Books I’ve Read in June 2009

Very little nonfiction taken in this month. I was surprised by how touched I was by Bourdain’s food book. Makes me want to look up his other books.  I’ve read several of Cameron’s artist way books but I like this one the best. The exercises are streamlined and the essays are enjoyable.

1. The Apron Book: Making, Wearing and Sharing a bit of Cloth and Comfort by EllynAnne Geisel (2006)
2. No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach by Anthony Bourdain (2007)
3. The Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell (2008)
4. The World’s Best Indoor Games by Brandeth Gyles (1982)
5. Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year ed. by Charles Brooks (2008)
6. Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life by Julia Cameron (1998)

Here is my picture book and juvenile book list. This month I’ve been trying to read Newbery Award winners.  I was disappointed by Tale of Despereaux – far too precious for my taste.  Midwife’s Apprentice was much better than Cushman’s other book, Catherine, Called Birdy. Midwife’s Apprentice was highly enjoyable.  I liked Walk Two Moons and A Year Down Yonder too.  The Higher Power of Lucky is the type of book I avoided at all costs as child and teen.  Pointless story and vapid characters.  The Gammage Cup was a satire a genre which I don’t usually enjoy.  This one was fun.

1. 1. The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall (1959)
   2. Three Little Pigs by James Marshall (1989)
   3. Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid #1 by Megan MacDonald (2005)
   4. Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (2006)
   5. The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman (1996)
   6. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (2008)
   7. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (2002)
   8. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (2003)
   9. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (1996)
   10. The Sleeping Beauty by Trina Schart Hyman (1977)
   11. Happily-Ever-After Book by Jack Kent (1976)

Mostly read fun stuff for my YA and adult books.  Their Eyes Were Watching God surprised me by how much it delighted me.  I’d read experts and critiques which made it seem like a dry and miserable reading.  It’s actually fresh and charming.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian reminds me of talking to some people with horrific childhoods.  They make you laugh and then later the sheer tragedy of their story startles you into tears.  Good book.  I’m glad there is a sequel.

1. 1. The Marquis Takes a Bride by Marion Chesney (1987)
   2. Sweet Masquerade by Marion Chesney (1984)
   3. First Comes Marriage by Mary Balogh (2009)
   4. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937)
   5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (2007)
   6. The Maze in the Heart of the Castle by Dorothy Gilman (1999)

Interview with Sherman Alexie about Amazon’s Kindle.

Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924)

Image via Wikipedia

Here is the full science fiction movie list.

The first of my science fiction watching project is a silent USSR film featuring life on Mars.  My friends and I enjoyed our ribald and goofy comments a lot more than the movie itself.

There were three distinct sections of the movie: Mars, Earth and the bag of sugar.

MARS

The scenes on Mars were the best by far. The geometric sets were striking.  Even Gor, the guardian of energy, had a triangle-shaped key ring.  I liked the diagonally sliding door as well.

Aelita’s headdresses were my favorite bit of costuming.  The headdress you see in most of the stills resembles a spiny sea creature, it’s even stranger when she moves.  One of her gowns encouraged me to think she had three breasts.  This would have been very alien of her, if it had been true.  Alas, it’s just an unnerving costume choice.

I learned that Martians know nothing of kisses because Aelita learns a lot when she spies on Earthling Los & his wife Natasha.  The alien woman learning about sex from humans is cliched but she’s intense about it which makes it funny.

It seems the queen’s maid Ihoshka knows more about these matters.  Ihoshka flirts with the soldiers in robotic uniforms at length during one scene and she quickly takes to an Earth man when the space ship arrives on Mars.

Stealthiness must mean something different on Mars.  Ihoshka skulks about the castle in the most obvious way.  She has a wretched outfit for sneaking, I admit.  Her gown is surrounded by caging wires. Nevertheless, no one can see her even when she’s standing in their direct line of sight.  Perhaps Martians have vision problems.

One scene was too funny to take seriously.  The bold Martian soldiers attack members of a rebellion with flashlights. I think they were meant to be lasers (?).  I was taken aback when a third of the Martian’s working population was “refrigerated” but I think it was about cryogenics.

EARTH

The protagonist and definite anti-hero of the film is an depressed engineer named Los.  He finds life fairly worthless, judging by his expression and body language.  One thing perks him up, a mysterious message of three words transmitted over the airwaves.  Los becomes convinced that it is a message from Mars. and begins his long quest to build a rocket ship to Mars.  He begins designing a rocket ship.  Things look pretty exciting until the main plot takes over.

THE BAG OF SUGAR

The main storyline is that of a misappropriated bag of sugar.

As this film portrays it, the USSR in the 1920s was a bad place to live.  The trains were disease carrying and overcrowded; and housing and food staples were limited. At one point, a character was bribing another with baked goods.  Their clothes were ugly and their shoes were rags.  Everything was dirty and everyone was cold.

The bag of sugar is stolen and the movie takes a generous portion of the running time to trace the hiding of the sugar, the eventual investigation, the subterfuge and various twists in the sugar plot.

I found that there were too many characters and got a little mixed up about which badly dressed character had what goal.  The good thing about Mars is that everyone was quite distinctive in appearance.

EARTH AGAIN

Despite his obsession with Mars, Los takes time out to deal with his domestic life. Los goes a lot bonkers with jealousy over his wife Natasha’s friendiless.  Los’ wife is entirely innocent but Los is channeling Othello and alternates between neglect and pettish anger with her.  The sugar, Mars and Earth plots collide in a supremely disturbing and wrong ending.

N. B.  Natasha wears the ugliest dress in cinematic history, just so you know.

SPOILERS

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Cover of Odd Thomas

My sister urged me to read Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas. I have read Watchers and other books by Koontz and had seen Odd on bookshelves but I had not read it. I couldn’t place. Friends and reviews used terms like “quirky” “charming” “sweet” but told me it’s about a thriller about a possible shooting. The blurb on the back didn’t help, “Odd sees dead people but then he does something about it.” Humph.

But I started reading it and now I understand why I couldn’t place it. Odd Thomas himself is innocent in that he has a good heart and an uncompromising sense of right and wrong, though he attributes his conscience to his girl friend Stormy. Odd does his best to think well of people and he risks himself repeatedly to find justice for the murdered dead. So, the quirky, charming, feel-good part is true.

The thriller part is true too. Odd can see ghosts and help them leave, usually by exposing their murderer. He can’t talk to them though. This time, he must hope his psychic abilities come through because he finds himself hunting down a very live mass murderer.

I liked Odd’s girlfriend and his boss – the manager of a diner. He spends as much time discussing his job as a fry cook at the diner as he does on the supernatural events that surrounds him.

It’s worth reading, though a bit rough in places.

Science Fiction Movie Project

Image via Wikipedia

Just finished Aelita: Queen of Mars - the 1924 silent USSR movie. It was not quite what I was expecting. It’s entertaining but I don’t recommend it either. I’ll add the full review later.

Full list here.

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• Science Fiction Movies Watched Chronologically (moonlitgarden.wordpress.com)

More from G.R.O.S.S. (Get Rid Of Slimy girlS)

Image via Wikipedia

I stopped reading blogs on ‘mainstream’ N.A. comics because each time I did I felt angry and depressed.  But once in a while, I still run into these girls-drool-boys-rule news items.

A new post on Comics Worth Reading is about gender targeted contests and articles.  The L. A. Times article “Girls’ Guide to Comic Con 2009” caught my attention.

Charlie Jane Anders rips it apart, and the final line made me laugh.

Thom Zahler is so incensed that he’s giving away free comics.

Anyhow back to the article.  It was meant, I think, to convey that not only does Comic Con permit females to attend but they might find one or two events enjoyable.

I pointed out on CWR that the second sentence reads, “And it’s not all just about the influx of squealing “Twilight” girls, either.”  Well, and good.  Nothing like alienating fans of a popular author like Meyer.  But the best part is that the article points out that werewolves are hot; vampires are hot; guys in mecha suits are hot; vampires are hot; reptilian aliens are hot.  It’s not that I disagree, far from it.  My question is why the digs at paranormal romance fans and then direct your comments to that audience.

At long last, I’m a fan of Dollhouse.  However, it’s a little off-putting to find an Active/Doll referred to as butt-kicking. Sure she is, just like Pinocchio. It’s also painfully amusing to read that Echo is “airheady” not that she is drugged and that her mind is constantly wiped.

And the only interest any woman could have in Whiteout and Inglourious Basterds is their hot male actors.

Yar.

1001 Movies (262 to 302)

You know that book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Stephen Jay Schneider? I don’t know if I would watch some of these if I only had a little time left. I mean I’m sure they all have cinematic significance but not all of them are fun. If I were about to shuffle off the mortal coil, I wouldn’t want to watch a bunch of lame movies just beforehand.

So, I went through the ones I’d seen to check.

Movies 1-60 ::  Movies 61-100 ::  Movies 101-160 :: Movies 161-220

Movies 221-260 ::  Movies 261-300

On the rating system:
Watch anytime: Superb entertainment
Repeat viewing: Good entertainment
Worth once: if you’ve nothing better to do
Historical significance: not for pleasure

Based on 2004 edition.

No. 262. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Type: musical
Rating: repeat viewing
Comments: This movie is a lot of fun. Rosalind Russel is even more appealing than Marilyn Monroe and she’s pretty cute.

No. 267. Shane (1953)
Type: western
Rating: historical significance
This movie seemed drenched in glorified self-pity. I refuse to see it again to reassess it.

No. 271. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Type: musical
Rating: repeat viewing
Comments: The barn raising dance is infectious fun.  The premise of abducting brides is difficult to accept.

No. 272. Les Diaboliques (1954)
Type: crime
Rating: worth once
Comments: A pretty good mystery and good characterization.

No. 274. Rear Window (1954)
Type: mystery
Rating: worth once
Comments: A bit dated but it brings to fore the urge toward voyeurism in all of us.  This is one movie I’d like to see a sequel/remake of.

No. 281. Carmen Jones (1954)
Type: musical
Rating: worth once
Comments: Good music and a good performance.

No. 285. Guys and Dolls (1955)
Type: musical
Rating: worth once
Marlon Brando makes a strange song-and-dance man but Frank Sinatra is entertaining here.

No. 291. Marty (1955)
Type: romance
Rating: worth once
Comments: An understated romance. It’s well-done but hard to get excited about.

No. 294. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Type: crime
Rating: historical significance
This is an interesting film noir with an ending that spirals out of control.

No. 296. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Type: drama
Rating: historical significance
Comments: James Dean is appealing and gives a good performance, everyone is tedious.

No. 300. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Type: suspense
Rating: worth once
Comments: Compelling thriller with children in jeopardy.

No. 302. Forbidden Planet (1956)
Type: science fiction
Rating: historical significance
Dumb comic relief moments but an interesting interpretation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

After the break is the full list from 262 to 302:

7 Kid’s Books that should be Movies

These are all gentle stories of the every day life of families.  They are old-fashioned and charming.

Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink

What: 2 girls are shipwrecked on a island with 4 babies.  Robinson Crusoe for the tween set.

What’s in it for me:  An updated version on a pretty island with lots of cute toddlers would be so much fun.

BookAngles

Wikipedia

The Moffats by Eleanor Estes

What: Set during World War I, children of single mom get into scrapes.

What’s in it for me:  I like sweet family adventures and this one is still relevant.

Wikipedia

Homespun Light

Key to the Treasure by Peggy Parish

What: 3 kids investigate family mystery by solving puzzles.

What’s in it for me:  I love treasure hunting and they could use all kinds of gadgets to update it.

Book Lounge

Henry Reed’s Journey by Keith Robertson

What:   Teenage boy on family vacation across America gets in scrapes.

What’s in it for me:  Travelogue and wacky situations – just the ticket.

Wikipedia on the character Henry Reed

Henry Reed series

Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

What:  Turn of the century life for 3 girls and their strong friendship.

What’s in it for me:  I think this would make a lovely TV series like Anne of Green Gables.

Betsy – Tacy Society

Wikipedia

Fan Site

All of a Kind Family by Sidney Taylor

What:  Another turn of the century family in NYC.

What’s in it for me:   I identified completely with these sisters and want to see them portrayed by actresses.

Tenement Museum

Many Moons by James Thurber

What:  A small princess wishes for the moon.

What’s in it for me:  This would make a lovely animated short.

Wikipedia

Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse “Needs”

Tantalizing bits of the Actives’ backstories are revealed in this episode.

The Actives’ glitches finally come to the fore, when several of them make a break for freedom.

Hmmm.  I guess the teaser confirms that Agent Wrong-Page apparently views Caroline and Mellie in purely sexual terms.  He also sees himself as their knight in shining armor.  He is slowly catching up; who knows, he might almost save the day.

I was interested to see a full staff meeting, and see the status of the main characters in this setting.  I was surprised at the relative gravitas that Dr.  Saunders opinions had.  Toffler and Laurence seemed to view her as a subordinate and even Boyd interacts with her as a peer.  I was also pleased to see that she cared in her own way about the poor Dolls.

I do not like like Laurence.  I suppose he’s only speaking the truth but the contempt behind his statements makes me angry.

I liked DeWitt’s outfit.

I have to say that I find November annoying.  I don’t know if it’s the actress who displeases me or the way her character has been directed or written.  I’ll have to ponder my reaction to her.  I was amused and surprised by her exhibitionist tendencies.  I also felt very little pity for the revelation of her past.  It just seemed too easy.

I was delighted, as I think I was meant to, in Sierra warning Victor to behave like a gentleman in the shower.  I like their instinctive attraction to each other, it’s very sweet which means they’re never going to survive.

Since I like Sierra a lot, I was hurting bad for her in this episode.  The wretchedness of her life past and present is unbearable.  It’s obvious that DeWitt lies about everything she does in the Dollhouse.  But it seems the distance between truth and falsehood is more of chasm in the Dollhouse than I had guessed.

The various theories the Dolls about the House are pretty amusing, especially Victor’s assessment: “we’re all gonna die.”

Here’s a crazy idea, is Echo/Caroline a relative of DeWitt’s?  DeWitt said some strange things about Echo’s behavior.

I want to see Alpha pretty soon. It was OK that the Reavers were not seen but I think Alpha should come out and play.

This was a good episode, with all the character interplay and painful revelations that I like in a Whedon show.

episode 1 GHOSTS

episode 2 THE TARGET

episode 3 STAGE FRIGHT

episode 4 GRAY HOUR

episode 5 TRUE BELIEVER

episode 6 MAN ON THE STREET

episode 7 ECHOES

episode 8 NEEDS

episode 9 A SPY IN THE HOUSE OF LOVE

episode 10 HAUNTED

episode 11 BRIAR ROSE

episode 12 OMEGA

10 Good Manga Blogs

Way too many blogs on manga out there.  You can’t read them all.  Really, you can’t.

Here are a few good ones I’m reading right now.

Comics Worth Reading.  Been checking this one most days for a couple of years.  Solid reviews and a lot of variety: webcomics, manga, independents, animation, anime.  Here is the manga only link.  She really likes Tramps Like Us.

Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page.   I enjoy her reviews so much that I try to save them up for a week so I can read several in a row.  Most of the manga she reviews is not licensed in English but I enjoy learning reading about them.

Slightly Biased Manga.  Good reviews.  Perversely, I enjoy that her blog is so stripped down, she doesn’t even show covers.  She’s pretty forthright about her opinions which I also like.

Precocious Curmudgeon.  Recently started reading this blog regularly.  Lots of news and reviews.  I feel reassured by his posts because they seem so carefully selected from the great mass of information available.

Sporadic Sequential.  A more off-the-cuff type of blog.  He’s a very engaging writer.  Started reading him lately too.  He likes St. Frog and Bleach – he has a more shonen bent than I do and great sense of humor.

Warren Peace.  Used to  review Shojo Beat issues.  When it existed.  He reads a lot of USA comics too.

Deb’s Manga Blog.  Pleasant reading for mainstream manga in the USA.

These are good too but I haven’t been reading them lately.

MangaLife.  Reviews manga.  Also has interesting articles on translation.

MangaBlog.  Links to reviews and news all over.  Good resource but can be overwhelming.

Kuriosity.  Another nice blog with good reviews.

Pan’s Labyrith (2006)

Cover of Pan’s Labyrinth

Have there been more alien and beautiful fairyland creatures on screen?   In Guillermo Del Toro‘s vision, they are fascinating, dangerous, and very far from human.

At the beginning of the Franco dictatorship, a young girl Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) struggles with a difficult family situation.  She is chosen by the fairies to complete a quest.

There is debate whether the ending of the film is happy or sad. I feel that it is both and gains some power from that.

Baquero is excellent but the cook Mercedes (Maribel Verdú) is also good and I think that the humanity of the film largely comes from her performance.

The Faun (Doug Jones performed the body) is a big part of what created the magical, alien feel to the movie.  I could happily watch the scenes of him spliced together.

Ofelia’s vicious stepfather (Sergi López) is pure villain which I think is a bit unusual.  I suppose I expected him to be clever or charming or something. He has zero redeeming qualities.  None.

The violence is heart-sickening and I couldn’t watch some of it.  Nevertheless, I prefer film violence to be unpleasant rather than the kind that is pure spectacle.

The film was a difficult viewing but it’s artfully made I do recommend it.