Pixar Feature Films (from the worst to the best) — A List That Will Get Me Killed
No long introductions necessary. The following are all of Pixar’s feature films in order from favorite to least favorite. I’ve grouped the films into degrees of “great” for a specific reason: almost all of Pixar’s films are good by any measure. Note: I have left Brave off the list because I have no seen it yet. I cannot possibly judge a film I have not seen, now can I? I’ll edit this list in the future. Here goes: The Greatest of the Greats The Greats The Goods The Averages The Worst And that’s that. Please don’t shoot me…
The #ThoroughlyGoodBooksbyPoc Reading List
Update: The list is now alphabetical by author! (Note: The following books are what was listed on Twitter under the #ThoroughlyGoodBooksbyPOC hashtag at 5:45 PM EST (the 21st of August). Twitter will not allow me to view anything that might have appeared earlier than the morning of the 21st. It should also be noted that some folks have expanded the list to include books featuring POC characters, even when such books are written by white authors.) A little background: In response to the recent Weird Tales fiasco, author Jim C. Hines decided to switch things around to get people to list their favorite novels by people of color, irrespective of genre. I’ve decided to compile as many of those books as I possibly can. The following list will, I hope, be updated over the course of the week (please understand that I am in grad school, which begins anew tomorrow, and so my time may be limited to do this). (Note: Some authors will not have specific titles listed. This is either because people suggested practically everything written by those authors or specifically stated “anything by.” Please excuse any repetitions you may find.) Now for the list: A Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years by Chingiz Aitmatov The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine Heaven’s Fate by Andre Alan The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie How to Traverse Terra Incognita by Dean Alfar Salamanca by Dean Francis Alfar Anything by Isabel Allende Krymsin Nocturnes by Joseph Armstead No God But God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Res Aslan B Daytripper by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin The Tiger Claw by Shauna Singh Baldwin Dreampark by Steven Barnes Lion’s Blood by Steven Barnes Cosmos Latinos: An Anthology of Science Fiction from Latin America and Spain edited by Andrew L. Bell and Yolanda Molina-Gavilan Zoo City by Lauren Beukes Full Moon on the Reservation by Gloria Bird Noughts and Crosses by Mallory Blackman Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard Saga de los confines by Liliana Bodoc 2666 by Roberto Bolaño When the Rainbow Goddess Wept by Cecilia Manguerra Brainard Icon by Dwayne McDuffie and M. D. Bright King Maker by Maurice Broaddus The Knights of Breton Court by Maurice Broaddus Anything by Tobias Buckell Anything by Octavia Butler C 32 Candles by Ernessa Carter Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra Red Earth and Pouring Red by Vikram Chandra Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang Anything by Joyce Chng Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project by Bob Moses and Charles Cobb Shadow Ops: Control Point by Myke Cole The Hanging of Angelique by Afua Cooper White Talk by Chris Crutcher D Wolf at the Door by J. Damask Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis Anything by Samuel R. Delany Playing Indian by Philip Deloria Anything by Junot Diaz Black Candle: Poems About Women from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh by Chitra Divakaruni Acacia by David Anthony Durham Pride of Carthage by David Anthony Durham Anything by Tananarive Due E Perma Red by Debra Magpie Earling The Budayeen Series by George Alec Effinger Cold Magic by Kate Elliot Cold Fire by Kate Elliot Cold Steel by Kate Elliot The Honey Month by Amal El-Mohtar Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo F Zero by Huang Fan The Wretched of the Earth by Franz Fanon Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust Shrinking the Heroes by Minister Faust G The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez The Kappa Child by Hiromi Goto Half-world by Hiromi Goto Tall Story by Candy Gourlay H Redwood and Wildfire by Andrea Hairston Mindscape by Andrea Hairston The Ben January Series by Barbara Hambly When Dreams Travel by Githa Hariharan Girl, Overboard by Justina Chen Headley Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier Changing by Lily Hoang Cortez on Jupiter by Ernest Hogan Smoking Mirror Blues by Ernest Hogan Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan Anything by M. C. A. Hogarth Anything by Nalo Hopkinson So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini God’s War by Kameron Hurley I Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro J Anything by Brenda Jackson The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemisin Mona in the Promised Land by Gish Jen Red Moonshine by Alaya Dawn Johnson Smoketown by Tenea Johnson Some Prefer Nettles by Tanizaki Junichiro The Makioka Sisters by Tanizaki Junichiro K Atlas: The Archaeology of an Imaginary City by Dung Kai-Cheung Good Luck Yukikaze by Chohei Kambayashi Yukikaze by Chouhei Kambayashi Polar City Blues by Katharine Kerr SNARE by Katharine Kerr Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King Warrior Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston Transmission by Hari Kunzru L The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri Salt Fish Girl by Larissa Lai Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap Liar by Justine Larbarlastier The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle Lucretia and the Kroons by Victor LaValle The Earthsea Series by Ursula K. LeGuin Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin Night, Again by Dinh Linh Ash by Malinda Lo Huntress by Malinda Lo Adaptation by Malinda Lo Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord M The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf Anything by Naguib Mahfouz The Dragon and the Stars edited by Derwin Mak and Eric Choi Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks Anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Snakes and Ladders by Gita Mehta Shine, Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger Red Spider White Web
Larry’s Silly Survey of Silly
Over at OF Blog of the Fallen, Larry has put up a bunch of seemingly random and bizarre questions for folks to answer. The following are my equally silly responses: 1. Do you believe that global warming could be ameliorated if there were more pirates in the world? Unfortunately, no. Because pirates have a tendency to burn things — such as boats and makeshift cigarettes and small coastal towns ripe for the picking — they contribute at least 50 times the amount of atmospheric pollutants as all volcanoes combined. In truth, to stop global warming, we would have to systematically hunt down and imprison all pirates. I’m told the Federated League of Ninjas is waiting for the call… 2. What is the last book you read and would you recommend it to a hobo who likes to speak in alliterations? Libidinal Economy by Jean-Francois Lyotard. And, no, I would not recommend it to an alliterating hobo, as to do so would constitute a violation of the Violence Against Hobos Act of 1996. 3. Which cartoon group, the Smurfs or the Care Bears, would most likely be condemned by “family” groups today? The Smurfs, obviously. They look and act suspiciously like immigrants, and they’re always pestering Gargamel, who is nothing less than an honest businessman. 4. Should there be more catfights among SF Fandom and/or authors? Yes. In fact, I think SF needs to announce a state of emergency and immediately start an internal war to cull the unworthy from its masses. There are too many people in this community who shouldn’t be here; we should do what we can to get rid of them, just like the Smurfs. 5. When I finally decide to post a photo of myself here, should I go with a beret or just merely a scarf wrapped around my neck in a diffident manner? Oh, Larry, you should always go for a beret. It is appropriately pretentious and, as the Internet has taught me, it makes it easy for people to dismiss you as nothing more than a Condescending Liberal Grad Student (even though you are nothing of the sort). Or you could go for a scarf if you just want people to think you drink coffee… 6. Does book porn make you think inappropriate literary thoughts? Yes. I’m currently on trial for indecent acts with a book or book-like object. This is the result of excessive amounts of images of book covers and people’s book collections, which are available all over the net… Make sure to check your local laws to avoid landing you in prison for overlying enjoying book porn. 7. If you have a Twitter account, how many literate squirrels do you follow on there? That I’m allowed to tell you about? One. But there are many others who wish to remain anonymous. They work for the Ministry of Knowledge in the central government of Squirreltopia. To tell you their names would jeopardize their missions… 8. Which genre of books should I review more often: pirates, westerns, ninjas, squirrels, Shatner? Shatner ninjas. Duh! 9. If you could get me to ask any question to any author, what would be the most inappropriate question that would come to mind and to which author would you want that question addressed? To China Mieville: “Have you ever considered writing Hentai?” 10. What was the best book that you ever read and ended up kicking across a room? I don’t kick books. I molest them and occasionally sniff their pages, but I believe it a sin to physically harm books. You can psychologically damage them, though. 11. What is more erotic, the sound of pages turning or the smell of an old book’s binding? The latter. But I’m weird. As previously mentioned, I sniff books. I sniff books a lot… That is all.
Top 5 SF/F Shows I Wish Weren’t Cancelled
Too many TV shows have come and gone. Some of them never should have been killed. These are the five I wish hadn’t been cancelled. In no particular order: Firefly (2002-2003) Need I explain why? Browncoats are everywhere. They are one. They are vocal. They are legion. And if they all had $10,000,000,000,000, they’d bring back Firefly in a heartbeat. For 10,000 seasons. They’d probably clone Nathan Fillion and the rest of the cast just to keep it all going. You know I speak the truth. But in all seriousness, who didn’t love Firefly? To be fair, I didn’t get to watch the show on TV. I came to it through the DVDs after hearing all the hype. And now I regret not having added myself to the ratings. It’s such an endearing show with a wonderful cast of characters. With a lot of potential! But it’s gone, and now we have to dream about what might have been… The Dresden Files (2007) I know fans of the books didn’t care for this show, but I never had that experience. There was nothing to ruin for me when Syfy put this show on the air. And you know what? When you throw out the adaptation aspect, it’s really not a terrible show. Sure, some of the episodes are a little crummy, and there’s a clear tug-of-war between making all the episodes connected to a larger story and keeping the anthology format. But the best episodes are really good, and the cast is, for the most part, well chosen (I personally liked Paul Blackthorne as Dresden and Terrence Mann as Bob). Given a second season, it might have grown into something akin to Castle, but with weird critters and what not. One day… Earth 2 (1994-1995) Let’s get one thing straight: this is not a perfect show by any stretch of the imagination. There’s a hell of a lot of weirdness going on from the first episode to the last, and some of the characters and acting are a little on the silly side. But the concept is fantastic. Maybe a reboot would be a good idea. Maybe not. It was good… After all, it has Tim Curry as a villain (win), a ragtag group of survivors living on a world with weird people (sounds like Outcasts, no?), and a decent soundtrack and visual design. Considering all the things that usually go wrong in SF TV, this show had a lot of potential. And then they killed it… Alien Nation (1988-1989) You remember this show, right? Aliens get dropped off on Earth and are integrated into the Los Angeles populace. Discrimination ensues. District 9 will ring some bells. Yet Alien Nation was a very American affair. Where District 9 was an allegory for the refugee situation in Africa, Alien Nation was about the Civil Rights Movement, anti-immigration, and all the stuff tied into that at home. And it was brilliant, in part because it didn’t just take a bunch of people, put some alien makeup on them, and stick them in hairy situations. No. Alien Nation asked us to consider how discrimination leads to criminalization, how relationships with humans (platonic and romantic) would work, and the politics of a world hell bent on protecting human interests. Plus, my grandma loved it, and if she likes it, it’s good. Trust me. Outcasts (2010) This show should sound familiar. That’s because I mentioned it above and because it really does share a lineage with ————————————————- What would you add to the list and why?
Top 7 Science Fiction and Fantasy Musicals
I love musicals. And I’m sure some of you love them too. If you need a pick-me-up, sometimes a musical is just the right thing. These are what I consider to be the best SF/F musicals, selected by a jury of 5,000 Americans kept in an underground bunker for six weeks (part of the previous sentence is untrue — also, the following are not in any particular order): Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog Neil Patrick Harris + Nathan Fillion + Felicia Day + Simon Helberg = one of the best musicals ever made. Need I say more? Urinetown I saw a community college rendition of Urinetown a few years ago with my grandma and fell in love with it. The humor is spot on and I find the socio-political theme interesting (tempted to teach this musical one day, actually). I’ve included the show the cast put on at the Tony Awards, but you should also look up “Act 1 Finale,” which is one of my favorite tunes. Wicked Perhaps one of the best fantasy musicals out there, Wicked is, in my opinion, a tour de force. Based on the book of the same name by Gregory MaGuire, it tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. A wonderful story rendered into an absolutely gorgeous musical. Spamalot You remember Monty Python and the Holy Grail, right? Well, this is the musical version, more or less. Originally starring Tim Curry, Spamalot gave us all the laughs and silly adventure that made the movie so great. Plus, the songs are fantastic. Sara Ramirez is amazing! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang This is my childhood. Watching Dick Van Dyke flying around in a car while singing entertained me for hours. It’s an adorable movie! The Rocky Horror Picture Show It’s a classic. Also: Tim Curry again. Love everything that man is in… Nothing left to be said except this: let’s do the time warp again! You know the moves… Little Shop of Horrors Giant man-eating plant monster? Rick Moranis? Stunning puppets and fun semi-50s musical soundtrack? Check, check, and check! I love this musical for so many reasons, but most of all because it’s so damned twisted and weird. And whoever made that green mother was brilliant. You wouldn’t expect them to pull something off of such quality back then, but they did it. ———————————————What about your favorites? What would you add to this list?
The Great SF/F Novels of the Post-Millenium?
There have been a lot of lists recently of SF/F books everyone should read from *insert older decade here.* While I enjoy these lists — occasionally you discover something new or unusual — I’m always driven to annoyance by the endless nostalgia for the “good ole days.” Don’t get me wrong here. I don’t hate the classics. Some of the best works of SF/F come from before my time. But I think we need to have more discussions about the works being produced now. Maybe that’s because I like to pretend that I’ll have a bead on what will be remembered 50 years from now. Or maybe I like seeing what people feel are great works of SF/F from the 2000s (ish) so I can rub my chin and ponder. It doesn’t really matter. Today’s post is about this very question: What do you think are the great works of science fiction and fantasy from the post-millenium period (the 2000s to the present)? Why? Some rules: They obviously have to have been originally released at some point between 2000 and the present. Re-releases or re-writes or pickups of self-published books published prior to that do not count. “Great” should be taken to mean “a book that contributes to the genre in some significant way.” Interpret that how you will. Entertainment value, however, is not enough on its own. The books must be science fiction or fantasy. I will not define what these mean; we can hash out suspect entries in the comments if people feel the need to do so. The publisher or marketing strategy for the book is not strictly relevant. If a great SF novel was published as a literary work in the general fiction section, then so be it. The comments are yours. Suggest away.