crankyreader

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and hiatus

2006-12-14T03:21:00.000-05:00

I've been enjoying reading and watching movies without wondering what to blog. I've got the J. Frank JACOB in my mitts, and MJD's SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES and haven't gotten around to them. I'm not too surprised, since lately I've been bummed by pretty much everything paranormal barring Meljean's stuff. Historicals are bores, too, and I've lost that sense of discovering new things that I want to read. EVERYTHING HAS BEEN HOMOGENIZED! /endminirant

Skimmed and passed on these:
WORKING FOR THE DEVIL, DEAD MAN RISING - L Saintcrow
DOPPELGANGER, WITCH AND WARRIOR - M Brennan

But! I saw the international, English-dubbed version of the Russian film NIGHT WATCH, and liked it enough in spite of itself to order the sequel, DAY WATCH. LAYER CAKE was entertaining, too, and I didn't have to FF through *too* many musical interludes. Heh. I'm too much a wuss to watch FEAST, since gore for the sake of squick isn't my thing. Nightmares, bad.

I'm off for the rest of the year and a bit of the new year; in case I'm not back by then, it may be an indefinite hiatus--more time to bloghop and catch up with blog buddies, I say.

lol

2006-12-12T04:53:00.000-05:00

Lisey's Story, Born in Death

2006-12-04T06:03:00.000-05:00

The former, underwhelming. I ended up skimming just to see what happened. Great job on the transitions between flashbacks and present times, though.

The latter was sort of a running gag of Roarke and Eve being horrified and disgusted by children/birthing including any idea of their own.

By the by, does anyone know what "Ta cion agam ort" translates to in English?

(Roarke says) "Ta cion agam ort." [sic] ...

"I love you," Eve thought, in Gaelic. Knowing he used it when it mattered most to him, she smiled.

I gather that the above phrase means "I have affection for you", and while this would be amusing all by itself, I'm curious. Is the Irish Gaelic for "I love you" (let's go with intimate address) "Tá grá agam duit", or is it something else? If anyone knows the answer, please drop me a note!

[In Scottish Gaelic, "I love you" seems to be "tha gaol agam ort". I just tossed that in there so you can go say I love you to your favorite Scottish Gaelic-speaking/reading bloggers...]

The UnCover

2006-12-03T04:21:00.000-05:00

This is new to me:

"...why not publish our favourite books without front covers?!"

"According to consumer research conducted on what factors matter to people when they decide whether or not to pick up a book in a bookshop, the cover design comes out as most important. So this might be the stupidest thing we've ever done. "

-from the Penguin UK blog: "YourSpace"

The cover gallery link: Cover Gallery

(I so did not know that Penguin UK had a blog. Pretty interesting, on scanning it.)

Now, I know that I've ragged on my fair share of covers, but I don't know if this is more than a gimmick. What do you guys think about the make-your-own cover idea?

Reinventing the Nail

2006-12-03T03:21:00.000-05:00

Cutting down hurricane damage: this guy deserves a Nobel Prize, or better.

The hand-crank laptop is wicked cool, too.

The Queen

2006-11-29T14:20:00.000-05:00

Finally got round to seeing this, and liked it, although the actress is probably more cerebral than the real thing.

The contemporary news footage mixed in with the film was a nice touch, and wow, that snowbank of flowers!

Anybody else catch it?

Happy T-day!

2006-11-23T00:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I enjoyed the new Bond movie (Casino Royale), btw. Gritty, rough, and it's nice to see the emphasis on the character--great reboot of the series.

Dench as M gets the best lines, too-- (something like,) "What was Bond thinking? In the old days, agents who did something this embarassing had the good sense to defect! I miss the cold war days."

Another M-ism: "Arrogance and self-awareness rarely go hand in hand."

(which goes well with LK Hamilton's intros for STRANGE CANDY!)

Google Reader?

2006-11-08T03:10:00.000-05:00

Huh. Google Reader. A feed-aggregator thingmie, from the looks of it.

How is it, to anyone who's tried it?

2006-11-07T16:57:00.000-05:00

romance comics?

2006-11-05T13:48:00.000-05:00

I ordered a couple of (what do you call these--manga?) titles and will have to see what they're like. Tried Princess Ai, but does it make me evil that I saw that it was partly created by Courtney Love and rapidly lost interest?

The Moorehouse Legacy (1/3)- Jessica Bird

2006-11-05T10:07:00.000-05:00

Read the three books in this miniseries recently--Beauty and the Black Sheep, His Comfort and Joy, and From the First. Liked the second one best, the third next, and the first least (more from its blandness than active dislike).

The Beauty and the Black Sheep - Frankie Moorehouse struggles to keep her family together and run her family's home as a B&B in upstate NY after her parents' deaths in a boating/lake accident, and needs a chef at the moment Nick (Nick?) the studly chef rolls by.

I was puzzled at the lack of conflict/forced conflict and forced chemistry between the two characters; I was told it but not shown that the two were attracted, why, and what stood in their way, really. Frankie just had her back up for seemingly no reason that I could understand or empathise with, and Nick was supposed to be badass but it's one of those stories where I ended the book still not knowing why these two ended up together.

One thing I noticed and liked was the use of some slang that gave the Silhouette a fresher feel, even if it seemed a bit out of place or jarring at times, since the rest of the book didn't have the same language: the use of "cut" to describe the guy's build, for one. I didn't think Spike's wild hair and piercings were too out there--restaurant people aren't exactly choirboys, heh. I spotted "you dig?" which I like better than "you feel me?", which also showed up here.

I had a feeling, though, from the hints the author dropped in book one, that the conflict brewing for the two characters in the next book would be good, and it was. My fave of the three, in fact.

Read Dark Lover by Bird as JR Ward, too, but haven't gotten around to Lover Eternal, since I think I want to try Anne Stuart's Cold As Ice first.

Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman

2006-11-04T16:19:00.000-05:00

FRAGILE THINGS
NEIL GAIMAN

(Cover notes: On my copy, there's a tissue-paper layer between the snowflake and broken butterfly, so all you see is the cracked eggshells that are a tiffany blue like the inside cover papers...)

This is a book of (mostly? all?) stories and poems published elsewhere: a Gaiman anthology part two of sorts. I loved and still remember two things from SMOKE AND MIRRORS--"Mr. Fox", or something like it (a retelling of Bluebeard, I think as a poem--a must read), and "Snow Glass Apples", a short story retelling of...well, go read them. I'll wait.

Okay, now that you're back: the introduction is fun, and worth a read; my favorite poems here are probably "Instructions" (what to do if you find yourself in a fairy tale), and "Locks", (both also online at Endicott Studios), and I can't forget "Inventing Aladdin". It's worth reading "Instructions" again after reading the collection to catch the references, I think.

True to the title, none of the stories and poems in here are knockouts by themselves, but have a little kick to them here and there, like the sting on the scorpion's tail or like finding a razor in a candied apple: "A Study in Emerald" starts off a little slowly and I had to stick with it before it picked up in the final few pages, and left me with a grin;

"Other People" is a tight little story, and "Keepsakes and Treasures" is tied to the last story, "The Monarch of the Glen", which I thought I'd like least because it was about Shadow but that I ended up liking because of the resonance from the earlier story;

"Good Boys Deserve Favors" is a lovely tidbit; "Harlequin's Valentine" has a fun loop at the end...forget I mentioned it, just read it; "The Problem of Susan" (from C.S.Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, who didn't get to die early and go to heaven like her siblings; you can find this online but I don't think it's okayed, so I won't link...);

"Feeders and Eaters" gets better on reflection, although the guy must be very not too bright; "How to talk to girls at parties" is a succession of weird; the "Sunbird" is what you think it is, and draws to its inexorable conclusion, like the end of the collection--there are some pieces that are less robust than others, but mostly, it's pretty darned good, and if you've read the stories elsewhere and want them in one place...

this is your book.

Wired's Very Short Stories

2006-10-31T17:47:00.000-05:00

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

FWIW, that's my favorite Hemingway story. *snerk* ("Hills Like White Elephants" is a close second)

Wired's collection.

Link lifted from Neil Gaiman; read his NYT op-ed "Ghosts in the Machines": happy Halloween...

Halloween Safety Tips (copy)

2006-10-27T06:51:00.000-05:00

Found these browsing somewhere (let me know and I'd be happy to credit ya!) :

Halloween Safety Tips

(parenthetical additions: my bad.)

1. When it appears that you have killed the monster, never check to see if it's really dead. It isn't. Trust me. (aka: RUUUUN!)

2. Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke.

3. Do not search the basement or attic when the power goes out for some inexplicable reason. (Uh...do thunderstorms or blown fuses count as an explicable reason? 'Cause I've done that.)

4. If your children speak to you in Latin, Sanskrit or any other language that they should not know, get out fast. This tip also applies to anyone who speaks using someone else's voice.

5. When you have the benefit of numbers, never go off on your own. This is simply inviting the gods to drop a rock on you. (LOL)

6. As a general rule, don't play games, solve puzzle boxes or answer riddles that open portals to Hell. In most places this is considered rude. (Quite.)

7. Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt. This rule also applies to any other house of the dead. (Well, DUH!)

8. If you are searching for something that caused a loud noise in the basement of a mysterious mansion and find out that it was just the cat, get out. Fast.

9. If household appliances or power tools start operating by themselves, do not check for short circuits. Just get out of the house. (Imagination + food disposal = maybe I'll skip lunch today)

10. Do not take anything from the dead. No matter how pretty it is, or how much you like it, it's bound to disagree with you sooner or later. (heh!)

11. If you are driving down an old country road and you come across a town that looks deserted, there's probably a good reason for it. Don't stop and look around, just keep driving.

12. Don't mess about with recombinant DNA technology unless you're sure you know what you're doing. And even then, don't. (Yes, that means you, zombie movies.)

13. If you're running from a monster, don't constantly look behind you, you will fall down. Also expect to trip or fall down at least twice -- more if you're female and wearing high heels, so take this into account. Do not forget that despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up with you. (Amen.)

14. If your traveling companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behaviors such as hissing, fascination with blood, glowing eyes, or increasing hairiness, run. (and don't look back, or you'll turn into a pillar of salt!)

15. Always try to stay away from ill-starred geographical locations, particularly those listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Haddonfield, Transylvania, Nilbog (you're already in trouble if you recognize this one), anywhere in Texas where chainsaws are sold, the Bermuda Triangle, and any small town in Maine, Maryland, or Massachusetts.

16. If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to use the telephone. This is what cellular technology was really meant for.

17. Beware of strangers in your neighborhood, particularly if they are carrying tools like chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, lawn mowers, butane torches, soldering irons, and ice picks. Also, be wary of anyone driving a combine.

18. If you discover that your house is built upon a cemetery, now is the time to move in with your parents. This rule also applies to houses whose previous inhabitants went mad and murdered their families, committed suicide or died in some other horrible fashion.

19. If you live in some part of the world where werewolves are common and you hear noises in the barn, do not assume that it is your cousin making a late night visit. Bar the door, lock the windows and sit in your kitchen with all of your silver knives, newly sharpened, and a flame thrower and shoot the first thing that comes through the door.

20. If you live in some part of the world where vampires are common and a tall, pale stranger knocks on your door at night, do not invite him in for tea. Bar the door, lock the windows and sit in your kitchen with all of your silver knives, a pile of garlic and a flame thrower and shoot the first thing that comes through the door.

(Okay, I was laughing too hard to do parenthetical asides)

Any more to add to the list?

2006-10-24T21:05:00.000-05:00

From Suisan, who had some great ones, well-written. I'll just try to be brief.

Five things I know are true:

1. Graduation speakers like to hear themselves talk.

When a graduation speaker says that she will be brief, and the crowd cheers because the day has already gone on long enough, the speaker will then go on to speak for four and a half hours. And twenty seconds.

2. I have no tolerance for people who waste my time.

I am learning how not to be one of those people.

3. I will get lost the first time I go anywhere.

Usually because I've been watching the scenery or was off traipsing in my head. On the flip side, once I get lost somewhere, I know my way around. I can probably still find my way around by T.

I stay lost for less time when I have a compass on my person, or in the dash of the car. Which happens to be rare.

4. My mother recently said that just as there will always be war as long as there are humans, my sib and I will never be as close again once one, the other, or both grow up and marry other people, especially if sib marries a person I dislike.

I will sit on sib's head if he tries to do so.

Don't think I won't.

5. Quality over quantity. Mind over mutter. Tempus fugit.

I like aphorisms.

No tagging, but if you let me know you did the meme, I'll put up your link in this post.

ETA: A nice five from Bookwormom!

OT: chocolatian

2006-10-24T20:52:00.000-05:00

I love whoever's overseeing the organics section at my grocery shop. They started putting in the endangered species chocolate (the wolves/wolverine one is good, if that's the almonds and cranberries) and now the Green and Black milk chocolates to try (their 70 dark was nahasty last I tried, but their mint m.c. is okay. G&B might be like Scharfenberger(sp?): the milk chocolates are good, but the darks/bittersweets tend to be too bitter).

By the way, of the new Larabar chocolate series, the one I tried, Maya: Chocolate, tastes kinda yucky.

Imo, Callebaut's dark is still supreme, followed by Valrhona (sharp, a bit chalky in texture). Any recs?

in which I natter on

2006-10-24T18:01:00.000-05:00

Squee! Have Gaiman's FRAGILE THINGS in my mitts. Will have King's LISEY'S STORY tomorrow (don't feel up to picking it up today, when I could be reading FT).

Since I last posted, I read Catherine Asaro's THE DAWN STAR and Snyder's MAGIC STUDY, both by Luna and both um, fantasy lite, with uber-heroines (TCS: healer AND warrior AND ruler--no! wait! Supreme Empress!--AND mage AND more gems (see: Skoalian/Ruby Empire)...reminded me of her SF, with no tech and more woo-woo.) Hope I like her QUANTUM ROSE better.

Snyder's was just meh to me, so I won't be picking up the next (is there a next?).

Skimmed Nora Roberts's latest hardcover. The beginning was kind of dull, and the ending was very choppy, with lots of short paragraphs, if not as choppy and single-sentence-paragraphed as Robin Schone's stuff. Didn't care much about the story or characters, so I'll probably stop picking up the yearly hardcovers in the NR name.

Read a couple of graphic novels, too: Mystique in DROP DEAD GORGEOUS was a nicely done antiheroine episode, and Gaiman's turn at 1602 was fun (even if I probably missed most of the in-jokes).

Things that make you go hmm

2006-10-17T23:53:00.000-05:00

I've seen photoshop retouching effects and photoshop plastic surgery before, but this human-to-model video spot from Dove (soaps, etc) is new to me.

Edit: Glenn Feron changed his mouseover before-and-afters so they're (temporarily?) unavailable. Too bad.

yay! Boo.

2006-10-15T11:52:00.000-05:00

I've got this waiting for me when I have some time to read again...looking forward to reading it.

I think the last thing I read was Luna's WINTER MOON anthology; Mercedes Lackey's pseudo-medieval fantasy was the best of the three (although no church). The ending was anticlimactic and the heroine didn't really get to use her l33t skills much, but the worldbuilding was good.

Random notes

2006-10-07T14:52:00.000-05:00

I'm on the move, and my laptop doesn't have ergo keyboard, so another hit and run post. Lovely, blessed weather lately; all's well, reading lots (will post list and notes later), and a random tidbit:

I just saw a commercial (actually, I HEARD it first, as I was walking past a screen) for George R. R. Martin's FIRE AND ICE (? the red one that came out this year) on the History Channel. How freaky is that? I'm not sure if the ad is tied to the show or not: Viking Raiders and their route from Denmark to England, reenacted by rival boating teams Oxford and Cambridge.

Anybody else seen it, or other book commercials on ...new channels? Heh.

spam. yech.

2006-09-26T11:27:00.000-05:00

Ewww. My email just got spammed by some new romance publishing company.

Moovees

2006-09-17T01:01:00.000-05:00

Saw (was dragged to?) the most recent spate of movies (CRANK, INVINCIBLE, GRIDIRON GANG); also saw the original BLACK CHRISTMAS and THE WICKER MAN.

BC:
could be good if the remake is a techological update (combined with technology breaking down or counter-technology) and keeps the suspense and keeps out the gore; I really like how it's got a smart, scary killer and maintains that tension without degenerating to a slashfest. Might see the remake.

TWM:
I wish there were a copy of the original, uncut TWM, with the opening scene where the policeman is a racist ass and so forth, but the cut version makes things, I think, more deliciously mystifying and less straightforward: neither the policeman nor the audience knows what's going on or why. Will not be seeing the remake.

CRANK is pretty shallow, with some hilarious moments punctuated by gore and lots of slow-mo MTV-style moments. Ending is a wink and nod that I didn't find satisfying; the whole thing felt like a hyperviolent video game's movie clip, sometimes in a good way and sometimes not so much.

INVINCIBLE - football, fan-becomes-pro-player, and I admired how emotionally intense the movie became at times--all without a drop of profanity.

GRIDIRON GANG - hardcore juvies get into football, mixed bag, pacing problems. The Rock (I heart the Rock) has good acting chops--such an expressive face, and naturalistic acting--but the dialogue/monologue delivery was stilted, so that kind of got monotonous (The FIST got old pretty fast, too). Still, he's got great comedic and dramatic timing and he becomes the role.

Doesn't sugarcoat the violence and atmosphere; when the credits rolled, people started flooding out and then stopped dead to watch them. Good stuff.

(Tom Nuttall from DEADWOOD is in it, too. Hee.)

A slight tangent: I didn't know they were making a RESIDENT EVIL 3!

8mb Second Gen Ipod Nano

2006-09-16T23:55:00.000-05:00

Must...resist...temptation...

DDT Returns

2006-09-16T10:52:00.000-05:00

Yay!

About time.

h/t Instapundit.

Oriana Fallaci

2006-09-15T22:08:00.000-05:00

RIP, Oriana.