Nordic Noir

One of the benefits of my addictive personality is that sometimes I land on some type of thing that is so interesting that obsession is warranted and rewarding. One such thing is a recent indulgence in a lot of Nordic Noir.

It started with the Stieg Larson Millennium trilogy and is most recently working itself out in my enjoyment of the Danish original The Killing TV series (kiss-kiss, Van). I've recently made a long list of popular Swedish thrillers - many of which are series focused on one detective - and I cannot wait to find the time to read more.

Here are some of the characteristics I love best in this genre:

• A heroine to the story (though not always, as in the mediocre The Hypnotist - more on that later) who kicks ass (Lisbeth Salander, Sarah Lund/Linden, Smilla) and has had absolutely all she can stand of misogyny and bullshit. She has generally gotten the shit end of at least one kind of stick, and she ain't gonna take it any more
• A mystery that needs some serious solving
• Characters who are the very best at what they do, but who are overlooked by most people because they don't comply with social norms
• Some kind of social injustice that the heroine (except in the mediocre, etc, etc) is absolutely livid about

Here are my recommendations if you enjoyed The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo or the AMC version of The Killing and are interested in more:

• Read Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow. It's the grandmammy of the genre and is outstanding. This book is one of Sly B's all-time favorites and she's been trying to get me to read it for ages. Why did I wait so long?
• There's a Julia Ormond movie called Smilla's Sense of Snow that's also wonderful
• Read all three Stieg Larson books - they are fantastic. Then watch the Swedish films - they are fantastic. Then see the US film - it was pretty damn good.
• Watch the AMC version of The Killing - so great. A Nordic Noir story set in Seattle. Fans FREAKED OUT about the S1 ending because it wasn't all Hollywood-tied-in-a-bow. Haha
• Watch the BBC version (it's Danish, but they dubbed into English) of The Killing - it's the original and the story is so dark and thrilling
• Do not, not matter what, pick up The Hypnotist, even though the cover says it's "methadone for those in withdrawal from Stieg Larson novels." First of all, really marketing people? Classy. Because heroin addiction is EXACTLY like loving some books. Second of all, it was a good mystery, but I hated the main character, his wife, his son, and everyone he knew. Seriously it was a 4 out of 10 nipples and doesn't belong in this class

You have your homework.

Random New Year

• I'm watching UHF for Deadpan Winter Palooza. Oh, my . . . how did I miss this one?

• We found a wonderful vet for our aging cat. If you have an old pet, get them a heating pad. It's incredible how much better she is.

• The Pillars of the Earth is just great. I am really loving this book. Thanks, Bunny!

• We saw Black Swan on Saturday. We both really dug the flick, while finding it super disturbing. For me, the film redeemed Natalie Portman. I think that in a lot of eyes (including mine) she had been dismissed because of the Star Wars mess. She was fantastic in Black Swan.

• Tomorrow is my beloved niece's 5th birthday. We've met her twice, and love her +1000.

Random Goodness

• We saw Harry Potter yesterday and loved it!

• We finally have significant snow and love it! (because we don't have to go anywhere)

• I finished Towers of Midnight and WOW. I really wasn't expecting to be blown away, but I really was. This series is so wonderful. Five outta five nipples.

• I just started reading Follett's The Pillars of the Earth, a gift I received from a Deadpan friend last Christmas.

Happy New Year!!

Bachelor Night Nonsense

• Holy shit, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West have a new radio show. It is the best thing I've heard in ages. Check it out. Dr. West is the most brilliant mind of this generation, and I feel a lot of hope every time I hear/read him.

• I finished the Millennium trilogy, and loved it. Lisbeth Salander might be the new Buffy.

• We had a GREAT week off last week. Lots of together time, lots of projects accomplished, and lots of DVDs watched. Great: Kick Ass, Crazy Heart, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Mystic River; Good: The Runaways, Date Night.

• I am stunned by the general lack of outrage about all the gay teen suicides among my immediate circle of people, except a few wonderful exceptions. This is not my issue - this is a cultural issue that should be affecting all of us. If you are a parent, this should scare the shit out of you. If you are the friend of a parent, this should scare the shit out of you. I am too broken hearted to say much more at this moment, but I think that might change.

Sunday Night Randomness

• I'm pretty sure that Sly B and I have just suffered through H1N1. It was not H1Nfun. I almost feel good enough now to remember what feeling human is like. *cough*

• I had a dream about my kid brother Friday night that left me missing him a lot. That makes me really mad at him. If you're reading this, you little turkey, pull your head out of your ass before it's too late.

• I'm reading Blood Engines by T. A. Pratt, and enjoying it. It's book 1 in her Urban Fantasy series. So far, my review is: not bad.

• We watched Wolverine last night and enjoyed it. Good origins story for someone who hasn't read ALL the X-Men or Wolverine comics. I've only read the Whedon X-Men stuff personally.

• This past Friday's Dollhouse episode was excellent. I'm disappointed that this show will most likely be canceled in December, but I will admit that it hasn't been consistent or strong. There have been some wonderful episodes, and the themes in the show are deep, but I don't know if TV wants deep.

Back to my coughing corner . . .

Books and Birthday Hauls

I haven't had great luck with books lately.

• I picked up and put in a concerted effort (150 pages) to get into The Etched City by K.J. Bishop. I just wasn't feeling it. It could be me, so I just put it aside and may pick it up again some day.
  
• I'm listening to a Dan Brown novel (abridged, thank god) called Digital Fortress. It's like he's never met a woman. I only have 50 minutes left, so I'm gonna power through.

For my birthday, I got tons of gifts -- more than I needed to receive x the power of n. I have survived these 38 years, and am working on a 39th as I type this.

• Sly B surprised me with a wonderful collection of Tank Girl omnibuses, the first of which I'm totally into at the moment. She also got me the film on DVD, a few other DVDs . . . cough . . . , and a t-shirt with a pinata and the caption "I'd Hit That." She took me to Boulder on Sunday for lunch, let me pick out a neoprene condom for my MacBook, and a pick-your-own 6-pack of microbrews at the best liquor store in Boulder County. She also made me lazagna, which, ahem, does it for me. I have a rant cookin' about the employees of the Boulder Apple Store - watch for that.
  
• My parents came to visit last Saturday night as well. B had bought my mom a huge amount of king crab legs for her birthday, and we gorged out on them. My folks gave me a new crock pot, Seasons 4 and 5 of The Wire on DVD, two pair of underpants (their older, ok?), and a really neat embroidered tunic. My mom called the other day to say she'd also gotten me and B lunch boxes.
• 2Rays hooked me up with some iTunes, with which we rented a few movies Saturday night (Inkheart, which we watched and liked okay and Role Models, which we haven't seen yet). I also picked up some Michael Jackson songs.
• A work friend gave me a Starbucks gift card.
  
• IronicPink sent me Trueblood Season 1 DVDs. Rumor has it she also knitted me a hat.

So, to recap, sometimes books aren't great and I am spoiled.

Gratitude

A list of my grateful things is especially important today.

• Watchmen was a pretty sweet flick. Sly B and I both agreed that it was excessive - in that it didn't need to be made at all. But even so, it was well done. I wasn't put off by Dr. Manhattan's big blue junk, and I didn't find the film soft-core porn -- both things I was warned about prior to going. I loved Laurie in the film - she kicked a fair amount of ass.

• The weather is amazing right now. There is snow on the peaks, and tulips are starting to peek out.

• Battlestar Galactica is amazing. I am so in love with this show. Big Love is also choice. In fact, TV is excellent all the way around right now.

• Sly B and I are just weeks away from our 10th anniversary. Tattooed rings are being designed. I'm feeling ready to make a commitment (kidding). Truly, I don't know what I did to deserve this amount of happiness. I am not worthy, but will take all I can get.

• I am reading (via audiobook) Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke. His Dave Robicheaux series is so wonderful! I highly recommend this book, and all of them, to anyone. If you have audible, or access to a good library with a healthy audiobook collection, the audio version is incredible. The Robicheaux books are read by the actor Will Patton, and his voice and accent are soothing, poetic, and perfect for the books.
  

Drive-by Random

• The L Word is over - finally. Groundbreaking, yes. Compelling, no.

• In The Electric Mist was a fairly okay interpretation of a James Lee Burke book. Worth checking out, but the books are so much better.

• I love The Dresden Files novels. I'm reading #4 now, and so enjoying it.

• Sly B and I had a great weekend. We are both fully appreciative of the time we are being allowed to spend with the elders in both of our families.

Milk

Sly B and I are on vacation and enjoying ourselves so, so much. I am sorry that I've been absent here, but just haven't had anything to say.

Yesterday, we saw Milk, the Harvey Milk biopic. Milk was the San Francisco city supervisor who was assassinated along with the city's mayor 30 years ago.

I first heard about Harvey Milk when I was very young, very scared, and just coming out. The idea that an out gay man could have, in the 70s, been elected to major office in a large city was incredible to me. He was the figurehead of the (mostly white, male) national gay rights movement that sprung up around fighting anti-gay ballot initiatives around the country that are very similar to those we are battling now. Milk was an inspiration -- middle-aged men today tell the story of how, as teenagers, they saw Milk in the newspaper and decided not to suicide. The film depicts two stories about that very thing - one in a phone call Milk received from a boy in Minnesota. That was probably my favorite moment of the film because I knew a man in Pueblo who told me an almost identical story.

The film was wonderful. Sean Penn channeled Milk, and the other actors obviously also did their homework. There is a lot of material out there to compare these performances to. If you haven't seen the great documentary The Times of Harvey Milk, I would recommend that first, and this film second. I think that this year's film is impressive especially in comparison to the footage of the real political figure.

10 out of 10 Christmas nipples.

Random

• Sly B. and I are very happy to be home from holiday travels. Whew, it was a lot of family time.

• We saw these films over the extra long holiday weekend: Kung Fu Panda, Get Smart, Hulk 2, Fantastic Four 2 - Rise of the Silver Surfer, Wall-E. The best by far was Wall-E. All of them, though, were good.

• We watched the first half of Season 1 of Life. I really love that show. We also watched the first half of Season 1 of Jericho. That show was not bad.

• Tonight, I'm catching up on my DVR'd shows. Earlier, Brotherhood. Now, Dexter. Later, The Shield.
  

Random

• Steven Raichlen is an awesome grillmaster, but his show Primal Grill is a little sad. We still watch it. His food is amazing, but he might be better at writing cookbooks than starring in cooking shows.

• I'm reading a new graphic novel, Bad Habits, which Sly B surprised me with last week. It's an autobiographical story by Cristy Road about addiction and getting clean, and sexuality and figuring out who you are. I'm about half-way through, and it's awesome.

• We watched The Darjeeling Limited last weekend and loved it. Pick it up if you are in the mood for a quirky, smart film. It's the story of three bizarre brothers who are damaged by their relationships with each other and their parents. It's about making the choice to live your life.

• I have another month-old blog called Volunteer for Freedom. It's something I'm working on.
  

Quick & Random

I don't really have the time or attention span to get too into this today, but I have a few things I want to say before I forget:

• Prince is a homophobe. Huh. Wouldn't have guessed that one.
  

• Wanda Sykes came out of the closet publicly on Saturday. Yay, Wanda!

• I just watched The Machinist. Wow, Christian Bale looks horrible. Scary movie. Not bad.

• I'm 20 pages away from finishing Summer Knight, Book Four of the Dresden Files. It's a keeper.
  

Living The Dream

Sly B and I just had the best weekend ever. Here are the highlights:

• I cleaned the hell out of the house on Friday. I would make a superior housewife. If anyone would like to offer B a $110K job with same-sex benefits, call me. I would SO stay at home and keep this house.
• We slept in and farted around for hours on Saturday morning. Then we went shopping for digital cameras for B's job and bath mats for our master bath. They are really nice bath mats.
• We watched a few episodes of the animated The Watchmen series currently being released on iTunes. We both give it two thumbs up, and my right thumb doesn't even have a giant red blister on it.
• We tried to watch Superbad. What a crapfest. Who knew my review would be the title?
• We quickly ditched Superbad for Reign Over Me, which was fantastic. I give it 10 out of 10 nipples, and highly recommend it. What a fantastic film.
• We cleaned the garage yesterday, and B roasted a beet from our garden that was as big as my head.
• We watched our latest favorite show, True Blood, and slept like babies.

Monday morning was a rude shock for both of us.

Two Tear-Jerkers

Sly B and I saw two great films yesterday. I recommend both of them:


First, 4 Little Girls is an outstanding Spike Lee documentary about the 1963 16th Avenue Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham. It was amazing, and I recommend it to everyone.




Second, Everything is Illuminated is a beautiful film about an American man who goes in search of information about his grandfather and what happened during the Holocaust in the Ukraine. You really should check it out.

Friday Night Random

• My babe loves Fletch. I never got that movie.

• Evil, Inc. was almost too much to bear this week. Today I was asked who I wanted to be my boss, which I thought was hilarious. The reason? HR is writing an org chart and I can't NOT have a boss. Good a reason as any, I guess.

• I am very close to the end of my Sookie book and my Robert Jordan audiobook. I can't wait to finish either.
  

• Tonight: reading and maybe a little Olympics.

• My friend lost her dad yesterday. I'm thinking about her and life and how fortunate Sly B and I are.
  

Mini Movie Review - The Dark Knight

I loved The Dark Knight. This is Batman as I love him -- completely imperfect, understanding that to fight evil you have to be a little evil yourself. I've heard a lot of junk about Christian Bale's growly whisper, but I liked it. I also agree with everything said about Heath Ledger's Joker -- he was absolutely insane, which the Joker is. Harvey Dent was perfect, and I think I just need to go see this one again.

Also fantastic were the previews for The Spirit, and especially Watchmen. Can't wait to see both.

5 out of 5 nipples.

Monday Giddy

Today:

• Work sucked. What a crapfest.

• Happy bday Les.

• We're gonna eat dinner now, and then go see The Dark Knight. I'm jazzed.

• Sly B is so hot, she just finished reading The Watchmen. Ooh, baby.
  

Mini Movie Review - Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Sly B and I went to see Hellboy II when we got home from Albuquerque. Man, what a flick! I'm pretty sure that Hellboy -- or at least Ron Perlman's depiction of him -- is my favorite comic-to-film character. He is hilarious. I hope that they make 10 more, and that Perlman stars in each one and that Guillermo del Torro directs them all. What a concept.

I loved this one as much as the first. This was was fun because there was more Abe Sapien, the introduction of Johann Krauss, more kitties, and fewer Nazis. This is an absolute must see unless you are dead inside. 5 out of 5 nipples.

Mini Movie Review: Hancock

The next movie we caught during our vacation last week was Hancock, a fun superhero flick with a few twists. As the previews have shown, Hancock is a pig with super-powers. He drinks too much, is rude to people, and generally hated by everyone. He meets a PR guy who helps him turn his image around. I won't spoil the real twist except to say something very unexpected happens.

I enjoyed the experience of this one. I am with the Entertainment Weekly writer, though, in wondering why Will Smith always ends up with a white woman romantic interest. What's up with that? Also, why the homophobia? Is that really necessary? When we were in line, Sly B heard kids outside of the theater taking about one of their peers as a "faggot" and "homo". We don't need them learning more of that from Will Smith.

If you're looking for a fun popcorn summer movie, I recommend this one in spite of its flaws. I'll go with 3 out of 5 nipples (and it would have been 4 without the "homo" stuff).

Mini Movie Review: Wanted

I took my mom to see Wanted during our trip in Albuquerque. I loved it; she hated it.

The film is very comic bookish, with cartoon violence and amazing effects. I loved the plot of the story: Wesley is a loser. His best friend is boinking his girlfriend and he knows about it, but it too shy to do anything about it. His boss is a giant bully who picks on him constantly. Suddenly, he learns that he was born into a secret society of assassins called The Fraternity. He is trained by Fox to follow in his father's footsteps as the #1 assassin. He gets to decide whether to "man up" or run.

I am not familiar with the book -- yet -- and loved the story even so. Angelina Jolie as Fox was simply awesome, and the humanist story and the theme that the group is always more important than the individual just did it for me. Five out of five nipples.