a First Time for Everything

This may come as a surprise, but before today I had never had a library card. I had never borrowed a book from a library that wasn't on campus, and never a non-academic book at that. I never counted down the days I had left to finish a novel, never owed late fees on a book lost in a messy room. Nope, that was never me.

That's right: me, the Advanced Placement Literature student, Cultural Studies major, Star Wars book nerd, and longtime Protagonizer, has never had a library card. Until now!

Today I picked up my first ever library card for the Banff Public Library, with which I promptly borrowed Edgar Rice Burroughs' first volume of "The Collected John Carter of Mars." I now have a growing list of films to borrow from the library, and have yet to even look at the CD collection. If there's anything in the jazz family, you can be sure I'll borrow that, too. Hopefully this won't turn me into some sort of book hermit, the literary equivalent of a crazy cat lady.

That's all I have to say. It's reading time!

photo (cc) Ozyman

Becoming a Book Worm, Again

Books were a constant companion growing up, and I read a lot throughout grade school. As I grew in age my books grew in length, and soon I was lugging 500 page behemoths to bed. I also did a lot of re-reading, to the point where said 500 page behemoths have been pored over three or four times now, and some of my favourites have been read cover to cover more than five times. A little excessive, but what'd you expect?

Once university hit, though, things changed. Big time.

Reading transformed quite suddenly from a pass time to a chore, from leisure to studies. If I was to read five or six academic articles a week - in addition to textbook readings - then there was no way on this good Earth you'd catch me spending my free time reading for pleasure. There's only so much the eyes can take.

Now that I'm finished, I've started to read for the sheer enjoyment of it once more. And this time 'round I'm testing new waters: eBooks.

My phone has an eReader built in, Chapter/Indigo's Kobo platform. I was skeptical of the reading environment at first, as the touch screen of a phone isn't nearly as large as a page in a paperback, but I've been pleasantly surprised. The convenience of the eReader is also a huge boon. I can squeeze in ten minutes on the bus. Fifteen minutes during breaks at work. A few more minutes at the cafe waiting for a friend to arrive. And then an hour or more ticks by sitting at home or outside. Rad.

I just finished up reading the second book of Kameron Hurley's Bel Dame Apocrypha, a trilogy of books set in the fictional world of Umeyama. It's of the genre I like to call Sci-Fantasy - technology is at a relatively contemporary level, although space travel has been achieved. However, this is bolstered by the presence of magicians, shape-shifters, and mutant strains of insects often fused with technology for human use. I'll leave the explanation at that, and let you check it out.

With the second book behind me, I'm eagerly awaiting the final piece of the series, "Rapture," out in the fall. There are just so many things I love about the style or Kameron's writing and the world that she has crafted. She takes significant influence from Islamic countries in the creation of Umeyama, which is very much refreshing from the Judeo-Christian basis of most Western fantasy. That's not to say Judeo-Christian influence is absent (in fact, I've established that the Ras Tiegan refugees might be descendants of French Catholics), but the incorporation of Islam, even if not explicit, is something I've never seen done and renders the entire series so much more novel. Then add in themes of national identity, gender roles, otherness, and personhood to make the Cultural Studies major inside of me do a little dance. There's just too much to love.

a Few of those Favourite Things

I've been watching my friend Annie Cristina do it for a while now, and, like a good many of the things on my blog, I decided to steal the form of the post from her. Hah! It's a reciprocal relationship, I swear. So, here we are: some of my favourite things at the moment.

Kimchi

I really don't know what to say about it. Describing it to people always makes it sound bad. Well, if you don't know, kimchi is a Korean staple, and is typically cabbage leaves (sui choy as far as I know) pickled/fermented with garlic and spices. I usually use mine to make stir fries or soup, and kimchi soup is a definite favourite thing.

The batch I made today included baby bok choy, spicy pepperoni, shitake mushrooms, onions, more garlic, and tofu. I considered adding some noodles, but there was already too much goodness to handle.

Adidas ClimaWarm Fleece Jacket

It's rare that I go a day without wearing this fleece at least once. While it may officially be spring in the Okanagan, we're still fluctuating between warm-ish 8 degree days with sun and colder -5 degree days with snow. I'm never sure what's going on outside, I just throw my hands in the air and accept it.

What I like the most about this fleece, I think, is that it's somewhat fitted, so I can wear it under a jacket without much bulk. And yes, I will layer jackets over jackets; I'm an island boy, and I still don't cope well with cold. Hence I'm moving to Singapore for a while.

Janelle Monae

Seriously, how many times has this woman appeared on my blog? Answer: not enough.

Despite having only one full length album out, Janelle never ceases to surprise me. I've been following her for a few months now, and I must say that I was thrown into a fit of hysterics when she announced a Vancouver date on her next tour. So I've got my tickets, and I'm counting the days until I get to see something like this live.

Stash Acai Herbal Tea

I always thought myself to be a hocho man, 100%. Turns out I have a bit of a soft spot for tea, as well. Last year I started into various chai blends (vanilla chai tastes like Christmas), but recently I've switched to herbals. My fave right meow? Acai.

I'm still not sure how to say it, but that doesn't stop me from drinking about a cup a day. And this is in addition to my hocho habit. And my double-double habit. And Pepsi habit. So, new favourite thing: caffeine!

Green Metropolis (by David Owen)

This semester I started my studies in urban geography and community planning in earnest, and a lot of what I'm reading and learning about absolutely fascinates me. A lot of it really rocks my boat, too, especially coming from British Columbia.

For example: Manhattan is one of the models for environmental sustainability and city growth. Huh. I'm only one chapter into the book, so I haven't gotten into his arguments quite yet, but my interest has certainly been piqued. Here's hoping it's as good as the cover makes it look!


Finally, and I know some of you have seen me spam posting this on my Facebook page, I'm participating in a head-shave on Friday (gulp!), with the pledge money I raise going toward the Canadian Cancer Society. I'm very apprehensive, as I have never shaved my head, and washed my toques in preparation to cover my near-baldness. So optimistic, eh? It would be rad if you could pledge a little toward my goal, or just write some words of encouragement. Thanks!

photos by Marc Matsumoto (c) [ No Recipes ], Adidas, Janelle Monae, Mexycan, David Owen

Making Connections - Molly Millions & Quorra

Being a university student with some background in Literature and focusing on Culture Studies, I'm accustomed to making connections between and among texts. For instance, the character of Molly Millions in Gibson's novel Neuromancer. In his vision of the cyberpunk future, she is the definition of a femme fatale, a former prostitute turned "Razorgirl," a cyber-samurai if you will.

Of course, the only representation of Molly is on the cover of the novel, where we only see her face. The descriptions in the various books she appears in, though, have allowed fans to conjure a likeness that is more-or-less accepted.  Anyway, Neuromancer is one of those novels that influenced a great many things. Heck, it included the internet before it even existed (Gibson coined the term "cyberspace" himself).

Enter the world of Tron, a community existing within a computer system. The parallels between the Tron franchise and classic cyberpunk are quite apparent. I'd like to look at the character of Quorra, though: she's the Molly Millions of the film. Her appearance is similar, her fighting skills are similar, and she, too, is taught amidst an Asian-inspired aesthetic. Huh.


art by deadinsane, Neuromancer cover art (c) Ace 1984, Tron: Legacy movie still (c) Walt Disney Pictures