Well, that last post seemed to work, so let's try again, this time with Buffy, season 5.

Quick post (because I'm not sure I can actually update from the computer I'm using) to create a link for Firefly so I can order it through Amazon & earn myself some money. (That's why this weblog has so many links to Amazon. Please, click through & buy stuff. I'll get a cut.)˙

I've been reading quite a few books over the past few days, but using a dial-up to poke around Amazon for the info I need to make the links is going to take too long. It'll have to wait until I get to the library. But for now I'm going to mention that I will be using some of the money I got for Christmas to buy myself Firefly. Man I loved this series and wish Fox had given it a chance.

Not too much to add since the last time I updated.

Books

• Days Like This by J. Torres & Scott Chandler.
  
• Black Jack: Two-Fisted Surgeon by Osamu Tezuka.
  
• Powers, v.5: Anarchy by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Avon Oeming.
  
• Kyle Baker Cartoonist by (surprise, surprise) Kyle Baker. (No Amazon listing.) I prefer Baker's longer works, particularly The Cowboy Wally Story and Why I Hate Saturn, but this is still pretty damn good.
  
• Leave it to Chance, v.3: Monster Madness by James Robinson & Paul Smith. A great all-ages comic that will sound pretty silly if I try to summarize it. Just check it (or the earlier two volumes) out.
  
• GURPS Faerie, a role playing book I started months ago. It's beein sitting in a stack of other books for a while.
  
• And I began Osamuk Tezuka's Buddha, v.2: The Four Encounters. This is an amazing work. I don't think I realized just how strong a creator Tezuka was until I read these books. I had been reading various Astro Boy collections, and they're good, but the stories are pretty repetitive. The Buddha books are much better. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of this series.

Okay, that was more than I expected.

Movies
The only thing I've watched since Wednesday has been Standing in the Shadow of Motown, a documentary about the Funk Brothers, Motown's house band during its heyday.

Saw Return of the King on Wednesday night with Teena & Jennie. Man, that was impressive. Best of the three.

Another personality quiz. This time it's "What character from Monty Python & the Holy Grail are you?


Well, u-- um, can we come up and have a look?


What Monty Python Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Boy, I really haven't been keeping this thing up to date, have I? Catch-up time.

Books

• Hammer of the Gods: Mortal Enemy by Michael Avon Oeming and Mark Obie Wheatley.
  
• Miss: Better Living through Crime by Philippe Therault, Marc Riou, and Mark Vigouroux. French crime comics set in Manhattan in the 20's.
  
• The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings by various. I actually started this anthology when it came out, back in October. But it's taken me until now to finish the last couple of things in it.
  
• Pop Gun War by Farel Dalrymple.
  
• Crayon Shinchan by Yoshito Usui. Manga about a bratty 5-year-old.
  
• Heavy Liquid by Paul Pope. I liked this quite a bit. More than I have Pope's other works, but still not enough to buy it. The library is my friend.
  
• This morning I started Sandman Presents: Taller Tales by Bill Willingham and a variety of artists. This is a collection of stories spun off of characters Neil Gaiman created. I have some problems with some of the Sandman spin-offs; too serious, too self-important, & too gothy. That's not a problem here.

Movies
I've been watching a few DVDs

• Down from the Mountain. A concert film of the music that was featured in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
  
• My Fair Lady. I think this is the first Audrey Hepburn movie I've ever seen. Throughout the movie I was struck by how much Rex Harrison's Henry Higgins reminded me of some of the characters that Michael McKean plays (although I couldn't name a specific one; certainly not David St. Hubbins).
  
• Repo Man> (Now there's an odd juxtaposition of movies.)
  
• And last Friday night, Teena & I went to see Love Actually. It was a great movie, and it's not just the company I had that's making me say that. Lots of characters, and lots of stories, but you can keep them all straight. Some excellent performances, especially by Emma Thompson. Highly recommended.

Yet another online quiz. This time it's Muppets!

You are the the Swedish Chef.
You are a talented individual, nobody understands
you. Perhaps it's because you talk funny.

FAVORITE EXPRESSION:
"Brk! Brk! Brk!"
HOBBIES:
Kokin' der yummee-yummers

FAVORITE MOVIE:
"Wild Strawberries...and Creme"

LAST BOOK READ:
"Der Swedish Chef Kokin' Bokin'"

QUOTE:
"Vergoofin der flicke stoobin mit der brk-brk
yubetcha!"


What Muppet are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I tried taking the test again, & changed just one answer & came up as Kermit. Cool!

What Common Breed of Dog Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


These things keep telling me I'm stubborn. I really don't get that.

Books
Well, in the week since I added said anything about the supposed purpose of this page, I have read

• Nightmare Alley by William L. Gresham & adapted by underground cartoonist Spain. Noir story of the rise & fall of a sideshow mentalist.
  
• Scatterbrain by various. Humorous comics.
  
• Fray: Future Slayer by Joss Whedon & Karl Moline. The creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer takes a look at Buffy's world a few hundred years in the future. I quite enjoyed this & hope he writes more comics.
  
• Fagin the Jew by Will Eisner. The grand-master of comics reclaims Dickens' character and tells his story in such a way as to make him sympathetic.
  
• Unlikely: Or How I Lost My Virginity by Jeffrey Brown. An autobiographical graphic novel. Scratchy drawings but a compelling story.
  
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I'm reading this for The Usual Suspects' book club for December. It's always nice when a childhood favorite holds up when reread as an adult. And Jules Feiffer's illustrations suit the book perfectly.
  
• Joan, Book III by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko.
  
• Exiles, v.2: A World Apart by Judd Winick, Mike McKone, and Jim Caliafiore. This is a cross between the X-Men and Quantum Leap, written by a guy who is probably best known for appearing in MTV's The Real World: San Francisco. I quite like this series, although not quite enough to buy the collections. But I'm more than happy to read the library's copies.

Movies
The only movie I've watched recently is Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music. But I have recently purchaced Millenium Actress

Still haven't had time to update about books & movies. Soon, I swear. But right now it's yet another personality quiz.

What subcategory of indie rocker are you?


You're a Mod. You dig expensive things, like suits and speed. You have a fine appreciation for the Kinks and know that Motown started it all, and you have fabulous style. Hey, nice hair.


You Know Yer Indie. Let's Sub-Categorize.
brought to you by Quizilla

Lots of work in the morning & a dental appointment in the afternoon yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to update. Info about books & movies later. Right now, though, it's the results of "Which Edward Gorey Book Are You?"


The GashlyCrumb Tinies - You have a terribly wicked sense of humour and people are drawn to your wit. Children beware of the thin, pale man with the black umbrella!


Which Edward Gorey Book Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Link stolen from gretchin.

Books
Forgot a couple books in yesterday's entry

• Joan, Book II by Yoshikazu Yasukiko
  
• Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II by Keith Giffen, Gerard Jones, and M.D. Bright.
  
• Yesterday I read The Annotated Mantooth by Matt Fraction & Tim Fischer. This is hard to describe, so I'll just quote from the back cover: "What if James Bond were a talking ape and Ian Flemming were drunk the entire time he wrote From Russia With Love?
  
• Currently reading Judge Dredd: The Day the Law Died by John Wagner, Brian Bolland, Mike McMahon, et al.

Movies

• Continuing a Thanksgiving tradition, my mother came to pick me up on Wednesday, and we saw a movie to give traffic a chance to die down. This year we saw A Night at the Opera Very silly, but what else can you expect from a Marx Brothers movie?
  
• And I watched several videos while visiting my grandparents: Pecker A different kind of silliness. John Waters makes interesting movies.
  
• Joe vs. the Volcano What may be Tom Hanks' most unusual movie. A lot of people hate this movie, but I like it a lot. You just have to remember that it's not taking place in the real world. It's more like a fairy tale.
  
• The Thin Man Wonderful old movie. I'm definitely going to have to watch more of these movies. I wasn't so interested in the mystery, but the interaction between Myrna Loy and William Powell was simply marvelous.
  
• And I've been watching the first season of The Awful Truth This is good, but it has dated. Michael Moore talks about what a bad job Clinton is doing. And while Clinton wasn't the best friend the working person ever had, he now looks positively wonderful by comparison.

Books

• Speaking of Michael Moore, I read Dude, Where's My Country? In comparison to other books I've read recently, Al Franken's was much funnier, and Molly Ivins' was better put together.
  
• I've also read In Nomine Game Master's Guide In Nomine is a role playing game featuring angels & demons. I'm considering running a one-shot for some friends, so I decided I should finally read this. It was interesting, & gave me some ideas for what I want to do.
  
• And I've been reading some graphic novels too. Nemesis the Warlock by Pat Mills, Kevin O'Neill, and Jesus Redondo
  
• Yossel, April 19, 1943 by Joe Kubert. This is Kubert envisioning what his life might have been like if his family had not been able to emmigrate from Poland in 1926, shortly after he was born.
  
• I'm currently reading Green Arrow: Quiver by Kevin Smith and Phil Hester. I enjoy Smith's movies, but for some reason his comic book writing doesn't do much for me.

Read several books & saw lots of movies over the long weekend. However, my lunch break was largely taken up by arranging a dental appointment, so updates will have to wait.