I had dinner with my uncle at Gone Wired Cafe last night (he read my letter to the editor piece on the place and wanted to try their pizza), and after I was home for a bit I kept thinking "There was something I was s'pose to do tonight..." Mid-way through a post-dinner nap, I woke up and remembered: Jim C. HInes jimhines had a book signing at Schuler Books in Eastwood Towne Center! Thankfully, I remembered in time and got their in time to chat with Jim and to pick up a (signed) copy of his latest book, THE STEPSISTER SCHEME (book one of THE PRINCESS SERIES).  Think fairy tales meets Charlie's Angels.

Having just finshed the latest volume of the comic FABLES, I'm eager to read Jim's take on classic fairy tales--turning Snow White and others into action heroes.  I skimmed the first few pages in line and was laughing in no time.  That reminds me, I still have a copy of GOBLIN QUEST I need to read. D'oh.  I've been so bad about reading lately--other than comics that is.  I'm sure STEPSISTER SCHEME will get me back into my usual reading pace.

  wookiee71 was also on hand, and we chatted about him getting some comic book work thrown his way, which is great.</lj></lj>

It was great to talk to Jim, as always, and part of me regrets I won't be at ConFusion this weekend. Oh well.  I need to save the money, as I want to go to Penguicon in May and possibily the Kalamazoo Animation Festival International which is two weeks after that. 

After the signing, I walked over to the movie theater to see if I could catch a 9 PM show of something (I figured, I was there--why not?) I ended up seeing GRAN TORINO. I liked the film, mainly because it was (unintentionally) hilarious and that they filmed around Detroit and Grosse Pointe--I recognized some of the locations too.  I gotta admit, I felt a lot of pride when I saw the "FILMED IN MICHIGAN" tag in the credits.

Watching Eastwood be grumpy for 2 hours was all kinds of amusing to me.  Some of his (non-racist) mannerisms reminded me of my own dad, especially the scenes when he his teaching the neighbor kid to 'talk' and 'act' like a man.  The plot was predictible, especially the ending.  But most dramas are, that's just how it goes.  Parts of it reminded me of BOYZ N THE HOOD, mainly the theme of strong male role models being important for young, troubled boys.

So if you're  fan of seeing Eastwood pissed off and sneering, check it out. There are a few classic Eastwood scenes in the film. It probably isn't worth rushing out to see in the theatre, but is is a pretty good film.

Although, listening to Eastwood sing his "Gran Torino" song over the end credits was a little weird.