Comic Strip Review: Al Jaffee Gets His Just Desserts by Al Jaffee Al Jaffee was born in 1921 and is as of this writing still alive and working! He’s perhaps best known for his “Fold-Ins” and other features for MAD but also had enough of his independent work published to fill several volumes. In this… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Al Jaffee Gets His Just Desserts
Tag: music
Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volumes 27 & 28
Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volumes 27 & 28 by Rumiko Takahashi Quick recap: Rinne Rokudo is a part-human shinigami (death spirit) who works as a psychopomp, escorting lost spirits to the afterlife. Due to his deadbeat father sticking him with the responsibilities for that father’s debts, Rinne’s weak powers requiring him to use expensive tools to… Continue reading Manga Review: Rin-Ne Volumes 27 & 28
Manga Review: Swan Vol. 1
Manga Review: Swan Vol. 1 by Kyoko Ariyoshi Masumi Hijiri is the daughter of a widowed sculptor, who has enjoyed her ballet lessons since she was a little girl. She loves to dance, and watch others perform in ballet. But stuck in a small city in rural Hokkaido, there just isn’t the chance for truly… Continue reading Manga Review: Swan Vol. 1
Book Review: Every Heart a Doorway
Book Review: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire Nancy went through a door to the Halls of the Dead. She learned to enjoy the skill of remaining perfectly still, and wearing elegant black and white clothing. When she asked to stay forever, the Lord of the Dead asked her to be sure–and sent her… Continue reading Book Review: Every Heart a Doorway
Book Review: The History of Opera for Beginners
Book Review: The History of Opera for Beginners by Ron David Opera is one of the great art forms, blending theater and music into a powerful emotional experience. But it also has a stereotype of being incomprehensible melodrama that boring rich people drag their unwilling spouses to. And many of the books about opera are written… Continue reading Book Review: The History of Opera for Beginners
Book Review: Octavia’s Brood
Book Review: Octavia’s Brood edited by Adrienne Maree Brown and Walidah Imarisha One of the many uses of science fiction is to talk about current issues in a speculative setting. One can posit a world in which current trends have become exaggerated to dystopian levels, or where a solution has been found to a current… Continue reading Book Review: Octavia’s Brood
Comic Book Review: Blue Monday, Vol. 2: Absolute Beginners
Comic Book Review: Blue Monday, Vol. 2: Absolute Beginners by Chynna Clugston Flores Disclaimer: I received this volume through a Goodreads giveaway for the purpose of writing this review. No other compensation was offered or requested. Bleu L. Finnegan isn’t precisely your normal high school girl growing up in 1990s Northern California. For one thing,… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Blue Monday, Vol. 2: Absolute Beginners
Magazine Review: The American Scholar Spring 1977
Magazine Review: The American Scholar Spring 1977 Edited by Joseph Epstein The American Scholar is a quarterly production of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, published since 1932. Its primary focus is non-fiction essays, but it also features poetry, book reviews and since 2006 fiction. I happened across an old issue, was intrigued by one of… Continue reading Magazine Review: The American Scholar Spring 1977
Open Thread: Minicon 50 Report
Over the Easter weekend, I went to Minicon, the Minnesota Scientifiction Society’s yearly convention. This was the 50th convention, although not the fiftieth year, as a couple times early on it was held twice yearly. To mark the milestone, the convention ran four days instead of the usual three, and had a whole bunch of… Continue reading Open Thread: Minicon 50 Report
Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories
Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories edited by Stefan Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg & Martin H. Greenberg This was my Halloween season read this year, an anthology commissioned for the Barnes & Noble stores in 1995. There are indeed one hundred stories in this hefty tome, averaging about six pages. They are not all about… Continue reading Book Review: 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories