Nibbles and Bits

-Courtesy ratmmjess, Scrat, the Sabretooth Squirrel from Ice Age, finds a time machine.

-Courtesy jadasc, the Peanuts characters in Marvel Comics drag. It was around the one with Snoopy flying his doghouse that I started laughing out loud . . .

-Courtesy beowabbit, the Yesterday's Astronomy Picture of the Day, Crescent Moon, Crescent Venus.

(And, hey, twice in recent memory I've read SF stories in which the protagonist looks up in the sky to see a full moon right next to Venus. Just for the record, author-guys, this is physically impossible.)

-Also: I'm currently reading a biography of Charles Addams (creator of the Addams Family). Some of the funniest bits are the ideas he had for cartoons that were unpublishable at the time. For example: Morticia is up in the attic. She has just closed and locked a steamer trunk, and is walking away with the key. From inside the trunk, we hear, "Why can't you spank us like other mommies?" Heh heh heh.

Blech

-I took yesterday off so that my mildly sore throat wouldn't turn into a full-blown sore throat.

-It didn't. Today I'm just incredibly nauseous. Yech.

-On the other hand, I had a terrific weekend. Saturday, went to two parties, one at noire's, one at fraterrisus and co's, and had a blast at both. Saw many people I don't see enough of, including leofwynn, who was visiting from New York, and looked like a goth felony. I was wearing a new Pulp Villain outfit consisting of black cloak, black "faceless" mask, my silver goggles over the mask, and a set of six-inch claws on my fingers. (Which apparently looked really sharp, since people kept getting nervous whenever I waved them near children. Truly, they couldn't have sliced bread.) Thank you very much, oh noble hosts.

-Sunday, went to a grill-fest at my brother-n-sister-n-law's. I had a great time, though I got trounced at both Ker-plunk and Settlers, thus proving that a career in the gaming industry doesn't actually make me any good at games.

-Monday, stayed home, but got to spend some nice cuddly time with Zeph/cathijosephine when I rescued her from the dentist.

-And now, a couple quick book reviews, and then to bed.

Books: Rosemary's Musketeers

The Three Musketeers by Dumas

-As it happens, I'd never read t3M all the way through in its unabridged form. It was definitely worth it. It's a solid adventure, very funny, and a classic. It's also very interesting watching how the villains are handled differently between the book and the movies. Milady is still out-and-out evil, but the Cardinal, in the book, is driven and ruthless, but seems to actually regard the musketeers as admirable and "too fine to kill".

(Also, now I'm possessed of the urge to name my children Mousqueton, Planchet, Bazin, and Grimaud.)

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

-One of the first modern horror novels, where horror is weaved into the delights and banalities of everyday life. The first few chapters are about Rosemary and her husband moving into their new apartment (and it's all very familiar, what with having recently moved in with Bey/buxom_bey). The next door neighbors are odd, but they seem to mean well . . . and then Rosemary and hubby decide to have a baby . . . It's very late-60s, early-70s in tone, but it's also very readable, and nicely chilling at the end.