Thyroid

The thing about A Storm of Swords is that I can't decide what part was best. From , it's all good. A Feast for Crows I started yesterday, and it has been slow-going. I'm only on chapter two, but already noted the increased amount of description, some of which is unnecessary. I don't mind - I can't read more than a chapter a day, since I'm busy (and reading a technical book on Java simultaneously) - but I hope that it'll pick-up by the time I'm on holiday at the end of August. Yeah.

I don't think Pixar are the best. They've made excellent movies (Brad Bird's and Andrew Stanton's especially), but they've also made mediocre ones. Hell, I think Henry Selick's movies are easily on par with Pixar's, especially Coraline, and I'd put Miyazaki on top of the pile. Grave of the Fireflies is another movie I'd put on there, and - if you can stomach the total anime-ness (I did) - Ghost in the Shell and 5 Centimeters Per Second. That last one has a fairly Romanticized and scrapbook idea of what love is, but there's a beauty to it that I can't deny. It's largely helped by the animation and the gorgeous art style.

So I finished A Storm of Swords. That's a 1130 page monster downed in 7 sittings of roughly 200 pages each. It's pretty great. Throughout the series there are moments that make you want to throw the book in anger, and others to fistpump the air in celebration. This book is a heavily concentrated dose of that. I love it.

Woah, freaking Chapters isn't selling books now? What the hell is left? The crappy CD section near the check-out counter? Also, what's the "major city"? Toronto?

I celebrated the first year anniversary with my girlfriend today. Hurray.

Gwarniden? Is it OK if you cover up any details with spoiler tags? I'm at the end of A Storm of Swords and I didn't even know if those guys survive this book. I would kind of appreciate it. Considering I have A Feast for Crows to tackle...I mean, I would appreciate it.

...I'll be hiding my webcam then.

I like to try my hand at fan art for things I like, though I'm not very good at it yet. I'm not a big fan of doing a random scene, though, but I do like to draw cover art. I've taken a liking for posters lately as well. What I essentially do is try to re-draw so-so cover art, for example (like Grim Fandango's) and create film posters (I'm working on one for Maniac Mansion). So, this is a selfish thread, one for posting wonderfully-designed or well-drawn posters and covers. I'll post three I really admire at first, just to get the ball rolling. This one annoys me, since I was doing something similar for Grim Fandango. I have other ideas, but still.

These books are gorgeous.

If anybody on here wants an invite and doesn't have one, just PM me. Feel free to add me, also. Excuse the horrible picture - I'm not the kind that obsessively saves photos, and this was the only one of me I had. Edit: though do tell me you will do it, just so I don't add random people. I think a David off of here just did, but I'm not sure.

I'm 400 pages into A Storm of Swords. It's very addictive. I'm already looking forward to A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons. (Minor spoiler)

Amazon is buying the Book Depository. Ugh.

Outside of Strong Bad, I haven't seen him do it.

I'm trying to read A Storm of Swords but my brother keeps playing atmosphere-destroying anime music and now I'm grumpy, sleepy and posting about it on Idle Thumbs. Just to make this post less pointless, umm...Peter Straub is an underrated novelist; his lost boy lost girl is a great horror quick read.

I've been reading Will in the World, which is a lot of speculation about Shakespeare. I'm still waiting for it to earn the Pulitzer nomination it proudly advertises on the front cover.

I've been playing that! The further from the screen he gets, the more he looks like a cactus. Cloud Strife: self-involved emo cactus. I'm proud I coined that description.

Those quotes are incredible. I actually laughed out loud at how absurd the second one is.

I enjoyed season one of The Sopranos. It wasn't as good as season one of The Wire, but it was fun. I'm looking forward to seeing season two.

I'm with Orvidos on this one. We stand united. No more Harry Potter novels!

I know I shouldn't be excited, but I am. Those books were a huge part of my childhood. Youtube. Please don't be another Harry Potter novel.

I'm watching this with my four year old cousin and it is fun. Man, little girls watching them ponies = Quite The Thing. Think Beatles and Ed Sullivan.

Alas, I can't risk it so. Dude means too much to me, his insane views on reality aside.

The main character and his relationship with his wife. I read McTeague five years ago, and the thing that still sticks with me is all the greed. It's something I notice in people every day, and the book captured it well. Looking at it now, there do seem to be some stereotypes I should have warned against, but really, apart from that, I do think it's one of the unsung gems of 20th Century literature.

I really want to see season two of The Wire, but a loved one is visiting and said loved one is a homophobe, so I won't risk it. I do miss those guys, though. Goddamn Wire, making me forget they're not real people. Yeah. I'm starting The Sopranos today instead. I can watch that on my laptop and not the TV. For some reason, I can't start a show on a TV and then continue on a laptop, and dammit I bought the complete collection of The Wire to watch on a TV. Sopranos I rented and will start then finish on monsieur lappy. So Sopranos it is. (Do countries like the States still rent out movies?)

FI8d36w_ijw