Things I've Noticed: Christmas 2012 is almost here!

And for me this means two key things:

1 - I get to change the banner on my Blog! (See Above)

 

And

2 - I get to take a few weeks off between my Fall 2012 classes and my Winter 2013 classes!

So what am I going to be filling up this month of non-school time with before I head back into the second half of my Masters of Library and Information Studies Degree?

Well why don’t I tell you? (Obviously I’m not going to mention my real first priority, spending time with my wife and kids, watching my favourite Christmas movies and hopefully getting some holiday baking in – I’m just going to focus on the “me” stuff)

First of all – I’ll still be heading down to the University campus every weekend to start reading books that may relate to my courses next month – I know this doesn’t actually sound very glamorous, but a couple hours a week now means that when term paper season hits, I’ve already got a handful of quotes and citations to get me started.

Second – I’m going to try and finish the third season of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. which I’ve currently got on loan from my wonderfully patient friend Ron, so I can start getting my collection of borrowed DVDs/Books/Comics back to the friends that loaned them to me in the first place

Third – I’m going to try and finish the PS3 Game L.A. NOIRE which I’m currently sitting at 1/3 of the way through as I’m hoping to get another game for Christmas and would like to be finished this one by then so I can start playing any new games I get as soon as possible.

Fourth – I’m going to try and catch up with my reading – for the last few years I’ve set a goal for myself of seven books a month and I started December with 11 (four left over from November) – you know, Full-Time work, Grad School and a rich family life actually do start cutting into your reading time after a while!

And Five – I’m going to try catching up with my Magazine and Comic-Book reading as I’m starting to fall dangerously behind and January is bound to get busy again.

So how about you, my ever-faithful blog readers?  What are you going to be up to this holiday season?

Genre Character of the Week: The A-77

After borrowing and enjoying The Avengers (UK spy-fy series from the '60s) from my friend Ron last year, I decided to follow up with The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964-1968) a series that balanced between cool, weird, and totally cool.


The premise follows two agents from an organization called the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, which battled the evil agents of THRUSH (no meaning was given for the term in the series).  The agents, Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) would save the world each episode (or significant parts of it) from various evil agendas operated by the forces of THRUSH.


Interestingly, it wasn't until the third season that I found a character for my Genre Character of the Week, it may be because she's a little more science fiction-y than the usual characters in the show, or that the concept behind her is really really creepy, or that it was thought up by Harlan Ellison and appeared 30 years before the similar characters in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.


in the second episode of season three, The Sort of Do-It-Yourself-Dreadful Affair.  Napoleon is attacked by a strange, emotionless and apparently invulnerable woman, this creature, our Genre Character of the Week, is the A-77.


Described by its creator as a bizarre mix of machine and animal parts, the A-77 is based off a young woman named Muriel and is a definite precursor to both The Terminator and the fembots of Austin Powers fame.


Although there are many stronger episodes throughout the series, this creature comes across as an unbelievably creepy addition to the world of science fiction.

Genre Character of the Week: Mandy Stevenson

Last year my friend Ron leant me The Avengers (The '60s UK series) on DVD and introduced me to a sub-genre of the espionage story - Spy-Fi (Wherein Spy stories included Science Fiction Elements). The series was pretty amazing and got me interested in more '60s television. Next up for me was The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and after 24 pretty great episodes in season one, I got to see this week's genre character, Portuguese translator Mandy Stevenson (pictured at left) in episode 25.

Here's the key concept behind The Man From U.N.C.L.E., each episode follows the exploits of two key agents, Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuriyakin who work for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, in their struggles against THRUSH (no acronym given by the point I'm at in season one). Each episode follows their exploits from the point of view of an innocent, someone entirely unfamiliar to the dangers of Spy vs. Spy.

In my personal favourite episode of the first season, The Never-Never Affair, the innocent is a Portuguese translator for U.N.C.L.E. named Mandy Stevenson. Mandy is pretty bored with the hum-drum life of office work, and craves to do some actual fieldwork. Humouring her, Napoleon Solo sends her on a fake mission, leading her to believe that the risks are deadly (he's actually sending her to get a special brand of tobacco for the boss) and due to a misunderstanding at the office, sends her out with a real document of importance, which ensures the men after her will take extreme measures to get it back.

Played by Barbara Feldon (made famous as Agent 99 in Get Smart), Mandy come across as someone who is tired of the daily grind and really wants to get into something dangerous, and the epoisode does not disappoint: from a gunfight in a movie theatre (playing a war film) to one of the more exciting fight scenes of the season (in a mechanics garage and involving flying blades as well as fire), the episode is packed with misunderstandings and the simple bravery and initiative of this young woman.

Although the episode is number 25 in the season, The Never-Never Affair would be a great place for anyone interested in the series to get a taste for what the series can offer.