What Is Techno Again?

Mr. Harry Potter, aka Daniel Radcliffe, is looking awesome in this August 2008 issue of Empire (preview a page from the magazine on IESB.net).

HARRY POTTER is back!

There are tons of new photos online (here and here via /Film) from the next Harry Potter movie: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The great HP books by J. K. Rowling might have come to an end, but two more movies will keep on rolling, giving us fans the chance to relive our beloved memories of those books.

Still, I for one starting missing Harry the minute I finished the final novel.

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How cool would that be?

;;smacks forehead;; That makes perfect sense! Sauron’s a Decepticon!

… Gabe fucking rocks.

I <3 that book. Whatever they do, they better not screw it up. According to a friend, they’re splitting the book into two movies, to which I responded, “Uh, but The Hobbit really isn’t a long book. Especially compared to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Why would they even need to make it into two films?”

I was thinking about the current Batman comic storyline, “Batman RIP,” the other day. If you’re not aware of it, the writer, Grant Morrison, could possibly kill Bruce Wayne aka Batman. I can’t see anyone else but Brucey as my beloved Batman. Sure, there’s that cartoon Batman Beyond (which is pretty cool, but Batman: The Animated Series was soo much better), where Bruce is too old to stand up and Terry McGinnis becomes the new Dark Knight—but there is really only one Batman. And that’s the way it should be. Batman is a legend, a symbol; he isn’t like other superheroes, that’s for sure. It only makes sense that there’s one of him. I mean, there’s, like, ten Green Lanterns or something, for Christ’s sake. And there have been six Nightwings. Seriously, Batman’s not replaceable. Anyway, I made this.

That panel is from The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, and it’s actually Superman she’s talking to (long story short, Batman faked his death). Of course, Clark’s damn little hair curl thing had to just be blowing in the wind, so now Grant looks like he has a ponytail or mullet or something.

At any rate, let’s hope Bruce’s death doesn’t become a reality, because I’ll be really pissed. I mean, look how outraged people were when they killed Captain America! But even so, it’s just not cool to kill Batman. No freaking way.

Yeah, “the legend has to live on, which means finding a new Batman,” blah, blah … which I guess is true. As long as you give the real Batman the respect and memory he deserves (which means not friggin’ killing him), then I guess it’s a good thing (especially for Gotham) to carry on the legacy—and doing so might even be the greatest tribute to all he’s done, as well. But it has to be done right.

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… that way I could read this book over and over again like it was the first time through.

(Wow, this has been a long time coming.) Forget About It is yet another great book by the witty and smart Caprice Crane (thanks for lending me this book, Tim!). Awhile back I reviewed her first novel, Stupid and Contagious.

This time around the story is a little longer to get through, as the plot feels … “thicker.” Nonetheless, it’s another fun read. Forget About It takes us into the world of a doormat named Jordan—and like all doormats, her life sucks (you know, with people walking all over her and all). After getting in a minor accident, however, Jordan seizes the opportunity and fakes amnesia.

Pretending to suffer the effects of retrograde amnesia with the help of her best friend Todd, Jordan is able to become the self-confident woman she’s always wanted to be—and has more than a little fun doing it. Her life is finally going the way she wants it to go—that is, until a minor problem regarding her fake amnesia (“Damnesia!”) incident threatens to ruin her flourishing relationship with Mr. Right. On top of that, she actually gets amnesia … but for real this time.

Once again, Crane delivers. Although I’m not sure I liked it as much as Stupid and Contagious, this one was fun, creative, and funny just like Stupid. It’s definitely worth picking up.

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Eek, help! I’m being attacked by free books!

Okay, so that doesn’t exactly make you sympathetic. But seriously, I’m not even really trying anymore, and free books are being shoved upon me through the mail. It’s awesome, but Jesus, this is ridiculous.

Now I’m receiving On a Day Like This by Peter Stamm. I have no idea if I’m going to like this one, but oh well, what do I care? Advanced copies make me feel special. Anywho, here’s a look.

On a day like any other, Andreas changes his life. When a routine doctor’s visit leads to an unexpected prognosis, a great yearning takes hold of him-but who can tell if it is homesickness or wanderlust; a deathwish or a fresh lease on life? Andreas leaves everything behind-sells his Paris apartment, cuts off all social ties, quits his teaching job, and waves good-bye to his days spent idly sitting in cafés-to look for a woman he loved half a lifetime ago. The monotony of days had been keeping him in check; now he hopes for a miracle and for a new beginning.

Andreas’s travels lead him back to the province of his youth, back to his hometown in Switzerland where he returns to familiar streets, where his brother still lives in their childhood home, and where Fabienne, a woman he was obsessed with in his youth, continues to visit the same lake they once swam in together. Andreas, consumed with longing for his lost love and blinded by the uncertainty of his future, is tormented by the question of what might have been if things had happened differently.

On a Day Like This comes out July 8 (hey, that’s when Gotham Knight comes out, whoo!).

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That’s right, I said ridonkulous.

I just received another free book from LibraryThing.com’s Early Reviewer’s program, and this one’s courtesy of Random House.

The Age of Conglomerates: A Novel of the Future by Thomas Nevins (by the way, that’s not what my cover looks like, since it’s just an advanced copy and I guess that’s the way RH does it for their books—or it’s just too early yet) comes out August 19 of this year, so yay for me! That’s much earlier than The Crystal Skull, which by the time I received it had already been released in stores.

Anyway, it’s $11.20 on Amazon.com. Here’s the synopsis …

Now that they are in power, there are no more checks and balances. The Conglomerates, and their mysterious party chairman, have taken over everything and everyone. There is no one left to stop them.

Forty years in the future, in a world where Big Brother runs amok, a powerful political party known as the Conglomerates has emerged, vowing to enforce economic martial law at any cost. Dr. Christine Salter, director of genetic development at a New York medical center, is in charge of “genetic contouring,” the much-in-demand science of producing the ideal child. But Christine is increasingly troubled by odd events, including the strange disappearance of Gabriel Cruz, a co-worker for whom she has a developing affection, and the fact that her latest assignment–making the Conglomerate chairman more youthful through genetic engineering–is an especially dangerous task.

As mandated by the Family Relief Act, Christine’s grandparents are relocated to a government-designed community in the American Southwest, along with other Coots (the official term given to the elderly), who are considered an economic and social burden to family and society. But even in this cold, cruel age, the Conglomerates can only control so much.

In his enthralling debut, Thomas Nevins thrillingly chronicles a brave new world where one family struggles to survive by keeping alive feelings of mercy, loyalty, and love.

Jeez, I better start reading with all these books piling up.

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