Book-it 2012

Once again, I am going to be doing Book-it.  For those of you new to reading this blog, Book-it is a reading goal. We call it Book-it after the elementary school reading program where you got free pizza if you read a certian amount of books.  It was meant to promote reading in younger people.

THe Book-it we have here doesn’t really have any prizes except being able to say you read 50 books in a year.  I suppose if you want to, you can make your own prize levels if you so wish.

This year I’m also going to attempt to review books that are new to me.  I have a few books I tend to re-read every year so I won’t be reviewing them unless someone specifically asks me what I thought.

The Book-it runs from Jan 1 to December 31, and the goal is to read 50 books.  The guidelines for books are that it be able to be bought on its own (Short stories can only be counted as individual books if you bought it separately. A book thats a collection of seperate short stories is 1 book, not whatever number of shorts it has).  Text books can count if you do alot of reading in it (so no to math books, but lit books would count.  I’m counting my history books this year).

Graphic novels if they have a good bit of text to go with them can count. Comic books don’t.

There is a sort of cheat system I’ve developed.  ONe semester I had to read a bunch of selected readings.  It wasn’t a full book so I didn’t feel I could count it as a book, so I develped a method so that they can count.  Basically 5-10 of those can count as a book as group.  It depends on the length.  Shorter ones have a higher group #, longer ones smaller.

I’ll have a page with a list of books that I have read.  As well as my 100 movies goal.

I’m always open to book recommendations if you have any.

Ethnic Identity and Me.

I’m an American, as many of you might have been able to tell.  I have a mixed ethnicity so its always been a little hard for me to identify as any particular group other then straight-out American. To make a list of the (confirmed anyway) groups I have in my family:  Irish (Scot-Irish most likely), Welsh, Scottish, English, German, and Greek.  For awhile my family thought they had found a Cherokee relative, but that seems to have been disproved and I keep hearing Poland in the mix, though I can’t seem to find out which side claimed that.  Currently my great-aunt’s research has a possible relative whose a French Jew (although whether this person is a Frenchmen who is Jewish by religion or a Jewish person who moved to France, I don’ know).

My Uncle believes that we are related to the people who guarded Constantinople (Great job, guys) and a ‘Vampire’ (If only I could unsee what I googled there).  I know my friend found our family coat of arms, so that disproves the Vampire Theory (of which I am glad)

My one friend is Irish-Italian.  Her family (especially the Italian side) are very much in touch with their ethnic heritage.  I don’t really have that same connection.  My aforementioned Uncle likes to claim he’s Greek while forgetting the rest.  My Father (his brother) likes to claim the German.  My mother’s family is primarily Irish but they don’t really celebrate in any particular Irish way.

I kind of wish I had that connection, those traditions.  Sure, my family has a set of their own (like Pork and Sauerkraut  with mash potatoes at New Years and watching the Christmas Claymation movies) but it doesn’t have that history.

I suppose since I’m mostly Irish, I should connect with that more, but I don’t.  Nor German, and I sometimes forget I’m Greek too (why couldn’t I have inherited those genes?  Would have liked not to be so pale).

My sister and I joke that we are Euro-mutts as we pretty much the UK and two other European countries.   I guess there is too much there to hold on to any particular group.   So I suppose I’ll stick to being just a plain American for now.

Film Review (ish thing): Tron: Legacy

Grade: A

This was a good movie.  It had a good plot, had hints of romance but didn’t over do it, had good visual effects and it was part of a franchise I happen to love.

The only issue I had with this movie was the computerized Jeff Bridges (Clu).  When the character was standing still, it was hard to discern it was computerized, but whenever he spoke and you were in a close up or he moved in a close up there was this slightly inorganic movement that didn’t match up.  It wasn’t anything major but it did remind you that this wasn’t completely Jeff Bridges.  (Wonder what he thought of his CGI younger self).  Although to be honest, this might just be on purpose to show that Clu was a program, not just a clone of Kevin Flynn.

Also, Tron has taken styling tips from The Stig. (Not really an issue just wondering if they ran out of a effects budget to create a CGI Tron)

The music was also good, and I like the improvement on the lighting effects (still has the idea that its not very bright in Grid-land, but

This isn’t a particularly good review, I realize that.  Its just something to get me back into writing in this blog.   As you can tell I haven’t posted since February (How is that possible?!?)

Next review I do will be better, I hope.

Movie Review: Green Lantern

I should probably start this off with saying I have never read a Green Lantern Comic.  In fact till recently I keep getting the Green Hornet and the Green Lantern mixed up.  My only previous experiance with Hal Jordan was as a secondary character in a  Oliver Queen fanfic.

I enjoyed the movie.  I’ll give it a B.

Cutting this because, well, SPOILERS.

More Typography Quotes

Form follows function-that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.

Frank Lloyd Wright

“Designers provide ways into—and out of—the flood of words by breaking up text into pieces and offering shortcuts and alternate routes through masses of information. (…) Although many books define the purpose of typography as enhancing the readability of the written word, one of design’s most humane functions is, in actuality, to help readers avoid reading.”
— Ellen Lupton (Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students)

 

An apology

For not posting in forever.  I shall try to be better about this.

Some Quotes

“As the saying goes, type is a beautiful group of letters, not a group of beautiful letters.”
— Matthew Carter

“Typography needs to be audible. Typography needs to be felt. Typography needs to be experienced.”
— Helmut Schmid

” Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. “

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

” Every designer or photographer should have an ongoing conversation
with the word editor –- you are all journalists. “

Roger Black

” Drawing is what I always loved the most. I discovered drawing type
is drawing in a very pure form. Because a type designer does not draw letters.
A type designer designs words and words are structures that contain patterns
of black and white shapes, form and counterform.
It is a game that deals with space and rhythm.
Which is precisely what, for me, is the essence of drawing. “

Cyrus Highsmith

Its that time again…

Yes, that is right folks, Its November and that means I’ll be struggling to write 2,ooo words a day (my own personal goal, not necessaries what you have to do) amongst the papers, projects and other Real life obsticles that lay in my path.

This year I’m attempting a modernized version of the Persephone myth.  It involves immortals, mortals and a bad guy or two.  There is a bit of romance, some comedy and some action.  It is not a fanfic, so it might be doomed from the start, but I am trying.

I’m creating a playlist as I go for when I’m writing, usually reserving an hour before bed for the rush to the goal line.  Anyone have any tips they learned about writing?

Response: Smallville 10.01 “Lazarus”

I’m a lukewarm watching of Smallville.  I used to watch it when it was brand new, got tired of the Lana obsession of Clarks, and the unlikelihood of Chloe/Lex actually happening, but turned in to Absolute Justice for Michael Shanks, and was brought back to the fold by Justin Hartley as Oliver Queen (and his chemistry with Alison Mack as Chloe).  This is my first season watching it again where I start at the beginning (a very good place to start).

Spoilers beneath cut.

Anne McCaffery’s Pegasus Trilogy (review, and general Fan babble)

One of my favorite series was Anne McCaffery’s Talent series.  It was the story of The Rowan, an orphan girl who had strong telepathic and telekinetic powers which her children and grandchildren inherited from her. The first book is about The Rowan (The Rowan), The second is about her daughter (Damia). The next three books (Damia’s Children, Lyon’s Pride and The Tower & the Hive) are about her grandchildren and their friends/family.

I thought this was the end of the story (though I wanted it to continue, as it was (and is) my favorite sci-fi series), but as I was wondering through the book store a few years back, I stumbled upon ‘Pegasus in Space’.  I noticed the name Peter Reidinger, a name I recognized from the Talent series as Rowan’s boss and Father-figure. So I picked it up, but I never ended up reading it till recently.