One Hour Books: The Eternal Smile
Feb 20, 2012 Uncategorized
Have we mentioned what giant comic book nerds we are here at Things We Love? If not, then let’s let the cat out of the bag for once and for all… because it turns out that is animal torture, and PETA is hot on our tails. Okay, we weren’t talking about a literal cat, that thing can stay in the bag. We’re allergic and they’re awful creatures. Bring on the red paint PETA.
We’re only releasing the metaphorical cat. And our metaphorical cat is comic books. How did this get confusing this early in the post?
If we’re in a library, you best bet we’re going to side step that whole classic literature aisle and dive right into the teen fiction or comic books section. That might make us losers and not extremely well read, but hey, it’s what we love.
There’s nothing that we love more than comic books (except for writing in the first person plural, of course). Today, we came across a little number by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim, called The Eternal Smile and figured that we could take a quick break and read one of the stories. It was such a quick read that we got the whole thing down in a half an hour.
It gave us the idea for a new series called the hour long read. Because there’s nothing that we love more here at Things We Love than squeezing an entire work of fiction into an hour. Sure, most of these are going to be graphic novels. Nothing reads quicker while packing the same artistic and creative punch.
This was a fantastic hour long read. It’s perfect for a lunch break, study break, or applying-for-scholarships break. Gene Yang is the genius behind The Prinz award winning graphic novel American Born Chinese. The other dude wrote something that I added to my reading list called Same Difference and Other Stories. They got together to create three brilliant little stories that focus on the themes of delusion, imagination, reality and the broadening of perspective.
Like Yang’s other works, the style is sharp and playful and the language fits that bill as well. Since it’s technically a teen book, the language was simple and easy to speed through without making the stories simplistic. Don’t get scared off by the fact that it’s shelved in the young adult section. There are plenty of themes that adults can relate to.
Do you have any one hour reads that you’d like to share?
Our Mom… Or Better Yet… “Your Mom”
Feb 10, 2012 Uncategorized
Comic: xkcd
Welcome to this week’s addition of things we love where we will be talking about our mom and “your mom”!
Even though Mother’s Day is still three months away, there’s no better day than today to talk about having some mama love. But first, let’s talk about your mom.
There’s nothing better than when a stupid joke is told too much, becomes adored by Bro’s and Duchebags for several years, and then finally dies, never to be told again. “Wassssssssssup!?!” Case in point.
Well, we just lied. There totally is something better than that. There’s that magical time, after a joke that has been told so much that your ears bleed on hearing it, dies a slow and painful death. You begin hearing it less and less and then you hear that it was last spoken by some punk middle school turds in the early 2000′s. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, it is magically resurrected. Like a phoenix, the joke is reborn to live anew. Suddenly, this stupid quip has transformed into something both ironic and nostalgic. “Your mom” is that joke.
“Your mom” has never been a flawless comeback. As a matter of fact, it was commonly used by folks that weren’t clever enough to come up with a quick comeback. However, now it has become a throwback to a time and place when comebacks and smack talking were common place. It brings you right back to your K-12 experience.
“Your mom” commonly known as the “suburban ‘Yo mama’” was used in response to all sorts of high school teasing. But now that you’re in your twenties, no one seems to tease anymore. Now you can throw “Your mom” in wherever you please. It’s a glorious time we live in.
For example:
Boss: “Do you want some coffee?”
You: “Your mom wants some coffee.”
Boss: “Hahahhaha! You’re a genius!”
Now, we’d like to give a shout out to our moms, who we love and adore. Even if there aren’t any silly cards out there, with glitter glued in the shape of a heart around the word MOM, it’s the perfect time of year to say it.
Have you told your mom that you loved her lately? Have you told a “Your mom” joke lately?
TWL: Peep Show
Feb 5, 2012 Uncategorized
Hello Lovers!
Welcome to/back to Things We Love. The blog where we (I) talk about things we (I) love, in first person plural! Perhaps this post should be titled “TWL: Netflix Suggestions.” That’s how Peep Show landed in our lap… laps? I/We only have one lap (first person plural gone wrong). Or perhaps it should be called, “TWL: The Dude I’m House Sitting For, Because He Likes Nerdy British Comedies and Netflix Knows It.” Or maybe, we’ll just stick with Peep Show, because that is the love-worthy thing that we want to share with you today.
Peep Show is this great, addictive, nerdy British comedy filled with great characters and an interesting perspective. I flew through seven seasons in a few weeks. It’s given me a nice little fake British accent. I’ve been thinking in it, dreaming in it and sometimes letting it slip out when I’m talking. It’s pretty embarrassing. I mean, if Madonna can’t pull it off and she at least lived in the country, explaining it away by saying that I just watched too much of a Brit com is quite lame.
At first, I didn’t really think it was going to be my thing. The first person camera angles (this blog post is going full circle) seemed pretty campy. I thought it might end up being one of those cheesy sh*t coms with a cheesier twist. A few minutes into it, I realized that the characters looked pretty familiar. ZOMG! It’s Mitchell and Webb from that Mitchell and Webb Look. If you’ve never seen that show, do it! It’s sketch comedy done the way only the Brits can do it.
Once I saw that those guys were behind Peep Show, I was ready to get invested. And boy howdy, am I glad I did. Seven seasons later, I don’t know anything about anything, but I was pretty amused. Follow the follies of a poorly adjusted office drone and an unsettled, club drug loving, free loading flat mate. Watch them chase love in every form as they fall for an office manager, a posh twat and many, many more. It’s on Netflix, so check it out. We/I declare it to be a thing we/I love!