For those of you who read this blog regularly, this is a more personal blog, so no funny wacky pop culture schtick. Please bear with me.
Also, a thanks and shout out to Logan at House of the Ded - got the prize package from his Loki contest, and at some point, I'll have to read what he's sent, especially if DC Countdown is as sucky as everyone says it is.
Today has been a hell of a day - actually, this has been a hell of a week, but today was just one thing after another. Trying to stay current on projects, dealing with emergencies, having to reschedule a radio interview after the other person forgot - hoo, boy, I just did not have a pleasant day. I was actually looking forward to a reception at the Wash U Law School for a former colleague who is now executive director.
In all honesty, I had a good time, and there was one really good "hey, there's something here", but seeing a lot of my colleagues move on in their personal lives...well, here's where it gets a little self-pitying, so please feel free to post comments splashing me with the cold water of reality.
I sometimes wonder...is this all there is for me? I know I'm an intelligent/hard-working/ schmoozer kind of guy, and have much better self-esteem than in my younger years, but I wonder - have I peaked?
I also wonder if I'm starting to resent my colleagues - after all, they have managed the whole personal/work balance, and have actually made further accomplishments, whereas I feel like I'm...well, underappreciated and (my strengths) underutilized. I sometimes wonder...am I deliberately pushing any potential happiness away from me, or is my "destiny" to serve others with minimal reward?
As you've read in this blog in the past, I'm a big fan of Graham Parker's music. One of his themes, encapsulated in his song "Fool's Gold", is about striving towards unobtainable goals, of moving forward and having faith in the face of overwhelming odds. I sometimes wonder...am I searching for fool's gold, or have I painted myself into a corner.
Enough with the angst - next time, I promise, more wacky shenanigans. Maybe even a monkey cover or two.
March 31, 2005
March 30, 2005
Hump Day Fever
With all apologies to Chicago DJ Steve Dahl...
As you can see, I've done a little bit of redecorating - got a trackback/comment deal from Haloscan (because, let's face it - Blogger's comment section is a little lacking), and for those of you who cared, the three fake searches from this post were
"Brian likes gladiator movies"
"Barney likes Little Debbies"
"hot nude photos"
At least I didn't post "hot nude David Duchovny blog"
Finally, there appears to be good news and bad news about the new BBC Doctor Who series.
"Well you know, it takes foreverAnd yes, it does take its tune from Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever", but don't hold that against it.
Yeah, the wait seems so long, for Wednesday to get here,
Well ya know today is hump day, let me sing my song,
And let me make it clear....Hump Day Fever!"
As you can see, I've done a little bit of redecorating - got a trackback/comment deal from Haloscan (because, let's face it - Blogger's comment section is a little lacking), and for those of you who cared, the three fake searches from this post were
"Brian likes gladiator movies"
"Barney likes Little Debbies"
"hot nude photos"
At least I didn't post "hot nude David Duchovny blog"
Finally, there appears to be good news and bad news about the new BBC Doctor Who series.
March 29, 2005
Travellin' Man
First, just finished watching the last DVD in Farscape, season 3, and all I gotta say is...dude, you have to watch Farscape, which is the closest this country will ever come to producing Blake's Seven.
Anyway, the past 48 hours have seen me covering a lot of territory due to work - yesterday took me through lovely, scenic Franklin County. For those who haven't been following the news, Franklin County is # 3 in the state of Missouri for meth busts. (Click here for the number one county). Right now, working with Franklin County is like rehabbing a tin shack into the Playboy mansion, and I mean that in a good way. There's some social service infrastructure being developed, and right now, the time is right to help develop some cool community programs.
(You have to love a blog that moves from comic reviews to "social service infrastructure". Is there some kind of award for that?)
Thanks to our local rental car place, I drove a world class pimpmobile, er, I mean, "classy auto" to Columbia for a training/brainstorming session on...well, that would be telling. For my Missouri readers (all four or five of you), be sure to check the news in the next few months. It's going to be interesting. One of these days, I'll have to take a road trip, if only because Mizzou's library has a collection of writings from the creator of Doc Savage. Sounds dull, but to a pop culture geek like me/Doc-fan-since-childhood, it's heaven.
I've also decided, for the time being - unless someone memes me, no more memes. Nothing major - just need to be a little bit more creative on my own. And if you want to see that as a challenge or cry for attention, well, I can't stop you, now, can I?
(Don't mind me - tired, road weary, and cranky. Sleep will help cure that).
Finally, read Fred Hembeck's blog about Andy Williams, and all I have to say in response is'
Anyway, the past 48 hours have seen me covering a lot of territory due to work - yesterday took me through lovely, scenic Franklin County. For those who haven't been following the news, Franklin County is # 3 in the state of Missouri for meth busts. (Click here for the number one county). Right now, working with Franklin County is like rehabbing a tin shack into the Playboy mansion, and I mean that in a good way. There's some social service infrastructure being developed, and right now, the time is right to help develop some cool community programs.
(You have to love a blog that moves from comic reviews to "social service infrastructure". Is there some kind of award for that?)
Thanks to our local rental car place, I drove a world class pimpmobile, er, I mean, "classy auto" to Columbia for a training/brainstorming session on...well, that would be telling. For my Missouri readers (all four or five of you), be sure to check the news in the next few months. It's going to be interesting. One of these days, I'll have to take a road trip, if only because Mizzou's library has a collection of writings from the creator of Doc Savage. Sounds dull, but to a pop culture geek like me/Doc-fan-since-childhood, it's heaven.
I've also decided, for the time being - unless someone memes me, no more memes. Nothing major - just need to be a little bit more creative on my own. And if you want to see that as a challenge or cry for attention, well, I can't stop you, now, can I?
(Don't mind me - tired, road weary, and cranky. Sleep will help cure that).
Finally, read Fred Hembeck's blog about Andy Williams, and all I have to say in response is'
- "Can't Get Used to Losing You" is a cool-as-heck song; and
- it cuts both ways - the English Beat did a great version of the above song; however, twangy guitars are no substitute for lightly plucked violins
March 27, 2005
Meme THIS, Pal!
Yes, because I have no creativity, and ripped from the pages of Alan David Doane, Johnny Bacardi, and "Big" Mike Sterling, it's the mega-book meme. The ground rules:
002. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
003. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
004. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
005. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
006. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
007. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
008. 1984, George Orwell
009. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
010. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
011. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
012. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
013. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
014. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
015. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
016. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
017. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
018. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
019. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
020. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
021. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
022. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone, JK Rowling
023. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
024. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
025. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
026. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
027. Middlemarch, George Eliot
028. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
029. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
030. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
031. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
032. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
033. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
034. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
035. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
036. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
037. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
038. Persuasion, Jane Austen
039. Dune, Frank Herbert
040. Emma, Jane Austen
041. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
042. Watership Down, Richard Adams
043. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
044. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
045. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
046. Animal Farm, George Orwell
047. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
048. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
049. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
050. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
051. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
052. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
053. The Stand, Stephen King
054. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
055. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
056. The BFG, Roald Dahl
057. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
058. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
059. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
060. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
061. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
062. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
063. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
064. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
065. Mort, Terry Pratchett
066. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
067. The Magus, John Fowles
068. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
069. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
070. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
071. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
072. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
073. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
074. Matilda, Roald Dahl
075. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
076. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
077. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
078. Ulysses, James Joyce
079. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
080. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
081. The Twits, Roald Dahl
082. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
083. Holes, Louis Sachar
084. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
085. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
086. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
087. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
088. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
089. Magician, Raymond E Feist
090. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
091. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
092. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
093. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
094. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
095. Katherine, Anya Seton
096. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
097. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
098. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
099. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winter's Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Black Bird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt Bleh.
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Jester
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen God's Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setter's Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookman's Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magic's Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magic's Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magic's Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace.
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison.
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving.
302. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lion's Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Lilith's Brood), Octavia Butler (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago)
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magic's Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime O'Neill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Divine Comedy, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline L'Engle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moor's Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
374. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Philip K. Dick
375. Assassin's Apprentice, Robin Hobb
376. number9dream, David Mitchell
377. A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
378. Five Quarters of the Orange, Joanne Harris
379. Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler
380. Einstein's Dreams, Alan Lightman
381. Dance On My Grave, Aidan Chambers
382. Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Leguin
383. Hyperion, Dan Simmons
384. Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
385. Checkmate, Dorothy Dunnett
386. To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis
387. A Clash of Kings, George RR Martin
388. The Egyptian, Mika Waltari
389. Moab Is My Washpot, Stephen Fry
390. Contact, Carl Sagan
391. Mythago Wood, Robert Holdstock
392. Feersum Endjinn, Iain M. Banks
393. The Golden, Lucius Shepard
394. Decamerone, Boccaccio
395. Birdy, William Wharton
396. The Red Tent, Anita Diaman
397. The Foundation, Isaac Asimov
398. Il Principe, Machiavelli
399. Post Office, Charles Bukowski
400. Macht und Rebel, Abu Rasul
401. Grass, Sheri S. Tepper
402. The Long Walk, Richard Bachman
403. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
404. The Joy Of Work, Scott Adams
405. Romeo, Elise Title
406. The Ninth Gate, Arturo Perez-Reverte
407. Memnoch the Devil, Anne Rice
408. Dead Famous, Ben Elton
409. Scarlett, Alexandra Ripley
410. Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
411. Look to Windward, Iain M. Banks
412. The Colossus of Maroussi, Henry Miller
413. Branded, Alissa Quart
414. The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
415. Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac
416. White teeth, Zadie Smith
417. Under the bell jar, Sylvia Plath
418. The little prince of Belleville, Calixthe Beyala
419. Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
420. A King Lear of the Steppes, Ivan Turgenev
421. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
422. Memoirs of a Revolutionist, Peter Kropotkin
423. Hija de la Fortuna, Isabel Allende
424. Retrato en Sepia, Isabel Allende
425. Villette, Charlotte Brontë
426. Steppenwolf, Herman Hesse
427. Ubik, Philip K. Dick
428. Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler
429. Solaris, Stanislaw Lem
430. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
431. Nausea, Jean Paul Sartre
432. The Island of the Day Before, Umberto Eco
433. The Elementary Particles, Michel Houellebecq
434. The Angel Of The West Window, Gustav Meyrink
435. A Farewell To Arms, Ernest Hemingway
436. Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs
437. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
438. In the Eyes of Mr. Fury, Philip Ridley
439. Consider Phlebas, Iain M. Banks
440. Into the Forest, Jean Hegland
441. Middlesex -Jeffrey Eugenides
442. The Giving Tree -Shel Silverstein
443. Go Ask Alice -Anonymous
444. Waiting For Godot, Samuel Becket
445. Blankets, Craig Thompson
446. The Girls' Guide To Hunting And Fishing, Melissa Banks
447. Voice of the Fire, Alan Moore
448. The Geography of Nowhere, James Howard Kunstler
449. Coraline, Neil Gaiman
450. The Walkaway, Scott Phillips
451. Captain Blood, Rafael Sabatini
452. The Day of the Ness, Andre Norton
453. Down These Mean Streets, Piri Thomas
454. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
455.The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler
Stop me before I meme again!
- Bold those you have read
- Italicize those you started, but didn't finish
- Add three books after the last one
002. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
003. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
004. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
005. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
006. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
007. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
008. 1984, George Orwell
009. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
010. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
011. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
012. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
013. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
014. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
015. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
016. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
017. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
018. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
019. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
020. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
021. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
022. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone, JK Rowling
023. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
024. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
025. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
026. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
027. Middlemarch, George Eliot
028. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
029. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
030. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
031. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
032. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
033. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
034. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
035. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
036. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
037. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
038. Persuasion, Jane Austen
039. Dune, Frank Herbert
040. Emma, Jane Austen
041. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
042. Watership Down, Richard Adams
043. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
044. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
045. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
046. Animal Farm, George Orwell
047. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
048. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
049. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
050. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
051. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
052. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
053. The Stand, Stephen King
054. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
055. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
056. The BFG, Roald Dahl
057. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
058. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
059. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
060. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
061. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
062. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
063. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
064. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
065. Mort, Terry Pratchett
066. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
067. The Magus, John Fowles
068. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
069. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
070. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
071. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
072. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
073. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
074. Matilda, Roald Dahl
075. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
076. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
077. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
078. Ulysses, James Joyce
079. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
080. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
081. The Twits, Roald Dahl
082. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
083. Holes, Louis Sachar
084. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
085. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
086. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
087. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
088. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
089. Magician, Raymond E Feist
090. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
091. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
092. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
093. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
094. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
095. Katherine, Anya Seton
096. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
097. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
098. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
099. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winter's Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Black Bird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt Bleh.
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Jester
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen God's Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setter's Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookman's Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magic's Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magic's Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magic's Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace.
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison.
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving.
302. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lion's Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Lilith's Brood), Octavia Butler (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago)
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magic's Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime O'Neill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Divine Comedy, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline L'Engle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moor's Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
374. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Philip K. Dick
375. Assassin's Apprentice, Robin Hobb
376. number9dream, David Mitchell
377. A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin
378. Five Quarters of the Orange, Joanne Harris
379. Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler
380. Einstein's Dreams, Alan Lightman
381. Dance On My Grave, Aidan Chambers
382. Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Leguin
383. Hyperion, Dan Simmons
384. Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
385. Checkmate, Dorothy Dunnett
386. To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis
387. A Clash of Kings, George RR Martin
388. The Egyptian, Mika Waltari
389. Moab Is My Washpot, Stephen Fry
390. Contact, Carl Sagan
391. Mythago Wood, Robert Holdstock
392. Feersum Endjinn, Iain M. Banks
393. The Golden, Lucius Shepard
394. Decamerone, Boccaccio
395. Birdy, William Wharton
396. The Red Tent, Anita Diaman
397. The Foundation, Isaac Asimov
398. Il Principe, Machiavelli
399. Post Office, Charles Bukowski
400. Macht und Rebel, Abu Rasul
401. Grass, Sheri S. Tepper
402. The Long Walk, Richard Bachman
403. Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman
404. The Joy Of Work, Scott Adams
405. Romeo, Elise Title
406. The Ninth Gate, Arturo Perez-Reverte
407. Memnoch the Devil, Anne Rice
408. Dead Famous, Ben Elton
409. Scarlett, Alexandra Ripley
410. Dead Souls, Nikolai Gogol
411. Look to Windward, Iain M. Banks
412. The Colossus of Maroussi, Henry Miller
413. Branded, Alissa Quart
414. The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
415. Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac
416. White teeth, Zadie Smith
417. Under the bell jar, Sylvia Plath
418. The little prince of Belleville, Calixthe Beyala
419. Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
420. A King Lear of the Steppes, Ivan Turgenev
421. The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
422. Memoirs of a Revolutionist, Peter Kropotkin
423. Hija de la Fortuna, Isabel Allende
424. Retrato en Sepia, Isabel Allende
425. Villette, Charlotte Brontë
426. Steppenwolf, Herman Hesse
427. Ubik, Philip K. Dick
428. Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler
429. Solaris, Stanislaw Lem
430. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
431. Nausea, Jean Paul Sartre
432. The Island of the Day Before, Umberto Eco
433. The Elementary Particles, Michel Houellebecq
434. The Angel Of The West Window, Gustav Meyrink
435. A Farewell To Arms, Ernest Hemingway
436. Naked Lunch, William S. Burroughs
437. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
438. In the Eyes of Mr. Fury, Philip Ridley
439. Consider Phlebas, Iain M. Banks
440. Into the Forest, Jean Hegland
441. Middlesex -Jeffrey Eugenides
442. The Giving Tree -Shel Silverstein
443. Go Ask Alice -Anonymous
444. Waiting For Godot, Samuel Becket
445. Blankets, Craig Thompson
446. The Girls' Guide To Hunting And Fishing, Melissa Banks
447. Voice of the Fire, Alan Moore
448. The Geography of Nowhere, James Howard Kunstler
449. Coraline, Neil Gaiman
450. The Walkaway, Scott Phillips
451. Captain Blood, Rafael Sabatini
452. The Day of the Ness, Andre Norton
453. Down These Mean Streets, Piri Thomas
454. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
455.The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler
Stop me before I meme again!
March 26, 2005
Easter Egging Y'All On
Well, first, a happy Easter (and wonderful Purim) for all of those who celebrate those holidays on this day. (As we know, Easter is the Christian holiday that celebrate's Jesus' resurrection...and if he sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of Lent). As usual, since I have nothing major to blog about (unless suffering through another cold is your idea of a good time), here's a list of searches...with a special treat. Three of the searches are "easter eggs" - I made them up, and you get to figure out which ones are false. If you identify all three, I'll find some special prize to send you.
And away-y-y-y we go:
robin battles kato - Howard Stern's sidekick vs. Mr. Kaelin? I gotta see this
their eyes were watching God soundtrack - the new "Jamie Lee Curtis True Lies strip scene".
Beowulf Vs. Led Zeppeln - Google fight! Google fight!
ajay law school chicago band monkey - Ok, I have a friend named Ajay, and he's in law school, but he's no Chicago band monkey. Honest.
Brian likes gladiator movies - I've known this about Brian for years. What's the point?
smothers brothers puma crevasse - there were three pumas in that crevasse - Mama Puma, Papa Puma, and Baby Puma....
Sin City Movie spoilers/sin city fan fiction/Sin City movie/Sin City spoilers - all this over a little movie review?
comic blogs - Here are several comic blogs to enjoy. The rest you can check via the blogroll.
smile "James Spader" "Brian Wilson" - you know, I just realized that I'm starting to use the finger quote movement that Dr. Evil uses? That's scaring me.
Barney likes Little Debbies - I am so not touching this one.
Jolene blog/Jolene Blalock blog/Star Trek Enterprise Jolene Blalock Dirty Nude Photo - and they say comic fans have problems with relationships?
how do addictions start - very carefully.
"we're geniuses in france" - the greatest television show ever made.
warren demontague/IFC Greg the Bunny clips - all this because I recognized a persecuted minority.
"teenage kicks" "another girl in the neighborhood" - anyone who digs the The Undertones is cool with me.
gladiator phillip wylie/Byrne gladiator - Brian, John Byrne will watch gladiator movies with you. You're no longer alone.
Aqua Velva Superman - I love this song by ZZ Top - it rocks!
Gordon College/Gordon College blog - if I blogged during my college years, it would probably read like this, "Went to class, had Oreos and Mountain Dew, checked out several women, went home, studied, fell asleep watching Doctor Who". Not my greatest hour, folks.
triumph insult comic dog press conference against pets.com - it's on DVD, folks. Buy it.
"boys' sherlock holmes" - wow, Michael Jackson's checking this site out. Awesome!
hot nude photos - if someone can find a nude photo on my blog, please let me know.
is the juice worth the squeeze - definitely, most definitely
highschool blog - it's that pesky meme that I continued. Darn me! (My high school blog: "Went to class, checked out several women, went home, studied, fell asleep watching Doctor Who")
lyrics for the song alone marx brothers "a night at the opera" - wow, someone with taste!
And finally, two easter eggs you don't have to search for - crank up the volume for this Flash Animation from the Accordion Guy, and you can Shizzolate your favorite sites. (I recommend Mike Sterling and Brent as your test runs - you'll have a good laugh).
Thanks, and happy Easter!
And away-y-y-y we go:
robin battles kato - Howard Stern's sidekick vs. Mr. Kaelin? I gotta see this
their eyes were watching God soundtrack - the new "Jamie Lee Curtis True Lies strip scene".
Beowulf Vs. Led Zeppeln - Google fight! Google fight!
ajay law school chicago band monkey - Ok, I have a friend named Ajay, and he's in law school, but he's no Chicago band monkey. Honest.
Brian likes gladiator movies - I've known this about Brian for years. What's the point?
smothers brothers puma crevasse - there were three pumas in that crevasse - Mama Puma, Papa Puma, and Baby Puma....
Sin City Movie spoilers/sin city fan fiction/Sin City movie/Sin City spoilers - all this over a little movie review?
comic blogs - Here are several comic blogs to enjoy. The rest you can check via the blogroll.
smile "James Spader" "Brian Wilson" - you know, I just realized that I'm starting to use the finger quote movement that Dr. Evil uses? That's scaring me.
Barney likes Little Debbies - I am so not touching this one.
Jolene blog/Jolene Blalock blog/Star Trek Enterprise Jolene Blalock Dirty Nude Photo - and they say comic fans have problems with relationships?
how do addictions start - very carefully.
"we're geniuses in france" - the greatest television show ever made.
warren demontague/IFC Greg the Bunny clips - all this because I recognized a persecuted minority.
"teenage kicks" "another girl in the neighborhood" - anyone who digs the The Undertones is cool with me.
gladiator phillip wylie/Byrne gladiator - Brian, John Byrne will watch gladiator movies with you. You're no longer alone.
Aqua Velva Superman - I love this song by ZZ Top - it rocks!
Gordon College/Gordon College blog - if I blogged during my college years, it would probably read like this, "Went to class, had Oreos and Mountain Dew, checked out several women, went home, studied, fell asleep watching Doctor Who". Not my greatest hour, folks.
triumph insult comic dog press conference against pets.com - it's on DVD, folks. Buy it.
"boys' sherlock holmes" - wow, Michael Jackson's checking this site out. Awesome!
hot nude photos - if someone can find a nude photo on my blog, please let me know.
is the juice worth the squeeze - definitely, most definitely
highschool blog - it's that pesky meme that I continued. Darn me! (My high school blog: "Went to class, checked out several women, went home, studied, fell asleep watching Doctor Who")
lyrics for the song alone marx brothers "a night at the opera" - wow, someone with taste!
And finally, two easter eggs you don't have to search for - crank up the volume for this Flash Animation from the Accordion Guy, and you can Shizzolate your favorite sites. (I recommend Mike Sterling and Brent as your test runs - you'll have a good laugh).
Thanks, and happy Easter!
March 23, 2005
Scene Here Pretty Hum-Drum
Let's see, comic-wise - I urge you to read Guardian # 1, Legend # 2 (I really dig how Chaykin moved the timeline up - this issue takes place in the 1960s and 1970s),and JLA Classified # 3; I'm still recovering from yesterday's most excellentCounty council meeting, and, well, really have nothing major to blog about, so just some random items this time out.
First, thanks to Johanna at Cognitive Dissonance for linking to this post and referring to this one. Now, I'm obligated to add her to my blogroll, and she seems to be a person of impeccable taste.
Just purchased the Justice League Unlimited: Saving the World DVD for only ten bucks - as someone who is too cheap to get cable, it's a good sampler until the season boxes come out. My mini-review: hate the new theme, love the expanded roster, think Kin Shriner (who has experience playing nice-guys-gone-cynical) makes a great Green Arrow, loved the Hawk & Dove episode, and thought that the "Kid Stuff" episode was more fun than humanly possible. Hint to DC: fire your current creative staff and hire the producers of Justice League. You'll sell tons of books.
(A baby, fire breathing Etrigan? Worth the price of admission)
Also, for those of you who don't have my real e-mail address, please feel free to e-mail me at blogthispal@gmail.com with your comments, concerns, and love notes.
First, thanks to Johanna at Cognitive Dissonance for linking to this post and referring to this one. Now, I'm obligated to add her to my blogroll, and she seems to be a person of impeccable taste.
Just purchased the Justice League Unlimited: Saving the World DVD for only ten bucks - as someone who is too cheap to get cable, it's a good sampler until the season boxes come out. My mini-review: hate the new theme, love the expanded roster, think Kin Shriner (who has experience playing nice-guys-gone-cynical) makes a great Green Arrow, loved the Hawk & Dove episode, and thought that the "Kid Stuff" episode was more fun than humanly possible. Hint to DC: fire your current creative staff and hire the producers of Justice League. You'll sell tons of books.
(A baby, fire breathing Etrigan? Worth the price of admission)
Also, for those of you who don't have my real e-mail address, please feel free to e-mail me at blogthispal@gmail.com with your comments, concerns, and love notes.
March 21, 2005
No Time for Dreams When Commerce Calls
You know the sad thing? It's Monday, and I've already feeling like it's one heck of a week.
Part of it is taking a three day weekend - had to play catch-up with e-mail, phone calls, etc. Luckily, all of my community liaisons left me alone - in fact, the highlight of my day was developing a workshop based on a Monty Python sketch. In fact, looking at my schedule for the next few weeks, if I take a breath...it will cost me big time.
Right now, I'm also prepping to testify (for work) before the St. Louis County Council - at least, the Justice and Health Committee. I know, it's not the usual pop culture/comic schtick I usually post on - would it help that I'm going to dress like a hot and sexy Raymond Burr?
It's the same trip I always find myself in - pushing myself, overcommitting, taking on a little too much - or, at the very least, not practicing any decent self-management techniques. If I'm not careful, I'll begin isolating, drawing in, moving from office to home without any personal time in between.
Sorry 'bout the angst, but needed to get it out, and admit that Graham Parker was right - nobody hurts you harder than yourself.
Part of it is taking a three day weekend - had to play catch-up with e-mail, phone calls, etc. Luckily, all of my community liaisons left me alone - in fact, the highlight of my day was developing a workshop based on a Monty Python sketch. In fact, looking at my schedule for the next few weeks, if I take a breath...it will cost me big time.
Right now, I'm also prepping to testify (for work) before the St. Louis County Council - at least, the Justice and Health Committee. I know, it's not the usual pop culture/comic schtick I usually post on - would it help that I'm going to dress like a hot and sexy Raymond Burr?
It's the same trip I always find myself in - pushing myself, overcommitting, taking on a little too much - or, at the very least, not practicing any decent self-management techniques. If I'm not careful, I'll begin isolating, drawing in, moving from office to home without any personal time in between.
Sorry 'bout the angst, but needed to get it out, and admit that Graham Parker was right - nobody hurts you harder than yourself.
March 20, 2005
Ten Reasons to Watch Boston Legal
First, a belated birthday to Logan of "House of the Ded" - the second coolest guy named Logan I know (behind my godson).
Here they are, in ascending order:
Here they are, in ascending order:
- It's The Show The Practice should have been: Both series dealt with the shadier side of legal matters - The Practice initially focused on the moral shadings of criminal defense attorneys, and gradually degenerated into a soap opera. Boston Legal contains enough sly humor to outweigh the potential weightiness; in short, it's almost an L.A. Law for the new millenium.
- It's not afraid to be liberal - This has been a criticism of the alleged "liberal media bias", but (as last week's episode deftly illustrated), it can be a strength, defending its harshest critics. On that note
- It had a cool semi-crossover with the late, lamented Boston Public - I have to admit, I loved BP - where else could you find drama in a public school setting. I'm waiting for a hot romance between Fyvush Finkel & Betty White on BL. (As a side note, when's Boston Public coming on DVD?)
- Admit it - does anyone really watch Crossing Jordan? Didn't think so.
- James Spader's Finest Hour: In his career, Mr. Spader has only (to the best of my knowledge) only played heroic characters in two films - Tuff Turf and Stargate. The rest of the time, he's just creepy. As Alan Shore, he gets the best of both worlds, playing a self-loathing attorney who can't help but do the right thing. We hate him and love him at the same time.
- It's set in Boston: Any city that brought us the American Revolution, Zoom, my pal Ajay, and my favorite detective can't be all bad, now, can it?
- It's great follow-up to either Desperate Housewives or Law and Order: Criminal Intent: hey, I've done it both ways. Great stuff.
- Great eye candy: Monica Potter. Lake Bell. Rhona Mitra. Mark Valley. Hey, if Candice Bergen and Betty White float your boat, so much the better. You sometimes forget there is a plot.
- Yeah, like you're really gonna watch Masterpiece Theater
- William Shatner: That's right, the guy you would least expect is the killer ingredient in this show. Some of you are being naysayers - after all, isn't this the guy who leaves teeth marks in the scenery? Well, whatever your opinion, as Denny Crane, Mr. Shatner (I refuse to call him "Shat" or "The Shat Man" - it makes him sound like a bowel movement) performs a tour-de-force as a senior partner who is 1) gradually going senile; 2) pretending to be gradually going senile, or 3) both. His performance proves what many of us secretly suspected - the man can act, ladies and gentlemen.
March 18, 2005
Sin City
Luckily, thanks to my membership in Cinema St. Louis, I was given a rare privilege - the ability to attend a press screening of Sin City, the movie based on the graphic novels by Frank Miller. Having never read the books, nor seeing the infamous trailer, I went into it with an open mind, not looking to demolish or praise it, but just to see 1) if it made a great movie, and 2) if it would lead me to read the graphic novels.
My answers (and no spoilers) are 1) kind of, and 2) not really.
Is this a bad movie? No - there are some very clever moments, and seems to be a straight-from-the-page adaptation of the comics. (If I didn't know better, I could swear that I could follow along with the comic). The spot coloring...it got annoying at times, but felt right and added to the overall noir atmosphere. Some good acting, some great concepts, and not a bad movie to see for free.
However...and I'm sure there are going to be people who will e-mail me and say, "But you have to read the graphic novels to appreciate the movie," but several things about the movie just didn't work.
First, it comes across like a 10-years-too-late ripoff of Pulp Fiction: the non-linear screenplay, the "series of stories" approach. I wonder if Quentin Tarantino got his "special guest director" credit (I'm not making this up) in order to avoid a lawsuits. Throw in some pastiches of Mickey Spillane and Jim Thompson, and it often comes across as shockingly unoriginal.
In addition, there are moments in the movie (no spoilers) that - in the comics - would have come across as shocking and disturbing, but filmed, have a similarly depraved feel about them. I'm no prude, and am not crying censorship by any means - I just think those moments could have been handled in a stronger, more dramatic way. I guess that's why Robert Rodriguez "co-directed" with Miller - some of the CGI shots looked straight out of a videogame, and some of the wire work seemed artificial. In fact, I wondered why some bloody shots were spot colored, whereas others were a milky white.
I also didn't appreciate the rather....well, the attitudes towards women seem rather adolescent and brutal. Yes, it's supposed to be a brutal world, but there were times where I thought the film went too far. (Just my opinion, and I'm sure many of the same fans who decried violence against women in Identity Crisis won't simply accept it in Sin City because "Miller is a genius. " I mean, let's face it, it would be rather hypocritical, wouldn't it? But I digress).
All in all, this isn't a bad movie, and Hollywood has done worse (see here about the problems of translating comics into movies). Sin City isn't a bad film - it may just be for fans of the graphic novel.
However, I leave you with this final thought - Jessica Alba portrays a blonde stripper in this movie.
John Byrne's gonna love this.
My answers (and no spoilers) are 1) kind of, and 2) not really.
Is this a bad movie? No - there are some very clever moments, and seems to be a straight-from-the-page adaptation of the comics. (If I didn't know better, I could swear that I could follow along with the comic). The spot coloring...it got annoying at times, but felt right and added to the overall noir atmosphere. Some good acting, some great concepts, and not a bad movie to see for free.
However...and I'm sure there are going to be people who will e-mail me and say, "But you have to read the graphic novels to appreciate the movie," but several things about the movie just didn't work.
First, it comes across like a 10-years-too-late ripoff of Pulp Fiction: the non-linear screenplay, the "series of stories" approach. I wonder if Quentin Tarantino got his "special guest director" credit (I'm not making this up) in order to avoid a lawsuits. Throw in some pastiches of Mickey Spillane and Jim Thompson, and it often comes across as shockingly unoriginal.
In addition, there are moments in the movie (no spoilers) that - in the comics - would have come across as shocking and disturbing, but filmed, have a similarly depraved feel about them. I'm no prude, and am not crying censorship by any means - I just think those moments could have been handled in a stronger, more dramatic way. I guess that's why Robert Rodriguez "co-directed" with Miller - some of the CGI shots looked straight out of a videogame, and some of the wire work seemed artificial. In fact, I wondered why some bloody shots were spot colored, whereas others were a milky white.
I also didn't appreciate the rather....well, the attitudes towards women seem rather adolescent and brutal. Yes, it's supposed to be a brutal world, but there were times where I thought the film went too far. (Just my opinion, and I'm sure many of the same fans who decried violence against women in Identity Crisis won't simply accept it in Sin City because "Miller is a genius. " I mean, let's face it, it would be rather hypocritical, wouldn't it? But I digress).
All in all, this isn't a bad movie, and Hollywood has done worse (see here about the problems of translating comics into movies). Sin City isn't a bad film - it may just be for fans of the graphic novel.
However, I leave you with this final thought - Jessica Alba portrays a blonde stripper in this movie.
John Byrne's gonna love this.
March 17, 2005
The Third Greatest Rock-N-Roll Movie Ever Made
To be honest, I had never liked The Beach Boys.
Always a staple of classic or oldies rock, they were way too whitebread, only singing about cars and girls - they were too irrelevant, especially to a guy brought up on Beatles/Kinks/Rolling Stones records (thanks to his mother's collections). In fact, the only way that the Beach Boys engaged me was Brian Wilson, who (in an unusual way) inspired me to study counseling. (He was this brilliant musician suffering severe emotional trauma - what clinician wouldn't be interested?
It all started to change, however, then I first heard Pet Sounds - sonically, it's a revelation. Like similar efforts from Love, the Zombies, the Who, and the Monkees (yes, I said that with a straight face), it's one of those almost perfect albums which demand your constant attention, are tightly constructed, and which deliver all sorts of promises that you never expected.
Of course, I Just Wasn't Made For These Times - a cinematic profile of Brian Wilson - is one of those "hidden gems" of a movie...and in my humble opinion, is the third greatest rock and roll movie ever made, behind A Hard Day's Night and The Kids Are Alright.
It's part testimony, part music theory, part documentary, and part profile of an extremely traumatized man. As John Cale says early on, Brian Wilson believed every word he wrote...and that can be difficult for a songwriter. This is a man who has composed some of the most beautiful melodies in pop music, and who has literally suffered for his art.
Some parts of the film are painful to watch - not because of a lack of empathy, but because it gets a little too real. Discussions of abuse, some embarrassed moments of denial, a croaking snippet of a song during a period of major depression - but all in all, it's a tapestry of moments, like any good LP. Shot in black and white by Don Was, it immediately grabs your interest, and almost forces you to keep watching.
(Sadly, this movie is only available as a two-fer with another Beach Boys movie on DVD. However, the greatest compliment I can give is that I am strongly considering picking up Smile).
Oh, and guys - I get to see a preview of Sin City. Let me know if you want me to reveal details.
Always a staple of classic or oldies rock, they were way too whitebread, only singing about cars and girls - they were too irrelevant, especially to a guy brought up on Beatles/Kinks/Rolling Stones records (thanks to his mother's collections). In fact, the only way that the Beach Boys engaged me was Brian Wilson, who (in an unusual way) inspired me to study counseling. (He was this brilliant musician suffering severe emotional trauma - what clinician wouldn't be interested?
It all started to change, however, then I first heard Pet Sounds - sonically, it's a revelation. Like similar efforts from Love, the Zombies, the Who, and the Monkees (yes, I said that with a straight face), it's one of those almost perfect albums which demand your constant attention, are tightly constructed, and which deliver all sorts of promises that you never expected.
Of course, I Just Wasn't Made For These Times - a cinematic profile of Brian Wilson - is one of those "hidden gems" of a movie...and in my humble opinion, is the third greatest rock and roll movie ever made, behind A Hard Day's Night and The Kids Are Alright.
It's part testimony, part music theory, part documentary, and part profile of an extremely traumatized man. As John Cale says early on, Brian Wilson believed every word he wrote...and that can be difficult for a songwriter. This is a man who has composed some of the most beautiful melodies in pop music, and who has literally suffered for his art.
Some parts of the film are painful to watch - not because of a lack of empathy, but because it gets a little too real. Discussions of abuse, some embarrassed moments of denial, a croaking snippet of a song during a period of major depression - but all in all, it's a tapestry of moments, like any good LP. Shot in black and white by Don Was, it immediately grabs your interest, and almost forces you to keep watching.
(Sadly, this movie is only available as a two-fer with another Beach Boys movie on DVD. However, the greatest compliment I can give is that I am strongly considering picking up Smile).
Oh, and guys - I get to see a preview of Sin City. Let me know if you want me to reveal details.
March 16, 2005
Your Reading List
Some other stuff you should be reading at the office:
First, Mah Two Cents - he linked to me first, and he writes about some interesting stuff. (Thanks to him, I am now spared M. Night Whatsisname's The Village.
Secondly, there's Stephan's blog for Forces of Good, which is as close to pop culture nirvana as you can get (and there's only one "issue" online).
Now, if you'll excuse me, I walked out of work and I was tired as hell, another day come and gone, oh, well, somewhere there's a pillow with my name on it.
(If you can name where the above paraphrased line comes from, you will have my eternal respect. Maybe even a pencil)
First, Mah Two Cents - he linked to me first, and he writes about some interesting stuff. (Thanks to him, I am now spared M. Night Whatsisname's The Village.
Secondly, there's Stephan's blog for Forces of Good, which is as close to pop culture nirvana as you can get (and there's only one "issue" online).
Now, if you'll excuse me, I walked out of work and I was tired as hell, another day come and gone, oh, well, somewhere there's a pillow with my name on it.
(If you can name where the above paraphrased line comes from, you will have my eternal respect. Maybe even a pencil)
Coming Up For Air
Hey, all,
Have been mega-busy with work - in fact, I worked for about three days solid non-stop last week, and I'm starting to feel it.
Most of my brain is mush, so no wacky blog today - maybe this weekend, after copious amounts of sleep.
Have been mega-busy with work - in fact, I worked for about three days solid non-stop last week, and I'm starting to feel it.
Most of my brain is mush, so no wacky blog today - maybe this weekend, after copious amounts of sleep.
March 13, 2005
Obligatory St. Louis High School Blog Post
Just for a change of pace - since, as Fred Hembeck points out, I am a relative man of mystery, here's a little meme I picked up from several other blogs. Read into it what you will - also, if you're interested in a month of free Netflix, leave a comment - Beaucoup Kevin has a similar offer. Enjoy!
What year was it?
1981 - 1985, aka "The Beginning of the Reagan Years" at St. Ignatius College Prep. (Yes, I have a reunion, and I am that old - why do you ask?
What were your three favorite bands (performers)?
The Jam, Early Who (up to Tommy), the Beatles
What was your favorite outfit?
Baseball jersey, jeans, sneakers (had to wear collared shirts and nice pants in high school)
What was up with your hair?
My only defense - it was the years before Supercuts
What did you do after school?
Went home, hung out at Kroozin Music, did homework, and once a week was involved in the Studenz Klub Ignatii, aka "the Polish Club"
Where did you work?
Didn't, unless you count being paid to run errands for Dad. (Sophomore year, however, I did clean the bio lab for work study)
Did you take the bus?
Yes - the 162 from Archer/Kedzie to Roosevelt and Halsted
Who did you have a crush on?
The question really should be...who didn't I have a crush on?
Did you fight with your parents?
Mostly Dad
Who did you have a CELEBRITY crush on?
This really shows my geekiness
Did you smoke cigarettes?
No. Tried them once or twice...and now my job involves tobacco prevention. Go figure.
Did you lug all of your books around in your backpack all day because you were too nervous to find your locker?
Yes
Did you have a ‘clique’?
Not quite - our cliques were either racial or biographical (Oak Park kids, River Forest kids, etc). Most of my "clique" were either classmates in my Latin class and/or people who didn't fit anywhere else.
Did you have “The Max” like Zach, Kelly, and Slater?
We had Papa Charlie's, but I have to admit - I never went. Too chicken.
Admit it, were you popular?
A lot of people knew me, but I wasn't usually invited to parties. Of course, my class had a "just-show-up" philosophy of parties, so again, my bad.
Who did you want to be just like?
Groucho Marx
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A famous, best selling writer
Where did you think you’d be at the age you are now?
Wealthy, powerful, and working on my fifth marriage. You have to understand - I had some real self-esteem issues growing up. Luckily, I'm in much better shape.
March 11, 2005
This Week's Reviews
Going to be away from the keyboard for awhile - work related stuff today (another 14 hour day!), the SLACO conference tomorrow....maybe it's time I considered submitting my Inferior 5 proposal to DC, and get out of the social service racket.
Anyway, onto this week's graphic literature, I suppose....
Legend # 1 - I've always wanted to read Gladiator by Phillip Wylie, but could never find an in-print edition; Chaykin and Heath do a great job in telling this story. A well-needed realistic take that, even though it's over 70 years old, is a breath of fresh air. Go figure.
Amazing Joy Buzzards # 3 - Mike, you don't have to be "hep and happening" to like this book. It's like a 21st century version of the Monkees written by Josh Whedon. It's just a plain cool comic.
Terra Firma # 6 - between this and Promethea, I'm wondering if Alan Moore has lost it. I'm still trying to figure out what the heck went wrong.
JSA # 71 - As much as this is pure fanboy glee, Geoff Johns has managed to 1) pick up the pace and start putting the plot together, and 2) make Degaton into a major threat. However, I sure hope he does not retcon the final arc of James Robinson's Starman.
(And an aside - thanks, DC, for kowtowing to an audience that wants to turn the tables back on comics. I think I am seriously going to boycott the new Green Lantern series. No, it's not that I hate Hal Jordan - I just want to stop before they revive Barry Allen)
Shining Knight # 1 - More Morrison madness; at the very least, there's a slightly clever retcon/reconciliation of this younger Knight to his older counterpart in the original Seven Soldiers of Victory; see if you can figure it out. This is looking very promising.
The Matrix Online: the Official Magazine - Got this for free, and I can see why: originally, it had a $5.99 price tag. However, given that it's 1) as thick as a comic book and 2) is about a video game, it probably wasn't a mover. (And my retailer was told it was to be handed out free - that's a big red flag).
Finally, in the spirit of Dorian's review of the new Doctor Who, I urge all of you to click here and buy this DVD. You won't be disappointed.
Anyway, onto this week's graphic literature, I suppose....
Legend # 1 - I've always wanted to read Gladiator by Phillip Wylie, but could never find an in-print edition; Chaykin and Heath do a great job in telling this story. A well-needed realistic take that, even though it's over 70 years old, is a breath of fresh air. Go figure.
Amazing Joy Buzzards # 3 - Mike, you don't have to be "hep and happening" to like this book. It's like a 21st century version of the Monkees written by Josh Whedon. It's just a plain cool comic.
Terra Firma # 6 - between this and Promethea, I'm wondering if Alan Moore has lost it. I'm still trying to figure out what the heck went wrong.
JSA # 71 - As much as this is pure fanboy glee, Geoff Johns has managed to 1) pick up the pace and start putting the plot together, and 2) make Degaton into a major threat. However, I sure hope he does not retcon the final arc of James Robinson's Starman.
(And an aside - thanks, DC, for kowtowing to an audience that wants to turn the tables back on comics. I think I am seriously going to boycott the new Green Lantern series. No, it's not that I hate Hal Jordan - I just want to stop before they revive Barry Allen)
Shining Knight # 1 - More Morrison madness; at the very least, there's a slightly clever retcon/reconciliation of this younger Knight to his older counterpart in the original Seven Soldiers of Victory; see if you can figure it out. This is looking very promising.
The Matrix Online: the Official Magazine - Got this for free, and I can see why: originally, it had a $5.99 price tag. However, given that it's 1) as thick as a comic book and 2) is about a video game, it probably wasn't a mover. (And my retailer was told it was to be handed out free - that's a big red flag).
Finally, in the spirit of Dorian's review of the new Doctor Who, I urge all of you to click here and buy this DVD. You won't be disappointed.
March 8, 2005
Unpaid STL Political Announcement
Get out and vote!
Also, if you're interested in the county smoking ban, the ordinance is here, information on providing testimony is here, and the Arch Pundit gives his opinion (thanks!).
And now, it's off to work.
Also, if you're interested in the county smoking ban, the ordinance is here, information on providing testimony is here, and the Arch Pundit gives his opinion (thanks!).
And now, it's off to work.
The Three B's of Mediocrity
I am talking, of course, about John Byrne, Brannon Braaga, and Rick Berman. According to rumor, Byrne's Doom Patrol series, as well as Braaga & Berman's final Enterprise episode (and series finale), will all be extremely creative endings.
Actually, I lie - rumor has it they are all utilizing the same "it-was-all-a-dream" cliche that didn't work the first time it was used. It has the slight whiff of desperation, of a writer's inability to acknowledge that, for some reason, their creative vision did not come to fruition. Even the new Doctor Who series, while being a different version than the original run, acknowledges its past but is not a slave to it.
(And just an aside - thanks so much to whoever leaked the first episode. Now, we have to deal with whiny fanboys who will complain that it just isn't like classic Who. Thanks so smegging much)
On the other hand, though, both Byrne's Doom Patrol and Enterprise were revisionings and reboots that were, at best, unneccesary. Even though his defense was essentially, "Dan DiDio made me do it", Byrne's series started lame and gradually declined. (When you end up paging through the comic in the store and putting it back on the shelf, that is not a good sign). It does a great disservice to the original series, and given some of the nods to past stories, many DC writers opted to ignore it.
Enterprise, on the other hand, seemed to hit the fanboy sweet spots this season with blatant nods to Trek's past. However, in order to get there, viewers were forced to wade through Trek-by-the-numbers writing, forced characterizations, and obvious signs that the series was created only to help merchandising, and that now, every toy and collectible contract has been fulfilled.
But ultimately, these endings (if rumors are to be believed) are a slap in the face to fans everywhere. In essense, "You essentially wasted your time and money on this, because they were for nothing. Since we couldn't think of a great way to end these stories, we decided to just retcon them into being someone else's fantasy."
So Mr. Byrne, Mr. Braaga, Mr. Berman, here is a humble suggestion - please gladly refund people's money. They should be able to return their books, and you gladly give your money back. For every hour spent before the screen, fans should get a small but reasonable reimbursement. At the very least, have the dignity to respect those who enjoy your works, because quite frankly, the way you are choosing to end them is insulting, degrading, and all-out disrespectful.
Actually, I lie - rumor has it they are all utilizing the same "it-was-all-a-dream" cliche that didn't work the first time it was used. It has the slight whiff of desperation, of a writer's inability to acknowledge that, for some reason, their creative vision did not come to fruition. Even the new Doctor Who series, while being a different version than the original run, acknowledges its past but is not a slave to it.
(And just an aside - thanks so much to whoever leaked the first episode. Now, we have to deal with whiny fanboys who will complain that it just isn't like classic Who. Thanks so smegging much)
On the other hand, though, both Byrne's Doom Patrol and Enterprise were revisionings and reboots that were, at best, unneccesary. Even though his defense was essentially, "Dan DiDio made me do it", Byrne's series started lame and gradually declined. (When you end up paging through the comic in the store and putting it back on the shelf, that is not a good sign). It does a great disservice to the original series, and given some of the nods to past stories, many DC writers opted to ignore it.
Enterprise, on the other hand, seemed to hit the fanboy sweet spots this season with blatant nods to Trek's past. However, in order to get there, viewers were forced to wade through Trek-by-the-numbers writing, forced characterizations, and obvious signs that the series was created only to help merchandising, and that now, every toy and collectible contract has been fulfilled.
But ultimately, these endings (if rumors are to be believed) are a slap in the face to fans everywhere. In essense, "You essentially wasted your time and money on this, because they were for nothing. Since we couldn't think of a great way to end these stories, we decided to just retcon them into being someone else's fantasy."
So Mr. Byrne, Mr. Braaga, Mr. Berman, here is a humble suggestion - please gladly refund people's money. They should be able to return their books, and you gladly give your money back. For every hour spent before the screen, fans should get a small but reasonable reimbursement. At the very least, have the dignity to respect those who enjoy your works, because quite frankly, the way you are choosing to end them is insulting, degrading, and all-out disrespectful.
March 7, 2005
March 6, 2005
Cool Birthday Stuff
You know, it's hard to get enthusiastic when your birthday's on a Sunday, but catch what I found whilst perusing the internet:
You can catch the backstory here.
And if anyone knows if Blake's Seven will be released on DVD here in the U.S., please let me know. That would make my birthday complete.
You can catch the backstory here.
And if anyone knows if Blake's Seven will be released on DVD here in the U.S., please let me know. That would make my birthday complete.
March 4, 2005
All This Useless Data
"I can't see the point/but I see the attraction" -- Graham ParkerYes, friends, because I spent most of yesterday rushing through work (making more calls, doing mindless physical work), I have little to blog about. However, taking a cue from a previous post, here are the various ways in which you, the home reader, have gotten here. Searches are wacky, aren't they?
"Star Clipper" comic - OK, I shop at Fantasy Shop, but shopping here is like cheating on your girlfriend with an incredibly more attractive supermodel. I mean that in a nice way.
Jamie Lee Curtis Strip/True Lies - About 50 percent of searches that lead to this blog consist on variations on this theme. To the people out there searching for this...ever consider purchasing a VCR? Might make your life much more worthwhile.
hourman is a pinko - just one of the many revelations in the upcoming DC Countdown. (rimshot)
dr sordid - He has his own blog, and quite frankly, he's not just a doctor - he's a dashing special agent with a PhD in trashing bozos. (Plus, he's a great writer in the Psychbloke tradition)
Jolene Blalock's nude - at least it's not another Jamie Lee Curtis search.
damn dirty ape paws - you can find monkey covers posted here every Sunday.
3A - quite a few searches were for this term. Is this the latest hip drug reference?
poopy flavored lollipop - not going there.
their eyes were watching god soundtrack - didn't know this had been made into a movie. Anyone have details?
useless data - maybe this explains the 3A thing
Son in Law "Fan Fiction" Pauly Shore - the only thing sadder than some comic fans are Pauly Shore fans.
"Amazing Joy Buzzards"/"down these mean streets a man must walk"/Hellboy PTB blog - proof positive that there are signs of intelligent life on this planet
blog pay pal - no snide comment on this one. Sorry. But if you want to help Bill Loebs, head to Pay Pal and make a donation - his ID is bloebs@yahoo.com
penn teller - their home site is here, and as Penn would say, "Humbug!"
Krypto blog - when I see "Ace the Bat Hound" as a search term for my blog, I'll feel like the coolest guy on earth
metatextual - the advantage of higher education is that you can get away with using big words like "metatextual"
"reefer madness" book summary/"reefer madness" Schlosser book review - quite a few variations on this theme - here's the summary, and why not just buy and read the book?
Arnold Schwarzenegger "garage sale" - Again, no snide comment - kind of speaks for itself
cool blog material/comic blogs - I'm flattered. Honestly.
johnny ramone sacrifice - One of the best movies of 2004 is coming out on DVD. Why this didn't get an Oscar nod, I have no idea. Or maybe I do.
blog "science fiction" "the watchmen" - hey, hey, they're the Watchmen, and people say they're watchin' around, but they're too busy reading science fiction, to put anybody down.
OK, the Monkees reference was a little too gratuitous. And finally,"100 things" comics/100 things love comics - As a better man than I once wrote, in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
March 3, 2005
Ya Gotta Love the Irony
Today, after spending several days cleaning up some records for the state, I spent most of my time helping load and prepare for an upcoming training...including reviewing the recent Super Bowl for alcohol ads.
That's right....I watched the Super Bowl on work time just for the commercials. Go figure.
And in terms of comic related posts, here's a site that's getting lots of attention, as well as famous people born on my birthday, which happens to be this Sunday.
(I share a birthday with the late Will Eisner - who knew?)
Me, wanting attention? Nah.....
That's right....I watched the Super Bowl on work time just for the commercials. Go figure.
And in terms of comic related posts, here's a site that's getting lots of attention, as well as famous people born on my birthday, which happens to be this Sunday.
(I share a birthday with the late Will Eisner - who knew?)
Me, wanting attention? Nah.....
March 2, 2005
Hump Day Fever
In a desperate effort to play catchup on comics, here are my reviews from the past two weeks' worth. (Of course, I missed the Academy Awards, but thanks to Tom the Dog, I don't have to worry. I spent that Sunday night watching the three greatest rock movies ever made - A Hard Day's Night, The Kids are Alright, and I Just Wasn't Made For These Times).
Anyway, away-y-y-y we go....
Outsiders # 21 - I can buy Batman as a manipulative jerk (thanks to Psychbloke's essay), but I can't buy the "Batman distrustful due to events revealed in Identity Crisis" explanation - reaction to the death of Jason Todd, maybe, (it's more psychologically valid - "someone in my care died, so I will never trust anyone again") but this is stretching it. The art is rather ugly. Glad I kept it off my pull file.
Doctor Who Monthly # 353 - a very wise investment especially with the new series coming up. The interview with Janet Fielding (aka Tegan) alone is worth the price of admission.
Legion of Super Heroes # 3 - focusing on (naturally) Triplicate Girl. I like the fact that Waid is slowly reinventing the Legion, and some interesting threads/subplots are building. Not a new classic, but inherently readable
Ex Machina # 8 - City/Urban politics and superheroics come together in a nice, smooth brew. As a policy wonk myself, I get to indulge in two guilty pleasures by reading this book. Again, highly recommended.
Powers # 9 - Still interesting, and much more worth your time than, say, New Avengers. (But that's just my opinion)/
Seven Soldiers of Victory # 0 - You know, kids, when Grant Morrison writes, you don't need drugs. It's a good prelude - now let's see if the rest of the series matches.
Ultimate Iron Man # 1 - It looks promising - however, it seems to be veering away from the basic premise - cool smart guy builds wicked armor - but may eventually make my pull file. I'm dying to read Polite Dissent's take on some of the medical stuff proposed.
Lex Luthor: Man of Steel # 1 - Maybe it's because I'm a sad DC zombie, but somehow, it's hard for me to buy the "sympathy for Lex Luthor" deal. Maybe if the other Super-books had that established, fine, but this seems....rather unbelievable.
Oh, and a humble thank you to House of the Ded/Free Comics for posting my little what-I'd-do-if-I-were-Loki essay. The guy has a lot of enthusiasm about comics, and quite frankly, we need more enthuastic people in the blogosphere.
Anyway, away-y-y-y we go....
Outsiders # 21 - I can buy Batman as a manipulative jerk (thanks to Psychbloke's essay), but I can't buy the "Batman distrustful due to events revealed in Identity Crisis" explanation - reaction to the death of Jason Todd, maybe, (it's more psychologically valid - "someone in my care died, so I will never trust anyone again") but this is stretching it. The art is rather ugly. Glad I kept it off my pull file.
Doctor Who Monthly # 353 - a very wise investment especially with the new series coming up. The interview with Janet Fielding (aka Tegan) alone is worth the price of admission.
Legion of Super Heroes # 3 - focusing on (naturally) Triplicate Girl. I like the fact that Waid is slowly reinventing the Legion, and some interesting threads/subplots are building. Not a new classic, but inherently readable
Ex Machina # 8 - City/Urban politics and superheroics come together in a nice, smooth brew. As a policy wonk myself, I get to indulge in two guilty pleasures by reading this book. Again, highly recommended.
Powers # 9 - Still interesting, and much more worth your time than, say, New Avengers. (But that's just my opinion)/
Seven Soldiers of Victory # 0 - You know, kids, when Grant Morrison writes, you don't need drugs. It's a good prelude - now let's see if the rest of the series matches.
Ultimate Iron Man # 1 - It looks promising - however, it seems to be veering away from the basic premise - cool smart guy builds wicked armor - but may eventually make my pull file. I'm dying to read Polite Dissent's take on some of the medical stuff proposed.
Lex Luthor: Man of Steel # 1 - Maybe it's because I'm a sad DC zombie, but somehow, it's hard for me to buy the "sympathy for Lex Luthor" deal. Maybe if the other Super-books had that established, fine, but this seems....rather unbelievable.
Oh, and a humble thank you to House of the Ded/Free Comics for posting my little what-I'd-do-if-I-were-Loki essay. The guy has a lot of enthusiasm about comics, and quite frankly, we need more enthuastic people in the blogosphere.
March 1, 2005
JMS and the Lost "Crusade"
My first encounter with J. Michael Straczynski was at my local library - in short, a copy of The Complete Guide to Scriptwriting that I would often check out and read, feeding my dreams of becoming a writer. (Yeah, and right now, I'm a social service/substance abuse monkey boy. Go figure). My goal in this post is neither to bury nor praise JMS - just provide a light critique.
Anyway, I've been making my way (via NetFlix) through Crusade, JMS's follow up to Babylon 5. Although I never was a rabid/fervent Babylon 5 fan, I enjoyed it. (In fact, I have seasons 4 and 5 lined up in my queue - thanks to a move to Oregon based on a really dysfunctional relationship, I missed the bulk of it, and really want to see how it ends). However, in reading/viewing much of JMS' work, including Supreme Power and Jeremiah, I wanted to just address some...well, concerns that I have about his work. (And don't get me started on the Gwen Stacy/Normal Osborn debacle...)
1) Arc: One of JMS' comments about Crusade was that it had - again - a five year arc. Now, this is a cool idea - spreading your plot over a series of episodes - however, B5 handled it with a light touch its first season, allowing us to gradually become introduced to our main characters. In Crusade, however, it seems incomplete, almost as if the concept wasn't strong enough to last on its own. Despite network interference, JMS could have sold a solid series of episodes within the common framework; now, all we have is an incomplete series. Even Firefly, which had an "arc", was able to tell self-contained stories (and, within its run, have a sequel to one episode)
(And this approach doesn't work too well in comics - I mean, Supreme Power told in 14 issues a story that normally might have taken one to six issues, proof that a tool that works in one medium probably might not pass muster in another)
2) Foreshadowing: This may contradict what I just said, but the foreshadowing on Crusade is light, but almost overwhelms the main narrative thrust. (Contrast this to Jeremiah, where the foreshadowing is caked on heavier than that slimy cheese on a St. Louis-style pizza). Again, Crusade suffers slightly because of it. Yes, you want to indicate what may happen, but do you really need to be blatant about it?
3) Nods to the Audience: Ok, the episode "Visitors Down the Street" contains slight digs at both The X-Files' and Star Trek's philosophies, and Supreme Power # 1 contains an ironic use of Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind"...but this can be a little wearing at times. The difference between satire and parody is the difference between champagne and a boilermaker.
(And on a related note - yes, you want to pay homage to your influences, but did you really have to rip off the Liberator from Blake's 7? And give it the same weapon as Star Blazers Again, as Nigel Tufnel would say, fine line between clever and stupid)
4) Where's the Wonder?: Both B5 and Crusade promote the idea that we go out into space because one day, humanity won't exist, and so we explore to meet others and to "leave our mark" on the universe..
Look at any decent science fiction television show - Star Trek, Doctor Who, Blake's Seven - heck, even Quantum Leap had a sense of "going where no one has ever been before", of moving out of your comfort zone, of learning what it means to be human by viewing ourselves through those who are not...but "hey, we're out here to insure we're remembered when we die?" It seems....you fill in the adjective.
Is Crusade worth watching? Yes it is - it's a great example of a missed opportunity, of how a narrow-minded network killed something with potential before it could be launched...but also of how a writer could have strengthened his work by avoiding his usual pitfalls.
Anyway, I've been making my way (via NetFlix) through Crusade, JMS's follow up to Babylon 5. Although I never was a rabid/fervent Babylon 5 fan, I enjoyed it. (In fact, I have seasons 4 and 5 lined up in my queue - thanks to a move to Oregon based on a really dysfunctional relationship, I missed the bulk of it, and really want to see how it ends). However, in reading/viewing much of JMS' work, including Supreme Power and Jeremiah, I wanted to just address some...well, concerns that I have about his work. (And don't get me started on the Gwen Stacy/Normal Osborn debacle...)
1) Arc: One of JMS' comments about Crusade was that it had - again - a five year arc. Now, this is a cool idea - spreading your plot over a series of episodes - however, B5 handled it with a light touch its first season, allowing us to gradually become introduced to our main characters. In Crusade, however, it seems incomplete, almost as if the concept wasn't strong enough to last on its own. Despite network interference, JMS could have sold a solid series of episodes within the common framework; now, all we have is an incomplete series. Even Firefly, which had an "arc", was able to tell self-contained stories (and, within its run, have a sequel to one episode)
(And this approach doesn't work too well in comics - I mean, Supreme Power told in 14 issues a story that normally might have taken one to six issues, proof that a tool that works in one medium probably might not pass muster in another)
2) Foreshadowing: This may contradict what I just said, but the foreshadowing on Crusade is light, but almost overwhelms the main narrative thrust. (Contrast this to Jeremiah, where the foreshadowing is caked on heavier than that slimy cheese on a St. Louis-style pizza). Again, Crusade suffers slightly because of it. Yes, you want to indicate what may happen, but do you really need to be blatant about it?
3) Nods to the Audience: Ok, the episode "Visitors Down the Street" contains slight digs at both The X-Files' and Star Trek's philosophies, and Supreme Power # 1 contains an ironic use of Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind"...but this can be a little wearing at times. The difference between satire and parody is the difference between champagne and a boilermaker.
(And on a related note - yes, you want to pay homage to your influences, but did you really have to rip off the Liberator from Blake's 7? And give it the same weapon as Star Blazers Again, as Nigel Tufnel would say, fine line between clever and stupid)
4) Where's the Wonder?: Both B5 and Crusade promote the idea that we go out into space because one day, humanity won't exist, and so we explore to meet others and to "leave our mark" on the universe..
Look at any decent science fiction television show - Star Trek, Doctor Who, Blake's Seven - heck, even Quantum Leap had a sense of "going where no one has ever been before", of moving out of your comfort zone, of learning what it means to be human by viewing ourselves through those who are not...but "hey, we're out here to insure we're remembered when we die?" It seems....you fill in the adjective.
Is Crusade worth watching? Yes it is - it's a great example of a missed opportunity, of how a narrow-minded network killed something with potential before it could be launched...but also of how a writer could have strengthened his work by avoiding his usual pitfalls.
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