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I watched Superman III, followed a couple days later by IV.

It's no wonder the franchise dies after IV.

I just read Kingdom Come again; the writing's so-so, with its Xian™ shit, but Alex Ross's art is just breathtaking.

Yes, I can tell the difference between a Books thread and a Films thread.

judasmuppet";p="973469 wrote:I watched Superman III, followed a couple days later by IV.

It's no wonder the franchise dies after IV.

According to Salkind, Supergirl's what killed the franchise. IV still made a profit in the box office, is his reasoning.

What a load of bullshit. Apparently Salkind butchered Supergirl. The cut that made it to the cinema was his baby. I recently watched the re-released DVD version. Gaping holes in the plot aside, it was a fine movie, as far as the genre goes.

Sure, it was a bit bland, and it was a bit hammy, and probably more than a little bit mysoginist. But, the performances were all pretty good (Peter Cook was a highlight), the set design was great (esp. Argo city), and most of the special effects were smooth for the era and the budget. And of course visually, Supergirl was spot on.

The Rambam";p="973477 wrote:I just read Kingdom Come again; the writing's so-so, with its Xian™ shit, but Alex Ross's art is just breathtaking.:

I actually just read Kingdom Come for the first time, last week. I really dug it, even with the hokey ending. I was expecting it to be mediocre, but it was an engaging read.

I'm halfway through Justice, and am reserving my judgement on that one.

The Rambam";p="973477 wrote:Yes, I can tell the difference between a Books thread and a Films thread.

Pfft. I can change thread titles on a whim.

Currently reading:

Vico and Herder - Berlin. Fantastic. Berlin has a cracking way with words.
We All Live In A Perry Groves World - Perry Grove. Came free with my arsenal Membership is a quite beautiful boxy with another season review book (hardcover) and the dvd of the 1989 League decider between Liverpool and Arsenal...and a fridge magnet. Well worth the membership fee alone.
The Turn of the Screw - Henry James.
AA Road Atlas of France - The AA.

whoa i am also reading turn of the screw

Didn't get time to read Turn of the Screw, but have just started it. we Ll Live In A Perry Groves world is so-so. A bit thin. When I had free time I swam instead of read.

james is a bit too long winded for me at times but i liked the story

Principles Of Economics by Wayne Dwyer & Haydir Alhashimi

Eviltoastman";p="935791 wrote:JUst finishing Black Mass by Gray. Shit title, horrible sleeve, but it's argument is quite compelling.

Seems interesting, just ordered this one.

I hope you like that, it's an elaboration of many of his earlier ideas which he's touched upon in nearly all his recent books. I also enjoyed his compilation of essays in Heresies Against Progress and other Illusions.

I finally finished Vico and Herder after dipping into it for the last few years but never reinforcing my want to read it with any actual will. It was the clearest account of Vico's genius I have ever read and I think Russ would enjoy it. i quite like what Galiani wrote of Vico (as quoted by Berlin in the book) as a forerunner of Montesquieu: "Vico tried to ford the marsh of metaphysics, and although he sank in the morass, he gave footing to a more fortunate thinker about the spirit of the laws of the nations".

I found that quite beautiful.

Ian McEwan's 'Saturday'. awfae clever but also awfae slow and over-wordy, over-crafted, over-cooked. Doesn't inspire me to read more of his stuff. I wanted to skip paragraphs - it was almost bloated in some areas...although maybe that's just down to the kind of thing I want to read at the moment. I appreciate the fact he's a gifted wordsmith, but he felt like the literary equivalent of Yngwie Malmsteen.

what is the what, dave eggers

at this point in my life, this is as close as i will get to being a fanboi

Mary Hinge";p="986981 wrote:Ian McEwan's 'Saturday'. awfae clever but also awfae slow and over-wordy, over-crafted, over-cooked. Doesn't inspire me to read more of his stuff. I wanted to skip paragraphs - it was almost bloated in some areas...although maybe that's just down to the kind of thing I want to read at the moment. I appreciate the fact he's a gifted wordsmith, but he felt like the literary equivalent of Yngwie Malmsteen.

I like that comparison. I also don't like things over egged...except when I'm trying to show off. I felt a bit shit last week and didn't want to move from the sofa and watched "Guess Who". Now, it's by no means a remarkable film, but boy was it a refreshing change. I actually enjoyed it.

Sometimes I need that instant fix. Don't want to think, I'll want something that's simple and in the past I'd have quietly punished myself for my indulgences but have realised that a pursuit of of stimuli on the basis of an unnatural or self imposed 'aesthetic want' (I was going to say 'need' but that would have been wrong) is unhealthy. I think this is where my hatred of 'tryhardism' comes from and a kinship with Sharppie was spunked together.

Yep, yep, and yep.

P.S I have a degree in English Literature. Three years of that thing kind of puts you off reading anything people try to make you feel you 'should' read.

Yeah. I did the same over reading in Film Studies. I left the course feeling I'd over analyse and hate every film forver. It took a long time to unlearn things so I could simply enjoy normal stuff again.

I'm glad I'm not the onlt one - I didn't read a book for five years after I graduated, and still haven't shown any of my own work to anyone.

I personally find that my criticism has spilled over into other facets of my life. For example at work I'm seen as a perfectionist and even through numerous compliments and expectations I always feel I will not live up to my expectations and therefore disregard the expectations and feedback of others. I have become too fussy and it has a negative effect, albeit no one has pointed this out (professionally). The closest remark anyone has made maybe that I am sometime a little hard on myself, so I think I understand where you might be coming from with regards to the shyness or hesitance to show your work.

Nah, it's because it's shit

A bunch of ambrose bierce, then slash's autobiography, then this:

THE BOOK OF WERE-WOLVES by SABINE BARING-GOULD [1865]

http://www.sacred-texts.com/goth/bow/index.htm

Sabine Baring-Gould (1834-1924) was a Vicar in the Church of England in Devon, an archaeologist, folklorist, historian and a prolific author. Baring-Gould was also a bit eccentric. He reputedly taught classes with a pet bat on his shoulder. He is best known for writing the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers'.

This book is one of the most cited references about werewolves. The Book of the Were-Wolf takes a rationalistic approach to the subject.

The book starts off with a straightforward academic review of the literature of shape-shifting; however, starting with Chapter XI, the narrative takes a strange turn into sensationalistic 'true crime' case-studies of cannibals, grave desecrators, and blood fetishists, which have a tenuous connection with lycanthropy. This includes an extended treatment of the case of Giles de Rais, the notorious associate of Joan of Arc, who was convicted and executed for necrosadistic crimes. Margaret Murray had a controversial theory about this subject.

Nevertheless, the first ten chapters of this book constitute an essential work on the subject of werewolves. This etext was scanned at sacred-texts.

next up will be the old norse eddas

ambrose bierce is quality

'an occurrence at owl creek' = good times

yeah i had only read the devil's dictionary before. really enjoyed all of his civil war stuff, horror stories, and tall tales.

The Gift by David Flusfeder - Disillusioned 'technical writer' embarks on an increasingly obsessive mission to outdo a befriended, wealthy gay couple in giving the perfect present. Has some really funny passages in the first halve, starts to drag a bit towards the end. Good for some laughs and light reading.