eldarwannabe

Turns out Miles (my laptop) wasn't cured from his journey to the Apple Hospital, so I had to lug him back to the Apple store for another look. A half-an-hour of digging through all sorts of terrifying system files with the nicest Apple dude ever and now he's all better!

Good thing, because I'm taking one class entirely online, and three classes with serious online components, so any sort of lack of internet would have been very bad indeed.

I'm taking this happy opportunity to inform you all that I have passed into another level of geekdom. I have bought a Star Trek Expanded Universe book.

In my defense (do I really need to defend myself here?) it was by Diane Duane, and it's all about Dr. McCoy, and really, how could I not have bought it? I need something for my Star Trek fix when I can't access my ipod, the internet or my Star Trek DVD and a DVD player.

So, now I have a book. I've already started reading it, and it is fantastic. It's really no wonder McCoy is my favorite character. He so grumbly and awesome.

I was hanging out at a Barnes and Noble today, grabbed a couple of comics from the sequential art section and curled up with an overpriced coffee-based beverage.

Normally I try to grab a few titles I'm not planning on buying, and maybe one title I am planning to get - just in case I decide to splurge and not wait for an amazon.com order. So I had Battle for the Cowl (not buying), Final Crisis (probably not buying) and Booster Gold Vol. 2 (on my amazon.com wishlist, although I doubt I'll be buying the whole series.)

Ok, I read all of ( Battle for the Cowl )

The I picked up Final Crisis and realized that I accidentally picked up Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. Now, I am going to buy that book eventually. Because it's George Perez drawing my favorite team ever. I must own it. I'm just waiting for the softcover edition. I'm planing to save it for a long night when I can pore over every panel delightedly, so I decided to head back for the comic section and drop off the two books and buy Booster Gold for the hour-or-so on public transportation I would need to get home.

Then I passed one of those racks of classic books printed by B&N and sold at great prices, so I stopped and browsed.

I bought The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Volume 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Voyage Out by Virgina Woolf, This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton for the price of Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds.

I put the Booster Gold back on the shelf for later.

Now, I understand that making comics is expensive. A lot of different people contribute to each comic, and salaries have to be paid. I understand that many, if not all of these classics have expired copyrights, and I could probably find them legally for free online somewhere. Yes, yes, this is all true.

But as an avid media consumer who does like to read things in print, all of these companies have to compete for my money. And I'm getting a much better bang for my buck with the written word than the illustrated.

They should do something about that.

(Note that I didn't even bother with the pamphlet market. Yeah, I like pamphlets. I like buying them at comic shops, I like the feel of reading them, I like their theoretical portability. But they aren't even pretending to be at competitive prices at this point.)

I just handed over my baby to the Apple Store people, and I hope to have him back by Wednesday. This isn't the absolute worst time in the world to lose Miles, but it's not great either. (And yeah, I named my laptop "Miles Tobias Byron Batman Vorkosigan." Spot the fandoms!)

So, I'm now on a PC that isn't mine, and I'm working off my USB drive for all the things I'm trying to do. Ergh.

So, I've read Ender's Game. (And if you haven't, go read it. Right now. Really. It's late, you say? Well, find the nearest 24-hour bookstore and BUY IT. Or download it somewhere. Seriously.)

And there is a character of some minor importance named Achilles.

Now, the first time I read the book I was a savvy little kid, so I pronounced it in the traditional Greek-mythology way: "Ah-kill-eez." I must have read the book twice with that way in mind.

Then I set it aside for a few years, and at some point in high school decided that this was a book that belonged in my personal library. (There are a few other book like that - books which I want in my library despite the face that I have read them multiple times and they are easily available at almost all libraries. These are books I want at my fingertips, where they belong)

So, as I was older and mildly wiser in high school, I actually payed attention to Orson Scott Card's pronunciation guide for this Achilles character. Card comments that Achilles is pronounced in the French style, "Ah-Sheel."

And as a dutiful little reader, who has read enough fantasy books to at lease make the effort at learning new pronunciations, I worked hard to correct my internal knee-jerk response. Now when I read the books, or think of the character, I mentally pronounce his name "Ah-Sheel." (Sometimes I don't do this verbally, oddly enough. I will switch back to the wrong way. Only because many of the people I discuss the book with don't bother with the different pronunciation - they just use the traditional American style and are done with it.)

And now I arrive at my point. I NOW HAVE TROUBLE READING ACHILLES CORRECTLY OUTSIDE OF THE BOOK. I'm reading Greek legends, Wonder Woman, Scans_Daily, what have you, and I have to mentally pause every time I see the name. Both pronunciations pop up in my head and I have to choose one of them. Argh. (Of course, my French friends would have no problem with this at all - they only have one pronunciation regardless. I wonder if the French edition of Ender's Game bothers to give a pronunciation guide to Achilles' name. Hmmm.)

( And while I'm on the subject of Ender's Game anyway... )

If I had the money - and I never will - I would buy this statue. I mean, the price is astronomically inconceivable, and the piece probably isn't even for sale, but I would buy it and build it a shrine. In Europe, where I would move, because I wouldn't risk taking that thing overseas.

I'm almost ashamed to link to that page, it gives you such a terrible idea of what that statue looks like. It's captured motion, is what it is. David is biting his lip in concentration before he slingshots the rock. His muscles are tense, his eyes are narrowed in concentration. The weight of the statue can't be supported by his legs at that angle, so Bernini sculpted the abandoned armor to lie at his feet and provide the necessary support. I stood inches from that statue and examined the folds of cloth, the musculature of David's arms and legs, everything. It's just awe-inspiring.

And yes, I have seen Michelangelo's version. It was amazing. I sat for a good half-hour and just stared at it. It's towering and majestic and everything they say - but I would buy Bernini's first.

(And if I had the money - and didn't feel bad about stealing the best pieces from the Galleria Borghese - I would get this. You can't tell from the pictures, but Bernini designed to to be viewed in a certain way: As one walks around the statue, the story of Apollo and Daphne would unfold, from him chasing her, to her crying out for help from the gods, to her becoming a tree. It was (literally) a piece of sequential art. It is also gorgeous. Only then would I buy Michelangelo's David.)

So, for the new year, I shall build castles in the sky made entirely out of money I don't have. No, no, for the new year I will try to work on all of my previous resolutions, like I always do. Sometimes I succeed, most often I fail. But I'll keep plugging along regardless.

(Oh, and if I did have all that money, I would buy out DC Comics, put in Gail Simone, Dwayne McDuffie, Chuck Dixon, and a few others in charge of certain characters/teams, I would yell at Didio in a cathartic manner. I would also put in a "No Crises" rule that cannot be revoked for at least fifteen-fifty years. And I would overhaul their marketing strategy. THEN I would look into my statue purchases. Just so we're clear as to my priorities.)

So, I got the new Star Trek movie in the mail, and my mom - the old school Trek fan that she is - and I decided to watch it again. My brother pooled his money and owed gifts this past Black Friday to get a new HDTV, so after tinkering for ten minutes or so, got to see it large and shiny. (much better than my tiny mac screen)

I'm going to ignore the scientific and time-management problems (Sci-fi writers have no sense of scale! Or time! Speed of Plot is not a speed!!) and skip right to watching one of the featuretes.

The movie had a lot of camera-shaking for effect. I didn't really give it much notice until they explained that JJ Abrams likes the shaking to have an organic feel, so he actually shakes the camera to film shaky scenes.

Let me repeat that: JJ Abrams shakes the camera. The one with the film in it. To get the right effect

I don't think I've laughed so hard at movie commentary since Viggo Mortensen in Fellowship of the Ring ("Viiigoo. If I drown, save yourself. I can't swim!") I was literally falling off the couch. Good thing my mom had left. I was basically shouting at the screen: "Decades of development to perfect cameras that won't shake and JJ is grabbing the back of the camera and throttling it!"

Priceless.

Also, there's this one shot where Spock walks onto the lift, the camera zooms in close to him and circles around him and the lift doors open and he walks out onto the bridge. The first time I saw the film I didn't really notice it, but now....

You see, the bit a single, continuous take. And obviously the lifts don't actually, y'know, lift from one floor to another. So I mulled it over for a few days, and then theorized that they had a green screen behind Spock for when he walked onto the lift and then they closed the doors, pull the screen and he walks out onto the bridge. (This was after my theory that they wheeled the lift from one set to another. But I first realized that would take more time, then I re-watched the sequence slowly on youtube and came up with this idea) Turns out, I was right! Hee. Now I'm becoming a film geek - literally, a geek over filming techniques.

Watching all of X-Men Evolution on Hulu, mostly because I can. It's also the X-Men animation I most enjoy (no, I haven't seen the newest one yet. Shhhhh.) because of the higher production value as compared to the older stuff. What can I say? I like my animation somewhat smooth. I also like the stylization - it's amusingly not the same as Batman: TAS, and yet the comparison is inevitable for so many reasons.

I also caught up on the Astonishing X-Men action comic. Gosh, I remember when I first saw these, when the Crossgen company was promoting Sojourn on AOL. (I feel old) I used to watch them avidly. This was before I was really reading comics seriously, so I don't think I totally understood Crossgen at that point, and I didn't totally get everything, but I enjoyed it. It's kinda funny that the form seems to be making a sudden surge now, but they do translate better to portable platforms (iphones, anyone?) better than real comics ever could.

Title: COMM 3259
Author/Artist: eldarwannabe
Pairing(s): Um, Spock/Uhura gets a mention!
Rating: G
Summary: COMM 3259 was on her required course list. She didn't expect to end up sitting next to the older guy who was always hanging around Jim Kirk on campus.
Notes/Warnings: Non-English words are all totally made up. If you have any advice on rewriting medical terminology to sound more accurate, please drop me a line. I'm writing this for the characters, but I'd like the medicine to sound as accurate as possible. This has been un-beted, so feel free to shower me with constructive criticism, as all mistakes are my own.
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek. (Otherwise my stories would be canon, I tell you.)

( Advanced Non-Human Physiology and Medicine for Translation was on her required course list. )

I was browsing unanswered prompts in the ST XI Kink Meme so I could drabble off something quickly without over-thinking it, and I saw this and thought. "Hmmm, bet they never thought it'd be answered by a non-slasher."

So then I HAD to do it, you see.

Title: I Can Hear Them
Author/Artist: eldarwannabe
Pairing(s): None. The fic star Kirk and Bones, though.
Rating: G
Summary: Written for a request on st_xi_kink: "Post movie, Kirk starts having nightmares. The only time he sleeps through the night? When he crawls into bed with Bones."
Notes/Warnings: Fluff and angst. Not necessarily in that order.

( They had finally landed on the moon yesterday. )

Meme! I haven't done one of these in a while, but this actually looked like fun, so here goes. Also, I realized that my answers are insanely long, so I edited it to have one-work answers, with commentary!

Leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile.:
-I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity (until I get bored)
-Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
-Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.

So90scartoonman asked me:

1)If you had to spend the rest of your life only reading one comic book company, what would it be?

( DC )

2)What's your favorite TV show?

( !?!?!?!!! )

3)Roughly, how much do you spend on comics per month?

( ~$25 )

4)Where are you from originally?

( NYC )

5)How do you like your eggs?

( Scrambled )

Occasionally I browse Neil Gaiman's blog. Because it's fun, mostly. Sometimes he links to cool stuff. (Mostly, I have this theory that he and Tim Burton managed to create something amazing* and I enjoy it). And he linked (on the bottom) to a couple on things recently that I would like to comment on.

So first, there is this NPR post about Sandman. On the one hand, great that something more mainstream is blogging about Sandman. On the other hand, why must the recommendation be so backhanded? The closest I get to the fanbase experience described here is the face that I like listening to Breaking Benjamin yelling at me on my morning walk to class. (It helps me wake up faster). Really, there is no reason to put down the fans like that, even though it might make the series seem more attractive in a you-should-check-this-out-despite-the-fanbase kind of way. Both Neil himself and a blogger he links to (Dan Stryker) comment on this. And I totally agree.

Dan takes it a step further, and that is ( where I want to comment. )

They KILLED Kyle Rayner!?

Oh, no. They absolutely did not.

First, I've been avoiding this whole Blackest Night thing in general because, like all Big Crossovers, you mostly just wait for the convoluted storyline to finish so you can sort through the rubble and assess the fallout. (So that you can memorize a new status quo and keep tabs on it until the next Big Crossover, which you will wait out. Rinse and repeat.)

This does apply to the people who follow it monthly as well. Because when you figure it out ahead of time? They'll switch the Big Bad on you. Thanks, DC.

Plus, I think they've been handling a lot of the basic concepts very, very badly. (Since when was death an emotion? Why are these corpses sexy? Ewwwww. Can they come back to life? How many characters do you have to kill to make this stupid mess relevant?)

That's not totally fair. I think this is a much more interesting way to do DCU!Zombies. I think there's a lot of potentially good story to tell. I honestly don't think DC can manage that right now.

(They basically only got me for a bit because Tempest showed up, and I happened to pick up the first two issues to catch up on comics for something not related to my typically comic-buying patterns. So, Tempest is one of my favorite oft-ignored characters. So I was thrilled. Briefly. Then I was confused and sad.)

( Back to my point. )

Yeah, I finally saw the Twilight movie. The first one, mind you. I'm somewhat considering seeing the second one as a social even-type of thing. (I have friends, sometimes I want to hang out with them. Who knew?)

So, the internet as a whole has managed to deconstruct and analyze the film way better than I could ever hope to. As always, I think it's a terrible fable-story for today's youth, and Meyers gives me creepy crawlies.

But there's one thing I really liked about it that I didn't really see mentioned. The movie captures a lot of the awkwardness of real life. There's not enough head room in a lot of shots (I actually seem to notice that in a lot of movies today) the characters don't have well-articulated, scripted-sounding conversations.

Yeah, a lot of characters seem pretty 2-D, but in high school, the people you aren't very close too seem to devolve into flat caricatures, because you don't know them very well. And Bella basically ignores everyone but Eddie-poo anyway.

Ignoring that this trend seems to extend to the main characters, I really do like it. Jessica's odd breathing, her misplaced comments during uncomfortable moments, I enjoyed that. I also like the beach scene. It felt cold and messy and awkward and everyone seemed to be a little unsure of themselves and everyone was having second thoughts about actually swimming. It's not clean and shiny.

Yeah, this element can be easy to criticize. "That's so...thoughtful." "Yeah, thoughtful." "Giggle, giggle." It's no Shakespeare. But neither is high school! I've seen those exact conversations!

Oh, well, that's not the only reason I like Twilight. The other one is that it is the first time I can think of - off the top of my head - that a Native American is portrayed as one of the main cast. And a Good Guy. And that is awesome, and long overdue. (Also, as Avatar: The Last Airbender has FAILED to do this properly, I have to applaud the Twilight effort.)

Still doesn't overcome the huge problems in the movie, the books, the premise and the delivery. But it's great for me to watch camera movements! (ooooh, a shot-reverse-shot.)

(And I personally find the graduation-cap mural hysterical. I'm easy to please like that.)

Am drawing my first storyboard for class tomorrow. Have discovered my total lack of ability to draw angles.

Low angle shot you say? Well, how about a high-ish-angle-close-up instead? Totally different effect? Fine, YOU DRAW IT!

Not to mention that I have to FILM to storyboards I am drawing, which is basically impossible right now due to my lack of actors!

And my ability to distinguish my characters in my storyboards is thus: Girls is looking right and has long hair. Boy is looking left and has short hair. Good thing there aren't any more or I'd have to draw a blonde.

(in my defense - I can draw better than this, really. Well, not the angle thing. But if I was working with bigger boxes and a few more days to draw, they'd look much, much better. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of time)

I also keep using comic terms for these things. I have referred to gutters, panels and layout as if I'm drawing a comic. I think I'm confusing my partner, who has already volunteered to play the boy (who needs to be right-handed) so I only have to hunt down one actor. So he's great, at least, and puts up with me.

______

In other news, I have a Dreamwidth account now to follow Scans_Daily 3.0. Part of me is seriously considering switching over there because I agree with them on almost all the problems I have with LJ (also, their name is v. cool.) But everything that isn't S_D that I care about is over here. Which isn't a ton, but here it is regardless. I'll think on it.

Fine, so maybe I was a little (very) over-excited. Turns out the color on the nook is limited to the touch screen at the bottom of the nook (to which I am simultaneously excited and wary)

Still - it does apparently have PDF support, which means comics can be uploaded on to them now, although .CBR or .CBZ support would be better. Color comics probably wouldn't translate well, but manga, black and white comics, and inks of comics would work out great. As DC seems to be publishing a lot of their library in those cheap B&W collections, that would translate well to an e-book reader!

I'm still excited about the nook, and it might be the reader I finally break down and buy. Not anytime soon, mind you, because the price is still steep. But I'm waiting for it to come out officially so I can see if there will be ways to check email and such, which could tip my time frame.

I would need some disposable income, so I would need to to get an actual job, which would interfere with my internship plans next semester. (That I reallyreallyreallyreally want. Really.)

So, remember when the Amazon Kindle was talking about putting manga and comics up on their e-book selections? The screen is the wrong size, and it would be limited to black and white, but it was looking pretty cool. Then, of course, I heard nothing about it at all. The idea just disappeared...

Well, Barnes and Noble just put out their new e-book reader: The Nook

It's certainly very shiny. Decent storage space options, same look-it-will-be-readable-in-sunlight! screen, a touch screen, which is very in right now, etc.

And it's in color! Suddenly, the full world of sequential graphic literature is open to e-readers!

Part of me is giddy with excitement. If Nook 2.0 (or maybe even this one, I barely scanned the specs) can support image formats, (CBR/CBZ being good options as they are already pretty standard, but I'm sure anything with decent quality would work) Marvel and DC should cut a deal, straight up. I'm not sure who should pay who, because it could be crazy beneficial to BOTH sides of the arrangement.

You see, DC and Marvel could offer their comics at a reduced rate to buyers. Say, $1.50 a pop for a new monthly issue (I think they should go lower, but I don't know how much of the cost is publishing vs. everything else). Now, as a side, they could put up the new issues on Friday instead of Wednesday, so the people going into the stores will still have an incentive. Or maybe they can post the new issues a week late. I'm sure they could work something out.

Meanwhile, the Nook has a monopoly on the comic-buying market! Any comic fan that would prefer to use the a digital device and save themselves a LOT of trouble (besides traveling to the store and back, storage space can become a big problems for comic fans!) will be stuck buying the Nook to do it. There won't be another device that supports the option. And the page will only go through some shrinkage, not a ton. They will have to find a way for people to back up their purchases, though. I personally would want to back up a comic collection on a hard drive or something, and not just leave it in the device, in which storage might run out, or it could get lost. Or maybe Barnes and Noble could remember your purchases for future re-download if something happens. Whatever, a backup system should be put in place regardless of e-comics anyway.

To stop illegal sharing, Marvel and DC make it that the ONLY way to download the files is directly to the e-reader, or something like that. Barnes and Noble could set it up like podcasts, you sign up to have it delivered monthly or weekly, pre-paid unless you cancel!

And why stop there? Old archive issues, put at a discount rate! Offer discounts for people who buy a year of Detective Comics in advance! Offer an entire run of Young Justice for $25! It's not like your making any money on it now anyway! Offer certain comics for free/crazy cheap to try and attract new readers! Hey, I would pick up all the old Legion of Supherheroes comics, if offered to me at a reasonable price. It would save me time, space and money from hunting them down across the country.

My mind is literally exploding with possibilities. I think this could be the best thing to happen to comics since the word balloon. The 21st century is here guys, let's get with the picture and explore the options!

(Plus, I haven't even talked about how this could impact the smaller/totally independent publishers! If the reader will support their formats, their audiences could explode! Plus, manga can jump this bandwagon as well! If the picture formats are already supported, it doesn't matter that it's in black and white! Tokyopop, Viz, Random House/Del Rey, not to mention CMX, would all lend their bargaining clout and considerable libraries to the Nook deal. And don't even get me started on webcomics!)

The other part of me knows that, yeah, this is completely unlikely. But if Marvel can premiere their newest motion comic in Union Square, why not this? The comic book industry in America needs innovators and big ideas these days, and no, I'm not talking about major crossover events (which e-readers would be perfect for!). I'm talking about risks and rewards and crazy ideas if it wants to survive to sell my kids Superman and Fantastic Four. Which I am totally in favor of, by the way.

Two nights ago I had a dream about the Chronicles of Narnia.

No kidding. I was running around and having adventures with Edmund and everything! And now I'm writing fanfiction again! Agh! I have no tiiiiiiime!

In other news, I kinda, almost met Billy Boyd. Sort of.

I was in the same room with him, OK? And yes, his accent is that awesome in real life. Details to follow if I find the time!

So, there is this being published right now. I'm not following it monthly (I'm not really following anything monthly) but I have noted it, in a back-of-my-mind kinda way. I mean, it's Kevin Smith. There's a good chance I'll check it out later. I really really like Green Arrow: Quiver. (Too bad it had to lead to what we have with GA today)

The point right now is the title. When I first heard "Batman: Widening Gyre" my reaction was, "hmm, sounds dramatic. I wonder what it means?"

Then I go to the FIRST DAY of college classes, weeks ago, and my oceanography teacher is all, "the ocean is wicked awesome y'know, there's non-carbon based lifeforms at the ocean floor," and when I was distracted by the thought of the sci-fi potential at that comment, she dropped, "and look, here's a gyre!"

And my DCU-based brain waves went, "HOLD IT RIGHT THAR!"

But see, now that I know what a gyre is, I might as well not. A gyre is like an ocean-scale whirlpool. They are made up of shipping currents and such going 'round and 'round. Still a cool name, but unless climate change gets way way worse then we want it to, they won't widen (or shrink) all that much.

But you see, I know nothing about this book (except that Poison Ivy is involved) but in my mind I keep going, "Hmmm, so Batman is trapped in a trading-current from the West Indies, and he's SINKING, but he's OK, but because he can BREATHE in SPACE but then the gyre WIDENS and the Earth is DOOMED! And somehow Poison Ivy can control phytoplankton!! (remember, Oceanography class)

I finally finished Avatar: The Last Airbender. Yes, I know I am late. Really late. I had already decided to be a fan of this show while Season ONE was airing on Nickelodeon. But there it is.

The first season was good. The second season was very, very good to amazing. The last season was very, very good to fantastic.

I have few, and minor complaints. I'm seriously considering purchasing the series by box sets. (I would buy them backwards, season 3 to 1, because I am limited funds and that is the order I want to own them in)

Zuko's self-discovery arc in season 2 is particularly poignant. Yes, I know that his real turnaround was in season 3, but the base was built in season 2.

Aaaaanyway, I just wanted to comment on something that struck me as I watched.

At the end of the first season, the gang finally makes it to the Northern Water Tribe. Katara, the waterbending girl of the group, goes with Aang to get some formal battle!waterbending training, but is instead directed to the healing training, as battlebending is for Men Only. Oh no! Sexism!

And this strikes me as interesting, because the Water Tribe (and the Earth Nation) are the Good Guys. And typically, the Good Guys are Enlightened and Equal, and it's the Bad Guys that oppress their women. (See, well, the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is The Horse and His Boy from The Chronicles of Narnia, but it's definitely a trope)

But in the world of the Avatar, this is totally subverted. Because Azula, a Bad Guy if there ever was one, is treated the exact same way as her brother. Actually, she is waaay favored over Zuko. It seems in the Fire Nation (aka Bad Guy Central) people are judged purely based on skill, and sex has nothing to do with it. This is later confirmed when Azula is declared Fire Lord. LORD, note, not Lady. Hmmmm. Obviously Zuko, the eldest, and the male, is being leapfrogged in favor of his powerful and obedient sister. And I can only approve of the idea that people should be judged by skill and progress, and not by boy or girl.

I really like how the producers/writers/etc. played with expectations a lot in the show. As I am so very far behind, I knew that Katara and Zuko were never to be, but I had a great time watching the hints and misdirections fly in the show. And I knew Zuko was going to join the side of good, but I am surprised by how long it took him, and how nuanced his transformation really was.

And I love Toph. I just gotta say it.

I now watch Northern Shaolin Kung Fu videos on youtube and I can't help but see fire coming out of the fighter's hands and feet in my mind's eye. It's amazing how the show so clearly utilized real-world martial arts in the bending techniques. I could really see the differences between different groups when they fought on screen. Part of me is pretty sad the show was so short, but I am impressed by how well it was crafted.