harry potter anticipation

Check out the peanut art above, by my sister last week. It was demolished by several squirrels and chipmunks within minutes, of course. :-) The squirrel is holding a marshmallow on a stick.

Only TWO DAYS until the new Harry Potter book arrives in our mailbox. I am *so* hyped. My fingers are itching; I hope it's another honkin' huge book. Jeff is prepared to be ignored for a while. Fortunately he's not as enthusiastic about the whole Harry Potter thing as I am, else we'd have to order two copies like my sister did for her household.

I won't be able to attend the Midnight Madness launch at our local Indigo-Chapters this time, sadly, so opted for ordering through Amazon.ca instead. I finished rereading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last week in anticipation. I remember lining up for the book last time; there was a boy dressed up like Harry Potter standing behind me, and we all got goody bags. I gave mine to my nieces (who are also, of course, equally excited about the newest book).

Thanks to Walter and Trish for watering our garden and updating us on renovation progress while we were at the cottage. Looks like renovations will be finished on time; the carpet goes in today!

NINE DAYS until we spend the first night in our new house.

June 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

Orson Scott Card and Star Trek

In case you missed my LJ post, Orson Scott Card has a somewhat controversial commentary in the Los Angeles Times about Star Trek. It begins: "So they've gone and killed 'Star Trek.' And it's about time." Here's a link to the article.

You can see the (sometimes a tad heated) discussion after I posted the article link in my LJ comments board. Have to admit I bristled at Card's statement in the article: "The original 'Star Trek,' created by Gene Roddenberry, was, with a few exceptions, bad in every way that a science fiction television show could be bad."

For what it's worth, I like some of Card's writing, especially Ender's Game. And I do see where he's coming from in this article: Classic Trek was cheesy, may not have had the best acting, and the characters didn't get a chance to grow. But I loved it anyway; it was always my favourite Star Trek series; there were some gem episodes in there which I'll never tire of watching in repeats, like City on the Edge of Forever. As for some of the less stellar episodes, well...for me, at least, the cheesiness is part of the charm. :-)

I watched the other ST series when they first aired, but not consistently. I don't think I've seen all the shows in any one season of any of the newer series. So while I'm not upset by the fact that there isn't going to any new Star Trek shows being churned out, I don't agree with Card's blanket dismissal of the original series or of its impact.

I liked Star Trek before it became popular. I like Star Trek even now that it's no longer the cool kid. I'm excited about seeing the Firefly movie and admit I inhaled the entire Buffy the Vampire series in three months...but I do enjoy going back to those Classic Trek episodes on DVD from time to time and watching the old crew in action. It may not have been as well produced or consistently well-written as some of the newer sf shows, but I think it's a huge mistake to ignore the accomplishment and craft of the original series.

As Allison posted, "Orson Scott Card is right in saying that 'Star Trek' needs a rest. He is utterly wrong in dismissing the importance or relevance of the Star Trek phenomenon."

May 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

book meme

Rand passed this to me. He knows I don't usually do this sort of thing but I owe him for the last time I inflicted something similar on him.

Plus I can't say no to Rand. :-)

You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be?

I've opted to skip this one since it seems to overlap with a later question.

For Illustration Friday. Topic this week: "Ambition."

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?

No.

The last book you bought is:

Me and My Sister by Ruth Ohi

The last book you read:

Adult fiction:
Fool On the Hill by Matt Ruff (thanks, Parki!)

Kids' fiction:
Me and My Sister by Ruth Ohi

Nonfiction:
The Cartoonist's Workbook by Robin Hall

What are you currently reading?

For pure enjoyment:
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
Good Poems by Garrison Keillor
Anne Sexton: A Biography by Diane Wood Middlebrook (thanks, Rand!)

For work and self-improvement:
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King
Die unendliche Geschichte by Michael Ende (thanks, Gary!)
Perspective! For Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea (thanks, Kate!)

Because I want to see how many times I can push my sister's book in this entry:
Me and My Sister by Ruth Ohi

Five books you would take to a deserted island.

Emergence by David Palmer
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
SAS Survival Handbook by John Wiseman (thanks, Kaarel!)
Good Poems by Garrison Keillor
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Me and My Sister by Ruth Ohi (ok, so that makes six...but Ruth's book is very compact so wouldn't take up much room!)

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?

Anyone who is interested in doing this meme is free to do it. Most of the friends whose answers I'd be especially interested in reading don't usually do memes, and I felt guilty enough last time. :-)


From my 2001 Japan trip photo archives: Being served sukiyaki at
a ryokan in Kyoto. Read my Japan trip report starting here.

May 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

chocolate cake for breakfast

My new Tamagotchi, Sam.

I had chocolate cake for breakfast. Just thought I needed to get that confession off my chest right away.

My birthday's not until tomorrow, but I celebrated it with my family last night because Jeff and I are going out tomorrow night. In addition to some handmade crafts, my nieces gave me a Tamagotchi. I've been lusting over theirs for months now; I used to have a Tamagotchi eight years ago but he died soon after birth because I fed him too much ice cream.

My new Tamagotchi's name is Sam, and I'm going to be a much better parent this time, I promise. Interesting to see the changes in Tamagotchis: they can now play games by themselves and with other people's Tamagotchis, poop, behave badly, get married, have kids, make friends.

My brother-in-law Kaarel bet that Sam wouldn't last more than 10 minutes. HA, I'll show him.



My dad and Mabuta gave me the first season of Little House on the Prairie on DVD, a show that we used to watch all the time when we were kids. I still have clear memories of Ruth and me, sitting in front of the television with tears streaming down our faces, boxes of Kleenex by our sides. Anyway, I watched the first episode this morning while I was having my chocolate cake (leftover from the party last night), the one where the Ingalls first move to Walnut Grove.

Yes, I'm aware that it's an incredibly sappy show but man, did I bawl...that scene when Laura and Mary start dragging those sacks of wheat to help out their injured Dad gets me every time. Interesting to watch the show as an adult rather than as a kid, seeing characters and storylines with a different perspective.

Which reminds me, I need to buy more Kleenex.

(Stop gagging, Andy. :-) )

Hey, I finished the front and back covers of the Urban Tapestry DVD yesterday! Click on either of the images below to see an enlarged version (or click here to go directly to the large version of back cover):






Only three days until I leave for FilKONtario!

March 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments

poll: radio?

So Jeff and I are experimenting with living with no cable television.

We have nothing against tv, and we know there are some great shows currently airing. We've just found ourselves watching less and less tv over the years, with very few shows luring us enough to schedule our lives around them. Instead, we've started waiting until a particular season of an intriguing show is out on DVD, then borrowing it from a friend or video rental store.

Not nearly as exciting, I know, but I'm finding other ways to fill that time, like reading or drawing or writing or studying German or playing music or spending time with friends. We still haven't decided whether to get cable for our new house; the next month or two will be a good test to see how we fare without it.

I'm also starting to listen to the radio more, especially in the mornings as I'm working on my Market Watch column. So far I've been listening to CBC and CFRB, but I'm also exploring Web radio again. One of my favourite hosts is Andy Barrie from CBC's Metro Morning show. Andy interviewed me ages ago about Inkspot, and also has played an Urban Tapestry tune on air ("Technonerdboy").

A poll question: Do you ever listen to the radio? If so, when do you listen to it (in the car? at work? etc.) and what do you like listening to (news? music? what kind of music?). And to Toronto types: what is your favourite station and why?

Fun to read all the responses to my 300 baud modem poll yesterday in LJ and Blatherchat, by the way. One of my favourite exchanges:

Bill Sutton: "Ha. You had a SmartModem. You were lucky. When I were t'lad, we had to make do with acoustic couplers. And we were GRATEFUL."

Gary McGath: "You had acoustic couplers? When I was a boy, we had to whistle into the telephone at 20 baud!"

:-)

The doodle at the top of the page was created for Illustration Friday, a weekly drawing assignment. This week's topic: "The Seasons."

January 2005 comments: Read Blatherchat | Post in Blatherchat | Livejournal comments