The Comic Book I Read: Parliament of Rooks #1

 

I'm not sure why I picked this book up Friday. Partly because it was a light week (only two other comics). Partly because Saga and Daredevil, which were due out, hadn't yet hit the stands because of a shipping problem, so I had a two book hole in my heart. Partly because I liked the cover and title. Partly because when I opened it up the art was mostly black and white, with occasional splashes of red, orange, and yellow. And partly because UT had such high quality paper's like a slick magazine--but still listed for $4.99. (And to think that I grew up on 12¢ comic books. 👴)

When I sat down to read it, it took 2 1/2 pages of moody, entrancing art before I hit this line:

"The howls carried on the wind...She knows what they proclaim and she wonders if they might deafen the stars themselves."

And I said, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh...what a feeling."

That line's worth at least a buck by itself. 

And get this: the story is 34 pages long, and the only ads are after the story pages. And speaking of the story...which was created, drawn, and co-written by Abigail Jill Harding*...is interesting. An architect who lives in a huge (and rotting) mansion designs a library for the princess of the kingdom. King says no way and throws the architect out, then things get tricky. In a supernatural / horrorish way. 

I'll definitely be back for issue 2 next month. You can also get an e-version of this book on the cheap ($2.99) from Amazon, the whole five e-book series for really cheap ($6.99), or, if you have a Kindle Unlimited membership, for F.R.E.E. (And if you have that membership, you can also read (for free) the novel A Matter of Reason by Thomas Paul Kalb. Tell him BrotherK. sent you. 😉)

* I don't see too many writer / artists anymore, so that was a plus, too.

The Teachings of Don Juan

I've been thinking about Carlos Castañeda for some time now. And, as the universe would have it, I found four of his books at Half-Price for $2 each. Unfortunately, the first book, The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, was not amongst them, but good news, the Louisville Free Public Library had a copy. A copy. And I've been having a go at it. 

It's pretty fascinating reading. I know that Castañeda has been discredited by some (maybe most...possibly all) credable scholars, but hey...I like it, like it, yes I do. At some point I'll read a critique or two, but right now I'm just enjoying the story of an American fellow who encounters a Yaqui Indian and is taught to be a shaman. 

Speaking of, the first description of CC taking peyote was kind of hilarious. Short version: CC thought he was playing with a dog which was showing some pretty mystical effects, but the next day he was informed that he had been chasing a dog, which was running away from him because he was naked and pissing on the dog. (Later the dog got revenge and pissed on him.) The Yaqui who were with him for this first journey--including don Juan--laughed their asses off as they told him about this "adventure."

I'm enjoying this read.

Unfortunately and perhaps ironically, I only have until the 21st to read it, because someone else has requested it and thus I can't renew it. But I'm confident I can knock it out before the bell tolls for me.

Meanwhile....

"...the need of every civilized person [is] to maintain the boundaries of the known world." (xv)

"The shamans of don Juan's lineage saw that the essential condition of animate energy, organic or inorganic, is to turn energy in the universe at large into sensory data. In the case of organic beings, this sensory data is then turned into a system of interpretation in which energy at large is classified and a given response is allotted to each classification, whatever the classification may be. The assertion of sorcerers is that in the realm of inorganic beings, the sensory data into which energy at large is transformed by the inorganic beings , must be, by definition, interpreted by them in whatever incomprehensible form they may do it." (xvi)

Buena mierda, right?

Well, you know how I am: in for a penny, in for a pound. So here's the Complete List of the don Juan books:

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, 1968. 

A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan, 1971. 

Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan, 1972. 

Tales of Power, 1974. 

The Second Ring of Power, 1977. 

The Eagle's Gift, 1981. 

The Fire From Within, 1984. 

The Power of Silence: Further Lessons of Don Juan, 1987. 

The Art of Dreaming, 1993. 

Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico, 1998. 

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe, 1998.  (Selected quotations from the first eight books.)

The Active Side of Infinity, 1999. (Memorable events of his life.)

Underline means I've got a physical copy. There's five because Thrift Books just sent me a message saying I had earned a free book, so I spent it on the second book in the series.

So off we go.

1/5/25: This kind of sums it up in a Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid kind of way:

"Are you going to use witchcraft?" I asked with great expectations. "Don't be silly, no witchcraft would ever work on her." (39)

Carlos was talking about something and don Juan turned away. Carlos was worried, and asked don Juan if he was angry at him. 

"No! I'm never angry at anybody! No human being can do anything important enough for that! You get angry at people when you feel that their acts are important. I don't feel that way any longer." (43) 

Good philosophy (and very Zen), but I wonder about those exclamation points.

Don Juan is showing Carlos how to prepare the ingredients for "a smoke." The details are excruciatingly complex, and when Carlos asks how long it takes for the ingredients to be ready, don Juan tells him "a year." Talk about commitment.

These guys might be crazy, but they're not fucking around.

 

The Movie I Saw 2025

***** = Must see.
**** = Really good
*** = Worth seeing
** = A waste of time, but one or two good moments
* = Not worth your time
-0 = Less Than Zero: viewing this is likely to result in a dramatic loss of IQ points.

1. Dear Santa (2024) Y'know...this wasn't a very good movie, but Jack Black (as Santa / Satan / That Demon Guy) is always entertaining to watch, and there were at least a dozen or so laughs along the way, so this wasn't the worst way to start the New Year's viewing. ** That said, this was Joe's choice, not mine. And despite the fact that he is freaking out over a weather report that says we have major incoming snow, he pretty much paid attention and even laughed a few times. (Laughter is not all that common for my Joe.)

2. Wolf Hall (2015) ***** Superb show. Waiting For PBS to get around to broadcasting the long ago completed season two.

3. Bridge of Spies (2015) Great movie, ****. Tom Hanks was Tom Hanks, which is almost always good, but Mark Rylance, who played Thomas Cromwell to perfection in Wolf Hall, was fanfuckingtastic. Such an understated, nuanced portrayal of A Russian spy who really just wanted to paint. 

The Book I Read 2025

***** = Must read.
**** = Really good.
*** = Worth reading.
** = A waste of time, but one or two good moments.
* = Not worth your time.
-0 = Less Than Zero: a book so bad that you actually lose several IQ points from the reading experience.

1. 

Wolf Hall: Not Starring Tom Holland

Watching Slow Dogs made me remember how much I loved Jonathan Pryce, so I went looking for some of his other stuff at the LFPL. I found something called Wolf Hall which looked interesting: a historical drama set around the court of Henry VIII, with Mr. Pryce playing the part of Cardinal Wolsey. I put in a request for it, and venisoon after it was in my hot little hands, and shortly after that it was in my hot little DVD player. 

What a great show. So great that after Cardinal Wolsey died, I kept watching. That Thomas Cromwell (expertly played by Mark Rylance...and I'll be looking for more of his stuff, for sure) was one amazing guy. Might have to read up on him later on.

As I was watching Episode 5, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face:

 Yep, Tom Holland himself. He had a tiny part, mostly non-speaking...which is probably why I hadn't sighted him earlier, as he'd been in it pretty much from the get go. 

And all I could think was, "He sure came a hell of a long way in nine years!"