I love my job

Our publicists recently interviewed one of our author-illustrators, Adam Rex. Here is one question they asked and his answer:

Q: Are you—or were you ever—afraid of monsters?
A: I’m afraid of people who act monstrously. I only have sympathy for actual monsters. Nine times out of ten, they’re just confused, lonely fish people or whatever.

What a great answer. I love that I get to work with people who can 1) have a reason to ask a question like that and 2) give an answer that is that funny.

(The question is in regards to Adam's book coming out this September called Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. It's quite brilliant. For an early review, click here.)

Today's Oddities

Wonderfully random stuff today. Enjoy children.

Ninja Appreciation Day

From author Andy Auseon’s blog that really made me belly laugh:
The Daily Weird:
Today at an intersection, a young woman yielded for a turn at a red light. Apparently her turn signals were broken. How did I know this? As she peered out the window to check both ways, she held a small green arrow on a Popsicle stick over her head so the car behind her could see it. When she turned, she put the sign away, for next time, I guess.

My Cat Hates You

Stuff On My Cat

Cats the Look Like Hitler
Note this site is supposed to be funny, not offensive. Advance apologies for any offense.

And something for all you dog lovers, lest you feel left out of the cat humor:
Do Dogs Have Lips?

It's really slow at work today.

The Week in Review

It was a busy week. First, it has been hot. I have rarely said that while living in San Diego. But it was all week. Hot, hot, hot, and humid. Go figure. Last Saturday, I slept during the hottest part of the day like I was some sort of savanna animal. I wasn't tired per se, but it was too hot to do anything. I don't have air conditioning in my apartment because I rarely, if ever, need it. So I did a lot of reading, Sudoku, and napping. This past weekend, I was so desperate for some air conditioning that I escaped to the movies to see anything that was playing. I ended up in The Lady in the Water. Review below. I also took care of chores such as my laundry and going to Target, but got them done before I got too hot. I know, those of you in Texas are probably thinking I don't know what hot is so I should stop my bellyaching. On Sunday, it was cooler, and I wasn't as miserable. But 95 degrees with 99 heat index is hot by anyone’s standards.

On Tuesday, I went to a Padres - Phillies game. Pads won but it was not a pretty game. I also had a big presentation on Wednesday. My department presented our marketing ideas for the spring 2007 list. It went very well and turned into an extremely productive meeting for us and the sales reps. On Thursday, Dave, one of my NYC friends, was in town and we had dinner at a great new restaurant. He was in town for Comic Con, which I also attended on Friday. I was really looking forward to the spectacle known as The Con by those in the know, and it did not disappoint. The rumors that many of the attendees come dressed up as Star Wars, Star Trek, and other movie/comic book/tv characters held true to the extreme. I looked fairly "normal," and men definitely outnumbered women at least 4 to 1. We went to Comic Con instead of doing much work on Friday. Yay! I had a lot of fun looking at all the costumes and hairstyles people put together for this event. Sometimes it was hard to tell if someone was dressed up or if they have green hair in their “real” life too. There were lots of Batmen, Storm Troopers, Darth Vaders, Sailor Moons, Boba Fetts, Jedis, Leias, and an Aquaman or two. To a lesser degree, but still represented were Aquabats, Robin, SuperGirl, WonderWoman, Jessica Rabbit, and Wolverine. Star Wars is definitely the cult of choice and the most recognizable. I didn’t see any celebrities since we stuck to just the exhibits. I ended up buying a few things: a madcreator.com t-shirt, an Ugly Doll, a graphic novel, and a fine art print. The print is artwork from one of the children’s books Harcourt publishes. The artist, Gris Grimly, is Madcreator.com, and he had a booth there. A gallery was selling his fine art prints & originals in an adjacent booth. I’m very pleased to have this print but it’s just one more thing that I need to get framed.

This weekend is Gay Pride. Can you imagine if Comic Con and Pride were the same weekend? *That* would be a serious culture clash. But highly entertaining.

And now a review:
The Lady in the Water.
Hmm. The previews make this look like a very scary movie. It isn’t. It has some “jump & scream” moments, but it’s not scary. It actually has several well-done comedic moments sprinkled in amidst the gloom. I’m not sure what the goal of this movie was supposed to be. What was Shyamalan’s point? The movie starts with a short stick-figure animation and voice over. The voice is telling the story of the water people and how they used to talk to the land people. They would tell them things about living together, the future, and keeping peace. But then the land people stopped listening because they were distracted with material goods and there was war. Okay. From that it goes to the dreary, Soviet-era apartment building (but with a great sapphire blue pool) and it’s stuttering, tragic superintendent, Cleveland Heep (Giamatti). The Lady, named Story, makes an appearance early on, so there’s not a lot of waiting around for her to show up. But there is still lots of set up. Through the arrival of a new tenant – a pompous movie-critic – the audience is introduced to the building’s tenants. Not a very imaginative way to introduce characters, but I suppose it was the most time-efficient. The beginning is slow. Slowly, Heep uncovers the story of the Narf and figures out that Story is one of these creatures, otherwise known as a water nymph. Through the story, he figures out what she’s doing there, who she needs to meet, what is trying to kill her, and how to return her home. It’s tedious. There is a monster in this movie. It’s a creepy, red-eyed, camouflaged dog/wolf thing, known as a Scrunt. I think the Sixth Sense was scary because there isn’t a monster. I also thought Signs, while a mediocre movie, was scarier before the alien was shown on screen. In this one, the Scrunt is shown almost immediately and I think that really makes it less scary. Anyway, this is a long review for a so-so movie. The cast is strong – Giamatti, Balaban, Jeffery Wright – but the story just isn’t there. Shyamalan even plays one of the key roles in the story. It could have been a really cool movie if it had been a little tighter in both exposition and pace. The story of the Narf is actually quite good, but certainly only a bedtime story – as the subtitle says – for a whacked-out kid. So I’m not sure how the animation story at the beginning of the movie ties into the end of the movie. Was there supposed to be a political message? Was the connection between the two so subtle I missed it? As soon as the credits started rolling, one audience member said quite loudly and clearly, “I didn’t get it.” I don’t think she was the only one.

Ags in Space

During the second spacewalk on Monday, the spacewalkers replaced a cable reel to a rail car needed to move large pieces around the space station and installed a pump compartment for the complex's cooling system.

"That was a great (spacewalk) and it showed that Aggies can be taught to work locks, latches and anything else," flight controllers wrote in their daily morning electronic message to Discovery's crew, referring to Fossum, a graduate of Texas A&M. "Miracles never cease."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/07/11/space.shuttle.ap/index.html

Summer reading & the Fourth

I started this post right after the Fourth of July as a post-weekend wrap-up, but here it is a week later, and I'm just getting around to finishing it up. Added a few things in order to make it more current.

I know that summer is almost half-over already, but it's never too late to pick up a good book or two to pass the hours.

Some books for summer reading in no particular order:
1) Harry Potter series - because they are fun
2) Twilight (is anyone surprised about this? All other teen vampire books are great too: Blue Bloods, Vampirates, Peeps) - because teens, vampires, and romance makes for a winning combination any time of year
3) The Poisonwood Bible - because of the characters & the setting in Africa
4) All the Pretty Horses - because it's so heartbreakingly beautiful
5) Three Junes - because of the interconnected storylines
6) Me Talk Pretty One Day - because of the laughs
7) Life of Pi - because of how it makes you think and then knocks you over with brilliance
8) Burger Wuss - because it's about one of the worst summer jobs a kid can have: flipping burgers
9) Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff - because with a title like that, don't you want to read it?

I am currently reading Kiki Strike about a girl who discovers a "Shadow City" beneath New York City. Quite interesting so far. I really loved The City of Ember, which is also about a civilization that is underground, but the citizens don't realize they are underground. I'm sure it's a metaphor for something. Kiki Strike has the same sort of feel as Ember, but I have a feeling it is going to turn out quite differently. Recently finished Blue Bloods, which is Gossip Girls with vampires. Pure fluff but fun. (Susan, I have two copies, so I'll pop it in the mail along with New Moon so you don't have to wait till October to read it.) Not sure what my next read will be but I do want to get into Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which I've had for ages but haven't had the time to start. It's a really thick book.

I spent part of the holiday in LA with the parents and part down at home. I hadn't been home in a while, and with a *five* day weekend, I was able to feel like I had a full weekend at home. I did six loads of laundry, went to Lush and spent money, saw The Devil Wears Prada, and ate yummy, yummy food for two days up in LA. Then I drove back to SD on Sunday. Once in SD, I saw Superman with some friends, attended a 4th of July bbq, watched the fireworks, napped, went to the beach, read, and watched Wimbledon. It was a very fine weekend.

This past weekend, I saw one more movie and I'll give you a bottle of rum if you get it on the first try. Of course it was Pirates of the Caribbean 2.
My thoughts on the three movies? Here ya go:
Pirates: So much fun but very long. Didn't think it as funny as the first one but Capt. Jack is back in fine form. He's not actually the hero of these movies. The hero is supposed to be Orlando Bloom's character, but I felt he was really pushed to the background for Johnny Depp. Johnny's entrance to the movie, and his exit, are perfect, and his skin just glows, as usual.
Superman: Don't bother. The first big action sequence is the best part of the movie and the rest is a huge snore fest. Very little dialogue throughout the whole thing and several dramatic devices are used more than once, rendering them ineffective. I couldn't figure out what Parker Posey, queen of the Indie film, was doing in this train wreck, although she does steal every scene she's in.
Prada: Good! Two-thumbs up. Meryl Streep is excellent and will certainly be nominated for at least a Golden Globe. Anne Hathaway is charming. It's a really good summer movie and a chick-flick of high quality. Think Bridget Jones. Perhaps a tad long, but full of couture eye-candy and locations that make it very fun. Stanley Tucci also holds his own as a loveable art director. Why isn't he in more movies? He's good.

Other than seeing Pirates over the weekend, I didn't do much. Hope your weekend was good.