Bugger. I thought I'd have a go at downloading some of the fonts that are in some of my books: there are several that are wonderfully readable and nice to look at (I care about these things... what?). The typeface used in The Hero with a Thousand Faces is called "digital monticello." It's fabulous. It's a reinterpretation of the typeface Jefferson came up with. Here's an article - it's even got some pictures. Which is all I'm gonna get: you still have to pay out the nose for the fonts. Upwards of $140 for all six fonts (that's italic, normal, et cetera considered separately). Gah! Too bad, really. I'll stay on the lookout, though.

A quick, brainless essay:

I just had what I feel is an interesting thought. Most people will admit that villains can often be more entertaining than heroes. They're certainly more grandiose, and their lines are often better. (In fact, if you've read Bruce Campbell's book: If Chins Could Kill, you'd know he once turned down the hero's role offered him to take the villain's role instead - based on the interesting lines.) Where am I going with this? Just a vaguely devil advocation arguing (brace yourselves) that in some respects, Artemis Fowl is more interesting than Harry Potter.

Those italics are tricks, of course: I'm talking about the characters, really: not the books. Some of you out there may be gritting your teeth already, for multiple reasons: you may be a die-hard Potter fain (as am I), you may know I've read all five Potter books, but only one Fowl. So I'm arguing on the basis of one book? Quiet down, you in the back.

Bless him, Harry's such a sweet soul, isn't he? The idyllic hero, in many senses. He follows the modern fantasy protagonist to the letter (I could trace that all the way back to Campbell's monomyth, but I won't just now). He's stuck in stasis, something drops in his lap, and he saves people because of the "chance" encounter. As time goes on he learns more, tries to deny everything (that's the newest book, if you're waiting with baited breath), and will presumably save everyone. Well, save a great deal of people, anyway. I'll take this moment to remind you I adore the Harry Potter books. With that being said: that archetype's a bit stale, really. That's the advantage Artemis has over dear Harry: he's not really a hero. He's quite nasy in his own right, really. He's a very good example of an anti-hero, really. He's not too nice, but he's still the protagonist. And it's usually more fun, just more fun, but perhaps not as satisfying, to watch the villain work. Grand machinations, all that jazz. And admit it: when foolproof plans go off, you get an interesting little feeling inside, don't you? That's really all I'm saying, so I'll be up front about it. Colfer's made a blatantly fun series of books, while Rowling has followed the mythic story. And that's all right. It's just a refreshing sort of thing, to see a book touted as a children's book, when you're rooting for the bad guy.

(And for those of you who've read the book, and are groaning about over-simplification of character and want to bring up his final act with Holly: first, some people might not have read it. Second, yes, I know. So settle down.)

And finally, some comments about generalities. Fantasy is the only genre left where, generally, the protagonist is almost always a "good" guy. Yes, some characters (my own beloved Elric, for example, or Thomas Covenant) are just nasty, and some have mean qualities, but overall they're pretty nice. That doesn't happen anywhere else. In science fiction, anti-heroes of a sort are the norm. Hiro Protagonist is sort-of an elitist hacker jerk (bless him). What what's-his-name, from 1984. He swears to toss acid in children's faces if he needs to, and he has sex with a woman he's not particularly attached to. Thrillers are full of protagonists who are just like the antagonists, with miniscule differences delivering them from the same path. But odds are, if you pick up a fantasy book, there's some guy (who was probably a farmer) raging against an unjust world that's trapped him in a bad situation where he has to (I'm gasping theatrically now) make decisions. (And yes, that's mostly making fun of Rand al'Thor, the whiny baby, but others lie in wait...)

This essay was brought to you by sheer boredom and the reviews on Amazon.com

Hopefully, forthcoming in the future will be my rather large essay (that I haven't started, of course) on Harry Potter alone: how it's the hero monomyth, and why, among other things, certain arguments on the internet are either superfluous or wrong. (Yes, I'm thinking of a specific article or two. I think this one's wrong, though wonderfully well-argued, and all the terribly irate and vitriolic romance arguments are the useless ones.)

Well, I've probably managed to anger lots of people, so my night's complete. Now to take medicine and try to pound out more book.

Well, that's an interesting tidbit for espionage writing...

I suppose it would be a Stockholm-based company that would first think of "stealing" secure information by buying used laptops. Now that's a great little story.

A bit of a break - I can't write about killing fairies all night.

Miniature hologram projectors? Sure, we've got that.

Here's an odd article: countries are frustrated that people make hate sites. And they want people to stop. Er. How exactly do they plan to enforce these sorts of things?

Here's a short article on J.K. Rowling's new site, including one silly little fanfic writer who thinks the whole thing's a bad idea. "'Do most of us really care to have the record set straight?' she wrote, adding: 'The whole reason to discuss HP online is to discuss the what might have beens, the what could have beens, the possible pasts, and the possible futures.'" Yes dear, if I might say so, we do care. Just because you feel the things you write should be canonical doesn't mean all of us do.

Incidentally, if you're a Harry Potter fan with a nice anal-retention compulsion, this should interest you? Blaise Zabini, anyone? Here's the text:

Zabini, Blaise (wizard)
b. 1980
Slytherin 1991-98 (SS7)
Blaise Zabini's gender is now confirmed by JKR: he's a wizard. JKR passed the word along to the Portuguese translation team when they were working on revising the translations of the novels. (6/15/04)

A new fish thing has been discovered. Glorious. Now if they hadn't named it a damn "ratfish," we'd be in business.

The sickness. . . It grows. . .

I'm not feeling so well, really. My stomach's hurling itself about like a caged animal, and my head's beginning to ache. This is not so good.

In better news, I finished Eats, Shoots and Leaves today. It ended with a fabulous chapter on the modern evolution of punctuation; influenced as it is by the internet. Most of the influences are hideous and evil.

I also started Artemis Fowl, and as Rogue277 predicted, I like it a great deal. I'm in the third chapter just now, and if I didn't feel so terrible, I'd already be about decoding the symbols.

I also started The Hero with a Thousand Faces today, and found it's a commemorative edition that's just been released this year. Handy, that. I'm not out of Moyers' introduction yet, but he knew Campbell and his work fairly well, so it's not so tedious as some introductions by people not the author can be. The amusing story that goes along with this is: I got an email from someone named Kevin - he works in the EKU library as a researcher. Dr. Gray got ahold of him and sent him to me for my senior thesis. I presume she did this with everyone (finding them another person to help them with research) though I could be wrong. The first book he recommended was, yes, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Glorious. Of course I told him I already had it; I mentioned the other books I'm considering background as well.

If the weather accomodates me (and given the outdoor nature of the planned activity, it depresses me that my hopes point to rain) I shall bring you amusing pictures - hopefully - from a little project.

Just a friendly reminder, everyone: It's Bloomsday! For those of you not in the know, it's the celebration of Leopold Bloom's epic jaunt through Dublin, chronicled in Joyce's Ulysses. Ms. Hayden, over at Making Light, reminded me with her post.

To aid in the celebration, head over to Project Gutenberg for a free copy of the work. And the New York Times is talking about it.

Let's quote the user Lynn from Making Light's board (because it's what I plan to do in celebration):

There are plenty of authentically Joycean ways to celebrate Bloomsday, most requiring a partner and/or beer. I plan to celebrate by performing the dangerous act for which James Joyce is most notorious. Yes, I know it has landed plenty of people in jail, although some people only start doing it when they're imprisoned. Not a few people have been killed for doing it.

I'm going to write.

Here's some Bloomsday bollocks for you, that I read about a week or so ago in Neil Gaiman's blog: Stephen Joyce, the great git, says that any public reading of Ullyses without payment or permission is violating copyright And yes, it looks like he can say that, as copyright laws were changed from a fifty year span to a seventy year span after the original holder dies. Jerk.

~~~

Here's some not Joyce things for everybody:

Sony Pictures has put up a teeny site for the movie MirrorMask. If you don't already know, it's the movie Gaiman put together with Dave McKean.

If you ever want to submit something to the grueling eye of an editor, presumably to be published, this is for you. Once again pulled from Making Light, it's a primer on submission. What editors are looking for, what they aren't, and perhaps most importantly: what they aren't doing when they reject your piece. A glorious thing, really.

Nothing much to do...

I mentioned my camera earlier, but it bears repeating; it is very nice, and I'm very satisfied with it. It's a Canon Powershot A60, with a two megapixel sensor, and 3x optical zoom. It comes with a bevy of interesting settings, so that's a bit of fun.

I finished The Legend of Nightfall today. And despite liking it, I feel it was a little too thick for what it was doing. A few too many words for not enough impact. A caught myself skipping entire paragraphs. And upon checking found a few could be skipped. Tsk. Still, very good, though all the resolutions come in a little tight chain, so the feeling of pressure that builds from the beginning really doesn't release until the very end.

I read more of Eats, Shoots and Leaves as well. I finished the section on apostrophes, and started/finished the sections on both commas and colons/semicolons. Ever since my senior year of high school I've known I was in the select few that empathized and loved the semicolon. At least someone knows as I do. And she wrote a book.

I started the book on fairies. It's very slow reading: it was published in 1966, so what was very readable at the time is still a tangled bog, really: being the nicest murderer in the jail doesn't make you a saint. Reading may go faster when I'm alone, we'll see.

<





I thought I'd post some pictures of my book spree, now that I have, what? What? A new digital camera! Hurrah! It's fairly sensitive, or I need to learn some more, because it's often a bit blurry. 

You desire edification!

I gift you with the glory of links!

First of all, the next X-Box looms on the horizon, blotting out all light from the fledging forms of uncorrupted gamers everywhere. And a name must be given to seat it in truest reality.

Shudder with fear! The newest GameCube memory card doesn't like crappy games. Sonic Adventure 2 is arguable, but it's certainly not the best of the GameCube goodies.

Most of you are philistines, and as such, this site is something you must read! It's the homepage for the Apostrophe Protection Society. Desire its warm embrace! And don't add apostrophes to pronoun possessives!

Oh my god...

So this is wonder? Bliss? Glory and the gestation of nobility in the fetid gullet of the human race? Huzzah!

And why am I thus?

Books.

I spent over two hundred dollars in Joseph Beth, and I put back a bunch of books. That makes me sad. Now, for the inevitable laundry list!

By William Gibson, we have Mona Lisa Overdrive and Burning Chrome. The first is one of his most popular novels, and the second is a book of short stories.

Next, by Terry Pratchett, we see Equal Rites, a story about a female wizard in a patriarchal Discworld society, and Wyrd Sisters, the first Granny Weatherwax book.

I finally own Neil Gaimans Neverwhere.

I got Ursula K. le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea. I read a short story from the Earthsea universe, and quite liked it. So I decided to pick this up.

I got the fourth and fifth of this series from one of my professors, so I finally bought Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card. It was all of four dollars. Hurrah.

At Rogue277's behest I bought Eoin Colfer's first Aretemis Fowl book.

I bought the first two books in Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle. They are Quicksilver and The Confusion. Now, I read his novel Snow Crash a while back, and had wanted to read more of his work? What prompted me to buy both now, and in hardcover, no less? They were selling The Confusion signed by Stephenson, from the publisher. It has a special page and everything, proclaiming it both first edition and signed. Wonderful.

Both for my general amusement and the noble purpose of furthering my novel, I bought Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Russdur should be pleased about that. I also bought W. Y. Evans-Wentz's The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries.

I finally own His Dark Materials, the trilogy by Philip Pullman. I read the first book, The Golden Compass, last semester.

And this book excites me perhaps most of all. It is glorious. It is timely. It is an example of superiority in the human race. It is Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Nonsensical, you say? It's by Lynne Truss. I'll retell the story given on the back cover:

There was a pleasant coffee shop on the corner. Comfortable and pleasant smells filled the warm afternoon air. The door jingled, and a waiter glanced up to see a panda walk through the door. Confused for a moment, he gathered the panda wanted to order. He was correct. The panda ordered a sandwich. The panda had its sandwich in silence, rose, fired a pistol into the air, and made to exit. The waiter ran over to the creature. "Why did you do that?" he exclaimed.

The panda gave him a poorly punctuated wildlife guide and walked out. The harried waiter, looked on by the other patrons, turned to a marked section, which read: "Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots, and leaves."

(An apology: I punctuated the last bit with the Oxford comma, while the original doesn't use it.)

Yes, it's a book about grammar. Specifically a book to rally those of us still up nights, shuddering over signs proclaiming "used CD's sold here." Ugh. Sticklers Unite! It has some of the best examples of what poor punctuation can do to the language, and has given me the resolve needed to carry my large red Sharpie on my person.

Interesting news! And such.

So Tachi-san is moving on from his invisibility cloak. Now he wants to mess with walls. That's neat.

No link, because I haven't seen anything online yet, but Fox was running a teletype bit on some guys using a, I quote, "James Bond style" car thing to cross the channel in a few hours. Neat.

Personal news? Well, we're going to Lexington today. And my mother (the impatient parent) has already been informed by my father that we will be spending time there. So I get to relax at the cafe with sweet, sweet earl grey and books. Mm. Tea. (Not that I can't fix my own. But it's nice to give someone a dollar and get a pot of tea.)

A good day at work.

It was indeed. I wrote over three thousand words today. My goal, remember, has usually been around one thousand. So that's pretty incredible, and I'm satisfied with most all of it, which makes it even better. And I edited some of the beginning, so it's been a productive day. I also finished Fantasy Stories, and started The Legend of Nightfall, by Mickey Zucker Reichert. Years ago, on the bus ride home, my cousin John told me about this book, and seemed to have really enjoyed it. When I saw it in my professor's (Dr. Pierce's) books, I grabbed it. I'm about nintey pages in, after starting it today, and it's pretty good so far. Nothing incredibly stellar, writing style wise, but the characters (or character, I suppose) are just great. I'd feel safe recommending it to people.

Hrm. An edit...

I said, in this post that "[Hayden's] enraged that the school couldn't catch him for three years." I was, of course, exaggerating, as I tend to do. I think I just got a comment from her, asking what the hell I was talking about. So, sorry. That was possibly inappropriate, but definitely wasn't descriptive. And now for the embarrassment...


...


Ending on a different note: why are people attacking firefighters in Belfast?