Centaur Links

I still have about 600 more words to go tonight, but I need a little break. Here are few fun links about centaurs:

• Mythical Beasts -Centaur: lots of pretty pictures and a bit of info, including something very interesting about Chiron
  
• A Catalogue of Centaurs on Greek and Related Painted Pottery : even includes a list of names, which, added to the list I culled from Ovid's Metamorphoses, should be useful. Maybe. If I ever give any of my other kentaur characters names. (Well, "the bay filly" definitely needs a name, at least.)
  
• Centaurs at Encyclopedia Mythica: not a whole lot, but one very intersting sentence: In medieval romances, the centaurs were called 'Sagittary', and it led me to the next one . . .
  
• Chapter 16 of Bullfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable: in which all manner of monsters are discussed
  
• The Attic of the Centaurs : interesting things, plus a very cool picture right at the top
  
• Centaurs at Monstrous.com: more basics, but more info than E.M.
  
• A different kind of centaur: Centaurs will thus ultimately collide with the sun or a planet or else they may be ejected into interplanetary space--I think I knew this
  
• Centaur animation by Windsor MacCay: wow. Very cool.
  
• Centaursite: lots of pictures, and links and stuff
  
• Centaur clipart
  
• The Centaur Compendium: I really want that blue graphic on a t-shirt. Or a print.
  
• The Centaur Excavations at Volos: centaur archaeology. I want this in my living room.
  
• Stinz: the best centaur comic out there, created by Donna Barr
  

And now back to those 600+ words.

Words for the Day

1888. Which is 4 more than yesterday. Woo hoo!

Oh

Well this explains it. Last year, my goal was a nice, round 2000 words a day, not a measly 1667. I don't think I've hit 2000 once yet. Then again, this novel is still dragging. Last year, the fairies came and usurped the thing and so it got written superfast. Or something. Must go write more.

Yikes!

Around this time last year, I was more than 4000 words ahead of schedule. Maybe I should stop reading what I blogged last year (but it's surprisingly interesting, looking back) (for me, anyway).

Back in the present, I have reached 11,934 words, and am not quite yet at today's goal. But that's still 265 words ahead of schedule. By the time I reach today's goal, I should be around 1000 words ahead. Not quite 4000, but much better than being behind.

Now This is Cool

Suzette Haden Elgin has a LiveJournal. Lots of really interesting linguistics discussion, and marvelous sf poetry (that has the not-so-nice side effect of making me want to never, ever attempt poetry again). Yay! Which reminds me, I never did manage to acquire copies of those Elgin books Rowena leant to me ages and ages ago (was that junior high?).

Good Day

1884 words of Kentaurs today. It seems to be remaining fairly easy to get the words out, compared to the first day or two at least. This is good. It's no fun when it's a struggle.

I learned something interesting about Octavian (aka Tavie) today. And I wrote a rather gruesome dream sequence. Poor Ixion. I feel mean for putting him through it. Then again, he's the one had the dream; I just wrote it down. (Is it any wonder Freud thought writers were seriously disturbed, when we talk about our invented characters as if they were real people?)

Which InuYasha [fill-in-the-blank] Are You?

theOtaku.com: What Inuyasha Hero Are You?

"Reclusive and often grumpy." Yup, that's me. Hee hee. I get to be InuYasha!

theOtaku.com: What Inuyasha Villain Are You?

[In case you can't see the pictures, which sometimes vanish, I'm evil, evil, evil Naraku.]

theOtaku.com: Who Is Your Inuyasha Mystery Date?

[If you can't see this pic, either, my mystery date is Kouga the wolf demon.]

A Pink Horse Named Centurion

Er, yes, there is a horse named Centurion in A Madness of Kentaurs. Bit he's not really pink. Deianira calls him pink, but he's actually a strawberry roan. (Who knew there was so much to know about horse colouration?)

Anyway, I hit 9090 words toady, which didn't get me much over my daily goal, but I'm getting sleepy, and I haven't started inking the page of Fey I was meant to finish today. I guess I'll be finishing it tomorrow. Plus, there is tv to watch. Must have my weekly fix of InuYasha and Witch Hunter Robin.

Girl Genius

Very cool t-shirt. Except I think I like this one even better.

This Week's Fey Online

Yup, more satyr mayhem in ancient Greece. Here: page 3. Now back to drawing madly.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

Or something. Neil Gaiman's comments made me laugh:

As a boy I wasn't sure whether we were meant to be celebrating Guy Fawkes as someone who tried to change the system by doing something about it, or whether it was just that the English love a good loser. When I grew up I realised that it was a thanksgiving for the fact that the Parliament had not been exploded. Still, Guy Fawkes has a day named after him, which is more than King James had (although James got a bible dedicated to him, of course).

Hee hee. Go have a bonfire and use up any fireworks left over from Hallowe'en.

Done for Today

There. The main characters have met, and I have met today's word quota (only 40 words over, but still). I'm now 689 words ahead of schedule, which isn't much, really. Not so bad considering how hard it's been to get into this book, though. It think it may be going better now.

Wow

I just wrote a scene in A Madness of Kentaurs that I think I actually like. I haven't read back over it, but it all just kind of came out in that marvelous trance that so seldom seems to happen. 'Course, I could read it later and discover it's all crap, but *finally* something of this book came easily. The bit just before did not. I had the drag it out by the hair, and might as well have been yanking my own hair. Ouch! Er, anyway. I'm at 6775 words, with almost 600 left to write in the next hour. Today's goal is 7317. Oh yeah, and that chapter ended and my main characters did not meet. But they're really close together now, and shall probably meet in the first scene of chapter three. Really.

Tavy / Tavie

So, I'm at 5650 words and still trying to get my two main characters to meet. And I've changed the spelling of one character's name from "Tavy" to "Tavie." It's short for "Octavian." Ixion is still Ixion. They will meet by the end of the current chapter (which is chapter 2). I wonder if I can find those numerology things I did for Maddy last year. That was silly but fun--psychic predictions for fictional characters. Of course, for some of them, I'd have to come up with birth dates, and I'm not sure the human characters use the same calendar we do. They seem to have March and April in roughly the same places we do, but I think they probably use a pre-Julian Roman calendar. Something to research. I know the kentaurs don't use our calendar.

Er. Right in the middle of today's bunch of words I had to run for the Greek mythology book. Turns out I had remembered the Ixion story correctly, but I needed to make sure. Which isn't to say I'm rewriting Greek mythology, cuz I'm not. It's much stranger. I think. I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing. (And that's enough italics for one post.)

This novel is coming out much more reluctantly than last year's. It's partly, I think, because I don't really know where it's going or what it wants to be yet. I know, more or less, the end, but not much of anything in between. I don't even know why the kentaurs are heading for the River Acheron (in Greek myth, it's one of the rivers of the Underworld, the river of woe). I guess I'll find out when they get there.

So, now to go add my NaNoBlog to the sidebar.

It Goes

2011 words today. I'm at 3890 words, and somewhere inside chapter two.

A Madness

It has begun. I'm at 1879 words, which is a pretty good start. I decided to join in NaNoBlogMo and blog my novel as I write it. You can read the whole thing as I go along, in Niko's NaNoBlog. There will be typos, inconsistencies and characters whose names change spelling randomly. Plus, I seem to be really wordy with this one. A little purple even. You have been warned.

Eek!

I just realized that NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow. I mean, I hadn't forgotten, it just didn't sink in until this very moment. Starting tomorrow, I need to write 1667 words a day for 20 days to reach 50,000 by the end of the month (actually, it's 1666.6 repeating, but if I write 1667 each day, I'll soon be very, very slightly ahead). Also, I think The Madness of Kentaurs is now called A Madness of Kentaurs, with "madness" being the word for a group of kentaurs/centaurs--like "a murder of crows," "a parliament of owls," "an unkindness of ravens" (my favourite). Hmm. All the ones I know off hand are birds. Anyway. There's still madness involved, of course, but now it's a pun, too. Or something.

Also, I have green hair now. Well, not all of it, just a streak at the front. "Spring green," which is actually more like "really bright, obnoxious green." I like it.

In Lieu of Flowers

Rowena's dad's wake was today, and I didn't make it down to Victoria. I've been trying to come up with a few words for days and days and am forced to conclude once again that there are no words. Or not the right ones. But I will try anyway.

When I was a teenager and young adult, most of my friend's parents didn't like me. One girl's dad said I was "spooky" because I hardly talked. I was debilitatingly shy (I grew out of it, mostly). Rowena's parents, on the other hand, always made me feel welcome, fed me delicious food, and never made me feel like I was required to say anything. Which is maybe why I need to find these words now.

I didn't really know Rowena's dad very well (which may be why I always seem to refer to him as "Rowena's dad" instead of "Mr Hart"), but I remember him as a man who told the coolest stories. Stories about eating ants in the jungle, about finding a shoe--complete with foot--while dredging a river, about poaching pheasants at night with a flashlight and a loop of copper wire. Most of the stories were told at the dinner table, and I thought it was cool that at Rowena's house dinnertime conversation covered topics most people wouldn't touch on while eating. I think, I hope, that Rowena's dad thought better of me because I wasn't bothered by curry with morbid stories.

It's a cliché, maudlin even, to say that the best a person can do with their life is to leave the world a better place than when they entered it, but I do think it's true. And Rowena's dad did leave the world a better place--for me, at least. I don't tend to believe in an afterlife, but if there is one, I'm sure Mr Hart is keeping all the other dead people amused with his stories. And if you happen to encounter a bit of pheasant poaching or a shoe with a dead foot inside in one of my stories, don't blame me.

"Fleeing Arcadia" page 2

Yes, it's that time of the week again--time for a new page of Fey: Fleeing Arcadia, page 2. Incidentally, regular readers (or not) may want to refer back to page 2 of "Drawing Borders" (i.e. the regular series) before reading "Fleeing Arcadia." (Yes, I should have mentioned this last week.) It's not at all necessary, just fun for those who like connections.

Fey: "Fleeing Arcadia"

As I mentioned last week, I'm taking a bit of time to get ahead on the main Fey storyline, "Drawing Borders," so in the meantime I'm running a short (graphic) story. Only one person voted on whether to run a Sorcha-meets-Megan story or an ancient-Greece-with-satyrs story, so Sue gets her way, and satyrs it is. Here: Fey: "Fleeing Arcadia," page 1. (Hand-lettered, no less!) (You can probably see why I decided to PhotoShop-letter "Drawing Borders.")

I Submit an Update

Right, so I blogged a while back about the various things I'd submitted various places. Here's what's come back so far:

• SciFiction sent back a rejection for "King of Kings, Master of Camels," with the lower limit of 2,000 words on the guidelines circled. Note to self: follow your own advice and do not merely read the guidelines, but follow them. I'll probably send it off to F&SF next. Mostly because I like the title.
  
• F&SF sent back a rejection for "Caught on Thorns," handsigned by Assistant Editor John Joseph Adams (aka The Slush God). This is a big step up from a photocopied generic rejection, but still a rejection. (A somewhat better sign is that I haven't had a non-hand-signed rejection from F&SF since the first few stories I sent them way back when.)
  
• Strange Horizons emailed a rejection for my poem "Steampunk Undersea." I really like this poem, for some reason (mostly I love my poetry dearly when I first write it, and then soon realize what awful drivel it is). The Science Fiction Poetry Association has a links page that lists plenty more markets for SF poetry, so I'll send it out a few more times, at least. Maybe to Asimov's once they're done rejecting "Hollow Bones."

So now I've got to get those pieces on their way out somewhere else, and get editing the other stuff I've written, and get it out, and so on.

Edit: Just sent "Steampunk" in as an e-sub to Sidereality.

NaNoNews

It finally occurred to me what I should tackle during this year's NaNoWriMo: The Madness of Kentaurs. It's a YA novel I started working on ages ago, but abandoned because I got too bogged down in taking notes and figuring things out, and lost track of the characters. I only ever wrote the first couple of chapters (and they were short). Madness is an alternate-world fantasy that has some resemblance to the Classical world. The centaurs are sort of cognate to the ancient Greeks (hence the spelling "kentaurs"), and the humans are sort of like the Romans. But not really. I think I got too caught up in the correspondences last time. I won't have time to do that in November. I may blog the novel at Blogger's NaNoBlogMo, but I haven't decided yet. I'm not sure I want anyone staring at my naked prose.

Niko's Toy Clothes

eBay item 5927894422: hakama and gi 12" action figures martial arts 1/6 scale

Latest Reading, Little and Much

Just occurred to me as I wrote that title, that both Little and Much are characters in the Robin Hood legends--Little John and Much the miller's son. Weird. Anyway, it's been a while since I last blathered on about what I've been reading, so here's the latest.

Fiction:

39. Five Weeks in A Balloon by Jules Verne. More in my League of Extraordinary Books reading. The more I read Jules Verne, the more I like. Five Weeks started out mostly description and travelogue, with little action, but there was actually quite a bit of action by the end. I think the real attraction of Verne's books is not so much the story (there isn't much tesion or conflict, and really only a basic plot). It's not even the characters, really, though their relationships are interesting--especially the extent of the loyalty between friends. You don't see that kind of selflessness much in more recent fiction. What really seems to catch me, anyway, are the fascinating speculations. Some science ficiton has been criticized for putting ideas before people, but Verne's are so fascinating that it hardly matters, especially considering a lot of the things he wrote about weren't invented at the time he wrote them, but do exist now. He's one of the few SF writers who can really be said to have predicted the future (or some of it), rather than just speculated on what it might be like. He'd probably say that that was because he very
    carefully worked out the science. Anyway, it also helps that the writing itself (or maybe the translation) is smooth and very readable.
    
40. The Widow of Jerusalem by Alan Gordon. I'm still really enamoured with the idea of a secret society of fools and troubadors, working towards peace in the medieval world. Jesters as secret agents. Very cool. This volume fills in some of the backstory of the main character. I don't know how accurate the depiction of the Holy Land during the Crusades is, but nothing has jumped out as being wrong. It seems to me that the story is based on solid research, which is just the kind of historical tale I like. Fabrication is all very fine, but somehow a good story is that much better when you know (or are confident enough in the author to suppose) that the details are accurate. Erm, anyway, it's a good book. A rousing yarn. Intrigue and juggling, tumbling of various kinds, a little bit of theivery. Assasins, kings, queens . . .
    
41. The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem. I thought it might be a good thing to add some contemporary steampunk to my League of Extraordinary Books reading. After all, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is contemporary steampunk (among other things, I suppose). I'd read William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's The Difference Engine some time ago, and loved it. So I dug out a list of steampunk I'd made ages ago, from a website I couldn't find again, and I signed out everything the library had. Which wasn't much, but it was a short list. And I began to read with The Cyberiad. I don't really know that I'd have classified this collection of stories about two robotic "constructors," Trurl and Klapaucius, as steampunk. Then again, I don't really know what else it could be classified as, and classification really doesn't matter in the end. The stories are odd, fable-like, science fantasy tales about improbable machines and strange kingdoms in the far reaches of space. The real fun of the stories is the author's love of language--especially scientific and mathematical language--which comes through even in translation (from Polish). It was a bit of a slow read due to the complexity of the language (though not as slow or as dense as something by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, for example), but a lot of fun. I can see why many people see Lem's work as classic, and Lem as one of the few "literary" sf writers.
    

Non-Fiction:

49. Shinto: The Kami Way by Sokyo Ono. This is one of those "been meaning to read for ages" books. I finally got it from the library when I got those samurai-related books I blogged about last time. While it didn't have as much detail as I'd have liked--I wanted more on the mythology and ritual--this was a good basic overview of Japan's indigenous religion. I did get very irritated by the frequent mentions of Shinto as a "racial religion," but it was written during the fifties (I think), when even scholars still got race and culture mixed up, or thought race and culture were somehow inextricable, or thought race was a valid scientific concept at all.
    
50. The Jules Verne Companion edited by Peter Haining. More League of Extraordinary Books reading. This book has all kinds of strange and interesting stuff in it, from a Jules Verne story, to appreciations of Verne by various contemporaries (like H.G. Wells), to a "phone call to the dead" between Verne's alleged spirit and Erich Von Daniken. Also, it has lots of covers and other illustrations from various editions of Verne's works, and a bibliography.
    
51. The Book of Kimono by Norio Yamanaka. I got this one to help me work out some of the details in my 1/6 scale samurai outfits for action figures. Not only was it helpful for that, but it turned out to be a fascinating book on its own. Lots of interesting history, and other stuff.
    

Sequential Art:

77. The Great Walls of Samaris by Schuiten and Peeters. A rather slender book, but in the large format that seems to be preferred by European graphic novel publishers. This is a beautiful, beautiful book, a story about a strange city and a man who goes there to find its secret. There isn't a lot I can say without spoiling the story, but if this is typical of French comics work, I'm going to have to find some more French comics. It appears to be volume 2 of a series of fantastic stories. I'll have to see if I can find out more.
    
78. Scary Godmother: The Mystery Date (volume 2, I think) by Jill Thompson. This is a very, very fun book. It's kind of part picture book, part graphic novel, gorgeously illustrated, with great characters. The main character is a little girl who can get into another world via her bedroom closet (with a little help from the monster under the bed). Over there, she has a Scary Godmother, a boy vampire best friend, and adventures with monsters. It's aimed at kids, I think, but it's one of those books adults will get a lot out of, too.
    
79. Parasyte volume 8 by Hitosi Iwaaki.
    
80. Eerie Queerie! volume 1 by Shun Shiozu. Kind of an unfortunate title, though it is the sort of pun manga often has in its Japanese titles. The original title translates as Ghost!, I think. Anyway, it's about a boy who can see ghosts, and who keeps getting possessed by ghosts wanting to settle their affaris in the world so they can pass on. Except he always seems to be possessed by female ghosts who want to work things out with men. Leading to various embarrassing situations for the poor schoolboy protagonist. It might have been another of those silly sit-com comics, except the main character discovers he might actually have real feelings for one of the boys he meets while possessed by an amourous female ghost. Er. I haven't really described it very well. I picked it up out of idle curiosity, having heard fairly favourable things, and ended up quite engrossed. I'll be looking out for more volumes.
    
81. Love Fights volume 1 by Andi Watson. I read Watson's Skeleton Key ages ago, but haven't read anything of his since. I don't know why, as I quite liked Skeleton Key (even though I seem to have traded in my copy of the graphic novel, for what reason I know not). Love Fights is about ordinary people in a city full of superheroes. Also it's about creating comics (in this book, all the comics are licensed propaganda machines for the various superheroes, which must be not unlike working for one of the Big Publishers). And it's a love story. The art is sketchy and rendered in flat blacks and greys, mostly, which suits the mood of the story. Of course, this volume ends after a falling out between the two main characters, so I'm going to have to look for volume 2.
    
82. Fushigi Yugi volume 1 by Yu Watase. This book falls in the "girl falls into alternate historical/mythic world" genre, but the interesting characters, beautiful art, and fascinating detail keep it from being . . . er, generic. I think this is considered one of the classics, though I haven't looked at the publication date to see when it first came out (and I'm too lazy to go look now). Anyway, it's yet another series I'll be continuing to read.
    
83. Maison Ikkoku: Good Housekeeping (volume 4) by Rumiko Takahashi.
    
84. Parasyte volume 9 by Hitosi Iwaaki.
    
85. Chrono Crusade volume 1 by Daisuke Moriyama. I'd read a bit of Chrono
    Crusade in Newtype USA (a massive 200-page monthly anime news magazine that is partly responsible for my lack of non-comics reading lately). It was fun, so I thought I'd see how I liked a bigger chunk of the story. Not only was it just as fun, I was a little surprised (why, I don't know, really) to find quite a lot of depth to the characters and story. I'll have to keep reading to find out what happens to these people (the demon Chrono, in particular). I'll probably have a look at the anime, too.
    
86. Parasyte volume 10 by Hitosi Iwaaki.
    
87. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume 2 by Alan Moore. Yay! More League. This time Moore works in The War of the Worlds and some of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars stuff (on my list of things to read), and some members of the League die or quit along the way, which makes me wonder what can possibly happen in volume 3. While I devoured the comics part of the book, the big text section--a travel guide to the weird world--took me a long time (partly because I kept forgetting where I'd set down the book). The text section manages to work in just about every book of the fantastic up to the late (?) Victorian period (when League is set). It's very cool, but adds a whole lot more stuff to my League of Extraordinary Books reading. Not that I mind.
    
88. The Complete Geisha by Andi Watson. More Andi Watson! This one's about an android raised as human and her attempt to make it as an artist, despite anti-android
    prejudice. She ends up working as a bodyguard for her dad's company, adding some ass-kicking to the story. Interestingly, though the science-fiction elements were necessary for the protagonist to have to fight discrimination, it was so far in the background the story could almost have happened without it. In other words, if you've avoided reading it because it's science fiction (which is a dumb, but not uncommon, reason for not reading things), then read it anyway. The sf is hardly there.
    
89. Cowboy Bebop volume 1 by Yutake Nanten. I've been meaning to write a post about novels/movies/novelizations and manga/anime/manga-izations, partly based on my thoughts about this book. So maybe I won't commment on Cowboy Bebop, except to say that it was fun, but not very satisfying, and I think I'd probably like the anime better.
    
90. Lenore: Wedgies (volume 2, I think) by Roman Dirge. This was a cheap-on-eBay find. Nice art and fun stories, but probably not something I'll spend a lot of money on. Maybe if I'd read right from the beginning I'd have found more depth, but as it is, I didn't see much substance here. I'm keeping the book, though, and will reserve judgement. I might very well be hooked by this series once I've read more.
    
91. Maison Ikkoku: Bedside Manners (volume 6) by Rumiko Takahashi. Argh. The library doesn't have volume 5, so I had to skip from 4 straight to 6. I probably didn't miss a whole lot, but still . . .
    
92. Parasyte volume 11 by Hitosi Iwaaki.
    
93. Inu-Yasha volume 6 by Rumiko Takahashi. I got a lot of Inu-Yasha cheap on eBay, so there are a few volumes on the list this time.
    
94. Inu-Yasha volume 7 by Rumiko Takahashi.
    
95. Inu-Yasha volume 8 by Rumiko Takahashi.
    
96. Inu-Yasha volume 9 by Rumiko Takahashi.
    
97. Inu-Yasha volume 10 by Rumiko Takahashi.
    
98. The Heart of the Beast by Dean Motter, Judith Dupré, and Sean Phillips. This was another booked I picked up on a whim, and I'm really glad I did. The art is gorgeous watercolours, which mostly works--the inclusion of photographic elements sometimes looks cool, and sometimes just looks out of place. The story is sort of a continuation of Frakenstein, but it's so well plotted that you (or I, anyway) only realize this gradually, which adds a tremendous amount to the impact of the story. I sort of wanted a longer lead-up to the characters falling in love, as it seemed to happen a little too quickly, but I also realize that that might have thrown off the timing otherwise.
    
99. Parasyte volume 12 by Hitosi Iwaaki. This is the final volume (for once, the library actually had the whole series). I'm thinking I might have to buy this series. I'm not really a big horror fan, but I'll happily stick with a creepy story that has good characterization. I was pleased to find that Parasyte continued to focus on the main character(s). Even when there was a lot of action and gore, it was about the characters coping with and/or responding to the action and gore, and never about the action and gore for action and gore's sake (can I fit "action and gore" into that sentence one more time?). Anyway, it's a good story that I'll read again if I can find it cheap (getting it from the library again might be too much effort--all that requesting and waiting and discovering that volume 10 was mis-catalogued as volume 8).
    
100. Bone: The Great Cow Race (volume 2) by Jeff Smith. Although I really do like Bone, I'm not really sure why so many people rave about it. It's good, yes. I'd recommend it, yes. But I don't think it's one of the best comics ever. But anyway, this volume was much fun, with more hints of dark things to come. Epic fantasy in comics form and all. I must remember to request the next volume from the library.
     
101. Inu-Yasha volume 11 by Rumiko Takahashi.
     
102. Inu-Yasha volume 12 by Rumiko Takahashi.
     
103. The Five-Star Stories volume 1 by Mamoru Nagano. The gorgeous covers of this series have fascinated me for a long time. That and the fact that no one seems to carry it. I finally found it at Planet Anime, and they were having a graphic novel sale, so I picked up the first two volumes. The art is very nice. The backstory is very, very complex. I'm not sure yet if that's a good thing, a deepens the story as you figure it out thing, or if it's just a too confusing to deal with thing. I think it will be good. I have one more volume to read, after which I'll have to decide if I want to continue with it.
     
104. CLAMP School Detectives volume 1 by CLAMP. Finally, some CLAMP. It was inevitable, in a list this long, that there'd be CLAMP. I think this is my least favourite of everything I've read of CLAMP's. It's a cute detective series, where the detectives are three elementary students at a super-elite school. I enjoyed it, but for some reason it just isn't as engaging as their other stuff. It might be partly because of the young age of the protagonists (though that wasn't a problem in Cardcaptor Sakura). I do have a bit of trouble believing a ten-year-old is a chick magnet. Or it might be that none of the mysteries really seem to matter. Everthing and everyone is just so nice. Oh well, it's only a three-volume series, and I already have volume 2.
     
105. One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry. I found this on the shelf at the front of the library where they put new and popular books. Barry took the idea of painting 100 demons that she found in a book about Zen art, and combined it with autobiography to produce a book of engaging stories (there aren't 100 demons in it; I assume this is volume one, with more to come). The art is cartoony (the stories first appeared as comic strips at Salon.com), but suits the story perfectly. It makes me want to start drawing 100 demons of my own (which might make a good way to start out Into the Woods, though probably without the autobiography).
     
106. Maison Ikkoku: Intensive Care (volume 7) by Rumiko Takahashi.
     
107. Whoa Nellie! by Jaime Hernandez. I got a couple of these comics when they first came out (sort of a later spin-off of Love and Rockets), but there was one that I could never find, so I was happy to pick this book up on eBay. Women's wrestling and friendship, plus Jaime Hernandez's gorgeous black and white art. Very cool. I sat down and read it as soon as I got it out of the envelope.
     
108. CLAMP School Detectives volume 2 by CLAMP.
     

Well, if my other reading has slowed down (partly due to magazines), my comics reading has obviously kept on zooming along. Lots of manga still, but some other great stuff, too.

Fey page 22

It's up. Ignore the Geocities ad and it folds up small eventually (and soon I won't be using Geocities any more). Next week will be something slightly different, while I get caught up on outlining chapter 2 and get ahead a bit, so I won't have to worry about getting done on time every Friday. So if you'd prefer an 8-page story about why a certain family of satyrs left Greece back in the old, old, old days, or if you'd prefer to see an 8-page story about how Sorcha and Megan met, cast your vote in the comments. (Both stories are already done, so it doesn't matter to me, just so long as I have a few weeks to get ahead on "Drawing Borders.")

Bleary Emergency

Or maybe not. I haven't slept yet tonight (or this morning, either). I may not sleep until much later in the day. Darwin (my big boy greyhound) was a little restless this evening, but then he often is--especially if Bast (Her Highness, Fuzziest Cat in the Universe) decides it would be fun to gargoyle at him. She freaks him out. But around when I settled in to read a little before sleep, Darwin kept lying down for few minutes, then pacing, then lying down, then pacing. I took him out many times before I realized he wasn't going to do anything more than pee a little. I began to worry. I began to think bloat. He was licking his chops a lot. Dogs with bloat salivate more than normal. He did a few little pukes. Dogs with bloat retch. Bloat (aka gastric torsion) is a scary, scary thing, and greyhounds are rather more likely to get it than many other kinds of dogs. It can kill dogs fairly quickly. It can mean expensive surgery. Scary, scary, scary.

After waking my poor sister (er . . . do you have a test today, Sue?) to see if she knew any more about bloat than I do, we decided I should call the 24-hour emergency line at the vet's. Turns out, a 24-hour emergency line is really a call to find out the on-call vet's pager number line; you then call that and leave a message, then wait for the poor sod to wake up and call you back.

Anyway, he was really nice, and had me describe the symptoms. Just as I was doing so, Darwin threw up about a handful of soggy dog food. This is a good sign. With bloat, the vet assured me, the stomach twists (hence "torsion") so that the dog can swallow air in, but can't throw anything up (exept saliva or white foam--Darwin wasn't producing white foam). So the vet said I didn't need to bring him in, but to keep a close eye on him. He told me various things to watch for and what they might mean, and advised giving Darwin Pepto Bismol to help settle his tummy. I don't have any Pepto Bismol, and didn't ask for dosage on any of the other antacids mentioned, so now I have to google and see if I can find out if Rolaids are okay for dogs and how much I should give him.

So, phew. Probably just D's tummy objecting to me switching his brand of dog food.

RIP Superman

This time Superman really is dead. I just read that Christopher Reeve passed away on Sunday. As far as I'm concerned, he was Superman.

Good Choice / Bad Choice

Depending on how one looks at it, Kya: Dark Lineage could have been a very good buy, or a very bad one. It's good because it's fun, engaging, nice to look at -- all those things a good game should be (also occasionally frustrating as I'm not very skilled in controller manipulation). But it's bad because it had me up till 2am last night. "I'll just play until the next autosave." "I'll just play until I get back to the village." "I can't stop with this bit only half finished." "I'll just play until . . ." Until my eyes fall out, maybe. So far I've kept myself from playing today. Instead, I watched anime (first two eps of Yukikaze), and read Stanislaw Lem (The Cyberiad). Oh, and had a much-needed long hot soak in the tub (with Stanislaw Lem) (well, his book, anyway). Maybe tomorrow once all my work is done (or a good chunk of it, anyway), I'll allow myself a couple of hours of Kya.

There's a frog in the pond outside my window right now, making an astonishing variety of grumbles and clicks, in addition to the usual deep-throated croaks.

I Have Fans?

Does it count if they're blood relatives?

My nephew reads Fey. He liked it well enough to ask me the other day if I'd put any new pages up. I didn't even know he'd been reading it. I knew Sue was, but I didn't really think anyone else did. It's very, very cool that Ryan reads Fey, even if he is related to me.

Games Games Games

Went to TRU today. Mostly they had nothing interesting (not even considering this weird new fascination with Barbies--ick). But then I went into the electronics section, and they had a whole bunch of games marked down. I just got paid recently. Bad combination, that, cheap games and me with money. I managed to restrict myself to two. I got Kya: Dark Lineage for PS2, which looks like a fun action-adventure sort of thing, and Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon for PC (I'm not sure my video card is fast enough, so I may be sneaking downstairs when Sue isn't home to play it). Broken Sword is an adventure game (ie lots of puzzles). I really liked the last one, and I've heard good things about this one. Yay! Now I'm gonna go play Kya and pretend I don't still have three other PS2 games and somewhere around . . . 8 maybe PC games. I'll get to them all. 'Specially since I'm planning to get a Mac in a year or so--I'll have finished all the PC games by then.

Tis the Season and All That

So Dad reminded me that Xmas is on its way, and I thought maybe I should do up my annual "list of things I like" because people always seem to want to know what I'd like for Christmas. I decided not to put a Mini Cooper on the list. No one I know has that much money. Anyway, for books, video games, dvds and cds, I made an Amazon.ca wish list. It's here. It has lots of strange and wonderful things on (though there are also lots of stragne and wonderful things they either didn't have, or I haven't added yet). Other things that are not there are stuff from Hobby Link Japan (like, say, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this . . . and I had better stop now). Also the archer set (4th one in the top row) from R & D. (I know, probably no one will get me any of those. Pout.) Gift certificates are always good, too, if you don't to wade through my list, or prefer not to shop online.

So enough selfisness--what would everyone else like for the holidays?

One More

Lovely white-haired character, that is. Brother Alfred from Judith Tarr's The Hound and the Falcon trilogy.

Aaah! Faerie Queen

Okay, this is some kind of disease. It has to be. I really want this one: Dolls of the World - Legends of Ireland - Faerie Queen

Princess of Ancient Greece

You know, I hate to admit it, but I really like this Barbie: Princess of Ancient Greece Barbie. Give her a better body (say a BBI Perfect Body) and maybe darken her skin a little, and she'd be a great 1/6 scale ancient Greek action figure. Need to balance out all those ancient historical boys, you know. Erm. If I see this on sale somewhere for under 10 bucks, I might pick it up just for the costume. A few of the others in the series are interesting, too. (Did I really just say I like a Barbie? There must be something wrong with me. The inflammation in my wrist has spread to my brain . . . heeelllllp . . .)

And More . . .

Almost forgot. I listened to the Last Exile soundtrack 2 while drawing this week's Fey. And that made me remember another pretty white-haired favorite character: Lord Dio (from Last Exile, hence the remembering bit). Last Exile is currently my very favorite anime series, though InuYasha, Wolf's Rain, and Witch Hunter Robin are close behind. And close after them is Rurouni Kenshin--it had me laughing out loud a few times. Now I have to go set the VCR to tape Mobile Suit Gundam Seed, InuYasha, and Witch Hunter Robin for my niece Selena (hwah, ha ha, my evil plan to turn everyone around me into anime fans is beginning to take effect).

Ow, Ow, Ow: Fey page 21

Stupid sore wrist. Stupid stupid stupid. Here's page 21. And page 20 is now fixed.

If, unlike me, you haven't yet managed to fuck up your writing wrist, and you do a lot of writing, or drawing, or whatnot, get thee to a stationer's or office supply shop and buy some of those pens and mechanical pencils with the big barrels and cushy grips. The ones endorsed by the Arthiritis Society are particularly good. Trust me. And learn to relax your arm and hand while writing. Also, invest in ergonomic gel wrist rests for your mouse and keyboard. That way, you might avoid the tendonitis or carpel tunnel syndrome or whatever it is that makes my wrist very, very hurty every few months or so. But I'll be fine. (whine, whine)

Such Pretty Silver Hair

I've recently picked up an assortment of naked action figures/fashion dolls to use as models for making 1/6 scale clothes and stuff (some to sell, some for me). I had some really nice comments on the hakama and gi set I recently sold on eBay. Anyway, this one particluar figure, a Volks "Neo-Go" (aka "Go-Guy")--a slenderer figure than the standard G.I. Joe-type--has me totally fascinated. For these figures, you buy the head separately, so you can choose the face and get one bald for rooting yourself, or pre-rooted in various colours. The pre-rooted heads come with really, really long hair, so you can cut it however you want. I picked a narrow-faced (rather cheekbony) head with white hair. And now I can't stop thinking about different costumes I could make. So I was trying to figure out why I'm so fascinated by this pretty white-haired boy doll, and I realized that there's a whole line of pretty white/silver haired men who have been favourite characters of mine. The ones I came up with without too much thought are:

• Skywise (Elfquest)
  
• Elric of Melniboné (Michael Moorcock's Elric books)
  
• Farin Silverhair (Diana Paxson's Westria books)
  
• Reiken/Seren (A Distant Soil)
  
• Deth (Patricia McKillip's Riddle-Master trilogy)
  
• Rohannon Melior (Rosemary Edgehill's The Twelve Treasures series)
  
• InuYasha (InuYasha)
  
• Sesshomaru (InuYasha)
  
• Yuki Tsukisiro, aka Julian (Cardcaptor Sakura/Cardcaptors anime)
  
• Yueh (Cardcaptor Sakura)

More or less in chronological order (of me encountering them). I could probably come up with more. So is this just my fascination with pretty hair (and pretty men), or is it something more general in fantasy? Maybe both. Anyway, boy doll with long white hair needs a name. And some clothes.

Fey Oops

Heh. I realized yesterday that when I added the text to page 20, I forgot to lighten the grey behind where the words go. So it's a little harder to read than I intended. I will fix it, but not this minute, because I'll have to go back to a copy from before I added the text (on account of I flattened it after). Anyway, at least it isn't impossible to read.

Fey page 20

And I only had to re-boot twice! Fey page 20

Writing: Eep!

I just realized NaNoWriMo is only a month away (registration starts tomorrow), and I still haven't revised last year's novel. I think I said I was going to do that in January . . . I guess I'd better start (erm . . . anyone wanna fly me to Scotland to do location research? I only need to spend a day or two each in Dunvegan and Aberfoyle).

This year, I can't decide if I'll do The Love Talker, the romance novel I once thought would be easy (I mean, I might as well get all the sick-making prose over with at once), or if I want to give Fairy Rings another shot and start it over from scratch. With a different title. And maybe a younger main character. Or maybe I should do something else. I could give Reading the Bones another stab. But then there's still all that research. Or maybe Bunk. But again, there'd be a lot of research to do.

Erm. Would you say I maybe have a few partially developed ideas rolling around? (Next person who says "I have this great idea; how about I tell it to you and you could write it?" dies a long, boring, painful death.) Anyway.

Going to dig out the The Secret Common-Wealth ms now.

League of Extraordinary Fiction (and not)

Er . . . I really haven't been reading much non-pictorial fiction, have I?

37. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. I like Jules Verne. Not a whole lot seems to really happen--not much action, anyway. And there are a lot of numbers and lists of species and other scientific details. And yet. It's just so damn fascinating! And I have a new word to add to my list of favourite words (which include things like eldritch and dirigible): poulpe. Okay, it's a French word, but they used it in the English translation I read. And it sounds cool. Poulpe. Yup.
    
38. A Deceptive Clarity by Aaron Elkins. I don't find Elkins' Chris Norgren books (main character=art historian/director of art museum) quite as addictive as the Gideon Oliver books (main character=forensic anthropologist), but they're still pretty good. I think they're more violent in a main-character-beaten-to-a-pulp sense, too. Anway, it was a superquick, fun read, wherein I learned something about art history and forgery.
    

So now I'm working on Five Weeks in a Balloon, which has the same not-much-action, lots-of-technical-detail components as 20,000 Leagues, but is also really fascinating. The heroes have just tethered their balloon to a tree for their first night over Africa.
Edit: Plus, I finally finished LoEG vol 2, which I'll write about in my next "Seq Art Reading" post.

(Slow) Non-Fiction Reading

48. Life Along the Silk Road by Susan Whitfield. I think I like the idea of this book better than the book itself. It borrows the structure of The Canterbury Tales to describe what life was like in the region of the Silk Road(s) at the height of its importance. So there's "The Horseman's Tale," "The Courtesan's Tale," and so on. Except it's the tale of each character, rather than a tale told by them (so I guess it's not so Canterbury after all). It's a great way to structure a history book--focus it on each character and what happened in their life. But it slips into events-and-dates history a little too often (unavoidably, perhaps) for easy reading. Whitfield is a Silk Road/Chinese History scholar, and it shows in her careful research. But it also shows in the writing. It isn't bad writing, it just isn't non-scholarly enough for a general audience (except a very determined one). Still, it was worth reading. I learned how very multicultural and dynamic that part of the ancient world was. Cool.
    

So, for a change my non-fic reading is . . . not very productive. As in I haven't been reading much of it. Next is a book on Shinto, then one on pigeons. Then maybe the bird evolution one I picked up ages ago. No, wait, there's a library book on airships first.

Why Harvest Moon?

Cool moon lore here: Watch Out for the Harvest Moon. (Link via SpaceWeather.)

Stephen Fry

From The Onion (via Neil Gaiman):

. . . there's a very dismissive British phrase, 'Jack of all trades and master of none.' But who wants to be the master of one trade, rather than having fun doing lots of things?

Exactly.

Fey page 19

Hunh. I should've known. As soon as I blogged that I was having trouble with PhotoShop, I went back to it and it worked just fine. So here's page 19

Please Stand By

We are experiencing technical difficulties. I'm on re-boot 6 now, and so far all I've managed to accomplish is putting the two halves of today's page of Fey together. I can't even flatten the two layers that the two halves are on. Every time I try to flatten it gets most of the way through and freezes. Sigh. Very large, long-suffering sigh. I'll keep trying, and maybe the page will be up by the end of the day. And it would've been up by noon if . . .

I Submit

Finally, I am getting back in the habit of submitting writing. At least I hope I am. Yesterday I got five different short stories ready to mail out (though I managed to seal two of the envelopes before inserting SASEs, and had to peel them open again). They go in the mail next time I'm at the post office (which will be soon, as I have eBay things to send out too). Here's what I'll be sending:

• "Hollow Bones" to Asimov's. It's a bit of a long shot, as they don't publish a lot of fantasy, but the story's already been to F&SF and Realms of Fantasy. It'll go to some online zines next, probably.
  
• "Sealskin" to Realms of Fantasy. I think I may have sent an earlier version to them ages ago, but they acquired a new slush reader since, and she sent me nice comments along with the last two rejections, so I thought I'd try this one.
  
• "Sharper and More Fragrant" to Black Gate. They primarily publish adventure fantasy. "Sharper" is kind of an adventure. Not my strongest story, though. (Er . . . my favourite is usually the most recent.)
  
• "Caught on Thorns (three variations of Sleeping Beauty)" to F&SF. I can never decide if this should be three separate stories one one story subtitled "Three Variations." So far, I've left it as the latter. I might later submit it to Fables as three separate stories.
  
• "King of Kings, Master of Camels" to SciFiction. Another longshot, as they aren't really looking for short shorts (they did publish Michael Swanwick's excellent Periodic Table of Science Fiction, though).

I also, just now, sent an email submission of my poem "Steampunk Undersea" to Strange Horizons. SH is one of the better (best, even?) online zines (actually considered a professional market by the SFWA). They published my essay on SF and new media a while back (and even paid me for it). They're having a fund drive right now, so if you're looking for good reading material and have a little extra cash, consider sending some to them (then, if they publish my poem, they'll be able to pay me) (hee hee). Even if you don't have extra cash, you can still read everything on the site for free (including my article).

"Steampunk" is about the only poem I've written that I still rather like many months later. I'm not sure about the title, though. I've kept it because I like the way it sounds. The rhythm and such. Actually the whole poem is about sounds as much as images. I was going to submit it here but I forgot and missed the deadline.

Now I wait. (Well, also I still have to go to the post office.)

Theses Canada Portal

Look at this. There's even a link to a pdf of my thesis. It's sort of faintly embarrassing. Not that I'm not pround of the work I did, just that I've always had this sort of sneaking suspicion that it isn't really very good.

Writing: Daughters of the Sea King

I finally got to transferring "Daughters of the Sea King" from my hand-written notebook to a word processor file. It's just over 2600 words, which is pretty short, but all it needed.

They hunted.

Women like fleet sharks moved through the sea faster than anything human could. For a time they hunted each for herself; one darted a slender arm past her sister’s face to snatch a small fish; one bit another’s leg, leaving a jagged gash, just to get her out of the way.

When the fish became fewer, the Sea King’s daughters swam for the joy of it, speeding along just under the surface, where stray beams of light escaped from the clouds and dappled the grey skin of their backs and made the deep seaweed-green of their hair seem to glow.

One sister had hair of silver and the grey of her skin was like pearls. She was shunned by the others. She was the most vicious of them.

I think I really like this story, though I'm a little worried that a large part of it won't make any sense to someone who hasn't read "Cobbleshore Knit" or "Sealskin."

Magazine Writing

The article on plagiarism that I wrote for Writing! magazine will be in the November/December issue. Don't look for it on the newsstand, though, it's one of those magazines published for use in schools (I think individuals can subscribe, though).

Today's Fey Brought to You by the Letter AAARGH

So, page 18, after 4 re-boots and much cursing. (I swear, I'm throwing this machine out the window--at its little laptop friend, too--and buying a Mac at the soonest opportunity. Alas, "soonest" won't be soon enough . . .)

The League Of Extaordinary Reading

So I finally got back to my reading everything alluded to in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Figuring in the prose section of League volume two, this is going to take a very, very long time. But that's fine with me. With Sir Doyle out of the way (actually, he isn't, as I still have the Professor Challenger material to read, but I have to find it first), I've tackled Jules Verne. I've started with 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea. I think I'm in love with Jules Verne. I've also got a book called The Jules Verne Companion or some such (haven't got it to hand) that my ex-brother-in-law leant me. I've only got two others of Verne's books, but the library should be able to provide me with more. After that, I'll probably start on H.G. Wells. And speaking of H.G. Wells, here's some cool news.

More New Non-Fiction Reading

I mentioned ghosts and samurai last time. Here they are.

45. The Sword of No-Sword by John Stevens. This is a biography of a sword-master in the late feudal period of Japan. Erm. Around the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Restoration. It was most interesting for its depiction of how sword-schools work and the way this one man, Tessho, mastered three different arts--the sword, calligraphy, and zen--and made them all one in his personal practice. Er. That was a bad sentence. Anyway, the structure of the book was kind of odd. It jumped all over the place in time so that, although I think I got a pretty good idea of Tessho's character, I never had any idea what happened when in relation to anything else (well, I had ideas, but very little was clear, time-wise). Also, the writing was fairly mediocre. Not bad, just not especially good. This is really a book for people strongly interested in sword arts or Japanese history, and not really something most casual readers would like.
    
46. A Gathering of Ghosts by Robin Skelton and Jean Kozocari. I've had this book on my shelf for probably ten years or more, and never got around to reading it. I kept it because I like Robin's writing, but I've been thinning out the shelves (a long, painful process that will continue all year, probably), and thought maybe I might sell it. But I thought I should read it first. It's definitely well-written. Everything Robin wrote was (well, everything he published) (that I've read so far). It's an interesting insider look at ghost exorcism, and I enjoyed it, but it's not a topic that interests me so much anymore. I mean, I still like ghost stories and ghost folklore, but the paranormal investigation of ghosts and its accompanying pseudoscience really isn't something I intend to spend much time on. Still, it was a nice, quick read, and fun, but the book is now listed on eBay. I need to save money if I intend to go to art school next year.
    
47. The Samurai Sword: A Handbook by John M. Yumoto. More Samurai. I must confess, one of the reasons I signed this out was because I wasn't sure which way to put on the tsuba ("hand-guard") on my little 1/6 scale Shinsengumi Samurai swords. It's the fancier side close to the hilt, in case you're wondering, which makes sense as it what would be most visible when the sword is sheathed. The other reason I signed it out is because swords are one of my minor obsessions. Anyway, it's not a brilliant piece of writing, but it isn't supposed to be. It's a useful handbook. With cool pictures.
    

Now I'm working on a library book on the Silk Road (one of my random browsing finds). Then I really will get to some of those science books on my own shelves. Really.

More New Sequential Art Reading

So I continue to zoom on towards 100 graphic novels read this year (and I was worried about making it to 50!) I think this is the year of comics for me. I've been so focused on making Fey that all I seem to want to read is comics or non-fiction research material. Well, that and stuff about Samurai so I can improve my 1/6 scale action figure clothing for selling on eBay. But anyway . . .

72. Storm Riders volume 2 by Wing Shing Ma. More kung fu and gorgeous art. This is a strange but oddly compelling story. I suspect most people read it for the kung fu, but I need a little more from my comics than pretty men and fight scenes (though pretty men and fight scenes do make a good start).
    
73. Maison Ikkoku volume 3 by Rumiko Takahashi. While I'm still very much enjoying this series, I also still don't think it's one I need to own. Maybe I'll change my mind when I've read more of it. Sadly, I think the VIRL is missing some of the volumes from the middle of the series.
    
74. Storm Riders volume 3 by Wing Shing Ma.
    
75. Storm Riders volume 4 by Wing Shing Ma. This is the last volume I have, and I don't think the library carries it. There's at least one more volume, but this book was published in the 80s, so it might be hard to find.
    
76. Ranma 1/2 volume one by Rumiko Takahashi. Finally, after a couple of months on the list at the library, I get this book in my hands. I like it quite a bit--more than Maison Ikkoku, but not quite as much as InuYasha. This could either say something about Takahashi's maturing as an artist and storyteller (I think that's the order they were created/published in), or it could say something about my desire for the fantastic in stories (each has more fantasy that the last). Anyway, time to request volume two.
    

Now I've got to finish the prose bits of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume 2. I keep setting it aside and forgetting to get back to it (this says nothing about the book--it's excellent--just that I've mostly been reading in short chunks instead of long marathons lately). And a whole pile of my recent eBay bargains arrived yesterday, giving me some great western comics (that's western as opposed to eastern, not western with cowboys) to read. Some fantastic, some not. Er . . . probably mostly fantastic.

I Am . . .

You are Schroeder!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

(Link via The Johnny Bacardi Show.)

On Time: Fey Page 17!

What?! Everbody's naked on page 17? Alas, it's true.

What Was that Oscar Wilde Said?

Here's a great quote by Neil Gaiman (found at Thought Balloons):

'I come from comic books,' said Gaiman. 'If sci-fi is the gutter of literature, comics are the place that the gutter flows into.'

Hee hee. (Oh, and you can read that Wilde quote here.)

Latest Non-Fiction Reading

Interesting how you can tell exactly what topics are on my mind lately, just by looking at what I'm reading. Most recent obsession: comics.

42. Anime Explosion by Patrick Drazen. As I said before, when I'm not indulging my obsessions, I read about them. One thing about reading about anime is that you find out about all the puns and jokes that only work in Japanese. Plus you learn about cultural references and other interesting details. And you get to make long lists of must-see movies and tv shows.
    
43. How to Sell and Draw Comic Strips by Alan McKenzie. I'm not sure why I keep getting these how-to-draw-comics books from the library. Most of them either aren't very good, or just say exactly the same thing as all the others. Still, I thought this one looked promising. And actually, it was pretty good. The author is English (I think), so he talks about the UK side of the comics business, about which I knew very little. The writing was good, too, and the discussions less superficial than they usually seem to be in this kind of book. Don't think I'll run out and buy it, but there was useful stuff in here, and it was worth the time spent reading it.
    
44. How to Draw Manga: Getting Started by K's Art. Er, yes. More how-to-draw. I picked this one because there are lots of things that are done rather differently in manga than in western comics. I was particularly interested in the tools--different paper, different pens, cool coloured markers and screen tones. This book's pretty superficial on just about every topic, but there's enough that I can play around with some interesting techniques. I have to admit, I'm still a little intimidated by screen tones, though.
    

And that's it. I'm working on ghosts and samurai right now (two different books), with something on the Silk Road up next. Then maybe some of those great science books on my shelf. And more fiction. Most of my fiction reading lately has been the kind with pictures.

Latest Sequential Art Reading

I'm so sleepy I can hardly keep my eyes open, so I've had to admit that I might not get much done today. Stupid early mornings when I can't get back to sleep. So my apologies if my writing isn't very coherent.

57. Crescent Moon volume 2 by Haruko Iida. I liked volume one so much I picked up volme two the next time I was at the comic shop. Pretty pictures, vampires and werewolves and kitusne and tengu, nice writing for the most part.
    
58. Lone Wolf and Cub volume 3 by Kazuo Koike. I had thought there was a subtle underlying ongoing plot thread to this book, that would eventually tie together all the disparate short stories. Now I'm not so sure. I still like it though. Good samurai action.
    
59. Cardcaptor Sakura volume 1 by CLAMP. It's very, very interesting to see what got edited out when these books got turned into the anime Cardcaptors for US television, starting with the addition of the plural. And the removal of most of the crushes (probably because at least half of them were same-sex). I enjoyed the anime, but I like the manga much better.
    
60. Cardcaptor Sakura volume 2 by CLAMP.
    
61. Cardcaptor Sakura volume 3 by CLAMP.
    
62. Cardcaptor Sakura volume 4 by CLAMP.
    
63. Cardcaptor Sakura volume 5 by CLAMP.
    
64. Cardcaptor Sakura volume 6 by CLAMP. This ends the first half of the series (it's published in the US as two mini-series of 6 books each). But I still need to know what happens next. eBay has not been helpful so far in finding the next 6 books. Argh.
    
65. Maison Ikkoku volume 2 by Rumiko Takahashi. Hmm. I like this series, but I don't think it's one I need to own.
    
66. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind volume 3 by Hayao Miyazaki. I think I've already blathered on enough about how wonderful this book is.
    
67. Aria volume 2 by Kozue Amano. This one continues a sweet, gentle series with lovely art. There's not much conflict, but I still really enjoy these stories.
    
68. Chobits volume 1 by CLAMP. Yes, more CLAMP! This one has much more overt sexual content (though no actual sex) than Cc Sakura. It seems to be addressing both male and female audiences (something that CLAMP seems to be fairly adept at). There's flashes of skin, cute girls and references to porn for the boys; and cute boys, an interesting storyline and deep characters for the girls (not that the two don't cross over; while I can do without the porn references, I certainly don't mind the skin or the cute girls). So far everything I've read by CLAMP looks like fluff on the outside, but has surprising depth once you get into it (probably only surprising because it looks like fluff).
    
69. Chobits volume 2 by CLAMP.
    
70. Chobits volume 3 by CLAMP. I think there are five more volumes to this series. As with Cc Sakura, eBay is so far not very helpful.
    
71. Storm Riders volume 1 by Wing Shing Ma. Just to prove I read more than manga, here's a Chinese Kung Fu comic. The story is mostly about great rivalries and fantastically powerful swords so far, and the 80s-era translation is sometimes amusing (has anyone ever actually said "hells bells"?). The art is truly beautiful, though, and there are hints that the story is more than just a place to insert lots of kung fu fighting. We shall see.
    

My comics reading these days is mostly dictated by a) what the library has, and b) what I can get cheap on eBay. More manga and kung fu on the way, but also some US and European books.

Fey page 16

Urgh. Only slightly late, but here's page 16. I really tried to at least finish inking last night, but I got to the point where I'd start making big mistakes if I kept going, so I stopped. There's a LOT of cross hatching on this page. And fairies. And now I have to go make a home for my new pigeon, which will arrive in an hour or so (I'll tell that story later).

Fey News

Maybe, for the first time ever, Fey might be late. I spent the day in shopping malls in Victoria and waiting for an accident to be cleared off the Malahat, so I'm home later than I intended, and really, really sleepy. And, of course, I never did manage to get a few pages ahead as I'd intended, so the next page isn't ready yet. I'm going to work on it some now, but I'm not sure I'll last until it's done. So there might not be a new page of Fey until tomorrow. Probably there won't be. See, I can't even make any sense.

Alas (or At Last), More Fey

Once again, I cut it close, but this time it was because I was busy having roast beef dinner at Mum's. Mmm . . . cow . . . Oddly appropriate for the brand new page 15, actually. Lots of text on this one (less than was on the original, so I could make it fit in the balloons, though).

Make Mine Manga (and one that isn't)

Standing in front of the huge display of manga at the comics shop the other week, I kept thinking "there's so many!" So many volumes of series I've started (32 volumes of Lone Wolf and Cub, I think; 17 and counting of InuYasha). But especially so many different series that sound good. And so many different genres. I remember a time before there was much manga in the shops, when I felt that same sense of being overwhelmed by choice. That was also before "mainstream" equaled "superhero" in comic shops. That would've been in the early 90s, probably. Sigh. It's not that there aren't any western comics that I want to read anymore, it's just that most of them don't shop up in the stores. Or it costs too much to buy individual issues, so I wait for collected editions. And then those don't show up in the stores. I gotta say, though, it's really nice to have girls in my way when I'm looking at comics, instead of middle-aged men (and yes, I am generalizing, but it wasn't so long ago that I got stared at for venturing into comic stores). 'Course, now I also have teenaged boys buying Magic cards in my way when I'm trying to pay.

51. InuYasha volume 4 by Rumiko Takahashi. It's interesting how closely the anime follows the manga. And it's even more interesting to see what gets changed. But I'd better hurry up with this series--I just picked up volume 15 cheap on eBay.
    
52. Nausicaa of the valley of the Wind volume 2 by Hayao Miyazaki. Just go read this.
    
53. Planetes volume 1 by Makoto Yukimura. I decided to try a couple of new series recently, and this is one of them. It's got a science-fiction setting--the main characters are space-junk collectors (glorified garbage collectors, really), whose job it is to keep the spaceways clean of potentially dangerous bits of old satellites and such. The story (or stories; it's a little episodic, though with an underlying larger story) is about people, though, coping with the things people have always coped with (plus some new things introduced by space travel). The art's good, though there was one point where two of the characters suddenly switched haircolours. It threw me off, but the drawing was good enough that I noticed right away ("wait a minute, didn't he used to be blond? And didn't that guy have dark hair?").
    
54. Bone: The Dragonslayer (Bone volume 4) by Jeff Smith. What? It's not manga? Nope, it's Bone, one of the best all-ages comics out there. Or one of the best fantasy comics. Take your pick. I'd only read volume one, but this one seems to be starting a new story arc (well, sort of, Bone is really one big story arc) so I wasn't too lost. I am getting the library to get me volumes 2 and 3 from other branches, though. There's comedy, human drama, scheming, love, evil, and stupid, stupid rat creatures. And the whole series has just come out in one giant volume (over 1000 pages, I hear). I'll be looking for that.
    
55. Crescent Moon volume 1 by Haruko Iida. This is the second of the new manga series I decided to try recently. One reason it intrigued me was that there's a werewolf in it, and werewolves aren't very common in manga (as opposed to, say, demons or vampires or angels or fairies). I'm a sucker for werewolves anyway. The story was a bit, er, opaque to begin with, but as the story goes on, I've been sorting it out. There's a fair bit of standard fantasy fare here, but there's also an intriguing romance-from-long-ago that started many of the current events, and may have interesting effects in the future. I have to see if my hunch is right. The art in this book varies--occasionally it seems amateurish, occasionally too cute--but mostly it's very, very beautiful.
    
56. InuYasha volume 5 by Rumiko Takahashi. Please more dog-boy demons. Especially ones with pretty big brothers (did I ever mention I have a weakness for pretty boys?).
    

So now it's back to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I've read the comics part of volume 2, but I've slowed down with the text-only part. It's great stuff, just very dense.

Strange Animals: Fiction

I've been meaning to read more Terry Pratchett since my friend-from-grad-school Julia first gave me copies of a few of his Discworld books. They're very funny.

36. The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett. Intelligent rats. An intelligent cat. A stupid-looking boy. The niece of two famous storytellers. A pied-piper scheme. Something Very Wrong. Er . . . I think this was building up to something. Anyway, those are things that are in this book, plus lots of very funny writing. Everyone should read this. Even if they hate fantasy. Even if they think no fantasy can ever be better than Harry Potter (maybe especially then). I was going to tell my nephew to read it, but then I though my recommendation might make him NOT read it. You can never tell with teenagers.
    

Now that copy of All Tomorrow's Parties waits.

Strange Animals: Non-Fiction

My non-comics reading really does seem to be slowing down now. I suspect it's because I haven't been getting such huge stacks from the library, so there's less pressure. But if I'm going to skip town in a year to go back to school, I'll need to start thinning out the books now, which means reading and reading and reading to figure out which of the as-yet-unread books are worth keeping (and I'm one of those people who likes to have a lot of as-yet-unread books around; I'll read them all eventually, by which time I'll have lots of new ones I haven't read yet . . .).

41. Platypus by Ann Moyal. This was on the new acquisitions shelf in the library. It's just the sort of combination of science and history that I've really been enjoying lately (look back at earlier posts and you'll find quite a few of them). Plus, platypuses are just so bizarre. I learned a lot, too, which is always nice; not just about playpuses in particular, but also about mammals in general, and taxonomy, and the early history of evolutionary theory. The writing was not the sort that makes you think"wow, what an amazingly written book." Instead, it was the sort that is entirely unobtrusive and creates no barriers between the reader and the material.
    

I will get to those books on my shelves. I will. Just as soon as I finish the three--or is it four--most recent ones from the library.

More Fun With Names

My japanese name is Yoshikuni (good fortune country) Emi (blessed with beauty).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

Niko Makes Cool Stuff

I just finished my second customization project for 1/6 scale (12") action figures. I made a wee little hakama ("samurai pants") and gi/short komono for big martial arts action. Or something. It's the first project like this I'd actually want anyone to see (you can see pics here and here temporarily--I've listed them on eBay--but I'll make some sort of page on my website soon). Now I just need to figure out how to make a 1/6 scale shinai (bamboo practice sword) and yumi (Japanese asymmetrical longbow). Hmmm . . .

Fey page 14

I'm not sure why the lettering looks slightly crappier than usual; I'm pretty sure I did it exactly the same way. Oh well. Here it is.

New Name

So I finally changed the name of my blog. I've been meaning to do it for a while, and never really liked the old one (Niko Blathers On . . .) in the first place. I wanted something that better reflected by bizarre conviction that archaeology, folklore, writing and visual arts ("which one of these things is not like the others?") are all part of the same impulse. Well, they are for me, anyway. It's all about stories.

Some of the other possibilities I was considering were:

• Breath, Blood, Ink
  
• Old Ink, New Lines
  
• Writing Pictures, Drawing Words
  
• A Picture and a Thousand Words

It's probably apparent why some of them didn't make it. I was really trying to find something that somehow suggested all four of my storytelling aspects. Writing and drawing were the easiest. I thought perhaps folklore and archaeology could be suggested by age. I don't think the title I chose necessarily has all those things in it, but it's more personal. I don't expect I'll change it again. Not soon, anyway.

Categorizing Comics

It just occurred to me that eBay lists comics under "Collectibles" rather than under "Books." In fact, when I was first searching for graphic novels/collections, I kept wanting to search in "books." I mean, comics are things to read. Those people who seal them in mylar bags and never read them for fear of getting a fingerprint on the cover or a wrinkle in a page are just weird. Which isn't to say I treat my books badly. I'm actually known as being rather anal about books, and I don't let people borrow mine unless I know I'll get them back in the same condition they left the house. I chide people for putting paperbacks down pages-down and open (cracks the spine). I've been known to pointedly offer bookmarks. Sometimes I ask people if their hands are clean before handing them a volume (sometimes also pointedly). But comics aren't collectibles. Not in my house. They're books. (And that whole comics-as-collectibles mindset almost destroyed the industry not so long ago, anyway.)

The Real Aim of Jedi Training

Looking Good in a Big Brown Bathrobe. Hee hee.

What's Your Cyborg Name?

N.I.K.O.: Networked Intelligent Killing Organism

N.I.C.O.: Networked Individual Calibrated for Observation

The Cyborg Name Generator (via Pen-Elayne)

Nerdier Than Thou

Rowena figures she's a nerd for making plans with her sister to go out and watch the Perseid meteor shower Wednesday night. So how much nerdier am I for getting up at 2 am both Wednesday and Thursday to catch the shower at it's peak? (Actually, on Thursday night it was wake up at 2am, immediately fall back to sleep, and get up an hour and a quarter later and then forget my glasses so the stars are all slightly fuzzy.) Even without the meteors, it was glorious star watching from where I live out in the almost-boonies. The moon didn't come up until later in the morning, and even then it was a skinny little crescent. There were no clouds. It was daaark and the sky looked huge, even though we're surrounded by trees on the side of our mountain. I didn't used to be able to see the Milky Way when we lived in the suburbs. Now I see it every clear night. Yes, Rowena, meteors are cool (and so are stars, and planets, and satelites, and skinny little crescent moons cupping the dimly earth-lit dark moon next to an absurdly bright Venus at 5 in the morning when the dog really, really needs to poop).

Cutting It Close

Well, it's still Friday, if just barely. And here's page 13 of Fey (and I didn't forget the page number this time).

(not much) Fiction Reading

Well, I didn't last long only reading books off my own shelves.

35. Face Down Upon an Herbal by Kathy Lynn Emerson. This book I kept seeing every time I went looking for more Gideon Oliver books by Aaron Elkins. The title kept catching my eye, so I finally signed it out. It was okay. Pretty good, even. I liked that the author managed to create believable strong female characters in Elizabethan England. The herb detail was pretty cool, too. There was one thing that bothered me right in the early chapters though. The author made the first murder into a scene, in which the murderer is referred to as "the one he was waiting for" or "the one he'd come to meet" or something like that. Talk about witholding information. I hate that! Plus, I didn't think there was anything in that scene that couldn't have very easily been worked in elsewhere (except the author thumbing their nose at the reader and saying nyah nyah, I know who the culprit is an you only get to see a hazy silhouette and hear an electronically altered voice until the end). Um. Anyway, it was irritating and marred the story much more than one annoying scene should have. To be fair, the rest of the book was pretty good, and I'll probably read more about these characters if I happen across any books at the library.
    

One more library novel, then it'll probably be William Gibson's All Tomorrow's Parties. I'm in that sort of mood.

(a little) Non-fiction Reading

When I look at that long list of comics I just wrote, I'm kind of embarrassed that my other reading has become so sparse. Mind you, half of the books in that list were read while I was reading the fiction/non-fiction in my last updates, since I updated those lists much more recently.

40. Anime by Susan J. Napier. Er, yes. When I'm not indulging in my obsessions, I like to read about them. Thus I read books about books, books about the various things I collect, and books about . . . anime. This is an interesting look at some of the aspects of anime, including the depiction of the body (both in pornographic anime and in horror and SF anime), the role of women, the "elegiac" mode, and a bunch of other stuff. Those who can't stand scholarly writing won't want to read this, as it's definitely scholarly (will you think I'm weird if I admit that I like reading academic books, so long as they're about topics I'm interested in?) Anyway, there's lots of material to make one's brain function in here, plus I discovered some new moives I'll have to look for (and some I'll definitely avoid).
    

So I did go to the library, but I only got one non-fiction this time. Then it's back to those books on my shelf. I've got a great-looking one on handlettering, one on the evolution of birds, one on spaceflight, one on invasive species . . .

(a lot of) Sequential Art Reading

My graphic novel reading, on the other hand, has not slowed down at all. Woo hoo! Bring it on! More manga! More comics! More sequential art! ('kay, I need to make a trip to the comic shop.)

38. Ghost World by Daniel Clowes. A well-depicted story of teenage life, basically. Actually, the characters reminded me quite a lot of people I knew (and maybe myself, a little, if I'd been bolder). Solid art, solid story, though neither really blew me away (I think that's getting harder to do). Oh yeah, and it got made into a movie (which I have not seen).
    
39. Neon Genesis Evangelion volume 3 by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. I have the sneaking suspicion that this series is more than four volumes, and the library only has the first four. Grrr.
    
40. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind volume 1 by Hayao Miyazaki. Holy crap! This is another one of those books I've been meaning to read for ages. And wow! There is good reason this is a well-loved classic. It's a gorgeous story with gorgeous art (both to be expected, I suppose, from the person who brought the world Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbour Totoro (among other wonderful animated films). I already know this will be one of those books I'll treasure and re-read regularly (like a pilgimage, only without the long journey, deprivation and climbing mountains on one's knees). Erm. Anyway, it's fantasy at heart, I think, though it has a post-apocalyptic setting and science fiction elements. There are strong mythic undercurrents, too. It's been printed in sepia-coloured ink, rather than black, which really suits the feel of the book, and the publishers left in the Japanese sound effects--instead of translating them on the page, there's a glossary at the back. It makes for somewhat awkward reading, but it works really well visually (a lot of manga use sound effects that are as effective visually as the are "aurally"). Anyway, this is an absolute must read. So say I. Yup.
    
41. Maison Ikkoku volume 1 by Rumiko Takahashi. Before she created the delightful InuYasha, Takahashi did a bunch of other stuff, including this story of the inhabitants of a boarding house. There's a lot of slapstick and other silly humour, but it's balanced with more serious relationship elements, making it a satisfying read. The art is a little cruder that Takahashi's more recent stuff, but still competent and occasionally very very good.
    
42. Legend of Chun Hyang by CLAMP. More CLAMP! It seems like every time I do a run-down of my latest graphic novel reading, there's at least one title by CLAMP. Anyway, this is a fun re-write of a Chinese legend about a woman and her true love. CLAMP's version has lots of kick-ass martial arts and magic thrown in for a delicious blend of myth and make-believe. Plus, it's got a dragon. A really beautiful dragon.
    
43. Parasyte volume 6 by Hitosi Iwaaki.
    
44. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. This was the book everyone (including non-comics people) was talking about . . . last year? The year before? Anyway, it created quite a stir, being the autobiographical story of a teenager growing up in Iran. The art is simple and elegant, and the characters are well-depicted. Lots of people compared this to Maus (inevitable given the subject matter). I have to admit that I was reminded of Maus, too. Both the art and the writing of the two books created a similar emotional response for me. Both books are excellent examples of the things comics can do with non-fiction and biography/autobiography. Read this if you're interested in world politics, even if you don't like comics.
    
45. Palestine by Joe Sacco. More comics for the politically conscious (which I'm not, really, or not as much as I should be, but if I keep reading books like this maybe I soon will be). This one's also autobiographical, and is about Sacco's trip to the Gaza strip. The art is quite cartoony, but also very detailed, and really captured the character of the different people. Definitely something for those people who think comics must be kids' stories about overmuscled men in spandex to read (what a ghastly sentence!). And it's even got an introduction by Edward Said.
    
46. xxxHolic volume 2 by CLAMP. More CLAMP! Ghost stories! Beautiful art! Yay!
    
47. Lone Wolf & Cub volume 2 by Kazuo Koike. I like the way this series is structured as short stories. I do hope an underlying narrative thread will emerge, though. I think I may have detected one, but I'll have to read more volumes (and there are a lot more to go).
    
48. Electric Girl volume 2 by Michael Brennan. Here's another case of reading volume 2 before volume 1. I'd have requested volume 1, but the library doesn't actually seem to own a copy. Luckily, this book is lots of short pieces, not necessarily in chronological order, so I didn't feel too adrift by starting partway through. I expect there may have been more depth to the stories if I had begun at the beginning, but oh well. This is the kind of book I'd give my niece to read (after enjoying a whole lot myself) (except I forgot to ask her if she wanted to read it before I took it back to the library). It's about a girl with some kind of electical powers and her meddling gremlin friend who only she can see. She gets into and out of trouble, saves a few lives and such. Nice, simple art and nice, simple stories make for a nice, enjoyable read. (Yes, I said "nice" way too many times. It's a character flaw.)
    
49. Neon Genesis Evangelion volume 4 by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. Well, I've read all the volumes the libary has, and the story shows no signs of having finished. In fact, a new character was introduced (wait, no, TWO new characters were introduced). I may actually have to track down my own copies of the rest of this series so I can find out what happens. eBay, here I come (eek! that can be dangerous).
    
50. Parasyte volume 7 by Hitosi Iwaaki. I think someone else is requesting these from the library just before I do. Interesting . . .
    

Not exactly comics, but I recently watched the first five episodes of Witch Hunter Robin (anime, my other addiction). It didn't affect me as strongly as Wolf's Rain did, but it was still a really good story that seems to be hinting and deeper and darker things to come. Time to go search out volume two with the next five episodes . . .

Edit: Just noticed I reached exactly 50. So now lets see how many I can read by the end of the year (anyone wanna place bets?).

Fey page 12

Get to know Megan a little better here on page 12.

Edit: Forgot the page number again!! Argh. I'll fix it later.

A Disease of My Own

Doctor Unheimlich has diagnosed me with Niko Silvester's Disorder
Cause:	thinking too hard
Symptoms:	red ears, hot flushes, occasional froglike eyes
Cure:	psychiatry
Enter your name, for your own diagnosis:

Non-Fiction Reading

While I've slowed a little with fiction, I seem to have slowed even more with non-fiction But that's okay; I was pushing pretty hard. But, hey, reading is one of the things I'm really good at.

39. The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram. I've been meaning to read this for ages. Its thesis is that writing, and alphabetic writing in particular, gradually lead to the separation of the human and natural worlds. We are somehow fundamentally disconnected from nature because of spelling. I don't know enough about the development of writing or of phenomenology (on which this book is grounded) to say whether or not Abram's arguments work. I did run into the odd thing I disagreed with, but they were mostly minor. Regardless of whether or not I was convinced (I reserve judgement), this was a beautifully-written book despite being very academic in places (many places). It also makes an interesting companion read to The Alphabet Effect. Though the two books don't really say the same thing, and they definitely don't use the same sort of reasoning, they do have a certain amount of overlap.
    

As with fiction, I'll be turning to my own shelves for reading for a while (not that I'm abandoning the library -- they still have quite a few graphic novels, and even some interesting DVDs).

Fiction Reading

It looks like my reading has finally slowed down a bit. Probably because I've finished all my library books (except one graphic novel I just got recently). Course there are all those books I own waiting to be read. Those will be next, if I can only decide where to start.

30. The Samurai by Shusaku Endo. Now what had I written about this? It's one I found while wandering the stacks pulling interesting-looking volumes off the shelf. It's a loosely-based-on-a-true-story tale of a samurai sent as an envoy to South America and Spain to arrange possible trade during the early years of Christian missionary work in Japan. It has all kinds of interesting cultural detail about Japan and Spain, and it was fascinating to see the west through the eyes of a complete outsider. It seemed rather like Lone Wolf and Cub in some ways, and not just because they both have samurai, and even though the latter is manga and therefore mostly visual. They both seemed to evoke the same emotional responses (in some parts).
    
31. Fables of the Irish Intelligentsia by Nina FitzPatrick. Another randomly browsing the stacks pick. About all I can say is that it was supposed to be contemporary Irish fiction, and it was. In other words, it was good enough, but not particularly memorable. There were interesting characters, but none that really grabbed me. Good cover, though.
    
32. Sherwood edited by Jane Yolen. This is an anthology of YA stories about Robin Hood (betcha never would have guessed from the title). As I'd expect from any Jane Yolen-edited book -- (oops, there goes Netscape again; good thing I decided to type this in NotePad first -- it's a lovely bunch of stories. They range from pretty good to really, really good, and from funny to serious. I do like YA fiction. More grown-ups should read it. I think many would enjoy it.
    
33. City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer. This is the other book I was reading at the same time (not exactly, but sort of) as Rats and Gargoyles. Basically, I had to start a new book for basic reading pleasure while working on decrypting one of the stories in City. Yes, decrypting. It totally suited the story, too. And, even though I had to resort to the Internet to get the last few words (five or six, I think), it was much more satisfying a story when forced to turn it from strings of numbers into words that made sense before really reading it. The rest of the book is a collection of faux travel guides, glossaries and stories dealing with VanderMeer's fictional city of Ambergris and its environs. It makes for a rich, baroque read that is not to be taken lightly, but which is all the more satisfying for it. Perhaps it wasn't so wise to pair it with Rats and Gargoyles, which was itself rather lush and dense, but in the end I think they complemented one another interestingly. If you're at all jaded with the fantasy genre (and even if you're not), this is something to have a look at. I'll be searching out more of VanderMeer's stuff for sure.
    
34. A Death in the Venetian Quarter by Alan Gordon. Ah, and after a heavy meal, something light and fluffy. If a murder mystery set during the fourth crusade can be called either light or fluffy . . . But the main characters are Fools. Jesters (plus a few troubadours). Still, Gordon's fiction is quick to read and not too taxing on the brain. Just the thing.
    

Okay, I was wrong in my last post, I had five books to write about, not three. Oh well.

Stupid, Stupid Technology

I don't know if it's Netscape or Windows, but several times today, Netscape has suddenly shut down for no apparent reason, and with no warning. Most recently was a moment ago, just as I was started my blurb about the second of three books I was going to post about. Urg. It's done this before, but not usually multiple times on the same day. So I will try again . . .