5.31.2007

Greetings from (Almost) Sunny Cali!

Yesterday was fantastic--including the work portion. Last night we were treated to a great On the Border dinner by Bryce's family, and crashed at their new place. Today we're off to San Fran.

Will translate yesterday's hard-copy blogging later--for now, enjoy the first round of photos in all their unedited glory here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/geekyartistlibrarian/

5.29.2007

Vacation Trumps Blogging!

...So I'll be checking in only infrequently, if at all, while Alex and I are in sunny California. At least, I hope it's sunny there--it's certainly not been so sunny in North Texas lately. Hmph.

In the meantime, lest you be bored to tears by the meaninglessness of your life without Starrlett's Stuff, enjoy these great screenshots of Episode III captions that were translated back into English directly from the Chinese captions (thanks, Bryce!). Warning: there is some profanity in a few of these captions, although I must say it's laughably out of context.

5.25.2007

Season's End

(This post's motto is: warning, spoilers ahead!)

Heroes
I liked the last two episodes a lot--particularly the second-to-last episode. But my one beef with the last episode: the blood-dragging path at the end looks like Sylar might not have died after all. Or that someone carried him off. But he should have died--because it looked like he did, with his eyes flickering scenes and going all future-y. I think we're ready for the new villain they hinted at, and in my opinion if they were going to carry over a villain, it should have been Liederman instead of Syler. As Alex says, if Peter would smart up about his abilities, he'd realize that he's tons more powerful than Sylar because just by standing near him, he should be able to manifest all Sylar's abilities... so I think Sylar shouldn't be much of a threat, really. We've outgrown him.

But I thought the way they (presumably) killed off Lieberman was really, really cool and inventive. And gross.

DVD release date: August 28, 2007.

Lost
Ooookay, I haven't commented about the last few episodes; I've been busy reading Geoff Klock's commentary on them and mulling this over with Alex. Jacob opens up a whole new can of worms, doesn't he? I was thrilled to see Walt back in a totally appropriate place. And I commented to Alex (before the season-ender) that what I've perhaps enjoyed most about this season is that it introduced Juliet. We were all wondering what she seemed upset about right in the first episode. Then, much later, we get a flashback for her. And then another. And we finally realize what she was upset about in that first episode--by the end of the season, we have a whole picture of this person and who she is, from this complete mystery at the beginning. It was such a successful character introduction, in the third season of an established show, that I don't think of her as "the new chick" anymore.

Another interesting recent flashback was Ben's--I like getting viewpoints from the Others, and tying in the VW was excellent.

And, of course, the crowning flashback: the flash-forward to after they're all back to their normal lives, post-rescue. My big question? Jack refers to his father twice in this episode. Alex points out that he was probably drunk and high at this point, but I think the helpful new doctor would have pointed out that his dad was dead... if that was truly the case.

So.. who's Naomi? And how does Ben know who she is? And, hello, Jacob?

DVD release date: ??? (Don't care too much; I enjoy the show, but didn't buy the second season--I have enough to watch already.)

BSG
Again, I say: 2008?!?! With four of the five last Cylons (potentially) revealed? And one of them being my favorite character? Arg!!!

DVD release date: ???

Stargate (1 and Atlantis)
Still waiting to hear when the season/series ends. We haven't watched last week's episodes yet; last night we watched the previous week's, and I am happy to see such a fun high-school reunion plot come around before SG-1 goes away. Yes, yes, I am a truly silly sci-fi fan: best episodes always involve 1) time travel 2) alternate dimensions 3) holodecks (or similar technology) or 4) high-school reunions. Two out of four is even better.

DVD release date (Sg-1): July 24, 2007
DVD release date (Sg-A): (Way too far away, I'm sure.)

Eureka
The second season starts in July, but there was a sneak peak of the new season during SG-1, and it looks at least as fantastic as it was last year. WATCH IT. If it's cancelled because you're not watching, I'll never forgive you.

DVD release date:
July 3, 2007

Don't Want No Drama, Drama

Okay, so last night Alex and I finally gave up and we're taking both Flags of Our Fathers and The Departed back to Blockbuster, unwatched. We want to see them both, we just don't want to watch so much drama right now--Pan's Labyrinth was about as much drama as we'll be able to handle for awhile! I was about to suggest taking back FoOF and keeping Departed, but then I saw the length... 151 minutes. Two and a half hours of heavy mob movie drama. Wow, no thanks--maybe in a few years when I'm feeling less stressed in my personal life and want some stress in my escapist hours.

So, speaking of Pan's Labyrinth, that was quite... interesting. Loved the visuals, loved the little girl, and was mildly surprised that the two worlds' storylines weren't more interwoven. It was pretty visceral (I mean, this wasn't Children of Men or anything, but compared to most fantasy it was pretty graphic), which was interesting, but hard enough to take that I don't think we'll be watching it again anytime soon--so not a "to-own" title for us. Not that we've been buying movies anyway, for the past nine months since HD/Blu-ray made us thoroughly sick of thinking about format.

Zombie Attack Thwarted by Library Staff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUxp3E3YUdQ

This is why I love librarians. (And zombie movies.)

5.19.2007

Foto Fun

Thanks to a colleague's gracious sponsorship of my Flickr Pro Account, I've been uploading past photos like mad. Enjoy these tidbits:

And if you putter around long enough on my Flickr page, you'll find more Star Wars photos, library photos, wedding photos, family photos, land photos--and of course plenty of ridiculous photos I've taken of myself (eventually, these will join them). Just because.

5.18.2007

"You Saucy Minx"

This is a crossover post between my professional and personal blogs.... I just got the ARC of The Plain Janes graphic novel (thank you, BookMooch!), which I thought I'd mention was a recent Book Club pick by the Unshelved guys.

And it's one of the first Minx publications, DC Comics' new line for girls. Now, I'm a girl, and I read traditional (read: "non-girl-y") comics, but I'm very interested in this idea. And from the first four pages of this book that I read... I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to be fantastic.

5.17.2007

Out of Context

"Circ" has a totally different meaning when speaking of a male infant than it does around the library. Wow, I may never be able to look at our Circulation Department the same again!

5.10.2007

Cool God-stuff

Indifferents, Beware!

I'm an omnivore!

5.09.2007

5.08.2007

Will Wonders Never Cease

I thought to peruse the Cartoon Art Museum's website, since we'll be in the Bay Area at the end of this month (and I've always been sad that I didn't know it was there, the one time I was in San Fran)... and lo and behold! One of the exhibitions that will be going on while we're there is called "Worlds of Wonder." Whom, O dear reader, does this exhibit feature?
It's too cool to absorb right now. Fantasy... comics... art... California... my brain might explode with all the coolness.

Awesome

Take a look at this.

Isn't it, though? (My thanks to Andrew J. for pointing this out.)

5.07.2007

More of Our Media Diet

  • Smoking Aces: Bleh. What a promising trailer--seemed like a stylish black comedy shoot 'em up--and the only good part of the movie was Ryan Reynolds (for once, he was used not for comedic relief, but was excellent in a serious role).
  • Smallville: what, did this show jump back over the shark? It was all so angst-y that I almost didn't want to watch... and then Chloe became a meteor-freak... and Linda "Wonder Woman" Carter was cast as her meteor-infected mother... and then they created an awesome film noir-esque episode that made their awesome "1960" episode look laughable.
  • Lost: it's been announced: final three seasons! This gives me hope: an ending for them to work toward.
  • BSG: it's over until 2008!!! We watched our last two DVR-ed episodes last night, and were rudely shocked to find that the next season is in a year! Arg!
  • The leads have been cast for Time Traveler's Wife: Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. I think McAdams is a great choice; Bana I'm a little nervous about. I'm still having PTSD flashes from The Hulk (aka, "The worst waste of Jennifer Connelly in a movie EVER").

5.04.2007

The 4-1-1 on S-T-A-R-R

  • I went to Corsicana yesterday for work and had a great time (read the story).
  • I took photos of the library mall renovation (see here).

Our Recent Media Diet (warning: spoilers ahead):
  • Smokin' Aces: rented, to watch today... will report later.
  • Night at the Museum: fantastic. I told Alex that the CG for once didn't distract me from the story, and he sternly shushed me, saying, "It's not CG, it's magic." I think he was right on that one.
  • Children of Men: okay, so the gritty violence is excellently done—but in a “Saving Private Ryan” kind of way, which is to say that I don’t ever need to see that movie again. And I was mad that they never resolved the infertility plot.
  • The Queen: it was fine. Helen Mirren was great.
  • Dancing with the Stars: go, Apollo! And Joey Fatone is hilarious. So hilarious that I have completely forgiven him for being a member of N'Sync.
  • BSG: go, Apollo!—oh wait… we've only got a few DVR-ed episodes left, and I am wondering what's going to happen with Starbuck "dead."
  • Lost (the episode from two weeks ago): comic-book chatter! Brian K. Vaughn on the writing team! Woo!!! My apologies to Geoff Klock, I hate to disagree with you, but the conversation definitely did not immediately signal Vaughn’s (or any other comic creator’s) involvement. Finding out about that later on your blog just made me think, “hey neat!” We watched last week's episode about Sun, but not this week's yet--both storms knocked out our DVR, so we're watching online now.
  • Heroes: Back in time--very, very cool. And I'm proud of myself for guessing that Nathan was really Sylar in disguise. I haven't watched the new graphic novel episodes online since they series returned, so I need to check those out soon.
  • SG-1: I miss Daniel. And it makes me happy that Vala does, too. And happy that she hugged Sam. What the heck are we going to do when this show goes off of the air?! Oh, and the preview for tonight: Daniel one of the Ori?! I repeat: what will we do when this show is gone?!
  • SG-A: Um... I forgot what episode we're on (caught up enough that we'll see the new one tonight, though). Lately I've loved McKay even more in this show--and also loved how they tied him into the SG-1 episode with Sam in the alternate universe. Suh-weet.

5.01.2007

....Happy May Day!

By the way, Happy May Day!

And if you're a decade-plus collegiate like myself, then you're just glad that your research paper has been posted, your short reports are submitted, and the midterm is long over.

Under the (McKinney?) Sun

There are certain movies that Alex and I fall in love with, and watch a dozen times, in any mood we happen to be in. And surprisingly, there's not a scifi epic among them:
What do they have in common? All of them feature narration, all of them take place in a foreign country.

Under the Tuscan Sun has been our most recent fall-back, the film equivalent of comfort food. I think one additional reason that we love this film is because it features a house, and a lot of ill-advised DIY home improvements.

I've been re-reading snatches of this book this morning while my truck is being serviced. And while it's different in book form--it takes place over four summers instead of one year, no seeking-love plot, no crazy Fellini-inspired friend, even more focus on delicious food--it's still glorious. I listened to the audio version of it last year, and loved that, as well--it will likely make its way onto my wishlist.

The real advantage of this book, of course, is that rather than feel overwhelmed by all the house fix-up projects we've come across lately, I now feel energized and ready to tackle them in order.

Now, if only I didn't work until 9pm tonight...

A List of Accomplishments

Since I work the evening shift today, that made this morning errand-day. This morning, I:
  • got my oil changed
  • made a bank deposit
  • got my wedding rings inspected
  • read a few lovely chapters of Under the Tuscan Sun
  • got a spectacular brainstorm about tiling various rooms in our house
  • listed out all the DIY projects we have to accomplish, and managed not to feel overwhelmed, but energized
All of these things go to prove my life's thesis: this is what is possible when coffee is consumed early enough in the morning.