Update: Well, that went a little better than I expected. Got there a few minutes before the movie started, he sat through the previews, the opening cartoon and the beginning (mostly nontalking) sequence. About the point where they arrived in South America, he got bored and wanted to leave. So he and I left to wander around the lobby a bit; there were a number of movie displays and games he examined. Eventually he was willing to go back in, and we returned to catch most of the ending. Overall, a fairly good first outing. Will need to try it again in, say about six months, with a movie that's a bit zippier.

Now, to find a spoiler site to catch up on the middle section I missed.

There! Happy?

But it wasn't all soulcrushing pain and artistic suffering. I also talked shop & gossip with my cabal of writers, drank beer, saw some sights, took a few very blurry pictures, and otherwise struggled for breath in the mountain air. In short, I had a blast. My extreme gratitude to you all for your help and your suggestions.

Reading: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. I don't what to say about this really, but it's got a cover that Ian won't see for quite some time, if I have my way.

There's probably a message here.

On the other hand, I came from work only to discover (well, Lisa pointed out) that I had been wearing my shirt (your basic three-button collared pullover) inside out. I had been wearing it like that all day long. AND NO ONE SAID ANYTHING TO ME. There's likely another message here as well.

On the third hand, Ian didn't mention my inside shirt to me either. There's almost certainly--well, you get the idea.

At any rate, his party was this weekend, and well attended by family and friends. Sadly, this is almost certainly the last year we can get away with that. Next year he'll probably want to invite all of his friends from school over, and they'll eat cake and drink soda and sing Happy Birthday and play games and smash piñatas and have pony rides and pet bunnies and jump in a bouncy castle and armwrestle monkeys and run and run and run and run and run, all the while Mommy and Daddy quietly nod and smile and resume our self-medicating.

* - aspirin shooters.

Incidentally, throwing a surprise birthday party for someone the day before their actual birthday is actually quite effective at actually, y'know, surprising someone. That's a free tip, kids. Make a note of it.

Best part was pulling it together, as the lad picked everything out: flowers, balloon, card, present, candy, and cake (chocolate chip chocolate muffins). We'd get something and then he'd shout in the grocery story, "Wait! Present!" Then he'd examine the wall of toys at the grocery store very intently, inspecting and rejecting a number of items (like a rubber chicken) before settling on a can of Silly String. Then he'd shout, "Wait! Balloons!" So we'd go get a balloon. In short, big fun.

As for her actual birthday, well, she's working from home today, and I'm stuck here in Ye Olde Librarye until late. Hm. Perhaps I should have had Ian to help me plan a way to get out of that.

Anyhoo, many others had long since offered opinions about it: positive, negative, harsh but accurate, as well as more specialist approaches, like story structure analysis and of course, the inevitable parody.

One thing that pleases me is that the general success of the movie appears to have beaten back the nerdcore trek folk who'd protested that it "overwrites the Star Trek of old, destroying years of canon" for the sole purpose of bringing in the common commoners who aren't real Trekkers but are looking for some entertainment. To which Paramount & Viacom, the corporate owners of the Star Trek property, respond, "Well, d'uh!" Because that is what it's all about, after all. I recently read a blog series called "There Is No Star Trek Canon" (here: Part I, Part II, & Part III), and I'm going to have to say, I think he's spot on. Canon is little more than marketing. There's a certain segment of fans whine and complain about the latest rendition of X, but it doesn't matter, does it? They're still going to be there opening night, because it's official. They can't bear to be not knowing. Knowledge is power, but knowledge is also control. That's also why things like the TV series and movies are canon (they're easy: sit quietly and watch the screen), and novelizations and comic adaptations aren't (reading is hard!).

It's all irrelevant anyway. Shatnerites and Nimoyians, your beloved original shows are still out there. No one's rounded them up and destroyed the tapes; they're everywhere. Heck, you can watch them for free on Youtube right this very second. No, really; here, the official & complete Star Trek TOS channel on Youtube. Now, if they could just add in the animated shows, I'd be happy, because I've never seen most of those.

Reading: Spock Must Die!, by James Blish. The very first media tie-in book. And it doesn't count, even tho' it's by James Freaking Blish! Admittedly, having the Organians put the Klingon Empire in a thousand year time out would have a bit of an effect on anything that came afterwards. Fine, I'll give you that.

Well, okay, I probably would. But that ain't gonna happen. So I'm gonna end it on a summary so I can attend to other things. My sincerest apologies. Hey, at least I didn't just settle for a TPK. That's something, I guess.

Please leave your homes and places of work to visit your nearest bookseller to purchase a copy. Inspection teams will be by in the next week to insure your household has complied. If you have purchased a copy to give as a gift, your household will still need to have a copy of its own. There is no need to keep your receipt. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

Reading: The Magic Thief: Lost, by Sarah Prineas, book two of her adventures of Conn. Yay, Sarah!

Really, it's not that bad. Walking is fine, altho' I do limp from time to time if I'm feeling dramatic. Which, admittedly, is often. Even if I'm the only one in the room. Stairs, however, are a new and exciting frontier in irritation. It goes roughly like this:

Step.
"Ow."
Step.
"Ouch."
Step.
"Dammit!"
(etc.)

In happier news, might I recommend to you Dresden Codak? Start at the beginning and go from there; it's not unlike The Exploits of Engelbrecht mangafied. Also, you might enjoy Rice-Boy, which is long but complete and has some very trippy art. It's also for sale in a dead tree edition, which I think I need to work on getting sometime.

If you'd like to express an opinion about this, you can fill out Marvel's Feedback Page (pick Editorial); alternatively, you can send email to the X-titles office at officex@marvel.com.

Grumble.

• The first issue of the latest volume of Atomic Robo, America's favorite wisecracking monster-fighting robot is out! I think he fights Cthulhu in this one.
• The first issue of the latest volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Alan Moore's illustrated fan-fiction series is finally out!
• The first issue of the new volume of the revival of the original New Mutants is out! Yay nostalgia!

For those of you who do not care about such things, well, hmm.

While in the process of updating my records yesterday, I discovered that another market I submitted to went belly-up without my even noticing. And a third one isn't technically dead, but that appears to be a formality, as it hasn't released a issue in quite a while.

I am in a race to get ready for Starry Heaven, which means reading the 50s of my fellows and finishing the revised ending of my own. This would be fine, except for the fact that Natural Law has been tampered with and as a result, I only have 21 hours in a day. This appears to be an effect local to me, but I would advise you all to still keep your distance. There's probably some kind of aura effect within my personal space.

1) I had forgotten I'd submitted it
2) I hadn't realized I hadn't updated my sub stats since last October
3) I hadn't realized either of the previous two until just now.

Sigh.