Early summer reading
I haven't read Watchmen in about 15 years. The last time I ready it I was definitely too young: I didn't get it, I struggled through it, I thought it boring. Picking it back up I realize the patience it does take to read this work. It's much like a 1000 piece puzzle where you have to sort a lot of pieces before you can start putting them together. I also remember thinking how the cold war angle seemed a bit dated. The so-called war on terror makes it every bit as meaningful now.
Akira 2... I have no idea what to expect. I am more fascinated by the classic manga style of Katsuhiro Otomo than the story, I think. A well sized book at 301 pages, seem like it will go quick as the many pages have under 5 word balloons and minimal detail in traditional black, white, and benday dot graytones. I recently was introduced to Manga Studio and I would love to see examples from it compared to Otomo.
The Salmon of Doubt: I picked up Douglas Adam's last book after hearing Intellagirl mention his insights in this book into virtual environments (like Second Life), avatars, and future communication. It will be the last of these three I get too. The rest of my summer reading consists of research papers, SLED emails, and a few longer texts I may not make it through including works by Edward Hall, Yochai Benkler, and Alvin Toffler.
I also saw Spidey 3 on Friday. I paid for my $10 dollar tickets, spent at least that much at the concession stand, laughed at scenes nobody else laughed, and laughed harder when the group of 10 year old boys in front of me told their friend to "stop clapping" when it was over. Even they knew how bad it was. Going to see it made me feel as American as American gets... just like Spidey in front of the American flag.
(As a public service announcement: The above three books cost $0 as I got them from my friendly neighborhood hero, the library. This library provides free books, music, and movies. It is where I will be borrowing future box office hits such as "Pirates 3", "Transformers", and "Harry Potter 8" as I have spent all my movie money for the summer on Spidey 3. Support your library, donate a book, CD, or DVD today!)
