So, I’m a sucker for lost boys. You know the kind – tough on the outside, vulnerable inside. Often left to their own devices without assistance from parental types, me against the world sort of lives and oh yeah, fictional.

It is such a giant cliché, but it totally works on me (see the name of my URL). For example, some of my favourite characters are: Harry Potter, Ryan Atwood, Chris Chambers, Jack Mercer, Lee Adama, Severus Snape, Nu!Trek Jim Kirk, everyone in The Outsiders – I could go on. It’s pathetic really, how totally predictable I am and how quickly I prefer this archetype. But I’ve learned to accept my quirks for what they are and embrace them.

And now I’ve added a few more to my list. Sam and Dean Winchester from the TV show Supernatural. This is my latest obsession. The premise of the show is that Sam and Dean are two brothers who hunt demons and other Bad Things. Lots of monsters and ghosts abound. But this is not what drew me in. What got me was the relationship between the brothers, the I-Will-Do-Anything-To-Protect-You attitude, particularly from older brother Dean. And if I have a thing for lost boys, throw a bunch of them together and make them brothers? Well, I’m done for (see again: The Outsiders, Four Brothers).

I’ve been feeding my new Supernatural obsession with the DVDs The show is currently in season five and I recently purchased Seasons 1-4 from eBay. I am bound and determined to get caught up by March 25th when the show returns from hiatus.

This stuff is my crack.  It is an illness, I swear, lol.

The Eternals is a rehash of a marvel comic by Jack Kirby that had its original run in the 70s. The version I just read is a mini-series (7 chapters) done by Gaiman in 2006. I picked this up knowing nothing of the premise, solely because it was by Gaiman, who I love beyond all imaginings.

For a good reason. This was really, really entertaining. X-menesque, with nods to the Fantastic Four. It’s pure comic goodness with the writing of Gaiman behind it. How can it get any better than that?

And it gave me one of my most favourite quotes. For some background, Earth is inhabited by three groups: The Eternals who were created by the alien Celestials, their enemies and counterparts, The Deviants – also created by the Celestials, and Humans, as far as I can tell, a happy accident. Over millennia, The Eternals (who are unkillable, hence the name) have been seen as gods by humans.

Anyway, at one point in the story a human is talking to an Eternal (Zuras). The conversation goes like this:

Human (speaking of fighting going on on Earth): You *have* to choose sides…..
Zuras: If you saw two groups of children arguing over which of them could play in some waste ground, would you choose sides?

It’s a perfectly simple statement from the perspective of god(s) when humans wonder why they don’t interfere. Brilliant!

News: Update: Dumbledore was gay, says ‘Potter’ author

How much do I love JK Rowling right now? A whole hell of a lot. This is awesome.

So last year when I was in Ireland I visited Trinity College Library in Dublin. While there I saw the Book of Kells and the Long Room.

Oh the Long Room. This place is clearly the inspiration for the Jedi Archives in Episode II: A Horrible, Horrible Movie.

I totally geeked out when I was there — and not just because of the Star Wars thing (although that was pretty huge). But man is this place a real library. The kind you can sink into.

Unfortunately I have no pictures of it, because pictures were not allowed.

But it was BRILLIANT.

The Jedi Archives

Trinity College Library