Listening to music

Okay I admit it; I’m listening to various songs as I write this. It all started with thinking of geishas and their white faces to Nami Tamaki, then it went to Gackt as I thought about his movie Moonchild (while thinking of the Moonwoman) and then I just went off to country. I rock like that. What can I say, my mind makes amazing leaps. Okay maybe not leaps. Hops? Yeah hops. Well whatever the reason, I do like the character Moonwoman. She’s unusual and intriguing. And her name? C’mon.

It sounds so cool. I’d want a name like that! It is very Native American-esque as well. Maybe she’s also a throwback to them too?

And I’m guessing Lissar’s Lady really is this Moonwoman- a goddess who, as is confirmed with the woman who lost her child, looks out for kids. She does remind me of Artemis. Both a rather aloof, protect children, exotic looking (and resemble the moon in some way)…it doesn’t seem like the Moonwoman is one to appear before men, although that could just be me. But it seems like women in the book look toward her more often. She’s sort of their private patron, one that is relatable in some distant way.

Babies- they're maddening.

Okay, was anyone else confused when Lissar discovered she was pregnant? I mean, right up until the last couple pages of chapter 18, it was driving me nuts. What the hell happened to the King's bastard child??? Seriously, it was on my mind the entire time. I couldn’t stop thinking about it- don’t get me wrong. I liked how she finally noticed that something was off, that the morning sickness and big belly clicked in her mind. I liked how she panicked (that sounds really wrong now that I re-read this but eh). It was written well, as a reader I felt rushed and disjointed, like Lissar. But the mysterious disappearance of a baby?? Ugh. Drove. Me. Nuts.

Although, we finally (okay not really, it’s more like a strong hint) find out what happened though….I can’t say ‘m surprised. Lissar spent months maybe barely caring for herself, let alone another. Had the baby survived, it probably would’ve died shortly after. There’s no way Lissar can care for a child, let alone one that was spawned by her father’s rape. And, story wise, it probably wouldn’t have been all that great for Lissar to lug around a bastard. Rather than get helped as she was, she might have been shunned away despite her (unusual but pretty) appearance.
So yeah, this entire blog?

Just me letting you all know I spent a good 90 some pages going crazy. :) Oh and I use the term bastard in the old fashioned way (as I’m prone to do with some other words I also use): a baby borne out of wedlock. I’m not insulting it, I swear.

...he saw his reflection for the first time in his life and fell in love with the beautiful boy he was looking at, not realizing it was himself...

Wow….I mean, wow. First it must suck being the child of a king and queen that absorbed in themselves. It’s not even a case of “because I’m so perfect, it’s only natural that I produce perfect offspring.” It was more like these incredibly narcissistic people were so marvelous, they outshined absolutely everything. Their “beauty” is a lot like Leck’s Grace: it blinds and distorts the minds of people. The queen is just like the Wicked Stepmother from Snow White- obsessed with her own beauty. The father hides behind his Lancelot-like charm- slowly descending into a perverse madness. And like Leck, he craves his daughter. These parents are unnatural, it’s probably a good thing that Lissar had very little to do with them for most of her secluded life.

It’s a good thing that she has Ash. Clearly that dog is her anchor to the real world; Ash keeps her grounded and sane. When she’s afraid, Lissar looks to Ash for protection. When Lissar went into her own form of madness after her father’s…..er….declaration; she disappeared into her mind. Ash was the only real thing she was aware of. And she lost all hope when her father attacked the dog to get to her. I’m hoping that Ash is okay, because even though she’s not human, she’s the closest thing Lissar has got to family. And of course, a best friend.

Time to Meet the Family!

At first I was going to talk about Freud but then I thought “Naaah”. Why? Well, the only really good thing I have to say about this is that he was wrong: it’s not women who have penis envy. It’s him who has a bad case of it, because clearly he was compensating for his own need to have another penis to play with beside his own. Yes, come class time I’ll totally be thinking about that and giggling a little. So if you see me being amused for unknown reasons...well, it's not so unknown now is it? :p

So, instead of Freud, I’m going to focus on the last bit of Graceling. Awwww that was cute. It was, no really. First off- like most villains, Leck’s death wasn’t all that great. If anything it was fast and quickly understated during the scene’s progression. Yes Katsa thought about it but the moment itself? Quickly done with. You have to admit though, the image of one eyed Leck, slumped down in his self made ‘throne’, unable to fall because he’s pinned to the chair. A dagger embedded in his mouth, slicing through his tongue and reaching the back of his- okay you know what? I’ll spare you the imagery created by my own slightly (okay more than slightly) depraved mind. But it’s still a cool picture.

Anyways, I know this book is about Katsa’s growth (and boy does she grow!) but I have to say….I like Po’s family. I do, I bet it’d be great to live with them. Skye is the only real brother we get to know, and like Po I think, he’s got a great sense of humor. The scene in which Katsa saves him and he immediately starts putting her on a pedestal…excellent. Seriously who wouldn’t loves someone who did this:

Skye kissed her forehead. “You saved my life.”

Katsa smiled. “You Lienid are very outward in your affection.”

“I’m going to name my firstborn child after you.” (p.434)

Like I said, that Sky and his stern/curious father Ror and Po, hell the whole damn family are very likable.

Of course I was thrilled to see Riffan and Bann again at the end, and I’ll admit it. I’m sitting here at work typing this up and when I read the coronation ceremony bit between them and Katsa I totally giggled- loudly. And J.P. (one of the librarians I work with here at school) was standing right behind me. Nice. Although you have to admit…Riffan and Bann totally remind me of Fred and George Weasely with that new bellyache curing-itchy feet causing medicine and the itchy feet curing-bellyache causing medicine. And of course Ror was hushed when he told them to be quiet… Oh that was funny. That whole scene is on p. 465 by the way.


P.S. Now that Leck is dead, can his Grace finally wear off? I know it was mentioned in the book earlier that his lies are spread even when he isn’t the one speaking them. Could that simply have been because he lived? Hmm….how interesting to think if it could never actually go away, even after death.

A King Fallen (the effects of one woman)

Well, well, well. Not looking so tall and mighty now are you, Randa? How doe sit feel, to watch your precious tool turn into a woman who is rapidly realizing that she doesn’t need you? How does it feel, knowing that you let her disgrace you and you weren’t able to do a thing?

Oh yes, I’ll admit that I loved that little scene. I can just imagine Randa getting that smug look wiped off his overconfident face; seriously, I would love to see his eyes slowly widen to the size of dinner plates while his jaw dropped low enough to catch some flies. As well as it is that Katsa finally stood up for herself, I’ll admit that I’m far more interested in seeing a proud man realize that he’s not a strong as he seems to think. Is that too evil of me? Eh, oh well… Actually, this one instance makes Randa far more interesting than before, it definitely sheds a new light of all of his previous light or three on his earlier actions.

Take, for instance, his need for Katsa. He knew he could rule one of his own family, and a girl at that. How easy would it be to play God to one person? While Randa may be a decent king to most (after all, his kingdom is pretty stable- that says a lot about his reign), the side of him that punishes harshly to those that disobey him is built around one factor: Katsa. Now that she’s walked away, what will become of Randa? Can he still rule as fearlessly as before? Will he be keeping an eye on his back, fear or some unknown assassin now that his greatest weapon and shield is gone? Will he fear that Katsa herself will be hunting him down? Will he let that cold trickle of fear infect him, affecting the rest of his reign, however long or short it may be?

So many questions, so many queries and ponderings and not nearly enough answers….I’m almost disappointed that the story will no doubt revolve around Katsa more than ever now. I really would like to see what becomes of Randa.

I didn’t like this article very much at all. In fact, it kind of sucked. The more I read Ono’s article (To be a Vampire), the more I wanted to argue a lot of the things he said. Seriously? This is basically one huge rant about how Buffy isn’t some ‘perfect’ show. Well, unfortunately for Ono, no show is perfect. What really got to be is the way he brought in race and gender. Sometimes I think we over analyze that too much. Not everything we do is based on race or gender; and a majority of people who argue that seem to have based themselves and their entire perspective on it. A bit sad if you think about it…

I’m not one to really take notice of gender or race. It’s really not that important to me; one physical aspect tells me nothing about the kind of person you are. It just irks me when people seem to believe that being white/black or boy/girl is really that important. Honestly, in your daily life, how often do you really think about those things?

For instance, Ono said that there were a lot of whites on Buffy (p. 23). Well, yeah. Hello? Look at the region these people live in! Most of America is inhabited by whites. That’s not something that was planned. That’s just the way it is, over centuries of migration some places are less diverse then others. Complaining about the color or the lack of it on TV is like going to oh….Africa and being mad that there are less whites living in town. It’s a stupid thing to focus on. This show hardly “villianizes” other races. In fact, how many evil doers were black, brown, yellow or whatever? Not many. Most were- gasp!- white. Oh my god, how shocking.

I also 'enjoyed' the bit where he began to talk about Buffy and Kendra. Looking back, yeah Buffy was mocking her a bit when Kendra came into Sunnydale. But was it a form of racism? Not really…it’s more like a teenager being a teenager. How many teens go around doing the same thing? It may not be completely right but it’s hardly something to jump up about and run around screaming.

He didn’t touch too much on gender I think. Most of this pointless paper was spent trying to assure people that the creators of Buffy were some horrible and racist closet KKK fan.

Okay I’m going to stop there just because I’m so tempted to swear. And I don’t feel like introducing anyone to some new, shiny and painful insults. This article was a huge waste of my time…

Gracling

Well, unlike the previous book, this book has gender in it. Along with that, gender issues to discuss, but I’ll get into that (maybe) at a later date. For now, Graceling will dazzle me with something else. Something far more interesting than gender roles and all that. Yes, you guessed it, eyes. More specifically Katsa’s eyes. My first impression of them was that they were were preternaturally bright, like a jungle cat’s. After all, who wouldn’t want eyes that glowed in the dark? Well, aside from the people within the book of course. My second notion was based on the color of Katsa’s eyes: one as blue as the ocean and the other as green as the rolling hills. Lovely colors, yes?

Well, they would be if anyone bothered to enjoy such unusual eyes. But in Graceling that’s the last thing people want. It seems to be that the eyes are the most obvious (and perhaps the only) physical sign that a person is different, both blessed and cursed with abilities they were born with. I say cursed because a parent’s worst fear is to see two different colored eyes on their child. Here in this world, it’s unusual and fetching (for example, David Bowie has amazing dual colored eyes). In Katsa’s world, it’s a sign that that person isn’t as ‘human’ as everyone else.

As interesting as having different colored eyes is, it’s also interesting how everyone fears it. Or rather, fear what it means. I can see why though, why love something that’ll turn into a weapon for a possibly unstable king? Or even a stable king! After all, politics is a dirty game…

A Strange Relationship....

I could say a lot of things about the ending of The Left Hand of Darkness, I suppose. But I think I’m going to focus on one aspect this time: the emotional relation between Estraven and Genly. Okay, I’ll admit it. I desperately wanted them to sit around that little stove of theirs, fighting off the cold and weariness after yet another day’s un-ending work. They would exchange a few words, but a comfortable yet strangle tense silence would run between them. Genly would offer to help Estraven practice mind speech, to which the careful reply would be a refusal. As the snow and wind raged outside, the strange tenseness would increase. Genly would shiver and try to refuse the blanket Estraven incessantly offers him. Eventually an agreement would be forged; that they could both use it so that one wouldn’t be less cold than the other. Slowly the heat of their bodies would get to them and Genly would hesitantly turn his head towards Estraven after secretly watching him from the corner of his eye, lean down slightly and-

Yeah, you get the idea. I wanted that to happen, dammit. And it never did. Instead Estraven the Stupid went and killed himself to help Genly on his ‘quest’. Grr. But the feelings were there, no doubt about it. What made it that more realistic was that it took a considerably amount of time for those two to understand each other enough for those emotion to develop. It didn’t happen instantly and those two continuously teased us, the readers, by not making it happen at all. Damn them. Ahem, anyways, I enjoyed that it felt so real and believable. It was something people, those who have felt that want for another and even those who haven’t, could almost taste and want for themselves. If someone asked me if I knew of another instance where a similar ploy was in something I’d think of Vampire Princess Miyu.

I believe that this anime is also a novel, but I know it as an tv series and (what the anime is based off which is slightly unusual as it’s usually the other way around) the OVA. I’ve seen both. The two main characters in this anime Miyu and Larva (or Lava, your choice) have a similar relationship. Okay I could say A LOT about these two. Really. They are unutterably fascinating to me. But there’s also that undertone of “want” between them that they have never acted on. Perhaps they, like Genly or Estraven, are scared of changing what already works for them. It’s really diving into the unknown after all. It could change so much, for the better….or worse. And neither Miyu and Larva or Estraven and Genly are willing to take that plunge into darkness.

It’s all a bit fascinating really, to watch them want each other but refuse. Do you agree?

Left Hand of Darkness- Estraven.

Okay, I’ll admit it. The gender thing still confuses me, mostly because the author/Genly can’t stop referring to everyone as “he”. Sure I get what they mean but that does not make it easy when it comes to picturing these people. But I get these hilarious visions of pregnant men waddling around in the snow like overstuffed penguins.... Anyways, that’s not what this blog is about so enough of that. It’s totally moot point.

My main interest is Estraven at this point. Interestingly, the novel isn’t about Genly anymore, is it? At first, I thought it was since he was the central character up until his kidnapping. However, it seems more like the novel is about Estraven and what kind of person he really is. Genly is like a pawn (I use that term loosely, but I think it still applies), unknowingly being played by Estraven in his careful game of politics. After all, who better to use than someone who knows absolutely nothing?

That doesn’t mean, however, that Estraven is some sort of slimy politician. I’m fairly sure he isn’t even if he uses some sly moves. He obviously shows regret when Genly gets captured, going as far as to risk himself to break the envoy out. He knows what he put Genly through and readily admits it: “…have put you in pain, and shame. And danger. I know it.” (199) He also claims that while he trusts Genly, Genly does not trust him. Yet, somehow, that will work out just fine.

I also like the relationship the two have. From what I can tell, Genly went from cautious trust (the very beginning before Estraven was kicked out of Karhide) to suspicion and distrust to tentative friendship. They agree to exchange more personal names after Genly gets out of his ‘prison’ and work together to survive (I’m not gonna lie I totally wish Estraven jumped Genly when he was in kemmer. I would’ve liked that!). It’s slow but like a snowball rolling down a hill, it seems to pick up with increasing speed as the distance goes on.

Anyone else have thoughts about Estraven in general or his strange relationship with Genly?

Bloodchild

I can't say I enjoyed this story very much. If I had to go for favorite short stories, I’d pick H.P Lovecraft. I found it interesting, though and I liked how the reader is forced to pick things up without being fully explained as to what it means. The way I see it is that as readers, we’re being dropped into a foreign land without knowing the language, culture or social norms. We are being forcibly assimilated into something we know nothing about. I like that, again it’s like being dropped in the middle of…China and seeing how well you cope with the change.

I also like two specific things from the story: the egg and the Tlics- or whatever they are. Let’s start with the egg. Point blank, it’s fascinating. We don’t know what the egg actually looks like. Maybe it looks like the eggs we’re used to. Maybe it’s soft, like when a turtle or a snake first lays their eggs. Maybe it’s actually a container with liquid inside that’s called an ‘egg’. Who knows? Personally I’d like to think of either soft shelled snake egg or the container theory.

Aside from just what an egg is or looks like, I’m really interested in the effect of it. It seems very similar to smoking pot or having morphine in your system. You feel good, maybe a little sleepy, no pain is felt and it actually de-ages you. From what I can see the egg, if taken frequently enough, can prolong life by at least three times! Of course, how long is a lifespan in this story? Is it like ours, somewhere around 80 years? Shorter, longer? Who knows? But the egg definitely prolongs it.

Of course, there’s also the liberal usage of the egg. It’s safe to say, I think, that it’s fairly addictive. Because people (I hesitate to say human because for all we know they could be humanoid but not actual humans) start off on the egg at an early age, they’re used to the altered state it brings. Crave it even, like Gan’s brother Qui who “always demanded his share of egg.” (9) As far as the egg goes, it’s an excellent way to control people. In some small away, perhaps it does…

I’m going to quickly touch on that a bit before moving on. Although Butler says this isn’t a story on enslavement, I think I have to disagree a little bit. Is it complete enslavement? Well, no. After all, the people don’t really seem to care most of the time. However it seems that the Tlics (that’s what I’m going to call them) need people far more than people need them. So yes, perhaps it is a form of control over them, just to keep them near.

Now…onto the Tlics. I’m not quite sure what to think of them. Okay that's not completely true. The Tlics remind me of these pink bugs: It's in Greek I know, sorry. It was the best one I could find. Only instead of having short arms maybe they're more like centipede legs. Or maybe they're like this. Eh. Whatever. What I really like about them was their titles. T' might means "miss" as far as I know... N' is someone who's preggy and Ch' is a Tlic who's widowed? Well that's my understanding of it anyway. What I'm fairly sure of is that I probably wouldn't want to see one in real life.

Pretty?

I'll make this page pretty later on. When I'm not busy/feeling lazy. Til then, bare with the fugly-ness.