Thor, Volume 1: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron

 

Thor, Volume 1: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved every aspect of this comic, from the concept to the art to the writing. Of particular interest was the sly poking of fun at misogyny and those readers who complained that their "childhood had been ruined", or some such.

Thor, the Goddess of thunder, is kick-ass. Some of the panels are extremely visceral and violent. Covered in blood, bruised and broken, she yet conveys fierceness and resolution.

Even Thor Odinson piqued my interest (and I say this as someone who has never really been interested in his character). His mother, Freyja, is a stalwart, and I felt real loathing for his father, Odin, who still lives by the old-fashioned virtues and insists that no one but his son can wield Mjolnir (was he this vocal when the mantle was worn by a horse-headed alien?).

I can't wait to explore more of this series.

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Spread the word - Part 2

Following on yesterday's post, a bit of background:

It was a bit weird having the photos taken and trying to get the info across to Elizabeth Sejeke, who wrote the piece. There was so much left out. So here's what I said to her before the publication:

"I waited 12 years to get my first tattoo, because I was never satisfied with the imagery I found and couldn't see it on myself for the rest of my life. I'm glad I waited, because now there are so many different styles that are more suitable for what I have in mind for my art.

I got my first tattoo for my 39th birthday, when I was on holiday in Umhlanga. I went to Electric Eye Tattoo in Gateway Mall with a picture of the Grim Squeaker from Terry Pratchett's Discworld. I love the Squeaker, this little Death of Rats, and I found the perfect picture - I'm so besotted with it that I made sure the original artist's signature (Hanie Mohd) was added to the tattoo. Abigail, who did my tattoo, was friendly, accommodating and informative, and really put me at ease during the session.

Most of the rest of my tattoos were done by Ryan "Busta" Boltoon of The Golden Tiki. He started with my sci-fi back piece, which is about a third finished. It will eventually be a collage of my favourite spaceships and space travel devices. These are from some of my favourite series and movies, and all of them represent the family that you make yourself. The saying is not actually "blood is thicker than water" - it's "The blood of the sword is thicker than the water of the womb", and means that your brothers and sisters in war can sometimes form stronger bonds than those with whom you share genes. I love my family, but there are things only your best friends can understand. 

My spaceships are also about the joy of exploration - since I will never be an astronaut, I have these on my skin to remind myself that there is joy and wonder to be found in exploring space and nature, even vicariously.

The Grim Squeaker on my left ankle is joined by The Librarian - also from Discworld - on my right. I love books, I love magic and fantasy, and Terry Pratchett's wizardly orangutan just nails the frustration of being interrupted while reading. 

Busta also tattooed my Krakenlet on my left shoulder and happy spider on my right. These represent my husband and myself - he's the spider, I'm the octopus. We think of these as our spirit animals, and I had them done in a style that's cute and colourful and makes me smile when I look in the mirror. 

Finally, I have another spaceship on my left wrist, tattooed by Jinx of Fallen Heroes, who has since left for Portugal. I designed the original tattoo, using my favourite quote from my favourite series, Firefly - "You can't take the sky from me". Says it all, really. 

So why do I, a 43-year-old woman working for a big corporate, have tattoos? Why do I plan on getting more? Well, I've never been particularly good-looking and I've always had self-esteem issues. But ever since the needles first bit into my skin, I've realised that I'm pretty darn fantastic. I love the way the colours and designs make me feel. I'm more confident with them on my skin, and I'm always looking for chances to show them off. Thankfully it's not an issue at my place of work, but of course they can be covered up quite easily. I have no intention of getting "job-stoppers", because I'm not in the kind of industry that would allow for those. I do admire people who have beautiful tattoos on their hands or neck, but they're not for me. 

I have very specific ideas about the kind of tattoos I want, and as I'm not much into flowers, skulls, birds or butterflies, I'll stick to the things that bring me pleasure. I want swathes of colour and cheer across my skin, so I'm glad that I only got into it much later than my young self wanted. I'm glad I never found that elusive "perfect" wolf picture, because I'd never have had my spaceships if I'd gone with that. It would have been a loss. 

As for what my family says, my mother was shocked at first, but she has grown to like them. I think she'd be more against them if they were skulls or demonic, but she sees how much joy I take in them, and she has never criticised them to me. Not that it matters; the only person whose opinion is important to me in this regard is my husband, and even he would never dream of telling me what to do with my own body. He's quite chuffed to be married to "that tattooed chick", in any event. All he asks is that I don't tattoo my face, neck or hands, or have anything gross or freaky, and I'm perfectly satisfied with that. 

I hope to encourage young people - specifically, young women - that tattoos are not scary or a sign of a bad upbringing. They're an art. And as they're on you for life, respect yourself and the art, and think before you get that first one. Don't just go for the first bit of flash you see just because you feel pressured. Take the time to think about what's important to you, and I don't mean your significant other's name, or the lyrics of that song you like. Research, consult, look around, and be prepared to pay for an artist who is not only good with the tattoo machine (it's not a "tattoo gun"), but will also advise you on what will work and what won't. Listen to them. They've been doing this for years and want you to be happy with your art. It's good for business. And please, don't go for someone cheap. I promise, it's not worth it. "

My friends Lauren and Cashe got their pics taken, too. Pretty cool, no?

Spread the word

My tattoos made it into a national newspaper - today's City Press. Just a tiny piece, but aimed at breaking down the #tattoo taboo. #inkundermyskin #southafricaink
Posted by Sue-Ann Cooper on Sunday, 6 September 2015

Sci-fi/fantasy Pi Day rainbow celebration with tanks!

Want to know about our amazing, stupendous, super-awesome wedding? So do I!

Was there a theme to your wedding? What was the general gist?We love sci-fi, so it was a no-brainer for us to make that the theme of our wedding. And because we love Pi, too, the date of official Pi Day (3.14.15) was serendipitous!

We asked our guests to dress in sci-fi/fantasy/steampunk/comic gear, and prepare themselves for something not quite run-of-the-mill. It worked out just as we envisaged - about half our guests came in costume, including Kratos, God of War, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Alice and the Mad Hatter.

Stargate, Firefly and Robotech played a huge role in all our designs and planning and informed the type of venues we chose. We’re also weapon lovers, so right from the start we knew we wanted to have the ceremony and photographs at the SA Museum of Military History, surrounded by tanks and big guns.

We used rainbow colours to signify our belief in marriage equality, and my sister and parents, who flew up from Cape Town, made rainbow ribbon wands and table runners.

Michael's favourite sci-fi is Babylon 5, so we had Sin Bin make him an Army of Light uniform. I wanted a corset to show off my tattoos, and had always wanted one from Arwen Garmentry. She made me an orange halter-neck with a Serenity spaceship hand-painted in gold, while Sin Bin also made my (brown) skirts (out of curtain material), along with my utility belt - I wanted to be a Browncoat somehow!We also designed our own rings - mine is Stargate and his is Robotech - so we started the sci-fi way before the wedding!Unfortunately we couldn’t get married in front of the mighty G6, but we still had tanks and guns surrounding us. We’d decided that we wanted someone we knew and loved to be our officiant, so to overcome the legalities we had a civil ceremony in the morning (which worked out perfectly as we were officially married at 9:26:53 like Pi Day bosses!). My ex-husband was our henchman and his wife had herself ordained as a Jedi Knight to perform our “real” ceremony. She brought a light-saber in lieu of a wand to perform an Unbreakable Vow!We made sure to do our our photos before the ceremony, which allowed us to greet guests as they arrived, calming our nerves and giving the sensation of a wave of joy as we entered, instead of the nerves a sea of faces would have created.

We had our henchparty walk in to the theme music from Angel, and then we walked in together to the Stargate SG-1 theme and walked out to Robotech.

As we are atheists and were adamant that we wanted no religion, we wrote our entire ceremony and vows, incorporating Klingon vows, the tale of how we met, and as many sci-fi and fantasy references as we could manage! Because Michael was afraid he'd break down if he read his own vows, we had Lauren read them out so that we responded individually or together. A big part of the vows was about how we were making our own family, like the characters on our favourite sci-fi fandoms. 

We got a laugh from the crowd when Michael started off by promising to stick around so he could see how my tattoos looked as I aged, and I promised to help him in his plans of world domination. 

Initially we were going to do a volcano unity ceremony, but in the end we settled for kitchen science and mixed clear vinegar water with purple red cabbage water, which mixed to form a bright red.

Instead of a first kiss, we fist-bumped, which is much more our style!

If you had a reception, what was it like?We held our reception at a sports bar, because the Military Museum wouldn’t allow us to play music after hours (since they’re right next to the zoo). Our wedding planner, my sister and my best friend went all out setting up and making sure everything was perfect - to be honest we had only the vaguest idea of how everything would look so it was a pleasant surprise to walk in to a beautiful set-up that evening.  

My mom and aunt sewed the table runners - my sister bought the fabric in Cape Town based on my requirements of rainbow colours and “something spacey”; I didn’t even see it before it arrived. We originally planned on having 3D-printed spaceships at each table - as the tables were named after our favourite fandoms - but the printer broke down exactly four weeks to the day and we had to scramble for something else. In the end, Michael suggested that we set up photo frames, so the last week was spent printing A4 images and having frames cut from wood, adding glass, and spray-painting them black. We decided to let people take those home and added a photo booth so they could also take home pics of themselves and have a second strip to put into the guest book.As it was Pi Day, it made sense to have pies as part of the meal. Since I'm allergic to wheat, we had wheat-free pies made from coconut flour with our favourite fruit and chocolate fillings, and Pi cutouts. We had a spitbraai (BBQ) for the main meal, and the caterer even provided for our vegan guests and made sure everything was Halaal so our Muslim friends could enjoy it too. 

Oh, and you know how food is often the most talked-about aspect of a wedding, and people complain about how they had to wait too long? Because we did our photos early, no one had to wait, we ate at a reasonable hour, and we provided takeaway boxes for everyone to help us finish off the food, since we abhor waste.

We walked in to the metal version of the Pacific Rim theme, and had nerdy music playing during dinner, while we provided sci-fi movies for the TV screens at the venue.

My sister read Scientific Romance by Tim Pratt as her speech, and I did the only other speech, as we wanted to keep these to a minimum. Our first dance was to the theme song from Firefly, and then everyone came together on the dance floor, where our mothers danced their hearts out!

We had a photo booth with lots of sci-fi and fantasy props, and our guests got to stick the photo strips in our guest book (which Lauren had made by hand) and take home a set for fridge magnets.

What was the most important lesson you learned?
Things happen when least expected, and it's easier to just accept it and move along. At the same time, when you make plans, try to envisage all possibilities and eventualities. We made lists of the type of photos we liked, and passed these on to our photographers. But in the excitement of doing our photos, we completely forgot to have our henchparty with us, so we don’t have any decent pics of them in our professional shots. It also took months to get our venue(s) - we'd wanted to do everything at the Military Museum, but they wouldn't let us play music at the reception, so we had to find an alternative.

Our wedding planner was worth her weight in gold on the day of the wedding. There is no way we would have been able to set up while having a civil ceremony and getting ready before rushing through for photos.

The main thing I found was to trust the people who'd offered to help - they were outstanding. We couldn't have achieved what we did without them.

It was also important to have Michael help me in the planning. I mistakenly said in my speech that it was his idea to do the sci-fi, but it was actually mine, and his support and encouragement made it possible and helped us craft a wedding that was true to us and what we love.

Photographer: Perfect Photographic  http://www.perfectps.co.za/
Corset: Arwen Garmentry https://www.facebook.com/ArwenGarmentry
Skirts, utility belt and Army of Light uniform: Sin Bin http://www.sin-bin.co.za/
Rings: Chris Winspear Jewellery http://www.chriswinspear.co.za/
Wedding planner: Stacy of A Bowtique Touch http://www.abowtiquetouch.co.za/
Pies: Thirteen13 Events https://www.facebook.com/thirteen13events
Caterer: Spitbraai Masters www.spitbraaimasters.co.za
Venue (ceremony): South African Museum of Military History http://www.ditsong.org.za/militaryhistory.htm
Venue (reception): Pirates Sports Club http://piratesclub.co.za/
Photo Booth: Funky Photo Booth www.funkyphotobooth.co.za
Music: Cream Cheese Professional Discos http://www.creamcheese.co.za

Check out the pics and ceremony wording at our wedsite, www.wormholewedding.com!

Modesty Blaise

As part of my research for my tattoo of amazing women, I've been looking for pics of that uber-femme assassin, Modesty Blaise. I've been reading the Modesty Blaise books, written by Peter O'Donnell, since I was but a wee one, and she had a profound influence on me in terms of the concept of simply accepting oneself. Not that I have been able to do so - that's a whole other story - but the fact that Modesty came from pretty bad origins (enslaved as a child, walking across the desert in bare feet over the course of many years, killing her enslaver at a very tender age) gave me a great sense of respect for this woman who lived life on her own terms.

Modesty and her sidekick, Willie Garvin, were closer than any couple in love. The best thinga bout them was, they weren't a couple; they simply ... were. Willie was quite the player, and to be honest, so was Modesty. She didn't give a damn about her bad reputation long before Avril Lavigne sang the song.

Modesty was almost perfect. Almost. She had the money, the means, the abilities; she was a killer second to none. Even when she was on the back foot, she never lost her sense of self. And if it ever all got too much for her, there was only one person who was allowed to see her weak - Willie. They relied on each other for everything.

Again, it's about the concept of making family for yourself. Neither of them had anyone else; they had lots of friends - they were an outgoing pair. But when it came to the person who could be relied on to take a bullet for them, no questions asked, well, the list was very small.

Modesty was fallible, of course. She sometimes got the snot kicked out of her just so she could infiltrate an organisation. But she was hardcore. She would take any kind of humiliation, do whatever was necessary, to get where she needed to be and do what she had to.

She was unflinchingly loyal to her friends. She made her family, not just from Willie, but from a very few, very select people with whom she'd shared experiences that would have killed most people. She never needed to be saved; she was usually the one doing the saving.

Modesty was one of my first childhood heroines. She's withstood the test of time.

I just hope there's never going to be a remade movie about her ... I don't think they could bring her quiet strength, indomitable spirit and plain sexiness to the screen without sexualising her and making her 'vulnerable' for the sake of it.

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this one far more than The Hunger Games, likely because there was far more motivation for Katniss do carry on as she has been doing. We gain more insight into why she doesn't want to get married and have a family, which works powerfully throughout as influencing her reason for wanting to keep Peeta alive.

As Katniss explained more fully her reasoning and motivations, I was drawn closer to her. I felt a kinship with her in her declarations of tomboyishness, lack of interest in 'girlish' pursuits and her avoidance of people.

Suzanne Collins does well in creating an underlying sense of dread throughout the book, particularly in the scenes where one would expect Katniss to feel somewhat more secure. Simple, effective writing.



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The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


While I didn't fall all over myself for this book the way I expected, I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway. Suzanne Collins' writing is solid but not stolid, engaging and drawing one into the story and working well at making one care about the characters.

I must admit I wasn't a huge fan of Katniss in the beginning, as she felt quite abrasive and, yes, selfish - as she admitted even to herself. I think that's when I started warming up to her.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the action throughout the book - it's wonderful to have a female protagonist who really doesn't want to be involved in a relationship - or even think about one - as opposed to someone wanting to ensnare the boy right from the get-go.

Collins' descriptions are sparse but she managed to build a whole, believable world for her characters that drew me in and captured my imagination.



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Getting there

Had my first meeting of 2012 with my tattoo artist, Ryan 'Busta' Bolton at Golden Tiki in Linden. Contrary to what I expected, he isn't creating a specific image from which to work. Rather, he printed out the images I'd sent that he thought conveyed the best sense of motion for each ship,  then suggested a completely different layout for my Stargates (essentially, we will be focusing on only a quarter of each gate, to allow for greater detail in terms of the chevrons on each, rather than a whole, but small, gate with little to no detail).

The gates will now be positioned at the top right and bottom left of my back, with the other ships creating a sort of S between them. And I'm taking out the Whitestar, which was only in there for MadCat's benefit, since I've never watched Babylon 5 in my life - not even one episode.

My first session will be on 11 February ... another month to wait, but hot diggitty damn! I finally have a sense of expectation and not merely longing!

Busta says he'll be doing the full linework first, and then colouring in as we go along ... not quite what I was expecting, as I didn't think it would be possible to do the full outline in one session, but he seems to think it can be done so yay!

I'm actually thinking - now that I know which pics he wants to use - that I can create the image myself via Photoshop. Wonder if it'll work ...

MadCat also spoke to him about his UN-Spacey symbol, and I think it's going to look awesome!

Eeee, now I REALLY have something to be excited about - it's coming! FINALLY!

Dr Who?

A month or so ago we got an HD PVR, because I hardly ever watch TV and MadCat was missing all his shows (mainly on Discovery). The advantage of the PVR is that you can set it to record all sorts of shows and catch up when you have time.

I'd been reading about Dr Who and Torchwood, and thought i should add them to my list. Initially, I started out with Torchwood, and boy, am I glad I did! Captain Jack Harkness is a super-hottie, and cute to boot. It helped that the very first episode of Torchwood that I watched included Spike, and a rather steamy kiss between him and Captain Jack. "Oh, it's that kind of show!" I thought, as I settled in more comfortably.

Seems Captain Jack is what's known as omni-sexual - yep, he'll take on man, woman or alien (as long as said alien is humanoid), as I've been seeing through most of the episodes. Currently he's involved in a relationship with one of his team members, Ianto - don't you know you should never get involved with someone at work, Jack?

After about six eps of Torchwood, I thought it time to start watch Dr Who and see what the fuss is all about. Luckily for me, the PVR had recorded three episodes of a trilogy (and what I suspect was a season finale, though it didn't say so on the write-up). Fortuitously, not only were they three eps that ran consecutively, but they contained Captain Jack! Nice to see a familiar face. then it was back to Torchwood, and hey! Three eps that contained Martha Jones! Someone was watching out for me in TV-viewing heaven, I think.

I don't know what it is that's pulled me into Dr Who. International House of Geek recently wrote a dissection of Dr Who, to try and find out what the attraction could be. I said I think it's that I'm invested in the characters (already!) and I'm also concerned with the fun, fear and adventure. You never know when someone important is going to die! Or leave, actually, as Martha did at the end of the Dr Who trilogy.

I've placed the Dr Who box set on hold at Amazon, all five seasons, because I'm pretty sure it's going to become a set that needs a prominent place in my collection. I'm not a huge Tardis freak - not as yet - but I can see that the day is coming when I'll become a Whovian and start Pinning Tardis pics willy-nilly. Just thinking about the two series makes me happy and feel goofy (and that's even though Torchwood is a lot more adult and serious in many of its themes).

I'm off for the next week and a half, and I can already see that it's going to contain a substantial amount of Torchwood-watching. Sadly, Dr Who is off the air in South Africa at the moment - yet another reason that box set is going to be so important ...

Send me word from L-Space

I'm working on the design for my next tattoo - books are in my DNA - and in my searches for pictures that might capture the idea behind my design, I've been reminded of the beauty of L-Space and paranormal libraries.

L-Space - short for Library-Space - is "the ultimate portrayal of (Terry) Pratchett's concept that the written word has powerful magical properties on the Discworld, and that in large quantities all books warp space and time around them ... it is an extension of the aphorism 'Knowledge is Power'.". (from Wikipedia)

Since my tattoo will, at its core, be a representation of books streaming from L-Space, it brings me great pleasure to think of a huge, intra-dimensional library from which words are plucked to form stories in this and other worlds. 

I'm glad to note that I'm not the only one who has been fascinated by this concept. Writing At High Altitude has given her opinion on the potential of paranormal libraries, and she pointed me in the direction of Brenda Drake's book series Library Jumpers.

I'm intrigued by the concept of a virtual library, accessible wherever you may be, in time, space or thought. How amazing it would be to wish for a book, hold out your hand and draw it from another dimension. Imagine what could be out there, waiting for your fingertips to alight on it!

And then, of course, there's the chance to be a librarian ... 

The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

 

The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of my favourite books in the Discworld setting, Maurice and his Amazing Educated Rodents showcases the best that Pratchett has to offer. By turns hilarious, frightening and thought-provoking, it skilfully meshes laugh-out-loud moments with scenes that make one sob despite oneself. The rodents in question are a motley crew, characterised with Pratchett's trademark offbeat, yet somehow humanising method. Of course these rats are anthropomorphised - like the rats of N.I.M.H., they have superior brain power and a range of quirks - but their interaction with the cat, Maurice, is the true delight of the story.

What I particularly enjoy about Terry Pratchett's books for kids is that he doesn't shy away from giving them not just a fun tale, but underlies it with subtle questions designed to push them into serious thought. Not merely a fantasy about talking animals, the book aims to stimulate thinking about the relationship of humanity to the rest of the animal kingdom.

And, of course, it's a rollicking good read!

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Pixar Wars

This is just the cutest! I'm particularly taken with the crazy-eyed Death Star.



Found at Geek Tyrant