Give me a month or so, my brain is fried.

Shit kids say: I find your lack of bratitude adorable!

2012-02-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how kids are where you live, but around here they tend to grow up pretty fast. We have a posse of 3rd graders who would probably give the entire cast of characters in, "Mean Girls" a run for their money attitude wise.

Seriously, I can't make this shit up! Girls at least start pretty early with all of that competitive bullshit. With all of the who is wearing what designer and who have the most stuff, children (especially girls it seems) who act like children are looked at as weird and curious creatures who sometimes become the scorn of their classmates or the butt of jokes from some parents who live vicariously through their children and seem to encourage exclusion. We really HAVE had a group of parents who stalk the door outside a library program making sure their child is sitting with the "cool crew" and trying to bully our librarians into allowing them to shoo away someone who doesn't fit into the group. Again, I can't make this up.

So this is why it is so refreshing when a child comes in and they act like a child without shame. These kids often become excited over the cutest things! They don't seem to worry about their image. They shouldn't. They are children!

Every now and then a child will come in who seems as if they are from another era completely! The other day a cute little girl who couldn't have been any older than 6 walked in to the Children's room with her visibly exasperated grandmother. Her blue eyes grew big as she took in our room and she ran over to the desk and asked if we had a playroom. I told her we did and she smiled. Her grandmother trudged after her dragging her jacket and her obviously hand knitted multi-colored scarf and matching hat.

She proceeded to bounce out of the room every 4 minutes or so to ask a question.

"Do you have puzzles?

"Do you have Barbie books?"

"Do you have legos?"

"Is this a game I can check out?"

"What about this one?

I will admit as Julia and I tried to do our work and help other people it became a tad exhausting. I mean yeah we are there and happy to help but it became a little tiresome after the fifth time she ran out. We could tell why her grandmother was so grumpy. She required a lot of energy. But how can you be mad at a child who is so enchanted by her surroundings? Especially when she says something like, "I love this library! This is the best!" That just melted our hearts. Julia laughed that she was cute but she could imagine that she was a bit of a pain in the butt after a few hours. I responded "for sure, but I think I was probably just like her at her age." Julia said, "you think so?" I responded, "I know so."

And then the topper came as they were getting ready to leave. Grandma was checking out while the little girl waited (in eye-shot) by the door. A man who was walking in smiled and waived at her. Suddenly she started to tear up and as her grandmother came to collect her she exclaimed in horror, "I saw a stranger!"

Ah flashbacks to "Stranger Danger" PSA'S. Julia and I could not stop laughing at her earnestness! While I imagine our posse of attitude queens wouldn't think twice about the encounter or would find something full of sneer to say , ("Umm do I know you?) Here is a child ripped from a time when every adult they didn't know was right out of an after school special!

We laughed. I hope that doesn't make us bad people! She was just a strange brand of endearing.

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

2012-02-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

Many of the best known fairy tales are generally similar in the fact that they feature a female character, wronged by an adult (often a wicked step-mother, but fathers have been known to screw them over as well).

Sometimes our main character is a princess, sometimes a peasant. She is placed in a situation where she is in danger and is eventually rescued by a prince. Grimm's fairy tales are far more grim than the popular Disney versions would have us know. In fact as years have gone on, most of the grimness (or Grimmness) has been replaced by wise cracking side kicks and pop culture referenced. I have not yet seen Tangled, though I would like to, but when I was growing up there was a distinct issue I had with these "heroines" in Disney's fairy tale world. Why on earth couldn't the princess rescue the prince?

Sometimes reading them was no better. I mean, Rapunzel (on which Tangled is based) had been locked away in a tower for life and was discovered by a Prince who climbed up her hair and managed to get her pregnant from his many visits. One must wonder that if he is a freaking prince, why the hell didn't he just get his father the king and his army to rescue Rapunzel when first he discovered her imprisonment. I mean supposedly he had married Rapunzel, so that means he had supposedly gotten a priest to climb her hair and marry the two, but he didn't seem to see fit to tell someone that this poor girl was being held captive? I guess corrupt clergy exists even in fairy tales.

Once again, there are MANY other fairy tales, often with better heroines than those who sleep like the dead or wait in a tower until they are rescued by a dull as dirt prince (Rapunzel was actually thrown out pregnant after her evil stepmother discovered she had been visited). There is the heroine from "Princess Furball" and of course the girl from "East of the Sun, West of the Moon", derived from a Greek Myth, in which the girl literally fights to rescue the Prince.

Like many of us though, in my own adolescence the majority of the fairy tales which were popular where the other kind. Disney has made an entire empire out of these Princesses, and though Beauty and the Beast's Belle at least had intelligence going for her there have been some who have pointed out she was a bit of a snob and never bothered asking the Beast his name... like ever. Not once. I suppose Ariel was strong and independent, except she acted a bit like a brat and gave up her voice to be with the Prince she met once.

This is probably why I enjoyed Sailor Moon so much as a middle schooler. I honestly don't think I can write a better review defending the title than Jason Thompson has here in his House of 1000 Manga series. Therefore I will try to explain why it appealed to me and still resonates with nostalgic whimsy.

While I am aware the series is very cheesy, which is part of the appeal (also, the books were far better story wise and artistically) my younger self had been endeared by the idea that the princess could be a warrior. That she could save the prince.

Yes, fetishism existed in the ranks of fans. School girls in short skirts? No matter were you live there are school girl fetishes. Please note that the series was written by a woman and intended for young women. So aside from the wide fan base it attracted the story it was more than sparkles and skin.

It was the story of a girl who was far from perfect (Usagi, the main character can be downright irritating) learning to take responsibility and stand up to the injustices around her. I have long compared "Sailor Moon" to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

Here you have a slightly annoying blonde central character who is destined to fight evil. She is surrounded by her far more interesting friends and falls for a (possibly inappropriately) older and untouchable man who tends to brood.

So here we go again. Usagi, our blonde ditzy heroine receives her hero's call when she rescues a stray cat who recognizes her as the reincarnation of a legendary female warrior (Sailor Moon. Duh). She must gather together other girls who also hold a similar history in order to fight an ancient evil which has descended upon their world.

The first four girls (the inner senshi/warriors, each named for a planet) are not whom she would normally consider friends. A shy book worm, a hot headed shinto priestess, a tall outcast who has gotten expelled from previous schools for fighting and another blonde who seems a little too prim. Regardless of their differences each one comes into the circle with a strong voice. Each one delivers her own strength and fights against the enemy. Later on in darker story lines other warriors appear, two of which are a lesbian couple. Even further on in the series we see a trio of warriors show up who are male in their human form and yet transform into women when they do battle. Again, all very well fleshed out heroines.

Though there is a romance between Usagi/Sailor Moon and Mamarou/Tuxedo Mask it is always on and off. Tuxedo Mask is more of a cheerleader to Sailor Moon than her hero. In fact usually he is the one who needs saving. He also seems slightly dim... I mean he repeatedly dreams of a past life where he loved a princess with long blonde pigtails capped by buns and Usagi has the same stupid hairstyle. Really? You really don't realize this? Prior to their discovery of their feelings they often argue hotly. Usagi was a princess who didn't take any crap, and Mamarou was a prince who was far from perfect. If you can get passed their creepy age difference the relationship seems typical of teenagers. One minute they are fawning over one another the next they are mouthing off. Maybe not the best relationship for girls to emulate but it reads with more sincerity than some others in popular YA literature.

While the series indeed was DBZ for girls in many ways, it was something that was needed beyond the passive perfection which was Snow White and Cinderella. Short skirts or not, the girls of Sailor Moon, like the heroine of East of the Sun, West of the Moon were willing to battle the elements themselves.

A good foray into Magical Girl territory. Definitely a must before trying something like Madoka which put the genre through a blender.

Bittersweet

2012-02-02T04:49:00.000-08:00

We finally finished the move into our own house, and it is still yet to feel like home.

I don't want to whine about this, but our apartment immediately felt like home. There are several reasons this could have been (I was very familiar with the area, it was 5 minutes from where I work) but right now we are swimming in a sea of boxes and people telling me I need to get rid of books when I just can't bring myself to. Seriously, most of our boxes are books. I have an emotional attachment to some of them that goes beyond, "I read that and liked it".

Also, my landlady, Sandy who was like family to us suffered both the loss of her sister and mother within days of our moving. My heart is breaking. It was hard for her to say goodbye to us as tenants as she told us she almost didn't want to rent the place out lest have strangers in her house. We knew her sister, who lived at the house for a while and the mother who visited frequently. So we have a double wake to go to tonight and will have a very lost and broken friend who used to see us as a constant and is down several emotional anchors.

In GOOD happy news, Thoth got a promotion! The timing for us couldn't be better. The bittersweet reality of everything is a little difficult to digest right now. Maybe when we finally unpack it will come together.

Oh well. I think I will do a fundamentals of anime post next.

Self? How did I get here?

2012-01-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am a little under a week from closing on the house and sort of in a bit of a panic as to how we are going to do this?

I am also wondering:

When almost every other person I knew came to function as a couple?

When did I start to function as part of a couple and will this joint venture take away my ability to function on my own? Yeah, its one thing when you live in a rental but its another when you buy something big with someone else. The apartment has been the trial period. Now the need to compromise seems more dire, cause we both have a lot invested in the house.

When did friends start having kids? Like all at once?

When did my peers start having, hernias, hip surgeries, knee surgeries and all the other stuff my dad used to complain about when I was a kid?

When did people start respecting my opinions on personal and professional matters? Cool, but, huh?

When did my cat grow older? She still acts like a kitten, but I know she's in her teens. I don't want her to be old.

When did I stop having time to do small things I used to have so much time to do?

When did the jaded feeling that replaced my optimism get replaced by apathy?

When did I start to enjoy picking out paint colors for walls and begin to worry about the size of my kitchen or the type of stove I have to cook with? Or growing my own basil. Should that thrill me as much as it does? Because I really want to do it.

When did I start to get excited by the idea of granite counters and new vacuum cleaners? I mean, really?

When did my brother become an adult who lives on his own? I really miss having him around. Its nice to have someone in MA to visit, but I really wish we could hang out more.

When did I start spending too much time in front of a computer? I should get back to cross stitching patterns of video game characters. Right, when did I start enjoying cross stitching? Not that I do it well, but yeah.

But the number one question I have been asking myself (other than the, "where did this desire to be domestic come from?") over and over is, "Where the eff did we get all this stuff?"

Got my bags packed I'm ready to go.

2012-01-13T05:34:00.001-08:00

No, I am not leaving on a jet plane or anywhere else for a while, because we finally have a closing date!

As I understand most of the issues I have been having are pretty common, and while I knew some of it I just needed to bitch about it because I can never, ever understand why certain things need to be made more complicated for complication's sake. At least that is how the bureaucracy seems to me.

Yeah, there is (obviously) a lot of paperwork that goes into massive transactions like home buying, made worse by the recent financial meltdown and then there is the fact that we decided to buy a dreaded short sale, which is anything but what the name would imply. This is still no reason to NOT be upfront with your clients or lie for appeasement or to be downright bitchy, the last one being the case of our lawyer's assistant who could not be less of a pleasant person to deal with. Really, if you mess up you mess up but to tell someone that something is standard one day and then call them up the next and say the opposite is just bad business. If you goofed fine. Own it.

Anyway, so the runaround seems to be coming to a close, partially in response to a meltdown where we told everyone they either do what they say they are going to do in the time they promised or we walk when the month ends. I mean we have been at this since August. This is not an unreasonable response.

So now the real fun begins. Moving. Hopefully for the last time. Finishing the packing and then some minor construction that needs to be taken care of on the boiler. I have to say regardless of all the stress that is pending it feels pretty good.

Today is tomorrow and tomorrow is today and yesterday is weaving in and out.

2012-01-11T05:35:00.000-08:00

I've been getting pretty nostalgic for the 90's in the past few years. I know things are rarely as good as they seem when you look through the rosy colored glasses of nostalgia.

Honestly in my personal life the 90's wasn't always the best time. I was an awkward, anxious teenager dealing with various issues that I did not understand or grasp at the time like eating disorders and such. However when I look back on the time as a whole I can't help but feel that things felt easier.

The word recession, though bad did not seem to mean the meltdown of today. In fact the mid to late 90's were a great booming time. Feminism enjoyed a very interesting (third?) wave, which led to the emergence of some great female rockers (and some mediocre copy cats) which I embraced.

Education seemed to be favored over ignorance by the general public.

For many more reasons this seemed to be a more socially positive time.

I just know one has to be careful when idealizing their youth. I can see that from how my parents treat their own younger decades. However, with several of our security blankets cruelly ripped from our ignorant American slumbers in the last decade, do we have a point when looking at the 90's like milk and cookies?

Conversations with myself: Biological Clock.

2012-01-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

A pregnant woman or a woman walks into the library.

My eyes are drawn to her belly.

A click goes off in my head, followed by a voice.

Voice: Awww, don't you want to be pregnant?

Me: What? No!

Voice: Sure you do. You want to have a baby, right?

Me: Yeah, definitely, just not right now.

Voice: Why not?

Me: I am in the process of moving? Finances are a little touchy? I am feel like I am in flux at the moment? I want to wait until the dust settles? I am not there yet.

Voice: Kailey has a baby! Sarah has an adorable baby. She loves being a mom! Doesn't that just make your ovaries ache?

Me: Kailey is in a different position than me right now. Sarah is happy but tired all the time. I want to be able to put my all into it and I am not there yet.

Voice: Screw that shit! You want to be pregnant.

Me: I do not!

Voice: Yes you do. I know because I'm you.

Me: DAMN IT!

"Live people ignore the strange and unusual. I myself am strange and unusual. "

2012-01-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If its possible to imagine a book written with influences of a Guillermo Del Toro film, this would be it. The story follows Jacob Portman, a young man who has grown up with an extremely close relationship to his mysterious grandfather.

All his life Grandpa Portman (Abe) has told Jacob strange and wonderful tales of an orphanage on a remote island where he had lived amongst children that had fantastic powers. He even has photographs to "prove" this as truth! An invisible boy, a brother and sister with Herculean strength. Jacod devours each tale as truth, however as Jacob grows up both mockery from his classmates and second looks at the photographs leave him to believe that Abe has indeed been telling tall tales. However, Abe also warned Jacob about monsters who would bring harm to himself and the other children. Monsters he has hunted down and killed. Monsters that still haunt him. Jacob's parents tell him that Abe had been the lone survivor of his family during the Holocaust. The other children where also refugees and the "monsters" were of course the Nazis.

However, when Jacob recieves a panicked phone call from his grandfather only to arrive as he dies from what appears to be a grisly animal attack, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur.

It turns out there is truth to both Abe's tales and Jake's parents' version of cold hard truth. At the risk of his own sanity Jacob discovers clues that lead him on a journey to find the truth. If I say anything else I would be giving it away, and I really don't want to do that.

What really makes this book unique are the bizarre old photographs sprinkled througout the text. Riggs, our author collected these and carefully intergrated them into the story to illuminate the setting and characters. I truly believe that without these photographs the enchantment would not have held. However they are just so mysterious and unsettling they bring a real clever quality to Jacob's story and discovering that these are actual photographs which have been intergrated into the book just brings the creep factor up a few notches. This is not to say that the book can be categorized as horror but it has a dark touch to it that surely sets it apart and the photographs solidify it.

However, I must say that my oddest complaint about this book is that I wish it had not actually been a segway into what appears to be a series. I was hoping it would be a great one shot read and it left me wondering if the magic would hold through another volume. I will definitely give book two a shot as you should try this one.

I have altered the deal, pray I do not alter it further, or, Yay, "homeownership."

2011-12-30T05:11:00.000-08:00

I am not a homeowner. I am paying homeowner's insurance for a home I do not yet own, but have been in contract in since the very beginning of September. We were assured that we would close by the end of the year. That is tomorrow night and we are not closing by then.

We have some lovely furniture that we purchased for said home that we were supposed to have closed on this week. It remains in the warehouse.

Needless to say dealing with this makes me wonder why the hell we decided to buy a house in the first place.

Here is some of the fun double talk we've been getting:

1. You will close by the end of the year. We are 99% sure! Don't worry, you will be in in time to file for a tax reduction. It will be by the end of the year.

Reality: Ok. Obviously 99% sure means shit. It means, "We don't want you to freak out on us, its the holidays and we don't want to deal with this.". Because a day later we heard this, "Its just not realistic. Its the end of the year, its impossible to close now because the banks have short weeks. Didn't I tell you there is a good chance it might not happen?"

Um no. Thats actually contradicting what you had said.

2. Closing will be easy. Don't worry. You will be closing the first or second week of January. Everything should be in place. Don't worry. We can have you come in on your lunch break and close and deal with the rest of it separately.

Reality: As heard yesterday. "Well the sellers have to fly up from Florida. No, they can't give their lawyer power of attorney to do so. Yeah, because its a short sale, so they have to fly up. Nope they can't fax their signatures either so we need to wait until they can fly up. Also your bank now need more paperwork. Right I know you just sent that in. They need it again. Its still possible you can close next week! Not likely. Buh bye."

What. The. Frak?!? (As I am still trying to keep this blog semi professional I will use no explicit language that is not yet used on South Park... which leaves one word really. I may decide to separate my professional blog from personal in the future so I can curse to my heart's delight.)

3. You need to purchase home owners insurance before you close. Don't worry. The insurance company can adjust the date the policy starts to the day you close.

Reality: Insurance company, "No, this happens often. You pay a little extra when closing dates don't come on time."

Seriously? This one annoys me because I know from friends who have closed that companies do indeed adjust dates. This is B.S. and I am planning on contesting it.

So pretty much we are now out a lot of money in tax reductions, paying for home owners insurance for a house that isn't ours and continuously moving back delivery of some furniture we bought since we were assured we were closing by December 31st. I am so angry right now I want to throw something.

Great snakes on a plane! And a boat... and a motorcycle?

2011-12-26T06:15:00.000-08:00

Sometime last week a few reprints of the original, "Adventures of Tintin" found its way onto my desk. Duh! I ordered them for our graphic novel collection. With a movie coming out and the fact that they are reprints of a classic series I figured it was a given that I should order them when the review came across one of my journals.

A lot can be said about the series. It was a serial published in the Belgian papers and then collected into books. It has been extremely popular in europe. It can range from uncomfortably racist reflecting what was considered acceptable at the time (Tintin in the Congo?) to cleverly funny. The creator, Herge (Georges Remi) was most likely at least at one point a Nazi sympathizer though he denounced any relations he had to the party and their ideals later on. Regardless of this the series remained close to the hearts of many in across the globe. However, I am not going to talk about the strip as it stands alone, rather just give a quick review of the movie and maybe reflect a little bit on children's movies in general. If I refer to the comic strip it is as it relates to the adaption and standards of modern audiences for a children's movie.

The movie was entertaining. I confess I love old fashioned adventures where cell phones and the internet are not at the heart of the action. Back in my day (I say as I stand on a soap box) we had "The Goonies", children who got themselves into unsanitary adventures with danger with dangerous crooks and death defying stunts. How many children played, "Goonies" during long hot summers in the 80's? Lots. Tintin looks like a child but I always wondered how old he was supposed to be. I mean he lives on his own, is frequently published in newspapers and is proficient with a pistol (something I will get back to later.) I repeat, how old is Tintin supposed to be anyway? I mean come on! He looks like he's 16 tops! He's got adult friends. His ideals are that of a boy scout with a hint of mischief. He has a Timmy and Lassie-esque camaraderie with his dog, Snowy. I imagine this is part of the fantasy of the series. He is not an adult but not a child. People are supposed to relate to him regardless. He is a kid who lives on his own as an adult. How exciting!

Now as I was watching the film a few things occurred to me.

1. Oh my god! Kids watching this movie have to go more than 5 minutes without hearing a pop culture reference! How will they like it?

Most of the previews before the film were for children's movies. One of which was for Madagascar 3 (?!?) which is a franchise notorious for use of buzz words and references. Something my film professors taught me was a guarantee that your film would be dated in 5 years time. But in this world of constant stimulation it seems like so many of these animated films just can't stop. It needs to be big and shiny and constant. Every other word has to be a snide reference to something kids may or may not be privy to. This is not to say that I haven't liked some recent films like this, nor to say that Tintin wasn't constant stimulation. It was just in a different way.

When Tintin was on the move, and pretty much the whole movie he was, it was due to sleuthing and clever slapstick gags that kept the mind racing to follow it. The director, Spielberg, (someone I have a love/hate relationship with) liked the idea of the film adaption because he felt it was Indiana Jones for kids. That was what made "Goonies" work so well. The danger was REAL. There were no parents to protect the children, they were on their own. Tintin's most competent companion is his dog. His friend Captain Haddock is too drunk or clumsy to be of constant use and the police officers Thomson and Thompson are usually caught up in their own drama. Tintin guides his audience from a flea market in Belgium to being kidnapped aboard a ship to the deserts of the Middle East where I found myself wanting to yell, "No Tintin! You're a redhead! You need sunscreen or you'll burn!" I know this from my own ginger experiences.

But my point is, I wondered if a child in today's world could accept a children's movie where the world does not have 3G everywhere the hero goes. Where pop music isn't in the background. Harry Potter succeeds this way, however the magic of that world can be argued to stand in for technology at points (owls?). Can children accept Tintin sending a telegraph? I was pleased as punch for one.

2. Tintin carries a gun. He does it in the comics also. There seem to be a huge subsection of this country that feels carrying a gun in our god given right and everyone should have one everywhere. I am most certainly not of that mind. I can go on a rant about it but I won't because thats not the point. The point is this. There is a very large subsection of parents who flip out if a gun is depicted in their children's books or movies. These are similar to those who have pushed for swings that hover an inch above the ground which is padded in colored foam. Some safety standards are good, some are extreme. But children with real guns is a bit of a cringer for many. Tintin is attacked by people with guns, he carries one and knows how to use it. Very well I may add. Can modern parents who are afraid of exposing their children to any sort of violence in media accept a young hero with a gun? Also is companion Captain Haddock drinks. A lot. Do parents want that in their children's movies? I mean just a few weeks ago I grumbled at a friend of mine who was hesitant to take her five year old son to see "The Muppets". I asked her if she watched "The Muppet Show" and movies as a child. She said yes. I reminded her what happened in those and she gasped and remarked she couldn't believe she's become one of those parents who has begun to over censor her son.

Tintin is more extreme than "The Muppets" but in the way "The Goonies" was. The action is breakneck. Its escapist fantasy. This kid is able to fly a plane, sword fight and fearlessly chase after bad guys while solving a mystery. Is that going to appeal to kids the same way Zebras voiced by Chris Rock dancing to "I like to move it move it" would? I would like to hope there is room in the world for both.

3. Corniness. Again, Tintin is based on a serial which was published in the early part of last century. The film captures a lot of the corniness of this. I appreciated it. Basically, the standard goes that Tintin gets into trouble, some thugs whack him over the head and tie him up, Snowy saves him and he gets the better of them. This is repeated over and over in the film. Very well I may add in the way that the action is seamless, but it is evident. Tintin's Jimmy Olsen-esque expressions such as, "Great Snakes!" may seem silly to children who seem to utter, "Holy Shit!" with no more than an angry glance from their parents who worry in turn if there is enough foam on their playgrounds. Cursing in children annoys the crap out of me. Worry about their manners, please.

I somehow doubt children will run around yelling, "Great Snakes" but will the lack of edginess they are used to take away from the movie for them? Really its a good old fashioned adventure. In a way can Tintin be too far from Harry Potter or Star Wars? All three have young protagonists who fight evil in their own way. Two of the three have very loyal fans. Can the former one fit in with the latter two? Can we have a "Goonies" for the information age?

So basically I am hoping that Tintin, as a good old fashioned adventure, even with real guns and danger appeals to new audiences. As for nods to pop culture I can't say there aren't ANY. I mean Thompson and Thomson who are voiced by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, make a reference to police work involving a lot of "paperwork" which was a nod to their film "Hot Fuzz". It was appreciated by a fan of the duo but certainly not key to me as an adult enjoying the film.

As far as missteps I don't think the movie was perfect. So much was going on some audiences may have found it hard to follow. Also, the animation, though gorgeous definitely delved pretty far into the uncanny valley at points.

I thought it was fun though.

Now I just need to sit back and listen to parents and kids to come in and tell me what they thought to get a full picture or whether it hit or missed the mark for them.

I have no words...

2011-12-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

So at the holiday party last week my co-workers from the adult department are whispering about some supposedly hot erotic novel that all the ladies want to get their hands on this year.

Its called:

"Fifty Shades of Grey."

I ask what the set up is, because I am one of those cerebral people who needs to be told more than, "hot sexual fiction" to make me want to read a book.

One of them mentions it deals with BDSM. I say, "No thanks" because frankly, that stuff creeps me out.

Then I have a young mother come in and ask me to hold this book for her as her son and husband play in the background and she flushes fifty shades of red. I see we have a ton of holds on our copies. I decide I must investigate further. Upon doing so I find out something truly awful about this book.

Drumroll:

It has its origins as a "Twilight" Fan fiction. That's right folks. An erotic TWILIGHT fan fiction was published and is on a bunch of suburban ladies, "hot" list. Let that sink in. Someone's erotic fan fiction has been published. She just changed the names and its making a splash. Not just any fan fiction. Twilight. Yes. I'm not making this up. I have to go vomit now.

Touched by his Noodly Tendril

2011-12-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life by Andy Raskin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Andy Raskin may not be a likable narrator. He may not even be or have been a likable person, though he seems to have had no problems getting women to sleep with him, however many people seem to think women generally like assholes and anyway one doesn't have to be in a "relationship" in order to engage in "carnal relations".

Andy Raskin is, however, an engaging writer who is able to relate to his readers while talking about some of the more unsavory flaws in his own personality. The book uses alternating stories of Raskin's terrible habit of cheating on women he dates and that of the life of Momofuku Ando, the creator of instant Ramen. The two connect as Raskin writes letters to Ando confessing his sins as part of a 12 step program.

For years Raskin has ruined everything good that comes his way. Love, career, friendships. He habitually pushes away people who care about him and obsessively trolls the internet for sex while faithful women he claims to love either remain ignorant or turn a blind eye. As much of a jerk as he is his story is still very engaging. Raskin is a Nipponophile who reads Manga about food and cooking, a strangely endearing quirk. He befriends a old curmudgeonly sushi chef and his wife. He challenges himself to engage in bizarre challenges like those in Japanese game shows. But this is as much a story about Ando as it is Raskin.

You see, when Raskin's intimacy problem becomes to much for him to bare he joins a group (which is most likely an offshoot of AA for sex addicts) where his sponsor prompts him to pick a "higher power" to whom he must relinquish his will. After reading an article on Ando, Raskin decides he is the perfect deity. Raskin relates trials of Ando's life, success and failures all the while sharing his letters to his "noodle god" about the terrible ways he has treated not only women but other people who love him. Not too long into his program, Raskin decides he must try to meet the Noodle King in person.

While there is no perfect ending this story, if Raskin succeeds in his quest I will not say, the journey is a great read. Maybe an imperfect ending is in fact perfect for a story about several imperfections of the human condition? Give this one a whirl. If anything you may save a few bucks on groceries due to a distinct craving for ramen.

EDIT: Oh, yeah. This is a true story. Did I fail to mention that part?

Is this world too hard and cynical for the Muppets?

2011-12-02T05:52:00.000-08:00

If so, then its not a world I would like to call my own. Some of my fondest memories as a child were watching The Muppet Show on my parents' old 13' knob channel TV. There was something about the Muppets that lacked the condescending tone that began to invade children's programming in the early 80's. This is probably because Jim Henson himself believed that good family programs could exist without talking down to the children in their audiences.

This theory also works well in Sesame Street, which I feel is still, by far one of the best children's educational programs out there. Of course, Muppets and their fans everywhere took a great loss when Jim Henson passed away. I still remember where I was when I heard. I was at my desk in school (I confess I do not remember which grade). The principal actually announced it over the loud speaker! What a heart breaker! I had seen all the Muppet movies that had been made at the time and was a big fan of Henson's behind the scenes specials. I just couldn't picture what that meant for us fans.

Not too long after, those who picked up the Muppets seemed to lose sight of the soul that made them great and relatable. Muppet Treasure Island was awful. Any attempt to adapt Kermit and friends that followed was comparable to the stale taste of gum which you continued to chew hoping that initial burst of flavor would return one last time before discarding it. I try to block the awfulness of Muppet Wizard of Oz from my mind. I actually won it along with Season 1 of the Muppet Show in a radio contest. I figured I would give it a whirl and found myself actually OFFENDED by it! The Muppets are precocious but not offensive! And I have some pretty thick skin when it comes to what I find offensive! Henson would not approve! Not that I am able to speak for a deceased visionary, but I am pretty sure Kermit making jokes about "Passion of the Christ" is not what he had in mind. I watch South Park for that shit. Not Muppets.

Then a few years back something magical began to happen. Viral videos of the Muppets singing everything from Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, to Camilla and her chicken sisters clucking "Stars and Stripes forever"began to circulate. Something about these videos were fresh and yet nostalgic of the Muppets I loved so much. As it turned out, actor and human Muppet, Jason Seigel felt as betrayed as all us fans have of the treatment of his childhood memories. He had begun to use his fandom and the power of fame to resurrect (no "Passion" joke there) aspects of the Muppets he felt had made them so wonderful. Then he began work on a new film.

Jason Seigel's, The Muppets may not be perfect. It may not exactly be Henson. What it is for sure is a WONDERFUL recapturing of the franchise by someone who loves it as only a fan can and has nothing but the best intensions of keeping the integrity Henson sewed alive and well. In short it was an "Old School Muppet Movie" in only the way a true fan cold make without Jim Henson himself. Fan fiction at its best? Maybe.

The plot was simple. Two brothers, one a Muppety Human (Seigel) one a Humany Muppet , travel with the former's girlfriend to LA. They find the Muppet theater in danger of being destroyed by a villain, Tex Richman, who is reminiscent of a cross between the baddies in both The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppet Movie. Someone we can all recognize these days. A heartless business man with no respect for the past or entertainment with heart. He wants to drill beneath the studio where there is oil. He find a loophole in Kermit's original "Rich and Famous" agreement that will allow him to do so unless the Muppets can put on one more show and raise 10 Million Dollars by a steep deadline.

After some prodding by his fans Kermit finds the grit to reassemble the team (using some delightfully silly sight gags such as, "traveling by map" and "montage"). The current status of his cohorts are all pretty amusing, but of course the most difficult of all is convincing his on again, off again passionate porcine love, Miss Piggy (plus size Vogue editor) to forgive him for hurting her after their wedding in The Muppets take Manhattan. Thats right. They have completely ignored everything that has been made since that third movie. The pitiful attempts to use the Muppets over the past few years have been erased. HALLELUJAH!

The question brought up over and over again throughout this film is, "would this hard cynical world still love the Muppets?" I mean lets look at the frantic pace of children's movies lately. I have enjoyed some of them, but there seems to be a need for a constant pace of obvious dialogue. The Muppets aren't exactly wholesome but they are not frantic. They are not air brushed CGI. Of course if you haven't seen the movie already I will not give away the ending, but I will tell you that the rendition of "The Rainbow Connection" brought mist to my eyes and a lump to m throat. Will the new audiences love it too? I was pleased to hear from a patron that her two year old sat mesmerized through the whole movie, making noise only to laugh. I hope this is the trend.

Were their some stumbles? Here and there. I wasn't a fan of Tex Richman's (played by Chris Cooper) rap number, though it was appropriately awkward for a stiff white guy in a suit. Thats just preference. However as a whole, The Muppets filled me with a joy I haven't felt in years. I finally can say that they are back and I would hope Jim would approve.

Just a quick note

2011-11-28T05:10:00.000-08:00

If you think that saying, "Happy Holidays" is about demeaning Christmas you are missing the point.

If you think Christmas is an American custom and those who don't accept it as such should, "go home." You are misunderstanding what this country is built on.

If you think there is a war on Christmas and Christianity, you clearly don't realize the inaccuracies in this statement.

It is very easy to see your own standards, beliefs and customs are under attack when you are in the majority, have been in the majority and see people wanting to change what you know as comfortable.

When you are allowed to live where you want to live, marry whom you wish and drink at the same fountain as everyone else you many not see how the is a problem for others. This is why several people throughout history have fought to get their voices heard and they rights respected. Even people in the majority have stood by them, but if we all just go around saying what the majority believes is "just standard" and "American custom" we run the risk of ignoring that fact that we share this country and holiday season with several other people who deserve the same rights as you. No one is going to stop you from going to church, or worshipping Jesus or taking communion. No one is going to take "your" Christmas away. That is complete bullshit.

Maybe some people have just grown tired of feeling like they don't count this time of year or that their holiday isn't worthy of the insane excess and commercialism.

So if you celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas. I have no problems saying that.

If I know what you celebrate I wish you accordingly to the name of your holiday.

If I don't know or just want to be friendly I say Happy Holidays.

Highway Snobbery

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

It seems that in a month or so we may be moving to our very own patch of real estate.

Oh joy? Oh happy day? Oh shit. Yes, as they say it is a buyer's market and in spite of last year being a hectic time when Thoth was just finishing up his second degree and this time last year, going on interviews I wonder if they frenzy of people assuring me that it is a "buyer's market" put us on a frenzy of looking at 20 or so houses a week and finally putting an offer on one which was (oh no!) accepted. It shouldn't be a shocker, right? I mean that is why people put these houses on the market, in hopes of selling them. So now we are waiting for a closing date and I am biting my finger nails in fear of making the biggest purchase we have ever made and seeing my savings drain. Yes, yes, I know, it isn't really "draining". Good investment, build equity, market will come back, yadda yadda yadda. But really at the moment, having never done this I see money no longer in my account and will freak. And by the way, closing costs are effing outrageous!

But I digress. This is a good thing (?). Thoth and I will have our own place. We will no longer have to scrounge for parking spots that our landlady's daughter's girlfriend seems to take up while parking in between a sot which would have fit both of ours cars. I mean I love our landlady's daughter, but you would think if her lady is going to park herself at the house for a few days a week she would inform her that the paying tenants need a place to park their cars?

Anyway, so we have been slowly packing our things, the majority being Books, DVD's and collectibles due to the fact that our house to be is a "short sale" property which basically means the contract take a while to get back but we get a pretty good deal on the house.

Now, a few drawbacks. First off, as it stands now I can drive home on my lunch break. Our apartment of the last few years is up the road from my library. It is great getting some quiet time with the kitty in between work. I like being able to cook lunch for myself on my own stove. Now I will have to brave the break room where some loud staff doesn't consider that you do not want to be spoken to for the full 60 minutes you are at lunch. I also will miss the kitty cuddling. However, since my job and home are so close, I may not run into patrons at the supermarket, and while I love most of my patrons, I don't always want to be "on".

I love my current community for its diversity of cultures. My new community lacks that flavor. It is a nice place, however the town I live in now has become a hub. I like that. The school system however has been troublesome for a while and I don't want to risk that when I have children who will be attending. I would love to buy where I live now but I can't justify sending my children to a school that has a real legit gang problem and private school is out of the question. My current town is down the street from the community I grew up in and work in. It has grown leaps and bounds in diversity since I was a child. I like that about it too. The school system is also lauded as being very good, yet competitive on many levels, which I am not always pleased with. It is also far out of our price range.

So here is the deal. No, we cannot afford to live in the town I work in and grew up in. I am fine with this as I always expected I wouldn't live there. However, when people I work with or parents of classmates come in and I mention I am buying a house they always assume it is in fact in that town. There is a very common trend of their faces falling when I tell them where I am buying. It bothers me. I wonder where they think I am getting the money to afford to live there. Maybe they are surprised that I am not able to afford it. Maybe they think the tax dollars they pay to libraries allow their librarians to live like kings and queens as many people seem to think public employees as raking in some sort of crazy fortune on the backs of their communities. We aren't. Libraries definitely aren't.

I am not sure what causes the "face fall" followed by a plastic smile, but I am perfectly aware of what we can afford and what I don't want, which is to go bankrupt to live in a place we can't afford. As is, this is going to be a very big adjustment financially for us. However, the facial reactions are consistent. I am certainly not moving to a bad area by any means. It is in fact pretty average as far as suburbs around here go. It lacks the cultural flavor and downtown area I like in small towns, yet it is affordable and the schools are good enough without a real issue. Of course competition will always exist but I don't have to worry about some things that were drawbacks in other places we could afford.

And we really do want to be able to "afford" to live.

The food was great, the tree plugged in, the meal had gone without a hitch, til Timmy turned to Amber and said, "Is it true that you're a witch?"

2011-11-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

After a nice dinner with my brother in law's ex, who shall from here forth be known as "my friend Dawn", I began to wonder if I have the stones to openly live as a pagan.

I have been with one foot in the broom closet so that I may leap back in when I feel uncomfortable for as long as I have been practicing, which is about 15 years now. I pulled off a subtly pagan wedding, wear subtle pagan jewelry and smile and say very little when asked "what are you doing for (insert holiday here)?"

My faith is mine and while it is a part of me I am not in anyone's face about it nor do I proselytize. These are all qualities I find distasteful when others do it and I certainly am not about to be a hypocrite just because my own path is in sight. I am a woman who is pagan but there is more to me so, yeah.

However I do admit I get a little sad that I do not feel comfortable discussing how I will celebrate Yule, especially this time of year when the holidays start 3 months before they actually happen, another thing which irks me by the way. I mean why should I feel uneasy? Isn't it my right to be open without fear of criticism? I mean in no way am I involved in a cult which exploits its members, I do not perform blood sacrifice, I just feel closest to everything around me through cycles of nature. But still people get weirded out by words like, "pagan" and "witch" and what have you. I can understand that the second term brings forth tons of images unsavory, though I will say that in many places throughout now and history saying one is a "jew" or an "arab", "indian" etc. brought forth just as many undeniably offensive images that are most definitely not OK. However, the witch image is tricky. I do not object to little girls running around in pointed hats on Halloween and though I cringe a little at the image of the old hook nosed hag, I understand the place that image has in folklore both positive and negative.

So what does this have to do with my dinner with Dawn? Dawn is also a pagan. It was pretty cool to have someone so close to being a sister in law who I could chat with openly about this and say, "Merry Yule! Blessed Mabon." Yet, the idiot that is my brother in law was dumped after 7 years with her and he deserved it. Dawn is still my friend. Its not my fault that he sucks. So Dawn is a teacher and she has decided she is tired of hiding her faith to everyone. She openly wears a pentacle at work and while she does not talk about her faith all the time (I couldn't stomach her is she did) she does not pretend she celebrates Christmas when she calls it "Yule". She has said people are accepting mostly and usually quick to ask questions which she answers so she can get on with her life and just be.

I admire this, but I just am not there. Further more, as I get ready to close on a house nearby I wonder how open I should be with my neighbors. My husband has insisted on hanging a holiday calendar of seasons which he had bought when we moved in together as well as a copy of the rede. I have an altar. Do I risk worrying about being "that" person when I meet my neighbors? How do I teach my kids? I am cool with being subtle but that is not a child's talent. While in the end they can choose their own path I will be raising them with paganism in the house. It may be easier to live in the open with it rather than send them to school and let them be any more confused than they may already be. I will certainly never be that dress in all black, over the top goth that some people associate with "modern witches" but I want to represent me as I am to my community and my family so I can move on and be comfortable with other facets of me that are odd. Being pagan is just one piece of it. You know, cuz I'm kind of a nerd anyway.

When you change with every new day, still I'm gonna miss you.

2011-11-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jessica Day George continues her trend of penning fresh fantasy novels with genuine heroines. Plucky Princess Celie (short for Cecelia) inhabits a living castle along with her parents (The King and Queen, naturally) and her three siblings Bran, Lilah and Rolf. We are assured from the begining that if the royals were unworthy by any means, Castle Glower would not allow them to rule. It is true that their home is a being with a mind of its own. On Tuesdays in particular, Castle Glower will usually grow and change. It frequently adds rooms and passageways, moves living quarters according to the talents of those who sleep within (Rolf's room was moved next to the throne room, so it was certain the castle felt he should be heir to the throne) and even arranges marriages by locking two people into a room with no way out until they see they are fit for one another. How else do you think the King and Queen fell in love?

The story eases us into the common life of this lighthearted and loving royal family. Celie is the baby, whom everyone loves. Lilah (Delilah) is smart and nurturing and Rolf is a leader even at age 14. Bran, however, we do not meet as we are told he is graduating from the Wizard Academy. The Castle, you see, had begun to fill his rooms with magic books thus convincing the King he is to be a Wizard. So you see, he is about to graduate and the King and Queen must travel to witness the ceremony and bring him home. Therefore they entrust the Castle to their younger children and their children in care of their council. Unfortunately for the Glower children, the Castle leads them to a tower where they witness their parent's carriage destroyed through a spyglass. At once they are informed that they are orphans, and yet the Castle has yet to change their rooms nor has it made Rolf's more Kingly, so Celie believes in her heart they are not dead.

The story moves at a fine pace, though not fast by any means. As the family prepares for a funeral and foreign monarchs arrive to "pay their respects" Celie uncovers a plot between the evil Prince Khelsh and the King's own council to dispatch of Rolf. Each of the children deal with this news in a different way. Lilah works with Pogue, the flirtatious son of a blacksmith to sneak in and out of the Kingdom and research the veracity of their parents' demise. Rolf uses Celie's information to play a dangerous game of wits and politics. Celie herself uses her kinship with the Castle to gather information and allies.

While there is much adventure and some espionage, this is a whimsical story with a brave young girl at its heart. Celie's actions seem natural for a girl her age. Her relationship with the Castle is lovely. While one may expect more twists and turns from George while comparing this with her other series, this one remains a delight in its own.

Plot Points

2011-11-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

So let me see if I've got this correct. According to all commercials about "Tower Heist" a bunch of guys who have been ripped off by corporate greed (how timely!) decide to get 20 million bucks back from Hawkeye.

They assume he is going to have 20 mill just hangin' out in his building, because all corporate criminals keep the money they laundered lying around where anyone can get to it. So anyhow they are going to rob him and get their cash back.

Oh, also they find a black guy to help them preform the heist. You know, because who else can help a bunch of white guys commit a robbery but a black guy? Right I forgot to mention the victims of said corporate greed are all white guys. This wouldn't really matter enough to mention at all if Eddie Murphy's character wasn't the only black guy in the cast who just happens to be the dude they call on to help them commit a crime. This makes sense because all black people are criminals, right?

*sigh*

Maybe I am being too sensitive? Maybe I am reading too far into this? Maybe there is a reason 20 million in cash is just lying around in a tower suite? I am not interested enough to watch the movie and find out. Oh well.

Six Days to Air, or, is that really enough time to be funny?

2011-10-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

So, last spring I was pretty convinced that South Park was ending for good.

Part of me was a little melancholy at the idea of my weekly ritual ending. I've pretty much been watching new episodes of Wednesday nights since 2001, which is just about when the T- shirt culture of the series died and I began to find some humor in it.

It seems regardless of last Spring's "You're getting old." which seemed like the beginning of the end, there seems to be a few more years contracted at least and in a way I was sort of hoping for a graceful bow-out. It has been a while since I enjoyed a season so much that I find a majority of episodes funny... yet I still give it a chance.

Still, I was lucky enough to see "The Book of Mormon" this Spring which was really quite good and was looking forward to watching "Six Days to Air", a documentary about the production process of the series.

Six days to air begins with Matt Stone and Trey Parker leaving the studio after previews of "The Book of Mormon" to work on season 15 of South Park. According to Parker, the series, which began as stop motion animation with construction paper has grown to a computer generated production process which has become a schedule of six days from conception of an idea to an episode.

From watching commentary on the DVD's of earlier seasons I had been aware that originally the writers were given "writer's retreats" prior to a season in which they would take a few days to gather ideas for the upcoming shows.

According to Parker on this documentary, the retreats have since shrunk to non existent. First the episodes began taking 2 weeks, then 10 days for production instead... and now less than a week.

I for one found the currency of the series to be one thing that originally drew me to watch. The resolution of an episode years ago which featured an animated parody of something that had just happened two days prior was pretty impressive. While the break neck pace of the writing has lent itself to some really current commentary, what I have been missing is the laughs.

I can't deny that there were some really great moments in the documentary.

First, I had no idea that Bill Hader of SNL was also a writer on South Park. There is another example of a show which has six days to air and is not always consistent. I'm sure they have some already scripted skits they do regularly but they also have to work weekly with guest hosts that may not be funny either. No animation is involved and I'm pretty sure the cast has improv experience. He noted that while in SNL they have to worry as to if they have offended a celebrity when they ask them to host, while South Park does not... I wonder if those who did not know Hader's involvement in both will now think twice about hosting. I think probably not.

Second, the closeness of the staff is actually quite touching. In spite of the episode in question which featured some really bad gross out humor, not my favorite aspect of the show by far, it was sweet to see how much of a team the actual studio appeared to be. From congratulations for Tony nominations, to scenes of animators cuddled up in their jammies while working to production manager Anne Garefino hugging Trey when the episode is delivered, it was really rather sweet. Probably one of the best aspects of South Park itself is the ability to tuck sentimentality neatly into offensive humor. Six Days to Air depicted that this as genuine.

There were also some interesting bits of history. A short home video of Matt showing his broken glasses which he was too poor to replace. I also learned that the original short, "The Spirit of Christmas" arguably the first viral video actually cost the duo jobs because they didn't have the sense to "sign" it as theirs and many others claimed creation over their product thus granting jobs to people who had nothing to do with the short. I was not surprised in the least that the two showed up on acid to the Oscars while wearing dresses.

If Matt and Trey have learned from their mistakes over the last 15 years it shows. They definitely seem more mature and the quality of "The Book of Mormon" is pretty unanimous. Several Tonys were won and classy Tuxedos were the wardrobe for that ceremony.

However, the question for me again is that of the 6 day schedule. You see, I feel that something has been lost in the breakneck pace of the production. While masterpieces have been made, The Mysterion trilogy, episodes 200-201, there are just so many more mediocre ones than there had been in past years. Maybe 10 days was enough to make the funny, but less than a week seems to be a wild card. I don't know if currency should be sacrificed for, well... funny.

Honestly, I recall years when a good 80 to 75 percent of the episodes per season were so funny. Sure, I skipped anything which was just gross for grosses sake especially if it involved Mr. Hankey, but wow. There were just some great episodes which still make me laugh. Then, the sharks seemed to circle waiting for a greaser on a motor cycle to pass over. I think he has a few times in spite of some good episodes. 75 percent became 55 which became 35 percent funny. Nowadays I don't feel the need to add to my collection of DVDs. I actually recently picked up the first two seasons used on DVD because I was not a fan of those either, yet having seasons 3-8 seemed wrong somehow. I still have no desire to fill in what I have missed. Yeah, if I could make my own DVD and put a few here and there on it that would work, but the show is just consistently inconsistent!

So, while I enjoyed the documentary, It pointed out some glaring facts which I have been noticing for years. The pace has fatigued what may have already been fatigued anyway. Even the writers sessions appeared to be Trey exaustedly carrying the entire thing on his back. Maybe more time would allow more input from the other writers? I was pleased to see a woman on the board. Video of animators sleeping under their desks was interesting and while the animation for South Park need not be GOOD, maybe these people could be spared some all nighters if the pace would just be relaxed.

Yes, I believe, as I do with The Simpsons (Nedna? Really?) , that a real ending should come before a forced one by cancellation. Maybe there are a few good years left in South Park but I really don't know if this schedule is really needed if that is in fact so.

And while it has some nifty advantages, I don't think less than a week guarantees quality.

Seriously? @ Your Library!

2011-09-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

Woman: Do you have a book about a little girl who is going to be a flower girl?

Librarian: Sure! (looks up a book and hands it to the woman.)

Woman: (Looks at the cover depicting a smiling child as a flower girl, but she happens to be African American) Oh, I don't want this one. Its about black people.

Giant Robot Envy...

2011-09-29T14:24:00.000-07:00

I've been avoiding this one but I may as well get it over with:

There is little to no point blogging about Neon Genesis Evangelion as it is probably one of the most blogged about and maybe even overrated series *dodges flying objects from fans* in the history of Anime. That is arguable of course. It has plenty of merits and this is coming from someone who had used a statue of two main characters as her wedding cake topper... but in my defense Asuka has the same hair color as me. So what if I have several other pieces of Evangelion statues. This is also due to the fact that it is probably the most widely marketed of anime series of all time and the merchandise ranges from the beautifully sculpted, to the unnecessary to the just plain weird and disturbing. I can get to that later on when discussing the bizarre fetishism that seems to accompany this series which I will touch upon later but in all fairness I cannot continue doing posts on "Fundamentals of Anime" without just mentioning this one. On the other hand part of the point behind these posts were to educate "newbs" who ramble about whatever is gracing the T Shirts of Hot Topic this week and are unaware of things that existed when it was totally uncool to like anime.

I first heard about this series in the late 90's while on a ferry talking to a complete stranger.

But really, you would be hard pressed to find a fan, even a newbie who at least doesn't KNOW OF Eva (as fans have dubbed it). Here we go anyway.

Above: Young Shinji, Three Eva and Older Shinji

Neon Genesis Evangelion is the story of Shinji Ikari. I know he is not the most liked character in the series but he is the main one. Sorry. Suck it up. Shinji's mother, Yui, died when he was a child. His father, Gendo, is a distant scientist abandoned him to live with a teacher and went off to do whatever it is mad scientists do. In anime this usually means he behaves creepily while his glasses reflect the light from his computer screen, Like so:

Whosyerdaddy?

Really though, Gendo is involved with Nerve a shady military organization where he is entrenched in in the some messed up experiments funded by some even shadier organizations (such as Seele) which have little regard for its guinea pigs. It'd take me too long to write about this aspect so if you are remotely curious and don't already know, either look it up or watch the series.

Anyhow, at age 14, Shinji receives word that his father wishes to see him for the first time since he was abandoned by his father at a train station. He is picked up by one of his father's employees, Misato a 28 year old woman (who's age officially makes her an "old hag" by anime standards. Why Gendo has sent of Shinji he does not know, but since his abandonment, Shinji has fallen to insecurities which cause an inability to act. He has no feelings of self worth, cries a lot and it pretty much a "wet blanket". It turns out Gendo has summoned Shinji to pilot an "Eva" for NERVE, and Eva is a strange giant robot type thing (pictured above) which is used to fight "Angels". Ah yes. I forgot to mention this. 14 years prior to the story (which was set in 2010, the series ran in the mid to late 90s) the arrival of a being called an "Angel" caused the "Second Impact" which destroyed Antarctica and wiped ou t a good amount of the world population due to various disasters. This also led to socio-economic decay and war. Tokyo has been rebuilt mostly underground and exists as Tokyo 3 (does it even matter? I feel like everyone who would care knows this).

So in present, Angels have been attacking the earth and are thwarted by the Evas which are and must be piloted by 14 year old children. There is a reason for this I will get to later. Shinji has been selected to do this alongside the eerily pretty young girl Rei who he meets at the military base who had been injured horribly fighting in the previous battle. Further more it seems Gendo is more concerned for Rei's well being than that of his own son. While hemming hawing and stopping short of pissing himself, Shinji finds it in his gut to stand up and become a pilot. Is he doing it for his father's approval? Yes. Is he doing it to gain the sullen Rei's admiration. Most definitely. Is this what makes the series notable? No.

Freud and Pyschology in general:

There is so much Freud in this series it has been analyzed to death nearly as much as Freud's theories have themselves!

Spoiler alert! And if you don't already know this I assume you don't care.

Rei, the object of Shinji's affection is a clone of his mother (mostly). I mean literally she is Yui Ikari cloned (mostly). Shinji at the tail end of puberty is physically attracted to his mother, even though he does not recognize her as his mother. Though Oedipus himself did not recognize Jocasta when he married her. He is jealous of his father's preference for Rei but he also is clearly attracted to her. Rei, in rare lucid moments seems aware of what she is. In general she is withdrawn, depressed and initially utterly devoted to Gendo Ikari. Imagery implies references to the "oral stage" themes of "thanatos" are rampant and this is not just drawing one's own conclusion. It is meant to be there.

Rei and Yui

Eva Pilots are chosen because they are "damaged". The Eva can only be piloted by a child who is 14 (born right after 2nd impact) and dealing with not just the stress of puberty and emotional turmoil but they must have had some awful trauma in their past because this is the only way they can form an "A.T. Field" the A.T. standing for absolute terror which in the series forms a barrier which protects them from permutation. While the term is Eva specific, the roots of the A.T. field in psychology is that it is a barrier formed by an ego pushed to the brink. The ultimate invasion of personal space which causes a being to behave violently and irrationally.

Let us look at the main three subjects first:

Rei:

Rei is a clone of Yui who had died in a lab accident. Rei was "born" when Yui's soul (mostly) was transfered to a biological clone. Incidentally, Gendo has several Rei bodies which are empty husks in his lab. Rei died once when Gendo's lover strangled one of the clones to death for taunting her about her age. Yui's soul was transfered to another husk. She is generally distant and withdrawn. There are 3 Rei's which we meet within the course of the series. Though she is generally subdued each Rei has a different underlying personality. An Id (Rei 1) , Ego (Rei 2) and a super ego (Rei 3). One can consider she (in her Rei 2 form) has an Elektra complex as she seems to harbor something for Gendo whom was her husband in a former life and a father figure at present.

Shinji:
Shinji is traumatized by the loss of his mother and the abandonment of his father. He lives in a dying world where he is unwanted by everyone and considered worthless. His childhood had been plagued by alienation, death and the destruction of the world around hi m. He fails to remember his presence at the death of his mother. Also he is nursing a pretty hard Oedipus complex.

Asuka:

Half German Asuka, the "second child" though she is third to be introduced had an insane mother who had committed suicide. Asuka found her mother hanging and hanging next to her was a doll which looked like Asuka herself. Since this moment her drive to live causes her to be an insufferable braggart a bully and a perfectionist. She treats everyone around her with scorn though it is revealed that she herself is fragile at the memory that the second noose was meant for her own neck. She lusts for her teacher, Kaji who respectfully rejects her advances.

Others:

Captain Misato Katsuragi:

I always have a soft spot for Misato the young woman who looks after our three pilots. She is also arguably the most likable and maybe even stable character in the series. We discover she was a survivor of 2nd impact and suffered from mutism after her father died protecting her. She reveals later that she hated her father in spite of what he did for her. Later she begins a sexual relationship with the aforementioned Kaji and though she loved him dearly, it was held at a distance as Misato wraps herself away and cannot deny Kaji's resemblances to her own father which ultimately leads to her ending things. Kaji never gets over her.

The two rekindle their romance briefly before their subsequent deaths. This tenuous romance does not stilt Misato as a charater. She is complex, compassionate and quite strong even without Kaji behind her. She makes tough choices because it is simply what she has to do.

Then there is Ritsuko, Gendo's assistant and latest lover. Did I mention her mother was the one who was sleeping which Gendo when she killed Rei 1? Pretty much, Hideaki Anno, the show's director has stated he cannot understand the love of these characters the fans have as they are all "so sick". I don't think one can disagree that Gendo is by far the most vile.

Religion:

Neon Genesis Evangelion uses several refereneces directly from obscure Judeo-Christian theology. Some of the Angels appear in the forms of Angels from the Bible and Dead Sea Scrolls. They are not the winged kind as art has interpreted them. They are spheres of light and giant orbs. Lilith plays a massive role in the revelations of the series. She was the second angel, the first being Adam and the referral to modern humanity as "Lillim" by a later character furthers this. Other Angels retain Old Testament names as well. We discover later that the Eva themselves are not actually robots but something more... organic.

Quotes from the Dead Sea Scrolls appear throughout the breaks in the series. Crosses emerge from battles. The legendary "Lance of Longinus" is a weapon used to fight. Images of crucifixion and mention of the Sephiroth tree appear and the name of Ritsuko's

computer system is the Magi System complete with the names of the Magi in the system.

Anno:

Hideaki Anno, the director to whom the series is attributed is a notable character himself. A veteran who worked with Miyazaki and had several other anime projects is rumored to have suffered clinical depression throughout the production of the series.

Some say the journey of Shinji and company are the manifestation of his own mania. Legend has it he had to be strapped down at night in the fear that he wold hurt himself.

Some rumor him to have had ties with a cult that gassed the Tokyo subway system.

While most of the above is hearsay Anno WAS very much depressed at one point in time. For years after the series ended he remained hostile towards the fans which raised him so high.

He has been noted to regard distain for the Otaku (Anime Superfan) community saying that he considers it a form of "forced autism", a statement I can understand having been within the community himself". The series ended after a collection of "mind fucks" which can only be seen and better not described here as I don't have that much time on my hands. In the past he sneered at fan's dissapointment with the ending, which consisted first of two seemingly stream of consciousness episodes that melded strange imagery, alternate timelines and what appeared to almost be therapy sessions for Shinji himself. This was followed up by two short movies which some feel left more questions than they answered.

Recently he has revived the series as a quartet of films of which he has more control, presumably of his mental state as well. This came after dropping off the map for a while and then resurfacing seemingly better in mind and spirit.

Fetishism:

One thing that bothers me is the fetishism attached to the characters, mostly Rei who's injured and bandaged state has graced the covers of several magazines and sold many figurines.

The characters have appeared in ridiculous form for sale as statues as Crossing guards,

Xena Princess Warrior (my husband has these, I am ashamed), Witches (I own one of these, I am ashamed), Goths and other garb. Not once has these ever been graced in the series itself. It is all fantasy. While I enjoy some of these because they are beautifully carved even if they make NO sense in the context of the series, there is disturbing content. Barely dressed versions of Rei and Asuka in their underwear, unofficial figurines

of the two in naked sexually suggestive embrace. It is bad enough that someone finds

it alright to fetishize these two as crossing guards. I don't get that fantasy myself but these as 14 year old girls we are talking about. Fictional, yes but they are 14! They are portrayed as horribly damaged and their underage images have been exploited beyond anything.

Now I know many think that this is rampant in the perversion of Anime fandom in general... but if anything I can argue that the

Eva fandom is the grandaddy of the stereotypes today. Eva has and continues to set the bar to this day.

It is just too much to handle and makes me understand Anno's hatred of the fandom even IF Asuka embracing Shinji was my cake topper. They had their clothes on and it was happy and playfully innocent unlike other merchandise. You can also buy everything from Eva soap products to hugging pillows. Ewwww.

So all and all Neon Genesis Evangelion is a classic. It is a newer cornerstone of modern anime and fandom. There have been more clones than I can count. However worthy it is of praise it is also one of the most overrated series of all time. And I liked it too. So if you haven't seen it yet and claim to be an Anime fan, now is as good a time as any. I didn't spoil ALL the juicy matter. Just be aware of what you are getting yourself into. It is full of pretense and after the initial first 8 episodes of cliche may actually drive you mad.

Auslander: An outsider looking inward.

2011-09-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

Auslander by Paul Dowswell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I would love to give this one a solid 3.5 stars. The only reason it would not be higher in my ratings scale is the fact that I felt the writing to be inconsistent.

The story on the other hand is one rarely found when dealing with youth WWII literature. While I have read numerous stories of jewish holocaust victims in hiding or on the run, valuable in their own way because to ignore that what happened in literature is criminal for numerous reasons, it is always equally as important to get a sense of what was going on in other facets of this dark point in history which is really not that far in the past.

Like "The Devil in Vienna" and "T4" we get to see other sides of the atrocities which lurked within the dark corners of Nazi Germany. In "Devil" , Inge, a young jewish girl finds that her best friend Leiselotte remains faithful to her in spite of Leiselotte's father's rise in the Reich and the brainwashing she receives in her Hitler Youth chapter. In "T4" we learn about the Nazi vendetta against the handicapped and the Roma. Auslander brings us right to the doorstep of the Hitler Youth agenda and the people within.

Now I will state here that I am generally not a fan of WWII fiction. It is not because I do not find it important to exist. As I mentioned above it is quite the opposite, but of late I feel that it has become an easy out for an author who wishes to write a juvenile Historical Fiction novel. There are just so many of them. They begin to blend together. Surely there are plenty of other points in history which could be explored and are valuable in spite of this one being so recent and for many so raw. What I do always find fascinating is the ones that depart from the formula. I could mention Markus Zuzak's "The Book Thief" here, but somehow the "death as narrator" gimmick makes it vaguely something else to me.

So Auslander is the story of Piotr/Peter a young Polish boy who's parents were killed in a car crash involving a German tank after the invasion of Poland. He is plucked from his orphanage by the Reich because he is blond haired and blue eyed, therefore of use to the "racial purity" of Germany under the Reich. At first Peter is very eager to become a part of this. He showboats his ability to speak perfect German in front of his Polish mates who brand him a traitor. He repeatedly tells those who take him to Germany that this is what he wants when they accuse him of trying to run off.

Yet, Peter fails to find funny the jokes about "Lazy Pollacks" or "Dirty Jews" that are made by the people he is so grateful to for finding him to be "special". He goes along with them not commenting and following directions even so. Eventually Peter is adopted by a "respectable" German family who's Patriarch is a "Genetic Scientist". Ummm, yeah. You can use your imagination as to what THAT means but it involves lots about detecting "undesirable" strains in people's genetic make up. Peter tries hard to please his new family and joins the Hitler Youth as expected. At first he is glad to be part of something even though he feels increasing discomfort in what he is aspiring to. He is relieved to meet Segar, another boy in his chapter who seems to make light of the seriousness placed in front of him. Then he meets Anna.

Anna is the perfect example of what a young German girl should be, even if she DOES have dark hair. She is head of her chapter for the Jungmadel. She repeats the ideals of Nazi Germany so fluidly it is as if her life depends on it... which it does because she is actually aiding the resistance. From here Peter and Anna find romance while secretly listening to BBC broadcasts, exploring the underground Swing movement and learning to do what is right even if it scares the hell out of them.

While the perspectives in this book are fairly unique (an anti Nazi story told from the perspective of two HJ members) as mentioned before it is far from perfect. The writing is choppy. At points it feels as if parts of the unfinished draft notes are left in the final copy. Peter sometimes comes across as fleshed out, relatable and likable and other times he just seems to be a cardboard cutout. Wonderful are all the descriptions of his changing feelings and confusion as to if he should join the resistance. Not so great are the points when it seems the author is just listing things that happened and changing perspective just because. Some really poor "show don't tell" violations cushioned between action and suspense.

Peter and Anna's complicated friendship with Segar comes across as genuine as does Peter's confrontation with his foster sister who has become an "empty shell" since her time as a T4 nurse, yet is still full of Nazi poison.

I was also annoyed that the F word was uttered early on in the book when Peter secretly began bringing food to Polish captives being used as slave labor. I'm not a prude and enjoy using the word myself but it makes the book inaccessible to younger grades for recommendation. I think this would be a great book for advanced 4th graders and up in spite of some references to kissing, forced sterilization and cross dressing. All of those things are what they are. Boys and girls kiss. We have plenty of books with that and not much else in the Children's Department. The other two things are facts of life. Nazi's sought to sterilize those who had any "bad blood" in their opinions and we have some books that touch lightly on cross dressing as something some people do (one is even a picture book). However, I cannot give this book to a child if it has such "adult" language in it because I don't think I would be able to aptly defend it not being in the YA department for that reason. This is a great disappointment to me as a children's librarian. It was completely unnecessary in a book that could have otherwise been given to a younger reluctant reader.

So I give this one a thumbs up in general. It has its faults but is a solid entry to the pool of Historical Fiction. It would be well paired with both fiction and non fiction books dealing with the White Rose group who's resistance efforts ended tragically in the execution of several German youths who distributed anti-Nazi leaflets during the war.

A sad point in history and yet great perspective on standing up when your own life could be at stake.

Tell me is something eluding you sunshine? Is this not what you expected to see?

2011-08-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

I've been VERY lax with my fundamentals of Anime posts. I have a few locked up in my unpublished blogs but nothing really great. However, I must admit there have been a few series of late which have made it on my radar as pretty effing good. I know I am far from the first to blog about this one but here goes:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

I pity any little girl who began watching this series thinking it was going to be a fluffy cake of too sweet pink frosting with vapid fluffy unicorns decorated on the top. I started watching this series on a recommendation from my brother's girlfriend. I didn't know her well at that point and I admit, during the first and second episode I wondered why she or anyone for that matter would think that this series was anything but cliche crap.

Here is the run down: Madoka, a pink haired pigtailed middle school student and her tom-boyish friend Sayaka are approached by a cute cat/fox thing named Kyubey who tells her that if she makes a contract with him she can get her heart's greatest wish granted and in turn will be transformed into a magical girl who fights witches. Win-win right? I mean if anime has told us ANYTHING being a magical girl is awesome! You fight some evil, get some magical jewelry which transforms you into some pretty outfit and then the mysterious older hot guys are yours for the taking. (See Sailor Moon for proof!)

The problem is, Madoka and Sayaka meet Mami and Homura two active magical girls who are contracted with Kyubey. Mami tells Madoka it's a dangerous job but encourages her to do it. Homura warns her against it. Little did I know that this series was set to be the most disturbing horror series since Elfin Lied .

This is a horror series based on Faust. Throughout the series every possible cliche of anime and magical girl frilly sacharine is scrapped. Everytime you think you know where it is going you don't. Everytime you think it can't get any more upsetting, it does.

While the first two episodes seemed everything that was typical about this type of series a few things tipped me off. Here they are without too much spoilery stuff.

1. Kyubey never changed expression. He remains in this gaze no matter what is happening, even while the girls are in terrible danger, usually such a mascot would show concern when their mistress is facing death. Kyubey doesn't even change expression when one of the girls attempts on his own life. He seems only concerned with the fact that the girls WILL contra ct with him. Nothing else matters but his persistent dialogue. Become a magical girl. Fight witches. I will grant any wish. Contract, contract, contract. His true intentions are actually very far from what you may think.

2. Witches. What are they? We know what they DO. Kyubey tells us. They cause all the bad things like suicides and murders in the world. But where to they come from? What were they before they became witches? Also the art work surrounding a witch attack is just bizzaro and out of place even within the context of the series itself.
See those guys over on the right? They are sweet, right? I was thinking they more resembled the illustrations in Alvin Schwartz' "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" series, a collection of folklore which is best told when the lights are off and were the seed of many nightmares of my childhood. As beloved as those books have become, seriously to an 8 year old just looking at the front cover was frightening. The images during a witch attack are jarring against the background of a sweet story about magical girls. Usually the enemy comes in the form of a flamboyant bishonen or a haughty woman with good fashion sense. Here the threat is faceless and dark.

3. Mami. Mami seemed "dead inside" to me. There was something very off about her sweet reserved expression and how she reiterated that fighting a witch was life threatening. When we find out what wish was granted to contract with Kyubey the eeriness surrounding her somber smile spreads. Her eyes remained melancholy. Also, she used guns to fight. A little violent for a genre that usually requires its heroines to combat their enemies with sparkly energy bursts and such.
Mami falls short of spirited. Her temperament is mellow to the point of fatigued. Anything else will pretty much spoil what is to come so I will stop here. Mami gave me the creeps. Nuff said.

4. Faust.
Here is where someone unfamiliar with this story would not pick up on the warning signs. References to Goethe's' Faust are very subtle in the first three episodes, or rather before the entire plot goes to hell. Seriously. Its as if you are eating an apple and realizing it has been rotten all along.
In Faust, Mephistopheles approaches Faust in the form of a poodle. Kyubey is obviously supposed to mirror this, however most people would not make this connection, especially the young crowd who is usually the target of a magical girl series.
Yet, lines from the play are written out within the first few episodes. In runes. Right. Not something that anyone would normally pay much attention to but it is there. The series opens with curtains rising after the runes read, "Prolog in Himmel". And there is is.

I also found Madoka's family structure unique to anime. Her mother is the breadwinner. Strong and confident. She is full of good advice (in the beginning of course) but she drinks and works late. Her father is happy to cook and take care of Madoka and her baby brother, though obviously he is not paying enough attention to her to realize she is about to make a contract with an evil being, but still I enjoyed seeing the casual reworking of the steadfast nuclear family structure to an alternate and modern one which. A loving family which is alright with reversed gender models.

Anyway, this one was a surprise. Would I say, "instant classic?" Probably not. It will take time to see if it withstands. I think it stands out for sure though. Its got enough "Evangelion" philosophy about it to hype it to these standards. It has a touch on Lain-y mind bending which will leave a lasting impression for sure.

Next up, hopefully a fundamentals review? Then a shout out to a double header. Two series based on the novels of the same person which stand out in their uniqueness.

Reader's Advisory!

2011-08-23T17:33:00.001-07:00

So one thing I dislike about the newest Kindle commercial is how it ignores the value of human interaction.

Basically it goes like this:

A guy is reading on his Kindle. An attractive woman walks by asks if he wants to come to the book store with her, he states he can have the book in 60 seconds on his Kindle. She sees its the book she wants, he reminds her she was going to the book store and she responds by shushing him as she reads.

Ok, so I get it. The device is convenient. Yes e-reader's serve a purpose and people like instant gratification. But what annoyed me about the whole thing was this. My knee jerk reaction was, "You idiot. She was asking you out!" Who knows what the trip to the bookstore could have brought. What personal stories they could have grown. Maybe something wacky happens! Maybe they grow close and begin dating. Maybe one of them will run into an old friend or get some juicy gossip about someone from high school. When you leave your house the sky is the limit! Exchanging ideas outside of your comfort zone is a GOOD thing. Ok, so you can have your book in 6o seconds but you can't replace what you lose by ignoring someone who is sitting right next to you.

I can't think of a good way to segway into my topic of reader's advisory but here goes.

As a librarian I thrive on human interaction and exchange of ideas. I do reader's advisory for children as young as 2 up until young teens. I do it A LOT. However its been years since I myself have been on the other end of Reader's Advisory. But here I was.

In a move that could have been part of a Kindle commercial, I forgot 2 books I had planned on taking on vacation on my desk after we had an emergency evacuation today (don't ask.) I realized this as I passed my doctor's office who was across the street from another library in the system which my friend Tess worked at. I decided to go see if the books were available there. As it turns out they were out, which is when I ran into Tess and asked her if she could recommend anything for me to read. About 20 minutes later we had a wonderful conversation and I had an armful of twice as many books as I was originally going to take with me. All of them had been books I had never heard of before and was eager to whet my appetite with. I chatted a bit with some of the people behind the desk and as I departed I briefly ran into someone I hadn't seen in a while.

I suppose the annoying thing is that due to a problem on my card (as a Librarian I always override this without thinking when I check out books at work) I was unable to check those books out, but I have their names and an experience I would have never gotten had I not turned into the parking lot of someone else's library.

I also realized how it feels on the other side of Reader's Advisory. Sometimes I suggest something to a child and they shrug it off. Part of me thinks, "Oh! You are missing out on a great book!" But my experience reminded me that not every book is for every person at each moment. I do love it when I make a suggestion and a patron returns thirsting for more, but we can't always win.

Even though I don't have the books at this very moment I still feel like I gained something.

Long live Reader's Advisory!

The Land of "No".

2011-08-19T04:55:00.001-07:00

So, I am pretty sure I have commented on my annoyance with the direction human contact is heading. I try not to be too idealistic about the past because when my father does this he usually is ignoring key facts that didn't make his favorite time periods as Utopian as he remembers, but sometimes I feel like things are changing too rapidly and not for the best.

The Internet is a very powerful tool (for porn...just kidding). However as we delve further into the digital age where nothing seems to really exist other than in a cloud of data people seem to be less apt to engage in an kind of interaction with one another. When I do see people out and about they are usually glued to their phones texting or surfing the web. My teenage cousins in particular are guilty of this and as much as I want to smack their phones out of their hands and tell them to show some respect while they are at brunch for Mother's Day with my elderly grandmother, this is their parent's job and I hold my tongue. I myself try to keep to a strict, "no phone during meals" policy. I try to hold Thoth to that as well as he and his droid are inseparable.

So, while most things that used to be done person to person are now available on the Internet it makes me wonder about human contact and how Libraries fit in with this upsetting trend. Let us face it. Many of the things we would go out and get in a retail store are now available online. But what exactly are we losing in this convenience? Jobs. Eye contact. Manners? You don't need to say, "thank you" to a machine. Maybe this is why so many children lack that phrase lately. Yes, we have a decent amount of parents who insist their children say it, but we have an equal if not greater amount which we encounter that are so detached from everything that they barely ask a full question when they need something. The parents are either off somewhere or don't seem to think they need to interact in a way which befits one human speaking to another.

With so many people interacting with a screen before a real person and waterholes such as Borders (sob) closing, I feel that libraries need to find a way to fill in this niche which is diminishing. We cannot continue to be "The Land of No" for things which may have been the case to begin with. Of course "No Running, roughhousing, throwing things, no having sex in the bathrooms" etc are pretty standard. That is just common sense which is often overlooked, and yes that last thing has happened in my building and I am sure in many others. However, I firmly believe we MUST offer more than just quiet study area. We much accommodate the need to people to interact with one another, whether this means a place to gather and play board games or a place to talk about books amongst one another.

Yes, we do offer our own programs, but within reason I think we need to allow people to gather for their own purposes and use our facilities. Of course this becomes tricky. For instance, what do we allow and where do we draw the line? What will we define as disruptive? In the past it was a stigma of no speaking above a whisper. This has changed, though quiet is still important for the purposes of our buildings.

Perhaps we need designated noisy areas? Perhaps we need to reach out more and hear the needs of the community? It breaks my heart to see the lack of tactile need which is arising in the population today. It really and truly does. In the world of evolution which libraries need to keep up with in order to serve the public I think we need to begin thinking beyond the "No" that we have become so comfortable with and begin tackling the realities of what the public NEEDS which they are losing.

People used to make records as in a record of an event. The even of people playing music in a room.

2011-08-06T16:39:00.000-07:00

I am pleased as punch that my brother has started a vinyl collection.

I know we have come so far that the need for music stores seems non existent considering that you can have virtually any song you wish digitally within second, but the crackle of a record against a needle beats the too clean sound of MP3 any day.

While the vinyl record seems to have had gone the way of the dinosaur years ago, I used to collect 45's and LPs when I was a teenager. We had a nice old shop in a near by town that sold them along with several vintage toys from decades past.

There is so little these days that is tangible. Such little respect for things that stand the test of time. If your Ipod breaks, you just get a shiny new one. Hell, if its not broken and there is a shiny new one with wifi released you toss it aside and get that one. You don't need to own anything for real. It all exists in this "cloud" that makes things oh so convenient and yet seems to make people seem less thankful for what they have. This is sort of what bothers me about the recent snotty commercials for the Kindle as well, but that is a story for another day.

Some current bands still print on vinyl. They monument of having "made it" in the industry in the early days before anyone could record you and put you on You Tube has become an item of kitsch. But some of these bands lend themselves to vinyl oh so well. The White Stripes and the Black Keys fall into this category for me.

I don't know when times really changed that we no longer run to the music store and clutch our newest find close to our heart as we run home to try it out. I myself did not grow up in the age of vinyl but the smell of a record store brings good feelings to my soul. I was glad to see used record shops alive and well-ish in the college town where my brother currently resides. Yes, digital is portable. I don't go anywhere without my Ipod, I admit. However records are a different magical creature of their own. I wish for them to make a come back as I think we all can use the feeling of something in our hands which is a work of art and fascination in itself.

This is where the party ends. I can't stand here listening to you and your racist friend.

2011-08-02T17:39:00.001-07:00

We've all had this situation. We are engaged in a conversation. Sometimes with someone we have known for a while. Sometimes with someone we are thrown together with. Something uncomfortably bigoted comes out of their mouth and you sit and react.

Unless you are the one verbalizing the bigotry either knowingly or by accident (we all have made a dumb statement from time to time and then realized it) how does a rational person react? When do we forgive these statements for ignorance or because a person is older and is from a different generation. Should we?

Here are a few instances I have experienced:

1. A high school teacher who was not terribly old at the time insisted on using the word "negro" over and over. We ultra P.C. children of the 90's all looked at one another uncomfortably until one of us (not me) bothered to point out that the phrase was a bit offensive (well I suppose he didn't use the other N word which would have been unquestionably just outright awful, but he was young enough to know better). This occurred not once, but several times throughout the course of a semester before someone sheepishly rose their hand. He went on a long tirade about how he refuses to change his language every time, "they" decide "they" don't want to be called something. OK then. One could chalk this up to his upbringing but as an educator he sounded positively uneducated every time he uttered the word. The context was often fairly offensive as well.

2. A coworker was lamenting the fact that her son's school mascot, which is a Native American charicature and team name the Warriors were under debate for a a change in image/name. This was a touchy subject for many people in the community for numerous reasons and while I can see where everyone is coming from to a degree, when one thinks about it if the mascot was an Irish guy drunk with a potato, an Asian fellow with ultra yellow skin and painfully exaggerated slits for eyes or a long nosed Jewish dude clutching a bag of money or any other overdone ethnic stereotype we could probably (hopefully) all agree that this would be unquestionably awful and offensive. Though there may not be many Native Americans living in the community where this was the mascot I can very much see how it can appear offensive. This however was how my coworker put it. And I quote:

"Well, I don't understand why they are so bothered by this. I mean if I was an Indian I would rather be seen as a brave warrior instead of a drunken gambler."

Que?

At the time I had only been working at this place a short period of time and as I picked my jaw up from the table I decided to shrug it off and not engage her in this argument. However, this was one of many times she made this exact comment over the period of time we worked together. One day I decided to gently point out how this could look from someone else's point of view, however she repeated the original statement and I dropped it. I was pretty green at this point anyway.

2 a. Later working with the same co-worker she began to scowl at various books we began to receive portraying positive images of homosexual couples with families. Once again she would make statements that she "doesn't get why this is something we should have on our shelves" and that there was no reason to be carrying these types of books. Eventually when I began to find my voice I pointed out to her that there were several families in the community we served which had same sex parents and these books are a way of addressing the subject to children so they can understand they are not alone and their family is valid. She scowled at me again and the subject was dropped by her this time.

3. My uncle was discussing his clergyman who is most definitely in the closet. I mean I have sat through several sermons by this dude (when there is a family event I sort of have no choice regardless of my dislike for going to temple anyway) and I it is very possible he is not gay, but really, I would bet money on it that he is. Anyhoo, my uncle referred to him as a "faggot". Ouch. I said to him that I wouldn't call him a "faggot" but he is very likely gay. His wife agreed with me that the term was offensive and unnecessary. Unless you are British or into British slang and discussing cigarettes, the word "faggot" should not be uttered. Unless you are talking about a bundle of twigs, you should not be using the word. It is ugly and seethes with nastiness as other hateful phrases are. I am not saying the government should ban words. I am not for censorship. Once one word gets banned, what is next? However people should realize on their own how these words sound and the ugliness attached to them.

There are many other instances I find amusing, for instance, my parents' textbook fear of brown people, when they identify as Jewish and originally all Jewish folk were (and a bunch still are) in fact brown. They also often refer to people as being from "good Jewish families" and acting surprised when some of these people act like assholes, because they were from "good Jewish families". My mother often told me while growing up that I need to have more Jewish friends, while I told her I felt I just need to have friends I get along with. Having been an introvert that part was hard enough.

I don't get people who seem afraid of anyone who isn't "like them" but automatically assume someone who shares race, religion or what have you are "good and trustworthy" for that reason alone. Judge people by their actions not their faith or race etc. I certainly don't consider the entire pagan community void of dickery or shadiness because they are pagan.

Furthermore, my father has gone on record as thinking the gay community shouldn't be so "in your face" about marriage equality as they have "almost the same rights as everyone else". I fail to see how anyone who "almost" has equal rights should stop fighting for them. Almost is not satisfactory. Just as on my friend May once said about second wave feminism, she never considered why they had been so radical and angry until she saw the possibility of her own rights as a woman being challenged. In her youth she never had to fight for anything such as birth control. Now that she sees the chance in women losing their rights she wants to fight. She sees a need to fight.

I also find it amusing when many are afraid of people who aren't "white" while back once upon a time, Irish, Italians and various other groups were not considered "really, really white" by a bunch of lofty anglos.

I catch myself making a generalization from time to time, but I when I do catch myself I correct myself. When do we draw the line. When do we keep out mouths shut? Is everyone really a little bit racist?

We can dance if you want to, we can leave your friends behind.

2011-08-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.75 Stars:

This is one of those books you know is going to be an instant, "mainstream" cult classic. There are going to be those who are going to love it for every reason from 80's pop culture nostalgia to the dystopian future angle. Then there are going to be those who claim they like it and really just skimmed it lightly because the techno-geek babble and constant references to movies, video games and such was mostly lost on them except for a few better known ones.

I thought this was a good fun read. I wouldn't call it an instant classic but I know there will be several people using those terms. I picked it up at work on a pile of ARC's and thought it looked interesting. It was certainly a great commentary on the disconnection technology can promote between breathing human beings, though instead of denouncing the idea of sitting in front of a computer and letting a digitized Avatar live your life in a synthetic world versus going outside and looking a real person in the eye, this book seems to hail the former as almost preferable. I think that is my biggest peeve about the book. Having seen various results of this I am driven crazy by the lack of time people seem to want to spend outside of the fantasy of technology. In the context of the book, however this does in fact seem preferable.

So I must admit, I go into this book with a bit of prejudice against those who feel they really "know" people they play MMORPG's with. But to review the book itself I must put that aside.

So here goes:

The year is 2044. Wade Watts AKA Perzival (referencing Sir Percival of Monty Python's take on the exploits of King Arthur) is a "gunter". You see, his world is built around the OASIS, a virtual reality operating system over which all business and interaction is run. Even public schools are run through this escapist world in which users can explore virtual worlds based on their favorite science fiction, fantasy or what have you works in their free time. Since the outside world has pretty much turned to crap due to war, recession and climate change, this is all preferable.

The Oasis was built by Jim Halliday and is friend Ogden Morrow. Halliday was a D&D geek with Asperger's Syndrome and an affinity for the pop culture of the 1980's, which was the decade he had spent in his teenage years. Through his innovation he grossed billions of dollars but had no heir as his social skills were such that he had trouble connecting with anyone romantically. Upon his death he announced that he hid an "easter egg" within the Oasis which could be reached by those who could crack the riddles which lead to it. Whomever found the egg would become the owner of his fortune. Thus gunters (I can only assume this is web speak for "Egg Hunters") were born.

Wade is intelligent but not always likable. He lives in poverty and "hangs out with" his best friend Aech in the Oasis. The two contemplate the meaning of Halliday's first clue until Perzival cracks it and the game begins. Thus enters a few more characters. Art3mis (the name Artemis was taken over Oasis so she resorted to l33t speak) who is Perzival/Wade's cyber crush, Shoto and Daito, two Japanese players who also seek the Egg and the Sixers, a corporation of gunters who are run by Sorrento, their CEO who wishes to use the Oasis to exploit the people even more than they are already suffering. As each of the players get closer to the egg through various quests that center around 1980's video games, movies and pop culture, Sorrento and the Sixers follow using tactics of intimidation, bribery and even murder.

Perzival spends a lot of time pining over Art3mis and explaining the ins and outs of Oasis and 80's trivia. The latter could be fun for nostalgia purposes. There are many things about the 80's I am certainly not nostalgic for (Reagan, big hair, leg warmers, douche bags with up-turned collars) but little verses from old PSA's and 8 bit video games do make me smile a little. I won't lie though. There were times when it seemed like the author (Cline) was trying to be too clever for his own good. Too much babble (blah blah War Games, yadda yadda Atari) got tiresome even within the context of the world. Furthermore, if you are unfamiliar with this time period, this book will be lost on you. I was also surprised that of all the 80's movies that were referenced, the most obvious likening, Tron, was totally ignored. Really? Shoto and Daito were so stereotypical of their nationality that at points it felt a bit stif and biggoted. There was also a little too much explanation of the world and not enough "showing". The pseudo romance between Perzival and Art3mis often didn't flow with the urgency of the hunt.

Regardless, the story does pick up between these minor distractions. The view of our world in a not too distant future is as terrifying as it is tangible. By the last third of the book the story moves at a breakneck pace and I couldn't put it down. The bad guys were bad (in a mix of appropriate 80's cartoon manner and modern corporation greed) the world really felt like it was at stake and the fun nods to everything from my childhood were interesting enough to keep myself envisioning everything going as described.

Not an instant classic but a fun read built upon the back of other classics. It will probably make an amusing film as it has been optioned by WB.

The End of and Era

2011-07-19T05:32:00.000-07:00

So really, this is an era of ending two things. One of which was the impending closing of my local Borders in which myself and my brother both worked.

I had worked there for several years back and forth from my school and in three different stores. I had spent some of the best and worst times of my life there. When my brother was young we bonded over Sunday breakfasts and drawing in our sketchpads together every week. As previously mentioned, he had a job there last summer. I still know people who work there and it pains me to step foot in the store now and look at them. Knowing their lives and what they are losing makes me want to burst into tears.

Of course, it was working at Borders where I picked up a copy of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for my brother. My mother tried to read it to him and gave up after a chapter. I took over and subsequently read the next three within a week.

While the books ended a few years ago (I loyally ordered and picked up my copy of "The Deathly Hallows" from Borders and raced Thoth to finish it.) The films brought them to life in a way that not many adaptions are able. True, there was some artistic licence taken. I will briefly touch upon what ground my gears in this last installment, but won't dwell on it. Most of what was changed in the films was for time constraints. Some things actually worked better, others weren't the best. Either way, even after the books stopped coming, the films were something to anticipate. The actors became synonymous with the characters, something I am sure they don't wish to have attached to them for their entire careers, but still. And even more so, they actually behaved well as opposed to many other child actors.

So anyway, here we go:

The last book was rightfully broken into two parts. There was just too much going on to make it one film. The fist part was bleak and a bit slow, as was the book. The second was quick and action packed. After a slew of painfully suggestive commercials and some previews, the film opened where part one started. No credits. Just the WB symbol, as if to say, "If you don't know what happened in the last movie or the story in general there is no need for you to be sitting in this theater." which is true. If you just decided to see this movie as a night out and have never:

1. Read the books.

2. Seen the other movies

3. Heard of the series.

You will be utterly confused and unhappy, so don't bother.

While the first movie focused on the "camping, information gathering and hiding" aspect of the last book, this one was driving to the end. In order to defeat the Death Eaters, Harry, Ron and Hermione had to find and destroy Horcruxes, which are pieces of Voldemort's soul placed into several objects created after committing murder. It wasn't until this film for some reason that I made the connection between the Horcruxes and some psychology of a serial killer. Many of these sociopaths collect trophies from their victims, Horcruxes were like trophies but it bought the killer a little more time to live. One had been destroyed in an earlier story unknowingly. One in the last part of the film, one by Dumbledore before his death. It is up to Harry and his friends to find the rest which are being carefully guarded, and of course, I say this because if you have read this far you either know this or don't care; Harry himself is one of these things that must be destroyed.

While I didn't really cry while reading the book, for some reason the tears started even though I knew what was coming. I generally don't cry during movies. Ever. Our friends who had come with us were also misty eyed as the story drove to this part. Several characters we grew to love died in front of us. The actors who became the faces of these beloved figures played them like a fine symphony. We watched them, "die".

Of course, in spite of knowing the outcome, I couldn't help but tear up when Harry walked to confront his fate with the spirits of his deceased family surrounding him for comfort. The realization of the motives of characters once thought totally good or vice-versa were all aptly executed.

Once again, while Harry does die, as with most of these stories it is temporary and he arrives at a crossroads in the supernatural where he must decide to return and fight (the Horcrux inside him which lead to his sacrifice also granting him a loophole) or pass on to the next life. He of course realizes he must return, and though many have died with the help of others, Voldemort and the Death Eaters are defeated.

Some observations: I was annoyed that the actress who played Lily Evans (Potter) as a child didn't have the same color eyes as Harry. The fact that Harry inherited his mother's eyes is am important fact that continuously comes up throughout the books and the movies and is revealed to be the motivation in several key characters who protect him. Would it have KILLED them to find an actress who had blue (green in the books) eyes to match Daniel Radcliffe's? Even as Severus Snape died he looked at Harry's eyes while he cried that they were his mother's. Ten minutes later when we see his memory Lily's eyes are shown to be brown. Could they have CGI-ed that? It took me away from the story and bothered me.

The other thing that had been irking me for a bit in the movies is how they diluted Ginny as a character. It seems the scriptwriters wanted to make her a sweet, shy, quiet girl while her character was quite fiery in the books. Did they feel the need to show Harry's future wife as pure? Could they not have a strong, confident, playful young woman be the love interest of the hero? Aside from playing down her popularity with the boys in the school, her disposition in the films was so bland that she seemed more like a consolation prize than a match for Harry. Oh well.

Things I liked: Pretty much everything else. I was glad to see that they did not take Neville's big moment from his as he killed Nagini. It looked for a while like they might. Ralph Fiennes was perfect as Voldemort. I like Tom Felton. I hope he goes on to play less whiny bitches in the future.

Things that confused me: It seemed as if they were going to go into Dumbledore's checkered past in the last movie. I thought they would show Grindelwald as they seemed to elude to him in part one. Maybe that was Tom Riddle taking his place? A few more things that were cut confused me a bit but I understand why.

Regardless I feel sad and sentimental now. It is over. It was enjoyed but it is a close in a chapter followed by a more personal close. I am not sure I will be able to drive by Borders as an empty lot without tearing up as well.

Crushes

2011-07-13T06:20:00.000-07:00

I don't particularly care if Neil Patrick Harris is:

1. Gay

2. Engaged

3. With Kids.

I still think he is attractive. My husband teases me for saying he is cute. It doesn't really matter does it? Aren't all celebrity crushes just that? I mean generally these people are unattainable and that is (should be) part of the crush. So yeah. So what if I am the wrong gender. Its not like I am about to leave Thoth for him even if he was heterosexual. Just like I doubt Thoth is looking to leave me for any of his celebrity crushes.

Besides... even if these people WERE attainable, I think we can most all agree that Katie Holmes has confirmed it is a bad idea to get together with a celebrity you adored as a teenager.

More stuff later.

"You will find true love on Flag Day!"

2011-06-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

I find romance novels pretty hilarious in general. Having worked in three book shops before beginning my career as a public librarian, I was pretty confidant that the main audience for these "bodice rippers" were little old ladies.

Seriously. You should see these randy old biddies devour these paperback sex fests. I saw many come to the register with stacks of them at the book shops and at my current job I have full filled quite a few requests for books with titles that make me blush when I think about the sweet little old lady who has filled out the card. I see them in frequently nurturing their grand kids and reading them picture books.

The last image I need is... well this brings me to the reason I refuse to touch them when my friend Ray brings a stack of them over to read the titles to us on a slow day in the children's room. I continuously ask him very jokingly if he uses Purel after handling them.

Now I am not saying that I assume the elderly void their libido once hitting Biddie age.

My own grandparents watched pornography into their 80's (they got a tape caught in a VCR one year when we went down to visit... my parents were supposed to remove it without my brother and I finding out). I should be applauding them! Seriously, if that type of stamina runs in the family I should have a long happy life ahead of me. It doesn't mean I want the details though. I mean, they are my grandparents...

Anyway at a recent book swap I found out that romance novels aren't just for grannies anymore! Young women in their 20's and 30's are reading them voraciously. A few of the ladies at my book discussion were singing the praises of hip new romance novels which place strong modern minded ladies in romance novel situations complete with hot sex scenes. Of course the supernatural romance is pretty popular as well. I believe the closest I have read to those as "Undead and Unwed" which was amusing and funny until the characters wore on me.

It was mentioned by a few of the girls that romance novels are faulted for breaking up marriages because real life men won't act like the men in the books.

But I don't get it... isn't a big part of these novels realizing that it is fantasy? If it was real life it would eventually bore you. Would you really want to meet a man who behaved like the guys in romance novels? I mean I am no connoisseur of these, but from what I have gathered from those I have read, the guys start off as jerks.

I suppose there we begin the fantasy of "I can change him!" But when does that actually work in real life? Never. So I theorize that in general real men can't compete with these fake men because the actual men who would act like romance novel characters in the beginning won't come through (no pun intended) to become the leading man they are in the end. Would anyone even ever want a guy to act like that in real life? Is part of the fantasy becoming the female protagonist? Wouldn't most ladies consider these guys "creepers"? Too nice can be considered an issue in the real world as well.

The "Asshole Casanova" doesn't just exist in romance novels. In most of the shoujo (girls) anime I have watched the male love interest is a jerk initially, but he's totally got issues and becomes mush for the female lead. Look at many romantic comedies. The guy is usually a jerk until a special lady comes along to show him what he's been missing.

Look at Jane Austen! Mr. Darcy, a rich stuck up jerk who can barely propose to Elizabeth without insulting her family is considered a romantic hero. Even worse, Emily Bronte's Mr. Heathcliff who makes Darcy look like a boy scout. Both romantic heroes in their own way. One gets the girl and happily ever after, the other "gets" the girl and cruelly destroys her and everyone she ever held dear. Both are romanticized.

Do women fantasize about jerks? A lot of women seem to pursue the more aloof men. Are they looking for this trait in "true love"?

"True love" is a phrase which my generation often associates with the movie, "The Princess Bride". I think this film fits well with this topic. After all, Westley was not as attractive to Buttercup as a farm boy as he was when he became a smart mouthed dangerous pirate. So many girls I know grew up with Westley as an image of perfection. I admit, I thought he was pretty hot especially as the pirate. Yet, he was quite sweet in the beginning but had no money to marry so he had to become dangerous to get the girl.

What I think it boils down to in the end is good old fashioned sex. In these books the reader is stimulated by vivid text describing hot sex scenes. I would wager the snoo snoo is the real fantasy that can't be fulfilled.

Most couples fall into some sort of pattern be it physical or otherwise. Even adventurous folk become inhibited by social norms or a number of other reasons. One after another my book swap readers discussed that the main course of these books were the hot sex scenes. Nothing wrong with that, but if you leave your spouse because they aren't living up to the stallions in your romance novels, chances are there are more problems in your relationship than that and the books have little to do with it in reality.

Perhaps these little old ladies have discovered this long ago and supplement their love life with saucy romance novels to stimulate the most important sexual organ of all. Their brains.

This week's episode of "South Park" brought to you by Kleenex (not for the reason you are thinking.)

2011-06-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

You know that feeling you get late August when summer is ending? When the air starts to smell different and you feel that very fist chill of fall confirming that something is about to come to an end?

That is pretty much the very same feeling I got last night while watching the half-season finale of "South Park." It is indeed getting ready for the final curtain call.

Now, honestly I was not a fan when the show first came out. I was a freshman in college and every idiot guy on the first floor of my co-ed dorm (it was co-ed by floor) wanted to quote Eric Cartman, walking around squealing, "beefcake!" in a very irritating tone. As much as I love animation of all kinds the initial fandom was just so annoying and I just couldn't jive with it. There were exceptions. I enjoyed the Mecha Streisand episode. It was a great parody of old Japanese sentai shows and just plain fun. I can't look at Streisand now without laughing hysterically, which is better than the "ugh" feeling I used to get when I saw/heard her.

I did see the movie with a friend that summer. I didn't hate it. I found it amusing that signs had been posted all over the theater warning of letting children in to the screenings and then the movie itself referencing those signs in general. The music was catchy. I laughed a few times. I even caught a moral in there. Maybe there is something more to this than stupid catchphrases for 18 year old boys to emulate and talking pieces of crap.

(note: to this day even as a fan I skip Mr. Hankey episodes.)

Anyway, so around my senior year of college I happened upon an episode of "South Park" which made reference to a news story that had happened literally within a day or two of the airing. I was impressed and shocked. How did they do that? Not thinking at the time of how cheaply done the animation was it prompted me to give the show another chance and I became hooked.

Bad times of uncertainty after graduation and seething self loathing always gave way to laughter. Wednesday nights were my go to stress relief. My brother who at the time was probably way too young to be watching South Park sat next to me and we bonded a bit.

The midseasons were great. I decided my favorite character was Randy Marsh, Stan's super reactionary father. I found more morals wrapped in absurdity. Some of it I agreed with others I did not, but stories in which the children where the characters with the most common sense were always the best.

I saw Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas parodied beautifully by Satanic Woodland Critters. Organized religion (mainly uber Catholocism) and lesser known more cultlike faiths (*coughscientologycough*) parodied. Usually the laughter was consistent. Every now and then I would skip it. Usually if it seemed to be going towards, "vulgar for vulgars sake" or was a "Terrence and Phillip" episode.

After a few years I began to hear the jumping of the shark. The show went from having nearly every episode of a season as a potential classic to half good, some classics, more crap. The classics began shrinking and the throwaway episodes seemed to be common. The departure of major characters such as Chef (followed by Isaac Hayes' death) and a few immature vendetta episodes aired. Some were amusing. Others not so much. I still gave each Wednesday night a chance.

Last season a trio of episodes offered character development and a brilliant send up of the superhero movie genre. The rest was generally mediocre. Then the season ended and I turned my attention to something new.

As I had been reading for years, a Broadway musical was in development between Matt Stone, Trey Parker and Robert Lopez, the guy behind, "Avenue Q". Now since I had become a South Park fan, I also was aware of some of the earlier works such as, "Cannibal the Musical", an "Oklahoma" type musical which humorously documents the story of "Alfred Packer" a Colorado legend and supposedly the first man in the country convicted of cannibalism?

The film itself was rough but it was fun and the music was catchy. After the "All About the Mormons" episode of "South Park" I was especially excited when I heard the show would be called, "Book of Mormon the Musical". I bought preview tickets for myself, Thoth and several friends, one of which is a former Mormon herself. We made the trek to NYC and found the show to be great and very well done, with that hint of sentimentality that peppers a few episodes of "South Park." They were nominated for 14 emmys. It is deserved.

So last night I prompted Thoth to turn off the 100th rerun of NCIS he had watched that day to watch the new episode of "South Park". This season had been more or less, "meh". But again, like comfort food, watching "South Park" on Wednesday night is a habit I was not ready to give up. However it appears imminent it is a habit the shows creators are ready to give up. This half season finale ended on a serious down note with a chill of fall air.

Basically, Stan Marsh, arguably the main character or the series turns 10 and realizes everything he used to like has now turned (literally) to shit. This is funny in a way because I realized that I am unfazed by hearing the word "shit" on television. Years ago the show itself uttered the word 162 (?) times in one episode.

A Doctor diagnoses him as an cynical asshole which has no cure. Suddenly everything Stan talks about is how shitty things are. He can't enjoy movies, television or even spending time with his friends. When he finds that his best friend Kyle has actually lied to him to avoid hanging out he only hears excrement noises while Kyle explains his frustration, until Kyle himself literally looks like a pile of shit to him.

Anyway beyond this, Randy Marsh, Stan's father and my favorite character begins his usual hijinks of throwing himself into something in an immature manner. This time its "tween" music. This enrages his wife, Sharon as usual... but then the two discuss their general unhappiness. They are unhappy that each week ridiculous things happen and then resent themselves and repeat and they are tired of it. Obviously this isn't the characters talking but the show's creators. After 15 seasons they are entitled. But the characters also discuss their unhappiness with one another and how it may be time to move on.

WUH? Randy and Sharon split up in an earlier episode only to get back together at the end and after some comically ridiculous plays at living apart. Nope. This is real. Shit just got real? On South Park? Shit!

The end of the episode is a montage played to the song, "Landslide" (probably sung by Trey Parker). While the voice singing is a little silly the song itself is unaltered.

As the music plays we see both of the Marsh's explaining their choice to split to their children, packing and moving. As this happens we also see Kyle and Eric Cartman who have always hated one another playing video games together, looking up and smiling at each other. Stan walks around still seeing shit everywhere, and as the song closes we see Stan staring at the ceiling in his new bedroom. And thats it. No "to be continued". No "I learned something today." Nothing.

I almost didn't realize the episode was almost over. It was as close to a "very special episode" of "South Park" as possible. Huh.

And then I think, it probably is time for it to end. As I have said before endings can be beautiful, I just never thought a show like that would begin to wrap things up so... seriously. It just seemed that one day it would be canceled and that would be that.

Now, as a fan of all sorts of animation I am not opposed to plot in even my comedy. "King of the Hill" which I still don't love but has grown on me had a pretty decent ending. "The Simpsons" has been beating a dead horse for nearly a decade longer than it should have been. Sorry fans, but its been on too long. I've been thinking for a while that Matt Groening should concentrate on "Futurama" and let "The Simpsons" go. What haven't they done already? Some things they have done twice. Now it seems Ned Flanders and Edna Krabapple are possibly an item? Ugh. Flanders is one of my favorite characters but it seems forced. Enough already.

"South Park" should end before it gets to that point. Before it gets passed where is already is. The episodes aren't as fun as they used to be. The spark which kept me forgiving vulgarness and over the top preachiness had faded slowly over the last few years. They are going through the motions... much like the marriage of Sharon and Randy.

Time to move on.

There are seven more episodes in this season which is on hiatus until October. I am curious to see what route they will take. Is it going to turn sentimental? Will they hit the reset button? Will it even be funny and worth watching?

Oh No!

2011-06-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

I think I accidentally "recommended" the book, "Flowers in the Attic" at my Adult Title Swap last night.

I am not sure how one can recommend a book while saying, "I don't recommend this be read at all-"

For some reason "incest, horror and child abuse" are buzz words some people like? What the hell?

Fishin'

2011-06-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am getting closer to snapping at my friend Grace's husband or rather lay the full weight of my feelings on Grace herself.

Since I know how futile that will be I am trying to bite my tongue. If I bite it any harder I will be eating it for lunch.

Basically the most recent development is this:

Larry got a full time job at a hospital. He's got benefits and everything. In spite of this he's done seemingly everything in his power since he was hired to get fired.

He calls in sick all the time. He cops attitude with everyone. He tried to leave but his bosses stopped him by trying to convince him to work it out with them. He claimed he wanted to go to school for medical billing and for some miracle they offered him full tuition to the local Community College if he stayed on.

I can't figure this out for the life of me. He's take over a dozen sick days, bitches about how he gets into fights with everyone and posts all over facebook how miserable he is. Let us just consider that this is a guy who has almost never finished anything in his life, quits jobs in second because of any conflict and blames his wife and child and everyone else in the world for not receiving the fame as an author he is due.

So, recently he opened a tumblr account and has resorted to writing emo poetry about how bad his life is, clearly fishing for attention. Sadly Grace has gone so far as to ask people to comment on them in order to give him an ego boost. I can't imagine how she does it. He even manages to bitch online that no one is commenting on his angry/whiney status updates. Then, when people do comment and they aren't in support of his attitude he emits he whines about how no one ever takes his side.

It is beyond infuriating.

I have been avoiding any conversation with him even online because all he does is fish for sympathy about his "awful" life which wouldn't be as awful if he put on his big boy pants and took some responsibility for once in his immature life. Life would be hard for sure, but its hard for a lot of people.

This evening he caught me. Our conversation went like this:

Him: Wuz up.

Me: Not much. (Inner Me: Ok, I need to get out of this conversation before it escalates.)

Him: Oh my life is awful (that is a paraphrase of pretty much five sentences about how much his life sucks, the rest is actually what he said.) my boss treats me like a child I don't know if I can make it through the week.

Me: I hope it gets better. I gotta get going (Inner me: She treats you like a child because you behave like one.)

Him: Benefits, salary and free tuition aren't worth this! I don't even know if I can pass my test tomorrow.

Me: Stick it out. Good luck on the test I have to get to bed for work. (Inner Me: Actually all those things are worth it since you have a FUCKING FAMILY and they are treating you pretty damned well considering your attitude.)

Him: I am hoping to get fired by the end of the week but I wouldn't be that lucky.

Me: (I didn't respond to this. The inner me was too furious. How dare you? You are lucky. You have people giving you money and an opportunity plus benefits to take care of your family and you want to throw it away. You also have a wife who supports you through this shit. Seriously.)

Him: Other than that things are the same as usual here.

Me: Ok. (Inner me: I didn't ask how you were)

Me: I got to see Grace and the baby the other day when I was off it was nice to see them.

Him: Oh, too bad I couldn't have been there.

Me: Well we just needed some girl time. (Inner Me: Be happy you weren't there. If you started this sympathy fishing shit I may have ripped you a new one.)

I know to a degree we all fish for something. With the world of social networking we see plenty of people tossing lines out there hoping to get bites of whatever they need. It seems to have given these people a platform. Sure you have a bad day and you want to yell into the Grand Canyon of the web. But where to draw the line with these desperate fishermen? A grown adult show know when enough is enough. How long can I possibly hold out with my friendship with Grace before I open my mouth, she tells Larry and I am added to the list of people exiled from Grace's life?

The Great Disconnect

2011-06-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest pet peeves I have about the modern world is the zombie-esque way teenagers plod about while tapping on the keys of their phones and ignoring what is happening right in front of them, such as the car that is about to run them over, or their grandmother who is sitting in front of them on mother's day, or their actual friends who are occupying the same space as they are and yet somehow they lack the ability to look up from their phones and actually communicate with the people who are right in front of them. While conviniences like cell phones have made a lot of things life easier in terms of connecting people (what is a phone booth again? long distance?) things seem to have come full circle and brought about an age of apathetic digital slaves who are better able to handle a conversation with their fingers than one that is right in front of them.

Now, I do in fact text. I text when I'm running late to something. I text when I have a quick something to say which doesn't warrant a whole phone conversation. I text if plans have changed in minor ways on the fly.

Here is what I do not like texting:

Conversations. If I want to have a conversation with you I will call you. I will tell you in person. Hell, I will send an e-mail that I would like to call you and talk about something. I do not want to hold an emotionless dialogue with you while I walk around in the supermarket and block shopping carts. If it is important enough for more than three short back and forth messages, call me. If it takes more than 20 or even 15 characters, call me. If I don't hear the phone and miss your call I will probably miss your text as well since I don't spend my life staring at my phone.

Please don't text me things like, "LOL". I do not have unlimited texting and when I go over my generous stipend (200 texts a month is MORE than enough) you are putting my phone bill into overage charges. I am glad to hear you are LOLing... but I don't HAVE to know. LOL is not worth wasting my text time.

Things I do not like in general about texting and smart phones:

Do we need to be connected 24/7. Can we please have some time away from facebook? I spend plenty of my free time on my computer with facebook in the background but I don't need to carry it with me. I use facebook to connect with people I rarely get to see, not to disconnect with people who are in front of me.

Do NOT use your phone while driving for texting or web surfing. You are driving, fucker. You are going to fucking kill yourself or someone else because you have to respond, "LOL" or comment on someone's link or check whatever website you consider the news. We primitive folk who grew up in the 80's and early 90's when cell phones were giant blocks used only by stiff collared power brokers, were able to wait hours or days before being able communicate with people, and those who came before us even longer still as we look back in time. You can wait a few minutes or pull over so you don't cause a pile up.

Remember, people who are in front of you would like to have you look them in the eye. There are many people born who are unable to do this for medical reasons and work to get help to overcome various forms of autism which divide them from communicating with peers. You have the power to put your phone in your pocket, smile and say, "hello" to someone who is right in front of you. Someone who may change your life. Think about it.

And another thing.

2011-05-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

I will try not to dwell on this apocalypse not situation anymore than necessary as it is feeding into what I wish people would ignore.

Basically I was actually near Times Square at 6PM EST for a friend's birthday walking from ping pong in Bryant Park to a yummy Mexican dinner. When the clock struck to the hour cheers erupted on either side of the street and random people high fived one another in giddy sarcasm that they "survived the rapture". As we were walking it occurred to me that to those who believed in this (and those who continue to) no rapture is a bad thing.

What I just can't quite understand is the willingness of people to spend so much time concentrating on what is going to happen when the world is destroyed and totally ignore the ills that are happening all around them. To so many people it seems to be a symptom and the rapture is the solution, where worthy get judged and ascend to heaven and Jesus and the Anti-Christ battle one another in some sort of biblical fan fiction scene. Why not just go out and make this world a better place? Why not spread compassion instead of sitting home and writing checks to advertising companies to warn of hell fire? Don't you wonder about these people willing to spend their life savings? Their retirement? Their children's college funds? Willing to put their own families in harms way because a crazy old evangelist tells them Jesus is coming? A crazy old man who had been down this road and been wrong before? If you are so sure that this is the case why spend your money on these billboards?

Why not send it to charity? Why not donate to the hungry? Why is this the reaction when they hit the panic button? Surely I suppose if you're ascending to heaven you don't need your clothes or anything, but if you must give up your possessions, why not make your supposed last act one of kindness. Doesn't that seem a little more Christ-like?

With everything that is always going on around us it floors me that people worry so much about the afterlife. Surely the ancient egyptians lived for the afterlife and while I admire their culture, art and theology in numerous ways obsessing over an afterlife is not one of the aspects I would think is the most useful to survive.

One would hope this would be a chance for some of the blinded to open their eyes and start listening to reason. Who knows what the future brings? There are infinite interpretations of religious texts and equally infinite nut jobs. There are also people in need right now across the world as well as next door, in places where they are being failed by everything around them.

Maybe its time to start making this life better and stop preparing for the rapture.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make

2011-05-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

But not today. Regardless of rationality or what not a lot of people I know still were freaked out slightly by this prediction of, "The End of the World" which has been ever so well advertised by career doomsayer Harold Camping who has been perverting the word "Family" on his radio show for quite a bit (non fundamentalists have families too kthankxbye).

Being that I don't live in an area with a lot of fundies (and my parents are jewish as are a few of my co-workers, plus not all christian sects believe in this concept nor do rational people, christian or not, believe Camping) I had to explain to a few folks the difference between what they conceived as, "The End of the World" (as they know it) and the concept of the SECOND COMING OF CHRIST/JUDGEMENT DAY/THE RAPTURE.

Afterwards I got a lot of, "Really? Huh." reactions.

Needless to say, as a pagan woman who has recently eaten bacon, is wearing cotton at the moment and has done a lot of other things that I have been told are unrapturable I wouldn't be ascending anyway.

One has to hand it to this guy that this has been the best marketed Judgement Day prediction, like ever. But it is still infuriating. I am not sure if I should feel sorry or what for the people who quit their jobs and spent all of their money in preparation for this. I just wish the media would have not paid any attention to this idiot.

Off the Grid

2011-04-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder if we would all be better or worst off if the internet vanished from existence.

I'm not saying I'm looking to go live out in the woods and "Ted Kaczynski" it or anything, though sometimes becoming a hermit sounds awfully nice, but I wonder if we would be able to deal if this ability to be constantly plugged and connected just went away. I miss getting hand written letters.

Lovin'

2011-04-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

I did something sort of cool this weekend. I married two of my friends at a beautiful mountain castle (very Hogwarts-ey looking too) in front of mutual friends and their families.

I guess it was sort of something I always wanted to do at least once. It was fun and interesting. I am not sure if I will do it again.

After getting engaged, my friends Tara and Tom had asked me if I was interested in becoming ordained to marry them. Again, it was something that had crossed my mind in the past. Yes, it is an online ordainment through ULC. Another friend had done this in the past in order to marry someone who had asked. I did a little research, wrote up a ceremony and did what I had to.

It was completely non-denominational, as are Tara and Tom, I seemed to get positive feedback from guests after the ceremony was complete.

The one weird situation was when the best man's mother (who had several uber-christian blingage all over her person) asked me what sort of minister I was. I answered interfaith, non-denominational. She looked at me confused and said, "Well as long as you love Jesus Christ right?" (I assume she didn't recognize my goddess pendant or see my pentacle bracelet)

To which I answered, "Oh um, yeah, sure." Because honestly, I don't even really know what that means really. I mean, I had completed my collegiate career in the bible belt and had been asked that question several times by people on the streets begging to save the souls of us meandering college students. Everyone who spoke of "Loving Jesus" seemed to have a different idea of what that love meant.

While I suppose the intention is supposed to be good... I mean these people honestly think this will "save you from eternal damnation" (whatever that means) I honestly just cannot jive with the mindset. I suppose if my confused answer made her feel better about the couple's union there is no harm done in a little while lie... because I don't "LOVE JESUS CHRIST" in the Christian sense. I'm not and have never been a Christian.

I have studied various facets of the religion and have several Christian friends, but the simple idea of "lovingchrist" is a bit lost on me considering that so many vocal people who feel that this is what you need to achieve heaven then condemn others with hatred because their lifestyles are something they disagree with. How can you love and yet discriminate to the point of hatred in the same breath? For a religious philosophy so built on love, too many people who use this rhetoric twist the idea of what they think defines "love" and throw the word around to the point that saying you "love" whatever becomes totally and seemingly meaningless, as if asking, "do you love Christ?" is a routine question like brushing one's hair in the morning. You do it to keep yourself together, but if you can't understand the many facets of "love", what does that mean exactly in that situation?

Of course on the other hand I have some wonderful christian friends who practice their religion and do not fit the above stereotype striving to accept love and accept people as they believe Jesus would have wanted humanity to love one another.

I got the feeling from what I had seen and heard of this person she is not in the habit of defining "Christlove" in the brand of the religion that my friends mentioned above do". From what I had been told about her what would have been the point of arguing or making a scene. And in all honesty if believing that I "loved Jesus" it put her at ease that I was worthy of sanctifying the marriage of the two friends (Tara and Tom) whom she loves in her way whom I also love in another way, I don't think there is a problem. Because after all, if the question makes little sense to me then I suppose the answer makes little sense as well... however if it makes someone feel better about something maybe thats what it means to "love" after all.

Passive Aggressive Tuesday

2011-04-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

Hopefully everyone has seen this website as it is really funny.

I have a co-worker/former supervisor who is a pretty bad passive aggressive note writer.

Back when she had been my supervisor, she sent me a memo over email where the subject heading was longer than the text. I sent one back with the long heading and the text simply reading, "O.K".

Anyway, she is no longer my supervisor. For today's purposes we will call her Phyllis. She is now the programming manager. I needed to go to her office to get new batteries for our digital camera to take pictures of a program in our room.

Now the assistant programming director is very nice, but not the best communicator (I was told she once yelled fire in a busy theater). After finding the batteries for me I asked if we recycle the old ones which I figured was a valid question. Aren't we all trying to be greener these days?

She got flustered and said Phyllis wasn't here and she's not sure. Maybe we do. Do we? She suggested I write Phyllis a note. I took a post it and put it on the box of used batteries. I wrote:

Phyllis,

Do you recycle used batteries? I'm leaving these here in case you do.

Thanks!

Sesheta

A few days later I check my mail box and find the used batteries inside with the words;

"No I don't" added to my post it.

Really? She couldn't have just thrown them out and told me that she didn't next time she saw me? She actually took the box all the way in the back to slip it in my mailbox with the words, "No I don't" written on the post it.

I was very tempted to put the box back on her desk with the addition to the note,

"Thanks, good to know."

She is BFF's with the director so that'd be a bad idea.

Maybe I'm just like my mother, she's never satisfied, maybe I'm just like my father, too bold.

2011-04-03T05:43:00.000-07:00

Emotional Dump time:

I just don't have the patience for my mother's mood swings and guilt trips anymore. It literally takes up nearly all of my energy when I see her.

Basically it has played out like this lately:

I stopped by their house and was told I have to sit down with her and discuss out finances

I don't think it is appropriate for her to be wanting to see a run down of our finances.

I don't think it is appropriate for her to sulk and burst out in anger at me when I make a life choice she wouldn't make for herself.

I don't think it is fair for her to try and superimpose her opinions on my own just because she thinks I will come around to her way of thinking.

I don't appreciate being told that I'm gaining weight when I battled an eating disorder as a teenager.

I suppose this is one of the hazards of living close to controlling parents. However, as I don't see myself leaving the state anytime soon I need to work on constructive ways to deal with it.

I'm sort of tapped out right now and I really have no idea where to put this negative energy. I try to shrug it off and put my head into my job or "Turn it off" as was sarcastically suggested in a song in the soon to be acclaimed "Book of Mormon the Musical" (oh yeah, I saw that a few weeks ago. Well worth the trek to NYC.)

There is that little part of me though that wishes we had a relationship. As a more sheltered child we were very close. Though I don't wish to go back to that life of emotional dependence I wish that both of my parents would respect the person I am now.

But I also have to accept that there is a certain amount of toxicity in our relationship, and the only thing that can change is the way I process it.

Age of Innocence.

2011-03-26T17:30:00.001-07:00

"As seductive as it may be, the past is never a more innocent time."- Chris Murray

This is a pretty common argument between my father and brother and a general ongoing debate. So many people look back at past decades of their youth and consider it "a more innocent time." The question is, was it really a more innocent time or were we more innocent?

A very special episode

2011-03-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

With the emergence of "reality" shows of the recent decade passed, one may think by title alone that we want to see things that are... well real.

Sadly, this seems to have started a trend of people wanting to emulate these fake "real" every day folks. I need not mention the era of Paris Hilton wannabes though I think I'd take her followers over another awful "reality" star of more recent times. I dare not mention her name. Like Beetlejuice, some aspect of her seems to appear. Even if that means whenever that name is uttered her hoards of followers swoop in to defend her honor and claim to be "real" (there's that word again) AMURICANS! If you haven't guessed she is from Alaska and has gotten far more attention than she deserves on this blog and in general.

I do remember a time when sitcoms ruled the air. Often there would be a "very special episode" in which a problem would arise and be solved in 25 minutes or possibly a double episode.

Often it would involve a character battling an eating disorder, a drug addiction or an abusive relationship. At first they would deny it (for like 15 minutes) but in the end they would always realize their friends had been right to confront them and the problem would be solved. Sometimes a cautionary victim would be introduced early in the episode and sacrificed for the good of a main character's revelation.

Life does not imitate TV of this sort. Cheesy as they are in certain situation I wish these things would play out as simplistically as a sitcom or a Lifetime movie.

As art may imitate life, beautiful, ugly and anything in between, sitcoms are not art by any means.

As I have mentioned, my friend Grace is in an emotionally abusive marriage. Her husband puts her down constantly in front of friends and on public online forums. After the birth of her daughter she suffered a rough patch of PPD, which is still rearing its ugly head. Though her situation is hard, he puts demands on her that seem to worsen it, criticizing everything from her weight to her mental well being. He even has the nerve to blame some of his problems on the presence of their daughter.

Here is where it would be wonderful if life played out like a "very special" episode.

Its not that people haven't tried to talk to Grace about their concerns. It simply is that when they do it plays out like this:

Step 1: Someone takes the time to confront her about their concerns. They take her aside and talk to her or send her a sort of intervention letter/email.

Step 2: Grace either immediately defends Lawrence (the husband) or tells him what they have said/shows him the letter right away.

Step 3: A blazing defense of Larry's actions comes through at once. A carefully crafted letter is written mostly in Larry's words explaining why the "attack on him" is unfair and wrong. Maybe 2 or three sentences are Grace's pleading to understand that she's OK and he's not always like this. The confronter is then cut off from Grace gradually.

Its such a classic abusive situation it seems likely that Grace herself may realize it deep in her gut but not want to admit it. Sadly she has had emotionally abusive parents and one sibling who have each dealt with their childhood so differently than Grace that they have a rift. Grace's brother is also one of the unfortunate folks who have tried to confront her and put on burn notice.

Aware of how these things tend to go I have tried to work differently around the problem. Whenever Grace tells me some of the messed up things Larry has done, I repeat her words to her. Sometimes it seems that hearing them from someone else makes a dent in her denial. Truth be told, I know if I went in guns blazing there would be one less person Grace is "allowed" to communicate with... and it has been so difficult not to shoot my mouth off. I have started at times and it gets back to Larry as soon as she gets home, which has resulted in a few weeks of no contact.

Honestly I feel like a coward. Honestly I want to rip him a new one whenever he starts his shit. Honestly I want to be a superhero and rescue the damsel in distress. But I had had a savior complex for so long and spent hours and hours trying to "rescue" friends and I know it never works that out way. I am stagnant.

I wonder sometimes if anyone had ever seen a mirror in their life on a cheesy PSA episode of a sitcom. I wonder it their cookie cutter characters and plastic dialogue has ever saved a life.

Which brings me to the recent news:

Last month our friend Diana couldn't take it anymore and wrote a heartfelt letter of concern. And we all know the outcome as it came like clock work.

I would love to be able to write that Grace tearfully responded that she knows and she is working with a therapist to leave him but sadly this isn't how real life seems to play out.

Steps 1-3 unfolded and hours later Diana has been burned.

I know at this point only Grace can be her own hero. There are no princes or 30 minute solutions. But then if this is the case, what are friends supposed to do while they watch you drown?

We are NOT obsolete.

2011-02-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

I am quite confused by the many "stereotypes" of people in my field. We are old cat hoarding spinsters, freaky sex-pots, uptight old biddies with our forefingers stuck to our lips in a "shhh" position. We are rarely male.

These images have infiltrated the images the collective subconscious that is the modern media.

Seriously, type "Librarian" into Google images and see what you get. I will give you a few examples:

That's all a lot to live up to! Though many of us love cats, enjoy a good roll in the hay every now and again and may shush some noisy folks the problem with all of these images both flattering and unflattering is that many people who see these images don't actually consider the value of the librarian or the library.

I am proud of my career and what I am. In fact I would have to say, librarians in general are very protective of their careers and take a lot of pride in their title.

However I have gotten some negative feedback that I feel unwarranted.

Sadly, as I may have previously mentioned, my father in law seems to like to take swipes at libraries and librarians often... when I am sitting right there. Its become more than a bit infuriating. Even more so considering that he himself is a library user. Now apparently he claims that the librarians at his local library do nothing. Well that's fine and dandy. I suppose their are indeed slackers at every job, but some of his complaints also revolve around the fact that if he returns a video late he has to pay an overdue fee.

Then don't return it late. I mean come on. If you borrow something and you don't have a date to return it by or a penalty to pay it can be gone for months. I should know. I have had something out on loan in my personal collection which I haven't seen since the summer. Its simple. You are borrowing something that belongs to the community. Other people would like it too. Return it on time, if you don't want to pay. I know plenty of people who never return their Netflix DVDs. I'm sure that works out really well for the company. Anyway, you need to pay a monthly fee for them and they probably have 100's of copies of a popular DVD and serve a larger community. If you want Netflix policies, sign up and pay the fee. If you want to borrow something from the library, return it on time or pay an overdue fee. Hell! If you don't have time to watch it, return it and take it out again at a later date. No fees. Hows that?

There is some more beef I have with his statements, for instance when I discuss the matter of children who come running through the library and he claims that he's only heard, "No talking in the library, why no running?" (Because its bad manners to run indoors unless you are at a gym and someone can get hurt?) Or the fact that he seems bent on telling Thoth that if ever his new company decided to just up and move him to another state I should just drop my job and move with him... apparently it seems that since I will have his grandchildren one day and he doesn't seem to think my career means that much since I have a womb to bare them in.

I want to keep the rest of this post on a different level though. More on the topic of where we fit into society beyond sexual fantasy stereotypes and shushing.

Statement: "Why don't we just give everyone Kindles?"

While e-readers are definitely going to cause an eventual change in the way we do business, one forgets that you still need to actually BUY the e-book on a Kindle in order to read it. Also one needs to BUY a Kindle. No one is going to GIVE one out for free unless you win it. They are less expensive than they used to be, yet still pricey.

Many libraries are jumping on this bandwagon by offering e-book downloads or rentals. Sadly, the Kindle, specifically, which is owned by Amazon.com would like to keep the money in the family and are no currently compatible with this program. However, nearly every other type of e-reader is. I-Phones and Droids are as well. Many library systems have worked hard to integrate and develop apps and app like programs to keep up with this.

Let us also consider researchers. Now since I work with children, research is very different. I highly doubt a parent will want to purchase for their e-reader a book on Zebras because their second grader needs to research the topic for a day and needs a legitimate non Internet resource.

Also, in general if a child needs several books for research that they will never need again. Our job is to connect a child with the best material for their report. Sometimes this means they need to skim through several books to find a few references to a very obscure topic. Should a parent need to pay 9.99 for a half of a paragraph in one whole book which they don't need?

Let us also consider the fact that a very large part of the job is encouraging literacy and the love of reading. As much as we don't want to admit it there are children and teens (and adults even) who *gasp* say they hate reading! Well, as sad and hurtful as this may sound to us bibliophiles, reluctant and non readers exist.

The schools on the elementary level TEACH reading as in "I teach you HOW to read. We assess your level in terms of a letter and suggest books that may or may not interest you in terms of what level you are." This is in conjunction to all the other topics covered in school. How to read is required for many of these, such as word problems in math, social studies and science.

From a literacy standpoint. this works well if you are trying to get a picture for how well a child reads the words on the page. Not so much when you are considering that someone who is totally unstimulated will not read anything other than the minimum requirement if that. An un-sharpened tool goes dull easily. I was a VERY reluctant reader as a child. I speak from experience.

E-books or not, we are in the business of connecting a child with the right book which will make him or her a reader. Sometimes these books are slightly above or below their level, however if the subject matter is something they enjoy or are even slightly interested in (even if they seem like garbage books) there is a very good chance the child will read it all and then come back to you for more suggestions. So often we hear, "he wants to read XYZ, but its not on his level..." certain books exist in a shelving area because of appropriateness of content. For instance, one time a boy came in looking for a book in which a TV series had been loosely based. I happened to know this book. It was in the adult section. It had a 75 page S&M sequence. The boy was 9. I suggested something similar that was age appropriate and explained to his mother that it was in the adult section for a reason.

Remember also that even good readers don't always knows what they want to read. Many of our patrons come in with absolutely no idea what they are looking for but a vague string of words that don't connect. It is up to us to put together the puzzle, however frustrating that it may seem and bring them to a conclusion. Left to their own devises many people give up in frustration. Sometimes there are cases we cannot even solve, but as they say, "two out of three ain't bad". As we are there to cultivate and encourage we work hard to help these people uncover their reading desires. People who are better readers and enjoy it more so are better when it comes to comprehension. Whether this means understanding the wording of a word problem or understanding the sequence of events which lead from point A to point B.

I am a very tactile person. I like to have a physical relationship with my reading material. I love the smell of the binding glue from a book fresh off the presses, or even one which has faded from years of love. I enjoy the weight in my hand, the feel of the pages as I turn them. As for picture books, I especially love the larger ones with the colorful pictures that seem like a work of art. I accept that this may not always be the way books are enjoyed (even though they are a work of art in themselves). One of my biggest issues is also my personal distaste for the instant gratification generation. No one ever waits for anything or wants to. They are so used to having everything at their fingertips that what was once known as common courtesy has slipped out the window. This however cannot be helped I suppose. I think an actual book is a work of art. A story can be read on any format. It is a sign of the times.

Sure, we are not exactly curing cancer, but we may be helping a researcher who will one day succeed in that task. We may not be discovering new planets, but perhaps that child who asks for a book on Mars will grow up to be the first human to step foot on a planet in another solar system. We encourage what transcends the often pigeon holed system that exists from the daily grind. A part time co-worker of mine likes to tell the story of how she suggested a child do a biography report on Marie Curie (all the books on Madonna were out). Years later the girl came back and told her that the suggestion led her to study physics and chemistry. You can't beat inspiration like that.

I recall a Twilight Zone episode where a man is to be put to death for being considered "obsolete" in a cold world. Much of the episode dealt with society's forbidding of the belief in religion... which of course was portrayed as the Judeo-Christian (more to the latter) kind. But I suppose that's what is and was most relatable in the day.

Literacy was also considered obsolete. The man's crime was being a librarian. I don't think that "literacy" in and of itself will necessarily become passe, but remember there are different types of literacy and understanding. We exist and fight to cultivate it and bring it to all people young, old, poor, wealthy, on paper or on a screen. We are not obsolete.

We'll be right back folks.

2011-02-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

I'd been working on a post perception of librarians and libraries relating to some comments made of late which had been pissing me off.

The last few weeks have been very exhausting though. Not all of it is bad, however, there has been a string of deaths within the last week and a half which has been causing a difficulty in my writing ability.

Two were sad though expected as something that was coming up the road. One was and continues to be a shock which makes me sick to my stomach and heart. I literally feel ill when I think of it.

Hopefully this is the end of this. I don't think I can stomach another wake.

In some better news, there has been a birth. Thoth is being sent on his very first business trip in May. I will have a hopefully wake-free two day weekend coming up.

I will get back to blogging soon.

Lame, Toyota, Really Lame.

2011-01-20T17:12:00.001-08:00

I know I post often about obnoxious children with no manners and their enabling parents.

It seems bratty kids are now used as a supposed humorous ploy to sell cars. I refer to the obnoxious twerp wearing stylish skinny jeans moaning about how "lame parents" need a Toyota Highlander.

Now, precocious children have been popular marketing tools for years. The issue I have with this add is the attitude and irreverence this child is supposed to have for everything but just "looking cool". If I didn't live in an area where children frequently get whatever they want and berate their parents for not being stylish enough maybe I would even be slightly amused. However, I knew kids who got 75 dollars from the "tooth fairy" for lost teeth. 100 for molars! So, maybe I am jaded.

But lets look at the facts:

The first add the little scenester-tot whines and moans about how his parent's drive him around in a lame station wagon he is embarrassed to be seen in (one that says "Hi, we're the Keaton family!") He says that he doesn't, "tolerate dorkiness very much".

He then proceeds to sell Toyota's product which his friend's mother has. He discusses its many sleek features and how he prefers to be driven around by his friends mother. He slips in a creepy overly patronizing Eddy Haskell-esque compliment to the perplexed woman.

Our first reaction to this commercial:

Me: If that was our kid I'd tell him if our car embarrassed him so much maybe he should see if his friends' mom wanted to adopt him. "Maybe you should start eating over there now since our car cramps your style?"

Thoth: "Oh, she says you can't stay for dinner? No We can't pick you up, we wouldn't want you to have to be seen in our car."

Me: "But you're hungry? I wouldn't want you to have to be seen eating at a house with such a lame car in the driveway. Guess you'll have to find your own dinner "

Thoth: "Oh, you don't have money for food? Well since we aren't cool enough to be your parents I don't think you would want to take money from us, but I hear there's a soup kitchen downtown, is that cool enough for you?"

Now of course we were jokingly reacting to the rudeness of the add, but what the hell? Because your kid wants a cooler car you should buy one? Fuck you, Toyota. I was driven around in my parents' "lame" cars, (Toyotas actually!) which were not a Benz or a Beemer like my classmates. Did they tease me about it. Yeah. Did my parents go broke to buy a new car so I could look cooler. Hells no! Coming out of a recession is this really an appropriate add to see a car? Lets give a materialistic little jerk what he wants so he will admit to being your child? Is that funny?

Let us look at the next add.

In this one the little jerk is now one of the "haves" and a friend is burdened with the Griswold Truckster-esque station wagon and folksong signing parents in the front seat. He looks to our hero with the rockstar jeans and ironically large mass of blonde corkscrews on his head and he rolls up the window and tell us that the Toyota Highlander is awesome... and even his mom knows that and shes 37! (I think the original add actually used the dialogue "she's old"). The mother looks in the rear view mirror, slightly annoyed.

Reaction:

I would have smacked him in his nose with the back of my hand and I don't even LIKE the idea of hitting children. I was only hit when I was really really bad as a child, but MAN! What the hell? So very very off putting.

Now the "old" joke has been used before in more endearing ways with children in adds. "Haha! He thinks someone in their 30's is old! Hehe. How cute." The difference here is that there is no innocence behind the voice. Here is our hero for 2011~ a kid who feels he is entitled to his parents' car debt to save face in front of his elementary school kids. I truly hope kids watching these commercials don't take a cue from this.

Maybe I am being a little sensitive here but this grinds my gears big time. Kids, parents are going to embarrass you. Sometimes on purpose but usually by no intention of their own. However, if their material possessions bother you. If that is the source of your embarrassment than maybe you should suck it up and study hard to get a job which can support your tastes in the future. While you are still a kid you are sadly at the mercy of whatever they can afford. Unless of course you live in my hometown in which case apparently you can afford everything. Oh well.

Sorry kid... I don't tolerate brattiness very much. And neither should consumers.

There's an art to the laughter there's a science...

2011-01-15T06:11:00.001-08:00

Most people consider themselves "weird" at some point in their lives.

I would wager most have a fascination with something odd that we either care to share with our friends or not.

I confess, I have an odd affinity for defunct and abandoned amusement parks.

I don't remember how I stumbled upon it, but a few years back I found a website dedicated to pictures of these rusted graveyards.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that most people find amusement parks creepy to some extent. There is something seedy beneath the bright colors and balloons. Not as seedy as say, a traveling fair which arrives and leaves like a ghost in the night, but even Disney's well maintained parks have the ability to creep me out and I am not referring to the fact that I used to be terrified of simply walking past the Haunted Mansion.

No, the dated animatronics such as that in Its a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean, which have now been mixed in with more modern technology reflecting characters of the recent film series. The slightly faded paintings of smiling characters, the way too happy music with the undercurrent of a child crying because they didn't get the toy they wanted. And I am again, referring to one of the kings of amusement parks. Regular run of the mill parks are even worse.

Imagine all of that closing its gates one day. Just leaving the rides to rust as the trees grow into the tracks of a roller coaster and vines twine around the steel of a Ferris Wheel. Popcorn stands remain paintings of clowns peel. No laughter, no crying, no crowds, no music. Pretty damned creepy right?

So why am I drawn to something so odd? I don't know. Maybe its the exhibition of what was. The death of something that once brought joy. Who came to these parks? Do they remember them fondly? Do they miss them or do they drive by the overgrown foliage without a second glance. Why are they standing to rot? Why doesn't anyone tear them down or build over them?

It's sad and beautiful at the same time. Nature takes back the land. It communes with the steel and wood covering up the structures, waiting for them to be discovered and loved once again. Its sort of like the castle in Briar Rose. Covered in thorns and roses. A kingdom sleeps waiting to be awakened. Waiting for life to return.

Check out this website if you are intrigued: Defunct Amusement Parks.

Mega-Matsumoto

2011-01-08T06:23:00.000-08:00

This lovely animated lady who we see in front of us is Maetel of Galaxy Express 999 and many of its sister series.

When I was about 9 her beauty captured my heart. She looked much like Amalthea in the animated version of Peter S. Beagle's "The Last Unicorn". I envied their hair. I wanted mine to be as long and flowy. I have since grown out of that and gladly shed 5 inches of my own hair about a month ago, but I was equally excited when I found out that the serene Maetel had a feisty red haired twin sister named Emeraldas.

But this post isn't about them really. This is about a "staple" of Anime.

Anyone familiar with Daft Punk's music and videos will recognize Maetel's face. Leiji (or Reiji) Matsumoto, her creator animated a series of music videos for Daft Punk back in the earlier years of the new millennium.

Now, it may be a bit unfair for me to write about Matsumoto's anime. After all, I have yet to see all of it. In fact, the one issue many people have with any of Matsumoto's work is that there is so much of it that references other series, you need an encyclopedia of the "Leijiverse" in order to fully grasp what is happening.

Also, the storytelling is very subtle. This and the fact that the series were on TV at 5 am often caused me to drift in and out of sleep while watching it.

This does not make the impact of Matsumoto's work any less significant on the Anime field. Like the well known Miyazaki, Matsumoto is one of the older greats still in the field. While he began in the "biz" in the 1950's, it wasn't until he hit with "Space Battleship Yamato" in the 1970's that he began weaving the intricate tapestry that has become one of the most revered animated "space opera" decades later.

"Space Pirate Captain Harlock" followed "Yamato". Then we have "Galaxy Express 999", "Starblazers", "Queen Emeraldas", and many more which correspond to the root story. Each in its own quiet intriguing way builds a story of humanity beyond earth.

Matsumoto's heroes encompass various aspects of humanity and its flaws and triumphs. Nothing is simply black and white in his world. Curiosity and perseverance reigns supreme.

Though Matsumoto's female heroines appear fragile and ethereal, they have a strength that perseveres in their respective worlds. In fact, though Matsumoto's artwork is clearly "anime" it transcends the typical "big eyes, small mouth" standard with an elegance all its own.

Today, Matsumoto's stories still capture the hearts of many world wide. A live action "Yamato" has been filmed and received rave reviews. In fact former Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler has provided his talents for the theme song!

While Matsumoto's anime series' are very surely an investment in time and patience they are a work of art rarely seen in anime these days. Anyone who wishes to build a strong foundation in anime or just wishes to experience the beauty of fine storytelling mixed with artwork should hop aboard.

Easy "Meh"

2011-01-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

I'm a sucker for a good teen movie. Maybe it has something to do with having grown up in the age of John Hughes, but a really good, clever and the occasional cheesy teen flick can be as good a comfort food as a nice juicy cheeseburger. Sometimes a guilty pleasure, maybe not the best for you but an enjoyable way to spend some time. Among my more recent favorites have been, "Mean Girls", "10 Things I Hate about You" and "Saved".

The last one on that list is sort of important here because there are a few similarities between it and the subject of my post. "Saved" was a movie I saw with very low expectations. It was far from perfect but it worked on a few levels regardless of the issues. For those who don't know it is a somewhat cynical comedy about a naive teen girl entrenched in her Born Again community who becomes pregnant after believing Jesus has told her to "persuade" her boyfriend from his homosexual feelings. In her defense she did hit her head on the side of a pool and almost drown when she had this vision. Anyway, again the movie was in no way perfect but it worked well enough for repeat viewings and a purchase from the 5 dollar bin at Blockbuster.

So on to the movie at hand.

"Easy A" was sold to me by a few people as having been a surprise hit. They didn't really expect much but it turned out to be a fun movie with a good message. The critics seemed to agree. I was a bit bemused. I actually like Emma Stone, the lead actress. Its always refreshing to see an up and coming leading lady who has actual curves and a husky voice. I also really enjoyed "Zombieland". But regardless the trailers looked unremarkable even by teen movie standards. So I decided to give it a whirl as my laundry movie this weekend. I watched it with my brother who shared my affinity for teen movies.

First the plot:

Olive, a nearly non existent blip on the high school popularity radar lies to her best friend Rhiannon in order to avoid a camping trip with "Rhi" and her weird Hippie family (weird even by California standards which is where Olive lives). She tells her friend that her older brother has set her up with a friend from his community college. The next Monday Rhiannon prods her friend about her pretend date and assumes Olive has lost her virginity to the non existent boy. They are overheard by stereotypical Christian Fundamentalist Marianne (played by Amanda Bynes) and suddenly everyone at school is giving her the suspicious eye and talking behind her back. Later her gay friend Brandon asks Olive to pretend to have sex with him at a party to avoid the ostracism he encounters at school. Other outcast men ask her to do the same "paying" her for fake sex. At the snide comment of one of her classmates while reading "The Scarlet Letter", Olive, angry at how her classmates treat her sews a big red "A" into all of her new revealing shirts embracing the rumors and feeling a connection to Hester Prynne. Later this all goes too far when Marianne's boyfriend attains chlamydia from the school guidance counselor and Olive agrees to take the fall for her. Finally Olive takes control and broadcasts the true story of what really happened over the net and ends up with Todd, the one boy who never believed the rumors....

Here's what I enjoyed in a nutshell:

Olive's Parents. While they were not the most realistic parents (I have never met any one's parents with that good of a sense of humor) they were a lot of fun and amusing.

1. The One Liners: There were some really clever ones. Not enough to carry the movie but enough to make it better at points.

2. The Issue with Boys: The boys Olive supposedly slept with did not receive the "bad press" she had. This is often very accurate. Hate the game not the player right? Girls can't be players only guys can?

3. The Best Frienemy: Sadly Olive and Rhiannon's friendship is accurate of a high school girl duo. Often girls are in such conflict with one another they assert their sexuality and or confidence over one another quietly putting the more timid of the two down.

Now the problems:

1. Setting:

The initial problem I began having with this movie was a question of setting. When the very first rumor about Olive losing her virginity spread around school I was not buying the reactions of her fellow students.

Now, had Olive attended a private religious school, such as the one in "Saved" it would have made sense that people would be giving her dirty looks. Had she gone to school in areas of the Midwest, The Bible Belt or some area of the south, I would have said, "O.K.".

In the very beginning of this film, it is established that the story takes place in California. Olive attends a public school in California. Now I myself attended a public high school in a more supposed, "liberal minded" state and I can tell you, NO ONE gives a shit if you lost your virginity. Maybe your friends do, but the general student body could care less. Maybe if you are a freshman or in middle school it is cause for gossip, but for an average age High School student in a public school losing one's virginity is just not cause for glares and gossip. Especially in the age of young ladies sending boobie texts to their male friends and it getting forwarded around school. That is more call for talk these days than "so and so" isn't a virgin anymore.

This seemed out of place and a bit dated.

2. Where is this going?:

The movie didn't seem to know where itself. So many things were brought up and then dropped. As my brother put it, it was, "sort of all over the place." One minute a subplot seems to be brought about and then it vanishes. For a moment it seems like Marianne, the crusader and Olive strike up a friendship which may have implied almost lesbian tendencies. After one moment of kindness, Marianne is hugging Olive over and over so she can smell her hair, texting her with hearts and being overly clingy. That would have been an interesting twist, but this is dropped suddenly. Even if that wasn't what the movie was going for it seemed just tossed in.

As this subplot faded a new one was tossed in with Lisa Kudrow as Olive's school's awful guidance counselor and her favorite teacher's cheating wife. It literally came up suddenly. Kudrow had apparently been having an affair with Marianne's super senior boyfriend (conveniently legal) and gave him the clap. How many other people was she sleeping with and why would Olive honestly agree to cover for her? She was cheating on her husband who Olive respected. Why be so nice when this person has done NOTHING for you.

Is Olive supposed to be our heroine? Are we supposed to sympathize with her because she is

just way too nice? Why would she accept this reputation she is building? Are we supposed to believe that bad attention is better than no attention at all in her mind? That having a false image of sexual promiscuity is a way of gaining one's voice? She was very inconsistent as a character. The whole idea of nerdy guys paying Olive for hearsay sex popped in and out of the story line as did her short encounters with her manicorn crush Todd who seemed to lack substance other than to give her a happy ending.

The connections to "The Scarlet Letter" and Olive's reputation just seemed very thin as if the writers were grasping at straws to tie the two together. Was she doing this for an extra school assignment or for herself?

Rhiannon's choice to flock over to the religious freaks upon a fight with Olive seemed forced. Seeing her suddenly holding signs with bible versus as Olive left school was just baffling. In fact the whole religious angle period seemed to be trying to find its place in the story. More on that later.

Also, Olive mentioned an older brother in Community College who introduced her to her first fake conquest. This brother is never seen or heard from throughout the duration of the film. She has a young adopter African American brother who is cute and seems to be there to set up a few family jokes, but the older brother may as well have been a lie because he didn't seem to exist. Huh?

3. Language Usage:

Didn't anyone look up the definition of, "adultery" before writing this script? Hester Prynne was the young wife of a older man lost at sea when she had her affair with the minister. In order to commit "adultery" wouldn't one have to be married?

When Olive's wooden religious classmate (one of Marianne's cronies) snidely comments that Olive sew a red A to her chest I was confused as to if anyone in the class actually read the book or bothered to ever look up adultery in the dictionary.

Later Olive, wondering to a church and admits to "lying and adultery". There's that word again. She certainly has lied but even if she actually WAS sleeping with as many people as her classmates were led to believe she still would not be guilty of adultery. So is she as literately unintelligent as she is socially? It really grinded my gears.

Also, while the term, "trollop" is quite fun to say (it sounds like some sort of shell fish that would taste good in butter) I just don't see it becoming the insult of choice for high school students in the year 2010. I'm sure "trollop" was uttered quite often in Hawthorne's days but when did it pop up again on our radar? Did some gangsta rap singer recently decide to brag about how many trollops he's been pimpin' around with? I don't know. It didn't seem natural.

4. Amanda Bynes:

I usually am not a fan of Nickelodeon child stars who try to make the transition into mainstream films. It happens every so often. Ryan Reynolds, Elisha Cuthbert supposedly Josh Peck... but generally if you were on a Nickelodeon show there is something plastic about your acting.

Keenan Thompson on SNL, for instance seems like he is still on, "All That" but he can use naughtier language. I feel like they hired him because they needed some sort of African American sketch comedy actor to fill Tracy Morgan's mediocre shoes (though I love 30 Rock) and that's all they could get away with.

This brings us to the problem of Amanda Bynes. The Nickelodeon school of acting worked well for Penny in "Hairspray", but not for this supposed subversive flick. It felt like she was trying to emulate Mandy Moore's character in "Saved". It came out like a really wooden facsimile. Yes, many of the so called "Christian Hypocrites" in "Saved" were wooden stereotypes, but Moore's Hillary Faye had an underlying tone of aggression. Hillary Faye led a campaign to save her friend Mary's soul with the hopes of getting close to Patrick, a pastors son who had a crush on Mary. Hillary Faye also treated her friends poorly because of low self esteem.

There was nothing to Bynes' acting that suggested anything more than a very sheltered girl who thought Jesus was the answer to all the questions on her SAT's. She was just there for conflict and it wasn't very good conflict either. That may have been the writing, but the acting didn't save it. I still couldn't tell if religion was thrown into the mix because of the supposed "Scarlet Letter" connection.

5. The Ending:

It wrapped up way too neatly. While the message appears to be that every one's sexuality is their own business, Olive tells the whole school on her live video blog that she may one day lose her virginity to Todd, the boy who always stood by her.

After all of that which she went through why would she even say that? Why not leave it as; "And whatever happens is none of your business, the end". I get it but the wording was confusing for the theme.

And I think that is the main theme here. I just don't get it. I don't get why the critics rated this film so highly and I don't get what people got out of it.

Also, Olive also apologizes to Rhiannon who joined her lynch mob for confusing reasons. Why is she apologizing? Because she lied to get out of a camping trip? Doesn't Rhiannon owe Olive an apology for tossing her to the wolves the minute the power in their friendship shifted?

Many teens expect less from their entertainment. I can go about poking holes in everything from 16 Candles to some of the films that I enjoy. Something about this one just didn't pull through enough for me to overlook the issues though.

Next up I will return to my reviews on a classic Anime.

Happy New Year from the Twilight Zone

2011-01-01T07:31:00.000-08:00

A tradition over a decade old:

Watch "The Twilight Zone" marathon on New Years Day.

I'm not quite sure how the whole thing had started but years ago a local station began showing a 24 hour marathon of, "The Twilight Zone" at the start of the New Year. Later on the rights seemed to have shifted and the Sci Fi channel picked up the show and expanded the marathon to 48 hours.

When I was younger and afraid of everything I would avoid this as it would keep me up all night with a racing mind.

Later, in a more jaded life I adapted the marathon as a must for the passage of the year. The series is often fascinating. As I am far less disturbed by such things (I am immune to most fictional frights and can fall asleep watching horror) I simply cannot let a year go by without tuning in for a bit.

Now, Thoth is quite tired of this to a degree. He doesn't dislike the show, but he cannot watch it for hours on end. For me it is comfort food. So I give him the choice. Pick one T.V. in which "The Twilight Zone" will not be on and I will watch in the other room. He can come in whenever he wants.

Now here is the issue and I will elaborate. He has seen most of the episodes. So have I. I know most of the twists. But here is the other issue. And this is something I can attest to. For every classic episode which is referenced on "The Simpsons" or referred to as chilling, there are 5 that are pretty damned lame.

The original series ran for five years. With 156 episodes it must be hard to keep each and every one fresh and frightening. Of course, one must remember that scary was very different in the late 50's early 60's. McCarthy-ism and fear of nuclear strikes at any moment kept a good portion of the population on egg shells every minute of every day.

Who could you trust? Your neighbor, your spouse your childhood friend could be a communist! Innocence was shattered by visions of concentration camps, Hiroshima and Nagasaki and war had been escalated to a whole new level. It is important to note that many episodes had actually been written by authors blacklisted during the red scare under pseudonyms.

So I am sure, what I would consider a "lame" episode of The Zone would have been at least mildly scary to someone when it was originally aired.

My Zone scale generally runs as such: 5 percent are the classic episodes. 10 percent are great under appreciated gems. 15 percent are decent enough to be memorable. 20 percent are seemingly clones of better episodes that may have had a celebrity well known enough at the time to be watchable by the early 60's standards and the rest are mediocre and often forgettable.

This does not stop me from enjoying the series, but it does bring some lackluster to the legend. Also, it is quite apparent from my years of watching the series, that Serling seemed to have some very negative views of women in relationships. (Also note that an older cousin had been picked up by Serling while hitchhiking in the late 60's and always remarked he was a "dirty old man".)

There seems to be two breeds of Zone wives/girlfriends. There is the selfish nagging shrew, who seems to take joy in sucking all the pleasure out of her man's life and then there is the complacent mouse who seems to serve and sometimes enable the often paranoid man in her life. A perfect wife and mother and ideal housewife of the age.

Those who are strong and somewhat independent often put on a dress and learn to bat their eyes by the end of the series or they descend into awfulness and destructive anger. For an example of this one can look no further than two episodes starring Elizabeth Montgomery.

One in which she is a female soldier who learns that a nice dress and a pretty smile can put an end to a war which destroyed most of humanity. Especially since it seems the sole survivor on the other side is a handsome man. Of course the real message of this episode is that there comes a point when the fighting seems pointless. Especially when there is literally NOTHING left to fight about and everything is destroyed. This is a great message indeed, though I always found it funny that the final "pretty dress" seemed to imply that Montgomery was finally willing to accept her fate as an "Eve" figure and lay down her gun for peace.

The other episode deals with a young woman about to run off with her sweetheart. A man her family disapproves of because his status is less than hers. She constantly sees an older version of herself running towards her. It turns out that it is Montgomery's self from the future trying to warn her innocent younger self to choose the more affluent suitor. In the future, we see that Montgomery has turned into the dreaded shrew type as her affair has been terribly disappointing compared the the life of privilege she is used to.

While the marathon seems to be playing a plethora of these, "quiet man versus shrew" episodes at the moment, I know this evening will bring the best of the best. The most wonderful as those which depict how just a simple idea can destroy an otherwise rational person and/or community. Those in which society is similar to ours yet slightly different in a tangible yet terrifying manner. Then there are some greats which deal with the supernatural and science fiction:

Robert Redford as Death

The Hitchhiker

A small spaceship lands in a lone woman's house in an isolated countryside.

It is also important to note that other channels seem to have jumped on the marathon bandwagon. My parents love to tell me about "The Honeymooners" marathon and how it still holds up. Indeed a bus driver threatening to beat his wife doesn't thrill me as some good old fashioned Cold War paranoia. Nor does the "The Stooges Marathon" as their slapstick hasn't done much for me since I was a child.

Regardless of the "Meh-ness" of many Zone episodes it does have an undeniable style which I enjoy.

Happy New Year and White Rabbit's Day

Taking Offense (much ado about sexism and classic T.V.)

2010-12-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

I had been a couch potato early on in life. While these days I barely get to watch any television at all, and about 75 percent of what I watch (or is that 85 percent?) is animated anyway, my T.V. watching days seem to have passed. I just don't have time or that much desire to pay attention to what is on.

The best thing about this is that as a child people would verbally assault me about how much television I watched. How it would make me stupid and what not. Whatever.

I don't have a clue as to what's going on on "The Office", or even, "How I Met Your Mother" in spite of the fact that I adore Neil Patrick Harris and have found that show pretty funny from what I have seen.

When I was in elementary school through mid high school, I used to watch older television shows. "I Love Lucy" was my favorite in 4th grade. I did like Bewitched in middle school and in high school when I finally got cable and Nick at Nite was an option, "Get Smart" was the bee's knees!

Since I have had a lot of time off the last week due to "use it or lose it" vacation days as well as being sick, I have taken the time to actually watch "Mad Men" consistently. Now, I must admit to having seen an episode here and there. I find it interesting and intriguing but never have I watched consecutive episodes. It is quite good, if not a high class soap opera with a pretty wardrobe and social commentary on issued passed, yet it did remind me as to why I can no long watch "I Love Lucy" without cringing.

Hint: Comedy at its best?

While I have yet to witness a spanking as such on "Mad Men", it is not a "comedy" as Lucy is, the whole attitude toward most women of the time is that they are considered to be "childlike".

For instance, Don, the main character of Mad Men's wife is in therapy for emotional distress surrounding the loss of her mother. When Don speaks to her therapist about her progress (which would be a strict violation of patient/Dr. confidentiality, but she is a woman so it doesn't count) the therapist tells Don that Betty is of the mind of a child. Later in the episode after Don's drunken boss gets "handsy" with Betty claiming she had been making eyes at him all evening (she rejects him coldly) Don walks in and blames the whole thing on her claiming that he feels like he is dealing with a "little girl".

The interesting thing is that the respect of women as wives and woman of power, be it sexual (Joan Holloway) or financial (Rachel) seems to fluctuate. A wife is something in a house who must look pretty and keep up appearances. They must cater to their well dressed husbands with the Rod Serling greased hair and say very little.

Don, who is having multiple affairs including the coveted Rachel, a beautiful and savvy Jewish business woman of the early 1960's actually asks Rachel her opinions on various issues. He shares his past with her. Though he sleeps with her as a woman on the side (disrespectful) he gives her respect he does not give his wife.

Roger, Don's boss carried out an affair with office sex pot Joan Holloway, and talks to her about his issues with his teenage daughter. They casually discuss his wife and that Joan will eventually find an unmarried man and Roger will find a new conquest... though Roger wishes to keep Joan locked up to be his alone. Joan's power is sex. She uses is as she sees fit. Rachel's power over Don is her actual Independence, something he reproaches Betty for if she shows any sort of inclination.

The Peggy character warrants her own blog post. We must also remember that Mad Men is written with a modern sensibility. This is the way things were, not as we would accept them if they were to happen this way in present time.

So how does this very serious drama relate to sitcoms past? The interesting thing about Desi Arnez and Lucille Ball, is Lucy, the REAL Lucy was not subservient in the least. She "wore the pants" in that relationship so to speak. Desi, with his pre-Draper hair womanized for sure. The pair married and divorced more than once, but Lucy was a savvy business woman.

Her T.V. counterpart was a housewife with aspirations to be an actress. Comical because her husband, a nightclub band leader preferred her home. Now, though T.V. Lucy had no talent, her singing could be likened to a rusty door hinge and her acting was wooden for even the standards of those days, real Lucy did in fact have comedic timing which was quite brilliant.

However, though it can be argued that a lot of the show involved Lucy disobeying Ricky and trying to pursue a career in show business with the help of her best friend Ethel, one cannot deny that the outcome would always be Ricky finding out and scolding her as if she is a child, which brings us to the spanking and was usually followed by a childlike cry. Yes a lot of physical comedy and other situations are well carried out in the series. However I have trouble regardless.

It is very difficult for my modern mind to find the treatment of a grown woman to be like that of a child. The spanking standard did not just stop at "I Love Lucy". It was quite common in those days. Take this add for instance:

Was this considered kink? Was this what really happened in households across America, or is it simply yet another product of the mindset. Women (wives in particular) were childlike. They were to be treated as such and punished likewise.

Now though I cannot deny Lucille Ball's talent, I just cannot enjoy the show anymore. While in Mad Men, the constant blatant sexual harassment of anyone with tits and a skirt is comical in an ironic way, because that was all very standard and acceptable in those days, the subtleties of such are seen in television comedies of the day as well.

Lets look at "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie" for instance. Samantha Stephens was far more a "modern woman" than her predecessors. She have Darren "the business" and showed him when he had angered her. To be fare though, Darren (a very Don Draper like man who worked in advertising under a boss who looked MUCH like Roger Sterling!) knew that if he crossed Sam too far she literally had the power to blast him into oblivion and get away with it, much to the delight of his mother in law Endora. Darren was a jerk often, but he was a jerk who knew his wife had power him and therefore as far as I can recall there was NO spanking in Bewitched. I commend Samantha Stephens.

Now, the pilot episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" and the series differed greatly. As we all know, Jeannie's outfit was simply scandalous for the times. She dare not show her belly button, yet she could be kept in a bottle to be used at whim and called Major Nelson, "Master".

In the pilot, Jeannie was simply a free sex pot. Nelson found her on the beach (as we see in the opening credits) releases her and she speaks her own language. Though he doesn't understand her the two are smitten and kiss throughout the episode. Eventually Nelson wishes that he can understand her and so begins their relationship.... or not.

Throughout the majority of the show, Jeannie and Major Nelson are not a couple. He dates nice brunette girls, while the exotic Jeannie sits in misery in her bottle, her heart still taken by the handsome man who will become J.R. Ewing. She is always at his beckon call and is punished by a cork in her bottle when she misbehaves. It was all kisses and moon eyes when she didn't speak his language, but once he could understand her, she was better off as a novelty to be kept in a bottle on a table. Of course as we know the two do eventually marry, but as they say, the show went "down hill from there". Oh well.

Get Smart is another issue all together. I still like it and I so want to love it as I had. The sexism is there but it is not like shows of the past. Mel Brooks' visual gags were not based on spanking or humiliation of women. Agent 99 was a powerful spy with martial arts skills and was a single woman making it in the world.

She was FAR more competent than Maxwell Smart yet she always let him take the credit. The question is, is it funny because she is so smitten with Max she would rather him think hes done right than point out what a screw up he is, or is it funny because EVERYONE knows that 99 is the more useful member of the team. Everyone including the audience is rolling their eyes and laughing as she feeds Max the correct answers. 99 is in control (literally!).

Still, others who do not know she is a spy treat her as a commodity. One earlier episode one of Max's aunts assumes she is his housekeeper and orders her around like a slave driver with no regard. Also in another episode, while she is frozen in place by an enemy weapon, Max steals a kiss from her. If she realizes it or remembers is not known, and yes we know she loves him but is it OK that he does it when she is paralyzed and only then? Thoth who had never seen it before thought it was a bit creepy.

To be honest the racism in "Get Smart" irks me a bit more than the sexism, and as we know, Max and 99 get married and have babies and... it all goes downhill from there.

I guess I'm a bit hypocritical. I mean I listen to "Tenacious D" which is petty damned sexist, but it is blatant and on purpose in a way that is so ridiculous that women are more likely to burst out laughing than actually take it seriously. It is more a parody of sexism in rock than anything, which often parodies itself. The same goes for a lot of the animated T.V. I watch. Its not meant to be taken seriously.

However, I just can no longer, "Love" Lucy as I had as a child. Bummer.

Holiday Cheer (or some junk)

2010-12-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

This picture has very little to do with my post, other than I thought it was just hysterical.

But yes, this is it folks! The time of cheer and joy! The time of pundits arguing over the evils of secular terms such as, "Happy Holidays". The time of crowded shopping centers and gridlock at the registers. The time of the competition of giving.

No matter how one celebrates, the above seems to dominate from the day after Thanksgiving until the end of the year. It seems that the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yule/Solstice... oh hell HOLIDAY shopping season starts earlier and earlier each year. This year it seemed like the malls gave Halloween a pass and started decorating in mid October. Now, I'm not against all Christmas carols on the radio but for the love of God... all of them, do they have to play for a whole month on every station possible? I am so thankful for my I-pod this time of year. The songs are pretty but the non stop repeat over and over again. I have a few favorites myself, "Green sleeves", "Carol of the Bells", the theme song to, "The Hebrew Hammer", Dar Williams', "The Christians and the Pagans" the latter two are never played on the radio anyway, but what I mean is, I get it! Can we just maybe play them for a week and not a whole month?

And can we NOT play Adam Sandler's awful 50 versions of his Hanukkah song every five minutes? He proved his point. It was funny the first time. Then it was cute, then mildly annoying. Now I want to launch myself out of wherever I am and destroy the radio and every copy of the damned song (every version) so I never have to hear his stupid squeaky baby voice and mediocre guitar playing ever again.

Regardless there are some lovely things happening at the moment. Things I am very thankful for.

First off, the best "gift" of the year is that as of the beginning of 2011, Thoth, my dearest husband-friend, will be employed! That's right, he is graduating in two weeks and got his very first job offer which he accepted this week! He has a few more upcoming interviews, so if he gets a better offer he may retract and go with that, but what a load off of both of our minds. He will be graduating with a near 4.0 average after having been out of school for almost 10 years! I am very proud and honored to be married to him.

We put up our Solstice tree, because I'm not all "Bah-humbug" this time of year and am glad to have the option to do so, and our cat has decided to be super adorable and take a nap under it every afternoon. Her sprees of adorableness make being stuck inside while it is freezing outside bearable.

Also, I had my Reader's Theater program yesterday and while children where picking their parts out of a hat for a reading of, "The Paper bag Princess", one of our more awkward participants picked the part of "The Princess". Now there have been a few clues that this boy may be an early realized member of the LGBT community, but maybe not you never know. However, he was VERY happy with the part he picked and refused to switch with the others, even the girl who got the part of Prince Ronald.

The best part about this was that not only did this boy read his part VERY well, but NONE of the children ridiculed him for wanting to play a female role. Wow. I'm not saying I suddenly have faith in the tolerance of humanity, but it really warmed my heart! Well done.

Also, I have had the pleasure of helping my brother with his applications to his post graduate plans. Since he wants to potentially teach abroad in Japan I read his entrance essay over a bunch of times and worked with him until the result was exquisite. I will do the same for his essay for graduate school, as we are working on a way to keep him away from coming back to live with my parents after school is over. I will miss him, but it is what is best for him.

Also, I have been appointed president of the board for children's librarians in my county for 2011! I have already booked some great authors for programs and am all pumped to share my love of my profession with everyone. While this is strictly a volunteer position and will be a lot of extra work/stress, it is likely to be very rewarding.

So though I don't love the forced cheer of this time of year, I feel very thankful for so much in my life. Here's to the return of the sun, a wealth of new opportunities, doors opening, peppermint hot cocoa, gingerbread, cats and yes... a little bit of that holiday cheer.

The Guilt Trip Tree

2010-12-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

I am not going to lie. Though it may be thought one of the best and most beloved children's books of all time, I just can't stomach, "The Giving Tree".

Like Dr. Seuss's "Oh the Places You'll Go!", this seems to be a staple gift book given to children, though the former seems to follow a graduation, the latter is considered an "anytime gift".

For those who are unfamiliar with this book, and I doubt you are, it tells the story of a little boy who grows up under the shade of the tree. The tree, an analogy for a mother gives the boy everything he needs as he grows... all of her apples, her branches and eventually allows the boy to cut her down to build a boat out of. In the end the tree is nothing but a stump and the boy now an old man uses her to sit and rest on.

What has always bothered me about this book is the sick feeling of loss and guilt that precedes it. I grieve the tree.

OK, so the tree represents a mother's sacrifice for her child... why does "sacrifice" have to be so damned sacrificial? Now of course a good parent sacrifices for their child in many ways. However, I challenge anyone to tell me that any sort of healthy parental sacrifice should involve the complete degradation and destruction of the parent. Shouldn't we use what we have learned to teach independence, not codependency and selfishness?

While raising a child does require the loss of much of your own personal time and the emergence of a new parental identity shouldn't keeping your self happy for the sake of your own happiness be considered healthy to raising a child?

After all, I can tell you from growing up with "Giving Tree" type of parents a child can sense and pick up on when a parent is unhappy themselves. I know the point of the story is that the tree was happy when she gave to the boy, but shouldn't the boy have wanted the tree to be happy on her own as well? Did he have to take all of her and leave her a grave of her former self? Was he numb to the pain that she went through as she lost her limbs and body for him? Did he care every time he left her with less and walked out into the world? If that is what parenthood is supposed to be then count me a future bad parent.

Of course your children should grow up happy and successful. Many sacrifices should be made and must be to raise a child, but it is like the old cliche, "If you can't love yourself, than how can you love another." If you cannot show your child happiness, your OWN true happiness, a happiness that exists outside of giving them stuff, there is not much left for them to hope for.

What of their own parenthood? What example are you setting for them?

Adulthood is a challenge, but parents are there to give their children the tools to learn how to navigate it on their own two feet, not to remind them of the life they gave up to bring them to that point. Couldn't the tree and the boy grow old together? Couldn't he return and plant a garden around her or other trees to keep her company? Why can't the GIVING go both ways once the boy was old enough to stand alone?

This book truly and honestly gives me the creeps.

Luckily there seems to be a whole subculture of haters. When I mentioned this at a meeting recently more than half of the other librarians of all ages shuttered at the mention of the title. In fact a recent parody, "The Taking Tree" has been published to bring a laugh to all whom lamented the fate of the tree. Its worth a look and a giggle. I can tell you I will be buying this as a gift for friends far sooner than I will read my own children, "The Giving Tree".

Don't you know the Dewey Decimal System?

2010-11-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

Today's topic: How does one define, "work".

I had to take my car in for new front brakes (boooooo). I have been going to this particular service station for years. Its the place my dad likes to go, so that's how I found it and it just so happens to be very convenient from my work and current home.

They get the job done well and they don't try to rip you off with things you don't actually need done on your car.

Just the facts ma'am. My biggest gripe is that they smoke in my car when they work on it and it smells awful, but its not that big a deal to me. At inspection I asked if there were any forthcoming problems. The guy told me the front brakes were very close. I said I'd bring it in next week. This was a difficult week for such an inconvenience of not having my car. Thoth took me in the morning and dropped me off at work on his way to school, but after that I had 'nary a friend nor family member to take me when it was done.

No problem, they are nice enough to send someone to pick me up when the car is done, but I had to do this on my break at work.

So after their very sweet book keeper picked me up and dropped me at the station, I gave the head mechanic my credit card and said I had to rush back to work.

He replied, "You don't work, you sit in a library all day."

Ugh. I kind of hate it when people belittle my job, and yes they do this a lot with me right in front of them. As a species, we librarians are very protective over our livelihoods.

So I replied to him, "Oh, Its work. Maybe not work like you do work but it is work."

Images of crazy people, angry patrons and irrational parents flash in my mind.

He says, "Well all you do is sit their and say, 'Shh' all day."

Actually its a lot more of, "NO RUNNING! I SAID NO RUNNING! DON'T PLAY WITH THE SHADES ON THE WINDOWS. THIS IS NOT THE PLACE TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK/TAG/FOOTBALL/ JEDI ACADEMY!"

I don't tell him all of this. His coworker asked him if he had been the type to get kicked out of the library a lot as a child and the head mechanic replied; "I don't think I've ever stepped foot in a library."

I said nicely, "Well then how can you tell me I don't work?" To which he grumbled he guesses I have a point. I took my receipt and left.

This is a problem. Not because I have an issue with "Real Americans...blah blah bah" (though I have a big problem with irrational Tea Party politics and their equally nutty leaders). The problem is so many people who don't use their public library see no value in it. In their mind we are still little old ladies who maintain quiet and force people to recite THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM.

They see us as the images from their 60's black and white sitcoms or as stereotypes. True, we are a strange breed and many librarians do in fact share a bunch of similar quirks (mostly that we all are quirky in some way) but we are not sittin' around on our asses shushing people all day long. The library has so much to offer and is constantly working to update and assimilate to a changing world while too many school curriculum's insist on never changing up any of their lesson plans. We are supplementary education, we nurture the desire to learn. We are your corner movie rental spot. We are a safe place to study or exchange ideas. We always have programs to serve our community better.

We also deal with irate people. Elderly folks who would like to tell us about their sex lives and desires. We deal with people who have no where else to go and reach out to us for conversation, even if we have loads of other work to do (and we do). We have been in threatening situations from strange people or seen a child run and crack their head open on a piece of furniture. Sadly, at one point years before I started we had an elderly person passed away due to a medical condition in the building. A public building can bring in every situation imaginable.

Are we fixing cars or saving lives? No. But we are working and doing it to the best of our ability. If someone is unhappy with the way their car has been fixed they can demand a refund. Libraries run on tax money. Those who don't know what libraries have to offer will most definitely vote down their budgets and cause them to struggle more than they have been in the past two years, which is quite a lot. We try to reach out, but this is a stigma which haunts us still.

With so much budgetary turmoil in the library world it makes me angry that someone dare tell me I don't WORK at my job.

Wish Boned

2010-11-29T14:55:00.000-08:00

Urban Dictionary Definition of "Street Boner";

Someone that you see while walking down the street that is wearing an outfit so ridiculous that you can't even believe that this person is for real. Usually trying to be trendy but taking it wayyyy overboard.

OMG did you see that guy that was straight out of the Matrix? What a street boner!

I suppose this refers to a "hipster fail" in the trendy terms of kids these days. Maybe back in the day this is what Oscar de la Renta meant when he referred to a "fashion victim"? That is up for debate. I have only just today heard the "street boner" term.

I became familiar when someone referred to a book of the same name in which someone I knew a while ago was featured. From what I can understand the term was created by hipsters who identify others who have gone WAY too far and is a "boner" because they stick out on the street.

Intrigued, I checked out the blog. After all, most people in my generation and even a little behind have at least a bit of hipster in them. I am well acquainted with various neighborhoods of Brooklyn and have witnessed many "street boners".

Now the thing about hipsters is that in many ways their need to be "ironic" causes some of their dressings to be "moronic". While a hipster may wear hideous pink leopard print pants from 1989 that are way too tight for a man no matter how skinny with a really terrible haircut and a mid-drift shirt (definitely a street boner) a fashion victim is someone who goes WAY too far trying to keep up with fashion to the point that they look ridiculous (see: Lady Gaga). I prefer the term "glamster" here, but I suppose this can cause one to be a street boner as well.

So I expected to be highly amused when I read the blog. While I saw a few sad cases as mentioned above, I was very disappointed to see that for the most part many contributers' considered anything which was not slacks/jeans and a shirt to be a street boner.

This upset me greatly. What's wrong with wearing a long dress? There is nothing outrageous about that. Even a skirt with boots or one of those scarves everyone seems to wear when its 80 degrees out? I would assume that dressing somewhat differently than the norm or slightly in accordance to fashion (since thats what's in the stores anyway) should be free from scorn?

This is really annoying in my opinion. Having not yet seen the actual book version I should hope that those pictured are the extreme cases. Those who are clearly trying too hard. Teenagers should be excluded from this as I can attest that this is the time in our lives when trying to find out style by being outlandish is most popular. I am quite guilty of this myself as I can admit that for a few years at least 75 percent of the time I was spending way too much time in the mornings deciding how to "do my thing". Some of it was truly comfortable and some of it was not. But in my 30s now I can honestly say what I find comfortable.

While I don't adhere to fashion (I honestly can't stand the industry as a whole) I admit to having quite a bit of a skirt fetish. I wear a skirt everyday to work and love collecting them. I attribute some of this to my OCD and some to me just enjoying it. I find the whole "skirt, cardigan, sensible shoes" thing a bit amusing but mostly comfortable. In fact I feel uncomfortable wearing pants to work. In the summer I also enjoy flowy skirts and dresses. So does this make me a "street boner"? Just because I have fun with my wardrobe? I certainly don't over dress and I certainly don't do out of my way to be ironic. What's wrong with having a little fun with clothing?

Another thing that irks me about the book are those who comment, specifically Tim and Eric of some of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim's most awful pretentious programing. I understand that plenty of people claim to like these guys but I feel like a good percentage of them say they enjoy them because they don't know what else to make of them. I gave them a shot and turned my television off wishing I hadn't.

Either way these guys seem a little weird to judge. Like Justin Beiber making fun of someone else's haircut... glass houses people.

So yes, I have witnessed some awful hipster/glamster fashion feats which make me want to bang my head against a brick wall until it cracks open as I repeatedly scream, "seriously?" but I don't really get why some people seem to apt to consider anyone with the slightest inclination towards outside of plain a street boner. Its not all awful.

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful, A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical- (A review)

2010-11-22T05:06:00.000-08:00

A great many people I have known seem to keep away fro the Harry Potter series because it is "children's fantasy books". I can't abide by this type of snobbery.

Alice in Wonderland was a "children's fantasy" novel, though Carroll packed it full of intricate nuances and social parody tied with a nice ribbon of non sense verse. Though C.S. Lewis wrote the Narnia series as Christian Allegory wrapped up in children's fantasy (something that grinds Phillip Pullman's gears) they are undeniable some of the favorite books of many people even if the Aslan/Christ thing never did anything for them.

Still, I have friends who go on and on about some generic adult fantasy novels, which all seem to be the same rip off of Tolkien again and again, but scoff at the idea of going through growing pains with the characters in a children's fantasy novel. I much prefer the children's for many reasons and not just because I am a children's librarian and have to say this.

Reading Harry Potter has been a growing experience. Though not the best written books ever, we have been taken through adolescence, first kisses, heartache and disillusionment through the eyes of Harry, Hermione and Ron.

The aptly cast films have nearly made the actors synonymous with these characters as we read them. After all, when the first installment of the films arrived on screens nearly 10 years ago, the series was still in publication and we were yet to know the fates of the characters. Only time will tell if this hurts their careers.

While book 7 has been referred to by many (mainly Dave Barry) as "Harry Potter goes camping", and yes a great deal of the story involves the characters on the run huddled in a tent while contemplating their next move, the film shows us that the story is so much more than just that.

The complaint that taking Harry and company out of the familiar setting of Hogwarts ruins the magic of the series may be a sign of those who have totally missed the point.

Hogwarts had become formulaic. It was a safe haven where horrible things happened in the background and mysteries existed to be solved, but no matter what the children has some air of protection. Wise adults, mainly Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster knew the finer points of what was going on and aimed to protect the children from the worst of it.

But now the main protagonists are 18. They have become legal adults in both the real world and the wizarding world. They have lost that sense of trust towards the adults around them. After all, Dumbledore had failed to protect himself from murder by the hands of a traitor whom he trusted. Harry's key antagonist, Draco was nearly forced into committing this murder all by himself. All this happened before the eyes of a 17 year old boy. Now he is an "adult".

Though his journey has been bitter sweet, Harry's very life hangs in the balance of a war which has just begun. The outcome of the war means not only the fate of the wizarding world, but the non magical (muggle world) as well, since their murder is on the mind of Voldemort and his army.

All this and the discovery that Harry's slain mentor, Albus Dumbledore had a very dark past which he worked hard to sweep far under the rug.

This is a story of alienation. It is a story of despair, hopelessness, loss of innocence and trust at the point in your life when suddenly you realize just how jaded you have become. It illustrates that moment when you know your childhood has finally ended and the "adults" in your life can no longer protect you.

It is a story about politics and bigotry. When everything you thought you knew turns out to be wrong and the alliances you have forged may be weak as the promises made by the candidates on your Television.

It is also a story about love. The love shared between friends, family, the exhilaration a new couple feels when they kiss (Harry and Ginny) and the confusion between a young couple who has not yet confessed their feelings to each other beyond longing looks and the gentle electricity which passes when their hands brush up against one another (Ron and Hermione).

This is a very human story. It transcends children's fantasy. Bringing the setting into the streets of London with its bright lights and advertisements brings a hard coldness to the setting which assures us, "we are not in Kansas anymore." From here on in the familiar is no longer surrounding us.

A few spoilers lie below about the film adaption:

Gone is any hint of Harry's ego. He is once again an orphan. While Ron and Hermione lend their support and join Harry on his quest to evade death and figure out one last puzzle which may save their world, all three seem very away their sheer closeness to Harry is dangerous. Daniel Radcliffe shows immense pain in his once lively eyes as Harry admits to himself that being around anyone he loves is like signing their death warrant.

The filmmakers decided to omit the scene where Harry makes amends with his cousin Dudley. I was a bit saddened they left it out since it was a good ending to that story. Other than that the changes made were seamless and to be honest worked out very well.

Hermione is now more than ever the backbone of their friendship. While her intellect was valued before it is essential. In the novel, there was a very brief mention of how she had erased the memories of her parents and sent them away to keep them safe. The film includes a heart wrenching scene where she uses this spell. She watches in tears as every image of herself melts from the photographs in her childhood living room as she slips out the door unable to say goodbye, her face stricken.

Every flick of her wand, every moment she passes by a place which she shared a memory with her family seems to evoke a quiver in her voice or the blinking back of tears. She is the one who's quick thinking keeps her friends alive. Even in the midst of heartbreak she must keep it together for the good of everyone around her and it is almost too much though she is the only one who is rational enough to lead the way.

Toward the end of this installment, there is a scene at Malfoy Manor where Bellatrix LeStrange uses the crucio (torture) spell on Hermione in order to break her for information. While they kept this very dark scene pretty similar to the book (Harry, Ron and a few others where confined downstairs as they hear her scream in agony) they chose to change from Bellatrix using "crucio" to carving "mudblood", a derogatory term for a witch born from a non magical family, into her forearm. As subtle as a brick, yes, but very effective none the less.

Ron's abandonment from the group was also very well done. It was very close to the original text though the darkness in Rupert Grint's eyes further pushed his fury and jealousy. He spits hateful words at Harry and scorns Hermione for not following. When Ron returns to his friends to make amends after weeks, he is confronted with all of his insecurities as they play in an illusion in front of his eyes. An apparition of Harry and Hermoine appear in front of him, hand in hand. The "false" Hermoine tells him he is least loved of his siblings and asks him what woman would choose him over Harry Potter, that he is no one and nothing. This is nearly verbatim from the book and then the director takes it one more step. The apparition melts into the two nude from the waist up, kissing one another.

Wow. I blushed for the 5 year old children sitting a few rows down from me. Though no breasts or buttocks where actually shown but the silohettes of their bodies were shown it was very racy compared to the last few films in which "full frontal snogging" was as bad as it got. Between the dark violence and this new scene there was no doubt that this is in fact a PG13 film.

Though he never gets too much fanfare Tom Felton, who plays Draco Malfoy did a fantastic job of showing the mental and emotional breakdown of a once snobbish bully. Every moment Draco witnesses of Voldemort's reign is dripping with horror. This is what he thought he wanted. He is a shadow of the nasty child we met in the first film.

Evanna Lynch's gentle Luna Lovegood soothes the most ragged hearts giving even her few scenes, some of the saddest in the film, an air of hope. Though she is far from assuring everyone there is a silver lining to all this misery, she has a healing presence which is a much needed breath of fresh air.

And of course the villains. Ralph Fiennes is the perfect Voldemort every gaze, every word uttered makes your skin crawl. The cruelty in his eyes mixed with a somewhat upbeat voice with just a hint of amusement is unsettling. Helena Bonham Carter plays Bellatrix with a wondrous dark mania that nightmares are made of. Of course Imelda Smelton reprises her role as the despicable Dolores Umbridge whom has been described by Stephen King as "the best villain since Hannibal Lecter".

Umbridge has been given the task of interrogating those who are "threats" to the purity of the wizarding community. In some ways she is the most terrifying of all because she is so real. Her hatred towards anyone of "dirty blood" seeps through every smile and giggle. She delights in power the power mental warfare, emotionally reducing anyone she interrogates to tears.

Though anyone who has read the books knows what is to come in the second installment, this film was just beautifully bleak and so very real in the sense that we know these feelings. We can relate to every one of the protagonists in one way or another. It took taking them out of their wondrous setting to show us this more than ever.

Que?

2010-11-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

My co-worker Dina was discussing her son's reluctance to go to religion class and her own personal debate as to why she is sending him when she doesn't really agree with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

A few hours later she grunts in disgust and reads me a headline that the Pope has decreed that condoms are O.K. in certain circumstances.

Now what may these situations be? Is it for two people who are in a committed relationship who want to be responsible about family planning? Of course not. What about teenagers who are going to have sex regardless of the church's stance on abstinence who are clearly not ready to be parents and preventing abortion, which is a cardinal sin. After all preventing pregnancy in the first place for the unprepared is the lesser of the evils right? Not even. Has Il Papa modernized?

You tell me.

Condoms are O.K. for male prostitutes to prevent the spread of disease such as AIDS.

Que?

So let me get this one straight (no pun intended).

If you are a male prostitute, who are mostly gay, who is getting paid to have sex with someone it is a case to wear a condom strictly to prevent the spread of disease. Not if you are an individual who wants to share yourself intimately with your partner or a married couple who cannot afford to have a family. No, if you are MALE PROSTITUTE. What is the logic behind this? If "every sperm is sacred" as Monty Python so sweetly sang to us, in the eyes of the Catholic Church, than why isn't the sperm of a male prostitute sacred? According to that logic shouldn't he be usin' that juice to make good babies for Christ instead of making a quick buck? I mean you shouldn't spill your seed masturbating but you can use a condom if you are being paid to have sex? What about NON prostitutes who want to prevent the spread of disease.

The church won't condone a one night stand but will say a condone condom use for a male prostitute who is most likely having sex with another man... which by the way is another thing the church isn't supposed to support unless of course it has to do with recognizing the long standing issue of molestation which is constantly swept under the rug.

I just don't get it.

And Dina herself wondered out loud how she can send her son to learn a religion which hypocritically places their life choices in the hands of an elderly man who in her words, "hasn't gotten it up in decades". Talk about an antiquated system. Back in the middle ages I can see how abstinence may have been considered the best birth control. I mean, girls generally got married young anyway, and if they were pregnant prior to marriage it may work out financially poorly for them because after all, it was considered the job of their prospective husband to take care of them. Yes, contraception existed in a far rougher form than it does today and people still had sex out of wedlock, but the cautionary tale makes more sense in the context of long long ago.

Nowadays we don't live to pay off our dowries, we aren't chattel. We can work and take care of ourselves. We can be successful single moms or not if we choose and there is wonderful technology that is available to responsible adults (and horny teenagers) to prevent pregnancy. But that is only sanctioned for male prostitutes because an elderly man in a big hat and robe who supposedly is celibate deems it so.

O.K. then.

Today was also a sad day for civil rights in the U.N. but, while the above makes me gafaw in amusement and confusion, the latter makes me unbearably sad.

You say "Yes" I say "No" you say, "Why" and I say "I don't know".

2010-11-18T17:38:00.000-08:00

No, I do not want an e-reader for Solstice. It may be "the" gift the commercials tell everyone they want but I find them insubstantial and perishable compared to the weight and warmth of an actual book in my hands or the anticipation of turning a page while gripping the cover. Sadly I will reluctantly buying one for Thoth since he really wants one and is claiming it will be better for his tech manuals. He is due a nice gift since it is the holidays AND he is graduating top of his class. Sigh. Yes, I will make him promise not to give up on tree books.

Yes, I do celebrate Solstice, even though this time of year makes me super grumpy and the site of Christmas-ey seasonal decorations in a shopping center gives me anxiety. I suppose I celebrate the days getting longer again because that makes me happy. Yes, we also have a Solstice tree.

No, I don't get offended if people say "Merry Christmas" but there are MANY other holidays celebrated this time of year so I think people who take issue with, "Happy Holidays" need to shove it. If you want to specifically wish a happy holiday be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, Kwanzaa, Yule/Solstice or whatever, be my guest but I can't stand it when people take, "Happy Holidays" to be an attack on Christmas. Bite me.

No, we will not put our tree up until AFTER Thanksgiving.

No, I will not tell my mother if I think she should invite my in-laws to Thanksgiving. I don't care. I don't like drama, last year there was drama. I know the two sides have whatever issues they have and to be honest I don't want to make that an issue in my marriage, at least not one I have to address until we have kids. Supposedly everyone is an adult in that quartet so they can make their own decisions. I won't tell my mother to, "be the bigger person" or not because no matter what route they go there will be drama. Why do some people seem to thrive on drama? I know I've been depressed lately but I don't think its what drives me. If anything it blocks me, hence the inconsistency of my posts. I don't live on anger. I don't find the blame game fun or energizing. I honestly don't care one way or another. Neither does my husband since we are going to their house in December so I'm staying out of it.

Yes, I need a day off. I have been working a lot of overtime and its getting to me. I am so tired I am on the verge of snapping. We have had a few weird situations of late also so that hasn't been helping and neither has the Civil Service B.S.

No, I don't feel like I should have to reprimand children when their parents are sitting right in front of them. Children should not be playing with the library's shades like they are toys to pull up and down for fun. Also, if I see you playing tag in the stacks, don't tell me you aren't. My eyes are not playing tricks on me. Don't tell me you aren't chasing anyone. His head is poking out behind the shelves and watching us have the conversation. Why can't your mothers who are too busy talking to one another tell you this is not library behavior?

Yes, I would like to see, "The Book of Mormon: The Musical"! I really enjoy the majority of Trey Parker's musical theater tributes, be it "Cannibal! The Musical"'s soundtrack or the soundtrack to "South Park: BLU". I also loved, "Avenue Q". I may even be able to get my ex-Mormon friends to come... if travel and tickets didn't cost so damn much. Boo. I will be going on a mission to ring the doorbell of Broadway for this at some point soon.

No, I don't want to hear anymore about politics for a good long while. I am so tired of it. This goes for ALL of politics. I am just too tired to listen anymore. My ears hurt from all the yelling. Even still I wish certain politicians would stop whoring out her family and her supposed folksy life style. You are not cute and are obviously addicted to attention. You are irritating and you are slowing the progress of human evolution, which you probably don't believe in anyway. Furthermore regardless if you think you are speaking for, "Real Americans" you are involved in a movement which is tearing people apart and causing more irrational dialogue than we already had. Take a box of condoms for your kids as they are too young to reproduce and unlikely to practice abstinence, and bow out.

No, I don't understand why such things as repealing D.A.D.T requires legal mumbo jumbo and political rhetoric. Anyone who is willing to put their life on the line and enlist should be allowed. I don't understand why their sexual orientation should be a matter for the law and the government to contemplate as one thing has nothing to do with the other. There is no D.A.D.T in other aspects of life. Why are we still treating people like second class citizens or less than just because of who they have relationships with? It is immature and stupid. Shouldn't we all just STOP DOING IT because it is ridiculous and offensive? Just as integration should have never been an issue in the first place this has gone on far too long in this day and age. Why are we putting the dignity of soldiers in the hands of people who sit behind big desks? Equal rights indeed. What the hell does this have to do with morality? Anyone who has an issue with homosexuality should not be in a gay relationship themselves. It is that simple. However the most outspoken critics seem to be the ones having covert homosexual relationships themselves. Laws governing these things have no place in a rational government and I am sick of hearing about whether or not we should sanction any sort of discrimination.

No, I have no idea what happened to "Law and Order: SVU". It used to be somewhat linear, but all the story lines have become convoluted and improbable. At least the regular "Law and Order" seems to have SOME base in reality. I mean I know some really strange crap happens especially in the investigation of sexual crimes. Some really strange depressing stuff. However, when the scripts start veering off into the twisted back stories of investigators, or CSI agents elaborately plan on killing Chris Melony's character I just have to roll my eyes.

This is why I watch mostly animated shows. At least improbability and fantasy is already implied and usually in a far more clever sense.

Civil Servants do it over and over

2010-11-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

Yep, Civil Service has sent every one's paperwork back because they decided to change the rules halfway through the process. They have explained why but it makes no sense.

Yay paperwork and bureaucracy!

And because it was their (CC'S) fault that we have to re-apply we have to pay them again for another application. How does that make sense? Oh wait, it doesn't.

Whatever. Maybe this time it will stick.

Also, why is it that so many television shows want to portray college as a world of glory in fraternity houses? Is it because fraternities and sororities are the collegiate version of the coveted "popular clique" of high school?

I mean they are super selective about who they let hang out with them, they travel in groups and often humiliate their friends as sort of hazing. I know everyone and their mother were in love with "Animal House" but the whole idea of glory through rush is sort of done. As anyone who were not involved in Greek life could tell you there are far less students on the campus outside of it than actually in the houses. I know some people enjoyed rushing or just stopping by a frat party but its not like the end all and be all of undergrad.

Why is everyone always jones-ing for it?

Back to work.

Hollywood needs to stop glorifying bad people.

2010-11-15T05:37:00.000-08:00

I'm not really sure how and where it started.

"Reality" Television definitely is partially to blame. After all, so many people became, "stars" through acts of vulgarity or simply stupidity just by flashing their non talented selves on the small screen and they are branded as, "stars" by the media.

Sure, I watched The Real World a few seasons, however I never considered any of the house mates as celebrities. They didn't do anything great or display any sort of talent. Some situations were interesting (when the show began, not anytime in the past ten years) but they were not celebrities. I can list names but I don't have to. We all know which shows I refer to and who these types of people are. They stare at us from the pages of magazines at the check out counter in our local food store. Sometimes we read the headlines and it is the first time we ever hear their names and then shortly after everyone seems to be talking about them.

While reality television seems to be a virtual watering hole for those who seek attention, it does not stop there.

Recently it came to my attention that those responsible for the sequel to "The Hangover". Duh. But the question here isn't if the movie needs a sequel (it doesn't). What bothered me was that the writers had wanted to bring in Mel Gibson for a cameo.

Now luckily, others involved including anyone with a brain and a stomach objected and Gibson was replaced by former president Bill Clinton... which I won't get into at the moment.

What gets me is that Gibson was considered at all. Mel Gibson is genuinely a bad person by most people's standards. He is a bigot, an alcoholic and a misogynist. Oh and he is a total hypocrite! He cheated on his wife of 20 years with a much younger woman who he then proceeded to abuse. Now unfaithfulness in marriage is bad behavior indeed even if not uncommon. That is a matter between he and his wife, though it is certainly amusing when someone so fanatically religious behaves as such. He's certainly not the first person to do this though, famous or not. But add the cheating to the alcoholic outbursts the racism and the abuse? Famous or not, anyone behaving the way Gibson has should be nothing but scorned for this behavior.

In the first film my stomach turned a bit when my co-worker told me that Mike Tyson had a cameo as himself. If I remember correctly Tyson was jailed for rape, jailed for assault and bit the ear off of one of his opponents in a boxing match. I would be hard pressed to say that Tyson is not a good person. If someone had cast a more recent celebrity monster (say Michael Vick) in the same role as Tyson I would imagine they would feel just as ill as I had.

Random cameos can be the best part of a comedy film. They are often best presented with someone who has been out of the public eye for a while. Consider Neil Patrick Harris' comeback which began when he popped into Harold and Kumar's car in "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle". While the film had tons of off color jokes about racial stereo-types (Harold and Kumar being Korean and Indian respectively) and other raunchier jokes one of the best parts of the movie was randomly seeing NPH show up after years of being off the radar and portray himself as a drugged out womanizer. Of course a few months later we discovered that he is a mild mannered gay man with a long time partner, but the NPH character he played was classic and unexpected.

The public wondered where had he been the last 20 years? (On Broadway). Thats a comeback. Not a convicted rapist who maimed a man with his teeth. Would'nt you rather remember young Neil Patrick Harris playing an underage doctor than a monster who saw fit to take a chunk out of another man... no? At least I would.

Mel Gibson is not funny. This is coming from someone who regularly laughs at Hitler/Nazi jokes in movies and television. Hitler is dead. He has been for several decades. I think sometimes when something is so horrible, comedy becomes a bit theraputic. Mel Brooks was the first person I remember parodying Hitler in "The Producers". Brooks had fought in WWII and was once quoted to say that humor is just another defense against the universe. If this is his philosophy than why not parody Hitler?

Most of these above mentioned jokes are in fact parody and one can tell when they shift to pure mean bigotry. They show this awful person doing silly things or making fun of the way he spoke or speculating the roots of his prejudices. Are these jokes in bad taste? Sure. Yet, they don't ever praise Hitler for having been Hitler. They don't glorify Nazis for having been Nazis. That would be bad. Very bad indeed.

However, if say, someone discovered that Hitler was still alive and decided to do a reality show surrounding the aging dictator living in a nursing home with other aged Nazis and documenting their everyday lives as "crazy old has beens" that would be completely and horribly criminally offensive because this is the actual person who had brought about such horrible events.

Lets move away from the hot button topic of the Third Reich since it is more than a bit inflated in what example I am trying to give here. Let us say that O.J. Simpson had been given a reality show or a cameo in a film. That would also be terribly offensive. Simpson is a murderer. Luckily he is in jail where he should be, even if it was not for the actual crimes he should have been to begin with.

I do not say that Mel Gibson is comparable to Hitler or O.J. Simpson , but he is for sure a very angry hateful person who should be ignored by the media because of what and who he is. If he was not an actor and just some guy who lived out in California he wouldn't have gotten off as easily as he had. There is no reason for an actual bad person to be given attention, less a movie cameo, for having behaved terribly.

Is it funny if someone who behaved as such is asked to cameo themselves for having done the awful things to begin with? Is it entertainment? I guarantee he will repeat his actions sooner or later.

But then again we live in a society who gave Bobby Brown, another abusive drug user a reality television show. A society which created a whirlwind around a hotel heiress who made a sex video which leaked on the internet or wishes to give a nature show to a politician who supports environmentally unsound policies and kills wolves from a helicopter. We see young girls who had been "16 and Pregnant" on the cover of magazines when really the last thing they need is fame or infamy for that matter.

A few years back I remember hearing that Amy Fisher and Joe Buttafuoco had reunited and wanted to make a reality series about their life together. I am so glad this never happened because that is in fact sets the bar at a brand new low. The cheated on his wife with an underage girl and the girl shot said wife in the head. Why do they deserve our attention?

Go the f*ck away.

The media thrives on the rise and fall of a celebrity, but giving someone a cameo in a movie because of their terrible behavior just reinforces the idea to the public and to celebrities that these are forgivable actions.

So yes, we can poke fun at them and parody them, but there is no reason to glorify them. I for one can barely watch Mel Gibson in his past meltdown roles. I would hate to think his actions actually GOT him a job other than a speaker at a Klan rally which wouldn't be all that surprising.

Swift Death

2010-11-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

Megamind Movie: Better than expected. I liked it a lot in spite of my 15 minute Will Ferrellthreshold.

Preview for Yogi Bear Movie: Painful to watch.

Preview for "Gulliver's Travels", with Jack Black: Vomitorious.

I actually felt like the spirit of Jonathan Swift would descend on the theater and scream like a banshee until our heads exploded. I myself felt the need to gouge my eyes out with some searing hot iron. I understand that no one has quite gotten "Gulliver's Travels" right. I mean, the Ted Danson series came closest. It is often mistaken as innocent children's literature (similar to "Alice in Wonderland" which is also satire, but to be fair "Alice" was written FOR a child.) Anyone who has read the book is aware that Swift was a crazy bastard. I'm not opposed to updated takes on older stories if done well and respects the source. This... doesn't look like it fits that bill in anyway.

If you value your sanity and your intellect stay away from the trailer.

Lets hope no one decides to create a spinoff from "A Modest Proposal" with Kyle Gass eating babies.

And now for something completely different.

2010-11-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

I figured it was time for something more positive. So I will write about something which I am "supposed to" like and do.

I really enjoy the Harry Potter series a lot. Here's the thing. I don't think that J.K. Rowling is in anyway an amazing writer. I think she is better than many but not the best. Have I read better written children's fantasy books with tighter plots? Absolutely. So what is it I find so great about Harry?

Plenty.

Mainly its a lot of fun. I started reading the books back in the late 90's when they just began to explode in popularity. My mother had gotten the first one for my brother and couldn't read them to him, so being home from college for a summer I made it a point to take over for her.

By the end of the summer I was on the 4th book (The Goblet of Fire) which had just came out. I read it on the train to my internship, on the bus while walking. For four days I was glued to it and strangely, whenever I took a moment to rest my eyes I would notice several other people of all ages races and social statuses glued to the very same pages which I held in my hand. It was sort of a thrill being involved in something so magical that it held an entire city spellbound. After a semester of heavy literature and medieval philosophy it was a pleasure to read.

The story is simple at first in the way that appeals to lovers of any fairy tale. You have your basics, an orphaned boy (Harry) abandoned on the doorstep of cold and unloving relatives as a baby. In a bit of a Cinderella story Harry is brought up in this emotionally abusive household where his bully of a cousin is treated like a king and Harry himself must sleep in a little closet under the stairs. As we all know however, Harry is a wizard who as a baby inadvertently (and inexplicably) caused the death of one of the most horrific evils the wizarding world had every know. Sadly this is also the same evil (man) who killed his very own parents leaving him alone.

Appealing to the fantasies of so many who have ever felt like the odd man out in school, Harry is brought to a world where he is regarded with reverence as "The Boy Who Lived". But of course this is all in the first few chapters of the first book. As a 7 book series much more is in store as Harry attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the evil that killed his parents is only, mostly dead.

The characters are essential to the story's success.

One great thing about the characters in the books are that they are all so wonderfully flawed. In C.S. Lewis' "The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe" we have 3 perfect Pevensie children and Edmund (he was always my favorite) and then Edmund repents. While Edmund was for sure a bad egg in many ways he was also the most interesting of the four. He sees his mistakes and like the prodigal son he is modeled after is saved by Aslan's good graces.

Harry and his friends are a little more complex than that. His friend Hermoine Granger is constantly overcompensating for having been born to a non magical family by being a bit of a know it all. Granted she is pretty awesome at what she does and as she comes into her own through the series is the character with the most sense, but her insecurity is pretty apparent. She is also awkward physically when the story begins, as many 11 year old girls often are.

In stark comparison to the insufferable Bella of the "Twilight" books, Hermoine has no problem smacking sense into her love interest. In fact she spends the majority of the books telling him what for. Like a normal adolescent girl she contemplates telling him her feelings but his density often leads to a tongue lashing instead. She doesn't pine and she values intellect above all else. Flawed, but a great role model.

Ron, Harry's best friend (and Hermoine's love interest), is also insecure about his family's financial status. He too is awkward and moody to boot. He often flies off the handle and blows things out of proportion. He is pretty dense when it comes to most things and can be insensitive. In spite of all this he is loyal and a good strategist.

Harry himself is to quote one of my patrons, "a bit of a jerk". Sure when the story starts off he is a sweet kid who is introduced to a magical world where he is a hero, but as the books go on he does let it go to his head from time to time. Sure, he is not a bad guy by any means but he can be stubborn and very arrogant. He broods and reflects Ron's moodiness. He has a sharp tongue and is quick to anger and suspicion. Though as we learn more about his deceased parents we discover that Harry's father had been a bully himself and this is something Harry cannot abide by having been brought up as he had. It was interesting to see a character who had the highest thoughts of the father he had never known realize this man had not always been so swell. Sure Harry shares his father's mischievous nature and ego but he cannot be a bully.

Of course there are so many other characters who exhibit these imperfections:

Neville is insecure and under confident yet is one of the biggest heroes in the end, Professor Snape is too complex to even mention here, Hagrid's level of trust is often misguided.

And of course the most trusted figure in the entire series, Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwart's has a very dark past where his ideals were pretty far off from the all loving nature he shows throughout the first 6 books. The mistakes he had made were of irreparable damage. He is manipulative and often ruthless. Book 7 was quite a ride.

The villain was, well familiar in the sense that he Tom Riddle AKA Lord Voledemort was a powerful wizard who hated his own heritage as much as he hated everyone who was non magical. He himself a "half blood" created an army against all those who were born of non magical (muggle) parents or halfbloods like himself. Yes, he is basically magical Hitler. A bit simplistic I suppose but he becomes less of a cartoon bad guy and more of a villain we recognize through history. His army of Death Eaters like so many Nazis denounced their ways after his first defeat but waited in secret for him to rise again. Voldemort is played wonderfully in the films by Ralph Fiennes who is so delicious at being cold and heartless I cannot think of anyone who could have been better.

We learn of his hateful childhood as Riddle and how he grew into a hateful adult.

I think if I had one major problem with the villains in Harry Potter it would be with the house of Slytherin. For those who don't know Hogwarts is sorted into 4 houses. Gryfindor, the brave students, Ravenclaw the brainy students, Hufflepuff the errr short bus of Hogwarts? No I think they are supposed to be loyal and Slytherin the sneaky bastards. No one in Slytherin has a voice. They are all one face. Nasty, bigoted children of former Death Eaters who can't wait until all the filth is cleaned out so pure bloods rein supreme. Draco Malfoy, Harry's main rival in school is the only student who is really characterized at all. He spends the entire series sneering and sniveling behind his father's wealth being a pretty big douche bag. He gets a little better maybe? We aren't too sure to be honest as we know little about what happens to him after the end but there is literally no other students in that house that has any voice or redeeming qualities.

Kind of disappointing and it made you wonder why the whole house of Slytherin wasn't just dismantled as it was pretty much the Hitler youth minus those who were forced to follow by law.

Anyway regardless the world is just a fun place to live in. As Harry looked forward to his return to Hogwarts every year readers began to feel that same jubilation whenever a new book was released. Over 10 years later I still get readers of all ages who can't wait to get their hands on the next volume. The stories may not be the most original but they spin a good yarn and keep readers interested. Some of the books require tissues for those who will be mourning the death of a favorite character. "The Simpsons" had a very wonderful homage to this fact in the episode, "The Haw-hawed Couple" where Homer is despondent after reading one of Lisa's fantasy novels clearly modeled after Harry Potter.

I am happy enough to have had the series end where it did. I would not wish that there are any more down the line but I love that these books continue to enchant. I would say I recommend them frequently, but I don't have to. More often than not its what to recommend AFTER Harry Potter that is the question. And I have many wonderful, lesser known and as I mentioned before probably better written children's fantasy novels on the shelves. However does it matter how they are found since Harry sparked the desire to read more? I am super excited to see the final installments of the films!

Your Daily Dose of "ism".

2010-11-06T06:32:00.001-07:00

Its sort of a pain in the ass for me to feel "pessimistic." I can't say I don't from time to time. I try pretty hard to look to the future and remember that everything is a cycle and changes constantly. Pessimism doesn't help anyone, even if things suck and sometimes outcomes suck even more. Straight pessimism is unhealthy and shows physically and emotionally.

My father is EXTREMELY pessimistic. The word "pessimism" should be synonomous with his name. This was inherited from his mother who always saw the worst in everything. Maybe it wasn't so much inherited as it was learned. My paternal grandmother saw doom in everything from what I can remember and what I have heard. She passed away when I was 16 and lived in another state so I saw her infrequently. It was a treat to see her when I was younger but when I was older I heard a lot of, "why can't you just do what everyone else does?" which was sort of weird considering I thought doing my own thing was more commendable that following the status quo just for the sake of doing it. She meant well, but she was just very negative. I see this a lot on this side of the family.

My one paternal first cousin, Nikki and I often talk about this impact on our behavior. We often put ourselves down or get frustrated when we mess up just a bit. Both of our fathers are perfectionists, though hers has grown far more open minded than mine in his old age. We both apologize frequently for things that aren't our fault or that we have no bearing on and beat ourselves up for being a little selfish. I am trying to stop this behavior as I can see it is far from productive and she has been somewhat successful in beating it down so there is hope for me I am sure. She is 9 1/2 years older than me and the only cousin I have a relationship with (I have 10 first cousins on my mother's side). 9 1/2 is the magic amount of years on my father's side. His brother is 9 1/2 years older than him. Nikki is 9 1/2 years older than myself and I am 9 1/2 years older than my brother.

My mother is a "rainbow and ponies" optimist compared to my dad. Sometimes too much. Health optimism is probably to hope for the best, though she expects it and gets worse than depressed if it doesn't happen. I have "learned" this behavior from her as well. She also suffers from OCD but has never admitted it to anyone. I can see it because I recognize the signs from myself. My brother who in unaffected but knows about my problems has also picked up on it as I have discussed my difficulties breaking the habits with him.

But anyway, my mother's breed of optimism is as such that she expects the absolute best outcome out of every situation and then holds decade long grudges when things don't work out. I can't say I have never held a grudge before but it is much healthier to drop grudge to "don't care" than expending anger. I try to be more optimistic than pessimistic, but not to expect too much from anyone or anything. I suppose this is called being, "realistic". Sometimes things work out and sometimes they suck. Its hard to say, "hope for the best and expect the worst" because thats sort of a bummer. I prefer, "hope for the best and....?"

A force of habit

2010-11-04T16:01:00.001-07:00

I know I have mentioned before that I suffer from OCD. I have been "afflicted" since as far back as I could remember, but I didn't really know what it was.

I had a lot of bad days at school due to bullying. But if I would happen to have a rare good day I would seek to repeat some sort of pattern which I had the night before the good day. Somewhere in my mind I felt that this would lead to a repeat of a good day. Of course this didn't always happen, so I would naturally berate myself for having done something wrong and a new part to the ritual would begin.

Of course deep down I knew it was ridiculous. I mean, turning on a light in the bathroom a certain amount of times before I turned in for the night or the like had NO bearing on the fact as to whether I had a good or bad day. I knew it in my gut but something in me wouldn't let me be if I relented.

OCD is about control. Having control over things that are not in your hands. In a way religion is the oldest form of OCD. When I go to church or temple or the like for family functions (I avoid these places like the plague) it is clear as day. Thousands of years of people following rituals, repeating gestures repeating a phrase over and over again in hopes that god will be good to them or forgive their sins. So many times it becomes going through the motions. A force of habit.

Of course being a "neo-pagan" (I really hate the neo in that) I am not totally immune to the above, but its always on my terms and I try very hard to consciously separate my practice from my OCD. After all, for me paganism is about doing what feels natural to me. Its about equating magic with science and studying mythology of the past and using it to focus my energy on what I want to bring in to my life and give back to everything around me. Its freedom of expression. Its about being okay with polytheism as many paths and faces which lead to a source. Of course this is freedom for me because before I ditched Hebrew school the idea of one omnipotent G-D and the followers of that god shunning their pagan roots (Asherah/El anyone?)

This is not to say that any follower of THE BIG THREE doesn't feel freedom in their religion, but as a mass organized beast it appears to confine so many. Some people use religion to be progressive.

But I digress. This is a post not about religion, but confinement.

OCD is about confinement. It is not about choice, it is about something rotten in you telling you that you have no choice. It rears its ugly head when things are shaky and unsure. I have been having a real battle with the beast lately.

The uncertainty of the next few months, with my husbandfriend Thoth finishing off his re-schooling leads to the ugly reality that the job search looms. Certain possibilities have seemed to open up as to employment beyond school but then faded back into the mysterious fog of the unknown.

We would like to see results. Small fruits of labor. Of course for him and his hard work and for me and my piece of mind and US. The US that would like to be able to one day buy a home and have children, but would really like to be able to take a vacation and afford a dinner date that doesn't involve pizza slices. The US that wants to be able to be just SLIGHTLY more carefree.

I have no problem being the breadwinner, but I am reaching my breaking point with the unknown. That is where the OCD comes in. That's where I can't seem to bring my rational side to terms with the affliction.

I have no control whatsoever over the situation.

Of course I have had professional counseling. I haven't been able to do that in a few years though so better living through modern chemistry. Medication helps. It helps me deal with the whims to a degree. It adds a little bit of extra umph than allows me to get through my day and say NO to a lot of what I know makes no sense. It slows the flooding of worry and makes it more manageable.

And I want to free myself.

I want to work harder at it.

Apparently just not enough when there is just so much uncertainty.

Stuff I don't like Part 3 (The Brother Edition)

2010-10-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

I suppose my Seinfeld hatin' post should have been labeled part 2. However the Seinfeld music noise that I referenced in my title is usually the cue I need to hear to turn the channel as fast as possible!

This particular post is dedicated to my brother who is facing a hate-on for a pop culture phenomenon.

Here is a correspondence over text from earlier.

Brother: I wanna develop a plan to destroy glee and all that watch it. You in?
Me: Um, sure. Why all the venom now?
Brother: Just saw two gleeks talking about it then breaking out into Katy Perry. It must end.
Me: You know by referring to them as "gleeks" you are feeding into the fandom?
Brother: Labels also make it easier to hate. Or so history says.
Me: Ok, Adolf... destroy Glee by lunch. Got it.

So, I must mention my brother is far from the type to just randomly start making a "hate list". He has some strong dislikes and opinions, as do I, but he is actually a pretty good sport with a good sense of humor. He has been raised within various fandoms. Some of which he likes the material and can't stand the fans. I get this. Sometimes fans can be a real turn off to something.

Though I understand why he feels this way about Glee, I will admit that I tried to watch it last year. I gave it a good seven episodes before deleting it from my Hulu cue for good. I know this is almost like bashing Grease to some.

Here's why I gave it a shot at first: The pilot reminded me a lot of "Election", a movie I really enjoyed. It had some quirkiness, I like music, it was kind of dark. These are generally things I like.

As I continued to watch I became more turned off.

Sure, there were some worthy moments. Mainly I speak of a father (played by Mike O'Malley) who had clearly been a jock in high school defending his flamboyantly gay son. We need more of these people in real life. A girl with a severe stuttering problem learning confidence through song. Another handicapped boy finding romance when he never thought it was possible.

Most of these characters are not what the show focused on. The ones that were central were beyond irritating.

As weeks went on though, watching became a chore. Why would I force myself to continue?
But the issues were glaring.

Aside from my dislike for the characters, (whiney, grating or just stupid) the plot just got too ridiculous and it was forcing that dark and quirky thing I thought I liked.

Then there is the music.

Well, if I may borrow a quote from both my brother and apparently a journalist, it is in fact, "Kid's Bop for Adults".

I recently found out that one of the Glee soundtracks broke a sales record until recently held by "The Beatles".

I think a little piece of me died inside when I heard that.

I mean if Justin Beiber broke that record I would probably feel a little sick, but to be fair, the Beatles were sort of a teen sensation in their early days (though they weren't teens), and at least Bieber is a recording...(artists? presence?) but you get the idea. You aren't always going to like what is radio friendly or popular.

Yes, I will admit the cast of Glee are probably pretty talented by showbizz standards, but its just a punch of overproduced teens singing songs that were better when the artist first recorded them! I mean I have heard some wonderfully done covers. I think some of the best covers take the original and respect it while adding something new to the mix.

I just don't hear that from the Glee covers and they are EVERYWHERE. I go into a retail store and I think I'm listening to old school Madonna, but no, then I realize its Glee. I go to a book store to get a cup of coffee and meet a friend and there is the Glee soundtrack. I feel this way when I turn on the radio and realize the only thing on the air is Lady Gaga. That is a post for another day.

Anyway, the fans, like Seinfeld fans are so very possessive. I don't hate the series as my brother does, but it is frustrating since I really don't have too many friends who do not watch the show.

Since my stint with Glee I have tuned in one more time. Neil Patrick Harris was on and I love him. That still didn't make me want to watch the show. He's got a great voice and hearing him sing "Dream On" probably would have been hotter under other circumstances. If NPH can't make me love it I think its hopeless.

As for my brother, he is in a college situation where I suppose many people still fantasize about breaking out in song in the middle of class. Haven't we all wished we could do that at one point? It is escapism. Who doesn't want some of that these days when you can't escape the gloom that is every news report about what is killing us or how things suck.

I suppose from that point of view I can see the appeal. I can also see how its fandom kills it for us non "gleeks".

To be honest though it seems a bit too much of a fad to last too many more seasons.

First, the cost of the licensing has to be a bitch. Second the production is probably also through the roof.

Heroes lasted 4 seasons, but that seemed to lose fans faster than Glee. For now I can ignore it. My brother cannot. Hate of Glee seems to be more a guy thing than a girl thing. I may begin to get Seinfeld-y on the series though if people push me.

However for those who do like really dark comedy and quirky, "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia" seems to fit the bill, and anyone who says they don't enjoy that show I could totally understand. Talk about unlikable characters. I think thats the point.

But fear not, my brother is unlikely to get actually violent on a gaggle of Gleeks is unlikely. His rage is understood though.