Grinning Fellow

This is totally off-topic, but my friend went to England a couple months ago, and brought back a super-secret birthday present for me that turned out to be one of the sonic screwdriver toys there. And maaaaaan, it is awesome. We don't have anything like this in Canada, so it was an awesome surprise. Fully-functioning light and sound! Pen and invisible ink things at the back! My own personal "Doctor Who" notebook!

Mark, you may hate the sonic screwdriver's ubiquity, but now that I have one of my own, I understand why it's around all the time. It is rad.

Of what I hear, he's "a good guy who is apparently bad, or a bad guy pretending to be good, or both", and he has scenes with both Lucious Fox and Bruce. And he's not an original character. I also heard he's a "Batman wannabe".

From what I've seen of the leaked photos, some parts of that make sense.

Nope, this was my first exposure to DeLillo. Despite being underwhelmed by it, Great Jones Street, Libra, and Underworld all sound like pretty good books, and I may check them out.

I just finished reading a few more novels:

The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler - More Marlowe goodness. This is one of his better stories, I think.

White Noise by Don DeLillo - I wasn't really crazy on this one. On the one hand, it was an incredibly smart book, with a lot of neat themes, but it was pulled off in the most cold and distant way. The characters were absolutely lifeless to me, and there sudden, random bouts of philosophizing struck me as really false. It seemed more like a bunch of themes and ideals that DeLillo wanted to talk about, so he framed them in a pretty shakey narrative. Also, I don't really understand why all the critics call it a funny book. It was clever, sure, but definitely not that funny. Disappointing, overall.

The Final Solution: A Story of Detection by Michael Chabon - This was super, however. A really quick read, and Chabon's prose is absolutely beautiful. The story was engrossing throughout, and it was lovely from cover to cover.

Currently, I'm reading Portnoy's Complaint, which so far, is really funny. I also have I, Claudius and Dog Soldiers to start.

They're characters from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. If I remember correctly, Nancy is a prostitute who befriends Oliver, and Bill Sykes is her boyfriend, and also a violent thief and occasional killer.

I'll be joyful if you can guess who all the characters are.

I'm probably going to get this wrong (I never read Preacher), but, going from left to right, is it: Jesse Custer, Tulip O'Hare, Lucifer Morningstar, Cassidy, and Constantine?

Read quite a few books in the last week.

The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler: This was a good book, but that's par for the course with Chandler. However, I'm not sure if this or Farwell, My Lovely is my least favourite of Chandler's books that I've read thusfar. On the one hand, The Lady in the Lake was substantially less racist than the other, and it didn't take forever for the plot to get going. Despite that, I think this book has the weakest depiction of Marlowe. He has almost no edge to him in this book, and it's weird to see him in some of the situations he ends up in. In the end, I think this one is my least favourite, but it's still a good book.

Rabbit, Run by John Updike: This one was good as well. I like Updike's prose quite a bit. Also, I did like the characters of the book, and their inability to escape from their own inhibitions and failings, despite their attempts. While I don't know how much I'd like his other books (judging by this and the various poems I've read by him, the dude really loves talking about washed-up high school basketball players), but this one was pretty solid.

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammet: This one was a wonderfully pulpy adventure. The plot was cracking, and I enjoyed the whole thing. I think it's interesting to draw a parallel between Chandler's Marlowe, and Hammet's Continental Op (which I think he used most frequently). While the former is a tough guy on the outside, he's deep down a very human character who's trying to do right by himself and his code. Conversely, Op, despite his unimposing stature and generally pleasant demeanor, is actually a total sociopath. He watches the bodies pile up by the dozen, and doesn't even waver from his attempt to bring down his opponents. The guy has absolutely no feelings whatsoever, and I think that added something to the story. Dogpoet, I'm not sure, but did you say that this book was the inspiration for Yojimbo/Django/A Fistful of Dollars? I've only seen the latter, but it seems like they both share a lot of plot and stylistic elements.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: I really like Steinbeck's writing, and so obviously I liked this one. I thought that some of the chapters were very great (I really like the first meeting between Tom Joad and the preacher), and the whole book was engrossing. However, I think I liked Of Mice and Men better. This book appeared to be going out of its way to be "literary" at times, and I think that detracted from it a bit. I prefer the stripped-down, more straightforward (and therefore, more earnest) appeal in Of Mice and Men. But then, I don't know how popular an opinion that is.

Next on the reading list is Ubik and Pale Fire, and then it's back to the library.

Me, apparently ecstatic to be reunited with my long lost love: a crumpled ball of paper.

I actually went out into the field last night to observe this phenomenon. The Chapters (Canada's answer to Barnes & Noble) was packed to the brim. There was a line-up zig-zagging all throughout the store. Most of the kids (and quite a few of the teens) had come dressed up, either as Hogwarts students or Death Eaters. They had a bunch of activities too, including getting sorted (the early comers got corresponding scarves), and then doing activities relating to the classes.

I thought it was bizarre, but I guess the kids had a lot of fun. No luck trying to buy a book, though. The line-ups went right through the aisles, and cut everyone off.

I finished three books in the past couple days:

Farewell, My Lovely - This one was pretty good. However, being the shortest of the Chandler books I've read so far, it seemed to be all plot, and spent little time focusing on Marlowe, the character (for the record, The Long Goodbye is my favourite of his books). Despite that, it was pretty well-written, and I did enjoy it.

Haunted - An okay book. Actually better than I was expecting (most of my friends absolutely hate this book). While the overarching plotline was weak and repetitive, and the short stories were hit-and-miss, the good ones were really good. Also, it wasn't as disgusting as I was expecting. Exodus and the one from the Earl of Slander were more disgusting than Guts. Overall, it's not my favourite Palahniuk book, but compared to the trainwreck that was Diary, it's an absolute masterpiece.

The Rules of Attraction - This one was great. The shifting, conflicting narratives were really cool, and I did like that you could sympathize with some of the characters (even though every major character is a massive prick at least twice in the novel). It was also neat seeing previous characters like Clay (and future ones such as Patrick Bateman) popping up in this novel. Overall though, I think I agree with Josh that Less Than Zero was the better book, as I related to it more, and was more engrossed by that one. Still, I did like this one though, and I do like Ellis's writing a lot.

I'm about forty pages from the end of Lucky Jim, so I should have that one done tonight, and by the end of the week, I'll have a couple more under my belt.

I saw the trailer when I went to see Transformers, and thought it actually looked pretty interesting. The trailer was incredibly vague (I don't even think it gave a title), but I thought it was cool. I may check it out whenever it hits theaters.

Ehh, I thought it was okay. As most people (except for, I guess James) said, it was a disappointing finale, but I didn't hate it as much as Mark. There were quite a few lame things in there, but I really, really loved John Simm as the Master. Every time he was on-screen, the episode improved substantially.

One thing, though: The Doctor explicitly says that the one thing the Master would never do is kill himself. But then, like, five minutes later, he allows himself to die, just to piss the Doctor off. Now, I get that the Master would have gone to any lengths to avoid being imprisoned in the TARDIS for x amount of time (despite my personal feelings that a Master/Doctor team-up would be awesome beyond comprehension), but it still seems contradictory.

However, this point is moot if the Master's death was a fake-out. We've seen that he has the ability to inexplicably live on as a little blob thing, and I guess the ending was a hint that he'll be back, so maybe this whole post has been rendered irrelevant.

Wait a minute, a thread where Abhi looks at Gaiman's in a more negative light, while Dogpoet steps up to defend him? This has to be the most tardy April Fool's joke ever.

Actually, while I couldn't find any albums of The Hold Steady in Hamilton, I'm in Ottawa until tomorrow, and I took a trip to a music store here, and found Boys and Girls in America. I've only listened to it a couple of times, but it's really, really good. The lyrics are smart and catchy, and the music is similarly enjoyable. I think it's going to take a few more listens for it to become a favourite, but so far, it's growing on me with every listen.

Unfortunately, I've been looking everywhere, and can't find anything by Franklin Bruno. I'll check another store before going home tomorrow, but the guy at the counter of the store I was at today didn't recognize the name, so my hopes aren't high.

Follow-up to the Grin Takes Mr. Willecome's Advice Over 400 Days Later report:

I found a copy of Rocky Votolato's Makers, and it is awesome. He kind of reminds me of a less self-destructive version of Ryan Adams. I love his singing, and his songs are introspective without being mopey. Super-awesome stuff.

I think it's from The Omen. That's Damien's nanny throwing herself a necktie party on Damien's birthday.

Akhira: strangely enough, there's only one picture with my date, and that's the one the company at the prom took. I'm unsure how to upload it onto the computer. To paint a picture though, I have a manic grin on my face, and my date appears to be rolling her eyes at said insane grin.

Spider: heh, no, I was scratching my head, and my dad suddenly picked up the camera and took a shot. That's why I have the somewhat bemused look on my face.

Malin: Yeah, it was pretty fun. I managed to prove every single minute that I am a whiteboy who cannot dance, but overall, I had a fun time.

I've started reading Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey. It's pretty good. Quirky--possibly too quirky--but enjoyable so far. I'm going at a leisurely pace at the moment. When my exams finish, I'll have more time to read.

Picture's really damn small, but this is me all pimped out in my prom suit:

I'm really disgustingly lazy, but I finally got around to getting some of the suggestions Tom gave me....well over a year ago. Damn.

Anyways, to open, I got two Calexico albums (Feast of Wire and Garden Ruin). Both are outstanding alt-country. I really love them both. I enjoy the latter more, even if it's slightly less understated. Still, both are excellent stuff. Thanks, Tom.

Looking it up, I discovered that Constantines are from my home province, which means they shouldn't be too hard to look up. I'll get on that one as soon as possible (which I don't appear to have a great track record of).

Hmmm, you might be right. I think, if it were an earlier incarnation, it would be the Seventh. Granted, I don't know nearly as much about the classic series as Mark does, and I will ultimately defer to him, but Seven was a cold bastard when he needed to be, and was very manipulative, which, if the Master was responsible for his own transformation into Professor Yana, would seem likely (although that would then call into question why he put a perception filter on his own watch, and as James said, he was wearing the First Doctor garb).

Ah, I have no damn clue.

Holy cats, that was a really good episode. I'd pretty much just echo what everyone says here, but touching on what Inca said, I really liked how the Ninth Doctor and Jacobi!Master were similar in their weary bitterness, while Ten and Simm!Master appear to be a lot more younger and hoppy.

Awesome episode, and I can't wait for next week's.

PS, you would have thought something like the chameleon arch/perception filter would become overly convenient, but it's been used to really awesome effect here. Go Season Three!

An excellent episode, but man, way to end the season like, half-way through.

 

 

The whole episode was tense and incredibly suspensful. I was expecting several people to take bullets in the face by the end of it.

 

I'm sad to see Hiatt and Billings go. Even if the former was a bit preachy, I still think he would have been an interesting counter-point to Vic. And Billings was just awesome for the whole season.

 

Dunno how I feel about Dutch and Danny hooking up. But if it'll stop all the drama around Tina, then I'm alright with it.

 

For some reason, I love seeing Acaveda and Vic teaming up. I loved it when they took down Gilroy, and now, with a massive conspiracy going down, I'm liking it even more. It's enjoyable seeing how two completely capable people who loathe each other set aside their mutual hatred to take down some scumbags.

 

Also, my feelings towards Shane become ever more complex. He is a complete bastard who is playing a very dangerous game with the Armenian Mob, and his ideas about protecting people are ludicrous, but what he did was pretty ballsy, especially for two people who hate him. I dunno, I think I'll be just a bit sad when he bites the dust.

I am slowly making my way through A Game of Thrones. It's good, I'm just a slow reader. However, I am enjoying the set up for what appears to be an epic throwdown between Casterly Rock and the realm of the Tullys (which I'm totally blanking on, at the moment). If Eddard doesn't get to fuck up Jaime with his sword in this installment, though, I'll be disappointed.

P.S. Tyrion Lannister is awesome.

That was a good little episode. I'll pretty much echo the comments already said, Gatiss was good, the scene between him and the Doctor in the cathedral was excellent, and I agree with James that the monster looked great.

After last week's (severely) lacking episode, it's good to see things back on form.

P.S. it was a bit silly, but I loved the "reverse the polarity" reference.

P.P.S. just watched the trailer for the last half of the season. In a word, awesome!