year olds, had herself a birthday party with lots of four year old friends. In her new, toilet-less house.
Anything about that seem insane to you?
Things Amy Has Read Lately
Eats Shoots and Leaves: the 'zero tolerance guide to punctuation'. Most amusing read. For example, if you thought hyphens weren't important, that there's not much difference between 3 O clock and 3 o-clock, consider the difference between exta-marital sex and extra marital sex. Or 20-odd members of parliament, and 20 odd members of parliament.
much amusement for a punctuation nut like me.
The Betrayal of Bindy Mackenzie- Jaclyn Moriarty
Another nice piece of Jaclyn Moriarty work :) Bit far fetched in the end, but character so very well depicted. Impressive to find chicklit about control freaky, self righteous, insecure, academicly addicted young females. Kinda scary, if you happen to be one. Do average teenage boys find Lockie Leonard disconcerting? Are normal women weirded out by Bridget Jones? (please tell me Bridget isn't normal???)
The Pact- Jodi Picoult
Good Book, this. Very perceptive author.
16/7/06
The Will of the Empress-Tamora Peirce
A single big sequel novel, following after the Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens quartets. Not bad. The four kids are very well realised, and growing up apace. The Will of the Empress' most distinguishing feature is probably that it contains Pierce's first stab at a main-character lesbian relationship, which she carries off with rather more finesse than any of her previous straight characters have recieved. My guess is that a personal lack of experience with lesbian sex meant she was compelled to leave out unessecary details, which can only be a good thing.
What let the book in general down, and Daja's relatioship particularly, was the choice to make it a single book, rather than a pair at minimum. To be sure, it only had one plot, but that could have been fleshed out to give it two climax points- Sandry's first encounter with kidnappers might have worked well as a hanging-point for the first part. At any rate, because it was a single book, and only the size that it was (my guess is about half the size again of one of the Ally books, for anyone who's familiar with them), with four main characters who all needed to be explored and developed both independantly and in relation to each other, any other characters got short shrift. Sandry's cousin Ambros, and her suitors, could all have done with a little more personality. The woman Gudrundy had huge potential as a character.
Even within the circle, Daja seemed rather on the outer- her character evolution seemed pretty much limited to her sexuality. Because Rizu, her girlfriend, didn't get more exploration as an individual in the plot, you're left with the feeling she existed only so that Peirce could make Daja into her first actively lesbian character. (Not that I resent that- i suspect she's been brewing this since The Circle Opens, because it suits Daja's character perfectly.)
The book might have come off better if it were written from the point of veiw of only one character- personally I would opt for Briar, although you would miss out on some important exploration of the inner side of Sandry's head that way.
Best Short Stories of Isaac Asimov, selected by same:
David loaned me this at the end of semester. I read it and had fun with it. Haven't read sci for years, save for Douglass Adams. Some of it was a bit too dry for my taste, but the word games ones were fun and there were a couple of bits of poetry thrown in for fun. I was very fond of I just make them up, see!, a poem in response to all the people who demand to know where he got his weird ideas from.
The Case of the Four and Twenty Black Birds: Neil Gaiman
This cute little short story is available in exclusive material over at www.neilgaiman.com. I'd strongly reccommend you all go over there and download it. Go on, shoo! If you don't read it, you'll never learn what connects the murder of Humpty Dumpty with that of Cock Robin...
While you're over there, I Cthulu isn't bad, but it would help if I knew something about the universe in which it's set (some classic sci fi author Gaiman grew up on)
A Study In Emerald is OK, it's a large download. Anyone who reads or has read it, do try and explain to me and my daddy why we feel like there's an important twist in the tale that we've missed...
Things Amy Has Watched Lately
Dr Who
yes, that's right, i have surrendered to the superior forces of television sci fi. And the superior features of David Tennant :P
This conversation at the begining of last night's episode-
Mum: Bit gawky, this new doctor.
Me: he's hot.
Mum: *looks at me as if i've gone insane*
Me: Ok, I like gawky. You know that.
Joel: I have to say I'm on your side, Amy. Not that I like gawky.
Me: But you think he's hot, then?
Joel: No no, ew, no....
Remains to be seen if i can get my act together and remember to watch said program when not in the same house as my addicted parents.
POTC Two
THEY DIDN'T FOOKING WELL END IT. that's all i have to say.
History of the World Part One: Mel Brooks
Didn't actually watch all of this, just the skits on the Last Supper, the Inquisition, and Jews Out In Space ("We're Jews out in space/ zooming along protecting the Hebrew Race!" *camera zooms in on blue and white star shaped vessels* "When goyim attack us, we'll blow 'em right up in your face!" *camera zooms up to window of one vessel, to show us two bowler hatted Orthodox men dancing around while what looks like an X-wing explodes with an unrealistic bang*) The whole thing had that appallingly un-PC and amazingly hilarious humour that would have anyone but a Jew in trouble for anti-semitism. Fortunately for Mel Brooks, he's Jewish himself.
Firefly
Yessir, that's right, i have given up my vain attempt to remain apart from the overpopulated ranks of Joss Whedon fans. This is good stuff. Although one thing that really annoys me is that the black still screens between clean-cut shots are a mite too long. I keep thinking the DVD has broken or something.
Am in love the song Ballad for Serentity (the title theme). Fortunately for me, my brother is a piratical type, and was able to limewire it for me with great ease. 'Cept I forgot to copy it from his computer last night, so i can't listen to it in the car now (we're on the way to nan's). And i forgot to charge up baby here, so i don't have enough battery to watch any more Firefly in the car.
A little present for your flist: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif){kind=small}
perplexingtimes
the LJ feed is only the first paragraph of each article, but it saves you checking the website every day.
Someone somewhere came up with a novel way to save up for his sons' college fees- he writes humourous articles from the POVs of the two tots, and collects the ad revenue. Now, articles about babies don't sound like much fun, but i can assure you that they offer a quirky look at the world we take for granted.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2006-07-16 12:06 pm (UTC)(Have I influenced you at all? I managed to convert Ben to the fandom, he's been known to make reference to Tennant's arse. It's very, very amusing.)
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Date: 2006-07-16 12:12 pm (UTC)can't say it's your fault, though- i didn't know his name until last week.
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Date: 2006-07-16 12:14 pm (UTC)Next episode is really, really good (especially if you like Scottish accents, likeI do). The last two in the series are... indescribable. They're so good. Though you'd need to watch the whole series to get some parts of it.
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Date: 2006-07-16 12:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-17 02:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-16 02:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-17 02:37 pm (UTC)I'd be laying my bets on Kel as her best series yet (assuming i've read them all). It felt a little like she was going at it with the deliberate aim of being as realistic as she had been fairytale-ish with Alanna
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Date: 2006-07-16 03:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-16 06:28 pm (UTC)some classic sci fi author? SOME CLASSIC SCI...????
For shame, woman! Hie thee immediately to a library and borrow everything by HP Lovecraft you can find, for your education is not yet Complete!
And while you're about it, make sure you've either got a bed with a big crawlspace underneath it, or a sufficiently large sofa to hide behind. And a light to leave on all night. And a good lock on the door, and friends who don't barge in unexpectedly without knocking. Because you're going to need them. For your nerves.
Enjoy ;)
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Date: 2006-07-17 02:40 pm (UTC)methinks i shall not read that at college. it is Reena's favourite pastime to push open my door with a whump and make me squeal.
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Date: 2006-07-17 03:23 pm (UTC)One of me old uni mates has a very amusing story about the time he was reading HP Lovecraft alone in his family's holiday house (while his family were all cavorting on the beach). The child from next door (sadly lacking a few brain cells) came lumbering up onto the verandah, clad in snorkel, mask and flippers, and warbled incoherently outside the door. My friend was still in his teens at the time, but he reckoned he nearly died of a heartattack on the spot. If you read "Shadow over Innsmouth", you'll understand why!
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Date: 2006-07-17 02:02 am (UTC)Good on you for Dr Who (have you seen the Christopher Eccleston season or are you watching the show as it plays?)
And EVEN BETTER on you for Firefly. Sounds like you (and probably your dad) are now proper browncoats. So is my dad -- once I'd bought the series, family (minus me) watched Serenity (the pilot, not the movie) and Train Job, and then dad started watching the rest of the series in disc-based marathons. Hehehehe...
And on that note, I really love the discussion on faith scene in Jaynestown.
And... as I shall be burning that musical DVD this week and then sending it to you, you shall soon have the Firefly series soundtrack and the soundtrack for the movie, among various other things.
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Date: 2006-07-17 02:43 pm (UTC)seen one or two of the old Dr Who, only when I've been home with parents- and event then i didn't pay much attention.
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Date: 2006-07-17 09:29 pm (UTC)Ah, no, Christopher Eccleston is the first new Doctor (ie the one before David Tennant.)