elfinblaze

Turns out, I only read two actual books this year, one fiction, the other non-fiction:

Peacekeeper #1: An Ancient Peace, by Tanya Huff
The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture, by Glen Weldon

But I read a boatload of comics, because that seems to be all I have time for/can focus on these days. Counting only in trade paperback (graphic novel) format, this is, not counting single floppy issues...

Comics/graphic novels:
(pre-boot) Batgirl, Vol. 1: Silent Knight
(pre-boot) Batman & Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn
(pre-boot) Harley Quinn, Vol. 3: Welcome to Metropolis
(pre-boot) The New Teen Titans, Vol. 1
(New 52) Batman and Robin Eternal, Vol. 1
(New 52) Batman and Robin Eternal, Vol. 2
(New 52) Batman Eternal, Vol. 1
(New 52) Batman Eternal, Vol. 2
(New 52) Batwoman, Vol. 1: Hydrology
(New 52) Batwoman, Vol. 2: To Drown the World
(New 52) Batwoman, Vol. 3: World's Finest
(New 52) Grayson, Vol. 1: Agents of Spyral
(New 52) Grayson, Vol. 2: We All Die at Dawn
(New 52) Grayson, Vol. 3: Nemesis
(New 52) Harley Quinn, Vol. 1: Hot in the City
(New 52) Justice League, Vol. 1: Origin
(New 52) Midnighter, Vol. 1: Out
(New 52) Midnighter, Vol. 2: Hard
(New 52) Nightwing, Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes
(New 52) Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 1: REDemption
(New 52) Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 2: The Starfire
(New 52) Red Hood and the Outlaws, Vol. 3: Death of the Family
(New 52) Robin War
(New 52) Titans Hunt
(Rebirth) Batman - Detective Comics Vol. 1: Rise of the Batmen
(Rebirth) DC Universe: Rebirth
(Rebirth) Night of the Monster Men
(Rebirth) Nightwing, Vol. 1: Better Than Batman
(Elseworlds) Batman: Li'l Gotham, Vol. 1
(Elseworlds) DC Super Hero Girls, Vol. 1: Finals Crisis
(Elseworlds) DC Super Hero Girls, Vol. 2: Hits and Myths
(Elseworlds) Secret Hero Society: Study Hall of Justice

It's not that I don't want to read books in the traditional sense, it's that every book I start, I get interrupted by family/home duties. If I'm not doing dishes, cleaning, etc, it's:

"Can you fix this?"
"I'm hungry"
"Can you get rid of the spider?"
"Can you go to the letter box?"

So I put the book down, and then can't get back into it once I manage to come back to it, because the reading spell is broken.

Thus, comics. I find the picture easier to access, to get back into the swing of reading, plus they're shorter stories, so fewer interruptions during the time it takes me to read one.

This is why my mother took to reading magazines, I assume. And others turn to audiobooks and music for their "Me time".

Even though I have nothing to update with.

I just did three hours of gardening yesterday, pulling up weeds. I wanted to do half an hour, just for some peace and quiet, and it turned into three hours. Oops.

Have some good news:

- Bishop Vincent Long's 2016 Ann D Clark Lecture:
We in the church today need to examine our own attitudes and actions towards the victims of injustice and adopt what I would call a seamless garment approach. We cannot be a strong moral force and an effective prophetic voice in society if we are simply defensive, inconsistent and divisive with regards to certain social issues. We cannot talk about the integrity of creation, the universal and inclusive love of God, while at the same time colluding with the forces of oppression in the ill-treatment of racial minorities, women and homosexual persons. It won’t wash with young people, especially when we purport to treat gay people with love and compassion and yet define their sexuality as “intrinsically disordered”. This is particularly true when the church has not been a shining beacon and a trail-blazer in the fight against inequality and intolerance. Rather, it has been driven involuntarily into a new world where many of the old stereotypes have been put to rest and the identities and rights of the marginalised are accorded justice, acceptance, affirmation and protection in our secular and egalitarian society.
[Catholica repost of the lecture, with discussion.]
He also mentions refugees, divorcees, abuse victims, and other people who don't feel welcome in the Catholic Church. Let's hope Bishop Long of Parramatta is a sign of the future.

- Christian school uses Bible quote to shut down parents who complained about gay teachers
Kambala does not discriminate, positively or negatively, when hiring staff. All staff, regardless of their role, are chosen on their merit, empathy and their commitment to supporting the Christian ethos of the school.

Fireplaces should really come with better warnings. Not the obvious ones like: do not leave unattended or it may burn down your freaking house! But the less expected ones.

For example, I currently have on both my hands: six blisters from chopping wood, three splinters (one of which required slicing open my hand to remove), two cuts from accidentally sawing into my fingers instead of the wood, and one burn from the fireplace itself. Which makes it really hard to use any of my fingers for any other household chores right now. Seriously, try washing dishes in warm water when you have a scorching burn on your middle finger, I dare you.

Maybe something like: warning, do not install fireplace if you value your fingers. Or: remember to wear thick rubber gloves before even looking at this malicious bastard.

On the other hand, maybe I'm just a walking disaster.

[EDIT: Okay, two splinters. Just got the most annoying one out of my thumb pad. But still ow.]

Ich fühle mich irgendwie verlohr'n jezt wo ich nicht mehr Deutsch jeden Tag höre. Zu mindest hat meine Mutter immer noch Deutsch mit mir gesprochen, biß letztes Jahr. Jetzt spreche ich gar kein Deutsch mehr im Alltag. Ich hab zwar noch Bücher und Musik, und am Telefon mit meiner Tante, aber an sonsten habe ich Tag zu Tag mit meiner Muttersprache gar keinen Kontakt mehr. Zum ersten Mal in meinem Leben. Kommt mir ganz komisch vor.

==

Translation:

I feel lost somehow, now I don't hear German every day anymore. At least my mother still spoke German to me, up until last year. Now I don't speak any German in daily life anymore. I still have books and music, and on the phone with my aunt, but otherwise I have no contact with my mother-tongue from day to day. For the first time in my life. Feels strange.

Today, I learnt the brute way of opening a washing machine door that is jammed. I also succeeded in drenching my shoes and socks, and the entire laundry in the process.

But I got the door open!

Also got to watch a fire over the back fence. There was some hazard-reduction burning going on. Very interesting to see the flames so close without it having been lit by the local pyromaniacs for once. Strangely enough, it's much more reassuring to watch the fire when the fire brigade is already present. XD

- How did I become the mother of this household? I know I'm the eldest child (of the four of us siblings), but it hit me today, that I'm living with the two children I helped raise: my youngest sister (now 22) and her daughter (now 3). I never signed up to be a mother and yet here I am.

I'm running to house and doing everything at the moment because my sister's just been diagnosed with chronic pain, and she can't move well enough to do a lot of the chores, or even run after her daughter.

And while I made dinner yesterday, the kid drew all over herself. All over! She still has green hands. Argh!

- I am ecstatic that Birth.Movies.Death covered Wild Zero. I freaking love that movie! The most rock-and-roll movie I have ever seen! It's amazing. A guitar neck containing a sword, used to cut down a UFO! That is a scene I will remember for life!

- The Problem
To put it bluntly, The Problem is that DC wants to be Marvel, and they have for the past 50 years.
I call it The Problem and I think I have a pretty good reason for that, but to be honest, that desire has actually led to some of the best DC stories ever printed — arguably some of the best comics ever printed, so it’s not entirely a bad thing.
This is a very entertaining read on the history of DC Comics and their relationship with Marvel.

- When I was in high school, Brian Greig was the only openly gay politician I knew of. Today he's writing in The Guardian, reflecting on those times, and how little has changed:
History teaches us that wishing gay rights issues would just go away always backfires, and suppressing this issue will only serve to make it a key focus in the election.

- I love this article: Superman and the Damage Done.
Grace is a word that I have used a number of times here, and I have meant that in multiple ways, both as a description of physical movement and as a way of behaving. Superman can be firm, but is always polite, and he does not hold his powers as a cudgel above others... unless it's Zack Snyder's Superman.

Now I'm thinking of the DC trinity in spiritual terms. If Superman is grace, Batman is sacrifice, and Wonder Woman is mercy. At least, that's how I think of them.

I'm pretending the current cinematic "Znyder-verse" doesn't exist, LA LA LA!

- I'm lying in bed, staring out at the night sky, counting bats. No really. Sixty-six have flown over my house so far.

- I posted about my birthday over on tumblr.
Feeling a lot better now.

- I also got the best insult this week. A lady yelling at her phone (not the person on the other end, just AT her phone) caught me smiling. She spat out: "What are you laughing at? What the fuck is so funny?! You think I'm funny?! What does a pretty girl like you have to say about that? Nothing! Cause you know I'm right!" Then she stalked off raving about something else. I think there was a compliment in that tirade...

- Sixty-seven.

- I have now watched Under the Red Hood five times. It was a good purchase. :)

- I've been doing "guerilla marketing" on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Every time I'm at a toy shop I rearrange the toys. You might have heard that Rey toys are rare in shops the world over, and when I'm in a toy shop, I go looking. If I find a Rey toy, I will move her to the front of the shelf, so hopefully more people will see her and buy her. I love that character, so I will market her myself.

- I haven't done this in a long time, but I was inspired by this post, so here's my favourite songs ever. Not the ones I think are the best musical works, but the ones I never get tired of listening to.

1. Hallelujah, by anyone covering Leonard Cohen. This is the Ten Tenors
2. Miserere mei, Deus, composed by Allegri Gregorio (a classical piece; I just love those soaring high notes)
3. Snow on the Sahara, by Anggun, and the French version La neige au Sahara.
4. Fields of Gold, by Sting
5. Skellig, by Loreena McKennitt (she has a lot of great music, but this is my personal favourite)

Inspired by these three chuckle-heads, I decided to make a list of my favourite comic characters. From all comics.

( list with pictures )