Am I a bad comic book fan?

Yeah, so, I completely forgot they were making a Wolverine movie. While I'm fairly neutral about the comic book version(I find him interesting in the contexts of his relationships with Jubilee, Kitty, Storm, and a few others, but kind of uninteresting and overrated as a general rule) I do like the movie version. Probably because, while still a little much so, he isn't borderline godlike in his abilities, and I can actually understand why women would be throwing themselves at him, despite the fact that he could still do with a bath and a shave.

Anyway, the leaked trailer, which looks pretty good. But would look a lot better if a certain somebody were in the movie.

Random Saiyuki pondering

*no, I haven't read the new volume yet, don't spoil me*

Are there any female characters in this series who are all of the following:

1)  Alive.

2) Not evil.

3) Not a hermaphrodite.

4) Not fixated on Kougaiji (Lirin: bickeringly adoring younger sister with mutual but understandable complex, Yaone:  devoted apothecary, Pippi: fangirl.)

5)  Around for more than a chapter or two.

Yes, this randomly popped into my head a little while ago and won't go away. 

(And...ahm...kinda spamming, sorry.) 

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie Rannoch-“Georgie” for short-34th in line for the throne, has a bit of a problem. Namely, Her Royal Highness is sending Prince Siegfried, appropriately nicknamed “Fishface,” north to Georgie’s family home in Scotland to propose marriage. As far as Georgie’s concerned, this is a fate worse than death, and one she escapes only by eavesdropping on her brother, Binky, and his wife, Fig. Their real names, by the way, are Hamish and Hilda.

Faster than you can say “runaway bride,” Georgie has concocted a friend who absolutely must have Georgie’s help in London while she prepares for her own wedding, and off Georgie flees to London. Except Binky cut off Georgie’s allowance when she turned 21, leaving her utterly dependent on him unless she gets a job or a husband. As a result, Georgie has no money and no maid, and has to open and air the London house all by herself. Not to mention cook, turn of the boiler, and light a fire. Each of which is quite the adventure.

( more )

Cardcaptor Sakura Vol 4

( Read so you can cackle more. You know you want to. )

hoo boy

Hyper Boy With Glasses is reading Twilight because someone recommended it to him.  He's about 50 pages in and wants to know if it will ever stop being about how boring her day to day life is.

(no subject)

"He said it's like Harry Potter with vampires, but I wouldn't give it that much credit."
"So, more like 90210 with vampires?"

I had nothing to do with that conversation.

We think it's sedating him.  Literally.  Just kind of a blind daze.  

He was taking summer courses for I think 3 classes.  Possibly, he is just adjusting to reading something that isn't a textbook.

See previous entry for context.

Sword-Dancer by Jennifer Roberson

Tiger is a sword-dancer, a sword for hire in the southern deserts who spends his time drinking and whoring when he isn’t working. When Del, a young northern woman, comes to him looking for information about a slaver, he initially tries to dissuade her but, when she persists, gives her a message he knows will make the slaver save her for him, knowing the slaver will decide to capture and sell her, rather than give her the information she wants. Of course, things don’t work out that way, Del having very specific ideas about being sold into slavery, and instead Tiger finds himself getting hired by Del, who claims to be a sword-dancer herself, to escort her across the desert. After she gets the information she wants, of course.

The book is about Del and her quest more than anything else, but it’s told from Tiger’s perspective. Tiger…is very sexist. Not abrasively, outwardly offensively so, but he is. That said, Roberson isn’t blind to this, and regularly has Del kick him in the head for this, both figuratively and literally. Throughout the book, both Tiger and Del make mistakes with drastic consequences, but the narrative makes it clear that Del’s mistakes are mostly her not being familiar with the customs of the land, while Tiger’s are pretty clearly portrayed as…well, stupid. And Tiger is stupid fairly often. It’s also made clear that Tiger doesn’t have problems with the idea of a female sword-dancer who may be as good as he is, he just can’t actually believe he’s face to face with one, which he eventually learns to accept.

In a lot of ways, it’s the kind of fantasy I prefer. The magic is pretty low key, and while Tiger may try to keep Del from standing on her feet, the narrative always makes it clear that she can, and while it takes Tiger a while to realize it, they’re equals. But there are “buts,” and I’m not sure how I feel about them.

( spoilers )