Buys
A lot of long-standing orders I made were due to arrive in August and well, well, look at the time. They've started arriving, with more to come next week. That tag line on the blog is getting truer and truer. In the book section, I received two Torchwood tie-in novels, Slow Decay and Border Princes. From the mind of Douglas Coupland, two novels - Eleanor Rigby and Girlfriend in a Coma. And for work, Words That Work by Frank Luntz. Looks like a pretty breezy look at how easily you can manipulate people with language.
In the DVD section, I received the original King Kong (Peter Jackson's version only made me want to see the classic one), 300, Samurai Jack Season 3 and Whale Music (a cheapie DVD, but I wanted to retire my old VHS tape - I'm mostly getting it because I'm a Rheostatics completist, and they composed the soundtrack).
I also went to the comic book store where I finally found Showcase Presents the Martian Manhunter. It had been shelved in the wrong place last week! Comic I couldn't find this time: That JLU issue with the Question everyone's raving about. But I was able and willing to splurge so I got Fables volumes 7 and 8, as well as both trades of DC New Frontier, which I've been meaning to look at for a while - after a single chapter, I've already seen the most kick-ass scene I've experienced in a comic this year. And since the 3-for-2 deal on DC trades was still in effect, I grabbed Paul Pope's Batman Year 100. Hey, it's Paul Pope, so it'll at least be interesting whether you believe he deserved the Eisner or not.
"Accomplishments"
The Bourne Ultimatum has FINALLY gotten me to a theater this summer. (That's right, I didn't see Ghost Rider, Spider-Man 3, 300, Transformers, etc.) Watched the first two Bourne films yesterday to prepare myself, and saw the film this afternoon. I love how it connects to the second film, giving us a new context for scenes much in the same way as Bourne's memory returns to him. Everything I love about the franchise was in play, mostly how smart the characters are. Walking out of the film, my roommate asked who I thought would win between Bourne and Bond. We both answered Bourne, and then went on to compare him to Batman. With enough preparation, he can beat anyone.
At home, I was flipping the tape on Gojira, the newest release of the film that not only includes the Japanese original, but the American version "Godzilla King of the Monsters" as well. The latter is a clever re-edit with new scenes starring Raymond Burr as a guy who watches stuff happen a lot. The original is the better film, an at times shocking allegory about Hiroshima. For campiness, my favorite Godzilla film is Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (wrestling moves and all), but this is the best of all the films. The package is completed by some very informative commentary by a pair of Godzilla experts - on BOTH versions - who star on all of Toho's new Godzilla releases. Interesting enough it's made me want to invest in the whole collection, maybe even the terrible movies with the baby Godzilla in them.
Walking to and from work, I like to read something breezy (too difficult and I might get hit by a car or something), so I finished a Doctor Who novel: The Nightmare of Black Island by Mike Tucker, starring the Tenth Doctor and Rose. This new series of books is obviously aimed at a younger audience, but this one was pretty good for adults too. One of the better ones, in fact. It reads like a traditional tale from the Hinchcliffe era, but at the same time, retains some of the vibe of the new series
Speaking of Doctor Who, managed to complete a few more cards from the 1996 TV Movie for my WhoCCG, including the Doctor himself:
And I guess that's about it for "accomplishments"... Worked on the blog a lot... new banner, etc.
Website finds
I was NOT looking for information on the Necronomicon - let me make that clear - when I came across this interesting column on the SF Site about books people look for, but that don't exist. Though I wasn't looking for the Necronomicon, that's the most interesting bit, check it out Lovecraft fans!
And that's it for this week! Come back to Siskoid's Blog all week for memorable comics, RPGs that time forgot, DVD tales, Friday Night Fighting, and other geekly crap. You know you want to!
A lot of long-standing orders I made were due to arrive in August and well, well, look at the time. They've started arriving, with more to come next week. That tag line on the blog is getting truer and truer. In the book section, I received two Torchwood tie-in novels, Slow Decay and Border Princes. From the mind of Douglas Coupland, two novels - Eleanor Rigby and Girlfriend in a Coma. And for work, Words That Work by Frank Luntz. Looks like a pretty breezy look at how easily you can manipulate people with language.In the DVD section, I received the original King Kong (Peter Jackson's version only made me want to see the classic one), 300, Samurai Jack Season 3 and Whale Music (a cheapie DVD, but I wanted to retire my old VHS tape - I'm mostly getting it because I'm a Rheostatics completist, and they composed the soundtrack).
I also went to the comic book store where I finally found Showcase Presents the Martian Manhunter. It had been shelved in the wrong place last week! Comic I couldn't find this time: That JLU issue with the Question everyone's raving about. But I was able and willing to splurge so I got Fables volumes 7 and 8, as well as both trades of DC New Frontier, which I've been meaning to look at for a while - after a single chapter, I've already seen the most kick-ass scene I've experienced in a comic this year. And since the 3-for-2 deal on DC trades was still in effect, I grabbed Paul Pope's Batman Year 100. Hey, it's Paul Pope, so it'll at least be interesting whether you believe he deserved the Eisner or not.
"Accomplishments"
The Bourne Ultimatum has FINALLY gotten me to a theater this summer. (That's right, I didn't see Ghost Rider, Spider-Man 3, 300, Transformers, etc.) Watched the first two Bourne films yesterday to prepare myself, and saw the film this afternoon. I love how it connects to the second film, giving us a new context for scenes much in the same way as Bourne's memory returns to him. Everything I love about the franchise was in play, mostly how smart the characters are. Walking out of the film, my roommate asked who I thought would win between Bourne and Bond. We both answered Bourne, and then went on to compare him to Batman. With enough preparation, he can beat anyone.
At home, I was flipping the tape on Gojira, the newest release of the film that not only includes the Japanese original, but the American version "Godzilla King of the Monsters" as well. The latter is a clever re-edit with new scenes starring Raymond Burr as a guy who watches stuff happen a lot. The original is the better film, an at times shocking allegory about Hiroshima. For campiness, my favorite Godzilla film is Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (wrestling moves and all), but this is the best of all the films. The package is completed by some very informative commentary by a pair of Godzilla experts - on BOTH versions - who star on all of Toho's new Godzilla releases. Interesting enough it's made me want to invest in the whole collection, maybe even the terrible movies with the baby Godzilla in them.
Walking to and from work, I like to read something breezy (too difficult and I might get hit by a car or something), so I finished a Doctor Who novel: The Nightmare of Black Island by Mike Tucker, starring the Tenth Doctor and Rose. This new series of books is obviously aimed at a younger audience, but this one was pretty good for adults too. One of the better ones, in fact. It reads like a traditional tale from the Hinchcliffe era, but at the same time, retains some of the vibe of the new seriesSpeaking of Doctor Who, managed to complete a few more cards from the 1996 TV Movie for my WhoCCG, including the Doctor himself:
And I guess that's about it for "accomplishments"... Worked on the blog a lot... new banner, etc.Website finds
I was NOT looking for information on the Necronomicon - let me make that clear - when I came across this interesting column on the SF Site about books people look for, but that don't exist. Though I wasn't looking for the Necronomicon, that's the most interesting bit, check it out Lovecraft fans!And that's it for this week! Come back to Siskoid's Blog all week for memorable comics, RPGs that time forgot, DVD tales, Friday Night Fighting, and other geekly crap. You know you want to!
Comments
It's on my to-do list for next week.
PS. Did see Transformers and was pleasantly suprised. Good entertainment value. There's more to the movie than meets the, eh, eye.... woops (hearing cliché penalty)
Doc: Stardust won't get me into theaters. I'm not into fantasy OR Neil Gaiman enough these days to warrant an outing. Transformers has absolutely NO appeal for me, and I could die happy without ever having seen it. I just don't groove to that tune.