Hippoi Athanatoi

The trailer to the forthcoming fantasy film Stardust, based on Neil Gaiman’s and Charles Vess’s award-winning illustrated novel, has been placed online. With an amazing cast featuring Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfieffer, Robert De Niro Starring Charlie Cox, Michelle Pfieffer, Sienna Miller, Peter O’Toole, and more, it looks as gorgeous as Vess’s vision of this tale of the mundane world brushing shoulders with Faerie.

A very belated post this week. I was not in the mood for posting after the lesson this Tuesday, and then it slipped my mind. So here is a short recap.

The good news: Murphy was back to work. His knee is still a bit larger than usual, but he’s shown no lameness whatsoever during the week. They’re thinking its some sort of swelling from a blow that doesn’t really affect him.

The bad news, part 1: Murphy (and several of the other horses) were in a feisty mood. He tried to eat my face several times both before and after the lesson, and during the lesson he stopped several times and attempt to assault the horse behind him. Fun. ;P

The bad news, part 2: I rode terribly. My focus on my legs over the last weeks led me to totally obsess about my legs. I changed my stirrup length three or four times, and I kept messing far too much with my hands and legs throughout most of the lesson.

Next week we have theory. I am not sure if this is good or bad. Maybe I need a week off. Or maybe I need a private lesson. Possibly I also need to ride another horse, but I’d prefer to try to work through this on Murphy.

Tad Williams, author of such books as The Dragonbone Chair and Shadowmarch, has given an interview at Broken Frontier where he discusses his upcoming work on Aquaman from DC Comics.

and Marvel Comics have solicited the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Vol. 1 HC for a July release. There’ll be two editions, probably featuring different covers, with one meant for retail booksellers and the other for the direct market (i.e., comic shops). Get more information here (original URL).

After a long, loooong absence, Mike Baron and the incomparable Steve Rude return on Nexus, one of the best and most famous science fiction-flavored superhero comics out there, picking up where they left off with issue #99. Publisher’s Weekly has posted the cover for the issue, which kicks off the “Space Opera” arc. Steve Rude has posted five pages from the comic at his ComicSpace site, which you can see here.

Some truly handsome collections have been made from the original comics, starting with Nexus Archives Volume 1. If sweeping galactic SF heroism, in the vein of Star Wars or Lensmen is of interest to you, give it a shot.

Greg Rucka’s excellent and rather unique crime thriller set in a scientific research station in Antarctica following a murder, Whiteout seems to be full-speed ahead for a movie adaption.

One of the hippest comics Marvel Comics been publishing of late is it’s teen romance comic, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. Written by Sean McKeever with Takeshi Miyazawa on the art, this is a perfect comic to give to the young reader who’s interested in comic books but is finding the usual superheroics too off-putting or uninteresting. A rich cast and a lot of humor makes this the perfect antidote to the inane teen melodramas of yesteryear. Marvel Digital has gone ahead and put the first issue on-line as a sample of what they have to offer, in preparation for the forthcoming release of the Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane deluxe hardcover, featuring the first twelve issues of the series.

Since the beta opening of Blood of Dragons, we have had a few prospective players question our decision to a) use a tier-based system and b) require anyone wanting to apply for the higher tiers to be a ‘friend’ of ours. A few have even suggested we abandon this system as it is ‘unfair’. Now, we have no plans to change the system (though there’s always room for refining it—that’s why the MUSH is currently in beta), but the questions raised have still prompted me to once again ponder these issues—fairness vs unfairness, application processes, etc—quite a bit. This is the result.

This press release reveals that exciting news that after a long pause Matt Wagner is revisiting Grendel, a masterful example of what sequential art can do when married to a thoughtful, well-constructed story.

The Dabel Brothers are it again, this time with news from Laurel K. Hamilton that Marvel Comics will be publishing a new comic of theirs titled “The First Death” whic his an original prequel to Guilty Pleasures. Featuring Anita’s first meeting with Jean-Claude and an appearance by Edward, Hamilton will be scripting the two 40-page comics along with Jonathon Green, with art provided by Joe Phillips.

Hamilton discusses the genesis of the comic and why she can finally write one of the stories fans have been demanding in a separate post on her blog.

I got suspicious when I came to the stables and found Murphy with hay on his butt and mud in his mane. And sure enough, he had not been used for any classes today because he had come in from the field with a swelling on one knee. Argh. My instructor was not sure what it was, but thought perhaps it might be some fluid in there. It was not hot and not tender, and she could not find any cuts that might have started an infection, so I am hoping it isn’t anything serious or anything that will keep him out of lessons for too long. But I will be worrying a bit until I see him again next week and get an update on him.

I am hoping, though that is probably too optimistic, that he’ll be in next week’s lesson, as I suspect I may otherwise be continuing with Fleur since I rode her today. Not that I mind too greatly, as she’s not a bad horse at all. She just has one problem, she spooks easily, and since I do too that isn’t always a great combination. Silly thoroughbred. That’s one breed I’d never get for myself.

I picked up yet another book on dog training from the library today. This one focuses on clicker training or shaping, and my hope (and that of the rest of the family) is that a more focused approach to this type of training (we have only dabbled in it so far) will help us out with our currently very lively boxer puppy. I’ve already read a few chapters, and though I’ve had a look at several other books focusing on dog training through positive reinforcement, this one suddenly made me realize a couple of things I had only partially grasped before.

To go with our Ysabel review, here is a link to an half-hour long video interview with Kay. It includes some interesting comments on several of his books, his overarching themes and fantasy in general.

Not quite sure what to make of today’s lesson. Murphy again, as expected, and the plan was to continue preparing for shoulder-in work. Based on what I noticed after last week’s lesson, I decided to give ‘preparing’ his right side a try. So, in the stall I worked on getting him to move away from me when I nudged his right shoulder. I also massaged his neck and the shoulder on the right side, and it seemed like it ended up accepting the pressure a bit more.

Another thing that I had been thinking about before this lesson was an article I read recently, in which the author felt that that no violence at all is acceptable when training an animal, and that corrections with a whip should be considered as such. I thought it sounded a little extreme, but I still decided to give some careful thought to how I ride. I do think that sometimes we’re told a little too often that we’re too nice (in the sense of not being demanding enough) to the horses, and I am not always sure about the less nice approach.

The Dabel Brothers are on quite a roll since the New York Comic Con: publishing an original Ender’s Game-universe story, announcing a brand new Wild Cards comic book series, the forthcoming release of the Sworn Sword comic adaptation in late Spring/early Summer…

And now this regarding Steven Erikson’s “Malazan Book of the Fallen” series, from Ernst Dabel: