Eclecticism is my middle name...

Books

* The Princess Bride - I love this book. I read it after I saw the movie and still loved it (a very rare occurence). I can hear Cary Elwes' voice as I read Westley's lines. Different from the movie in some parts, but I think funnier. *To Kill a Mockingbird - I cry everytime I read this. They put out a list of the top 100 American Novels and this wasn't on it. I would have to say that list is wrong. *A Man of His Word - A series of books by Dave Duncan (Magic Casement, Faery Lands Forelorn, Perilous Seas, Emperor and Clown) that are wonderful. My sister recommended them to me, so now I have to like her. Sheesh. *Ender's Game - Part one of the Ender Wiggin saga. This is the only novel I've every read that made me doubt my talent as a writer. I hope that someday I can write a novel that affects people the way this one did me. The rest in the series are well worth checking out, but this one is the best in my opinion. *Trixie Belden Mysteries - I love children's literature, and I grew up on this series. Much more believable than that stuck-up Nancy Drew. They are, unfortunately, out of print, but if you can find them they're worth it.

Authors

*Douglas Adams - Don't Panic! This guy is one of the funniest, smartest writers today. Check out the Hitchhiker's Trilogy (of four books) and Dirk Gently. Hey Doug! Where the heck is Salmon of Doubt? *Earl Emerson - A local author, I highly recommend his Thomas Black series for anyone looking for a good mystery. And if you're from the Seattle area, it's a lot of fun recognizing all the sites. *Patricia Cornwell - She's a great crime writer, very detailed but not so technical that you can't understand it. Not for the squeamish. *Carolyn Hart - Her Darling mysteries are my faves, although I've grown to like Henry O. She mixes in a lot of humor, which is why I like 'em. *Joan Hess - I'm not a big fan of the Maggody series, but I like Claire Malloy. She, like Hart, mixes in other mystery writers and recommends some great books. *Spider Robinson - I will, quite literally, read anything this man writes. He is a comedy god, a punster extrordinaire, and the man who gave us Callahan's then encouraged us to find it on our own. *Roger Zelazny - I haven't read much by him, but I thouroughly enjoyed his Amber series. I'm a die hard Arthurian nut, so it fit right in with my obsession. *Richard Lederer - He's an English professor who delights in all the mistakes we make in speaking, writing and typing. His books are a lot of fun, but only if you can laugh at yourself *Lois McMaster Bujold - I love Miles. If he asked me to live on Barraryar I would. I adore him. This is one of the best series I've ever read. I worship this woman. *Karen Kijewski - Yet another mystery writer. Kat Colorado is very real, and Kijewski writes with real emotion. One of the first modern mysteries I read and the reason I read so many *Courtway Jones - The author is a cultural anthropologist, and he has done extensive research on Arthurian legend. He has a great trilogy out called "Dragon's Heirs" featuring In the Shadow of the Oak King, Witch of the North, and A Prince in Camelot. I think he's got it right. I found the books believable with just a touch of magic to them. *Agatha Christie - Dame Agatha needs no introduction. The best mystery writer of all time, to my mind. Although, I do have to admit that I don't really like Miss Marple. I'm a Poirot fan through and through.

Comics

*Elfquest - This is one of the best comics around and certainly the best independently produced one. My favorite story is the first 20 issues. Wendy and Richard Pini have created a masterwork. There is a film in the works, which I'm eagerly anticipating. I have been fortunate enough to meet the Pini's on several occasions and they are always very nice to their fans *Watchmen - Who watches the Watchmen? The second comic book series I ever read (Elfquest was first). It's very dark, very bleak and not very happy. Don't let the happy face on the cover fool you. Terry Gilliam was once rumored to do a film of the series, but it never panned out. Damn it. *Batman: The Dark Night/Batman: The Killing Joke - I'm not a big Batman fan, but I thought these were both well done. *X-men - All right, I'm not the biggest fan of the crossovers, the constant team changes, some of the new characters, but I love Gambit and Rogue. What can I say? *Excaliber - So it ended. I like the team. The first comic book I ever bought *Camelot 3000 - Did I mention the Arthurian thing?

Television

*Babylon 5 - J. Michael Straczynski has created the best science fiction show ever. The Great Maker - no kidding. In reruns on TNT, just now out on video. Imagine, a show where the characters are realistic, they change, they aren't all bad or all good. Wacky. No wonder it was always touch and go. Crusades is coming soon. I've got my fingers crossed. *X-files - The first four years were great, five was okay. I hope the sixth season lives up the possibilities. *Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Great characters, snappy dialogue, random references to Scooby Doo. Gee, another smart show. How odd. *Remington Steele - Before he was Bond... *Scarecrow and Mrs. King - Before he was Captain Sheridan... *Bring 'Em Back Alive - Before he was Scarecrow... *The Twilight Zone - Before B5, this was the best science fiction show ever. "Time Enough at Last", "Talky Tina", "To Serve Man", "Nothing in the Dark". When good writing mattered.

Movies

*The Princess Bride - I think I already covered this, right? *Big Trouble in Little China - May the wings of liberty never lose a feather. After all, it's all in the reflexes. A great movie with great dialogue. I know, there's somthing wrong with your face. *The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eight Dimension - I didn't get it the first time. I got it the second. Odd. Funny. Red Lectroids, aliens living in rocks, cars driving through mountains. Not a movie you take home to mother. *Austin Powers - It's my happening and it freaks me out baby yeah! The newest addition to my list. And Seth Green is in it. *Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Proof that it's all gone to far. Say "anyone? anyone?" in a crowded room and see how many answers you get. *Monty Python and the Holy Grail - I can recite this at will.(or anyone else who comes along) And will do so at the drop of a hat. Or any other article of clothing. *Heavenly Creatures - If you thought Kate Winslet deserved an Oscar for Titanic, see her in this. *Toy Story - I truly believe that toys come to life when you leave the room. Thank you John Lassiter for proving me right. *Okay, there are a lot more than this, but I work in a movie store and my brain has gone into overload. I can quote way too many movies. And I'm actually proud of that fact. It's a scary world I live in.

Actors(or this is where the hormones come in)

*Alan Rickman - The reason Robin Hood: Prince of Theives was good at all. The perfect villian. The perfect romantic lead (see Truly,Madly,Deeply - trust me). "It's Christmas Theo, it's a time of miracles" *Sean Connery - Need I say more? *Seth Green - A little off the wall. Perfect. *Brandon Lee - Just imagine what he could have done... *Linden Ashby - Johnny Cage from the original Mortal Kombat movie (which was actually pretty good) and also from the short lived (probably because I liked it) show "Spy Game". Okay, he was also on "Melrose Place", but I forgive him. *Tony Crane - From the short lived USA tv show "The Big Easy". This man should play Gambit if they do make an X-men movie (which they shouldn't). He could also do his voice on the cartoon so he won't sound like Sugar Bear. Oh, by the way, he's simply gorgeous! *Christian Bale - This guy has more web sites devoted to him than any other actor (according to several magazines), yet so many people haven't heard of him. He's great in Swing Kids and Empire of the Sun. As Laurie in Little Women, he made me even more confused why Jo didn't fall for him (not that Gabriel Byrne is a slouch in the looks department, but come on!). *My brain has gone blank. I'm sure I'll remember more and add them when I do. I know there are more men I find irresistable.

Odds and Ends

*Mythology - I find all mythology intriguing, but I'm most enamored of the Norse legends. I like the thought that the Gods know there is an end and they're going to die. I find the Nordic interpretations much more interesting than that of the Greek or Roman. They tend to be too petty. Not to mention all the names you have to remember. *Arthur - The legend of Arthur is a favorite of many people. I think it's because of the romance, the magic, the mystery of it all. I also think people like to believe that there is a hero waiting for us, someone who, when it gets too bad, will return. Because as long as Arthur stays away, there is still hope. *Merlin - He's just a kick-ass character, isn't he? I disliked the fact that the NBC miniseries made him such a wuss (not to mention got the mythology wrong), I mean c'mon! This guy is the sorcerer. *Morgana Le Fay - The true source of all my Arthurian obsession. She's a great character, oft misrepresented (she wasn't Mordred's mother, okay?). She loved Arthur. She was one of the women who carried him to Avalon. She wasn't evil. Well, not too evil. Check out "Witch of the North" for a great interpretation of her. *Jack the Ripper - How can a mystery buff not love one of the greatest, if not the greatest, unsolved mystery of all time? Theories abound. People today still try and figure out who Jack was, why he did it and where he went. I don't think we'll ever know. *Disney Villains - I have an extensive collection of assorted Disney villains stuff. Ursula's my most favorite followed by Maleficent, the Queen of Hearts and Madame Medusa.

Cartoons

*Scooby Doo - Scooby is the premiere cartoon of my childhood. I identified way too closely with Velma. I have to admit I haven't seen them all because I stopped watching when Scrappy Doo came on the show (he is evil). It's experiencing a serious comeback, which I'm not sure if I'm thrilled about. Mike Meyers is writing a live action movie and I am kind of looking forward to that. *Animaniacs - This show has some of the best songs in it. I marvel at the voice actors who are able to sing them. It adheres to the Warner tradition of giving all the humor several levels. I haven't watched in a while, it got to a point where all I ever saw were reruns. Someday I'll find new ones and enjoy them too. *Pinky and the Brain - I like this for the same reasons I like Animaniacs, although I think this has a more intellectual appeal. Although my favorite show had them singing a song about the brain stem to the tune of "Camp Town Races". *The Tick - The Tick is cool. The fact that they cancelled the series just proves I am going sane in a crazy world. Thankfully they've started doing the comic again and Comedy Central still shows the reruns. I did feel a little vindication recently though. I was at the Animal Kingdom in Disney World and they had the largest rodent in the world there. I turned to my husband and said "Speak" and the guy next to me knew what I was talking about. *Schoolhouse Rock - It's very trendy to say you like this now. Which is kind of unfair to those of us who have been fans from the beginning. I grew up with this, and sang along long before anyone else. One of my best college memories was sitting in English class taking a review test and knowing when everyone got to the question about adverbs. All their heads started bobbing up and down to the tune of "Lolly Lolly Lolly..." *Danger Mouse - A British cartoon they used to show on Nickelodeon before it became the powerhouse network it is today. It's kind of like Secret Squirrel only more subversive. There are still some of the videos out there. I recommend it. *Yosemite Sam - The meanest, orneriest, rackin', frackin'iest hombre this side of the Pecos. I have an extensive collection of Sam stuff. He's my fave WB character. *Hanna Barbera - I like a lot of the old cartoons. Secret Squirrel, Hong Kong Phooey, Dirk Dastardly and Muttley, and so on. You remember? When they used to make cartoons that didn't have toys. *Rocky and Bullwinkle - I'm a big fan of puns. Sometimes I think Jay Ward had me in mind when he wrote this series. *Sid and Marty Krofft/The Krofft Superstar Hour - They weren't really animated, but I think of them as live action cartoons. Land of the Lost, Sigmund the Sea Monster, H.R. Pufinstuf, Lidsville, Dr. Shrinker, Electra Woman and Dynagirl, the Bugaloos. I'd have to throw in the Banana Splits and the New Zoo Revue too. (although I just revisited the New Zoo Revue and it scared the hell out of me). You could probably mix in The Electric Company, Sesame Street and Zoom here too. Looking back, my childhood was weird. *I love cartoons and will try just about anything. I prefer ones that don't try to sell me anything, but those are, sadly, few and far between these days.

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