silverflight8: text icon: "Go ahead! Panic! Do it now and avoid the June rush!" (Panic!)
Saw it this Sunday - everything is spoilers under the cut. Also, thank you to everybody in the usual fannish/Internet spaces I hang out in - I managed to go in pretty much entirely unspoiled. Courtesy is not dead!

For anyone who has not watched yet - there is no extra post-credits scene. (Dude next to us: "There's no extra scene! I've seen this movie three times!)

Reactions )
silverflight8: stacked old books (books)
I'm apparently on a re-read kick, and I have too many to review in the same way I did Mistborn (words! words everywhere!) so here's a quick thing:

The Sky is Falling, Looking at the Moon and The Lights Go On Again by Kit Pearson

The novels are about Norah and Gavin, two siblings who are sent to Canada as war guests as the Blitz ramps up in England. I'm struggling to think of a good descriptor of the books that involve plot, but the core of the books is really the emotional journeys that Norah and Gavin go through. They move into the house of Florence Ogilvie and Norah immediately has personality conflicts with Aunt Florence.

One thing I think Pearson did really well was portray unusual grief/emotions. Norah is young but she's twelve or so, and she doesn't want to leave England. She's angry with her parents for sending them away, afraid for them, ashamed of running away, angry she's being put in charge of her younger brother, resentful that he can't help being afraid and distressed himself. She's not happy with being put with the Ogilvies and she's not fitting into her new school. It's an ugly combination of emotions that nevertheless feels really honest.

There's also Gavin in The Lights Go On Again Major spoilers )It gets resolved and I love their grandfather, but I thought that his anger mixed with guilt towards him and Norah, too, was really honest.

Also I learned that Pearson is gay! That is pretty cool. I read her books when I was a kid and never looked at author bios (nor do I think they would have mentioned it). She's also from Alberta!

The Secrets of the Jedi by Jude Watson

Ahh, yes, my Star Wars obsession. When I say I love Star Wars what I actually mean is "the Prequel EU books" and Jude Watson is at least 50% responsible for this. I think the only post-RotJ books I've read is Zahn's Thrawn trilogy (which is really good, I get why people keep trying to sneak it into yuletide).

Secrets of the Jedi is about Obi-Wan and Siri's relationship. Watson also wrote Jedi Apprentice (about young Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon) and Jedi Quest (about Obi-Wan and Anakin) and The Secrets of the Jedi tie into Jedi Apprentice; this book ties into the Jedi Apprentice series. Obi-Wan and Siri, along with their respective masters, are assigned to escort a talented young boy named Talesan Fry to Coruscant after he discovers the plot of a group of bounty hunters. They're partly successful even though the Padawans get separated from their Masters halfway through, but Tal's parents are killed. Years later, when the galaxy is consumed by the Clone Wars, the Temple is informed that Tal, now a successful businessman, has created a perfect codebreaker and is offering the Republic the first bid.

Being Jedi, love is forbidden, and the book has an interesting treatment of it. In one of the Jedi Apprentice books Obi-Wan actually left the Jedi Order once; he felt that the Temple was not helping the civil war on Melida/Daan enough and refused to go back to Coruscant, staying to help. Spoilers for how they handle it )

Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke

Dragon Rider )

Snakecharm by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Snakecharm )

Hawk of May by Gillian Bradshaw

Hawk of May )

Airborn and Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel

Airborn )

Among Others

Among Others )

--

I'm working on Conspiracy of Kings by Turner and enjoying it a lot so far, though I'm having some trouble with the different perspectives. I think I've reread the previous three books altogether too many times already and I understand them really well now, but there is a lot here I'm skimming--the political bits for one. Sophos is growing up though! Awww.

This post took long enough that I finished a book while writing it. I wish I was faster!
silverflight8: Barcode with silverflight8 on top and userid underneath (Barcode)
I have links about Star Wars! Here is an article on why The Phantom Menace is needed: http://www.jedinews.co.uk/news/news.aspx?newsID=12452

I never understood the theory that midichlorians=the Force. The movie implies they are an indicator, not an agent that causes the possessor to have the Force.

But what better reason for TPM than we get to see Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan go on an adventure? On a gorgeous planet like Naboo, no less? The older I get, the more I cringe (I always fastforward through any Padmé and Anakin scene) but I liked the adventuring very much.

And a ridiculously cute comic about Leia and Darth Vader: http://subaroosmiles.tumblr.com/post/49827583031

--

Choir! CHOIR omg omg omg. I found out our program. Do you know what we're singing this season??

Haydn's The Creation.

!!!

The Creation (actually, technically, Die Schöpfung) is an oratorio about...the creation of everything, with a libretto set to mostly Biblical text. This is one of the works I learned about in music history. A snippet of the chorus' singing was included on the anthology's CD track ("The heavens are telling", plus a chunk of the recitatives before it), and I loved it. It seriously boggles my mind that I'm singing what was on our curriculum; it is a big work, and famous, and I always thought of it as too difficult to really do--not just me personally, but the choir has to be skilled enough too.

To put the icing on the cake--the trills in the aria? the cadenza on the ending?--we're singing with an orchestra! Our conductor also conducts an orchestra, so we're teaming up, and it's going to be such a cool sound.

The only drawback is the German. I can...kind of deal with Latin now, but I'm pretty sure one of the reasons Lobet den Herrn was so horribly difficult was trying to deal with German on top of Bach's madness. (I have such conflicting feelings about that man. For now, I don't want to do any of his stuff, piano or vocal.)

--

I tried to type about piano, but...I don't think it's actually very interesting. In the heat of the moment I think about all sorts of things (usually thoughts that go "third finger there! move under now! THREE TRILLS INCOMING! be quieter! be louder!) Except I don't really think about fingering in terms of words, just feeling--you know how the thumb goes under? Words are longhand. If I try to think about something else, or about my playing on a meta level, my playing deteriorates. This is especially obvious any time I'm sightreading.

Instead, please try Marina and the Diamonds! Her voice is so distinctive and powerful.

silverflight8: Barcode with silverflight8 on top and userid underneath (Barcode)
Today was FREEZING.

It was wonderful this morning because it was still snowing (!!!) and usually when it snows like that, you know, powder-puff and sunny skies, the temperature's usually not that bad. Did regret leaving behind my scarf though. But the snow more than made up for it - it's been weird living here, because it doesn't snow as much.

But coming home at four - before the sun went down, I'll add - it was FREEZING. It had stopped snowing and the wind was blasting the snow off the trees and roofs (so it looked like it was snowing giant clumpy white blobs) and did I mention FREEZING? I checked the weather report and it said -15C, which isn't unheard of and really not that cold, except I was not expecting it. Oh god.

But that's not what I was going to talk about. In a fit of procrastination, I've made mockups of calligraphy broadsides. Basically I went searching for Kushiel's Legacy icons and kind of, uh, hated the typography on some of them, so I started playing around with phrases. I especially like Thelesis de Mornay's poetry quote; I made several other quotes, but the other ones need more work. I used a fountain pen for the blue, but if I want to make a full-sized version, I need to buy gouache: you can't tell because the pen is very thin, but a thicker dip pen using this sort of ink would look extremely patchy and weirdly translucent, because this ink isn't really designed for larger work.

I used to scan these sorts of things. Now I have a Mac (D:) and I cannot get any program to recognize my multifunction printer as a scanner, so I'm stuck with photography. Which, yeah, cry harder plz. But it does mean that nothing came out quite flat, and the reason why there's pens and stuff weighing down the paper so it doesn't curl up. Also I cannot write in a straight line to save my life. My squares are not squares, they are but faint shadows of the ideal boxes that would have resulted if I were anything approaching a draftsman.

eta: Also, I shot this photo at 1600 ISO (I...think I didn't bother changing the settings from the last time I was taking pictures, which was a night-time fireworks show) so I wouldn't bother enlarging: the photo's really grainy.

At any rate, picture of calligraphy rough under the cut )

Lastly, Samuel L Jackson expressed his desire to return in Episode VII: http://www.jedinews.co.uk/news/news.aspx?newsID=10067
I don't know why I'd have to be a ghost. I'm a Jedi! I fell out of a window and they took my hand off. I could show up as a one-handed Jedi - alive!

Not gonna lie, that would be AMAZING. I would be all over that. More Mace Windu! :D
silverflight8: Different shades of blue flowing on a white background like waves (Fractal)
Roughly in chronological order. Rogue Planet | Jedi Trial | Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Wild Space | Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth | Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Siege | Star Wars: The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi

Title: Rogue Planet
Author: Greg Bear
Length: 352 pages
cover with Kenobi and his lightsaber nearly scorching young Anakin's head
Blurb, minus the intro for space:

That boy is twelve-year-old Anakin Skywalker. The Force is strong in Anakin…so strong that the Jedi Council, despite misgivings, entrusted the young Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi with the mission of training him to become a Jedi Knight. Obi-Wan—like his slain Master, Qui-Gon—believes Anakin may be the chosen one, the Jedi destined to bring balance to the Force. But first Obi-Wan must help his undisciplined, idealistic apprentice, who still bears the scars of slavery, find his own balance.

Dispatched to the mysterious planet of Zonama Sekot, source of the fastest ships in the galaxy, Obi-Wan and Anakin are swept up in a swirl of deadly intrigue and betrayal. For there are others who covet the power such superfast ships could bring. Raith Sienar, a brilliant but unscrupulous weapons and ship designer, has the brains to decipher the Zonama Sekot ship design. Commander Wilhuff Tarkin has at his disposal the forces of the mighty Trade Federation with which to extract the secret. Together, they make a formidable foe, one a small and undeveloped planet can hardly hope to stand against.

But as Tarkin's fleet strikes with all its brutal power, Obi-Wan and Anakin sense a disturbance in the Force unlike any they have encountered before. It seems there are more secrets on Zonama Sekot than meet the eye.

The search for those secrets will threaten the bond between Obi-Wan and Anakin…and bring the troubled young apprentice face-to-face with his deepest fears—and his darkest destiny.

One of the few between Episodes I and II )

Title: Jedi Trial
Author: David Sherman and Dan Cragg
Length: 352 pages
cover with Anakin, the head of Asajj Ventress, and clone trooper

Backcover:

"Within twenty-four standard hours we will sit firmly astride the communications link that connects the worlds of the Republic…. Our control will be a dagger thrust directly at Coruscant. This is the move that will win the war for us."

With these ominous words, Pors Tonith, ruthless minion of Count Dooku, declares the fate of the Republic sealed. Commanding a Separatist invasion force more than one million strong, the cunning financier-turned-warrior lays siege to the planet Praesitlyn, home of the strategic intergalactic communications center that is key to the Republic's survival in the Clone Wars. Left unchallenged, this decisive strike could indeed pave the way for the toppling of more Republic worlds…and ultimate victory for the Separatists. Retaliation must be swift and certain.

But engaging the enemy throughout the galaxy has already stretched Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's armies to the limit. There is no choice but to move against the surging waves of invading battle-droids on Praesitlyn with only a small contingent of clone soldiers. Commanding them will be Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon — hand-picked by the Council for the do-or-die mission. And at his side, skilled young starfighter pilot Anakin Skywalker, a promising young Jedi Padawan eager to be freed of the bonds of apprenticeship — and to be awarded the title of Jedi Knight.

Shoulder to shoulder with a rogue Republic army officer and his battle-hardened crew, a hulking Rodian mercenary with an insatiable taste for combat, and a duo of ready-for-anything soldiers, the Jedi generals take to the skies and the punishing desert terrain of occupied Praesitlyn — to gain back a vital position in the Republic. Already outnumbered and outgunned, when confronted with an enemy ultimatum that could lead to the massacre of innocents, they may also be out of options. Unless Anakin Skywalker can strike a crucial balance between the wisdom born of the Force…and the instincts of a born warrior.


Disappointing. )

Title: Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Wild Space
Author: Karen Miller
Length: 342 pages
cover with clone troopers aiming blasters
The useful bit of the backcover (as in, the bit minus the "inspired by the full-length feature film..."):


The Separatists have launched a sneak attack on Coruscant. Obi-Wan Kenobi, wounded in battle, insists that Anakin Skywalker and his rookie Padawan Ahsoka leave on a risky mission against General Grevious. But when Senator Bail Organa reveals explosive intelligence that could turn the tide of war in the Republic's favor, the Jedi Master agrees to accompany him to an obscure planet on the Outer Rim to verify the facts. What Obi-Wan and Bail don't realize is that they're walking into a deadly trap concocted by Palpatine...and that escape may not be an option.

As usual the back covers are awful at actually describing the contents. Possible spoilers. )

Title: Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth
Author: Karen Miller
Length: 409 words




blue cover with Kenobi's face
The back-cover:

Planet by planet, darkness creeps across the galaxy. Among warriors and generals, among ordinary beings living in far-flung worlds, the fear will not go away: We are losing this war. . . .

Anakin Skywalker feels it, too. The Separatist Alliance, with ruthlessness and treachery, is beating the Republic to every strategic target. But after a costly clash with General Grievous for the planet Kothlis, Anakin has a mission that will focus his anxious mind. Alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi, he is posing as a long-lost native of Lanteeb, an impoverished world on the Outer Rim. This seemingly unimportant planet has drawn the interest of the Seps—and Anakin and Obi-Wan soon discover the disturbing reason: A scientist enslaved by General Lok Durd is drawing on Lanteeb's one natural resource for a devastating bioweapon. Now Anakin and Obi-Wan have entered the eye of a storm. Their presence has been exposed, Lok Durd's plans unveiled, and a fight has begun for survival behind enemy lines—and a chance of winning a war that must be fought at any cost.

From the Star Wars wikia

Slightly spoilery, but, ah, it's a prequel book. Tip: NONE OF THEM DIE. )

Title: Star Wars: Clone Wars Gambit: Siege
Author: Karen Miller
Length: 401 pages
red cover with someone's face on it

On the Outer Rim, the planet Lanteeb has no strategic value, no political power, and one enormous problem: it has been invaded by an emboldened Separatist Alliance. To find out why, Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi have snuck onto Lanteeb -- and now look oblivion in the eye…

Hiding their lightsabers beneath their dusty disguises, Anakin and Obi-Wan draw on their Jedi skills to stay one step ahead of Lok Durd's droid army on Lanteeb. The Jedi know that a captive scientist has given Durd the keys to a terrifying bioweapon. Durd knows that the Jedi are on his planet. With Yoda calling on the powers of the Jedi Council, with a new Separatist technology jamming the Guardians' communications, and a traitor at the heart of the Republic's government, the wheels of war are turning. But the Separatists have blockaded Lanteeb. The finishing touches are being put on a weapon to destroy whole worlds. And it will be up to the two Jedi Knights and their most trusted comrades to liberate Lanteeb or forever suffer the consequences.

Lanteeb, part II )

Title: Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi
Author: Ryder Windham
Length: 214 pages
cover with Darth Vader and older Kenobi crossing blades

Back cover:

Overlooked as a Padawan, he was to become one of the most revered Masters of all.

Sworn to serve the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, his own apprentice would bring about their destruction.

Powerless to retrieve Darth Vader from the dark side, he would train the only one who could.

This is the legendary story of Obi-Wan Kenobi, from his first meeting with Anakin Skywalker to his final meeting with Darth Vader—and beyond...


And the review. It does a lot of summarization, so if you know the EU, you won't be spoiled. )

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