Portishead – Third

If you haven’t listened to Portishead’s album “Third” (2008), then I highly recommend it.

Of course, chances are you have heard it, since it did pretty well in the charts, but if you missed it,then have a listen, seriously. THESE ARE BUT A SMALL SAMPLE OF THE AWESOME.

I am in love with this album at the moment. I don’t own it yet, but I’m considering buying it. Which is actually quite rare! I’m gonna check out some of thier other stuff too, as I’m not very familiar with it.

See? Good stuff, no?
In all above videos, the actual videos may be lame* – but the music is incredible! CHECK IT OUT.

_{* Or they might not, I dunno. I wasn’t paying attention. The animated video above for Deep Waters looks kinda cute.}

More graphic novels; spread the love

Now, I went to Birmingham Central for a few hours on Friday, and as well as getting out a few titles, I also read two graphic novels whilst in the library. Because in both cases, I literally couldn’t put them down! And hence read them right there, in the library, instead of actually withdrawing them. Take a look:

Domu: The Dreams of Children, by Katsuhiro Otomo* is a manga, although personally I’d just class it as a graphic novel (maybe since it’s a decent sized book, and isn’t published by TokyoPop like ALL other mangas translated to english here**).

It is also a damn good read. The story is based in an apartment block which has has a mysterious amount of suicides and ’strange deaths’. The tale is a fantasy, featuring two main characters with strange, telekenetic abilities, but it is also something more… the characters are deeply varied: from a troubled, violent alcoholic; to a man with the mind of a child; to a multitude of police officers desperate to solve the case.
Personally, I was impressed by the art style – unlike in most mangas I have read, the characters are very easy to tell apart, and in general the drawing style isn’t so clustered as to confuse the poor reader. As well as playing on emotion and suspense, there is a fair bit of blood in there, so it isn’t for the younger readers.

I have heard that the english translation is hard to find (though the internet could be lying to me on this one), but if you can find it in a library or cheap in a store, I highly recommend you give it a read!

I Never Liked You is an autobiographical graphic novel by Chester Brown. What caught my eye initially, as I picked it off the crammed bookcase of graphic novels and flicked through it, was the art style. The pages all had a solid black background, with a varying number of white panels floating on the page – sometimes only one panel per page, sometimes many. Unusual, to say the least. But what kept me stood at the bookcase reading it for twenty minutes was the writing style, and the very strange tales woven into it; for an autobiography, it felt oddly surreal.

The story is about a young Chester Brown in his teenage years, being picked on at school and having numerous difficulties with the girls of his age, as well as his experiances dealing (badly) with his mother’s schitzophenia. It’s dark, but oddly compelling… and very ‘human’ – after all, everyone can relate to the awkwardness of being a teenager.
This book is actually one of two of Chester Brown’s autobiographical novels. Based on this one, I would definatly like to read his first one, The Playboy!

And, since my descriptive writing skills are failing me today, I’ll leave it at that.
In short, if you can find them, they are both worth a read – especially Domu, by Katsuhiro Otomo!

_{*Katsuhiro Otomo is better known for his cyberpunk manga, Akira. But I’ve never read it, so can’t really comment on it.
**I’m not kidding when I say almost all the manga over here is published by TokyoPop, and is therefore printed in teeny, tiny books. Anyone say eye-strain?}

A quick ‘hi’.

All right! The A level exams are finally over!

I am slowly adapting to having spare time again – I can read books again! Huzzah! – and trying to figure out what’s going off with my life at current: my birthday is in two weeks, I need to visit my parents, I need to move out of my Aunt-and-Uncle’s house here in Birmingham and into my mother-and-family’s house in Lincolnshire, sort out my student finance… and I need to schedule in work, Japanese classes, and of course, the odd Dungeouns and Dragons session.*

Other than that though, it’s pretty cool.
The extra free time I have now means I can finally do stuff I actually enjoy – so expect to see more posts on here as I rant about, you know, awesome stuff!

I am currently reading Maus, by Art Spiegelman and so far, it is an excellent read. Not sure if I’ll review it – it is a) VERY famous** and b) very hard to describe. But no doubt there will be something up here sooner or later!

-AbiSnail

_{*-Yeah, you know I’m a geek.
** -Not that a graphic novel being well-known has ever stopped me reviewing it before..}

Ronin, by Frank Miller

If my posts have seemed infrequent recently, it’s because they have been – I have been ill recently, and as such I haven’t been doing much with my life. I use this blog most self-indulgently to rant about stuff I’m feeling passionate about (and thus avoid boring my peers with whatever-it-is), but the passion has been sadly lacking recently..

Despite this, I read re-read Frank Miller’s graphic novel epic ‘Ronin’ yesterday, and holy sci-fi I’d forgotton how good it is. I know what you’re thinking – another graphic novel review/recommendation from me? Of, once again, one of the most famous graphic novels out there? That’s not useful!

Well, screw you guys.
Only joking, I love you really. But for those comic fans – or, even science-fiction fans who appreciate beautiful comic artwork – who haven’t yet had the fortune to discover Miller’s Ronin, let me introduce you to it.

It looks like a fantasy story, right?
And in some ways, it is. It does have the samurai-vibe goin’ off. Kinda.

But at it’s heart, this tale is undeniably sci-fi, set in a future-gone-apocalyptically-bad, and filled with strange technology. I don’t want to give too much away here, but the main plot device is biocircuitry – living machinary, created for the good of mankind.
The story is a convoluted journey, taking twists that you honestly wouldn’t expect on the first readthrough.
If I’m totally honest, I didn’t understand the story on the first readthrough.

It is complex, mystical, genre-crossing and best of all, the artwork is stunning.

I’m not sure why, but looking up Ronin on Google Image Search didn’t find me any pics which I felt showed off the artwork in it’s full majesty. In fact, the art looks really different on screen. Maybe it looses something in being scanned, or maybe the art is most striking over many pages, but I didn’t even recognise it on screen.

So I guess to really appreciate it you need to find a copy of the book and take a look for yourself.

If you haven’t read Ronin, and you like comics, then what are you waiting for?
If you don’t read comics but love good sci-fi, then… Well, Ronin isn’t an easy read, but it certainly might be worth a look. I have owned the book for over a year, and feel that I am only now appreciating it for the genius it is.

If you’ve read it before, go re-read it!
NOW.

It is good for you.

Who Watches the Watchmen?

I totally watched the Watchmen yesterday.

Not as good as the graphic novel (naturally) but a fairly enjoyable film despite this.
I think it’s a shame the ending was changed, but I can see why it might be difficult to use the story’s original ending – there just wouldn’t be time to explain it all!

Though, speaking of time management…
I think the Nite Owl/Silk Spectre sex scene was drawn out longer than it needed to be, and I definatly wasn’t too pleased with the opening scene of the movie – it felt to me like Zack Snyder was trying to cram in as much of the novel’s background into the first scene as possible.
Shame the movie didn’t start with the assasin breaking down the Comedian’s door… cut the fight scene in half, lessen the number of slowed-down shots by about a half again, and you have the perfect opening scene.

There were definatly parts of the movie that annoyed me – why was Dr. Manhattan so emotive towards the end of the movie? Why was Ozymandias portrayed as being mildly evil throughout the film?* – but it wasn’t bad, really. I definatly enjoyed most of it.
I won’t be buying the DVD, though.
And why would I? I have the graphic novel, and it is done better than the film.
In short, go read the graphic novel! And if you go see the film, enjoy it!

PS: What was with the music in the film? It wasn’t bad – quite the opposite – it was just… strange. “The Times They Are A-Changing” was an excellent choice, but.. well, the music was fun throughout, if very cheesy at times.
PPS: My Chemical Romance as the ending credits? Now THIS made me laugh. Then wince. Than laugh some more.
PPPS: The main problem with this movie was pacing. If that was better, I would be doing no comlaining at all. Honest.

_{*I don’t know if it was the music or the mood or the patronising tones taken on by the actor, but Ozymandias definatly felt more evil than merely egotistical in the film. I didn’t get the ‘evil’ vibe in the book – meaning the ending had more impact for me. In the film, they might as well of just stuck an ‘i’m a camp villian’ sign on Ozymandias.}

---

EDIT: This review is better than mine, but much more pessimistic. Though I enjoyed the movie, I also agree with almost everything said in the review below. Check it:
http://www.thedorkreport.com/2009/03/13/whats-wrong-with-watchmen-movie-review/

Doing it wrong.

We humans have been a pretty cheeky bunch.
We’d find a nice looking place, destroy everything in it for food or profit, drain all the resources out of the place, and then move on. And it was good, right? Exept now, the problems this has created it not only affecting animals… it’s affecting us. No wai. That can’t happen. Surely there is a way we can mangle the earth that little bit more, to make it better for us. Preferably a way that allows us to keep our cars, our GM foods, and our widescreen televisions.*

Enter the power of science! (click me)
Or, just look at the nice picture below. It pretty much sums it up.

It’s strangely fascinating, seeing how the scientists are planning on dragging us back from the brink; then you notice that some of these methods won’t be availible for hundreds of years, and all have the possibility of horrific ramifications. Yeah, dumping a metric ass-load of limestone in the oceans sounds like a great idea, until it turns out that’s killed off all the fish.

And sure, aerosols being released into the atmosphere to block out the sun will definatly improve the state of the planet.
In fact, they did that in The Matrix. And look where it got them.**

Personally, I think if we humans want to live comfortably on this earth for another few hundred years, it’s going to take a bit more sacrifice on our part. It’s not enough to block out the sun and hope that doesn’t detroy us.
The only plan on the diagram above that I agree with is the tree-planting idea. Come on, people!
Let’s save the world!***

*This was sarcasm
**In The Matrix, the humans blocked the sun to cut off the machines’ main source of power. Result? Machines start growing humans as thier new energy source. The moral of this story is stop fucking with the atmosphere.
***I can’t do it on my own, after all. Awesome though I am.

“You can call me V.”

To any real comic fans, this is old, old news, so you may as well vanish now.
But to the rest of you…

I present V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

I read this graphic novel for the first time a few days back.
And holy carp, it is good.

Sooo good.

I’m not going to summarise the plot for you, since Wikipedia is quite capable of doing that for you.
What I will say is, it is amazingly well written, beautifully drawn, and a great read. The story reminds me in many ways of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, actually. Which isn’t surprising, what with the ‘totalitarian government’ and all.
The main character, known only as ‘V’, is a dramatic political terrorist who can be seen as either a hero or a villian, depending on your outlook. Personally, I fell in love with the character. He may be a crazy person in a Guy Fawkes’ mask and cloak, but he’s cool, damn it!

Oh, and for those of you who have seen the movie, I advise you to forget it. Or at least, don’t think about the film when considering whether to hunt down this amazing graphic novel. I haven’t seen the film, but from the clips and trailers I’ve seen, it doesn’t even compare to the actual comic.

You said it, V.

Just… go find it. Get it from a library, buy it off ebay, borrow it from a friend.
And read it.
And be amazed.

_{/What? It moved me.
//go read it, already!}

Obama, you say?

^{{[Average British Citizen] Checking In}
{Initaiting Apathy: Lv. 4; World Knowlegde: Lv. 1; TeaDrinking: Lv.7}}

So, you may of heard that America has a new president.
Black guy called Obama.
You know the one.
Pretty cool, huh?
…

Here’s to hoping he sorts out the economy, and doesn’t start a war.
And that is all I have to say on the subject, not least because without researching it, I have no idea what Obama is planning to do with America. The British Newz seems to have missed that bit out.
Um.
Best of luck to him!

_{[End transmittion]}

Fable 2

I have heard good things about Fable, and bad things. I have known people who hate it, and people who love it. And yes, I know all about the excessive hype Peter Molyneux made regarding the game (where’s my oak tree, Peter? Where is it?) – but disregarding what everyone says, I love Fable. I own it for XBox, and think it is amazing.

And now, Fable 2 has been released for Xbox 360.

So beautiful…

You can play as a male or a female:  Huzzah!
You can (eventually) own a town:  Woohoo!
You get a dog:  Uh, yay!

You can raise a proper family, with growing children… urgh… which is.. uhh… _{kinda sweet… ish..}

Oh, did I mention it has guns now too?

My only problem: I don’t have an XBox 360. And, since I am going to university next year, I doubt I will own one in the near future.

The… the longing…
Arghh…

Arrrrg, Talk-Like-A-Pirate-Day do be on the ‘orizen!

I be checkin’ mi mail, an’ I do be noticin’ an announcement that it do be Talk-Like-A-Pirate day soon!
Friday, t’be exact.
An’ the 19th o’ September, e’ery year!

This Friday, I do be dressin’ all Pirate-like an’ goin’ in me local learnin’ institution.
I do be confusing a couple o’ landlubbers, I no be doubtin’!
All ye lads an’ lasses should be dressin’ fancy, too! In fact, ye lily-livered scoundrels could be gettin’ some dubloons for charity  for yer efforts! I may be attemptin’ this on the next year.

I rec’mmend you do be gettin’ out yer Jolly Rogers and settin’ sail for http://yarr.org.uk, or if you do no be sailin’ the waters aroun’ Britainnia, http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html. Though I doi be thinkin’ the first be the good stuff. Both do tell yer th’speech o’ a pirate, so thar be no excuses, yer scervy dogs!

So, sailors, get yerself involved in this damn’d fine celebration, an’ party till yer loaded t’the gunwhales!
Whether ye do be workin’ the masts or carousin’ with the wenches!
Grab yer costume an’ yer grog an’ get out thar!