Polish Outlander

Oh I loved the dress that Katherine wore! Heck I love all those dresses in this episode and the other flashback ep!

You know, you gotta give Vampire Diaries credit where it’s due: each episode moves things along so smoothly and so quickly that there is never an episode where it just drags.

This was a great flashback episode. Got to see Emily again (aka Kendra) and look, there was Kelly Hu (aka Lady Deathstrike from the movie X2)!

Now here is my question: when does Katherine end up turning Damon and Stefan? I had thought that by this time, they would have turned. I mean, if Katherine and Pearl are captured in this episode, does that mean that they will escape somehow?

I’m also curious about Anna. Does she call Pearl “mother” because Pearl turned her? Or will that happen afterward? Is she really Anna’s mom? This inquiring mind wants to know.

So is Stefan to blame for Damon’s current wickedness? Other than losing Katherine? Hmmm….looking forward to more backstory in their relationship.

So if Aunt Jenna doesn’t want Stefan sleeping over, is she ok with Elena spending the night with Stefan at his place? Or does Elena just pull a fast one on her and say she is staying at someone else’s house?

And Bonnie! Poor Bonnie! Eeek!

I found an interesting tidbit while searching for that photo up above. Now this does contain slight spoilers to the books and show. This info comes from Ask Ausiello:

Question: Do you know when Elena will turn into a vampire on The Vampire Diaries? I am dying to know. —Crystal
Ausiello: If you’re holding your breath for it to happen, you actually might die. Elena’s conversion, says exec producer Julie Plec, “is a fundamental part of the books — it’s, in fact, most of the books. So it’s not something we are going to ignore. But right now it’s a little too Twilight similar for us to feel comfortable dabbling in it.” Beyond concerns about Elena being written off as a small-screen Bella, “the best thing about her is, she’s a non-genre, non-supernatural, true-blue ingénue,” says Plec, “and we don’t really want to mess with that. She’s the relatable character. To pervert that too soon would be a mistake.”

Looking forward to the next installment…..

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. Thanks Kristi!

For my birthday yesterday, one of the things that Josh got me was this omnibus book of awesomeness:

Now in one titanic tome: the entire chart-topping run of super-team Joss Whedon and John Cassaday! Winner of multiple prestigious Eisner Awards, Whedon and Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men was a smash hit with critics and fans alike from the very first issue – winning praise from dozens of top media outlets including Entertainment Weekly, Publishers Weekly, TV Guide, and New York Magazine, as well as racking up nearly every major comic-book industry award. Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Whedon and Cassaday (Captain America, Planetary) assembled a tight cast – Cyclops, the Beast, Wolverine, and Emma Frost, joined by returning fan-favorite Kitty Pryde – and set forth a groundbreaking pace, from the opening pages of a Sentinel attack to the unexpected return of a beloved X-Man. Then, building on early momentum, they ratcheted up the danger and drama with a shocking second year, creating a must-read book that can truly be called “astonishing!” Collects Astonishing X-Men #1-24, and Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1. (I had known about Joss writing this series but thought I would have to read a chunk the other X-Men comics beforehand. I have a lot of the Marvel Essentials books but have been slowly making my way through Volume 1. But Josh read that this is one where you can just pick it up and read as a good stand-alone series. Can’t wait to read this! What a fantastic present! One that is hard to get apparently!)

I also went to Midtown Comics on Wednesday to get the newest Buffy comic:

Buffy Season 8 #32: Faster than a speeding — you know. More powerful than a — yeah, one of those. Able to leap tall . . . castles in a single bound. Still working on that x-ray-vision thing. In the aftermath of battle with Twilight’s army, Buffy has developed a host of new powers, but when will the other shoe drop, and will it be a cute shoe, or an ugly one? Still reeling from the losses of war, Willow goes looking for missing allies and discovers a horrifying truth about several of the Slayer army’s recent ordeals. (What an excellent issue! And oh the references! The first part was great and humorous and then all the fun came to a shocking halt at the end. Can’t wait for the next one!)

While at the Strand with my friend, who was getting Secret Life of Bees for one of our book clubs at work, I got this:

When Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1865, it set critics awry: here was a book for children written for the pure pleasure of reading. It has since become one of the most famous children’s books ever, translated into many different languages, performed as a play, and made into a popular Disney animated film. Bored on a hot afternoon, Alice follows a White Rabbit down a rabbit-hole without giving a thought about how she might get out. And so she tumbles into Wonderland: where animals answer back, a baby turns into a pig, time stands still at a disorderly tea party, croquet is played with hedgehogs and flamingos, and the Mock Turtle and Gryphon dance the Lobster Quadrille. In a land in which nothing is as it seems and cakes, potions and mushrooms can make her shrink to ten inches or grow to the size of a house, will Alice be able to find her way home again? (I had read this when I was younger: actually when I was in Poland one year with my mom and we were visiting her friends in our hometown and I perused the friend’s shelves and found this and read both Alice and Looking-Glass. Now, Josh wants to read it before the movie comes out next month. I might have to reread it myself.)

In a time of war and doubt, Gull is an oracle. Daughter of a slave taken from fallen Troy, chosen at the age of seven to be the voice of the Lady of the Dead, she is destined to counsel kings. When nine black ships appear, captained by an exiled Trojan prince, Gull must decide between the life she was born for and a most perilous adventure – to join the remnant of her mother’s people in their desperate flight. From the doomed bastions of the City of Pirates to the temples of Byblos, from the intrigues of the Egyptian court to the haunted caves beneath Mount Vesuvius, only Gull can guide Prince Aeneas on his quest, and only she can dare the gate of the Underworld to lead him to his destiny. In the last shadowed days of the Age of Bronze, one woman dreams of the world beginning anew. This is her story.

What a beautifully written book!

My first foray into The Aeneid was when I had to translate it from the Latin in my Advanced Placement Latin class in high school. I still have my edition with notes strewn all over the pages. I think this is the first historical fiction book that I have encountered that deals with Aeneas and his quest to find a new land for his people. And what a great retelling of the story!

No wait. Scratch that. I had read Lavinia when it had first came out. So ok, this book is my second encounter with The Aeneid in historical fiction form.

I had my eye on this book when it first came out but when it got reissued with this beautiful cover by the same artist who has done covers for Charles de Lint books and the Eragon books, well, I had to have it!

At first, when you read Gull’s story you have the feeling that she is too distant of a character because she appears to observe everything and everyone around her, and has no real interaction with any of them. But, in truth, Gull is a young woman who knows that she has to serve the Lady of the Dead and she knows of what is to come when she encounters Aeneas: she knows she has to go with them to help him find the land he is looking for. She bears a great burden, knowing of things to come, knowing that she can never have a husband, knowing that her presence can sometimes frighten others. Despite her not being able to have a husband (for it is forbidden, since she can only belong to the Lady of the Dead), she does love and is able to have children. In the end, I really liked Gull and there was a moment towards the end where I was so moved by what happened to Gull and felt quite sad for her.

If you know the story of Aeneas, you will definitely find familiar people and scenes in this book: Dido, the journey to the Underworld (if you may recall, Aeneas goes down with a Sybil, which in this story is Gull), Anchises, Lavinia and the war with the Rutuli.

One thing I found interesting was that the author set the whole Dido scenario in Egypt. At the end of the book, the author explains why, since historically Carthage could not have existed at the time Aeneas would have been traveling from Troy. I love the attention to detail in that. Kudos to the author then! There is a lot more info about the historical background to the story and the author at the end of the book.

I am definitely going to read the author’s other book which I already have. I would recommend this one even if you are not familiar with the original Aeneid story. It is just that great of a book; I was sad that it had ended.

Each episode just has more and more revelations! And this one is no exception.

Loved the dancing part of this episode and I actually wish my high school had those sort of dances. Heck, I wish it had more dances to begin with (in my four years there, we only had one! Plus prom). I would have loved to dress up in a poodle skirt. But I digress…

I knew it! I knew Jeremy’s little stalker girl friend had something up her sleeve. Evil is afoot!

Now, I wonder if all these vampire that keep cropping up are ones that Katherine made or were cohorts of hers? Or are they ones who were made later and learned about Katherine after-the-fact? Cause if it was the first, Katherine was clearly really busy making others….!

So, there is mention of an Isabelle being Elena’s birth mother and then we hear Alaric’s wife was named Isabelle. Are they one and the same? Cause if so, I’m sure Elena would be mighty pissed at Damon for killing her birth mom, even if Elena never knew her, cause Elena is good like that.

And speaking of Alaric, he definitely knows a lot about vampires, i.e. the vervain. Really curious to know his full story.

Looking forward to seeing the next episode with the flashbacks. And Katherine all bloody in the mouth. Creepy.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

My pick for the week is:

Coming March 2010

Arriving in the ancient Byzantine city in the year 1273, Anna Zarides has only one mission: to prove the innocence of her twin brother, Justinian, who has been exiled to the desert for conspiring to kill Bessarion, a nobleman. Disguising herself as a eunuch named Anastasius, Anna moves freely about in society, using her skills as a physician to manoeuver close to the key players involved in her brother’s fate. With her medical practice thriving, Anna crosses paths with Zoe Chrysaphes, a devious noblewoman with her own hidden agenda, and Giuiliano Dandolo, a ship’s captain conflicted not only by his mixed Venetian-Byzantine heritage but by his growing feelings for Anastasius. Trying to clear her brother’s name, Anna learns more about Justinian’s life and reputation – including his peculiar ties to Bessarion’s beautiful widow and his possible role in a plot to overthrow the emperor. This leaves Anna with more questions than answer, and time is running out. For an even greater threat lies on the horizon: Another Crusade to capture the Holy Land is brewing, and leaders in Rome and Venice have set their sights on Constantinople for what is sure to be a brutal invasion. Anna’s discoveries draw her inextricably closer to the dangers of the emperor’s treacherous court – where it seems that no one is exactly who he or she appears to be.

I have never read any of the author’s previous works (even though I’ve had my eye on Tathea for quite some time now), but I would love to read this as it takes place during an interesting time and place. She will be here in New York for a signing at the end of March so maybe I can at least read Tathea by then and go see her.

Ethan Daniels is a typical bachelor who suffers from one, infallible truth: dealing with the opposite sex can be complicated. One night, he bumps into a mysterious woman who will change his life… and maybe even the world. Collects GIRLS #1-6.

I had no idea what to expect when I picked this up. The summary was intriguing and when I flipped though the book, my interest piqued even more.

The story takes place in a small town and one night, the entire town hears a huge boom and everyone thinks it was thunder, but once they hear the noise, the rain stops. And soon after, Ethan comes across a naked woman in the road. He takes her in, but soon, his plan to help has gone out of control, as all of a sudden, more naked women appear in his house, looking exactly like the one that he picked up from the road. As you read, you can guess where they came from and how, but I won’t spoil it. The town is thrown into a panic because they’ve realized that these strange women only attack the town’s women, not the men. In a desperate attempt to escape the chaos, the townspeople flee, only to realize that they can’t: something won’t let them.

I really hope Midtown Comics will be having their annual President’s Day sale this year because I think I will be picking up the next volumes (there are three more) in Girls cause I definitely want to know what happens and who this strange woman is and what her business is, and what it all means for the people. Granted, Ethan comes off as a complete jerk in the beginning so I hope his character grows up a bit more. I really liked the artwork too. I think I might check out some of their other work.

You can actually read the first issue in this series for free at this website.

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. Thanks Kristi!

Just when I thought I would make it without getting any books, two books showed up in the mail yesterday from PaperBackSwap. And they are:

A gripping novel that sweeps into the psyche of the renowned follower of Jesus whose beauty and sorrow became her saving grace. She was a woman every man loved. She became a woman every man feared. Enter the world of the favored mistress of Magdala Inn. Her profession was her shame, her past a nightmare…until the Lord of life gave her hope. This gripping novel sweeps into the psyche of the Magdalene, promising hope and healing for all wounded hearts. (This I stumbled upon while browsing some historical fiction books on PBS. I’m willing to give this one a try.)

At the height of the Romantic era in Paris, there was no bigger celebrity than the composer and pianist Franz Liszt. A fiery and gorgeous Hungarian, he made women swoon at soirees and left a trail of broken hearts behind him. Anne, a countess and talented young pianist whose mother has just died of cholera, hears Franz Liszt in concert and is swept up in his allure. The enigmatic Marie d’Agoult, a friend of Anne’s late mother, takes her under her wing and introduces her to the artistic world — despite the objections of Anne’s sullen and sorrowful father. Anne soon finds herself in the midst of dangerous intrigues, discovering a family secret so shocking that her father will go to any lengths to protect it. With the ominous presence of Paris’s most deadly epidemic looming over every turbulent event, Liszt’s Kiss is a rich evocation of a remarkable period as seen through the eyes of a sensitive young artist. (Ahhhh, more historical fiction!)

Anne Steelyard: The Garden of Emptiness Volume 1 (Penny Farthing Press)

In 1908, the world is an unstable place. Germany and Great Britain posture and glare at one another in a prelude to World War I, the Young Turks challenge the last Turkish Sultans for control of the Ottoman Empire, and legends are excavated from desert sands in order to demystify human history and bring fame and wealth to archaeologists. The traditional world fights a losing battle with the modern world, and in no place is this loss felt keener than in the Middle East, a region steeped in the mysticism of ancient human religion. For one British archaeologist, the chaos of the time is heightened by one simple fact: gender. She is a woman, a woman whose intelligence and ambition force her into direct conflict with the male-dominated spheres of imperialism, scholarship, and politics. For her, the desire to unearth lost cities and treasures of past civilizations does not hold the allure of celebrity but the promise of freedom and the ability to return the excitement of myth to human experience. Her name is Anne Steelyard. This is her story.

I had picked this up at NYCC way back in February (along with a pile of other books) where it actually made its debut, and just now have finally gotten around to it. I realized that it always takes me awhile to get to my comics and graphic novels so I’m hoping to remedy that. For some reason, this one had been calling out to me recently. Maybe it was because I’ve been reading so many books featuring strong women (i.e Cleopatra’s Daughter, Gwenhwyfar, Black Ships). And Anne Steelyard is definitely  a strong woman, and she doesn’t give up. Society and family won’t take her seriously for being a woman (one who speaks Arabic and has made friends with the local leaders and practices some of the mysticism) and a woman stepping on men’s toes, by partaking in archeology. She does have a lover, but for Anne, her freedom and work come first. She knows that she won’t be truly free until she goes out to find the Garden of Eden, known as Miyah, and finally be recognized for her work and contributions. She knows the risks and understand them. This first volume only leads up to the part where Anne breaks free from the city of Constantinople after being arrested. I believe the real action will follow in the next volume, which I see is out already, so I’m sure I’ll be picking it up soon. The cover may look a little pulpy and cheesy but the art inside is lovely. Anne particularly looks great every time she doesn’t have to wear those fluffy gowns, and wears those comfortable pants and shirt instead. Anne doesn’t wield a gun from what I recall, but she definitely knows how to fence. It’s refreshing to read a graphic novel with the main character being a strong historical woman, who takes matters in her own hands, and her superpowers are knowledge and wit.

Anne Steelyard is actually inspired by a real person, Gertrude Bell. The graphic novel gives a  little historical background at the end, and it sounds fascinating! She was even a cohort of T.E. Lawrence (yes, that Lawrence of Arabia). I just might have to go and pick up a biography of her. Here’s a link to a wikipedia article about her.

There’s also a great website about the graphic novel here: Anne Steelyard.

First and foremost, I will never tire of that picture of Damon

I stayed in last Thursday night to watch the new episode, cause I was dying to find out what happened after that big cliffhanger. The guy in the road moved way too much like a robotic zombie for me, and not like a vampire out to get Damon.

How nice it was to see Gina Torres on the show, as brief as it was (aka Nebula/Cleopatra/Hel/Jasmine/Zoe).

And oh that shocker of an ending in this episode. I really need to start reading the other books in the series to see how far off the show has gotten from the books. Either way, I am still hooked.

And who is that new chick hanging out with Jeremy? I wonder what evil is afoot in that plot line…..

Oh, here’s an interesting thing I found out while trolling the internet tubes concerning Stefan…or rather the actor who plays him: he’s Polish!

I found this on the Vampire Diaries website:

They provided a translation of the article too, and here’s what it says:

Tele Tydzie?: You speak Polish, although you were born in the USA.
Paul: When I was a child I spoke Polish without a trace of foreign accent, because I still talk with my parents and Polish siblings. When I went to school everything changed. I want to visit my grandparents in Warsaw and work on my Polish.

Tele Tydzie?: You make your career with the name Wesley…
Paul: I reflected a very long time whether to play under my own name. I talked about this with my familly and friends, but it’s true that my own name is very hard for people from America and therefore I have a nickname. I’m proud of my roots and I’m Pawe? Wasilewski.

I know that when I speak English, I have no accent, since I was so young when I came to the States, although there are a few words here and there I will accent differently. But when I start speaking Polish, people in Poland have told me that I have, I guess, an” American accent.” Would love to hear Mr. Paul here speak Polish though.

Thanks to My Friend Amy for hosting this Vampire Diaries Challenge, where we read the books and watch the series.

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

My pick for the week is:

Coming in April 2010

I had this as a WoW pick back in October, but now it has a cover! It is essentially a poem about what to do when you find yourself in a fairy-tale.  Again, you can find out more about this picture book over at Mr. Gaiman’s blog here. There’s background info on this picture book, as well as some cover spreads. Of course, anything by the wonderful Mr. Charles Vess is just magically lovely. I truly hope they do another signing together like they did back in March. If they do, maybe this time I won’t forget my copy of Circle of Cats (illustrated by Charles Vess), like I did that time.