Ugly bridesmaid dresses.
In recent Aynsley-has-way-too-much-free-time news. I have decided to begin comparing book-and-movie pairs. At the request of my 12-year-old cousin, I will not be comparing any comic book movies, because (according to him), I am too obsessive. I beg to differ.
This week: I Am Legend
I just recently read the book. I'm not sure how to compare book versus movie because they are not just different types of media, they are different stories. The book is sci-fi, the movie is just a scary movie. The characters, the motivation, even the plot, they are all different.
Since I can't really compare them on any tangible points, I vote for the book, as the movie scared the crap out of me and gave me nightmares. Comment as to your opinions of my cowardice below. I don't think that sentence even made sense. You can also agree with me. Hell, you can even disagree with me, but I don't know why anyone would.
So there really isn't a point to this. Except to set up for the post next week, which is What Dreams May Come, coincidentally by the same author.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Book: 19 Minutes
I am disturbed. This book bothered me, on multiple levels, which is why my clock just passed 3 a.m. and instead of sleeping like a normal person, I'm writing about it on the internet. Go figure. It's not that it gave me nightmares...yet...it just bothered me enough that I cannot go to to sleep.
When the book came out, I got an email from Borders, and the first chapter. So I read it, and it sounded like an interesting set up. (School shooting, one of the victims is a judge's daughter) Since it was at the library, I grabbed it. I do not recommend doing the same.
I'm not precisely sure what the author normally writes, but I'm going to give it a shot in the dark and guess romance. The plot inconsistencies crop up regularly, and the descriptions of the lead female's sexual encounters with her physically and emotionally abusive boyfriend litter the pages like pine needles litter our yard. And they are both juniors in high school. Her mom has a contrived romantic interest pop up about 2/3 through the book, which is hardly believable.
Also, at the end of this book, no one is happy. Not one single person in the book gets to be truly happy again. it reminds me of the 'classic' children's movie, The Pagemaster, when the book that represents horror wants to go to the fantasy section because there are happy endings. I think he said, "horror always has sad endings." I would look up what the exact quote is, but my calm has been mangled.
This got me thinking off in another direction (it takes a completely un-derailable train of thought to keep me up until three in the morning) - I have always really loved fantasy, but science fiction I can take or leave. I have read a few of Heinlein's books; but I've never actually made it through anything by Orson Scott Card, I don't like Star Wars, Star Trek, or even Star Search, and I have never watched an episode Battlestar Galactica. I've always thought that maybe sci-fi was just too weird for me, but I have recently decided that it has more to do with the characters.
I think fantasy authors might tend to like their characters more than the sci-fi authors. I really don't have a defense for that, it's just a feeling I had. It might be because when I watched Stardust, the charcters were vivid and moving; when I read it, it wasn't particularly inspiring, and I thought the ending was not particularly happy.
Anyway, I think this author hated her characters. She would write one as sympathetic for a while, then reveal something to make you lose all sympathy. She obviously wasn't well-liked in school, and this book reads like an embittered account of what she wished teenagers thought and acted like.
So, in summary, don't read it. I have just decided to begin doing a book vs. movie comparison for Stardust...the only pitfall being that I'll have to read it again.
When the book came out, I got an email from Borders, and the first chapter. So I read it, and it sounded like an interesting set up. (School shooting, one of the victims is a judge's daughter) Since it was at the library, I grabbed it. I do not recommend doing the same.
I'm not precisely sure what the author normally writes, but I'm going to give it a shot in the dark and guess romance. The plot inconsistencies crop up regularly, and the descriptions of the lead female's sexual encounters with her physically and emotionally abusive boyfriend litter the pages like pine needles litter our yard. And they are both juniors in high school. Her mom has a contrived romantic interest pop up about 2/3 through the book, which is hardly believable.
Also, at the end of this book, no one is happy. Not one single person in the book gets to be truly happy again. it reminds me of the 'classic' children's movie, The Pagemaster, when the book that represents horror wants to go to the fantasy section because there are happy endings. I think he said, "horror always has sad endings." I would look up what the exact quote is, but my calm has been mangled.
This got me thinking off in another direction (it takes a completely un-derailable train of thought to keep me up until three in the morning) - I have always really loved fantasy, but science fiction I can take or leave. I have read a few of Heinlein's books; but I've never actually made it through anything by Orson Scott Card, I don't like Star Wars, Star Trek, or even Star Search, and I have never watched an episode Battlestar Galactica. I've always thought that maybe sci-fi was just too weird for me, but I have recently decided that it has more to do with the characters.
I think fantasy authors might tend to like their characters more than the sci-fi authors. I really don't have a defense for that, it's just a feeling I had. It might be because when I watched Stardust, the charcters were vivid and moving; when I read it, it wasn't particularly inspiring, and I thought the ending was not particularly happy.
Anyway, I think this author hated her characters. She would write one as sympathetic for a while, then reveal something to make you lose all sympathy. She obviously wasn't well-liked in school, and this book reads like an embittered account of what she wished teenagers thought and acted like.
So, in summary, don't read it. I have just decided to begin doing a book vs. movie comparison for Stardust...the only pitfall being that I'll have to read it again.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Murderflower
After going to God knows how much effort to get my morning glories to grow...I have been challenged again. This time, by Murderplant.
Murderplant is the name I have given to the plants that have sprung up in my planters. It does not resemble anything I planted, but this did not bother me originally, because it was leafy and green, and I'm a sucker for that. Then the Murderplants began killing my morning glories.
Murderplants grow, innocent-seeming, and then shoot out tendrils. These tendrils are not for climbing because I have tried and failed to get them to twine around the wrought iron railing. They refuse. However, as soon as they encounter another plant (specifically, my morning glories) their tendrils curl quickly around it (*for a plant) and strangle off the stem they are encircling.
Damn Murderplants. I really don't know how to make them peaceful.
Also, I saw the absolute sweetest thing today at the library. Remember, in Las Vegas, the parking lots are much bigger than they are back east. It takes me more than a full minute to get to my car fram the front doors at a brisk walk. It's actually two minutes at the leisurely walk which was my pace this morning. So I had plenty of time to watch an elderly couple that had parked in the bark row, a few cars away from me.
They both had completely white hair (from what I could tell of the man's; he was wearing a baseball cap), and they both had to be at least 80. The man was walking with the aid of a cane and holding the woman's hand. When they got close to their car, she dropped his hand, but he continued to walk around to the passenger side (which was the longer walk) and then opened the door for the woman, before walking back around to driver's side.
Murderplant is the name I have given to the plants that have sprung up in my planters. It does not resemble anything I planted, but this did not bother me originally, because it was leafy and green, and I'm a sucker for that. Then the Murderplants began killing my morning glories.
Murderplants grow, innocent-seeming, and then shoot out tendrils. These tendrils are not for climbing because I have tried and failed to get them to twine around the wrought iron railing. They refuse. However, as soon as they encounter another plant (specifically, my morning glories) their tendrils curl quickly around it (*for a plant) and strangle off the stem they are encircling.
Damn Murderplants. I really don't know how to make them peaceful.
Also, I saw the absolute sweetest thing today at the library. Remember, in Las Vegas, the parking lots are much bigger than they are back east. It takes me more than a full minute to get to my car fram the front doors at a brisk walk. It's actually two minutes at the leisurely walk which was my pace this morning. So I had plenty of time to watch an elderly couple that had parked in the bark row, a few cars away from me.
They both had completely white hair (from what I could tell of the man's; he was wearing a baseball cap), and they both had to be at least 80. The man was walking with the aid of a cane and holding the woman's hand. When they got close to their car, she dropped his hand, but he continued to walk around to the passenger side (which was the longer walk) and then opened the door for the woman, before walking back around to driver's side.
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