I Think They Are Reproducing When I Am Not Looking

Yesterday I finished the second book in Fandemonium's Stargate Atlantis Legacy series. This is the series (I think it is planned to be six books, but I could totally be making that up) that sets out to provide answers to all of the questions left when Stargate Atlantis finished its five-season run on television. Without going into too much detail, I will say that so far it is completely AWESOME (I want Jo Graham to be involved with every Stargate Atlantis book that Fandemonium puts out going forward, seriously). If you are feeling the forthcoming lack of Stargate goodness, you should really check these books out.

After I finished the book, I put it on the bookshelf and then went to grab the next book in my reading pile. Ahh, my reading pile. After retrieving the next book to read, I went ahead and did something I have been meaning to do for a while now. I tackled the pile and gave it a good reorganizing.

It needed it.

I had been putting the books on a dresser in the bedroom in two vertical stacks (and one messy pile of comic books and graphic novels). These stacks were starting to get perilous though, and frequently I have found myself pushing books closer to the wall so as to prevent toppling. So yesterday I pulled everything off the dresser (then dusted because, um, yeah) and spread it all out and really took a look at what I had.

I sorted the books by priority, as in, which books I really wanted to read and in what order. This is harder than it sounds. For instance, the last four books are last not because I don't want to read them very much but because I will have to read the first three books in that particular series again before I can get to those four. Still, I think I managed a good queue. Then I put them back on the dresser in a much neater (and hopefully safer) fashion. They are now in three horizontal rows, with the ones I am most excited about in the front.

I have four books pre-ordered from Amazon right now (one of which will immediately go to the front of the queue when it gets here, the other three are of middling priority). I am going to try very hard to only purchase any new books in series that I am already reading for the rest of the year (i.e., Stargate books). Plus, every six weeks I get a new Stephen King book because I am totally doing the Stephen King book club thing. Some of these are just hardcover versions of books we already have in paperback and are upgrading, but those that aren't will go to on the pile in the back. I don't think there's any way for me to not continue adding to the pile. Me not buying any new books is not a thing that is going to happen. But hopefully I can stanch the flow until I get some of these knocked out.

Also, I have resolved to do a reorg after I finish a "row" to keep the pile from turning into a leaning tower of scary again. That just seems like a sensible idea.

This whole project has reminded me that I don't read anywhere near as much as I like to anymore. Sadly, I am pretty sure video games take the brunt of the blame for that. I am usually playing during the time that is most ideally suited for me to read. I think when I finish my current game sequence, I may need to take a break from video games again for a while and dive into the books. With the nicer weather coming on hopefully that won't be too difficult, since reading outside will have a decent appeal.

Right now my plan is to read the book I just started (another Stargate book, the last in my pile for the time being and a quick read) and then get to my huge pile of comic books and graphic novels:

My current pile of graphic novels and comic books to tackle.

Once I've survived that, it will be time to start climbing Everest.

The newly reorganized reading pile.

I am actually really excited about that first row! For the curious, here is what it contains:

Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik (part of the Temeraire series)
Blackveil by Kristen Britain (part of the Green Rider series)
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (book one of The Inheritance Trilogy)
The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (book two of The Inheritance Trilogy)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
Star Wars: Knight Errant by John Jackson Miller
Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit by Mercedes Lackey

So, yeah, good stuff all around.

Show and Tell

Tattoos are always an interesting topic, and it is curious to see the kinds of reactions they spur. Those reactions are often surprising, and quite frequently, I have found, pleasantly so. Everyone who is inked has their own reasons for getting their tattoos. For me, as with most people I have found, they are largely personal, though there are, of course, those who get them specifically to show off.

I have been thinking about doing a post on my ink for a while now, and was finally kicked into gear by two recent stories I read online.

Geek Mom had a very interesting blog about the subject, and I absolutely adored the image accompanying the post.

Shortly after I saw that, Neil Gaiman posted a blog about seeing a person in the street bearing a tattoo of a quotation from his Sandman series.

You know, once upon a time, I had never considered getting a tattoo. As a high school student, I was (mostly secretly) lusting over a belly button piercing when one day my mom and little sister came home in a sort of huff. Upon inquiring what was wrong, I learned that they had been out to get matching tattoos, but since my sister was under eighteen, the shop wouldn't ink her. They also apparently refused to believe that my mom was actually her mother. Looking young runs in our family, what can I say. So they didn't get tattoos (that day).

After commiserating a bit with them, a realization then dawned on me. Why hadn't I been invited to the tattoo party? When I asked, they told me they didn't think I would have been interested. Also, looking back, I am sure it was a special bonding thing for the two of them, because they were much closer than I was with either of them at that point. But still, it got me thinking. If they had asked, would I have gone along? I am not sure if I would have or not, but from that point on, the idea of getting a tattoo had been planted in my brain.

What would I get? What kind of image would I permanently want to place on my skin? I felt like it would be something I should definitely think long and hard about. Shortly thereafter, some of my friends tried to get me interested in a game called Magic: The Gathering. You may have heard of it. I bought myself a deck of the cards, and loved looking through them. I read the instruction book several times, and once or twice tried to play, but the game never really caught my interest. I loved looking at the cards though, the drawings were just so fantastical and amazing, and I had never really seen anything like that before. One card in particular caught my eye: the Dragon Whelp. For those of you unfamiliar with the game, this card showed a baby dragon, just hatched, sitting among the shell fragments of his egg. I was a little bit in love with this picture. It was absolutely adorable. It was, I realized, exactly what I wanted for my tattoo. I carried the Dragon Whelp card in my wallet for another three or four years, but that was indeed the first tattoo I ever got.

At the end of my sophomore semester of college, I had finally gotten up the nerve to get it done. I had found a tattoo parlor that had given me a decent price and was clean enough for my liking with an atmosphere that I found comfortable. I gathered up a few friends for moral support, and in I went. I gave the artist my battered and dog-eared copy of the Dragon Whelp card, and when I left the shop, this is what was on my lower right back:

Dragon Whelp (lower right back), inked in 2000.

As far as I was concerned, when I left the tattoo parlor, that was it. I had carried around that picture for years, I was extremely pleased with how it turned out, and a years long quest had been completed. Sure, I had heard people say that tattoos are addictive, but I couldn't imagine why. I mean, it hadn't hurt a lot, but it had hurt. Also, these things take a while to heal, you know, and require maintenance while that happens.

But then, right at the beginning of my senior year of college, a friend of mine was thinking about getting a tattoo of her own. She figured she'd go to the same parlor I had patronized, and asked if I wanted to go with her to look at designs. My then best friend (who is now my husband) teased me that I was totally coming back with a tattoo. I told him not to be ridiculous, I was just serving as moral support. Yet somehow, I left the shop with this beauty:

Guardian Dragons (left shoulder blade), inked in 2001.

This was my first and only impulse tattoo. I really hadn't intended on getting one that day, but as we were looking at the stock art (this is also my only stock art tattoo), this design just called to me. The price was right, the shop was slow, and I was newly twenty-one and still feeling the urge to celebrate. So under the needle I went once more.

My senior year of college was actually a rather tumultuous one, especially the final semester. I graduated quite uncertain of where my future was headed. The plans I had made for myself and worked for over the previous years had all seemed to fall apart. I knew that I had accomplished something great, and knew that unseen opportunities would be waiting down the road, but more than anything I just felt weary and glad to be done. I also felt it was an event that needed to be commemorated, the kind of thing I wanted a permanent reminder of--so I decided to get a third tattoo.

I wanted it serve as a reminder, so for this tattoo I chose a location where I could see it every day, on the inside of my left wrist. It is the top tattoo pictured below.

Death's Ankh (left wrist) inked in 2002, Earth Glyph (left wrist) inked in 2007.

My still then best friend (now husband) had introduced me to the awesomeness of Neil Gaiman by the cunning trick of getting me to read his Sandman graphic novel series. I of course fell in love with them, and the character of Death particularly resonated with me at that time. As an anthropomorphic representation of death itself, she was simultaneously feared, hated, run from, prayed for, and embraced throughout the world. She had a heavy burden to bear, but she bore it all with grace and with a quirky chipper attitude. She had a line in one of the books that to this day is one of my personal inspirational quotes:

"You got what anybody gets, Bernie. You got a lifetime."

It is a simple line, and I suppose to some it may seem a bit dire. But to me, it embraces an eternal truth. No matter what you believe happens to us after we die, I think it is universally agreed upon that while we are living our current life, that is the only life we know. It is, to me, a reminder to make the most of what you have, because this is all you get. 

Gaiman's Death was almost always depicted with two bits of ornament--an ankh necklace, and a little curlicue drawn with eyeliner in the corner of one eye. So for my tattoo inspired by Death (to remind me to live my life to the fullest), I designed an ankh embellished with a curlicue on one of the crossbars. This is probably still my favorite tattoo, by the way. When it healed, some of the ink got a little cloudy (black is so hard to get solid on the first try), and I probably should have gotten it touched up years ago. I haven't though, because I love the cloudiness, I think it adds to what the message of that tattoo is for me--that life is full of uncertainty, and that is okay.

(I know there are two tattoos in that picture, but as I am doing this in order, we'll come back to the second in a bit.)

My first three tattoos were all done at the same place, but on the fourth one I diverged. I had been feeling like I wanted another dragon tattoo (can you tell that I like dragons yet?), and had been watching some of my Lord of the Rings dvds and had noticed the really cool image of Smaug (from The Hobbit) on a map that Frodo pulls out at some point early in the movie. I was trying to find that image, but never did, alas. However, I did find another graphic of Smaug that I really liked and ended up choosing that.

My not-quite-yet hubby and I were sharing a house with a third roommate, and his brother was trying to start his own career as a tattoo artist. I had mentioned I was thinking of getting new ink and showed him the design, and he offered to do it for free if I paid for the ink. The ink kit he wanted only ran me about $25, and after assurances that all would be extremely sterile, I agreed to that route. So I got tattoo number four sitting in my living room watching Angel with two of my best friends. Yes, it was a homemade tattoo gun, and yes, that can be risky, but believe you me, I made sure everything was in proper order before going through with this.

I have to say, I am really happy with how it turned out, too.

Smaug (right ankle) inked in 2004.

And yes, I know, if this is Smaug, he should be red, but you know what, blue and green are my favorite colors, so that's what I went with. I know it is Smaug, I am not worried about other people knowing that as well, they can see it's an awesome dragon.

After this, I went for quite a while before getting more ink. But I was unable to resist the urge forever, and eventually caved in. For our second anniversary, my husband and I took a trip to St. Louis, where I had spent the bulk of my childhood and adolescence. I decided that my "souvenir" from the trip would be a new tattoo. I did some research and found a really cool tattoo parlor, and then I started thinking up a design. I settled on one that would proclaim my geek/nerd status to the world. I chose the point of origin glyph for Earth from the Stargate series. I decided to get it in a sea-green color because I felt that most appropriately proclaimed my love for Stargate Atlantis above all other Stargate series. It is on the same wrist as my ankh and pictured above.

I have to say, the parlor that I got that tattoo at was definitely my favorite out of all of the ink shops I have visited. The atmosphere was just a little bit punk rock in the best way, the people were friendly. Rather than look at me sideways when I showed him my design of choice, the guy applauded my pride in my geek status, and another guy there recognized the symbol. This is probably the biggest conversation starter of any of my tattoos, as well. Being on my wrist, it is highly visible, and people often ask what the symbol means. They usually get more of an answer than they were looking for, but, well, they asked.

(Don't feel too bad for my husband by the way. His "souvenir" from that trip was a vintage Italia electric bass.)

In the summer of 2008, my husband and I suffered a loss that hit me extremely hard. I came very close to falling into a deep depression because of it, and I knew I needed to do something to remind myself that I am actually a happy person, and that there was still a lot in life to be happy about.

Much like with my ankh, I decided to get a tattoo to serve as a reminder, both of the event that had occurred, and as a reminder to look for the happiness that is always within reach if I am willing to stretch out my hand. I looked into my own pool of sure-fire instant pick-me-ups and settled on the character of Gir from the show Invader Zim. Gir makes me go into fits of squee every time I see him, be it onscreen, on a t-shirt, in the store, you name it. He seemed appropriate.

So now he hangs out on my right shoulder, looking out for me, and cheering me up.

Gir (right shoulder) inked in 2008.

Now we come to my final tattoo. This one is also a commemorative piece of ink. I got it last summer on my birthday, my 30th birthday in fact. I feel it is wholly appropriate:

Don't Panic (right wrist) inked in 2010.

The phrase of course comes from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adams' timeless advice never seemed more apt than when I was staring thirty in the face. It took me a while to settle on just the right "large and friendly" letters, but I am very, very happy with how it came out. If you cannot tell, the "O" in don't is a hitchhiker's thumb imposed over a ringed planet, which is a graphic often used to represent the book.

I have definitely come a long way from that day in high school when I first realized I would consider getting a tattoo, to now having seven of them, along with aspirations for more. I can tell you this, over a decade after my first ink, I don't regret a single one. I am not worried about what they will look like when I am old and sagging in unmentionable places, because I will know exactly what they are supposed to be.


Oh, and if you're wondering, I did get my belly button pierced. Spring semester, freshman year. I kept that in for a decade too, until my husband and I started trying for kids.

Reading Recommendation: Good Omens

"It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people." (From Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett)

Neil Gaiman with Good Omens by celebdu on Flickr.

So, cards on the table, this will be a glowing review. I think everyone should read this book. Good Omens is one of the three books that are tied for first place in my list of favorite books. I don't even know how many times I have read this by now, and last spring we purchased the audio version of it for a family trip, so I now have it to listen to as well as read. This is one of those books that I feel needs to be not just read and enjoyed on a personal level, but one that needs to be shared with others. In fact, the reason I just read it again is because I had to buy a new copy, since I pressed my old one on my baby sister, feeling that she needed a good laugh and hoping she would enjoy it.

It's not just that Gaiman and Pratchett are two of my favorite authors already (though I will confess I read this book because of Gaiman and then started reading Pratchett because of this book). Sure, that is a mitigating factor in why I enjoy it so much, but even if I never read a single other thing by either author, I would still keep this book to read over and over and over again as I go through life.

The book sets out to answer a question that I am not sure many of us have ever stopped to ask ourselves. What would happen if the Antichrist was born, and then Heaven and Hell lost him without realizing it for eleven years? Such a question probably should lead to much studious and serious debate, certainly. In the hands of Gaiman and Pratchett, however, it leads to uncontrolled fits of the giggles, a general sense of well-being, and the hope that maybe, just maybe, despite how terrible we know they can be, people aren't really all that bad, after all.

Good Omens centers around an angel and a demon, Aziraphale and Crowley, respectively, who realize the apocalypse is nigh and decide they'd really rather not see that happen. They've been here on Earth, you see, since the beginning of it all, and they've both grown rather fond of the place. Over the last several thousand years they've also gotten quite used to each other, and although they work for different sides, they long ago realized they have a lot more in common with one another than with their respective bosses. So they'd rather not see the world wiped out in a brawl between Heaven and Hell. They have to be careful, of course, so no one in either realm sees what they are doing, but they work out a plan. Aziraphale and Crowley decide that what they will do is provide equal heavenly and demonic influences to the Antichrist as he grows up, so that maybe they will cancel each other out and when the time comes to destroy the world, he won't.

There's only one little problem with their plan.

The boy that the pair (and everyone down in Hell as well) thinks is the Antichrist, christened Warlock at the urging of a Satanic nun, is not actually the "Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan, and Lord of Darkness." He is, in fact, just a boy. There was a bit of a mix-up at the hospital, you see, owing to the presence of a second baby being born at the time.

So the actual Antichrist, a boy named Adam Young, is brought up all on his own without any extra influence from Heaven or Hell. He knows not of his powers, nor of the role he is to play in the end of the world, which is scheduled to happen right around his eleventh birthday. He just grows up like a normal little boy in a lovely little village in England. So, when it is time for the apocalypse to start, well, it all goes a bit awry, doesn't it?

The line quoted above, about humans being fundamentally human is a very important one, I think. For me it completely sums up what this book is actually about. In addition to Aziraphle, Crowley, and Adam, Gaiman and Pratchett treat us to many other wonderful characters. Most of them are human (a few of them are demons), and their reactions and actions throughout the events of the book give a lot of insight into how the authors feel that people tick. I don't really think they are that far off either.

We also get some colorful, though light-handed, commentary on some of the environmental issues plaguing the world today. I am a little saddened about how many of the issues brought up in this book, which was first published in 1990, are still relevant today, more than twenty years later. On the other hand, the bits about rain forests and the leviathan both bare an amusing amount of poetic justice that even today's readers can still appreciate.

Something I have always loved about Pratchett's writing is the fact that he seems to convey a believe that in life, people tend to get what they deserve. That seems to run through Good Omens as well. There is also an underlying vein of speculation about predestination (there I detect more of the hand of Gaiman, I think). Does everything really happen for a reason? How much of it is all down to the ineffable plan, and how much of it is us just bumbling around in the dark?

Perhaps a book about the apocalypse shouldn't be funny. But the humor in this book is something that I feel makes it that much more accessible to wider audiences, and I think that gives us all a better opportunity to think about what we've done. Or haven't. If you are familiar with Gaiman's work, you know that comedy isn't at the forefront of his literary output, but it is there, for those who care to look. Pratchett, on the other hand, seems to deal almost in the slapstick end of the spectrum. But the two combined produce something that most closely resembles the humor achieved by Douglas Adams in his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. I think that may be one of the reasons why I so easily accepted this book into my heart, as I am quite fond of Adams and, more specifically, his understanding of humor.

So. I know the apocalypse is some pretty heavy material. I realize that reading about the actual end of the world can be a turn-off for some people. I realize the religious tones implied in such a work, or the perceived mocking of one's cherished beliefs, can also be a turn-off. But. This book takes all of those topics and deftly puts them together in a way that makes the events funny without making fun of the elements comprising the whole. I think this story is accessible and, more importantly, enjoyable to people of all different creeds, beliefs, and nationalities. As I said before, in the end, this book will probably make you think a little bit, sure. But it will definitely make you laugh.

And who doesn't need a good laugh once in a while?

Huzzah For New Stargate!

If you haven't figured out already, I am a HUGE Stargate fan.  While Stargate Atlantis will always be nearest and dearest to my heart, I truly do enjoy the entire franchise.  I have particularly been enjoying Stargate Universe, which kicks off its second season tonight, picking up right where the crazy season one cliffhanger (of course) finale left off.  Though the survival of most of the characters seems more or less guaranteed, I am still eager to see exactly how that survival is achieved, and what will transpire next.

Gateworld posted a great article last week to help get people pumped up for the new season.  It is a very good read.  Check it out here.

In other news, Tuesday truly is my favorite day of the week.  Largely because it is new DVD day (and new CD and video game and book day), but also because of television related things as well.  While I didn't get any new DVDs today (I have had to cut back substantially since Baby Girl's arrival, but thank goodness for Netflix), I did get my paperback copy of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book.  I am very excited about this one.  Should be a fun read, I hope, and one that Baby Girl will enjoy down the road--it's a Newberry winner so definitely one that will get read to her.  I also got four boxes of tea (2 of Chai, 1 of Earl Grey, and 1 of Ancient Cherry Green Tea) along with a super spiffy made for tea travel mug.  Good times.

And then, if that wasn't enough, Tuesday also means new episodes of The Guild!!  Are you watching this?  You totally should be!  These people are so socially awkward they make me feel like a social butterfly, and that is seriously saying something.  Here's this week's episode, enjoy. 

Hostile Takeovers

Well, it's Jeopardy! time, so I need to skedaddle.  I will leave you with this final piece of joy.

More LOLcats can be found here. 

 Where is this kitty when you need him, huh?  Happy Tuesday folks.