Gigi's Company discussion

I like them all. The DC universe on CW has hope and light and friendship, keeping all the plates spinning. I wish they could figure out to do the for the big budget movies, which I mostly don't care for. Or maybe it's the leads, Benoist and the young man from "The Flash," and the ensemble from "Legends of Tomorrow."

"Agents of Shield" is waaay darker, now, but I also love it. I used to like another Marvel 'verse series with Amy Acker & Stephen Moyer, whose teen children have superpowers. I don't know it if was cancelled or on hiatus.

* I think I just watch "Arrow" out of habit and because Stephen Amell is good looking. To be fair, I started watching "Arrow" for the dads and dad- age guys: Paul Blackthorne, Colin Samuels and John Barrowman.

I saw "Black Panther" Saturday and will see it again tonight with my husband. I love it.

So what do you think of the superheroes on tv and in the movies? Have you seen "Black Panther?" Will you see it?

Supergirl is my fave, but the others are good as well. I have not seen Black Panther, but I definitely plan to see it.

Favorite Avengers character?

All of the characters in Black Panther, right now, including a villain, is understandable, even sympathetic. It's a real ensemble. They made the fantastic Wakanda seem believable. It's very, very special.

Other than that series, maybe Phil Coulson.

(And now that I'm thinking about it, only the Black Panther is an Avenger. Phil is a Shield Agent, sometimes director, not an Avenger, though he has worked with them. OK, another favorite Avenger- adjacent character is Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal, who so far, only exists in books.)

What about you, who is or are some of you favorite Avengers characters?

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is my all-time favorite. I also like Black Widow (Natasha Romanova) and Hawkeye (Clint Barton), as they are currently performed. Additionally, I enjoyed the performance of Tom Holland, the young actor who played Spiderman (Peter Parker) in Spiderman: Homecoming. He was believable as a teen and as a hero.

Who was your favorite, alive or deceased, Agent of Shield in the television series?

I've already said Phil Coulson, who we were told last week, but should we trust that source? may or may not be alive.

May. (Though I don't know her last name, without looking it up.) She's a good soldier, a good officer, a pilot, a kickbutt gal, who also has a heart.

Who is your favorite secondary Supergirl character?

J'onn J'onzz , or in his human persona, D.E.O. Director Hank Henshaw.

Do you have a favorite character in the Flash or the Legends of Tomorrow?

Joe West in "The Flash," but Barry Allen, too. "The Flash" has light and hope and sunniness that is missing from most of the other superhero series, and it doesn't always have it. It's a testament to Barry Allen and Joe West that the Flash is a hopeful superhero.

(I think it is; while I read some Marvel universe graphic novels, I haven't gotten into the graphic novels in the DC 'verse. Nope, not true, last summer and fall I read maybe a dozen underwhelming Wonder Women graphic novels. In there, I read some Green Arrow, who isn't anything like Arrow and Oliver Queen.)

As for Legends I like Ray Palmer. The actor played Superman and looks it, or I think he did, but the character, for being a tech billionaire on "Arrow," is at heart a science geek and sweet. I also like the historian, whose name is escaping me. But I started watching the show for Captain Rip Hunter, who had traveled with the Doctor as his Companion and Amy Pond's husband, on Doctor Who, in a previous gig.

What's a storyline, or character path, or villain in these shows you don't like?

Putting this back on the list.

(If that's a question you don't care for, answer another.)

I don't have an issue with the question. Some of your questions require a thoughtful answer and sometimes work and real life prevent me from coming up with an immediate answer.

Often for the sake of ratings a villain stays around way too long. The plots don't suggest a reasonable explanation for their constant near misses and I just get tired of the entire storyline. Those are the villains that I hate. Damien Darhk and Eobard Thawne come to mind.

What comic book series/graphic novel(s) that is not currently a movie franchise would you like to see become a movie franchise?

This one that I have to spend zero time thinking about: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson .

She's Muslim, a Pakistani- American superhero in high school in Jersey City, NJ, across a bridge from Manhattan, or a subway ride, but may as well be 1,000 miles away. Her high school's robotics team competes against Miles Morales' team aka Spiderman. She has to decide on things like should she wear a hijab with her costume. She's got RL problems with her traditional parents, for instance, but she's also really funny and kick- ass.

I can't stand the sneering snarling Damien Darkh! He played a similar character on "Desperate Housewives," but according to imdb he was also in "Band of Brothers." I may re-watch some of that, just to get that character out of my brain.

Which comic book series/ graphic novel that isn't a movie franchise would you like to see as a movie or movie franchise?

Perhaps one with a Native American superhero. I believe that Marvel has a character called American Eagle. I don't remember much about him. There are several comic book companies with Hispanic superheroes and I would enjoy one of those characters with a movie franchise.

What group would you like to see represented with a superhero?

I am bummed that Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds wasn't the next Spider-Man, though I do like the guy the choose. Maybe Jason Reynolds' version of the character will come next.

I agree a Native/ First Nations superhero would be really great.

Gene Luen Yang wrote American Born Chinese, Saints, and Boxeurs, which are better known, do you know about The Shadow Hero? I read it awhile ago, but I really liked it.

Can you think a graphic novel or graphic novel series you like that is not superhero- related?

American Born Chinese immediately comes to mind. There are several science subjects those theories have been turned into graphic novels (certainly not movie material), but I have enjoyed them.

Also, HNR The Shadow Hero.

Now that the weather is getter warmer, what are you looking forward to doing that you couldn't do when it was a wee bit colder?

It's still not warm yet here, but reading outdoors maybe by July.

Do you like to garden?

I enjoy container gardening.

What about you?

I'm talented at killing plants, which I have to remind myself of every year...

Any movies you are looking forward to seeing?

Avengers: Infinity War, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Incredibles 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, Mission Impossible - Fallout, and Disney's Christopher Robin.

Any summer movies that you are looking forward to seeing?

I've seen Infinity War and I liked it. I saw The Quiet Place the next night and liked it very much. I'll probably see The Star Wars movie, I don't see them all anymore, but this one looks like fun. Yes to the Ant- Man, movie too. Is there a Justice League movie coming out? If yes, then that, probably. (I loved "Wonder Woman," but the last Superman & Batman movie was tiresome.) Tonight I'm watching "Three Billboards Outside..." because I borrowed it from the library.

Any 'little' movies you are looking forward to?

I am a firm believer that action movies should be seen on the big scene. I tend to Netflix everything else.

Daffodils are blooming in my front yard and it seems like spring is finally here. What is your favorite spring flower?

The snow drops come up even before the crocuses and aren't bothered by snow, fortunately this year, especially. After that, daffodils, tulips and lilacs.

And forsythia, though they are bushes, they look like flowers for a week or so. Or do I mean freesia?* Golden yellow leaves as buds that turn green.

What's your favorite spring flower?

* I really meant it above when I said that I am no gardener. I had to look up snow drops, then forsythia, obviously.

I have snowdrops and tulips in my yard, but by the time that the daffodils emerge, it feels like spring. I adore tulips, but daffodils also have a warm spot in my heart.

Cars: Electric, hybrid, or gas-guzzler?

There's nowhere public to plug in an electric car near me, that I know about. My husband bought a hybrid Ford this winter. (Hybrid Fords are/ were $10,000 cheaper than Toyotas, but now they've stopped making/ selling them.) He gets giddy about the gas mileage on his car. I drive a teeny ten year old paid- off Toyota Scion that gets pretty great gas mileage for a car.

What type of cars do you prefer?

I have driven a hybrid Honda Insight since 2010. Some of my male students made fun of me when I purchased it. A few years later gas prices went up. I laughed all the way to the bank. Tesla is still having issues with their electric vehicles or I would drive an electric car. Last Saturday we purchased an electric lawnmower. It comes with two batteries and a charger. You can use one and charge the other. Just can't mow in the rain -- which my husband wouldn't do anyway.

What other efforts have you taken to go "green?"

Ooh, let's see I use cloth grocery bags that I keep in my car near my purse so I always bring them with me, if I end up at the grocery or other store, and keep plastic bags in the bottom of some of the bags. I have special bag just for the library, so I can keep track of what I return/ get/ read. I recycle bottles, cans, jars and cardboard. My signs for the marches and walks I go on are with recycled cardboard from deliveries, then I also put newer signs on top of the older ones. I walk as much as I can. I carpool when appropriate. I'm sure there are other ways, too.

One of my dear friends is a lobbyist in Albany, NY and nationwide on environmental justice, toxic chemicals in baby's and young children's products and feminine hygiene products. I lobby with/ for her organization a couple of times a year in the state senate & assembly. Apparently, if you don't want to use tampax or pads during your period, you can buy single- use underwear with some very nasty chemicals on it.

That's a pretty cool sounding lawnmower!

Summer's coming soon, especially for you. What are you looking forward to doing this summer?

My husband and I will be visiting our daughter. I'll also read, rest, craft, and garden -- pretty normal summer.

Your summer plans?

My husband is retiring this year. We're going to Scotland for 2+ weeks in August and September. My sister is coming to visit from LA to be with our daughter.

We'll also do normal summer things: I have bought tickets to the international opera festival in the next county to "Barber of Seville" and an opera about the Christmas truce during World War I. I meant to buy tickets to "West Side Story," that they are also doing, hopefully I'll get to see that, too. We're going to Pennsylvania for the weekend to hang out with people with whom my husband plays World of Warcraft. Hopefully, we'll also be going to western Massachusetts to listen to music and go to plays.

And reading, reading, reading and other things.

Please post the next question.

Ooops!!!

Looking forward to reading any specific books this summer?

I look forward to reading the third book in the The Butterfly Garden series, the rest of the True Blood Series, Plain Truth, Third Grave Dead Ahead and the rest of the series

What do you look forward to most in the summer?

The long nights, warmth, summer concerts, plays and shows, my CSA share starts up again soon, but I bet it'll be a slow start because we just haven't had much warmth or sun yet, potluck parties -- one's happening this weekend already. In years past, I get to make summer- like foods for like gazpacho, vichyssoise, borscht. Corn! Asparagus! Basil! Entirely too much kale. Wearing dresses and skirts again.


And reading. I always look forward to reading.


What do you most look forward to doing in the summer?

I'm looking forward to not having to drive school bus. Our school is out Thursday so it's my last day to drive, YEAH! I look forward to nice weather, cool evenings to sit on the deck and read. Cookouts, longer days, summer reading program at the library, I'm already planning my days for that.

What is the must read book for you for the summer?

Susan, I'm usually a one book at a time reader, but right now I have from the library:

Refugee,
Warlight, Didn't get around to. Yet.
Ghost Boys,
The Prince and the Dressmaker,
Bayou Magic, I got it on audio first. I'll read it instead.
Yellow Moon: A Novel, Wasn't in the mood, dnf. Then I found out it was #2 in series.
Towers Falling,
Heart Berries: A Memoir,

and John Connolly's He, which I can't get to appear here. It's a novel about Stan Laurel.


For challenges I will read: Silent Spring, True Grit, Shane or Lonesome Dove, The Poisonwood Bible, Remnant Population.

Binti , Home and The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor for my RL book club. Book #2 & 3 are new to me, but I'll need to reread #1, too.

Welcome Susan!


I heard about The Spirit Photographer by Jon Michael Varese as a new, good debut author. I'd like to read Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces by Michael Chabon, because I usually love his stuff. Both of these are new.

What book or books do you have to finish before you can start your summer books?

First, Susan, Welcome to the group!

Next, also for Susan, I love the Charley Davidson series. The Third Grave Dead Ahead and the others are a hoot! Some of the funniest reads in urban fantasy!!

There are so many books on my tbr (to be read) list. I'm a high school teacher and catch up on my non-school reading in the summer. Probably topping the list are Dangerously Fierce and Burn Bright, among a long list of others.

I can hardly wait for Wild Hunger (Heirs of Chicagoland, Book 1) to be released on August 14th. This book is about the grown up children of Chicagoland's favorite vampires and werewolves.

What is the must read book for you for the summer?

Kathleen wrote: "First, Susan, Welcome to the group!

Next, also for Susan, I love the Charley Davidson series. The Third Grave Dead Ahead and the others are a hoot! Some of the funniest reads in ur..."

Thanks Kathleen. I love the Charley Davidson series. She's awesome.

What are some of the books your kids read in school. I used to be a substitute teacher but now I'm an treasurer at an insurance agency, even though the teachers and kids want me back lol.

My must read book for the summer is by Andrew E. Kaufman. The reason is that this is the only book he's wrote that I haven't read.

What are some of your favorite authors?

I'll both questions from posts 2284 and 2285.

This year students in English 10 read The Battle of Jericho, Frankenstein, Romeo and Juliet, Night, Lord of the Flies, and Ashfall.

I have many favorite authors including, but not limited to, the following:

Seanan McGuire, Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb, Rick Riordan, Lynsay Sands, Lisa Shearin, Patricia Briggs, Jayne Ann Krentz, Julia Quinn, Larissa Ione, Rachel Vincent, Darynda Jones, Jessica Barksdale Inclan, Marissa Meyer, Karen Marie Moning, Chloe Neill, Naomi Novik, Nalini Singh, and Eileen Wilks, among others.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

I read Lord of the Flies in high school.

I have tons of favorite authors; here are a few

Suzanne M. Sabol, Stephen King, Andrew E. Kaufman, Christine Feehan, Charlene Harris, James Patterson, Ted Decker, Allyson James, Darynda Jones, Jeaniene Frost, Jack Kilborn (J.A. Konrath)
and the list goes on.

What kind of music do you like?

Classic Rock. I am a child of my generation, the 1960s.

Do you have musical preferences?

Here's some of what I can think of that I like:

I like many Broadway musicals, especially older ones, like "The King and I," "Fiddler on the Roof," all Sondheim, and the music from "Hamilton."

I like folk and folk rock, like Pete Seeger, Reggie Harris, the Indigo Girls.

I like standards from the 1930s, 40s and 50s, like Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Rosemary Clooney.

I like opera.

I like classical music.

I like going to hear my neighbors and friends play whatever music they play at local venues: blues, folk, jazz, classical, band, whatever.

I also like classic rock.

Who are some of your favorite bands?

Again, ones from the old days such as Queen or the Beatles, among others.

Preference: Music for dancing, listening, or as white noise when needing to concentrate.

I prefer music for listening, whatever the genre.


Do you listen to audio books, radio dramas or podcasts? What are some of your favorites?

I generally don't listen to audio books. I prefer to read. We do use audio books in school to play excerpts to then discuss with students. The students all have physical books to follow along, read independently with, etc.

Besides reading, what is your favorite summer rainy day activity?*

*Yes, it has rained most of today.

I question whether there's something to do in addition to reading.


Watching old movies, I guess.


What's a favorite activity of yours, rainy or sunny day, that isn't reading?

In summer, after reading, crafting or being in my garden.

In winter, after reading, crafting or baking.

Favorite summer outdoor activity.

Farmers markets, makers markets, going to outdoor music and theater festivals, near and far, going on drives (although this summer we're going on a train trip*, so whatever the conveyance), I do hope to take a day boat trip on the Erie Canal this summer, to see new places and places new to me, discovering new cities and places.

Do you have any household projects you intend to do/ get done this summer?

*To Quebec City.

Yeppers, hope to reorganize my craft room, which is a huge project, but I hope to finish before school resumes in August 2018. I am working on it a few hours every other day or so when I am in town.

Do you have any household projects you intend to do/ get done this summer?

We hope to get the whole upstairs/ attic done so company can visit there. There's a library with beautiful bookshelves and boxes full of stuff, but no furniture, not even a comfy chair. A tv/ movie area with a futon my husband finds uncomfortable. (So I think we add a chair/ couch he likes.) There's also a gaming area and a crafts area, with yet more boxes. It's a big job, but we have no 'end date' as my husband's last day of work as teacher was last Friday. He retired.


We just got back from a weekend in PA with his World of Warcraft buddies, we're going to Quebec City, then over two weeks in Scotland in August- September.


We've lived in this house 16 years. We also plan to finally get rid of the Japanese knot wood, that someone planted long ago. It's an invasive weed now.

Do you have an unpleasant task like that that needs being done?

Our kitchen and bathrooms scream 1970s (era when the house was built). If we ever intend to sell our house down the road and downsize, we will need to gut and renovate all before putting the house on the market.

We had a quiet 4th of July with a movie, dinner with our married daughter, and watching the Capitol Fourth. How was your holiday?

Very, very quiet. I read and finished a very long book, Before the Devil Breaks You when it was quite hot. My husband went to the grocery store during the fireworks and found many of our neighbors there, which surprised us because there are many higher places in our little village.


What might be your next book?

Book 3 of the Partials series, Ruins by Dan Wells

What might be your next book?