Hau She Rolls - Hau Tran's Daily Inanities » Books

Enter the Sandman

hau — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:03:34 +0000

I had heard of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman from a friend of mine, a long time ago, but I never sat down to read it until Evan e-mailed me and asked me if I wanted to be a part of his book club. I figured that this was the perfect incentive. We were to read the entire series, for the entire year, one volume a month. The wait would be devastating, though, because I finished the book rather quickly and would have to wait awhile to read the second volume

The Sandman begins with an ancient magic society trying to capture Death, but instead receives the Sandman (called many different names and titles throughout the book). They decide to trap him anyway, trying to bargain with him, stealing his tools and clothing. However, for the duration of his imprisonment, he witnesses two generations of human lives pass, and is finally free–but, not without dire consequences. People all over the world have suffered from a sleeping sickness, in which they are unable to wake up. Full lifetimes have passed for some, who are only awake for a few dazed moments, before falling back asleep. Additionally, his kingdom has fallen apart. The King sets on a quest to find the three tools he needs in order to restore his power, and consequently, the world.

We meet all sorts of characters, and witness all sorts of horrors, as other Vertigo characters make their cameos. It’s a dark series, yet there is still a sense of hope in humanity. Gaiman has somehow sculpted the perfect character for The King of Dreams. He is an incredibly likable character.

Anyway, this is only Preludes & Nocturnes. I highly recommend it, though, and will continue to read the series!

PAX Will Be Among Us!

hau — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:38:43 +0000

Well, after not having written for about 3 months now, I am back, and PAX will be among us! How exciting is that? I went to Comic Con and Anime Expo this summer, and neither of those were as fun or as enticing as PAX was, and will be. It’s good that I went–at least, I got to know what it’s like going to those other two conventions–but, I now know that, for the most part, there is only one major convention/expo/festival that really fancies me, and that’s the one that takes place during the sunniest time of the year in Seattle

My Life in LA?

It’s been pretty good, actually. My summer classes were rather demanding on my time, particularly one class that went from a 16-week syllabus to a 6-week timeframe, resulting in a lot of homework if not due once a week, then at least twice a week! But, I got by, and I am happy to report that I got an A in both my classes! I’m taking Design II this fall at SMC, and am still waiting to finalize my schedule for CSULA–hopefully nothing short of fun, productive design courses that will help me reach my goal of turning out a Masters Program-worthy portfolio.

Other than school, I’ve been mostly just hanging out with friends, video gaming, eating (cooking and eating out), working, and trying to get my apartment together. I finally (three months later!!) got all the components of my apartment together; now, I just need to unpack, assemble, organize, and my apartment will be complete! I’m pretty excited, actually–it feels like I’m in the last 9 yards. So close to the finish line–I hope the long wait will be worth it For more pictures of things like food and … well, food, go to my Flickr!

Video Game + Books Round Up

So! The video games I’ve been playing have been: Heroes of Newerth, Shadow Complex (which we beat in 12 hours, unlocking Completionist), some DoTA (that was before HoN came out), and an unsuccessful run of L4D in Expert mode last night

While not gaming, I’ve been reading the Percy Jackson series, and re-reading all of Harry Potter (and thusly falling in love with the series all over again!). I need more YA fantasy books … any suggestions? No Twilight, please. I already tried to read it, and as much as I tried to force my brain to read like a 13-year-old girl, it just wouldn’t happen.

I will try to write in here more, but it would probably be more conducive if I actually made a new layout for the blog … ehh, we’ll see

Journey to Enlightment … sorta.

hau — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 07:36:43 +0000

Wow, this Firefox tool is REALLY nifty! I can post anytime while I’m browsing webpages–and that’s quite often. So YAY!

I’ve been on this intellectual-renewal-type-wannabe binge–no thanks, of course, to my Global Cinema class! The students in there only make me feel THAT much smarter and/or surprised that the intelligence of an average person in America is a lot lower than I thought (but Jay Leno’s “Jaywalk” skits should really have been a tall-tell sign that such was the case). But they have no factor in my current expedition for self-betterment; nope, it’s actually the fact that I’m exposing myself to movies from around the globe that’s got me going!

All back story rambling aside, I currently finished readingÂ Me Talk Pretty One Day by Dave Sedaris. Why the HELL haven’t I read this a lot earlier? Gosh, I’m like, SO five years behind. But in all seriousness, he’s a hilarious and witty writer–although I think I still like the other Dave better (but who am I to compare them? Maybe because the English teacher who made us read Eggers recommended Sedaris to me, discovering how fucking astonished I was by this masterpiece that is his autobiography). His writing’s a lot more stylistic and has a lot of personality–not that Sedaris is missing that, I’m just really biased

I also saw Avenue Montaigne over at Shattuck Cinemas a week or so ago. Cute French movie! Watch for a good time and/or light-hearted laughs. The main character Jessica, played by Cecile De France, is so adorable in this movie. PLUS Sydney Pollack is in it, playing as another director (although I think he should have played himself, that would’ve been awesome!).

Right now I’m reading Catch-22 by Joseph Heller–yes, another book I should’ve read 5 years ago but haven’t gotten around to until now. I’m such a dork