Anime Report: Samurai X: Reflection

The last of the Samurai X OAVs, "Reflection" brings the saga of master swordsman and assassin Kenshin Himura to its end. There is no peace for Kenshin. The world holds no place for him. Even though he is doomed to fail in his attempt to atone for the blood staining his soul, he can not stop trying.

"Reflection" takes place years after the "Rurouni Kenshin" TV series, and is utterly lacking in the humor the series was known for. But many of that series' characters show up in the OAV, and there are liberal flashbacks to tell what parts they have to play in Kenshin's story.

Kaoru, Kenshin's long-suffering wife, is waiting for the wandering samurai to return to her -- and wondering if she can ever hold a place in his heart like his first, doomed love, Tomoe. Will she live to see him again?

I've watched, and adored, the Samurai X OAVs. But I've only seen scattered episodes of Rurouni Kenshin. "Reflection" is beautiful and bittersweet, but I wonder if it would have affected me more deeply if I was familiar with the TV series. It makes me want to watch it -- good for my anime viewing, bad for my bank account (there are more than 20 DVDs)

We popped in the first disc of RK, afterwards -- the only one we own. We had to stop after watching two episodes, but it was striking to see Kaoru so young, funny and full of spirit. It will be an interesting ride.

I made it! Mystic

For years, I was a cross-stitching fiend. Any time I was watching TV or chilling on the couch, I had to have a needle in my hand.

Then I burned out. I started trying to learn to knit, played a whole lot of City of Heroes -- weeks went by and this project sat in the corner of the living room on its stand, patiently waiting for me to pay attention to it again.


"Mystic" is an Enchanting Lair design, based on the work of artist Amy Brown. It was released in 2003, but only 1,000 charts were made -- some sort of licensing screw-up that led to "Mystic" being a limited edition.

When I first saw the design, I had to have it because it reminded me of a character I used to play in Earthdawn. Lyssa was a tough little windling fighter, more feisty than faerie. And even though the campaign wasn't perfect, I still have fond memories of my little Lyssa.

The work is stitched on hand-dyed evenweave fabric from Sugar Maple Fabrics, in the Moon Princess colorway, with DMC, Kreinik metallics and Waterlillies silk floss. There's about 500 beads on her wings (blue with a silvered interior) -- I bought one package of Mill Hill, and it was practically empty when I was done.

I'm pretty pleased with it overall, although the pattern had more mistakes than I like to see, and the backstiching lines were a vague suggestion at best. Maybe I should have taken the photo in sunlight, though -- it looks darker on my monitor than it should. When I get it framed, I think it will look nice in our guest room.

Little girl??

All I can say is that he brought this post on himself ...

Movie Report: "My Super Ex-Girlfriend"

When A-list actors make B movies, what is there for the B-list actors to do?

And this is a B flick - just with a higher budget. Uma Thurman plays mild-mannered Jenny Johnson, who by night is G-Girl, a superhero who protects New York with seemingly unlimited power. She's invulnerable, flies, has super speed and heat vision, can deflect nuclear missiles and chill your drink with her breath -- Superman might have trouble besting her, and he certainly doesn't have her fashion sense. Luke Wilson is Matt Saunders, the chump who gets involved with her.

And Matt is apparently missing that little voice in the back of your brain that screams "RUN! THIS WOMAN IS BATSHIT CRAZY! YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE SEX WITH HER -- YOU SHOULD RUN!!!!"

Because even before he finds out about the whole G-Girl thing, Jenny is insecure, whiny, needy, suspicious, demanding, neurotic -- pretty much the perfect storm of a psycho girlfriend. She's not even that good of a superhero -- you get the feeling she just doesn't have enough imagination to be a supervillain. So when he finally wises up and tries to dump her, yeah, it gets ugly.

This is a cute movie, but not a great one. It's a "watch it on Sunday afternoon when you're bored" movie. There's some good bits -- the trouble with superheroine sex, what G-Girl does to Matt's car. The bit with the shark is the best thing in the movie. Eddie Izzard does his best with limited material as Doctor Bedlam, G-Girl's nemesis, and Rainn Wilson is funny as Matt's chauvinistic best friend. But I'd wait until cable.

Movie Report: The "Ginger Snaps" trilogy

"There's only one trilogy, you fucking morons." Randal Graves, Clerks II

Normally I wouldn't spend money on movies like these. I'd watch 'em, but I wouldn't pay to do it. And in this case, I've made fun of the stupid name while browsing through the video store. But we're playing a Werewolf game up north, and "Ginger Snaps" is mentioned in the list of source material as a good flick to watch. Curious, when I saw them on the two for a buck rack at Family Video, I snapped all three up.

I was pleasantly surprised. The first movie is dark and culty, with a distinct "Heathers" vibe. Sisters Ginger and Brigette are suburban goth outcasts who take death portraits for art class and hate the idea of growing up so much they have a suicide pact.

So Ginger has her first period, gets bit by something furry, and you know, the changes she goes through are pretty normal. Mood swings, bleeding, hairy legs, growing a tail, developing a taste for human flesh ...

Brigette hooks up with a drug dealer (who conveniently killed the first werewolf by hitting it with his van) and they try to find a cure. There's not a lot of disbelief here -- we go straight to "Yep, she's a werewolf. What do we do?"

A fun, bloody little movie. Special effects are pretty terrible, but hey, what do you expect for this budget? Besides -- you have to like any movie that has dried flowers from the craft store as a key plot point.


In "Ginger Snaps: Unleashed," we find Brigette, who is now fighting the werewolf curse with increasing doses of the drug she and Sam cooked up in the first movie.

She fights off a werewolf chasing her (we never find out who it is) but ends up in a mental hospital detox ward. Strangely enough, she's one of the most normal people there!

Brigette's gotta break out, fight off the werewolf and find a cure -- all before the next full moon.

"Unleashed" is a fun, creepy and smart (but not too smart) sequel to a decent little B flick. And there's some twists here that make it a little more interesting than your average splatter movie.


"Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning" is a genuine surprise. While it's normal for a movie to be decent and the sequels to suck, the third movie is by far the best of the three.

Ginger and Brigette are sisters in the early 1800s who find themselves trapped in a cursed trading fort on the edge of the wilderness. There's a cryptic Indian seer, lots of macabre atmosphere, pretty good special effects, decent performances all around -- not a bad movie at all. I would have paid to see this in the theater.

By this time the girls have great chemistry, and while some of the characters are stereotypical (I'm looking at you, preacher man!) it's a fun ride.

Anime Report: Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Rose Collection 1 and 2

I find it strange that I haven't posted a book report lately. But then again, my taste in books runs in cycles from light fluffy paperbacks to heavy lifting, and at the moment, it's the heavier stuff I'm turning to. So it might take me a while to get through it, but the book reports will be back.

Until then, on with the movies and the anime!!

OK, Utena is not anime for beginners. Yes, it is by the makers of Sailor Moon. And yes, it is a magical girl shojo, just like Sailor Moon.

For the most part, that is where the resemblance ends.

Utena has elements of existentialism, divinity, gender, fate, love, incest, obsession, sexual awakening, violence, death, identity, the works of Herman Hesse, French theatre, nobility, absurdism -- there's a lot more here than pretty people and magic transformations. My friend Rosebride, who was the one who first introduced me to Utena, claims it can be a religion.

The Rose Collection 1 and 2 encompasses the first 13 episodes of the series, which is the first major arc.

A young girl named Utena loses both her parents. Despondent, she is rescued by a prince, who tells her never to lose her noble spirit and gives her a ring with a rose crest, which he says will someday lead her back to him.

Utena is so impressed by the prince that she decides to become a prince herself.

Years later, Utena is a student at Ohtori Academy, a strange, gothic school dominated by its student council. To defend a friend's honor, Utena challenges the student council vice president (who's also president of the kendo club) to a duel.

This plunges her into the world of the student council, as well as introducing her to the Rose Bride, a shy, abused girl named Anthy who must be engaged to whomever is the current dueling champion.

Utena fights a series of sword duels to save Anthy, who is believed to be the key to a power that can revolutionize the world. But what is the power, and who is the prince?

I have to be in the right mood to watch Utena, because it is so metaphysical. But it's beautiful and romantic and occasionally heartbreaking. Episodes featuring Nanami alternate between humor (where did those chickens come from?) and horror (is there anything she won't do to possess Togua?)

This is also a series you watch more than once -- there is so much there that only repeated viewings can help the viewer reveal the depth of the story.

I'm a fan of anime music videos -- some of them are basic, but others are very well done. This one (another find by Rosebride) explains Utena pretty well.

Kiss My Ass

So I call the decorating style in my house "Early Refugee."

I've got a mish-mash of stuff that was either free or really, really cheap, all covered in books, comic books and a DVD collection that's threatening to take over the house.

Occasionally, I get the urge just to toss a match and see what survives.

But I'm not gonna do that -- I'm gonna try again. We're going to paint the living room so its not that crappy builder white, and I'm going to find some new furniture that John and I can actually agree on. Maybe.

So I'm surfing Craigslist last night, looking for something vintage, maybe something kind of pop cool, (or a sucker who will sell an Eames lounge chair for $50) and I see the *marvelous* chair pictured on the left.

Because really, who *hasn't* wanted two giant lips to gently cradle their ass? To rest your tired buttocks in a pouty pucker? And even if that hasn't been your dream (and I think you're fooling yourself), can you resist advertising copy like this?

"This flirtatious work of furniture art puckers up to kiss any bottom with a velvety-plush, lipstick-red fabric! Sure to attract attention, the retro chrome legs of this pouty accent chair are perfectly shaped to support ample upper and lower lips. Whether paired for a tête-à-tête or set as a striking solo work, this unique chair is sure to be admired as the signature piece in any room! Simple assembly required."

If you want to indulge your ass-to-mouth fantasies (hello, Clerks 2!), you can do it here.

Movie Report: "Final Destination 3"

I appreciate movies that make you think, that have subtext, that are more than your basic story.

But sometimes you just need some blood, some guts and some Rube-Goldberg-esque gory death.

I love the "Final Destination" movies. Bloody, nasty, funny -- amazing setups that lead to a nasty, messy end for some teenager. What's not to like? Turn your brain off and enjoy the gore.

The scenes on the roller coaster are *intense* -- very impressive. And I'll admit to laughing during the tanning bed scene. Couldn't help it. The story handles itself reasonably well for being the first not to deal with Flight 180 -- but, seeing how much modern flicks depend on "I found it on the Internet" one wonders what they did before it.

I didn't get to play with the "Choose the death" sections of the DVD before it had to be returned, though, and I really wanted to. I'll rent it again or pick it up cheap at the used DVD store just do that sometime.

Random Moment of Beauty

Today's Random Moment of Beauty is in honor of a display of photographs by Mpozi Mshale Tolbert (1972-2006) that will be on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art from Sept. 23 - Oct. 21.

This is one of his favorite photos, taken on a New York street.

Miss you, Mpozi.

Movie Report: "The Producers"

OK, by now you've gotten the point that I watch *a lot* of movies.

Can't help it, not gonna change. I like movies, I work weird hours, and while everyone is having some semblance of a social life, I'm a soldier in the fight against split infinitives. So the party scene is pretty much not happening for me.

Now, I'm a fan of Mel Brooks. His early stuff -- "Young Frankenstein," "Blazing Saddles" -- pure genius. But I was beginning to think he'd lost his touch. "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" was OK, not great, but "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" was pure drek.

So when my roommate brought home "The Producers," I wasn't that enthused. But I started watching anyway.

And proceeded to laugh my ass off.

This flick is great -- the songs are catchy, every performance is spot-on and the comedy is just brilliant. Even Will Farrell, whom I totally despise, was funny in this movie. Who knew he could act?

My friend J-Man is all sorts of obsessed with "Snakes on a Plane." I say that snakes on a plane may be a comedy gold mine, but you ain't seen nothin' until you've seen a granny chorus line tap dancing with their walkers.

Go rent this one -- today.

I made it! Booga Bag

Lookie at what I made!

I am no where near an expert knitter. In fact, most of the things I've completed are some sort of rectangle. So I'm pretty psyched about finishing this.

My Booga is made from Noro Kureyon 139 -- my first time using something beside craptastic acrylic from the craft store. And boy howdy ... knitting with nice wool really makes a difference! It was so easy on the needles ... no sticking, less splitting. It didn't make my fingers hurt, and it was actually fun to work with. And I'm so easily amused that watching the stripes appear entertained me.

Odd fact for the day: Noro yarns are from Japan, and "Kureyon" means "crayon." Cool name, huh?

Modifications I made to the pattern -- John helped me put in grommets instead of just poking holes for the straps, which I think looks better and will make the bag more sturdy. And I had leftover yarn, which I used to make a pocket inside (closes with Velcro) and a strap to hold the bag closed. The antiqued silver button is just for show -- there's Velcro there, too.

Unfortunately, I had leftover yarn because I didn't understand part of the pattern. It said to make 5-6 feet of I-cord for the straps, which I did. My first time using double-pointed needles too -- go me! But the pattern *didn't* say that the I-cord would shrink like crazy during the felting process and I wouldn't have enough to make the straps according to the pattern instructions. So I fudged. I think it looks pretty good, but next time I'll double the amount of I-cord I make.

The bag's also not quite as stiff as I would like it to be, and I can still see a bit of stitch definition, which makes me think I didn't felt it quite long enough. I'll fix that in the next one too. But it's pretty and fuzzy and stripey and I put my wallet and such in it and took it to lunch and the fabric store today, and I was happy.

I'm not much of a purse person, but I think I could get to like this one a lot.

If you want to make one, you can find the pattern here.

Movie Report: "The New World"

This is a very pretty movie. The scenery is pretty, the photography is pretty, and the actors are very pretty -- except for some of the English, and they aren't supposed to be pretty.

There are long, pretty shots of rivers and trees and happy Native Americans doing happy Native American things. The English aren't doing happy things, unless they are in England, which is either dirty and crowded or full of very large, very green lawns, depending on where you are. The lawns are very pretty.

The pacing is glacial -- but that just leaves more time for pretty pictures.

The music is pretty -- which is good, because hardly anyone talks, and most of that is in voiceover. When people do talk, they tend to mumble. So don't bother trying to listen -- it's not that important anyway.

And of course, just like Disney, the filmmakers have to invent a passionate romance between John Smith and Pocahontas. She was 12 years old people -- there is no historical evidence they ever had a fling. But Q'orianka Kilcher is very pretty -- which may explain why Colin Farrell, who plays John Smith, goes through most of the movie looking like he has been struck in the head with something heavy.

He's still pretty, though.

The film is pretty long, too -- I think I saw the 17-hour DVD edit. But don't go into this looking for a movie -- it's a visual poem. And it's pretty.

Manga Report: Ai Yori Aoshi Vol. 9

I was reading a lot of manga (the vast majority of it shojo), but I get confused easily. Did I need to buy Kare Kano Vol. 9 or Vol 10? Was the name of that one Amazing Agent Luna, or something else? Is there a third volume to X-Day, and when will it be released?

So I stopped. I read all of Revolutionary Girl Utena (that was easy, it was only 5 volumes). Now I'm on to Ai Yori Aoshi -- and maybe High School Girls, if I can ever find Vol. 6 in Borders.

Ai Yori Aoshi (translated into English as "Bluer than Blue" or "True Blue Love") started out as a sweet little love story.

Kaoru runs away from his super-rich but abusive family and, years later, is just another struggling college student. Into his lonely life arrives Aoi, the arranged marriage he'd forgotten about. But she's loved him since she was a child and is determined to see it through.

Not a bad premise -- then sweet little love story turns into harem comedy. And because this was originally published in a Japanese men's magazine -- bam! There is some fan service happening up in here!

But I'm still enjoying the book -- although I find the newest girl, Chika, completely extraneous. Apparently, college-age shower scenes weren't enough for the true pervs -- they had to add someone younger.

In this volume: It's Valentine's Day, and Kaoru has gotten chocolates from every girl but Aoi -- what's wrong? Chika is especially obnoxious in this chapter, prancing around in one of Kaoru's shirts and a pair of panties. Put some clothes on already!

Tina's having some trouble -- she's promised her parents she'll return to America after graduation, but she hasn't told any of her friends. She's spending more time with Kaoru, and Aoi's jealous -- she wants some alone time with Kaoru too. Then a group tennis lesson, and it's nice to see Aoi step up to the forefront for once. A trip to a public bath is just another opportunity for fan service, but you learn a little more about Tina.

For a harem comedy, Ai Yori Aoshi is funny, romantic and has flashes of deep emotion ... but I could do with a few less flashes of other things.

Movie Report: Tippi Hedren and "The Birds"

Strangely enough, even though I'm a huge fan of Hitchcock, I had never seen "The Birds."

And since the sweetie hadn't either, and I had one of my rare Saturday nights off, it was time to rectify that oversight.

Hollywood Bar and Filmworks was having a special showing of Hitch's 1963 flick, complete with an appearance by Tippi Hedren. John and I showed up early, thinking she was going to be giving a sort of presentation about the movie, but no such luck -- she was in the lobby selling autographed pictures and such.

She's very lovely and elegant, and had that jeans with metallic, impossibly high heels look you have to be a celebrity to pull off. But having not seen the movie yet, I didn't feel like interrupting her in the middle of her dinner when I wouldn't even be able to form a reasonably intelligent question. So we kept our distance and left her to her salad.

The movie? Marvelous. I love how Hitchcock can create suspense with the simplest of situations, and that's what "The Birds" is at its heart -- something in the world is not as it should be. And there's no explaination as to why.

I loved the drunk in the restaurant quoting Scripture, btw, and I'm terribly impressed at everything Tippi can do in high heels, a dress suit and a mink coat. I can barely walk in high heels.

Audio effects are used extremely well to heighten the tension -- there's no music to speak of (except in the school scene) but the sound of the birds ... well, lets just say I'm looking at the geese on the pond behind my house differently now.

Add to the craziness a catfight between Melanie, Annie and Lydia simmering beneath the surface and some standout performances by Susanne Pleshette and Jessica Tandy and you've got a classic. This one's getting added to my "Buy on DVD" list.

John pointed out that the claustrophobic waiting scenes and general strangeness were like "Night of the Living Dead" with birds instead of zombies, but "Night" wasn't released until 1968. So "The Birds" could have influenced Romero.

You Knit What? Help Me Obi-Wan

Ok, this is kind of scary, and kind of funky fabulous. The jury's still out kids -- tell me what you think.

I have a gorgeous Leia costume in my closet that my mother-in-law made for me. And the last time I wore it for a party, it took *forever* and a whole lot of hair spray to get my hair in something resembling her 'do. It takes a lot more hair than I have.

But even though the knitted Leia wig now exists, I still think I'll go with hair extentions the next time display my Star Wars geekiness.

Want to knit it? Find it here.

Movie Report: "The Creature Walks Among Us"

Feeling the need to cleanse my soul after "Chupacabra: Dark Sea," I turned to The Creature from the Black Lagoon-Legacy Collection and watched the last film in the set, 1956's "The Creature Walks Among Us."

I feel better now.

There's something compelling about the classic Universal monster movies. If you haven't watched them yet -- go do so! So much of what passes for horror these days owe what little bit of suspense and soul they have left to the films that set the standard.

In the last of the "Creature" movies, a rich mad scientist/surgeon assembles a team to catch the Creature. Unfortunately, his plan appears to be: Let's catch it and screw with its genetic structure! Why? Because we can!

It's apparent that this film had a lower budget than the first two -- much of the underwater footage is recycled, the sets are smaller, and the Creature's makeup is much less elaborate.



But what this film lacks in production, it makes up for in atmosphere, story and the female lead's kicking white bathing suits. Dang -- why can't I find something like that in the stores today?

The deceptively-simple story has overlays of the Bible (tell me the Creature's removal from the water isn't a fall from innocence), the follies of science, and perception creating reality (If you believe someone is unfaithful, do you set them up to be so?)

One thing that did grate on me -- the film fairly crackles with misogyny, and the treatment of Marcia is shameful. This is partially story related, partially the 1950s ... but she is trapped in a world that has no place for her as much as the Creature is. At least she gets a happier ending than it does.

Movie Report: "Chupacabra: Dark Sea"

I am a glutton for punishment.

Or maybe I'm just too damn lazy to change the channel.

Because Saturday morning I ended up watching this complete piece of drek (2005) on Sci-Fi.

The critter was a guy in a rubber suit, they used the same spray of blood effect on the wall at least four times, the plot had holes you could drive a truck through, and while "Terminal Invasion" was a solid, although not exceptional B-flick, this one was laugh-out-loud funny. Repeatedly.

I don't think they were trying to be funny.

Poor John Rhys-Davies, wandering through the film with dead eyes. You could see what he was thinking. Sometimes it was "I was in three Lord of the Rings films and now this?" The rest of the time it was "I'm so going to fire my agent."

But I did learn a few things:

I cannot respect a U.S. Marshal in a Hawaiian shirt, no matter how much he flashes the badge and tries to look cool.

Shooting a big-ass critter that can rip a man's throat out with birdshot just pisses it off!

The annoying old lady always gets whacked.

The magic stuff that will kill the monster always glows.

The stupidest Navy SEALs on record appear in this film.

But in case you don't think there's a payoff, just wait, because the captain's slutty daughter TAE-BOS THE CHUPACABRA!!!!!!!!

It's worth an hour of complete shit just to see that!

But I can't explain how bad this movie is -- I've got to show you:

Movie Report: "Terminal Invasion"

So I said I'd watch anything with Bruce Campbell, right? Well, that apparently includes this 2002 Sci-Fi Channel flick. The things lurking in the depths of my DV-R would terrify mere mortals ...

Imagine, if you will, "Night of the Living Dead" with aliens. Trapped in a small airport terminal by a blizzard, we have the usual collection of misfits -- the perky, yet capable female pilot, the bumbling security guard, the bickering yuppies on vacation, the cute kids, the asshole businessman, the military dude, the escaped murderer, and the stereotypical minority. (And this one really is -- he says "This is whack, yo!") Some of them are aliens. Hilarity ensues.

You get ... pretty much what you expect from a Sci-Fi flick. It's a B-movie that does just what it's supposed to. This isn't art. The budget is about six bucks, and Bruce is the only person whose name you'll recognize. He plays his escaped bad man with a three-day beard and a scowl for most of the movie -- the role just didn't give him room to show more than flashes of the Bruce Campbell charm.

Would I recommend this movie? Well, if you're bored and your only other option is a History Channel special on "The Shoes of World War II," sure. But don't run out and try to find it.

I leave you with "Terminal Invasion" philosophy:

The men's room is much like a house of God. In times of need, all men are welcome.

Movie Report: "Sky High"

Digging through the hours of stuff waiting to be watched on my DV-R, I found this 2005 flick.

I originally only wanted to see is because Bruce Campbell is in it. I'll watch damn near anything with Bruce Campbell in it -- the sweetie and I even dropped $10 bucks each to attend the Indiana premiere of "The Man with the Screaming Brain."

And Bruce did not disappoint -- he wasn't in the movie that much, but his scene in the school gym was highly amusing. I liked the design of the school (reminded me of "Battle Athletes") and Kurt Russell gave a nice tongue-in-cheek performance as The Commander. It's also nice to see some of the guys from Kids in the Hall get some work.

The movie? Take a 1980s teen romance comedy, remove all the nudity and off-color humor, and add superheroes. The soundtrack is even from the '80s -- a bunch of remakes of Spandau Ballet and Modern English. I wouldn't nominate it for an Oscar, but if you've got to watch something with a kid, this won't rot your brain ... too much.

You knit what? Color Me Dead

In honor of the late, great blog You Knit What, Blogs on Fyre is pleased to present the Technicolor Gallows Bag!

Seriously -- what did those little dolls do to deserve being hung by their little yarn necks until dead? Was it some sort of mass suicide? And what statement was the designer going for -- "The souls of the dead will protect your knitting"?

I didn't see one of the fall's big fashion trends being voodoo, but I could be wrong. I haven't picked up Vogue in a while.

Don't fret! This bag could be salvaged -- just make the dolls in multiracial colors and call it a tribute to this season's "Survivor."

BTW -- if you have an urge to knit something multicolored and macabre, you can find the pattern here.

Movie Report: "The Illusionist"

OK, so I'm going to go to some sort of pop culture hell for seeing another movie before I see "Snakes on a Plane." I've accepted this.

Because really, can you go wrong with Rufus Sewell and Edward Norton in the same movie? Besides the eye candy factor, you've got two excellent actors who have great taste in films. Sewell's worst part ever was in the second "Zorro" flick, and that was still pretty good turn-your-brain-off action.

The sweetie and I are in a "Rippers" game atm that is set in Victorian-era Budapest. (He's the GM, I'm playing in it.) Unfortunately, there is pretty much no setting info for the era, and we've been having to create it. As you might imagine, "Austrian-Hungarian nobility of the 1870s" isn't a hugely popular topic on the Web. Maybe Stephen Colbert should mention it on his show.

John was feeling kind of down a few weeks ago, couldn't get his brain around what to do, and I tracked down a reference to "Illusionist." Going to see a movie set in the period you're working with is a great way to get your creative thing going.

The movie itself? Setting and theme were great, the costumes were lovely. With my newfound interest in Victorian costuming, I am so lusting after the outfit Sophie wore to the prince's hunting lodge.

The plot? Well, I had the "big twist" pegged less than halfway through the movie, and turns out I was right. But there's a freeing element in that -- I could watch the rest of the movie unfold and enjoy the story and the performances without trying to figure it out.

There was a preview for "The Prestige" before the show started -- looks like turn of the century magicians are the new hotness.

Book Report: "Mistress of the Empire"

Yes, I have a degree in English literature. But I read these days to relax, to learn and to entertain myself. You want literary criticism, go find a grad student.

"Mistress" is the third book in a series by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurtz.

I'm coming at the world a little backward, never having read the "Riftwar" books by Feist that explain what's going on and who the Tsuranuanni and Midkimians are, but a friend told me to read the first book in the series, "Daughter of the Empire," with the recommendation: "It's got lots of politics. You'll like it."

It does, and I do.

Mara is rare among fantasy heroines -- a woman who rises to power while remaining completely female. No learning to fight like a man or taking on mannish traits -- she's tough as nails and completely feminine.

The flow of "Mistress" is derivative of the first two books, although that serves to underline the stagnation of the Tsurani culture. It's still enjoyable to follow along as Mara schemes her way out some trap or another. And "Mistress" has a good bit more about Arakasi -- Mara's spy master and my favorite character. His one-man assault on a Tong stronghold? Very cool.

I do have some problems with "Mistress," though. I'll try not to spoil too much.

• A deux ex machina at a key point is a sign of sloppy writing.
• The response of a patriarchal, tradition-bound culture to a multiracial son of a slave rising to a prominent position may not be "Eh, that's cool."
• The "happy happy love love" ending was a bit much for me. I'm not sure it would be that easy.
• And if you're going to divorce a man who's treated you with nothing but kindness and respect, who's risked his life for yours and has given you nothing but love, honor and wisdom during your marriage, maybe you want to warn the poor bastard before handing him the papers in front of the entire flippin' court? Even if the reasons are noble, there are people on "Springer" who have been less cruel.

But overall, I liked "Mistress." I'd read it again, and I'd recommend it if you're a fantasy fan. (But start with "Daughter of the Empire")

"It's got lots of politics. You'll like it."

The softer side

I was going to stay away from this whole blogging thing.

Because really, aren't 99 percent of them full of drek that *no one* wants to read? And what reason did I have to add to the word pollution of the world?

Then my good buddy Paj started his blog, Tortilla Chips and Milk. It's funny as hell -- I highly recommend it.

I started reading every day -- my first tentative toe into the blog pool. Then Paj asked me to write a few entries.

The first one's always free, right?

A rant about the uber lameness of K-Fed later, I was hooked.

I am ... sigh ... a blogger.

My pop culture writings will stay on TC&M, for the most part. C'mon -- the people need to know the truth about the race war ... aka what's happening on "Survivor."

But this will be a softer, gentler blog, more for the things I enjoy. A ballad of a blog. And what's that, you might ask?

I like all sorts of books, music and movies, I roleplay, I play too much City of Heroes, keep an eye on politics, cross-stitch, I try to knit, and I sew like a paraplegic monkey.

Any of that may find its way here ... especially the monkeys.