On various types of media things

[annathepiper]

So today is International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day, a concept which makes me giggle and giggle. I want to post something, but then, the thing I've got in mind isn't in coherent enough form. I need to throw it together into one big coherent draft... but when I do, I will be sharing with you all The Starblade of Radmynn, one of the two novels I wrote when I was in high school.

Meanwhile, I am happy to say that those of us here at the Murk have finally begun getting caught up with the new episodes of Doctor Who. We watched the Christmas Special over the weekend, and tonight we're watching the episode where the new Companion is introduced. Survey says: I like her! She's brainy and she's hot! And I still, still need a proper Ten icon. I will have to go shopping around for just the proper one to express my appreciation of this Doctor. That last bit with Ten leaning all casual-like against the TARDIS in this ep might do it, because damn, he's pretty.

Also, watched the second half of the current two-parter Blood Ties episode last night, which was intriguing in several ways for going in a direction that the novels never did. Does anybody else besides me, though, think that Mike's turnaround from "quite willing to hand Henry over to psychoboy Inquisitor" to "zomg this guy's batshit, I guess I need to help Vicki rescue Fangboy after all" was a little too rapid? I mean, sure, clearly it had to happen, but.

Reading is occurring, both on the two-novels-in-one Tanya Huff I'm still working on as well as The Children of Húrin. The Tolkien, I might add, is a stunningly lovely book. It's a work of art all by itself. I'll be gushing more about this in a forthcoming post.

And! I have a new Kitbook! I continue to adore the cover art for the Walker Papers. I covet mizkit's cover art, and dream of the day when I can sell a book to Luna and have cover art that gorgeous. Plus, I'm also looking forward to reading the book, which is now on the queue after Tolkien! (I mentioned this to Kit in email today, and she said, "Well, I suppose I can handle coming after Tolkien..." ;) )

Miles since the 20th: 9.5
Miles out of Hobbiton: 1932.2
Miles out of Isengard: 139.2
Miles to Minas Tirith: 646.8

Comments

[wrog]

The Tolkien, I might add, is a stunningly lovely book

I recall being so frustrated by Unfinished Tales because pretty much half of that book is taken up by the long version of the Turin Tarambar story, and I really got into it, and then bam. Kind of like rounding the curve and suddenly there's this barricade across the road with a 5000 foot drop 2 feet after the pavement ends. Some really nice stuff on the far side of the canyon but no way to get to it...

And of course I've been pointedly not buying any of Chris Tolkien's stuff because I'm like, "Okay, so JRR jotted down some tantalizing fragment of a verse from 1937 about Valandork (King #17 of Numenor) wandering out into the forest to take a piss or something and he would have finished it except that for some reason JRR was writing it all on a cocktail napkin and ran out of room and when he finally went back to it in 1952 he decided to chuck it all out and do it completely differently which is why that paragraph on page 357 of the Silmarillion isn't quite what one might have expected and you found this all out digging through shit in your attic and you know what? I don't fucking care."

Guess I'll have to buy this one.

[annathepiper]

Yeah, I really liked the fragments in Unfinished Tales, and went in knowing they were fragments, so I was clear on what to expect. But having so! Many! Pages! taken up by footnotes was annoying. It made that thing read a lot more like a dissertation on Tolkien than, y'know, Tolkien.

The Children of Húrin on the other hand reads like Tolkien. The right way. Straight through, with no fucking footnotes. ;)

Also, the book itself is just a pleasure to look at. The full-color gorgeous artwork, the nice little black-and-white bits at the beginning of each chapter, the fold-out map at the end of the book... all very, very pretty. I like the paper too. Hell, I even like the font. This book is very much one I'd have come to mind any time I hear any description of how a well-made book is an active pleasure to read.

So yeah, highly recommend this purchase. :)

[raise-a-jar.livejournal.com]

Wait...you mean that was a two-part episode?! I know it ended kind of weird Sunday night, but there was nothing to indicate that there was a part two coming...especially not so rapidly! Shite.

This show is really not endearing itself to me at all... ~grumble~

[annathepiper]

This past episode was the conclusion of the two-parter, not the start. The previous week was the opener of the two-parter.

[raise-a-jar.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay...thanks! Glad I wasn't completely confused :D So, I guess I managed to see 40 minutes of two hours, but I got the gist of the episode.

[annathepiper]

You're quite welcome. :)

Lifetime's official site has a sub-page for the show, but it kind of sucks. It's got a slowly growing Wikipedia page, though, and there are links off to something that calls itself an official site for the show as well as a couple of fan sites. That might help you get a better grasp on the overall story so far.

[alstaria.livejournal.com]

If you liked TARDIS-leany Ten then you need to have this icon. Credit info can be found in my userinfo :)

And, yes, Martha rocks!!

[solarbird]

Calling him Ten makes him sound like some sorta Cylon.

Man, would that be the worst plot twist evar or what?

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

-howls- Yes, it would be. *laugh*

[annathepiper]

However, cutest! Cylon! Ever! Except maybe *encrypted for those who haven't seen the BSG season closer yet*.

Also, that would certainly put an interesting twist on "all of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again." Which makes more sense if the Cylons have a TIME MACHINE! ;)

[annathepiper]

*glrp* Oh my. You are a nice person. You are a very, very nice person indeed! Thank you!

I shall indeed be snurching that as soon as I rearrange my userpics to accommodate it, as I am currently at my pic limit. Or else I'll just have to buy more userpics! *^_^*

*fangirl warning*

[genkitty.livejournal.com]

You know C. E. Murphy? Squeee. I love her work! Feel free to tell her she's on my short list of authors I read and reread and I eagerly look forward to each of her releases!

Re: *fangirl warning*

[annathepiper]

I DO. Kit and I go way back from our days on Two Moons MUSH. She was a fellow wizard there, as well as a member of the tribe I ran there, Willowholt. Characters played by her appear in quite a few of my archive of roleplay logs. :)

I will be delighted to pass on your good words, though she may well see them here herself!

Re: *fangirl warning*

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Well, thank you! You'll be glad to hear, then, that I've got about eleven zillion books coming out over the next 18 months. Or 5, anyway. That's like 11 zillion! :)

Glad you're enjoying them! *beam*

Re: *fangirl warning*

[genkitty.livejournal.com]

[cat falls over stunned for 1d4 minutes]

I've been a Lackey fan for years, and Amazon 'suggested' your books to me. IMO, you're as good a read as Lackey and McCaffery on their best days, a better read than their average products. I burble about your books to my friends during book discussions. Now that I'm aware of your other works, my wishlist has expanded. :>

Re: *fangirl warning*

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

You're in luck! You are only stunned for one minute! (Yes, I really went and rolled a 1d4. :))

Thenk yew for the kind words, ma'am. Makes a writer's day, it does. *beam*

Re: *fangirl warning*

[annathepiper]

You're in luck! You are only stunned for one minute! (Yes, I really went and rolled a 1d4. :))

Bwahahaha! You win the Internet today!