Can You Believe Thanksgiving is in Less Than Two Weeks?

Yeah, where has this semester gone? I told my T/R students that we only see each other seven more times before the end of the semester. Needless to say, I think all of us were happy about the prospect. :-)

Film: Alien and Aliens
I am working on my manuscript's chick chapter and so have been rewatching a lot of "feminist" horror and sci-fi lately. (And I put "feminist" in quotation marks because there is lots of debate as to whether the stuff I'm watching is actually feminist.) It has been years since I'd seen Alien and I don't think I've ever sat through all of Aliens. What was I thinking? Both are compelling sci-fi/horror films with an awesome leading lady! Sigourney Weaver is amazing in these films. Not to mention there is a young(er) Tom Skerritt, Ian Holms, Harry Dean Stanton, Lance Henrikson, Paul Reiser, and Bill Paxton. And the story is very timely: listen to the experts and be careful what you play with as it may rise up and literally bite you in the ass. (Hm, does anyone else a correlation to our current Middle East problems?) I have included both films because even though seven years passed between making the films and they have two different directors - Ridley Scott for the first and James Cameron for the second - they should be viewed as one complete film. As you watch, or rewatch, pay special attention to the effects which are out of this galaxy for the 1970s and 1980s. Of course, Tom Woodruff did the special effects for Aliens so they should be awesome; he did, after all, graduate from Lycoming College. Go Lyco!

Television Show: The Amazing Race
Now, we all know that I like my reality tv to show on infotainment channels like HGTV, TLC, and History. However, this is the one show that I like from the networks. If you haven't ever watched, you should. I like a reality show where brains will beat brawn every time. If you can't read a map, negotiate an airport, or communicate effectively with locals around the world, you will lose. Sorry, that's all there is to it. Plus since every team is in a race, there are few, if any, back-biting alliances. This is the show, after all, where a couple of hippies can take down the stereotypical jock and his model girlfriend. This show is about as close to reality as it gets. Sadly, that's not saying much. But seriously, check out this show - the second ep airs tonight at 8pm on CBS - and see if the goth team wins. (They already have my support and I hope they continue to beat the beautiful, vain, and abusive teams.)

Novel: The Big Over Easy
Okay, I read this novel over Spring Break this past spring. But I haven't read anything recently to put on the list because, again, I've been focusing on the Chapter 4 rewrite. The novel is by Jasper Fforde - writer of the brilliant Thursday Next series which will be on the blog before too long - and was released in 2005. The novel opens with the untimely death of Humpty Dumpty who, it is believed, did not accidently fall off the wall. It is up to Detectives Jack Spratt and Mary Mary, both of Reading's Nursery Crime Division, to clear up the mess. Mary Mary is quite contrary about her assignment in the Nursery Crime Division and Jack just can't figure out why he wants to climb the beanstalk in his mother's backyard. Despite these distractions, both find themselves in the midst of a serious crime that will shake the very foundations of their society. Well, not really. But it's a great read! And if you like it, a sequel with the three bears just hit the shelves this past year. It's on my Amazon Wish List, hint hint.