Selkie

Selkie, Laurie was fascinated by the fact that you are working on a new edition of a book about figurines.

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Well, on the off-chance she's still fascinated, it's the upcoming fourth edition of this book. I was essentially an uncredited co-author on the last two editions, and after the Paradise fires in California wiped out the home of the "real" author, she asked me to take it over completely. We met through the book, but first and foremost we're friends.

I'll never forget that phone call. She and I had a standing arrangement that if she were to become incapacitated or die, I was to take over the book. I was the first person she called after the fire, and I wasn't home. The message I received via a somewhat confused father was "Gayle called, and the book's now yours." I was always relieved when I later heard her home, pottery, and possessions had been completely destroyed, because I thought for sure something had happened to her.

Oh! I also do the Hagen-Renaker values for Schroeder's Antiques Guide, but that requires a minimal investment of time and authorial judgement.

As I look around me:

The platform my monitor's sitting on is encrusted with a layer of animal figurines, ranging from an expensive bird I haven't gotten around to restoring yet to an oddly cracked Royal Doulton I keep meaning to ask the professional potters about to a host of things I'm going to get around to listing on eBay some day. Behind the monitor (a flatscreen) are a bunch of figurines for my own collection I haven't gotten around to putting away.

To my right is a birdsnest of cables leading to all my peripherals; balanced precariously on top of that are my digital camer and my hub.

To my left is a stack of ripped out newsletter articles and magazines for a marketing report I should be writing but haven't gotten to yet. Mixed in the pile are the antique guides and assorted paperwork associated with my trip to Novi. Peering over that stack are my figures of Jakita and The Drummer. Beyond them is a stack of my porcelain pins, and beyond that, my CD player and speakers. On top of the speakers is a large ceramic figurine of a reclining lioness.

Sitting on top of the computer is an original sketch by Georges Jeanty from Novi last year, a printout of the anatomy of a black-tipped reef shark, and a rubber toy of the head of a blue and gold macaw.

At my feet are a portable air compressor, a stack of GNs and computer manuals, and 12 1/2 pounds of end run moist clay.

Is it any wonder that the only saying posted on my wall is "Relax and enjoy the chaos"?

I want to see this now, too! hahaha!

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You'll be most welcome to borrow my copy after I've seen it.

Just another relaxing day here at Chez Selkie. Walked into the family room, the one with the white carpet, to see my old greyhound lying on the floor, trembling, in the middle of spatters and puddles of blood. Instant panic mode. Check the dog quickly - no sign of punctures, no telltale drips of blood from any orifices. Dog acts more or less OK, so take her outside for a closer inspection. There's a previous blood trail along the sidewalk. No sign of fresh blood coming from greyhound #1, so leave her there, go back into the house, and follow a second blood trail leading to the master bedroom. Greyhound #2 is snoozing contentedly on the bedspread, but I make her get up anyway. Yep, she has taken a chunk of meat off the side of her paw - nothing that can be stitched - and although the blood loss has clearly lessened, she's still dripping red stuff everywhere. Rinse her off with a garden hose, bandage the wound (thanking the great rabbit god that I have a good relationship with this hound, because if I didn't I'd undoubtedly be missing important facial features by this point) and must now hydrogen peroxide everything, wash the blanks, pillowcases, bedspread, sofa covers; mop; and generally destroy the evid.... remove the resulting mess before the 'rents come home.

Anybody want to clean house with me? Anyone? Fresh blood on white carpet - now I understand what the Desperate Housewives feel like!

Edited to add: Is this the sweetest, smartest dog or what? She just came to the computer to show me that she bled through her first set of bandages.

Thanks for trying! I think I've got someone lined up, but the mall's being a real pain to work with. Won't ship, and won't walk the TWO STEPS from the front counter to the booth to check whether the item's still there. Will get back to you later if the stars don't align correctly.

OMG! Lou does look just like Kevin Matchstick! This Matt Wagner fan is heartily ashamed of herself for not recognizing the similarity sooner.

John, how about we pretend Novi was last weekend so my convention write-up will look timely? I realize a fair amount of time has passed in the real world, but in my coughed out haze it feels like it was just a few days ago. I swear, if I don't get better soon I'm going to start sacrificing Miskatonic University professors to some Elder Gods.

Mmm ... don't think this is the one you're looking for, but there's http://www.the-numbers.com that has a lot of custom sorts for comic-based movies. Just from the name alone, I imagine http://www.comics2film.com might too.

Oh my. On DVD, and including shipping, it's readily available cheaper than a rental at Blockbuster. I have ordered this horror because it sounds like something I Must See.

Does anyone here know of an antiquer in the Grand Haven/Grand Rapids area who would be willing to pick up a prepaid fragile piece at an antique mall in GH, pack it, and ship it to me (for a fee, of course)? I left something behind on my vacation that I shouldn't have, and the drive back to pick it up would be cost prohibitive. I know which mall, and can easily describe the piece and the booth it's in.

Someone? Anyone?

I have no knowledge of Star Wars at all. Except for the commonly known stuff. But I just saw The Phantom Menace and was wondering, what order should I watch the films in?

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Original trilogy first. Then the new trilogy.

Selkie don't tell anyone but Iron Man was my favourite as a kid. Something about the eye slits dehumanised him for me, and yet you knew the human insecurities were still locked in there, why should that appeal to a kid?? Especially when you think one of my other favourites was Rom - Spaceknight.... oh dear, I was young though.

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It's OK. You were a kid. Besides, it's not like I'm in a position to tease anyone else about enjoying Iron Man any more. As for Rom the Space Knight, as long as you're not this guy, you're still forgiven. (Assuming there's anything to forgive - I've never read it and don't know whether it's something one should feel guilty about).

As for the Strangehaven recommendation, I strongly third it, but ... you should be warned that it is released on the industry's most irregular, erratic, and glacially slow schedule. There for a while, there was a new issue released every year. Consider yourself warned.

Mark has quite correctly steered you in the direction of Ed Brubaker's best, although I'd like to add An Accidental Death, illustrated by Eric Shanower, to the list. I'd love to say The Fall as well, but I haven't read it because drat if that isn't even harder than Accidental Death to find - and I had to go to a university comics archive, which I believe is the biggest in the world, to read AD. Worth picking up if you can find it.

Seriously. Brubaker's Captain America has been fantastic so far, and until about 6 months ago I'd have said exactly the same thing as you about the character. I still felt slightly dirty reading the comic for the first couple of issues, but it's well worth it.

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Convince me. Not just that it's a good comic (hint: repeating "Ed Brubaker" at regular intervals will help your case), but that my reading it will not result in the sound of trumpets heralding the arrival of The Beast on this plan of existence, or something similarly awful.

Are there special brown bags you can place over the comics so other fans can't see you reading them? Support groups? "Hello, my name is Selkie, and I'm reading Captain America...."

The first three issues of the newly relauched, Warren Ellis written Iron Man. Never thought I'd see the day I'd be reading, let alone enjoying, this title, but sometimes pigs DO fly!

What do you like about it, Selkie?

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I had a far more elegant version of this written in my head last night, but now I (and you) will pay the price for my laziness by having to read this messy account instead. Consider yourself warned.

Iron Man is one of the very, very few superhero titles that's ever given me a true sense of wonder, let alone a feeling of "you are there." For those alone, I forgive it many small things. Add to that a believable premise that requires minimal suspension of disbelief, and central character who is somene with whom I really can identify, in type if not in degree. Top it all with a science fiction sheen that permits me to forget it is a superhero title, and I'm in heaven.

The occasional stiffness in Granov's stationary figures is more than offset by the fluid, fast, action sequences that really sell the sense of flight, the feeling of danger, and an awesome sense of speed. Those flying sequences at the end of the first issue are some of the most thrilling things I've seen in comics. Not to mention, for once someone with an awe-inspiring ability actually admits to enjoying it, dammit, rather than angsting, or pondering on the Great Importance of Using These Powers for Good, or any of that crap (for which, admittedly, there is a time and place). Great Og, if I could fly my interior monologue would be a lot like what we read during those sequences, not some deep thoughts about, well, anything more complex than "I can fly"!

Other factors: Smart, educated, flawed protagonist who tinkers with stuff and is driven in part by a need for atonement? No, no similarities to my life there. Uh uh. No, not me. :closedeyes: I don't have to identify with a character to enjoy a title, but it never hurts. Tony Stark is not only not completely unlike myself, he's not unlike a whole host of people I've met, worked with, and slept with. He's much more believable to me than other fictional characters in similar situations.

I can relate a lot better to an "ordinary" guy who straps on a suit and has to cope with a variety of workday pressures than any of the near mythical beings who normally populate these sorts of things. Those beings generally not only have amazing powers on the surface, they ALSO have the neat trick of defying the laws of physics, biology, and a whole host of other sciences. They don't even get their hair mussed when zipping 'round the planet. Unlike those characters, who casually swat away hordes of other superbeings, vehicles, and what not, there's a sense of danger that, against ONE foe, Tony Stark could be hurt, and that any of the innocent bystanders could be hurt or killed not only by the foe's actions, but by those of Iron Man - and that the collateral damage could be due to entirely unintended consequences of the dangerous and potentially buggy machine intended to save their lives.

Bad guy apparently motivated by bad experiences in a Waco/Ruby Ridge type scenario? Yeah, I buy that. The fact that his abilities derive from government military technology is only too believaable. That human enhancement through both technology (represented by Tony Stark) and biology (represented by Maya's super soldier program), happens to be a subject I follow with some interest independently doesn't hurt a bit. (Someday, I WILL have my brain transplanted into a jar! I WILL I WILL I WILL!)

So, with all that going for it, I'll forgive WE for the inclusion of another drug-soaked shaman, characters who talk not only like each other but also like him, and more images of "gross" body modification. At least, for once Marvel editorial keeps him more restrained on that last topic than, say, Avatar would. If it's a plot we've seen before, at least on its most basic level, well... there aren't that many plots to go around, especially for genre material (any genre, not just this one), now aren't there?

So, that's why I love Iron Man. My boyfriend-equivalent keeps teasing me that once I've succumbed to this character, it's only a matter of time till I wind up reading Captain America, who has long been my standard-bearer for Outdated Concepts That Should Have Been Allowed to Die Decades Ago. If cables sports channels start showing figure skating competitions in the underworld, you'll know that I've lost my resistence in the face of Ed Brubaker's writing.

I enjoyed it, though in no principled way can I describe it as a good movie. Certainly quite a bit better than the last two, although I realize that's faint praise. Ewan McGregor finally seemed to relax and enjoy his role, and he sold a lot of material that wouldn't have worked any other way. Ian Mcwhateverhisnameis did a solid job with another underwritten role, and although his work wasn't as flashy as McGregor's, it was still a godsend compared to previous films. Ditto Samuel L. Jackson. Hayden Christiansen, well .... is it a bad sign when none of the best scenes contain meaningful amounts of the lead character? OR that he's outacted by a CGI-generated jumping green lima bean?

Overall the effects were excellent, despite a few howlingly bad moments. (I'd prefer an ambitious film to misstep occasionally, rather than shoot for, and achieve, mediocrity. This was definitely the former). There's one miniature that's so obviously a miniature that at first I assumed it was supposed to be a dollhouse - I'm surprised they didn't smooth the shot over before release.

A lot of scenes work better if you succeed in turning off your brain. You may find, as I did, that you must repeatedly use the off button on your higher mental functions. At the end of the day, this movie relies on a mythology in which emotions are a path to the dark side, yet every time a supposedly impartial Jedi can't decide on the correct course of action, he's advised to "Search his feelings." If you can handle that kind of cognitive dissonance, it works fine. You won't mind that people are walking around lava fields, or that the ability to restore a harddrive from a back-up has apparently been lost, or that the power levels of even the most learned Jedis fluctuate wildly based on the demands of the plot. You might not even mind that Padme dies the most insanely hack writer method possible.

But damn, even I've got to admit there were scenes of emotional power, at least for a girl whose first oh-wow movie moment was seeing the original Star Wars (I refuse to call it "A New Hope") the weekend it was first released.

I'm even getting pissed off that I haven't been able to locate the first issue of The Atheist that John posted about yesterday, but I'm not going to get obsessive like the rest of you weirdos

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The Atheist is well worth hunting down. There are all sorts of Wrong Paths this series could take, but the first issue was very promising.

A few others I just realized haven't been mentioned before, but should have:

Planetary

Transmetroplitan (Hunter S. Thompson fighting political corruption in a futuristic city)

Leave it to Chance

The first three issues of the newly relauched, Warren Ellis written Iron Man. Never thought I'd see the day I'd be reading, let alone enjoying, this title, but sometimes pigs DO fly!

I've already had some recommendations from the "reading in 2005" thread but Selkie bullied me into starting a new thread ;) 

Nooo! Not bullied! :icon_cry: Gently suggested! Wanted to find most efficient way to drain your wal... er, recommend new material you might enjoy.

I've noticed the first five episodes have been collected in a graphic novel so I guess any replies will have to carry spoiler warnings, not sure of the etiquette about this, sorry.

If we ever figure it out, we'll let you know. Ex Machina is very good indeed, and as you'll soon learn, I'm allergic to spandex and to most superhero titles so that's high praise coming from me.

Fables has been mentioned, though I can't think why or by whom. The basic premise is that there's a small community of people who inspired various fables, nursery rhymes, and such, hiding in New York after being driven from their homelands by an as-yet-unrevealed "Adversary." It's much better than it ought to be. The first TPB, which has Bigby Wolf investigating the murder of a Fable, is generally regarded to be a little slow (although I personally liked it a lot) but the series really does pick up from there. There are at least five TPBs available, and the series is still going strong.

BTW - speaking of TPBs - ditto what Charlie said. There's an extraordinary amount of great material being released in that format, to the point where one could happily subsist on a comics diet that never included staples.

Some other books which haven't been mentioned:

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood and Persepolis II: The Story of a Return are amazing books about a young girl growing up during the Cultural Revolution in Iran. Absolutely gripping material, alternately heart-wrenching and funny. Largely, though not totally, autobiographical as well.

Epileptic is another autobiography, this time about a young French boy and his family coming to terms with his brother's epilepsy starting in the 1950's. I realize this sounds dire, but in fact it's amazingly illustrated and almost impossible to put down. One of the best GNs I've ever read, and I read an awful lot of comics.

Queen & Country, an espionage tale about a small team of British operatives, is just one of the wonderful titles from the tiny but mighty Oni Press. Check out their catalog for other great material, especially Courtney Crumrin and Whiteout. While not every Oni book has been to my taste, I can't say I've ever read a bad one.

Blacksad: Out of the Shadows and Blacksad: Arctic Nation features a noir detective investigating dark deeds - who just so happens to be a black cat set in a world of anthropomorphic animals. Again, this is much better than it has any right to be, and the second book has a slew of well-deserved Eisner nominations to prove it. Stunning art AND well-written stories that celebrate the genre conventions without succumbing to cliche - what more could you ask for?

Finder is a series that's impossible to describe. Loosely, it's a series of stories set in a science fiction universe where people live in domed cities, intelligent lionesses ride meat-eating cattle along the plains in-between, prostitution is a sacred calling, and pilgrimages are held to go to a thinly veiled Disneyland. Most of the stories involve an aboriginal "Finder" who is bound by duty to help other people for the asking, but nothing about this series is easy to explain. Reading Finder is like receiving a dream-feed straight from the mind of a woman who is both brilliant and just a little off-kilter. Your LCS almost certainly won't carry it, but it's worth ordering.

If you're looking for more Hellblazer-type occult material, get thee over to AiT-Planetlar and check out Nobody.

Of course we care! That's terrific news! Have fun catching up on comics.

It's funny that this subject should pop up today, when I finally got around to checking out the Alan Lomax archive. I knew of his work via the Rounder recordings, but it had never occurred to me to look for a web site until EW, of all things, mentioned it last week. Does anyone else here listen to the old field recordings - most of which get labeled as "folk" but many of which almost certainly fall under "blues" - captured by people like Lomax? The musicians are usually "just ordinary people" rather than recognized artists, and are sometimes anonymous - such as the many prison singers - but some of that music sends chills up my spine. I love this recording to death, for example. It's a shame the little sound clip for "Sea Lion Woman" is the spoken intro rather than a piece of the music, because it's great. You can listen to a remixed version of it as the first track on The General's Daughter soundtrack.

P.S. Did the one of the three of us come out? Because that costume was off the hook!

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Lou and you came out OK, but there's this weird lump of ectoplasm between you that's quite distracting. Besides, my tentacles were all in disarray and you know how vain I am about my tentacles.

Getting eBay auctions written for some of my porcelain work. Wish me luck - I've got a stack o'pins here that I'd like to get moved out, and I don't want to dump them all on my friend who's going to a week-long summer solstice celebration (where I'm much more confident they'll sell).

Cooking for my sick old dog.

Trying hard not to cough myself into becoming an axolotl :icon_cry:

A Brubaker-scribed Authority ongoing would be fuckin ideal.

Wonder what the chances are......?

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Between slim and none. Brubaker's gone exclusive to Marvel.

Tease! We want Selkie!

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Oh, just be that way.

Here you go.

Er, well, no, that wasn'it it either.

This is me.

WOW. PM me that name. I love odd, unpronouncable names, in part because I'm Polish and I love difficult, chewy names with lots of Cs and Zs in them. I've seen Polish names with NO VOWLES at all. Seriously, dude's name was, like, Crczk or something.

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It was the French spelling of what's usually a German name. There are fewer than 1200 people in the world who bear that particular surname, and I'm quite sure it's because everyone changed theirs just like I did! Depending on which translation you believed, it originally meant either "Person who wears blue clothing" or "Person who frequents a brothel." :unsure:

Why did you change your surname, Selk?

Five letters long. Ended in three vowels. No one could spell it or pronounce it, to the point where teachers were reluctant to call on me in class lest they botch it (which they always, always did - and it really wasn't THAT hard). My current surname, which I chose in part because I like it, is also my father's biological father's surname, which was convenient. But for a strange twist of family history, it's what I would have had all along.

Trust me, you think the K family tree is a little odd? I'll put up good comics it doesn't bear the kind of strange fruit mine does. After all, look at me. :o

Would you think any less of a bloke who took his wife's surname?

Heck no. Want to watch a whole office full of hard-nosed businesswomen with advanced degress get all swoony and romantic? Have a guy explain that his unusual but melodious last name is a mixture of the letters from the unmarried surnames of him and his wife.

Still married or not you might still change names and the children question stands as it is.

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Changed my surname without a guy being involved at all. Grew very tired of all the people who, upon hearing the news, assumed I'd eloped, and wanted to know how Mr. Selkie and I planned to live together in my itsy bitsy condo.

Would never, ever change my name again with or without a marriage certificate. Kids? Not gonna, so no worries there.