Dude, Where's My Country?

I'm glad I went to the library yesterday. I had Michael Moore's "Dude, Where's My Country" in at the library and I was fresh out of new reading material. I started reading it today and I'm halfway through already and feel furious and helpless about my country and the way it's being run. How can we possibly avoid having ultra-rich morons who have their fingers in corporations around the world as our leaders when they're the only ones RICH enough to run for president? There's NEED for a law to make it so you can't use over a certain amount to campaign... It's a monopoly on who's running - if you're poor and local, no one will ever hear about you. It's sad.

All I can say about this book is that if you are unsatisfied with the obvious lies George W. has been feeding our country, just pick up this book somewhere and READ it. Easy read, funny read, educated read with lots of articles backing it up that you can apparently find on his site: www.michaelmoore.com -- actually, if you can't afford the book or can't find it at your local library, just go to his site and read some of the things there.

He's a compelling guy. It frustrates me that he's one of the few out and loud sources of the other side of the Bush/invasion(war if you wanna call it that) stories that the media feeds us. And didn't I just post a HUGE two-parter post about how much I hate lying and liars? I'm beginning to think I can't even watch TV without being pumped full of lies by the networks. ~*sigh*~ From now on, I'm sitting on the couch with a big bag of large-grained salt.

Graphic Novels

"Elfquest" by Wendy and Richard Pini was one of the first graphic novels I ever read. I was already reading X-Men and Wolverine at the time my sister got me to read these. When I started "ElfQuest", there were only 1 through 8 volumes. It may seem foofy on the outside, but ElfQuest has a solid heart... Elves against humans, pure-blood elves against those of "tainted" blood, magic against steel, troll versus elf.... the art is great and the story lives on beyond the original four-then-eight novels. At least read the first two and you'll see what I mean.

"Strangers in Paradise" by Terry Moore. My absolute favourite comic/trade paperback of all time and possibly my most treasured codex of any kind. It's the real-world kicked up a notch. It's about friendship, love, violence, dark pasts, conservative familes and expectations, and anything that's not considered the 'norm' but is really just another part of life. This series has it ALL. If you read any kind of illustrated story, I highly reccomend you at least read the first two volumes of this series and I guarantee you'll love it. It's that good.

"Preacher" by Garth Ennis. This is one twisted set of graphic novels. If it were a movie, I don't know I'd watch it but I checked out (on accident) the second or third volume and just had to read the rest to see what was going on. Doubt I'd ever buy it but it was definetly entertaining. Not for the easily-offended.

"The Books of Magic" by Neil Gaiman & others. Now, I'd read the Sandman series, but I have to say I like the Books of Magic better. Gaiman didn't write all of this series, but was the inspiration for it. It's kind of like Harry Potter on crack - it's eerie how some of the elements are similar; jaded young darkhaired w. glasses boy with shitty family life discovers that he's got ties to the magical world he never knew existed. Similarities end there, for the most part. Since it's magic, anything can happen with characters you'd only see in your dreams or nightmares. Oh, and Death makes quite a few apperances, which doesn't hurt. :D

"Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" by Hayao Miazaki. Yeah, it's Manga and I haven't read a ton of it that I really really liked. A lot of the exciting stuff is action crammed into huge panels that you can finish in 15 minutes. Not this. This is epic. It's kind of post-apocalyptic but in a world so far removed from our own, it seems. There is an anime version of this that is just terrible in comparison. Read the books! There are only 4 and if I had the money, I'd own them in a heartbeat. The kind of thing that makes you look at the world and where we're going.

Some random books

"A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson. I love his books - his humor going from cynical to happy-go-lucky in the same paragraph. He's just great. This book covers his ill-fated attempt to hike the entire Appalacian Trail. Both humerous and inspiring, it makes you want to either set out to hike the AT yourself or run screaming in the opposite direction. The book is also full of little facts and wonderful descriptions of the trail and its history along the way.

"The Mother Tongue" and "Made in America" by Bill Bryson. Both of these books have been used as textbooks in English classes all over. The first chronicles the history of English overall, its pitfalls and brilliance, comparing it to other languages as well as to its own forms across the world (i.e. British, American, Australian...) It gets down into the nitty gritty technical parts but is never boring and even though they're both extremely informative works of non-fiction, there is that signature Bryson humour threaded throughout. "Made In America" is about English in America alone, covering place names to dialects and how American English developed as a seperate entity from British English. If you love language, these are brilliant books you'll love.

"Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. Non-fiction. A look at how the fast food industry has changed the way we eat and the way food is produced and handled, not only in America but abroad as well. Kinda makes you think twice before buying burger at Safeway. Contrary to what the title suggests, this book is NOT anti-fast food, either. The author just SHOWS us how our world has changed since the advent of fast food, for better and for worse.

"A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. Non-fiction. This was the text for my American History class in college. It's a heavy read, but it's the true history of the U.S. with all the dark parts added BACK in. And it doesn't forget to add any group, either - from natives and blacks to women and children. It's all here.

Scifi/Fantasty novels

A random list of scifi/fantasty books I've enjoyed in the past.

"Kushiel's Dart" by Jaqueline Carey - The best written book I've ever read. It pseudo-paralells Europe's cultures and religions in its setting, told in first person perspective wonderfully, and has more plot-on-plot than I've ever seen in my life without being confusing or dragging. It has climax upon climax, each one better than before - and you keep thinking, "geez, they've come this far and I'm only halfway through the book -what the hell could happen next?" and sure enough, it gets better. The first two chapters are a bitch to get through, but there are 98-odd chapters total, so it's really a fraction of the book and SO worth the effort. ;) First book in a trilogy, stands well on its own.

"Through Wolf's Eyes" by Jane M. Lindskold - A fun fantasy book. The main character, Firekeeper, was raised by intelligent wolves and is brought back to 'civilization'. She's a kick-ass character; no romance to muddle up the plot, and a lot of wry humour and plenty of adventure. First of three books, awesome on it's own.

"Rhapsody" by Elizabeth Haydon - Fantasy. There are four books and I've only read the first two because I started to lose interest. There is a lot of long build-up in this book, but the concepts of the world are fabulous and I find myself thinking about them years after I read it the first time.

"Wolfwalker", "Shadow Leader", and "Storm Runner" by Tara K. Harper. These were originally a trilogy and since then, the author has added to them, but I think these are by far the best. I've never read a more rip-snorting, edge-of-your-seat set of books. The very first chapter of the first book makes you squirm in agony for the character.. Dion is a strong female character, but not in a loud way. She's not invincible and she's got a lot of depth. She's not girly at ALL, either, and after 8 years she remains one of my top favourite characters. She's got a telepathic link to wolves, so if you like the lupin kind, you'll especially like these books.

"Cat Scratch Fever" by Tara K. Harper - this is sci-fi; The main character is kidnapped and taken AWAY from technology and tortured. There's a lot more to it than that, but the detail and description in this book are .. wow. It's about PAIN.

"Z for Zachariah" by Robert C. O'Brien - sci-fi kind of. Post-apocalyptic, but in a more realistic fashion. A very short book, kind of first-person as the character writes in her journal about her life alone in her valley which seems to be the only place left untouched after a nuclear strike. It's full of common-sense survival as she has to conserve resources and plan for the future by raising chickens and taking care of the few animals available to her, planting, and raiding the local store and neighbor's house for goods.

The Renshai books - two trilogies worth, one starting with "The Last of the Renshai" and the second starting with "Beyond Ragnarok" by Mickey Zucker Reichert. Fantasy. It's as if the author continues the Norse myths beginning with the Ragnarok. The first trilogy happens right before, and the second happens 400 years after. I read the second trilogy first, so when I read the first, it was like I was reading a history. The Renshai are some of the best fighters you'll ever come across... It's a solid set of books with a nice selection of characters.


"The Dark Elf Trilogy" by R.A. Salvatore. Fantasy, from the Forgotten Realms. There are what, 16 or so Drizzt Do'Urden books, but don't let that scare you. The Dark Elf Trilogy was written second but happens first - which is good. The trilogy that was written first pales in comparison and is darn right a pain in the ass to get through, but integral to the characters overall. But this trilogy stands as just... they're phenominal. Over the entire set of books all of the characters just become deeper and deeper - especially the ones that start out rather shallow. Salvatore never disappoints. His fight scenes are some of the most fluid I have ever read; he keeps it simple and is able to describe with one sentence what too many authors take paragraphs to do.

"The Deed of Paksenarrion" by Elizabeth Moon. Fantasy. Here is a tale of triumph, trial, pain, and sacrifice. The conditions of a medieval military are depicted VERY realistically except for the fact that women are about as equal as men here. Again, no romance to muddle up this character's journey - and it's one of the most epic stories I've read. Just read the damn thing. You'll see.

"The Slave and the Free" by Suzy McKee Charnas. Post-apocalyptic, kind of. It's hard to describe this book, which is actually the first two books of her "Holdfast Chronicles" in one. I reccomend reading this as opposed to just the first book for a good reason. In this version of future history, stuff got so screwed up (and it is explained how) that women and men are like two species in the way they see eachother. Men rule and women are slaves. Christianity has twisted to become a seperation of the father from the son to a religion that kills. Women have been slaves so long they cant even comprehend thinking for themselves. The first book is mostly from the perspective of two male characters - the second book takes off from the female perspective. The books aren't the best written I've ever read, but the concept is mindblowing. There are 4 books total; the first shows you things from the male perspective and you begin to loathe them. The second takes you outside their world and you see how the women think. The third you think of as a triumph for women over the men but before you even get to the fourth you realize that both sides are MORONS and that this whole series is really about how humanity can fall so far and so hard.

Ocremix.org

http://www.ocremix.org/index.php

Eric showed me this site - it's a whole bunch of remixes of video game music done by all kinds of people. My music tastes are broad, and I usually don't listen to dance/techno/electronica kinds of things, but some of the more unique and atmospheric stuff I like. :)

Particularly nice is the song for Black & White, one for Ecco the Dolphin called "Broken Machine", "Force of Light" for Shining Force III, and three different versions of "Terra" from the Final Fantasy series: "Death on the Snowfield", "Terral in Black", and "Terra Black Crystal". FF7 "String Machine" is nice, too... ohhh, as is FF6 "Mystic Forest"....

Flying in a Small Plane

My dad had his drivers liscence only one month longer than he had his pilot's liscence, to start. He went to college in Florida to get his commercial pilot's liscence but never finished. Sometime before I was born, he bought a Cessna 180. Ours was white with brown and orange in a more creative pattern. It seats 4 people total.

So, I have been flying since I was in my mom's womb. Pop used the plane to go moose hunting and salmon fishing, and just to go places. Growing up, we went out flying nearly every weekend -- we'd always get excited when Pop was going to take the garbage out to the Dump because the truck we had had a big ole gas tank with pump in the back that we used to fuel the plane with. If we went out to the Dump, there was always a good chance that afterward, we'd go out to where the plane was and go flying.

What its' like to fly in a small plane
First off, it's not like in TV or the movies. Planes are LOUD and you have to yell at the top of your lungs to be heard if you're not using a headset. The engine is so loud because minimum speed in a Cessna 180 to keep in the air is somewhere around 80 MPH. And you're usually cruising around at 180 MPH. Another thing is the seatbelts. The two seats in the back of my dad's plane had the belts like you'd find on an airliner. The two front seats have over the shoulder harnesses that latch into the part that goes across your lap. If something were to happen and you were flung forward and you didnt' have the harness, your weight would push the yoke (steering wheel) forward and you'd be putting the plane's nose down. Especially not good if you're being flipped over (a friend of my dad's flipped his plane and it WOULDN'T of happened had he had the harness setup).

Taking off is the BEST part - there isn't as much G-force as on an airliner, but since you're smaller and closer to the ground, you feel like you're going faster, and the climb seems sharper... It's the difference between running as fast as you can, and then dreaming you're running faster than humanly possible and feeling fantastic about it. Nothing beats the rush you feel when taking off. :D I physically am unable to keep from smiling when I take off in a small plane.

And the ride is SO much bumpier. Airlines make me feel weird because they generally don't bounce around ENOUGH. Taking off and landing is, too -- I've only landed on pavement in a small plane once in my life. Everything else has been rocks, gravel, sand, silt, and dirt. Anyway, but your stomach does the drop thingey a LOT. You get used to it, but I'm not immune to it like my dad is. I don't get motion sickness, though, probably because I grew up with the plane.

I miss it a lot. It's just so different from anything else, but even growing up with it, you knew it was special. Everything about flying is so different from anything else... After we'd land, if Pop didn't get the plane in the right place we'd get out and you push on the wing struts to get it back into place over the tie-downs. And you tie down each wing and the tail, and there's a way to do it, too. Now, we've got the boat. You get close to the dock, and whoever isn't piloting is hanging on the rail so when you get close, you grab a line and jump off the boat and onto the dock, and use your line (not a ROPE, a LINE) to hold the boat in place -- one person on the front end, another on the back end. And you tie it down in a certain way.

Doing things with the boat, I feel like we're faking it. We're trying to be something we're not. It's just not the same.

Red Sonja

YAY! It's finally here!
I've looked everywhere for this movie on VHS or DVD for over 10 years. I knew I could find it online, but with shipping and handling... well, I didn't bother to look. 'Til last week. Got it on amazon.com for a whopping $8 something total. :P It's on VHS; the movie only exists on DVD in Germany, region two, at the moment so I'll suffer for now. Up UNTIL now I'd only seen Red Sonja edited on television (which we had a recording of until my stepdad taped over it. *glowers*). NBC used to show a movie on Saturdays after cartoons were over. They played the same films a lot, and they used to show Red Sonja often. And when you're a kid, if you liked any kind of semi-realistic action with swords and horses, well then! This was the movie for you! Our couch had really tall arms on it which we would saddle up like horses, and on commercial breaks we would run around with plastic swords and look for the Talisman, like in the film. lol.

But if you DIDN'T grow up with the movie Red Sonja, and you have high standards for film, then to you it would be one of those films that has a bit too much class for "Mystery Science Theatre". But not much. ;) The film is a kind of Conan spinoff - Arnold is in it as a warrior named Kalidor. He's not the main-main character, though. Brigitte Nielsen plays the title role, a woman scorned who learns to fight better than anyone in the land so she can get revenge on the people who destroyed her village and raped her when she was a young woman. A 12 year old Ernie Reyes Jr. (who played Keno the pizza boy in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2) is in it as well.

The best part is Queen Gedren (Sandahl Bergman), Red Sonja's arch enemy. As a kid you just don't pick up on any of the queerness of this woman's obsession with Sonja. Which makes it so much more fun to watch now I'm older. :D ~*sigh*~

Red Sonja is interesting in that it was originally going to be a much higher quality film than the end result. They had top of the line costuming and film score. The costumes really are top-notch and extremely varied. One website I read pointed out that this film has the greatest variety in headwear of any film they've seen. The music was done by Ennio Morricone, the guy who did the stuff for "Fistful of Dollars" and "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly". It's quality stuff - and though there seem to be only two main themes (the travelling, main theme and the panicked fight theme) that repeat a lot, at least the catchy travelling theme is... well, catchy. It definetly conjurs up images of warriors galloping across mountains and hills on horseback.

And then there's the bad... the acting is horrendous. What is interesting is that nearly everyone delivers their lines in the same, stilted, unsure manner. It's SO across the board that you almost forgive it as just the way people seem to speak in that universe. Or you just laugh at it - the dialague makes this film highly quoteable. Nearly any sentence spoken aloud on its own is good enough to cause laughter in those who hear it. ;)

And of course, it has the 'gay is evil' theme - but Queen Gedren is so lovably shallow and evil I just want to pat her on the head. I mean, other than 5 year olds, no one is taking this film seriously, so have fun with it. The fight scenes aren't half bad and the sets are interesting, too. Just try saying the characters lines out loud and there is laughter to be had. :D

One of my favorite movies of all time - but it's a special case. ;)

Edit to add: since the original posting of this I have obtained the film on DVD - readily available at supermarket chain stores across the U.S. for about $8.