Mark
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Posts posted by Mark
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the JFK assassination, with some looking into other weird incidents and skullduggery.
So...who dunnit then? :)
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indeed. did ya get the normal pocket or the DC Comics release with gorgeous Charles Vess illustrations?
Hope it was the Vess version...that's the one I've got, and it's lovely (in fact it's my girlfriend's, and she's got it in the original 4 slim volumes, but them's the breaks, eh?)
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... 'Curvy' works just fine in English. It's a good thing, if I can say that without sounding like a pervert/Rogan/a perverted Rogan ;)
Ha, ha - laughing out loud here! (don't do that a lot, so thank you!) :D
The pleasure was all mine. ;)
I'm not one of those silicon-girls.Good. Nor should you be.
I did find a dress in my wardrobe though so now I don't have to buy one. it actually is quite slinky but long. Anyway, I'm going to know soon if I am going to this party or not...Excellent...slinky long dresses can be gorgeous. Any chance of a pic? Have fun at the party if you do go...
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Speaking personally, a writer whould have to work extremely hard to get me onside for any story featuring those characters, especially one in prose!
Have you not read any of the Queen & Country graphic novels then ?
Not yet. It's something I really need to get round to, but I've been brassic for too long now...
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I'm not so sure the latter book is entirely non-fiction. I read an article by Solzhenitsyn in Foreign Affairs and a subsequent exchange between him and various (anti-)Soviet studies academics. His article was about goings on in Czarist Russia, a subject I know a little about. To sum up, he was just making it up as he went along. (The academics weren't willing to say that, but they oh so respectfully made many corrections to his "facts".) He came across as a pathological liar, a personality type I have more experience dealing with than I like.
As far as I'm aware, Solzhenitsyn certainly 'massaged' the facts somewhat for the Gulag Archipelago, but it's broadly accurate. As I said, I tend to classify it as more of a novel than a non-fiction book anyway, just because of how it reads. I could easily be wrong, though...my knowledge of Russian history is largely between 1881-1935, and even that's very rusty.
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Yes, The Smiths were always a lot funnier than the Bros loving kids ever gave them credit for. "If a double decker bus, kills the both of us, to die by your side is such a heavenly way to day" always makes me smile. :)
Very true, Pooka - 'There is a Light...' is one of those songs that can make me laugh and/or cry, depending on my mood (yes, songs make me cry all the time. I am, in reality, a big wussy girly man).
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I always loved good point-and-click adventures. Sam & Max was near-as-damnit perfect, while Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle (which was, indeed, far too short), Discworld I & II (the first one was fun but ludicrously difficult in places, the second was silly but amusing), even the really old stuff like Simon the Sorceror and Beneath a Steel Sky is still surprisingly playable. Greatest P&C ever has to be Monkey Island, though. Any of them (except the 3d one, which I never played - was it any good?).
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How're you finding it ? I've got the first two Atticus Kodiak books sitting on the locker at home. They'll be the first prose books I've read from Rucka but I've no reason to believe that they won't be as strong a read as his graphic novels.
The only Rucka prose stuff I've read is an Elektra/Wolverine illustrated story, which I got out of the library on a whim. I wasn't impressed, sadly, but then, the idea of an Elektra/Wolverine prose story doesn't appeal to me much anyway. Most of the Rucka I've read has been Batman-related, and I'd happily rate him and Ed Brubaker as the best regular Bat-writers of the past 10 years or so, easily. Rucka probably has the edge, in fact, although thus far Brubaker's Gotham Central arcs have generally been my favourites...[/off-topic]
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Heh. I voted '8' without looking at the results. There appears to be a consensus forming...
I liked it. In fact, I liked it a lot...definitely a 'turning-point' issue in that it wrapped up the events of the last few months while simultaneously setting up what's (presumably) going to dominate the next set of arcs. I've still been enjoying Carey's run, but my enthusiasm has been waning slightly of late - this puts me right back on track. A few complaints; it was hardly 'new reader-friendly', which is a shame, because it's a landmark issue which is presumably going to be speculatively picked up by some readers who haven't read the title before/recently. A 'Previously...' page would have been extraordinarily useful (in fact, given that it's working so well for Gotham Central, I'd suggest something of that sort might not actually be a bad idea generally for such a continuity-heavy title as Hellblazer's been thus far under Carey). There were a fair few loose ends left dangling, but that's the way it should be, and I agree with JMc, in that the internal narration was beautifully handled. Carey really does have a superb grasp of who John actually is, and it's gratifying to hear him speak as 'himself' again. Shame it's not likely to continue...
While I'm glad he's off the title now, I actually thought Frusin's work here was better than it has been in a while. He's still very much into his sketchy, rough style, which doesn't convince me at all, but there were some surprisingly effective panels in this issue. Dillon's section impressed me more than I was expecting, although given the repeated text references to John's ageing body, it was frustrating that, paunch and a few eye-lines aside, Dillon drew him pretty much identically to the way he did back when he was the regular artist. But that's nitpicking, really. Manco...what can I say? I'm still slightly disappointed that his 'action' panels can look somewhat static, but I'm very impressed by what he's done so far, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with as a regular artist.
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Am I the only one who finds it a mite odd that we’re doing an introductions thread comprised entirely of people we already know?
Yes and no - it's quite nice to get a bit more personal info on people we may know from forum discussions, but don't necessarily have much of a picture of outside of the interweb, and could help newbie forum-ular types get acquainted more easily.
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Couldn't they call him Clark Kent? Why would you want to call you kid Superman? It's another form of cruelty.
I don't think we have such laws in England? Maybe we should.
Apparently they're very keen on 'Staalemann' (I think it - corrections please, Swerika), which is the Swedish name for 'Superman'. The kid was born with his arm stretched out in front of him, Superman-stylee, which is apparently what gave them the (strange) idea.
No, we don't have laws like that in Britain, although I believe the church can refuse to baptise a child with an 'innappropriate' name. Names specifically banned in Sweden/Norway (I got some of this from my girlfriend, so don't know which applies to where) include 'Hitler' (no, really - people have tried), 'Varg', 'Bjorn' (a traditional Norse name which was apparently so common at one point that it had to be prohibited because too many boys were given the same name), and many more.
If I'm totally wrong on this, Red/Swerika, just say so. I'd love to know...
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I saw that too...I was actually refraining from posting it because we've had quite a few horrific sexual abuse stories discussed lately. But now it's out there...
...eurgh. 'Local' culture taken to it's twisted limits...that's not nice at all.
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Dear Rogan: Sin City does not accurately portray the female form.
Or at least, any of the female forms I've been able to get close to.
(Damnit.)
Pah! Next you'll be telling me that my dream of one day meeting a girl who actually looks like a Jim Lee picture is in vain...
mmmm.....implausible breasts...
...Sorry, where was I? Swerika - 'Curvy' works just fine in English. It's a good thing, if I can say that without sounding like a pervert/Rogan/a perverted Rogan ;) There's not a lot I can add to this thread, frankly, without seeing you, but I'd like to heartily echo the above comments re: a slinky above-the-knee red dress. The 'little black dress' is the classic response, but if you think you can get away with red, go for it - it's always eye-catching, and on the right woman can be devastating. Go get 'em, girl...
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Thankyou Rogan! Now I have a selection of avatars!
You know, I might put back the fox and save Zero for Christmas. Yes? No? Fox or Zero?
Fox for now. It's disorienting enough being on a new forum, with a new layout, and lots of new usernames, without you going and changing your avatar on us.
I'm cold here. And lonely. And frightened...
;)
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James - you have my deepest sympathy. It took me months to grow the truly dismal excuse for a beard I currently sport (so, of course, I plan never to shave it off again), and it covers the merest fraction of my chin. It wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that every man in my family has/has had a full and manly beard, so from early childhood my comprehension of 'what it is to be A Man' has largely revolved around a full and mighty facial arrangement. Put simply, I want to look like Alan Moore, and until I do I'll somehow feel inadequate. And it's never, ever, in a million years, going to happen. I'm lucky to have scrubby goatee.
I feel bad, now...like I've just exposed one of my innermost hang-ups to a bunch of strangers. Er....because I have.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedi.../093004-15v.ram
Interesting stuff. Bush is frequently inarticulate, but he has a point when he says that Kerry agreed that Hussein was a threat to America.
Still, it's nice to get that message that Iraq and Afghanistan are unconnected said out loud over the major news channels.
Kerry can't seem to explain where he's going to find the money for all his changes...
Kerry is a pisspoor Democratic candidate. His major selling-point is still just the fact that he isn't Bush, and I seriously doubt that that's going to be enough to swing him the election - or, in fact, whether it wil make a difference in any way I'd like to see if he does. Haven't heard the debate yet, but I'm reading a transcript at the moment, in between working.
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Hey since both Bob Dylan and Anton Chekhov were namechecked by Mark, perhaps he can answer me this: In an excerpt from "Chronicles", Dylan says he recorded an entire album based on Chekhov short stories which critics thought was autobiographical. Now since Mark is the expert on both perhaps he can tell me which album is Dylan refering to? My first guess was "Blood on the Tracks" but then I thought it might also be "Street Legal" then I thought Dylan could be lying.
I was perplexed by this one, too. As I mentioned earlier, I've not actually read any Chekhov (I don't care how the name should be translated, if that spelling's good enough for Star Trek, it's good enough for me), but my first inkling was 'Blood on the Tracks', simply because it's by far the most apparently-autobiographical album which could reasonably have come in the period Dylan's vaguely referring to. He's also admitted on record a good few times that much of 'Street-Legal' (one of my favourite Dylan albums, by the way - woefully underrated. I can't think of many more satisfying moments in my recent life than when I finally realised what 'Changing of the Guard' is actually about...) actually is autobiographical. Mind you, if 'Blood On The Tracks' isn't at least partially autobiographical, then I'm a fried chicken - he even makes direct reference to 'Ashtabula' in the lyric of 'You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go', which is (allegedly) the home town of his mistress at the time. Much as I like the apparently candid nature of the book, I'm tempted to suspect that he's putting us on at least a little with this one - there may well be a strong Chekhov influence on BOTT, but it's also near-undeniably autobiographical too. If nothing else, how can he claim that an album of songs relating entirely (and uncharacteristically directly) to relationships which are either ending or ended, released right at the point at which his marriage was disintegrating, and filled with references both explicit and oblique to his own life, is not at least partly drawn from his own life?
Of course, he could be referring to an entirely different album - apparently autobiographical references fill all of his albums from 1974-1978. I'll get back to you after I've read 'Chronicles' and some Chekhov...
Incidentally, Sethos - I rather like Sam Shepard (sorry, didn't notice the question yesterday). He's not the greatest modern American dramatist, but he's done some very fine work. 'Buried Child' and 'True West' in particular work very well for me. Plus, of course, he's worked with Dylan, so I'm naturally inclined to have an interest :) ...it's a while since I've read any Shepard, but I've got a couple of collections with me in London, so if you've got any specific questions I can get back to you about them within a day or two.
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There was also a rather wonderful article in the Metro (shitty free commuters' newspaper in Britain), which for some reason I can't find anywhere online, about a couple in Sweden who've been banned by the courts from calling their son 'Superman'. They're currently testing out what variations on it they might be permitted...the really amusing thing is that apparently it is legally permitted to name a child Asterix or Batman.
Yes, Scandinavia has laws about what you can call your kids. I was gobsmacked when my lovely Norwegian girlfriend first explained this to me, but it's true. Red? Swerika? Care to cast any light on this bizarre quirk from the lands of ice, snow and Vikings?
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Hmmm... Sounds psychological to me, maybe he needs counselling, I know you are up on psychology but think you are to close to him to help.
"So, Mr. Harlan...tell me about your mother"
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AMC are playing in London 2 weeks today. I'll be going if you fancy hooking up.
That's a damn good idea - I'd be well up for that. Where are they playing, how much are tickets, are there any left, etc?
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I'm immensely frustrated that I couldn't stay up to watch the Debates last night (they were on at past 1.30 in the morning here, and the TV is in the living room where my kind hosts are currently sleeping on a futon, pending bedroom redecoration). Mind you, I suspect it was a disheartening spectacle.
"I agree with the puppet on the left.""No, I think the puppet on the right best represents my views"
"Wait a minute....there's ONE GUY! Holding both puppets!"
Depressingly true. I'd have been glad to hear that Kerry had Bush on the ropes a few times last night if I had any confidence that things would be significantly better with him as President.
Oh, and it looks like they're cheerfully disregarding all the recommendations made about the Florida elections in particular, meaning that thousands of voters will most likely be disenfranchised for no good reason. Mother fuckers.
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Son shot over chicken recipe
A FAMILY ROW over a recipe for cooking chicken ended with a father shooting his son in the head.
They began arguing about dinner and ended up shooting each other
The pair began arguing about preparing dinner and ended up firing .22 calibre handguns at each other at home in West Virgina, in the US.
Jackie Lee Shrader, 49, was charged with malicious wounding and wanton endangerment after a bullet hit son Harley Lee Shrader, 24, in the ear and lodged in his skull.
After being treated in hospital, Harley Shrader was also charged with wanton endangerment.
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I'm rather fond of AMC - don't know them that well, but like what I've heard a lot.
Unrelated, except that I keep getting AMC and Red House Painters confused, for no reason I can discern, except that the singers are both called Mark - I also really enjoyed Mark Kozelek's (of RHP) 'What's Next To The Moon' album of AC/DC covers - he turns them into classic acoustic blues numbers remarkably convincingly.
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For ages I've been meaning to sit down and read some Flashman books as I've heard nothing but good things about them from a wide variety of people. I'm always a bit hesitant when historical figures are used in modern fiction but if it's well researched and the author doesn't make too many assumptions about the person then I can't complain.
They're magnificently-researched - Fraser is a historian first, a novelist second. The greatest compliment I can pay to his writing is the fact that I was outraged when Sherlock Holmes turned up in one of the short stories in Flashman & The Tiger, because it was the first point in the entire series when I was able to consciously and rationally accept that none of this was, in fact, real. Damn his eyes.
Christian - I'm enormously pleased to hear you say that. I'm reading 'Deterring Democracy' at the moment, and was worried that I might actually be some kind of moron when the introduction just confused the hell out of me. Reassuring...
Play with me
in Bring the Noise
Posted
Morrowind is, indeed, stunning. I keep getting lost (as you say, the lack of narrative drive is off-putting at times), but it doesn't really matter because everything's so gorgeous.