Check out this NPR transcript on the character Long Duk Dong. I was reading Eric Nakamura’s blog over at Giant Robot and just had to post a link to it.
Gosh, I can’t believe Gedde shops at Wal-Mart!
Really bad dubs. It hurts my ears when I hear really bad dubs for movies that originated in a different country. Main case in point being anime from Japan.
I was watching Howl’s Moving Castle this weekend and saw the preview for My Neighbor Totoro. The way they said “Totoro” made my skin crawl. Suffice it to say, I watched Howl’s Moving Castle with the original Japanese voice cast and English subtitles. Funny how it’s okay for me to listen to Japanese pronunciation of western words but not vice versa.
I heart Hayao Miyazaki’s films. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never read the novels by Diana Wynne Jones on which some of his anime is based. I think that’s a short term goal for 2008, read something by Diana Wynne Jones before the Miyazaki movie comes out. Part of the reason why I want to read Howl’s Moving Castle is that there was quite a bit of ambiguity and not enough closure for my taste in the anime version. I know that’s asking for a lot and why mess with near perfection, but I have to say that it’s pretty cool that a movie version actually makes me want to read the book. I’m usually in the school of the book is way better than the movie and reading the book is far more fulfilling in the long run, so I tend to read the book first and lament the missed parts in the movie. Who knows, maybe this is a positive new trend for me, watch the movie then read the book. Seems to have worked in getting me hooked on Harry Potter.
Okay call me stupid, but I’ve just come to the realization that I like New Wave music. *Trisha and Jolene are probably rolling their eyes and shaking their heads as they read this.* I was surfing around the iTunes store this weekend and found a bunch of cool 80’s songs that I had forgotten about.
Flock of Seagulls, check
Thompson Twins, check
The Police, check
Blondie, check
XTC, check
Now what about Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, and Red Flag? Are those considered new wave? I’m thinking they are more electronica, but who knows what I like anymore? Jolene can probably help me sorting this one out.
Anyway our library system has some pretty cool “old” music. Check out our catalog for some of your favorite groups. Haha! We have OMD!
Just when you think you’ve caught up with anime and manga, there’s news that the industry is dying a not so slow painful death. We’ve read it in the papers that the manga industry in Japan is on a steady decline, now read this article from one of the US anime industry’s insiders about how anime may go the way of the dinosaur.
So just when you think you’ve caught up with what’s cutting edge and somewhat new and cool with the YA/teen crowd, start looking again, because it’s a matter of time before this little niche market disappears.
What’s next? Your guess is as good as mine.
The “s” word in young adult literature is not the synonym for fecal matter, rather it’s that oh so snide remark that you and I have probably heard one too many times, slut. I’m not saying that anyone has ever called me a slut, but I’ve heard the term hurtfully used enough in my life to think of it as one of those pejoratives where there needs to be a movement to reclaim it. In Laura Ruby’s Good Girls the protagonist and her friends seem to get about as close to reclaiming the word as they can when they dress as virginal brides to the prom.
I recently read Sara Zarr’s Story of a Girl which also deals with this particular issue. What strikes me both in Good Girls and Story of a Girl is that neither girl is the dictionary definition of slut, rather they are mislabeled and maligned as such because of a specific event that changes their lives.
- Main Entry:
- slut
- Pronunciation:
- \ˈslət\
- Function:
- noun
- Etymology:
- Middle English slutte
- Date:
- 15th century
1chiefly British : a slovenly woman
2 a: a promiscuous woman; especially : prostitute b: a saucy girl : minx
Audrey in Good Girls is photographed in an intimate situation and this photo circulates throughout school ruining her “good girl” reputation. Deanna in Story of a Girl is caught by her father making out with a guy in the backseat of a car. Neither girl is in a “committed” relationship and thus they are open to attack from their peers.
So here’s my little rant. Is sexual liberation limited to those who are 18 and older? Are we promoting literature that maintains the status quo where young women can have sex in stories but only if they’re in committed monogamous relationships? Good Girls and Story of a Girl do a great job of questioning the term slut and applaud both Laura Ruby and Sara Zarr for their brave stances. I can imagine that they’re getting a fair share of flack for their scrutiny of societal conceptions. Anyway, I’d like to write more, but my thoughts still aren’t totally fleshed out.
Celebrate Banned Books Week, Exercise Your Freedom to Read
Although this may sound like the ALA party line, it is important to recognize that there are still book challenges that effect us. One of the most recent challenges is of Sandpiper by Ellen Wittlinger. (Read about the recent challenge of this book at the Tuscaloosa News.com website.) Another case is woman who won’t return It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris to the library. She’s willing to pay for the items, but refuses to return them. I’m not sure what part of the term “borrow” she misunderstood.
One of the common reasons why books are challenged is for their sexual content. I think it’s natural for folks to be curious about sex. It gets to be a touchy subject when it come to what is age appropriate. Granted I’m on my soapbox when I say that it depends on the individual situation. It’s hard to say across the board what is age appropriate. I think it’s important that parents know their children. Open communication is key. Personally I think it’s safer if a child reads about sex in a book rather than experimenting on their own. In any case people should have the ability to find the information that they seek.
I’ve seen my own share of censorship in my library. Unfortunately I haven’t had the chance to confront my censor. My censor chooses to deface books by putting his or her opinions in the margins and making corrections to the text, in pen no less. This person doesn’t borrow the books and we come across this destruction of property either when we’re shelf reading or when another library user finds the book and lets us know about the vandalism.
I’m all for having opinions and a point of view, however I’m not for vandalism and infringing on others’ rights to read something without comment or bias. Exercise your freedom to read this week and year round. Reading and free speech are rights that many choose not to exercise and so many of us take it for granted that we will always have them. However as we have seen in history and in recent events (namely what’s going down in Myanmar), freedoms that we exercise should not be take for granted.
Do you remember where you were in 1994 and 1995? I do. Moreover I remember a trial of a certain ex-NFL player that eclipsed all other news stories. I feel a guilt about my ignorance of world events that have come and gone. Books like Stassen’s Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda explain events in this world that I wish I knew more about. The Rwanda Genocide in my opinion is difficult information to process. However Deogratias presents difficult information in a way that will no doubt leave you to your own thoughts after completion.
As soon as I picked up this graphic novel, I did not want to set it down. The story of the protagonist Deogratias and his path to insanity unfolds in 78 pages. Amazing is an understatement for what I think of this particular graphic novel. I am awestruck with how Stassen could convey his ideas so effectively. Of course when dealing with any type of event that is labeled genocide a reader should be prepared for the pages to come.
Is Deogratias a tale of love, a tale of hate, a tale of history? Yes. It is a tale about the human race and our interactions. How politically sanctioned hate can run a muck and cause extreme tragedy. How love sometimes fails. How history repeats itself.
If iPhone weren’t enough, there’s the new iPod touch. I think it sounds kinda dirty, iTouch, but I still want it. Will I convert to being an Apple lover? Perhaps, I’ve been flirting with the idea of replacing my PC with an iMac. The iPod touch just might convert me. However, I’m afraid once I buy the iPod touch, they’ll reduce the price like how the iPhone just went down $200. They’ve also discontinued the smaller memory iPhone 4GB, there’s only the 8GB phone available now. Maybe I should just go a safer route and get the iPod Nano with video…so many choices, so much indecision.
Caught up in the Harry Potter fanaticism, I’m speculating on the remaining Horcruxes. According to the Harry Potter Lexicon the known horcruxes are: 1) Diary of Tom Riddle, 2) Hufflepuff Golden Cup, 3) Slytherin’s Locket, and 4)Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring. I think the remaining two are the 5)The Sorting Hat (or Godric Gryffindor’s Sword) and 6)The Goblet of Fire.
Granted I’m not positive, those are my guesses. Sorting Hat and Sword because they were Godric Gryffindor’s and the Goblet of Fire because I can’t figure out any significant object from the House of Ravenclaw.
We’ll see if I’ll be eating my words soon.
The cynic that I am, thought Michael Scott’s The Alchemyst was just riding on the coat tails of Harry Potter. I thought, great timing, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone introduced everyone to Nicholas Flamel just briefly enough so that we wanted to know more about him, the Harry Potter series is ending, all these now addicted readers, like myself, are going to be looking for their next fix of something else. Granted I doubt I’d like a spin off story featuring Hermoine or Ron, because did I mention I LOOOOOOOOVE Harry Potter, but Flamel, he’s totally viable. Now I’m waiting for a young adult version of the Da Vinci code but focusing more on Leonardo. I have Leonardo’s Shadow by Christopher Grey in my collection but it’s not really the same.
The Alchemyst although not quite as sophisticated as the Harry Potter series has a definite draw with its infusion of ancient folklore turned into a real life adventure. If you want to read about more excitement about The Alchemyst check out this article on seattlepi.com.
Random House is betting big on this fantasy epic, which it’s marketing as “the breakout book of the summer.” The initial print run is 250,000 copies — huge by normal children’s book standards (though small by Harry Potter standards) — and rights have been sold in 29 countries. New Line Productions optioned film rights to the series and has hired a screenwriter. (The Alchemyst’ could be the start of something Harry big in young-adult fantasy by CECELIA GOODNOW, P-I REPORTER June 10, 2007)
Other folks I’d love to see historical fiction/fantasy fiction written about:
- Alexander the Great
- Genghis Khan
- Qin Shi Huang Di
- Joan of Arc
- Fa Mulan
- Cleopatra
- Issac Newton (nerdy I know, but he’s an interesting fellow also rumored to be an alchemist)
- Insert here a list of historical female figures that my mind has temporarily forgotten
- Insert here famous historical figures from around the globe that I have no doubt left out but would totally read about
