Well, things are starting to pick up. I’ve secured a car rental for the first couple of weeks I’ll be in Toronto while I wait for my Q7 to be shipped over. No house as of yet and since we’re cutting it kind of close, I’ve decided to rent a pet-friendly condo while I’m hunting. I’ve narrowed my search to two potential doggy daycares located fairly close to the production offices. I finally got through to someone at Air Canada and informed them we would be traveling with two dogs. I’ve also got a couple of candidates for next weekend’s dog haul. Finally, the writers’ room on the new show is taking shape and chances are you’ll recognize at least one familiar face –
Or two.
Hey, check out the new Conan the Barbarian trailer starring Stargate: Atlantis’s own Jason Momoa. Looks like he bulked up for the role. Also, it’s nice to see him put those sword skills SGA Stunt Coordinator James “Bam Bam” Bamford taught him to good use!
While on the subject of Mr. Momoa, another one of his projects is headed to a t.v. screen near you. And soon! Game of Thrones (based on the uber-awesome book series by George R.R. Martin) premieres on HBO April 17th.
Also headed your way soon (Opening March 25th to be exact) is Sucker Punch! I’m so hoping this turns out to be as good as it looks –
Also, last night, while perusing the latest news headlines on twitter, I made the mistake of checking out some of the trending topics, which brought me to the following music video. You know how some stuff is so bad it’s good? Well this is so bad it’s good and then slingshots back through bad to downright awful.
“Yes-ter-day was Thurs-day. Thurs-day.
To-day it is Frid-day. Friday.
We we we so excited.
We so excited.
We gonna have a ball to-day.
Tomorrow is Saturday.
And Sunday comes afterwards…”
Seriously. Her parents presumably help her with her math homework. Would it have killed them lend out a hand with those lyrics?
Yesterday, Fondy sent the following pics of Stewie – Lulu’s future boyfriend. Hope she likes younger dogs…
Relaxed, no?
Some Ghosts of Manhattan discussion:
dasNdanger writes: “What I loved most about the book was the relationship between Donovan and The Ghost.”
Answer: Yes. This relationship was one of the book’s strong points. I actually found it much more compelling than Gabriel’s relationship with Celeste.
dasNdanger also writes: “I also enjoyed the atmosphere of the book, and after a slow beginning thought it flowed just right.”
Answer: Slow start? Really? I thought the book opened quite fast with the Ghost’s violent takedown of Roman’s men.
dasNdanger also writes: “As far as the revelation about the Ghost’s identity, it was more of a sense of satisfaction that I had picked up on the clues…”
Answer: But it wasn’t as if you had to think that hard. It was so obvious! Especially if you happen to be familiar with a certain Batman character.
dasNanger also writes: “he was revealing the identity slowly to the reader so that we already knew who he was, while Donovan did not.”
Answer: But, again, why do the slow reveal when there was really no mystery? Why not just reveal it from the beginning and still keep Donovan in th edark?
dasNdanger also writes: “I saw it as more of a sci fi turn, keeping in line with the whole steampunky feel. I can’t find my book right now (I SWEAR I set it next to the computer last night for quick reference, but I was half asleep, so who knows where I stashed it), but as I recall wasn’t it some sort of portal between worlds? Isn’t that more sci fi than supernatural?”
Answer: It’s admittedly a very fine line but given the creature’s physical manifestation, the reason for its intrusion into our world, and the whole life-giving angle, it definitely felt supernatural. It had a very chthulu-esque quality about it which I would classify as horror over SF.
dasNdanger also writes: “Also, getting back to the supernatural element. I went back and checked because I was sure there was a hint of it early on, and sure enough, in chapter 8 Gabriel is having a nightmare about crashing his plane during the war, and making his way to a farmhouse that’s in ruins, and once inside, he hears a noise and tentacles start reaching out for him, at which time he wakes up with Celeste on top of him, trying to wake him up. A nice bit of foreshadowing there, I’d say, and something I did recall once I got to the part with The Roman.”
Answer: Well, okay, but we’re talking about a dream sequence here. In last week’s episode of House, we glimpse a dream sequence where House battles a bunch of zombies. If, at the end of the episode, he would have to actually battle zombies outside of the dream sequence, I wouldn’t have considered that setting up the supernatural angle. Rather, my reaction would have been more along the lines of WTF?
anneteldy writes: “I agree with Mr. M., however, that golems, rocket boosters, and the flashback to France weren’t enough to set up the SF ending.”
Answer: True. Golems aside, the story itself was fairly grounded in reality.
anneteldy also writes: “Also, I felt the use of profanity was awkward and uneven. Not that I mind profanity in literature, per se, but in this novel, it was inexpertly used. I felt it was put there to try to shock me as opposed to being an indication of people’s vocabulary and way of thinking. It didn’t work.”
Answer: Hmmm, interesting you should bring this up because I did kind of bump on it but I wasn’t sure why. I think it’s because the book has the feel of a pulp novel of a bygone era. It does such a great job of capturing the spirit of those classics that the use of profanity just took me out of that world.
Thornyrose writes: “I also found the sudden appearance of the Moss Men to be a bit odd for a steampunk story. The moreso since they appeared, with no real explanation of how they operated or were created.”
Answer: Yes. While I liked them, I kind of wish they’d been more fully integrated into the narrative. They were a unique and interesting obstacle for our hero, but nothing much beyond that.
Thornyrose also writes: “The Roman made for an interesting villian, so long as he remained mysterious.”
Answer: Alas, so it is with almost all mysterious characters.
Thornyrose also writes: “And Celeste’s connection to the Roman really didn’t make sense to me. If I have an extended family watching an immortal villian through the ages, the heck with waiting till he calls on an alien/demon/extradimensional entity to extend his life. Kill the Roman, and you don’t have to worry about sacrificing a family member to kill the creature.”
Answer: Excellent point, Captain Logic. This would be a good question for the author. Why DIDN’T Celeste act sooner? And why was she so evasive and secretive when the information she held could have helped the investigation?
Thornyrose also writes: “As for Gabriel/The Ghost, I’m ambivilent about him. He’s not the classic pulp hero, absorbing damage or even avoiding it by outwitting his foes. I like the fact that we do see him battered, and often out of control of the situation. But other than the peeks at his wartime experiences, we don’t get much of a feel for the man vs. the vigilante.”
Answer: I’m thinking this book only scratches the surface of the character, and we’ll be offered more in the way of backstory and development in future installments of the series.
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