Ryan's Word I/O Diary

Just two this week

2008-08-01T04:04:00.002+01:00

newuniversal 1959: This one-shot of the early newuniversal world had a distinct feel to it. I hesitate because it's been a long time since I've seen the movie, but it felt like seeing Chinatown. No happy endings, some mind crushing, a fairly intense experience. I think it stands up pretty well to Warren Ellis's project, and that's saying something.

Ultimate Spider-Man 124: I'm not digging this arc. I'm conditioned to love everything Brian Bendis does, but I'm not digging this. As someone who played the game that this is referencing, I'm not getting a whole lot of new information, and the old information feels... less... when it's not presented through interactive media. So I try to read it as though I haven't played the game and know nothing about said game, but then it feels like I don't have enough information period. This arc was supposed to be something of a sequel, a follow-up to where the game ended, and I wish we could get to that already.

And here I am again

2008-07-25T02:44:00.000+01:00

Invincible 51: From the cover alone it's clear that this was constructed as a jumping on point for new readers. I really hope it works, as I think this is a good series, but for regulars it feels a bit rehashy. Not a lot new happens as far as development - aside from new costumes and jobs for some people - but the last page makes up for it.

New Avengers 43: This really hits home one of the themes of the Secret Invasion, one that I really hope gets picked up in the MU as time goes on: the damage the Skrulls have done to Trust is far greater than anything else they could do. This is Grade A villainy here.

War Heroes 1: As it stands right now, the whole "This is what Ultimates 3 would've been if MM stayed on" isn't coming through for me. It's a world where the US bankrupts itself thrice over to fuel its army with superheroes, and a few people want to fuck this up in some way. I LIKE what this is, and I think it could do some interesting stuff storywise, and Tony Harris's art is great. But this is not Ultimates 3.

Daredevil 109: For my experience two things happen in books where Rucka's the main (co-)writer: a really awesome, strong female character comes around, and then they either die or get disfigured. Daredevil's a great title for him, as that's something of a theme there, too. Daredevil's quest to get a fresh mark on his win column/get an innocent man out of death row is still suspenseful, but the phrase "government cover-up" is in the field now, and I think I'm becoming burnt out on them. I'm hoping to see a new twist in the coming issues, and if anyone can do it I have faith in these two.

Called in sick

2008-07-11T01:51:00.002+01:00

Unlike all the other hiatuses (hiati? hiatorum? rookery of haitus?) I've taken,this time I have excuses! Last Wednesday I was on the toilet trying to keep my innards in. Week before that I was prepping for Wizard World Chicago and as much love as I have for you, I needed to prep for that one. Right, on we go:

Secret Invasion 4: What I loved about the earlier issues was the interaction, the way characters were tripping over each other to determine who was/ wasn’t a Skrull. This has only blasting-related interactions, so I’m less satisfied. I did like that Agent Brand’s getting some positive page time, and I’m still onboard for the series, so there you go.

Powers 29: Just when you think Bendis and Oeming just want to make snuff films out of their properties, they give you something that might just qualify as a happy ending. [spoiler]Seeing Callista wink and proceed to wail ass, well, it wailed ass. I REALLY don’t know how Deena’s cure is going to play into this. It seems a little too perfect but I want to hold off until the fallout settles.[/spoiler] Nothing is safe in this book, but that doesn’t mean everything goes into the shitter. As a sucker for melodrama, I love it!

I Gotta Get Better at This

2008-06-20T04:08:00.000+01:00

PS 238 #32: A disproportionate amount of footnotes in this issue. The character primer in the back I’m fine with, but the footnotes get distracting. Problem is I don’t know how you could smooth it out without losing the younger – and target – audience. I’m all for storylines that build on each other, and so knowing or having quick access to story history is unavoidable. With this particular story, Tyler deciding the fate of superhumans, one COULD have Tyler watching the various referenced events in tandem with the interviews, but that kind of density and the layouts necessary to tell all that in the space allowed would be a lot for younger readers to assimilate. Maybe too much. Errrgh.

Ex Machina 37: Fun dialog, government drama, and a costumed chick with poor impulse control. What’s not to love?

An odd tradition

2008-05-09T03:28:00.002+01:00

I WORK at a comic book store. I'm surrounded by the things, talk endlessly about them, and what do I do when I get home Thursday nights (or Wednesdays if I'm picking up hours)? I read comics. I am in the late stages of addiction. Anyway...

PS 238 #31: There's a big time-travel themed subplot going through the book right now. This is not the place to quantify my issues with temporal shifts as a storytelling device, so I'll just say I will continue to buy the book for now. Those who've heard my rants know this is to be high praise.

Secret Invasion #2: I feel the need to apologize to the creators and producers of this book for what may be an error in my reading comprehension. Since this series is built around characters who may or may not be shape-shifting aliens that may or may not have been in society for years and are playing mind game inside mind game with someone unless they're an alien unless it's a double bluff and I'm not even sure what I'm saying at this point but it IS in the series... I can't read it as anything but genre parody at this point. I will say that AS genre parody, it's amazing. All the characters you've wanted to see tripping over each other are doing it in ways that any other company would know better than to allow. There are sexual encounters involving brains and they are completely without consent. Plots aren't twisting as much as they are assuming shapes that penetrate nine of the theoretical fifteen dimensions. Screw it all.

Logan 3: Again, logistically, I have no idea what happened here. I may just be tired and not getting it. If I weren't tired I might try and dissect it, but I think instead I'm going to focus on the beauty of the art and a "young" Logan's encounter with something beautiful.

Only 10 Days?!

2008-05-01T03:31:00.002+01:00

It's felt like longer. Anyhoo, here's what I bought this week.

Ex Machina 36: Between being the only superhero in the world and being New York's latest mayor, Mitchell Hundred has no shortage of enemies, so it's fun to see a fan of his, one just as fanatical as some of the people he's gone up against. With a book as loaded as this can be, it's refreshing to have a fun moment.

New Avengers 40: Oh snap. The reveal here is only one skrull, but it's a monumental one. Watching this shake down through the main Secret Invasion story line's going to be great.

After a little break...

2008-04-20T15:07:00.001+01:00

Sword 7: Getting a little deeper into the overall story here as Dara strikes out on her journey of vengeance. There are a few loose threads cropping up, like how someone apparently kind and compassionate like Dara can contemplate and execute revenge, the plans of the three siblings now that their main obstacle is supposedly gone, and other things. These threads could be fodder for future plot points, or they could be left flying. The Brothers Luna usually deliver, but the threads are so plainly seen here that I can’t help but wonder.

Powers Annual 2008: All Mike Oeming, all the time. The story is a little out of synch with the current arc but is otherwise well done – Walker gets a flashback to a much-earlier exploit – but the “letter column” is worth the cover price again. It’s a composite text-interview with some of the most prominent names working in comics today, questions ranging from daily schedule and inspirations to favorite musics and bathroom habits. It’s an amazing opportunity to get into the minds of at least one of your favorite creators today.

newuniversal: Everything Went White TPB: I am disappointed in everyone everywhere for not telling me about this series sooner. It’s a story about the next phase of humanity, a subject that Warren Ellis (w) is very qualified to write about. It has characters that break your heart, reads like hard sci-fi without overwhelming the reader in jargon, and is penciled by Salvador LaRocca so beautifully jaws break.

COMICS?!

2008-03-21T01:50:00.003Z

All you're getting this time.

Invincible 49: This is one of my favorite books in the superhero genre. Not because the character has such amazing powers (they're good) or the art is great (it's amazing), it's because the stories go further than just about any other superhero book out there. Nothing is sacred, and in so doing everything becomes precious. In this one, the hero learns that two of his former enemies are now his co-workers, and the talk he has with his boss about the whole thing, well I hope no one's ever had one like it. Awesome stuff.

The Sword 6: I'm a weapons enthusiast, so I was going to look twice at any book with a title like this, and so far the Luna Bros have delivered a book that satisfies me on more levels than just the shiny-pointy-thingies one. A few origin stories are told in this issue, not without forgetting the present situation. It's an intriguing story, the protagonist Dara has plenty of motivation to kick-ass, and the history behind it all is just researched enough to be real, just skewed enough to justify a rogue magical pig-sticker. Love it.

Ex Machina 35: On the week Barack Obama delivers his speech on race, Mayor Mitchell Hundred gets entwined in a convoluted race issue behind the scenes of New York. This one involves the possible ghost of a slave that was part of the group that built much of New York's historic structure. It's not a topical situation, and it doesn't affect anyone except Hundred and one of his deputy mayors, Dave Wylie, but between these two the current racial situation gets a lot of dialog. The thing I love about this is that this isn't in the section with political dramas. This IS a superhero book: the main character has special abilities and he dedicates his life to helping people. The difference here is that the hero, Mitchell Hundred, tried being a classic superhero and found he could do more good for more people by working within the government. And he does.

Fables 71: You've never read Cinderella like this. Those step-sisters would've wet themselves.

Let's Try Thing Again

2008-03-14T19:18:00.002Z

So it's been over one solid year since I wrote in this blog. That's okay. I can account for my time away, and I'm confident that said time will vindicate my absence. It's past us now, so I think it's time for us to move on.

I just finished I am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert. The target audience is slightly more focused that the audience for his show on Comedy Central: It's the same audience with the additional criteria that they must be literate. So if you're expecting a break in character when he makes the transition to print move on. Nothing for you here. If you're looking for the same style as the show in print, however, I think you'll be very pleased. The formatting of the book translates many of Colbert's stylistic habits, especially his "The W0rd" segment, and through this he covers all manner of topics. It also has summaries and extra sections at the end of each chapter that border on interactive, giving it the slight air of a textbook. He's completely in character throughout the text, so he'd have no trouble if this was required reading in schools, churches, phone booths, etc. It's very entertaining... if you find the Colbert Report entertaining. Since I do, I had a fun time.

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman and his art posse continues to be one of my favorite monthly reads. Some claim that zombies have run their course through popular media but no one is bothering to take the genre on as deeply as he does. There's no humor like Shaun of the Dead or subtext like George A Romero's movies, what you see is what you get. The characters in the story would probably very much like there to be someone to blame or some cure a government/ corporate sector is hiding on to for fear of exposure, and they'd probably like some extra levity in their lives, but they're denied it. What they see is what they have, and it's not much. Even worse for them, and better for the readers, is that what they have never lasts long. Characters get introduced and killed, bases are found and lost, rations are grown only to be destroyed. It's a roller coaster ride if that roller coaster was designed by M.C. Escher.

I hope I can keep myself updating this blog regularly from now on, but we'll see what happens!

I haven't forgotten you

2007-02-26T00:26:00.000Z

I'm reading Super Folks for recreation these days. An older novel, it feels kinda dated but it's a fun read.

I reviewed MOME for class, and I have to say I really like it. I'll post my review after the follow-up session this week.

I also found a new webcomic: Antiseptic Poetry. The first thing you may notice, and I'll admit it's what made me click the strange link in the first place, is an abundance of cheesecake. Y'know what, let's cut it with the euphemisms, the main character's big in all the popular places and the supporting characters fill in most of whatever other potentially troublesome fetishes you might have (including one-eyed chicks). They're not subtle about this, nor do they make any apologies, they use it a lot in the dialog and get plenty of material from it. It's also pretty smart, has a lot of energy, and it has a lot of characterization in it. It's not afraid to delve deep into the characters' heads, and the reader gets rewarded for their patience and willingness to look beyond the cleavage. I went through their archive, ate dinner, and went back through it again - I don't do that, if that gives you an idea of how much it impressed me.

So you want to watch American Football

2007-02-01T14:34:00.000Z

The very basics: two teams, each teams wants to take the ball to the other teams goal line, at the end of four quarters the team with the most points wins.

The still pretty basics: Most of the time the ball’s in someone’s hands and their running to the goal line. The quarterback (offensive leader) can pass it forward to gain yards that way. The only times you kick the ball are when you have to give the ball to the other team (to start them as far away from your goal line as possible) or to get it into the other teams goal line and win points (not many, but worth it).

Interesting bits: The game is played on a 100-yard field. Pretty much every play is meant to advance the offense by ten yards – they have four chances. Most of the time, offense will spend three chances, or downs, trying to move at least ten yards. If they don’t, they will usually use their fourth down to ‘punt’ the ball, kick it deep into enemy territory so the other team starts far away. The offense can use their fourth down to try and reach ten yards, but if they fail the opposing team takes possession of the ball at that point.

When the offense advances ten yards in four downs or less, it’s called a First Down, and they have four new chances to go another ten yards. This goes on until they try to score, which happens one of two ways: Touchdown or Field Goal. A Touchdown happens when the offense runs or passes the ball behind the defense’s goal line, a Field Goal is when the offense kicks the ball between the goal posts. Field goals are worth three points, touchdowns are worth six but it doesn’t end there. If you get a touchdown you have a chance to earn extra points. If you kick the ball between the goal posts after a touchdown you get one point – it’s almost automatic – OR you can try to run or pass the pass behind the goal line again and get two points.

The defense can do almost anything to stop you – there’re few things as satisfying as hearing the crunch of a tackle when the camera mike is about fifty yards away!! The defense cannot go for the helmet in any way – that’s a dumb way to get a penalty. The defense cannot grab an offensive player with their fingers – full body hugs are fine, but pulling on their jersey isn’t. If a defender is defending a receiver and the ball’s being passed to the receiver, the defender cannot touch him (pass interference), but he can try and catch the ball himself, and after the receiver’s caught the ball he’s fair game. There are other limitations, but these are the ones that come up most often.

Obscure pub trivia: American football is a game of strategy – players and teams are constantly setting up in different formations and running different patterns to find and exploit weaknesses in the other team. This is why there are so many pauses, they’re deciding what to do next.

You can substitute players as many times as you want in American football, you just have to do it in between plays. Peyton Manning, the Colts quarterback, watches for substitutions like a vulture – if he sees a moment when the opposing team, in mid-substitution, has more players on the field than they should, he starts the play and the penalty on the defense earns him a free five yards. You may call it cheating, but he calls it an exploited moment of weakness.

Each team’s given three time-outs every half. At the end of the half and particular the second half, when the score’s close and everything depends on the clock, having time-outs to burn can be the difference between winning and losing. The refs stop play when they notice a player injured on the field automatically. Two minutes before the end of the half, play is stopped (those last two minutes have a way of changing the outcome) to warn the teams. When you make a first down or when you run the ball out of bounds, the clock stops. This may seem really trivial, but controlling the clock is a key element in play.

If a coach think the ref called a play wrong, he can challenge it, but it’s not something to be done lightly. When a challenge is made play is stopped and the referees watch the play again from all the angles the cameras could cover. The only way a challenge can succeed is if the refs see conclusive evidence that the play was called wrong – if they can’t see how the ball behaved very well, they have to accept the initial ruling. If a challenge fails, the team that issued the challenge loses a time-out, but if they win it no penalty is taken and the play is adjusted based on the new findings. In the final two minutes of the half, the only challenges can come from the observation booth up high and count against no one if they fail.

I think you’re ready to watch some American football!

Now for some bits about the awesomest team ever: The Indianapolis Colts!!!

-The Colts defense is unreliable. We have one of the worst records in the league, and when the Colts lose it’s usually because the defense couldn’t hold the other team back. There are moments of greatness, but they come too few and far between to be counted on.

-Marvin Harrison is the receiver to watch, always. He and Manning hold the record for most touchdown completions in a season (49 I think), Harrison can catch just about anything close to him, and once he starts running it’s hard to stop him. The defense knows to double-team him, and this free up receivers like Brandon Stokley, Reggie Wayne, Austin Croshier, and other stars who are all exception receivers. Even if all of the above are covered, Peyton’s been known to throw the ball at some unknown rookie for a touchdown.

-Joseph Addai is the Colts running game. This is his first year as head running back and he’s made very good. He averages 4-5 yards per run, do the math.

-Adam Vinatieri is our field goal kick and has a perfect playoff record. A game where only field goals are scored isn’t great, but a win’s a win.

-Payton Manning is one of the best quarterbacks of all time. He holds multiple records for things like touchdown passes per season, consecutive games with 200+ yards, etc. His throwing arm is regularly compared to a laser-guided missile, and with just cause. YouTube search “Peyton Manning Commercial” and you’ll find a bunch of clips of him showing he has a good sense of humor about himself. He has a bad reputation for playoff games, especially games in Florida, as someone who can’t deliver in crunch time, but he’s NEVER gotten this close before. If he’s ever going to claim a title, it’s this year.

Lee Child

2007-01-14T11:48:00.000Z

My dad gave me two books to read while I was on my way back to Falmouth. Turns out that was just about enough. Both books were by Lee Child from hisseries of novels centered around Jack Reacher. Reacher's an ex-army MP laid off when the government cut military spending and now travels the US in the manner of Shane: staying in one place only long enough to make it better but not long enough for anyone to get close to him.

That I was able to finish two of these in one trip tells that these are light reading. Airport literature, I think someone called it, something not too trying but certainly distracting. They do pretty well, too. "One Shot", one of the ones I read, ranked 2,421 in Books on Amazon.co.uk (10,053 on Amazon.com). The hardcover editions tend sell less, but that's because buyers expect this level of work to come out in paperback - it travels better, sells more, it's almost not worth a hardcover publication (the copy of One Shot I took was hardcover).

If this series is any indication, the "Airport Thriller" has a few conventions. One: protagonist must a trained expert in their field cut loose. Never mind that whichever organization they were cut loose from spent probably millions of dollars getting protagonist to that level, it is unconscionable to believe they'd leave of their own accord. Two: protagonist must have own set of rules AND knows how to accomodate society's rules. Any badass plays by their own rules, but only the truly bad ass do so without seeing a jail cell. Three: some disproportionately beautiful member of the protagonist's desired gender must come out of the background for recreaational bedtime. I'm leaving room there for the first gay action hero (if there's not one already). Not only must said arm candy be gorgeous, they also have to be smart - even the ditzy jail bait the bad guy sends to distract the protagonist have to have some redemptive brain cells. These are not difficult conventions to find in the books, but ultimately I didn't care all that much. It shows the author knows how to pander to the audience and do it well.

What makes the book interesting is the situations our hero gets in and how he gets out. In Reacher's case, the default solution is "through". See bad guy. Kill bad guy. Repeat until laid. Maybe it shouldn't work as often as it does, but it keeps you reading. Anyone who can beat the odds as much as Reacher does should try to hit Las Vegas at some point, but his current non-gambling adventures are still loads of fun to read.

Comics, comics, COMICS!

2006-12-22T02:07:00.000Z

I'll confess something. The whole reviewing what you read thing? Not new to me. I belong to a coouple of comic book message boards, and one thing we love to do is post what we thought about what we bought every week. With three months plus of backlog to work through, I thought it might be neat to post my catch-up efforts. Enjoy.

As you may know, I’ve been out of the country for the past few months away from my precious comics. My even more precious comic shop held my regular issues for me until I got back, which happened last week. I’ve had a lot of thoughts after all of my boughts, and now it’s sharing time!

Nextwave 8-10: It’s better to burn out than to fade away, so I suppose it’s a good thing these issues have so much fire in them. This book looks like it’d be the best book ever to work on.

Astonishing X-Men 17-18: It’s weird, I really did not care for Grant Morrison’s run on X-Men while it was going on, and looking back I still don’t like it. Here’s Whedon bringing back all these elements from that run I don’t like and I’m loving what he’s doing with it. It’s flashy and tense but it does all this by getting into the main players, which I never got from Morrison. Also, Cassaday is a living legend.

Ultimate X-Men 75: Last issue I’ll get of this. I love Robert Kirkman, but I’m just not feeling it here. It’s just really dry, like he’s afraid to do what he does with these characters.

Invincible 35-37: Now here, Kirkman has fun. He does stuff he wants to see and it works great. I wonder if he might be more comfortable in the 616 Marvel U. He can work with long-arcing continuity and turn it into something new and interesting and fun – he does that best when it’s his long-arcing continuity but he can do it well when it’s not. He’s alternatively vilified heroes and redeemed villains in this arc, sometimes going back and forth in the same issue. It’s wild, it’s fast, and it’s fun to read. Invincible Universe A-K is a neat little appendix, it’s one more thing that makes the book seem much bigger in scope than it really is.

Ultimates v2 12: It’s like interrogating red-hot heroin into your eyes made of action comics.

PS 238 18-19: The Comic Code hindered comics in a lot of ways, but it also made some genius moves possible; this is a book that would have shone in that environment. It’s primary audience is younger readers, but it’s written so smart that just about anyone could enjoy it. Every story about young superhumans in school would do well to try emulating this. The big story arc is about the school bully discovering he’s also a teleporter.

Birds of Prey 98-99: The band breaks up and a new Batgirl quits. Issue 100 coming up means something big’s on its way, it’s looking like it’ll be a big start versus a big death.

Ex Machina 24-25: Wraps up the Smoke story and a one-shot about Bradbury, both heavy. This isn’t a book for the casual reader, it’s not a fun book. It’s like the New Yorker of comics, kind of. It feels a bit pretentious writing that out, but yeah, that’s how it feels. I like it.

New Avengers 24-26: Sentry’s got some confidence issues, Tony Stark has major personal interaction issues, and Hawkeye… I don’t think they’ve got names for the stuff going on in his head. I love Bendis’ philosophy on artists through all this, each gives as much characterization into the lead people as he does with the stories. I liked how in the Sentry story one of the recurring lines was “Black Bolt has spoken” – that seemed so odd and poignant to me.

Daredevil 89-90: “Please… no… your French, it is poison to my ears… no more…” Brilliance. Pure brilliance.

Queen & Country 31: I’m thinking Chase is going to go psycho. I don’t think I’ll be picking this up any more, at least not until I read the novels. It’s one thing to have story in an annual issue you might not read in a subscription, but story in a whole other medium’s asking a lot of your readers, IMHO.

She-Hulk 12-14: Thanos’ contribution to the trial was amazing, I loved it. I realize this is She-Hulk’s book, but I’m going to miss everyone from the firm – they’re as much a fixture of the book as she is at this point.

True Story Swear to God 1-2: Beautiful work on all fronts. It’s so surreal reading about how he doesn’t want to print his first book; we know he eventually does but it seems that outcome is so far away. It’s great stuff.

Walking Dead 31-33: Most people say it’s decompression when you see every single moment of a sequence that doesn’t necessarily need it all. So many times in stories past we’ve seen the angry victim in a room with the torturer and the next bit you see the torturer is ripped apart, so we’re almost programmed to think that we’re not entitled to seeing the torturer’s comeuppance. I wouldn’t call Issue 33 decompression.

Fables 54-56: Three issues, three stories, three different doses of awesome.

Runaways 20-22: End of an era begins here. Mike Norton did a great art job for his run, but nothing has the feel that Alphona brings to the book. I loved Molly’s reaction to caffeine, and her talk with Xavin isn’t done by a long shot I hope.

Ultimate Spider-Man 100-103: I really don’t know how I feel about what Peter’s gone through. Doc Ock has done a great job of completely trashing his life, and while I know so long as either Spider-Man or Peter exists they both do, part of what makes Spider-Man great is that he has Peter’s more mundane life to fall back on as an anchor. Without that, I don’t see the book having the same charm it’s had. I hope I’m proven wrong eventually, but there we are. I’m going to hold out on my views regarding Doc Ock’s revised powerset until I see more of it – I don’t want Peter’s nemesis to be a poor man’s Magneto.

Y the Mast Man 50-52: Holy effing Christ! At first I was freaking that Yorick wasn’t the last man anymore, but then Yorick goes into his soliloquy on how the mad scientist hasn’t been a real man his whole life basically. Shows how much he’s changed, if you ask me. Paris is going to be fun from the looks of things, depending on how many of Yorick’s ladies find each other in the same room.

Eternals 4-5: The thing that stands out to me in these two issues is the range. On the one hand, you’ve got a mountain-sized intergalactic god-figure coming out of the earth with a Cthulu-style wake-up call that will plunge humanity into a never-ending darkness, and on the other hand you’ve got a little boy trying to go to the bathroom in a strange woman’s house. I don’t know how they made the transition between the two work so well so fast, but they did it.

Powers 20-21: Is it ironic that the big hero in this arc so far is Steve Jobs, or is that just me? I like seeing Deena being what we thought she was (a good cop) and not what she’s in danger of becoming (a sociopath) even though this isn’t going to be resolved any time soon I bet.

How many reading days 'til Xmas??

2006-12-04T14:18:00.000Z

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, but unlike before this is reading I can't really enjoy, on any scale really. I've been pouring over various government forms to get more money.

One set of forms is a loan application that really, REALLY should have been over and done with by now. For one, I already did them with the help of my dad. It should be cut and dry, except they changed the procedure so that when you're a grad student, you have to fill them out yourself. I can understand the logic behind this - if you're old and smart enough to get into grad school, you don't need your parents to fill out your forms, and they want to hear it from the guy or gal they're actually giving the money to. Fine. My understanding wavers, though, when they make you fill out the same forms as the undergrads, so in every section there's a spot for parent and a spot for student; the difference between undergrad and postgrad applications is pretty much you have to fill out the forms as if you were your own parent. People, I am not the product of incest, but apparently Sallie Mae won't give me any more money unless I put on the overalls, stick that blade of hay in my pseudo-redneck teeth, and proclaim to the lords of beaurocracy that I am my own father. If they didn't say their offices were in Florida, I'd swear they were Kentucky folk getting their red-taped vengeance.

The other set of forms was a customs rebate form. When my laptop was shipped over, Customs charged 200 pounds in VAT. This is bullshit, but since that argument won't holdup in court I have to fill out forms. I don't mean to alarm anyone but I don't think these have ever been actually read before by human eyes. It asks you to fill in EPO numbers but doesn't tell you what an EPO number is, where you might find yours, who could tell you any of this information, or on what mountain this Form Guru sits. It asks for your name and your representative's name with no indiction of who should represent you - does the man who represents himself for Customs have a fool for an importer? I spent about half an hour online trying to track down all of these terms and abbreviations and it's contributed to my exhaustion right now (it's 2:30pm, I should not be this tired).

I realize I've been a bit casual in my tone with this entry into my reading blog, and maybe this isn't the place for such rants. I say that the purpose of this blog is to document our comprehension of text, and these forms may have been the most difficult pieces of text to comprehend I've ever encountered. Did I succeed in understanding the beaurocrats' message? Was I able tomake my ideas clear to them in a way they, in turn, will understand? I'll let you know when the checks clear.

As promised

2006-11-26T16:25:00.000Z

I told you I'd be giving Spirits in the Wires the deluxe treatment when I finished it, and guess what? I did. Here we go.

Spirits in the Wires by Charles de Lint was published in 2003 in hardback, reprinted in softback in 2004. It achieved at it's peak 32,513 in Books on Amazon's rankings. It remains in print. Reviews of the book tended to focus on the characters rather than plot or setting, despite both plot and setting being fantastical in nature. They also noted that the key market was people who followed the characters and in general the writing of de Lint. According to the author's web site, he has written 61 books including short story anthologies and notvels for adults and young readers, and of those at least eight have been set in Newford (the primary setting) and included some of the same characters. The author has commented that each of his stories are meant to be capable of standalone enjoyment, but that it might enhance the reader's pleasure if they were read in a certain order (found here). In general, reviews were positive, though one noted that repeated reading of de Lint might grate the reader as "slightly saccharine and hackneyed after the umpteenth happy ending, but longtime de Lint fans will be delighted." --Jhana Bach

This is a good one, I swear

2006-11-20T13:24:00.000Z

I've been a pretty good boy with my writing. I finish my assignments with enough time so that I can go back and redo them when I realize they're garbage, and that's important for anyone.

Reading, I'm still not quite done with Hero with 1000 Faces. I did read an article on the author of 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' this weekend. I gave my brother a copy of this for Christmas a few years back; I'd never read it before, still haven't, but I knew it was supposed to be a strong story on personal philosophy that, unlike so many others in the genre, has survived decades and still is viable. The article told me a lot more about both the author and both his books than I imagined could be in there. In retrospect, I probably should have, as the course of true personal enlightenment ne'er did run smooth, but it still piqued my interest, and I'll probably steal that book from my bro when I see him over the holidays. The article was in the 19 Nov Sunday edition of the Observer.

I'm in the middle of reading Spirits in the Wires right now, by Charles de Lint. I was first clued into his writing by a friend who lent me a volume of short stories he's written. Various characters all set in the fictional town of Newford in modern era, and how these characters deal with their brief encounters with the mystical. As far as structure goes, de Lint is a bit too formulaic. He's found the plot he likes and can produce, and he does it in many different ways. What keeps me interested in the characters he does this with. Many varied backgrounds encoutner each other under somewhat similar circumstances, they have their own reactions, the make their own decisions, you come away feeling like you're getting a real look at a fairly-idealized tucked-away town where a little of everything lives. I haven't looked at the reviews online or the marketing analysis because I haven't finished it just yet and want to form my own opinions before giving it the full write-up treatment, but it is coming.

Making up for lost time

2006-11-11T12:15:00.000Z

I got through Wuthering Heights. I had to take a few shortcuts to make it through (like a bit of audio-book listening versus reading), but I retained enough to get the points of the lesson. The language is a bit dense, but the story itself was pretty enjoyable, I thought. I would like to go back and give it a proper read-through when I have the time. One thing I really liked that we didn’t get to touch on in class was the nature of Heathcliff’s antagonism – yeah he ends up being this colossal jerk towards everyone around him, but he didn’t start out that way. He was betrayed or abandoned by just about everyone that showed him any kindness, that’s going to mess anyone up. I tended to think of him not as malevolent as much as revealing; he just showed the negativity everyone around him tended to repress.

I also read a couple of magazines from the base room: the Graphic Novel edition of the Bookseller and the Oct 11 issue of Marketing. Marketing I couldn’t get a lot out of, but that may just be because I didn’t have a lot to look for. I think it’s a magazine you read when you have a particular thing you want to sell and need to know how others are doing the same thing. The Bookseller was a bit more for me, I definitely want to read the more general edition, but the Graphic Novel section was very informative. It focused on how bookstores might move more product of that medium, and not just manga (although that’s what most people are buying but I’m not going to comment on that). I love my comic book shop, but if the medium is going to expand I think it’s going to be in bookstores, so that’s an outlet I and other aspiring comic book makers should pay attention to. I’m going to try to make borrowing magazines from the base room a regular thing – I don’t know that I’ll be able to read them any other way.

Hallowe'e'en

2006-10-30T22:38:00.000Z

I read several articles out of the Guardian and Observer today. My previous encounters with British journalism left me wanting on many levels, but I suppose I can chalk that up to reading things like the Sun. The two I read today, those I could easily read regularly. When I get the chance I'll go into more detail, but I'm not in a place to really think much about it right now. I'm outside in the cold sitting indian-style on concrete.

I wrote a new version of the story of Hope for bloc today. This one I used Blake Snyder's beat-sheet template to build a structure for, and I think it helped out a lot. My first attempt set up the setting, the character, and the tragedy like I wanted, but it didn't have a lot that actually happened. I think this will do a better job of drawing a reader's interest. That is, once I edit and smooth things out.

Another day, Another paper

2006-10-26T00:28:00.000+01:00

I cranked out the rough draft of my cannibalism paper today: two pages on why cannibalism is a good thing. I feel good about my basic arguments, but I'm still going to give it a couple of days and then trash it. I haven't done any reading lately, I'm being a bit bad about that.

A little something different

2006-10-20T17:15:00.000+01:00

I'd not had a good morning today. My bank tells me they can take six weeks to cash my student loan checks, DHL is trying to charge me 200 pounds sterling for having my laptop shipped over for VAT expenses which blows my mind, and there's a lot of stuff going down with my landlord and rental property that is not going up here. This is just to establish that I was not in a pleasant mood.

So I worked with it. I had an assignment to write three pages in the first person with a distinctive voice, so I chose the voice of the ignorant asshat from immigration that kept me in the holding pen for four hours. Every half hour he would remind me that he could send me on the next flight back to the States if he wanted. He kept me in a state of pure panic for four hours, I shall put him in a state of dangerous inbred malintelligence for all eternity. I got 900 words out of it.

Edited my Island Argument piece today, and I'm definitely going back to it before I turn it in. I think it holds up pretty well, but it could conform to the structure of the assingment more. It may make the piece suffer a bit, but we'll see if it works or not.

Needless to say, the reading hasn't been up to the pace I'd like lately.

Wednesday's business

2006-10-18T18:22:00.000+01:00

I've written a rough draft of my next assignment for Derrek Hines' class: in two pages convince an island nation to let you build a naval base for a war they're not involved in. I am going to not think about it for a few days, then attack with with a word lion to make it work structurally. There are many avenues available for me to write the way I want, otherwise I'd complain about feeling confined by the new emphasis on structure. The truth is if I can fully incorporate the elements of structure into my style, I should be able to write around it so that readers won't notice. This is what I'm telling myself so I don't feel like I'm selling out.

Continuing to pick my way through 1000 Faces. I'd like to have it finished this weekend so I can loan it out. The book's good, I'd actually like the chance to talk over it a bit in class, but so far that's a no go.

Monday Evening

2006-10-16T20:31:00.000+01:00

I should be reading a book with a cup of light tea by my side, but instead I'm probably going out for a pint or two. I have class at 9 tomorrow, so I shouldn't do too much tonight.

Over the course of the weekend I went through my email accounts and tried to catch up will close to 50 people, just letting them know where I am, what I'm doing, and asking them to get in touch. The fact that almost all of them have something to do with the comic book industry is completely relevant.

Changing topic before anyone can respond, between all those letters, the 2500 words I wrote and slashed down to 1700 for class this week, and being over 100 pages into Hero with a Thousand Faces this weekend, I feel pretty justified in going out for a brew tonight.

In the back of my mind, I know I need to attack my big story, which we'll call Haunted for now, with the literary equivalent of explosives before too long. I had a lot of ideas recently with no good window to incorporate them, but I have to get them down and in before they go back to wherever they came from. I also have a very nice stack of books that I really do mean to read. All things in due time, right? Right?

The game changes

2006-10-13T19:09:00.000+01:00

So it appears that not only should this blog be for reading, but writing as well.

Duh-DUNNNNNNNNNNN

Yesterday I read Snow-White and Rose-Red from a book I bought at a second-hand bookstore in Falmouth for two quid, then wrote an 1100 word story adapting it for modern times. Rose tells Verne Troyer the mandatory sentence for tampering with an endangered species, isn't that adorable? I had to chop about 300 words to fit with the assingment though. I wonder if I can still fit in the undercover cop, I forgot about him.

Also read a few chapters of Hero with 1000 faces. Good reading, but hard to stick with.

Aristotle's Poetics

2006-10-10T14:05:00.000+01:00

I recently finsihed Aristotle's Poetics. If you have a good understanding of Roman culture, you can probably ignore the preambles, index notes, footnotes, and pretty much anything except the actual text, which is only about 50 pages. Otherwise, you have a lot of reading ahead of you. Aristotle's text has more or less been THE basis for dramatic writing since it was first written, but he references a lot of plays, songs, and mediums that simply aren't thought of today. Without that background material somewhere in your brain, you're not going to get much out of it. If you do have that, though, what you read is a clear, albeit dry, treatise on writing drama, maybe the clearest you'll ever see.

First Post

2006-10-03T13:59:00.000+01:00

Reading Diary, Day 1: I ain't read crap. People are looking over my shoulder, it's a lot of pressure. That's about it. Carry on.

EDIT: Actually, I have read all of War and Peace while I was waiting in queue. And if you believe that, I have some wonderful bridges to sell...