I like these!

Thank Goodness, Captain Hammer is Here!

Best new web based time wastage: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog



I know that I am a little behind on finding this one, which is sad because it written by Joss Whedan. Guess I am a bad fan--is there a rating scale for being a fan? I would probably get a 2/10.

In Libraryland: The writing workshops have not been horribly successful. Brandon Jerwa is leading my comics writing workshop on November 6, 6:15-7:45. Hopefully I will get some attendance for that.

I am going to kidnap the attendee's of the local YMCA's after school program for my next event. I think it will be a holiday party. I was just going to do crafts, but it keeps expanding/changing. So now I will have the Wii, the chance to make some holiday gifts (whatever holiday you celebrate) and have pizza or something. I still have some programming funds left.

It's Coraline, not Caroline!

I am reading Coraline now. It is a very freaky para-fairy tale, along the lines of Grimm. I think the ending will come out ok though, unlike those depressing tales. Written for the 9-12 age group, but definitely for the strong of heart. I think teen and adult readers would find it just as captivating.

I also just finished Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, after I saw the movie with The Boy and his friend on Thursday last week. It was an excellent movie, although the plot was all twisted around from the book. The book was also excellent, if somewhat heavy on the swearing.

Without giving away too much...

In common: music, music scene in NYC, Nick, Norah, Tris, music executive, Thom and Dev, Caroline, Tal, Jessie the Yugo

Not the same: the search for Where's Fluffy, losing Caroline, the make out scene in the Marriott, Scott/Luthario, people thinking the Yugo is a cab, gum (can I just say "ewwww!" ?)

In the book, you get so much from both Nick and Norah's internal dialog. You see their thought process, their insecurities, how cool they really are instead of how cool they seem. You can't really get that from a movie without it getting really convoluted, confusing and irritating. So I recommend experiencing both.

Comic Movie Geekiness

I had a mother and son come in last week wanting to see if "The Iron Giant" was in the catalog yet. The mother didn't think it would be, since it had just gotten in the theater...

Yes, the Iron Giant came out in 1999. Iron Man is in the theaters now. When I looked up the Iron Giant in the catalog, I found the cartoon movie. I only saw the listing briefly, but noticed that the description said that it was based on The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. I relayed this to my sister last night, and since I hadn't seen the movie or read the comic by by Stan Lee, I didn't know there were two story lines with the same title, one a children's book, the other a comic. The Iron Giant cartoon movie was based on Ted Hughes' story, who was married to Sylvia Plath when she committed suicide in 1963. He wrote it to comfort his children after their mother's death. I did know, however, that the Iron Giant and Iron Man were two very different movies, and I told the mother so. I recommended the Iron Giant and she put that on hold. I doubt she will regret it.

I saw Iron Man today and can happily say that I don't regret it, either. Robert Downey Jr. really surprised me with his acting ability (and his physique :) He must have kicked the habit finally, yay! I loved the entire movie and no one can change my mind. :P

The boy had his birthday yesterday. We bbqed with my dad's side and friends that day and today we had dinner with mom's side, and celebrated Mother's day, of course. Dr. T left today for clinic rotation in Spokane for a month and a half. He gets back just in time for me to leave for California. Luckily I will be visiting twice later in May, so I won't have to be completely boyfriend free for all that time. I miss him already though :'(

Shimotsuma Monogatari--Two Thumbs Up!

Have you ever watched a random movie and had it simply and totally make you happy? I was reading "missed connections" the other day when I was in need of amusement and read some reference to this movie, Kamikaze Girls. I was thinking it would be some morally questionable flick with girls chasing each other in their underwear. But hey, the library had it and I put it on hold.

What a gem! The original story line was amazing and the bright and spunky acting of the two main characters was refreshing. I was glued to the screen the whole time. I won't tell you the story...you will have to watch it for yourself, or look it up on Wikipedia, because they will tell you all. I will tell you that there were Japanese city and country scenes, scooters, scenes that reminded me of Amelie and others that reminded me of Kill Bill. I want to read the novel and the manga that go with it.

~Sigh~ Now I can go to bed with a big sappy grin on my face. ;)