But It's a Dry Heat

Archive for February, 2012

Black Swan

I don’t think I’ve ever entirely forgiven Natalie Portman for the Star Wars debacle.

Of course, I know the real blame lies with George Lucas and his pathological inability to direct anything with a pulse. I also know Portman isn’t waiting, with bated breath, for my forgiveness. Nevertheless, she and Hayden Christiansen are the reason why I have to keep my hand on the remote, ready to hit fast-forward, when watching any of the Star Wars prequels.

Bias aside, she was amusing in Thor, and I really liked her in V for Vendetta.

Her performance in Black Swan, however, is a lot more Padme (Star Wars) than Evey (V for Vendetta).

In Black Swan, Portman plays the role of Nina, a dancer with (more…)

Scars

I still can’t draw people.

Not very well, anyway. I’m starting to think it’s some kind of weird psychological hang-up, because I don’t have the same problem with animals. Human proportions, for some reason, don’t make sense to my artist’s brain. My people always end up with odd anatomy or looking stiff and lifeless.

My current Work in Progress features a scarred, half blind hero and Six:A.M.’s “Skin” is his theme song. One of several angsty-pangsty songs, anyway. He’s wonderfully emo and fun to write. Since I can’t draw people, I opted for another one of my original characters. This is Cheddar the pitbull, from an another unfinished project. Cheddar belongs to one of Regan O’Connell’s  (The Music of Chaos) neighbors and she sometimes dogsits him. He is so named because he once ate a pound of cheddar, including the plastic packaging.

Click on image for a larger version.

Real Steel

Technically, Real Steel isn’t my kind of movie. I mean, sure, it has fighting robots, and battles between giant mechanized men are totally my thing. Violence. Futuristic technology. Yay!

Except, Real Steel relies on the “cute kid” plot device and a story that’s designed to tug at one’s heartstrings.  Teeny problemo: I don’t have heartstrings. Movies that others find heartbreaking and compelling, strike me as sappy and painfully obvious. As for kids…they’re like adults. Some children are absolutely charming; others are assholes; most just exist. I really dislike big-eyed urchins who I’m supposed to love because they are big-eyed urchins.

That said, I really liked Real Steel.

Real Steel is the story of a down-on-his-luck (more…)

Unholy Ghosts

In which I actually like an urban fantasy novel….

I first heard about Unholy Ghosts over on Dear Author, where a mild kerfuffle (very mild, by Internet standards) went down in the comments over the protagonist’s drug use. I remember it being a matter of the Hugs Not Drugs crowd showing up and getting their pearls in a twist. Looking at the thread now, the bulk of the “controversy” seems to be over author’s comments on her book, her “warnings” not to read it if drug use is a trigger for the reader. Oh, boy, my Swiss cheese memory. At any rate, it caught my attention despite my growing (and ironic? hypocritical?) aversion to urban fantasy (UF).

As I’ve said before, I’m just not feeling the love for the cookie-cutter, ass-kicking, swaggering, loner heroine who typifies a lot of UF titles. I find I can’t relate to them at all.

Consequently, I’ve left a long trail of “Did Not Finish” urban fantasy novels in my wake lately. One exception being Lauren Beukes’s Zoo City and now, Unholy Ghosts. Naturally, as a reader and a writer, my question is (more…)

Bet Your eBook Can’t Do This!

I’m utterly obsessed with my current WIP. Writing anything else when these damn pushy characters keep demanding time is about impossible. They did let me take a break and do some sketching….

I was thinking about my earlier post regarding my new Kindle and how much I like reading on it. (I do. In fact, I think I would have bailed on the book I’m currently reading–‘nother Twilight clone–if it were in print.) It’s just easier to skim slog through a really bad book on my Kindle.

But then I started thinking about the many uses of print books. Several immediately came to mind, but given my limited drawing skills, I went with four. It’s getting easier to draw people, but it still took at least 30-minutes to draw the ‘toons with people, vs. two-minutes to draw the greyhound.

Middle panel features Regan O’Connell smacking Breas Montrose (The Music of Chaos). I assure you, he deserved it.

Click the image for a full-sized view!

Familiarity Breeds Nitpicking

Some movies just don’t hold up well to repeated viewing.

Last week my husband and I re-watched Iron Man 2 and Star Trek (2009). We’ve seen both at least three times already, and of the two, Star Trek holds up much better. (My only beef with Trek is depiction of Kirk’s birth, specifically the fact that technology has given us warp drives, and yet human childbirth is still a hideous, painful process.)

I had heard some negative buzz about Iron Man 2 before I watched the movie, so my expectations were low. Afterward, I thought, “Well, that wasn’t so bad.” Why didn’t I notice its flaws? Blame Robert Downey Jr.

I’m still amazed that the studio chose him for the role rather than some vapid pretty boy (e.g. Ryan Reynolds in Green Lantern). In retrospect, Downey is the perfect actor for a movie with the premise “billionaire genius playboy stumbles upon a conscience and decides to wage peace, not war.” Imagine if the role had been played by (more…)

Kids Playin’ Cowboy on Fences Get Splinters

There’s been some chatter regarding ereaders (Kindle, Nook, et al) and their supposed advantage to romance readers…  The claim is that ereaders let you enjoy your favorite love story on the bus or train without the asshat across the aisle nearly breaking his neck trying to get a glimpse of the cover model’s boobies.

Honestly? There are worst things than glistening man titties and swelling mammary glands.

Like this cover. At first I thought the cowboy was just your run-of-the-mill pedophile, then I noticed the odd bit of text in the lower left hand corner — “ONLY DADDY.”

Ew…

(If you “get” this post’s title, you’re a science nerd.)

Love Isn’t a Breed

Yesterday morning, the local TV station played a segment about the Albuquerque Animal shelter. Once again, they are nearly at capacity and it can only get worse as spring arrives and more puppies are born. (Spay/neuter your animals, dammit!)

The same day, I came across this threat from the Iowa Greyhound Association, the Midwest’s favorite purveyor of brainless entertainment at the expense of greyhounds’ blood and bones. It’s a sad ploy that attempts to generate a sense of entitlement in greyhound aficionados; the false notion that not only are you entitled to a purebred dog, you should get it cheap.

Look at your pet. Now look ahead to the future and your current pet is gone. You want another greyhound. But all there are to choose from are AKC registered greyhounds and they are like $2,000 for a puppy! They still have some racing in Ireland and Australia, but whoa … JetPets is expensive.

If you aren’t hauling your jaw off the ground, then let me explain why that should be your reaction.

First, the author of this dire warning must have (more…)

Cowboys and Aliens

Cowboys and Aliens, of course, begins in New Mexico, because that’s where aliens always land when they aren’t planning on blowing up New York or Los Angeles. This state is like a space alien’s secret getaway. Our hero, Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) wakes from an impermanent dirt nap in the northern New Mexico desert (circa 1873).

Jake can’t remember his name, how he got the bloody gash in his side, or why he isn’t wearing any shoes but is outfitted with a shiny metal bracelet.  The bracelet offends his fashion sense, so he picks up a rock and whacks on it, ineffectually. His commentary on alien fashion accessories is interrupted by three men on horseback, who see the bracelet and decide it’s some kind of handcuff. Their wee brains already awhirl with all the places they’ll spend the bounty money (women, booze, more booze), the three try to apprehend Jacob.

Except Jake is Bond, James Bond. He kills all three in the blink of an eye, borrows a pair of boots and a horse and trots off to the town of Absolution.

In town, Jake is witness to (more…)

You Can Bring a Luddite to an Ebook …

This week I finally popped my digital cherry as it were. Last month, for my birthday, I got a Kindle. Now, after working through my print book backlog, I’m reading my first ebook (Stacia Kane’s Unholy Ghosts).

This morning, while over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books I came across this little monument to luddite-ness.

The reading public in private is lazy and smutty. E-readers hide the material. Erotica sells well. My own downmarket literary fetish is male-oriented historical fiction (histfic). Swords and sails stuff. I’m happier reading it on an e-reader, and keeping shelf space for books that proclaim my cleverness.

Ah, so basically, the only reason people use ereaders is to hide the fact that they aren’t reading the classics? Okie-dokie.

My experience with my new gadget would suggest otherwise….

After reading the equivalent of 200 pages, I’ve found that it’s a lot easier to read on a Kindle. The device is very light and it (more…)