Political Statement

As a response to terrorism and religious fanaticism, this looks pretty neat!

http://www.werenotafraid.com/

Random Reviews

The Irda: The Lost Histories, Volume II

by Linda P. Baker.
This is a novel set in the TSR DragonLance RPG world. In general, I've always been very wary of novels set into worlds from gaming systems, movies or TV series. Most of them are horribly constrained by their respective worlds, much of the world building is already done and there isn't that much new to enjoy, and they tend to be pretty bad. There are exceptions, and The Irda is one of them.
This book is the story of the first race the gods created, the Ogres, when they were still beautiful and innately magical, much as elves are. However, the gods that created them were not the gods of good, and in some ways their society reminds me of that of the Dark Elves, though it's more balanced. The book follows the paths of a number of these Ogres, as they choose diverging paths while living in a dying empire. The basic premise is not new, but the prose is good and the events aren't predictable. Though the tale the book attempts to tell is epic, no less than the fall of a race, that feeling doesn't really come through. It really is more of a tale of its main characters. It also has some of the hallmarks of RPG books; weird monsters that pop up whenever you travel and don't seem to contribute to the story, clerical healing, character classes and so forth. There are also some plot threads that are left dangling in the wind and some major events that go unexplained when all is said and done. Also, the Ogres have little feeling of being a different race, they feel, dream and act just as humans would. Still, in the end, this isn't a mindless book, and it was a quite enjoyable read, enough to keep me glued to its pages better than most.

Eko Eko Azarak, Wizard of Darkness

An odd mix of Japanese horror cinema and live action anime. Well, to be exact the cartoony nature comes from the manga on which this movie and its sequels are based, but the effect is the same nonetheless. The premise in itself is stereotypical to the extreme; a new girl has transferred to a high school. She's independent, hot, mysterious, and there are rumors of something unpleasant happening at her old school. Meanwhile, there are strange murders around town, seemingly drawing a huge pentagram throughout the city. The scene is set, with the lecherous male teacher, the predatory lesbian teacher, the tough guys, the class president and so forth. And then nasty supernatural stuff begins to happen. There isn't that much gore, considering the genre, but this film is not rated both because of some pretty explicit but tasteful and pretty erotic lesbian scenes, and because of some pretty gruesome ways to dispatch of people.
This isn't a big budget production, nor is it attempting to send a message, be art, or develop the characters. As a pretty horror romp it is absolutely worthwhile, though, and a good example of what you can do with a set of a few rooms, (almost) no computer graphics or other special effects (apart from blood and body parts) and a decent script. If you liked some of the Japanese horror flicks in the theaters in the past few years, this is probably worth a view.
(Why did I watch it, then? Perhaps someone's tastes have begun to rub off on me!)