Mitchell and Webb: Scooby Doo

Ha ha!

Rainy Day Roundup

It's somewhat miserable out today so I thought I'd put together a list of places I've recently found.

I found this tumblr site called Novel First Sentences through Daily What. Short and Sweet it makes me think of when I first picked up those books, with no idea of what to expect, diving into the story head first.

Dear Inspiration is a great blog full of beautiful photos and quotes. I highly recommend checking this out.

100 Layer Cake is a wedding website so it's a niche blog but the photos of the food and decorations are amazing!

French by Design is an extremely pretty and witty blog.

And I have one more for you. It's a tumblr called Zombies Beyond Zombies
















via Scrap Wish













via soup du primatage














via thisnext.com

Canada Votes 2011

You have one week. Make up your mind then vote. But first, listen to Rick. And if May 2 comes and you don't vote, I don't think we can be friends anymore.

Happy Easter!

Here's another installment of Simon's Cat. This time he's facing off against a bunny. What could go wrong?

Boris Indrikov's Art

i found this artist through Boing Boing. His art is amazing, a mix between Art Nouveau, the Book of Kells and Dr. Seuss. It's gorgeous!

The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Emmuska Orczy

"The Scarlet Pimpernel, Mademoiselle," he said at last, "is the name of a humble English wayside flower; but it is also the name chosen to hide the identity of the best and bravest man in all the world, so that he may better succeed in accomplishing the noble task he has set himself to do."

A band of young British nobles risks their lives to save French nobles from the Reign of Terror and bring them across the channel. The leader of this band is only known as the Scarlet Pimpernel a man of disguise that circulates among the highest circles of British upper crustery. His symbol is the Pimpernel, a small red flower that he leaves as a calling card wherever he goes. He uses his smarts to outwit the french but is dogged by his nemesis Chauvelin, a french spy that is desperate to catch him.

Other characters include Sir Percy Blakeney and his french wife, Marguerite. They don't have the best relationship as he doesn't seem to care what she does while she's infatuated with the Pimpernel. He's dull and dim, she's supposedly the wittiest woman in Europe. But Blakeney can't escape his wife's would-be lover. In fact he's even made up a song about the man.

"We seek him here,
we seek him there,
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in heaven? -
Is he in hell?
That damned, elusive Pimpernel?"

Besides being on the slightly fluffy side of literature I found this book highly enjoyable. The story was intriguing and intelligent. I loved how the Pimpernel fooled the French guards and the comraderie between him and his men. Also, the book had a strangely modern feel. Almost like when I read "War of the Worlds" and was surprised to see how much it felt as if it was taking place during World War II despite being written decades earlier. In terms of diction and dialogue the book was an easy read and to top it off it was written by a real Baroness!

If you read the book and enjoyed it I suggest you check out the 1934 movie adaptation with Merle Oberon and Leslie Howard. It's a little grainy but Leslie does a great job playing off between the foppish Lord and the daring Pimpernel. His dialogue within the Gentleman's Club is hilarious. I've included a clip of Leslie being awesome and upsetting the upcrusties.

Rating:4/5

The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane

“He had burned several times to enlist. Tales of great movements shook the land. They might not be distinctly Homeric, but there seemed to be much glory in them. He had read of marches, sieges, conflicts, and he had longed to see it all. His busy mind had drawn for him large pictures extravagant in color, lurid with breathless deeds.”

Henry Fleming is anxious. He wants to join the Union and fight in the American Civil War. He thinks it'll be a grand adventure and he'll come back a hero. Little does he know what the war has in store for him.

This is honestly one of the most poetic stories about war that I’ve ever read. Even more so than “Fahrenheit 451” which I raved about in an earlier post. The contrast between Crane’s beautifully expressive writing and the horrible scenes he describes is somewhat jarring because even though he’s showing war as destructive and terrifying, he also paints this lyrical picture. He really brought scenes to life with his use of diction. But I've included my favourite passage from the book below.

"Swift pictures of himself, apart, yet in himself, came to him--a blue desperate figure leading lurid charges with one knee forward and a broken blade high--a blue, determined figure standing before a crimson and steel assault getting calmly killed on a high place before the eyes of all."

Crane really communicates the brutality of war, the waiting punctuated by short spurts of violence. I liked how the reader can see how Henry's opinion about the war and his situation change over time, how his experiences come to define his character and attitude. My one complaint, as with "Fahrenheit 451" is that this book is too short by half.

If you want to read a great story that really communicates the thoughts and feelings of the average soldier in the American Civil War, then read this book.

Rating: 5/5

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

“There must be something in books, things we can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don't stay for nothing.”

Guy Montag is a fireman. He burns books for a living, protecting society from the evils of the written page. The only problem is Guy isn’t sure what exactly he’s protecting everyone from. You see, he’s never read any of the books he burns. That is until one night when raids a house he expects to be empty. Instead he finds a woman who refuses to leave despite the threat of fire as Montag prepares to burn the house with its illegal material. As he lights the kerosene he spots a book that’s fallen open to the passage “time has fallen asleep in the afternoon sunshine”. The incident disturbs him. What follows opens his eyes to a world under constant threat of destruction.

This book has become one of my favourites as Bradbury provides an example of what a dystopian world without books would look like. While fast and flashy it lacks inspiration and fragility. There is a lifeless numb feeling to everyone’s lives except those who secret books within their homes. And Bradbury communicates this as only a poet could. His diction is lyrical and though provoking. I actually checked to see if he’d published any poetry and he’s done everything but.

The story itself is somewhat like the Matrix movies in that what Montag has been told to believe is not the truth. We also encounter several other characters such as his wife, Mildred who wants bigger and better gadgets to cement their social status; Clarisse who is a mysterious neighbour who questions the authorities and Captain Beatty, the fire chief and Montag’s boss who eventually grows suspicious of Montag.

My one complaint would be that the book wasn’t longer and closer to the end began to lose the lyrical quality that had drawn me in at the beginning. Despite these issues though it’s still an amazing book and made me want to read more of Bradbury’s work. If you’re looking for a dystopian novel with a great story read this!

Rating: 5/5

A Study in Scarlet - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

“There’s the scarlet threat of murder running through the colorless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it.”

“A Study in Scarlet” was the world’s first introduction to Sherlock Holmes. In fact, it was also the first story where Dr. Watson and Sherlock meet. Watson was injured and has had to retire from military life. Fortunately Sherlock Holmes is looking for someone to share the rent in his flat. Thrown together Sherlock and Watson make an effective team when called to the scene of a murder in a deserted house where a mysterious message “RACHE” is drawn in blood on the wall. This is a case that spans the globe and introduces us to one of the greatest fictional detectives ever created.

I was excited but apprehensive to start this book as it was published so long ago (1887) and my experience with older books has been dry dialogue accompanied by a dry plot. They end up making me want to tear my hair out and I didn’t want the book to ruin my appreciation for Sherlock Holmes. But I actually found the book interesting. I liked seeing his process, how he deduced solutions and then had to explain himself. Some of the references were archaic, interrupting the flow of the plot but this wasn’t a major concern.

My main problem with this story is Part II. Right before Sherlock explains how deduced who the murder was, Part I ends. Part II starts in the desert in Utah with an entirely different cast of characters and there’s Mormons. This completely jarring break brought me right out of the story. I assumed it was a misprint the first time I read it. In fact, I read the opening four times to try and see how the parts connected but alas. This frustration I think would be enough to turn some readers off the book. I don’t think Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had settled into a rhythm yet as Sherlock only appears again near the end to explain how he deduced the identity of the murderer.

This is a difficult introduction to Sherlock Holmes but it lays the groundwork for the friendship and partnership between him and Watson. If you want to start at the beginning of the series I suggest you start here.

Rated: 3/5

As a sidenote the BBC, who honestly have some of the best programming on the planet have produced an updated version of Sherlock Holmes simply called “Sherlock” and honestly the leads couldn’t be more perfect. The first season (or series as they call it across the pond) had three episodes and they’ve already issued a second season. I originally did a post on the new series but I’ve put the trailer here for your viewing pleasure.

The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank

“Who would ever think that so much went on in the soul of a young girl?”

For several years during WWII, the Frank family hid in a secret attic, existing on the kindness of others and an ever diminishing food source. They lived in constant fear and took extreme precautions to avoid being discovered. Anne Frank was all of 13 and a precocious child before going into hiding. Once secluded with her family, the van Daans and Mr. Dussel, she decided to document daily life within the secret annex in a diary. Her writing betrays a maturity beyond her years as she develops a meditative internal life, an inner monologue that is strong, stubborn and independent.

I found this book difficult to finish. It might sound weird but right when Anne starts to spend time with Peter I just wanted to put it down. I knew the ending before I started and in my head I wanted her to remain happy. Sounds silly right? But I’ve never been one to not finish a good book. The closer I got to the end the more nervous I became. It reminded me of something I read when I was a kid. It was called “The Monster at the End of this Book”. It was a Sesame Street book starring Grover. It broke the fourth wall because he spoke to the reader and was scared to reach the end and find the monster. He would construct all sorts of elaborate walls of brick, cement and wood to keep the reader from turning the page, all the while begging them not to finish the book.

I loved seeing Anne's opinions develop over time and how confident she became with her own voice. She can be quite cruel at times towards the other occupants of the attic, revealing an articulate mean streak that pokes at others flaws. I didn’t like to read how she tore other people down but it showed me she’s not a character, she’s a real person with real feelings.

We see her voracious appetite for books, the emergence of young love and a penchant to examine issues you wouldn’t expect to hear from teenagers, like the hatred of Jewish peoples within German occupied territory. She writes truth and never holds back, revealing a complex young woman with dreams beyond the attic. It is this honesty that makes the writing fresh and new, despite the diary being almost 70 years old.

If you want to know how a regular Jewish family lived and suffered through the war or if you want to read about life from the prospective of a strong young woman, read this book.


Rating: 5/5

"The Hobbit" Begins Filming!

I am so excited about this but it's tempered somewhat by Peter mentioning how much we're going to see of him for the next two or three years. Is it really going to take that long to shoot Peter?

Bonanza Part 2 - Death on Sun Mountain

1.02 - Death on Sun Mountain/The Sun Mountain Herd

Guest Stars

Barry Sullivan - Mark Burdette

Karl Swenson - Carl Harris

Leo Gordon - Early Thorne

Bek Nelson - Glory deLacey

Harry Bartell - Chief Winnemucca

Ron Soble - Tukwa

An employee of the Cartwrights named Tukwa, a Paiute, is caught stealing cattle for his people, although he only steals two cows and a calf which makes me think Tukwa is underestimating either the size of the Paiute nation or their hunger

Ben confronts Tukwa and says he gave him a 'good life on the Ponderosa' and wonders why he'd steal. This is when Tukwa's brother, Chief Winnemuca steps in. From here on out I'll be referring to him as Winnie.

Winnie doesn't like the fact they had to steal from their friends the Cartwrights but he had no choice. There are no more deer or Washo antelope for his people to hunt. Then he goes a little off track and says "The Pinyon tree burns in the fires of Sun Mountain". WHAAAAAT!? Sounds like Winnie's been in the sun too long.

Ben decides to join in the craziness and says the Paiute have hunted the Washo since the "long ago dreamtime" and brings his hand across his face and gestures with his hand, as if to emphasize the crazy words coming out of his crazy mouth. Apparently the antelope have been disappearing thanks to the 'diggers of Sun Mountain', otherwise known as miners. (A large amount of silver has been found nearby, bringing an influx of people, including miners to the area. Think grizzled "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" types)

Winnie threatens war between the diggers and Paiutes if things don't change. The young men of his tribe call him a woman as he cannot feed his people. Ben is of course, upset by this news and mentions that he and Winnie have "long walked the earth together". He doesn't like the idea of war and promises that no more antelope will die. Don't make promises you can't keep Ben. You piss off Winnie and you piss off the whole Paiute nation. I do like how Ben is very pro-First Nations here but I don't feel that it rings true. I think it's because this is the first encounter we see between the two and we're supposed to believe they have this long history.

Adam, showing a softer side, lets Tukwa take the cattle to feed his people. Aww.

The family rides into Virginia City (VC) and splits up. Watch for a strange exchange between a Native American and a Chinese man. I don't know what they're arguing about but it looks hilarious.

Bucket of Blood is the best name for a saloon ever! But Joe seems to have forgotten visiting VC last episode though because he asks Hoss if he's ever seen anything like VC. Maybe that fall from the balcony last episode gave him a concussion.

Meanwhile Adam and Ben end up in a mining camp filled with starving miners and their families. They meet one man named Carl Harris from Kentucky who is trying to eke out a life in VC but isn't getting very far as the only food he can get is antelope at $10/lb. Ben is somewhat flabbergasted as he sells cattle in Placerville for $25/head. And so, being the goodly rancher that he is, invites Harris and his miner buddies to the Ponderosa for some cheaper beef.

Now wait just a dadgummed minute. Wasn't Ben ready to kill anyone who trespassed on the ranch last episode? Now he's freely inviting perfect strangers willy nilly onto his property? What is it Ben, are you a crazed patriarch who's violently protective of his land or are you the bleeding heart good samaritan, ready to help out people who kill your neighbours' food supply? I'm going to settle on bipolar because his mood swing between this episode and last are completely contrary.

More meanwhile, Little Joe and Hoss find the store selling antelope meat, surrounded by a large mob, a large shouty mob. PIPE DOWN! I CAN'T HEAR THE ACTORS! The store is run by a man named Mark Burdett and there are very few things you need to know about SmarmyMark Burdett other than he's a total opportunist douche who has set up shop in what looks like the Batcave.

Ben and Adam arrive at the store and Adam warns SmarmyMark he's risking open war with the Paiutes if he keeps killing antelope. SmarmyMark doesn't care two pinches of snuff for that idea because he doesn't think things will go that far. Oh SmarmyMark, this is tv. Of course there'll be a war. How else will Bonanza sell ad space?

Bigmouth Joe then blabs to SmarmyMark that he should sell Ponderosa stock to the miners at a better price to keep them from starving. SmarmyMark offers to pay Ben any price he names for his cattle but Ben doesn't like SmarmyMark and rightly so. SmarmyMark's a jerk and admits he'd continue to gouge the miners no matter what. In fact, he's got a cold storage tunnel full of ice, the only ice in town in fact. SmarmyMark should open up a snow cone kiosk. Then he could gouge the miner's kids too!

Adam accuses Burdett of profiting from the miner's hunger and is then attacked by SmarmyMark's henchman Early Thorne with a cleaver, a CLEAVER! As a henchman his name is ridiculous but awesome because it's so weird. Nonetheless Adam takes him down with a swift karate chop to the shoulder. Flawless victory! Ben warns SmarmyMark to stop slaughtering the wild herds and won't negotiate for beef. When they leave Mark tells Thorne they'll just have to stop Ponderosa cattle from reaching VC.

SmarmyMark then decides he needs a drink after all that hubbub and who wouldn't? He walks into the Bucket of Blood where Glory deLacey, a saloon girl, asks if he'll buy her a drink. In the space of less than three minutes he proceeds to say she's "the only really beautiful thing I've seen in Virginia City". Oiy. Minutes later he decides he doesn't want any other men buying her drinks and I'm pretty sure he actually meant "buying her drinks".

Back at the ranch and by that I really do mean back at the ranch, the Cartwrights are just finishing a deal with Carl and his miner buddies for cattle. Adam says he'll speak to the other ranchers in the area to make sure they don't gouge the miners. Another kind moment from the brooder. Is he going to have a change of character too? Joe on the other hand, isn't sure why they couldn't get more than $20/head for their cattle? My question is, why did Carl and his digger buddies only take 4 cattle? Are they as bad at estimating hunger as Tukwa?

Elsewhere's Early Thorne and his henchmen have dressed up as Paiutes and I think you can guess where this is going. They ambush Carl and leave him wounded with his buddies dead and the cattle scattered. Word gets back to town and SmarmyMark is none too happy. You see, he didn't want to kill anyone, he just wanted them to suffer. Mark, what did you expect to happen? Your henchman is crazy!

Thorne really shouldn't slap his henchmen. It could come back to haunt him later. But wait! The job isn't over. Now that they've turned the miners on the Paiutes they also have to turn the Paiutes on the miners. I can't see this ending well for anyone.

Why is Tukwa working all by himself? Out in the open country you should at least always work in pairs because you know what's going to happen.

The death count in this episode is starting to inch up there. We're up to four and it's only halfway through the episode.

- Winne is pissed and rightly so! And SmarmyMark might be completely 100% guilty but Joe's right, there's no evidence linking him to the murders. That's why he has a nasty henchman with weird name. So he can do all the dirty work.

- Joe proposes going into VC alone and Ben agrees. WHAAAAAT! Last episode Ben had a conniption fit and told every able-bodied man on the ranch to come after him if he didn't return when Joe went off by himself and now Ben does't mind them splitting up? And why can't Hoss or Adam go to town alone? I think they're more capable than a 19 year old.

- I'll tell you why it has to be Joe. If you haven't figured it out yet, he is the punching bag for the bad guys, the damsell in distress. So Joe rides into town and then, in all his wisdom, decides to confront Thorne, because you know, he's the cocky idiot of the Cartwrights. Thorne in turn, beats the ever living tar out of him in front of the whole town. Mark Joe down for one loss. And then Thorne has to rub it in by spreading rumours that the Cartwrights are siding with the Paiutes in this fiasco that's developed. And SmarmyMark intervenes because, well, he's a creep and all and he exploits people for money but hey, he draws the line at killing. So he defends Joe and keeps him from being hanged. Joe in turn automatically adopts the man as a friend. Joe, I swear you're too naive to ever have survived the wild West in real life. HE'S NOT YOUR FRIEND! YOU ARE SO STUPID! Also take note, Joe's not so banged up that he won't flirt with the closest woman who just happens to be Glory. She tends to his wounds while SmarmyMark explains how Tukwa was killed because he was seen by Carl Harris in the party that killed the miners.

- After sending Joe on his merry way to stumble back to the Ponderosa, SmarmyMark decides to take a page out of Thorne's book of abuse and smacks Glory because she was nice to Joe. I think Glory's done with you buddy. You can't smack people around and expect them to let you buy them drinks. Apology not accepted. Glory's a pretty smart girl. She figured out what SmarmyMark was up all by her lonesome. Maybe she and Adam should compare notes and then they could solve this Scooby mystery.

- Finally Joe arrives back home. The rest of the Carwright clan are sitting down to dinner and immediately jump to when they see Joe's black eye. They're like a pack of mother hens. STOP FREAKING OUT! It's a black eye, not head wound. The team, sans Joe, decide to talk to Carl Harris about what he actually saw.

- Uh oh. Glory's gone to the mining camp to speak to Carl Harris about what he saw. Somehow I get the feeling that Glory's the only saloon girl in town because Mrs. Harris knows who she is! Methinks the wife is secretly psychic, one of those pioneer superheroes. Glory is marked for death, that's for sure, mainly because Thorne and SmarmyMark know she went to talk to Harris and are coming after her. But we're finally guranteed a confrontation because both parties are heading straight for the same man.

- I knew it I knew it! They just grabbed Glory! And those kids did nothing but just stand there.

- And Thorn, what did I say about slapping people? It's gonna get you killed. And SmarmyMark is a giant hypocrit (read: HIPPO) as it's apparently alright for him to hit Glory but if Thorn does it, no, no, not acceptable.

- Oh how convenient! The Cartwrights have the worst timing ever. Joe just confirmed my suspicions that Glory's the only saloon girl in town. Harris' wife said Thorn had taken the girl who works in the saloon and Joe automatically says "You mean Glory?" Yes Joe, we understand you have limited experiences with women, such as the ones who occasionally stumble onto the Ponderosa and those who hang out in front of saloon's, it doesn't mean they're the only women in the world.

- We find out Hoss can follow horse tracks apparently over packed earth and that Devil's Gate is the hottest driest strip of desert in the Nevada territory. Dun Dun Dun! If you really wanted to fool people you'd would have called it something fluffy like RandomPioneer'sName's Folly or Rascal Flatts.

- Thorne says he's going to drop Glory off in a shack by Devil's Gate but oops! Turns out Thorne was lying but is that really surprising? We first meet Thorne wielding a meat cleaver. Thorne says he was going to leave Glory to die of thirst. Well of course he was. I would have been really worried if he'd said he was going to give her a puppy and all his money. I mean, that's just sick behaviour.

- And let the gunfight commence! It's here that we learn Joe and Adam are crappy shots. Poor Hoss gets brained. Oh styrofoam, how fake you look when disguised as rocks.

- That's right Adam, right when the man who saved her life dies in front of her, just go ahead a put the moves on her, put your arm around. Geez. At least wait until the man's cold in the ground.

Death on Sun Mountain Summary:

I thought this episode was interesting with various locations and actors. Essentially it's about conflict between many groups over a certain portion of land but it's more complex than linear. The Paiute have lived in the area forever and now have no food source thanks to the miners. But the miners are being gouged by a merchant who is supplying their food at inflated prices because he's looking for a profit. And then there are the ranchers who already have a steady food supply without having to kill wild animals for it and if the miners knew about them, would be making a steady profit from beef sales.

Slapcount: 2

Fights:
Adam vs Thorne = Adam
Joe vs Thorne = Thorne
Hoss vs Thorne = Thorne

Deathtoll: 6

"Bonanza" mentions: 5

Bonanza Summary:

Fight Count
Adam: 3W 1L
Hoss: 1W 1L
Joe: 2L
Ben: 0

Lady Count
Adam: 1
Hoss: 0
Little: Joe 0
Ben: 0

Kiss Count
Adam 1
Hoss 0
Joe 0
Ben 0

Slapcount Total - 4

Next Time: Newcomers