Sunday, March 22, 2015

Graphic Novels and French Classics (obviously) (2015 books 16-20)

16 - The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 1: The Faust Act - Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matt Wilson


Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans. They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead.

Another brilliant new comic, and one that I am looking forward to seeing more of. The story is engaging, the art beautiful, the characters very interesting. It's been a while since I read this one *cough*catchinguppost*cough* so I've not got a lot more to say.

17 - Lucifer, Book 4 - Mike Carey, Peter Gross, et. al.


This comic continues to be brilliant, drawing on mythology, especially Judeo-Christian mythology, and spinning a fantastic story with it. Most graphic novel volumes take me an hour to read, tops. There's so much content in these, however, that each one might as well be a short novel.

As with the previous, this is a catch up review, as it's not as fresh in  my mind it's consequently brief.

18 - Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery - Curtis J Wiebe, Roc Upchurch


Rat Queens was absolutely brilliant. I read it three times before I had to return it to the library. In the first story, now that more peaceful times have come the town of Palisade is finding the adventurers who previously dealt with the town's problems have become a menace. To avoid exile, each group is set a task, but something fishy's going on...

Centring around an all-female group of Dungeons-and-Dragons style adventurers this hilarious action-filled story has a great deal of potential and I cannot wait to see where it goes next. I'm particularly keen to learn more of Violet's story, though it looks like the next character to get the spotlight will be Dee - not that I'm complaining. An atheist cleric whose family worships an evil god has got to have one heck of a back story.

Not for those who like their stories squeaky clean and their characters well behaved, but if you're not looking for those things then give this a try, it's got an improbably high concentration of fun within its pages.

19 - You Only Live Once - Lonely Planet


I enjoyed this book over some weeks with cups of tea. It's a beautifully made coffee table style book and divided up into ideas based on how long is needed. The majority of stories are very, very brief and don't really give much by way of how, just inspiration really.

There's still a bit of me that now has the urge to walk/cycle a ridiculous distance. Perhaps I could walk across Ireland... or cycle around the country here. Hmm.

20 -  The Ladies' Paradise - Emile Zola


I picked this up at my local library in the 'blind date with a book' promotion, and am glad I did. I doubt I would have picked this up otherwise, as a perceived high chance of a dominant romantic theme generally puts e off.

Instead of what I expected, I was fascinated with a story of the social and economic implications of the arrival of department stores and the prosperity, ruin and upheaval they brought. The romantic plot was there, and unsurprisingly I didn't care for it at all, but it wasn't as big an element as expected. I would heartily recommend this book.

Monday, March 16, 2015

2015 photo post up-to-dating



54 (23rd February) - Fix - I took time to fix this mouse... he's Mum's and was a victim of kitten curiosity a little while ago. PVA glue was all I needed - that and to tackle the job in stages. At this point there are already some sections that have been glued back together. I was pleased with the results, and the mouse is back on the shelf.


55 - 12 O'Clock - I was out on the road, almost at Keith, on the longest distance driving day I've yet had. I enjoyed it more than I expected though wouldn't want to do this kind of thing daily.


56 - Reflection - after an interview I take time to reflect - on this occasion that meant time at Picaninnie Ponds, a place where I really enjoyed the isolation, if only for a little while, and during the drive. While much of my mind focuses on the road and the route there's plenty left to contemplate life, the universe and everything. The skies were pretty spectacular too. They might not be a literal reflection but they help with the reflecting.



57 - Grow - Something this lobster at Kingston SE did?



58 - Still Life - I took a few more traditional subject photos but wasn't really happy with them. Instead I focused on background and light. Which I need to work on more... but made some progress. This is my favourite of the shots taken, possibly not the best lit but in combination with framing it seems stronger.



59 - Thank you - not so much thank you, as thankful. For the festival season in Adelaide, the atmosphere, buzzing and excited, and for good nights out. This night I caught one of the $5 shows and enjoyed some food, drink and people watching.



60 - Starts with R - R & R and Reading. I've enjoyed a few books with a sociology/psychology angle lately and they've been good food for thought too.



-- From here I decided to take some time off, I don't want to burn myself out, so if I need a break in my creative projects... I'll take them ;) Days 60-74 I'm considering that break though the few photos following I've included anyway. They were taken incidentally rather than as part of an ongoing effort --





66 - Spotted some street art on the way to Yum Cha in the city with friends, these were Chinese donuts, crisp pastry inside, soft pastry outside, tasty sauce. I tried tripe for the first time, the flavour (especially with sauce) I found to be decent but I just couldn't get past the texture and found it difficult to eat as a result.


70 - I made my second batch of jam, this time with peaches. The method was a little trickier but the results were good. It didn't set as firmly as the nectarine jam did but I'm still happy with the outcome. This was also a much bigger batch so I'll have jam for quite a while now.


71 - A night out at the fringe. I saw 'Randy Writes a Novel' with a friend and had a lot of fun doing so. Couldn't take a photo then, so instead, this was my dessert. It was gooood.


72 - Colour - I jumped into responding to a prompt today as it inspired me. Overnight I heard that Sir Terry Pratchett died. His books brought much colour to my life and will continue to do so, I love re-reading these from time to time.


74 - After a huge and wonderful birthday weekend (this mug was a gift) spending time with friends and family and seeing La Soiree, which was absolutely incredible, it was time for a cup of tea. I will keep creating, keeping calm... is a work in progress. Although I'm going forward without prompts for now I'm hoping to resume more regular photography after this break.