Phoenix is the sweatiest city in America.

“Stranger In Moscow.”

Sydney and the light rail.

Augmented reality in London.

The ghost in the field, and RFID chips.

What will happen when London is flooded?

“Berlin” in Paris.

Interracial couple denied marriage license in Louisiana.

Soft robots and DARPA.

Moscow’s mayor promises a winter without snow.

Paris Syndrome and Jerusalem Syndrome.

San Francisco and the 1906 earthquake.

Rebuilding New Orleans.

from here.

“City Of Blinding Lights.”

A possible glimpse at our future space cities.

America’s most expensive cities and most impoverished cities.

FOX promises to air all 13 of the already ordered Dollhouse season two episodes.

Speaking of which, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s The Cabin In The Woods being held back a year to be switched over to 3D.

“Magnetricity” observed for the first time.

A map of your future mega-cities and megaopolises.

“When the lights go down in the city…”

Sensing the immaterial-material city.

Cities underground and cities tsunami-resistant.

City Of Shadows.

The ruins of Chernobyl, over 20 years later.

“Cities In Dust.”

GTA IV: Inherent Vice City.

“Silver City” and “Sad, Sad City.”

Why all cities are haunted.

The mind of a city (and how our brains are similar).

The cityscapes of François Schuiten.

Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem.

The city is a battlesuit for surviving the future.

Phantom City: See the city that could’ve been.

“…when we reach the city.”

“I have come to wound the autumnal city.”

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

“I’ll take the coral reefs as my metaphor. Though hardly so beautiful. If the essence of life is information carried in DNA, then society and civilization are just colossal memory systems and a metropolis like this one, simply a sprawling external memory….”

-a quote from Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence, a movie that I was watching the other day and just first stirred the pot on several thoughts I had locked up. Thoughts about human beings and boxes we live in.

Warren Ellis had created a comic book character years ago called Jack Hawksmoor, the “king of cities.” Jack was a normal human who had been abducted by city-empathic aliens from the future and repeatedly operated on and “upgraded” to have city-specific powers for use with fighting some unknown future threat that was coming.

Jack Hawksmoor, the King Of Cities.

Hawksmoor, who’s name was inspired by both Spring Heeled Jack and Nicholas Hawksmoor, couldn’t survive for very long outside of an urban environment, but when he was in any city, he had powers specific to that city, including things like superhuman strength and agility, but also psychometry and the ability to control and alter architecture and infrastructure. I don’t think the character was ever utlized by successive writers to his full potential, but I do remember in one story where Hawksmoor had to fight a powerful villain, he made sure that the fight took place in Mexico City, the larged city in the world, to maximize his abilities.

Quarantined in utopia.

“There’s no one to know. There’s nothing to do. The city’s been down since you’ve been gone.”

Climate change and warfare.

“Black And White Town.”

Scientists create “sexual tsunami.”

12 sexist vintage ads.

What’s left of the Roman city of Dougga.

Futurism vs. Science Fiction.

Futuristic steampunk urban recycling.

The little town that Los Angeles killed.

Speaking of which: Future Los Angeles.

Future Chicago.

Future New York.

The saddest blow job story ever.

“History Of A Boring Town.”

Russell Brand not capable of monogamy.

10 most amazing ghost towns, including Prypiat.

“Everything In It’s Right Place.”

Scientists develop “brain to brain communication.”

As time progresses, the future will literally devour the past: WW2-era statue with added cell tower.

“Last Stop: This Town.”

So, I just saw this article about how an upcoming Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly/Serenity) and Drew Goddard (Cloverfield) Movie being delayed a year due to huge fan interest and a decision to convert it to 3D.  Here’s the article if you want to take a gander.

Now, I haven’t heard much about the quality of this movie myself.  Apparently there’s been some hype.  Joss Whedon does that.  That got me thinking about 3D graphics.  The use of 3D effects in movies became popular in the 1980s, but died out fairly quickly then.  Recently we’ve seen a bit of a resurgence in the use of 3D graphics.  The question has to be whether or not it’s really effective for the audience.  When they did those movies in the 80s in 3D, it wasn’t so much because it was a good idea, but more because the movies were so awful that they had to add something to make them special.  It became a method to make lousy story-telling okay.   Is that what we’re heading for now?  Recently I saw something about the Toy Story movies being re-released in 3D, and several CGI movies have been or will be released in a 3D format.  In Final Crisis, Grant Morrison had a tie-in featuring Superman where it was essentially a 3D comic book.  Interesting, but on the whole that book was not terribly great.

On the whole, is that really something that will work?  3D film can be fun novelty for a brief time, but will it really hold people’s attention beyond one movie?

Drew Goddard is directing The Cabin in the Woods, but all people seem to be interested in is that it was co-written by Joss Whedon. That’s no bad thing as a horror movie with a Joss Whedon spin should be good (oh Firefly why were you cancelled), but I do feel a little bad that Drew Goddard is sort of skimmed over. Try and big up Drew if you can.

Anyway Joss’s new movie (doh!)…Drew’s new movie has been moved from 5th February 2010 to 14th January 2011. This has been confirmed by Collider.

The reason for this is not because the film sucks. Oh no. It is because they have decided to turn it 3D. That will take time and they also need space to show it in Cinemas that are 3D equipped – with films like Avatar, A Christmas Carol, Toy Story 3 and more heading our way the 3D screens are pretty much booked up for a while.

Now while I am a big fan of 3D I don’t particularly like it when they shoot a film in 2D and then decide to change it. They are doing the same for Iron Man 2. If it is not shot for 3D then it is not going to be a fully 3D experience – they often have a lack of depth in them.

Still technology marches on as it always does and the decision has been made. Just a pity we have to wait another year to see Cabin in the Woods by the amazingly brilliant Drew Goddard. Apparantly it was co-written by a bloke who has done a bit of TV.

What do you think about 2D films being converted into 3D?

my, my, Tuesday has crept upon us once again, and I’m here with the skinny!

So let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first: HOLY CRAP THIS LOOKS AWESOME.

Joss and Drew’s Cabin campaign has completely won my heart. Too hilarious!

Joss has kept busy feeding bits of Dollhouse intel to the hungry fanpersons.

You can find oodles of S9 Smallville scoopage here.

Mila Kunis has joined Natalie Portman in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, making me think Aronofsky is just casting a bunch of gorgeous brunettes he’d like to see in leotards. Can’t blame him.

HOLY LORD MAKE IT STOP.

Paramount is looking to adapt one of my favorite children’s books in an update from the ‘82 animated film.

NO. NO NO NO NO NO NO.

Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Mark Millar’s comic book Kick-Ass did just that at Comic-Con.

You can watch the spoilery Comic-Con panel for Supernatural here.

And the spoilery True Blood panel here. More True Blood scoop here.

Also, woah, I just realized while perusing my photostream what a rip-off the Jennifer’s Body teaser poster was:

LAME!

Here’s a great wrap-up of the 10 most buzz-producing features at Comic-Con. Why do I do this to myself? I WANT TO GO TO THERE.

io9 also has a great interview with ScarJo regarding Iron-Man 2.

The All About Evil teaser poster is pretty eye-catching.

SOOO JEALOUS. The Gordon/Paoli/Combs/Poe production (oh man, those four names together make me weep with joy) must be as amazing as it sounds, as the run has been extended through the end of August.

The King Kong prequel King of Skull Island is headed to the big screen!

You can choose the cover art for the unrated Wrong Turn 3 DVD here.

Showtime has posted a peek at the Dexter 4th season.

Catch the Dorian Gray teaser here.

I’m really curious about Dark Country, Thomas Jane’s directorial debut, because I love him in The Mist and I think it’s adorable that he and Ron Perlman are besties.

yaaaaaaaawn. World War Z, I am officially done caring.

As infuriating and pointless as I find the idea of an American remake of The Host, a sequel by the original talent could potentially rock.

The Final Destination clip shown at Comic-Con apparently blew some minds and made some tweens cry. Wheee! (spoilery)

xy marla various and sundry:

ARGH!! Due to the theater being sent a bum print, I wasn’t even able to WATCH Deadgirl, much less host it. To my everlasting chagrin. I’ll now be hosting Pan’s Labyrinth at midnight on August 14th. And renting Deadgirl the very MINUTE it’s available.

I’ve got a new weekly column starting on 29-95.com this week, so keep your peepers peeled for that one!

‘Cabin In the Woods’, a new horror film from the minds of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, is set for a Feb. 2010 release. Thanks to Comic Con and Shock Til You Drop, we got a brief taste in the form of teaser posters for the movie! Hellz yeaaa!

All I know so far: Bunch of kids go into the woods. It’s Evil-Dead-esque. Will probably be somewhat satirical!

Yup. Sign me up.

So, those of you that know me… I love me my Joss (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse) Whedon. So here we have Joss and Drew (Buffy/Angel, Cloverfield) Goddard’s posters for their upcoming horror flick “Cabin in the Woods”, also Directed by Goddard himself. The film is also staring Amy (Winifred Burkle) Acker… Sigh.

More under the cut.

Joss Whedon es probablemente el nombre con más gancho de esta noticia, aunque sea Drew Goddard quien dirige y co-guioniza esta película. Sin embargo la presencia de Whedon en los guiones es el principal atractivo de esta película que baila entre el terror y la comedia, y que pretende dar un nuevo giro a un escenario clásico del horror. Una cabina en el bosque, adolescentes asustados en ella, algo en el exterior… Típico, tópico, estereotipado y perfecto para que Whedon y compañía lo laven completamente la cara. Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams y Brian White protagonizan la película. Si el cartel os ha gustado, podéis ver otros iguales pero con distintas taglines en Comingsoon.

People have been twittering about this all morning.  So cool.  In case you’re out of the loop, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard (writer on Buffy, Alias, Lost, Cloverfield) are making a horror movie together called Cabin in the Woods.  It is slated for release in Feb. 2010.  From the posters, it looks like they are gonna bring the funny, as the prints all make fun of horror movie cliches.  Can’t wait. Click on the link below to see all 3 posters for yourself.
SDCC 2009: ‘Cabin in the Woods’ Teaser Poster X3 – FEARNet

87. Wolves at the Gate by Drew Goddard, Georges Jeanty, Andy Owens, Michelle Madsen, Richard Starkings, Jon Foster, Jo Chen, Joss Whedon (2008)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season Eight, Vol. 3 (issues #11-15 of the comic)

Read my review of:
- Vol. 1: The Long Way Home
- Vol. 2: No Future for You

Length: 136 pages
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy

Started: 19 July 2009
Finished: 19 July 2009

Where did it come from? The library.
Why do I have it? Do you really need to ask? Plus, graphic novels are about all I really have the attention span for at the moment.

Dracula’s back, folks!
Bad guys steal Buffy’s scythe, so
it’s off to Japan.

Summary: This time around we get the single-issue story “A Beautiful Sunset” first, scripted by Joss Whedon himself, in which Buffy deals with the isolation of power, even as she gets her first face-to-face meeting with Twilight, this season’s Big Bad. In the main four-part story arc, “Wolves at the Gate”, the Scotland slayer HQ is attacked by a group of Japanese vampires who can turn into wolves, or fog. When they steal Buffy’s scythe, she’ll stop at nothing to get it back, although before they head to Tokyo, they’ll have to enlist the help of the vampire whose powers are being used by the Japanese gang: Dracula himself.

Review: In terms of plot development, this volume is pretty simple: Bad guys steal Buffy’s scythe (which… ARGH! That. Is. Not. A. SCYTHE! It is an ax. AN AX!), Buffy & Co. track them down, kick their butts, and get the scythe back. In terms of character developments, however, this volume is incredible. Buffy and Xander do most of the heavy lifting, but Willow and others get plenty of nice character moments. There’s some new emotional entanglements, Buffy’s usual “it’s lonely at the top” angsting, and this is the moment where the seriousness of this season’s Big Bad really hits home for each of the characters.

But, amidst all of the pathos and heartbreak, this volume is also literally laugh-out-loud funny. Not just a muted chuckle, either – I was roaring with laughter at some scenes (Not to give too much away, but they’re in Tokyo… and Buffy’s little sister isn’t exactly so little anymore. Now take whatever you’re imagining and multiply the funny by five.) The dialogue, the banter between characters, the snarky sarcasm and quick-cuts… everybody sounds like themselves, and they all sound like a Joss Whedon show. So, all-in-all, an excellent mix of uproariously funny, terribly sad, a few kick-ass fight scenes, a few more teasing hints about Twilight’s identity and agenda, and an interesting if not particularly complex plot staring one stupid mis-named scythe. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Anyone who liked Buffy the TV show really, really needs to be reading this series. I loved No Future for You, and this installment is equally good, albeit in different ways.

This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon

Other Reviews: Stella Matutina, Everyday Reads
Have you reviewed this book? Leave a comment with the link and I’ll add it in.

First Line: Once upon a time… I did something good.

Hello internets! Did you miss me? You have so much to tell me!

The new Sherlock Holmes trailer looks pretty sweet, no?

This just in! Lars von Trier is a smug superior misogynist! Yeah, just kidding, nothing to see here.

(you guys just let me know if you ever get tired of seeing Willem Dafoe’s naked ass on here.)

El Orfanato’s Bayona and Sánchez are reteaming for…?? A movie!

El Orfanato producer and Marla fave Guillermo del Toro discusses his ideas behind The Strain Trilogy. The video is not exactly riveting, I’ll tell you now. But he’s so cute!

Jerry railed against this eloquently in last week’s comments, but FUCK THIS NEWS. Fists of fury, anyone?

Flight of the Conchords fans rejoice: horror-comedy Diagnosis: Death is in the works. I’m reminded of the title Prognosis: Negative.

Bruce Willis blah de blah mainstream supernatural etc.

Vampires are the new zombies. When are mermaids going to get their 15 minutes, I ask you?

13 new images from Drag Me to Hell. Good lord, I feel like I’ve been waiting for this movie for decades! MAY 29, GET HERE ALREADY.

In the “news to no one” category, 3D is blowing up hella big. Talk to me after FD4: Death Trip 3D, yo. Also, HELL YES SHARKS.

Wait, fail. Dumbass producers dropped the “Death Trip 3D” part of the title. I guess they were afraid it sounded too AWESOME?

And yay, scream king Thomas Jane’s 3D directorial debut Dark Country is actually making it to theaters! With bestie Ron Perlman co-starring.

Finally in 3D news: Yay, I love “Fall of the House of Usher“! I love Rufus Sewell! And I love 3D! As for contemporary adaptations, well, I’m a bit hot and cold. Here’s hoping for more Clueless and less Hamlet in Space, alright?

You can find some set pics of Clash of the Titans starring my new boyfriend Sam Worthington here.

May 29th’s Pontypool already has a sequel in the works.

Casting for Thor is shaping up with Star Trek’s Chris Hemsworth (also to be seen in Joss’s upcoming horror Cabin in the Woods) as the Nordic Marvel superhero and Tom Hiddleston as his arch nemesis Loki.

Here’s a lengthy interview with H2’s Rob Zombie. Homeboy’s chatty.

The Middle East luurves McG. Marla? A little less so. We’ll get to my feelings on Salvation later in the week.

Marla fave John Cameron Mitchell is finally kicking principal photography into gear for his long-awaited third movie Rabbit Hole. The cast, she rocks.

Is Oliver Stone eyeing a film update of Helter Skelter?

You can find the trailer for the film version of Stephen King’s fucking awesome short story “Dolan’s Cadillac” here. It answers the following questions: a) Where the hell has Wes Bentley been? and b) Will Christian Slater ever stop ripping off Jack Nicholson’s shtick? (duh, no). Also starring Smallville’s gorgeous Emmanuelle Vaugier. I intend to be rather excited about this movie.

More on Mary Harron (American Psycho)’s adaptation of Rachel Klein’s The Moth Diaries. I was already excited about a kick-ass female director adapting an awesome female horror writer’s novel, but now they’ve cast SCOTT SPEEDMAN OMG I LOVE HIM SQUEEEE! Uh, I mean…grrrl power! 

In other frightful femme news, Jennifer Lynch’s new Hisss trailer is…esoteric. I guess cinematic inscrutability is a familial trait? 

After Dark’s moderately successful 8 Films to Die For will be back for Round 4 next year.

Some director who is not Stuart Gordon has apparently given Jeffrey Combs license to scenery-chomp his little heart out in the upcoming Dark House. The trailer looks visually pretty sweet, otherwise pretty retarded. It also includes edgy new dialogue like “you got punk’d!” Oh these kids today and their wacky lingo.

Title: Lost: Season Four
Year: 2008
Network: ABC
Creators: J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof
Directors: Jack Bender, Stephen Williams, Eric Laneuville, Stephen Semel, Paul A. Edwards
Writers: Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Drew Goddard, Brian K. Vaughan, Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Elizabeth Sarnoff, Greggory Nations, Christina M. Kim, Kyle Pennington
Starring: Naveen Andrews, Henry Ian Cusick, Jeremy Davies, Emilie de Ravin, Michael Emerson, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Ken Leung, Evangeline Lilly, Rebecca Mader, Elizabeth Mitchell, Terry O’Quinn, Harold Perrineau
Music: Michael Giacchino
Distinctions: Emmy for outstanding sound mixing
Episodes: 14, at c. 43 minutes
Synopsis: Survivors vs. The Boat
How I saw it: a few episodes streaming online, February 2008; on video (rented from Netflix), over the past couple weeks
Subjective Rating: 7/10
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for pacing)

This was the first time the DVD of the previous season came out early enough for us to be caught up in time to watch the show as it aired. Unfortunately, we grew bored after about three episodes and stopped watching. Nothing really seemed to be happening, and the cliff-hangers were completely dumb. It didn’t help that two of the best characters were killed off in season three. I had thought I would give up on the show, but eventually curiosity and my obsessive-compulsive nature (I started the show, so I have to finish it!) got the best of me and we rented it. I’m glad we did. Those first episodes were just as bad or worse as I remembered, but it picks up eventually. A lot happens in the last few episodes, and the finale is pretty crazy.

Title: Lost: Season Three
Year: 2006-2007
Network: ABC
Creators: J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof
Directors: Jack Bender, Paul A. Edwards, Stephen Williams, Tucker Gates, Paris Barclay, Eric Laneuville, Karen Gaviola, Fred Toye, Bobby Roth
Writers: J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Jeff Pinkner, Drew Goddard, Carlton Cuse, Elizabeth Sarnoff, Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Alison Schapker, Monica Breen, Christina M. Kim, Jordan Rosenberg, Brian K. Vaughan
Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Naveen Andrews, Henry Ian Cusick, Emilie de Ravin, Michael Emerson, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Josh Holloway, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Elizabeth Mitchell, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O’Quinn
Music: Michael Giacchino
Distinctions: Emmy for outstanding supporting actor (O’Quinn)
Episodes: 23, at c. 43 minutes
Synopsis: Survivors vs. Others
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), December 2007
Subjective Rating: 9/10
Objective Rating: 10/10

A lot is answered and explained, leaving most of the remaining “mysteries” fairly concrete and specific. The heroes appear to be at least somewhat in control of things for once. I’ve yet to watch any of season five, but I’d guess this will have been the show’s peak.

Title: Lost: Season One
Year: 2004-2005
Network: ABC
Creators: J.J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber, Damon Lindelof
Directors: J.J. Abrams, Jack Bender, Kevin Hooks, Michael Zinberg, Tucker Gates, Greg Yaitanes, Marita Grabiak, Stephen Williams, Rod Holcomb, Daniel Attias, Robert Mandel, David Grossman
Writers: J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, David Fury, Christian Taylor, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Jennifer Johnson, Paul Dini, Lynne E. Litt, Carlton Cuse, Drew Goddard, Leonard Dick, Brent Fletcher, Janet Tamaro, Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
Starring: Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Maggie Grace, Josh Holloway, Malcolm David Kelley, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O’Quinn, Harold Perrineau, Ian Somerhalder
Music: Michael Giacchino
Distinctions: Emmy’s for outstanding series, directing (Abrams), casting, music, special effects and editing
Episodes: 25, at c. 43 minutes
Synopsis: an airliner crashes on a mysterious island
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), November 2005
Subjective Rating: 8/10
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for pacing)

My reaction at the time was that it’s very well done, but I didn’t think it lived up to the obsession people had with it. Too many mysteries were unanswered and seemed unanswerable, so I didn’t expect the plot to get anywhere for a few years at least (oh how wrong I was…). It was very refreshing to have a network show with good production values that wasn’t about doctors, lawyers or government agencies. That’s not so rare anymore, but still I’ve yet to see one since Lost that’s actually any good (although to be fair I don’t watch much recent television).

Plenty of scoopy goodness today, folks!

Watchmen tops the box office, although with numbers lower than expected. I FINALLY get to see this baby tomorrow night, so look for my review on Thursday!:

http://www.empireonline.com/news/feed.asp?NID=24339

More news on the Whedon/Goddard horror project Cabin in the Woods is obviously going to grab my attention:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i77fdd1ea9c8421a4021f321ac59b0554

I’m dying to see the whimsical Sundance darling Phoebe in Wonderland. Here’s an interview with writer/director Daniel Barnz:

http://www.tribecafilm.com/news-features/features/Phoebe_In_Wonderland.html

and here’s the trailer, if you haven’t seen it:

http://www.trailerspy.com/trailer/863/Phoebe-in-Wonderland-Trailer

The possibility of an actually decent Fantastic Four movie boggles the mind, no?:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/03/09/rumor-marvels-fantastic-four-being-rebooted-too/

Resident Evil’s Milla Jovovich signs on for thiller Mile Zero with Marcel Langenegger:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001015.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Two more Riddick movies? That’s ridic!:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/03/10/vin-diesel-finally-talks-about-another-riddick-movie-again/

I need to simmer down the Avatar excitement. I can’t sustain this level of geekery for so long:

http://www.scificool.com/james-camerons-avatar-new-inside-juice/

Jason Segel + The Muppets = Marla’s heart melting in a sea of swoon:

http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2009/3/10/jason-segel-has-finished-the-muppet-movie-script.html

Romero clears the air about sure-to-be-blah The Crazies remake:

http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/30722/george-romero-sets-record-straight-crazies-remake

Ahh, the unnecessary remakes. How they abound:

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/15527

Speaking of unnecessary remakes…GAH! What’s the fucking point? Of COURSE it’s easy to remake The Birds with CGI. What’s absolutely astounding about the first one is that there IS no CGI. Although…I do enjoy the 3D:

http://www.ohmygore.com/the-birds-remake-just-might-be-3d-news-uk-5843.html

A look at the new Michael Myers mask, if you dare care:

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/15546

Finally, Fango’s weekly DVD Chopping List:

http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/16-dvd-a-blu-ray/1650-weekly-dvd-a-blu-ray-chopping-list-3102009.html

Hey, readers.  I’m sick.  I can feel things battling it out in my stomach.  So I’m going to use this “relaxing” time to catch up on my Week in Books.

As you’ve no doubt realized, now that I’m homeschooling my daughter and no longer live in the boring-as-heck woods, “Week in Books” is more a concept than a set thing.  I’m reading a lot less right now, although I’m hoping to get back into regular reading JUST IN TIME to have it all taken away from me by grad school.

Oh fab, all my end-of-the-year stuff is listed by title but not author.  Ah well–my problem, not yours.

So, to catch up till the end of December:

I finally read The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier and let me tell you, internets, I am very, very glad that I didn’t do my thesis on the series like I had originally planned.  I mean, the topic was “hypertextuality,” so it would’ve worked out great, but then I would’ve had to write about this book (moreso than I am here, obviously).  There were good things about this and bad.  The 3D part was pretty cool.  The gender-swapping Orlando is cool too.  The main story is pretty interesting.  Some of the stories are good.

But yeah, go figure, I could live without the porn.

I know that Moore is trying to show the art in pornography, but…I don’t care.  I didn’t care when I read some of Lost Girls, and I don’t care now.

Moving on.

Then I read A Contract with God by Will Eisner.  The only excuse I have for not reading this before is that it wasn’t on the graphic novel cart at the old-old library, but when I saw it on the shelf at the new library, I grabbed it.  I’m so glad I did.  There’s some compelling stuff in there.  Everyone should read it, of course; it’s one of those things we call “a new classic.”

Then I read Starcross, the sequel to Larklight, by Philip Reeve and David Wyatt (it says “Someone Wyatt” on the master list; how did I forget “David”??).  I enjoyed this one a lot more, actually.  The universe is well-set and I…don’t know.  It was just better, somehow.  Maybe it’s because I wanted to read it, whereas I was sort of iffy about Larklight.  (As I am about Inkheart, our book club choice of the month.  I’m hoping to get over it, but there’s a torn-out page which just makes me crankier.)

I finally made my way through the second and third trades of The Exterminators.  They say it’s going to be a show.  I don’t think I could watch it, even though I enjoy the premise and a lot of the characters.  (The women are pretty awesome, by the way.)  There are just so many bugs.  Bugs bugs bugs.  I kept thinking I’d have nightmares, but I didn’t.  Thank goodness, cuz…bugs.

I picked up Oddly Normal Volume 1 at the library for my daughter and myself, and it’s really cute!  There’s a girl, who is named Oddly Normal, and she has green hair and pointy ears and a witchmom, and she feels like an outsider compared to all the “normal” kids at her school.  But when her parents disappear and she enters the realm from which her mother’s family comes, she’s an outcast there for being part human/from the human world.  Poor Oddly!  Great series for kids.  I hope to find the second volume at my NEW LIBRARY.

Next came Perry Moore’s Hero.  This was DAMN good.  It’s a YA novel of a young superpowered man coming to terms with his family, his sexuality, and his–oh yeah–his superpowers.  There were little things that bugged me, but heck if I can remember them now.  Also, this is very yay.  Stan is truly The Man.

Then things got a little less super and a lot less heavy with Kelly McClymer’s Must Love Black, a quick read about not-Goth Phillipa and her nanny adventures with two smart but sheltered female twins.  The blurb is somewhat misleading, and I could’ve lived without the Lifetime ending, but it’s cute, if wobbly.  More for younger readers than older ones looking for a good YA fix.

Finally (and what a finally), I read the third trade from Buffy Season Eight.  I LOVE this season!  And yes, I’m thinking of it as a season.  I never thought I would, but they’ve got me: the little things that are going on, the romances, the arc of the Big Bad.  I was happy to see Goddard back, as he was my Favorite of the Drews.  *happy sigh*  Awesome Secret Santa present.

All right, so that’s everything.  My tummy’s still bleh and so I’m sorry if this is a little lackluster.  Also, that brought me to an even 380, barring any missed books (and there are always missed books), which made me kind of mopey because I couldn’t hit 400, but…I should really shut up.  Not many people have the kind of leisure time I have for reading.

New Year’s Resolution: to be more grateful about books?

My friend Robert sent me a box of books yesterday.  A BOX!  It included stuff by Ray Bradbury, Banana Yoshimoto, books about writing, and, omg, the second Vampire Diaries reissue.  Heheheheheheh.

Just when my Love v. Domination theme for Buffy Season 8 was winning over scores of crickets, Drew Goddard’s “Wolves at the Gate” came to its rescue. Bonus: Goddard’s handling of Dracula and Xander’s relationship serves as a textbook illustration of how Whedonarratives handle homoerotic subtexts.

Dracula is clearly jealous of Renee, not because he loves Xander, or even because he wants to have sex with Xander, but because he wants to dominate Xander, and Renee is a threat to that relationship. He acts like a jealous, jilted lover without showing any desire to actually be Xander’s lover, so the pleasure he derives from dominating “Manservant” must be emotional, unmixed with sex, whips or chains (at least not the physical kind). The humor here doesn’t come from the rituals of S&M, but from the patterns of dominance in, for lack of a better phrase, conventional romantic relationships. That’s why watching Dracula act like a jealous lover is so funny. Cuz he is and he isn’t. As usual with a homoerotic subtext in the Whedonverse, it’s more about raising an interesting question [How is the relationship between two characters like a romantic/sexual relationship and how is it not ?] than providing any answer.

We’re left totally to our own devices to determine why Dracula feels “so alone” without Xander, allowing himself to dissipate, losing all sense of joy in his ordinary, fiendish pleasures, and looking his age. Why he hastily spiffies up at the approach of his Xander. Why he acts cold, standoffish and unavailable at first. And why he only relents when Xander submits: “Please, Master, I beg of you.” (My personal take is that Dracula, having been beaten by Buffy [and thus, in his hierarchical view, dominated by her] palliates his wounded ego by stealing Buffy’s sidekick.) The flirtatious overtones are hilarious because Dracula’s intentions are pure; if he were scheming to bed or turn Xander, his behavior would be more disturbing. But he only wants to own Xander’s ass.

Goddard underlines the point with Dracula’s flagrant, bordering-on-archaic language of racial domination. Here Goddard is both incisive and hilarious, showing clearly that talk of “Moors” and “Orientals” is a reaction to how threatened Dracula feels by Renee, who comes between him and his desire to dominate Xander. Just as incisive and hilarious is the revelation of how he lost his magics gambling for a motorcycle, another pathetic display of his emotional attachment to Xander (who taught him to ride). The satire is just brilliant — light as feather, sharp as a razor blade, so deftly done that whatever social analysis it contains comes across as pure entertainment.

Dracula is a monster of (among other things) ego, dominating all he encounters, including Buffy, whom he evicts from the master bedroom in Japanese slayer HQ. But he gets to grow as a (bad) person. What finally lays him low and raises him slightly up is the unwanted sight of Xander’s first kiss with Renee. Maybe he’s just defeated in his attempt to dominate his “manservant,” or maybe there’s something more. His hilarincisive “Please stop that” is a reversal. He is now the supplicant. He’s not happy about it, but he’s not out of control hellbent on stopping it either.

At Renee’s death, we see no glee on his part, just cold determination to protect, then avenge, Xander. Dracula’s at his most masterful when he’s no longer trying to master his “manservant,” but to serve him in his hour of greatest need. He is sensitive, in his demonic way, allowing Xander to decapitate the vampire who murdered his new love.

But just as Dracula becomes a bit more like Xander, Xander becomes a bit more like Dracula. “If you ever call me manservant again . . . I’ll kill you in your sleep.” I think I know what he’s feeling. Under Dracula’s influence, he was rude — even racist — to Renee. So he fantasizes about the ultimate domination, murder. But Dracula isn’t entirely to blame for Xander’s behavior. Something about Xander wants to be dominated, to be in someone’s thrall. It was an element of his crush on Buffy, and the central element of his mancrush on Jonathan in “Superstar.” He doesn’t need to kill Dracula. He needs to kill the part of him that wants domination.