Automated Attack Monkeys, Scalpel Mines, & Acid

Whoniversary Ebooks

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 18:21:52 GMT

So they've released the name of the first author of the Whoniversary Ebooks and it's Eoin Colfer. I have no problem with this, I like his work. I am now going to engage in rampant speculation about who else might be on the list. Apparently they are all children's authors. What the definition of children's author they are using is, I do not know. magister says he'd like to see Salman Rushdie on the list, and Mr R has written children's books... The ones I am willing to suggest might be on the list are as follows:

GNeil, obviously, because he's been tweeting about research for a Who project and his cybermen story for the Welsh series is all done and written because they've been filming it.

JKR is strongly rumoured too.

PTerry and/or Rihanna Pratchett would be on my wishlist.

Julia Donaldson, Michael Morpurgo, Anthony Horowitz, Cressida Cowell, Jaqueline Wilson, Charlie Higson and Babette Cole are also names I would put in the frame. And Allan Ahlberg. Possibly some of those are dead... Roald Dahl would be amazing if he were still going.

Who do you guys think might be put forward?

comments

What has it got in its pocketses? A DISCWORLD book?

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 23:46:26 GMT

I had my first view of An Unexpected Journey tonight. I'm going to see it again tomorrow with Holly (who is mega excited for it) and my mum; will hopefully do a proper review tomorrow, but suffice to say it's bloody fabulous, EXTREMELY faithful to the book(s)*, and Gollum is the cutest most loveliest thing ever.

The thing I want to blog about tonight, though, is VINDICATION. There was argument about whether or not LotR dwarves are like Discworld dwarves (i.e. indeterminate gender identity). I am firmly on the side of HELL YES THEY ARE, and furthermore Gimli is clearly a bisexual lady who has an elf fetish. There are others who are... less convinced of this than I am. HOWEVER, in The Hobbit, when Gandalf is describing Radagast to the company he uses THE EXACT WORDS used to describe Ridcully the Brown when he is first introduced in the Discworld books. Obviously the desciption give of Ridcully is meant to conjure up images of Radagast, so it's a nice nod. But it also means that the writers have explicitly considered Discworld, THEREFORE it is quite legitimate to play guess the gender identity with the company dwarves.

Amirite? I ARE RITE!

Of those in the film, I don't want to make definitive pronouncements about any but two. Oin is definitely a boy; that type of campness is something I have never seen in anyone who wasn't cis male. And Thorin is definiely a girl. That lustrous hair, that silky beard, that way with using improvised weapons; she's the only one who organises things, she's the most sensible, and she's by far the huggiest of the dwarves**.

I lean towards saying that Bombur, Biffur, Balin and Fili and Kili are ladies too***, but I wouldn't say for definite. Dwalin I would say is probably a bloke. The others are, in my head at least, genderqueer.

Anyhew, I am a happy bunny, I enjoyed the film very much, and I thought Thorin was an excellent heroine :)

* as in, the bits that are in there which aren't in The Hobbit are almost all from Tolkein's expansions.
** You might say that I am being somewhat stereotypical about gender roles here; possibly I am. But it beats saying that the only girls in the film were Galadriel (who admittedly has a far bigger part to play than she was given by JRR), a few hobbit extras, and an unnamed elf playing the flute...
*** Which makes the regular fatshaming of Bombur extra depressing...

comments

Book "review": a First Look at the Reader's Digest Complete Guide To Sewing

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:29:58 GMT

When I was a youngun my dad had the Reader's Digest Complete DIY Manual, and it was bloody fabulous. Clear, concise, well illustrated, and comprehensive, The DIY Book (as it was referred to in our house) rarely ever got put back on the shelf, because it was so constantly in use. It had step by step instructions for how to do EVERYTHING a DIY enthusiast might possibly want to, and a few things that even my dad baulked at trying. So when I decided to take up machine sewing recently, and a couple of websites (yes I'm looking at you, patternreview.com) recommended the equivalent book for sewing, I figgered I'd give it a go.

Now, you CAN get this book in a brand new edition for upwards of twenty quid, but me being me I got it secondhand in an old edition for the princely sum of two pounds and eighty-six pence. Most of the discussion I had seen around this book seemed to agree that in terms of balance of illustrations to text, and topics covered, the 1976 edition was the one to go for, so that's what arrived in the post this morning. For a 35 year old huge great hardback book it's in pretty good condition, especially to say I paid less than three quid for it. The spine isn't damaged, it's got its dust cover, and none of the pages are falling out or damaged. I think the reasons it was so cheap is that it smells faintly of someone else's tobacco smoke. This is something I can happily live with.

But you don't want to hear about the physical book, do you? It's the contents that matter. Well, I've only had a flick through, but from first glance it appears to be everything The DIY Book was, but for sewing. With comprehensive and well-illustrated instructions on setting up a sewing area, looking after a machine, and all types of actual sewing and garment construction, I can see this book being very useful, and I'm very glad I spent that 2.86. Given that you can pick it up for so little (or even SEW little, ha, I kill myself) secondhand, it's certainly worth a look for anyone who is thinking about taking up sewing to see what's involved, too. It's certainly cheaper than taking a punt on a sewing course at the local adult education centre, which is what I have done. If you haven't got a good secondhand bookshop nearby, there's always ABEbooks.

comments

The Blood is The Life 15-04-2012

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 09:00:02 GMT

Philmo Phlegm's Cut-out and Keep Guide to British Newspapers
This is a really useful thing, since I often see (particularly) American blogs taking things seriously which appear on the websites of various newspapers. My optional addition: definition to the Daily Fail's "their" - "they" are clearly women, gays and immigrants. Bisexuals and Transfolk don't exist, except as horrors, in the Mail's fevered collective "brain"
(tags: media )
Germany - Books - Price Fixing - New York Times
Can has German book-pricing system pls?
(tags: books )
Brain in a Jar
Bug report sent to the creator of humanity
(tags: )
The Royal Society of Edinburgh | Report
I 3 U Sottish Royal Society
(tags: )
Why We Are Fat - Bostonia Winter-Spring 2012
(tags: )
A Simple Commitment to reducing sexism in STEM
(tags: feminism )
Mirror mirror on the wall, which movie breaks the most gender stereotypes of them all? «
Food for thought, certainly
(tags: )
The Reaction To 'Girls Around Me' Was Far More Disturbing Than The 'Creepy' App Itself - Forbes
Agreed one hundred per cent. The reaction to Girls Around Me was the biggest proof that we live in a victim-blaming rape culture I have seen.
(tags: )
A picture’s worth a thousand words – thoughts on internet privacy -
"I don’t believe that having a public persona online needs to be a risky enterprise, and it seems like plenty of people are able to manage that without being attacked, stalked, or otherwise targeted. If we’re saying that’s only true for one half of the population, then I don’t think this is really a conversation about internet privacy as much as it’s a conversation about whether it’s safe to be a woman and live in public. If the answer to that is “no”, then I think we’ve got bigger problems than ‘Girls Around Me.’" Word.
(tags: )

comments

The Blood is The Life 10-04-2012

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:00:07 GMT

Fairy tales: The Anti-Grimm | The Economist
Sexism in Grimm compared ith another, more enlightened collector of folk stories from the same country and time.
(tags: )
Well, it is jubilee year... Queen's 'Greatest Hits' is Britain's best-selling album of past half-century - News - Music - The Independent
I've got 15 of these, and there's a couple more I mean to get around to buying at some point.
(tags: music )
BBC News - Saudi princess: What I'd change about my country
(tags: )
The Next Time Someone Says the Internet Killed Reading Books, Show Them This Chart - Alexis Madrigal - Technology - The Atlantic
(tags: books )
Is some homophobia self-phobia?
(tags: lgbt )
Teakay's Blog: The Wreck of the Titan: Fourteen Years On
The only item I am likely to enjoy about the anniversary of the wreck of the Titanic
(tags: )
Liberal England: Kenneth Clarke on why politicians must sometimes say no to the security services
So we still need CONSTANT VIGILANCE then.
(tags: )
DC Women Kicking Ass - Avengers Legos now available
Lego Hulk is so precious! And I bet Holly will want Lego Thor
(tags: )

comments

The Blood is The Life 06-04-2012

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 09:00:01 GMT

32 die a week after failing test for new incapacity benefit - Investigations
Jesus Christ this is horrendous
(tags: workfare )
BBC News - Where are you on the global pay scale?
My wage is 24% of the United Kingdom average and 50% of the world average. And the average wage in KAzakstan is more than I earn.
(tags: work )
What I May Do With My Naked Body: A Reply to Azar Majedi About the #NudePhotoRevolutionaries Calendar | Greta Christina's Blog
"It pisses me off that I’ve spent decades being told by other feminists how to be a good girl. It pisses me off that, because I said, “Hey, here’s a photo of my naked body [...]”… other women are presuming to chide me for being a bad feminist. Yes, we live in a sexist culture, in which women have no good choices when it comes to our bodies. We live in a sexist culture in which women are valued primarily as sexual objects, and at the same time are shamed for our sexuality. It seems to me that we have two choices as to how to respond to this. We can try to navigate the narrow, essentially impossible shoals of these contradictory expectations, and try to find that perfect, socially acceptable line between slut and prude. Or we can say,“Fuck it. There is no way I can win — so I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want.[...]" And in saying, “I can’t win, so I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want to do,” we can create the beginnings of a victory." READ THE WHOLE POST
(tags: feminism )
MintChip: The evolution of currency | MintChip Developer Resources
oooooooooo
(tags: cool )
pseudomonas | Another day, another stupid idea.
... Because apparently the government of which my party is a part has a death wish.
(tags: )
How NOT to gain readers and influence bloggers
"I shouldn't have to get assertive. I shouldn't have to constantly build myself up to be able to guard my space and cause unpleasantness. I shouldn't have to be on the defensive. It should be people like this guy who should respect my space and leave me be. So don't tell me to be more assertive. Tell jackasses like him not to be so creepy and awkward."
(tags: feminism )
What if Doctor Who were a Super Nintendo roleplaying game?
(tags: DoctorWho )
What Would “Insert YA Heroine Here” Do?
I love Hermione. Bella made me giggle too.
(tags: books )
Matt Smith: The Doctor will see you now - Features - TV & Radio - The Independent
(tags: )
What's the difference between Doctor Who and Scooby Doo?
Click to find out
(tags: DoctorWho )
Outrage over plan to withdraw housing benefit from under-25s | Society | The Guardian
"previous changes to housing benefit will force people with spare rooms to downsize and penalise those with adult children living at home, these policies appear completely contradictory"
(tags: )

comments

The Blood is The Life 29-03-2012

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:00:09 GMT

libdemchild, aged 11: £20 for the Tory Party
Maelo is fab, isn't she? :)
(tags: libdemmery )
andrewducker | I shall keep whining about the awful way that ebooks are sold until they fix it*.
*And by "fix it" I include "They all go bust/copyright ceases to exist/aliens destroy mankind", in increasing order of likelihood.
(tags: books funny )
Is it OK for a job interviewer to ask for your Facebook login? - The Globe and Mail
(tags: )
The Best Birth Control In The World Is For Men | Techcitement*
(tags: )
The next time there is a funding scandal under this system we should force the leader to resign
(tags: )
Hacking IT systems to become a criminal offence
It already IS in the UK. And I see they have added a version of "going equipped" - i.e. owning a computer - to this, which means the rozers can feel free to exercise all their dirty little prejudices with immunity, just like they do or all other going equipped offences.
(tags: law )
BBC News - Charities leaving Work Programme claim payments too low
Chris Grayling clearly only understands contract negotiations from the side of the more powerful party :/
(tags: workfare )

comments

The Blood is The Life 25-03-2012

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 09:00:01 GMT

When Batman met the Muppets
Poor Batman
(tags: comics )
Edinburgh Pirate Party - Say No to Minimum Alcohol Prices
If I was ever to leave the Lib Dems it'd be Piratewards I would go.
(tags: politics )
Improbable Research » The World's Most Prolific Author
Note to Andrew Hickey: come on lad, catch up!
(tags: books )
So, Mr Lansley, what would you like to do to my uterus today?
Milena tackles the continued sneaky assaults on abortion rights by the right wing press and their colluders in government: "when the Health Secretary is shocked and outraged that doctors provide basic medical care to women, let's make sure he understands we're outraged too. We're outraged that we are not trusted to make our own decisions about our own bodies. We're outraged that, instead of bringing UK abortion law into the 21st century, he and his party are looking to put more obstacles in the way of women seeking an abortion."
(tags: bloodytories )
darthcorrie on the Doctor's new companion
Given that all we have to judge her on is the photo, here are my thoughts: - she looks younger than she does in other publicity shots - she looks kind of impish. I like that - WTF is that JUMPER? Eurgh - Is it me, or is there a hint of cat-nun-nurse-thing from New Earth?
(tags: DoctorWho )

comments

The Blood is The Life 04-03-2012

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 09:00:01 GMT

10 reasons to celebrate a decade of BBC4 - Den of Geek
(tags: bbc )
Raspberry Pi network plan for online free-speech role
(tags: raspberrypi )
The revolution will be... privatised
(tags: politics )
Stop the beer duty escalator - e-petitions
(tags: beer work )
The Health and Social Security Bill is an unholy mess. Drop it now.
(tags: )
The Story of the Scully Box
Gillian Andersons is taller than me....
(tags: )
Raspberry Pi « The Artesea
Ryan details trying to get hold of a Pi. Me, I'm waiting for the rush to die down.
(tags: technology )
Is the Kindle Getting a Color Screen? | PCWorld
If they start making colour e-ink displays, getting an e-reader makes a lot more sense, especially for a comic junkie like me.
(tags: books )

comments

More Book Reviewage: Killer Instinct by Zoe Sharp

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 04:03:08 GMT

Here's my review for another kindling: Killer Instinct by Zoe Sharp

I am a female motorcyclist and occasional karateka who lives in the north of England: I therefore couldn't resist downloading this book.

Charlie Fox is a very well-realised character. She has an authentic voice, and the immediacy and quirks of her dialogue were all very familiar to me. The precision of the author's descriptions of motorcycling are matched by the delightfully eccentric descriptions she uses for characters - the one springing to mind is the minor character whose cleft chin hangs off his face "like a small pair of buttocks".

Charlie's initial characterisation, as a rape survivor who still has some elements of self-blame, was hard for me to cope with, but principally because it was so well done. There are few rape survivors who don't blame themselves to some degree, and Charlie's initial reaction of learning self defence and then teaching it to others is an understandable one, even if I have some political qualms about putting the responsibility of preventing rape onto the victims, rather than the perpetrators. Charlie's growing refusal to let herself be a victim, and her determination to help herself and others, are a tough but rewarding read.

Her growth throughout the story feels genuine and evolutionary, rather than forced as some Tough Female Leads (TM) can seem. Through the course of the book I really grew to like and respect her as a person; her thought processes are well-detailed, and her moral dilemmas resonate strongly. By the final passages I was almost literally cheering her on.

The plot of the story isn't massively original, and I'm a devourer of detective fiction in all media, so I had most of it worked out well before the revelations, but bits of how we get to the end still came as surprises. It's a reasonably good crime thriller plot, but nothing more.

In summary then: the plot is merely good, but the characters, especially the lead, are outstanding and the descriptive passages are a delight. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes detective fiction, but with a warning that there are some triggery passages in there for rape and domestic violence survivors.

I picked this up as a special offer freebie, but in my estimation it's well worth the three quid it would normally cost, so long as you like detective fiction and you can cope with the triggery bits.

comments

The Blood is The Life 03-03-2012

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 09:00:01 GMT

Fantasy Shipping Forecast
This is SO radio 4! I love it!
(tags: funny )
Accurate representation of my relationship with my breasts
(tags: boobies )
Apple censoring ebooks that contain links to other webstores
(tags: books )
Lego Optical illusions - a set on Flickr
(tags: )
Domestic violence blighted my home. That's why I support Refuge | Patrick Stewart | Comment is free | The Guardian
Patrick Stewart: made of awesome
(tags: feminism )
Torches of Freedom: Women and Smoking Propaganda » Sociological Images
“Cigarettes were a symbol of the penis and of male sexual power…Women would smoke because it was then that they’d have their own penises.”
(tags: smoking )
Single Dad Learns Comics for His Daughter
* melts *
(tags: parenting comics )
Large Hadron Collider-Inspired Quilts
Want one.
(tags: furnishings )

comments

Fulfilling a promise to @stealthmunchkin

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:43:40 GMT

I can't sleep, so I downloaded a book to my kindle app and read it. I did this by searching for free kindle books with high ratings and picking ones that looked vaguely interesting. Then I remembered that I promised Andrew that if I got a new book, I would review it. So I did. This is the book, and here is my review:

I'm not going to say that this is the best book I have ever read, but it's better than many. The present tense narrative grated at first, but you soon get used to it, and the story drags you in pretty quickly. There are a couple of scenes in the book that some people might find upsetting, and the language and concepts are definitely not for the faint-hearted. It's also mildly disappointing to discover that even a couple of hundred years into a dystopian future the gender roles are still fairly intact, and all the powerful characters (chief of police, president, etc. etc.) are male, even while the protagonist is female.

All that said, the world-building is competent, the characters are engaging, the story rattles along at a fair pace, and there are a couple of neat narrative touches subverting the genre (the cliche of violet eyes among them).

There are certainly worse ways to spend a couple of hours than reading this book, and I'll probably pick the next in the series up at some point, if only to find out what happens to Alice.

comments

The Blood is The Life 23-02-2012

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:00:02 GMT

The Consolation of Art
Holly has a fabuolous way of describing things in a very evocative manner. This is her waiting for a bus...
(tags: awesome )
Why internet piracy happens
(contains one v rude swearword)
(tags: copyright )
The Future Is Gender Distributed - Charlie's Diary
Interesting article; interesting comments too. Note that "interesting" means interesting, not "I agree with everything said here"
(tags: )
The creators of Doctor Who were a scandal
Fascinating stuff about very early Doctor Who
(tags: DoctorWho )
Google to Sell Heads-Up Display Glasses by Year's End - NYTimes.com
Hot damn, I want.
(tags: technology )
No, It’s Not Equal
(tags: comics )
A Request To All Readers – Review Books You’ve Bought
I shall try to do this.
(tags: books )
Doctor Who series 7: first picture, guest stars, 14 episodes confirmed - Den of Geek
(tags: DoctorWho )
Pirate shoes!
(tags: pirates )
High quality lightweight children’s bikes from Islabikes
Non-sexist bike manufacturer shock!
(tags: feminism )
SIGNAL BOOST: Can you help HAmmer find “lost” / censored footage?
If you can, I for one, would be grateful?
(tags: film )
Mikel Janín: My first cover for DC Comics!
Those who blame the artists for comics being overly focussed on T&A; should take a look at this: artist draws a pretty sexy cover, and is asked to "tweak" it to make Zatanna's tits hang out...
(tags: comics )

comments

The Blood is The Life 14-02-2012

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:00:05 GMT

Those new Liberal Democrat groups explained
Yet another splinter group was launched yesterday. I fully agree with Jonathan Calder about the lot of them.
(tags: )
TARDIS Eruditorum: A Psychochronography in Blue: You Were Expecting Someone Else 8 (Alan Moore's Doctor Who Work)
I must confess to not having read Moore's Who stuff, and that my first thought on clicking through to this was "if he only did 28 pages, did he have time to fit the rapes in?" Not that I think the much vaunted Moore is fond of some troubling tropes or anything...
(tags: )
Literary Characters, as drawn by a police sketch computer programme
Rochester is eerily like my imagined picture. Sam Spade is just ODD, but that's probably because he looks nothing like Bogey. The scariest one is Emma Bovary, who looks like a scowling Anna Ford
(tags: photos books )
Valentine Dilemma
This is so familiar.
(tags: funny )

comments

Booklist 2011: ##4-7 Winston's War by Michael Dobbs and a trio of Batbooks

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:05:50 GMT

#4: Winston's War - Michael Dobbs

A fictionalised account of Churchill's rise to power and his interactions with Guy Burgess. It's a fairly interesting "inspired by real events" tale, but the historical inaccuracies annoyed me too much for me to really enjoy this. The Churchill isn't as annoyingly inaccurate as Ian McNeice's in Victory of the Daleks, but there are still bits of the character that rankle. When a person is so well known from his own words and proper historical document, discrepancies tend to stick out like a sore thumb, and such is the case with Dobbs' characterisation of Churchill. An example being his political allegiances; any party was a flag of convenience for Churchill. He was as ideologically attached to the Liberals and the national liberals as he was to the Tories, and to pretend he was a true blue Tory is wishful thinking from this most Conservative of writers.

Another irritation was his portrayal of Chamberlain as a bumbling fool. This might accord with popular belief, but it doesn't accord with fact. Chamberlain was a tactician who bought us time, not an idiot who sold us down the river, and to pretend otherwise is an injustice.

If you're not bothered by this sort of thing, though, it's a fairly enjoyable and accessible pageturner. Just don't read it expecting the truth. 5/10

#5: Batman: Harley and Ivy - Paul Dini & Judd Winick (writers), Bruce Timm (artist and cover artist), Joe Chiodo, Shane Glines, Ronnie del Carmen and lots of other people (artists)

This is a compilation book of three distinct Harley and Ivy stories. The first follows the formula of the Harley and Ivy episode of Batman the Animated Series, albeit with a different plot. The second is my favourite; a short story which is entirely based on the friendship and interaction between the two titular characters. The third is different in artistic style, and suffers slightly from that in my view.

Poison Ivy is hands-down my favourite female batvillain. She's an ecowarrior and a feminist, and as such I find her somewhat of an identification character. I share her frustration with Harley and her inability to escape her abusive relationship with the Joker, and I love her confidence and don't-give-a-damn attitude.

Harley is more problematic for me. Her senseless unrequited love for the Joker annoys me no end. She's an intelligent woman, and she ought to have woken up by now. And yet, this aspect of her character is sadly believable also... That said, the way she and Ivy play off each other is beautiful. They are two women who, within the obvious constraints of appearing in the DC universe, are entirely believable characters, and not just ciphers.

I really enjoyed this book, despite my reservations about Joe Chiodo's art in the third story. Overall it gets 8/10.

Batman: Battle for the Cowl/Gotham Gazette - Tony S Daniel (writer, penciller, some covers), Fabian Nicieza (writer), Dustin Nguyen (artist and cover artist), Guillem March, Chris Cross, Jamie McKelvie, Alex Konat and Mark McKenna (artists), Sandu Florea (inker), Ian Hannin, Guy Major and Guillem March (colourists), Jared K Fletcher and Steve Wands (letterers)

Here I am catching up with the important stuff that's happened in the Batverse since The Long Halloween (more of which later), which was when I was last really embedded in Batfandom. I knew vaguely what had gone on in this series, but I wanted to actually read it.

Things I found out that I didn't know before include Jason Todd is still alive, Vicki Vale has returned to Gotham, and Dick Grayson/Nightwing definitely dresses to the left.

Toby S Daniel's art in Battle for the Cowl is stunning. One can quibble about his incredibly unrealistic portrayal of the human form, but the balance and composition of the pages is glorious. The writing, though, is more patchy. IMHO story and characters should drive each other, and there are several places in this where it feels like characters are there pointlessly, not adding to or being added to by the plot.

Gotham Gazette, on the other hand, has beautiful but less strikingly comic-book artwork, and the writing is very good indeed. Having fallen in love with Steph Brown while reading Batgirl Rising, it was lovely to see her concentrated on in such a sensitive fashion. Leslie Thompkins is another character I am fond of, and she gets some nice writing here too, cementing her as a strong moral compass in the series. And dear old Harvey Bullock gets to be his usual pain in the butt self.

One character I thought was underused in both these stories was Barbara Gordon - but that might be because I have been reading Birds of Prey too, and she's AWESOME in that (props to Gail Simone). I am now slightly worried that I am morphing into innerbrat, though...

The second part of this I find much preferable to the first part, but overall I'd recommend it. 7/10

Batman: The Long Halloween - Jeph Loeb (writer), Tim Sale (artist), Gregory Wright (colourist), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letterers)

This originally came out in 1996/1997, and was the last batseries I got involved with before going to university. When I was at uni I totally failed to keep up with US comics (although I kept 2000AD on), and have only been a dabbler since. It's thus a milestone story for me, even if it isn't for Batman. I kept it going even when I abandoned all other Bats because of Two-Face. I've always felt him to be interesting, and he's generally just used as a goon in a lot of batsuff. The Animated Series used him well, and I wanted to see more of that kind of storyline.

What The Long Halloween is, is a fleshing out and retelling of the Two-Face origins story, set around and just after the events of Batman: Year One. Everyone knows that Harvey Dent became Two-Face when Boss Maroni threw acid in his face in the courtroom, but that tends to be the extent of popular knowledge. This is a thirteen issue examination of who he was before, his relationships with Batman and Jim Gordon, and his relationship with his wife, Gilda. It's beautifully and immersively written, and the art is stunning. The final twist is a sideswipe you do not see coming, but it makes perfect sense. HArvey is a person, and his motivations are believable, and so are all the other characters. Alfred is great in this too, even though his part is small.

The other thing this story does, is detail the development of Gotham, from an ordinary American city with it's share of Mafioso to a land of crazy supervillains. Jim Gordon, watching this happen to the city he loves, is particularly moving in this regard.

I really, really love this story. It's male-centric, and the female characters are only there because they are WAGs, but I can forgive it that for the beauty and scope of the story. The one other quibble I have is with the lettering: sometimes the lettering is hard to make out against the background colours. Those two issues in conjunction are enough for me to rob it of the perfect ten, so it gets 9/10

comments

Booklist 2011 #2 Batgirl Rising and #3 Ghost Stories of an Antiquary

Sun, 09 Jan 2011 05:00:25 GMT

Batgirl Rising - Writer: Bryan Q. Miller. Pencillers: Tim Levins, Trevor Scott & Lee Garbett. Inkers: Trevor Scott, Dan Davis, Aaron Sowd, Sandra Hope, & Oliver Nome. Colorist: Guy Major. Letterer: John J Hill. Covers: Phil Moto

Jeez, you can't just say "by" with a comic book, can you? I have been inactive in Batfandom for a while now - since the Long Halloween, really - although I've kept up with some of the important stuff via Debi. So I knew there was doing to be a new Batgirl, and I knew that she was going to be ex-Spoiler and one-time Robin, Stephanie Brown.

What I didn't really expect was how important original Batgirl (and one of my all-time favourite characters) Barbara Gordon was going to be in this story arc. I am loving the interaction between Steph and O, and the way they behave towards Dick Grayson Batman and ~~the most annoying~~ Robin ~~ever~~, Damian. And, you know, first important villain was Scarecrow, who is also one of my faves, although I have to say he was a bit underused... The scene where Steph is almost beaten by him and then rises and fights back is beautiful, though. Beautifully written, beautifully drawn, and Barbara finally referring to her as Batgirl was earned, and well done.

Props for having a barely-commented-upon gay couple in this paperback too. I enjoyed this very much, and hope to keep up with how Steph is getting on. 9/10

Ghost Stories of an Antiquary - Montague Rhodes James

This is comfort reading for me. I am up very late tonight due to anxiety over something I can do nothing about, so I am reading a book I know backwards to take my mind off things. The Ash Tree. Lost Hearts. The Treasure of Abbot Thomas. And, of course, the amazing Oh Whistle and I'll Come To You, My Lad... I could probably recite them, if I tried.

Hopefully the anxiousness-causing-thing will be cleared up tomorrow, but until it is getting lost in Monty's dry, dusty, academic prose style will alleviate things a bit. You know how HP Lovecraft has an instantly recognisable style, and Poe? Well so does Monty, and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, even though it's all about unknown and unknowable horrors from the beyond.

10/10

comments

Booklist 2011 #1: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 23:18:48 GMT

Yeah, I know, everybody else has already read it. I didn't like it, so this isn't going to be a long review. Something about the prose style put me off from caring about the characters, even though you'd think the titular Girl would be right up my alley. And I hated the torture porn and sexualised violence.

In style it struck me like a less well-written Jeffrey Deaver - even down to the real life stats at the beginning of sections. I'm a big fan of Jeffrey Deaver. I wasn't keen on this. Won't be reading the next two - in part because the excerpt from the next one in this one was all torture porn...

Next on the list: Batgirl Rising, which was one of Holly's Christmas presents from A Nonnymouse.

comments

Help me, oh internets

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:45:37 GMT

You know that list of 100 fiction books you must read? That's been all over facebook and LJ and everywhere as a meme?

Well, I think there should be a non-fiction list of a similar kind. If you were to compile such a list, what would you put on it? We have a list of about 60 so far...

Do feel free to have a good argument with each other in the comments :D

comments

Orange Book Back on Sale

Tue, 18 May 2010 08:54:27 GMT

The Orange Book is a book any political anorak will have heard of, but few will have read. It's been out of print for some years, and thus most people rely on the media's description of it as being right wing, and referring to some Lib Dems disparagingly as "Orange Bookers", as accurate.

But since when have the media ever been accurate?

If you want to find out for yourself what is in this famous tome, the Editor of the book who isn't David Laws is ~~engaging in some shameless profiteering~~ selling it on amazon, at above RRP to reflect the sudden and insistent demand, as any true market-driven Liberal would.

Or, if you are too tight to actually buy it, you could do worse than read Joe "Extra Bold" Otten's chapter by chapter breakdown.

comments

Books

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:56:23 GMT

So, yes, I have been lax on the blogging front, firing off a stream of consciousness this morning and not much else all weekend. There is only one man to blame for this, and he is Julian Clary. I picked up Murder Most Fab on a whim from the library, despite its lurid pick cover, and it has kept me enthralled throughout.

It's tightly plotted and laugh out loud funny, although to someone who spends a lot of time in Doctor Who fandom the absolute filth promised by the cover is oddly coy and reticent.

It definitely gets the SB seal of approval, though.

9/10

comments

Book Geekery: My First Poe.

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:26:33 GMT

I often talk about the influence my dad had on my cultural upbringing, but not so much my mum. Time to rectify that, I think. My dad (and my brothers) may have been the major influence on my film and TV tastes, but my mum (and one of my brothers) was the driving force behind my taste in music, and my mum and dad can share equal blame for my book geekery. Our house was crammed with books when I was growing up. Every room (including my own) had shelves, mostly floor to ceiling saving gaps for windows, and the shelving was haphazard enough for a girl to have much fun exploring. I've spoken before about the battered and much loved copy of The Complete Sherlock Holmes that came down via my dad from my grandad; I haven't before mentioned how it was my mum who introduced me to Poe.

When I was about amazing_holly's age, one of my brothers recorded Taste the Blood of Dracula for me off the BBC1 late Friday night horror slot. I don't fully know whether his motivation was benign or it'll be funny to terrify my little sister, but whatever it was he started something, because I loved it. I recruited my dad to tape the late night horror film every Friday night for me. Thus I got my first viewings of many of the Hammer and Amicus horrors that I adore to this day - a particularly fond memory is watching Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires with my dad and laughing uproariously at the one whose eyeballs come out and roll down his skull when he gets dusted. I also got a slew of the Corman/Price/Poe films.

Now, my mum is really squicky about horror stories, for various reasons, and if I ever wanted to watch one of these films, she would leave the room and go do something else. However, I happened to be watching Tales of Terror one day when she walked in and noticed what it was and didn't leave.

When it was over she told me how her mum used to love Edgar Allen Poe, and could recite The Raven by heart, and asked if I had read any of his stories? I hadn't. She found a battered old paperback called Tales of Mystery and Imagination, and a love affair was born. The stories that hit me hardest were The Tell Tale Heart, William Wilson, and Descent into the Maelstrom. I wanted more. Over the years on birthdays or christmas, there would be occasionally a new volume of collected Poeness, and because there are so many, they all had both old favourites and new things in.

One year, when I was 11 or 12, my auntie Susan took my mum to see The Mousetrap in London for her birthday present. My mum wanted to get me a souvenir because I hadn't been able to come along, and I was (and am) a big fan of Agatha Christie. The obvious place to go was Foyle's. She looked through the Christies, but couldn't remember which ones I had and hadn't got (and my Agatha Christie geekery is a tale for another day). Then she had a brainwave. She looked in the horror section. This was a big deal for her, because (as I mentioned) she really gets squicked by horror. There she found the Holy Grail. A gorgeously bound and beautifully illustrated hardback copy of Tales of Mystery and Imagination to replace the old paperback, which was now dropping to bits.

It was one of the best presents I ever got. I pick it up when I am down and it never fails to make me feel warm and comforted. It's not just a great book, it's a reminder of the love my mum has for me and I have for her, and of my grandma (who died before I was born), and her love for books and for my mum too. It's continuity and safety in book form. It's also a reminder that, as a parent, my mum would do things for me, even though it squicked her, or she didn't approve, because she knew I would appreciate it. That book is a representation of what a great mum I have, and how lucky I am.

Fast forward twenty years or so, and amazing_holly is starting to show an interest in books. I had just left her dad, and she needed comforting things. She needed to be reassured that everything was OK, that both her parents still loved her, and that she wasn't going to lose out on things. I was browsing the classic literature section in Waterstones in Leeds for something for myself, and my eye fell on a spine. It was fate...

So now amazing_holly is the proud owner of this. Some of the words are a bit big for her, yet, but she'll grow into it. But the illustrations are beautiful, and she already loves The Raven and Alone. Another generation of continuity...

This blog is proudly sponsored by

comments

Spewings From my Brain

Tue, 26 May 2009 15:33:12 GMT

Am trying to write the post that I obliquely promised yesterday about rules vs guidelines, and am finding it difficult to concentrate because next door's two extremely stupid boxer dogs are alternately trying to tear each other to pieces and barking at people who dare to walk past. Also andrewducker tells me that there are people in this world who don't have huge piles of books in the bathroom. This is perplexing and frightening to me. I would have had a discussion about it with him on LJ, except that LJ is being an arse for me today and refusing to submit my comments. Seriously, what sort of weirdo doesn't have reading material in the bathroom? It's just WRONG.

Speaking of books, this girl is my newest hero. It's a bit depressing that she has to resort to this, but it's very cool that she is doing it.

And speaking of even MORE books: my friend cassandravert has asked me to plug her bookselling website, which needs a bit of a polish in terms of site design (I note that some of the buttons at the bottom don't work in my version of Firefox), but has a pretty impressive stock list. I suspect many of you will find something of interest on there.

And now I am going to go for a bath, and take my notebook with me, and see if that helps me to compose this damn post. Got to get my # of blog posts still to write down for next Sunday... *tries to ignore the fact that gmail inbox is at 66 and facebook at 31 unread*

ETA: oh yeah, ifn yer in Yorksher, don't forget to vote here.

This blog is proudly sponsored by

comments