Book Rec of the Day 3/31/2007

INVESTIGATIVE NONFICTION

Why is a common mineral so expensive? Why does it signify love and devotion? Why do people risk their lives to mine and trade it? Journalist Zoellner starts with the diamond left behind after his own broken engagement and goes on to probe the globe and the human heart to reveal the truth about diamonds in this fascinating, reflective, and expertly reported exposé.

THE HEARTLESS STONE: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORLD OF DIAMONDS, DECEIT AND DESIRE, by Tom Zoellner (St. Martin’s Press, 2006)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/31/2007

3/31/1984:
Swale, a highly regarded son of Seattle Slew, wins the Florida Derby by three-fourths of a length over Dr. Carter at Gulfstream Park in suburban Miami. Despite the absence of trainer Woody Stephens, who is out of town at another race, and being ridden for the first time by Laffit Pincay Jr., Swale takes the lead midway through the mile-and-an-eighth test and never relaxes his advantage. He'll win two legs of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, before dying suddenly under mysterious circumstances only eight days after the Belmont.

Birthdays:
Gordie Howe b. 1928 (heh, I think of Never Been Kissed every time I hear his name)
Miller Barber b. 1931
Bob Pulford b. 1936
Tom Barrasso b. 1965
Pavel Buro b. 1971

"Synth" - An Angel/Fray fan comic

This is SO cool, and if you haven't checked out the comic book series it's based on (FRAY), I highly recommend it. If it's possible for Joss to make me love a slayer as much as I loved Buffy, he did it in the course of 8 comic books instead of 7 years.

http://astridv.livejournal.com/79236.html

"Synth" - An Angel/Fray fan comic. Ages and ages ago, along came a most wonderful Smile Time spinoff comic book tale. Now they've done a lovely Angel/Fray crossover story. Enjoy.
Simon | Printed matter | 10:22 CET | 14 comments (4 new)

Buffy Season 8 Update

http://www.slayerverse.org/tanet/net_buffy_us/index.php?navi=hauptseite.php

Buffy Season 8 Update

Today's greatest news: There will be more than just 22 issues of the Buffy Season 8 comic.

“We expected it to sell well, so we overprinted by about 25 percent just to cover ourselves,” Allie said. “But even with the overprinting, the comics sold out everywhere. We’re talking about 100,000 comics, which is lot these days.”

“One day last year I got an email from him with an attachment,” Allie said. “I thought it was his treatment of his new Serenity comic. I opened it and was shocked to see a complete script for Buffy #1. I was walking around the office telling everyone we had Joss Whedon writing Buffy again,” Allie said. “It was a great day.”

They got together to discuss the book and decided to make 22 comics in the series, just like a television show.

“But that number keeps growing as Joss keeps coming up with new stories to tell,” Allie said. “We’re up to about 50, could go a little higher. It’s a very deep story that will go places. People are going to love it.”

Allie said the comic series will initially be called “Season Eight” but there is a subtitle that will be added after issue #6.

“We can’t reveal the subtitle now, it will give too much away,” he said.

Allie said he hopes that Joss will write about half of the Buffy series, with other writers like Brian K. Vaughan filling in arcs.

Joss has written the first five issues of the series and will write issue #10, then issues #16 to #20. Issues #6 through #9 will be written by Vaughan. Drew Goddard, a writer for the show, will write issues #11 through #14. Issue #15 will be a stand-alone story written by an author to be announced.

Allie said even if Whedon does not write the entire series, his influence will be there.

“He writes these manifestos every three months, telling everyone what’s going on, where the series is heading,” he said. “It keeps the writers on track.” Allie explained the process.

“The writers have a certain amount of freedom,” he said. “The writers pitch stories back to Joss, he makes suggestions and they go back and forth with revisions until the story is written.”

[Poster: Laborratte] [Source: Newsrama Forum]

Lord of the Geeks

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/apr07/4991

Lord of the Geeks

By David Kushner

Although Joss Whedon lost his sci-fi television show "Firefly," the fans he won have since made him a success in movies, games, and other media

PHOTO: INTERFOTO USA/SIPA

The mainstream world may have missed writer/director Joss Whedons sci-fi TV series, Firefly, and the movie it spawned, Serenity. But for a rising generation, hes the new lord of the geeks.

Whedon outdoes his predecessors by truly living and preaching the underdog gospel. In addition to the Firefly mythology, his cult hitsTV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angelstill earn him raves. His characters have significant flaws, but they can overcome and surpass those flaws through force of will, says ber-fan Scott O. Moore, Fans love to believe that about themselves.

Now, in this burgeoning You Decade of Hollywood, Whedons acolytes are paying the ultimate tribute by re-engineering their heros defeated shows into new online series. It means they care about the work, that Im asking the right questions, Whedon says. I found a way to their collective hearts.

Spoken like a gentleman, one might say, given the sensitivity artists normally show when others make use of their work. Lawyers have threatened to sue girls for singing songs around a campfire without first paying royalties to the copyright holders. Whedon, however, takes a longer view of fans who base their fiction on his own. Im sure theres bad work out there, he says. But ultimately, if someones taking it to their heart, thats why Im here. I make a living; I made sure that I do. All theyre doing is spreading the word. It would be both stupid and selfish to try to quash it.

This isnt the usual fan fiction. Moore has dumped tens of thousands of dollars into his online Angel parody, Cherub. A 17-year-old high school girl makes Forgotten Memories, a series of trailers for imagined episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; its a hot download on YouTube. Into the Black is a coming Web drama, complete with professional special effects, set in the Firefly universe.

The fandom is rabid, says Into the Black cocreator, Damien Spracklin, because Josss stuff always gets canceled. Next month, Whedons troopssome of whom call themselves Browncoats, after the independent army in Fireflyare convening for their first-ever convention.

For Whedon, 43, TV geekdom is in his blood. His dad wrote for such shows as Benson, Alice, and The Golden Girls, and his grandfather was a writer on the Andy Griffith and Donna Reed shows. However, Whedons innate appreciation for the craft of screenwriting has a decidedly high-tech twist. I was a lonely sci-fi fan boy growing up, he says. I would write science fiction and draw and mostly read voraciously and see movies and hang out with my best friend. We were a fan base of two.

Unlike his fans, Whedon didnt attend Star Trek conventions, but he got into the fold soon enough. After studying at Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Conn., he made the rounds in Hollywood, sharpening his nerd king chops on standbys including Alien: Resurrection, Titan A.E., and X-Men. His big break came in 1997, with Buffy, a TV series that chronicled the adventures of a young woman fighting an underworld of vampires. The shows strong female characters and campy sense of fun made it a cult hit and spawned the spin-off, Angel. It also ensconced Whedon in the new pantheon of Hollywood heroes.

All you get with Star Wars is the Empire versus the Allianceblack versus white, says Moore. With Joss, you get so many shades: the vampire down the street is evil, but hes also sexy; slaying demons is important, except when the demons are on your side; the Reavers are horrifying mostly because theyre just inevitable versions of us. Joss always has his eye on how the situation can instantly change, suddenly putting all the audiences preconceptions up for grabs. That feels fundamentally realistic, even if the trappings are fantasy or science fiction.

Eric Tong, cocreator of Into the Black, agrees. I think Joss attracts such passionate fans because he is a fan himself, he says, He knows what people love and want to see. One thing common to all Whedon TV shows (and to Serenity) is that they are a mix of all genres. Each show is part comedy, drama, horror, sci-fi, western, action, etc. Not only do his shows appeal to those kinds of audiences, but he and his team combine all those elements well.

Like the computer-game modification communityalso known as mod makersWhedons fans became active participants in extending his mythology. Any kid with a computer and an Internet connection can pick up where he left off and create something new. Such interaction is inherently changing the rules of the industry. Fans dont have to sit back and passively watch a show run its course. They can just fire up a digital video camera, shoot a sequel, upload it to the viral video hub, YouTube, and keep the flame alive.

Whedon isnt alone. New serial dramassuch as Heroes, Lost, and Battlestar Galacticaare breeding new communities of passionate followers online. Some of those fans are hosting online radio shows, creating graphic novels, and screen art.

Chalk the explosion of interest up to two converging trends: a richer, more complex variety of screenwriting and the boom of so-called Web 2.0 user-created content outlets, such as Second Life and MySpace.

The acolytes speak to the bold new power of fandom in the digital age, Whedon says, The point of any great fiction is to make you want to live there. Now fans can live there with other people. This is something I encourage and nourish as much as humanly possible.

He had good reason. When Firefly got canned, the Browncoats lobbied Universal Studios to put out Serenity, a Firefly movie. Its a pattern that dates back a long way, to when fans of the original Star Trek television series, angered by its cancellation, lobbied for its continuation by another meansthe movies.

Now, in addition to blogging on Whedonesque.com, a hub for all things Joss, Whedons giving followers the ultimate Mana: continuations of the Buffy and Serenity sagas in comic books. There is no bigger Buffy geek than me, he says.

About the Author

DAVID KUSHNER, a journalist in New Jersey, is the author of Masters of Doom (Random House, 2003). His latest book is Johnny Magic and the Card Shark Kids (Random House, 2005).

Book Rec of the Day 3/30/2007

FUNNY FICTION

Think what would happen if Nick Hornby’s About a Boy collided with Mary Rodgers’s Freaky Friday. That’s May Contain Nuts, a madcap novel about the absurd lengths to which today’s parents will go to force their children to achieve. It’s not until Alice puts herself in her daughter’s shoes that she realizes how tough it is to be a kid—especially with a mom like herself. John O’Farrell is “one of the funniest things in Britain” according to People. Read this and you’ll see it’s true.

MAY CONTAIN NUTS: A NOVEL OF EXTREME PARENTING, by John O’Farrell (Black Cat, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/30/2007

3/30/1978:
Hypnotized by the chance to get Red Sox prospect Ted Cox, the Cleveland Indians trade Dennis Eckersley to Boston as the centerpiece of a six-player deal. While Cox never pans out with the Tribe and is out of baseball by 1982, Eckersley will go to 20-8 this season for Boston, helping the Sox tie the Yankees for the AL East title. Using a sidearm delivery and possessing amazing control, the Eck will win 84 games over seven years for Boston before moving on to the Cubs and then Oakland, where he becomes baseball's premier closer. With 197 wins and 390 saves lifetime, he'll earn first-ballot induction into the Hall of Fave in 2004.

Birthdays:
Ripper Collins b. 1904
Willie Gailmore b. 1935
Jerry Lucas b. 1940
Dick Woodson b. 1945
Dave Ellett b. 1964

Book Rec of the Day 3/29/2007

WEIRD SCIENCE

Physics tells us how the world works, and for those of us who are a bit rusty, science writer Ouellette tells us how physics works. If you were ever slumped in the back of a physics classroom watching the clock, this lively refresher will wake you right up. Ouellette uses examples from pop culture and literature to explain the fundamentals. You might be surprised to know that the movie Addams Family Values is the perfect vehicle with which to explain Newton. A deft, smart primer on a tricky topic.

BLACK BODIES AND QUANTUM CATS, by Jennifer Ouellette (Penguin, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/29/2007

3/29/1962:
The Detroit Pistons stave off elimination in the NBA playoffs, eding the L.A. Lakers, 118-117, at Cobo Hall. The Pistons overcome a remarkable two-pronged attack by Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, who each score more than 40 points in the game and combine for 30 of the Lakers' 31 points in the fourth quarter. Coached by Fred Schaus, the Lakers will go on to win this series but bow to the Celtics in the finals-the first of six times in the next eight years that this fate will befall them.

Birthdays:
Walt Frazier b. 1945
Teofilo Stevenson b. 1952
Earl Campbell b. 1955
Brian Jordan b. 1967
Jennifer Capriati b. 1976

Book Rec of the Day 3/28/2007

YOU’VE NEVER READ JOHN UPDIKE?

The story of Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom is a towering classic of contemporary literature. Rabbit is a former high school basketball star who, at 26, looks around at his ordinary life and wonders where the glory went. Rabbit, Run recounts his search to recapture it. Updike’s Rabbit Chronicles (Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux ; Rabbit is Rich; and Rabbit at Rest), published between 1960 and 1990, read like a slice of American social history.

RABBIT, RUN, by John Updike (1960; Ballantine Books, 1996)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/28/2007

3/28/1993:
North Carolina's superior size and bench strength wear down Cincinnati, and the Tar Heels prevail, 75-68, in overtime to win the NCAA East Regional. Although Cincinnati jumps out to a 29-14 lead, UNC forces a parade of fouls by the smaller Bearcats, resulting in a 25-9 free-throw-attempts advantage that ultimately decides the game. Caroline will go on to win the national title next week in New Orleans, beating Michigan in the finals

Birthdays:
Vic Raschi b. 1918
Jerry Sloan b. 1942
Rick Barry b. 1944
Len Elmore b. 1962
Byron Scott b. 1961

Book Rec of the Day 3/27/2007

BIOGRAPHIES

Christopher Marlowe’s achievements as an artist and the details of his operatic life might be better known had he not been a contemporary of superstar Shakespeare. Riggs pushes Marlowe into the limelight in this compelling portrait. Marlowe rose from poverty to Cambridge to become at once a writer of luscious, sensuous dramas and poetry, and a rabble-rousing spy. His death at 29 (in a tavern brawl, or was it an assassination?) makes his short, prolific career that much more intriguing.

THE WORLD OF CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE, by David Riggs (Henry Holt & Co, 2005)

If you liked Stephen Greenblatt’s Will in the World, you’ll like The World of Christopher Marlowe.

Sports Fact of the Day 3/27/2007

3/27/2005:
Annika Sorenstam of Sweden duplicates Nancy Lopez's 1978 feat of winning five straight LPGA tournaments by posting an eight-stroke victory at the Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, California. It's the 59th lifetime win and 8th major for Sorenstam, far and away the finest player in the women's game. All good things must end, though, and Sorenstam's streak will be stopped in her next outing in May at the Michelob Open in Williamsburg, Virginia, when she finishes 10 strokes off the pace.

Birthdays:
Cale Yarborough b. 1939
Annemarie Möser-Pröll b. 1953
Chris McCarron b. 1955
Randall Cunningham b. 1963

Book Rec of the Day 3/26/2007

Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard, made a huge splash with a little article called “Bowling Alone” in the Journal of Democracy. The controversial, landmark article, which noted that although more people are bowling, league membership has fallen by almost half in the last twenty years, explains how social involvement strengthens communities, government, and democracy. “A prodigious achievement,” says The Economist.

BOWLING ALONE: THE COLLAPSE AND REVIVAL OF AMERICAN COMMUNITY, by Robert D. Putnam (Simon & Schuster, 2001)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/26/2007

3/26/1974:
Leading the Golden State Warriors to a 143-120 rout of Portland, Rick Barry becomes only the third player (after Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor) to score as many as 64 points in a pro basketball game. Barry has 30 field goals in an NBA era before the three-point goal as the Warriors roll up 83 points in the second half.

Birthdays:
Al Blanchi b. 1932
Eder Jofre b. 1936
Marcus Allen b. 1960
John Stockton b. 1962
Michael Peca b. 1974

Buffy Season 8 Update

http://www.slayerverse.org/tanet/net_buffy_us/index.php?navi=hauptseite.php

Buffy Season 8 Update

Today's greatest news: There will be more than just 22 issues of the Buffy Season 8 comic.

“We expected it to sell well, so we overprinted by about 25 percent just to cover ourselves,” Allie said. “But even with the overprinting, the comics sold out everywhere. We’re talking about 100,000 comics, which is lot these days.”

“One day last year I got an email from him with an attachment,” Allie said. “I thought it was his treatment of his new Serenity comic. I opened it and was shocked to see a complete script for Buffy #1. I was walking around the office telling everyone we had Joss Whedon writing Buffy again,” Allie said. “It was a great day.”

They got together to discuss the book and decided to make 22 comics in the series, just like a television show.

“But that number keeps growing as Joss keeps coming up with new stories to tell,” Allie said. “We’re up to about 50, could go a little higher. It’s a very deep story that will go places. People are going to love it.”

Allie said the comic series will initially be called “Season Eight” but there is a subtitle that will be added after issue #6.

“We can’t reveal the subtitle now, it will give too much away,” he said.

Allie said he hopes that Joss will write about half of the Buffy series, with other writers like Brian K. Vaughan filling in arcs.

Joss has written the first five issues of the series and will write issue #10, then issues #16 to #20. Issues #6 through #9 will be written by Vaughan. Drew Goddard, a writer for the show, will write issues #11 through #14. Issue #15 will be a stand-alone story written by an author to be announced.

Allie said even if Whedon does not write the entire series, his influence will be there.

“He writes these manifestos every three months, telling everyone what’s going on, where the series is heading,” he said. “It keeps the writers on track.” Allie explained the process.

“The writers have a certain amount of freedom,” he said. “The writers pitch stories back to Joss, he makes suggestions and they go back and forth with revisions until the story is written.”

[Poster: Laborratte] [Source: Newsrama Forum]

Book Rec of the Day 3/25/2007

“Fascinating.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Seductive.”—Seattle Times

“Addictive.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Irresistible.”—The Los Angeles Times

The story of a Vietnamese cook employed by Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas enraptured readers and critics. The backdrops are lush—from colonial Vietnam to lost-generation Paris—the writing eloquent, and the tale engaging. A debut novel that does not disappoint.

THE BOOK OF SALT, by Monique Truong (Mariner Books, 2004)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/25/2007

3/25/1929:
As Jackie Fields battles Jack Thompson in a welterweight bout at the Chicago Coliseum, a section of unsecured folding chairs collapses and the ensuing chaos results in one death and hospitalization for more than 100 fans. The lights also go out in the arena, a situation not likely to engender an atmosphere of calm among the spectators only a few weeks removed from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Al Capone's Chicago. When order is restored, Fields wins the 10-rounder by decision. Four months from now, he'll dethrone Joe Dundee to become world welterweight champion.

Birthdays:
Howard Cosell b. 1920
Ken Wregget b. 1964
Avery Johnson b. 1965
Tom Glavine b. 1966
Bob Sura b. 1973

Book Rec of the Day 3/24/2007

YOU’VE NEVER READ STENDHAL?

“[This] superior new translation makes it possible to understand why the novel itself continues to be so fresh and sustaining.”—The New York Times Book Review

“An epic tale of war, love, sex, politics, and religion...an action-packed narrative.”—The New Yorker

If you’ve never read Stendhal start with the story of Fabrizio de Dongo, the restless aristocrat. His exploits on the battlefields of France and his passions in the court of Parma are vibrant again, thanks to Richard Howard’s sparkling recent translation.

THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA, by Stendhal, translated by Richard Howard (1839; Modern Library, 2000)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/24/2007

3/24/1984:
Not much attention is paid to a four-player trade that brings the Phillies Willie Hernandez to Detroit, but he'll become a dominant force as the Tigers lead the American League East from wire to wire. Assuming the closer's role from "Senor Smoke.," Aurelio Lopez, Hernandez compiles a 9-3 record with a 1.92 ERA and earns a rare dual honor at season's end: the MVP and Cy Young awards. The Tigers will win the world title by beating Kansas City and San Diego in the postseason.

Birthdays:
Alex Olmedo b. 1936
Pat Bradley b. 1951
Steve Karsay b. 1972
Peyton Manning b. 1976
T.J. Ford b. 1983

Little Girls Getting Grown Up...

My daughter has been asked to prom by the senior guy she's been spending time with - in school up until now. They met during the school's theatrical production and since then he's been sitting with her at lunch, meeting her at her locker, walking her to class, etc.

I'm thrilled for her, of course, but there's a part of me that sure wishes they'd started out with something a little smaller for a first date - HER first date. And, I guess, now that the ice of a date has been broken maybe he will ask her out for something between now and then.

She has her jaw surgery this coming Tuesday. It's corrective and part of her orthodontics, correcting her underbite. Six weeks of no solid foods, though. At least they don't wire jaws shut anymore, that would kind of suck for prom pictures. I just hope the swelling is done by prom (3 weeks after surgery).

The papers for her court appearance came today, from the incident earlier in the month I eluded to *heh* My cousin, who's the state's attorney here, seems to think she'll get community service or something and as long as she completes it she won't even have this on her record. I hope so, but I also hope that she learned something and won't do this again.

(This incident along with information on my step-dad's very sudden passing were writting about in my LJ, you can read the post here if you'd like: http://apckrfan2.livejournal.com/740.html

I told her that I won't forbid her from seeing the friend she was with when the situation occurred. I know from personal experience the more my mother said "No" to somebody I wanted to hang with, the more I wanted to hang with them and lying ensued. I really don't want her to feel she has to lie to me. I'd rather know where she is and who's she's with even if I don't care for the person. I did suggest, however, that if what happened was the type of thing her friend encouraged her to do or brought out of her, she might want to rethink who her friends are.

Overall, she's a good kid. She & my husband butt heads sometimes, but my step-dad and I did, too. We were both stubborn and testing our respective limits. I'd never had a steady dad figure before my mom married him when I was 16. Stephanie hasn't really either. Overall, I just let them sort through things unless they both piss me off then I tell them both to shut up. This doesn't happen often, but when it does it's usually at Sunday dinner when we're trying to have a nice meal. I don't like bickering at the dinner table, might as well not eat together.

Anyway, have a good weekend!
Susan

Book Rec of the Day 3/23/2007

The critics loved The Pleasing Hour, calling it “splendid...powerful” (The New York Times Book Review) and “beautifully wrought” (USA Today). A debut novel that reads like it flowed from the pen of a seasoned writer, it’s the story of a young American, Rosie, who, in the face of a personal loss, becomes an au pair in France. A complicated story, beautifully told. Perfect for a book club discussion.

THE PLEASING HOUR, by Lily King (Touchstone, 2000)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/23/2007

3/23/1980:
Old Dominion (37-1) wins its second straight AIAW national basketball title, routing Tennessee, 68-53. The Lady Monarchs from Norfolk, Virginia, control the tempo with a stifling defensive effort and get big statistical games from their key people. Inge Nissen leads the scoring with 20 points, while freshman center Anne Donovan adds 17 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. Senior All-American Nancy Liberman contributes 12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists for ODU, coached by Maryann Crawford-Stanley.

Birthdays:
Roger Bannister b. 1929
Ted Green b. 1940
Moses Malone b. 1954
Jason Kidd b. 1973
Mark Buehrle b. 1979

Book Rec of the Day 3/22/2007 (2)

MEMOIRS

Toby Young’s failure has been his success. Here’s how it works: He undertakes a project (jobs, dating, etc.), fails at it in a public and spectacular way, then writes a book chronicling his demise. To all appearances, he’s an idiot, yet you can’t help loving him and rooting for him. It must be the funny writing about funny situations and his charming British point of view.

	HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE, by Toby Young (Da Capo Press, 2003)
	THE SOUND OF NO HANDS CLAPPING, by Toby Young (Da Capo Press, 2006)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/22/2007

Teaching 2002 Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito how to pitch as a youngster, 1976 NL Cy Young Award winner Randy Jones exploded one afternoon after watching his protege throw one too many room-service fastballs: "We're not playing darts out here! You're trying to aim it like a dart. Work nothing but the corners."

Birthdays:
Billy Vessels b. 1931
Flash Elorde b. 1935
Glenallen Hill b. 1965
Shawn Bradley b. 1972
Marcus Camby b. 1974

Book Rec of the Day 3/21/2007

QUIRKY HISTORIES

Ancient Greek society has been examined from many angles: architecture, art, politics. Now Davidson, a classics professor, adds sex and food to the list. It’s a brilliant idea, and it enables him to get to the heart of the culture and to consider humanity in a broader sense, too. Details on the Athenian way of prostitution, seafood consumption, and wine drinking are colorful and unforgettable. A pleasure on pleasure.

COURTESANS AND FISHCAKES: THE CONSUMING PASSIONS OF CLASSICAL ATHENS, by James Davidson (Perennial, 1999)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/21/2007

3/21/1991:
The Boston Bruins outshoot Quebec, 73-26, at Boston Garden, but Nordiques goalie Ron Tugnutt makes 70 saves and steals a point for his hockey club as the teams skate to a 3-3 tie. Boston fires 25 shots on net in the third period and ties the score midway through on a goal by Ray Bourque, but Tugnutt won't budge. Chicago goalie Sam LoPresti holds the dubious NHL record of facing 83 shots in a 1941 3-2 loss to the Bruins.

Birthdays:
Tom Flores b. 1937
Jay Hilgenberg b. 1960
Ayrton Senna b. 1960
Shawon Dunston b. 1963
Al Iafrate b. 1966

Book Rec of the Day 3/20/2007

A portrait of life in 1980s London, The Line of Beauty is the first novel with a gay theme to have won the Man Booker Prize, England’s most prestigious literary award. Nick Guest, a scholar of Henry James, is invited to stay at the family home of his school chum Toby Fedden. Nick is swept into the Fedden’s glamorous life of parties and political maneuvers, but he may not be able to handle the excesses of the era. Hollinghurst’s elegant prose and his finely observed social interactions may just remind you of James’s works.

THE LINE OF BEAUTY, by Alan Hollinghurst (Bloomsbury, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/20/2007

My man, Pat Riley, is 62 today! Woot!

3/20/1993:
Freshman point guard Jason Kidd sparks California (Berkeley) to an 82-77 victory over Duke in the second round of the NCAA tournament, dethroning the two-time defending champion Blue Devils. After Duke goes on a 24-6 run to take a one-point lead with a minute left, Kidd converts a conventional three-point play and the Golden Bears hang on for the upset. Duke guard Bobby Hurley, in his last college game, leads all scorers with 32 points; Lamond Murray leads Cal with 28.

Birthdays:
John Barhnhill b. 1938 (couldn't find him in Wikipedia)
Pat Riley b. 1945
Bobby Orr b. 1948
Chris Hoiles b. 1965
Mookie Blylock b. 1967

Book Rec of the Day 3/19/2007

Don’t write Tarzan off as pulp fiction. Yes, the book has a premise that verges on science fiction, and yes, the plot and the writing keep the pages turning quickly ’til the end. But Tarzan is a great, immortal story, one that makes you think seriously about what constitutes a man and what binds a family together. Forget the silly movies and TV shows—if you’ve never read the book you’re missing something deep and spellbinding.

TARZAN OF THE APES, by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1914; Modern Library, 2003)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/19/2007

3/19/2005:

Kim Clijsters of Belgium completes a remarkable comeback from a career-threatening wrist injury with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Lindsay Davenport in the finals of the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, California. After winning this tournament in 2003, Clijsters hurt her wrist right here in 2004. Today she soundly beats the net-rushing Davenport with bristling ground strokes off both sides and will follow up this victory two weeks from now by winning another prominent Tour event at Key Biscayne, Florida.

Birthdays:
Jay Berwanger b. 1914
Guy V. Lewis b. 1922
Richie Ashburn b. 1927
Joe Kapp b. 1939
Scott May b. 1954

Book Rec of the Day 3/18/2007

POLITICS

No, the world isn’t really flat. Friedman is no scientist or explorer, he’s a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, a New York Times columnist, and reporter covering global politics and economics. By flat Friedman means, in a way, smaller, and he goes on in this bestseller to explain globalization, how and why we have all become connected, and what it means on the smallest personal and grandest political levels.

THE WORLD IS FLAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day: 3/18/2007

3/18/1959:

Davey Moore wins the world featherweight title when defending champion Kid Bassey of Nigeria cannot answer the bell for the 14th round of their punishing encounter at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Moore's relentless attack opens cuts over Bassey's eyes, and his corner reluctantly throws in the towel when the valiant champion simply can no longer see. Moore will hold the title for four years. He'll finally lose to Sugar Ramos and subsequently die of injuries uffered in that 1963 bout.

Birthdays:
Mike Webster b. 1952
Guy Carbonneau b. 1960
Curt Warner b. 1961
Bonnie Blair b. 1964
Brian Griese b. 1975

Book Rec of the Day 3/17/2007

A haunting first novel by a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Ireland. 1970s. Michael is used to the small-town gossip and backbiting of his village, but when a neighbor dies, long-buried secrets and lies are exposed, and Michael discovers the truth about his family. Atmospheric and lyrical, In the Province of Saints brings you back to the mysterious, mystical Ireland of yore.

IN THE PROVINCE OF SAINTS, by Thomas O’Malley (Little Brown, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/17/2007

St. Patrick's Day (and of course our own Lee's birthday! Happy Birthday Lee!)

3/17/1979:
Led by Larry Bird's 31 points, unheralded (but also unbeaten) Indiana State upsets Arkansas, 73-71, to win the NCAA Midwest Regional and advance to the Final Four. Sidney Moncrief leads Arkansas with 24 points and contains Bird down the stretch. Bob Heaton's off-balance 10-foot shot at the buzzer pushes the top-ranked Sycamores (32-0) past the Razorbacks (25-5) after Bird is double-teamed on the last possession.

Birthdays:
Sonny Werblin b. 1910
Sammy Baugh b. 1914
Hank Sauer b. 1917
Chuck Muncie b. 1953
Mia Hamm b. 1972

Book Rec of the Day 3/16/2007

The Shadow of the Wind is a word-of-mouth darling among avid readers. It appeals to book lovers in part because it is about books—one volume in particular that a rare-book dealer in 1950s Barcelona finds and that acts as gateway to an adrenaline-pumping mystery. Gothic atmosphere and eccentric characters in a ripping good plot lead to a book that is compelling and easy to recommend to friends.

THE SHADOW OF THE WIND, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Penguin, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/16/2007

3/16/1991:
Three women from the same country finish 1-2-3 at the world figure skating championships for the first time in the 73-year history of the event when Americans Kristi Yamaguchi, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan finish in that order in the finals at Munich. Yamaguchi skates to music from Samson and Delilah and nails six triple jumps to win her first senior-level world title. She'll repeat in this event next year and will take the gold medal in the 1992 Winter Olympics at Albertville, France.

Birthdays:
Clint Courtney b. 1927
Roger Crozier b. 1942
Rick Reichardt b. 1943
Ozzie Newsome b. 1956
Mel Gray b. 1961

Book Rec of the Day 3/15/2007

MEMOIRS

You’d be forgiven for dismissing Gilman’s book as just a campy romp. Exhibit A: the silly title, the chick lit-style jacket design. But start reading, and you find a compelling and, yes, hilarious, memoir of growing up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in the 1970s. There is substance beneath the pouf, and all Gen-Xers (and many of their parents) will relate to this bright, funny coming-of-age story. “If you don’t absolutely love this book, you are simply dead inside,” says Laurie Notaro (The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club).

HYPOCRITE IN A POUFFY WHITE DRESS: TALES OF GROWING UP GROOVY AND CLUELESS, by Susan Jane Gilman (Warner, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/15/2007

3/15/1969:
The University of Denver Pioneers repeat as NCAA hockey champions by defeating Cornell, 4-3, at Colorado Springs. Led by tournament MVP Keith Magnuson on defense and goalie Gerry Powers, the Pioneers pepper Cornell goalie Ken Dryden with 36 shots and are never headed as they earn their fifth national title in 12 years under Coach Murray Armstrong.

Birthdays:
Punch Imlach b. 1918
Norm Van Brocklin b. 1926
Ted Marchibroda b. 1931
Harold Baines b. 1959
Terry Cummings b. 1961

Book Rec of the Day 3/14/2007

POINT-COUNTERPOINT

A liberal’s eye view of the media and a conservative’s one, respectively. Each book offers insights into how the news works and how it is manipulated by political agendas. Wolcott is a correspondent for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker; Goldberg is a former reporter for CBS. Read them together to glimpse both sides.

	ATTACK POODLES AND OTHER MEDIA MUTANTS: THE LOOTING OF THE NEWS IN A TIME OF TERROR, by James Wolcott (Miramax Books, 2004)
	BIAS: A CBS INSIDER EXPOSES HOW THE MEDIA DISTORT THE NEWS, by Bernard Goldberg (Perennial, 2003)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/14/2007

3/14/1996:
For years and years, an NCAA tournament mantra warned: "You don't want to play Princeton in the first round." Tonight at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, defending national champion UCLA finds out why when the Tigers control tempo throughout and get a backdoor layup from Gabe Lewullis with four seconds left to upset the Bruins, 43-41. It's a fitting tribute to retiring head coach Pete Carril, whose 29 years at Princeton have been synonymous with intelligent team play. Princeton will lose in the next round of the tourney, but its resolute mark on this annual springtime extravaganza remains indelible.

Birthdays:
Bob Charles b. 1936
Wes Unseld b. 1946
Kirby Puckett b. 1961
Kevin Brown b. 1965
Larry Johnson b. 1969

some misc. questions

1. Do you believe in reincarnation? Yes
2. Do you own any anime figures? Mm, well, by way of my kids, yes
3. Are you one of the fanfic writers over at www.fanfiction.net? Yes
4. Do you review stories which are posted in www.fanfiction.net? Sometimes
5. Are you looking forward to seeing the third Spider-Man film? Kind of indifferent, but yeah I guess
6. Are you looking forward to seeing the Fantastic Four sequel? Same as Spiderman3
7. Do you like "Deal or No Deal"? Never watched it, refuse to watch reality TV. EVIL, EVIL, EVIL!
8. Are you a television watcher? Yes
9. Do you write letters to people? Yes

Book Rec of the Day 3/13/2007

“A marvelous debut novel.”—Entertainment Weekly

Max Wolinsky returns to Philadelphia. It’s a visit of reckoning for the slippery salesman: with his Boy Scout son, ex-wife, father, and uncle. Max’s attempt to face his responsibilities once and for all makes for a delightful story. The seedy side of Philly is rendered with meticulous, loving care, and Max’s homecoming mixes madcap hijinks with hope.

RESPONSIBLE MEN, by Edward Schwarzschild (Algonquin Books, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/13/2007

3/13/2004:
LSU becomes the first school to sweep both the men's and women's divisions of the NCAA indoor track championships with matching victories at Fayetteville, Arkansas. The men are led in the field events by LeJuan Simon (triple jump) and John Moffitt (long jump). The Lady Tigers barely edge Florida, 52-51, helped by Muna Lee's victory in the 60-meter dash. It's an all-time best 11th national title for the LSU women; for the men, it's their second.

Birthdays:
Ordell Braase b. 1932
Joe Bellino b. 1938
Will Clark b. 1964
Thomas Enqvist b. 1974
Johan Santana b. 1979

How Many Have Your Name?

This is for my maiden name:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 667 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

This is for my married name:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 46 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Book Rec of the Day 3/12/2007

“Hugely impressive.”—Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything

“Intriguing.”—Ross King, Brunelleschi’s Dome

“A true scientific adventure.”—Simon Singh, Fermat’s Last Theorem

You use electricity every day, but do you know anything about it really? In this wonderfully readable history, Bodanis explains the science behind the wonder, and also the scandals. Meet Edison, Marconi, Morse—men who, in their quests to harness electrons, were in some cases driven to poverty, despair, suicide, and in others, to greatness.

ELECTRIC UNIVERSE: THE SHOCKING TRUE STORY OF ELECTRICITY, by David Bodanis (Crown, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/12/2007

Labour Day (Vic Australia)

3/12/1955:
Bill Russell and the University of San Francisco Dons escape an upset waiting to happen by winning the NCAA West regional, 57-56, over Oregon State on the Beavers' home court in Corvallis. Not usually a big scorer, Russell has 29 points against his towering rival, 7'5" Swede Halbrook, who counters with only 18. USF will win the national title this year and next, peeling off 60 straight wins-a record surpassed only by UCLA (1971-74) in the succeeding half-century.

Birthdays:
Bronco Horvath b. 1930
Johnny Rutherford b. 1938
Darryl Strawberry b. 1962
Steve Finley b. 1965
Raul Mondesi b. 1971

Book Rec of the Day 3/11/2007

Pardonable Lies is the third in Winspear’s acclaimed Maisie Dobbs series set in England after the Great War, and it’s her best effort yet. Winspear’s PI, Maisie, is more mature (she’s bobbed her hair at last), and the cases she takes on are more complex than in previous outings. Pardonable Lies takes her back to the battlefields of France, to a mysterious castle, and reveals a web of secrets and danger unlike any other she’s faced. Maisie has come into her own.

PARDONABLE LIES, by Jacqueline Winspear (Henry Holt, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/11/2007

Leaving the cocoon of college ball for the rigors of the NBA is a daunting proposition, as former UConn star and early-entry draftee Charlie Villanueva admitted: "If I could do the college thing forever, I'd do the college thing forever."

Birthdays:
Louise Brough b. 1923
Dock Ellis b. 1945
Bobby Abreu b. 1974
Shawn Springs b. 1975
Elton Brand b. 1979

Book Rec of the Day 3/10/2007

Leon Meed is a bit like Elvis: Though missing, people keep seeing him everywhere. Emmons’s quirky, affecting first novel is a study of the characters Meed interacts with while missing. Jonathan Franzen (The Corrections) is a fan, saying, “Here’s how you know Josh Emmons is the real deal: He’s created a full spectrum of Californian characters who are ludicrous and ill-behaved and lovable in equal measure; he’s a major-league prose writer who has fun in every sentence without ever showing off or hitting a phony note; and you want to keep reading him for the pure pleasure of his company.”

THE LOSS OF LEON MEED, by Josh Emmons (Scribner, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/10/2007

3/10/1968:
Cowboy Bill Flett combines with Eddie Joyal for two goals in six seconds in the first period and scores the deciding goal with 20 seconds left in the game as the Los Angeles Kings nip the New York Rangers, 4-3, at Madison Square Garden. Wearing dazzling gold jerseys with bright purple numerals and piping, the first-year expansion team, stocked largely with prospects and castoffs, is outshot 34-23, but all-time shutouts leader Terry Sawchuk preserves the victory in the closing moments.

Birthdays:
Ara Parseghiam b. 1923
Austin Carr b. 1948
Rod Woodson b. 1965
Shannon Miller b. 1977
Tike Redman b. 1977

Book Rec of the Day 3/9/2007

FOR ARGUMENT’S SAKE

Is it true that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger?* Haidt, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, takes wisdom like this that has been handed down from philosophers and grandmothers, and subjects it to scientific scrutiny. His results? Grandma was right! Here’s why.

THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, by Jonathan Haidt (Basic Books, 2005)

*Yes: Happiness requires challenges. And Haidt offers examples as proof.

Sports Fact of the Day 3/9/2007

3/9/1949:
Montreal goalie Bill Durnan's remarkable shutout streak is broken at Chicago Stadium, where it began over two weeks ago. Gaye Stewart of the Blackhawks scores early in the second period to end a sequence of 309 minutes and 21 seconds of scoreless work turned in by Durnana, a four-time Vezina Trophy winner. His four straight shutouts, against Detroit, Toronto and Boston (twice), will stand for over half a century before being surpassed by Brian Boucher of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2004.

Birthdays:
Jackie Jensen b. 1927
Bert Campaneris b. 1942
Phil Housley b. 1964
Benito Santiago b. 1965
Aaron Boone b. 1973

Book Rec of the Day 3/8/2007

What if Dracula were alive and a family of academics had the means to find him? You’d have a literary thriller that would soar to the top of The New York Times’s bestseller list the moment it was released. Elizabeth Kostova’s Gothic sensation is filled with ancient crumbling documents, Eastern European castles, and long-buried family secrets. It’s vampire lit at its most tantalizing.

THE HISTORIAN, by Elizabeth Kostova (Little, Brown, 2005)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/8/2007

3/8/1992:
At age 49, Ray Floyd wins the Doral Ryder Open golf tournament in Miami, becoming only the second golfer (after Sam Snead) to win tournaments in four different decades. Floyd's first victory in six years (since the 1986 Walt Disney Classic) couldn't come at a better time - his home burned down just a month ago.

Birthdays:
Mendy Rudolph b. 1926
Dick Allen b. 1942
Jim Rice b. 1953
Buck Williams b. 1960
Jason Elam b. 1970

Book Rec of the Day 3/7/2007

FOR READERS OF ALL AGES

You can count on books about math, but you can’t count on them becoming international bestsellers. Enter The Number Devil, which charmed audiences everywhere into caring about numbers. It’s the story of Robert, a 12-year-old who doesn’t give a devil about math. Until the number devil himself starts visiting Robert in his sleep and introducing him in his own fanciful way to math concepts from prime numbers to exponents. “Rare and glorious,” says the Baltimore Sun.

THE NUMBER DEVIL, by Hans Magnus Enzensberger; translated by Michael Henry Heim (1997; Owl Books, 2000)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/7/2007

3/7/1997:
Keith Van Horn hits his second buzzer-beater in as many nights, sending Utah into the championship game of the WAC tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Tonight, Van Horn hits a 10-footer in the lane to nip New Mexico, 72-70. Last night, his tip-in as time expired beat SMU, 59-58. The All-American forward will leave nothing to chance tomorrow, scoring 37 points to lead the Runnin' Utes to the conference title, 89-68 over TCU.

Birthdays:
Franco Harris b. 1950
Lynn Swann b. 1952
Joe Carter b. 1960
Ivan Lendl b. 1960
Jeff Kent b. 1968

Book Rec of the Day 3/6/2007

California was Mexican territory until 1848, when the process of statehood began. The Squatter and the Don is a saga of two families in San Diego around the time of annexation. The Alamars are upper-crust Mexicans; the Darrells have just relocated from the East Coast. Their struggles in love and establishing themselves form the basis of a rich, important novel by one of the first celebrated Latina writers. Required reading for all Californians; a pleasure for all readers.

THE SQUATTER AND THE DON, by María Amparo Ruiz de Burton (1885; Modern Library, 2004)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/6/2007

3/6/1993:
For the second time this season, the Philadelphia 76ers get blown out by 56 points as they lose at Seattle, 149-93. (Earlier this year, they lost at Sacramento, 154-98.) The Sonics go on a 31-2 run in the first half, and the rout is on. Seven Sonics score in double figures, led by Eddie Johnson with 21, and all 12 Seattle players have at least two baskets. It's the 10th straight win for Seattle, while the season can't end quickly enough for the bedraggled 76ers.

Birthdays:
Cookie Rojas b. 1939
Willie Stargell b. 1940
Dick Fosbury b. 1947
Sleepy Floyd b. 1960
Shaquille O'Neal b. 1972

Book Rec of the Day 3/5/2007

MEMOIRS

Marcel Pagnol was a filmmaker and writer living in Provence long before the likes of Peter Mayle discovered it. This book is his masterpiece, an autobiography of his childhood growing up in the hills of this idyllic region. It’s like life itself: sometimes funny, sometimes melancholy, but so real you can almost smell the lavender. Rapturous reading. (And the last paragraph is one of the most heartbreakingly poignant of all time.)

MY FATHER’S GLORY AND MY MOTHER’S CASTLE, by Marcel Pagnol (1957; North Point Press, 1986)

Sports Fact of the Day 3/5/2007

Labour Day (WA Australia)

Getting shots off in the paint against the intimidating wingspan of Wilt Chamberlain could be a daunting proposition, as Fred "Mad Dog" Carter recalls: "It was like shooting through an electric fan."


Birthdays:
Elmer Valo b. 1921
Scott Skiles b. 1964
Michael Irvin b. 1966
Paul Konerko b. 1976
Wally Szczerbiak b. 1977

Monday

Some of you may have noticed I haven't updated in a week. My step-dad, Wayne, passed away Monday and I've been down in the Chicago area since Monday, returning home Sunday night. It was sudden. He had a stroke Friday and seemed to be doing okay, then had a second, more massive stroke Saturday night while still at the hospital. They operated to remove or relieve the pressure on his brain from the blood clot and for about an hour after surgery he was stable and seemed aware, grabbing his wife's hand. After about an hour he started getting massive swelling on his brain and slipped into a coma, they inserted a breathing tube so the family could gather. Unfortunately, as I was driving 650 miles I was unable to see him.

A very emotional time for all of us. He had 8 kids, including 4 step-kids, and 23 grandchildren. He loved life, and I feel truly blessed that I had him in my life for the past 21+ years.

Susan

Why Buffy still slays us

http://www.thestar.com/artsentertainment/article/187953

Why Buffy still slays us TheStar.com - artsentertainment - Why Buffy still slays us

Show was staked years ago, but it's back as a comic book.

ART BY GEORGES JEANTY

Season 8 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer won't be on your TV. Instead, you'll have to head to your comic-book store to catch up. Here she leads junior vampire slayers into action.

March 04, 2007

Malene Arpe
Nikki Stafford

ART BY GEORGES JEANTY

Season 8 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer won't be on your TV. Instead, you'll have to head to your comic-book store to catch up. Here she leads junior vampire slayers into action.

Buffy slayed her first vampire 10 years ago Saturday. The series ended after seven seasons. The WB, which originally aired Joss Whedon's show, ended last year. Why should we still care about a blonde in high heels killing creatures of the night?

Only because Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the best show ever on television, of course. D'uh!

All right, we're fans. Nikki wrote a book, Bite Me!: An Unofficial Guide to the World of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, about it. Malene on a regular basis bores perfect strangers with her nattering about the show.

But there is reason to revisit the topic besides an anniversary. It's still on the minds of millions of other fans. Thoughtful books keep being published analyzing the show, adding to its cultural cachet. Its influence is being felt on TV's best shows (see graphic opposite). And this month, Dark Horse Comics releases the first instalment of the 26-part Whedon-penned "eighth season," The Long Way Home – Part One. It's as good an excuse as any to talk about our favourite subject.

Malene: I was a latecomer to Buffy and didn't catch up until somewhere around the beginning of Season 6 via DVDs and reruns. But I was hooked from the moment I saw Darla attack the boy in the school hallway. What about you? Did you watch from the first episode 10 years ago, and what convinced you Buffy was special?

Nikki: The first episode I saw was "I Robot, You Jane," the low point of Season 1. So I ran screaming from the show, until other people whose taste I admired said, "No, really, you must watch this show." Someone lent me the tapes during the Season 2 April hiatus, and I watched them straight through and was completely in love. For me, the show just clicked because it showed high school as something other than the magical, happy place from other shows. I loved the metaphor that the high school was built on a Hellmouth and it was the language that convinced me this was special. To this day, I can just read favourite lines from the episodes and I'm laughing out loud (or getting weepy). Of course, despite loving many episodes in the first season, it was Season 2 that really made me say, "WOW." And to this day I think it's still my favourite for sheer pain and heartache. It begins with us not liking Buffy very much, then her boyfriend turns evil, and by the end of the season, she's forced to put a sword through his heart ... at the very moment he becomes good again. That scene still slays me.

Malene: I also think Season 2 is wonderful. The grand love story and, with the finale, an understanding that this is not some silly teenage show. However, I must admit I have a weakness for Season 6, a season often vilified for dealing with the everyday instead of the big supernatural bad. But, despite the fumbled magic-as-substance-addiction metaphor, I think it's the season that best conveys what I believe the whole series is about: the possibility of choosing redemption. It also has some of my favourite episodes. The musical, of course, but also the incredibly funny "Tabula Rasa." I've seen it too many times to count, and it still makes me laugh. Besides, Season 6 has all that illicit Spike sex, which is always easy on the eyes, but also speaks to the point that Buffy is simultaneously the most moral and the most immoral show on television. This is not, by the way, something I cleverly came up with, but the thesis of Gregory Stevenson's book Televised Morality: The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Speaking of books, there's a mountain of academic texts on both Buffy and its spinoff, Angel. I think it's safe to say that nothing else on television has inspired this kind of egghead devotion. For a show that on a regular basis featured really bad CGI snakes, robot love slaves and discussions about pancakes, that's pretty good going. What do you think is at the core of this interest?

Nikki: I agree the Buffy scholarship is leagues ahead of that of any other TV show. I think it stems from the fact the show could be seen as an allegory of the human condition. (I know that sounded WAY too deep, but bear with me.) Those who have never watched the show avoid it because of the title. Buffy the Vampire Slayer sounds like it's one notch below Scooby-Doo. But the monsters in the show are metaphorical: sure, Buffy's battling them every night and they are tangible, but they stand for teenage angst, the monsters that adolescents fight every day. The fact she's being pushed into a calling she never asked for is representative of the pressures faced by young people every day. The show dealt with heavy issues: divorce; sibling rivalries; puberty; death; homosexuality; love; loss of love ... the list is endless. Name any kind of emotional pain, this show dealt it out in spades. Each character is representative of a whole group, and a lot of the academic scholarship focuses on facets of the individuals. Or why Buffy's pancakes were shaped differently than Xander's.

Another massive appeal is that the characters changed and developed. Buffy started as a snappy, cocky 16-year-old girl, and ended as a 23-year-old woman who'd seen more death and horrors than 10 people in their lifetimes. Willow was the wallflower who ended up a confident, powerful woman capable of anything. Along the way, both hit rock bottom and had to claw their way back up (Buffy, quite literally). What was your favourite character development?

Malene: As I said, I'm all about the redemption, which, of course, means that I have to pick Spike's arc. He starts out as gleefully evil and ends up willingly sacrificing himself to save the world. Although, to a certain degree, I agree with those who claim Whedon betrayed the whole girl power thing by, after seven years of Buffy kicking ass, having the fate of all mankind end up in the hands of a guy. A very pretty guy, but still.

So, the fact we're talking about this show some four years after it was cancelled speaks both to the endurance of the show and to the fact that maybe we don't get out very much. Do you think that 25 years from now Buffy will still be relevant? Is it an enduring work of art or are we just arguing it is so we can talk about vampires?

Nikki: You're right – Spike was the one sacrificed, but Buffy lived on, and her power has been disseminated among other slayerettes so the gals will continue to save the world. In 25 years, I do think the show will be relevant. Sure, the pop culture references will seem outdated, but the core of the show transcends its time. The original Star Trek is 40 this year, and the outfits, hair, and technology on the ship are about as archaic as they come, but it endures because of the message. Buffy was originally seen as a kids' show, then became critically acclaimed, and is now regarded as one of the best series ever. It would be nice to see the sister show, Angel, get its due as well. While I'll stick up for the girl power quotient in the Buffy finale, I thought Angel's finale far surpassed it.

Malene: I didn't particularly swoon over Angel while he was on Buffy – except when he started smoking and torturing people for sport – but I really grew to like him on his own show. Angel the series was darker from the beginning and I agree the finale was both way better than Buffy's and, in my opinion, one of the best series finales ever. You just sat there stunned and sad and uplifted at the same time.

But it's really never over. Fan fiction and art, fan movies, ongoing plot discussions on televisionwithoutpity.com, shout-outs on other shows, obsession with every move Whedon makes on whedonesque.com and so on and so forth. And, of course, now an eighth season in comic-book form. Written by Whedon! Canon!

I'm just a tiny little bit excited. What about you? Also, what shows since Buffy and Angel have been off the air have filled the void for you?

Nikki: Oh, I am SO excited for the comic book. Anything about Buffy that is sanctioned by Whedon, involving the actual writers of the show ...I'm in heaven.

The thing that's come closest to Buffy, for me, is Lost, which is why I wrote my latest book, Finding Lost, about it. It's a very different show, but the writing, acting, and directing reminds me of Buffy. The two shows are primarily dramas, but have moments of high comedy. For the most part, I've found several shows to replace aspects of Buffy. Veronica Mars for the sassy female lead and fun ensemble cast of helpers; Six Feet Under for the angst; Lost and Heroes for the genre element and ensemble casts; The Office for the laugh-out-loud hilarity. I watch a LOT of television, but nothing has replaced Buffy. Every time I sit down to watch episodes of Buffy, I almost weep, I miss it so much.

And I'm not alone. The fans keep talking about this show, as you say, and one thing that helps keep the show alive is that accessibility of Whedon himself. He is a god among Buffy/Angel/Firefly fans, yet he doesn't sit in an ivory tower. He's always posting over on whedonesque.com, and his posts are classic. He paid attention to the fans and interacted while the shows were on the air, and he's never stopped. I think the fans very much influenced the direction of the show.

Malene: It's hard to say. On one hand, Whedon always appears super-appreciative of fan feedback, but on the other, he famously said (after killing popular character Tara and facing the wrath of a lot of lesbian fans) he wants to give the audience what they need, not what they want. It's his world, or 'verse – to be all fannish – and we just visit. But you're so right about missing the show. I had hopes for Veronica Mars, but the effort to gain ratings has mostly killed its charm. I do love Battlestar Galactica, because it's dark and brutal and full of despair. But you're right again that you need a bunch of shows to replace the one that had it all. So, do you want a bit of a spoiler from the comic book or can you wait for it to come out on Tuesday?

Nikki: While I agree about Joss doing most things on his terms, he also listened to a lot of the fan reactions and took them to heart. There wouldn't have even been a lesbian couple as prominent as theirs if the fans hadn't been asking over and over again why there weren't any major gay characters on the show.

Spike was supposed to die after five episodes, and he lasted right to the end ...and then some. The Initiative was supposed to be all of Season 4, but the fans loathed that whole government plot SO much it was relegated to a minor subplot. Then Riley, the most hated of the Buffy boyfriends, was kicked off the show. But, for the most part, the show was Whedon's, and we just had to join the ride.

As for the comic book, yes, I can't wait. Though, I'm not a huge fan of spoilers, so maybe something small?

Malene: Hmmmm ... Maybe just this then: Buffy and The Immortal? Maybe not exactly what you'd think from watching the last season of Angel ...

---

You can check out Nikki's blog, Nik at Nite, at nikkistafford.blogspot.com.

Buffy Comic Book Preview

http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2007/03/04/buffy-comic-book-preview/

Buffy Comic Book Preview

Posted by Sam on Sunday, 4 Mar 2007

Written by: Michael Hickerson

The first six pages from Dark Horse’s upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic book are available for fans to preview on-line. The linked file is a .pdf and fairly large, so it may take a few minutes to download.

The relaunch of Dark Horse’s Buffy comic follows after the series and is intended as the eighth seaosn of the popular show. The season is being overseen by Buffy creator and all-around genius, Joss Whedon, who has also written the first story arc. The comic book will get fans back in touch with Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles and the rest of the Scooby gang who survived the battle with the First at the end of season seven.

Whedon has hinted of things to come in the comic book, including the eventual apparance of the two vampire loves of Buffy’s life, Spike and Angel. However, Whedon has said he’s holding off on including the two vampires, for now, due to their on-going appearance in the Angel line of comics also published by Dark Horse.

The first issue of the comic book goes on sale March 14 at a comic-store near you.

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One Response to “Buffy Comic Book Preview”

1. Outside Reality Says:
   
   March 4th, 2007 at 9:10 am

I knew I shouldn’t do it but I couldn’t help myself. I blame you for putting the link so blatantly under my nose. I read the first six pages of Buffy’s comic aka season 8 and I’m pulled right back into the verse, dying to know what happens next. I don’t have a real job and am barely making my mortgage payments as is and now I have to buy comic books? I am doomed!