First, second, and last

The kids have triumphantly returned to school. Well, begrudgingly if nothing else. G had his first day in Kindergarten the other day. Lovely wife swears there weren't too many tears. I'm not convinced I believe her. Amusingly the teacher opted to read the same book to the class that lovely wife read to him the night before, The Night Before Kindergarten. He got to make the crown in class though. McK is getting used to Junior High. I'm still getting used to her being in Jr High. I suspect it will take a while.

We finished up the second season of Big Bang Theory. I think my favorite episode was the Christmas Saturnalia episode. The hug at the end was priceless. I am glad that Jim Parsons won the Emmy the other night. He is absolutely the best thing about that show. Sheldon FTW.

Mockingjay. Alright, let's talk Mockingjay. It's entirely possible there will be spoilers, so if you haven't read the book, you might just want to go find something else. (Yes that's more Twilight mocking in case you want to go and come back.) Overall, I liked it. I think it's absolutely a fitting end to the series. Considering the tone and level of realism the series strove for I think it ended about as well as it could have. I found the ending a touch abrupt - I would have liked a little more about the aftermath and what happened, but I suppose it might have distracted from the point of the book - the tolls of war and so on. With regards to the infamous vote at the end, I'm pretty firmly on the side that Katniss was setting up Coin. Her remark about seeing how well Haymitch understood her and her stated reason seem to point a little too neatly that way to just think the vote was at face value. Even from someone as broken as she was at that point. There are lots of nice little moments throughout the book and I recommend the series. I'm glad Collins was able to make something entirely her own rather than just Americanizing Battle Royale. (I'm sorry people who think The Hunger Games really wasn't just a revamp of Battle Royale. You're pretty much wrong. The series certainly isn't, but that particular book... Look the future SAT question will read _______:Battle Royale as A Fistful of Dollars:Yojimbo) And it is a pretty fascinating series. It does a good job of taking a look at what happens to a society that asks too much of its children and the perils of war in a society that is already hanging on by a thread.

RED by Warren Ellis is the comic book the upcoming Bruce Willis film is based on. The compilation I read just covers his character - the other three from the movie aren't in it. And the tone isn't nearly as humorous as the trailer makes the movie out to be. It was good (if a little graphic and squelchy) but this might be a case where the movie is something a little more fun. And annoying to the purists.

I saw Scott Pilgrim vs the World three times in the theaters. And it was great each and every time. The rest of you better have gone to see it. Although judging by the box office totals you didn't. Shame on you. This is why we can't have nice things.

I've been reading House of Leaves again. It's still a pretty fascinating story. With way too many footnotes... (that's only sort of a joke) I'd still like to see the movie described in the book. Mostly as I really enjoy haunted house stories and this is a pretty good one. I'd also play an RPG set there. Something in the Call of Cthulhu vein I think...

Scott Pilgrim!

The movie was awesome. I don't really have much more to say about it. I am contemplating going back and seeing it again. Truly great. Possibly more gushing later.

In which I wait for Saturday

Ok, technically Scott Pilgrim opens tomorrow. The letter 'r' and I will be going on Saturday. And I cannot wait. I did manage to read volume 6 (Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour) however. And it was good. It does a good job of tying up the series and I really enjoyed some of the little bits found in it. (Young Neil's moment and the updating of Wikipedia were two of them.) The art was really polished in this volume and it was a nice way to see the series out. So go read them all and then go see the movie. I'm sure it will be brilliant.

The Night of the Soul Stealer is the third Last Apprentice book. I enjoyed it more than the second one, so that's good. Not that the second one was bad, I just liked this one more. It's winter in the County and a necromancer is up to no good. So Tom and the Spook have their work cut out for them. I like this series, it's nice that there's a spooky series for the kids. (And their parents)

Got to see little sis and their family this week. I think their youngest (for the time being) looks like littlest sis. Which given the similarities between the two of them while growing up isn't really surprising. (Little sis and littlest sis that is) G had a grand time playing with his cousins and I got a chance to check out the iPad. Clever little device that is. It was good to see them.

The House of the Devil is a throwback to horror films from the 70s and 80s. It's a slow burn and I liked it. Lovely wife and little sis were not as impressed. I have a theory that the film is better if you're steeped in that sort of thing. Ti West did an amazing job of recreating the films of that period. It takes it's time building up with just the right amount of tension before descending into the frenzied final act. I think K needs to watch this and report her findings. I will admit that I found the ending to be a little off, but that's just because I wasn't really expecting that twist/nod.

We managed to have another boardgame weekend with friends last Saturday. We enjoyed some Forbidden Island (it sank just before we could claim victory), some 10 Days in Europe (I traveled the continent better than my peers), a little Incan Gold and some Galaxy Trucker (you should have seen the wasteland that was left at the end of the third round - all four of us were wiped out before reaching the end of the journey). It was a great time and we are in preparations for the next 'd'Con in November.

Scott Pilgrim

Go make yours...

Just a few stray thoughts

In about two weeks Scott Pilgrim vs the World will be in theaters. This is grand news indeed. If you've not read the graphic novels you really should. All six are out now, so the story is complete. I've seen book 6, but have to wait my turn to read it. (Accursed hold list!) I'm hoping to get it before the movie comes out, but we shall see. I'm biding my time reading the first five over again. The story follows Scott as he starts dating Ramona Flowers only to find out that he has to defeat her seven evil exes in order to continue dating her. The movie is being directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) so it will, of course, be brilliant. If there's a guy more capable of grasping the source material than Wright, I'd like to meet him.

I've managed to finish off the second books in both the Skulduggery Pleasant and Last Apprentice series. They were also quite enjoyable. Playing with Fire (the second Skulduggery book) was once again hilarious and thrilling while The Curse of the Bane was still somewhat spooky and mysterious. I'm going to have to read more. This may present a problem...

The Courtyard is Alan Moore's take on Cthulhu. It's disturbing and gritty and not really for the faint of heart. Kind of like Cthulhu. (The best Cthulhu news I've heard? Guillermo Del Toro is going to make At the Mountains of Madness with James Cameron producing. This will be an absolutely awesome movie. Much like Wright's suitability for Scott Pilgrim, Del Toro is a match for Cthulhu.)

Lovely wife and I are currently watching the first season of The Mentalist. It's fun. Simon Baker is an absolute joy to watch as Patrick Jane, the ever observant consultant for the CBI. Where Psych goes almost strictly for comedy with serious moments, The Mentalist goes for drama with moments of humor. If you've not seen it, it's worth checking out.

And as a closing piece of advice, never give your spouse and kids a chance to practice at PitchCar. When it comes time to actually play, they will kill you.

Some random catching up

Scott Pilgrim 5 is good. And frustrating. But mostly good. The penultimate volume sets things for the final stage and certainly leaves you wishing you had book 6 right now. It's nice to see Scott growing up some. Looks like it's Ramona's turn. Or possibly not.

We finally got around to seeing The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger did indeed do an amazing job as the Joker. The movie's good as well. Too long, but that seems to be the trend these days. They had a great cast and the plot was fun. I can certainly see the inspiration they took from The Killing Joke. On a Batman related note, the Neil Gaiman Batman story is out and it's awesome so far. Alfred's story is truly a thing of beauty. I liked Selena's as well, but Alfred's was brilliant.

We're winding up Psych season 1 as season 3 just came to a close. Still a great show. Most of the TV we're watching is winding down. Leverage just wrapped up season 1, Burn Notice should be pretty close, I think House is either over or just about over as well. We'll still give Dollhouse a try (in spite of missing episode 2, stupid Fox affiliate) and I think Eureka is about due back as well.

Other than that, things are pretty quiet. Girl Scout cookies are about to take over the house in anticipation of being delivered. And I managed to snag a couple advance reader copies of random things. Sorry littlest sis, still no sign of Hale.

And the Merry Go Round Goes Round

I first heard about Blankets by Craig Thompson a few years back. I didn't know too much about it other than it was a graphic novel and dealt with love and issues of faith. Snagged a copy from the Library last night and finally got around to reading it. I can see why it's held in high regard. The art is wonderful and the story is compelling. Your first love is certainly something that leaves its mark on you and Thompson has managed to capture just about everything that goes into that experience. All while dealing with issues about family and growing up and faith and their places in life as you struggle to come to grips with who you are. This is a pretty powerful story that isn't always easy to read. If you wander across a copy give it a go.

Get Smart is a nice little spy comedy that isn't really a Get Smart movie. Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway are perfectly cast and could have made that movie, but the writers didn't quite latch on to what made the old TV show so much fun. Again, there's humor here and it's a fun little story, it's just not Maxwell Smart and Agent 99. Although they got it right once or twice. I'd say missed it by that much, but well, would you believe it was a little more than that? And I really like Dwayne Johnson for some reason (The Rock for those of you so inclined).

Rock Band 2 is fun. That is all.

I did re-read Scott Pilgrim 1-4 in anticipation of 5 and I'm a little giddy about the movie they're making. They certainly have a pretty decent cast lined up and the director seems to get it. So that's nice.

Well, that's a nice little catch up in the world of random books and movies. I've managed to actually get some exercise for the last couple weeks, so that's a plus. Wii Fit is growing on me some, although it's still a pretty mild workout. I've thrown some DDR in for variety. We'll see how long I can keep it up.

Reading update

So, my pile of things to read is far outweighing my pile of things read - the one downside of working in a Library with far too many books. Oddly enough (well ok, not really that odd if you know me) most of what I've completed lately has been graphic novel-y in nature. Lots of Hikaru no Go volumes have been consumed. It's as good a series as I suspected it would be. And it's taken our family by storm. Wife and oldest daughter are thoroughly engrossed. And it might just get us to finally learn to play Go. I've wanted to for quite some time, but the problem is finding someone to teach us...

Let's talk about Scott Pilgrim. I've read through 3 of the 4 volumes currently released in the wild. I think the first is still my favorite. Which isn't to say the rest are bad. There's just a shift in storytelling in volumes 2 and 3 that makes them a little harder to absorb. There's a great deal of temporal shifting that takes place. So it can be a little difficult to follow. And this is compounded by the fact that a lot of the characters are similar looking. So not only do you not know when you are, but you might be confused about who you are as well. But the little jokes and asides and so on are so worth it. Punched the highlights right out of her hair indeed. Brilliant. It's certainly worth checking out.

I can't recall (and am too lazy to go check) if I've talked about the end of Y the Last Man. So I will. Maybe again. Volume 10 of the graphic novels just came out and it was Good. And Sad. But mostly Good. (Well ok, maybe mostly Sad) I am pretty sure I've said that if you only read one post apocalyptic last man on Earth story to read this one. So I won't say that again. But if you do read only one post apocalyptic last man on Earth story, well, yeah. What I said. I would really like to read the stories that they allude to, but don't actually tell. Because then I'd get to read more Y, and that would be a Good Thing. I liked visiting this world. Definitely wouldn't want to live, well most likely have died, there, but visiting was quite nice.

Reading some other things, and lots of things on the aforementioned pile to be read. We are currently watching Keen Eddie on DVD because it's hilarious and tonight I'll finally get to see Cloverfield. Because it's a giant monster movie. And giant monster movies are to be treasured. Lots of stuff in the to be watched pile as well. And I won't talk about the to be played pile...

In other random news, there is less than one month of summer left for the kids. I am pleased by this fact. It was a short summer in a lot of ways, but that's a good thing. For the parents.

New season of Psych is on and it is funny. Please to enjoy. Burn Notice also entertains. And Eureka next week. I knew there was a reason we finally caved and got cable...

Well, this has been thoroughly superficial, but covered a lot of ground. So there you go quantity over quality. It's the American Way. (You have to read that last line in a Sam the Eagle sort of voice. Go ahead, go on back and do it again, I'll wait.) Oh we're done here. Never mind. Turn the light off on your way out.

Mornings

Well, it was a quiet Saturday morning until about 5 minutes ago. First G woke up and then it wasn't long before the others joined him. I'm sure the lovely H is still in bed. I'm pretty sure she'd sleep through a nuclear holocaust. Especially once the mutant cannibalistic humanoids showed up. After all, if she can sleep through the kids, what makes you think a mutant cannibalistic humanoid has a shot?

Watched Dead Alive the other night. One of Peter Jackson's earlier films (if not his first, I can never remember). Gloopy, campy zombie movie. It was pretty fun. Pre-zombie priest was my favorite character.

And in case you actually catch this early enough, it's Free RPG day! Go grab some free RPG stuff. And some polyhedral dice. Everyone needs their own d20. Or maybe a d10, I like those a lot as well. And if you have kids (and a DS) apparently there's another free Pokemon that can be picked up over at Gamestop. I have a sneaking suspicion that we'll be heading over so McK can add another Pokemon to her roster.

Read Scott Pilgrim volume 2 and Y the Last Man volume 5. Both excellent in vastly different ways. 2nd volume of Scott Pilgrim wasn't quite as funny as the first, but spent a little more time filling in some of the characters. The fight with the second evil ex-boyfriend certainly had some moments though. I like all the little video game and music references that get placed in the story. Some obvious, some not so. Y the Last Man continues to ratchet up the tension. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes. If you read only one apocalyptic last man on Earth story this year... heh heh.

Dr Who season 4 is still pretty good. Last night's episode was the first of a two parter, so, cliff hanger-y. I'm still waiting for an episode as good as Blink from last season. It's a pity I really didn't like season three as I'd almost pick it up just to get that episode. If I run across it on sale, it'll probably happen. I suppose I could try to grab it off iTunes or something, but that would take a little too much voodoo to play on the TV easily.

Well off to check out Feed the Animals' Girl Talk and Gnarls Barkley's St. Elsewhere.