the mermaid cafe

Board meeting went well, even though it rained so the rooftop terrace at the venue went unused. Sigh. I went home afterwards and fell into bed at 8:30 pm after eating cookies and milk for dinner. I win at adulting!

Of course, the one night I go to bed without checking my flist, it turned out there was a question about my yuletide nominations. It is a spoiler for Crooked Kingdom but ( spoiler! ) As of this morning, he was approved without my having to say anything, but I did comment anyway to say what I said under the cut.

Now Gotham Academy has to be approved! I'm sure there'll be a question about Damian Wayne there too but he does show up more than once over the course of the comic. Which I guess is as good a lead-in as any to discuss Second Semester:

What I've just finished
Gotham Academy: Second Semester, which I enjoyed, though boy they do not shy away from making the kids selfish, thoughtless and highly teenagery. ( spoilers )

I did like that they have all really gelled into a team - I enjoyed Colton and Pomeline sniping at each other while they work together a lot. And any Maps+Damian team-up is A++ in my book. Best Team! For yuletide, I just want schoolgirl (and boy, though I care less about the boys) supernatural detective shenanigans, with occasional Robin.

Though have we ever gotten an explanation on why/how MacPherson knows Bruce Wayne is Batman?

This morning, I also read the Star Wars Annual #3 which is a nice Han/Leia story with some fun Indiana Jones references and Leia being her usual awesome self. I also liked how it explained Han sticking around with the Rebellion, neatly giving him an excuse he could live with to cover up the real reason.

What I'm reading now
Still A Ruin of Angels. I have to admit, I find "Trust me! / Don't you trust me? / I didn't tell you this hugely important secret because plot reasons it was too dangerous!" to be super irritating in a character so a lot of the plot machinations are making me say, "If Woody had gone to the police, this never would have happened!" "If Ley had just told Zeddig what was up, things might have played out differently!" Like, things still would have gone to hell in a handbasket, but I'd have a lot more sympathy for Ley when they did. Otoh, Izza and Kai and Tara! <333

And speaking of Crooked Kingdom above, yesterday I was thinking about how dropping the Crows kids into the Craft universe would work, since so much of the magic etc. in the latter is based on negotiation and deals, and the deal is the deal, right? Someone who isn't me should write that.

What I'm reading next
Two weeks until the new Magnus Chase comes out, so who knows? I do have a ton of stuff on the iPad, ready to go!

***

I think I'm coming down with a cold? Or possibly it's just allergies and Zyrtec fails at actually being a 24-hour medication (which I already knew, because after four hours around cats, it stops working for me and I start to be unable to breathe) and yet I still feel better than I did earlier this week. It never fails to amaze me what an actual decent night's sleep and some sunlight can accomplish in terms of improving my outlook on life.

While I was having that great night's sleep, I dreamt that the Gilmore Girls reunion was also a Star Wars crossover. I'm not really sure how that worked but somehow Luke Danes was replaced with Ewan McGregor-era Obi-Wan Kenobi. I guess one sarcastic bearded guy is just like another? IDEK. I can't picture Obi-Wan in a backwards baseball cap, though.

Speaking of Star Wars crossovers and meta, I love this post about Anakin Skywalker: When Hufflepuffs Go Bad. Search your feelings! You know it to be true!

And books:

What I've just finished

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Omnibus 3 by John Jackson Miller, which I liked less than the first two volumes, but it was still fun.

The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, #1) by Rick Riordan, which happens post Heroes of Olympus and probably concurrent with the Magnus Chase stuff? Which is all leading into an epic apocalypse-averting crossover between all his series, I think?

Anyway, I didn't like Apollo as a narrator as much as I've liked the other kids, and there wasn't nearly enough Percy Jackson in this one, given that he appeared early on to get my hopes up. For all that these books kind of blur together, it's amazing to me how much I like Percy and how much more vivid a character he is than some of the other kids. But it does check in on a bunch of other characters and ( spoilers )

I also read this month's Darth Vader and ugh, Palpatine continues to be THE WORST. And I guess he kind of has to be so you can feel okay rooting for Vader to get the better of him. Because otherwise, you're rooting for Vader against people who probably don't deserve it and, well, despite the fact that he is, as Oscar Isaac said, "a sad, weird man" (I think the sadness is a given, but the WEIRDNESS is just not talked about often enough and he is just SO FUCKING WEIRD), he's still a terrifying and fascist murder machine you wouldn't ordinarily root for even if you've developed a deep yet unwanted affection for him. And by you I of course mean me. So whoever he's up against has to be worse than him (or it has to be his kids, where you're rooting for them but hoping he doesn't do anything too irrevocable that he'll feel awful about later and...I know. I'm judging me, too), or the whole premise kind of falls apart.

And this month's Gotham Academy was the last in that series for a while (I'm glad it's going to stick around after "rebirth") and Damian and Maps' friendship makes me so happy.

What I'm reading now
Star Wars: Bloodline by Claudia Gray. I just started it this morning on the subway, so I don't have much to say though I was a little sad that in a whole long thing about Bail Organa, Breha barely gets a mention (and not by name), and that so far, even in an aside about Leia not acknowledging her aforementioned bio dad, Padme doesn't get a mention at all. Hopefully that last part changes. IJS. I mean, her only mistake was having terrible taste in men. *hands*

What I'm reading next
I don't know! I discovered that my library card expired but I haven't made it back there to reinstate it - you have to go IN PERSON which I find ridiculous! - so I have no holds coming in or anything. I guess we'll see!

***

Holy crap, you guys, the METS. They scored the winning run last night via strikeout. I don't think I can explain just how weird that is, but it is super, super weird. Jayson Stark at ESPN explains it better: It was only the second time in 111 years of postseason history that any sort of run had scored on a strikeout -- and the first time an actual winning run had scored on a whiff.

(I realize that if you care about baseball and aren't already rooting for the Mets or one of the AL clubs, you're probably rooting for the Cubs - I would be if the Mets had lost to the Dodgers - but just in case you want to jump on the Amazin' bandwagon, here are Ten things you need to know about the Mets to join in the conversation - obviously written before last night's game but still relevant!)

They could win tonight and be in the World Series for the first time since 2000! It would be a sweep, which is totally unexpected! I would be thrilled, because it would mean some days free of baseball to catch up on my tv watching, and also, they have four chances to win one game and I'd prefer they do it quickly rather than let the Cubs back in it for a historic comeback.

Speaking of which, in other news, today is Back to the Future II day. After today, the future of BttF will all be in the past....I feel really old.

In other, other news, I did end up buying a ticket to The Force Awakens yesterday, but not for Thursday or Friday night. I went for Saturday at 12:30 at the place with the reserved seats and recliners. I thought about IMAX but Lincoln Square is always a zoo and I'm getting too old for that.

Lastly, it's Wednesday, which means books!

What I've just finished
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. I really enjoyed how she tied it all together and with a much smaller focus than I expected. I think I don't love these books the way a lot of you do because I don't care that much about Seivarden, but ( spoilers )

Gotham Academy #11. ♥MAPS♥ ( spoilers, though do any of you really care? )

Batman and Robin Eternal #3. This was full of unnecessary exposition - Tim doing a lot of "as you know" dialogue to Jason (I'm pretty sure Jason knows how the Bat computer works, Tim! I mean, maybe not the current iteration of it, but in general) and also Jason being weirdly horndoggy, which is I guess the new 52 characterization of him, but it's the one I like least. Also, also, his helmet now has a faceplate like Iron Man's? Ugh. Just get rid of the damn thing and wear a red hoodie and a red domino! I want to see your pretty face, Jay! Um. ( spoilers )

Anyway, I'm happy to see the kids all working together.

What I'm reading now
I started The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf, which is a post-apocalyptic YA dystopia that seems interesting, but then Aftermath: Star Wars: The Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens or whatever that ridiculous title is (hereinafter referred to as "Aftermath") came fro the library, so I started that. ( spoilers both for the book and for the TFA trailer )

What I'm reading next
As usual, I don't know!

***