Job Prospects - Also, Space Opera In Your Pants

Good Day, Blogger world!  :)

Another week begins!  Or rather, my 5-day weekend begins, as I just finished my 2 day work week.  The job search continues, though I am hoping hard that one of my recent applications does come to fruition.  It is that rare gem that is actually in the field I studied.  This wouldn't just be a way of paying my mortgage - it could be a solid stepping-stone in my career.  I've sent the application in already, so now all I can do is wait and think of ways to prepare for the potential interview - and possibly even success.  It's easy to forget to prepare for success.  It requires cautious optimism, and more than a little bit of foresight.  I shall attempt a vision of the future, and prepare as necessary.

In other news, I just got back from vacation, which, among other things, means I've finished reading a book!  Not something that happens as often as it used to, and I'm working on changing that.  I bought this book of short stories quite a few years ago, and I've been making my way through it very slowly.  All the stories in this book are sci-fi/fantasy, and they are all in some way about music.  It seemed like a really interesting premise - not to mention a shoe-in for the suffix "In Your Pants".  If you don't know what I'm talking bout, this video should give you the necessary background (applicable information beginning at 2:18):



Honestly, I may have bought this book before Vlogbrothers had even gotten started.  Just to give you an idea of how long I've had it, I just noticed I'd been using a Kleenex coupon that expired on the last day of 2007 as a bookmark.

The book was put together by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, and contains 20 stories in total.  They make a varied and interesting collection, each story by a different author, with as diverse a range of settings and characters as one could ask.  I love music, as do a lot of people of course.  It's possible that a story inspired by music has that touch of magic to it.  I know this book had more than a few gems that I'll remember fondly.  A good read over all - bite-sized pieces of diverse imaginations, each interpreting the theme in their own way.

I think that's all for now.  Thanks for reading!  Later Blogger world!  :)

Unexpectedly Free Day - Also, Elfquest!

Good day, Blogger world!

It's a grey, humid day when I thought I'd be venturing out solely for the purposes of dance class.  Then my teacher sent me a message saying class was cancelled this week - so I might just stay at home being sweaty and unshowered today, at least until my dye projects dry.  I've been making costumes, and this has required messing around with a dye, which means my washroom is being taken up by a big drying rack right now.  In the meantime...

I would like to take this opportunity to write another book review post - though really it's about a graphic novel series rather than one book.  Some of you may have heard of Elfquest, the sci-fi/fantasy graphic novel series that began in the 70s, if I'm not mistaken.  I stumbled across it years ago.  Haven't seen anything quite like it before or since.  It can be called sci-fi because there is a certain amount of 'science' within the magic of it all.  It is an adult graphic novel, though a teenage audience could (and I have no doubt does) appreciate it as well.  I would describe it as an adult fairy tale, even the later sci-fi extensions of the story.  The cartooning style is definitely cartoonish, and how this manages to go hand in hand with the adult content of the stories (which is definitely not hard-core, but is there) is something I find to be unique, even though I'm not really sure why I find it so unusual.  New additions to the series have been added in recent years by the original creators, to add to the many different formats and incarnations this series has already had.  There's been a collection of chapters books, various creators interpreting and adding to the series, different artists, and a couple of attempts at a movie (one of which is ongoing, if I'm not mistaken).  I'd be holding out on you if I didn't say you can find the mother load of the Elfquest series online, right here:  

Elfquest Social Network

Of course there are some things you can't find there yet (as far as I've found), such as the chapter books.  I own and have read them all, and it was a good read each time.  One of my favorite parts of the series is the story at the beginning of book 2 ("Wolfsong Volume 2, The Blood of Ten Chiefs), titled "Colours", translated in graphic novel form illustrated with watercolour.  There is also an obscure bit, the 9th installment in the New Blood group of stories, that I feel really gets to the core of the philosophy behind the whole series, the whole story.  This is the part that amazes me about the series.  It starts to feel like a mythology more than a graphic novel series.  No doubt it takes roots in the imagination.  The mark of a truly excellent creative work! 

Alright, I think I've geeked out enough for one day.  I just wanted to share that with you, as it is, well and truly, my favorite graphic novel series of all time.  

Later Blogger world!  

Book Review: Lucasfilm's Alien Chronicles

Good Day Blogger world!

Good news on the job front: Not only do I have an interview for 3 potential jobs this week, but my People Answers answers just came in handy for a completely different job application than the one I was doing when I originally signed up. It's like when you're playing a video game and you get enough stars to unlock other worlds. Does this mean I've leveled up :B? I'm put in mind of the part of Neil Gammon's commencement speech (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you can find a link to it in the blog entry before this) where he described having become someone who answers emails professionally and writes as a hobby. It occurs to me that I am in very real danger of becoming a professional job seeker, and I don't yet have a way to stop it that doesn't involved self-sabotage. That said, I scored a few commissions this week too, so there is hope.

In the meantime, I'd like to make this a book review post.

The book(s) for today will be a work in fiction, departing from the trend set by my first 2 book reviews. I have always been a fan of science fiction, and at no time more so than when I was in high school. One of the books sets I remember best was the trilogy of Lucasfilm's Alien Chronicles, written by Deborah Chester. This is not, as far as I can tell, related in any way to Star Wars. Are there parallels? Absolutely. A fight for freedom from an oppressive regime, many and various fictional races of sentient creatures, and no Earth anywhere in the story, to name a few. It is a 3 part science fiction epic like many, and thoroughly enjoyable as such. But there are some interesting differences, which I'd like to explore.

Difference #1: No human characters. It's actually kind of easy to forget this while reading the book, because the characters are easy to relate to on a human level. At the same time, the specific characteristics of each species, and the ways their lives and cultures are built around them, are well thought-out. It's a colourful world, the like of which Lucasfilm is known for creating.

Difference #2: Female characters for protagonist AND antagonist. Statistically, I think it's safe to say the incidences of this happening in science fiction, and possibly in fiction as a whole, are not high. What is also interesting is that it feels less unusual that these two main characters are female because of the fact that they are not human. This is not to say there are no good, complex male characters. Our female antagonist finds a loyal and steadfast friend in a male co-protagonist, whose personal story is as compelling as hers. In case you're wondering if there is romance here, the short answer is no. This could be because they are of different species, and while there is more than enough ground for the possibility of inter-species relationships to be explored, no such romances actually form in the story.

These are the major differences. They are refreshing enough that I felt I was reading something special and unique, though I still got to go on the joy ride of reading a sci-fi epic. I really must emphasize that these are books for adults. There is violence and cruelty in this story, particularly in book 2. That said, I think this would fit well into the reading repertoire of many a Star Wars fan, and many sci-fi readers in general.

Thanks for reading, Blogger world :)!
 

February 24th, 2013:  Aang and the Beach of Time by ~Eseopia on deviantART