Platypus of Truth

I mentioned reading a passage from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Leaf by Niggle" several days ago and immediately thinking of "The Legend of Zelda."   Now "Leaf by Niggle" is heavily platonic in its conception of the afterlife; advancing toward the divine through an ever more real series of images.  We see this also in C.S. Lewis' Narnia where at the end of the ages the cast are invited "further up and further in."  Now there's something in this idea of advancing through stages or levels towards a fulfillment or consummation that put me in mind of video games.  The player works his way through a series of worlds, or as Miyamoto calls them "gardens," toward some desired object, the goal of the quest and the end of the game.  In the Legend of Zelda series, this goal is often the mystic Triforce, a tripartite object representing the balance between wisdom, courage, and power.  To master this object, the one who seeks to win it must brin...

This Christmas, we've taken advantage of being at home to sample a bit of what Houston has to offer on the cultural scene.  This meant a trip to the MFAH to see their King Tut exhibit and to the Worthen Center for the Houston Ballet's production of The Nutcracker . The cost of seeing the King Tut exhibit was bankrolled by my grandmother this year.  For what it cost, however, the exhibit was absolutely worth it.  It think we spent three to three and a half hours carefully working our way through the cases.  The core of the gallery was a stylized recreation of King Tutankhamen's tomb with key pieces from each of the chambers.  This was contextualized by several rooms worth of Egyptian art that included everything from megalithic statues, to a death mask, to a toilet seat from Amarna.  There was an audio guide that went with the exhibit as well narrated by Harrison Ford that was worth the extra price.  Included for free were a series of videos that expl...

Thanks to a generous family at our school, this year's Christmas haul has a decidedly Greek twist to it.  New titles added to the "independent study" list: The Best of the Achaeans by Gregory Nagy The Cambridge Companion to Homer ed. Robert Fowler Epic Bards and Oral Singers by A.B. Lord Blackwell's Companion to Ancient Epic ed. Miles Foley Now I can go back and re-write my Master's Thesis.

There's a nice little interview here about THE BEST HOLIDAY COMIC EVER .  Seriously, if you haven't picked up a copy of Scrooge and Santa yet you need to now.

There's something about turning 30 that seems to send people back to the books.  It's as if the 4+ year trauma of college wounds the intellect so deeply that it takes years to fully recover.  By about 30, though, it seems to be back in working order and ready to go.  I take as evidence of this the large number of friends that I have that are auditing courses, taking classes, considering going back for a masters, learning a new language, or just taking on a challenging course of study.  The bug hit me last summer and I spent a good portion of my bonus on amassing a small library of books on Ancient Greece.  Though I don't teach them, the Ancient Greeks are my first academic love and I thought it was high time I returned to them.  So...  Here's what I'm working on: Alexander by Robin Lane Fox Traveling Heroes in the Epic Age of Homer by Robin Lane Fox Early Greece by Oswyn Murry The Spartacus War by Barry Strauss The War that Killed Achilles b...

I roomed with film majors in college and in grad school and picked up a few things along the way.  That aside, however, I only have mild pretensions to being a film aesthete.  All comments about film on this blog should be taken in that spirit.  With that out of the way, we can move on. I had a truly enjoyable evening last night with my wife and a couple of friends eating expensive cheese, drinking Martinelli's, discussing Charles Williams, and watching Terrence Malik's "Tree of Life."  Now I have loved Malik's work since I saw the "The Thin Red Line" between the end of high school and the beginning of college.  It was the first movie that really opened me up to the potential film has as a vehicle for discourse.  I don't think "The Thin Red Line" did that just for me either.  Many of the young aesthetes intellectuals Freshman year had had their cinematic awakening after watching Malik's masterpiece.  College is a time for affectation...

I was working my way through "J.R.R. Tolkien Artist and Illustrator" when I found this passage from "Leaf by Niggle": You could go on and on, and have a whole country in a garden, or in a picture (if you preferred to call it that).  You could go on and on, but not perhaps for ever.  There were the Mountains in the background.  They did get nearer, very slowly.  They did not seem to belong to the picture, or only as a link to something else, a glimpse through the trees of something different, a further stage: another picture. The first thing that popped into my head when I read this was what Shigeru Miyamoto said about creating the Legend of Zelda series .  He said that he envisioned the games as a set of gardens in which players could wander and explore.   Thinking a little further, the defining feature that encloses the world of Hyrule in the first four games is a mountain range.  There was something magical about reaching the top of Death Moun...

Long wintry afternoons and evenings aren't just for books.  If you grew up in the 80s (or more recently), it's also a time for gaming.  If you're old school, this can mean getting out the pen and paper.  If you're teh uber, then it means more time on WoW.  I, striving for To Meson in all things, tend to prefer the old snes.  Once old Bessie is out of the mothballs, that begs the question of what game to play. Picking a game at Christmas is a lot like picking a book : the question of atmosphere is paramount.  As with Christmas reading, then, I like a game that has a more mellow pace and tone.  The bright and tinny world of Super Mario Brothers is out then.  Also out are the cartoonish creatures of Secret of Mana .  The Legend of Zelda series is welcome any time of the year, but I think I like it best in Summer or fall.  Metroid comes nearer the mark.  What's left?  This year, I think the answer to that question is Final Fa...

The world is getting colder, the days are getting shorter, and work is winding down for the semester.  With the Christmas holiday coming, it's an ideal time for reading.  Now I always read, but Christmas seems to call for some change change in the line up to match the peculiar feel of the season. Changing my reading list to fit the holiday mood does not mean Christmas books, though it can.  There's nothing wrong with curling up by the fire to read Dickens "A Christmas Carol" or work through Matthew and Luke's accounts of the Nativity.  However, I meant something beyond the obvious Christmas additions.  There are certain books that you plow through and there are certain books that you eat up.  Christmas, for me, calls for neither.  Instead, I prefer books with a narrow emotional register that absorb and enchant; the perfect companions for long, cold, quiet nights. Last year's book of choice was the novella "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" by H...

This post comments on Fritz Leiber's "Swords Against Death."  If you wish to remain spoiler free, do not read on. As noted earlier, Fritz Leiber begins his tales of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser with a heroic foursome; the two male leads and their ladies fair.  By the third tale, however, the foursome is reduced to a duo with the death by art magical of Lady Ivrian and the intrepid Vlana.  The result seems to be that our heroes can now never be whole and are thus doomed to wander the world in search of adventure and forgetfulness.  This equation almost changes in the second volume with The Price of Pain-Ease where the wizards Sheelba of the Eyeless Face and Ningauble of the Seven Eyes promise to restore a lost love to one of the two men provided he can steal the mask of Death.  Tormented, literally, by the ghosts of their lost beloveds, Fafhrd and Mouser accept the quest even if it means slaying each other to get to the mask.  Along the way, they conti...

John Mark Reynolds over at The Scriptorium Daily admits to experimenting with Victorian garb at the office in this article .  Kudos to Dr. Reynolds for pushing boundaries and reclaiming the older aesthetic.

Prufrock tells us that he has "measured out my life with coffee spoons."  I have measured out my life with blog posts. With December coming on, we will soon witness seven years of "The Platypus of Truth."  Looking at the post history, it seems like 57 or so posts a year has been average.  2007 was a particularly bad year for posting.  2010 and 2011 have been better.  This seems to fit as in 2007 I was struck down with a particularly nasty medical problem that left me in constant and drastic pain.  In 2010, I moved to a much less stressful position in a more laid-back area of the country an experienced a corresponding relaxation of my symptoms.  Since 2006, posts have mostly been about whatever I was reading, playing, or watching at the time.  There have been a few forays into poetry and literature as well.  Readership has been modest with a few spikes where a post was fortuitously linked to by a popular site. What does all this add up to?...

John Mark Reynolds over at Scriptorium Daily notes the death of the wristwatch and muses a bit about the role of conspicuous consumption and nostalgia for the beauties of a vanished age.  Perhaps I have read amiss, but I do note just the slightest tinge of fatalism in the good professor's voice.  It seems inevitable in late modernity that the old, functional, and beautiful should be replaced by the new, functional, and ugly.  Is this really so?  Well, no.  The professor does point out that wristwatches became a jewelry piece every bit as much as the pocket watch had been.  If this is true, then might there be hope that one day our cell-phones will become as aesthetic as a Rolex?  It's a good question, but I can think of another.  If the old item remains functional and beautiful, why can't we as a society choose to retain it? Walking sticks remained an essential part of any gentleman's wardrobe for centuries thought they served little practical ...

So, I like whiteboard art.  I use it in the classroom and post it on my blog.  I've been working on my craft for several years now, and thought it might be time to record a few thoughts. Whiteboard art is a limited medium.  Expo markers, my preferred tools of the trade, only come in about twelve colors (at least that I can find.)  They don't admit of blending in the way that chalk or pastels do.  The fact that adding a new line to an existing line with an Expo marker can erase it also provides some unique challenges to drawing and shading.  Filling in solid objects is a real bear. Given these constraints, whiteboard art lends itself to cartoons, pointillism , and impressionism .  Getting into the right mindset for the latter two techniques can be a little rough at first, and I recommend stepping back from your work frequently in order to get a sense of the overall effect.  Spending some time with a volume of impressionist paintings also helps....

 All Images Copyright James R. Harrington 2011

I was able to attend the annual Providence Classical School Pursuing Wisdom Colloquy this weekend.  This is the first Providence Colloquy I've attended.  As with all events that Providence hosts, the Gala in particular, I was thoroughly impressed.  Below are some of the things that impressed me in bullet point: -The plenary speaker was Dr. Ronald Grosh, whom I've heard speak before.  Dr. Grosh is always a great catalyst for discourse, and this time was no exception. -The coffee house and all the catering for the event was truly first-rate.  The Providence parents are smart, capable, professional, and run an extremely tight ship.  The speakers' dinner was also excellent in terms of food, location, service, and the extended amount of of time given to the speakers to socialize, re-energize, and network. -Quite a number of Providence students were present working behind the scenes to make things happen.  They were well-dressed, polite, and efficient....

There's a marvelous place in North Houston, the Lanier Theological Library .  In the old days, we would have called it a "folly;" a rich man's capricious little building project.  This particular "folly" takes the form of a Oxford style library complete with paneled walls painted ceilings with a replica of a byzantine church a short walk away.  I should also mention the recreated Cotswold village and the peacocks.  Again, all this in the middle of nowhere North Houston.  Weird, I know.  In the true old tradition of nobelesse oblige, the library and church are open to the public.  Beyond that, Mr. Lanier has taken it upon himself to bring world class lecturers (Alistair McGrath, John Michael Talbot, Simon Conway-Morris, Edward Fudge, etc.) in to speak at the library and opening the lectures to the public free of charge.  There's also a free desert buffet in the library following each lecture.  It's an odd thing, and it draws an odd crowd....

This post will focus on Fritz Leiber's "Swords and Deviltry".  If you wish to remain spoiler free, don't read on. Kill all the women so the real story can start. I like buddy stories.  There's a special place in my heart for "A Separate Peace" even though the whole pacifist thing is heavy-handed and unnecessary.  I had great friends growing up, I had great friends in college, and I had great friends in grad school.  One of the finest things in life, to me, is sitting around with the guys and cackling inanely over some good joke.  Strong, masculine friendship is seriously under-rated in today's culture; mostly because everyone worries about being called "gay."  Now, that said.  I don't enjoy male companionship to the exclusion or denigration of women.  If you asked me who my best friend was I would tell you its my wife, and that brings me to the meat of the matter (ok, not quite, but almost). I've been wanting to read Fr...

More art inspired by Charles Williams' Talliesin Through Logres mixes with a lecture on Dark Age Europe. All images compyright James R. Harrington 2011

I'm in the middle of prepping a talk on the "Iliad" for a colloquy in November.  This means that I've gone back to my roots as a student of Ancient History.  While I've done some heavier reading on early Greece in the form of Robin Lane Fox's "Traveling Heroes in the Epic Age of Homer" and Oswyn Murray's "Early Greece," there's also been an opportunity to try more popular works like Caroline Alexander's "The War That Killed Achilles."  Though Alexander's book is not "The Best of the Achaeans" or "Nature and Culture in the Iliad: The Death of Hector," it's still been an enjoyable and thought provoking read.  Alexander's great virtue is that she doesn't treat the "Iliad" as a mere mine of data for other interests but rather seeks to engage the text on its own terms in an effort to gain real wisdom. This approach reminds me quite a bit of J.R.R. Tolkien's treatment of ...

Think with me for a moment... Last weekend I was privileged to watch MirrorMask , Niel Gaiman's first foray into the film industry.  While the story has elements that seem to presage later films like Coroline , Dave McKean's odd visual style give it a unique feel.  It's that unique feel, a sort of post-modern-industrial-goth-chic, that has stayed with me a week after viewing the film.  As a work done in collaboration with Jim Henson Studios, that's not surprising.  Other Henson productions such as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth strike me as notable more for their production value than for their story lines.  Don't get me wrong.  They're not bad stories, just traditional and unremarkable.  They just get the job done so that the visuals are freed up to run away with the show. All this makes me wonder how important story is to film.  Take Terrence Malik, for instance.  There isn't a lot of plot to The New World , but the visuals are so i...

Pictures detail "The Headless Emperor" from Charles Williams The Kingdom of the Summer Stars and the lair of Grendel's Mother from Beowulf .  Copyright 2011 James R. Harrington.  All Rights Reserved.

Setting: A Higher Plane of Noetic Consciousness John Piper, Pope Benedict XVI, and the Ecumenical Patriarch stand/hover/exist before three ornately carved podiums. Enter Simon Peter with Fanfare and angels attendant bearing his keys. Simon Peter: I am come now even from the Eternal Presence here to dispose a matter of great import.  Know you that in the Highest Heaven it is decreed that the Lady who has been twice wounded shall now be made most whole.  Therefore, gird yourself most manfully to make answer to the question I will now present, for upon your reply does rest the state of Christendom entire.  For be it known that whosoever of you givest that reply which in my Master's sight is most seemly and most true shall even so win for his party the keys wherewith all authority to loose and bind resides. Benedict XVI: Most gracious Apostle and primary holder of that see in which now by Grace Divine I sit, we are most eager and most obedient to accept thy divine...

For with my own eyes I saw the Sibyl hanging in a bottle, and when the young boys asked her, 'Sibyl, what do you want?', she replied, 'I want to die' . We went to a lecture this weekend on Annihilationism given by Edward Fudge.  Briefly stated, Annihilationism is the idea that souls in Hell are eventually destroyed and cease to exist.  Though Fudge cast his claims purely in the light of truth and falsity, I couldn't help getting the impression that Annihilationism is put forward as a sort of "nice" alternative to the endless conscious torment envisioned by the Traditional Doctrine of Hell.  Of course this begs the question of whether existence is a great enough good to be worth retaining in spite of any pain.  I have heard proponents of the Traditional Doctrine of Hell assert that it is "nicer" than Annihilationism because at least it allows the damned the good of existence.  There are other alternatives, however.  George MacDonald was influ...

Now that school's started, it's back to serious reading.  I've got a couple of books on Art History and culture going as well as "The War That Killed Achilles" by Caroline Alexander.  In addition, I've also just finished "The Spartacus War" by Barry Strauss (always a favorite).  There's still a little time for fun, however, and that's meant re-reading the Harry Potter series with the wife and "Leaf by Niggle" by J.R.R. Tolkien.  Right now, that makes my head hurt, but once things settle down a little I'll have to organize my thoughts and let you know what I'm thinking.  Meanwhile, the Platypus is sensing the return of all things pumpkin...

I started blogging about Diana Wynne Jones' "Howl's Moving Castle" while we were still only half way through .  Having finished the book I am pleased to say that my enthusiasm for it remains unabated.  True, there is a considerable amount of divergence with Studio Ghibli's adaptation, but that only means that some aspects of the ending, and several extra layers of plot remain unspoiled for the reader.  Both the book and the movie are strong enough works of art in their own right that they each can be enjoyed without detriment to the other. It should also be emphasized, however, that while there are places where the two works diverge, they still share many points in common.  The movie can be seen more as a simplification of the book than a departure from it.  Pick up the novel yourself and see what you think!

September is here and Summer has ended (even if it doesn't feel that way outside) and it's time for the 2011 Summer Reading Awards, or as I like to call them: "The Seven Heavens of Summer Reading."  The awards were established in honor of Michael Ward's "Planet Narnia," in which he claims that the seven books of The Chronicles of Narnia are ordered around the seven planets of medieval cosmology.  In that spirit, each award is given to honor an excellent book whose content is in keeping with the attributes of one of the "seven heavens."  With that bit of background, let's cut to this year's awards. Moon: "Howl's Moving Castle" by Diana Wynne Jones  For the sphere of madness, flux, and change, there could be no better match than this story of magical transformations, mistaken identities, and mad Welshmen. Mercury: "The Four Quartets" by T.S. Eliot  In the matter of manipulating language, T.S. Eliot's Nobel...

The repentant sadist chastens rude Caucasia with the blade of too Euclidean love In that place where Simon Magus sits playing with his cards Queens Kings Knaves Placing her under the unmerited obedience of the hazel rod Which is A ruler fit for bookstore clerks and men that play at being kings Simon Magus Simon Magus Simon Magus in the mirror The unicorn has lost her mate which found her when the wild hazel was young But now it has all been turned to rods that are his horn To rub between a maiden’s bosom And she grieves for the wild hazel which was young in spring Who knows the proper use of horns Seeking him ever in the heaving breast of Gaul not knowing that he is gone to Logres Simon Magus Simon Magus Simon Magus in the mirror There at Pentecost saw Taliessin the young king Arthur crowned And Bedivere rejoiced And Balin swore As rays of vert and rose and azure smote down upon the window and danced about the king But Taliesin there in...

We're finishing out the summer here with a trek back through the films of Hayao Miyazaki and with that a little look at some of his source material.  In this case, that means a read through Diana Wynne Jones' "Howl's Moving Castle."  The film adaptation of this book is one of my favorite Studio Ghibli films and I've watched it numerous times over the past several years.  This is the first time, however, that I've turned to pick up the novel. Stepping into Diana Wynne Jones's world of whiny wizards has been a treat.  There's a quirky fractured-fairy tale feel to the whole book that's actually subtle enough not to overwhelm the story with irony; what Tolkien calls "the author's wink at the other adults in the room."  The characters and settings function well both as archetypes and as individuals so that the fairy tale feel is preserved right along with all the trappings of a modern psychological novel.  For those who were introd...

After the herculean task of blogging through "The Mammoth Book of Fantasy," it's been good to take a bit of a breather.  I'll have to ponder a bit more before I can definitely say what I learned from the experience. Meanwhile, I have not been idle.  My wife and I have been working through some of the Tolkien Professor's lectures with all the accompanying reading that entails.  We've also started re-reading the Harry Potter books.  In addition to that, we've been making use of our Netflix account.  With that, we come to the real purpose of today's post.  This week, we've had the fun of watching two recent visually rich films; real treats for the eye.  The are studio Ghibli's "Tales From Earthsea" and Christopher Nolan's "Inception." "Tales From Earthsea" is actually the directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki's son Goro.  In that respect, the film is just a fun chance to see the next generation of studio Ghi...

The Edge of the World by Michael Swanwick Well, it's been a long hall.  Shifting constantly from author to author, from genre to genre, can take a lot out more out of you, page for page, than just sticking to one.  Maybe that's why I've never liked fiction anthologies.  I usually just skip over that section in the bookstore.  Still, reading through this particular anthology was worth it.  It's expanded my knowledge of the genre and put new and interesting authors on my radar.  With that preface, let's turn to Michael Swanwick. "The Edge of the World" is a fitting name for the last short story in this collection.  In a sense, we've come to the boarders of the genre.  Like Swanwick's protagonists, we've shifted from great and mighty heroes, to cynical adventurers, and withered into broken, whiny teenagers frantically hoping someone will notice them.  There no longer seems to be any purpose or meaning to existence, so why not cease to exist...

The Phantasma of Q--- by Lisa Goldstein This piece has a bit of a steam-punk flair mixed with the "lost world" fantasy that we saw with A. Merritt's "The Moon Pool."  It also has a touch of the "turn-about" mystery we see in Tanith Lee's "A Hero at the Gates."  All of this is in keeping with the trend of the last few stories in the collection toward an increase mixing of genres and techniques. It makes sense that fantasy writing becomes more complex the closer you get to the present.  Think about it.  When Dunsany created his unique voice, or when Robert E. Howard got Sword and Sorcery up and running, the novelty of their creation was enough to hold the audience's attention.  Once they had done their thing, however, there was only so much of a spin subsequent writers could put on it before everything in that genre or mode came to sound like a pastiche.  As genres and modes proliferated, so did the number of authors writing in t...

Nets of Silver and Gold by James P. Blaylock Blaylock gives us a piece that combines Harlon Ellison's minimalist fantasy with Theodore Sturgeon's "what if?" stories.  In so doing, it also fits in with Charles de Lint's penchant for writing fantasy in a pedestrian modern setting.  However, Blaylock adds a new twist in that he doesn't feel the need to explain the source or the meaning of the fantastic element.  It simply occurs, and we are left to guess its origin and import or else simply revel in the imaginative oddness of the tale.  I think the author would prefer that we do the latter over the former.  As del Torro reminds us when commenting on "Pan's Labyrinth," the old faerie stories never bother to explain the fantastic element; it's simply something that is.  G.K. Chesterton makes much of this in his essay The Ethics of Elfland, which serves as part of his larger autobiographical work "Orthodoxy," by saying that never reall...

The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule by Lucius Shepard   Yes, I am slowing down.  Reading two short stories a day, or even one, is beginning to prove existentially exhausting.  I'm not sure if that's because I'm reading other things as well or not.  Perhaps this story hasn't interested me as much as some of the others?  I don't know. "The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule" is about a young artist who proposes to kill an already half-dead dragon that dominates a town by painting him.  The idea is that the toxins in the paint will eventually build up in the dragons system and finish him off.  Being desperate to get rid of the beast, which still exerts a psychic influence over the town, the magistrates empower Meric Cattanay to carry out his massive plan.  The story continues, interspersing bits of biographical work about Meric and his painting with scenes from Meric's life as he labors to cover the dragon in paint.  We are allowed to see...

 I think teaching makes you late for a lot of things.  It makes me late for film.  Usually, I'm not missing much, but sometimes I am.  This is one of those times. I liked "Pan's Labyrinth."  I liked the lighting.  I liked the costumes.  I liked the story and the leisurely way in which it unfolded.  Seldom have I seen anything so richly imagined on film.  Predictably, it wasn't done by Americans.  The New Zealanders, the Japanese, and the Spanish all have us beat. Yes, there was violence in the film, but I was surprised at how little del Torro seemed to relish it.  This movie could have been packed with bloodshed if he'd wanted it to be.  What is there is in the service of fleshing out his world and helping him ask the questions about pain, fantasy, and transcendence that he wanted to ask.  Maybe he still guessed wrong on the amount needed, but I'm not skilled enough a critic to know. One thing I can speak on is ...

My annual summer video game is now complete.  I have finished my first action rgp, Titan Quest.  All in all, it was a satisfying game.  The world was richly imagined, the learning curve was fair, and if you know what you're doing it can be beaten on the first go (contra Diablo?).  Of course I didn't know what I was doing, but it was possible to get back on track without playing the game over again.  My only only critique: I would have liked more cinematics and a little more development of the plot (which was rather interesting and written by Randall Wallace of Braveheart fame), but I understand that some fans of the genre feel that these things get in the way.  If you like video games and ancient history, this one is worth checking out (especially since you can get a package deal at Amazon for 8 bucks!).

The Moon Pool by A. Merritt Evidently, A. Merritt was popular at the turn of the century and then promptly disappeared from the public mind.  However, one can see strong similarities between his work and more well known contemporaries H. Rider Haggard and H.P. Lovecraft.  There's quite a bit of similarity in tone and plot to Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness."  That said, Merritt's inclusion of women as major characters keeps him from simply being "Lovecraft before Lovecraft" and places him in with Haggard in terms of sensibilities.  All that to say that if you like either of the other two authors, it's worth giving Abraham Merritt a try. The plot of "The Moon Pool" falls into the "lost world" genre, and narrates the quest of Dr. Throckmartin and company to uncover a lost Pacific civilization in the doctor's own words.  As a clever Platonic move, Dr. Throckmartin himself is not our narrator, but his friend Mr. G...

Pixel Pixies by Charles de Lint I have to confess that I've been interested in reading a little Charles de Lint ever since I saw John Howe's impressive covers in "Myth and Magic."   Of course, seeing a John Howe cover can make me want to pick up just about any book.  I made that mistake a while back with David Gemmel's "Legend."  Now I remember not to judge a book by its cover.  That said, I am pleased to report that in the case of Charles de Lint the picture matched the writing.  I haven't gotten as much delight out of any of the other stories in the collection as I have out of "Pixel Pixies." Enough gushing, let me summarize.  "Pixel Pixies" tells the story of Bookstore owner Holly Rue and her resident Hobgoblin Dick.  Holly doesn't know Dick exists, but he helps keep her shop in order every night so long as he has free range of the books.  This nice little relationship is threatened when a gaggle of pixies begin ...