|
|
|
May 18th, 2013
copperbadge
| 06:07 pm
How can one person own this many coffee mugs?
I'm continuing my lazy half-assed packing of things I don't actually foresee a dire need for in the next few months, and in cleaning out my dish cabinet I discovered that I have more mugs than anyone needs. I possibly have more mugs than a family of four requires on a regular basis.
Some of them are in regular rotation, mainly ones that were given to me by friends, but I have two full four-mug sets just waiting for me to break one of them, and like half a dozen others I don't remember purchasing or getting as gifts. It's like there's a Mug Dimension in my cupboard.
I'm also enjoying learning new things about myself, like how I have three boxes of "books" and one box of "especially sentimentally valuable books" and one further box of "Nobody touches these books but me keep your fucking hands to yourself I will personally carry these to wherever I am moving."
(Sadly, I also have a "Nobody touches this but me" box for the kitchen.)
Most of my belongings can be divided up into Books, Kitchen, and Masks. Well, and Winter Clothing, but everyone has to have a hobby.
|
May 17th, 2013
est_meta
[est_hardy]
 | 01:27 pm - NPC claims put in
Whatever mod is on the other end right now has been superefficient and, like, immediately posted my claims for Viggo, Milla and Leo on Tom Hardy's behalf. Thank you to ![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/userinfo.gif) gringitasarita for pointing out that I had never NPCed them, and thank you mod for being quick like bunny.
Leo
Milla
Viggo
The upshot of the Tom situation is this: I am going to post a bridge kind of ficlet that will tie up as many loose ends and vagaries as I can. Because the writers of Leo and Viggo have moved on to other things (ages ago), it's as hard for me to maintain those relationships as it was for me to juggle Bruce, Anton and Chris. So please, if you want one of these three pups listed up there, let me know and we can hash out what to keep and throw out.
The core fundamentals are this: I'd like to avoid breakups, but I am willing to offer as much flexibility as I can. People's lives change and they grow (and grow apart). Viggo is so eccentric and amazing, Milla is so goddamned famous and Leo is a machine, workwise, so it'd be hard to maintain ONE relationship in ONE country, let alone several in several. So I can just see this being a transitional thing, with maybe something like every once in a while Tom meets with Viggo or Leo offscreen and they exchange, "I love you, are you happy? Good. Same time next year?"
Woof. It's like being sucked back into a story you forgot you read. Hello, inside of Tom's brain. Missed you.
|
est_meta
[est_hardy]
| 07:19 am - Backstory woes
So in Tom's recent post and subsequent thread, he mentions living in a flat and considering buying a house. Well, I mucked up his backstory, then, because last we mentioned, he was living with Leo and just not seeing Leo much because Leo is...well, Leo, and he works like a machine and flies off to Africa to help babies and suchlike.
But it's been tricky balancing all of that, because in spite of the fact that I love Tom's backstory with Leo and Viggo, the more time elapses, the more I forget this stuff. It's been...a couple years? Since Viggo's writer left the game, and it's been longer than that since Leo's did, so now it's all muddy in my head.
What do you guys do in a case like this? I don't want to wipe the backstory, I don't want to break people up, I just kind of want to...sunset that part that prevents him from moving forward with Davey.
|
May 16th, 2013
fandom_lounge
[ashinae]
 | 11:04 am - This again?
This BS again? COME ON. No. Just NO. Bad writer, no cookie. I can't even with this stuff anymore.
And I am one of the last hold-outs on the planet to not have a facebook* account so I can't sign in and tell the writer, but...
GUESS WHAT. Women like Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. They like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Dragonlance, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. They like The Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, Dragon Age, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Halo, and Gears of War. They like Stargate, and Doctor Who, and Firefly, and Farscape.
They also like NCIS and CSI and Castle and White Collar and The Walking Dead and Sex and the City and the Sopranos and American Idol and The Voice and Jeopardy and comic books and cooking and hockey and gymnastics and cats and dogs and...
Women just like STUFF. Okay? Women are half of the bloody population and they--WE--like a diverse range of interests and every now and then, because I do prefer Game of Thrones to Sex and the City, I feel like it's just this big hand-wavey "pfft, you DON'T EXIST".
Because seriously, if I don't exist, why do I have to pay taxes?
*I am honestly, truly, TRULY, getting really unhappy with all of these websites that only give you an option to sign in with your facebook account. My name on the internet is not "Real Name". It's ashinae. I know the internets aren't TRULY anonymous, but... I miss those days. Plus my real name is dumb.
|
copperbadge
| 07:52 am
I HAVE COMMITTED A BIG BANG.
Really I committed it with Lienwyn, a charming artist who has done some amazing work that both inspired the story and was inspired by it. You can find all the info below; if you go to the fic, the art is embedded in it, but please don't forget to leave feedback for Lienwyn if you like the art!
DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH I LIKE 1930S SLANG.
Title: Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do
Rating: R
Artist: Lienwyn
Author: Copperbadge
Summary: The year is 1930, Prohibition and the Depression are both in full swing, and Chicago Police Detective Steve Rogers has his hands full. There's a dead body on the banks of Lake Michigan, the entire city's legal system is corrupt, and the king gangster of the North Side, Tony Stark, has taken more than a passing interest in him.
Warnings: Some mild era-specific *ism; internalized homophobia.
Story at Dreamwidth | Story at AO3
Art at Tumblr | Art at dA
|
May 15th, 2013
copperbadge
| 09:59 am
SPOKE TOO SOON.
Prestigious East Coast NFP got back to me this morning to say they were taking a candidate with more experience. Fair do; if I were them I'd probably do the same. Also heard back from another Prestigious East Coast NFP who said they were interested but then mentioned their salary range, which was waaaaay below what I'm making now, let alone what I wish to be making.
I'm still five for twenty five, interviews to applications, which is not bad at all. The luxury of being able to choose whether to pursue a non-ideal job situation is something I am very much not taking for granted. I had a moment of panic when I got the letter about not getting the job, because in the past "didn't get the job" has almost always meant "how will I pay the rent?" and I had to remind myself that in this case it just means I don't have to choose between staying in Chicago and moving to a tiny town on the east coast. I know how fortunate I am in that regard.
COULD I POSSIBLY TALK MORE ABOUT MY JOB SITUATION, oh god, I'm boring myself at this point.
|
May 14th, 2013
copperbadge
| 05:58 pm
So, I have had no news from Prestigious East Coast Not For Profit in three weeks. I'm pretty sure I didn't get the job. Which is okay -- mostly I'm feeling relief I don't have to make that decision. I'm guessing what they've done is offered the job to someone else and are waiting to tell the remaining candidates until they're sure that person will take the job. It's what we do where I currently work, so I can't blame them.
Mum can, though. She is blaming them UP AND DOWN. It's almost funny.
I am still packing, though, because I know I will move SOMEWHERE at SOME TIME this year, probably no later than September. So I've started packing nonessentials, like my books and some kitchen stuff.
THE DUST, YOU GUYS. THE DUST. They are not dust bunnies. They are dust MONSTERS. Dust birds of prey swooping down on dust voles and forming horrible mutant beasts. When I leave this flat I will leave behind a ravaging supervillain made of dust. I keep a clean house, but into every life a little dust must fall and mine is ALL FALLING AT ONCE.
It's probably a good thing I don't have allergies. They'd find me collapsed on the floor surrounded by boxes and sharpies.
|
otf_wank
[loopywafflehead]
 | 11:32 pm - I AM NOT STUPID ALL OF YOU ARE. YOU JUST DO NOT KNOW GOOD FOOD.
Amy and Samy Bouzgala, of Amy's Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro in Scottsdale, Arizona, appear on Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares. Aside from the incredibly poor service and food, they lie about baking the cakes they sell, and most of the photos they use on their Facebook belong to other people. Even worse, they verbally abuse customers and staff, and they keep their employees’ tips for themselves. Ramsey gives up on them, saying, “After about 100 Kitchen Nightmares, I met two owners I could not help. It is because they are incapable of listening.”
The owners didn’t listen because they didn’t want help. They only wanted Ramsey's compliments and praise in order to show up the ‘haters’ and ‘bloggers’ on Yelp and Reddit who are obviously out to get them.
Of course, that didn’t happen and the owners had an epic meltdown on their company’s Facebook page.
( I am keeping note of all names here. We will be pursuing action against you legaly, and against reddit and yelp, for this plot you have come together on. )
The drama made it to Buzzfeed, where you can find plenty of screencaps in case their Facebook is taken down.
Amy has also been convicted of fraud for using someone else’s social security number and taking out a loan.
People swarm to their Yelp page after watching the episode but most of those reviews are removed. However, it’s easy to see from reviews left before the programme was aired that the owners have always behaved this way.
A poster on Reddit submits the theory that the whole place is actually a money laundering operation. [ETA: Post has since been deleted. I'll try to get it from my computer's cache but if anyone finds a screencap in the meantime, let me know. Found a copy of the text on another Reddit thread, copied to the comments here.]
The full episode can be found here on YouTube. This post on eater.com contains a summary as well as a couple of clips from the show.
And ONTD speculates on the most important issue: what Gordon Ramsey would be like in bed.
( Previous ETA's now under the cut )
ETAx5: This is the latest post on their Facebook:
Other Side of Amy’s Baking Company Controversy in Scottsdale To Soon Be Told
SCOTTSDALE, AZ. MAY 15, 2013 -- Amy’s Baking Company will host a Grand Re-Opening on Tuesday night, May 21, following unflattering portrayals on national television.
Customers will be able to decide who is correct: a famous celebrity chef or the marketplace that has supported the small, locally-owned business for six years.
When re-opened, a portion of proceeds will benefit a charity organized to bring awareness to cyber bullying.
Seating is limited. Reservations may be made by emailing sjones@rosemoserallynpr.com.
Diners will also have the opportunity to meet, and judge for themselves the character of owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo, who have devoted their lives to and earn their living from their small restaurant. The Bouzaglos have been married for 10 years, after Sammy emigrated from Israel.
The owners will likely be holding a press conference before the Grand Re-Opening and answer falsehoods depicted on a reality television show, including assertions that the restaurant confiscates tips from servers.
In fact, wait staff is paid $8-$14 per hour, two and half to nearly five times the standard hourly wage for servers.
Questions will also be answered about what happened to their Facebook page.
Amy’s Baking Company was recently featured on the hit PBS show “Check Please” and has received A+ reports from CBS 5 for kitchen preparedness.
“We are very upset by what has taken place, apologize about the acrimony that has ensued but now must fight back to save our business. We hope and believe much good can result from what has transpired. We ask the public to keep an open mind as we begin to tell our side of the story,” Samy Bouzaglo said.
For more details, please contact Michael Saucier.
I can't decide whether I want Michael Saucier to be a real person or someone who is just leading them on.
In more pleasant news, Katy Cipriano, the waitress who was fired on the show, has participated in an AMA on Reddit. She does have other employment and is doing quite well.
|
May 13th, 2013
fandom_wank
[seca]
 | 10:19 pm - The Great Con Conspiracy Desu
I would like to thank the mousey over at wank_report for bringing this little nugget up. So lets revel in some actual funny here.
In Colorado the main anime convention has been Nan Desu Kan. In recent years another anime convention has been building up some steam, Animeland Wasabi.
Right after this year's Animeland Wasabi ended in the beginning of March anime company Funimation announced a lawsuit against Miller Timmons, and ten John Does for selling counterfeit items at Wasabi. (Anime News Network article) Timmons also manages the convention under his Think Art Media and Animeland businesses. There is also a nice breakdown of the lawsuit in this screencap.
A few days ago an announcement is made on the front page of Animeland Wasabi that basically decries that Funimation and Nan Desu Kan are trying to get rid of Animeland Wasabi because NDK totally got their people to find some bootleg merchandise at Wasabi to show to Funimation to get them to sue Wasabi.(Be warned of glaring green background.)
And who would doubt these claims after such strong opening statements like these:
To our anime community, Animeland would like to give details about the lawsuit between Funimation vs. Miller Timmons. The framework of this lawsuit that is pending in the Denver court system is an attempt for Funimation, Nan Desu Kan and Wasabi Anime to drive Animeland, Miller Timmons, and their fans out of the anime community in Denver because we have grown over the past six years.
At the end of that tl;dr there is a screencap of a reply from ThatGuyInTheHat who manages to Godwin himself, in German no less, to a poster on the forums.
Also in the comments to the ANN article the CEO of the site says that they did try to contact Timmons before they posted the article, which goes against Animeland Wasabi's claim that they have not been contacted for a statement. There also seems to have been some wanky comments that have been since deleted in that thread without being screen capped unfortunately.
There is a discussion on the forum (which seems to now no longer be, but there are screen caps) about the announcement where we learn that the screed went through lawyers before being posted. ThatGuyInTheHat believes that anyone who is sticking up for NDK is NDK staff. That he can only give vague hints of NDK's wrongdoings because they could be spying on their forum and use what is said against Wasabi.
Nan Desu Kan has released their own press release on the matter, where they avoid saying much of anything outside that they are not making any anime company to anything for them and are too busy with their own con to care about anyone else's.
With all this popping up shortly after the hearing to figure out the scheduling for the case one can only assume that this may be the beginning.
And in case anything else appears to go poof here are the screen caps collected so far.
|
fandom_lounge
[j_crew_guy]
 | 02:38 pm - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 5 hits west this fall as Dual Destinies
Ace Attorney 5 is scheduled to appear in North America and Europe this autumn, now under the new legal name of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies.
Capcom says it's releasing the 3DS game in the west digitally (on the eShop).
Edit: Capcom's SVP Christian Svensson explains:
“Sorry guys, but a physical release is not in the cards.
Historically it’s been tough to attract long term retail support for Ace Attorney titles. With the release of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies we wanted as many people as possible to be able to enjoy the game for as long as possible. With that in mind we have opted for a digital-only release via the Nintendo 3DS eShop.
I understand that this decision may upset fans who wanted to have a physical version of the title to add to their collection but we believe this direction is the best to take.
We will be confirming details on the price point in the not-so-distant future which I hope will also shed more light on the strategy at play here.”
Check out the first English-language trailer at that link, too.
|
copperbadge
| 01:04 pm
You guys, I did not know we had PIRATES on the great lakes!
This somehow changes everything.
I mean, Dan Seavey sounds like a terrible person, but just knowing he exists has made the Great Lakes region seem a little bit cooler. Why have we spent so many years discussing the wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald* when we could have been talking about how once Dan Seavey was charged with "unauthorized removal of a vessel on which he had once been a seaman"?
* I continually mix Edmund and Zelda up, but to be fair "The Wreck of the Zelda Fitzgerald" is not 100% inaccurate as a descriptor.
Even better: they were tree pirates.
Half-lumberjack, half-swashbuckler, these pirates would illegally clear-cut acres of wilderness that didn't belong to them. From federal lands to private acreage, these pirates would roam the forests and indiscriminately rob wood from anyone who happened to have it. They would then smuggle their booty via the region's many lakes and rivers to turn a profit. Some pirate gangs even went so far as to set up their own illegal sawmills.
I suppose being a Great Lakes pirate isn't as romantic as being a Caribbean one. It's hard to have quite the same kind of adventures when you're in danger of freezing your mizzenmast off half the year.
I have a WHOLE NEW RANGE of pirates from which to choose for this year's Talk Like A Pirate Day. EXCITING.
|
copperbadge
| 08:11 am
Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!
Ways To Give:
Saskia linked to a friend, Glenn Crytzer, who is a guitarist and bandleader in Seattle specializing in arrangements of 1930s jazz and original work in that style. He's recently been badly injured in a car wreck, breaking his shoulder and wrist. As a self employed musician, the expenses of surgery and loss of work are extreme. His professional page is here, and you can donate to help or buy a CD here.
has two upcoming fundraisers in Chicago for their Relay for Life team:
Monday, May 20th, 8 PM. Hambingo> at Hamburger Mary's. $15 to play all night (3 cards per game, 8-10 games), fabulous prizes every round!
Thursday, May 23rd. Meatheads in Schaumburg. Bring in the flyer at the Facebook link any time during that day and the team gets ten percent of your meal.
linked to Fairness WV, a statewide civil rights advocacy organization dedicated to fair treatment and civil rights for the LGBT community. They recently did a fundraising drive and can always use support.
Fans Helping Fans:
is looking for short fanwork submissions for a Marvel 616 minizine. The zine will be published at cost and will have a free DIY print and staple it version online. Any Marvel 616 comic or character welcome!
and their housemates are looking for a fourth person to replace one of their current roommates, who is leaving at the end of June. They're located in the DC suburbs, and you can read more about the house and its occupants here.
News To Know:
responded to last week's post about Malaysian voter fraud with more information and context. The entire linkslist is here, but this one seems to be one of the more informative and here is one about the pending investigation.
linked to a story unfolding on LJ where community members of are being named in a libel suit over the content and comments of this post in which they discuss a local news story about the individual now suing them (apparently as part of an anti-cyberbullying campaign). There's no action to be taken here in RFM terms, but I agree with Taerowyn that it's an interesting and relevant story.
Just For Fun:
linked to a fun little garden-building website for those of us who can't have a real garden.
And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can always post items for my attention in comments here (or on any post) or email me at copperbadge at gmail dot com. If you're not sure how to proceed, here is a little more about what I do and how you can help (or ask for help!).
|
May 11th, 2013
copperbadge
| 04:40 pm
Me to Google Maps Error Reports:
There are at least two bus stops on southbound N. Michigan Avenue between Ohio and the river which are not marked or listed: Illinois and Wrigley Building. Transit directions in this area thus often involve an unnecessary walk across the river to catch buses in the loop.
Google Maps Error Reports in reply:
Thank you for reporting this problem. Unfortunately, for various reasons, the problem you reported isn't easy for us to fix at this time. We did want to let you know that we've escalated your report to the appropriate engineering team.
I STUMPED GOOGLE WITH BUSES.
I think I deserve some kind of shiny badge.
|
May 10th, 2013
copperbadge
| 08:52 pm
Man, I took today off and it has STILL been a day.
But I have fanfic reccs! Plenty of Bucky fanfic this time, from the recent Throwdown. But first, two that are more personally relevant:
Robot Trip Podfic by Blackglass: Teen and Up, Gen. Blackglass did a great podfic of my story Robot Trip!
Al Dente by determamfidd: Mature, Pepper/Tony, Bruce/Betty, others maybe upcoming. If you liked my Chef AU, there's another one inspired by the same tumblr post, written by someone who clearly actually knows what goes on in professional kitchens. It's funny and enjoyable, and I love some of the twists they've thrown into it.
One Steve Feels for the win:
You Close Your Eyes and the Glory Fades by Knottahooker: G, Gen (hints of Tony/Steve). A fantastic examination of how Steve has coped with his transformation, focused on the fact that he's listed as having been colourblind before the Serum.
And a buttload of Bucky. A Buckyload.
The World Looks Just the Same by 51st: PG, Gen. Bucky's recovery is rough, and Bucky himself is exhausted. This got a bit overlooked, I think, in the throwdown, but it's a very clean, simple, and at times somewhat devastating portrait of the road from there to here.
Gunpowder Age by Legete: PG-13, Gen. Bucky's potentially unhealthy but definitely charming relationship to firearms in general and one sweet M1941 Johnson in particular; the ending on this is just killer.
It Gets Lonesome Here by Historymiss: Teen and Up, Bucky/Natasha. A funny and occasionally heartbreaking series of letters by Bucky, from childhood through the present day. There are some really hard moments in this one.
This is Something by Knitmeapony: PG-13, Steve/Bucky/Natasha. A gritty, interesting examination of how Bucky settles in to living as Bucky again. Also, he, Steve, and Natasha play drinking games with movies. AND HAVE SEX. \o/
Grounding Ghosts by Charmingpplincardigans: PG-13, Gen. Bucky and Clint bond over shooting beer bottles and grieving the changes in Natasha. Tied pretty tightly to the comics, but as a comics reader I found it very enjoyable. It has my favourite line from the entire throwdown in it: “I am wise beyond my years,” Clint says. “You’re just alive beyond your years.”
Change Me Through and Through by Madmaudlingoes: PG, Gen. Bucky deals with the fact that he's going to war and Steve isn't, and maybe does a little skullduggery to keep his friend safe. It's written in second-person, which is hard to do well, but I think this story really nails it.
The Pinball Wizard in a Miracule Cure by Mad_Maudlin: Teen and Up, Gen. Steve and Tony inadvertently use pinball to bring Bucky out of his shell and test his new arm. Sweet, funny, bantery.
|
May 9th, 2013
copperbadge
| 12:15 pm
I wrote a Chef AU.
I feel strangely ashamed.
Title: Feed The Body, Nourish The Soul
Rating: PG (language)
Summary: Steve Rogers just wanted to sell good, nourishing, cheap food from his food truck. Now the crazy fusion chefs from TOBRU are calling him a hipster, the avant garde restaurant "Shield" across the street has declared war on chains, and...well, then there's Thor, who thinks Steve's habit of licking food is weird.
Here on Dreamwidth | Here on AO3
|
May 8th, 2013
copperbadge
| 05:42 pm
I have come from the Museum of Hot Mess.
That was the best worst job interview I have ever been on. Oh my god, it was magnificently bad.
Before I even got to the room I was going to be interviewing in, I was informed that because the administrative offices are located under one of the public spaces, bugs sometimes fall through from the upstairs into their cubicles. This is the proper mindset in which to give an interview: waiting for a beetle to drop into your hair.
Other awesome factoids included:
"We all have really bad allergies because of the dust from the archives."
"You may want to invest in hand sanitizer."
"We've investigated the possibility that we are a terrorist bomb target."
Those were, btw, from three separate people.
In the end, while I already knew this job wasn't for me before I heard about the BUGS FROM ABOVE, I have more reasoning now why the job is not for me. Really they want three people: a hard data expert, a research expert, and a floater to help them both. But they can't afford three people, so they're hiring one person to do all of that, and that one person is not going to be me. Even if I desperately wanted the job (I don't because see: bugs, terrorism) I'm not the best candidate for it. I have very little experience in the hard-data end of this position.
Still, it was entertaining.
|
fandom_lounge
[franzen]
 | 09:03 pm - There should be a "your ass is draggin'" joke here.
The trailer for the film adaptation of Ender's Game has been released. Yes, a real film, from a studio! With actors! And a director, a script, and what looks like an impressive special effects budget. I was unaware of this, because OSC has long since departed the realm of relevancy, but after over a decade of development hell, Lionsgate has activated the ansible. Behold: Slate's review of the trailer, along with the clip itself. The film is set to hit theaters November 1st.
No major spoilers in the clip, but don't read the final paragraph (the third after the video) if all you want to know is the premise. The trailer shows most of the major characters, including Mazer Rackham, and teases combat (along with the uniforms), while the younger actors all have about ten years on their canon age (which either brings them closer to how you imagined them or is totally unacceptable) -- so prepare to have your version of how Battle School looked RUINED FOREVER. (Post-Inception, I'm sure at least one reviewer will call the combat scenes derivative, while all I saw while watching Inception was "THE ENEMY'S GATE IS DOWN.")
OSC is co-producing the movie, so if you'd prefer not to give the man your money, wait for it to arrive on Netflix or the equivalent. And, yes, this is the studio behind The Hunger Games and, post-acquistion, Twilight, which can mean only one thing: Ender vs. Sparklypoo.
|
fandom_lounge
[spawn_of_kong]
 | 03:23 pm - "R.I.P. Ray Harryhausen"
Cross-posted to ![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/community.gif) deathwatch .
Link, complete with a video compilation of the creatures and images he created.
I personally didn't see any of the films with which he was involved until my college years, but when I did, it was quite easy for me to fall in love with them, and to recognize his enormous contribution to the world of visual effects. My personal favorite has always been The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, followed by Mysterious Island.
Current Mood: sad
|
fandom_lounge
[keleri]
 | 01:35 am - Leonard Nimoy vs. Zachary Quinto
Old Spock vs. New Spock in the best car commercial ever.
It's worth it to sit through the whole thing.
( Read more... )
|
May 7th, 2013
copperbadge
| 10:37 am
A while back, recommended The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon to me. I had tried to read it like...ten years ago and failed, but back then I was a lot less into comic books and WWII history than I am now.
The book purports to document the story of Josef Kavalier and Sammy Klayman (alias Sam Clay), two young Jewish men in New York who manage to claw their way into comic books. Josef (Joe) is a refugee from Prague, the only member of his family to get out; as a youth he trained as a magician and escape artist, the Great Cavalieri. Sammy's a fast-talking New York boy whose father was a circus sideshow strongman and who wasn't doing much in his life until he partnered up with Joe to go into comics. The book is the chronicle of their life from 1941 or so onwards.
They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, and that was when Sam Clay experienced a moment of global vision, one which he would afterward come to view as the one undeiable brush against the diaphanous, dollar-colored hem of the Angel of new York to be vouchsafed to him in his lifetime.
--p. 94
I read an article a while ago about people who didn't finish books, and one quote in particular caught my eye, by a man who stopped reading a book when he "felt he was done". Which is, I have to admit, what I did with this book. It's not that I didn't enjoy it or didn't find it worth my time; I just found a happy stopping-place, and stopped there. I looked the rest up on Wikipedia, and I think I made a smart choice.
The desire he felt, watching Joe, was unquestionably physical, but in the sense that Sammy wanted to inhabit the body of his cousin, not possess it. It was, in part, a longing -- common enough among the inventors of heroes -- to be someone else...
--p. 113
The book is dense, and thoroughly packed with symbolism, especially in the names -- for example, Sammy's boyfriend and his first real introduction to the idea that he might be gay is named Tracy Bacon, bacon being something which is of course forbidden to Jews. This convention carries over into the comic books that Sammy writes and Joe illustrates, with heroes like Tom Mayflower (the Escapist) and Luna Dark, who becomes the superheroine Luna Moth. The comic books are a deeply enjoyable part of the story, I have to say, possibly the most enjoyable.
When they returned from the last of these arcane strolls, they had brought forth the Monitor, Mr. Machine Gun, and Dr. E. Pluribus Hewnham, the Scientific American...
--p. 171
The book does have some issues. It's very, very talky and often goes off on tangents that I just don't care about, so I found myself skipping a few pages every now and then (on the other hand, the whole story with the golem, while pointless, was brilliant). But mainly I stopped reading when I did because the book drips with foreboding. Not in a bad way, it's subtly done and it's appropriate to a book set just before America joins the war. But you can tell some really awful shit is going to happen. So I read as far as I thought I could before the awful shit began, and then I put it aside. For those interested, I stopped at the end of chapter 13.
Final Verdict: As a comics fan, it's well worth reading, and if you're not a comics fan it's still an interesting peek into how that world function in the forties, in what is called the Golden Age (for reasons that defy logic, given the general quality of writing and art). I stopped halfway through, but someone who gets a little less personally invested in stories might enjoy a whole lot more of it than I did.
|
|
|
