Behind Android Eyes

Okay, so I'm going to draw comics not only for ELSA Primalex, but probably also for Kenvelo Magazine. So I really need to start working on FM, because this is a great chance to get readers.
Could I manage two frames a day?

I've started playing Blood Omen 2 and it's fun! I've never played action games like this before; I expected it would be much more difficult. True, I suck at blocking (perhaps it has to do with the fact that I'm playing on a laptop - the controls are really annoying), but I haven't been killed once yet. That is, I hadn't been killed once until I totally unexpectedly ran into the first boss, and now it seems I'll have to start the game anew or use some cheat code, because I have too little energy and don't know why. Was I supposed to kill everyone, including civilians? Mostly I let them be - they usually aren't worth the trouble of running after them.
Actually I don't really play it to fight, I want to explore the game and enjoy the atmosphere. But I must admit that the stealth kill or bloodsucking are kind of amusing.

So I finally got through The Iron Council, and I really have mixed feelings about it. There was just too much of everything: characters, storylines, ideas, thoughts, visions, words I didn't know. Compared to The Scar, the story seems to progress much faster, switching sceneries so quickly that reading becomes sort of blurred and it's hard to keep track of what is going on. Plus I didn't really connect to any of the characters. Which is probably good, because the end was depressing even by Miéville's standards.
I think I liked better the New Crobuzon storyline with Toro's gang and the war with Tesh.
Perhaps I should re-read Perdido Street Station, this time in English. And I'm really curious about Embassytown.

These past few days the police here in Prague have been searching for a missing nine-years-old girl. I read the debate below the article at idnes.cz and was really surprised by the agitated reactions. Personally I wasn't very affected by the story. Of course, I don't have any children of my own, but many people discussing the case on the Internet aren't parents either. I think that this whole thing about protecting offspring has actually more to do with the perpetrator than with the victim; children are more vulnerable, so people feel contempt towards a criminal who harms a child rather than an adult. It matters to the one judging the crime, not to the victim. In my opinion an adult's life is just as valuable as a child's, and I suppose the girl's parents wouldn't be any less worried and unhappy if she were thirty-nine.

I guess the girl is dead by now, and my personal theory is that it had been an accident. The police should focus on the other kids; perhaps a game went wrong, they panicked and hid the body.

Finally, I can progress with FM.

I bought two new dresses. Both are blue, which is rather unusual for me, since I haven't been wearing blue for years. But I do like the royal/electric shade that seems to be in these days. So, one of the dresses is by Koan and even has a flower pattern - dark red and blue roses on a black background like an antique wallpaper, but it doesn't look romantic because of shoulder pads studded with rhinestones. The other dress is a simple tube in electric blue, strapless(!), with a black sash around the waist.
Oh, and I also bought a steel Cartel bangle at Storm.
In fact I tend to dress in a rather dramatic style, which is strange because I hate to attract attention; I suppose I compensate for it by underdressing for the rest of the time. I'm either too elegant or wear sweatpants everywhere.

There are ravines. Presences something between molluscs and deities squat patiently below eight miles of water. In the lightless cold a brutality of evolution obtains. Rude creatures emit slime and phosphorescence and move with flickering of unclear limbs. The logic of their forms derives from nightmares.
Just finished The Scar. Definitely my favourite from Miéville's Bas-Lag novels (true, I haven't read Iron Council yet, mostly because I couldn't get through the prologue. But after The Scar I'm inclined to give it one more chance). I was surprised at how few characters had died. The book has practically a happy ending, though many things remain unresolved. But I think that's one of the reasons why I like Miéville - it's better to leave it on the reader's imagination than trying to wrap it up at all costs. Explaining everything in detail would ruin the feeling of mystery and the otherworldly atmosphere.

From National Geographic.

I just finished China Miéville's King Rat. The epilogue really reminded me of the ending of His Dark Materials; when Saul says: "I'm not King Rat. I'm one of you - I am Citizen Rat," it's like what Lyra says at the very end of TAS about the Kingdom of Heaven being over and that we must build the Republic of Heaven. I think this humanistic view and focus on people (unlike in other fantasy stories, where humans are often reduced to "muggles" and it's all about elves, vampires, angels or demons or wizards being cool) is the reason why Pullman and Miéville are my favourite authors. Though Miéville hints that Saul might not be right after all.
I'm going to try The Scar next; perhaps I'll even buy it, there's a cheap copy for sale at Aukro and the book seems to be in a good shape. And of course I'm really looking forward to Kraken. It seems it will take place in our world and I like Miéville's stories set in our world better. The City & The City is my favourite book so far, perhaps together with Looking for Jake (and The Tain).
It's a pity Miéville doesn't have a website. Apparently the worse the author is, the more he (or she) blogs or tweets and talks about himself; those who really have something to say don't boast about it.

A whole post about FM, to organize my ideas.

( Eight )