insaneneko

New Ameiro Paradox by Netsuke Isaku is out!!! My copy is in the mail and *knocks on wood* should arrive in a week or so. Along with the new Ten Count manga by Sakurai Rihito. I was disappointed by Ten Count volume 3 because it felt gratuitously smutty without enough of the psychological stuff I really enjoyed in the first two volumes, but I’m hoping volume 4 will be good.

Had a laugh listening to an episode of the Guardian Books Podcast because the music editor read Morissey’s new fiction book and it was awful. He called it the worst book he’s ever read. The sex scene he excerpts is….I don’t know if there’s a word for it, the entire scene is really rather repulsive, with an erect cock called a “bulbous salutation.” If you’re wondering, yes, Morissey is the singer Morissey.

So Kekkai Sensen actually ended. It was an okay ending, but I think they should’ve tightened it up to a normal episode length and aired it back with the rest of the episodes. I think it lost a lot by having such a long gap, and I thought it was flabby enough that they could’ve cut stuff out. But at least it didn’t suck. :P

Read some fanfic for the series, though sadly there doesn’t seem to be much. Am gravitating towards Klaus/Leo even though I don’t believe in the pairing at all. I think it’s because I stumbled upon an author, nekokoban, who writes very lovely stories with that pairing.

meminerunt omnia amantes is a longer fic in which Klaus is hit with a curse and there is a bit of angst. The author recently followed up with To Those With Love, which is set after the first fic and has Leo meeting Klaus’s family. Who are charming, if overwhelming. I hope there’s more in this universe. In an unrelated story, Climb Every Mountain, Leo wants to get it on with Klaus and is frustrated. It’s really adorable. Leo’s attempts to get advice and the unwanted advice he does get are just awesome.

Also got into Wincest. I figured I’d dive in one of these days, just hadn’t gotten around to it. Lots of crap, of course. What is killing me is all the alpha/omega fics. They are everywhere in all fandoms, so you hit them constantly. I’ve read a bunch, a handful were actually good* (or at least decent), but a lot of it was just too….icky? I hate the biological determinism and don’t see the point. The Wincest ones I do like tend to be set when they are younger, back when they are with their dad (who, according to fandom, was a terrible father. Is this canon?). So much teenage angst! So much incest angst! With demons, etc. thrown in! Lovely, lovely stuff.

So far my favorite (though a WIP) is Brothers by Sera_Necto23. It’s really fucked up and I assume the characters are nothing like canon, but the author really puts together a world and a dynamic that just works. Also, very dirty. And angsty.

*One “good” alpha/omega fic I came across is a Free! Sousuke/Haru one called Boundary Waters. It’s one where the alpha/omega dynamic comes about from some kind of attack in a war or something. Haru’s rage at the crappiness of a world gone bad and he having drawn the short straw is very well portrayed.

Another Free! Sousuke/Haru fic I thought was very well done was another AU, Artist, Imitate Thyself by orphan_account. Haru is an art student who likes sex very much. He hooks up with Sousuke and continues on as AWB (acquaintances with benefits). It gets serious and quite a bit angsty.

All thanks to HP: Why owls make bad pets on Marketplace

Though I don't care for his books, I did like George R.R. Martin's May 22nd interview on BBC's Front Row Daily.

I cracked up at Steven Moffat's response when asked how he was going to get Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman back after Sherlock season 3 on his Fresh Air interview.

Came across an unfamiliar euphemism for a penis that made me LOL today: man-heat.

The Boy Who Lived Forever, an amazingly nuanced and non-sensationalized look at fanfic. Loved this paragraph:

Diversity: the fan-fiction scene is hyperdiverse. You'll find every race, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, age and sexual orientation represented there, both as writers and as characters. For people who don't recognize themselves in the media they watch, it's a way of taking those media into their own hands and correcting the picture. "For me, fanfic is partially a political act," says "XT." "MGM is too cowardly to put a gay man in one of their multimillion-dollar blockbusters? And somehow want me to be content with the occasional subtext crumb from the table? Why should I?"

At NPR's Monkey See blog: Romance Fiction And Women's Health: A Dose Of Skepticism critically looks at an essay by some psychologist/advice columnist/relationship guru. The last bit of the essay is eye-roll inducing. The last paragraph tells you all you need to know about what she thinks about romance fiction and women readers, despite her protestations to the contrary:

But I do think that if readers start to believe the story that romantic fiction offers, then they store up trouble for themselves – and then they bring that trouble into our consulting rooms. Sometimes the kindest and wisest thing we can do for our clients is to encourage them to put down the books – and pick up reality.

Also at Monkey See, a love letter to the Oxford Comma. I don't have the deep love for it that some seem to have, but I use it regularly. I'd be very sad if it stopped being okay to use.

Elmore Leonard is a fun guy to listen to in an interview. When asked about what he thought of the various adaptations of his books on BBC Front Row, he points to The Big Bounce as one he hated. It was made twice. The first time Leonard said it was the second worse movie ever made. When asked what the worst movie was, Leonard responded that he had just kept that slot open as there had to be a worse one...Only for the slot to be filled by the second adaptation.

I enjoyed listening to an interview with the author of a New Yorker article about George RR Martin and his fans because I like non-bashing discussions about fandom by non-fans. I love how the author, who deals more with literary fiction, is fascinated by the serial nature of his work and how it creates a relationship between the author and fan, but just as importantly, relationships between fans. It's like a revelation to her!

I love (and am horrified by) the discussion of anti-fans who grumble that the author is taking too long to publish the next book. The motto of a house in the book is "Winter is coming," and the name of the main anti-fan forum is "Is winter coming?" One blog is called "Finish the book George." I hate fan entitlement, but I can't help but chuckle at the wit.


I am not a GRRM fan. I tried reading the first book and could not get into it. Too many characters, too political, and not enough magic for me.

I downloaded the Sekaiichi Hatsukoi video the other day and had way too much fun watching it. Seeing dorky adorable not-snarky Ritsu and silent not-snarky Takano/Saga and their disgustingly shojo manga-esque story was hilarious. I'm glad they faded out on the sex, it kept the story focused on the disgustingly shojo manga fantasy quality of it all (the fluttering curtains and swirling cherry blossoms in the library was so over the top it was almost painful). I ended up rereading the four manga volumes again. I think I need to order volume 5 right now.

I was listening to an interview with the author Carl Hiaason on BBC Front Row on March 11 in which he relates one piece of writing advice he gives to people who ask: don't write about eating roadkill. He has a recurring character who the interviewer calls an "eco vigilante and roadkill connoisseur." He says, very seriously: "Stay away from the subject of roadkill....You get the most disturbing mail from people who really, really like roadkill. They send you menus and they send you little roadkill anecdotes and it opens up a whole new, a very disturbing world. You'll be sleeping with the lights on, I guarantee you, if you get some of the correspondence that I've received from people who like that sort of thing." The soft noises from the interviewer (snickers? laughter?) makes it even funnier.

The Fresh Air interview of Harold McGee, writer of several cooking books (such as On Food and Cooking and the upcoming Keys to Good Cooking) was absolutely fascinating. He's like Alton Brown in that he explains why things happen the way they do while cooking, but without the cheesy shticks (which sometimes work and sometimes so do not work for me). He gives lots of good tips that I can totally use in my own daily life, just in the interview. I'm going to have to check out his books at the bookstore/library and see if they are something I want to own. He also has a column at the New York Times.

I'm not sure if anyone that reads this has iPod Touches/iPhones, but I figure it can't hurt to throw a question out there. Is there a way to load zips or folders of jpgs of books for on-the-go reading? I have seen pdf readers (figuring out which one to get will be tough--I don't deal well with choices sometimes) but just wondering about jpgs. Any other cool/useful/awesome apps to recommend? I just got a new iPod Touch as my 1st gen Touch was getting a little too slow for me, so it feels like I can finally indulge in apps. XD;

I am sleepy and lethargic. I hate stress-induced insomnia so much.

On radio program (which I listen to via podcast) The Splendid Table they had a trivia challenge that asked, "What's the translation of Adam and Eve on a raft with Noah's boy and where does it come from?" It's lunch counter lingo or diner speak, the terms waitresses and cooks used for menu items, and it means two poached eggs on toast with a side of ham (Noah's second son was named Ham). The example I liked was "first lady with cow feed" for spareribs with salad. Eve was the first lady and she was made from Adam's rib. More lingo here.

I stayed up too late finishing "Accident in Blue" last night...( more Fujimi )

I knew rereading Fujimi would turn into a major time suck. *sighs* I love the series and can't resist temptation, and so am not doing things I should be doing.

I just heard a Fresh Air interview with a Wall Street Journal reporter on online tracking of your activities. It's far more extensive than I'd thought, and only getting more so. I'd never heard of beacons...I guess I'll need to do some research (that will be tracked, yay internet!). What worries me the most is the stuff they talked about at the end. First, the fact that sites like google are already tailoring searches based on who they think you are or what you may be interested in. Second, the possibility that companies could buy info on you not to advertise but to figure out other things (and act on what they think they know). Also, the fact that the profile they build up of you may be totally incorrect is worrisome, especially in the context of the two concerns I mentioned earlier.

The Guardian Books Podcast: Rachel Cooke, one of the judges of the 2010 Observer/Cape Graphic Short Story prize, doesn't do superhero comics: "I'm a sort of book snob, so I want stories...and I want investigations into human psychology." Yes, my dear, you are a snob. A BIG FAT SNOB. It's even more annoying because she then calls other people in the graphic novel/comic scene who don't appreciate her being in it snobs. Not that she doesn't have a point about these people treating Alan Moore like Moses coming down the mountain with the 10 Commandments...

Hearing a glowing review of Toy Story 3 on Fresh Air reminded me that I hadn't posted about it. I saw it this weekend and it is a wonderful, wonderful movie. Funny, fun, and touching. Just like the first two. I love how the toys work together to solve their problems. I admit I teared up a bit at the end, but at least I didn't sob like I did watching Up.

Listen to this, if it doesn't make you tear up just a bit I don't know what will. Especially when her voice hitches, since she sounds so calm the rest of the time.