Saturday, March 26, 2005

An interruption in my schedule this week, courtesy of Fred Hembeck, who responded to my enthusiasm over Mike Sterling's Swampy Sketch with the news that he had an idea for a gag for my blog. I was happy to get the package, and surprised to find a couple of cool "mixtapes" thrown in. Those I can't share, but the sketch I can share with you... so here it is:

AQUAMAN AND FRED
by Fred Hembeck
March 2005
(permission to post given March 2005 via SnailMail)
hembeck.com

To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. If you have any contact information for any of the other artists I'm trying to contact, please e-mail me. Click for a random Aquaman sketch.

The Saturday Sketch ™ is brought to you by the letters "F", "H" and the number "90", and also courtesy the fine artists who pour their lives into producing wonderful comic books, then come to conventions only to get asked by geeky fangirls for a sketch of Aquaman. Support an artist, buy a comic book.

by Tegan at 9:22 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Huzzah! In only a few hours, new Doctor Who will premiere on the BBC for the first time in over 15 years (not counting the Paul McGann movie).

Oddly enough, even though I've seen the leaked episode, I'm still really thrilled and waiting to see the reaction to "Rose". And I want to see what changes (if any) were made from the preview copy to the final edit. It won't premiere on my TV until April 5th or so (via the CBC), but I may have to... um... find another way to check it out before then. Of course, I hope to watch it live off the CBC too. This is one show I'll tolerate repeat viewings of. My full review of the show won't be posted until after the official BBC airing, and if I get busy I might even hold off until I see it on the CBC.

And, by the way, in case anyone was still under the impression that the first episode was leaked intentionally, apparently an employee of a third-party Canadian company with access to the preview tape was sacked for leaking it. The headlines predictably said, "Canadian Exterminated".

UPDATE: According to Outpost Gallifrey, the transmission of the new Doctor Who had an annoying bleed-in of sound from another channel, leading to such fun things as people applauding when Rose walks in a scary corridor, and one of the bad guys talking with the voice of Graham Norton when he should have been moving in menacing silence. *sigh*

UPDATE: Ok, I've seen the problem copy. I didn't watch the entire episode through, but enough to get an idea of when the audio glitch was, and to check out the "next week" preview. The audio problem was very distracting and at a bad moment, as that scene is a mood-setting one. The new theme is COOL though, and works well with the new opening sequence. And next week's episode looks good, too. And has the advantage of me not having seen it five times already.

by Tegan at 8:10 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Happy birthday, Tristan! I only met you once, but you're my nephew and so I hope you have a happy day.

by Tegan at 7:10 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Friday, March 25, 2005

I'm afraid I'm responsible for inadvertantly slashdotting* Arcane Times, the web comic by Studio Foglio henchman Cheyenne Wright. I saw his latest strip, which featured "Will Wheaton" and wrote to Wil about it. The result was this post, and Arcane Times has been down ever since.

On the plus side, I got an e-mail from Wil thanking me for the link!

Update: Cheyenne knows he spelled Wil Wheaton's name wrong. Heh.

Update: Cheyenne mirrored the strip so everyone can see it. The "crime he didn't commit" was taking his girlfriend to the convention where she mentioned "Galactica '80".

*For anyone not in the know, "slashdotting" refers to the ability to overwhelm a server simply by posting a link to the site. In Keenspace's case, the server couldn't handle the load from WWDN.

by Tegan at 6:01 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Transcript: Hello! This is Laura Gjovaag. I'm posting a filler audioblog to make up for the last two Sunday audioblogs that were lost. Audioblogger apparently lost my password to my regular blog, so I had to reset that. Um, it didn't indicate that it had lost the password, it just lost it. And that was why it didn't post the last two posts, I guess.

Anyway, those are toast as far as I can tell, I'm not going to be able to get them back. But, um, I remember what I said, sorta.

The first one was, um, two weeks ago Sunday, and it was about the weather we were having, beautiful beautiful sunny weather. I was at the in-law's, I was sitting on -on the deck and I was looking at Mount Rainier and I was just looking at the -the gorgeous weather. The sunshine, the -it was almost 70 degrees, I could swear. Ehm, I'm sure it wasn't quite that hot, but it sure felt like it. I was looking at the trees, the beautiful colors, Seattle was just in bloom two weeks ago. And I was thinking about all the posts I've been seeing from people back East, like Elayne and so on, and about the snow and the ice and the cold back East and I was thinking "Wow, this is quite a contrast."

Anyway. Um, my second post, last week's, was actually about the rain. I was driving in the car, well actually Eric was driving, I was riding in the car with Eric and uh, he actually had a nice little cameo, he said "Hello." Just talking about the rain. It was interesting, uh, when it rained some people in Seattle seemed to think that was gonna -that meant that there won't be a drought. But, uh, they don't seem to realize, y'know, it's the snowpack. It has nothing to do with the rain in Seattle. And the snowpack, there just is no snow now. It's -it's snowless. Snowless in Seattle? It's pretty sad. And without the snowpack there's gonna be a drought, so we're all expecting a drought, and we're already starting our water conservation efforts here. Um, I've stopped washing my van completely, we never water our lawn so that wasn't a problem. I'm timing my showers and making them shorter, and uh, just generally trying to use less water. It will take an effort of a lot more people than just me, but at least I know I'm doing my part.

So, let's see... still working on getting my leg all healed. Um. It hurts right now. It hurts a lot. But hopefully I'll be fixed up in time to do the 3-Day, and actually to train for the 3-Day. Got eighteen weeks left. Uh... checking out lots of graphic novels from the library, tons of stuff. I'm just reading so much. It means I haven't been reading the regular comics, I still haven't read all of last week's, and this week's I can just forget about it. But um, yeah. Lots of graphic novels, lots of fun.

And uh, I think that's just about it that I wanted to say, so, I'd better close this if I can remember what button to push... *beep*

by Tegan at 7:37 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Here's another set of reviews based on the recommendations I got from this post. These are in no particular order... just the order that they arrived from the library and I started to read them.

Blade of the Immortal: Blood of a Thousand by Hiroaki Samura. I figured this one was a certain hit for me, as I love the samurai epics I've read. However, the book threw me off right on the very first page with a picture of what appears to be a Christian church... in fuedal Japan. It took me a long time to figure out what was going on, much longer than I like. In fact, I'm still unclear on a couple of the details, like exactly how Manji got immortal in the first place. As I finished the book, though, I liked it more and more. The style is not the same as other samurai books, which is really a good thing. If I had to describe it, this would be street tough/punk style samurai epic instead of the way of Bushido. Not my favorite of the books I've read so far, but certainly worth a look. I was a bit disturbed by the bright green label the library had put on the book that says "Shelve with YA Graphic Novels". I would not consider this a young adult book, if only for the graphic violence. I wouldn't let any child I was responsible for read this one, personally, until I was certain they could handle it. But then, I'm not in charge of the library shelving, and I believe in parents actually parenting their children, so I won't make a fuss.
Recommended by TangognaT. Will I read more? Yes.

Alice 19th by Yu Watase. Ah, the Manga "formula" (if there is one) shows up here. Young girl with crush on handsome guy, only there's another girl in the way... but secretly the handsome guy really loves the first girl. Love triangles seem to be very common in Manga, from what little I've read. Still, the characters and the writing tend to make up for it. In this case, there's a white rabbit and a girl named Alice who accidently visits another world. Beyond that rough description, there isn't much in common with Alice in Wonderland, but the author acknowledges in notes on the sides of some pages that there was a bit of inspiration drawn there. This one is certainly intriguing, and I think I'll give it some more volumes.
Recommended by TangognaT. Will I read more? Yes.

Hikaru No Go by Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata. Wow. This is great! A few weeks ago, a woman came into the shop I work at looking for a Go board. We didn't have any inexpensive ones in stock, unfortunately, but she chatted with the boss a bit. She explained that her son was reading this great Japanese comic book and wanted to learn how to play Go now. The book? Hikaru No Go, about a young man who is possessed by the spirit of an ancient Go Master, and starts to learn the game despite himself. My boss didn't seem to think much of it, even when told that children in Japan are learning Go in record numbers in part thanks to this book, but I immediately wanted to find a copy and read it. So when Dave Lartigue recommended it, there wasn't any question that I would be checking it out. And, to my surprise, it's even better than I thought it would be. I don't want to give anything away, but I want to collect this whole series now. This is a great book. Highly recommended.
Recommended by Dave Lartigue. Will I read more? OH Yes.

So, do you have any more suggestions for me? Do you think I should start buying Shonen Jump?

by Tegan at 11:25 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Carol suggested I do a blog about why I don't think twelve-issue series should be called "mini" series, but I'm in too much pain to think that through and come up with any reasonable argument. So I'll leave it to you to think about. And yes, I'm now three weeks behind on my comic book reviews. Boo. Hoo.

by Tegan at 9:16 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Teen Titans: Family Lost: This arc, featuring Raven and Brother Blood, was completely forgetable. There were some nice info dumps, but the story as a whole didn't really do much for me.

Y: The Last Man - Cycles: Yorick finds the ideal community, only to discover that it has a dark secret. This is another strong tale, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. My biggest problem is that we still haven't learned what killed the men, or how Yorick survived. On the other hand, the story is strong enough that I nearly forgot about it while reading.

Invincible: Family Matters: I'd always wanted to give Invicible a try, as I kept hearing that's it's a nice superhero book. And it is nice. I liked the tale a lot, especially when Mark first realizes he has powers. I also liked the matter-of-fact way that Mark's mother handles the stress of being married to a superhero. I also liked Mark's fitting for his costume. I also like how he got his costume. Ok, so I liked most of the book. Definitely worth a peek for superhero fans.

by Tegan at 7:12 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Monday, March 21, 2005

But it's still here. Why does blogger pull stunts like this?

by Tegan at 4:20 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

I'm not even gonna try to comment on these. I need to cut down on my list of blogs...

Extremely good news from hubby-Eric.

Rest in peace, Andre Norton. Like others, she was my first science fiction and she introduced me to the concept of checking out tons of books from the library to take home and read. The library at Dimmitt had a full shelf of her books. Further tributes here.

Elayne points us to Animated Math GIFs.

Fanboy Rampage reports that Kurt Busiek is writing the intro to True Story, Swear To God: This One Goes To 11. I would have bought it anyway, but maybe it will convince some other folks to try it?

Larry Young vs The Psychic Cop.

Wil Wheaton on blogging and the way the media misrepresents it.

Modulator points us to a map that shows how names move across the United States. Unfortunately, Gjovaag isn't one they track.

Various and Sundry points us to 13 Things That Do Not Make Sense. Very Fortean.

Archive.org tries to offer free media storage... but can't handle the Slashdot load.

A useful Retirement Plan.

The best ever car chase scene is in The French Connection, says Yahoo.

What's a drought? Handy reference site for kids. This'll be Seattle this summer.

by Tegan at 4:14 PM Seattle time - Permalink   

Here's my first set of reviews based on the recommendations I got from this post. These are in no particular order... just the order that they arrived from the library and I started to read them.

Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind (Perfect Collection 1) by Hayao Miyazaki. A fascinating, and very involved, tale of a young princess with strange powers in a post-apocalyptic world. I can't say I loved it. The artwork is great, typical Miyazaki. The story is a little convoluted. While it could possibly be the translation, there were a number of moments that didn't flow terribly well. It's also got a ton of cliches, from the wise old teacher to the princess who has to take on the role of leader even though she's female. I do plan on reading the whole series, at least all of it I can get through the library, and I plan on seeing the movie. But I can't say that I loved it right off... It's good. And I bet it reads better on rereads. But for my rapid opinion, it's merely mildly recommended.
Recommended by TangognaT, Dave Carter, and Dave Lartigue. Will I read more? Yes.

Mai The Psychic Girl by Kazuya Kudo and Ryoichi Ikegami. Ah, this one hit one of my weak spots. I really like tales about girls with strange powers who have to figure out who and what they are before horrible things happen. This reminded me a little of The Girl With The Silver Eyes, which I read when I was young and loved. This is considerably more intense, and yet just as gentle... not to mention the very nice artwork. By the end of this collection I wanted to know what was going to happen to Mai, and if her father survived. It definitely drew me in.
Recommended by Dave Carter. Will I read more? Yes.

Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa. I took one look at this one after checking it out and felt my eyes rolling. Gee, fashion. Just what I don't like. But, I promised to read it, so I started in on it. And although it has that same frenetic style that bothered me with Cardcaptor Sakura, the art is very nice and the story was compelling. The characters are completely wild, but we are being introduced to them through the bored and jaded eyes of absolutely normal Yukari. I found myself giggling repeatedly at the situations that poor Yukari gets herself into, usually through no fault of her own. In the end I realized I was really enjoying it. Yes, it was a little difficult to get used to, but fun once I did. And the fashion angle? Well, I can live with it.
Recommended by Dave Carter. Will I read more? Yes.

by Tegan at 7:44 AM Seattle time - Permalink   

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Well, I audioblogged last Sunday and it never showed up. I audioblogged a couple more times to see if it was completely broken, then I contacted Audioblogger support. I still haven't heard back from them. Or from Blogger support as to why Audioblogger support never answered me. I suspect if I get a response, it'll take awhile longer. Still, I'll keep audioblogging in the hopes that an entry will show. Last week's not-yet-seen-or-heard entry was about the beautiful weather. I think I'll say something about the return of the rain this week. If it doesn't show up... well, I guess you won't get a chance to hear it then.

by Tegan at 3:37 PM Seattle time - Permalink