The first episode of the Astonishing X-Men: Gifted motion comic is currently available on iTunes, or watch it for free on Hulu. I love this story arc, particularly Whedon’s writing, so I’ve been hesitant to watch the motion comic. While I was impressed, the role of motion comics in the future–perhaps as a “cure” for the comic book industry–still leaves me disconcerted.

The art fits nicely with the motion comic format. The characters’ mouths move  with the dialogue, and they have added mannerisms that look realistic. Sometimes it looks wooden, particularly Cyke, Beast and Kitty’s faces at the end of orientation. Probably one of the best scenes was in the Danger Room, when the scenery grows in proportion to the characters; you have to imagine it in printed format, and Cassaday did a nice job showing it.

Additionally, the crew did a nice voice casting job overall. Wolverine and Beast were appropriately rough, Cyke was appropriately bland, and Emma had that snooty British accent. While Kitty’s voice was generic it carried the lighthearted maturity that is so true to her character. Colossus’ Russian accent was noticeably fake, but at least he has a Russian accent.

There were a couple of rushed moments, particularly at the end; the “We have to astonish them” scene goes by quickly, as compared to an entire spread in the comic, and the sudden division between Ord, Rao and the X-Men felt choppy.

While I enjoyed the motion comic, troubling questions continue to linger. Is a motion comic a supplement to the printed version or a replacement? In a world when popular literature is constantly adapted into film and other video formats; when adolescents and adults are more likely to pick up their iPhones, TV remotes and laptops than a book…will motion comics become the comic book industry’s “cure?” What does that mean for the industry? And, of course, what does that mean for us?

Philosophic debate aside, the first episode of Gifted exceeded my expectations, and as a fan of this particular arc, I’ll watch the next episode.

What do you think about the first episode of Astonishing X-Men: Gifted?

PS: I made these screencaps, so please ask me before you use them yourself!

In dieser Rubrik wird es, ähnlich wie im letzten Jahr, wieder meine Eindrücke zu den Serien geben, die ich in den letzten rund 12-15 Monaten gesehen habe. Meine Einschätzungen sind subjektiv, aber unumstößlich und können sich auch durchaus mal auf Serienstaffeln beziehen, die schon etwas älter sind. In alphabetischer Reihenfolge wird es hier nach und nach kurze Kommentare zu jeder dieser Serien geben.

Bisher besprochen:

Die “Misfits”
Being Erica
Better Off Ted
The Big Bang Theory
Breaking Bad
Burn Notice
Californication
Chuck
Crusoe
Damages
Dexter

=========================================

Dollhouse

Joss Whedon zählt in meiner “Peer Group” ja schon zu so etwas wie den popkulturellen Göttern – für mich nicht ganz so, dennoch respektiere ich sein Werk und habe Firefly wirklich beeindruckend gefunden, sowie Dr. Horrible geliebt (und ja, Buffy habe ich nie wirklich gesehen).
Mit seinem neuesten Projekt “Dollhouse” hat er im vergangenen Jahr dann bei FOX wieder eine Serie an den Start gebracht, dass bei vielen Fans vorab für feuchte Höschen gesorgt hat – bei der Ausstrahlung aber doch auch für einige Enttäuschungen. Dass die Geschichte über eine Organisation, die programmierbare Menschen für gefährliche Missionen (oder auch sexuelle Aktivitäten) “verleiht”, zudem quotentechnisch für FOX kein richtig großer Erfolg werden würde, war dabei allerdings keine so richtig große Überraschung.
Für meinen Geschmack ist Dollhouse eine sehr ordentliche Serie gewesen, doch wenngleich sie einige vielversprechende Ansätze zeigte, hatte sie doch eben auch oftmals Leerlauf und war etwas mühselig anzuschauen.

Meine Wertung: 6 von 10 Gabeln [für Season 1]

Drop Dead Diva

Wenn man ein Serienjunkie ist, wie ich es bin, dann kommt es manchmal durchaus vor, dass man auch über Serien stolpert, die einem nicht so hundertprozentig zusagen, aber dennoch hängen bleibt. Entweder aus Gründen des Fantums, oder aus Gründen, weil man bestimmte Darsteller(innen) großartig findet – oder einfach weil grade Sommerpause ist und sowieso nicht viel anderes in dem Bereich gerade läuft. So verhält es sich dann auch in diesem Fall, bei der Serie “Drop Dead Diva”, die auf dem kleinen Frauensender Lifetime während dieses Sommers (und Frühherbstes) ausgestrahlt wurde. Drop Dead Diva startet im Piloten mit dem bloden Model Deb Dobson, die einen schweren Autounfall erleidet und stirbt. Nachdem sie in ihrem Leben eher oberflächlich war und weder gute noch schlechte Taten vollbracht hat, wird sie an der Himmelspforte als “Null” eingestuft, was ihr nicht so richtig gefällt, so dass sie am Computer des zuständigen Himmelsbeamten auf den “Return”-Knopf drückt – und prompt wieder auf die Erde zurückgeschickt wird. Aber selbstverständlich nicht in ihren eigenen Körper, sondern in den einer übergewichtigen, aber intelligenten Anwältin namens Jane Bingum, die sich gerade kurz zuvor in einen Pistolenschuss geschmissen hatte und tödlich verwunden worden war. So muss sich die oberflächliche Deb nun einerseits gegen die (auch eigenen) Vorurteile gegenüber ihrer Figur zu Wehr setzen und gleichzeitig den ungewohnten Job als Anwältin meistern.
Nicht leichter wird das natürlich dadurch, dass der neue Angestellte der Kanzlei Grayson Kent ausgerechnet Debs Ex-Freund ist, dem sie sich als Jane aber selbstverständlich nicht wirklich nähern kann.
Diese klassische Bodyswitch-Geschichte ist in ihren besten Momenten durchaus gewitzt und manchmal clever inszeniert, aber die Produzenten machen es sich und ihrer Protagonistin doch gerne auch mal sehr einfach und viele Fälle wirken doch etwas an den Haaren herbeigezogen in ihren direkten Verbindungen zum Leben von Jane und/oder Deb. Leichte Kost für zwischendurch halt und in den USA hatte die Serie für den Kanal Lifetime sogar ausserordentlich großen Erfolg, auch dank einiger Gastauftritte bekannterer Stars, wie beispielsweise Paula Abdul.

Meine Wertung: 5 von 10 weiblichen Gabeln [für Season 1]

]]> http://downeybookgirl.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/final-cut-episode-08-25th-nov-09/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:50:55 +0000 downeybookgirl http://downeybookgirl.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/final-cut-episode-08-25th-nov-09/

Carly's not taking things seriously

So last night was Episode 8 of Final Cut for semester one. Like always we began at 8pm sharp following on after The TigerFace Show and things started off quite well… for like the first 30 seconds anyway. That’s when I forgot half of what I was supposed to say for the introduction and Diane kept talking over the music because she assumed the mics were turned down; funny at the time, kind of embarrassing in hindsight. Since the big film of the week was New Moon, we decided to focus our New Releases reviews on that. The only other film of significance to come recently (that we haven’t reviewed already) was Jim Carey’s A Christmas Carol, but we’ve decided to save that until at least December, out of principal if nothing else.

Lady D hard at work

Here’s a brief list of what we covered last night:

1. Intro – Pulp Fiction Theme.
2. We commenced the show with this week’s movie news:
3. Joss Whedon to the PGA Vanguard Award for general awesomeness.
4. Stephen King to pen a sequel to The Shining.
5. The Lovely Bones Charity Film Premiere in London.
6. Kat Dennings to join the cast of Thor.
7. First images of Shrek 4 released along with news that Kristen Schall will play an ogre-hunting witch.
8. Played Holding Out For a Hero by Frou Frou. (Shrek 2)
9. Decode by Paramore. (Twilght)
10. Reviewed New Moon.
11. Got into a few arguments visa vi Team Edward vs Team Jacob.
12. Played Possibility by Lyyke Li. (New Moon)
13. Shooting the Moon by Ok Go. (New Moon)
14. Ciarán and James broke the first two rules of Fight Club this week on Cult Classics.
15. Played Where Is My Mind? by The Pixies (Fight Club)
16. During The Rant we discussed Cinema Blends Best Cinematic Music Moments of the Noughties and played snippets from each song and all of the winner.
17. Played Little Dancer by Elton John. (Almost Famous)
18. Diane’s Pretty Boy of the Week – Up for a vote Robert Pattinson or Taylor Lautner. Go to our Twitter or Facebook Page and cast your vote!
19. Carly’s Pretty Girl of the Week – Kat Dennings.
20. Close – Metal Module up next.

So yeah, that was the show. Some of you might be asking why we didn’t play the more prominent songs from New Moon, like Death Cab or The Editors. Well the reason for that is simply because we reported on the release of the OST a few weeks ago and had already ran some of those tracks. It was a personal thing really, I just didn’t want to recycle songs, and I felt like it wouldn’t be fair to the people who listen to us every week. Besides, ‘Meet Me on the Equinox‘ isn’t even in the film, (Wtf?) whereas Possibility is played during one of its few good scenes. Lykke Li is someone you should check out.

Jamey Baby gettin' ready to rock and/or roll

Anyway, this week was a bit different because we actually had Ciarán and James in the studio with us doing Cult Classics live, as opposed to pre-recorded. They sounded really good live, most likely because for the past fortnight they’ve been getting some good practice in. (Listen to ‘Homophonic’ Mondays at 9pm!) I also had Ciarán on photo duty since I wanted some pictures of us at work for both here and our Facebook Page. In summation, I was quite pleased with how everything turned out. The Rant sounded great, which was a huge relief since I was pretty worried that playing the snippets (unedited) might be a bit glitchy, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The Wookiee working the desk during Cult Classics

Next week we’ll probably be looking at The Road; Viggo Mortensen’s new movie set in a post-apocalyptic world about man and his son trying desperately to survive. Hopefully we’ll also get to review Paranormal Activity; providing it gets a semi-widespread release. The commercials I’ve seen for it look really clever. They’re advertising it as one of the scariest movies this decade but instead of playing us clips of the movie itself, they show us the audience’s reactions. Colour me intrigued.

That’s about it for this week at college. Even though I finished my Media Studies assignment today, (design a book cover and write a document to accompany it explaining the conceptualisation, process, semiotics, etc. We did The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon) another one has snuck up on me. Damn you Research Methods! I also have Video Production, Crime and the Media and a media studies exam at the end of the semester. Suffice to say, I’m a tad stressed. Luckily I’m only working Saturday evening and 10 hours on Sunday, (which despite how it may seem, is actually a lot less than what I usually do) so tomorrow will be spent doing research in the morning, and a lot of sitting down with Ciarán and James in the evening. This pleases me.

You guys should check out DCUfm. I know you’re probably sick to death of me plugging it, but what is the internet good for if not self-promotion. Diane and I are back next Wednesday at 8pm with another Final Cut, and if you want some more of the audible chocolate that is James Buckley, (alongside Ciarán’s awesome producing skills) check out Homophonic, Mondays at 9pm. Click the link on the left to Listen Live right now.

Aunque la cadena esta disfrutando de una de las mejores temporadas de su historia, como sucede todos los años, Fox realiza grandes cambios en la segunda parte de la temporada, por lo que tenemos la programación de Fox para los próximos meses.

Sin dudas las novedades más importantes para los primeros meses del 2010 son los regresos de 24 y American Idol, dos de los programas más importantes de la televisión y en los que la cadena se ha apoyado en los últimos tiempos.

Junto a estos regresos, los próximos meses servirán para presentar algunas nuevas series de la cadena, incluyendo la serie de acción Human Target, la serie de investigación Past Life y la comedia Sons of Tucson.

Como pueden ver, la programación presentará una gran cantidad de programas nuevos, lo que significa la partida temporada de algunos actuales, como sucederá con Glee y Fringe, que regresarán con nuevos episodios en abril.

Es claro que la cadena esta determinada a quedarse con el año, por lo que ha decidido repetir uno de los mejores combos de la televisión en la noche de los lunes, situando a House junto a 24.

Además utilizará el poder de American Idol para asegurar el éxito de varias series, incluyendo a Glee y Human Target.

Finalmente tenemos que destacar que Lie To Me no se encuentra en la programación pero seguramente regresará con episodios nuevos en abril o mayo.

Programación 2010 de Fox:

LUNES
Lunes 18 de Enero:
8:00-10:00 PM 24

Lunes 25 de Enero:
8:00-9:00 PM House
9:00-10:00 PM 24

****************************

MARTES
Martes 12 de Enero:
8:00-10:00 PM American Idol

Martes 19 de Enero:
8:00-9:00 PM American Idol
9:00-10:00 PM Our Little Genius

Martes 13 de Abril:
8:00-9:00 PM American Idol
9:00-10:00 PM Glee

***************************

MIÉRCOLES
Miércoles 20 de Enero:
8:00-9:00 PM American Idol
9:00-10:00 PM Human Target

***************************

JUEVES
Jueves 14 de Enero:
8:00-9:00 PM Bones
9:00-10:00 PM Fringe

Jueves 11 de Febrero:
8:00-10:00 PM Past Life

Jueves 18 de Febrero:
8:00-9:00 PM Bones
9:00-10:00 PM Past Life

Jueves 1 de Abril:
8:00-9:00 PM Bones
9:00-10:00 PM Fringe

***************************

VIERNES
Viernes 8 de Enero:
9:00-10:00 PM Dollhouse

**************************

DOMINGO
Domingo 10 de Enero:
8:00-8:30 PM Los Simpson (Episodio 450)

Domingo 31 de Enero:
8:00-8:30 PM Los Simpson
8:30-9:00 PM The Cleveland Show
9:00-9:30 PM Padre de Familia
9:30-10:00 PM American Dad

Welcome to Issue 3 of “Dig, Dug, Damn!”, titled “Sci X, X“, where I will speak on some of my favorite ladies in science-fiction/fantasy that I want all to myself but am forced to share with the world.  Now, I’m no Joss Whedon or anything, but I am a big supporter of women and take great delight in the strength of broads.  Even better is strong fictional women in science fiction/fantasy, because as said in the opening title sequence of The Twilight Zone where Rod Serling would say, “…the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge”, these genre stories mirror our world and to put our sexy foot forward first in these properties is more than a social commentary on the growing domain of women- it’s a proclamation that, well, maybe the girls can do it better than the boys.  Sometimes, but here are a few that cannot be topped.

Tank Girl

Very much like my undying affection for Howard the Duck is my love for all things Tank Girl, including the admittedly subpar but still a blast-movie (yo, anytime you have Jeff Kober as one of the main good guys you know what you’re watching is special [in a good way or bad is up to you]).  The lovechild creation of Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, Tank Girl is one of the ten best comic characters ever created, fueled by the manic, unstructured origins of every original story in Deadline magazine.  She can reinvent herself between panels if so desired, and change her attitude even quicker, and blow something up quicker still.  The marsupial loving lady really pulls at my heart strings because no matter her allegiances she’s good in a fight, making her story truly her own.  Nowhere else in comics have I ever seen such a punk-mentality manifesto of energy, wit, insanity, and nicotine buzzes, and I don’t ever expect I will.  She is so unapologetically herself that her books and stories are instantly refreshing, the market filled with lead characters of hidden identities, traumatic childhoods, and ever-so prevalent melodrama.  She is a fashion icon, too (if you were born in the 1990’s you probably didn’t see this much as you were busy listening to The Backstreet Boys and being a simpleton in diapers), and my memory is filled with rough n’ tumble girls with mohawks and other weird hair styles sported by our heavy metal heroine.  Let me just put it this way- if you know a character with more character or wit or dynamite than my girl here, you’re full of crap. (site: tank-girl.com)

The Powerpuff Girls

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice- these were the ingredients chosen to make what is in my opinion the best animated science fiction action-comedy of all time, and it might beat even the best of the live action supreme.  Blossom, the straight-laced Nancy Drew type, Buttercup, the butch girl who loves to fight, and Bubbles, the quintessential toothache-sweet bundle of sunshine.  How in the world Craig McCracken took his original idea, “The Whoop-Ass Girls”, and turned them into what is probably the most successful American cartoon of the last 20 years is beyond my comprehension, but it’s truly genius.  Being in my mid-20’s, I have a youthful sensability and, believe it or not, this is the prime time to watch, finally capable of catching every joke, hidden reference and easter egg, like episode “Mommy Fearest” where Professor Utonium goes on a date with villian Sedusa, and it is implied that Buttercup gives him condoms, or the episode that is nothing but an awesome homage to The Big Lebowski (another McCracken’s show, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, had cameos by Dude Lebowski, Walter Sobchak, and Theodore Donald Kerabatsos in an episode based around bowling, of course).  Where in the world the idea was created that the show, about 3 children created by science, who are in kindergarten, and are superheroes against monkeys and monsters, was a program for girls is baffling.  It’s as much about girls, having 3 main female characters, as it is about the word “the”, which is in the title of the show.  It’s a silly thing, and I would love for the show to make a come back amongst the youth as it’s an excellent program techincally and is one of the funniest cartoons made in my lifetime. (site: cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/ppg/)

Rikku (of Final Fantasy X & Final Fantasy X-2)

Those of you in the know may already be wanting to ask, “But why just her?  Why not just say “YRP” and get a picture with Yuna and Paine in it as well?”  To you I say, “Dang, you’re pushy and a busybody!  Leave me alone,” because you didn’t even let me explain myself.  The reason is what one might call a “crush”, though I prefer to call it “blind and giddy admiration”.  I mean, the swirly green Al Bhed eyes, the tiny frame and flowing locks of hair are enough to get anyone’s attention (assuming she were more real and less fictional), but what a hero she is, helping save the world twice, and doing so the second time mainly in support of a friend.  Don’t quote me on this, but I don’t know if I could hero up like that, especially when you’re putting yourself in harms way just for a friend’s happiness.  Final Fantasy X-2 is an all-time favorite of mine and truly all 3 of the ladies were amazing examples of a woman’s power (even LeBlanc lol), but Rikku stands out to me for her expertise and fun loving, playful attitude.  Especially cool for me, Rikku was voiced by Tara Strong who has already appeared in this list, also being the voice of Bubbles on The Powerpuff Girls.  She’s sexy and talented and blonde, making the two very similar.  Plus, Al Bhed is an awesome language (that I hope to one day learn), so Rikku is hot, tough, funny, foreign, and polygonal.  I wish I could meet a down ass chick like her! (site: na.square-enix.com/games/FFX-2/)

]]> http://elrambo.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/good-news-too/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:57:25 +0000 elrambo http://elrambo.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/good-news-too/

All the longuers of yesterday somehow overwhelmed what should have been the day’s notable good news: my proposal for the 2010 SC4: The Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses has been accepted!

What is my proposed paper? For several years, students in my Freshman Comp 2 classes have been analyzing Buffy 7.16 “Storyteller” as part of a unit on metafiction. For many of them, it’s also their introduction to the show. So I’ll be discussing how that has worked out.

The literature anthology that has included this “metafiction” unit goes into a new edition next year, cutting the unit and most of the stories in it, so Spring 2010 is probably the last semester I’ll be using “Storyteller.” However, I’ll probably find a place for another Whedon show episode from Firefly and/or Buffy.

Pretty girls and kittens plus Transformers (sorry the image wouldn’t fit), what could be better?

Reading an interview with said pretty girl, Horror Queen Suzi Lorraine and The Architect of the Transformers, former Marvel Writer Bob Budiansky!

Click here for a sample of two new articles in appearing on Metal Machine.net

Suzi Lorraine

She’s just too good to be true. A girl who is into heavy metal, horror movies, and a model?  A girl like that only exists in our dreams…or is Suzi Lorraine. Straight out of New Jersey, Suzi has modeled all over the world in magazines like GQ and Esquire. Suzi is also an accomplished actress and writer, whose had articles published in magazines like Gorezone and Horrormania and just co-wrote her first feature, a horror comedy called Won Ton Baby. Want to know about it along with what brought Suzito the “dark side” of entertainment.

How does a girl like you get into horror and Alice Cooper?

Primarily because of my older brother’s influence. When I was little, he was into rock and roll and scary movies and I remember hearing the “Welcome to my Nightmare” album by Alice Cooper and it freaked me out. I was little so I was so scared but so enthralled by it at the same time.  I would run to my room and then come back and ask him “can you play Steven again?” So I think I was imprinted with all things horror very young.   We used to watch scary movies like Halloween, Dead and Buried, Pieces, you name it. You know, the more I talk to horror fans, a lot of them started watchinghorror movies at a younge age, so I’m wondering if there’s something to that imprinting theory…

Want to read the rest? Click here.

Bob Budiansky, The Architect of the Transformers

Bob Budiansky has had a pretty good career. He was an accomplished penciller on Ghost Rider, created the character Sleepwalker, and served as editor on such titles as Daredevil, Fantastic Four, and the entire line of books starring a little known character named Spider-Man. He was responsible for a couple of significant initiatives bringing many (including myself) into comics. The first initiative of note was creating the wildly popular Marvel Trading Cards that so many others and I collected in the nineties. And in the eighties he was a significant architect of The Transformers, writing both the comics and biographies on the packages of the toys.

Can you talk about the politics of writing a toy comic book?

Most importantly, everything I wrote had to be approved by a representative of the toy company that owns the property, in this case Hasbro. As Hasbro rolled out new toys, I was asked to feature them in the comic book, which I did. I also kept in mind that the audience was for the Transformers toys as I wrote the stories. No one from Hasbro ever asked me to specifically write for boys of approximately the ages of 6-12, but common sense dictated that was the group to whom the toys were being primarily marketed, and so I fashioned stories that I thought would have appeal to that group.

Want to read the rest click here

And for a bonus…my review of the Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic written by Joss Whedon

The rest of the world is finally starting to catch on to what so many of us have known for years: Joss Whedon is way too awesome and doesn’t have nearly enough awards.

On January 24th at the Producers Guild of America award ceremony, Joss Whedon is going to be given the Vanguard Award for achievements in new media and technology.

Dollhouse is still cancelled. There’s still no new show to look forward to. But at least there’s something to make me and my fellow Whedon worshipers smile.

And as such, I am not feeling very newsy. Here’s what little scoop I could be arsed to gather. 

Joss is a vanguard!

This article is all about how Joseph Gordon-Levitt is amazing. And I can get behind that.

Find Iron-Man 2 scoop and a new pic of His Holy Hotness here. 

The Howling is back.

That’s all you get! Sleepytimes for Marla!

Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse, will be honored with the Vanguard Award at the 21st Annual PGA Awards ceremony January 24 at the Hollywood Palladium according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Congratulations, Mr. Whedon, and have I mentioned I’m heartbroken over the cancellation of Dollhouse.

Source Joss Whedon to Receive Vanguard Award – ShockTillYouDrop.com

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BtVS 1.5 “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date”
written by Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali, dir. David Semel

This episode (acronymically referred to as NKaBotFD) is rarely mentioned in fans’ “best of” lists, but in building the Buffy mythos, it contributes more than it has been given credit for. First, even more than in the previous “Witch” episode, where Buffy’s slayer duties conflicted with her desire to regain the popularity associated with being a cheerleader, NKaBotFD highlights one of the show’s essential themes: the conflicts between our hero’s “normal” life and the responsibilities of her vocation. I was noticing this as I watched it, and then I watched the featurette in which Joss Whedon says the very same thing. (Either I am very bright, or I have a very retentive memory, or I can read Joss Whedon’s mind. Whichever it is, I’m giving credit to Whedon.)

Another contribution of this episode—several, in fact—quite a few quotes that have become iconic “Buffyisms,” starting with the teaser, in which Buffy introduces herself to the vampire she’s about to slay: “I’m Buffy, and you’re….history!” {stake!—poof!} Others:

Giles warns Buffy to conceal her secret identity and she promises, “Well, in that case I won’t wear my button that says, ‘I’m a Slayer. Ask me how!’” (I actually have that button as a refrigerator magnet; I don’t have a lot of fannish swag, but I love that button.)

This classic exchange in which Buffy and Xander discuss her (entire lack of) love life:

XANDER: You’re acting a little overly, aren’t you? I mean, you could have any guy in school.

BUFFY: He’s not any guy. He’s more…Oweny.

XANDER: Sure, he’s got a certain Owenosity, but that’s not hard to find. I mean, a lotta guys read. I can read.

In three lines, three different examples of “Slayer slang” as described by Michael Adams: using an adverb (overly) as an adjective, or else to describe an implied adjective (here perhaps “emotional” or “upset”); adding -y to a noun to make it an adjective (Oweny); and the creation of an entirely new word: Owenosity, which appears to mean the essence of “Owen.”

Confronted by Giles with yet another impending prophecy of doom, Buffy insists she can go on her date with Owen and still be “on call” for Slayer duty, saying, “If the apocalypse comes, beep me!” We never see this beeper again after this episode, or anything similar, such as a cell-phone—the Scoobies are limited to land-lines until season seven (a vampire does use a cell phone in season 3)—but this line is frequently quoted as quintessentially Buffy.

Cordelia’s first words on catching sight of Angel in the Bronze: “Hello, salty goodness!” When she loses her memory in Angel 4.6 “Spin the bottle,” she’ll have the same reaction. Nice work with the continuity, writers!

Owen is the first of the impossible “normal” guys Buffy will long for. He likes her, but he doesn’t quite get her. Both Giles and Owen, for different reasons, describe Buffy here as “the strangest girl.” Owen’s morbid emo fascination with Emily Dickinson and death turns into a fascination with danger for its own sake. He has no idea what he’s getting into. It’s irresistible to see him as a prototype of Riley Finn in seasons 4/5. Riley has more skills and motivation, a better understanding of “the mission,” but his first encounters with Buffy leave him similarly baffled:

RILEY: She’s all right, I guess. She’s just kind of… I don’t know. Peculiar….I don’t dislike her. She just–she never feels like she’s really there when you talk to her. I like girls I can get a grip on. (4.7 “The Initiative”)

OWEN: It’s weird.
BUFFY: What is?
OWEN: You! One minute you’re right there. I’ve got you figured. The next, it’s like you’re two people.
BUFFY: Really? Which one do you like better? (1.4 NKaBotFD)

 

Hands up if you have yet to experience the wonder that is Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Alright:  you, you and you – WTF?  Go get educated!  It’s amazing!

As my fellow Buffy addict Suze and I discussed last night, Joss Whedon’s best and brightest star is this feminist gem that both entertained and enlightened, often without the viewer truly grasping the complex issues at play beneath the witty repartee and drama.  Joss has a gift, and when he’s given free reign and a stellar cast up for the task, he creates beautiful work.  It’s so easy to pull individual episodes out of sequence and see them through fresh eyes and perspectives.

In honour of a night of drunken ‘best of’ marathoning, I present a song from the musical episode, Once More, With Feeling.

Day Seventy-Four:  I’ve Got A Theory/Bunnies/If We’re Together – BTVS Cast

Soundtracks, we all have our favorites and some of us refuse to acknowledge their existence all together. I, on the other hand, have a good relationship with soundtracks, depending on the movie/television show/web series it comes from. These are pretty good choices that I just happen to own, interested? Read on.

#A – Girl Interrupted.My first glimpse into WILCO, a lovely little band that may see a bit on the pretentious side but really have some amazing songs. One of those bands that make you love every song, sound, word, vibe. They start off this semi-depressing group of misfit songs that work well with the movie of the same description. Title works fantastic with the motif of this album, “How to Fight Loneliness”, this first glimpse was not the end of my relationship with Wilco, they are still alive in my soul to this day. This album also has one of the greatest bands and one of my favorite songs from them, Jefferson Airplane with “Comin’ Back to Me”, such a beautiful song, really beautiful is the one perfect word to explain this song, and most of their music as a whole. Other artists include, Aretha Franklin, The Band, The Mamas & The Papas. Take a listen why don’t you?

#B – The Craft.

Witches who just so happen to be a bunch of bitches, makes for a great soundtrack, well its more of a sentimental one for me with a couple good songs that make me reminiscent of the first viewing of the movie. Great pop song with Letters to Cleo’s “Dangerous Type” and some heavy grungy hate music with Sponge’s “All This and Nothing” and a surprisingly good song by Our Lady Peace with “Tomorrow Never Knows”, (you can tell I’m obviously not their #1 fan). A not so good cover of a Harry Nilsson song, Tripping Daisy’s “Jump into the Fire”, I’d rather” they have put the original but they never asked my opinion on the subject. Some other good jams, like Spacehog’s ”Horror” & Love Spit Love’s “How Soon Is Now”, but the gem is Matthew Sweet’s “Dark Secrets” which made me want to own it to begin with, it pleases the ear gods for sure.

#C – Jawbreaker

Yes, pranks that turn deadly mixed with pretty girls who look nothing like the regular high school student, proves great for a rockin’ soundtrack. (Plus, Julie Benz, a young vampire on BTVS, classic). Songs to get you pumped and sent back into the 90’s like a whirlwind. I’ll start of with the favorites, The Friggs ”Bad Word for a Good Thing”, those Frigg girls can belt and rock, plus rock while never becoming famous, some hardcore girl power going on with that song. The icing on the cake? Imperial Teen’s “Yoo Hoo”, again the reason I even wanted the album in the first place, an amazing jam with the most intoxicating sound, voice is prime on this one. Ending it out with one of the most depressing songs I’ve ever heard in my life, The Transisters “Flow”, its beautiful and sad and painful, if I ever needed to be heartbroken with a theme song, this is it. Having a bad breakup? Lost a person close to you? Listen UP.

#D – The Wedding Singer

Get ready for some 80’s! This soundtrack has the “good shit” from the 1980’s, and its a double disc-er! Unfortunately I only have one half the album but that’s alright by me.  The half I have has bands like, Billy Idol, David Bowie, New Order, Musical Youth, Elvis Costello, The Thompson Twins, The Police, Culture Club, The Psychedelic Furs, and so on. If your in an 80’s mood, then stick the sucker in and enjoy your weird flashback that ensues.

yeah, tricked you. I know its not a song, but Buscemi rocks.

#E – Garden State.

We’ve got some good ones on here folks. Of course their is the “what lead me to own it” song, which we’ll begin with. Frou Frou’s ”Let Go”, a very graceful sound and is a basic recap of the movie itself. Jump in, what are you waiting for? Date Natalie Portman, Zach Braff, just DO IT! But any who, next up is another great jam, that I didn’t come in contact until long after I had the Cd, but when a friend of mine did it in a talent show, another song full of beauty, Bonnie Somerville’s “Winding Road”, pretty voice meets pretty sound, good good. The entire beginning of this Cd gets me in a crazy odd mood, I used to listen to it on my Ipod walking through the halls of high school, very surreal. First, Cold Play’s “Don’t Panic”, and No, I am not a cold play fan or freak, its the only song I dig, so get over it. Following it, is The Shins with “Caring is Creepy”, great sound, goes right through to the bone. And after that? Zero 7’s “In the Waiting Line”, one of the other songs I am in love with on this soundtrack, a main reason you might as well just go out and get it right now.

#F – Once More With Feeling – BTVS

A musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer belongs on this list, if not dominating it. Joss Whedon, the entity himself, wrote the songs, music, all of it. Which would be good reason for me to love it so, and I do. Its addictive to the highest extent. These actors, just people, who yes, famous, but normal; not singers, (well not all of them, James Marsters, Amber Benson, & Tony Head), just people, made beautiful music together. I probably listen to it at lease a couple times a week. I don’t think I would have the power to actually say out loud, or type, my favorite song from this album. I’ll just go through most of them for you to decide.

So, we start with Buffy complaining shes lost her mojo for her job, we can all sing a long as the demons agree with her and she diss’s the gentleman in distress.

Then you’ve got a group jam with the gang, which turns ugly with Anya, the demon, yelling about bunnies, and ending with a who-even-gives-a-crap attitude brought along by sad-sap Buffy.

A song about Mustard being removed from clothing.

A lesbian love song between the 2 most believable, non-skanked-out-for-the-sake-of-MALES-everywhere lesbians on television ever, and probably will always be. You just gotta love Willow & Tara, for ever, and ever, and so on.

Then we have the couple, demon and construction worker, Anya & Xander, talking about the things they can’t stand about each other that they could never say out loud, without song of course, which leads towards the end with Anya “dancing crazy!”. You have to love a song  that has a line about penis diseases, classy.

One of great writers of the show finds herself singing about a ticket she’s getting for parking in front of a hydrant, which has become one of my favorites to sing in the car.

Then the addictive song of Spike, the whiny love ridden fool song, he even admits he’d be Buffy’s slave, talk about being whipped. Just let him rest in peace, Buffy. Just let him be buried and go get Angel to sooth the pain. Sorry…

Next, a snippet of dawn’s voice before she gets kidnapped, pretty voice while its lasts.

Pretty Ballet instrumental leads to the dancing demon, Sweet, singing out with his great deep man singing voice trying to hit on 15 year old Dawn, Hawt.

A big hit in my car sing-a-long, the Giles song, sad but upbeat and lovely, he doesn’t want to leave Buffy, but needs to, sweet slow-mo scene with some kick-ass dodging of sharp things while pulling off some gymnastic moves, go SMG.

Here we have 2 songs emerge which is a high on the list for me, putting together the two amazing voices of Tony Head and Amber Benson, wonderful actors and brilliant singers. Such a beautiful addition to the already amazing track listing.

Up next, everyone joins in while wanting to walk through the fire, another great song, with some awesome lines, “things are turning out so dark”, “No, I’ll save her then I’ll kill her!” &  “I think this line mostly filer”. The best part is when the scooby gang chimes in and does their little part, is the slayer too far gone to care?

Then us listeners get something to sing about, a glittering world, and a dancing almost-to-her-death Buffy ending with dropping the heaven bombshell.

And to help finish it off, sweet rubs it in all our faces that things didn’t quite go our way with the whole dancing thing, that lead to the death thing, and the “aw we all have so many secrets!” thing.

Ending with the cast leaving confused, not knowing where to go from there. And a big sloppy wet one from Buffy & Spike, which I wish i could scrub from my brain.

If you’ve never see the episode, watch it. If you’ve never heard the soundtrack, listen to it. You’ll have to track it down like I did, since the boyfriend and I bought the only 2 copies in our area. Plus, if your REALLY lucky, like me, you’ll get to take a trip to Indianapolis and watch actors act out the episode, sing the songs, and dance the dances, an amazing experience, especially on the night before Halloween.

#G – Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog

How shocking, right? Another Joss choice, you get my love yet? Do you? Do You? Well you’ll figure it out eventually. Now, this sound track is Uh-Maze-Ing, seriously. NPH (For the less hip folks, Neil Patrick Harris) really shows us the talent that Doogie never really did, he sings, and he sings well. Fantastically well to be exact. He’s a villain looking for his big villainy break, to belong to the big-bad’s club, that’s of course ran by a horse, derr. Then we have the love interest, with a killer voice, no other than the beautiful Felicia Day, (who if you don’t watch the guild, START, I’ll explain more later), the helpless-helping-homeless-home-giving goddess that the villain is head-over-heels in love with. But in walks the bad guy, wait no, the GOOD guy. He just happens to be a prick, with a picture of a hammer on his chest. But he is played by no other than the mystical, magical, stud-man-guy Nathan Fillion. The guy crushes of the world surround this guy, which makes it easy for your Felicia, “Penny”, to fall for instead. (sad). So with this comes amazingly catchy songs that, yet AGAIN, Whedon is responsible for, also making it a family affair adding brothers and a sister-in-law. This is another Cd that is found being played in my car multiple times within a week. You’ve GOT to get this soundtrack, like now, LEAVE, GO!

#H – Pick of Destiny

Okay, Tenacious D is the best band EVER. Maybe this statement is not something you would agree with, and if it isn’t, stop lying. Seriously you know the truth, they probably ARE the greatest band EVER, why you ask? Because they have it ALL. What other band can use curse words like poetry, I mean really, “Mother Fucker” never sounded so good. If you haven’t had the chance to gander at the power that is the D, its time my friends. My passion for the D is forever deep, I was hooked the first time I heard them, saw them, and inevitably fell for them. “The Pick Of Destiny” is a movie and an album, and both are glorious. Watching Jack Black and Kyle Gas for 93 minutes straight has to be an experience, and sir, it was. But, the soundtrack that came along? GODLIKE, truly amazing music, which is not surprising from this duo. Another album i could not possibly begin the misery of deciding the best song on it, so you will have to venture out on your own and taste the taste that is TENACIOUS D.

be blown away by Rage Cage & Jables, KG & JB.

#I – Nashville

Great movie, wonderful soundtrack. Robert Altman is an amazing director and he did an amazing job on all the movies I’ve seen of his. They always have crazy relationships, and madness masked in innocence and he didn’t shy away from that with this one. Country singers, singing and crawling in drama filled situations; if you get a chance make sure to check this one out, i have a feeling you’ll be pleased if your in anyway cool, or hip, or happenin’ in the way I am. So rent it, steal it, borrow it, either way watch it, and make sure you listen to the songs you hear, it won’t be hard. I’ve leave you with a video of my favorite song from the movie that happens to be a great part of the film. Watch and aw.

So that’s it for now, I might come back and surprise you with more amazing songs that go with amazing movies/tv shows/web series, or I wont, don’t hold your breath. I leave you with a thought… Come back and see me, I mean read me, sometime.

sas

Ela quer o seu filho
Com o livro Crepúsculo e o vampiro Edward, a escritora Stephenie Meyer pode desbancar o bruxo Harry Potter, de J. K. Rowling

Por NATÁLIA RANGEL

Há pouco mais de cinco anos, a jovem dona-de-casa Stephenie Meyer, mãe de três filhos, casada com um pastor mórmon e moradora da pequena cidade de Cave Creek, no Estado americano do Arizona, jamais imaginaria seduzir jovens em todo o mundo com uma fantasiosa história de amor entre uma adolescente e um vampiro. Tampouco vislumbrou que as tramas românticas forjadas em sua imaginação e materializadas em três livros (Crepúsculo, Lua nova e Eclipse) ficariam 143 semanas na lista de best-sellers do jornal The New York Times, com seis milhões de exemplares vendidos em diversos países – sendo que quatro milhões referem- se apenas às vendas nos últimos 12 meses. Pois foi o que aconteceu. O vertiginoso sucesso de Crepúsculo, que conta a relação amorosa entre o morto-vivo Edward Cullen, com 17 anos desde 1918, e sua amada e humana Isabella Swan (chamada de Bella), ambos colegas no terceiro ano do ensino médio na chuvosa cidade de Forks, conquistou uma legião de fãs. E foi além: acaba de render à escritora, de 34 anos, um lugar entre as 100 personalidades mundiais mais influentes, eleitas pela revista Time. Ela aparece ao lado de nomes como Hillary Clinton, George Clooney e Dalai Lama. Quais são os seus superpoderes?

Stephenie leva uma vida pacata, é religiosa, segue os ditames mórmons e uma de suas poucas rebeldias é o gosto por Pepsi Diet – a igreja desaconselha o consumo de substâncias que tenham cafeína. Até aí, ela não está investida de nenhum truque mágico. Os seus poderes especiais, na verdade, ganham vida graças a uma mente extremamente criativa, voltada à ficção, que monta adoráveis e sedutores vampiros – todos do bem. São seres evoluídos que mudam a dieta (só bebem sangue de animais) para resistir, a duras penas, à sede que têm de sangue humano e assim conseguem viver pacificamente em sociedade. O carisma de seus personagens junto aos adolescentes é comparado ao fascínio exercido pelo bruxo Harry Potter, da escritora inglesa J. K. Rowling, e há quem aposte que a saga dos jovens vampiros reúna qualidades suficientes para desbancá-lo de sua liderança isolada nesse filão editorial. Isso já ocorreu no ano passado quando Eclipse, seu terceiro livro, chegou às lojas quase ao mesmo tempo que a última aventura de Harry Potter.

FENÔMENO A autora Stephenie Meyer (à dir.), uma dona-de-casa mórmon, escreveu três livros e já vendeu seis milhões de exemplares em todo o mundo

No cinema, a trajetória dos vampiros já é semelhante à do aprendiz de mágico nascido na Inglaterra: o primeiro livro, Crepúsculo (que chega ao Brasil pela editora Intrínseca, 390 págs., R$ 39,90), virou filme e estreará em dezembro nos EUA. À semelhança das obras de J. K. Rowling, o quarto livro de Stephenie, Breaking down, previsto para agosto, está recebendo tratamento vip com esquema de vendas a partir de meia-noite nas grandes livrarias. A popularidade desses novos personagens já inspirou nomes de bandas de rock, centenas de comunidades de sites de relacionamento e seus nomes aparecem impressos em camisetas. Antes mesmo de suas histórias serem editadas aqui, elas já podiam ser lidas em sites da internet devidamente traduzidas pelos fãs.

É certo que há muito marketing promovendo a nova escritora e seus personagens carismáticos, e nem poderia ou deveria ser diferente. Mas é um fato que a vampiromania foi crescendo até explodir no último ano – e vale lembrar que boa parte da propaganda começou boca a boca, leitor com leitor, adolescente com adolescente. Alguns trechos do primeiro romance se tornaram cults como o momento em que Bella descobre que o lindo garoto por quem está encantada é mesmo um vampiro: “De três coisas eu estava convicta. Primeira, Edward era um vampiro. Segunda, havia uma parte dele – e eu não sabia que poder esta parte teria – que tinha sede do meu sangue. E terceira, eu estava incondicional e irrevogavelmente apaixonada por ele”. A paixão compartilhada por ambos é sempre contida, paira sobre Bella a ameaça do vampirismo de Edward. Se ele ultrapassar o sinal, ela estará morta.

O filme Crepúsculo estréia em dezembro nos EUA, com Robert Pattinson e kristen Stewart (à frente) como Edward e bella

Nas cenas românticas, nunca fica claro se ele deseja ter relações sexuais com Bella ou apenas se alimentar do seu sangue, mordendo- lhe a jugular. Num trecho, ela diz: “Eu podia sentir seu hálito frio em meu pescoço, sentir seu nariz deslizando por meu queixo, inspirando (…)”. E ele sussurra: “Só porque estou resistindo ao vinho, não quer dizer que não possa apreciar o buquê. Você tem um aroma floral, de lavanda ou frésia. É de dar água na boca”. Essa tensão permeia todo o romance e não é diferente dos dilemas humanos que envolvem uma paixão proibida. A autora afirmou em entrevista que foi pressionada a incluir cenas mais explícitas de sexo em seus livros, mas resistiu. Mesmo que algumas passagens sejam sensuais e com insinuações eróticas, os personagens nunca vão além de castos beijos e carinhos no rosto e pescoço – embora demonstrem o tempo todo desejar muito mais do que isso. Nada mais humano, e é justamente com essa humanização dos vampiros que Stephenie parece ter seduzido irrevogavelmente os seus jovens leitores. Os mesmos que J. K. Rowling brindou apenas com o cândido beijo travado entre Harry Potter e Cho Chang.

VAMPIROS FAMOSOS

Drácula (1992), dirigido por Francis Ford Coppola e protagonizado por Gary Oldman, baseia-se em livro de 1897 do escritor irlandês Bram Stoker

O filme Entrevista com o vampiro (1994), de Neil Jordan, é adaptado do romance de Anne Rice, e o personagem Lestat é interpretado por Tom Cruise

Criação do escritor e produtor de tevê Joss Whedon, o vampiro Angelus ficou conhecido pelo seriado de tevê Buffy, a caçavampiros (1997)

http://www.terra.com.br/istoe/edicoes/2010/artigo88149-1.htm

Listen to the episode HERE.

Joss Whedon’s Firefly was probably the best sci-fi television show ever. To be cancelled after half a season. By Fox (those bastards). It might have proved to be the best sci-fi show ever, period, if it’d been picked up by another network but it wasn’t. All we got was 14 episodes and a movie (Serenity). Fans of the show were heartbroken.

I wasn’t one of the heartbroken. I was part of the problem. I never watched Firefly when it was on the air because it was a huge nerd hurdle for me. Not because it was sci-fi but because I had no idea it was sci-fi. I heard the words “Joss Whedon” and “Firefly” and assumed it was another Buffy spin-off like Angel, but maybe about Willow or some other wiccan lesbians. Though I loved Buffy, I didn’t care for Angel, so I never checked out Firefly. And not many other people did either.

Then, after it was cancelled, I heard it was really good. One of the best TV shows ever. My ears pricked up. Then I heard it was “space cowboys” and my ears pricked back down. Cowboys are a huge hurdle for me. I like the odd western (usually starting a young Clint Eastwood) but generally I don’t care for the genre. It’s why it took me so long to watch the excellent Deadwood. Perhaps it’s because I don’t like modern-day cowboy culture and thereby associate ”westerns” with redneck douchebags. And I don’t care for the music. Such as the Firefly theme:

Then it was explained to me that the show isn’t so much about space cowboys as space outlaws and once again my ears were pricked. So a couple of years ago, several years after it was cancelled, I finally sat down to tackle Firefly.

I wasn’t disappointed. True, I wasn’t hooked from the first episode, but by the third I couldn’t stop watching if I tried. The show’s strength is that it’s blessed with probably the best ensemble cast ever assembled. Where other classic ensembles (TNG, Buffy) took a good three or four seasons to hit their stride, the cast of Firefly hit the ground running. The chemistry couldn’t have been improved in a laboratory. Check out the gag reel at the bottom of this post. It’s hard to believe these people were practically strangers.

Though there is certainly an outlaw/western feel to the show, it’s all the aspects of westerns I enjoy. They’re more dust-bowl pirates than cowboys. In a way it’s like Pirates of the Caribbean set on the Millenium Falcon instead of the Black Pearl. If it’d been sold to me that way, I’d have been watching from day one.

Instead the show was pitched as “nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things.” Um. Okay. That’s cool and all, but it’s sounds like Waiting for Godot staged on Discovery One. This show isn’t that at all. Perhaps the exact opposite. It’s an adventure-comedy of the highest grade. And well worth the hurdle.

FOX cancelled Dollhouse!?  I’m ticked, yet somehow not surprised.  I mean we are talking about the network that cancels everything I’ve ever liked on its airwaves.  It’s known for it’s cancellations and just when it was really getting good.  I don’t get it, but I guess I never will.

I’m thinking Joss needs to pick a network for his next project that ISN’T FOX.  I  just hope they get the chance to finish out this season’s storyline.  I also hear a work on a spin-off possibly featuring Topher could be in the mix as a “life boat” mission.  I can only hope.  We’ll see what comes to pass.

I just find myself disheartened. Le Sigh.

So finally we got some more information Dale!  Now why all of us Whedon-ites love our Wash, you know that while he was a leaf on the wind, watch him soar…  He’s a leaf on rake, and we watched him get impaled…  Twice really, if you think about.  Once in Serenity, and then again in the premiere of my officially favorite show of the new Fall season.  I know that I have said that Flash Forward was the best show so far, but I have found that they aren’t consistently bringin’ it every week.  However, V delivers!  With a bang! 

At first I was resistant to the fact the writers have announced so early that the V’s are a reptilian race, but they are still busting out surprises every week.  The Fifth Column is incredibly exciting!  How long exactly have they been walking among us?  Has it just been the last 20 years?  Do they have cloaking capabilities, and that is why Ronald Reagan couldn’t find him with all of our satellites in space??   What is most fun is trying to figure out who may or may not be the secret V’s.

Personally, I think that Erica’s son Tyler is a hybrid.  I think that his large friend, Brandon is a V.  I think that is why he is always pressuring young Tyler into becoming a Peace Ambassador, having him graffiti the streets, etc.  I am also interested in finding out if the old priest is a V.  He seems so comfortable with the idea of people devoting themselves the visitors, instead of the church.  But I doubt that Ryan’s fiancée is a V, I’m sure that he would be able to sense that with his reptilian senses…

But what exactly is going on with Anna and The Bliss?  Are they drugging us and the other V’s?  What is The Bliss?  It was obvious that the woman whose husband died had completely changed her perspective on the visitors…  But why??  I just hope that they don’t drag it out like Lost, I need answers quicker nowadays!

 What did YOU think of this week’s episode?  What do YOU hope happens next week?

Comment below?

it’s fall.

and the leaves are falling and they match the colours that i see

in my head.

and i have the perfect playlist, and life is awesome.

this is my favourite season.

Hey guys, sorry for not updating at all recently but things have been crazy. I’ve been looking at different universities and trying to complete insane amounts of homework and writing articles for my school newspaper. Oh and I’m moving in a week. I’ve been updating my deviantart a lot though lately, so you can go there to see some pretty pictures.

Tomorrow I’m taking a vow of silence to raise awareness for children who do not have their own voice. I am not talking or using facebook or twitter for 24 hours. Please go to www.iamsilent.com to take the vow yourselves.

Also my friend recently told me about this awesome comic called Alien Loves Predator. It is a really funny comic about Alien and Predator living in New York City. I am slowly making my way through all of them. Here’s one of my favourites:

I entirely agree. We need more stadiums full of lesbians.

I also bought the Dr. Horrible one-shot yesterday and it is amazing. Joss Whedon is so so awesome.

I highly recommend buying this, and I myself am now setting out to obtain the two variant cover ones as well.

And lastly, for the fall playlist. my top ten songs of this fall are:

1. Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels) by Arcade Fire

2. A Wish by Gregory & The Hawk

3. I Thought I Saw Your Face Today by She & Him

4. Rumpus by Karen O and the Kids

5. Beautiful Dream by The Pages

6. Mine Shafts by Margot and the Nuclear So & So’s

7. Holland, 1945 by Neutral Milk Hotel

9. Neopolitan Dreams by Lisa Mitchell

10. Maybe This Time by the Glee Cast (Lea Michele and Kristin Chenoweth)

And just for fun because I think it’s awesome, here’s a comic!

The only wars my family waged were with pen and paper.

Madhur Jaffrey, Seasons of Splendour.

As someone who lives a little too vicariously through books (and the occasional film or television series), the idea that a person might fight his or her battles on the page really resonates with me. For me, books have always provided if not guidance then at least aspirations. For almost as long as I can remember reading, I have latched on to particular characters and attempted, with varying degrees of success, to emulate them. There have been a lot of articles and posts recently about female role-models in literature (prompted in part by the upcoming release of the New Moon film and the inevitable bout of hand-wringing about the message Bella Swan sends to impressionable young women) and this post is prompted, in part, by these articles. I’ll do a links round-up over at Livejournal so you can see the sorts of things that are being said, if you’re interested.

I’m quite proud of my literary role models, on the whole.

The first character I can remember pretending to be, was, fittingly, Sara Crewe from A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. (I had spent many years pretending to be fairytale princesses before that, but I choose to ignore that as I feel my identification with these princesses was more due to the fact that they wore pretty dresses and jewellery.) For those of you not familiar with the character, Sara is the daughter of an English soldier who lives in India as part of the colonial administration. She grows up pampered in a London boarding school run by the cartoonishly vile Miss Minchin, until her father’s death, which leaves her penniless. Miss Minchin, who spoiled Sara because she hoped to get rewarded by the wealthy Captain Crewe, finds herself responsible for a girl she detests. Overnight, Sara’s life changes. Instead of being the favoured student at the school, she is now a drudge teaching the younger students. She has to move out of her luxurious rooms into a cold attic, eating scraps where before she had dined on delicacies.

What I loved about Sara was not so much the grace with which she endured this change in circumstances but the way she chose to endure them. You see, Sara was a reader. (‘She doesn’t just read books, Miss Minchin, she devours them,’ her father says.) More importantly, she was a storyteller. The thing that kept me covering wooden crates with red crepe paper (to make them look like Sara’s ‘battered red footstool’) and drawing fireplaces on bits of paper in order to stick them on my wall to recreate Sara’s attic bedroom was the power of Sara’s imagination. ‘Suppose,’, she would say, meaning, ‘Imagine something better than here’.

A Little Princess was an early lesson for me in the power of the imagination to overcome the most horrendous circumstances. The book articulated something I’d only just begun to understand: that books offered readers another, infinitely more wonderful world.

The next book to set my imagination on fire to such an extent was Adèle Geras’ wonderful The Girls in the Velvet Frame. What, you might ask, did a story about five Jewish sisters growing up poor in pre-Israel Jerusalem have to do with a seven-year-old middle-class Canberran in the early 90s? For me, it was two things: the warmth of the sisters’ relationship (and their relationships with their widowed mother Sarah and unmarried, ageing aunt Mimi), and the perfection of Geras’ characterisation.

I loved the matriarchal world of the Bernstein sisters, as I saw (and valued) a similar quality in my own family (which is made up of very strong women with very close relationships). And I loved, in particular, two of the sisters: dreamy Naomi, who saw the world through rose-coloured glasses and used storytelling to occupy her two younger sisters, and practical, cynical Chava (‘I always expect bad things to happen, because then bad things don’t disappoint me and the good things come as a nice surprise’). There’s a lot of Naomi and Chava in me, and there is a lot of stubborn, determined Dvora in my younger sister Mimi. I recognised this even then, and I identified passionately with Geras’ characters.

When I was ten, along came one character who would blow them all away with sheer awesomeness. I’m referring, of course, to Pagan Kidrouk, from Catherine Jinks’ Pagan Chronicles. I read these books initially as I was invited to a talk given by Jinks at the sadly now defunct Griffith Library, and I fell in love with the snarky, sarcastic, scarily intelligent hero. It’s been a life-long love affair: if Pagan were to walk out of the pages of the books today, I would follow him to the ends of the earth, even if all he did was make disparaging remarks about my intelligence and rage at the stupidity of mankind.

Part of the appeal of Pagan lay in his identity as a literate intellectual in a largely illiterate, anti-intellectual world (the books are set during the Third Crusades). He was irresolutely bookish, with a rich, if angry, intellectual life going on in his head. He has always appealed to my book snobbery, which in my preteen days was even more fierce than it is today. I read, therefore I am would’ve been my motto if I’d heard of Descartes. Pagan made even the illiterate characters recognise the value of reading: Lord Roland, the knight whom Pagan serves, remarks (giving me a quote that has always resonated with me), ‘People who read are always like you. You can’t just tell them, you have to tell them why.’ I swooned, and I’m still swooning today.

The Tomorrow series by John Marsden also provided me with a set of inspirational characters. After briefly cheating on Pagan with Lee (haha), I settled down into a more sedate appreciation of this classic Australian series. I honestly think it was one of the most important cultural artefacts of my generation. For about five years, everyone was reading these books. When a new one came out, we’d all be discussing them on the playground, speculating about who would live and who would die. They were, for my generation, bigger than Harry Potter, and for that they’ll always have a special place in my heart: although I loved being a reader because it set me apart, I also enjoyed it when my classmates and friends read so that we could discuss books.

I also adored the characters because they rang so true. Not one of them is a stereotype or a cardboard cut-out placed in the book as a mouthpiece for Marsden’s views (which happens so often in so many YA books). Oh, sure, it was very clear what Marsden’s views were, but he let them seep through organically, whispering at the margins of one of the most gripping plots I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. Marsden’s teenage characters, from Ellie the tomboyish, self-reliant narrator to Fi the sheltered princess, from Robyn the pacifist Christian to Lee the depressed, revenge-obsessed artist, taught me how to be brave. They taught me that war was hell and that I had a moral obligation to do all that I could to prevent it, and they taught me that teenagers were the most powerful, most adaptable, most resilient and most resourceful creatures on the planet.

The next author to play such a significant role in my moral and intellectual development was the wonderful, eloquent, word-weaving Philip Pullman. He gave me such great gifts: the character Lyra, from his His Dark Materials series, who is probably my favourite fictional heroine, and is definitely the most heartbreakingly human character ever to stalk the pages of a book, and the book The Tiger In the Well, which gave me a speech which has informed my political beliefs to this day. These books didn’t exactly change my beliefs (I was an atheist already, I was in favour of knowledge and consciousness and life, I was a social democrat, I was appalled by unchecked capitalism) so much as confirm them and articulate them in a way that I could not have done myself. No books have ever meant more to me than His Dark Materials and nothing has ever had, or will ever have, such a profound effect on my life.

In His Dark Materials, the idea that a very small event has the potential to create millions and millions of universes is a crucial theme. Well, the fact that my sister overheard me complaining about lack of books (I was put off by the cover of Northern Lights, which had animals on it: I’ve never been particularly interested in stories about animals) and forced Northern Lights into my hands utterly changed my life. I would not be at Cambridge without Philip Pullman.

There are several other book, film and television characters who are important to me: Amelie from the movie Amelie (who gave me unrealistic expectations about life, but introduced me to the joys of quirkiness and serendipity), Sulien ap Gwien from Jo Walton’s Tir Tanagiri Saga (who showed me that one could have a fulfilled life without romantic realitionships), Una from Jo Walton’s Romanitas series (whose intense introversion and observation of other people is something with which I identity strongly) and the characters in Joss Whedon’s television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly (who taught me that the family that you choose for yourself, united, can never be defeated, and that misfits can save the world).

These characters are in some ways more important to me than the themes of the texts in which they appear. As I took on all these characters and integrated them into my identity, they ceased to be the creations of their respective authors and became something different. I hesitate to say that they taught me how to be, since of course I am not as stoic as Sara Crewe, as resilient as Naomi and Dvora Bernstein, as intelligent as Pagan Kidrouk, as brave as the teenagers in the Tomorrow series or as all-around awesome as Lyra. I don’t have the courage of my convictions of Dan Goldberg and Sally Lockhart, I don’t brighten the lives of those around me as much as Amelie Poulain, I’m not as loyal as Sulien, I’m not as determined as Una and I’m not as good a friend as the characters in Joss Whedon’s shows. But all these characters taught me who I wanted to be, and how I wanted to live. Although I do not live up to their standards, that I value these standards says something essential about my identity.

Alyson Hannigan tweeted last night about shooting a musical number for How I Met Your Mother, and the special guest she invited - Joss Whedon.

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