| A Bit of A Catch-Up Post |
[Jul. 12th, 2008|02:47 pm] |
I had my annual review on Wednesday. It was OK. Not great, not bad, right in the center of the "Meets Expectations" zone. Which I basically expected. I feel like I had some moments of glory, but I still haven't taken the MCSA tests and a lot of my time this year was spent keeping things running rather than moving us forward in any significant way. So yeah, I expected it to be very average. I've got some attainable goals for the next twelve months, so I don't feel bad about it.
Inspired by a post from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) bobmungovan, I decided to try and get in touch with an old friend. B was my best friend in high school and for a couple of years after, until he moved to Arizona in 83 or so. Even after that, we managed to stay in touch for the next decade or so and he was Best Man at our wedding. He came through Houston to visit a few years ago, and after that, we kind of lost touch in that way that adults with busy lives who have other things going on tend to do. Still, with our 15th anniversary coming up, he's been on my mind lately, so I decided to see if I could find him online. Turns out his online footprint is almost as trackable as mine, so it wasn't too hard. We've traded a few short emails with a long catch-up promised. So, yay for that.
Last night, Jane and I saw the new Hellboy flick. Damn. That was freakin' amazing. It hit all of my sweet spots and gave Jane the Willies something fierce. I really can't say enough positive about this film. It kicked the first one's ass (and I love the first one). It was one of the best sequel films I've seen in that it wasted no time getting the viewer up to speed. You either knew the premise of the film and the basics of the characters or you didn't and you'd better catch up fast.
I think that for me, some of the joy in the Hellboy franchise is my near-total lack of familiarity with the comics. I've read a handful of stories, and I know there are tons of graphic novels and collected trades out there, but I can never get a straight answer on what I should read or in what order I should read them. So almost all of my exposure to it has been through word of mouth, the two live action films and the two animated films. As a result, each film is a revelation and that sense of discovery, coupled with Del Toro's amazing gift for visualizing the unimaginable makes this one a treat.
And Nuada and Nuala are the best cinematic elfs I have ever seen. Damn, they were terrible to behold.
When we got home, I finished Stephen Brust's newest Vlad Taltos novel, Jhegaala. It's a flashback story, from earlier in Vlad's flight from the Jhereg than Athyra, and is interesting in that it features no on-screen Dragaerans. It's set entirely in the East and pits Vlad against a human population he understands far less than he expects. It's convoluted and noir-ish as usual, but it felt more substantial than Dzur (which I liked a great deal all the same). Ultimately, I read Brust for the journey, not the destination, and I got my money's worth on that front as usual.
Finally, I'm in the process of reading D&D 4th edition from cover to cover. While I'm still not sold on it, I want to be as fair as possible, and I realized that a couple of playtests, a general scan, and reading enough information to get a character built probably doesn't constitute an entirely fair shake. I still don't like the lack of the toolkit approach to character building, which leaves things a bit generic and cookie-cutter for my tastes, but I'm also trying to find interesting things I CAN do with the system.
And that's about it as updates go. |
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| Comments: |
Have you read Brokedown Palace? Different venue but still quite nice.
I like the Dragaeran novels. Especially ones that have Sethra Lavode in them. There's something about her reminds me a lot of Seanna.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/52169148/3355821) | From: q99
2008-07-13 11:46 am (UTC)
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Sethra is awesome :) Although I do like Kiera the thief even more.
Brokedown Palace is a different venue, but not that different (it's the story of Cawti's family back in Fenario). It's my favorite communist fairy tale.
Sethra is a favorite, but I have to confess an undue fondness for Aliera. Of perhaps her endless capacity for exasperation. Have you read all the Khaavren novels?
BTW, Mr. Brust recently moved to College Station. I have no idea what effect that might have on Vlad's future adventures.
Brust in College Station? Why in G-d's name would he do that?!?!?
Why do men do stupid things? For women, of course.
| From: q99
2008-07-13 11:41 am (UTC)
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Personally I felt Jhegaala was a bit too confusing, mostly because the Coven and who was in it was mostly unmentioned until the late-book explinations. We got mention of Covens in general but didn't see enough of the Burz one during most of the book.
I liked Dzur betted, but Jhegaala was still good. Plus, now we know what a Jhegaala is so we can see Dragaerans of that stripe in later books.
Oddly enough, the Coven stuff didn't bother me. I chalked it up to Vlad having a hard time of it. I particularly liked the Nero Wolfe-ness of the last half, when Vlad was bedridden.
| From: q99
2008-07-13 04:17 pm (UTC)
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Mostly it was that we already didn't know who was doing what, and throwing in a third play who we didn't know what was doing even more made it very murky even by the standards of 'main characters don't know what's going on' standards.
Totally agreed on Hellboy, it was great. My only gripes are that the Golden Army itself seemed insufficiently threatening on a worldwide scale (though I suppose at that point the main characters' personal stakes were enough), and that the final resolution was the most predictable thing ever. But still, even despite that I really dug the movie. The elves were awesome and it was a damned funny movie, too.
As for 4e, I'm having a similar reaction but want to withhold judgment until I give it a proper read and maybe play for a bit. My friends here who have tried it seem to like it, and they have good taste.
I think it's just the "simulationist" in me (which, admittedly, can get out of hand at times) that's having fits.
Dark Horse has started releasing a Hellboy Library Edition. It's in HC, but it looks like it'll be reprinting his stuff in chronological order. Might be worth looking into. | |
