Reviews and well more reviews (Fluke, some Shakespeare, Sucker Punch...)

Okay a bit of random reviewing, first off -- Fluke, Or I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by the talented and hilarious Christopher Moore. Not only is Moore a very funny writer but he has a gift for creating memorable characters, ask any of his fans and they'll recount some of their favorites (Kendra Warrior Babe of the Outland and Theo, Tucker Case and Roberto, Biff and Josh just to name a few) and this book is no exception. There's Nate and Amy and Kona and Clay and Clair and a few others, each one coming to life on the page. This isn't one of Moore's funniest books, it had laughs but not as many lol moments as some of his others but I really liked the kinda sci/fi element of the book. It starts off as a save the whales, eco-adventure with lots of 'action nerds' as Nate likes to say and then descends (like 600 and something feet below sea level) into a semi-Apocalypse Now thiller/sci-fi/comedy. I don't want to give too much away but I can't help but bastardizing one of my favorite Hemingway quotes-- Sometimes a story about a fish is just a story about a fish but other times a story about a fish is really a story about bio-mechanical submarines. lol (I'm probably the only person that finds this amusing but damn it it's my blog so suck it.)
Next review Henry the VI the trilogy by Bill Shakespeare. Henry the VI was sort of a mamby-pamby (at least Shakespeare's rendition of him) his pops, Henry V, was a warrior that conquered France and rallied the troops -Once more into the breach- but died of dysentery (I believe it was) and left his young son to be king. The three parts of Henry VI are really more about the war of the roses than about Henry and about how the Lancasters lost out to the Yorks and Edward the IV declared himself king only to eventually be replaced by that humpbacked abomination and royal pain in the ass Richard III but that's the next play. These plays can be a little tricky to follow, sometimes you just have to go with it, so many of the characters are know by different names and sometimes even change names as titles are being bandied about. It makes you wonder how England didn't collapse on itself the way the different houses warred over the crown.
Now for a quick couple of movie reviews- Sucker Punch, my 15 year old and I went and saw this and while he really liked it I thought it was just okay. It wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as I had hoped. I wanted to be blown away like I was with the first Matrix movie or with 300 and this looked to be a visual wonder but so much of the surreal action scenes looked just like a video game. There were some grand visual moments even so, one shot of Baby Doll barley clearing the fire of a fire breathing dragon and then a shot down her samurai sword as she turns it in the air and brings it to bear on the dragon was really cool. The story had potential and the twist or sucker punch near the end, while not real surprising, was pretty cool. I liked the narration at the end, I don't believe it gives anything away to repeat it, I don't remember it word for word but the gist of it was that it was up to us to fight our fights and that we had all the strength we would need.
Burlesque- with Cher and Christina Aguilera as a burlesque club owner and a waitress /dancer want-to-be. Parts of the movie were predictable Christina gets her big break, things look rough for awhile and then it all wraps up with a big hollywood happy ending. But predictable isn't always bad and there were even a few times when it didn't go the way you would think and that was nice, but really the best part of the movie were the dance scenes. The most incongruous moments were when Cher and Christina sang big power-ballad solo's that, while sounding really nice, didn't really fit within the story but ego is ego and ego must be fed.
Finally in the review category- The Switch - with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. Talk about predictable, just another romantic comedy that while enjoyable will run together with others in your head till you can't remember what happened in which one. Aniston seems to like these kinds of movies. Over all it was pretty good, although it did get on my nerves for awhile when Bateman's character can't tell Aniston how he really feels until the most inappropriate moment to do so, big surprise.
Enough with the reviews, I've got  one more thing to share if any one is still reading. The whole time I was reading Fluke and even before really We Were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates had been giving me the siren call. I would walk by and look at my bookshelf and it always pulled my eyes to it, beckoning me to read. I don't know what it is about this book that's captivated me but I know as soon as I finished Fluke I picked it up and cracked it's spine and dove right in with a bit of an electrifying thrill. I've not heard much about the book nor do I know much about the author but I'm hooked so far, I'm just a chapter or so in but I'm enjoying it to this point. I just hope it isn't too melodramatic, that's my fear. I'll let you know.

Idolatrous - a love song

I could be a knight Templar and you could be the grail I find.

Or I could be a pilgrim and you could be my holy shrine.

I'd offer up my supplications, I'd lay them at your feet

because every prayer I've ever prayed you just made complete.

That's why I prostrate myself and beg for your love.

Praying for your kisses like mana from above.

I know you wont like my analogy much,

but baby please don't fuss.

The way I covet your slightest touch,

the way I feel for you must be idolatrous.

I thought my faith must be dead

and if I had a soul it was too far gone.

But now I'm writing down in red, every word you said

and worshiping the very ground you walk on.

You've brought mystery back into my life

and I'm so blessed to have a goddess for a wife.

That's why I prostrate myself and beg for your love.

Praying for your kisses like mana from above.

I know you wont like my analogy much,

but baby please don't fuss.

The way I covet your slightest touch,

the way I feel for you must be idolatrous.

You can be my Diana, my Aphrodite, you could be my Athena or my good God almighty

I know you don't like my analogy much

but baby I get so amorous

with just your slightest touch

it must be idolatrous.

A+ Behavior

 In Sunday School this morning the question was asked what would you rank your behavior, on average. The teacher asked at each grade level (A,B,C...) and folks would raise there hands at where they thought they fell. Well I'm not much of one for class participation, never have been and so I didn't raise my hand any, the teacher noticed though and so asked me point blank what grade I'd have. When I wasn't immediately forthcoming she said if I didn't answer then she would grade me, I told her to go ahead. She gave me a D. What? Others in the class at first said they figured I was a B, B+ but then pointed out I was too quite at church which probably meant I was more of the D the teach. had leveled at me. I laughed, I thought it was all funny. After class I told Araine that I had actually given myself and A+ but when no one else even gave themselves and A I thought perhaps I was thinking a little too highly of myself. ;-)

Book review - Peter and the Star Catchers and some random thoughts.

 It's been awhile since my last book review and that's because it took me awhile to get through Peter and the Starcatchers by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry. It's not that the book is that long it's that it just took forever for me to get into it and when I'm not into a book I don't seem to find the time to read as much as when I am. I love J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan and when I saw this book, it's suppose to be a prequel to Pan, several years ago I wanted to read it and it's just taken till now to get to it, it was not worth the wait. The first half of the book is very slow in it's build up, the tempo doesn't pick up and the story doesn't get interesting until the pirates board Peter's ship which is almost half-way through the book. Early on I realized if I was going to get any enjoyment out of this book, and there is some joy to be had from it, I had to let go of the prequel to Peter Pan idea and just read it as a story on it's on, a story that just happens to have some similarities to Peter Pan. Because this Peter is not the  Peter we all know and love. "The" Peter Pan is an archetype of adolescence, brash, brazen and bold. He's always ready for an adventure, he'll switch sides in the middle of a fight, he gets moody when he doesn't get his way and he doesn't understand when things aren't fair. The Peter in Starcatchers is just too precocious to ever be the Pan. The other big problem with this being a prequel is that Barrie's Peter Pan is as much a dream as he is real where as the Peter in this book is very much based on a real world. The story tries to explain all the wonderful things that just 'are' in Barrie's book and sometimes explaining things takes away all the fun.
  Now for some randomness. I shared this as a status update earlier but it's funny enough to bear repeating here, I overheard my four year old playing with two Batman figures yesterday and this is the conversation the two caped crusaders had. "I know your Batman." "You know Batman can turn into a kitty. Meow, meow." lol    
Now a story about the wee one, who's almost two now, he and I were sharing a can of roasted almonds and he squats down in the floor and starts putting almonds into his diaper, so of course I say, "Boy you already got two nuts in there you don't need any more."  Well he, despite my admonitions not too, puts the almonds in there and he's walking around and then he pulls them out and starts to put him in his mouth. Ewww. So I yell, "Sam don't eat those!" Thankfully he listened this time, and dropped them in the floor. I threw them away and then grabbed me some hand sanitizer.

Well I suppose that's all for now, I hope every one has a good week. Now let's go, "second  to the right and straight on till morning".