Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Media Diet's LiveJournal:

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Friday, June 11th, 2004
12:00 am	UberBacklog ( Most everything since last time I posted ) (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 2nd, 2004
2:31 pm	Thought I posted; maybe not. In any case, summarizing previous post: Angel: "Time Bomb" "Cause and Illyria". Illyria+Wesley was "Silicon Avatar", now maybe "Deja Q". Memory-hacking="The Inner Light" Star Trek is an inexhaustible reserve of plots. Thesis in Literature: There are only really three plots: "Silicon Avatar", "The Inner Light", "The Best of Both Worlds". Triplets of Belleville: Foreigners get non-children's animated films, but lower frame rate, fewer unique cels. Maybe. Mirrormask ?= animated film? Computer-generated cel-shaded 3D objects questionably good; they stand out and don't move like other things do. When Pixar leaves its Disney contract, can we get adult-oriented animated films too? (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 21st, 2004
11:59 pm	Angel: "Origin" Do I want Angel back? ( Spoilers ) I think my current viewpoint is still what it's been; better to end it now, after an uneven season, than to end up with seasons six and seven to match Buffy's, but on the other hand, it's getting better; if the rest of the season is as good as this, the cancellation will become a disappointment. Maybe more topical comments after a second viewing. Muppet Show: Steve Martin, Carol Burnett, Gilda Radner Martin: Sort of dull, really; Steve Martin's bits weren't particularly entertaining; the best parts of the episode were throwaway/running gags. And the singing and dancing food, I suppose. Burnett: Excellent. Plenty of violence; the Muppets are always very good at violence. I was a little disappointed that the dance marathon ending with Carol singing people to death rather than flying felt("It ends when they can't move any more"), but it was an excellent asparagus costume. Radner: I actually don't remember a lot of this episode. Glue was involved, and violence, but less than in Burnett's. Solidly done, though apparently not particularly memorable. Fables: The Last Castle: My first time seeing P. Craig Russell's work in something other than Sandman; it's distinctive, but I don't know how I feel about it. It's occasionally distracting; with lines like his, one slightly off can distract. Hopefully I can find the remainder of the Fables TPBs at libraries; it's good, but not good enough to want to spend money or space on. 1602 #8: How do I feel about this? Ultimately, I think it's a little unsatisfying; generally too much or too little going on. Many of the characters, however, are excellent; Fury and the Stranges, Queen Elizabeth, Daredevil. If I were doing it again, I might wait for the trade, but I'd still end up buying it. Formerly Known as the Justice League: Excellent book. It's a group of second-rate superheroes teaming up and bickering. And bickering and bickering and bickering. Then the current JLA shows up so they can bicker with them. I loved it. It's not just bickering, I suppose, but it's very funny. Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics: Interesting choice of life lesson for a slightly gothy comic: you must engage with the world to survive. Wonderfalls seems to have a similar message at times, but that's okay, it's a good message and a somewhat rare one. Adam Cadre touched on a variation, I think, in _Ready, Okay!_, when Allen talks about drugs, but maybe that's just in my head. On the other hand, it's an odd shift after the somewhat amoral first book. I don't know why I'm fixating on this. I suppose that could be the tagline for a lot of this journal. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 14th, 2004
9:54 pm	Firefly: Ariel It's very sad that Firefly got canceled; I'm down to only four episodes left that I haven't seen, two of which are currently nominated for Hugos. Nathan Fillion is very good in Firefly, much better than in Buffy S7. Adam Baldwin's guest starring on Angel now, shaven, soft-spoken, and in a suit; it's going to be interesting juxtaposing those over the next few weeks. AbFab: Have I mentioned that these are scary, scary people? They sort of wander around, sucking goodness out of the universe. We're already short enough on goodness for people to fly off to New York to find a doorhandle. They fail to meet any standards of rationality or contribute anything to the world and then beat up people around them. Icky. Princess Mononoke: Very gooey. I'd have preferred more frames and a better projectionist, but that's being picky. The voice acting was very odd and uneven; some of the voices sounded like stereotypical anime characters(Ashitaka, Eboshi, Toki and her husband whatshisface) and some of the voices sounded completely out of place(mainly Billy Bob Thornton). For a while, I was expecting it to turn out like a console RPG; hero fights first boss, gets kicked out of home village for random reason, then wanders the country. When that failed, I waited for them to start repeating the Philosophy-of-the-Day(in Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicle, NPCs in the street will tell you about their memory problems. Continually. setzerg gets annoyed whenever I say anything related to forgetting and that game.), but that had only limited success. The problem with all this is that it isn't as easily stereotyped as I was trying for; neither the anime voices nor the out of place voices really help either. Frankly, I was surprised that it had a much more balanced attitude toward industrialization than most fantasy(LotR, anyone?) I still feel slightly odd about the plot; it feels like it's Ashitaka ending up in the middle of a war or three, just in time to, well, what? The boars ignore him, he had nothing to do with the attack on Irontown, and the hunters ignore him. In any case, Thursday's anime night at DOC this quarter; should be interesting. Queen and Country: Operation Morningstar Still very solid, very good stuff. Heavy Weather, P. G. Wodehouse Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, P. G. Wodehouse For a while I thought I'd read the second of these before, because all the plot points seemed familiar; then I concluded that, in fact, I had read it before, but then went ahead and reread it anyway. Ah, well. Angel: "Underneath" Mild distaste at the "layers" repetitions, especially since we _just had_ an episode entitled "Shells". Also very grumpy that they couldn't afford a real rooftop for the Wesley/Illyria rooftop scene. Random sidenote: a math professor recently had a baby named Ilaria Kim. Never mind, very random. In general, the Wesley/Illyria scenes seemed weak; there are all of these words and sentences that don't mean anything and don't advance the plot, because Wesley's already tried, has been trying to convince Illyria to leave with no success. Stepford Hell was entertaining, though; automatic weapons are fun. Poor, guilt-ridden Gunn; they can't just leave him like that, especially since Lindsey's information hasn't really been that helpful so far. Overall, it seemed like there were too many things that were just there to slow down the plot; Wesley/Illyria scenes, Eve/Harmony/Lorne scenes. Generally well-written, just rather slow in places. Also, I'm really against synchronized girlish screams. Five episodes left, hopefully this was just setup. And Adam Baldwin's around to be menacing; good fun. (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 4th, 2004
10:58 pm	Wonderfalls: Pink Flamingos I was going to mention that though the plot of this episode was a little predictable, Wonderfalls has little moments of exquisite comic timing, but then it got canceled. Here's hoping that the people buying the press kits on eBay for $200 bootleg the DVDs and that the rest of the episodes leak somehow and that the DVD gets put out(vote at www.tvshowsondvd.com if you think it'll do any good), but only time will tell. Strangers with Candy: I saw one episode before, with a blind person; these episodes included Alan Tudyk, later Wash on Firefly and were very odd. It's an excellent concept; the execution can be a little lacking, but it's a fun show. LWC: Do Butlers Burgle Banks?, P. G. Wodehouse (Comment on this)
Monday, March 29th, 2004
9:13 pm	( Read more... ) (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 18th, 2004
9:39 pm	Wonderfalls: Pilot I was wondering if I'd have any desire to watch television after this season; Wonderfalls doesn't really answer the question, since there's high likelihood that it gets canceled, but it's nonetheless cool. There's a little wax lion that sings "Hello, My Baby" when people aren't looking; this is my kind of obscure cultural reference. My main quibble is the sudden appearance of a happy ending(with Gratuitous Symbolism Anvils); I like these characters too much as dysfunctional to be at all comfortable with them suddenly becoming functional. Thank you, Tim Minear, for unanswering my quandary. It does seem at least a little derivative in concept, but it's still well-written. As far as I can judge these things; I've had bouts of bad taste before. 1602, #6,7: Is Reed Richards always this . . . authorial-surrogate-ish? I mean, I suppose that since we're in 1602, you can make him seem centuries ahead of his time, but it seems Mary-Sue-ish to take it too far. LWC: Bone, Old Man's Cave Assorted Blackadder III Astro City: Local Heroes #5 (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 14th, 2004
10:04 pm	Firefly: "Jaynestown" Not as bizarre as I'd hoped from Ben Edlund, but still decidedly odd. And a song! Lost in La Mancha: A documentary about how Terry Gilliam failed to make a movie. With Johnny Depp. There's a certain feeling of "Here's a very pretty movie _that you'll never get to see_." Unfortunately, the documentary doesn't rise much above merely chronicling the failure of the movie(with plenty of foreshadowing), though I learned that Orson Welles also attempted an ill-fated version of Quixote. It makes me want to go buy Gilliam films. Coupling: A very good sitcom; a little bit single-mindedly sex-obsessed, but such is life. I prefer "Inferno" and "Sex, Death, and Nudity" to "The Girl with Two Breasts", mainly because the latter was a bit repetitive and predictable, but it's interesting. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2004
10:06 pm	Hedwig and the Angry Inch Good clean fun. Except maybe for the clean part. The ending definitely had a bit of a "And then they were all run over by a truck" feel, but a good movie. (Comment on this)
9:43 pm	Angel: "Shells" This plotline having avoided repeating last season, I will scream if this turns into a Princess Diaries/several other movies which I decline to think about where wackiness ensues from introducing an alien to modern-day-America cliche. Lots and lots of speechifying. Good episode, but lots and lots and lots of speechifying; better written, mostly, than S7 Buffy, but still a bit wearying. So I'm naive and think that this could actually be in earnest, and that the real hubbub is going to occur when everyone else finds out that there's an Old One around; we'll see what happens. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 25th, 2004
11:19 pm	Angel: A Hole in the World I have moderate issues with the suddenness of "Everyone loves Fred!", but let that pass. I have more issues with sending Lorne, Angel, and Spike to check on someone's _residence_, because of the whole invitation thing, but apparently they're ignoring that rule. Some nice pieces in the episode; Gunn in the White Room, Gunn's plotline, Angel and Spike in the CGI well was sort of entertaining, too; I suppose my main issue with the ep would be the Fred-centeredness. And the cavemen. The cavemen were very Jossian, but so very irrelevant. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, February 23rd, 2004
11:27 pm	Sluggy Freelance, books 7, 8: I was wondering a little how Pete would put this comic into book form, but the answer seems to be pretty directly; it's eight pages long. The color looks really nice, too. Jay's Journal of Anomalies: It's a book about performing oddities and other interests of Ricky Jay; like the Browser's Dictionary, its contents can best be described as the various interests of the author. So, flea circuses, people walking on ceilings, bowling scams, fat people, learned dogs, and dentists abound. It's also the only book I've ever had recalled from me; the University of Chicago library has a system where if someone else has a book you want, you can recall it and they get sent a message that they have a week to return it. Who so desperately needed to know about professional fasters is beyond me. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 18th, 2004
9:35 pm	Angel: Smile Time Angel gets turned into a puppet. A very angry, bitter, violent vampire puppet, in an episode with Valentine's Day overtones. And a song about self-esteem. I suppose it is written and directed by Ben Edlund. Of all the Buffyverse writers, his style's the most distinctive, possibly excluding Joss's high-concept semi-plotless episodes. The shift in tone to corporate-land was expected for this season; the sudden bizarreness came out of left field, but it seems to be great fun. It's sort of very astounding that the episode actually wasn't horrible. I'm pretty happy. Edlund wrote an episode of Firefly, too, "Jaynestown" All this and subplots, too; cool. Firefly: Our Mrs. Reynolds purpleprimate and I tried to figure out where else in sci-fi the wife-suddenly-appearing plotline occurs; our best guesses were "Future Perfect", "Sub Rosa", and "The Child", all TNG episodes. I wouldn't be surprised if most sci-fi plotlines could be traced back to Star Trek. Joy Ride, Carol Lay Story Minute is ubercool. Some of the dialogue in the longer story seemed off, but the plotting is always well-done. LWC: Firefly: Safe (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 11th, 2004
9:40 pm	Angel: 1943 So, Lawson comes back after sixty years so that he can . . . flashback at Angel? Don't get me wrong; the 1943 plot was a lot of fun, but the storyline was sort of completely random. Ah, well. LWC: Firefly: Shindig (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 4th, 2004
10:08 pm	Zoot Suite, Andrew and Roger Langridge: Roger Langridge is great. No More Mrs. Nice Nun was a little disappointing and gratuitously gratuitous, but Zoot Suite is amazing. Bizarreness and excellent comic timing. Angel: Damage For ten or twenty minutes, this was one of the darker episodes of the season; then Andrew walked in with his pipe and strangely accented syllables on vam-PYRE. The tone of Angel has been bizarre this season, and this didn't really help, but it was a good episode, if you ignore a few Andrew scenes. Angel: You're Welcome It's nice to see Cordy back, if only briefly, and to see the show acknowledging the past four seasons; so much was rebooted for the fifth that it's a nice surprise to see some of it again. On the other hand, I hope that's not the end of Lindsey's involvement in the plot; that would be a waste. The departure scene reminded me of Sheep in the Big City's perpetual "And now I have to go away on a cruise for a very long time" departures for characters who could be inconvenient to an episodic format, but I'm glad to see it wasn't quite like that, even if I'm annoyed that they let it seem like a cliche at all. (Comment on this)
Monday, January 26th, 2004
9:00 pm	The Animation Show: Meh. Good overall, but very mixed; some very good shorts mixed with filler like Mike Judge's pencil tests and the painful "The Adventures of Ricardo". The theater staff repeatedly warned us about gratuitous violence, but there wasn't all that much. Interesting overall, even if there was a bit too much self-promotion by the producers. Peanutbutter and Jeremy's Best Book Ever, James Kochalka: James Kochalka grows on you; I'm not too fond of Fancy Froglin, but his other work is charming, I suppose. Queen and Country: Operation Broken Ground Good stuff. I'm anxious to see the story drawn by Carla Speed McNeil. The Browser's Dictionary, John Ciardi: Mainly a not to say that I've finally read it after a year or more; also to say that, like The Hoegbotton Guide to the Early History of Ambergris, having snarky people write reference works is good fun. LWC: Blackadder II: assorted episodes (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 21st, 2004
9:26 pm	Angel: "Soul Purpose" Ooh. More confirmation that Angel dreams stupid. Indiana Jones stuff last season and now this bit of weirdness; it could have been better, especially the awful dialogue of the apocalypse scene, and I'm not particularly happy with Lindsey's acting in faking his visions. My big problem is that nothing happened, or at least not much; the episode has a bunch of dream sequences, then the perpetrator is confronted, and everyone stands around while she walks away. Ah, well. LWC: Firefly: "Serenity" Firefly: "Bushwhacked" (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 14th, 2004
9:04 pm	Angel: Harm's Way Um. Harmony-themed episode. I got my new watch today; I was sufficiently excited by moving my watch band from one watch to another that I didn't really pay attention. Yeesh. Why a Harmony episode, of all things? Forgotten in the backlog: P{irates of the Caribbean (Comment on this)
Saturday, January 10th, 2004
8:37 pm	Break backlog: ( Read more... ) (Comment on this)
Sunday, December 7th, 2003
4:39 pm	A fixed number of words tempts; today's number is 10. The Tenacity of the Cockroach: Happy, angry people great fun; skipping musicians is efficient compression. Krazy Kat 1929-1930: A Mice, a Brick, a Lovely Night: High quality comic archiving; if only the covers were durable. Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees: Not particularly educational, brazen world music bad, but primates good. (Comment on this)