All posts by Carl V. Anderson

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To Read or Not to Read….

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With today’s passing of famed science fiction author Andre Norton I began to mourn the fact that there are so many science fiction/fantasy Masters, or almost-Masters, that I have yet to read.

It is only within the last few years that I picked up Robert Heinlein, Piers Anthony, J.R.R. Tolkien, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Simon R. Green, Jonathan Carroll…………and they’ve all been an unspeakable joy to read! It makes me wonder what else I’m missing.

I have never read Andre Norton, but she is far from being the only household science fiction/fantasy author that I haven’t experienced. The list includes:

Isaac Asimov, Robert Aspirin, Frank Herbert, Fred Saberhagen, Poul Anderson, Gene Wolfe, Orson Scott Card (fiction), George R.R. Martin, Robert E. Howard, Anne McCaffrey, Spider Robinson, Roger Zelazny, Arthur C. Clarke, Frederick Pohl, Ben Bova….I could go on and on. In addition there are books that I have yet to read by authors that I have enjoyed over the years. The Pip and Flinx series by Alan Dean Foster, the Ringworld series of Larry Niven, the Eden Trilogy of Harry Harrison. The saying “so many books, so little time” seems so trite but so true. I treasure reading, though I often feel that there is not enough time. I choose to do other things that can be equally satisfying but whenever I hear someone lauding their favorite author or their latest literary discovery I think, “now when am I going to have time to read that?”

I used to think of reading as a solitary activity. You pick up a book, open the cover, and allow yourself to be wisked off into other worlds, other times, other dimensions. I no longer feel that way. Books throw open the doors of conversation with those around you that you may not have taken the time to converse with otherwise. Its always a pleasure during those awkward ‘small talk’ moments when you find out that the other person is a reader. Sharing books deepens a friendship in ways that no other medium can. And when you find a good friend that will trust you enough to try something that maybe they’ve never read before and that you can trust enough to open yourself to books you have never read before it is truly magical. And reading to someone deepens a relationship even more.

So rather than spending time lamenting the fact that I will never read all of the science fiction and fantasy, not to mention classics, children’s books, etc. that I desire to, I decided to go out and do something about those I do have time for. I picked up Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card and The Tar-Aiym Krang, a Pip and Flinx adventure, by Alan Dean Foster. I look forward to reading, and sharing, these books with great anticipation.

Film

The Tick

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Its comic book Wednesday and I thought I’d take that opportunity to review The Tick on DVD. The Tick, a creation of Ben Edlund, began life in the funny books and was an animated Saturday morning show before this live action incarnation.

I had never seen The Tick when I walked into Best Buy that Tuesday morning back in September of 2003 but was immediately attracted to the cover image of the Wild Blue Yonder and his superhero companions. I picked it up and decided to give it a try. Patrick Warburton was hilarious as ‘Putty’ on Seinfeld so I thought, “what can I possibly lose”? The answer, of course, was A LOT! Had I not picked up this DVD I may have missed out on one of the most clever and comical television series ever produced.

Patrick Warburton is outstanding in the role of The Tick, the Big Blue Bug of Justice, he whose job it is to “don the oven mitts of all that’s right and strangle the red-hot throat of all that’s wrong”. From The Tick’s opening narration, to his trip into the city to “spread my buttery justice over your every nook and cranny”, to his battle with Apocalypse Cow, the pilot episode is one of the most entertaining half hours of television I’ve seen. Creator Ben Edlund and producer Barry Sonnenfeld create a world rich in color and detail with brilliant camera angles that really make this show feel like a comic book. The introduction of David Burke as Arthur, the Tick’s sidekick includes a priceless cameo by Christopher Lloyd (Taxi, Back to the Future). Nestor Carbonell as Batmanuel and Liz Vassey as the curvaceous Captain Liberty round out The Tick’s ensemble. I was hooked moments into the pilot episode as the camera panned down from the night sky to see The Tick in all his blue glory, antennae waving heroically. And this is only one of the 9 episodes included on this 2-disc set. The brain trust at Fox decided to squash The Tick after its 8th episode thus the bonus 9th episode was never aired.

The Tick is admittedly one of those shows that you either ‘get’ or you don’t. Patrick Warburton’s dry sense of humor is used to perfection in this role. There are great cameo’s throughout the 9 episodes. A favorite is Ron Perlman’s comedic superhero Firey Blaze. The opening theme music, first heard in the second episode, is great as well. This show is a creative take on superheroes and I really felt guilty about not watching it back when it was on the air.

If you enjoyed Warburton on Seinfeld and if you enjoy ‘stupid’ humor like that found in Monty Python, Police Squad, or the old 1980’s series Sledge Hammer, then you’ll love The Tick!

Fantasy, Young Adult

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale

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Forget any images you have of fairies from colorful cartoon tales or happy stories you heard as a child. Forget images conjured forth by Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The creatures of Faerie that inhabit Holly Black’s first novel, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, are not of that ilk. These creatures are more akin to those that inhabit the original tales of the brothers Grimm, or perhaps those that would be found in one’s darkest dreams.

Tithe tells the story of 16 year old Kaye, a high school drop out with no purpose, traveling the country with her drunken, rock-band mother. Early events in the story lead Kaye back to her childhood home. There she attempts to renew friendships with former school mates as well as the “imaginary friends” of her childhood. Not long after arriving Kaye gets swept up in a strange and mysterious struggle between two rival kingdoms of Faerie. With her world becoming increasingly more dangerous Kaye must struggle with who she is becoming and decide who she can trust before she and those she loves are destroyed.

Tithe is written by Holly Black, co-author with Tony DiTerlizzi of the phenomenal children’s series, The Spiderwick Chronicles. Unlike Spiderwick, Tithe is appropriately classified as a Young Adult story. In the first few chapters Ms. Black almost overdoes it in introducing many of the elements often negatively associated with today’s teenagers: smoking, alcohol, drugs, sex, disrespect for authority. What Ms. Black is doing is setting the scene for this very dark tale but I have to admit that it seemed a little juvenile to me. However, as the land of Faerie begins to encroach upon the life of her young heroine, Ms. Black really hits her stride and leads the reader on a remarkable tale of suspense. Ms. Black describes Faerie and all its beautiful and loathesome creatures with such rich detail that it is easy for the reader to visualize. A strength of Ms. Black’s writing style is that I very naturally found myself caring about Kaye, her fate, and the fate of her friends.

If you’re looking for a dark, suspenseful fairy tale then I would highly recommend this book. I also highly recommend The Spiderwick Chronicles.

You can learn more about Holly Black, her novels, and find tips for writers at her website.

Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie, a sequel to Tithe, is due out June 1st.

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Going to waist

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For those of you wondering, this is me. A fat me. Spare me the ‘you’re not fat’ comments, this is not a post looking for sympathy or ego boosting. This is about accountability. Underneath that stylish gray shirt is the equivalent of a belly 6 months with child and carrying the kid high. (Notice how the picture was taken to distract you from seeing my belly by positioning myself next to the sexy legs of my Forbidden Planet poster. 🙂 And, though you can barely tell, Stainless Steel Droppings is up on the monitor.)

I was supposed to go to a wedding a few weeks ago but it was postponed until September due to a family death. I was attending the wedding with my friend Scott and was lamenting that I did not own a suit nor did I have the desire to buy one to fit a frame that I am not at all happy with. Scott mentioned that he would like to get back into the gym and thus the weight loss/healthier living idea was born. We have a little less than 6 months until the wedding. The idea is to start exercising again, eat better, and evaluate progress every Tuesday morning. The intensity of our personal regimens will be determined by the progress we are making.

I’m posting this as a way to be accountable. If I have others knowing what I’m supposed to be doing this will help motivate me. I’m 5’6″ and weigh 188 lbs. Most if not all of the extra weight I am carrying is belly and love handles. Both need to go. So, here we go. Goodbye to an average of 3 Mt. Dews a day. Goodbye to stopping several times a week and the local QT to pick up M&M Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches. Hello to at least trying to eat more fruits and veggies (both of which I like but am usually to lazy to grab). I’ll keep you posted. Anyone willing to join in can jump on board. The final weigh in will be Sept. 1st. 🙂

Film News

Mirrormask

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2 days ago I posted about Neil Gaiman’s upcoming new book. Yesterday I revealed my obsession with Labyrinth. Today I tie both of those posts together with a discussion about the upcoming film, Mirrormask.

Mirrormask comes from the creative minds of Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, and the Jim Henson Company. The conventional story is that Gaiman and McKean got together with Lisa Henson, daughter of the late Jim Henson, and were discussing the upcoming 20th anniversary of Labyrinth. The discussion led to the fact that Labyrinth was made with relatively little money at the time and, though not entirely successful at the box office, has been wildly successful over the years in the video/dvd market. They also began to discuss doing a sequel of sorts to Labyrinth which led to the beginning stages of Mirrormask. Mirrormask is not a sequel in the true sense of the word. Mirrormask is more of a sequel in the spirit of Labyrinth.

What Jim Henson strove to do with all his work was to introduce new and innovative ideas to the filmmaking process. He felt like he had succeeded with this on some level with Labyrinth. Gaiman and McKean have continued this spirit of innovation by making a largely digital movie with the look and feel of Dave McKean’s unique artistic style. They have essentially taken McKean’s 2 dimensional artwork and made it 3 dimensional….made it come alive.

Mirrormask centers on Helena, a 15 year old girl in a family of circus entertainers, who often wishes she could run off and join real life. After a fight with her parents about her future plans, her mother falls quite ill and Helena is convinced that it is all her fault. On the eve of her mother’s major surgery, she dreams that she is in a strange world with two opposing queens, bizarre creatures, and masked inhabitants. All is not well in this new world – the white queen has fallen ill and can only be restored by the Mirrormask, and it’s up to Helena to find it. But as her adventures continue, she begins to wonder whether she’s in a dream, or something far more sinister.

Needless to say I’m very excited about this movie. I’ve always been amazed by Dave McKean’s art and, of course, am geeky over Neil Gaiman. The Mirrormask website is amazing and you can check out a trailer for the movie in the Previews section. This is the second trailer that they have done and I liked the first one better. This one does not really have “the voice over guy” and it makes the trailer seem very odd and disjointed. The old trailer tied everything together better. Check it out anyway because it looks fun and bizarre. The movie was shown with critical success at Sundance a few months ago.

So when will Mirrormask hit theatres? . I had that same question which I posted to Mr. Gaiman. My question/statement “I realize that if there was Mirrormask news you’d tell us but we’re getting impatient….” made it onto Neil Gaiman’s journal and can be seen here if you scroll down just a bit. I didn’t put my name on the question this time but was embarrassedly thrilled when I saw it there word for word this morning! I was on Gaiman’s website once before and its a unique thrill to be a small part of that large online world.