Categories
movie

Star Trek Into Darkness

I have some very complicated feelings about this movie. There will shortly be SPOILERS, which I will put under a cut.

First, things I loved, non-spoiler version:

  • Zachary Quinto is the sassiest Vulcan ever. I loved it.
  • While I have many complaints about the script, the banter was excellent and everyone got a good moment.
  • Simon Pegg stole every scene he was in.
  • Zoe Saldana was reasonably badass. (I’ve seen a lot of complaints about Uhura’s role in this movie, and I… didn’t really see where they’re coming from for the most part.)
  • Sulu (John Cho) had some great if understated moments.
  • Kirk did manage to have some good character development so he was less of a frat boy THANK GOODNESS.

Okay. Now on to what I have complicated feelings about. SPOILERS. (Also, technically a spoiler for Iron Man 3 is now included so beware.)

Continue reading “Star Trek Into Darkness”
Categories
steampunk writing

Read it now – The Ugly Tin Orrery

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“You wouldn’t dare.” The conductor, a fit man in a crisp blue uniform now unfortunately stained with sweat and powder thanks to his insistence on resisting rather more athletically than had been necessary, gave her a wide-eyed look. Recognition and horror dawned in his eyes as he took in her scarlet coat. There was only one pirate who had that particular quirk of dress, after all. Perhaps he’d missed the memo explaining that the infamous Captain Ramos was female.Marta smiled at him. It was an expression she had, quite literally, practiced in front of a mirror for years to perfect. In her role as pirate captain, that smile was calculated to state, why yes I am quite mad and have a fraction of concern for human life so small, you might as well save your time and round it to zero. “Pirate, Mister…” she peered at his little name badge, “…Lewis. I’m a pirate. Is there anything my ilk does not dare?”

Mostly a bluff, that. Captain Ramos was not one to slaughter droves of innocent civilians, though she had in fact shot a conductor once, because he’d gone after her with a paring knife from a nearby fruit bowl. It had been an embarrassing incident for all involved—terminally so for the conductor in question—but Marta had made good use of it nonetheless in the cause of convincing other potentially brave souls that she really was that mad.

“You’re a madwoman.”

“If I must keep repeating myself, this conversation will become intensely dull.” But she examined him carefully, taking in the signs of distress and mentally calculating which way he would crack if just a bit more pressure were applied. She drew her pistol and pointed it squarely in his face.

The man’s eyes went wide, and he tried to jerk his hands up defensively, only to be stopped by the firm hands of one Lucius Lamburt. Lucius played his part beautifully by growling into the man’s ear, “Now then, sonny, you don’ want ta give us no trouble.” Lucius also played the part beautifully of having been born, as far as anyone could tell, as some sort of gorilla who was subsequently partially shaved and outfitted with the surprisingly well-tailored clothes of a man.

…though knowing Lucius, Marta reflected, he was quite likely serious. The man was unhinged in all of the most useful ways. “If you please, Mister Lewis. I wouldn’t want to overexcite our Mister Lamburt with the sight of blood.”

Lucius laughed in the conductor’s ear, accompanied by a fine spray of saliva. That, at least, was more obviously an act. Lucius had a bit of a thing about bodily fluids.

The conductor was quick to lead her into the third freight car then, and rip up the floor paneling that hid the safe. While the main point of the raid had been the train’s cargo-a shipment of steel bars and some much-needed, delicately machined replacement parts for their various engines-there was really no reason to leave the store of gold and silver on the train behind. It was just good business.

“Captain, this ought to be the last of the crates,” Simms called from behind.

Marta glanced up to see the tall man walking down the narrow hallway toward her. He held one end of a wooden crate that had been painted a rather odd shade of green. “Are you certain, Simms? That doesn’t look like the rest.”

“The maker’s stamp–” Whatever Simms might have been about to point out was lost when the door to the car crashed open and a man with a shock of wild yellow curls flung himself through. His dove-gray jacket was torn and his tie in complete disarray, one glove missing as well, the other stained with ink or possibly grease, it was difficult to tell from this distance.

With wild desperation he flung himself at Simms, arms flailing. “That is my trunk! Mine! You can’t have it!”

The attack was sudden and ferocious enough, despite the almost comical size difference that was revealed when the short, slight man proceeded to cling to Simms like a monkey, that Simms dropped his end of the crate. It hit the floor with a crash and the man who had been holding the other side lost his grip as well, cursing as he did so. One side of the crate lost its integrity, boards splintering outward.

As Simms tried to pry away the fingers of the much smaller man free, bearings cascaded from the splintered crate. Swearing, Simms stumbled and then began to slip freely on them, arms windmilling and legs skating to and fro as the much smaller man pummeled him about the head and shoulders with one hand.

Marta, Lucius, and the conductor, momentarily forgetting he was a captive and this might have been the perfect opportunity to escape, openly stared.

“Ah… shouldn’t someone help that man?” the conductor said, after a moment.

“Naw, ‘e’s fine. Winning even, I’d say,” Lucius answered.

The sad truth of it was, Marta wasn’t entirely certain to whom they were referring.

Released today at Musa Publishing! If you liked the excerpt, there’s more where that came from!

Categories
stuff in the uk trip report

This is the part where you get to be even more jealous of me: Stratford (and Newark Park House)

Yes. Not only am I surrounded by delicious biscuits and all the milky tea I can drink, yesterday I went to Stratford. And saw the Royal Shakespeare Company perform Hamlet. (And also went to Shakespeare’s birthplace, which was cool too.) Then today I went to the Newark Park House, which is just ridiculously beautiful.

Ready for some pictures?

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More under the cut.

Continue reading “This is the part where you get to be even more jealous of me: Stratford (and Newark Park House)”
Categories
stuff in the uk trip report

A Brunel Kind of Day

It was another day for tourist things, this time closer to home, in Bristol. We started out at the Avon Gorge, so I could look at the pretty rocks.

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The pretty rocks are mostly Carboniferous limestones and a bit of sandstones. Apparently there are fossils, but I never got near enough to the limestones to look. It’s a nice, deep river valley that formed during the last glacial maximum. Very pretty. Though I  find the river very strange to look at since it’s so tidally influenced it was just a trickle when we were there. It’s hard to imagine ships going up the river, but you can also tell how deep it is when the tide comes in by looking at the extent of the mud banks.

Now, the reason to go to Avon Gorge is to see the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, owner of the most fantastic name I have ever encountered in my life. I am going to have to name a character in the Adventures of Captain Ramos Isambard. The bridge is pretty impressive just because of how high up it is, and the chains on it are not what I’m used to chains looking like.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-l78DSDFDn7g/UYp6zmYHeBI/AAAAAAAALV8/9_C7bi7C9ZY/s144-c-o/IMG_20130508_060949_065.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/104914909709893493346/080513Bristol#5875643690751850514″ caption=”IMG_20130508_060949_065″ type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130508_060949_065″ ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-WYftWXDr9j4/UYp7wc35yBI/AAAAAAAALYs/zhahE8ajDdE/s144-c-o/IMG_20130508_060117_725.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/104914909709893493346/080513Bristol#5875644736172836882″ caption=”IMG_20130508_060117_725″ type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130508_060117_725″ ]

 There are also signs for the Samaritans (basically the suicide prevention hotline) all over the bridge so… yeah.

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 Anyway, it’s a beautiful spot.

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 After, we went to the SS Great Britain, which was also designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. There is a lot of cool information about the Great Britain, which is better read at the Wikipedia page than reiterated here by me. But the coolest thing I think is that the ship (now museum) was returned to the dry dock in which she was built, and there she has stayed.

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 You can go down into the dry dock, which is truly very dry. There’s a massive dehumidifier system under there to try to arrest the corrosion of the iron hull. There’s a glass ceiling with a thin layer of water above to give the ship the illusion of being in water when viewed from above. Hilariously, it also means people can look like they’re walking on water if they go in.

There’s a nice audio tour for the ship, which is a very nicely done museum, preserving the ship’s history as a passenger liner. One of the tours says it’s about Sinbad, the ship’s cat. I asked for that one and was informed, after a disbelieving stare, “That one’s for children.” I said, “Yes, I know. That’s the one I want.” After another stare, the lady handed over the audio tour unit once my mother in law informed her, “It’s all right, she’s American.”

So there you go, my fellow Americans.

It’s false advertising anyway. The children’s tour is actually about a little first class passenger named Florence who spends her whole time chasing the poor, ginger cat. I felt like I was robbed. The tour would have been way more fun if it had been from the fictional viewpoint of an anthropomorphic tabby. So bleh on you, SS Great Britain museum tours.

I think my favorite part of the ship was the replica engine.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Yf45SLkIqBM/UYp3pmkK74I/AAAAAAAALMM/BMaapjyivWo/s144-c-o/IMG_20130508_083735_166.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/104914909709893493346/080513Bristol#5875640220468834178″ caption=”IMG_20130508_083735_166″ type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130508_083735_166″ ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-p6YAPX9DScU/UYp3u8whRrI/AAAAAAAALMc/yB9BEEC5nZw/s144-c-o/IMG_20130508_083432_142.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/104914909709893493346/080513Bristol#5875640312325555890″ caption=”IMG_20130508_083432_142″ type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130508_083432_142″ ]

 Well, and my moment of being very dapper.

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 I want a top hat of my own. I would wear it whenever the hell I pleased.

There was also some fun fake food in the galley and first class dining room. You know how I am about fake food.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-AvybrwDY4bc/UYp3Cr9hsoI/AAAAAAAALKU/4v9q-UjJ_NI/s144-c-o/IMG_20130508_090552_869.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/104914909709893493346/080513Bristol#5875639551902462594″ caption=”IMG_20130508_090552_869″ type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130508_090552_869″ ] [pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7F-bS-5_ePg/UYp3dSsyIsI/AAAAAAAALLk/Ox29RgnF2qo/s144-c-o/IMG_20130508_085845_096.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/104914909709893493346/080513Bristol#5875640008977818306″ caption=”IMG_20130508_085845_096″ type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130508_085845_096″ ]

 …but then it all got a bit Silent Hill.

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 Also, this is apparently a game. Called, and I am not making this up, the Nut Spinner.

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 No one knows how it was played. Insert your joke here.

After, it was getting rainy and we were touristed out, so we headed back home. We had to stop at a bridge while a barge went through, so you know what has to happen.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Gkx2FZZraoI/UYpsgkvdWJI/AAAAAAAALHk/GZE7woFL6Iw/s144-c-o/IMG_20130508_093113_825.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/104914909709893493346/080513Bristol#5875627970732578962″ caption=”IMG_20130508_093113_825″ type=”image” alt=”IMG_20130508_093113_825″ ]

 And of course.

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 In honor of the release of the World’s End trailer. Though I know, I know. I should have gotten a mint cornetto instead. I panicked. I’m sorry.

I have a ton more pictures if you’d like to see them! They’re at my Picasa album.

And you know what I’m doing tomorrow? I’M GOING TO STRATFORD, BITCHES. Going to see Hamlet done by the Royal Shakespeare Company. YES. GIVE ME YOUR ENVY. IT TASTES LIKE SWEET CANDY TO ME AHAHAHAHA.

Categories
stuff in the uk

A day amongst the ruins.

We did a lot of touristy things today, in Wales. We started with Tintern Abbey – we tried to see it in 2011, but it was raining. And raining. And raining some more. In Wales, I know. Who would have thought?

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Tintern Abbey is an absolutely beautiful ruin. The scale is fantastic. Being able to look up through the roof into blue sky defines tranquility, and somehow seems right despite the fact that the building was obviously never intended to look like that. Ruins are always presented visually as creepy, but Tintern was nothing of the sort. I think it’s because of the lawns that carpet the area, grass and flowers growing up between the bases of columns that have long since fallen. Tintern looks comfortable in its ruin, and welcoming. It’s a place that wants you to come have a picnic and sun yourself in the grass. It’s beautiful.

(It’s also made from sandstone, and I had a fun time boring everyone by pointing out structures in the eroded stonework.)

Tintern in the rain had its own beauty, though.

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It’s just so quiet. The day we went about a year and a half ago, it was just us there. And you could hear the rain, every drop of it, pattering onto the grass and stone. I liked it then as well.

Anyway, after Tintern Abbey we went on to Cheptow Castle, which is another ruin. I honestly don’t have that much to say about Cheptow, other than it sure is a castle. There were more people there, laying in the grass and throwing frisbees. There is something odd about seeing that, as an American. It seems weird to see people playing so casually around something so ancient – the castle’s nearly 800 years old.

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Of course that has nothing on our last stop for the day, the Roman Fortress at Caer Leon. Where a lively football/rugby match (they were kind of playing by rugby rules but using a football? Yeah, I don’t know) was happening in the middle of the ruins of a nearly 2000 year old amphitheater.

IMG_20130506_102246_076But the more I think about it the more I like it. What made history in the first place was always the people. Putting something behind glass means that you can look at it, and enjoy it perhaps for the sake of art, but it becomes a thing without life, simply preserved. It feels only right that in the same place humans laughed and played 2000 years ago, we’re there, bringing life to the stones that stand.

(For more pictures, here’s my Picasa Album for today.)

 

Categories
movie

Iron Man 3

You bet your ass there are SPOILERS. This is the only warning you get.

Continue reading “Iron Man 3”
Categories
Uncategorized

Hello from the UK

As you can tell by the exceedingly polite signage, I’m in the UK again. I’d forgotten how beautiful it is here in May. Normally we only come in December, for Christmas. But I like this much better.

(We’re here because Mike’s sister is getting married. And then that seemed like a good excuse to see the Royal Shakespeare Company do Hamlet so expect gushing about that later this week.)

I’m actually surviving the jetlag pretty well right now. If you can believe it, I managed to sleep on the plane. This never happens. I think part of this was because I’ve had to start keeping normal human hours, what with working a regular job and all. But also, there really weren’t any movies I was all that excited to see on the list. Instead I dozed as best I could, using Tom Hiddleston reading The Red Necklace to drown out the snoring of my fellow passengers.

I did watch one movie – Rise of the Guardians. A lot of my friends saw it in theaters, and I heard a lot of squeeing. I don’t know what I expected, but… meh. It just didn’t do a whole lot for me, and I’m not even certain why. I think I expected something on the level of Wreck-it Ralph maybe, and Guardians just didn’t have a tight, clever enough script for that. Though there were some fun moments. I really loved the Tooth Fairy giving Pitch a quarter before punching him in the mouth. But I can’t say I’m sorry I didn’t see it before now.

The flight was actually really productive, before I was too exhausted to see straight. I did line edits that I owed, and finished another draft of Significant Figures. I think that story might be just about where it needs to be now.

Anyway, now we’re in Birmingham. Mike’s parents rented a nice apartment for the weekend that we’re sharing, and we went tot he rehearsal dinner for the wedding. Though we begged off going to the actual rehearsal because we didn’t want wedding spoilers. (Translation: Oh god just let me sit on the couch and die.) Tomorrow I have to go bra shopping first thing in the morning because I forgot my strapless bra in Houston (it’s always something) and then as a reward we’ll see Iron Man 3 which I’m so excited about I can only express it by keysmashing. (U#)INGWEHR((Q#

Going to stay awake a bit longer and then see if the sleep thing will happen. Could this be my first time ever in the UK not destroyed by jetlag? We’ll see!

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Uncategorized

For a moment I had fifty legs

Imagine this:

Thundering down the pavement at 26 miles per hour, rattling over bumps and potholes, hands going numb. It’s night, red and white lights flashing everywhere. There are people in front of you, behind you. You’re a freight train. You’re unstoppable. The wind is so loud in your ears you can barely hear your iPod.

And for one perfect moment, everyone pulls together. You’re a human being with 50 legs, 25 hearts, and you take in a breath and bare your teeth at the road.

That was my night. How was yours?

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Uncategorized

Ohmygod Shoes

Which is to say hello everyone, I actually am still alive. I’m just kind of having a rough time getting adjusted to that having a real job thing and figuring out when I can do non-job stuff like writing and blogging and exercising. I’ve given exercise a priority for now (since I’m feeling awesome) and as a result I’m feeling even more awesome, but feel like I don’t have much time for anything else on the weekdays.

Today, instead of exercising, I went shoe shopping. Which is not my least favorite kind of shopping, shockingly enough. I’d still rather shop for shoes than for any kind of clothes, for example, or for a house. Shopping for shoes has never made me feel either terminally unattractive or exceedingly poor, just… frustrated. But today I was victorious! I got a new pair of shoes for work:

 

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You are not seeing this incorrectly. Those are men’s dress shoes. It’s all part of my grand plan to confuse everyone I work with about my sexuality. (Kidding.) (Mostly.) Actually, it’s because I fucking hate women’s shoes, particularly dress shoes. They are never comfortable. It’s like whoever designed those shoes started out on the premise that obviously women do not want to walk like normal humans. And never have foot problems. And never need to wear insoles.

Well, I have problems with my feet, and I need to wear insoles, and I think it’s a really bad sign when I find myself wishing I could wear my freaking cycling cleats in the office because they hurt my feet less. And thus – men’s shoes.

One thing I did find weird about trying them on is that they make my feet feel huge. I’m thinking it’s the square-ish toes. I feel like most women’s shoes are really trying to minimize our feet, so this feels very weird indeed.

Anyway. New shoes. Hooray. We’ll see how that goes.

Otherwise the new job is great. My coworkers are all super nice people. I love my mentors and I’m learning a lot. The learning curve is incredibly steep, but I think I’m doing an okay job of clawing my way along it. I’ve been looking at thin sections and describing core, and that’s all stuff I like. I get to play with a tablet, which is fun.

No one’s seriously attempted to kill me during my morning or afternoon bicycle commute yet. So that’s fun too. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.

 

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movie

42

The funny thing is, I don’t particularly like baseball. But I really do like movies about baseball. Maybe it’s because even if I don’t appreciate the sport in and of itself, I can appreciate that people love it and feel very passionate about it.

42 is one of those baseball movies. It’s also a movie about the first crack being put in segregation for that part of society. It’s a movie that intends to be inspirational and let you leave the theater feeling good, and it makes no bones about that fact. There are a lot of moments in the film where someone who is horrible and racist gets slapped down verbally by someone who isn’t, and you feel a bit like cheering. You’re supposed to.

It’s not a sweeping biography of Jackie Robinson; there’s still a hell of a lot left unsaid about the man. The focus is instead on his year with the Montreal Royals in the minor leagues, and then his rookie year with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and because of that much is left unsaid. Though thankfully, it’s not all baseball. Jackie Robinson gets a life outside the game in this movie, and it’s not all focused on the constant, grinding fight against racism. There are a lot of lovely scenes that sketch (and it is very much just a sketch) his relationship with his wife Rae and the arrival of their first child.

In 42, Jackie Robinson feels more like the legend than the man who became a legend, which is the only complaint I have at all. And considering what a likable legend Chadwick Boseman plays him to be, that’s not really much of a complaint at all. I loved watching him steal bases. But I also feel like the focus of the movie wasn’t really Jackie Robinson’s journey – it was the journey of the white men surrounding him who had to step up to meet him. But then again, Jackie Robinson changed the game; the game didn’t change him, other than perhaps to temper him if the movie is to be believed.

The cast in general is really good, and full of familiar faces. Boseman communicates pain, inner turmoil, and struggles with his temper without needing to say a word. Alan Tudyk as Ben Chapman, the horribly racist manager of the Phillies made me cringe in my seat. John McGinley (who I will always know as Dr. Cox from Scrubs) looked convincingly old and sounded entirely different as Red Barber. Christopher Meloni was… well, Christopher Meloni, really, perhaps a bit rougher and more tough-talking than before. 

And Harrison Ford? Holy shit Harrison Ford. I actually didn’t realize it was him, until a scene where he yells at Jackie and then I really recognized his voice. They did some excellent makeup on him. And he did a great job, jabbing the air with his cigar and doing the old man wobble with his chin.

The movie’s got its uplifting and triumphant moment (though at times the score is really trying a little too hard) and a lot of fun back and forth. (The pre-shower scene. Just.) There’s a lot to like about it, and it’s fun. If you ask me, much more fun than actually watching baseball, though I know I’m in the minority there.