Whatta Fiasco

Grisly and bizarre. Lots of blood spraying around. Just enough scenes that were gruesome enough I didn’t want to watch them. Serious wince factor, even without explicit gore. And just when the whole police investigation begins to look like it’s making some sort of sense, the film enters a truly strange blend of Rocky Horror and Clockwork orange set in an abandoned bowling alley. While you’re trying to get this craziness to fit into what might be left of a plot, the rug gets pulled out from under you again. But in spite of the tattered shreds of plot, it all holds together and goes nowhere with some stunning images along the way. If the wince factor doesn’t scare you off, there’s some interesting bits here.

Ishibashi Ryo (Inspector Kuroda) was especially impressive. Apparently he as in both The Grudge and The Grudge II, but it will be awhile before I’m ready to watch another horror flick. Ugh.

Here’s one of those happy things: A follow-up to a good book that’s even better than the first one. I do suggest reading the first one (Melusine) before tackling this one, because it is a three book story arc, but you can rest easy that there isn’t a maddening cliff hanger to worry about. And Felix and Mildmay are such endearingly flawed characters. Also, if you’re one of those people who’d rather have all three books in hand before starting, Mirador just went to the editor. Another happy thing to look forward to.

It’s a sweet romantic comedy, as billed. With a goofy dog who doesn’t quite steal the show. I do wish they hadn’t worked quite so hard to make tall, thin, blond Uma Thurman look so washed out and unattractive while amping the femme charms of short, dark, supposedly dumpy Janeane Garafolo. Did they really think that no one would buy the idea that the leading man could honestly fall for a woman who wasn’t conventionally pretty? Not to mention the whole cognitive dissonance thing of Uma’s character taking Janeane’s character to the makeup counter when Janeane’s character is the one more obviously already wearing make up. And did the tall Blondie model really have to be played as such a complete ditz? But it’s comedy, so I’ll cut them some slack. And it was enjoyable, so that’s all to the good. (Still, it could have been just as funny while being more respectful of the characters. Really.)

I’m finally finished with this massive set of books. When I was about two-thirds of the way through this book, I had someone ask me if there was any point to it. My reply then was that the threads were beginning to get pulled together in preparation for an ending. True enough, but the real answer is no, there isn’t much of a point to it, but that’s not a detriment. The Baroque Cycle is a journey, not a destination. Is it discursive, digressive and self-indulgent? Oh, yes. But that’s a major part of its charm.

I enjoyed her adaptation of Trollope as done by dragons in Tooth and Claw, so I was looking forward to this one without being at all sure if she had it in her. She does, boy howdy. This time we have a murder mystery showing a lot of Dorothy Sayers influence. This is a good thing, especially as she doesn’t stop there. This post WWII alternate history takes us on a classic decline of society (and good riddance to it) ride from bone china tea sets to dirty basements. Be aware that there aren’t many happy endings to be found in this book, but there are some wonderful characters and more books to come.

It’s a jumble of bitter sweet love stories that ostensibly tie themselves together into an interconnected package at the end. Lots and lots of big names. Lots of heart string tugging, if that’s what you’re in the mood for, without quite slopping over into saccharine.

It’s a fun little what-if piece showing a science expedition to examine evidence of real-life dragons and explaining how they came to be. I’d be tempted to use it as a teaching tool, getting the students to spot all the mistakes made by the scientists out in the field.

I think I’ve finally figured out why I have such trouble with the endings of well-written supernatural/occult fantasy novels such as this one. By the time the story makes it to the big showdown, the occult bits are clearly and unambiguously real in the context of the story. My brain doesn’t like that. My brain wants ambiguity. My brain wants all the nitty-gritty, plot-driving mythopoesis, but it wants it overlaid upon a plausible framework of realism.

But that has nothing to do with the fact that this is a good book with engaging characters making hard choices. And yet… the last third felt a little too much like filling in the outlines. It felt as if the tension peaked too early, and not even killing off major (likable) characters could ratchet it back into “sweaty” territory again. Or maybe I just have a strange brain. Still, I enjoyed the book and am very glad to have read it.

I woke up this morning to the sound of knocking on the front door. The roofing crew was out front and wanted the cars out of the driveway. Whee. They were ripping shingles off before I left for work. (The cat was convinced something was eating the house.) By the time I got home, all was done but I haven’t seen the work because it was dark by then.

There’s been a minor update from Max. The background check from Ireland is in the mail and on its way, so that’s one major hurdle crossed. There’s still a chance that they’ll make it back here before their lease runs out. And Louise has been both doing some work and has been looking for a place to live, all on her own. Huzzah.

And I can tell it’s winter now because the knitting has come out. Nothing complex or fussy, just a fuzzy scarf tube knit from eyelash style yarn on two fat, single pointed knitting needles. (Ha. At first I typed ‘kneedles’ and I liked it.)

Oh, and we had some good news from our fencers who went to the Albuquerque NAC last weekend. Our young saber fencer took second in the 14 and under women’s saber, earning her D rating. And our double B rated fencer (foil and epee, both earned at the same tournament) took eighth in cadet men’s epee and got his A! And there was much rejoicing.

Work has settled down to being a little weird instead of caustically stressful, although I’ll be going through at least one more stress point immediately after Thanksgiving, but it’ll be fine.

It’s only Tuesday and it’s already been a week on the work front. I’ve been wishing that I had an office with a door that closed so that when I talked back to some of the email I’ve been getting, I wouldn’t have to worry about whether I accidentally used my out-loud voice. Take a deep breath. It’s just that point in the project where people begin to realize that it’s actually going to production within their lifetime and maybe they ought to actually look at the actual details of what they’ve asked for. Oy. Deep breath. The world won’t stop turning no matter how upset someone gets. And even though (or maybe especially because) the project has hit that painful high turnover comment rate, that doesn’t mean that you should answer every email instantly. Deep breath.

Back on the home front, the roofers finally showed up yesterday and left supplies piled in the front yard and on the roof. Here’s to hoping they get it done quickly. I was beginning to worry we’d have a flimsy patch up there until spring. A new roof is much preferable.

Max and his wife are still jumping through hoops to try to get her a visa to come to the states. They’re still hoping to get here by March when their current lease runs out. Lisa is thrilled with her new laptop. And, at last word, Louise was still job hunting and wasn’t any closer to finding a new place to live, but she’ll need to move at about the same time Max is planning on moving back. No, I don’t think they’ll be living in the same house.

Fencing is going ok. I am well and truly tired of being in recuperation mode. Last night I was feeling low energy. My point control was off, and worrying about that put my footwork off. I felt hopelessly clumsy, but I fenced and I drilled. The good news on that front is that while my knee has been healing, the tendinitis in my foot has also been healing up. I do what I can and the December NAC will be what it will be. Which reminds me that I need to do a little research to find out if there’s anything in Richmond, VA that ought to be on my Don’t Miss It list.