Raffi Torres is Mexican...

Hahahah...Off of the Covered in Oil blog...

The "Block"

You know...if I had realized sooner that it was the fault of evil pencils all over the world concerning my lack of production...I would have given up drawing a long time ago. I mean if I think about all the hapless pieces of paper I've destroyed due to the perceived mocking, it's a little upsetting.

My favorite cartoon that expresses the struggle we have with the "block" comes from an artist (boobookittyfuck - no...I'm not kidding) I found on deviantART - does a lot of strange, dark, and funny stuff as I'm sure you've probably already figured out from the name. Click on the cartoon...it will take you to his gallery.


My voices can beat your voices...

UFC 76: The Day After

You know...I really love this site that I've found that provides videos of all the major fights on the UFC cards. Most of the time, I'm simply too lazy or cheap to seek out a Pay-per-view event - so I've very happy that someone out there is consistently providing torrents or online videos so I can "catch up".

Fight card (just the ones I felt like watching):

Diego Sanchez vs Jon Fitch
Forest Griffin vs Maurcia Rua
Chuck Liddell vs Keith Jardine

Diego Sanchez vs Jon Fitch
Diego Sanchez, winner of the UF Season 1 series, is fresh off a loss that marred his perfect 19-0 record. Known to be a little "peculiar" in his ways, Diego is a submission monster...if he takes to you the ground, the guy can slap a submission on you at a ridiculous speed. In fact, many thought he would be too tough to beat, that is until Koschek got in the ring with him and won the unanimous decision.

Jon Fitch has been on an unbeaten streak that's been peppered with impressive submissions. Though his background is wrestling, he's been rounding out his other skills quite well, and most of his fights have been fun to watch. He's also a training partner of Josh Koschek, so he's probably had a head start in research on Sanchez's fighting style. Both Sanchez and Fitch are gunning for their 20th win.

The video I have starts just after the 1st minute of the 2nd round. I have no idea why, but whatever.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

Stuff to watch for:

• The crowd is not liking Sanchez at all. The guy is constantly peppered with boos whenever he's in control.
• The second round is a venerable bonanza of pretzel-like scrambling.
• Starting around 2:45 of the second round, Fitch tries for a rear naked choke which Sanchez reverses into a triangle.
  
• Fitch finishes out the second round with some heavy hammer fists to Sanchez's face
• Sanchez slaps on a guillotine at the 4:20 mark of the 3rd round. Fitch rides it out until Sanchez tires himself and then pulls out
• Sanchez tries for a kimora around the 2:45 of the 3rd. Fitch punches it off.
• 45 seconds left, Sanchez slaps on a triangle, Fitch gets out
• 15 seconds left, Sanchez goes for the triangle again, and again Fitch gets out
• Funny Quote of the Night: "Hey, just let me say something...you don't need to boo...you don't need to boo..." [Sanchez]
• Split decision for Jon Fitch.
  

Forest Griffin vs Maurcia Rua (Shogun)

Okay, so it's Forrest Griffin, the boy everyone loves to love, and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, the guy everyone was waiting to see in the UFC. Forrest has been diligently training in Randy Couture's camp to improve his ground skills, and hopefully his confidence. People have been dying to see Shogun in action ever since they've heard that he signed with the UFC.

Factoid: Randy Couture predicted Griffin (who will be in Griffin's corner for the fight) to upset Shogun in this match-up

VIEW VIDEO HERE

Randomness:

• For the first 1 and a half, Griffin is on his back - much improved ground guard and defense
• 1:50 into the first round, Griffin gets the takedown and Shogun's back momentarily
• Final seconds of the 1st round, Griffin regains top control and get a couple punches off before time expires
• 4:28 into the 2nd round, Griffin gets a guillotine attempt that Shogun pulls out of right away
• 2:45, Griffin stuffs Shogun's attempt at a takedown, and takes his back
• Around the 2:10 mark, Shogun looks completely gassed
• The last minute, Griffin pounces and proceeds to pound on a squirming, exhausted Shogun until the round expires
• Around the 4:30 mark, Griffin pulls an early triangle attempt
• Around the 27 second mark, Griffin gets Shogun's back and slaps on the rear naked choke.
  
• Win by submission for Forrest Griffin
  

Chuck Liddell vs Keith Jardine

We move on from the grapplers to the strikers. Both Liddell (vs. Ramapage Jackson) & Jardine (vs. Houston Alexander) are coming of humiliating defeats where both got knocked out. Both are looking to getting back to their winning ways and are notorious for their striking power. Many feel that Jardine is outclassed here, and seems he goes in as the underdog.

VIEW VIDEO HERE

This is a true strikers match - plus they go the distance, something Liddell hasn't done in a very long time. Jardine, despite (or because) of his spasmatic styles, manages some nice strikes, kicks, and a poke to Liddell's eye.

• Last 20 seconds, Liddell gets some nice trademarked overhand punches on Jardine who quickfoots it back.
  
• 4:25 of the 2nd round, Jardine lands a hard body kick to Liddell's left side.
  
• 4:15 of the 2nd round, Jardine lands a sharp punch to Liddell's face. He goes down, and Jardine pounces. Liddell scrambles immediately to his feet.
• Jardine throws a punch but slips. Liddell is on him and throws a punch/knee combo that leaves Jardine staggering around the ring
• End of the 2nd round, Liddell ends up going to the wrong corner. His left side looks like a piece or raw meat because of Jardine's kicks.
• Start of the 3rd round, Jardine is getting off a series of unanswered hard leg kicks.
  
• 3:47 of the 3rd round, Jardine get a leg kick, left hook combo
• Around 20 seconds left, Liddell tries to go for the finish, throwing some heavy combos, chasing Jardine around the ring.
• Classic "you feel embarassed for the guy" moment: Liddell raises his arms in victory when the round ends and some of the crowd boos.
• Split decision for Keith Jardine.
  

New Hockey Season, New Fashion Statement...

Yesssssss...another hockey season *fist pump*. I'm so excited, I can barely contain myself. I might even go out and buy myself a brand new Edmonton Oiler jersey. I haven't gotten once since the 3rd logo was unveiled back in 2001.

'Lo and behold, it seems to be good timing on my part. The Oilers just officially released the brand spanking new Reebok jerseys at the annual Joey Moss Cup on Sunday, September 16th.

Barely a day old, and the complaint fest has already begun as Oiler fans from all over the place, traditionalist or not, are finding things not to like about the new attire our boys in blue will have to wear.

"It's too simple."

"They should have updated and used the 3rd logo as the main logo."

"There's not enough orange."

"They should have gone vintage. It would have been cooler with laces"

"It looks too much like the practice jersey."

Blah blah blah. Man, people, you just can't please anybody these days. I do have to admit...the new jerseys look a LOT like the Platinum practice jerseys. I don't really understand how people can say what a practice jersey should look like to begin with.

I'm actually a big fan of the practice jerseys, but that's just me, and I'm finding out that I'm definitely NOT in the majority. I happen to think the the traditional Edmonton Oiler logo is the best looking in the entire league and simply is best, so I'm more than happy we're sticking with the original rather than the 3rd logo (which I don't mind, but do not favor over the old).

Either way...I think the new jerseys look pretty sharp on the guys when they hit the ice. If you want to check out them out in action - the Oilers put up an awesome photo gallery of the Joey Moss Cup. VIEW GALLERY HERE

There is one major beef I have, however, with the NHL merchandising world. Please explain to me...why did you make a PINK women's jersey, and not a true Oiler colour one? Why is it, just because I'm a girl, I have to wear pink?

Hey, if you love pink, all the power to you, but who do I have to kill in order to get a women's Oiler's jersey...that LOOKS like an Oiler's jersey, logo and all, and isn't so huge that I look either as shapely has a tree trunk, or like I'm 9 months pregnant?

Oh wait...they DID make those jerseys...for like HALF a season and then replaced them with pink.

Another book read...

The Golden Compass
By Phillip Pullman

I'm a little ashamed to say that I've had the His Dark Materials trilogy sitting on my bookshelves for approximately 6 years. Yes...another youth book that's designed to capture the imagination of the younger generation. Another fantastical adventure into another parallel universe, where things are not quite real, or quite made up.

I found that I throughly enjoyed it. I had a friend tell me that she didn't like the chauvinistic tendencies within the story. I probably wouldn't have noticed it as much, if she hadn't already told me about it in the first place. Perhaps I'm not critical enough of the books I read, but then I was overcritical, I'd probably spend too much of my life resenting the time wasted reading the sheer amount of garbage I've come across.

Yes...there are chauvinistic tendencies within The Golden Compass but I've accepted it as part of the world Pullman has created. I like the fact that Lyra, a girl barely fit to be tolerated in a man's scholarly world, is a plucky, obnoxious, rude, intelligent, social misfit who's destiny is to destroy destiny, and who's one talent is to different from everyone else without trying to be different.

I went to the movie theaters a couple weeks ago to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In the previews, they had the up and coming movie version of The Golden Compass. After reading the first book of this series, I'm half dreading, half anticipating this movie. I dread that it will become another fiasco like Eragon. I'm hopefully anticipating a more successful movie endeavor along the lines of Harry Potter, but maybe I'm hoping for too much?

Either way, I've enjoyed the The Golden Compass to continue the journey on with The Subtle Knife. Hopefully the ride won't disappoint.

UFC 75: 48 hours later

Okay, so it's pointless for me to do a play-by-play blog of UFC. I'm actually not sure why some people do this, as I would rather just watch the fight rather than have only half my attention on it while I type furiously what's going on.

Instead, I've left it for 48 hours after the fact. Watched all the damn fights again and decided to share a couple of my insipid observations. Also included are lovely links to the fights of the evening (even if the quality is kind of crappy).

Just remember that online videos are not written in stone. What is here now, may be gone a few days later.

The roster for UFC 75:

Anthony Torres vs. Jess Liaudin
Paul Taylor vs. Marcus Davis
Houston Alexander vs. Alessio Sakara
Mirko Cro Cop vs Cheick Kongo
Matt Hamill vs. Michael Bisping
Quinton Rampage Jackson vs Dan Hollywood Henderson

Right off the bat, I'm going to admit that I know very little about fighters outside of the UFC world. It probably because the accessibility to international fight events are slim pickings, especially if you're not plugged into digital cable/satellite (c'est moi). Also, there's a good 8 years where I didn't keep in touch with the going ons of MMA, so my knowledge of fighters contains the really old fighters and the up-and-coming ones that have already been well exposed in the UFC. I had to do a lot of background checks for these fights just to figure out what the hell is going on.

Anthony Torres vs. Jess Liaudin
Anthony Torres, 29-year-old, had one UFC match under his belt, a win against Pat Healy, and was coming into this match with an MMA record of 5-0. He trains out of Hawaii and his fighting background is in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. So I guess it's no surprise that his strength is in submissions.

Jess Liaudin is a 33-year-old Frenchman, fighting out of London. He's one of those older fighters who has had quite a bit of exposure to international fighting. His MMA record before this fight was 10-8-0, with 1 match (win) in the UFC. Though his background was initially karate and kickboxing, he's suppose to be fairly well-rounded in both standup and ground, though describes as unorthodox.

VIEW VIDEO HERE

This ends up as a one-rounder fight and incredibly one sided to boot. Highlights:

• Liaudin scores a fantastic strike to the face at the 2 minute mark, but can't seem to finish it as Torres manages to fight him off and eventually stands back up.
  
• Liaudin scores another knockdown punch with a little more than a minute left in the first round, but again doesn't finish it, as Torres staggers back to his feet again.
  
• Liaudin proceeds to pummel Torres with heavy strikes to the head and face despite the fact (or because) that Torres had him in a limp clinch. The fight gets called with 50 seconds left do to the technical knockout (Torres was out on his feet).

Paul Taylor vs. Marcus Davis
Paul Taylor is a 27-year-old English fighter with an MMA record of 8-0-1 and 1 match (win) with the UFC - (UFC 70 Nations Collide). I saw the one match he was in, and he seemed to be a fairly well-rounded fighter.

Marcus Davis (34 years old) is someone I'm more familiar with since he was on The Ultimate Fighter 2 season. Best know for his heavy hands (ex-boxer) and super quick footwork and strikes. He was on quite a tear since a mediocre showing during the UF show, with a 4-win streak under his belt.

VIEW VIDEO HERE

Another one-round fight. Getting shorter, I swear! Stuff to look for:

• From the very start, some fast little flurries of strikes are are pretty fun to watch
• About 30 seconds in, the ex-boxer tries for a leg sweep/takedown (looks like the striker is trying to expand on his skills - nice)
• Just a little over a minute in, Taylor gets a solid, hard kick to Davis' head and knocks him down
• Submission of the night: Davis gains full mount and proceeds to pound on Taylor, who's still managing to hang in there and is actively defending himself. About 50 seconds to go, Taylor bucks up and starts turning Davis over. As Davis slides to the mat, Davis swings his leg up and slaps on an arm bar submission. Not to shabby at all for a boxer.
  

Houston Alexander vs. Alessio Sakara
Houston Alexander is best known for his 48-second knockout debut against The Ultimate Fighter contestant Keith Jardine at UFC 71 (see fight here). It was a short, vicious fight, with Jardine on the receiving end of Alexander's fists in his mouth. So I guess the number one question most people were asking was if this guy was for real, or if the knockout of Jardine was a fluke.

Alessio Sakara has been in the UFC for a couple years, with a not so shiny record of 2-2. Still fairly young at 26, he's known as a striker with a boxing and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu background.

VIEW VIDEO HERE

Another ridiculously short fight. Don't blink and maybe you'll see the following:

• About 20 seconds in, Sakara scores a one-legged takedown, but Alexander ends up kicking back so Sakara flies off of him. They scramble to their feet and Alexander throws a couple dangerous looking knees towards Sakara's chin.
• Exactly 45 seconds in, Alexander throws an BEAUTIFUL, perfectly-placed knee square on Sakara's chin. Sakara goes down like a sack of bricks.
  
• Alexander attains full-mount and pounds out Sakura.
  
• Time of match: 1 minute.
• Alexander's total UFC career thus far: 1 minute 48 seconds.
  

Mirko Cro Cop vs Cheick Kongo
Okay, so this is the big "redemption" match for Mirko Cro Cop, named as one of the world's most dangerous strikers. This was the guy that was suppose to fight Randy Couture at UFC 74, but ended up getting a knockout kick to the head from one Gabriel Gonzaga. Randy has since then safely defended the Heavyweight championship by outmanuvering Gonzaga, but Cro Cop still needs to redeem himself from losing a fight that a majority of people have said he shouldn't have lost.

Factoid: Randy Couture has been on a prediction tear. He chose Gabriel Gonzaga to win his fight against Cro Cop because of his strong stand-up skills and submission ability.

Cheick Kongo...I've never seen him fight (because I kept missing the events he was in, or his matches weren't televised), but this guy HUGE! On a completely irrelevant thought, Kongo is as black as Cro Cop is white. The contrast is incredibly striking. If you want to see someone who's born to be a fighter, Kongo is probably it. The dude's been training since he was 5, and although in the past he's had some weaknesses in his ground game, it seems he's been training harder in the Rampage camp to incorporate a wider range of skills.

VIEW VIDEO HERE

The first painfully long match on the card so far. Cro Cop fans were most likely not very pleased with his performance during this one. Goes the full 3 rounds. A few highlights if you managed to stay awake:

• At the 3:37 mark, Kongo goes for another kick, swings a little high and end up on his ass and IMMEDIATELY bounces back up again as Cro Cop tries to pounce on him (sort of the trampoline effect).
• At the 1:55 mark, Kongo goes for a leg kick, Cro Cop steps in for a nice take down. (Not sure how I feel about 2 strikers pulling off the ground game...hmmm)
  
• Zzz...
• 7 seconds left in the 1st round, Kongo rolls Cro Cop up and over and gains top position as time expires.
• At 3:35 of the second round...hey look at this! Kongo's got side control (Joe sounds pleasantly surprised).
• Zzz...
  
• 4:19 in the 3rd, Cro Cop takes a solid knee in the jewels, not once, but twice in a row. Ouch.
• 1:02 to go, Kongo puts up a tight little punching combo and follows up with a solid knee
  

Matt Hamill vs. Michael Bisping
Alright...the Ultimate Fighter 3 lightweight finale...or what should have been the UF3 Finale. Hamill, the deaf, highly decorated wrestler who had the misfortune of getting injured during the UF3 season. Tito Ortiz's number 1 pick to win the whole thing, Hamill has a lot he wants to prove, especially the fact that he has more than just wrestling skills to get him through the MMA. You want to cheer for the guy, simply for the fact that he's overcome so much and accomplished so much in such a short time. On the other hand, he does and says so many stupid things, he also makes you want to punch his face in. Can't win either way, I guess.

Michael Bisping, winner of the lightweight title of the UF3 season, is the poster boy for the UK UFC invasion. In his fights, including his finale, I've really enjoyed Bisping bash his way through his opponents. He's a pretty feisty fighter, and well rounded enough that he's familiar with quite a few techniques. I've noticed though, as he continues (unbeaten), he's become a little sloppy in his matches, perhaps over confident, if not just a bit irritatingly arrogant. This match looks to be no different. I figure either in his next match or two, he's going to get beaten down pretty badly, and perhaps like GSP (who I still love by the way) was, is due for a bit of humble pie.

Controversial Decision? This is by far the most controversial of all the fights on this card. Split decision, and many on the internet are disagreeing with the verdict. This is the problem having judges in sports like this, but in the end, that's the reason you fight so you don't leave it up to them. There's also a reason why judges are judges and spectators are just spectators. A lot of viewers are forgetting that a take-down doesn't guarantee the win if fighter can't do anything with them.

VIEW VIDEO HERE
Personally, I think Bisping looks terrible at the beginning of the fight where there are points where he's almost running away from Hamill so the guy can't get his huge paws on him. However, he settles down in the 2nd and 3rd, and looks more capable of control Hamill's attacks so he's able to inflict little to no damage. Even with the win, none of us will be surprised if he drops down to middleweight after this.
Random points of observation:

• 4:33 mark, Hamill attempts a flying knee.
• Last 5 seconds of the 1st round, Bisping pulls off the butt scoot to get away from Hamill after catching a punch. Guess it's a good thing the time expired before Hamill could lumber over.
• 4:49 mark of the 3rd round, Bisping has a NICE right hand, left hook combo.
• 1:48 mark, Bisping attempts a knee, Hamill takes him down.
  

Quinton Rampage Jackson vs Dan Hollywood Henderson
Whoo hoo...finally, at long last, the main event of the event. After the last couple of snoozers, you can only hope that at least the main event was worth the wait. Rampage, 2-0 in the UFC, 27-6-0 in the MMA, and the UFC Light Heavyweight champion, all at only the age of 29, won an impressive victory against the then supposed invincible Ice-Man, Chuck Liddell. Now it's the dream match up, the unification of the UFC and Pride Light Heavyweight titles.

Rampage's opponent, 37-year-old Dan Henderson, Pride's current middleweight and welterweight champion. The guy has more hardware than Home Depot. Right of the bat, we already know that this is no face match, something to pad the victory vaults for UFC's champion.

Factoid: Randy Couture predicted that Rampage would come out on top in this match given Henderson's tendency to forget his game plan and duke it out with his opponent. Couture also correctly predicted that Rampage would win over Liddell for the title belt at UFC 71.

VIEW VIDEO HERE

I enjoyed this match so much, I'm not even going to bother giving you highlights because you should watch the whole thing anyway. This is what a great matchup should be like with two high caliber fighters in the cage. On top of this, there's no false animosity, just pure competitive spirit...Henderson & Jackson are actually great friends, even having trained with each other on occasion.

By the way, the interview with Rampage at the end by Joe - it's a gooder. Rampage is one funny guy.

Quote of the night: ...I knew [Henderson] was tough. But I never knew he would beat up my fists with his face. It's, it's, man, my fists hurt right now...[Insert Joe's question about his wrist injury] Actually my wrist did good, but my knuckles going upside his head, they hurt, it's a whole new injury now...

Why Does It Feel LIke I'm Back at School (Even Though I'm Not)?

BACK TO SCHOOL
It strange because every time September rolls around, I feel like I have to prepare myself to head back to school. I have no idea why since I've been out of school for quite a while now, but I can't seem to stop myself from thinking "Oh crap, Labour Day is coming up, maybe I should get some new school supplies and clothes."

Huh?

I actually was pretty fond of the new stuff at the beginning of the year. I can't tell you how many pencil crayons I have as a result of my elementary - junior high days. It didn't matter if I still had supplies from the previous year. I had to have a brand new set, brand new eraser, brand new pencils (that's right - no computers back then).

Occasionally, as I walk by these Back-to-School sales, I'll catch myself staring covetously at pencil crayons, brand new, all neatly lined up in their pristine plastic packages. I don't even use pencil crayons anyway since I'm a black and white kind of girl. Whatever the reason for my urge to "school it", I also hold it entirely responsible for my "I forgot to study for my exams" nightmares.

ADDING COLOUR TO MY LIFE
I should go to Michael's and buy some paint instead of shiny new pencil crayons. I'm thinking of introducing some red in my black and white world. I also have to figure out how I'm going to store the rusted metal sheets my uncle has so kindly salvaged for me for a project I've been thinking about.

It's times like these I wish I had a magical interior that would accommodate all storage requirements. Wouldn't that be handy? A black hole storage room? Then again, if it's anything like my purse, I would never find what I would need. It's hard enough trying to keep my life organized enough so I can do what I want to...when I want to. Needless to say, I'm not that organized.

BOOK LIST FOR SEPTEMBER THUS FAR
I seem to be running out of books to read for a little while. Kind of broke, so it's not like I can just go out and buy a book when I want to. I'm also trying to be a little more picky about what I'm picking up these days since the space on my shelves are rather limited. Thus far, I haven't read any novels, only graphic novels. I'm thinking I need a break from sci fi & fantasy and may need to pick up a mystery book or two.

Eden: It's an Endless World Vol. 1 - 12 (ongoing)
by Hiroki Endo

Hmmm...how can I explain Eden. The first book of this series I read, I found myself a little disappointed and a little confused. The story starts off about a young boy and girl, and their dying mentor isolated on an island where the entire population had been wiped out by a strange virus that causes the human body to harden into a shell and the internal organs to deteriorate into liquid mush. Yummy.

I never read the synopsis of this series, so perhaps my misguided assumptions allowed me to think that this was going to be one of those "Oh man, we're the only two people left in the world who are healthy - we have to re-populate the world with our offspring." Ick.

It really isn't like that at all. It's more like "Oh shit, 15% of the world was wiped out by this stupid virus, and we still can't seem to stop fighting each other". The novels are filled with continual bouts of graphic (haha) violence (more so than your average comic book) and periodically random hard core comedic porn (I'm really not kidding - so don't try and read it while you're at work), and a revolving door of characters where as soon as you're introduced to them, they're either gunned down, mutilated, or blown up.

I can't even compare this to a Sin City type of comic, which relishes in blood, sex, and violence but in an surreal sort of way. Eden is filled with characters and human behavior disturbingly grounded in reality if the world was at war, filled with drugs, disease, and poverty, any country, any race, any religion. Oh wait. Isn't that where we are?

Okay, okay...so there is a very distinctive science fiction flair to this story. I forgot to mention robotic suits, cyborgs, AIs, and robots, but strangely enough...we may not even be all that far away from that in our world today are we with technology rapidly developing at the rate it is? We don't have a virus that changes humans into cognitive crystal...but hey, gotta stretch things a LITTLE...

If I dig through all the violence of the story line, there is the fascinating struggle for the characters to find happiness in what they view as a very bleak and brutal world. The jury is still out on Eden. I'm obviously finding it interesting enough to continue reading, yet as I'm reading it, I'm not actually sure if I'm enjoying it. Definitely not something I would recommend to just anyone - if you have sensitive views or opinions, it's best to steer away from this one.

Book Addiction Relapse

So, August brought a lot of debt, bills, and general summer burnout. Usually when I'm suffering from extensive apathy and lethargy, I turn to one of my favorite past times - voraciously consuming mass quantities of books.

I have a little problem when it comes to books. I have an addiction. I freely admit that. I admit that left to my own devices, I could easily got through 1, maybe 2 books in a day...that is if the publishing companies would just keep up. I guess it's a good thing I have other hobbies, or I would have long molded into my couch by now.

Why do I read. Hmm...it's a pretty easy answer. I read for the escapist entertainment it provides me. The more unrealistic and fantastical, the more I'm drawn to it. I'm not interested submersing myself in realism. I don't reject it completely, but I've always been happiest with one foot firmly anchored in my real life and the other flailing away in another world filled with magic, courage, and warped human (or not so human) perception.

HARRY POTTER VOL. 1-7
by J.K. Rowling (COMPLETE)

So in August I started off my reading marathon with the odyssey of Harry Potter. No...not just the final book in the 7-book installment, but all 7...in one week...one after the other. I'm sure many, many, many people have already reviewed, critiqued, ripped apart, and analyzed every tiny detail of J.K. Rowling's epic legacy, so I'm not really going to try.

I've probably read the first 4 books at least 4 times each. I know them well, but have always felt compelled to read them over again when a new book was released. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is by far my favorite book in the series. I've always been a sucker for an underdog and a good competition.

As the series wore on, I felt my enthusiasm wane for the repeating format of a school year crammed into 400 pages of predictable magic. I've never been a huge fan of time constraints within the story, and I just became more aware of it as I read on.

Don't get me wrong. I still enjoy Harry Potter, but I probably took on a little too much by reading the complete series all at once. To top it off, I capped off my HP marathon by watching the movie of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Yikes.

Anyway, despite my disappointments (mainly to overexposure), I will give HP my vote simply for getting 5-year-olds excited when they see a book that's over 400 pages long. In a digital world where most people barely have the attention span to read a hastily typed text message on their phone - this, if anything, is huge. That makes me happy.

THE INHERITANCE TRILOGY VOL. 1 & 2
by Christopher Paolini

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up these books at Costco. I had heard great reviews about the Inheritance trilogy, as well that the author and started writing the first book, Eragon, when he was only 15. Great story, great writing...great. But in the end, that was not what swayed me to buy these books.

I am, without a doubt, a complete and utter sucker for a well made book.

And well...these were a pair of really well made books. In a set. With DRAGONS one it. Wow. You got me there.

Okay, okay...not the most intelligent of choices, but still...still. *sigh*. No excuses. Anyway, these books had been sitting on my shelf for about 5 months before I decided to pull them down and crack them open. I was coming off my Harry Potter binge, and like a bad habit, I couldn't stop. I end up reading a lot of garbage that way.

I'm thankful that the Inheritance books are far from garbage. Incredibly grateful. Nothing makes me sadder than a beautiful book that's a horrible read (Okay, I lie. Bad tasting cupcakes could make me sadder).

For a young writer, Paolini has great way of telling a story without being pretentious. There's no unnecessary padding that can bog down a fantasy story. Many authors feel the need to explain EVERYTHING, down to the different items that are packed into a trunk (The Princess Bride), or require 10 pages to explain how a person moved from one room to another (Robert Jordan). Many readers enjoy this. I don't. By the way, I blame my university background for padding my sentences unnecessarily with "pretentious" words.

I throughly enjoyed the flow of the story across both books. They aren't cookie cutters with each other, and is there isn't a neat and tidy ending to each. If you're going to write a great trilogy, that is probably what is best. Honestly, how can you NOT love a well written story about magic and dragons? Nice dragons, that is. Ones that talk in your mind and allow you to fly with them on their backs. My dreams are made of this stuff. I'm eagerly anticipating the third book, Fricaya, but it seems that it may be a wait before it's released. I'm willing to wait for the ending of this one.

DEATH NOTE VOL 1-12 (Complete)
Written by Tsugumi Ohba; illustrated by Takeshi Obata (Graphic Novels)

In the world of graphic novels, a picture can be worth a thousand words. Very rarely, though, are words as important as the picture. Death Note bring new weight to actually "reading" a graphic novel with its delightfully dark and morbid story of a brilliant young student who comes upon an otherworldly way of removing the bad in order to create a "new world".

The title is your first clue as to the method. In Death Note's universe, there is a "Death God World" outside of the realm of the living world, filled with reapers who carry black notebooks in which they can write down the names of humans in order to kill them.

That's right. Instead of the horrifying image of a reaper cutting your soul to pieces with a massive scythe, instead you are killed (at a distance no less - kind of like modern day war, no?) by having your name written down in a little black book.

Wow....the possibilities that could be had with that last comment...leaves me almost speechless.

Anyway, the student, whose name is Light Yagami (or Raito Yagami), happens upon a Death Note outside his school. It had been dropped on purpose by a bored, disillusioned death god, named Ryuk, looking for a little pick-me-up to brighten his immortality. To facilitate this entertainment, Ryuk had conveniently written down instructions on how the Death Note is used, and some (not all) of the rules that bind it.

The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.

If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject's name, it will happen.

If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack.

After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

So our teenage protagonist decides to try out this Death Note out of sheer curiosity. He's convinced (mostly), that this is a sick little prank that someone with too much time on their hands has put together. To his complete dismay, it actually works, and along with this incredibly power to kill any of those he knows name and face, he can now see the Death God Ryuk and converse with him too.

Light sees his chance to change the world using the Death Note by ridding the world of all who would do evil. Then he would become "God" in this new world. As a side note, Ryuk is greatly entertained and enjoys eating apples in the living world.

Before you know it, criminals are dropping dead of heart attacks left, right, and center, in prisons all over the place. There are whispers of a killer that fans are calling "Kira". The international politicians are beginning to panic and call in a super sleuth, code name "L", a genius at solving unsolvable cases.

And THAT'S when things get interesting. This story has its moments of dark, gory violence, however, it's not as gratuitous as you may think. Everything about this series is deliberate, very much like an epic chess match between two geniuses or a battle between two superior swordsmen. This is reflected in the struggle for dominance between Light and "L", whether it's a war of words, or a well-played match of tennis (literally). Death Note is an engrossing, mesmerizing narrative, that pokes apart the warped human mind in the midst of absolute power. Loved it.