update-age and neighbors and such
Aug. 13th, 2006 06:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreI'd rather have to constantly burn nice smelling things and buy air fresheners than put up with people who have loud(possibly violent, I can't tell) fights(this last one for about 30 minutes from 2-2:30 am) Not only that, but they have lots of company. Now, that's their right, but when I come home from work at 1:15 am, I SHOULD be able to find a parking spot in front of my building(8 apartments and 20 spaces, incidentally) Then there's also the fact that half the time, if I see someone leaving their apt, looking like it's first thing in the morning to them, it's NOT one of the people who lives there, and it's not always the same cars out front in the morning. Now, mind you, both the parking lot and fights have only been a few instances, but it's enough for annoyance(and to be uncomfortable when seeing them) Heck, I saw the neighbor who lives next to them, and we were both uncomfortable because we were thinking about the fight the other night(that I suspect he may have broke up...I don't know.)
Moving on,
dangermousie just seriously outdid my recent Kougaiji-love post, in both squee-ing and pictures...I feel lessened, but it was nice to look at.Also, reading ahead(ONLY BECAUSE I WILL BE BUYING THEM WHEN THEY COME OUT AND I HAD TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!) I am even more addicted to Bleach. It's sad, really. Surpasses Naruto, matches Saiyuki and meets the heights of my Inu Yasha love. Addictive personalities can be scary, even if you have one.
When(if?) I get back to icon making, I think it may be character-centric stuff, as opposed to property-centric, though Runaways icons are still at the top of the list.
I finally read the "Art of Faery" book that's been sitting around for ages. The Brian Froud illustrations weren't new ones(sigh...) but overall the book was excellent and I'm going to be looking for works by some of the other artists, and will definately be getting the "World of Faery" sequel.
I'm going to start trying this "tags" thing...we'll see how it works out.
On to the reading and watching stuff...
"Magic's Silken Snare" and "The Silken Shroud" by ElizaBeth Gilligan(historical fantasy): Stumbled across these books at the last UBS run, and thought they sounded interesting. Fortunately, it paid off. UNFORTUNATELY, Amazon said the 3rd book came out a couple weeks ago, but it hasn't so..."*seethe* Anyway, these are actually "near history" and are set in a slightly retooled 17th century Italy. The first book is about a gypsy woman who married an aristocrat investigating her sister's murder, and the second is about the sister's lover hunting down her murderer(anything more detailed than that pretty much gives away the entire plots of both) The characterization and history are both strong, and the focus is fairly evenly divided between gypsy magic and politics. Have I mentioned that i'm unhappy the third book isn't out yet? Just checking...
"The Bachelor Trap" by Elizabeth Thornton"(historical romantic suspense): What a horrendously inaccurate and inappropriate title (and cover) they gave this book! Seriously...I wish Thornton would make the jump to historical mystery so they'd stop trying to shoehorn her into genre conceits that don't suit her books. This one was quite good...better than her last, but the first few books of hers that I read(before she got more popular and they tried to make her books fit in with others) were the best. It's another "investigating a mystery from the past" book, and a good one. Also, while Thornton's heroes aren't as blindingly and obsessively protective as, say, Marsha Canham's, they'll do.
Currently Reading: "Dark Prince" by David Gemmell
Absolute Boyfriend Vol 1-2: While nothing matches Ceres for Yu Watase works(though Alice 19th tries, and Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden is trying) I rather like this one. It's considerably lighter than any of her other books, except maybe Imadoki, and Riiko is easier to like than a lot of her heroines start out as. My only problem with it is that, for the first time reading a Yu Watase book, the girl actually seems to be with the wrong guy(maybve it's because Watase admits to not knowing who it'll be when she started the series...) Lets face it, when faced with a guy programmed to like you and a guy who's looked out for you forever, the better choice is obvious...unless you're a standard manga heroine...
Crimson Hero Vol 1-3: When I was reading the Shojo Beat mag monthly(thank goodness I stopped...I looked at a recent issue a couple of weeks ago and the ink was ink and purple and I thought about sitting down with 200 pages of that...) I thought that this was the best book in the magazine. Now that I've read more books from the line, and been able to sit down and read this one straight through, I'd say it's the best book of the line(and I'm placing it above 2 Yu Watase books and Ouran High Host Club here...) And...that's an odd opinion for me to have. There's no fan service(ok, not a big thing for me, but usually good for humor) almost no romance, and a HUGE amount of the focus is on sports. And I hate sports. The cruz of the story is that tomboy Nobara, who comes from and EXTREMELY traditional Japanese family, is supposed to take over the family business. She doesn't want to and can't stand it, all she wants to do is play volleyball, and that's what she tells her mother. It goes over about as well as you'd expect, resulting in Nobara running away from home and, with her disowned aunt's help, becoming the dorm mother for her high school's boy's volleyball team(the setting making the absence of fan service rather surprising) The book features a lot of growing up on Nobara's part, but it's her complicated relationship with her mother(who does love her, but is just extremely traditional and just as stubborn as Nobara, and Nobara's determination to have her own life for as long as she can(she knows that eventually, she HAS to take over the family business...she just wants to choose her own path for as long as she can, but she's not oblivious to reality) that make the book work so well.
Kami Kaze Vol 1-2: The story for this one is pretty good(if not wholly original) and I like the characters and designs, but it gets a little too caught up in being graphic and violent. Still, I DID rather like it, and think I'll be sticking with it.
Top Cow/Marvel Crossover Collection TP: I've been wanting the "Devil's Reign" story for a while...mostly for the Witchblade issues...and...yeah...aside from some good dialogue courtesy of Warren Ellis is Ballistic/Ghost Rider, that was about all that was worth it in that arc. Seriously, I read books from both companies at the time, and some were the books in the stories and by the same writers, and they were much better than this. And those Wetworks designs...were those ever truly considered good designs? That headgear. Still, there was a quasi-canon "Sara's greatest dream is a normal life wife Ian" scene, for which I forgive much. Claremont's Witchblade/Wolverine issue from a few years ago I remembered being decent but nothing special. Rereading it, it basically sacrifices Sara on the altar of Wolverine being supercool and supersexy. Also, Sara would never WILLINGLY wear something like that. Seriously, when she dresses herself, it's always pretty conservative. The Darkness/Hulk issue, though, I remembered being quite good, and the absence of recent Darkness comics just made me like it more.
Currently reading: "D.Gray Man" Vol 1The 4400: Season 1: I'd never heard of this until Marc, Teek and Shiela mentioned it in chat a month or so back. I liked this one quite a bit. It was rather "Rising Stars"-ish, but in a good way(and I do love Rising Stars...easily JMS's best comic work, IMO, despite certain year plus delays) The production values could be a bit better, but they'll do. The storyline is interesting, as are the mysteries(and unlike, say, Lost, I suspect I'll still find them so a few months from now) and I rather like the characters(except one, and that's because she jumped between brothers at the speed of light.)
The Errol Flynn Signature Collection (The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex / They Died with Their Boots On / Dodge City / The Adventures of Errol Flynn): Well, i watched the best 2 from this set first, but that's ok. "Elizabeth and Essex" is probably the only movie here that I didn't care for...I love the period and the story was interesting, but Bette Davis wasn't remotely likable(the fact that she was CONSTANTLY trembling and twitching in every scene didn't help any) and Errol Flynn was basically playing a castrated version of his usual characters. "Sea Hawk" was a much better movie for the period, and had a far better Elizabeth I. "Boots" was rather good, but not quite my thing, Civil War/Custer is interesting stuff, but I prefer European history or straight westerns. That said, the best parts were the Flynn/DeHavilland relationship scenes(big shocker) which were great as always. "Dodge City," though, I QUITE liked. It's easy to see why it's regarded in some circles as "the" western and used as a template so much. "The Adventures of Errol Flynn" was pretty interesting(and is going to add a new spin to things next time I watch "Robin Hood"...but in an amused way, not a bad way) I'd say it's a good thing for anyone with any interest in Flynn to at least watch.
Fairy Tale: A True Story: Paul McGann surprise appearance!(those always make me happy) I've been wanting to see this movie for quite a while, but was just never able to until now. It's the story of 2 girls in the 20s who claimed to have photogrsphed themselves with real fairies, sparking off several publications and a serious fairy craze. Brian Froud's "Lady Cottington" books are based on this. Historically, the girls eventually admitted to faking the pictures under pressure, but the movie treats the subject as if the fairies were real. The movie was very charming a cute and well done despite that, though, and I'm very happy that I finally got to see it.
Inu Yasha: Fire on the Mystic Mountain: A very good one...didn't like it quite as much as the third(more Sesshomaru, and the brothers' relationship with their father gets that one extra points) but quite good. It also gets extra points for longer Priestess Kikyo flashbacks(I adore Priestess Kikyo, despite my occassional hatred but usually apathy, towards Zombie Kikyo) The storyline was good, though one or two things didn't quite fit and it avoided the occassionally extreme melodrama Inu Yasha occassionally engages in.