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[Vector]

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro, is excellent.  I don't know if I'll end up recommending it in the end, but I can tell you that I was literally hooked from the first sentence, which doesn't happen much with me... and I ended up trying to read it while I walked down the stairs to dinner, until I almost fell down them.  In the end, I read the first 50 pages or so during dinner.  Marvelous.  I still don't know what's going on, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

Well, it was okay.  I thought the style was a bit cheap, with the modern standard of "every scene should lead directly to every other scene with absolutely nothing extra, neither characters nor ideas nor intricately developed world, and all plot twists should be visible from miles away."  I basically figured out what was going on in most of the plot within the first 12 pages--because the author designed it so that an astute reader could do so.  The structure was too obvious, and the author never tries to mislead the reader.  The only character who lies or misdirects does so very clearly.  The only rumor that's false ends up clearly, obviously, ragingly wrong, to the point where you can see it as false for the 100 pages that it's supposed to be serving as tension.  There were really only three big things to figure out, and the big reveals were all so matter-of-fact that it felt like the author had barely tried to hike his final steps up tension escalation hill.  Still, there were some really well-done touches.  I was impressed with the small stuff.

Still, it was solid.  I'd give it a B, I guess.  Not on my list of recommendations, but not so bad that I wouldn't pass it to someone.

[Doomshifter]

Deleted all the left-over messages on my forum inbox. Had a bit of a giggle at the page of 'What is that avatar?' from around the time I had Melorna from Queen's Blade as my avatar that eventually culminated in a message from Toady himself, telling me that Melorna is a bit much for Bay12.

Fun times.

[The Merchant Of Menace]

I think trying to empty my inbox would probably 504 the forums.
Hmm.

* The Merchant Of Menace plots.

In relevant news musics. And deafening half the class with said musics.

[Trapezohedron]

*Squee*

[Doomshifter]

*Squee*

Yes, by the gods yes.

I would go and see it in the cinema, despite the outrageous prices. I'd be like a migrant heading to a deathtrap fortress, just for their solid gold dining room. Doomshifter arrives, despite the danger.

[Il Palazzo]

Never let me go

As with the rest of K.Ishiguro works I'm aware of(a grand total of two), I've only become acquainted with the story via the film adaptation, but I hear its very close to the original. I loved almost everything about it, apart from the very last sequence(basically a spelled out moral in case somebody missed the rest of the film). But of course that's not there in the book.
I've never looked at it in terms of some mystery, or riddle to solve, nor was I expecting grand twists of action. Instead, I enjoyed the believable portrayal of a society that matter-of-factly accepts a pretty gruesome reality, with its coping mechanisms, justifications and tiptoeing around the uneasy subject.
Then there was the rather thinly veiled Blade Runner-esque metaphor on the human condition, but despite its transparency it only added to the story, not detracted from it.
There was something very British about it, whether it was the bleakness, the complacency, or the restrained emotions - very much like in his The Remains of the Day. I find it intriguing that it takes an immigrant to write the most British novels out there, if I may make such a claim.

[Yoink]

Just now I was going through a bunch of songs on my Ipod and looking up the lyrics online, to make sure I wasn't hearing my favourite songs entirely wrong. Occasionally I'd look a band up on Wikipedia too, finding out just who they were and if they were still around. So, I had this old song, "Oblivion" by Terrorvision from a compilation CD I bought ages ago, the only song of theirs I'd ever listened to, and I decided to see if their other stuff was as good.
Cue an instant good mood from just the first few seconds of one of their newer songs... I shall have to get some money and buy this CD! Or at least grab it from Itunes. Here's hoping I can get my Dad to buy me a new Mp3 player for my Birthday this month, I still love my beat-up old Ipod but, well, it's only 4GB and as it is I'm always having to delete any non-essential music to make room for the new stuff. With 16GB I could fit... Probably my whole music library, and then some!
Now, if that comes true, and I get a drawing tablet for my laptop, all I need is for Toady to release the update on the 8th and this could well be the best birthday ever! ...That bowler hat I wanted would be pretty sweet, too. The one good thing about getting old, the less-dirt-poor parts of the family might buy me stuff.

[RedKing]

My dad is a rabid right wing nut, which is just as bad as the left wing nut. He repeats endless rants to anyone he can force to listen to him. I have them memorized, it's boring. I'm in no mood for it.

Just to screw with his head, tonight I passionately argued for the British Monarchy system of rule as the best ever. I played it straight and passionately advocated that the King's way was the best way. He had no idea what to do. None of his stock "liberal v. conservative," ranting applied. He was quite dumbfounded. Fox News has not brainwashed him for this particular situation.

Me: "There's a reason God made superior people and put them in Monarchies."
Dad: "Who's superior?"
Me: "The King...."

It was a hilarious shake up to the overly predictable, drawn out discussion rant he has with at me while I try to get away or desperately try to change the subject.. It also ended far sooner than usual with, by definition, less ranting from him. I'm far happier having spent less time with him as he rants tonight, and could give a shit less about politics. I actually got him to change the subject and talk about anything at all besides politics! Mission accomplished!

Less time getting ranted at, yay!

Your move old man, let's see what you do with this....

There's actually been several American Monarchist parties on and off for decades, some serious, some less-so. I'm kinda sympathetic towards monarchism myself. A good benevolent despot is better than most democracies, IMHO. The problem is when you get the not-so-benevolent ones....

[Darvi]

There's actually been several American Monarchist parties on and off for decades, some serious, some less-so. I'm kinda sympathetic towards monarchism myself. A good benevolent despot is better than most democracies, IMHO. The problem is when you get the not-so-benevolent ones....

Yay for representational democracies/constitutional monarchies. Or maybe not.

[kaijyuu]

Not being gay means you support terrorism.

[RedKing]

Not being gay means you support terrorism.

Does that make some people on the fence "terror-curious?"

[Max White]

Na that is for when they aren't exactly sure. On the fence would be bi-terrible.

[Cthulhu]

Single panel comic:

Two zombies are kneeling next to a dead stoner/hippie(Maybe wearing a rasta wig?  It has to be obvious what he is).  One of them has a disgusted look on his face.  Caption is, "Ugh, scrambled."

It feels like a New Yorker kind of comic to me.

[RedKing]

Na that is for when they aren't exactly sure. On the fence would be bi-terrible.

Ahh...they bomb both ways.


EDIT:

Spoiler: Punch-Out Cthulhu (click to show/hide)

[MaximumZero]

EDIT:

Spoiler: Punch-Out Cthulhu (click to show/hide)

That fight would be better than Tyson.