After another delightful dinner at Threehaus—chicken chili and cornbread—with Dan (incidentist) and Gabby and Sarah and Jason, I was introduced to the most amazing Tim Curry performance of all time.

For some ungodly reason, in addition to owning Gummi Bears on DVD, Gabby owns The Worst Witch, a terrible made-for-TV movie adaptation of a book about a Hogwarts-esque witches' school. It looks like it was filmed in my backyard. The titular worst witch is played by Fairuza Balk, and the head witch is played by Diana Rigg. Yes, that Diana Rigg. I don't know how this movie exists. It was 1986. In any case, here comes Tim Curry as the Grand Wizard to star in the most awesomely bad Halloween music video ever.



The video does not include his subsequent departure because he has another...gig.

In exchange, I introduced them to "That'll give you bees."

I finally got around to giving the Steph wiki a new banner! It's not that great, but here it is:




I think it captures her personality well at least.

I pretty much wasted four hours doing it too, since my computer wouldn't let me install fonts and I wouldn't rest until I figured. it . out! And I did. Then I did a pic, but it turned out to be in the wrong size (for some reason I did picture sizes for the wikis advertised on the bottom.) Here it is for your edification:




But it turned out that WASN'T the size, of course, and the actual size allowed for a logo was pretty big, so I was able to fit all of Steph's identities in the pic, just like I always dreamed! And then there was all this trouble etc  ect....anyway, it's done. I should probably do homework or something now. There's a novel idea...

sixwordstories
Whether you're in the mood for a creative challenge or you're short on time or attention span, this semi-addictive community is perfect for those who find flash fiction way long. Once you get the hang of it, you won't be able to stop. The prince turned into a frog. The girl ran home to mother. Tough to write. Easy to read. It's a double threesome of fun.

dailyfoodie
Delicious, ambitious, and occasionally nutritious dishes make for an eclectic, all-you-can-eat feast. Whether you're searching for recipes for your next dinner party or you're jonesing for a late-night brownie fix, your cravings are sure to be well sated. A warm and inclusive community that welcomes all orientations, from carnivores to vegans, from gourmands to junk-food junkies. Guaranteed bias-free, food-positive, and pan-epicurian.

I now have a completely anal retentive run down of Stephanie's costumes available on the wiki. It's really thorough and full of totally biased commentary and other such silliness. You should check it out, because I put work into it and stuff

The Sweeping Saga of Stephanie's Superhero Suits!

In other news, I hung out with Joanna and John this weekend. It was fun, we went to the mall and I made fun of Twilight a lot (it was EVERYWHERE) and John tried valiantly to defend it and then we went to "This is It" because Joanna loved Micheal Jackson so much, and it was actually pretty good with amazing dancing and special effects and all that.

I got Secret Six and Incredible Hercules this week.

For Secret Six:

The Deadshot character piece was decent and a good read, so 4/5

and Incredible Herc...well, it wasn't bad, but I don't think it was one of the better issues, and having to listen to Spiderman whine about being set up with homeless people (Though I hold vague, smoldering contempt for the whole deal, I'm not even remotely close to being so raged over One More Day that I go CAPS over Peter's every appearance, but honestly, the dude's complaining about being set up with *ohnoes* homeless people and having no luck with his love life after selling his marriage to the devil. As a reader, I can't drum up any sympathy) and seeing the "girl ineffectually pounds fists on man's chest and cries" trope in play (I hate that trope so much!) really dampened my enjoyment. Maybe I should get some back issues. 3/5


s'all for tonight.

This weekend, lodessa came down to visit, since I had gone up twice and she owed me a visit and we just picked a weekend and made it happen. Also, it gave me an excuse to clean my apartment. We gerunded quite a bit!

• hugging lodessa upon her arrival
• whisking her away for lunch and parallel parking perfectly—though not on the first try
• beating the Bakesale Betty rush, which deprived her of the waiting-in-line experience, although she got it vicariously by watching everyone else in line
• getting complimentary lemon ices and shortbreads with our fried chicken sandwiches
• extolling the many virtues of the famous fried chicken sandwich—the bread, the large amount of chicken, the cabbage salad, the jalapeños
• enjoying the best shortbread ever
• hanging out in It's Your Move, a game store, and attempting and failing to play Dino-Mite! because there was no die
• showing lodessa College Avenue, one of my favorite avenues, which appeared to have a lot of salons
• discovering in Diesel that it was National Bookstore Day
• pawing over children's books in Pegasus
• admitting to the possibility that I used to think falafels were Indian food since my mom made them
• getting the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie from the library because Cute Comic Book Store Girl #2 (CCBSG2...she sounds like a protein), who dressed as original Buffy for Halloween, recommended I watch it again since I hadn't seen it since it came out
• watching lodessa admire my comics and recommending everything to her
• passing off La Perdida to her so it would no longer be in my apartment
• watching the original Star Trek pilot, "The Cage," and commenting on how it was Bizarro Star Trek but yet still Star Trek
• watching the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer and commenting on how it was Bizarro Buffy but...no, it really is sort of Bizarro Buffy even though some of the seeds for the series are clear
• remembering how awesome Pike was and being surprised at his prominence in the trailers
• watching lodessa admire my books and pointing out books I owned but hadn't read while she pointed out books I owned that she had read
• shoving one of my two copies of The Princess Bride into her hand when she said she'd never read it
• reading aloud two of my favorite short stories from when I was a kid, "Much Ado About [Censored]" by Connie Willis—I hadn't realized she was the author until yesterday and now I am more interested in reading her books—and "Brian and the Aliens" by Will Sh*tt*rly—I hadn't realized he was the author until I bought the book a few months ago and now I feel sort of dirty, but I read this story to my brother a lot
• ordering butter chicken and chicken tikka masala at Little Delhi and not being blown away by the chicken tikka masala but being reminded of my mom's butter chicken
• admitting that until recently I thought my mom invented butter chicken
• debating whether our cute waitress was a robot
• managing to grab front row seats for Zombie Town, which was hilarious and awesome and will be written about later, but for now deserves props for a Buffy reference that went from possibly coincidental to subtle to blatant (one theory regarding the zombie outbreak was that the town was on a Hellmouth)
• buying a poster for the art and a two-page comic for CCBSG2, who had really wanted to go but never made it
• braving a ride with the worst BART train operator ever, who couldn't even stop at our station properly
• striking up a conversation with the people behind us about striking up conversations with people on public transportation
• showing lodessa the "Creative Writing" episode of My Name Is Earl for the hilarious Katamari reference
• showing her an episode of Kitchen Confidential ("Rabbit Test," on jeeperstseepers's recommendation) since not enough people know about it
• suggesting we watch another episode since A) she laughed more at it than she had at MNIE and B) we needed to watch one with John Cho
• lending the DVDs to her since she appeared to enjoy the show
• closing out the night with the Middleman episode "The Flying Fish Zombification"
• stumbling upon a "relentlessly grim" horror movie on SyFy starring Thomas Dekker with his floppy emo hair
• sleeping in on Sunday morning
• showing lodessa Piedmont Avenue, another of my favorite avenues, which was also full of nail salons
• having Chinese for lunch at Little Shin Shin to make up for the terrible Chinese we'd had the last time I'd visited
• buying the out-of-towner local ice cream at Fenton's, which for the first time ever didn't have a line
• showing lodessa my comic book store
• discovering an Angel season four Wesley action figure with a scar on his neck and a closet to keep Justine in and for some reason Angel's soul that lodessa decided she had to get, if only to show LJ
• Cute Comic Book Store Girl #1's looking at my chest for a couple seconds and then declaring, "Cool shirt"
• not spoiling CCBSG1 about why the action figure was so great since she was only in season two
• spending a few minutes in Spectator Books, a used bookstore
• hugging lodessa upon her departure

They're voting on single-payer health care as early as the 7th, so contact your Reps now.

Sarah Connor, where are you?

I miss my show so fucking bad.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles needs your vote! TV.com's The Best of 2009 poll includes TSCC in the Best Show Axed Before it's Time category against Pushing Daisies and Life on Mars. Yeah, I loved Pushing Daisies too, but I think you know where my loyalties lie... with SARAH CONNOR.

So go get in there and support our show. Cast a vote some votes (the Vote button changes to Vote Again after you've voted, so multiple voting is, of course, encouraged).

Oh and in case anyone is wondering, there is no news on the WB front yet. Terminator rights being auctioned is no doubt slowing things down, but our fight continues. No fate.

lookit lookit the little red panda babies going Raaaaargh --

Oh god so TOUGH




OH THE INTIMIDATION, I cower

Nnn, I really need to be more on time with my reviews. I've been bummed b/c I think I failed a math test and I was so pleased with myself being on top of things before this happened...

Lately at the comic shop Darrin's been teasing me more than usual. About buying Batgirl. (I just spent two minutes trying to describe our argument regarding Batgirl but I really can't. Suffice to say, he teases me about buying it, and it's not like I can really defend the quality as top notch or anything, but I enjoy it, and he's all "You know it's bad but you don't want to admit it" and well, NO, that is not how I feel at all,,, then I got into it with this guy who always hangs around about Stephanie...he doesn't like her because of War Games, and I tried to explain to him it was bad writing, but he seems to have a hard time realizing a character can be written badly and that they don't actually have a mind of their own- if he even brings it up again I have a list of reasons WHY it's was out of character for Stephanie, so there. I will decimate his argument.)

Also, a few regulars seemed to have pegged that I'm a feminist. And 'Darrin has too. Well, he probably pegged it my first visit, probably, when I complained about the fact that the females in Umbrella Academy ended up being broken and mute while the boys were fine, but now he's mentioning it a lot more. So now whenever Darrin tells me to do stuff, some wiseguy will be like "She's going to tie you up and take over the shop like a strong woman should!" And I just ignore it, though now that I think of it, I should have told the guy that he would be lucky if he ever got tied up by a girl.

I don't mind being teased. I have a sense of humor. But the attitude of "look at that strange feminist comics girl!" annoys me a bit. I mean,  I don't really think I'm obnoxious about it, I tend to be pretty quiet irl, so I don't see why it's such a big deal. There are other girls who come to the shop, but I guess I just stand out b/c of my opinions and the fact I work there.

What really annoys me is I got myself pulled into the most INANE discussion- a Wonder Woman vs Superman thing. It was like being on CBR. But it wasn't about WW vs. Supes. I just got derailed.but my issue was the "boys club". Basically, for some stupid reason, the guys were discussing what the "next wave of gods" in the DCU would be. Superman, Batman, Flash...they stalled on who next.

I said, semi incredulously "Wonder Woman". Duh.

The guy who started the discussion: "No, I don't think so"

Me: Whhhhy not?

Guy: Because she's not as powerful as Superman.

Now, rather than asking what the hell that has to do with being a god, pointing out that WW is a cultural icon, that she has power over the force of truth, that she has inspired women in REAL LIFE and has her own anti domestic abuse event, that she was an extremely effective and important superhero and force in the DCU, that she has gifts of the gods (actually, I did point that out. I also pointed out she was Goddess of Truth once. My nemesis blathered about some god saying Superman was a cosmological being and Wonder Woman had to be MADE a Goddess or some crap like that) I got sidetracked by WW vs Superman.

I cited how Wondy and Supes had been shown to be equals in various fights, that Wondy has better martial skill and canonically faster reflexes and she had the lasso of truth ("But she doesn't have heat vision"!) He just would. not. accept. it. It was ridiculous. He was so scared of having a girl in his little boys club of gods. Or maybe he just didn't like Wonder Woman. But anyway, I felt really stupid that I got dragged into a "who can beat who" fight like I was 12 when it was really his stupid boys club mentality that ticked me off. The way he just dismissed me, the sole girl in the shop who was sorting comics while he was geeking out with his special guy friends, saying "hey, maybe this chick could be in your special gods club" right off the bat was just...agh. I felt like we were 12 the whole time, to be honest.

The guy who argued with me about Stephanie agreed with me about Wonder Woman though, and last time I went to work, I had two comics somone had bought for me: Wonder Woman #37 and Superman: Secret Origin #1. I thought it had to have been Dad, but when Dad came byand I asked him about it, the guy (I, uh, really should remember his name) said that he had done it. Isn't that sweet? And kind of weird and surprising.

So, let's review those comics:

Wonder Woman #37:

I  loved the Zombie Ares scene. It was well wriitten and just wonderfully creepy.  I read it to my Mom and I could feel her shivering beside me. Ares must have way more up his sleeve. I'm thinking the whole thing is a massive Xanatos Gambit. I knew he couldn't go down so easily!

I really liked the scene between Donna and Diana too. It's cool to see the depth of their relationship and Diana's utter selflessness and love for her sister. And Artemis returns! Yay! She'll whip everyone into shape.

On the other hand, it seems really out of character for Hippolyta to submit to her island being controlled by  crazy Alkyone. She's willing to be chained up to "protect" her island- by leaving it to utterly unstable gods and violent rulers? Wha? I hope there's more to this.

Chang's art didn't do much for me here. His Zombie Ares was good but the other figures seemed sticklike and just not that detailed. It seemed worse than usual, maybe he rushed this issue.

4/5

Superman: Secret Origin #1:

I actually kind of enjoyed this. not enough to get the sequel, I don't care about Superman having another origin story, but I really liked how utterly a kid Clark is, bouncy about using his powers to help people, reluctant about wearing a silly outfit, upset to find out he's so different and has another set of parents to contend with when he just wants to be Ma and Pa's son, worrying that Krypton might be a bad place- and I really liked the moments between him and Pa.

I also liked the art for the most part, especially the scene where Clark is tearing through a cornfield crying and Pa hugs him. Awww. I always enjoy Gary Frank, even if Clark looked like a demented chipmunk in a few panels.

4/5

The Unwritten #6

Back to the story of Tom Taylor! This was another really good issue of the series, and it's really fun to see the story's exploration of how fiction can affect reality. The hysterical parents and captivated little girls are hilariously on point, and it's deep shit for Tommy being in jail and starting to be changed for the worst by his experiences and the stories in his prison walls- and zombies and flying cats aren't going to make him feel better. Both a smart examination of truth and fiction and a really captivating read.

It's fun to compare and contrast "Tommy Taylor" with "Harry Potter". "Sue" seems to be way less cool than Hermione (she doesn't have crazy hair, and the little text experts haven't shown that she has any bossy or kickass tendencies and does anything besides focus on Tommy) but seems to have the worrywart aspect down, Tommy meanwhile, is probably more badass than Harry, since I imagine Harry's reaction to "You will fall for 1000 years'" would be less "At least I'll have some time to myself" and more "OH SHIT!" but I like that Harry's a little squirrely. Oh, and Tommy's school condemns people who run from a fight or steal stuff to dust, so I can't see how they'd toterate Slytherin.

...what? I like to think about these things!

5/5

Detective Comics

Okay, I lied, I can't resist this comic. The art is just amazing, and the story is really picking up. I actually like the twin angle, and the glimpse into Kate's childhood was nice. The military brat thing is fun too, and oh, I just love how JH Williams changes his art for the flashback, and the page where Kate is shut in her cave, slumped but determinedly testing her blood, was great. I'm genuninely looking forward to seeing the origin unfold.

Question was blah again. Hopefully the next arc will be more exciting. Hey, there'll be Huntress at least!

4/5

World's Finest #1

I flip flopped on reading the first two issues of the mini, but decided I might as well.This was a servicable story, nothing special. Tim is still a broody dick, but at least he helped out. I was entertained while I read it, but it was forgettable. Still can't wait for Steph and Kara's team up, though.

3/5

That's all for tonight!

The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to xkcd_rss, icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!

c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.

Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!
( Read more... )

Ta Nehisi Coates re-evaluates: Rihanna: (Shame, abuse, "personal agency," and isolation).

Really good post. I like watching him backtrack and come to new understandings. I like that he's willing to do that -- dedicated to it, even.

BOOM!

You guys! Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen, is the GREATEST COMIC IN THE HISTORY OF EXISTENCE!

Nextwave is essentially a parody of superhero comics, specifically the Marvelverse, that is still a fun and entertaining superhero comic in its own right. Actual Marvel characters make what I can only assume are completely out-of-character appearances, but it's not really necessary to know anything about the Marvelverse to enjoy Nextwave. Dirk Anger—har, har (it's not necessary to know anything, but it helps)—director of the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort (H.A.T.E.), puts together the Nextwave Squad to combat the Beyond Corporation's tests of Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction on the American populace. Except it turns out H.A.T.E. is totally in Beyond's pocket to begin with, which doesn't sit well with Nextwave. They go rogue. Their mission: healing America by beating people up.

The leader of Nextwave is Monica Rambeau, who used to lead the Avengers. She will tell you this. A lot. Tabitha Smith is a bit of a dim bulb and a klepto, but she blows stuff up. A lot. Elsa Bloodstone is a badass British redhead monster hunter who shoots things. A lot. Aaron Stack, or Machine Man, does not like the fleshy ones. His robot brain needs beer. A lot. The Captain...his name is The Captain! He kicks stuff. A lot.

All the characters are hilarious and fun, and very little time is spent on character development. This is not that kind of book. This book is not about complex plots and deep characters and morals. As Warren Ellis says, it is most especially about THINGS BLOWING UP and PEOPLE GETTING KICKED. There are so many explosions in every single issue; it is AWESOME. And they're not even gratuitous explosions. Things just happen to explode a lot when Nextwave is around (especially since Tabby's mutant power is blowing stuff up). The Beyond Corporation is testing some very...unusual biological weapons.

Besides all the ridiculous enemies they face, the comic itself is incredibly funny because Ellis throws in tons of meta gags about the characters and the story and the comic itself, poking fun at various comic book conventions (er, writing-wise, not Comic-Con-wise). It's like combining the fourth-wall-breaking humor of Scott Pilgrim with the zany cracktasticness of The Umbrella Academy. Nextwave is like The Umbrella Academy but without any pretense of being serious. They both gave me a similar "This is so fun and wacky and out there and I LOVE IT!" feeling. They also both have great art.

Here, have an assortment of lines:

"Monica Rambeau can convert part or all of her mass into any form of electromagnetic energy in the spectrum. Except the ones they make up on Star Trek."
"You have bought an episode of Nextwave unless you stole it off the Internet."
"Widdle cuddly bears...of death?"
"You have violated my gate of fire! Which is not the title of an adult movie!"

I laughed out loud while reading Nextwave. A lot. Nextwave is so awesome it even has a theme song that declares, "It's like Shakespeare but with lots more punching!"

For some mystifying reason, the comic didn't sell well and ended after twelve issues, but Ellis does provide an ending that makes it feel like a successful miniseries rather than a dead-before-its-time ongoing series.

I cannot believe I went this long without reading Nextwave, and I am Dirk Angry that there is no more! Don't make the same mistake I did! Read Nextwave now! I cannot say it any better than the blurb: If you like anything, you will LOVE NEXTWAVE! BOOM!

Last Sunday morning, after the AMWA conference, I made the decision to defy my parents. I had come into town early to spend time with them, and I had reserved Sunday for me. Me, me, me, whatever I wanted to do. But they wanted me to come back for a little while anyway, and I had assented, downtrodden, even though I didn't want to. This morning, though, I wanted to stop giving in all the time.

The phone rang. "When are you coming?" said my dad.

"I'm not coming," I said.

"What do you mean, not coming? Not coming doesn't work!"

"Of course it works; why wouldn't it work?" I expected to have to explain myself.

But: "Okay, you do what you want, bye." And then he hung up.

( Are you locked up in a world that's been planned out for you? )

( Are you feeling like a social tool without a use? )

( Scream at me until my ears bleed )

( I'm taking heed just for you )

This review is old, but also kind of amazing.

The book and author are not mentioned, probably for the best, but the analysis is definite food for thought.

(And I'm still not sure how I wound up there.)


------------------
ADDENDUM: OH YES. This is how I wound up there. I need to start over!! (Or, alternatively, perhaps take a moment to do my actual job... *blush*)

If you're just joining us, you may want to read Part I first.

( Friday: Creative Nonfiction Panel, Conferencing, Wife Meeting, Buffista Meeting )

( Saturday: Lunch, Conferencing, Sports Bar, Dinner with Brother, Sports Bar )

The AMWA conference experience was over, for all intents and purposes, as I wouldn't see anyone the next day. It had been a pretty good conference, and I was glad that the people I'd bonded with this year were local, so I hope to see them more frequently than just at conferences.

This is the start of something I'm working on...


Title: Dinnertime
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Author: Dude, really? Think about it.
Rating: Gen
Warnings: Work very much in-progress, spoilers for all TERMINATOR movies/SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES episodes

Author’s Notes: I'm trying to get my long-form on... by posting a short piece

Summary: It's a 24-hour news world and we're just living in it.

---

( Dinnertime )

Happy belated to luckykitty!!!!!


*hides under rock of shame and hiding*

aiyatheydidnt
The Chinese version of ONTD, AIYA is a dynamic international community that welcomes users who share a love of contemporary Chinese pop culture. Dedicated to celebrity gossip and entertainment news, you'll enjoy gorgeous photos and breaking stories featuring the glitterati of mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.