I happened to catch an episode of "Veronica Mars" tonight, and I have to admit that it wasn't too bad. Actually, De recommended the show to me quite a while ago, but I never got around to watching it -- namely because I was never sure when it was on and, because it's a UPN show, I never bothered to check. But tonight, as I happened to be fixing some dinner and had decided to eat it in front of the television -- and because the standup act on Comedy Central (I tend to watch whatever's on CC on these nights, since "Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy" is usually on Cartoon Network at the time and I fucking hate that show) had irritated me so greatly that I didn't want to see what followed, I ended up looking through the TV listings to see what else I could watch. And voila, the legendary "Veronica Mars" was coming on! So I watched. And, like I said, not bad! (more...)

So I finished reading Elizabeth Cook's Achilles today. Again, not bad, though I didn't quite get the part at the end with Keats (or, I kinda got it, but could've done without it and didn't think it added much to the book). And I learned a few things that I didn't know about the Trojan War -- for example, I thought Pyrrhus was a fucking badass and loved him when we translated select books from Virgil's Aeneid back in high school, but I never knew that he was the son of Achilles. And I didn't know much about Chiron at all -- interesting character, or at least Cook made him so. Good stuff.

Anyway, I was inspired to do a little reading (!), so here's the passage below as read by your buddy Wes.

When he had finished killing Hector the Myrmidons had each had a go, killing him again and again. They took it in turns to shove in a spear. Some jabbed; others wiggled, getting the feel of the man, till Hector's body, stripped of the armour he had stolen from Patroclus, was ugly, squelching pulp. Now all those wounds are sealed. Achilles has never seen a body so perfect. It has only one mark: a stain like a kiss at Hector's throat. (p. 42)

What do you think? Should I be reading books on tape? That would be an awesome job! Until next time, minna-san.

I posted this last night but am just getting around to linking it on the blog -- Crayon Poetry Corner #12, entitled "Wander Drunk After Four" and based rather obviously on certain events from my recent Memorial Day weekend adventures. Rah.

So, how was your weekend? I didn't get nearly as much done as I'd intended to -- just a few pages drawn for that illustrated storybook and the opening pages of (one of) my novels -- but I did get to catch up on rest, so that was good. I also watched the remaining episodes of "Street Fighter II: V", finishing up with the last two eps this morning (I'd risen early to cut my hair and finished quite ahead of schedule). The latter half of the series definitely wasn't as good as the first, and Vega/Bison ended up being a weird megalomaniacal environmentalist, but eh, it's over. Anyway, that's what I did.

And now I am at fucking work. 🙁 Ja.

So I was browsing on eBay and I came across this...

...and it took. my. fucking. breath. away. Seriously.

Oh, precious Chun-Li, how I love you and lust after you! Alas, I cannot afford a woman of your surpassing beauty and 1/8th scale form! You're also too high maintenance, as your resin model kit comes unassembled and unpainted! And though I would devote all of my leisure to your successful completion, my love -- yes, I would make you whole! -- I doubt that I could ever make you look quite as beautiful as you do in the picture above. Adieu, my love, adieu! We shall not soon meet in this life.

I have just returned from the used bookstore! While I wasn't able to find a copy of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises or a sturdy old edition of Albert Camus's The Plague for my dad, I did leave with a few worthy (I hope) titles. Per Jax's recommendation (apparently The White Bone, featured in the latest Scary-Crayon book review, put her in mind of it), I snagged a copy of Richard Adams's Watership Down, as well as its sequel, Tales From Watership Down, by the same author. In addition to these, Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen and The Stranger by Albert Camus comprised the fiction that I bought during today's visit. Add to these a collection of critical essays on Kafka and his work, a book on learning basic to intermediate German, and a German-English dictionary, and the list of today's print purchases is complete. As the latter two purchases may suggest, I plan to teach myself a bit of German. Rah.

I also started reading Achilles by Elizabeth Cook yesterday -- good stuff so far. Way better than Troy. I should finish it on Monday, at which point I'll either start in on The Stranger or Andre Gide's The Immoralist. Haven't decided yet.

Off to watch more "Street Fighter II: V" episodes and then do a bit of drawing and writing for these books o' mine. Ja ne.