Learning Russian this semester has really made me miss Swedish. I'd like to keep doing independent study, especially since I inexplicably found a SwedLearning Russian this semester has really made me miss Swedish. I'd like to keep doing independent study, especially since I inexplicably found a Swedish-language YA book at a thrift store last week, but I don't want to confuse myself when studying a new language, and Russian homework takes up all my free time anyway. Bah....more
The downside with this volume is that it isn't all Larry Hama. The upside is that when Larry Hama does take over writing duties, it's pure gold. He puThe downside with this volume is that it isn't all Larry Hama. The upside is that when Larry Hama does take over writing duties, it's pure gold. He pulls Wolverine out of Madripoor, which is kind of a dead-end location story-wise, and brings him back where he belongs: the Canadian wilderness. I'm not so much a fan of Samurai Wolverine, or Gritty 80s Badass Wolverine, or Angsty Style Wolverine. I like the avuncular Wolverine who sits around naked in the snowy forests of Alberta, catching fish with his bare hands in an icy mountain stream....more
And another book falls victim to the ever-present threat of the Vicious Undergrad. Come on guys, classes haven't even started yet - can you at least lAnd another book falls victim to the ever-present threat of the Vicious Undergrad. Come on guys, classes haven't even started yet - can you at least let me finish this before recalling it? I'm really enjoying it, too.
Bookmark p.112 - will continue as soon as I get the book back....more
How come, out of all the times I read this as a child, I didn't pick up on how depressing the last chapter is? Christopher Robin is growing up and leaHow come, out of all the times I read this as a child, I didn't pick up on how depressing the last chapter is? Christopher Robin is growing up and leaving the 100 Acre Wood, and all of his dysfunctional friends are saying goodbye to him. I guess when you're young, you don't notice farewells and neuroticisms so much....more
First problem: For a book ostensibly about "grownups," a lot of it focuses on children. There are countless books on gifted youth, and if I had wantedFirst problem: For a book ostensibly about "grownups," a lot of it focuses on children. There are countless books on gifted youth, and if I had wanted to read about them, I would have gotten a book with a different focus.
Second problem: Anecdotal, unscientific, a little boring. While it is nice to know that other people have similar life experiences, it doesn't really satisfy my curiosity.
Third problem: Every time I read books about giftedness, I end up getting depressed about myself, childhood, the American educational system, and how I spent so many years shutting off my brain that now I can't think too good no more. This isn't really the book's fault, though....more
The good: It was pretty interesting to think about Nickelodeon, and the Nickelodeon "Kids First" attitude, as an exercise in branding - their respect The good: It was pretty interesting to think about Nickelodeon, and the Nickelodeon "Kids First" attitude, as an exercise in branding - their respect for the thoughts and opinions of children, rejection of pointless violence, and commitment to programming that features children of many racial and gender identities, while admirable, is also a well-planned mission that has kept Nickelodeon in the forefront of children's entertainment. It's a network that doesn't talk down to kids and that recognizes that above all, they want to be entertained, but that entertainment needn't be without substance.
The bad: This book feels half-done - there's lots of weird omissions and minor errors that will irritate a reader who grew up watching these shows. There's also some discussion of other shows that only kind of support the thesis, and I have a minor quibble with the author's synopsis of racial identity in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: it's not about an upper-class black family, it's about an upper-class black family and Will! He's from the streets! The clash of cultures is what makes it funny! And my digression in this review is about as pertinent to the subject as it was in the book, which leads me to:
The wildly tangential: Hoo man, I sure watched the hell out of Nickelodeon when I was a kid, and it was GREAT. I wish they still showed bizarre European cartoons instead of bland tween live action shows and uninspired animation. I'm not including Avatar in this sweeping indictment of their programming, though; Avatar's pretty much the best kid's show I've seen in 20 years. DON'T ANY OF YOU TELL ME HOW IT ENDS, I'm still on Season 2!...more
Neal Adams's run on Batman was a turning point for DC, bringing the artwork from the garish and simplistic drawings of the past to the realistic and dNeal Adams's run on Batman was a turning point for DC, bringing the artwork from the garish and simplistic drawings of the past to the realistic and dynamic pages of the present. Unfortunately, the writing hadn't yet caught up at this point, which makes these stories a pain to read. They're still stuck in the mold of gimmicky superhero teamups and there's no classic Batman villains in here at all. What you see a lot of is Superman, Deadman, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Robin,The Creeper, and Jimmy Olsen, as well as a parade of forgettable small-time thugs. Characters die as quickly as they are introduced and contrived storylines keep you groaning. Especially compared to the great work being done at Marvel at this point in time, this is third-rate pulp filler.
Adams, of course, went on to co-create my least favorite Batman villain ever, Ra's Al-Ghul, and is now focusing his energy on trying to take down Big Science and its tireless insistence that matter doesn't spring forth from some mystical substance and that the Earth isn't expanding exponentially. When will people understand that scientists aren't just stabbing in the dark - they have meticulous processes and evidence to back up what they're saying? Moreover, what would be the benefit to scientists to insist on one likely geological model?
Batman's still cool, though. The art in this book is great!...more
I enjoyed this the first time I read it, not so much this time (Side note: I had completely forgotten the ending, weirdly enough - I remembered the buI enjoyed this the first time I read it, not so much this time (Side note: I had completely forgotten the ending, weirdly enough - I remembered the bulk of the narrative, but once I got to the climax, there was just a huge void in my memory). Lethem has this thing where he oscillates between writing seriously and parodying serious writing, and it gets a little tiresome. Besides, there's the whole tired trope of "woman in love with inanimate object/creature/small dog/plot device" that just bores me, and shouldn't Lack, as a symbol of the feminine void (tip of the hat to unmedicated schizophrenic Dave Sim), be the love interest of a heterosexual male scientist?
Good send up of university and academic politics, though. The postmodern literary theorist is particularly on-point....more
Wow - Maybonne was never my favorite character of Lynda Barry's (after all, teenagers, when portrayed honestly, are rarely likable), but this book reaWow - Maybonne was never my favorite character of Lynda Barry's (after all, teenagers, when portrayed honestly, are rarely likable), but this book really turned her around for me. It begins with Maybonne as a little energetic and idealistic - shades of Marlys - and ends with a view of her as she is in the comics today: jaded, melodramatic, and withdrawn. And it's all very authentic: the bullying, the awakening sexuality, the struggles with family, the drinking, etc. It's difficult to read at times, but it's definitely a powerful story. ...more
I really went back and forth on the rating for this. I like Ruth Reichl, I like what she's done with Gourmet, I like her non-elitist attitude, I like I really went back and forth on the rating for this. I like Ruth Reichl, I like what she's done with Gourmet, I like her non-elitist attitude, I like her food writing, and by all accounts, she's a genuinely nice person. But while she has a golden tongue for tasting, she has a wooden ear for dialogue. While her adventures in disguise have been confirmed by outside sources, they seem impossible to believe because her characterization is so wooden and awful. Heck, I almost questioned whether she actually had a son.
So, although I hold Reichl in high esteem, I cannot, in good conscience, give this book higher than three stars. I guess this is how food critics feel!...more
I read this book because my mom lent it to me. She really enjoyed it, so I felt obligated to finish it, and I otherwise wouldn't have (even though it I read this book because my mom lent it to me. She really enjoyed it, so I felt obligated to finish it, and I otherwise wouldn't have (even though it picks up at the end).
Anyway, let's talk translation. This book is horribly translated - I don't speak French, and I only read it at a kindergarten level, so a bunch of the untranslated words and phrases left me in the dust. I only understood the vous/tu distinction because it's pretty much the same thing in Spanish. The cadence seems off and the word choices are strange. Translating prose is not quite as difficult as translating poetry, but you've still got to make choices as to the balance between form and feeling, literalness and spirit, and this book just kept jolting me out of the narrative at every page....more
I feel the same way about this as I do about a lot of LeGuin's recent stuff - she creates a good world and sets up some interesting issues to explore,I feel the same way about this as I do about a lot of LeGuin's recent stuff - she creates a good world and sets up some interesting issues to explore, and then it just kind of ends. I enjoy reading it, and then in the last 1/3 or so of the story, I just have a "that's it?" kind of reaction. I think she's in more of a short fiction kind of mindset these days....more
Wolverine's probably one of the biggest names in superheroics, partially because he was part of that wave of mid-80s Dark Badass Vigilantes that transWolverine's probably one of the biggest names in superheroics, partially because he was part of that wave of mid-80s Dark Badass Vigilantes that transformed the cape book landscape, and partially because Hugh Jackman looks damn good with stubble and a cigar. So it's easy to look at him as all hat and no cattle, a cartoonish (heh) adolescent wish fulfillment icon, a precursor to those dark days of hologram variant covers and Rob Liefeld illustrations, but you shouldn't! Because when he's written well, he's a very good character!
I love the Larry Hama run on Wolverine. Yeah, it gets a little Special Ops sometimes - the guy did spend a lot of time writing G.I. Joe - but it's something that works for Wolverine. Other things that work for Wolverine that Larry Hama writes well : his twisted relationship with Sabertooth, the way he runs around the frozen Canadian forests all the time, his avuncular relationship with his young pals, the way he's always struggling to balance his animalistic nature with his drive to do what's right and to protect his honor.
Yeah, it's kind of a goofy guilty pleasure, too. And okay, there is wish fulfillment in it for me, I want Wolverine to be my tough uncle who will teach me how to fight and who will take me to play pool in some dingy dive bar in Alberta. I have no idea if this is more or less embarrassing than my addiction to a Japanese comics series for teenaged girls.
Anyway, this collection gets a point taken off because Mojo's in it. Also, Gambit, although thankfully he's not around so much. ...more
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