The Year in Review: 2009
Watching: 127
8 1/2: Bellini's very interesting avant garde piece, which I found a parody of avant garde.
The Academy Awards: With Denny, a social thing.
An American Werewolf in London: I had forgotten pretty much everything about this movie, but enjoyed watching it at Convergence. Very 70s.
Ashes to Ashes: Bad British Gene Hunt is better than really bad American Life on Mars. I hope this gets better.
Azur and Asmar--The Princes' Quest: I liked Michael Ocelot's new offering. Recommended.
Battlestar Galactica Season 4.5: TV just doesn't get any better. A pretty good ending too.
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan: No more! Ever! Sob!
The Battleship Potemkin: Who knew maggots could cause so much trouble?
Batman and Superman--Public Enemies: Oh, Jeph Loeb, how you can not write! Felons aren't elected president. Radiation doesn't blow up war heads. Your over-the-top and uninformed writing makes me want that 67 minutes back. Argh.
Ben Hur: Woah. Charleton Heston in his liberal days. Who would've thunk it? Smacks of weird Christian Jesus idealism from the 50s! I'm in it for the Chariot Race!
Big Trouble in Little China: Holds up so much better than you think it would. Kurt Russell has an oft underestimated gift for comic timing.
The Bishop's Wife: The Annual Christmas Showing
Blade Runner: Wow. That's still some pretty good stuff. RECOMMENDED.
Bleak House: The latest version. Gillian Anderson blossoms in her middle age, although the overall product is dark and slow moving. Wait! So is the book. Turns out, however, it's really gripping. Ready for episode 12.
Boondocks--Season One: I like it, although it is also disturbing. I find Huey prophetic and reasonable, and Granddad an admirable comic figure.
Caprica: Interesting prequel with scary looking teenage girl.
A Charlie Brown Christmas: The annual holiday viewing.
Cirque du Soleil--Alegria: I really enjoyed this. This one is as close as they've gotten to Saltimbanco.
Cirque du Soleil--Cirque Reinvented: Okay. This stuff looks like the warm up to shows like Saltimbanco. More circus, less show.
Cirque du Soleil--Kooza: Saw this live in Minneapolis. Great soundtrack, and an incredible Wheel of Death act.
Cirque du Soleil--La Magie Continue: Looked like really old Cirque.
Cirque du Soleil--Midnight Sun: Mostly dancing, very low key.
Cirque du Soleil--La Nouvelle Experience: Odd, but captivating.
Cirque du Soleil--La Nouba: That Spiderman trampoline thing, and the big red scarf thing was striking.
Cirque du Soleil--Quidam: A little too avant garde, but with features of interest.
Cirque du Soleil--Saltimbanco: Pretty! RECOMMENDED!
Cirque du Soleil--Solstrom. A sort of television review of some of Cirque's acts, done with themes for each episode. Nice. Ready for episode 7.
Cirque du Soleil--Varekai: Very disturbing with moments of aesthetic beauty.
Code Geass: I like it in spite of its obvious flaws. Now I really like the psychological angle. I'll go out on a limb and RECOMMEND this.
The Colbert Report: Enjoying this as well.
The Color of Magic: Watch for a cameo by Terry Pratchett at the beginning and end as an astrozoologist. You know, it was fun, but I have to say that I was a limited fan of the first two books, and they managed to chop out some important things, changing the essence of the story. That said, Cohen and Bethan were wonderful.
Coraline: A classic and dark faerie tale of a child rescuing her parents. Better than the book. Recommended.
Cotton Patch Gospel: It'd go over big in Branson.
Countdown with Keith Olberman. Watching this a lot these days.
Coupling: Yes. One of those things you revisit when you're sick at home.
Cromartie High School: Weird, fun little show.
Cyrano de Bergerac: Watching the dePardieu version with my students in Search for Identity.
The Daily Show: Continually enjoying this.
Dante's Inferno: A hilarious new puppet show version that combines the modern and the classic.
Dead Like Me--Life After Death: Pieces of this were poorly written, but pieces of it gave us things we wanted, like conversations between George and Reggie. I missed Rube a lot. The scene when Delores put Murray to sleep made Bryon and myself cry. We had to stop for a good time. I wouldn't recommend this, unless you're a fan of the series.
Dragon Hunters: Oh my. So dull.
Dreams: Several Akira Kurosawa shorts.
The Dr. Who Christmas Special: Which had moments of interest, but overall falls flat. RTD and I just aren't seeing eye to eye anymore.
Dr. Who--Season 4: I have to say that I've been watching this patchwork, but I LOVED the library episode, and I found myself just in love with the character who knew the Doctor before he knew her.
The Duchess: Beautiful costumes, but torturous, sexist mores from a by-gone era make this movie painful to watch.
El Hazard: Just started a rewrite of this.
Elmer Gantry: Crazy revivalist meets less crazy revivalist, but which one is which surprises you. Also, Shirley Jones as a prostitute.
Ergo Proxy: Finished it and at least weren't offended by the ambiguity of the ending. Sometimes the screen is so dark, you can't really see what's going on!
Escape from Witch Mountain: Actually holds up pretty well.
Evening of Experimental Middle Eastern Dance. Thank you, Chia Evers. Striking!
Fellowship of the Ring: You know. It's pretty good.
Fiddler on the Roof: The annual reviewing.
Gankutsuo: A reviewing of one of our favorites, a retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo.
GI Joe: It was fun, but woe the Baroness!
The Good Earth: A very accurate 1937 adaption of the Pearl Buck novel, both of which are recommended.
Gormenghast: It's cool to see the books come to life, although of course, it's a bizarre story still. In the end, the review is mixed. Some of it is spot on. Other parts are entirely over the top.
Gran Torino: I'm with Yolanda. Where is the Oscar love? It's violent, but it's smart, and there's some great intercultural interaction. Highly Recommended.
The Grand Illusion. This is cool so far, but I think it's going to be bad for the characters. It was a very interesting commentary on the dying class system.
Great Expectations: Watching the 1999 version from the super Dickens collection I received from my birthday. It's interesting and disturbing, and reminds me of how much I hate Miss Haversham.
Green Lantern--First Flight: Fairly well done. Action, action, action!
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: I liked the look of the thing, and it was surprisingly good.
Hellboy--Blood and Iron: Bryon and I watched half of this. The professor is an interesting character.
The Hobbit: Well, that takes you back.
The Hogfather(X2): Saw this last year, but just got our own copy, so interested in rewatching. Fun. Bryon and I are really getting into Pratchett.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The annual viewing.
Hulk vs Thor (X3): Forty-five minutes of Asgardian worthiness.
Inkheart: Meh. BAD Eleanor casting.
It's a Wonderful Life: Yes, we do this every Christmas. Why do you ask?
Ivan the Terrible: Can you say black and white posing, Eisenstein? What is weird about the second part is that there is a great deal of colored film interspersed with black and white. You can also see why Stalin doesn't care much for Ivan's schizophrenic behavior. Ivan looks like Satan at several points.
Ivanhoe: The Anthony Andrews/James Mason version is very good.
Jason and the Argonauts: The classic Harryhausen event. Sure, it butchers mythology, but there's stop motion, man, stop motion!
Justice League: Comfort and Joy: The annual holiday showing.
LA Story. Ages well, as I age well. Magical realism at its best. Recommended.
Last Holiday. A Queen Latifah comfort movie. Recommended.
Life on Mars: It's on DVD, and it's way more British than on the Beeb America. Still recommended as one of my favorite series.
The Lion in Winter. This is a great film. Pretty brutal, but great. Interesting to see a young Timothy Dalton, and a younger Anthony Hopkins, as well as Hepburn and O'Toole. A thoroughly taut, recommended film.
Little Dorrit. The new BBC series. Very well done. They take some license, but who doesn't. In the final analysis, I enjoyed it. Recommended.
Mahabharata. The grim version. Not without features of interest, one of which is the international cast.
The Man in the White Suit. Alec Guiness is a comic genius in this British comedy about the textile industry. Bryon thinks he's on his way to becoming a Batman villain.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It's good to see John Cusack in something straight. But it's another slow film which I can't recommend.
My Name is Earl. Finishing up the season. Now catching up on episodes we missed.
No Country for Old Men. Huh? Listen, Hollywood! Ambiguity isn't always better. Grrr!!!
Old Curiosity Shop: Shame on you, Grandfather! What a depressing little tale!
Oliver Twist: A revision, and not too bad of one. Everyone gets what they deserve, although they leave the Artful Dodger dangling (but not in the same way they leave Bill Sykes dangling...)
The Place Promised in Our Early Days: So sloooooowwwwwww!!!! Really, really slow.
Pleasantville: Yup. Again. Bryon and I had a lot of fun questioning motivations this time around.
Pride and Prejudice: Enjoying the re-viewing of this lovely mini-series.
Princess and the Frog: An excellent, well-made film. Probably the best since Little Mermaid. RECOMMENDED.
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea(X2): Thank you, Miyazaki, for finally making another film reminiscent of Totoro. Recommended.
Primeval Season 1: See the beginning! Revel in the cheese!
Primeval Season 2: I thought this season seemed better written, but then there were raptors, motor cycles and the mall. So, spray cheese. Gotta love Cutter, though. Ready for episode 4.
Project Runway All Star Special: Daniel? Daniel?!?
Project Runway Season Six: It begins on Lifetime. DREADFUL!!!
Race to Witch Mountain: I thought it was fine. Go Dwayne Johnson!
The Rachel Maddow Show. Catching this a lot these days.
Ratatouille: Lots of subtle nuance in this Pixar production.
The Red Shoes. I think the dancer should be able to have her husband and her career, but not necessarily with the domineering producer. Beautiful dancing.
Return from Witch Mountain. Not as good as the first, but full of yummy nostalgia.
The Return of the King. Yeah, baybee. Gollum, gollum!
Revolutionary Girl Utena: Just started a rewatch.
Rocky Balboa: They did about as well as they could. Recommended.
The Scarlet Pimpernel: The Anthony Andrews miniseries. It's good. It's weird to see Ian McKellan that young! Recommended.
The Searchers: I'm still not sure why John Wayne changed his mind, but it was intense and interesting. Recommended.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Season 1. So *that's* what Billy Piper was up to. The 4th wall experience is enjoyable.
Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Season 2. Nice to see Callum Blue getting work after Dead Like Me. I am really enjoying the show. The writing and direction are great.
The Seventh Seal: Slow, Ingmar Bergman. Really, really slow. I'm not sure why this is considered a classic film.
Slum Dog Millionaire: Wow. See this.
Star Trek (X2): The best movie I've seen this year. Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban are perfect. Excellent re-invention of many fine characters. Lots of room to squee and do new things at the same time. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Star Trek: Of Gods and Men. Interesting low budget Trek film with many series actors. It was both self-indulgent and good, and so evens out.
Taken: Understated Liam Neeson destroys everything in search of his daughter. I'm not sure if it's good, but Bryon and I enjoyed it.
Time after Time: It doesn't get anymore 1979 than this, and the special effects are super cheesy, but I enjoy the confrontation between H.G. Wells and Jack the Ripper.
Time Bandits: An enjoyable reviewing.
Time Crimes. Not very fun, and disturbing.
The Time Traveler's Wife: A reasonable adaption of the novel. Lots of pretty scenery. Eric Bana does a fine job.
Tinkerbell Previews: Obviously not my cartoon.
Toy Story 1. Okay.
Toy Story 2. Really a better movie than one.
Transformers: The 25th anniversary edition of the 1980s cartoon. Holds up surprisingly well. Okay, okay. The writing is a little thin. Ready for episode 3.
The Two Towers: A re-watching of the Peter Jackson film. Go, Andy Serkis!
Up. (X2) Most likely, you will cry during the first 20 minutes of the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Wallace and Gromit: Cranking Contraptions. A fun series of Wallace and Gromit shorts.
Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death. Another fun offering.
Wall-E: Another viewing of a fine, touching Pixar movie.
Watchmen (X2): At first, I was overwhelmed by the gratuitous sex and violence, and then I rallied, and thought better of it than I had before.
Where the Wild Things Are: What was that boring piece of poo? Why do we try to make a movie out of a 20 page children's book? Don't take your kids.
The Wind and the Lion: Strong roles for both Brian Keith and Sean Connery. Recommended.
Wolverine and the X-Men. Not really too bad, as far as X-Men Cartoons go.
Wonder Woman: Moments of Interest, but no Thor.
X-Men Origins--Wolverine: Oookay, so pretty cheesy, with some nice guy named Wolverine that I''m not sure I know. Still, coupled with a Greek dinner, not a bad way to spend a Sunday.
You Don't Mess with the Zohan: I should be more ashamed that I like the occasional Adam Sandler film. There are horrifying things in this film, but there are also some very clever ones.
Reading: 149
Age of Bronze. The comic continues.
Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie. I was sucked in at the coffee shop, and I finished it the other day. I wonder if younger people in their 20s should read the book, rather than wait until they get all old and introspective. Otherwise, they waste a lot of time!
Anderson, M. T. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing--Traitor to the Nation--Volume 1--The Fox Party. A very original and intriguing premise. In the end it was good, but it was very disturbing.
Andrews, Ilona. Magic Strikes. Number 3 in the Kate Daniels series. Easily one of the best book I've read so far this year. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Barzak, Christopher. The Love We Share Without Knowing. A very gentle, finely written book on Japan, with elements of fantasy weaved in skillfully.
Beagle, Peter. We Never Talk about My Brother. As always, an incredibly skillful set of short stories. Marvelous, well done. Did you know I was going to say that?
Bedard, Tony. Birds of Prey. Good bye and good riddance.
Bisson, Terry. They're Made Out of Meat. I'm amused, really.
Bowen Brent. Novel in progress.
Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles. Yeah. Perfect.
Bull, Emma. Territory. An interesting re-envisionment of Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday, among other things. Very western, although I would have liked more closure with my ending.
Busiek, Kurt. Astro City. I like Astro City. I wish it came out more often.
Busiek, Kurt. Marvels: The Eye of the Camera. Sometimes, Kurt, you can't go home again.
Butler, Dori. Do You Know the Monkey Man? An interesting classic YA.
Carey, Mike. Unwritten. Captivating and intriguing. A young man whose father disappeared and who was the basis for the hero in his father's book, begins to encounter things linking out of them.
Cheny, J. Kathleen. Snow Comes to Hawke's Farm. Critiquing for a writer friend. Finn is my favorite character.
Chin, Alexander. The Tales of Alexander Chin. Classic faerie tale stuff from Russia. Only had a chance to read The Crimson Sails.
Colbert, Stephen. I am America and So Can You. Vinge is dark, so I skipped through this a bit. Um...pretty much what you would expect.
Connolly, John. The Book of Lost Things. A tad uneven, but overall very satisfying. Pretty gory in a faerie tale sort of way.
Dini, Paul. Gotham Sirens. The writer is a good one, but the last thing the world needs ia ANOTHER Gotham book. Originality? Please?
Doctorow, Cory. The Things that Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away. Fairly dystopian.
Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Idiot. Overall, I'm not pleased. I think the main character actually allowed himself to be taken advantage of, when he had plenty of solid and good alternatives. Dostoevsky's tense psychological abilities were not exhibited until the last few pages. No Crime and Punishment.
Drollerie Press. Needles and Bones. The collection I'm published in. Figured I'd best read the stories of the other authors. I didn't expect the other stories to be quite so avant-garde or sexy, but the collection works pretty well, in a literary sort of way.
Ellis, Warren. Astonishing X-Men. Meh.
Fehlbaum, Beth. Courage in Patience. So far, a story of sexual abuse told by a character with an engaging voice. In the end, too many issues. If we could just focus on one of them, it would be a better story.
Forstchen, William. One Second After. My God. A Republican wet dream of survivalism and what's just wrong with America, not soundly based in any real theory about EMP.
Friesner, Esther. The Emmeline Werewolf Story. A fun romp about a young girl werewolf during the McCarthy era.
Friesner, Esther. Torvald the Bloody-Minded Viking. A good Friesner tale about a viking, a saint, and Christmas.
Frost, Gregory. Lord Tophet. Sequel to the mythic Shadowbridge. Well executed. Recommended.
Frost, Jeaniene. At Grave's End. Number 3 with Cat and Bones. Getting my smut quota for the year. Brutality also reigns. Top of her form.
Funke, Cornelia. Inkdeath. I was pretty immersed in this book. Some ambiguity, a lot of good death scenes. Overall, the book really worked for me.
Hughes, Matt. Genie Memories. Friends novel in progress.
Gabaldon, Diana. Outlander. Hated this one for so many reasons. Can't really recommend it at all. Run!
Gaiman, Neal. Sandman: The Dream Hunters. With superb illustrations by P.Craig Russell.
Gaiman, Neal and Charles Vess. Blueberry Girl. A poem for girls illustrated beautifully by Vess.
Golden, William. The Princess Bride. Can you believe that I never knew this was an abridged book by a famous old author? Color me ignorant! However, the story is still a good one, and I recommend it, as well as the scholarly support materials, which are just fascinating.
Guerber, H.A. The Norsemen. A reference on Norse myth sent by a friend. Thanks, Dana! Finished the book book of mythology. Very interesting, although not necessary to do cross mythological analysis.
Gunn, Tim. Guide to Style. Yes, I already have a crush on Tim. This should be fun. It was great. I'm sure other people would not think of it as a magnum opus, but I enjoyed it.
Heinlein, Robert. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. You know, I see why this is a classic, but it's so not my thing. Giant rock catapults indeed.
Hine, David. Brave and the Bold. It's okay.
Hines, Jim. The Stepsister Scheme. Female characters are a bit archtypical. Action feels a little forced. Less character centric than previous book.
Hines, Jim. The Mermaid's Madness. This time, Jim's male characters were less secondary, and the book was better rounded. The writing is also getting better. Well done.
Holmes, Meredith. Unseelie. Alfhild goes to save the Unseelie court as heroine of the faerie lands. I think I've seen this before.
Hubbard, Mandy. Prada and Prejudice. Well, it wasn't very much like Pride and Prejudice, except in a token way. It was pretty thin.
Ingulstad, Frid and Svien Solem. The Scandinavian Troll: Its Life and History. A fun book with moody illustrations about trolls.
Jaspar, Michael. The Wannoshay Cycle. Extremely well-built story about the interactions of six Midwesterners with aliens. I'm impressed.
Johns, Geoff. First Crisis. Yeah, you try to sort out 4 different versions of Legionnaires, see where it gets you.
Klasky, Mindy. Girls Guide to Witchcraft. First of the librarian turns witch trilogy. Much more chick lit than fantasy, but it went down easy.
Klasky, Mindy. Sorcery and the Single Girl. Did I like it? It was okay. I feel like I'm a little old for this book.
Klasky, Mindy. Magic and the Modern Girl. It was okay, but again, I felt like it wasn't my thing. Undecided heroine sleeps around a lot.
Kvideland, Reimund and Henning K. Sehmsdorf. Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend. Research for the Troll book. This is really cool. I really enjoyed this.
Lake, Jay. Mainspring. Mark says it goes south. So far it's okay. In the end it's all over the place and gets a big meh.
Lundhoff, Catherine. Crave. The erotic short story collection. Lots of interesting variations on a theme, some more to my taste than others, some more deep than others.
Lynch, Scott. The Lies of Locke Lomara. I don't think this is going to be my kind of book, but we'll give it a whirl. It's for book group. I was so wrong. This is the best book I've read in some time. I'm very enthused about it.
Maeda, Mahira. Gankutsuou Volume 1. Fairly close adaption of the anime.
Maeda, Mahira. Gankutsuou Volume 2. Not at all an adaption of the anime.
Maeda, Mahira. Gankutsuou Volume 3. Some other anime entirely.
Mori, Kaoru. Emma Volume 8. Enjoyable character back stories.
Mori, Kaoru. Emma Volume 9. Enjoyable character back stories.
Morrison, Grant. Batman and Robin. For about 5 pages, this is a really good story about what it would be like if Dick Grayson became Batman. Which he has. And for the rest, it's Grant Morrison writing poo and the rest of the world pretending it's avant-garde because it's Grant Morrison. So, I recommend the 5 worthwhile pages, and reserve judgement on the rest.
Morton, Lisa. Ch4ngl3/ng. Lisa's cyber faery tale.
Narasimhan, Chakravarthi. The Mahabarata. Epic Indian poem read for academic workshop. Kind of saga-ish. Blah, blah, blah. Hero, hero, hero. Pretty much the classic fight-centered, man-centered myth.
Oracle. Meh.
O'Halloran, Maura Shoshin. Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind. A journal recounting O'Halloran's studies in Zen Buddhism.
Parker, K.J. Devices and Desires. I admire the spare style and the romantic triangle, but was otherwise left cold by this standard fantasy with European background.
Pausch, Randy. The Last Lecture. Read because it's our college book this year, and more disappointed than I can say. The hype led me to expect a life changing experience, but while there were a few nuggets of wisdom, I can say that Pausch is annoying, and it's highly overrated.
Peake, Mervyn. Titus Groan. The classic. Full of detail and background. A bit dry. Overall, could have been the dominate form of fantasy, save that people went for a less Gothic style overall. I liked it, though little happens, and it is full of artifice.
Peake, Mervyn. Gormenghast. Weird that the second part is the real course of the book. Titus Groan is a necessity to set the stage for the unusual tour de force that is Gormenghast. I am half way through and on my chair's edge. In my mind's eye, the characters look like they were drawn by Edward Gory. It turns out that this is the best book I've read this year. Wow and wow again.
Peake, Mervyn. Titus Alone. We take Titus out of his medieval setting and put him in 1920s mad scientist land. Titus is, for the most part, a shit. However, Juno and Muzzlehatch make for characters that I like, and overall it's an okay read.
Pelevin, Victor. The Helmet of Horror: The Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Satre and the Internet have a love child, and they decide to mythologize it.
Petersen, David. Mouseguard. Winter: 1152. As always, gripping. The mice are more human than humans.
Philpott, Ian. Snow Circles. A short story from a friend in reading group. I'm not sure where he's going with it yet.
Pratchett, Terry. The Color of Magic. Well, the author hasn't hit the stride he will hit later, but Bryon and I are determined to read them all. (BTW, Pratchett books in order of publication, ascending.)
Pratchett, Terry. The Light Fantastic. More meh fun with Rincewind and Twoflower.
Pratchett, Terry. Equal Rites. An interesting read with proto-Weatherwax.
Pratchett, Terry. Mort. The first Disc book featuring Death. My favorite so far, with good characterization and wonderful pacing.
Pratchett, Terry. Sourcery. Surprisingly, I like Rincewind at the end of this book. How did that happen?
Pratchett, Terry. Wyrd Sisters. This is a total, absolute hoot. The witches have amazing chemistry.
Pratchett, Terry. Pyramids. Enjoying this Egyptian parody a lot. Found the camel rather jarring.
Pratchett, Terry. Guards! Guards! Superlative, again.
Pratchett, Terry. Eric. The Faust joke goes on for a bit too long.
Pratchett, Terry. Moving Pictures. Finally! Ridcully and Stibbins! And a fairly good book overall.
Pratchett, Terry. Reaper Man. Honestly, his best in the series so far. Poignant AND funny.
Pratchett, Terry. The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. You know, the Carnegie Medal winner?
Pratchett, Terry. Witches Abroad. One of my favorites. Also delves more deeply into the characters.
Pratchett, Terry. Small Gods. Pratchett takes on religion and pulls no punches.
Pratchett, Terry. Lords and Ladies. Action packed with awesome Weatherwax and Magrat moments.
Pratchett, Terry. Men at Arms. It was wonderful. Detritus and Cuddy rock the planet.
Pratchett, Terry. Soul Music. Finally, the one Bryon has been waiting for. It was okay, but I think in some ways better as a cartoon.
Pratchett, Terry. Interesting Times. Wonders will never cease. Rincewind returns! More importantly, so does Two Flower. The Silver Horde and Mr. Saveloy are also a great deal of fun. This book finished very well.
Pratchett, Terry. Maskerade. Is there anything in this book that isn't about goings on?
Pratchett, Terry. Feet of Clay. Pratchett sets us up for a romp and goes all philosophical on us. Curse the man!
Pratchett, Terry. Hogfather. You know, it was okay, but I liked the movie better.
Pratchett, Terry. Jingo. Starts slow, but picks up and has great Nobby, Colon, and Patrician.
Pratchett, Terry. The Last Continent. Probably my least favorite so far. More hijinx, abuse, and parody. While I didn't dislike it, if they had all been like this, I probably wouldn't be enthusiastic about the series.
Pratchett, Terry. Carpe Jugulum. The best Granny Weatherwax story, which shows her as a pillar of strength. Excellent moments for Agnes Nitt as well. And the criticism of Ricean vampyres against Hammer vampires is fun and well due.
Pratchett, Terry. Nanny Ogg's Cookbook. Much practical etiquette advice. ;/
Pratchett, Terry. The Fifth Elephant. Strong Vimes book. Really, really liked it. Also, excellent Sybil.
Pratchett, Terry. The Truth. Enjoyable, interesting, and featuring ruthless killers.
Pratchett, Terry. The Thief of Time. Better than I thought it would be. I enjoyed it.
Pratchett, Terry. Night Watch. While Small Gods remains my favorite book thematically, Night Watch is the best characterization Pratchett has ever done. I will read this book again and again.
Pratchett, Terry. The Wee Free Men. I remember how touched I was by this book, and I am looking forward to sharing it with Bryon.
Pratchett, Terry. Nation.
Pratchett, Terry and Stephen Briggs. The Disc World Map. Because there were prefaces and things.
Pratchett, Terry, and Stephen Briggs. The Streets of Ankh-Morpork. Mostly Briggs production.
Pratchett, Terry and Paul Kidby. The Art of Disc World. Yes, I did look at more than the pictures.
Pratchett, Terry and Paul Kidby. The Last Hero. I'm amused, and I'm enjoying the illustrations.
Price, Dawn Forrester. Run to Freedom. I work with Dawn, and I'm looking forward to reading this. It had some sympathetic characters, and taught me some about the history of slavery.
Prineas, Sarah: The Magic Thief--Lost. Number two in the series. Pretty well written, with lots of new character development.
Pushkin, Alexander. The Old Man and the Goldfish. With beautiful art!
Realms of Fantasy. August, 2009. Well done for the relaunch. Healing Benjamin by Dennis Danvers was my favorite story in it. I look forward to more issues.
Resnick, Mike. Travels with my Cats. Felt very literary, and enjoyed it. I was interested almost immediately.
Ronald, Margaret. Spiral Hunt. An okay urban fantasy with some real grounding in Irish folklore.
Rucka, Greg. Batwoman in Detective Comics. The things I do to keep Ken in business.
Schwarz, David J. Superpowers. It was okay. Strengths were in some very good characterization. The editorial and conspiracy agenda kept taking me out of the story.
Shawl, Nisi. Filter House. Just started reading this collection of short stories. I loved the reality based fantasies, but was more lukewarm about the SF and the gun stories. Still, technically brilliant.
Sherman, Fraser. Red Moon Rising. An interesting spin on the maiden-mother-crone story a la Red Riding Hood.
Smith, Alexander McCall. Dream Angus. A gentle interposing of mythology and short story. Sweet. Impressive.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Kidnapped. Trying to read some proto YA this year. That said, the book loses me in the middle. I'm with them through the battle of the roundhouse.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Master of Ballantree. It didn't catch me, so I skimmed it and moved on.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Short Stories. Some scary stuff and detective stories. But Mr. Hyde was a little dwarfy guy. Shame on you, Alan Moore, for twisting.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Supernatural Short Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson. Don't miss "The Bottle Imp" or "The Waif Wife."
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. This is his best work, and it is hard to put down. Recommended.
Stewart, Jon. America the Book. Wonderful political satire, if a bit too much gratuitous use of the word fuck.
Stewart, Mary. The Crystal Cave. A GREAT book. Re-reading for Mindbridge book group. Enjoyed the young Merlin story, less of the fan fiction Uther part.
Stiefvater, Maggie. Ballad. The perfect ending. Perfect characterizations, fantastic writing, and satisfying ending. Recommended.
Straczynski, J. Michael. Thor Volume 1. I really like it.
Straczynski, J. Michael. Thor Volume 2. Looks really promising. It truly delivered.
Swill. A horror magazine I'm reviewing.
Sybil's Garage. Aside from Tempest's piece, which is wholly good, most of the writers are trying to be avant garde by confusing that with weird.
Tarvin, Brandie. The Purple Unicorn Caper. Brandi's purple unicorn story.
Teppo, Mark. Lightbreaker. The last of the Wiscon purchases, a mere six months later. It was okay, but a bit wordy, and not the way I imagine things would have panned out. My favorite character was killed.
Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. A great novel, as in big, rather than good. I've seldom been so bored with a big Russian novel.
Travers, P.J. Mary Poppins. A charming set of children's stories that enchanted me.
Trent, Tiffany. Between Golden Jaws. I'm enjoying the angst and the pacing. Oh Tiffany, you are the queen of the "I Want It Now" cliffhanger. Very angsty and good.
Trent, Tiffany. Maiden of the Wolf. I didn't care for this at all. The writing was purple. Ilona didn't sound like herself.
Vandermeer, Jeff. Booklife. RECOMMENDED for writers. The best description of what I've ever seen in regard to being an author in the 21st-century U.S. That said, mostly readable for the section on public, rather than private, booklife.
Van Eekhout, Greg. Norse Code. Don't let the cover fool you. This is a funny adaption of Norse mythology in the tradition of Esther Friesner's early works. In addition to humor, there are moments that are real and poignant. RECOMMENDED.
Viable Paradise Student Drafts. A wide variety of stories in a wide variety of states.
Vinge, Vernor. A Deepness in the Sky. I liked the Spider stuff. In the end, the genre couldn't hold me, but Vinge was spectacular in his execution.
Wagner, Matt. Madame Xanadu. Continues to be very interesting and good.
Waugh, Evelyn. Brideshead Revisited. Watch the little noble British kid drink. In the end, I lost interest, but the statement Waugh is trying to make rings.
Willingham, Bill. Fables. It's getting more meh.
Willingham, Bill. Jack of Fables. I like the parody angle.
Yazawa, Ai. Nana #13: Another melodramatic comic from one of my favorite mangaka.
Yazawa, Ai. Nana #14: Things are getting a bit tense in Nana.
Writing: 19
Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest: Substance of Shadows is entered! It's a better chance than the lottery, but I didn't make it beyond the first level.
Application for Odyssey Workshop. Research process begun. Have decided too expensive for professional development grant. Game over.
Application for 2009 Viable Paradise Workshop. Research process begun. This one is the right price. Decided to send Substance as the most revised piece. Game on! Finished and off. AND I got in!
Conversation Partner: A Spock and Uhura piece.
Edits for Hulk Hercules: Professional Wrestler: Complete.
Edits for Sister Night, Sister Moon: Complete. Read excerpt at Wiscon. Published.
Empress Dark: Flash Fiction, Circulating
The Empty Horizon: The rewrite of The Count of Monte Cristo, now with more magic! A good book to write for this time.
Gossamer and Veridian: Plans made, but delayed while we are depressed. Will return.
Grandma's Girl: Flash fiction, circulating.
Jackal's First Hunt: Circulating to magazines.
The Love Song of Oliver Toddle: Accepted at the Absent Willow Review. Read at Icon.
The Make-over: Circulating flash fiction.
Mark Twain's Daughter: Circulating to magazines. Read excerpt at Marscon.
Eine Natürliche Studie des Narragansett Leviathan: Joint project (serial) with Catrina Horsfield. Still in the planning stages
Point River. Flash Fiction. Circulating
The Substance of Shadows: In its last gasps of circulation, but not hitting a target. Wait! Maybe...
Viable Paradise: Exercises for the workshop.
The Winter the Troll Danced with Old Nick: Preliminary research done in Decorah. Read folklore. Fired up. Started writing and revising. Going to town on the first draft
Sewing: 1
Granny Weatherwax: Complete
Academic Projects: 42
Adjunct Meeting Prep about New Curriculum: Complete
CAR forms for New ELA courses. One more time! Now for L1.
CCID Paper Rewrites: Complete
CCID Travel Arrangements: Complete
CSSIP Summer Pre-Ac: All hired.
CCSIP Summer: Finished
Compass ESL Ewrite Testing for Spring: Complete.
Compass ESL Write Testing for Summer: Done.
Computer Documents for Language Lab: Done
Conversation Partners for Spring: Complete.
Conversation Partners for Fall: Complete.
Curriculum Time Lines for New ELA Programs: Complete.
Curriculum Writing for L1 Assigned Out: Complete.
Curriculum Writing for New ELA Program: Complete.
ELA Coordinator Prep for Spring 2009 Semester: Complete
ELA Coordinator Prep for Summer 2009 Semester: Complete
ELA Coordinator Prep for Fall 2009: Complete.
ELA Graduation Ceremony Planning: Complete.
ELA Fall Graduation: Complete.
ELA Major Reshuffle: In progress.
ELA Registration for Summer and Fall: Complete.
Evaluation: Complete.
Health Science Language Course: Underway.
Hulk Hercules: Professional Wrestler Power Point. Complete.
Hulk Hercules: Professional Wrestler Study Guide. Completed.
Language Lab: Comparing Software. Done.
Language Lab Set Up: Complete.
Language Lab Repair: Complete, I hope.
Language Lab Rules: Complete.
Instructor Prep for Spring 2009 Semester: Complete
Major change for ELA Students: Complete.
MIIIE Travel Arrangements: Complete.
MIIIE Paper Review: Complete
Professional Development Application for Viable Paradise. Completed. Submit in April.
Software for Language Lab: Installed.
Rosetta Stone: Working on policy for implementation. Finished skeleton.
Rosetta Stone Registration: Complete.
US-AID Grant: Finished. Won.
US-AID Grant 2010. Begun.
Wiscon Panel Proposal for "Your Friend Academia"
Wiscon Paper Proposal for "Images of Wonder Woman"
Wiscon Travel Preparations. Complete
World Fantasy Fantasy and Academia Panel Planning. Complete