Visitors to the lair know that when I’m devoted to a show, I’m in it to win it until the very end. I’ll even follow you into continued “seasons” in book form if I’m really into you (which reminds me: I need to finish the “eighth season” of Deep Space Nine before I completely forget the first three books from the run). It’s no surprise, then, that I have continued to watch the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation through every bump and dip the show has seen in recent years. And, even though I confess to no surprise from the announcement earlier this year that CBS had cancelled the series after 15 years, I still felt a pang of loss. This show has meant a great deal to me for myriad reasons
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BookBin2013: Double Dealer
Lest I end the evening (or the month) with a negative review, let’s talk about that other television franchise over which I’m thoroughly gaga: CSI!
I may have mentioned this at some point here at the lair, but a while ago I found a great eBay auction on a large lot of CSI novels (I think I ended up with the first 10 novels; I could be wrong on that count, but I’m too lazy to get up and check) for a relatively low price. It was low enough, in fact, that I decided that even if I hated every single novel, it was still worth the cost.
Of course, we all know the deal by now: I bought them, received them, stacked them, and promptly moved on to other books. However, I decided one of these novels would be the perfect length for at least one leg of our recent Hawaii adventure…and I was right! I was able to finish this one during the flight from the islands to LAX. Perfect timing!
So Double Dealer, written by Max Allan Collins, is the first of the Las Vegas CSI novels. I’ve mentioned Collins here before; he was the author of three of the CSI graphic novels I’ve reviewed here. From what I wrote previously, I found his writing skills to be mostly entertaining, but I found that his stories didn’t really push the boundaries of the CSI fictional world in ways similar to how the Trek novel writers often pushed that franchise’s “accepted” boundaries. Of this, I wrote:
One thing that I
BookBin2013: Mr. CSI: How a Vegas Dreamer Made a Killing in Hollywood, One Body at a Time
As you can already tell by the types of books I review here at the lair, I don’t read many autobiographies, biographies, or memoirs. I suppose because I’d much rather lose myself to a good fictional tale or immerse myself in the non-fiction minutia of one of my nerdy fandoms. I do (infrequently) purchase these more people-oriented books, if it’s about or by someone I’m terribly interested in, but they tend to languish, unread, far longer than my other purchases. Apparently, my general disinterest in people extends beyond the every-day disdain and into my free-time reading choices.
What better way to start to ease myself into the task of tackling at least some of the bio-esque books from my collection than through one of my nerdy fandoms? That’s why this review, denizens, is brought to you by three of my favorite letters in the alphabet: C, S, and I.
That’s Mr. CSI to you, however…or, if you’d rather, Anthony Zuiker, creator of that smexy team of Vegas criminalists that made science-based procedurals ubiquitous across the channel spectrum. In traditional memoir style, Zuiker maps for us the path that led him to create the biggest cash-cow franchise that Paramount’s sunk their teeth into, possibly since Trek.
What I found most intriguing about this book is that, for the most part, it’s Zuiker telling us absolutely nothing about CSI…while telling us absolutely everything about CSI. It almost reads like an episode script: Give the reader a stunning cold open, then flash into back story, full of clues and foreshadowing all along the way, and see if they can piece it all together on their own.
There’s even a grisly crime scene and guest appearances by real people who inspired characters from the Vegas series. Zuiker confirms the identity of one of his inspirations. Others are very obvious, even if they remain unidentified.
I have to admit, denizens: I really enjoyed this book. Not all that surprising, I suppose, considering the source material. However, before I read this, I didn’t know anything about Zuiker; I didn’t even know what he looked like until I saw the book cover. I had no idea that he grew up in Vegas, surrounded by the people who would later populate the world of his greatest professional creation to date. Reading this book gave me some great CSI trivia as well as a pretty decent understanding of what motivated Zuiker, not just to create this show but to persist in all his creative endeavors. I guess you could say this is kind of a memoir/detective novel/self-help/motivational speaker book.
Whatever you classify it as, it’s a quick, enjoyable read, but definitely meant primarily for CSI fans. You might enjoy some aspects of it if you’ve never watched CSI, but you’re going to miss a lot. “True believers,” however, will probably really dig the ride. I know I did.
Final Verdict: Yeah, this one’s a keeper. I actually have a shelf dedicated to memoirs and such, and Zuiker has definitely earned his spot…now, excuse me while I go cordon it off with some crime scene tape…
Flashback Friday: Adventures in Babysitting
I’ve actually wanted to write about Adventures in Babysitting for a while. I even mentioned it in a previous Flashback on sleepovers. This wasn’t a traditional go-to sleepover movie, like Clue, but honestly? It would have worked for me. I love this movie. Then again, how do you not love a movie that starts like this:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nly-bfguf4k&w=560&h=315]
JOSH LYMAN!! “SO COOL.”
I still know all the words to this song because of this movie. I also still know all the words to this song as well:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK_NSiPB52U&w=480&h=360]
Look, kids! Diversity! As only a 1980s movie geared toward middle-class White people can do it. Blues, indeed.
I kid, of course. Kind of. Heavens know that director Chris Columbus had good intentions, even if he does tend to deliver them wrapped in treacly finery. How he ended up directing the first two Harry Potter movies still confounds me.
Still, Adventures in Babysitting was one of my absolute favorite movies when I was a kid. I will still stop any time it’s on television. I still think of this movie first whenever I see Elisabeth Shue. Doesn’t matter that I’ve seen her in many movies since…doesn’t matter that it’s close to 30 years since she made this movie (WTF?!?) and that she’s going to turn 50 this year…doesn’t matter that she nearly won an Oscar for playing a Vegas hooker…or even that she’s once more back in Sin City, this time working my favorite Vegas beat of all:
She’s first and foremost Chris Parker, and for this reason alone, no one should ever fuck with her. Not even the Lords of Hell.
Amazingly enough, I don’t own this on DVD, although I still have my very well-loved VHS copy, purchased many moons ago from Suncoast (ooh, look at all these Flashback callbacks! HOLLA!). I really don’t know why I don’t own this. I should probably fix this, if only for this scene alone…actually, you know what? Here, denizens. Just…here:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN5IUKV07us&w=560&h=315]
I’ve no idea how long this link will last. Enjoy it while you can…or I might be forced to spike your Tab with Drano…
Who Are You?
I was fingerprinted this morning.
No, you’re not going to see me on the national news, being led away in handcuffs from the scene of some horrible pre-caffeinated rage crime. Believe it or not, I had to be printed for my job.
This statement is just going to fuel those pesky secret agent rumors. I know it.
Truth of the matter is, while what I do does require a bit of clearance from the agency to which I am detailed, I really don’t do anything that would demand this level of security clearance. However, the federal government, being the machine of brilliance and preparedness that it is (and not the least bit hyperbolic in its actions whatsoever), has decided that all people affiliated with any aspect of the federal government will inevitably have to go through this security process.
Which is how I ended up being fingerprinted while my two pieces of government-issued photo identification were scanned and I was photographed. And then everything was uploaded into a government database to be processed to confirm that I am who I say I am, and that I have not committed any sort of crime that would prevent me from receiving final clearance.
After the initial disappointment I felt when I realized that: A) I was actually going to be fingerprinted (there was some confusion about this fact from my sponsor); and B) the fingerprinting wasn’t going to be done by Sara Sidle, I settled into a state of conflicted resignation. The tech-geek side of me was fascinated by the tool they used to capture my fingerprints. Gone are the days of messy ink stains and paper ten-cards. It’s all digital, denizens. You know those machines we see those TV CSIs using? The ones that always make us roll our eyes and tsk in disbelief?
They’re real.
The security agent pulled out this device that was no bigger than a box of teabags and proceeded to print my fingers, just like you see them doing it on TV. Each finger, rolled across a plexiglass slide. Each print immediately captured in a digital image on his screen, saved to the appropriate designated box. Took fewer than 5 minutes.
While the tech-geek was mesmerized by all this, the conspiracy side of me was raging over the fact that the digital capturing of my fingerprints has somehow stolen that much more of my privacy. Kind of like how those isolated tribes felt that pieces of their souls were stolen away every time one of those pesky National Geographic excursions came through to photograph them.
If you hadn’t noticed this about me, I’m a bit of a private wolf. I like keeping as much personal information as I can…well, personal. I know it makes me seem paranoid (which I admittedly am), but I like the false belief that I have some shred of control over my identity. Up until this morning, one of the things over which I thought I would always have control was my fingerprints not being in any database.
Now, like those sad little tribes and their ever-shrinking souls, another little piece of my privacy has been hacked away. And they couldn’t even send Sara Sidle to do the hacking.
BookBin2012: Secret Identity
I promise, this will be the last book review for a while. It will also be much shorter than my last two reviews. I don’t want to overload you.
I’m now finished with the stack of CSI graphic novels that I purchased last year, with the fifth in the series, Secret Identity. I thought this was the last one illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, but it looks like there might be one more, although it doesn’t seem to be part of the longer serial novels. I think it might be a one-shot novella done back when Ashley Wood was still doing the abstract artwork. More investigating is required.
For Secret Identity, Rodriguez again paired with Steven Perkins on the abstract art. Steven Grant took over from Kris Oprisko as the writer of this story. It’s a shame that this was the last novel Rodriguez and Perkins worked on together, because I believe this is the best of the bunch. Not only did these two artists’ divergent styles merge beautifully for this novel, Rodriguez really came into his own for the main artwork. He invests a great deal of care and creativity into exploring the space of each page, each panel, bringing a sense of grace and artistry to what is also the darkest, and in my opinion, best written story from this batch of five novels.
Steven Grant did a tremendous job writing this story, giving readers something that not only can compete with a television script, but might in some ways surpass what we’ve seen from the show (especially in recent years). It’s refreshing to see such a cumulatively extraordinary effort put toward a medium that, when done in such a mass market style as comic book tie-ins to television series, typically tends to suffer from mediocrity and apathy from all involved. Case in point? Go flip through a stack of hastily written/drawn/published Trek comics and tell me what you think…you know, after you finish peroxide-washing your brain and eyes.
The coloring is again superb, drawing from a palette of soothing to passion-infused, and enhancing the almost cinematic-quality angles of Rodriguez’s cleverly drawn panels. Also, IDW Publishing returned to the standard size for this graphic novel (although it looks like they also offered it in the smaller “New Format” size; avoid this one at all cost), which means larger space for artwork that truly deserves every inch and more.
Final Verdict: Definitely a keeper. I’d vote this the best of the first five CSI graphic novels, hands down. If you’re at all interested in seeing what the comics can offer you, this would be my top recommendation.
BookBin2011: CSI Graphic Novels
No, that isn’t a mistake, denizens. This will be the final book entry for my 2011 reading endeavors. Even though I was in the process of reading several other books (my attention span seemed to shrink significantly toward the end of last year), I decided I wanted to end the year on a fluffy note. Therefore, the stack of CSI graphic novels that I picked up from Amazon Marketplace a while ago seemed like a great place to go. Besides, as I mentioned in my last post, there was road-tripping to be done this past weekend, and since I wasn’t driving, I chose to entertain myself with reading.
Okay, so here’s the deal: After reading the first CSI graphic novel, Serial, I decided that
Photo Fun Friday: CSI: Bajor
Crossing streams again, denizens. This one started about a month ago with a conversation I had online regarding which Star Trek alien Jorja Fox would look best as (yes, my world really is this geeky…and, consequently, this fabulous). I contend it’s Bajoran all the way. Then again, I think nose ridges make anyone look smexy.
I love Bajorans.
Then, yesterday, I may or may not have received several CSI graphic novels in the mail, as I mentioned in my BookBin review of my first CSI comic series. As I casually flipped through said novels to check out the artwork, I started once again to think about how similar in marketing approaches CSI is to Trek. Which got me thinking again about a CSI/Trek crossover (what, you thought I’d forgotten about that request?).
Since I’ve already set a precedent regarding dragging my favorite CSI into other geeky forays, I figured why not? If she can be a vampire investigator, why can’t she be a Bajoran investigator next?
And so I give you…
Buckle up, denizens. It’s bound to get geekier from here…
BookBin2011: CSI: Serial
So remember when I was in Toronto a few weeks ago and we met up with a bunch of my groovy ImagiFriendsTM to go to this used book store that specializes in geeky books?
Yeah, so while I was there, I stumbled upon their graphic novel section, which was kind of small but still decent. And what, dear denizens, should I find but a CSI graphic novel! After quickly perusing it, I realized that it wasn
Strictly Ink Is Strictly Awesome
eBay is a dangerous place, denizens. A wonderful, dangerous place. It feeds my need for collectibles. It never judges me for my nerdy passions. It remembers what I like most and makes awesome recommendations based on what makes me squee.
It also introduces me to things that I never knew existed, and in doing so, makes me wonder how I ever lived without them.
Okay, that’s an infamous Loba HyperboleTM. However, eBay did show me a new dimension to trading cards to which I was previously clueless. It’s been a while since I dabbled in this particular collector subgenre, so imagine my delight to discover “sketch cards.”
Maybe it’s because the concept of trading cards has become a bit quaint and silly (yes, I’m fully aware that “normies” would argue that they have always been silly). Whatever the reason, I have noticed a few snazzy concepts that have been introduced to genre card series that have helped keep these as viable collectibles. The two standouts that I already knew about were limited edition autograph cards and costume cards, which contain pieces of fabric cut from costumes worn in genre shows like Star Trek, Xena, et al.
These are both creative concepts, even if they didn’t really reach me on any particular level. I’m a bit old for autograph collecting (unless it’s Keith Birdsong…or the autograph accompanies latex body parts), and the only costume prop I actively lust after is a Dr. Crusher lab coat. And I don’t want a scrap from it. I want the whole enchilada.
The sketch card concept that I just learned about, however, is one that I think is utterly brilliant. The trading card companies design a shell template that identifies the card as being part of a particular set, but they leave the bulk of the front side nothing but white space. They then disseminate copies of this shell to various genre-related artists and pretty much say, “Show us what you can do in this space that’s somehow related to our [show, cartoon, comic book, etc.].”
What you end up with is a pint-sized original drawing that gives a unique take, not only on the trading card concept but also on a genre favorite. Like this card, part of Strictly Ink’s CSI sketch card series:
This sketch card of Sara Sidle was done by artist Rowena Pagarigan. I love everything about this card: the still visible pencil guide marks; the rough, cartoonish coloring; the random details like the surfer-esque beaded necklace and the pensive eyebrow arch. It’s quirky and one-of-a-kind. Just like Sara Sidle 😀
Does this mean that I’m going to start collecting trading cards again? Nah. But do I think this is a wonderful idea? Absolutely.
Now if you’ll excuse me…I still have some lunch time left. I’m going to go stare at my sketch card a little more…
