Current Book List and Lovecraft Encapsulated

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Being out of college means I now have more time for fun reading! For those interested, here's the current rundown:

Finished:

• The Dupin Tales by Edgar Allen Poe. Of which there are three: The first, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," being amazing and a classic. The second, "The Murder of Maire Roget," having dulled with age (ripped from the headlines of the time, Law and Order Style). The third, "The Purloined Letter," more subdued, but equally cool. For added interest, imagine Jeremy Brett saying all of Dupin's dialog in the Sherlock voice.
• The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales by HP Lovecraft. Varying in their quality, but all sufficiently creepy. More on that to come.
• Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. Once again proves that, no matter what it may be, if it's authored by Gaiman I should buy it on principle, because I've never been disappointed by him so far.
• Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief by Maurice LeBlanc. Neat, fun, and clever stories, though the Lupin/Holmes crossover could have benefited from a smarter Holmes. Definitely worth a read.
• Roman Blood by Steven Saylor. How could I have MISSED this? Roman History plus detective mystery (calling him Gordianus the Finder, I SEE WHAT YOU DID, THAR). Lurid, well researched and gripping. I kept imagining a slightly younger David Bamber as Cicero, Michael Gambon in Eddie Temple mode as Sulla, and, weirdly enough, Daniel Craig as Gordianus.

Currently Reading (from "still warm from my hot little hands," to "gathering dust on my bookshelf"):

• Elric, Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock. Volume 1 of the collected Elric stories, and the first I've read of him. I can see why the character of Elric was a hit with moody teens back in the '60's (and today), and I appreciate that Moorcock paired him with a foil in the early stories. Speaking of imagining actors who look nothing like the way the characters are described, Nathon Fillion as Moonglum, anyone? And after his turn as Prince Nuada, you KNOW Luke Goss would be the perfect Elric.
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig. Fascinating stuff, but sadly in the "if there were no other books to read" category. I'll have to bring it with me on a vacation sometime.
  
• Sahara by Clive Cussler. Maybe if it wasn't too pedestrian an adventure, or maybe if his writing had more meat and less sparkle, I don't know.
  
• Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany. How can it be so neat and yet so hard to get through (I'm looking at you too, Return to Neveryon)?

Up Next:

• The King in Yellow and Other Horror Stories by Robert Chambers. I've been going on a "seminal works" kick (cf. Poe's Dupin Tales), and this naturally followed from Lovecraft.
• Chronicles of the Lensman, Vol 1 by E.E. "Doc" Smith. Once again, seminal work, but this time of the "Space Opera" genre (think Star Wars).
• The Evidence of the Sword by Rafael Sabatini. A collection of short story mysteries by the king of the swashbuckler novel. I can't wait!
• The First Swords by Fred Saberhagen. Alright, so I've already read most of this series, but I got the first trilogy in a shiny new compilation and want to re-read them.
• The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King. I enjoyed The Gunslinger and eventually want to see if the rest of the Dark Tower series is as good.

And now, for your entertainment, Condensed Lovecraft. Spoiler Alert! You have been warned:

1. Dagon: Man gets thrown overboard, later witnesses the sea evaporate. After traveling along the drying sea floor, goes over a hill and witnesses a giant man-fish-thing worshipping a grotesque statue. Escapes, goes mad, writes an account, commits suicide.
2. The Statement of Randolf Carter: Hi, my name's Randolf Carter. You probably won't believe me, but I followed a friend of mine to this evil looking cemetery where he disappeared into a crypt and never came out again. Oh, and I heard a big evil voice.
3. Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermayne and his Family: The great grandfather who started this whole mess found a village of missing-link ape-men in Africa, married its princess and started a line of children who all were rather queer and had ape-like tendencies. Arthur Jermayne, the last in the line, finds this out and commits suicide.
4. Celephaïs: Man attempts to return to a dreamlike town he believes he came from through lots of drugs and daydreaming. He returns by following his visions and diving into the final portal. The next day a drugged up hobo is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. Surprise!
5. Nyarlathotep: Man hears about this Egyptian looking dude called Nyarlathotep, who has been going around giving shows where he shows people "the truth," but pretty much everyone comes away from them stark raving mad. He goes to see a demonstration and, of course, loses his mind.
6. The Picture in the House: A young man stops for shelter from a storm in an early American New England house. He notices creepy scary cult books in the study. Having seen a well thumbed page depicting cannibalism, he meets with the resident of the house who admits to committing cannibalism due to the influence of the book, and just before the young man can go mad from seeing blood dripping from the ceiling, the house falls in.
7. The Outsider: This guy is completely alone in a giant castle which appears to be in an endless forest. Fed up with being alone, he climbs to the top of the highest tower, which, in actuality, is in the basement of a church. After wandering outside, he happens upon a party, and when he approaches the people all go mad with horror and flee. He sees an ungodly monster, but realizes that it's just a MIRROR, OMG.
8. Herbert West - Reanimator: Herbert West tries to reanimate somthing. He fails. He tries again, it almost works. He tries again, it sorta works. He tries again, it is very close to working. He almost tries again, but he gets ambushed by his previous efforts and is torn limb from limb.
9. The Hound: Two men, for reasons unknown, dabble in every single dark, occult thing you could imagine. Then they steal the wrong bauble from the wrong corpse and get hunted by a demon hound. The first one gets killed by it, and the second one commits suicide before being killed.
10. The Rats in the Walls: A man buys and fixes up his ancestral home in Briton, even though the locals know something he doesn't. Haunted by the sound of thousands of rats in the walls, he and his friend (and eventually the police), follow the sounds to a dead, underground city where a secret cult, founded by his ancestors, did dark deeds and raised humans (who were bred a few steps back down the evolutionary ladder) for sacrifice. The party gets separated, the lights go out, the rats close in, and the man goes mad.
11. The Festival: A man returns to his ancestral home in New England in time for "The Festival," in which the inhabitants of the town (who, it turns out, aren't at all human), worship some dark monstrosity in a cave. The man gets out, gets knocked out, and finds himself in a more normal version of the town he was just in.
12. He: Young, disillusioned poet living in the city meets with a mysterious man who shows him older parts of the city. Turns out the man is incredibly old and has inherited crazy-mystic-time-altering-Indian powers from the native Americans his ancestors double crossed. The poet flubs up and the Indian spirits get in, bent on revenge. The poet escapes and never sees the man or his house again.
13. Cool Air: A young man meets a genteel doctor who lives on the floor above him in a tenement and who always has an abundance of cooling units in his room. The two become friends and help each other, until the cooling begins to break down. The man finds the doctor has turned into a puddle, and that he'd been keeping himself alive through will-power and refrigeration and had been clinically dead for EIGHTEEN YEARS, OMG.
14. The Call of Cthulhu: A young man pieces together a puzzle involving simultaneous dreams on a certain day, a weird statue, an account of an interrupted "voodoo" ritual, and a story of a sailor and shipmates who encountered a city in the waves and woke a sleeping cosmic horror. Turns out the statue was an image of that horror, the ritual was part of a cult worshiping that horror, the dreams were the preparatory call of that horror, and had the sailor not run over the horror with his boat (but didn't kill it), this demon-god CTHULHU would have made the world mad and devoured us all. Close call, eh?
15. The Color Out of Space: A strange meteorite lands in a rural town and contains a color that no science can identify. Things seem to thrive on the farm that it lands on, but slowly the life gets leeched out of everything, the inhabitants go mad, and the police arrive just in time to see a giant, amorphous thing that can only be that color rocket back into space. BUT NOT ALL OF IT LEFT.
16. The Whisperer in the Darkness: Strange creatures are seen after a large flood in the mountainous regions of New England. The narrator and one other man (who lives in the mountains) investigate to find that the creatures are sentient and just want to live in peace (but could wipe us out if they wanted). However, they're giving the other man a hard time, and eventually correspondence between him and the narrator reach a fever pitch. All of a sudden, the tone and information of his letters change, oddly, and he invites the narrator back to his house, where he explains the wonders of what he has learned from these creatures. He still acts odd, and when things really start to get weird, the narrator decides to escape, but finds that he can't find his host, but stumbles on HIS FACE AND HANDS ONLY, OMG.
17. The Shadow Over Innsmouth: A college student, traveling through New England, decides to visit the port town of Innsmouth. Most of the people there are all rather odd, looking partly fishy. He learns from the soused, "mad" old timer that the head of the town made a pact with some fish people who lived near the reef in the bay: in exchange for plenty of fish (and some otherworldly baubles) the townsfolk would sacrifice children and interbreed with the fish folk, which is why everyone looks so odd. The jig having been turned in an upward direction, the student makes a thrilling escape through the half-breed infested town and witnesses a summoned horror that causes him to black out. Once home, he does some genealogical research and finds that he's been related to the half-breed fish people all along! As he ages he gets fishy-looking too and eventually wants to head back to Innsmouth.
18. The Haunter in the Dark: An artist investigates an evil looking church shunned by the townspeople and finds some nameless horror living in the attic of the steeple. Having awoken it by fiddling with an otherworldly crystal in the bell-tower, he retreats to find that the creature can only move in the dark. The townsfolk keep a candlelight vigil outside the church once they hear the re-awakened horror moving around in there, but a large storm knocks out all the power and all the light the people set up. The monster flies across town and kills the artist.

Enough, More Later.
- James

P.S. I get to keep my job! Yay!

Oh Yeah!

Now playing: Trevor Jones - Pteranodons
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For all you UCD folk and Zero Punctuation Fans, here's a little something from his latest review that should make you happy...


I was thrilled to see a glimpse of the UC seal when Yahtzee did his usual split second illustration of "You see...", but imagine my surprise to see that it was none other than the Davis seal. That's freaking awesome! Don't know if it was on purpose (UCD has the best and easiest to find graphics of these things?), but it's certainly cool.


Enough, More Later.
- James

Further Pictorial Proof

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Words cannot describe just how awesome John Scalzi is. Full of energy, quick on his feet, full of wit and snark, he is every bit as one comes to see him after reading his blog or a number of his books. It was a great night of comedy and tomfoolery, and I'm glad John and Mary had as much of a blast doing it as we the audience had in seeing it.


Enough. More Later,
- James

Pictorial Proof

Now playing: Immediate Music - Divide And Conquer
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http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/01/17/an-evening-at-borderlands/

Step 1: Click Link

Step 2: Take a look at the face just peeking over the bearded guy on the right side of the frame.

Step 3: Take a guess at who that is.

Oh yeah, I saw Scalzi, and it was good. Further pictorial proof to come.


Enough. More Later,
- James

Trailerheads Rejoice!

Now playing: Immediate - Prometheus Rising
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(Click the picture for product page, DO EET NAOW)

It's finally happened! Immediate Music, one of the biggest production music libraries out there, has granted a long held wish to fans and has made available for public consumption a selection of their most used cues! Unlike the preivious "Epicon" (which is also worth your while), which took the underlying melodies of their music and added more popular trappings of lyrics and a rock band, "Trailerhead" features only lightly edited versions of such sought after cues as "Lacrimosa" (Lacrimosa Dominae), "Serenata" (Serenata Immortale) and "Epicon" (An Epic Age).

I encourage all you folk who I turned on to Production music to go and get this album, we owe it to Immediate Music for going out of their way to make sure we could get their music LEGALLY. Seriously, step away from that Rapidshare link or torrent file, this is well worth your cash, especially in this era of affordable, DRM-free downloadable albums from Amazon. Go to!


Enough, More Later.
- James

Aspect Ratio Nerdery: The Dark Knight

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Been ages, I know. But I'm here now with something that's been much on my mind since the release of The Dark Knight in IMAX: How are they gonna deal with the different aspect ratios on DVD?

The answer is "in a mixed way." As you all may or may not know, IMAX is filmed in a 1.43:1 aspect ratio, that is, the image you get is 1.43 units longer than it is tall. With the screen as big as it is, that's pretty darn close to square. However, your standard 35mm film (the stuff that gets shown in movie theaters and is usually marketed as "widescreen" on DVD shelves) is a whopping 2.40:1, giving it that cinematic "clipped from the top and bottom" or letterboxed look.

Given the cost and highly unwieldy use of IMAX cameras, only a few of the big scenes in The Dark Knight were filmed in the format, which meant that two things happened. For the IMAX release, they took the rest of the scenes that were shot in standard 35mm and projected them onto the screen in their original ratio, leaving a portion of the top and bottom of the screen unused while the scenes shot in IMAX took up the entire screen. Given just how freakin' huge an IMAX screen is, the 35mm still took up a whole lot of space, but the changes of the aspect ratio were definitely noticeable.

For the theatrical (non-IMAX) release, they simply took all the IMAX scenes and cropped the top and bottom off of the images so that it got squeezed back down to the correct 2.40:1 ratio. To the directors and cinematographers credit, the IMAX sequences were still really well framed, so editing them down didn't do much damage to the visuals. For purists, the IMAX version remains the most intact.

For the DVD's, two things were done. The closest to the original aspect ratio was the inclusion of the IMAX scenes as a separate extra in the Standard Definition 2-Disc Set. While one can see the entirety of the shots in this extra, the wonky IMAX formatting means that not only is the image cropped off at the sides, but also at the top to allow for viewing on a standard 4:3 TV or computer screen. However, the entire image is there, and in the end makes a nice extra to have. The only odd thing is that this is missing from the High Def Blu-Ray release, for reasons unknown.

Instead, for both the Blu-Ray and the Digital Copy of the movie, they re-set the aspect ratio to 1.78:1 for the IMAX scenes, allowing for more of the image to be seen. My guess as to why this is is that a switch from an image that's cropped up and down to an image that's cropped on the sides would be too jarring for those viewing on an HDTV (itself being a 16:9), who's image would have to contract inward to preserve the proper aspect ratio (rather than the 35mm image "expanding" to fill an IMAX screen).

Allow me to illustrate, starting with the most constrained and moving outward. Here's a shot from the opening heist scene, cropped from the 1.43:1 IMAX to the 2.40:1 of 35mm:

2.40:1

It looks great, which is once again testament to how well the film was shot. Remember, however, that this isn't all of the shot. Here's that same image, but taken from the 1.78:1 Digital copy:

1.78:1

Notice how you can now see more of his legs below the mask, the curb he's standing on, and the tops of some of the street lights. I thought it was interesting as I was formatting these pictures that the above picture, when squeezed down to the same 720 x 480 pixels as the first picture, was essentially the same but without the letterboxing. Don't let the lack of black bars across the top and bottom fool you, however. This still isn't the full image. For that, I give you the below:

1.43:1

Here is the IMAX image in it's entirety. Notice you can now see his feet and some of the sidewalk below it, and the water tower in the upper right-hand corner is fully visible. Notice also the letterboxing on the sides of the picture. This isn't cropping, but squeezing the image so that all of the top and bottom can be seen, and due to the closer-to-square nature of the image on the closer-to-rectangle screen I took it from, you get the above formatting.

Although the IMAX formatting is a special case, now you can see what's lost, and you might have a bit of an idea of why aspect ratio purists (like myself) prefer Widescreen to Fullscreen. The latter is the 35mm with it's sides chopped off to fit into a 4:3 TV screen (hence the "this movie has been modified from it's original to fit your TV" warnings you'd get on VHS tapes back in the day).

So, the one thing you should take from all this? If you haven't seen The Dark Knight in IMAX, go see it when the re-release it next month. And if you haven't seen it at all? For the love of god, pony up the extra cash to see it on that freaking huge screen. It makes an excellent movie that much better.


Enough, More Later.
- James

(Anti)Twilight Analysis: The Good Parts Version

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In this whole crazy mess that are the books and movie, I've found some great analysis by others on what makes Twilight so attractive/horrendous.

What is it About Edward? Smart Bitches, Trashy Books provides an insightful look into what makes many ladies go crazy. A choice cut...

"He tames his desire to kill her and eat her, but he still consumes her, which is the point that made me the most uncomfortable, but may also serve as a primary reference as to why Edward is so alluring a character. While Edward and Bella don’t knock boots in Twilight, Edward manages to insert himself figuratively into her life and become the center of every moment of Bella’s life – and she’s all for it. More than one person commented to me privately after reading my review that the manner in which Bella subsumes her identity and becomes absorbed by Edward almost symbiotically made them as readers profoundly uncomfortable, because it echoed abusive relationships they witnessed or experienced. It wasn’t romantic for them, that totalitarian management - it was creepy."

Lord Sin's Loinfire Club: The Loinfire Club doesn't read....Twilight. While a bit high in the snark area, it also calls out a lot of what doesn't work. Case in point...

"Meyer also notes...that 'Edward goes to great lengths so nothing bad happens to Bella, she is cared for so much. A lot of the book's appeal is the thought of being loved to that extent [...] There has been some antagonism from men about Edward. They are jealous because they don't want to try that hard.'

Of course men don't want to try that hard. And no man should. It's creepy. Edward seems to do nothing else but stalk her (and hunt for food). He spends all his sleepless nights sneaking into Bella's room and watching her sleep, seemingly immune to boredom. (Pillywiggin theorises that Bella's a one-woman radio station in her range of sleep-talking, but I doubt that's what Meyer has in mind.) He stalks her, literally following her about and finding out where is by reading the thoughts of those around her. And this is all before they actually get together and declare their love and all that."

Arzim's Compiled Twilight Rebuttals: Very in depth (if not angry) counter-arguments to the fan responses. This person has earned the title "English Major."

"Or, take Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847) and its titular character. Like Elizabeth, Jane is faced with classism, sexism, lack of opportunity, and, like Bella, is faced with dealing with somewhat of a Byronic hero (brooding, dark, secretive, ‘superior’). Like Elizabeth, Jane basically gives a polite and cultured “fuck you!” to her antagonists, and unlike Bella, Jane doesn’t take any crap from Mr. Rochester. In fact, the feminist theme in Jane Eyre is so firm and pervasive that by the end of the book, Jane has completely turned the traditional gender roles on their asses. Together, she and Elizabeth represent two of the strongest female characters in all of literature. Bella? Bella doesn’t even deserve to be on the same bookshelf as them."


That's all for now. More meaty (and personal) analysis of other subjects to come!


Enough, More Later.
- James

Crossing the Pale

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Well folks, it's finally happened to me. I saw the code, then I saw the Matrix, and now all I see is the code again. In my wanderings around various DVD sites, I came across the phrase "edge enhancement." The first time I saw it, it didn't mean anything to me, and any usual complaints about DVD transfers having an abundance of it merely caused me to shrug.

One day, however, my curiosity got the better of me, and I took a spin around the 'net to see what I could learn about this strange effect. Luckily for me the first hit on the search engine landed this wonderfully informative explanation. After the copious examples provided, I began to see why edge enhancement wasn't only not what it appeared, but that it actually lowered the resolution on the images it affected. The subtle haloing effect also became more pronounced in my eyes. I could see why edge enhancement, to those who noticed such things, was more a detriment than a help.

And then it happened. I'd seen countless examples, I could recognize the signs on sight, but it wasn't until I bought my standard def copy of Hellboy II yesterday that it finally all came home. I popped the DVD into my laptop, booted up the DVD player, and started the movie. But what's this? The opening titles look kinda odd; there's something strange about this white/yellow text on this black background...nawwww, it couldn't be. But those are some crazy halos around the text, maybe it's just a fluke....::the next scene comes, with more text and more....:: AH MY GAHHHD!

Now, to be fair, the enhancement is only really noticeable around text, but there were a few times when I noticed it elsewhere. The very fact that I now notice it all on my own has made me one of THOSE PEOPLE. You know the ones, who know just a tad much more than others in a certain area, who know how it's all done, and because of their knowledge they focus more on the process that leaks around the edges than the actual product. It's also kinda happened to me with cinematic editing tricks, a condition brought about by exposure to a sheer amount of "making-of" documentaries and subsequent exposure to many, many movies.

This is, I think, my turning point for purchasing High-Def hardware. I've been a little ambivalent up to now about getting an HDTV/Blue-Ray Player/Replacing my standard def collection, mainly from the practical standpoint of the price. I've still be in the rut of "Wait a few more months to pass and see if the price drops..." and then, when a few more months have passed, repeat the mantra. I mean, I've seen high def before, and it's a fantastic thing to behold, but I've never really had a reason up 'till now. Time to start socking money away!


Enough, More Later.
- James

Back to Work

Currently in Earphones: "The Musketeer" soundtrack by David Arnold

Right, so I've finally gotten (reasonably) over my jet lag enough to post all the pictures on Flickr. I also finally broke down and got a "pro" account, as they were placing limit after limit on the free account I had. "Oh, sorry, you can't have more than three sets of photos...Whoops! Upload limit per month!....Drat, only 200 pics allowed in your photostream...why don't you upgrade?" Since it is pretty cheap, I went for it, and will probably be the happier for it. So, without further ado, the link...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30553999@N03/sets/72157608817863135/

These'll have to do in place of finishing the travel narrative, it's been long enough that the memories are no longer as fresh, and I've forgotten most of the little details that would spice it up from a kinda okay travelogue to a pretty good travelogue. So! Photos for your perusal.

Finally got off my ass (a little) and applied for work at my old summer haunt, the Oakland Zoo. If I get it, it'll just be for a month, which suits me fine. Dunno how long I'd last doing the same thing I've done for a number of summers. I'm still on the lookout for other work (helloooo, craigslist), and am at least hoping for some different mind-numbing work than other jobs I've had.

Currently navigating the GRE site and (hopefully) signing up for one soon. I figure even if I don't know where or when I'll be attending grad school, I should take it early before all the knowledge I have leaks out of my ears.

Other than that, nothin's really happening. Oh, I gave my talk last thursday, and it went swell. Not really much else to say.

Bleh, I'll be back when more interesting things happen.


Enough, More Later.
- James

Back Home

Now playing: David Arnold - Fight Inn
via FoxyTunes

So I've made it back home in one piece, I had a blast in Italy. I'm a little annoyed at myself that I didn't do any write ups for my solo Ravenna trip, Florence, or Venice (not to mention the wonderful time I had in Ivrea!), but I'll be posting pictures soon, so hopefully that'll soften the lack of a finished travelogue.

I'm still getting over the jet lag, it's really weird to completely crash around 8 pm and wake bolt upright at 3 am. It definitely made things interesting for the author talk I had today as a follow up to winning the Prized Writing competition, but that went off well otherwise.

Right, I am completely zonked. Off to bed, and pictures later.


Enough, More Later.
- James

Who hit the gas?

Currently in Earphones: Nothing

Tonight I'd be writing about my solo trip to Ravenna and today's trip to Firenze (Florence), but of late we've been getting tired early and heading to bed likewise. We're heading to Modena and then Venice tomorrow, and the day afterward a ridiculously long trip to Ivrea and thence to Torino. I'll try to cover everything on Sunday (our designated day of rest, seemed like a good idea what with all the churches we've been visiting).

Also, they don't have automatic dryers here. My sodden laundry is currently airing out on a fold out clothes line. Luckily I have enough to last me through the next day or two, which should be enough time for the current damp clothes to fully dry. Also, delicious though prosciutto crudo is (that would be simply prosciutto to us Americans), I still maintain that it looks like it needs to be cooked more thoroughly before it's safe for consumption.


Enough, More Later.
- James

Bologna and Ravenna

Currently in Earphones: "Klendathu Drop" by Basil Poledouris

Been busy, as you can imagine, here's what's happened so far.

I've had time to explore a good amount of the centro, or downtown, area of Bologna. Virtually all the sidewalks are covered with stone vaults and columns, there's statuary everywhere, and all of the streets are cobble-stoned and look extremely European. It's basically a straight shot from the northern borough where Deepti lives to the centro, namely the Piazza Maggiore and surrounding churches and other places of interest. The western portion of the piazza features a large fountain crowned with Neptune and is aptly named the Piazza Nettuno. Just across from that is the Biblioteca Sala Borsa, built atop an old Roman forum, and the center of the library has a glass floor so one can see the ruins in all their glory.

To the south of the Piazza is the Basilica of San Petronio, which would have been as big if not bigger than the main attraction in Rome, if the Pope hadn't had a "I see what you did, there" moment and halted construction. The two things that caught my eye were a huge fresco depicting Hell, which was interesting in that it showed Muhamed getting an eternal neck-crick from a demon. Evidently this was enough to justify some tightening of security in case any muslims took offence. I just thought it was kinda funny, in both that it seemed a kinda lame punishment and in that it was even labeled (a banner saying "MACHOMET" under him) . The other point of interest for me was the rather absurd amount of reliquaries they had. In addition to a very flashy nave filled with some really good ones (which were too far away to be identified), there was some overflow in a side room as well. Because in America you just don't see containers filled with saint's fingerbones, vertebra, and other assorted pieces, it was a rather novel experience for me. Given how reliquaries are usually about as trustworthy as pieces of the true cross are (and I having read Baudolino), I merely regarded them as curiosities, but interesting curiosities nonetheless.

Down the via to the east are the famous Two Towers of Bologna, the Torre de Asinelli and the Torre de Garisenda. Deepti informed me that the local superstition among the students of the Alma Mater Studiorum is that one shouldn't go up the Torre de Asinelli (the taller of the two) while still a student, or it would bring bad luck. I'll head up there when I have 3 euro in spare change for the fee. They don't let you in to the Torre de Garisenda, or the "what you have done in Pisa by accident we will do in Bologna by DESIGN."

The last building we visited was the Archiginnasio, which featured over 6000 coats of arms adorning the walls, along with the room in which Rossini composed his "Stabat Mater" and a really, really cool lecture hall that was used for anatomy. This teatro anotomico also featured some really neat skinless statues, along with carved representations of the Astrological figures along the ceiling, with a hanging carving of Apollo in the center of it.

We've had more adventures in the centro since the day we spent all day there, but I need to get on to the next day, which was only a few hours in Ravenna. We went to the stazione centrale (the Bolognese version of Grand Central) and caught an eastbound train whose final destination was Rimini, but which stopped in Ravenna, which is where I wanted to visit.

This was a classic example of me not doing my research, as I only had a vague idea of why I wanted to go. I knew that Ravenna was the capital after the fall of the Western Roman empire (and that Belisarius captured it from de Camp's Lest Darkness Fall), but I didn't really know of any places I wanted to go in Ravenna. Deepti likewise had little knowledge of the city, so she ended up buying a map and I a nicely bound guidebook and we started off.

We first visited the Duomo, which was a little smaller than San Petronio, but better lit and filled with lighter colors (not to mention more gilded in general). There were some spectacularly decorated naves (ok, the second picture looks like I lied about the lighting, but I have some pictures I'll be bringing back as proof) as well as some neat statuary featuring a headless emperor in porphyry (reminding me sharply of the Tetrarchs, which I also hope to see when we go to Venice).

We then saw that La Tomba di Dante was somewhere not to be missed, but we got there after closing and could only marvel at the outside of it. After that we wandered over to the Piazza del'Popolo, and finally found where everyone in Ravenna goes to have fun on a Saturday evening. Until then the streets that we traversed had seemed awefully empty, given the day of the week it was. But as soon as we hit the Piazza the crowd materialized, and all of the sudden it became a happening place.

There were a few places mentioned in the guidebook that looked like fun, but the day had ended and we needed to catch a train back to Bologna. I'm planning on taking a solo trip back to Ravenna tomorrow (yikes!) to revisit the tomb of Dante and take a look at the Mausoleum of Theodoric and St. Vitale. Luckily Deepti is putting together a little phrase book so I can order food (and not starve), and that I might finally get some vocabulary stuck in my brain that isn't "si, no, per piachere, grazie" and "prego."

Phew! That about covers the big events over the last few days. I definitely have more to tell, but I'll get back to that later. Our future trips will be Modena/Venice on Friday and Ivrea on Saturday, then hopefully Florence sometime before I come back.


Enough, More Later.
- James

Day 2: Cowering

Currently in Earphones: Nothing, Deepti's Italian iTunes settings were hijacking my iPod.

So after sleeping for an ungodly amount of time, Deepti took me to the Supermercato so that I might actually have some food. I can see why folk gush about the cuisine here, based upon what I saw, at least. All sorts of fresh meats, including Rabbit, tons of fresh bread, and something I've never set eyes on before, fresh pasta. Wonderful pasta of all sorts, looking like they just came from from the kitchen, sealed and stuck in refrigerated racks right next to the meats. I went with some "safer" fare (using the old college cuisine sense), bread, apples, Italy's version of instant soup and pasta dishes, chips (olive oil flavored!), and some yummy, yummy nutella.

Deepti's been good about getting some Italian vocabulary into me, though so far a lot of it has been of the "into the deep end" variety. Luckily, she responds well to my quailing looks, and to her credit, it hasn't been terribly difficult. Lets just say that I was never so relieved to see the price display on a cash register before.

Since I was still getting over jet lag, spoke only english, and was feeling quite a bit like Leonard Shelby when it came to reading a map, I decided to hole up in Deepti's apartment and equalize while she was in class. But though I'd decided not to say hi to Italy today, Italy decided to come in and say hi to me instead. Partway through the day a young man came in to fix some broken glass on Deepti's door. Having not met any of her apartment mates, I immediately went and introduced myself on instinct, though I quickly found out he was only there for the repair. He seemed to understand that I was at least the boyfriend of someone, but conversation was limited. It was only after he left that I found I could have dredged up enough Spanish to hold a basic conversation (if he indeed spoke it), but I at least made a saving throw of a "grazie!" as he was on his way out, and was rewarded with a grinning "prego!"

I'm still getting over jet lag, and found that I was quite ready for a long nap around 3pm, local time. When I did get up (and Deepti had returned), I had a really good combination of (apparently) veal ravioli and some tomato sauce that had diced olives in it. It almost seemed comical that something that tasted so good was thrown together the same way we'd boil pasta and add sauce back in the states. I guess I can see why folks get so worked up over the local cuisine here, and I can't wait to sample more of it.


Enough, More Later.
- James

Arrived in Italy (and 200th post!)

Currently in Earphones: "There is a Time" by Solas


Hop, thump, skid, and bumped my way into Italy over the past few days. Highlights were realizing that each leg of my flights was on a different airline, and that if I wanted to check in online, I had to do it through each company's website independently. Which would have gone off without a hitch, had the lady who checked in my bag at SFO (at the United terminal) hadn't been insistent that my printed boarding pass for my second leg on Lufthansa "wasn't valid." Never mind that it said on the pass "You are checked in, use this bar-code as your boarding pass." So I didn't get the desired "wheels-up" effect of having all my worries fall away as soon as we left the tarmac until I reached Frankfurt, and the nice lady at the gate confirmed that yes, I had a valid boarding pass.

The 10 hour hop from SFO to Frankfurt wasn't too bad, though losing 8 hours was mighty annoying. Trying to get some sleep because your plane pre-empted what you normally think of sunset by such a wide margin didn't really work all that well for me. I dozed as much as I was able, but didn't actually get sleep. Just how long the flight was was driven home to me when I realized that they were showing not 2, not 3, but 4 movies back-to-back, and THEN at least an hour of TV programming. Food was a little better than the usual toned down meals they've been serving since the airlines have been in decline. Luckily no-one was sitting next to me, so I could stretch out more than usual. Other than that, the first leg was relatively uneventful.

The second leg, from Frankfurt to Bologna was notible for two reasons. The first, they gave us some crunchy chocolate as a snack, which I've never had on any airline before (well, barring the first time I was on Lufthansa). Secondly, I had a bit of a thrill when the stewardess first asked me if I wanted food/drink in German. It was diminished a bit when I found that she asked nearly everyone in German first (except for those reading Italian newspapers), but all the same, I felt the better for not being so obviously an american tourist.

And for those who want to know, the Bologna airport is kinda like a scaled down version of our own Oakland Airport. I didn't see any terminals that had planes come right up to them (we had a rolling staircase and a bus to take us in), but it wasn't just a "control tower and a wind-sock" affair either.

I spent most of my time stumbling through the streets of Bologna with Deepti in order to get back to her apartment (well, stumbling on my part), and I slept for a few hours at a time throughout the late afternoon. I feel a bit more refreshed this morning, and will be heading out shortly to acquire some groceries so that I don't starve when Deepti has class. Oh, and a toothbrush, which I managed to forget.


Enough, More Later.
- James

Copypasta tastes good

Now playing: Solas - Vital Mental Medicine/The Pullet
via FoxyTunes


Because I'm lazy, and because Scalzi says it better...

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/10/13/oh-wait/


Enough, More Later.
- James

Quote-age

Now playing: Michael Giacchino - Roar!
via FoxyTunes

I've had this one kicking around my desk for the past year, and thought it deserved a shout-out on the blog...

"Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to reinforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in others."

- H.L. Mencken, Minority Report (1956)

Enough, More Later.
- James

Return Snippets

Now playing: Jerry Goldsmith - Masada - Main Theme
via FoxyTunes


Back from the East! Plane flights were surprisingly uneventful. After a number of months with the laziest waking schedule ever (before we left, that is), being three hours ahead of California time is just strange. Woken up and ready to go at 8? Hungry for lunch at 9? I've been transported to crazy land!

I beat my dad at Carroms, which is a big thing, considering he never beat his father (nor had I, my gramps was both annoyingly *and* admirably unforgiving in not giving us an inch with his mad carrom skillz). I still have yet to beat my aunt, and still contend that my pop wasn't at his top game. But hey, there you have it.

I'm going to Italy! Got my plane ticket and everything and will be staying for two weeks in Bologna and wherever else I'll be allowed to go. I was surprised that my Passport hasn't expired yet. I got it in 2001 (and boy, does my picture show it) and evidently it lasts for 10 years. So cool.

I now have about two weeks before I leave, and a fair amount of socializing to fit in. Gotta call Mary (who I haven't talked to in ages, an old YPSO buddy) about those P.D.Q Bach Tickets. Gotta call Sascha so I can return her "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" DVD set (and possibly ask if she'd be interested in an upcoming Davis Shindig). And I need to call Will and finally meet the guy! AND I've got the Prized Writing Awards to go to next week AND Coach's B-Day party! How the heck did this all pile up?

Maybe all this will keep me from return to my old eating habits. But being jet lagged definitely doesn't help when you feel hungry at the wrong hours of the day. Anywho, back to business.


Enough, More Later.
- James

Lancaster Snippets, Part 3

Now playing: Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard - Like A Dog Chasing Cars
via FoxyTunes


One word: Carroms

This game has been played by my father, grandfather, great grandfather, and so on. We use the American board, but not the cues. Because, you know, that wasn't how the original game was played.

Anywho, got back from Burlington last night. Ate dinner at a wonderful Irish pub called Ri Ra after spending another day at the Shelburne museum. Now we're recovering back at Lancaster, and have reached the end of my writing energies. Sorry y'all, I'll try to be more detail oriented on the next post.


Enough, More Later.
- James

Teeny Rant

Now playing: James Newton Howard - Abby Comes Calling
via FoxyTunes


To all people who review DVDs on Amazon. Please, PLEASE, stop reviewing the damn movies instead of the DVD. There are over a hundred people who have already given the 3 paragraph plot encapsulation, I don't need to you re-cap it. Especially if this is some special edition/box set...STOP REVIEWING THE MOVIE AND REVIEW THE GODDAMN PRODUCT.

There are many, MANY other places I could go if I wanted to find out about the film itself, you're not doing anyone any favors.


Enough, More Later.
- James

Lancaster Snippets, Part 2

Now playing: James Newton Howard - The Belly Of The Beast
via FoxyTunes


We took a drive a few days ago to see the pretty fall colors, and two things struck me. The first was the variation in the spectrum of leaf color. I had expected to see reds, yellows, and maybe even oranges, but what I didn't expect was the healthy amount of greens mixed in. The fact that it didn't look completely one or two colors gave it an almost alien aspect that was gorgeous to look upon: I can see why my mom was going on and on about fall color. The other thing was how my first reaction was "This would be totally cool to put on film! Look at those colors! No-one's ever seen something like that before!" I then checked myself as I realized where I was from and the fact that, last I checked, New England was fairly well populated. I did take a small consolation that I had indeed not seen any such color on film before, and that there might be some novelty left in such things.

Yesterday we visited one of the Stinehours, a family the Keiths have known for years and years and who ran a press for years and years at which both my father and grandfather worked. It recently came to be that the Stinehour press had closed down, but we visited the eldest Stinehour boy (well, man, he and my dad have been good friends) at his own studio. Aside from having hundreds upon hundreds of books, wonderful art and neat printing machines, there was also a stylized cutout in his loft that read...

ΨΥΧΗΣ ΙΑΤΡΕΙΟΝ

...which he told me was the apocryphal inscription on the main entrance at the Library of Alexandria. There was also a neat poster which had a really cool saying about Printing Offices, and I should have taken a picture of it.

And today we drove over to Burlington, VT, stopping on the way (as usual) at Ben and Jerry's HQ. The one thing that tickled me was a shirt in the gift shop that had, printed in the slightly faded Abercrombie lettering, "Body by Ben and Jerry's." I almost got the shirt, but settled for a button instead, as such a statement straddled the line between humorously self-referential and woefully true.

Right now we're currently staying in a wonderful, two leveled suite just across the way from Lake Champlain, and considering staying another day (we're only booked for the night) to take in the sights.


Enough, More Later.
- James