Plenty of Nothing

No Good Can Come From Not Drinking on Friday Night

Trifecta of Sorts

When I bought Whiteout I knew that it would fit into two sets of (book and mental) collections--Antarctica and comics--but the whole DTOWF connection was a hoot out loud surprise.

(Apparently Kate Beckinsale plays Carrie in the upcoming movie version. Strikes me as odd casting.)

There's a nice MA thesis waiting for someone out there who looks at the tendency of fictions set in Antarctica to focus on murder. (Preliminary bibliography here.)

Heather

Another Further Life Drawing

Like Mutt and Jeff

Overheard at the mall: "Now we look like Mutt and Jeff!"  It's nice to know there are still people who know what Mutt and Jeff looked like, though perhaps they were from the countryside, where memories are longer.  If you don't know about Mutt and Jeff, you could start at this site about Mutt and Jeff pinbacks.  Also, check out this article at Phrase Finder.  Douglas

Joseph Brant, Urban Warrior

Ogiue

Well, that's it.  I'm an otaku.  I've torn through the nine volumes of Genshiken, Kio Shimoku's wonderful manga about manga fans, which starts strong but rises to another level with the story of Chika Ogiue, a late-arriving character who comes to embody the manga's themes of creativity and self-shaming.  She's so conflicted she jumps out of windows!  Apparently I'm not alone in thinking she's the strongest character in the series, and possibly the Japanese part of the comic book store.  But what makes me a total otaku is the delight in discovering she and I share the same birthday and the same blood type!  Wah!  Douglas

Picnic

Blossoms

Why Battlestar Galactica Is Good TV and Lost Is Not

The closer Battlestar Galactica gets to its last episode the more you believe it has something useful to say about life and death.  The higher the body count gets in Lost the more you realize its writers haven't got a clue.  There is just no way the writers of BSG would have killed off Mr Eko. On Lost they are literally killing off characters at random.  And, sure, life is random.  But stories have shape, or should I say composition, and BSG has elegant composition. I'm sure Lost will continue with the plot twists right to the end, but it'll be a much greater pleasure to watch BSG's inevitable conclusion.  Douglas

20,000 X Under Our League