asato_muraki | Back Early, and Cold

First off, I missed you guys!

Second, We're back early because Big Boy had some stuff I wanted him to do for school, not homework per se, just stuff he was supposed to be working on over the last couple weeks that I let slip. He brought everything with us that he would need to do it, except for the Internet. Papa doesn't even have a dictionary! I was stunned. So, here we are. I'm glad to be back.

While we were gone:

It got cold.

BIL fed the cat, but took no notice of him. Thus, Irascible Cat has been keenly affectionate to me, and generally keen to fight and play tag with everyone else.

micehell is an angel of Light and Mercy, assuring that I have Video Crack to come home to, plus pictures of Travis Fimmel, actor and Calvin Klein ~~sock~~ underpants model. I dare you to Google him. I double dog dare you. *chortles madly*

While I have not seen the movie Twilight (and probably will not seek out said experience, though I won't go out of my way to avoid it, either), I have truly enjoyed reading your reviews of it. From

narniadear and

abrynne who had a good time and fell rather hard for the "wrong" character *wink* to

hopeandprey, whose review contained many jewels, such as the following:

If you haven't read the book: don't. It's billed as a squeaky clean romance with supernatural elements, but it's really a how to guide for getting into an abusive relationship. On top of that, the entire narrative is first person from the perspective of a lovesick teenage girl. So, no sex, whiny teen angst, and vampires, the obvious ingredients for an international best seller.

She also refers to the book/movie's narrator/main character, Bella, as "the damned fool cunt at the center of this tale," a salty bit of veritas you are not likely to encounter elsewhere. Go read the whole review. It'll make you long for a theater for grown-ups near you.

(ETA: Since it isn't clear, I should probably add that all the people I mentioned reviewing it really enjoyed the experience of seeing this movie, and really liked the scenery, too.)
These are just a few of the reasons y'all are so much fun to come back to at the end of an exhausting holiday.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I saw Twilight with my youngest, Dgirl, and she'd read the books and I had not. I actually thought the movie wasn't bad. The scenery was drop-dead gorgeous and I'd live in Edward's house in a nanosecond if I could afford it. Bella was the typical whiny girl and the whole movie was really foreplay for the romance. Bella was so Mary Sue it was ridiculous. But Dgirl said it was much better than the book. So worth seeing on cable or tv.

I had a feeling that the movie was going to be far better from the book.

I mean, really, it HAD to be, all things considered. :D

But... *twitch* Still in no mood to seek it out.

Well, I hadn't read the book but the reviews of the book were so scathing that I was curious. Watch it if it comes on tv, if nothing else for the scenery.

Scenery works. I did like the dominant gray tones shown in the previews.

Or are we talking about the pretty boy jailbait sort of scenery? ;)

I think it will be fun to see on cable or whatever. All the reviews I linked to said it was pretty good. I just quoted the more caustic bits because I thought they were funny.

The caustic bits *were* funny! :)

*Whew!* For a moment there, I wondered. ;) I think everyone who reviewed enjoyed their theater experience, even if some of them enjoyed a more MST3K sort of thing.

I have to admit, I'm not... horribly offended by the book's existence. (A little bit, though, yes.) It's a romance novel that just happened to have been specifically targeted at teens. I read romance novels for a bit. As long as you don't base your life expectations from them, who cares? SMUT!

My problem is how many people who HAVE reacted in a way that tells me, Yes, they ARE going to base their life expectations around this sort of situation. And I hate seeing that, and I hate seeing something like this feeding that notion.

Well, the books are, from what I'm told, very sensual despite being 'clean.' One friend described them as "Pitt Bulls Against Mauling Toddlers." As in, the pitt bull says, "You know how when you maul a toddler, and the bones crunch and the blood tastes all sticky and they cry and scream? I'm against that."
I'm cool with smut for smut's sake (Q.E.D.) but prose designed to get one tingly while at the same time implying that sex is bad or shameful or whatever -- that just pisses me off. Now, I'm not opposed to having characters wait for marriage or be chaste (the characters in the two novels I'm working on fall into those categories, actually), but there are more practical reasons for those behaviors than a purely moral indoctrination might lead you to believe. There is just something that bothers me about getting girls all revved up without the follow-through, giving sex this powerful lead in and then leaving it a mystery does not do young girls any favors. In this case, I think less would be better than more, though.

That's why I've always appreciated how Tamora Pierce handles sex in her books. (Young adult writer made of AWESOME.) She's damned practical about it - skips the sex part, but talks about it frankly, and there's no tingly build-up to leave anyone with any false expectations. The sexuality part is left private to the characters and up to the reader's imagination. :-)

Oh, that sounds ideal, really. I read Tamora Pierce's blog, and she seems extra-crispy cool to me. I should snag some of her stuff for my growing YA pile. I mean, I can see why I would have loved such things once upon a time. My friends tried to get me into the wholesome Christian teen romance things back in the day because they all loved them. They just made me uncomfortable with their blandness. A chaste vampire thing would have been great, probably. Just now, as an adult, the tingly bits aimed at teens make me queasy.

Her very first book (split into four books for the YA crowd) pretty much saved my sanity as a teenager. It's still in my top five for favorite stories. :-) Alanna: The First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, and Lioness Rampant. I suggest those to start. Then just keep reading in order for her Tortall line, and you won't be disappointed.

And yes, Tamora Pierce herself is made of freaking awesome. :D

Thanks for the rec! :)

You're welcome. I have no shame about trying to get people to read her books. :-D

(I also highly recommend The Books of Great Alta. Duology of Jane Yolen books where her unusual writing style WORKS.)

That is basically what everyone I mentioned said in their reviews, that it was pretty good, and that the real star was the Pacific Northwest. I just quoted the bits that made me chortle.

It was better than the book and we had fun. "Pretty good" might be a little strong for me. I didn't think it was terrible?

lol! Okay. You enjoyed your movie-going experience, perhaps with slightly more MST3K glee than the average tween girl of the target audience. 'S'at work? ;)

Welcome Back! *Hugs*

I've yet to see the movie, and I've heard so much hype about it from my friends who've seen it.

*hugs*

Well, I'd be open to seeing it, as I've heard it's fun. Though I think it would have to be with some folks who are as snarky and enjoyable as my friendslisters. It seems like the sort of flick to benefit from the meta. ;)

Wow, an angel of light and mercy! That's like double-billing. ;)

And oh my yes on Mr. Fimmel. Just... nice underwear. Before I'd seen Tarzan, I was just mildly looking forward to The Beast, but now I'm fairly eager. ;)

Hee! "Eager" is such a great word! ;)

Back Early, and Cold

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