Nelson Mandela: The Authorized Comic Book

Title: Nelson Mandela: The Authorized Comic Book
Author: Nelson Mandela Foundation with Umlando Wezithombe
Genre: Graphic novel, biography
Reason for Reading: This title has been popping up in reviews of good graphic novels.
Pages: 193
Copyright Date: 2009, 2008
Cover: Four image panels, with a red block in the middle for the title. The top left panel shows a boy rolling a tire. The top right panel shows a man wrapped in a blanket eating a bowl of rice as he leans against a wall. The bottom left panel shows an old man with a big smile wearing a loud shirt. The bottom right panel shows an angry young tribesman wearing native dress.
First panel: Showing a small dwelling with rolling hills and grasses. No text.
Best part: I really learned a lot about South African political history with this one.
Worst part: I could definitely feel the author bias. The story felt a bit one-sided - the subtitle could have been "Mandela and how awesome he is." I don't disagree with that but I wonder what his ex-wives think.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Diamonds of Anger" by Fred Small
Grade: C+ - I really liked this book and I'm glad I read it, but I probably wouldn't read it again.
Recommended for: Those who enjoy acquiring actual knowledge through graphic media.
Related Reads: Cartoon History of the Universe by Larry Gonick, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

all the ladies...

My awesome women-only gym, Healthworks, is having an open house this week from today through the 23rd. That means that you, you and YOU can all try it out if you want to, for free. This is the way I joined the gym last year, by hitting the open house over and over again until I felt like I knew exactly what I wanted and needed to about the gym.

Go for a class (try yoga, rebounding, or weightlifting, among many others!), go for a tour, go just to use the hot tub. It's all good. If you're interested in going with ME, leave a comment. Otherwise I hope you still have fun!

http://www.healthworksfitness.com/

beware the posty girl; kitten antics

I have a lot of posts in my head today. I know it's kind of a feast or famine blog. Sorry about that.

Two things about Nightshade from yesterday. First, yesterday is the first time she ever saw snow! She was born this summer. She was rapt staring at it out the window. She looked like she wanted to pounce on those big fluffy white things and find out if they were good to eat. Are they moths? Are they small birds?

Second - she has become so vocal. She definitely shows her Siamese when she talks, there's a lot of "MOW!" "MRAAAAH!" "MEH!" Last night I kicked her out of my room because she was playing in such a way that made it impossible to sleep (first chewing papers, then batting a hairclip against the radiator repeatedly) and so she stood outside the door yelling for probably an hour.

Bonus Nightshade tidbit: She is really huge now. She's about half the size of Pretzel, instead of fitting on top of my arm.

five words from veek

minion - teratomarty uses this word to talk about friends of his from fandom who are younger than him and who he mentors. My own equivalent of that is csixballistics. She and I have been friends for more than a year now despite never having met face to face - something I would have thought to be impossible once upon a time. I help her write, and we give each other a lot of emotional support, and she tells me lightbulb jokes.

incognito Incognito is the word hidden in my current default user pic, one that I made in hopes of creating an icon that would represent something of how I feel about wearing headscarves. Here is a link to the article that contributed greatly to my thinking about that, Refusing Identification.

novel This fall I have been working a lot on using resources that I already have in new and novel ways. For instance, by turning my old laptop into a fake desktop and using it for backup storage of the important files on my new laptop.

rotor I think you've all noticed my recent interest in SM Stirling's Change series. This has also kindled a deeper interest in sustainability and emergency preparedness. Cattle-drawn rotors are mentioned as an important piece of technology in the post-Change world. I am reading When Technology Fails and I am thinking about what skills and objects I would like to have available to me in event of an emergency.

elysium The word Elysium makes me think of a book I read a while back, a scholarly examination of the cult of Dionysus. One of the central questions of the book is whether psychotropic drugs were consumed as part of these worship practices. The book is The God Who Comes: Dionysian Mysteries Revisited by Rosemarie Taylor-Perry.

Thanks, veek, that was fun! Leave a comment to get five words yourself.

Ooku by Fumi Yoshinaga

Title: Ooku: The Inner Chambers
Author: Fumi Yoshinaga
Series: Ooku, Volume 1
Genre: Manga, fantasy, gender.
Reason for Reading: This is the other manga trouble4hire was sweet enough to bring back for me from her SF vacation.
Pages: 198 plus endnotes
Copyright Date: 2005
Cover: A serious-looking androgynous figure wearing black Japanese robes. The coloring is simple - black, white, and red, plus some flesh tones for the guy's face. The word Ooku has a horizontal line over the first letter, which I am unsure how to replicate using my keyboard.
First frame: Black and white, showing a tiny village. No text.
Best part: I really liked the premise.
Worst part: It seemed as though the character we got to know through this volume would not be appearing in the next.
Imaginary Theme Song: "Master and Servant" by Depeche Mode
Grade: B
Recommended for: Anyone who is into reading about men kept in harems. (The book is not graphically explicit, though - adult concepts only, no adult images.) Fans of the Edo period.
Related Reads: A Brother's Price by Wen Spencer is not a manga, but the premise is almost identical and it's also an excellent book.

In the Edo period, a mysterious plague strikes Japan. It kills only boys, and now the island is three-quarters female. What men that remain are divided into three categories. Many are kept in brothels where average women go to try to conceive. Some are married off to rich merchants and lords. But for the most beautiful, talented, and graceful men, there is another possibility - they can take a position in the Inner Chambers, the private harem of the Shogun, said to contain the unimaginable luxury of 3,000 men who never see the outside world again...

This is a beautiful manga and I recommend it for anyone who likes a little spice.

Long Live the Queen by Ellen Emerson White

Title: Long Live the Queen
Author: Ellen Emerson White
Series: The President's Daughter, #3.
Genre: Fiction, YA
Reason for Reading: I really liked the previous two books.
Pages: 311
Copyright Date: 2008 in its new updated edition. The first three books in this series were first published in the 80s, but the new versions include the Internet, updated media references, cell phones, all that stuff.
Cover: A girl sits in a chair in a formal-looking room. Her left leg and right arm are in blue casts. She has a thoughtful expression that isn't quite a smile.
First line: "It was almost dark, but Meg kept her sunglasses on because they reminded her of skiing."
Best part: I think that Meg's difficulty in readjusting to normal life after her ordeal is wrenchingly portrayed.
Worst part: Learn from my mistake and do not read this book at night. Creepy!
Imaginary Theme Song: "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera
Grade: C+
Recommended for: Folks who like teen fiction with a "lives of the rich and famous" tinge AND realism.
Related Reads: The President's Daughter, first book in the series. My Most Excellent Year by Walter Kluger. I'm guessing The Princess Diaries is not dissimilar, but I haven't read it yet so I don't know for certain.

Meg Powers is starting to adjust. Sure, things didn't work out with her boyfriend. And she doesn't get to see much of her mom, the career woman. And sometimes those Secret Service agents can really be a drag. After all, she's still the President's daughter. But her life is about to be turned upside down for the third time, when something goes horribly, horribly wrong. Meg's the only one who can fight for her life and happiness, but is she strong enough?

This book was almost too realistic. It was excellently written. I recommend it, though it disturbed me a bit too much to be a re-read.