neon epiphany

the golden compass

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:47:39 -0700

Terribly disappointed by the film of The Golden Compass. The whole thing was cut like a highlight reel -- all action, zero contemplation -- with scenes (such as in Mrs. Coulter's lodgings), presented as actual montages, chirpy music and all! How one is supposed to be able to form an emotional reaction to this material in spite of all this is a mystery! The terrible dialogue didn't help much, either. Was somewhat hoping for a make-up kiss of sorts when Daniel Craig would do his "thing" at the end, but then the movie just ended. Pffft!

Interesting that the US version credits "Northern Lights" as the original source material, as I'm not aware of its having been printed here under that name. Am pleased by that, of course -- you're looking at the woman, after all, who special ordered the first Harry Potter movie from Canada in order to get her philosopher's stone fix.

Am working my way through all six hundred-odd pages of Absolute Sandman #1, and have come to the realization that I'd really like to draw a comic myself. Just one page would be enough. Maybe one of these days...

It's May, and Seattle is sunny at last, & plastered with pink:

big love

Here's to our first snow-free month of 2008. Please?

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under wing

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:54:24 -0700

Odds & ends, because it's all I feel up to:

Could tell that Elizabeth: The Golden Age wasn't exactly to a level with its predecessor, but it was too easy to lose myself in its costuming and set design. Those dresses! (swoon) ... sadly, all Clive Owen's subplots were dead weight, I felt, and I'm pained in saying so as I love Clive Owen dearly.

Alan Moore love fest continues: Top 10 #1 was great, eagerly awaiting book 2; League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #1 a fun read though more of a simple diversion.

<3 Heart Station, as expected.

Officially filled up on $4 gas last week, but too shellshocked to come to terms with it 'til now.

Didn't warm to Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett until her final, heartbreaking duet with Toby. Anthony and Johanna? Ugh. Johnny Depp, unsurprisingly, continues to amaze.

Am not feeling like jumping on GTA IV's bandwagon with the rest of humanity. Truly, when would I play?

newborns

These little guys were hanging out with their mother just outside my building's rear entrance (am not sure why, but immediately the cover of Beatles For Sale came to mind). They hadn't been there long, at least not in this state -- you could still see eggshells on the ground. Was immediately flush with newfound sense of renewal, and v. timely so... and oh, but they look cosy, don't they?

Just looking at them made me feel warm, too, and loved.

Thanks for the well-wishes, all. Really, and truly, mean it...

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a return

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:24:01 -0700

Hit my deadline & have been laying v. low the past few days, a happy feeling indeed! Sweeney Todd is sitting next to the television, waiting to be watched. Finally saw Juno. Persepolis was just so good, must see movie version stat -- if I can find it. Elsewhere on the to-consume list: Top 10 #1, Absolute Sandman #1, Heart Station, Lost Odyssey. Plan to try to fit as much as possible, plus relax, the next five weeks, inasmuch as one can do that whilst preparing to move.

Need to admit, though I feel uncool doing so, that I don't really get Daniel Clowes.

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do they have wifi in hy brasil?

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:34:20 -0700

Well, they turned on video support at flickr, which apparently means we've just plunged headlong into the end times; at least, that's the impression you'd get from the mass freakout that's ensued since. People who are afraid that it'll myspace-ize the community are spamming forums with banner gifs and (good grief) lolcats. Seriously? My irony robot just gave up and moved someplace warm, & without internet.

In other news, so very, very busy. Between getting ready for the big move and work and ignoring my taxes (eep), I've barely had time to breathe, much less write... and definitely not enough to watch the new Sense and Sensibility mini, which I've been looking forward to for, well, it seems forever! Been taking Promethea in ten-page increments, just slowly enough for the library to alert me that the next volume's arrived just when I need it, and after that I have Persepolis... Beg apologies for the fragmented update, but I'm awash in every luxury but time.

And my thoughts with you and yours, Romy. Godspeed.

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finding ariadne

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 23:59:06 -0700

Too many food & comix posts? To tell you honestly, I've been of a similar mind as well, but have been stalling... too scared to jump headfirst back into the ocean, in case I've lost whatever spark it was that had me searching for that thread to lead me back outside. So please bear with me, and think encouraging thoughts.

diamantine pastels

...meanwhile, for those who don't mind my trivialities, please feel free to beat me up over never having read Watchmen. What with it sitting on my bookshelf for more than ten years...

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comic overtures

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:35:41 -0700

Preacher was a fun read, but Promethea is, so far, something special: there are trappings of present-disguised-as-dystopian-near-future, reminiscent of The Dark Knight Returns, and done wittily and well, but there's also an achingly deep sadness at its core which pokes its way through "the immateria" -- and each of the lessons which have so far been handed to our heroine by those who have embodied the titular essence before her are heavy with loss -- lost love, lost innocence, lost child, lost life...

There's something here which parallels the other Alan Moore work I've read recently, Lost Girls, which also has much to do with the often tragic collision between reality and imagination. That, albeit in much more -- no other way to put it -- pornographic language* -- I certainly blushed! Hard to believe it was just sitting out in the library stacks.

But! Back to Promethea. I hope the rest of it lives up to the first, because I will be very sad panda if not. I wouldn't mind finding out more about Roger, of the Five Swell Guys, either:

the new roger

*long story short: Dorothy Gale, Wendy Darling, and Alice (late of Wonderland) meet up at an Austrian hotel on the eve of the Great War. Much Sex -- nearly 300 pages of the hardbound, slipcased variety -- Ensues. If you have any sensitivity to ... well, just about anything, up to and including incest and seeing Peter Pan's little "lost boy" in the flesh, you'll leave it at that.

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i am legend

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:58:06 -0700

To bring some closure to Monday's entry, I present dai bao:

dai bao

Sadly, such a mélange is not often photogenic, but I'm sure there are those among you who can appreciate the imagery! Note forgotten ingredients like Chinese sausage, spring onions, and then imagine the wonderful, aromatic steam air which pours out as you bite into the pocket of filling, and you can complete the picture for yourself. There's absolutely no sense of scale in these photos, but I stick with my softball comparison.

As quickly as it came, it went; Good-bye, GNE, sleep well, and Thank You for the best April 1 on record. Sniffle.

Took out Alan Moore's Promethea: Book 1 from the library, even before I'd read a single page of Preacher. Feel like I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but it only seemed appropriate after a night spent dreaming I was the superpowered reincarnation of Cleopatra, fighting terrorists with the ability to see their actions as words on a printed page and affect their fates through copyeditor's marks. Seriously. And! You should have seen it, loves -- my costume was amazing, a thing of bronze and silk and leather, full of reptilian ferocity.

That's right, I even get to cosplay in my sleep. If that's not a superpower, I don't know what is.

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i think i prefer to stay inside

nobody@vox.com(eden) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:44:55 -0700

A note: I'm crossposting entries to my LiveJournal, friendslocked, so if it's more convenient for you to follow along there, let me know and I'll add you to my friends list.

Had comfort food for breakfast, dai bao -- an enormous Chinese steamed bun, nearly as big as a softball, filled with ground pork, water chestnut, a whole boiled egg, and other goodness. It's like an entire meal in one handheld lump, warm, wild, wonderful. Koreans have a similar concoction, wang mandu, with glass noodles and spring onions and, well, you get the picture. Have heard rumors of a Vietnamese analogue as well. Someday I'd love to open a restaurant where every dish you order comes to you in the form of a giant, doughy steamed bun bursting at the seams with ... lamb shwarma? gyros? italian sausage and bolognese? Honestly, the mind fills with endless possiblity.

Grabbed Preacher: Gone To Texas from the library, which I'm told is long overdue for a read. Am in a contradictory mood for dark/unredemptive and fluffy/romantic entertainment, though the graphic novel form feels right either way. Any recommendations?

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