Stargate Atlantis won the People's Choice Award! This is an award voted on by the fans, and it was up against Doctor Who and BSG. So, go them! It was totally well deserved, and the little taped acceptance speech by Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, Rachel Lutrell and Jewel Stait was much fun. In my own opinion, this is their best season yet and I'm really pleased that the fans came out for them. :)

I recently had a yearning to re-read books I first read when I was, shall we say, young and innocent. So I dug through my bookshelf and started with Orwell's 1984. That book still has the power to scare me. In fact, I think it scares me even more now than it did when I was young, probably because I'm just cynical enough now to believe something like that can happen. It was fascinating to read it with some life experience behind me this time around, so after I was finished with that I moved on to Fahrenheit 451. This book still has the power to make me feel sick and cold in the stomach. I readily remember the horror I felt the first time I read it, that a society would *burn books*.  But this time around I took something else from it, something from the Coda Mr. Bradbury added which I found even more eerily appropriate now than when he originally wrote it:

"There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches. Every minority, be it Baptist / Unitarian, Irish / Italian / Octogenarian / Zen / Buddhist, Zionist / Seventh-day / Adventist, Women's Lib / Republican, Mattachine / FourSquareGospel feels it has the will, the right, the duty to douse the kerosene, light the fuse."

Bless you, Mr. Bradbury. Not only are groups still trying to hold the match to books, but they are also doing it to TV shows and movies. Because, you know, other people obviously aren't competent enough to decide for themselves what they want to watch and read...

So what's up next? I pulled a few yellowed and worn paperbacks from my shelf and am trying to make the decision: Lord of the Flies or Animal Farm? Or perhaps The Lathe of Heaven? (Hmm. Apparently at one point in my life I could actually read the teeny tiny print in this book...) I think perhaps Lord of the Flies. My goodness, it's been decades since I've read that one. And, along with all this, I  am totally itching to re-read one of my favorite books of all times, Watership Down. And one of my other favorites, Good Omens. For some reason, this time of the year always makes me want to return to 'comfort reading', whether it be fanfic or novels, like I'm wrapping myself up warm with them, and these are two of my all-time favorite comfort reads.

Does anyone else have comfort reads? Novels you return to time and time again like a trusted friend?

So many books, never enough time…

Oh, while I'm rambling on, let me just say that this season of Stargate: Atlantis has ROCKED. There were so many things that could have been oh-so-wrong with this season, with cast changes, but it has been the best season so far, in my opinion. I can honestly say that I have been immensely entertained all season so far, and I loves my show!

And before I forget, a book recommendation: World War Z by Max Brooks. It's like The Stand with zombies. Kind of. I couldn't put it down, seriously.

    (http://www.ala.org/bbooks/)

Okay, I must have been living under a rock for the last couple of decades, because I although I knew there were parents who would petition schools to remove what they considered 'unsuitable' books from libraries, I honestly didn't realize there were such a thing as Banned Books in this day an age. Who knew?

And look what topped the list as The Most Challenged Book of 2006:

"And Tango Makes Three" tops ALA's 2006 list
of most challenged books

CHICAGO – Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s award-winning "And Tango Makes Three," about two male penguins parenting an egg from a mixed-sex penguin couple, tops the list of most challenged books in 2006 by parents and administrators, due to the issues of homosexuality.

Okay, there's no way now that I'm not skating straight off to Amazon to buy that book. Gay penguins! Yay!

And more info from the American Library Association:

The "10 Most Challenged Books of 2006" reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

• "And Tango Makes Three" by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;
  
• "Gossip Girls" series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;
  
• "Alice" series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;
  
• "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things" by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
  
• "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
  
• "Scary Stories" series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity;
  
• "Athletic Shorts" by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language.
  
• "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group
  
• "Beloved" by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group;
  
• "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.
  
• Off the list this year, but on for several years past, are the "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger, "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.

There's a ton of information out there on banned books on the ALA link, including information about the history of burning books. And, yes, believe it or not, they still burn books in the 21st century:

“On Sunday evening, members of the Harvest Assembly of God Church in Penn Township sing songs
as they burn books, videos and CDs that they have judged offensive to their God.”

Published in the Butler Eagle, March 26, 2001. Courtesy of the Butler Eagle.

Okay, I resolve right now to get out from under my rock more often, and hunt down and read as many banned books as I can.

A Dog's Breakfast and Stargate Atlantis S3 are on their way to me, me, me!! Thank you, Amazon!

I tried something new this morning: I went to the local mall before work and did mall-walking. Wow. It's like, joining a sekrit society! There's a whole community of mall-walkers out there at 6:45 in the morning! Who knew? When I first went into the mail, I went into a side entrance and it was pretty quiet, except for some kind of beeping alarm coming from one of the closed stores. At first I thought I might be alone, because there wasn't anyone around, and I started to get a little nervous. Sure there had been cars in the parking lot, but who knew what might be waiting for me, alone inside the Big Empty Scary Mall...? Then I turned a corner, a a white-haired granny sped past me, arms pumping, a look of grim determination on her face; she gave me a nod and disappeared in a cloud of dust. I soon came across the rest of the community. Pairs, singles, what I think was a father (or grandfather) and young man, older, younger, silver-haired, not-silver-haired, mp3 players. All of them giving me a cheery hello as I passed them going in the other direction, their coats slung over the horses on a nearby mini merry-go-round as they did their routine. I plugged in my iPod and went on my way, giving others the wave/hello/nod in turn as we passed each other. The mall was playing piped in music, but I preferred my own, having made a playlist of upbeat music to walk fast to. Did 1.2 miles in just under a half hour, which is decent, but not great, but a good first time out for me, and then made it to work on time. Doing this means I need to leave home more than a half hour earlier than normal, but I'm going to try to shoot for at least 3 times a week, and more if I can make it out the door in time. It was fun, I got to listen to some of my favorite music, and it made me feel better and more energized before starting my day. Living in an apartment, I'm pretty limited as to what I can do for exercise that early in the morning without the downstairs neighbor banging on my floor, so this seems like a really good solution. Go, me! :)

Oh, my. Geeks in leather. Come on, September 28!  I think I'm of the opinion now that geeks should always wear leather...



I am just so looking forward to SGA S4. I know there have been a lot of changes, I know I may end up not liking some of them, but I just feel this excitement, and I'm willing to go with the flow. I enjoy the show as a whole, and I love the whole idea of the City of Atlantis. In fact, I think the only way I'd stop watching would be if they actually blew up the City and we never got to see it again. When the production finally shuts down (not for a long time, I hope) I want to buy the set and move in. :) In the meantime, I've got Geeks in Leather to keep me occupied. Now, if they'd only put Zelenka in leather...

Well over a year ago, I wrote a fanfic that is a crossover between that wonderful novel, Good Omens, and Angel, the Series. Since it's fairly long (22,000+ words) I thought I'd just put the link here in case anyone is interested in reading. All thanks and all hails go to the wonderful 

elgrey

ankh_lj

TITLE: City of Angels
FANDOMS: Good Omens & Angel the Series
AUTHOR:Brenda
URL:  http://bunnyfic.com/Brenda/City_of_Angels.htm
MAIN CHARACTERS: Crowley, Aziraphale (Good Omens) Angel, Wesley
Wyndam-Pryce, Cordelia Chase (Angel the Series).
CATEGORY:Gen Hurt-Comfort Action Adventure
RATING: PG-15
SUMMARY:When Crowley and Aziraphale visit Los Angeles, they
accidentally spring a trap that has been laid for them and find
themselves in need of the help of a certain vampire and his associates.

Ha. And I didn't even cheat. :)

http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/52I9Wd/LantisJournal-User-Test-Extended

Tropical giant penguin discovered

By Neil Bowdler

BBC science reporter

A giant penguin that preferred the tropics to the southern oceans has been discovered by a team of scientists.

The fossilised remains of the animal, which lived some 36 million years ago, were found in what is today Peru. At 1.5m (5ft) tall, the penguin looked quite different from its modern-day cousins, a report in PNAS journal says. It had a long protracted skull and what its discoverers are describing as a grossly elongated beak that was spear-like in appearance.

 The Icadyptes salasi penguin would dwarf all the penguins who walk the planet today. It would have stood head and shoulders over the emperor and the king penguins of the southern seas.  Its well-preserved skeleton was discovered in the Department of Ica on the southern coast of Peru along with the remains of as many as four other previously undiscovered penguin species, all of which appear to have preferred the tropics for colder climes.

Now that's a penguin who might give a leopard seal a run for its money. :)