Return, ye children of men

"Thou turnest man to destruction;
and sayest,
Return, ye children of men."
- Psalm 90(89):3 of the KJV

Tonight the little city of Burlington was coated in a fresh layer of snow. Fittingly, I finally saw Children of Men and now it is sticking to my ribs like the sludge that is covering the roads. I am not even sure how to put my reactions to this movie into words.

I couldn't formulate thoughts at our post-film greasy Denny's meal, or while driving home through the thick layers of flakes, and not now sitting here trying to blog about it. Words escape me. They seem flimsy and inadequate.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about hope. And how, as I age, I am beginning to lose hope. This is a terrible thing. It could be caused by the sad state of the world today; this long, dark winter; my destined to be depressed genetic DNA coding; the gut wrenching play I am in; my biological clock echoing in my head; or maybe a combination of all these things. No matter the causes, it is a sad state of affairs.

And as Theo and Kee walk slowly past the glum faces of the lost and the forgotten ones, the hard and the cold, the blood thirsty and the violent, and joy sprouts fresh as they fall to their knees and grab at the infant's tiny foot - that is when I felt it too, I felt a surge of hope.

You can't buy hope. It can't be distilled, marketed, packaged and put on a shelf at the local mall. They try but it never lasts long. Hope is elusive and impossible to buy or sell.

And why is it that at our lowest ebb, in our darkest moments, we manage to go forward? Such as in this play I am rehearsing, The Trojan Women. When all the men have been killed and our city sacked and we are awaiting our various awful destiny's - slavery, death, rape.

Why is it that in these black moments, it is possible to go on? To place one foot after another and move forward? And why is it that women are often the ones leading this call towards hope? Towards life? Away from death and destruction?

Mourns Hecuba after she loses her daughter:

O my daughter, O Cassandra! whom gods have summoned to their frenzied train, how cruel the lot that ends thy virgin days! And thou, Polyxena! my child of sorrow, where, oh! where art thou? None of all the many sons and daughters have I born comes to aid a wretched mother.

Why then raise me up? What hope is left us? Guide me, who erst trod so daintily the streets of Troy, but now am but a slave, to a bed upon the ground, nigh some rocky ridge, that thence I may cast me down and perish, after I have wasted my body with weeping. Of all the prosperous crowd, count none a happy man before he die.

Children of Men wove a spell of hope around me. It builds on the terrifying futuristic visions of Brazil, Mad Max and Blade Runner and takes them to the next level. It is the future I have spent my whole life waiting for and dreading. But in the midst of it all, there is a sparkle, a glimmer of that elusive heart warming something, that whiff of hope.

And without it, humanity is truly doomed. Without hope, we are not even real anymore. Go see this movie and for a nibble, watch this montage - WARNING: contains spoilers:



WES: 90:3 Turnedst - But as for man, his case is far otherwise, though he was made by thee happy. and immortal, yet for his sin thou didst make him mortal and miserable. Saidst - Didst pronounce that sad sentence, return, O men, to the dust out of which ye were taken,

Gen 3:19.MHC: 90:1-6 It is supposed that this psalm refers to the sentence passed on Israel in the wilderness, Nu 14. The favour and protection of God are the only sure rest and comfort of the soul in this evil world. Christ Jesus is the refuge and dwelling-place to which we may repair. We are dying creatures, all our comforts in the world are dying comforts, but God is an ever-living God, and believers find him so. When God, by sickness, or other afflictions, turns men to destruction, he thereby calls men to return unto him to repent of their sins, and live a new life. A thousand years are nothing to God's eternity: between a minute and a million of years there is some proportion; between time and eternity there is none. All the events of a thousand years, whether past or to come, are more present to the Eternal Mind, than what was done in the last hour is to us. And in the resurrection, the body and soul shall both return and be united again. Time passes unobserved by us, as with men asleep; and when it is past, it is as nothing. It is a short and quickly-passing life, as the waters of a flood. Man does but flourish as the grass, which, when the winter of old age comes, will wither; but he may be mown down by disease or disaster.

Sarah Silverman is My Hero

Jesus Christ, I love this woman. Now I have three hot dates for my post-yoga Thursday nights when I am too tired and sweaty to do much more than eat and watch the boob tube: Tina Fey, Michael Scott and Sarah Silverman.

Zoinks! Thanks TV gods! I guess I will give the YouTube a break and mute your advertisements while clacking away on my laptop and waiting for my next TV loser/hottie to show up and make me laugh.

Sarah Silverman has made a TV show and it is all about what a stunted loser she is. How can you not love that? She lives with her sister (gee, I wonder why that appeals to me?) who happens to be played charmingly by, her sister. Awww...
Sarah is rude, rash and says/sings what is on her mind without second guessing herself. She is arrogant, smelly, annoying, a pain in the ass, selfish, racist, a shitty driver and I think I love her! She sings when she pleases, insults people randomly and taps into her inner child with a jackhammer. Seriously, this woman is my new hero.

American TV is slowly becoming infected with alternative lifestyles and non-nuclear families such as the brothers living together in 2.5 Men and the bro + sister + kid making up a modern family in The New Christine. It is nice to know that my odd family is not the only bunch of deadbeats/weirdos out there.

Apparently, the old familiar paradigm of mommy, daddy, baby and a drinking habit is getting a make-over. It is about fucking time. Does that mean I feel like less of a freak? Hell no! But freaks love company! And Sarah is a great neighbor.

We love you Sarah! Never stop singing your dirty, irreverent songs for us!



To Sarah and her sister: "It is kinda cool that you two have a standing date together every week. Most girls your age would have moved on by now and had relationships and kids."

Says sassy Sarah, "Oh no, cookie party IS our relationships and kids!"

Sassy-n-Sexy Spielpalast

Late tonight I threw together this promo vid for local darlings Spielpalast Cabaret. Hope to make far better ones once I have more material so they can take their rightful place as YouTube Superstars! This song by Mae West slays me everytime with all her sultry "Oooohs" and "Ahhhs":

A Guy What Takes His Time Lyrics

(Ralph Rainger)

A guy what takes his time
I'll go for any time
I'm a fast movin' gal I'd like them slow
Got no use for fancy drivin' while I see a guy arrivin' in low
I'd be satisfied, electrified I know a guy what takes his time.

A hurry up affair, I always give the air,
Wouldn't give any rushin' gent a smile
I could go for any singer who would condescend to linger awhile
An alibi would be supplied to have a guy what takes his time. Ohhh

A guy what takes his time
I'll go for any time
A hasty jab really spoils a master's touch
I don't like a big commotion, I'm a demon for slow motion or such
Why should I deny that I'm allowed to know a guy what takes his time.

There isn't any fun
In getting something done
If your rushed when you have to make the grade
I can spot an amateur, appreciate a connesseur in his trade
Who'd qualify, no alibi to be the guy what takes his time.

Vermont's Fine Toons

Last Friday night, the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe was bustling with activity as many fashionable folk in black streamed into its doors for a much anticipated gallery opening. Fine Toon: The Art of VT Cartoonists is an excellent exhibit with pieces by 13 artists with VT ties.

The show’s central connection, of course, is Vermont: The featured artists live here either full- or part-time, or they were born here and moved elsewhere. Most of them are in the first camp — a remarkable fact, given the state’s diminutive size. Then again, the number of artists in Vermont may soon surpass that of cows, if it hasn’t already. Seven Days, Pamela Polston

I like those odds. Although artists provide a very different sort of milk, no less nourishing as Friday night proved.

There were gigantic strawberries dipped in warm chocolate, assorted gourmet cheese platters and a hip art crowd buzzing around the artwork like honey bees. The gallery has a lot to celebrate with a new Executive Director, Nathan Suter, and a new Exhibitions Director, Idoline Duke. Without a doubt, the Helen Day was the happening place to be Friday night!

I shot my very first VT Vlog at this fine event and was lucky enough to talk to James Kochalka - Vermont-based, internationally famous cartoonist/rock superstar!

I was nervous but he was very nice and is not really an elf after all - unless his ears are retractable!? James told us about a brain parasite in humans which is contracted from cats and makes us neurotic. But don't bother throwing out your cat, once you got the parasite, it is there for life. I have yet to research this news but that does explain a lot.

Plus, it turns out that the famous Spandy, who is featured in many of Kochalka's cartoons, is really not all that special after all - perhaps that is what makes her so special?! I am a card-carrying member of the Spandy Fan Club.

I am in the process of editing this piece and establishing a concrete and simple format for the VT Vlogs (short-n-sweet). My goal is to focus on local VT artists and musicians and bring more attention to all the hip and hot VT art happenings. Plus, it gives me an excuse to meet cool artists and that is always good.

In the meantime, here is a brilliant James Kochalka Superstar! music video, "Wash Your Ass" which was shot by local playwright Seth Jarvis. This video needs to be a PSA, for boys and girls the world over who are getting ready to get busy. Better still, it is homegrown and for this, I am proud:

Comics and a Mix Tape

Sometimes the universe is kind to you and, just when you need it the most, along comes an unexpected pick me up in your PO box. What more could a girl ask for? Comics and a mix tape are like chocolates and flowers to some of us.


Nathan Rice makes comics. They are dark and raw and ugly and honest. They cover all of the good stuff like sex, politics, angst, alcoholism, depression and body fluids. Nathan has tall spiky Edward Scissorhands hair and an attitude that takes no prisoners.


And better still, Nathan made me a mix tape. Hurrah! And it's a good one too! It's been years since I got a proper mix tape and this one made my day. It has all the good fixings with drawings, hip hop and an eclectic set list. Nick Hornby would be proud.


And why am I so lucky? 'Cause Nathan saw my Mix Tape vlog on YouTube and thought I sounded bitter, so he made me a tape! Hurrah for bitterness and YouTube!

You can read Nathan's comics at The Daily Compulsion and let's not forget about visiting him on MySpace. Ah, the wonders of technology. Thanks Nathan and keep on pouring that pain, booze and ink into your kick ass comics!

Lev's Lovely Loneliness

Years ago, I worked with this peculiar guy Lev at a dot com animation company in San Francisco called Protozoa that went out of business not too long after I left it. I was getting paid $15/hr to do not much of anything. It was the dot com boom and I was loving it.

I spent my days talking to the writers who were quirky and talented. I twiddled my thumbs and sometimes I surfed the internet. There was a lot of money flowing into the company at that time and they kept hiring more people. More people to twiddle their thumbs with me.

Their talent pool was pretty impressive. Artists like Lev and his brother Emre Yilmaz (gotta love a brother team), spoken word rockstar Bucky Sinister, filmmaker Molly Lynch (who got me the gig, thanks Molly!), Renaissance man Buzz Hays (he produced Swimming with Sharks!) and musician and writer Beth Lisick. The place was hopping with talent but the funny thing was, during the period of time that I worked there, we rarely turned out much product.

Located in an old mayonnaise factory, DotComix has three motion-capture stages, a blue screen set-up, plus a portable performance animation stage for producing certain live events out-of-house. They are in the process now of retrofitting their space to accommodate the brisk expansion of programming and requisite creative personnel. Hayes is keen on ramping up to an even greater series output, confident in relying on the fast turnaround of DotComix’ production style. - Lee Dannacher

Dotcomix did have a super cool motion capture suit and they pioneered Alive!, motion capture software that could bring animation to life fast and cheap. This silly looking suit was the company's main draw and what they used to animate hundreds of cartoons such as Sister Randy and Duke 2000. One afternoon, actor Michael Keaton, AKA Superman and Mr.Mom, came in to the shop to try on the suit. I recall his lips being even puffier in person than on the screen.

In those halcyon days, there were lots of parties on the Dotcomix rooftop with free flowing booze and barbequed meat. We car pooled to the city from the East Bay and sometimes Beth's roomate, the uber hip rock star Miles of Beulah would join us. Oh how I hated being stuck in a car with so much coolness oozing out.

I only worked at Protozoa for a couple of months but I enjoyed every damn lazy minute of it. I wish the salad days could have lasted longer but I agreed to work a gig at a non-profit down the street in So Mo. Sorry to hear the company went out of business but all its talents are doing fine elsewhere.

Wait a minute, where was I? Traipsing down some dusty corridor of water-colored memories yet again? Oh that's right, I started remembering this job and these artists 'cause I recently rediscovered Lev's work on MySpace (also known as, My New Addiction).

Lev's comics are sharp, witty, painful, and honest. Quite refreshing. And Lev can sing some bad ass karaoke so watch the hell out. He also makes brilliant movies that have played all over the world. And let's not forget his Eraserhead-hair, his crafty t-shirt advertising schemes and his supreme self-love mixed with excruciating self-loathing (lovely combo).

Man, I forgot how much I love this guy. I am gonna have to indulge in a mini-Lev film marathon this weekend. To see more of Lev's work, check out his website and do not miss the best piece of fan mail ever received. Below is the reason why girls all over the world love Lev:

And for the fellows, some HOT HOT cartoon SEX:

Ugly and Have No Friends

My British pal "Marti Webb" (whose name is disguised to protect his true and most fabulous identity) gave me a heads up about an old British comedy show called Gimme Gimme Gimme.

As the hours tick by until Peep Show Season 4 is released (faster, faster, I miss Mark and Jez OH so much!), now I have another outlet for rank British humour. Says Miss Marti Webb about the show:

Since you are into British comedy, WATCH/DOWNLOAD/WHATEVER gimme gimme gimme, it is a disgusting will & grace like comedy set in london. a grotesque, obese red-head slut who can't read or write but thinks she is gorgeous who shares a flat with a struggling, over-the-top-gay, desperate-singleton wannabe-actor (ring any bells? ;-)). it is prepostorous, hilarious, irreverant, and i LOVE it. you-tube it.. here's a clip to get ya started

Two seconds later I was watching every YT clip I could get my hands on. Oh YouTube, how I love thee. And Brits simply do NOT know how good they have it! A character like Linda La Hughes would never ever ever in a million years make it on to an American sitcom. And if she did, they would straighten her hair, give her a new face and make her dialogue so bland that you wouldn't even recognize her.

Squeezed into a clingfilm-tight micro-skirt and sporting a couple of acres of heaving cleavage, Lynda La Hughes is the sort of woman who gives sluts a bad name. She is a noisy, selfish, man-hungry Gorgon convinced that she is God's gift to mankind, someone who attributes her lack of sexual partners to her belief that most of the men she meets are 'raving queens'. In her eyes, this reasoning is strengthened by the fact that her flatmate is one such 'bum-bandit'.

He is Tom Farrell, a gay actor, always 'resting', whose selfishness and ego almost rivals that of Lynda. Tom believes he is God's gift to acting and attributes his lack of success to the blinkered stupidity of casting directors. The pair are thus ideally suited - they can bemoan their lot and snipe at each other in screeching arguments, where each venom-filled insult is aimed unfairly and squarely below the belt, yet where few of them hurt. BBC

Why is it that truly edgy comedy has to come from across the pond? Are we incapable of saucy, naughty, refreshing bits? Does our uptight Puritan upbringing keep us forever trying to say the "right" thing, do the "right" thing and look the "right" way? And if we slip up and expose something honest, ugly and rank, what will people think of us? Horrors?

Like me, Linda dresses poorly, has unruly hair, is a bit of a deluded slag and should probably have her mouth sewn shut. As she says, "I've got the morals of a knocker." I do not really know what that means but knowing Linda, it can't be good.

I've seen Kathy Burke on various British shows such as Ab Fab and perhaps even in the film Sid and Nancy. She is one of those comedians who would just not make it in America. Yes, we have our occasional Rosannes but they are rare. Here are some of Linda's gems (speaking of which, she reminds me of Leslie Hall of Gem Sweater fame):

Tom: Oh, what do you know about love?
Linda La Hughes: I know it's in the dictionary between labia and lust.

Miss Twitch: I love your dress sense, Linda.
Linda La Hughes: Think like a slut. Dress like a slut.

Linda La Hughes: I've had my best sex in the dark. Well blokes prefer it that way, don't they?

Linda La Hughes: I wouldn't mind him putting his hand up my skirt and moving my lips, if you know what I mean!

Linda yells at the telly, “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? What a rip off! Phone a friend? What if you haven’t got any friends?”

On herself: “I’m naturally funny. D’you know, sometimes I walk down the street and people just burst out laughing”.

“Oh my God who’s that gorgeous creature? Oh my God it’s me!”

Cathy's Clan

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.
~Jane Howard

There is something about NPR announcers' voices, their relaxed and mellow tones often sink me into a meditative trance. It reminds me of the end of yoga class when the instructor "puts you down" for Corpse Pose and you can finally clear your mind after strenuous exercise. Ah, bliss.

But these voices aren't real, right? I mean, how could any normal human being (barring mothers at bedtime, yoga instructors during shavasana and Buddhist gurus) sound so relaxing?

Cathy Resmer, writer and blogger at Seven Days, got to be one of these satin-smooth voices (blog link)!! Cathy spoke to Jules Fishelman on a StoryCorps segment which aired last week on National Public Radio's Morning Edition.

Not only did Cathy and Jules sport the dulcet NPR voices that many of us have grown to love, but their story was touching to the Nth degree. In this day and age of upside down families and deteriorating communities, it is SO GOOD to hear about a family success story. Especially one that does not fit the traditional mold.

To nourish children and raise them against odds is in any time, any place, more valuable than to fix bolts in cars or design nuclear weapons. - Marilyn French

Like many others no doubt, this was a family whose origins can be traced back to a dish washing conversation after a potluck. Cathy simply asked Jules, "Would you like to be our sperm donor?"

Cathy and Ann-Elise conceived a baby with Jules and then helped Jules find his wife, Rachel, who then had a baby with Jules. Graham and Ira are two babies born from these happy unions of friends and spouses. I doubt Rockwell could have come up with a better family portrait.

Nobody has ever before asked the nuclear family to live all by itself in a box the way we do. With no relatives, no support, we've put it in an impossible situation. ~Margaret Mead

One of the many touching moments in the interview is when Cathy says that she never wanted kids until she met Ann-Elise. Awww. And why did Cathy and Ann-Elise go to Jules instead of a sperm donor? Like many 30-somethings, a healthy waryness of the Darth Vader Father Complex.

"If you've ever seen Star Wars, for example, you know that the whole trilogy is about Luke and his search for his father," she says.

"You wanted to make sure his father was not Darth Vader," Fishelman says.

"I did."

Darth Vader: No! I am your father!

Luke Skywalker: No... That's not true...! That's impossible!

Darth Vader: Search your feelings! You know it to be true!

Luke Skywalker: Nooo! Nooo!

Darth Vader: Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has forseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together, we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Come with me. It is the only way.

I have a lot of friends having babies right now (complete with baby blogs) and many of them are raising their families against the traditional grain.

Molly and Kate are having a baby in Boston (they chose a sperm donor despite the Darth Vadar possibility), Adam and Eve (baby Donovan's blog) live in Seattle but Adam commutes to work in Berkeley, Molly and John (baby Ivo's blog) split their time btw LA and a house in the middle of the desert while traveling around the world for their film careers, Jenny brings home the bacon while Derek stays home to take care of the kids (dad's blog), my Swiss family relatives are having children out of wedlock (pretty shocking), my friend Sarah in SF has become a second mother to her sister's twins and then there are the picture perfect Heather and Braydon (family blog) who adopted twins from Haiti.

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.
~Erma Bombeck

I wasn't raised in a traditional family so none of these new fangled family units seem all that outlandish to me. I would be hard pressed to describe what a "normal family" consists of. Our bohemian musician parents moved back to the land before I was born and raised us on a desolate hill in the middle of nowhere in Upstate NY.

Years later they split up and we moved back to Manhattan. There we spent much time with my father's new wife, while living in a NYC commune with hundreds of other unique family units.

The family - that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to.
~Dodie Smith

For as far back as I can remember, I knew that our small family of 3 (mother, sister and me) weren't like other families. When I hit the awkward teenage years, these differences disturbed me slightly but now I am at peace with them. Our differences make us who we are and I am happy to be a member of our oddball, artistic family of 3 deadbeats. Hell, we are even a club these days!

We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies.
~Shirley Abbott

It warms the heart to hear stories like Cathy's told in this modern day world turned upside down. With things as crazy as they are, we are so lucky for any little bit of connection and sense of family that we can manage. And for the final parting warm fuzzy:

As Resmer told Fishelman recently,
"You're the kind of person that we want our child to grow into."

Jerks and Deadbeats

Have you seen The Jerk? It is my dad's favorite Steve Martin movie and it is worth a rental.

I mean, who in their right mind proclaims themselves a JERK? Right? It is like waltzing around calling yourself a DEADBEAT or something. I guess misery loves company!

Here is proof that you need to go rent The Jerk TONIGHT:

[first lines of film]
Navin R. Johnson: Huh? I am not a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends and... uh... my thermos. Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin' on the porch with my family, singin' and dancin' down in Mississippi.
Navin R. Johnson: Now be totally honest. You do have a boyfriend don't you.
Marie: Kind of.
Navin R. Johnson: I know this is our first date but do you think the next time you make love to your boyfriend you could think of me?
Marie: Well I haven't made love to him yet.
Navin R. Johnson: That's too bad. Do you think its possible that someday you could make love with me and think of him?
Marie: Who knows maybe you and he could make love and you could think of me.
Navin R. Johnson: I'd be happy to be in there somewhere.

Awww...what a JERK!!

Bitch Tits

Have you ever known a guy who shotgunned so hard trying to get shredded that he developed bitch tits? How many cups of coffee did the lot lizard’s john get with the help of blue steel? When a griefer frags your avatar at the spawn point, do you spam him with taunts? Did you leave a sitzmark on crud after the gaper blocked your way?

These quasi-English sentences may be Greek to you. But each makes sense to the members of a certain subculture: bodybuilders, prostitutes, online gamers and skiers, respectively, in the examples above. These and many more come from a handy lexicon called Talk the Talk: The Slang of 65 American Subcultures, published in September, by Burlington resident Luc Reid. If you’ve ever wanted to hang out with beekeepers, spelunkers, ex-cons, drug pushers or cat fanciers and feel like one of the gang, it’s a good start.
- Word Nerds, Margot Harrison

As if I needed more proof that my smarty pants sister (AKA Fuchsia Groan) can turn a beautiful phrase, here is a great review she wrote for her always scintillating 7 Days column, Underlines: The Word on Local Lit. Me thinks deadbeats need their own slang too: "Leave me alone, I am busy doing nothing." Proud to say she is my sister, bitch tits and all.

Are You a Slitherer-outer?

Diana Wynne Jones has been my favorite author for as far back as I can remember. As with many good things in my life, it was my sister who first introduced me to Diana's books. I think the first one I read was Dogsbody (my sister's favorite) and I was hooked.

Imagine that the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, and every stellar body in the sky are alive and conscious, possessed by great spirit beings known as "illuminaries." This is the story about one of the greatest of such entities, Sirius - the Dogstar. - Caesar M. Warrington

You know when you find an author whose books feel like home to you? That is what Diana's books are to me. I open her pages and instantly feel like I am with old friends, whether I am reading her book for the first or the fifteenth time.

Diana pre-dates Harry Potter and even wrote a book about a school of magicians called Witch Week FAR before JK Rowling was sitting in her favorite cafe scribbling about a school full o'wizards. The good thing about Harry Potter's success is that it has brought more attention to authors like Diana. JK even gives her props. So I guess that little whiny, predictable Potter stinker brain is good for something!

Diana's books are hard to encapsulate. They expertly weave the normal everyday with the fantastic and the unreal. In her world(s), there are many alternate realities and average kids stumble upon them, usually by accident in situations of great duress.

Within these worlds, there are all sorts of haphazard characters: distracted magicians, bitchy witches, nasty mothers, vain wizards, fireplace bullies and magic cats. Her characters are not cookie cutter dull, each one has distinct motivations that set him/her/it apart.

Reading her books always makes me hungry because her descriptions of steaming hot tea and thick slices of bread drizzled with butter and honey make me salivate. She feeds all five of your senses with her rich descriptions. Her books give me sensory overload.

Thankfully, the first film adapted from her book, Howl's Moving Castle, was Japanese anime made by Hayao Miyazaki and his amazingly talented Studio Ghibli. It is unlikely that this book could have amounted to anything worthwhile in another director's hands.

Miyazaki took a faint imprint of Diana's book and took off soaring in one of his flying machines with it. He added his own impressions and style to her solid story thread and created a beautiful collaboration.

Sitting in the darkened theater, watching that movie for the first time, I wept. It was so good and I never thought I would be lucky enough to watch one of Diana's books made into a touching film.

Afterwards, I ambled up Church St and couldn't get the theme song out of my head. Church St is not unlike Market Chipping in Howl's Moving Castle. In fact, it is quite similar to many of Diana's small towns full of ancient cobblestone streets and heavy with fate.

I felt like I was enshrouded in a magical gloss and around any corner I might stumble upon a rip in the fabric of this dimension and, if I tripped, I might fall through to another world. And that would only be the beginning of my adventure...

Ultimately, Diana's books have to be read to be enjoyed. I could never do them justice with my measly descriptions. But this here QUIZ is a great way to get a feel for her work. It helps you decide which Diana Wynne Jones character you are.

I turned out to be Howl (the grandest slithererouter of them all) from Howl's Moving Castle. No big surprise there! Here are some of the quiz's questions which are damn brilliant. Questions we should all ask ourselves at one time or another:

Are you lost (or travelling)

• in time?
• in space?
• in one or more alternative world?
• in a dream?
• in a nightmare?
• in no way - it's everyone else who's lost?
• in confusion?
  
  Are you:
• fully human?
• mostly human?
• slightly human?
• superhuman?
• not human at all?
  
  Is your idea of "a happy ending:"
• to find or be reunited with your family?
• to marry the person you are in love with?
• to know that you have saved the world (or some equivalent)?
• to solve your immediate problems (and incidentally save the whole situation)?
• to achieve your proper position or job in life?
• to start proper training or to learn what you have always wanted to learn?
• to come to terms with the life that has been forced on you?
• to make the life that has been forced upon you come to terms with you?
• a bit of peace and quiet for a change?

PS And did I mention that these books are supposedly for "kids?" Pfft.

CGI Porn

Imagine what you could do with erotic entertainment if you weren't bound by the laws of physics or 18 U.S.C. 2257.

By physics, of course, I mean the limitations of gravity, proportion, body mass. And by 18 U.S.C. 2257, I mean the federal law that requires every node in the pornography network to maintain records on every performer appearing in an adult film, including their real names, addresses and the probable sex of their first born.

At the moment, producers do not need to worry about either of those laws if their performers are computer-generated. And since illustration is the oldest form of pornography NSFW, it strikes me as ironic that despite the photographic and video capabilities of the digital age, drawing might prove to be the foundation of the Next Big Thing in entertainment.- Wired News, Regina Lynn

After working in the VFX Industry for a couple of years, I can safely say that CGI does not do "it" for me. For example, the 1999 Dreamworks adaptation of the The Haunting was packed full of VFX shots that we worked our asses off to deliver on time (see video). Sadly, this did not add much to the movie and it sucked far more than its predecessor, the 1963 version of The Haunting which had not one CGI shot and managed to be far more terrifying.

Then again, I did get to work on the shot where we cut off Owen Wilson's head and for that, I am eternally grateful. OK, I am too far off topic here, this is all say that the idea of CGI porn comes as a bit of a shocker to me.

What can I say, I like me some internet porn. I admit it, so there. But CGI porn...hmmm...I will need some time to wrap my head around that one. However, if it is not "real," the possibilities seem endless...if nothing else, it will be interesting!

Pushing the envelope could well be the company's motto. Tahl waxes enthusiastic about his ideas for combining sex and violence in ways you can't pull off in live action, but without the tentacles and aliens common to hentai. He shows me an unreleased scene in which a woman is stabbing a man to death during coitus -- a comic-book interpretation of the praying mantis mate-then-eat-your-male concept of sex.
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For all their humor, the brothers are serious about their business. They've hired nude models to come be filmed in the studio, so they can study how various body parts look in motion. They get up early and start the workday with a phone or video conference with the rest of their team in London. They have a huge television and very little furniture and a healthy skepticism about the mainstream porn industry.

Despite the creative freedom it offers, adult animation is not entirely exempt from external forces. Earlier this year, erotic art exchange Renderotica had to remove several images from its site after its credit card processor got scared by some of the fantasy pictures and the BDSM.

Now, the terms of service state that you cannot post images that include young-looking creatures, even if in your vision a 1,000-year-old fairy looks about 15 in human years. You also can't post images of humans having sex with beasts except for the mythological kind, and then only if they don't resemble Earth creatures too closely.

Animated Porn Makes Moves Regina Lynn