Light Week

I started a long novel this past week, so this entry and the next couple are going to be fairly light.

61. Secret Six: Cats in the Cradle by Gail Simone, John Ostrander, & Jim Calafiore. Latest collection of this series about super-villains. Awful people doing awful things in an awfully entertaining way.
    
62. The Question: Pipeline by Greg Rucka & Cully Hamner.
    
    Rucka excels at crime stories. While we are unlikely to see much more of this version of the Question (at least from Rucka), I am glad to have this.
    
63. Hikaru no Go, vol. 20: The Young Lions by Yumi Hotta & Takeshi Obata. I'll see this through to the end, but the more I read, the more I think the series should have ended when the character Sai faded away. (Literally. He's a ghost.) (Checked out of the library.)
    
64. Doom Patrol, vol. 1: We Who Are about to Die by Keith Giffen, Matthew Clark, & Justiniano. The latest incarnation of this team. Pretty good, but I think it suffers from super-hero comics's inability to let characters stay dead. Also, it suffers by comparison to Grant Morrison's run from the late 80s and early 90s. (Library.)
    
65. Love and Capes, vol. 1: Do You Want to Know a Secret? by Tom Zahler. Enjoyed the second volume so much that I picked up a used copy of the first.
    
66. Too Much Crazy by Tom Tomorrow.
    
    Political cartoons from mid-2008 to early 2010. Nice to be reminded that there are other liberals out there. (Library.)
    
67. Fractured Fables by various. Anthology of reinterpreted fairy tales & fables. Pretty good, but nothing really stood out. (Library.)

Just a couple of movies this week:

• Doctor Who: The AztecsEarly story, from when they were still doing historical stories without fantastic elements (other than the Tardis). Interesting to see more of the first Doctor.
  
• The Secret of KellsAbsolutely beautiful animation, and a great story as well.

Since it is a light week, I think it's time to inaugurate a feature I've been thinking about for quite a while now, in which I discuss the podcasts to which I listen. You may have noticed that when I picked a new format for the blog, I added a list of podcasts to my sidebar. First up is CogKNITive, A Knitting & Psychology Podcast by Dr. Gemma.

While I learned to knit in college, and I made a stab at learning to crochet about a year and a half ago, I have to admit that the knitting, crocheting, and spinning parts of the podcast do not interest me. However, the other parts are great. In each episode Gemma discusses a life strategy, something she really likes, and how psychology intersects with her life. These parts make the podcast worth listening to even if you have no interest in the fiber arts.

Episodes tend to be weekly and around half an hour, although lately they've been more sporadic & longer. The show is available through iTunes as "CogKNITive podcast" or from http://drgemma.libsyn.com.

(Full disclosure: Gemma is a friend from college. But my recommendation of her podcast is not nepotism. She has led an interesting life, and her podcast reflects that.)