Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Feb 282009
 

Speak by Laurie Halse AndersonI just finished listening to the audiobook of Speak. I’d seen the movie a few times before and wondered how the book would compare. I opted to listen to it because I wanted to see if the reader would capture Kristen Stewart’s haunted voice from the movie. The reader didn’t hit that mark, but I still found it enjoyable to listen to.

Spoilers abound so if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, be forewarned.

This is the story of a girl, Melinda, who was raped and discovers that after the trauma, she can’t find the voice to tell anyone what happened. It happened at a party and she called the cops. The party was broken up but by then she’d already lost her will to speak so she left and never spoke to the cops. She was ridiculed by her classmates for having called them at all.

She enters ninth grade to find herself an outcast. We see her world through skewed, pain-filled eyes. And it’s her journey to finding that voice that I find remarkable to see. I also loved how her pursuit to draw a tree that projects emotion a fitting parallel to her own personal struggle and growth.

As a story itself though, my opinion may be skewed. I’ve seen the movie a few times and I thought it was great. As I listened to the book, I imagined it as the characters from the movie. Many of the differences between the two seemed better executed in the movie than the book too. So, all in all, I like the movie best. But the story itself and the character’s voice tend to haunt me. I’ll probably have to read the book eventually too. :P

On a side note, I have seen some reviews online where readers complain that they can’t relate to the character. That she was flat and dull. And that the high school was a bit stereotypical. Plus, rapists don’t tend to get what’s coming to them in real life.

I think these reviewers are missing the point of the story. Melinda is in a state of depression and shock. Of course she appears flat and dull. She’s trying to meld into the background, despite her head screaming, “Pay attention to me!” As she works through her pain and finds her voice, she gets a more developed personality. That’s how depression works, folks.

As for the high school, we are seeing it through her eyes. She’s presented it to us as a stereotype because that’s how she’s classified it. I took it only to be her perspective and not necessarily what really was. I could be wrong though.

And yes, sadly rapists do not always get what’s coming to them. It’s a sad fact of life. But, this is fiction. Yes, fiction. And, in my humble opinion, hope in fiction can be better created when they do. It’s that wonderful sense of justice, I guess.

Freaky Puppets in Life In Technicolor ii Video

Feb 282009
 

Posting that “Wrong” video made me think of Coldplay‘s “Viva La Vida” homage to to Depeche Mode and Anton Corgijn. So, I thought I’d check and see what their latest video is too. Oy! WTF? Really? Why did they have to use puppets? Their latest video is for the track “Life in Technicolor ii” which is the second version of the song, the difference being that version two has lyrics. And, the video is chock full of freaky puppets. Lovely. This video is more fitting for nightmares than something fun to watch.

Sheesh. Yeah, I really don’t like puppety types. Anyway, it was directed by Dougal Wilson. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen any of his work before. But, I am a Hype Williams fan and I do like “Viva La Vida” so I’ll post that here too:

And, be sure to check out that homage to Depeche Mode and Anton Corgijn version here. It’s awesome. Of course. :) It doesn’t appear to be available to embed else I would have posted that here too.

Depeche Mode’s video for “Wrong”

Feb 282009
 

Depeche Mode has a a new video up. The song is titled “Wrong” and is from the album “Sounds Of The Universe” (Releases April 21 in the US).

Video has a nice creepy feel to it. It was directed by Patrick Daughters, who may be best known for directing Feist‘s “1234.” He also directed “Phantom Limbs” for The Shins which shows a rather dramatic school play. Anyway, on to the Depeche Mode video:

Watch in HD here.

The Killing Way by Tony Hays

Feb 242009
 

The Killing WayI read this book back in the bound manuscript stage and am realizing now that I probably should have written down notes to use in this post. It would have made it more detailed. Oh well. :P

When the editor presented this book, she referred to it as CSI Medieval. Seriously? Enough said. I’m sold. I wrote this comment about the book over on the Goodreads account I have for work and figured I’d share it here too:

CSI Medieval. What’s not to love? That description is why I picked the book up. Malgwyn is why I kept going. He’s a great character. The Saxons took his wife’s life, then he lost his arm in battle. There he waited to die the good death. Arthur (yes that Arthur) saved him and Malgwyn hates him for it. He became a drunk. After all that, Arthur asks him to lead a murder investigation. That’s where the CSI Medieval comes into play.

I enjoyed Malgwyn’s incites into people as well as his own struggle with facing life outside a tavern again. And, I found it fun to see how crude an investigation it would be without all the fancy equipment we have today.

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So, there you have it. All in all, one enjoyable read. I know, I didn’t write much. Like I said, I should have taken notes or even written this long ago. :P

Ranger’s Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan

Feb 232009
 

Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw by John FlanaganThe Siege of Macindaw is the sixth book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. It releases in the US on August 11. I went into happy fangirl mode on Friday when I got home and discovered a galley on my doorstep. I won it off of Goodreads. Awesome. :)

I think I was even more excited for this one because book 5, The Sorcerer in the North, ended in a cliffhanger. ARGH. I hate that. Book’s 5 and 6 combine to create Will’s first adventure as a full-fledged ranger. In book 5, Will is asked to head north to investigate supposed use of sorcery. Not only that, he has to go in disguise as a jongleur, which leaves him without the comforts of his favorite weapon and other ranger niceties.

Once there, he finds out that the king has been poisoned. Castle Mackinaw gets taken over by a renegade knight, Keren, who is in an alignment with the Scotti prepping for invasion. Will must flee to the forest with the king’s son, who is now also exhibiting signs of being poisoned. He seeks refuge with the “sorcerer” Malcolm. Then he finds out that his friend Alyss has been taken hostage and fails at his attempt to rescue her. End of book 5. ARGH. You see how frustrating that is?

Book 6 picks up right where we left off. Alyss is still a captive and Will must find a way to take over the castle with no army. He spends a lot of time thinking things through in this book and trying to understand the consequences of his actions more. He’s grown up and relying less on what Halt would do and more on his own assessment of the situation.

Horace too steps up in this book. He really has some of the best lines when defending his friends too. I often found myself grinning ear to ear during his scenes. He leads the small ragtag group of Skandians with ease and gains their respect in seconds. His perspective on everything is so straight forward too. And that I just adore really.

I also liked the balance between Will and Horace. They play well off of each other. Their friendship has matured as well but retains that wonderful kid-like teasing too.

Will and Alyss are adorable throughout this with how they don’t seem to understand their feelings for each other. :P

Really, truly wonderful read. My only complaint with the story would be that there wasn’t enough Halt. Hah. I know, I know, books 5 and 6 were meant to be Will’s first mission. Still, I missed seeing him.

I do have side note complaint though. The cover! I don’t know what they are thinking but the covers for books 1-4 were gorgeous. See?

Ranger's Apprentice Covers

Then in book 5 they came up with this gray block:

Ranger's Apprentice Header

What the? It cuts off the artwork. It looks like they are trying to create some sort of branding nonsense and what they are doing is failing miserably. That block closes off the picture and just creates a top heavy look to the cover. Why ruin the artwork with that? I’m disappointed to see in on book 6 now too. *pout*

Whew. Had to be said. The story though is awesome! I can’t wait for more! :)

Related link: I set up a Ranger’s Apprentice Facebook fan page. If you are a fan, stop by and say hi. :D

Adorable Paper Octopus

Feb 232009
 

Awe. How cute! You can make your own paper octopus. I saw this on Ectoplasmosis and you can download the octopus here. And check out the designer’s Etsy shop too. Lots of super cute plushies in there. :)

Just a morning MySpace rant

Feb 132009
 

It’s no surprise that I have no love for MySpace really. From the anti-support network that only responds using automated canned copy to the random code changes that make profiles go kablooey, MySpace is not exactly a welcoming environment. But today I got to work and logged in to find a email from them. I opened my gmail and lo and behold, an email there too:

Greybon, send some Valentine’s Day cheer!

Choose from the virtual gifts below to send some Valentine’s Day flair. Just copy the code from the grey box and paste in a comment or new message to a friend.

Here’s the thing. I opted out of all emails from MySpace. I get so much email that I don’t have time to be getting crap like that. Who does? But, MySpace has been up to something funny. They’ve been creating all sorts of new ways to notify you via email about things going inside the MySpace world. They are copying Facebook with that, but are executing it less effectively. How MySpace works it is that you get an email from them like the one above. Then you have to log in and uncheck the box so you don’t get more email. I did that. For all the MySpace accounts I have. I thought I was done. But that’s where MySpace gets sneaky. After getting today’s email, I logged back in and here’s what I found:

Turns out that when they add new notification topics to the list, they just go on ahead and opt you in. Seriously? Come on MySpace. Get with it here. I mean maybe it’s a glitch and those aren’t new types of notifications. But seeing that it happened on multiple accounts…I just don’t know.

It’s annoying no matter what the issue is though.

Book Trailer: Rise of the Iron Moon by Stephen Hunt

Feb 122009
 

I know, it’s starting to look like all I do is repost videos I see on other sites these days, isn’t it? I’ll start catching up with regular posts soon. I saw this one on Grasping for the Wind.

Snagged from his post: “This is quite a cool animation and unusual book trailer. Be sure to read my interview with the author and review of his first novel, The Court of the Air. Or you can read the first couple of chapters.”

I agree that it is a cool animation. I think it moves a little too fast though since I had to pause it a few times to catch up with the text. But I should also point out that I read about as fast as frozen molasses drips. I have started reading the first book. I’m not very far into it yet but I will be adding the second book to my to read list too.

On to the trailer:

GoAnimate.com: The Rise of the Iron Moon


Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It’s free and fun!

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Oh! While I’m at it I should mention too that Claire Eddy wrote a really nice piece about the first book too. AND Here’s the trailer for the first book. I love the Samurai Jack style of it!

Klingon Nightschool

Feb 112009
 

I saw this posted over on SF Signal and found it amusing. So, of course I had to share:

Klingon Nightschool

From yogurt to pickles, plus a handful of cocktails too

Feb 022009
 

Eating pickes on Burn NoticeI finally caught up on Burn Notice this weekend. I can swear that now that Bruce Campbell is being featured more predominantly than before, he’s getting a little cockier in his role. In this last episode, “Hot Spot,” they don black suits and white shirts. While the others are taking that sorta tougher expression, Bruce wears a smirk. He’s also jutting that chin a little more than before, which personally I have to say is awesome to see. :)

Another thing I find myself watching for are food and drink quests. Bruce’s character, Sam Axe, is all about the booze. Whether he’s drinking something, reaching for one, or just talking about it, alcohol is never far from the foremost thought of his mind. There are also jokes in the show about the state of Sam’s liver. :P

The food quest is all Mike‘s (Jeffrey Donovan). It’s about his love of yogurt. Blueberry I think was the flavor mentioned before. When everyone is at Mike’s place, they can often be seen eating yogurt. It’s become an ongoing joke that people keep eating his last yogurt. Even Carla (Tricia Helfer) camped out uninvited at his place, waiting for his return. And what did she do? She ate his last yogurt, of course.

Funny thing that happened in this last episode. They were standing around in the kitchen snacking on a jar of pickles. Are pickles now the new snack of choice at Mike’s place? I guess we shall have to wait and see.

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