Manga/TV/Magazine Recs, 1/8/09
Friday, January 8th, 2010 09:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
retsukoIn Manga:
Ouran Host Club, V. 13, Pencils and Words by Hatori Bisco: What, is this story suddenly taking a serious turn? Is Tamaki's silliness actually masking a deep psychological wound? Of course! And, I have to say: FINALLY. I had gotten very, very weary of the storyline between Hikaru and Kaoru, and it's nice that the meta-narrative has become the governing plot line again. Everyone's sort of back to their respective selves. Haruhi's realization of her feelings for Tamaki is one of the funniest things I've read in this manga, and her eventual turn to shojo manga to tell her what to do is a highly entertaining comic sequence. Hatori seems to be taking a holiday from the "i am a published artist/writer who can't draw/write" comments, which makes me unspeakably happy.
On TV/DVD:
Leverage, Season 1: So much fun, although there have been times when the writers, hampered by the 42 minute limit on the episode, liberally fudge the details to cram the main plot into the time alloted, with logic being the victim. And that's OK, for the most part--the fun of these criminal capers isn't the logic (although it's great to see the characters working from behind the scenes when logic and time are on their side), it's the complicated heists, grifts, scams, and plots that our heroes/heroines manage to pull off. Also wonderful fun is the character interaction between the five leads--the awkward, slowly growing romance between cat burglar Parker and tech wizard Hardison (so spoilers, please, we're just starting Season 2), the banter from hitman Eliot (ably played by Christian Kane, a.k.a. Lindsay from "Angel"--and in one memorable episode from the first season, we get a whole Whedon reunion with Jonathan and Holland Manners), and the will-they-won't-they tension between grifter Sophie and lead man/troubled alcoholic Nathan. Nate's alcoholism skirts the border of seeming plot devicelike in a few episodes, but for the most part, he's believable and sympathetic. The heists themselves are full of double- and triple-crosses; the villains are truly evil people who deserve what's coming to them.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yebisu9 and I are very much looking forward to continuing this.
The question for me naturally becomes, then, which is better, Leverage or Hustle? Hustle isn't hampered by the shorter running time and the annoying commercial pauses, which sometimes break up the flow of the narrative; it also has more visual style, feels more slick and polished. Leverage has a more personal twist, though, since the show is pitched a little more like a modern-day Robin Hood story. I think a fanfic crossover would really hit the spot. :D
In Magazines:
Wild Fibers: My recent interest in spinning caused me to pick up this ultra-niche magazine at the specialty magazine store in Hillcrest. There's some wonderful photography in it, both of the fibers each story focuses on, and the people and places the stories are about. I had no idea that a craft magazine would need to send its reporters to Africa, Scotland, Mongolia, and Thailand in a single issue. With such specific topics, though, I wonder how this particular title is managing to stay afloat in a recession. I suspect that the bent of at least two of the articles reveals why: white woman travels to impoverished, third world country, attempts to help the natives. (To be fair, in one case, this was years ago and the effects on the country's economy were largely very good, and in the other case, the woman in question does appear to not have a messiah complex, just genuine concern.) So my general feeling is that this magazine is bought by rich white woman, largely in the midwest and northwestern states, who have a lot of time on their hands and are generally leftist in their politics. Reading this hasn't diminished my interested in spinning at all, and I am mostly disappointed that there aren't any specialty spinning stores nearby. I will definitely attempt to do this for myself sometime this spring.
A bonus: The portraits of camels, sheep, and goats in this are top-notch.
Ouran Host Club, V. 13, Pencils and Words by Hatori Bisco: What, is this story suddenly taking a serious turn? Is Tamaki's silliness actually masking a deep psychological wound? Of course! And, I have to say: FINALLY. I had gotten very, very weary of the storyline between Hikaru and Kaoru, and it's nice that the meta-narrative has become the governing plot line again. Everyone's sort of back to their respective selves. Haruhi's realization of her feelings for Tamaki is one of the funniest things I've read in this manga, and her eventual turn to shojo manga to tell her what to do is a highly entertaining comic sequence. Hatori seems to be taking a holiday from the "i am a published artist/writer who can't draw/write" comments, which makes me unspeakably happy.
On TV/DVD:
Leverage, Season 1: So much fun, although there have been times when the writers, hampered by the 42 minute limit on the episode, liberally fudge the details to cram the main plot into the time alloted, with logic being the victim. And that's OK, for the most part--the fun of these criminal capers isn't the logic (although it's great to see the characters working from behind the scenes when logic and time are on their side), it's the complicated heists, grifts, scams, and plots that our heroes/heroines manage to pull off. Also wonderful fun is the character interaction between the five leads--the awkward, slowly growing romance between cat burglar Parker and tech wizard Hardison (so spoilers, please, we're just starting Season 2), the banter from hitman Eliot (ably played by Christian Kane, a.k.a. Lindsay from "Angel"--and in one memorable episode from the first season, we get a whole Whedon reunion with Jonathan and Holland Manners), and the will-they-won't-they tension between grifter Sophie and lead man/troubled alcoholic Nathan. Nate's alcoholism skirts the border of seeming plot devicelike in a few episodes, but for the most part, he's believable and sympathetic. The heists themselves are full of double- and triple-crosses; the villains are truly evil people who deserve what's coming to them.
yebisu9 and I are very much looking forward to continuing this.The question for me naturally becomes, then, which is better, Leverage or Hustle? Hustle isn't hampered by the shorter running time and the annoying commercial pauses, which sometimes break up the flow of the narrative; it also has more visual style, feels more slick and polished. Leverage has a more personal twist, though, since the show is pitched a little more like a modern-day Robin Hood story. I think a fanfic crossover would really hit the spot. :D
In Magazines:
Wild Fibers: My recent interest in spinning caused me to pick up this ultra-niche magazine at the specialty magazine store in Hillcrest. There's some wonderful photography in it, both of the fibers each story focuses on, and the people and places the stories are about. I had no idea that a craft magazine would need to send its reporters to Africa, Scotland, Mongolia, and Thailand in a single issue. With such specific topics, though, I wonder how this particular title is managing to stay afloat in a recession. I suspect that the bent of at least two of the articles reveals why: white woman travels to impoverished, third world country, attempts to help the natives. (To be fair, in one case, this was years ago and the effects on the country's economy were largely very good, and in the other case, the woman in question does appear to not have a messiah complex, just genuine concern.) So my general feeling is that this magazine is bought by rich white woman, largely in the midwest and northwestern states, who have a lot of time on their hands and are generally leftist in their politics. Reading this hasn't diminished my interested in spinning at all, and I am mostly disappointed that there aren't any specialty spinning stores nearby. I will definitely attempt to do this for myself sometime this spring.
A bonus: The portraits of camels, sheep, and goats in this are top-notch.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-01-08 05:33 pm (UTC)So, I was tempted to raise sheep for fiber, but the shearing process. Oh goodness! I'm not sure I could do that by myself. I'd definitely need some lessons. If I get the sheep farm, I'm sure I could send some fibers your way for spinning. :D
no subject
Date: 2010-01-08 06:39 pm (UTC)There appear to be spinning classes and a spinning group at Common Threads (http://www.fiberartshop.com/) in Encinitas (their website is woefully out of date, but there are recent mentions of them and their spinning classes/group in the San Diego Spindrift (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/san-diego-spindrift) group on Ravelry.) And there's a spindling class offered through Helix Adult Education (http://adultschool.guhsd.net/) in La Mesa. How close are those to you?
I got some Xmas money and am contemplating going down the rabbit hole and getting a Lendrum DT, which I've been lusting after for the past 8 months.