Monday, June 27, 2005

We got moved over the weekend. I now have internet access at home, so I will update more frequently. Unfortunately, I don't feel like catching up on my the books I finished since the beginning of June, so I'm not going to update that tonight. Also, we've got a lot of unpacking to do, so I'm not sure just when I will get around to updating. But it will happen. I promise.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Yes, I've seen that Doug has memed me. I'm not sure when I'll get to that, but I will. In the meantime, packing for the move has made me realize exactly how many books I crammed into that tiny, tiny apartment. And that reminded me of the following quote from Tempest Tost by Robertson Davies.

She herself was a victim of that lust for books which rages in the breast like a demon, and which cannot be stilled save by the frequent and plentiful acquisition of books. This passion is more common, and more powerful, than most people suppose. Book lovers are thought by unbookish people to be gentle and unworldly, and perhaps a few of them are so. But there are others who will lie and scheme and steal to get books as wildly and unconscionably as the dope-taker in pursuit of his drug. They may not want the books to read immediately, or at all; they want them to possess, to range on their shelves, to have at command. They want books as a Turk is thought to want concubines -- not to be hastily deflowered, but to be kept at their master's call, and enjoyed more often in thought than in reality.

If I stopped buying books today, did not re-read anything, and did not read any of Teena's books, I could still go for years before I ran out of reading material.

Hello. My name is Philip, and I am addicted to books.

Friday, June 17, 2005

I'm unlikely to have the chance to do a real update until after Teena & I get moved in together, but I had to share this:

You're Buckaroo Banzai.
Big Boo-tay!


Which B-Movie Badass Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

and this:

You're Ripley. Believe it or not.
You're Ripley. Believe it or not.


Which Drive-in Damsel Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Didn't have time to update last weekend because Teena & I were busy with other projects: signing the lease on our new place, reserving the venue for our wedding next summer, watching Doctor Who episodes (courtesy of Michael). Also, I started the final quest in Kingdom of Loathing.

It was very tricky, and I would not have gotten to the Naughty Sorceress without Reza & Doug helping me out with some hints. And the Sorceress was tough. I didn't defeat her until last night. I haven't complete ascension yet, though. I have recently purchased a display case in the Cannon Museum, and I'm stocking it with one copy of each item I have in my inventory. I'll be donating all the rest of my stuff to my clan. I will do the hardcore ascension, so I don't want to be tempted to abandon that when things get tough. By getting rid of all my things, I'll force myself to stick it out.

But ascension is coming!

Sunday, June 05, 2005

Before I get into books & movies, some news:

1) Teena & I are moving in together. Our apartment opens up the weekend of June 25-26. I'll be asking some of you for help.

2) We've set a date for our wedding. Barring unforseen circumstances, we'll be getting married August 5, 2006.

Now for the obligatory excuse as to why I haven't updated recently: I didn't have computer access last weekend. Or rather, I had computer access, but it was on an old iMac with only dial-up, so it would have taken me forever to update.

Movies & DVDs

  • Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Creeping Terror. The victims of this movie's monster (which really does creep) were very obliging. Not only did they not run away, the shoved themselves into its mouth. If they hadn't, it could not possibly have eaten them. (Borrowed from Teena.)
  • Star Wars - Clone Wars, vol. 1. These cartoons kick so much ass. They are much better than the last movies (see below). Highly recommended.
  • The Naked Cosmos. If you are familiar with Gilber Hernandez's non-Palomar works, this DVD (where he plays all the male roles & his wife all the female ones) will feel familiar to you. Bizarre, wonderful stuff. It's a tribute to the kind of kid's show you don't see anymore where a host in a strange outfit & his assorted sidekicks introduce cartoons. Check out the trailer.
  • Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I thought I had lowered my expectations enough that I'd be able to enjoy this. I was wrong. Lucas has absolutely no ear for dialogue. The action sequences were so busy it was nearly impossible to tell what was going on. Ugh.


Books

  1. Quimby the Mouse by Chris Ware. Ware's comics are almost always beautifully drawn but emotionally bleak. This collection is no exception. (Checked out of the library.)
  2. Dragon Ball Z, vol. 17 by Akira Toriyama. Sometimes you just feel like reading about people beating the tar out of each other.
  3. Chaland Anthology #2: Freddy Lombard by Yves Chaland. More Tintin-esque stories. (Library.)
  4. Losers, vol. 1: Ante Up by Andy Diggle & Jock. (Library.)
  5. Shaman King, vol. 6: Road Trip to Isumo by Hiroyuki Takei. I swear, I'd write more about the content of the manga series if I didn't have such a difficult time finding them at Amazon.
  6. Sneak Peak 5, Summer 2005 by various. I'm not surprised I couldn't find this manga volume at Amazon. It's a freebie given out by the publisher (Viz), with a sampling of their titles.
  7. Planetes, vol. 1 by Makoto Yukimura. (I suspect it's just Viz manga that Amazon has the difficulty with. I found this one with no problem.) I picked up this volume because Doug mentioned it in his weblog. I'm glad I did; I really enjoyed this story set in the near future about a crew of people working as orbital garbage collectors. They clean up debris that may be hazardous to satellites. (Library.)
  8. The Big O, vol. 1 by Hitoshi Ariga. From the title, this sounds like it's porn. It isn't. It's the manga adaptation of a rather odd anime series about mecha. (Library.)
  9. Planetes, vol. 2 by Makoto Yukimura. Science fiction seems a lot more prevalent in manga than it does in U.S. comics. You could argue that a lot of superheroes are science fictional, but there is a very different feel to them. (Library.)
  10. Boneyard, vol. 3 by Richard Moore. (Library.)
  11. Planetes, vol. 3 by Makoto Yukimura. The only complaint I have about this series is that I can't figure out the title. Is that second "E" pronounced or what? (Library.)
  12. The Dark Horse Book of the Dead by various. Dark Horse's latest horror anthology contains a new Hellboy story & a short story by Robert E. Howard.
  13. Whistle!, vol. 1: Breath Through by Daisuke Higuchi. Soccer manga. (Library.)
  14. Batman: Hush, vol. 1 by Jeph Loeb & Jim Lee. I can't see what all the fuss is about. But then Jim Lee's artwork doesn't do all that much for me, and Jeph Loeb's writing has never struck me as being all that great. (Library.)
  15. Little Lulu, vol. 2: Lulu Takes a Trip by John Stanley & Irving Tripp. More charming reprints of kid's comics. (Library.)
  16. Fantstic Four, vol. 6: Rising Storm by Mark Waid & Mike Weiringo. This is the final collection of Waid's run on FF. Good stuff.
    Jenny Finn: Doom by Mike Mignola & Troy Nixey. Very creepy horror.
  17. Deadline by Bill Rosemann & Guy Davis. I really enjoyed this story about a young reporter for The Daily Bugle on the "capes beat." As always, Davis's art is excellent.
  18. Green Arrow: City Walls by Judd Winick, Phil Hester, & Manuel Garcia.
  19. The Irregulars by Steven-Elliot Altman, Michael Reaves, Bong Dazo. Very bad. (Library.)
  20. Got War? by G.B. Trudeau. I always enjoy Doonesbury books. (Library.)
  21. Strange Killings: Strong Medicine by Warren Ellis & Mike Wolfer. I enjoyed this, but I don't know what to say about it.
  22. Fanboy by Mark Evanier, Sergio Aragones, et al. I really enjoyed this series about the joys of being a comic fan, but I was a little surprised it sold well enough to be collected in a book. I may be being too cynical, but I suspect most comic fans take themselves too seriously & have too little self-awareness to appreciate this. On the other hand, who wouldn't enjoy a book full of Sergio Aragones's art (most often seen in the margins of Mad magazine)?
  23. Gotham Central, vol. 2: Half a Life by Greg Rucka & Michael Lark. It's a shame superheroes have such a stranglehold on the comics industry that this extremely well-written police drama has to include Batman villains in order to have an audience. It's still excellent, though.
  24. Planetes, vol. 4/1 by Makoto Yukimura. I enjoyed these books so much that I went & bought my own copies.
  25. Ranma 1/2, vol. 26 by Rumiko Takahashi. Martial arts romantic comedy. (Library.)
  26. Dr. Slump, vol. 1 by Akira Toriyama. Silliness from the creator of Dragon Ball Z.
  27. Dragon Ball Z, vol. 18 by Akira Toriyama. Martial arts mayhem from the creator of Dr. Slump.
  28. WE3
    by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely. I don't know what to say about this book. It is simply amazing, both touching & creepy. Morrison demonstrates that he understands pets & how they think. I can't recommend this highly enough.