Thursday, April 29, 2010

In which the Wind is Named and other things happen

I finished Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind and it's absolutely brilliant. Without a doubt one of the best books I've read in some time. It's a fantasy novel in which you learn the life story of Kvothe, also known as the Kingkiller. (That's the trilogy name - the Kingkiller Chronicles) This first volume relates his early years with his family, the tragedy that befalls them and the beginning of his schooling. I couldn't put it down and yet didn't want to finish at the same time. I wanted more time with Kvothe and his world. There's magic, music, adventure, humor, tragedy... I could go on. Really, really great. As I mentioned previously I plan on acquiring my own copy to keep.

The next book in the series, A Wise Man's Fear, was recently announced for a March 2011 publication. I can't wait. I certainly wish it was closer, but it sounds like it will be worth the wait.

We recently went through the Bourne trilogy of movies in order to enjoy them on the new TV. I really like the new TV. It makes movie viewing so much nicer. And I still really enjoy the Bourne films. They're great. I miss good action films. I can't really think of anything like them that's come out recently. The new Bond stuff hits that same spot, but it sounds like a new one is pretty distant.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii has finally been vanquished. Well, about as much as it's going to get vanquished. Completing the 8 main worlds opens up a 9th world, but to actually play any of the levels you have to have all the star coins from each of the levels in worlds 1-8. There are three of those bad boys in each level. And typically 10 or so levels per world. And while we've certainly gotten a good chunk of them while just playing through the game I'm not convinced it's worth it to get the remaining coins. We did manage to open the first level for world 9, but that's it.

This is actually an aspect of videogames that needs to go the way of the dodo in my opinion. If you're going to go to the trouble of creating the content, let people play it. I certainly understand rewarding someone for something they've accomplished but hiding and entire world's worth of content behind an extremely annoying collection quest is just brutal. Bad Nintendo! No cookie for you. Other than that the game was pretty brilliant. If you like yelling at each other a lot as you play. I will not count the number of times that I made G or lovely wife cry. But really it was their own fault. Do not stand between me and the power up and do NOT jump on my head plunging me to my death. I don't like it.

Here's to hoping that the snow doesn't kill off our garden. Fortunately we haven't planted some of the tender stuff, but it was a close thing. Apparently the old rule of thumb to wait until after Mother's Day is good advice.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Owly and some other stuff

I heard about Owly a year or so ago. And then forgot about it for a bit as I figured it would initially appeal to G and he wasn't quite ready for picture storybooks at the time. The other day I saw an ALA poster featuring the character and decided it was certainly time to check it out. And I'm glad I did.

Owly is (wait for it) an owl that lives in the forest and pretty much wants to be friends with everyone. Due to his owlish nature and the fact that most of the creatures he wants to befriend are lower on the food chain, this is usually a problem. But as is the case with most stories of this nature, perseverance and kindness pay off. The books are graphic novel in size and shape, but there are (almost) no words. When characters talk, you get the word bubbles, but the words are replaced with pictures. It's an ingenious way to tell a story for just about anyone. The art is great and the stories are often moving in spite of their simplistic nature. G and I both quickly devoured all five of the books I brought home. I haven't quizzed him on the contents yet to see just what he picked up, but he certainly seemed to enjoy reading through them. I recommend giving them a go regardless of how old you are, there's something here for everyone. Owly rocks.

Casa del 'd' is currently making its way through the old Nadia Secret of Blue Water anime series as well. It's not bad. And not really that dated either. It's an earlier series, but the art is still quite nice and the story holds up. Probably at least partially as it's based somewhat on Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Follow Nadia and Jean as they have adventures above and below the waves on their quest to discover the nature of the Blue Water - the gem Nadia wears.

And I must point out that I have managed to make it to the end of the initial quest in Shiren the Wanderer. Oh yes, I battled my way through all 30 levels ultimately freeing the Golden Condor. It was glorious. Of course, that just opens up the 100(?!) level dungeon that is your reward for taking on the initial task. I haven't ventured forth to see it yet. Shiren needs to rest up a bit from all those mindless deaths. It only took a Master Sword +16 and a decent shield and armband to do it too!

Other than that, life continues here at casa del 'd'. The weather is currently in that constant state of flux that marks the winter/spring border so it might be rain, it might be sunny, it might be snow. And we're about to start planting our squarefoot garden. Yay vegetables! Very excited. More beans, more peas, more tomatoes and peppers!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Your regularly scheduled post

First order of business: Mu Shu Pork and Bang Bang Shrimp were both cooked and consumed last week. And they were both good. The Mu Shu Pork was a little on the time intensive side to prepare, but was rather tasty. The shrimp was certainly easier to prepare but was slightly less tasty. Which is a little odd as I tend to like spicy things. Not that they were that spicy. We did manage to avoid one mishap when lovely wife accidentally picked up cooked shrimp instead of raw. I suspect it's not wise to fry already cooked shrimp. So yes, new recipes and mostly a success. Yay!

And now for a brief tangent. Working at a Library is a bit of a fascinating thing. Mostly as I am an avid reader and now I have a reading list that I will never ever ever finish. But working here has mostly sated my purchase new book urge. Partially due to advance reader copies and partially because pretty much anything I might want to read is readily available. I might have to wait some, but it will be available. So I don't go out of my way to purchase things unless it's an author I especially like or a book I really like.

I am currently reading such a book. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is quite simply one of the best books I've read in recent memory. And I've read a lot. I won't go into much detail as I've not yet finished it, but if you like fantasy books you really must track this one down. Absolutely brilliant. I don't want to finish reading this one because then it will be over. I suspect I'll have to track down my own copy of this one.

Oh and I must also plug Mouse Guard again. It really is quite good.

We've been catching random episodes of Castle lately. It's nice in a Nathan Fillion fix sort of way, but the show itself is a little silly. Of the handful of episodes I've seen they telegraphed the ending within the first few minutes twice. I don't consider myself that good a mystery sleuth so I'm guessing these plots are pretty see through. But it does have Nathan Fillion. And the lady from the third Librarian movie. So I guess that's something.

Now off with you, I've a book to finish.

Something something Favorite Niece something Happy Birthday

It has been pointed out that I forgot to point out that Favorite Niece has also survived a trip around the sun. So consider it pointed out. It's actually far more interesting to point out that said niece has also finished a book recently. She's taken to carrying around The Last Song as well apparently. So happy birthday favorite niece!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

In which I very quickly wish little sis a Happy Birthday

No really, I think the subject line says it all.

Happy Birthday little sis!

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Of Mice, Devils and Song (oh and something about a Moon)

So it was a bit of a long weekend last week and that was good. Ol' letter 'r' got hitched and lovely wife and I attended the wedding. It was a wedding very nice.

We managed to plow through the first half season (13 episodes) of Glee. Mostly because it's very funny and the music is quite good. Jane Lynch is an absolute riot (and that's how 'd' sees it) and the rest of the cast aren't slouches either. Which isn't to say the show doesn't have flaws, but that it is enjoyable. One of the things that irks me are a couple of the stereotypes that get further reinforcement. I actually like the relationship Kurt (the requisite gay kid for the Glee club) has with his Dad. The Dad isn't thrilled but he is supportive. There have been some truly nice moments between the two of them. Which is why it irks me that in order to have the evil parent or what have you, they turn the religious parents into the intolerant jerks who can't handle their daughter's pregnancy. I get they wanted drama, or it's Hollywood coloring the lens or whatever, it's just annoying. I'm also not a fan of Shoe's flirtation with Emma. I like Emma and I think they actually would make a cute couple, but for a guy that theoretically is in love with his wife for a good chunk of that first season, he certainly behaves badly. And he even says as much in one of the episodes before continuing said behavior. But it is a lot of fun to watch. There's plenty of great humor and the singing ain't bad either.

I finished Horns by Joe Hill. I've liked just about everything he's written. He is very obviously Stephen King's son, but his voice is his own and he tells some great tales. This one isn't quite as strong as Heart Shaped Box, but it is fascinating. Ig wakes up one morning in a drunken haze with horns growing out of his head. And a couple new abilities that cause people to tell him their secret horrible desires. And he can often cause them to act on those desires. Mostly he's interested in finding out who killed his old girlfriend, but things get in the way. The book certainly has some horrible moments related to Ig's newfound abilities, but the story actually spends a lot more time focusing on events that lead up to all the misery. So in some ways the book is a bit of a cheat - you want to see what's happening now, but you get what was happening then. It's all pretty interesting, but the mostly inevitable conclusion isn't completely satisfying. I still look forward to just about anything Joe Hill wants to write though.

There are currently two Mouse Guard collections available - Fall 1152 and Winter 1152 they are both quite good. David Petersen weaves quite the thrilling tail tale. As lovely wife put it, who knew mice led such exciting lives? There's political intrigue, derring do, heartbreak and so on and so forth. Think of it as that spiel from The Princess Bride but with mice. (There's no tongue in cheek humor in Mouse Guard though, it's pretty straightforward fantasy action.) And the books are quite beautiful too. So please do track this series down and give it a go. You won't be disappointed. I just might have to snag the RPG based on the series, I've heard very good things about it. And hey, who doesn't want to be a mouseketeer?

I've taken a bit of a break from killing Shiren off to play some Pokemon: Soul Silver. It's actually quite good. And I certainly don't have a gotta catch'em all attitude. Nope not at all. The Pokewalker is also pretty cool and has allowed G the chance to help level up my Pokemons. (Let me show you them!) He gets to run around with the little pokeball device and I get powered up pokemon and items. It's good to be the Dad. Now I just need to stop killing off Shiren... I'm going to have to spend some time building up a new sword I think.

Oh, I probably haven't talked about the fact that I actually saw New Moon have I? Well. (Really what do you people expect?) Honestly about the best thing that I can say about it is that Eclipse might actually have a chance of being good. New Moon certainly had a better budget than Twilight, but honestly I'm not convinced it was a better movie. Mostly it was boring. The first half is just horrible. Things got a little more interesting in the second half, but that's like saying the grass grew a little faster when I watered it. I honestly believe that Bella and Edward deserve each other - they're both horrible examples of humanity/undead monstrosities. And anybody that ever thought Jacob had a shot needs to have their head examined. Although he is about the best actor/character in this motorcycle wreck of a show.

And I think that will do. The kids have had the week off and so far it looks like lovely wife might actually survive. Made of pretty stern stuff that lovely wife. I'd have killed them all that first day. Buried them in the squarefoot garden. She did manage to get a little manual labor out of them so that's a plus. Stay tuned next week when you learn if we can make Bang Bang Shrimp and Mu Shu Pork. Mu shu!