"So take me somewhere far from here"

Stopping by the bookstore never bodes well for my wallet.

Dark Horse Manga has licensed a handsome, omnibus re-release of Clover, one of CLAMP's most beautiful, but little-known works. It's short, it's sweet, and it's utterly unlike anything else I have read -- a gem, a true experiment in artistry and minimalist storytelling. So, of course, I had to get it, especially given that I have not read it in years. I am utterly stunned by the obvious care and love that has gone into every detail--lush eyes, baroque wings, intricate, hand-drawn lace. The story is brilliantly-written, every word perfectly placed, much in the way of poetry. And, I am reminded of why I was so utterly in love with the CLAMP of the 90's. What happened, guys? Tokyo Babylon is my all-time favorite manga, and I have read a *lot* of manga. The first few volumes of X are masterpieces of visual art. In my humble opinion, Cardcaptor Sakura was the last truly great CLAMP masterpiece (not counting Clover, which came a year after), and from that point, the quality started to deteriorate. I felt the passion leach out of the drawing and storytelling. Angelic Layer is the last CLAMP fandom I ever really got into, and that was 95% Icchan's fault. Compared to the old stuff, Tsubasa is NOTHING. It pains me that there is an entire generation of new fans who think Tsubasa is the end-all, be-all of fucking awesome, and really, compared to CLAMP's 90's lexicon, it is a mere shadow. I can only encourage those old fans to take the time to find CLAMP's old works, those upon which the Tsubasa world are built.

I also browsed the teen fantasy section, as I am wont to do (shut it), and I desperately want to re-read The Song of the Lioness quartet. That was junior high for me, right there. They're easy as hell (two hours max to get through the first book, and that's if I am distracted), but damn it, they're unadulterated fun. Much as Twilight is brainless fun for girls who want to get rescued, Tamora Pierce novels are brainless fun for girls who want to do the rescuing themselves. More than anything, I wanted to be Alanna. Actually, I'm much more an intellectual/mage than a knight, and I dreamed about disguising myself as a boy to go to the academy where Thom goes, but that's neither here nor there. You know what I mean. I picked up the first novel in the Provost's Dog series. Pierce's writing has improved dramatically since her first publications, but the books are still just plain fun.

Also, I did not know that the light novel for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya had been translated. I had been considering reading it in the original Japanese, but I have enough other potential, untranslated stuff on my reading list that I felt no qualms about picking it up in English.

And I still need to finish Quicksilver. I'm about three-quarters done.

Everybody lies.

I've never liked politicians in general. The very definition of their job is to pander to the lowest and most common denominator of society--regardless of whether or not the majority wants to tyrannize the minority, regardless of whether or not the majority wants only what's best for themselves at the expense of others and the future of the country and the world.

I thought so much better of him.

I guess that's what I get for thinking Obama might be just a hair above that standard. But that's also what I get for taking any of his campaign promises seriously. I was never enamored with him, but I really did believe he could do at least some of the good things he promised.

Yeah, I believed in him. And yeah, even when I marked his name on my ballot I did not agree with all of his policies. But I thought so much better of him.

It's like Clinton all over again. I hope he thinks, misguided though he is, what he is doing is right, and is not just pandering to the Christian Right. I will lose all respect for him if it is the latter.

First Prop 8, and now this. Why, America? Why is allowing consenting adults to enter into a marriage contract so threatening to your heterosexual marriage? Why do you feel the need to shove your religious convictions into public affairs? Your church can do whatever the hell it wants regarding marriage recognition. Anybody who tries to scare you by telling you otherwise is lying, pure and simple. Separation of church and state is a dual tradeoff. You keep your autonomy, and the government keeps its autonomy. It's that simple.

This is not a Christian nation. The founding fathers NEVER intended for "One nation, under God". That clause was added to the Pledge of Allegiance by a pastor in the 1950's. So stop fucking saying that's what the founding fathers intended. And even if they did, who cares? That does not mean that it's right. Yes, America was settled by religious pilgrims and our Puritanical heritage plays heavily into our ethic, for better and worse, but that does not mean it is still ethical to attempt to create a theocracy. The government should be secular, and it should protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. Any argument you have against gay marriage is either religious and Biblical or total pseudo-logical bullshit.