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Aaron Alexovich–kimmie66 (2007) [Minx #6]

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Aaron Alexovich, Graphic Novel, Imagine Dragons, Minx, Parenting, Short Books, Suicide, Technology, The Future on August 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

kimie66SOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“Inactive” (2014).

alAs I mentioned, there  are only four songs from Al’s new album that he didn’t make videos for.  The biggest surprise to me is that one of the songs is this parody of Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” (a song that, I’m not supposed to like but which I do).  Al’s parody is fantastic, but, given that it’s about being inactive (and is kind of gross) it would probably make for a very disturbing video.

The song begins sounding just like the original (of course) and we soon learn that the protagonist is, well, really inactive, (it makes me laugh that this song about inactivity is so upbeat and anthemic, although I think their “Woah oh ohs” are a bit more lethargic than the original.  I love how he spoofed the breathing-in section by saying he’s using his inhaler.

And then as with many of Al’s couch potato songs, this one gets into some funny details–he hates the show he’s watching but can’t reach the remote control, he’s growing cobwebs on his feet, etc.

The song ends “really inactive, not so attractive.”  It’s actually quite a depressing song, but strangely funny.  It’s also one of my favorite songs on a disc filled with favorites.

[READ: July 27, 2014] kimmie66

This book was written and drawn by Aaron Alexovich.  Alexovich drew the other Minx title Confessions of a Blabbermouth.  And his drawing style is much the same here–a little wild, a little crazy and, his virtual world is also convincingly different (much like the situation in Blabbermouth).

I wasn’t too keen on the story when it first opened.  It is set in the future (23rd century, we find out later) and is all about how most people spend their time in the virtual world, in specially created lairs that meet their desires.  This is a fairly old trope, although given that this book is 7 years old, it may not have been all that old at the time, so I’ll cut him some slack.  But anyhow, it starts off with all this jargon and such about 23rd century VR and whatnot.  And I was a little, well, uncompelled.  But then Alexovich brings in a human element and the story quickly grows very interesting.

So kimmie66 is not the main character exactly.  The main character is Telly, a young girl who spends most of her time in the virtual lair “Elysium” a kind of goth hangout (Alexovich’s style can most easily be labelled goth, even if that is a very simplified description).  Telly is pretty much herself in her virtual world–she looks pretty much exactly like her real life appearance.  This is uncommon, of course, since most people make their idealized selves online.  Like her friend nakokat (she amusingly points out, nako means cat, so her name is cat cat).  She loves nakokat, but doesn’t know anything about her in real life.  And then there’s her friend kimmie66 who has just sent Telly a suicide note.

Kimmie66 is the daughter of the founder of the TenSys, a company that makes “Minisoft” look puny.  And Telly doesn’t know if kimmie66 has really killed herself or not, but it seems that kimmie66 or someone like her is appearing in all of the different virtual lairs–something that is forbidden.  And she seems rather ghostly in all of them.  What is going on?

She calls in the help of Coil, a guy who hangs out in her brother’s lair (a scary place where half the people’s avatars are creepy ghosts)  A word on the lairs–although they were kind of simplistic in terms of content, i really liked them, especially this clown one.  It was weird and funny.  Coil thinks that kimmie66 is just playing–a poor rich girl–until he realizes that something bigger is going on.  Something that could threaten all of the lairs.

It is only when Telly meets kimmie66’s real life mom, the founder of Tensys, that she learns exactly what is going on, and it’s pretty intense.

This story proved to be far more interesting and thoughtful than I imagined from the beginning, and I really enjoyed the end did not reject technology but it did suggest that there was more to life than VR.  And again, tha drawing style complimented it perfectly (and was pretty cool looking).

 

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Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly–The New York Four (2008) [Minx #9]

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Brian Wood, Foo Fighters, Minx, Parenting, Romance, Ryan Kelly, Technology on August 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

ny4SOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“My Own Eyes” (2014).

myownThere are only four songs from Al’s new album that he didn’t make videos for.  This song really didn’t grab me right away the way the other ones did.  I have learned that it is a style parody of the Foo Fighters.  I kind of see it, but I feel like it doesn’t quite convey the Foo Fighters well enough.

There’s something odd about the verses as well.  Like maybe there’s too many words?  Or maybe because he’s singing them so fast they are hard to parse?  The chorus is really great and catchy, as Foo Fighters songs are, but this is probably my least favorite song on the disc.  Of course that’s surprising since I usually like his heavier songs.

But if he plays it live, the chorus will totally rock, so that’s alright too.

[READ: July 14, 2014] The New York Four

This was probably my least favorite of all the Minx books so far.  And the reason was actually a combination of the  story and the art that I didn’t like so much.  I have been intrigued by how many stories about girls there are which are written by boys.  Not that they can’t write them, but I’m surprised there weren’t more women writers in this series.  Of course, I didn’t much care for Burnout either, so gender knows no bounds.

This story is set in New York City.  Our main protagonist is Riley.  Riley lives in Brooklyn but has just started going to NYU.  Her sister was a wild child who left the family and went out on her own.  This has made her parents very protective of Riley, and she rather resents that (she was ten when her sister took off though, so she doesn’t really remember her).

The first double spread page is an example of why I didn’t like the art so much.  Over a wonderfully drawn intersection of Broadway and Houston Street we get this superimposed kinda cartoony but not quite image of Riley coming up the subway stairs.  She looks green screened in, and I find it very distracting.  Indeed all of the characters seem too big for the page, which was probably intentional, but which I just don’t like. (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–[Week 3] The Pale King (2011) [Pale Summer §22] #palesummer14

Posted in America, Big Books, Boredom, Boston, Chicago, Corporate skewering, David Foster Wallace, Death, Deep Purple, Demons, Drugs, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Jethro Tull, Kansas, Kiss, Law, Memoirs, Meta, New Yorker, Obetrol, Pale Summer, Pink Floyd, Religion, Reo Speedwagon, Research, Rush, Styx, Taxes on July 28, 2014| 1 Comment »

tpk3SOUNDTRACK: OBETROL-“The Sound Machine” and “Chopped an Dropped”(2011).

obetrrolObetrol is a band that I can find out very little about. They seem to have 5 songs out and each one is quite different. My favorite is “The Sound Machine” which has a lush sound with twinkly guitars and a wispy female vocalist singing over the top of it.  It has a very trippy slow motion quality to it.  The singer sings a bit like a delicate Kim Gordon (in that shes not always exactly on key).

It’s hard to get more out of this song since it’s only 2:25, but I think it would make a cool intro to any record.

“Chopped and Dropped” on the other hand opens with buzzy guitars (and a “Kick Out the Jams” sample).  The vocals are sung (screamed) by a man. It is a fast-moving tinny punk song with trippy female echoed vocals in the background.

Hard to pin them down, but you can check them out here.

[READ: July 28, 2014] Pale Summer Week 3 (§22)

This week’s read is only one section because it is almost 100 pages of one person’s testimony.  Presumably, this is also part of the testimony on videotape which was broken down into smaller sections.  But there is no “context” for this section;  no ID number.  Although it does address very similar issues and questions.  I was on the fence about how much to include here.  So much of it is “irrelevant,” that I hate to get bogged down in details.  So I think it will be a basic outline of ideas until the more “important” pieces of information surface.

§22

For the most part, this is all inside one man’s head as he talks about his life in college, after college, and into the Service.  In terms of advancing the “plot,” there’s not much (until the end).  Mostly this is simply a wonderful character study, full of neuroses and problems that many people face at some point (to one degree or another).  We don’t know who this author is (very minor spoiler: we will learn who it is in §24 [highlight to read]).

The interviewee states that “A good bit of it I don’t remember… from what I understand, I’m supposed to explain how I arrived at this career.”

Initially he was something of a nihilist, whose response to everything was “whatever.”  A common name for this kind of nihilist at the time was wastoid.  He drifted in and out of several colleges over the years, taking abstract psychology classes.  He says that his drifting was typical of family dramas in the 1970s–son is feckless, mother sticks up for son, father squeezes sons shoes, etc. They lived in Chicago, his father was a cost systems supervisor for the City of Chicago. (more…)

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Rebecca Donner and Inaki Miranda–Burnout (2008) [Minx #7]

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, CSN&Y, Death, Fire, Graphic Novel, Inaki Miranda, Marriage Trouble, Minx, Rebecca Donner, Threats, Violence, YA Books on July 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »

burnoutSOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“Mission Statement” (2014).

missionThis was the final video pre-release from “Weird Al”‘s new album.  I’m not sure why he didn’t make videos for the other four songs, but whatever.

Man, do I love this song.  This is a style parody of Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young, I guess).  It’s not exactly meant to be “Suite Judy Blue Eyes,” but that’s probably the biggest touchstone, especially after the middle and end parts kick in.  Aside from the music (and harmonies) being perfectly spot on what is so genius about this song is the lyrics.

The lyrics themselves are four and a half minutes of corporate mission statements.  I have been involved in two companies’ creation of mission statements, and while non has been as ponderous and jargony as this one (I haven’t actually tried to parse if there is actually anything being said at all here).  But to throw this corporate nonsense as a CSN&Y song is just outstanding.  If the hippies every sold out, this is what they would have made.  And it is stellar.  I hope he plays this live, because I can’t imagine how hard it would be to memorize these lyrics since they don’t actually say anything, but are actual English words.

I love the idea of CSN&Y harmonzing “monetize our assets.”

The video is a hand drawn (you can see the hand) hippie cartoon.  It’s funny and spot on to the theme of the song.

[READ: July 15, 2014] Burnout

This was one of my least favorite Minx books in the short series.  I was poisoned against it right from the start because I don’t particularly care for stories about, well, about divorced mothers getting mixed up with trashy/drunken men who abuse their sons and intimidate the divorced mom’s daughters.   I don’t know how common a trope that is, but this felt pretty story-of-the-week right from the get go.

Danni and her mom are moving to Elkridge, Oregon (pop. 460) to move in with her mom’s boyfriend.  As in all stories where the new boyfriend is a jerk, he’s a jerk right from the start (even yelling at her adorable dog) and the mom tries to convince Danni that he’s not so bad.  The one unexpected thing is that she is forced to share a room with the guy’s son.  (Given their ages, I wouldn’t think the mom would like that).

So the son is hot (in a Danzig sorta way) and has things up all over his room about the environmentalists who are waging war against the loggers.  He also has a locked chest full of stuff (inexplicably right in the center of the room).  That first night he sneaks out the window (on a grappling hook). Did any reader not see that he was doing anti-logging things?  Why can’t characters put two and tow together?  Anyhow, this part of the plot was interesting (even if it could have been handled better) and I was really surprised to have the story turn into a kind of discussion vis a vis the rights of loggers vs the rights of environmentalists. (more…)

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Mike & Louise Carey and Aaron Alexovich–Confessions of a Blabbermouth (2007) [Minx #5]

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Aaron Alexovich, Books about writers, Graphic Novel, Louise Carey, Marriage Trouble, Mike Carey, Minx, Parenting, Revenge, Southern Culture on the Skids on July 26, 2014| Leave a Comment »

balabSOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“Lame Claim to Fame” (2014).

lameclaimThis track is a parody of Southern Culture on the Skids, a band I don’t really care about.  So yes that whole southern rock whoo hoo style is not my thing.  So, for this one, I have to go for the lyrics, which are very funny.

This is all about name droppers, and he gives some great examples of people who throw names around to seem impressive.

Once I’m pretty sure Mr. Jonah Hill Was in the very next bathroom stall

My sister used to take piano lessons From the second cousin of Ralph Nader

Well guess what, my birthday and Kim Kardashian’s Are exactly the same

I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy Who know a guy who knows a guy who know Kevin Bacon

I don’t mean to brag but Paul Giamatti’s plumber knows me by name

This is the kind of song that, while I don’t like it musically, will grow on me, and will probably be a lot of fun live.

The video for this one, on the other hand, is pretty fantastic.  It is done in a kind of a paper stop-motion style, with the named-dropped celebrity faces cut out and doing all manner of things.  I usually prefer the Al videos in which he is in them, but this one is really stellar.

[READ: July 19, 2014] Confessions of a Blabbermouth

This book was written by Mike and his daughter Louise Carey.  Louise was 15 at the time and also wrote a column for The London Metropolitan Archive called “Diary of a London School Girl.”  And that makes sense because one of the characters in this story writes a column for a London paper about what it’s like to be a teenager.

But she is not the main character.  The main character is Tasha, an angry, volatile (and very funny) teenager who writes a blog called Blabbermouth.  The blog is where she reveals everything about herself and what’s on her mind.  And what’s on her mind right now is that her mom is dating a new guy named Jed.  And she figures that Jed will be like every other guy her mom has dated–annoying, stupid and paternal.  When she meets him for that first fateful dinner, he proves to be just that.  He’s also utterly uncool calling the blog a “blag” and subtly (and not) telling her that her lifestyle is not a good one.  He even comes into her room after she leaves the dinner table and basically tells her that she had better shape up and be more like his own daughter.

His own daughter, Chloe, is new to Tasha’s class.  Tasha wants to give her a chance, but she proves to be snooty, snotty and rude, especially when she reveals that she writes the column for the paper.  This column also gets her a gig at the yearbook, where Tasha is the student editor.  Chloe won’t play by any of Tasha’s rules, since she is a famous published author.  Obviously this goes right onto Blabbermouth. (more…)

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Lionel Shriver–“Kilifi Creek” (New Yorker, November 25, 2013)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Africa, Fears, Lionel Shriver, New Yorker, Pixies, Short Story, Swimming on July 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_11_25_13Viva.inddSOUNDTRACK: PIXIES & “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-”I Bleed” (2009).

iblledYesterday I posted about “Weird Al”‘s new song “First World Problems” which parodies the Pixies’ style. I didn’t know that Al liked the Pixies, but he’s evidently quite a fan.  And the feeling is mutual. Here’s a video from 2009 of Al singing lead on the Pixies’ track “I Bleed.”

Al is totally passionate about the vocals.  The more professional looking video has an audio the mix is a little odd, as Al is so much louder than the band, that his intensity really sticks out, even though I’m sure the rest of the band was just as loud.  Indeed, there’s a fan video that is mixed better (which I have posted below, even though the more professional one has the welcoming introduction for Al).

I like that he starts with the spoken style (even if his spoken voice is not as menacing as Francis’).  And then when the actually rocking part kicks in, Al, keeps up just fine.

[READ: July 1, 1014] “Kilifi Creek”

This story starts out with an interesting technique–speaking about the main character in third person but with great insight and almost a judging attitude into her mindset: “It was a brand of imposition of which young people like Liana thought nothing showing up on an old couple’s doorstep, the home of friends of friends of friends….  mature adulthood–and the experience of being imposed upon herself–might have encouraged her to consider what showing up as an uninvited impecunious house guest would require of her hosts.”

Indeed, Liana is traveling around the world and has stopped at various people’s houses for free room and board for a week or so, all in the name of young exploration.  In most instances, she gives the lucky family a few days’ notice. And she felt she repaid the families not with money but with brightness and enthusiasm.

This particular family was on the Kenyan coast, their name: Henley.  “Regent Henley carried herself as if she used to be good-looking and her husband Beano (a ridiculous name for anyone so old) was a big game hunter.  They were wealthy by African standards and their native help often had little to do, Liana even considered that her arrival would give the help something to occupy themselves with.”

She was staying for six nights.  But rather than doing any major exploring, she spent most of her mornings writing things online to her friends, and most of her afternoons in a bikini, coming to and from the Kilifi Creek behind the Henley’s house. (more…)

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David Baldacci–Day of Doom [The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers: Book Six] (2013)

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Adventure, David Baldacci, Death, Fears, Greed, History, Pixies, Short Books, Threats, Travel, Violence on July 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

doomsdaySOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“First World Problems” (2014).

fwp“First World Problems is what Al calls a style parody.  This is a parody of the Pixies.  I can kind of hear it (especially in the riffs), but his Black Francis voice is somehow off (he’s usually so spot on with his mimicking).  But as it is basically a Pixies song, it is loud and quite rocking.  And, better yet, it’s really funny.

I get a kick out of the expression “first world problems” because why should that make a problem any less invalid, and yet, Al’s first world problems are outstanding.

I couldn’t order off the breakfast menu, cause I slept in till two
Forgot my gardener’s name, I’ll have to ask him later
Tried to fast forward commercials, can’t – I’m watching live T.V
My barista didn’t even bother to make a design in the foam on the top of my vanilla latte

The opening bass and the female backing vocals are fantastic, and as always, guitarist Jay West gets their guitar sound perfectly.  The video doesn’t scream Pixies to me (although it is very very funny).  In fact at one point he looks more like Iggy Pop than anyone else (except with a shirt on), but that’s okay, it still makes me laugh a lot.  Who knew Al was a fan of the Pixies?

[READ: July 10, 2014] Day of Doom

This is the first book by David Baldacci that I have read.  Baldacci is typically an adult writer who I know is quite popular and prolific (he has done some kids books too).  I very much enjoyed the suspense and thrill of this book, but I have to say I feel like he really does not write very believably for his characters.  There is a romance that is played off quite flatly, there is an act of contrition which I don’t think anyone would believe, especially not a family member, and the bad guys are just so bad they are cartoonlike.

These characters have been through seventeen books now, so we know them pretty well, and I hated to see them get smoothed so much here.  I also didn’t care for the way Amy’s love dilemma was solved fairly easily for her.  And I was really surprised by the body count in this book.

Four major characters were killed by the end of the book.  It’s pretty brutal and really takes the series out of the realm of kids book and way into the realm of YA. (more…)

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David Foster Wallace–[Week 2] The Pale King (2011) [Pale Summer §10-§21] #palesummer14

Posted in #palesummer14, Big Books, Boredom, Collective Soul, Corporate skewering, David Foster Wallace, Death, Demons, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Ghosts, Law, Memoirs, Meta, Outer Limits, Pale Summer, Religion, Research, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Sylvanshine, Taxes, The Black Crowes, The Toadies, The Twilight Zone, Van Halen on July 21, 2014| 2 Comments »

tpk2SOUNDTRACK: SYLVANSHINE (2014).

sylvanOne of the fun things about doing these summer posts is finding appropriate music to each week’s write up. I like to find something related to what’s down below.  Last week it was an artist named Pale King.  This week it’s a band called Sylvanshine.

Sylvanshine is a cover band from Texas.  According to their web site, they play covers of Collective Soul, Van Halen, The Black Crowes and Stevie Ray Vaughn. I didn’t listen to any of their live tracks, but the excerpt of their version of The Toadies’ “Possum  Kingdom” is pretty spot on.

Learn all about them (or book them) at their website.

[READ: July 21, 2014] Pale Summer Week 2 (§10-§21)

Week two continues some of the characters’ lives and introduces us to them at the Service.  It also has a couple of very lengthy passages in which people spout their opinions about aspects of the country and the Service which are thoughtful and, frankly, very interesting and would work as good meme quotes, if you liked that sort of thing.

§10

This is a two-paragraph chapter about bureaucracy “the only known parasite larger than the organism on which is subsists.”

§11

A list of syndromes/symptoms associated with Examination Postings in excess of 36 months (ending with “unexplained bleeding”).

§12

Leonard Stecyk is back in this short chapter.  He is an adult now. He is walking door to door to introduce himself to his presumably new neighbors, and to offer to the neighbors the Post Office’s 1979 National Zip Code Directory–“his smile so wide it almost looked like it hurt.”

§13

An unnamed character is inflicted with nervous profuse sweating.  (This character will be identified later).  This chapter also has footnotes (as did the Author’s Foreword), although these footnotes are in the third person (as is the chapter).  Does this mean it is written by Dave Wallace too?  It is another thoroughly detailed chapter that I find very enjoyable to read even if it doesn’t advance the “story” much. (more…)

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Derek Kirk Kim and Jesse Hamm–Good as Lily (2007) [Minx #4]

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Death, Derek Kirk Kim, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Humiliation, Jesse Hamm, Minx, Short Books on July 20, 2014| Leave a Comment »

lilySOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“Sports Song” (2014).

sportsNot every Al song is genius.  This original song parodies marching band anthems.  In this case, it comes down to Our team is great.  You Suck.

The music is top notch (the video shows a marching band, and I wonder if they used one for the song).  And lyrically it’s pretty funny (with Al explaining in great detail how their sports team is going to beat the other.

It’s the kind of song that would be fun to sing along with (and I’ll bet it will be a hoot live), but I ‘m not too crazy about my kids singing “You Suck,” so we differ a little on family friendly there (yup, I’m a prude).  As long as it doesn’t replace “Harvey the Wonder Hamster.”

He should have saved this for a Sunday release.

[READ: July 11, 2014] Good as Lily

I’ve enjoyed Derek Kirk Kim’s books quite a bit, so I was delighted to see that he had one with Minx as well.  I have to admit I was a little disappointed with Jesse Hamm’s art because the cover (done by Kim) is just so magnificent (I really like Kim’s style clearly).  Hamm’s work on the other hand is more comic strip than full characters.  That isn’t bad, and actually works well by the end of the story, but it’s quite difference from the sensuous cover art.

So, anyhow this story is about Grace Kwon.  She has just turned 18 and her friends (including her best friend Jeremy) are throwing a big bash in the park.  Things turn out weird when a lady with an ice cream cart gives them a piñata instead of ice cream.  The piñata turns out to be fun at first but it is revealed to have some kind of weird magical powers (of course).  After it lands on Grace’s head as she’s walking home she encounters three other versions of herself–a young six-year-old Grace who only wants to eat, a super-hot 28-year-old version of herself and an old granny-aged version who only smokes and watches TV.  And they all become Grace’s responsibility. (more…)

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Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg–Janes in Love (2008) [Minx #10]

Posted in "Weird Al" Yankovic, Art, Cecil Castellucci, Graphic Novel, Jim Rugg, Minx, Romance, Set at School, YA Books on July 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

jiloveSOUNDTRACK: “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC-“Handy” (2014).

handyI had never heard of this song until I heard that it was going to be parodied on Al’s new album.  (I have since heard that it is the song of the summer, so I am clearly living under a rock).  I listened to it a few days ago and hated it.  I couldn’t believe how much it is not a song.  It’s not even a verse, it’s a simple riff repeated over and over–even into the chorus.  By definition, the song should be catchy since if you hear the same four notes over and over for 3 minutes it will get stuck in your head.  Clearly, the selling point is her weird vocal delivery, but that’s more gimmicky than anything else–she doesn’t even have a vocal melody. I don’t get it.

So how did Al turn that not-a-song into this delight of home repair?  I’d say it’s because he actually sings the lines (in his funny delivery) and that his lyrics are interesting (and very funny).  I feel like he turned that idea of a song into an actual song.  And, since I believe his version is faster and shorter, it just feels better overall.

I love how much he throws into the song–he sure knows his handy man speak.  I also like the way he uses the “do dat do dat/screw dat screw dat” lines to his own purpose.  He really breathes life into the “song of the summer,” and in the fall when Iggy Azalea is in the one hit wonder bin, I’ll still be saying I’m so handy”

This video is not on YouTube yet, but you can watch it at Al’s site.

[READ: July 6, 2014] The Plain Janes.

I enjoyed The Plain Janes and this is the sequel.  The problem for me (and I suppose anyone who waits almost exactly 7 years to read the sequel is that there was no recap, even minor, of what went on in the first book.  So that made it a little had to get up to speed.  I mean, I remembered the basic story, but couldn’t remember at all the details.

I guess the story was simple enough, but I had forgotten about John Doe and that Jane’s family left Metro City after a bomb scare.  Regardless, it is a year later and P.L.A.I.N. the art collective is still active and the Janes are still together.

The John Doe from the first story is Miroslav and Jane is writing to him regularly.  Miroslav is an artist as well and he and his girlfriend have been applying for grants (and getting them) to create their one art.  Jane feels that her own group’s art stunts are not big or important enough.  However, the town, especially the Police Chief thinks that P.L.A.I.N. are a gang and he is looking to arrest them (I don’t think the book ever reminds us what P.L.A.I.N. stands form which is kind of a shame too as I can’t remember).

Jane has a new interest close to home as well.  Damon.  I don’t recall if he was in book one, but it sounds like he took the fall for her during a recent art prank.

We also see that there is tension among the Janes.  Theater Jane is pining for a theater boy named Rhys, although since he is far away, she doesn’t hear from him much (but she sure does talk about him a lot).  Jock Jane decides to ask a basketball player out, so she marches over and tells him that they are dating now.  And he agrees (she also can’t stop talking about him).  Science Jane is too shy to ask Melvin out (but keeps talking about him).  The gay boy (whose name I don’t think was given ) is pining for there to be another gay person in the school.

There’s also some drama at home.  There was an anthrax scare and Jane’s mom’s friend was killed by it (she worked at the post office).  This has put Jane’s mom over the edge and she refuses to go outside at all now.  So Jane’s dad is doing everything in his power to make her go outside, including sleeping in a tent.

Then the unthinkable happens P.L.A.I.N. are caught doing an art installation and are sent to do community service.

But what if Jane can actually get a grant like Miroslav?  Can she legally make an artistic change in the community  The arts council has ever given money to a high schooler before, and what could she possibly do that would impress them?

The end of the book is satisfying in many ways, although as with a lot of love stories, the love part doesn’t really make a lot of sense

I was once again mixed on the art.  I like a lot of it, but there were some choices that I didn’t love–sometimes the characters looked really cartoony and sometimes they didn’t, so I wasn’t exactly sure what look he was going for was.  It was clear that these were choices and not flaws, so it was just a matter of my not liking his choices.

Castellucci has a great sense of these characters, i think I’d prefer them in a more fleshed out scenario–maybe a series of novels where each character gets  more time to explore herself.

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