#feral!david/max is killing me..

[cravingbeef]

Eh.. take this wip.

[sideprince]

Yeah movie Snape didn't get to be feral. No one did. Sirius didn't get to be feral, Bellatrix didn't get to lose it - not even in Deathly Hallows - and somehow Dumbledore, described as calm with blazing eyes at his angriest, got in a fully feral moment where there was no call for one. Harry never got to lose his shit, not even when it was literally in the script that Fred and George heard him yelling through the ceiling from another floor of the house in OoTP. The scene was literally:

Harry: (Quietly) You couldn't have put any of this in a letter, I suppose. (voice wavering) I've gone all summer without a scrap of news.

Ron: We wanted to write mate, really we did. Only...

Harry: (Soft, low voice) Only what?

Hermione: Only Dumbledore made us swear not to tell you anything.

Harry: (Softly) Dumbledore said that? But why would he want to keep me in the dark, maybe I can help. (Voice wavering like a betrayed heiress on All My Children) After all, I'm the one who saw Voldemort return, I'm the one who fought him, I'm the one who saw Cedric Diggory get killed.

Fred and George: (apparate in) Harry. Thought we heard your dulcet tones.

David Yates read "dulcet tones" in the script (direct quote from the book btw, and this was the one script written by Michael Goldenberg and not Steve Kloves), and he took it literally. Despite the sudden appearance of Fred and George and how inexplicable it's made if the reference to "dulcet tones" is literal and not sarcastic. Harry's lines in the book are written in ALL CAPS, he's described as shouting, Ron as stunned, and Hermione on the verge of tears, but the scene in the film couldn't move the needle on a sound meter even if it was at max volume in Dolby Stereo.

Snape didn't get to be feral but no one else did either. In PoA during the climactic scene in the Shrieking Shack, Harry also doesn't get to scream, not at Sirius, and not at Snape. Sirius also doesn't get to be feral when he confronts Pettigrew after twelve years. The films are afraid to show strong emotions and it hurts a lot of characters and how they're portrayed. Whenever I see a "Snape didn't get to be feral" take, I never see it followed with, "and as a result, Harry didn't get to be feral back at him either" when it's clearly written in the book that Snape's feral behavior triggers Harry too. I know the Snapedom loves El Blorbo but he doesn't exist in a vacuum.

I really wish people would understand that just because actors are the people you see on screen they aren't the only ones making decisions. Bad choices were made by directors, writers, even producers. At least blame the right people for them.

[sadvid]

camp camp makes me insane ramble. do not click more unless you are so so very insane

camp camp is gonna make me go fucking insane i can't fucking do this anymore there is NOTHING!!!!!! NOTHING!!!! ALL THEY DID WAS GIVE US TINY PISS DRRROPLETS WITH ONE EPISODE FINALE SAYING MAXS PARENTS DONT CARE AND DAVID SAYING YOU DONT DESERVE THAT AND NOW IVE BEEN IN THE TRENCHES FOR YEAAAARSSS. i have read fics with over 100k words i have drawn so many things and imagined so many scenarios with angst and hurt/comfort and stupid stupid thoughts that would never ever happen in the show in a million years HIS ASS IS NOT GETTING ADOPTED DADVID IS NOT REAL GWENVID IS A SICK JOKE i love them so much you don't understand. i forgot to take my meds. oh my goddddd. THERE ARE LIKE THREE CAMP CAMP FANS LEFT BECAUSE THE REST WERE NORMAL PEOPLE WHO JUST WATCH THE SILLY CAMP CARTOON THAT SAYS FUCK. they dont wonder about the possibilities of a sad ten year old rejecting happiness but slowly allowing himself to be vulnerable and loved by a counselor who is surrounded by hate and despondency but stays positive despite despite despite because nobody else will and he wants to be the source of happiness that he wish someone was for him. NO! they say HAHA the ten year old said fuck! oh my god the non swearing counselor said fuck too that's so profound! oh no the ten year olds parents bad :( HAHA NOW HES BALD!!!! and after a month of the show being gone they LEAVE because they're NORNAL!!!!! but i. I AM IN THE TRENCHESSSSS. you have no idea you have no idea. listen maybe i'm just a little insane because i am a max who needs a david JUST MAYBE! and i think this is just a lot of me projecting my desperate need for love and my simultaneous rejection and fear of it onto max. And my need for someone to keep persistently and loudly loving me no matter how much i reject it. PROBABLY!!!!! i don't care i don't care how fucking insane i sound I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY I COULD talk about this show for hours i wish i didn't have job or school or life so i could write and anímate camp camp season 6 7 8 9 10 infinity and kill the warner brothers and write 500k word ao3 fics. IM INSANE. i am picking up crumbs and calling it a wedding cake do you understand. god i'm i i i i i i i i it's 2024 it's been too long too many years of this.... too many got damned years. every time i pick up a pencil i draw max camp camp. i have drawn david's stupid fucking face so many times its probably become the shape of my brain wrinkles. i go feral thinking about gwen's hair looks like down or what the fuck these characters last names are. Can you fucking believe i hyper fixated on a character whose last name i dont even know. hey who's that small angry fucker you're always doodling. uhh max. max who. max... camp camp. WHO?!!! DAVID?!!? DAVID ATTENBOROUGH?!?! MAX CAULFIELD?! i'm going to set myself on fire. i really truly am. i love them i live for nothing but a ghost child on an island and a silly friend trio. when will it end. when. i love them if you couldn't tell

[aboyandhisstarship]

ok a stupid AU idea

I have talked about Harry potter and my general thoughts on the world provided compared to the governments of the world (my fav being the idea that if the wizard world actually bothered to tell the muggles about old vauldy they would have been take him out laughably easily with all the anti wizard tech that any sensible government would be stockpiling but i digress)  my own pro muggle and Power of Science (tm) sentiments aside AU idea. 

 it is a camp camp AU: 

staring: Max fresh wizard forced to live with terribly jealous of his natural ability family, and when he gets his letter, they get real mad things happen (more on this later) 

Nikki: the ron of the story, from the wizarding world, a lover of supernatural animals and nature and as a shoe in for a bright future in the business, she is also a bit feral. 

Neil: is quite easily the Haromine, Muggle born believer in science who takes this wizarding world tentatively while tackling his school work with passion. 

so far pretty standard stuff Until: 

David: works for the Bureau of Magical Protection, The arm of The British government that keeps track of the wizarding community, and does it’s best to protect the gernal public from them (because make no mistake in a post valudmort world at best the wizarding world would be on a “watch list”) The agency is kind of like a mix between the MIB and torch wood. they are all given an injection that allows them to enter magically protected area’s by faking the gene allowing for magic to take place (SCIENCE) David specifically was a member of the SAS that joined the Organization,  after Satellites picked up a large surge of energy in 1 pivot drive, the soilders raided the house to find Max scarred from years of abuse and very angry had accidentally used his powers  to kill his “pearents.” Max is taken away in order to recover and gets his letter in there offices.  Max gets attached to David, and the headmaster deciding that maybe have students learn about the muggle world from a muggle invites David to be the new Muggle studies professor, something the agency accepts and David is reassigned. 

Gwen:  Gwen is a witch and a professor of Hogwarts, she teaches charms, and is by a massive margin the youngest professor (until david) as such the two are natural friends (later lovers)  if Gwen can deal with the muggles abundance of happiness and the controversy of him even being here. 

so thats it the major stuff i have so far  tell me what you think? 

written on mobile so please excuse mistakes 

[ziracona]

So I was wondering, which killers do the survivors most like going against in a "I'm genuinely having fun here" kind of way, a "Hah! Eat my dust!" Kind of way, who do they most often find themselves winning against?? Also I'm now watching the movie the final girls because of u. already sad :( - Sleepy (i did it dude. i went to bed at a reasonable time. then i got like four hours sleep, woke up, and couldn't fall back to sleep ;'3)

😭 That doesn’t count!!! You need real sleep. TuT But good on you for trying—keep trying, you need rest!!

Also hell yeah! I love that film. It’s a favorite horror & horror comedy. Bette Davis Eyes guts me every damn time. T•T Hope you enjoyed the viewing!

Hmmm. Well, it carries a bit from survivor to survivor. Sadly most of the ones they hate most and would be most competitive against/desperate to beat and just way too awful to really make even winning enjoyable/worth the pain. Like, Min’s favorite win is vs Trapper and Doc because she harbors the most rage and hate towards those two, but also, she’d just fkn pick Spirit or Shape or almost anyone 10/10 over them to get to avoid period. I’d say on average, probably Legion is the most competitively thought of, because they aren’t /so/ awful it makes you want to die at trial start, or so hard you’re voiding your bodyweight in sweat, but it still feels real good to beat those stabby punk assholes. The feral ones like Michael, Anna, Max, Spirit, Hag, and Demo would be other favorites, because the lack of any personal nature or indulgent sadism by those ones makes the struggle for life less slimy and more just like trying to escape a burning house or catastrophe or something (sans Laurie, who does not enjoy getting her brother & for whom exclusively that one it is personal). The most exciting to /get/ just corresponds to whoever averages least bad if you combine pain, cruelty, grossness, difficulty, and individual ability to counter or not, but Wraith, Susie Legion, Michael, Nurse, Huntress, Demo, Deathslinger, and Spirit rank consistently high for very different reasons. (IE: Rin is super hard, but she’s pretty fast and less painful death, and not personal at all. Being eaten sucks, but Demo is literally an animal, so kinda hands down less bad than being hunted by a human. Wraith and Nurse are two of the most merciful/restrained towards them, plus neither is super painful and Nurse is tied for least painless mori. Michael kills faster than anyone, and tbh stab-dead isn’t so bad compared to the others. He’s not sadistic & gross. Susie is one of the easiest to beat and the least aggressive Legion member.)

In terms of enjoying the win itself, survivors like to beat whoever they hate most, 100%. It’s not worth having to be in their trial period, not at all, but they do thrive on those righteously just wins when they get them. Most of the least faves follow p logically. No one likes Nightmare, but Quentin, Dwight, Claudette, Meg, and Ace especially it’s hell for. Tapp hates Pig and Cannibal and Ghostface most. Jake and Min hate getting Doctor most. Nobody likes getting Clown (or like, any serial killer killer), but Claudette, Jeff, David, and Kate hate him most. Etc.

[poetlcs]

books I’ve read in 2020 (so far) + their ratings

non-fiction

crossing the line: australia’s secret history in the timor sea by kim mcgrath: important research into australia’s theft of oil in timor leste. didn’t rate

hood feminism: notes from the women that a movement forgot by mikki kendall: essay collection dissecting modern feminism, pointing out the exclusionary practices of mainstream feminism and offering new frameworks through which feminism should operate. really recommend. didn’t rate

the uninhabitable earth: life after warming by david wallace-wells: good introduction to environmentalism and the climate disaster. a little too introductory for me but good for those new to the topic. ★★★

homo deus: a brief history of tomorrow by yuval noah harari: it is simply not Sapiens nor as good as Sapiens. Looks at potentials for our future but, thought it was a little poorly researched. Some parts were still interesting though.  ★★★

SPQR: a history of ancient rome by mary beard: a little dense at times, but super interesting and detailed look at ancient rome. enjoyed it a lot. ★★★★

sister outsider by audre lorde: collection of audre lorde’s essays and speeches, about feminism, lesbianism, the queer community, being Black and a lesbian ect ect. outstanding, important collection anyone interested in intersectional feminism must read. ★★★★★

all boys aren’t blue by george m. johnson: memoir about johnson’s experiences growing up as a Black gay boy in a poor neighbourhood. Very poignant memoir, written in such accessible language which I liked. guarenteed to get you emotional, another one everyone should read. didn’t rate because it’s so highly personal that felt wrong but highly recommend. 

under a biliari tree i born by alice biari smith: memoir by an Aboriginal Australian detailing her life growing up learning traditional Aboriginal ways and how the lives of Indigenous Australian’s have been impacted through the years, specifically in Western Australia. Probably more aimed at school age people but still a 101 I think many Australian’s (and non Australian’s) can benefit from. didn’t rate 

classics

maurice by e.m forster: gay man coming of age story in college + themes around class and sexuality. forster’s end note saying he thought it imperative to write a happy ending because we need that in fiction, i love him. ★★★★★

emma by jane austen: read before seeing the movie. loved emma as a character but thought this was okay compared to other Austen I’ve read. ★★★½

perfume by patrick suskind: a man with an incredible sense of smell starts murdering young women to try and bottle their scent for a perfume. weirdest shit I ever read still don’t know how to feel about it. ★★★

the color purple by alice walker: follows the life of Celie, an Black woman living in rural Georgia. deals with her relationship with her sister Nettie, her lover Shug Avery, and with God. this tore my heart to shreds absolutely everyone must read it, like even just for the beautiful writing ALONE. ★★★★

a study in scarlet by arthur conan doyle: its sherlock holmes #1 no further explanation required. not my fave sherlock story, was the weird morman subplot needed? ★★½

dracula by bram stoker: yeah vampires!! this was way easier to read and also way funnier than I expected. we STAN gothic aesthetics and Miss Mina Harker here. ★★★★

fantasy

the diviners by libba bray: teens with magical powers/abilities solving mysteries in 1920′s new york. reread. ★★★★★

lair of dreams by libba bray: the diviners #2. reread. ★★★★½

before the devil breaks you by libba bray: the diviners #3. reread. best one in the series hands down.  ★★★★★

the king of crows by libba bray: waited so long for this series ender and it let me down lol. ★★★

clockwork princess by cassandra clare: the infernal devices #3. dont @ me this is my comfort reread series and I was travelling. ★★★★★

we unleash the merciless storm by tehlor kay mejia: we set the dark on fire #2. latinx inspired fantasy about overthrowing a corrupt government with an f/f romance. didn’t like as much as book one but still good, BEST girlfriends ever. ★★★½

wolfsong by t.j klune: basically feral gay werewolves and witches living in a town together. feels like a teen wolf episode but way more gayer. despite that hated the writing style and I don’t like age gap romances so yay the concept no the execution.  ★★

the fate of the tearling by erika johansan: the tearling #3. finally finished this series, dunno why everyone loathes the ending so much I thought it was cool. underrated fantasy because it’s very unique. ★★★★

girl, serpent, thorn by melissa bashardoust: persian inspired fantasy about a girl who is cursed by a div to kill anyone she touches. has an f/f romance. bashardoust writes the most aesthetically rich settings I love her. ★★★★

crier’s war by nina varela: reread. f/f enemies to lovers where the main character poses as a handmaiden in order to try and murder the princess whose father killed her family. PEAK gay content literally a modern classic. ★★★★★

we hunt the flame by hafsah faizal: I was so disinterested in this book I barely can describe the plot but basically it’s a prince and a hunter who are enemies but are forced to go looking for this magical artifact together anyway it was boring.  ★

ghosts of the shadow market by cassandra clare + others: short story collection set in the shadowhunter world. probably the strongest of her collections but they just don’t hit the same as her full length books. didn’t rate. 

a storm of swords: part two by george r.r martin: a song of ice and fire #3. I WILL finish reading these books eventually i swear !! probably the best one yet though. ★★★★

amarah by l.l mcneil: world of linaria #3. high fantasy with politics, dragons, warring races. tolkein/asoiaf vibes if they had more women with agency. didn’t rate because I haven’t decided my feelings on the end yet. 

science fiction

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: f/f enemies to lovers between spies on rival sides of a time war. good book but writing style wasn’t for me (others love this so eh take my opinion with a grain os salt:  ★★★

not your sidekick by c.b lee: main character is from a superhero family but has no powers herself, so she takes an internship working with a superhero corp. has an f/f romance with a villain character. so much fun and super cute

speculative fiction:

the deep by rivers solomon: speculative fiction wherein pregnant African women thrown overboard by slave ships gave birth to babies that became mermaids. main character holds all the memories of her people’s past but runs away after being unable to deal with the burden. about self discovery, intergenerational trauma and the burden of remembering. a little short imo but still all round excellent book ★★★★

how long ‘til black future month? by n.k jemisin: short story collection, many with an afro-futurism focus. hard to explain because there is such a wide variety of stories but this is an AMAZING collection. didn’t rate because I don’t like rating short story collections but wish more people would read it. 

mystery

the family upstairs by lisa jewell: woman inherits an english house and starts to unravel the secrets of a mass cult suicide that happened there years ago. loved it because it was wild. ★★★★★

the hand on the wall by maureen johnson: truly devious #3. boarding school mystery where the main character has to solve a murder that happened in the 1920s at her school while another mystery is happening in present time. my least favourite of the series but satisfying conclusion nonetheless. ★★★½

contemporary fiction

maybe in another life by taylor jenkins reid: dual timeline book showing the two outcomes of a decision the main character makes. cool concept but ultimately boring book because I didn’t care about the main character at all.  didn’t rate because I didn’t finish it. 

girl, woman, other by bernadine evaristo: vignette stories of various women whose lives are vaguely interconnected. incredibly well written with such vivid characters. deserves the hype. ★★★★

tin heart by shivan plozza: australian YA, the recipient of a heart transplant wishes to connect with the family of her donor, after she discovers the identity of her donor. good story but didn’t like the writing style. ★★★

a little life by hanya yanigahara: follows the life of a group of friends living in life, especially that of jude, a closed off and damaged man with a troubling past. a little too torture-porny/Tragic Gays but I cannot deny the author has a beautiful writing style and I went through all the emotions. didn’t rate

a girl like that by tanaz bhathena: explores the events leading up to the main character dying in a car crash. set in Jeddah, saudi arabia and explores expectations on women, feminism and expressions of sexuality and relationships between women during teenage years. kinda no good characters but I loved it for it’s messy depiction of teen girls (whilst not condemning them for this). underrated. ★★★★

little fires everywhere by celeste ng: drama in white american suburbs when a new family moves in and the neighbours start investigating their past. eh, I heard a lot about this and thought it was just okay. ★★★

stay gold by tobly mcsmith: trans boy decides to go stealth at his new school and falls for a cheerleader, georgia. about navigating being trans and definitely felt like it was written to educate cis people. it was okay but ultimately not my thing and not really the story I was looking for, even though I respect it being written by a trans author and still would recommend to certain people. ★★½

everything leads to you by nina lacour: main character and her best friend have to unravel a hollywood mystery, all while the main character is trying to get over her ex-girlfriend and find work as a set designer. f/f romance and loved the focus on movie making and the power of stories. ★★★½

the falling in love montage by ciara smyth: a girl meets another girl at a party, but she’s not looking to date due to the amount of family issues she has going on. so her and the girl decide to spend the summer having fun, renacting scenes from rom-coms, but never dating. awesome family dynamics and the relationship between the two girls was sweet also set in ireland which is fun. 

normal people by sally rooney: explores the relationship between connell and marianne, who meet in school, date secretly, and then are inexplicably drawn to each other for the rest of their lives. explores power dynamics, relationships, love and trust, and what we owe to eachother. great book, great mini-series, love it to bits. ★★★★★

the glass hotel by emily st john mandel: impossible to explain this book, but there’s a mystery about grafitti, a ponzi scheme and a character falling to their death on a boat under suspicious circumstances. honestly idk what happened in this book but I liked it. ★★★½

historical fiction

half of a yellow sun by chimamanda ngozi adichie: historical fiction about the biafran war loosely based on adichie’s family experiences. incredibly well written with an ending that punches you in the gut. ★★★★

hamnet by maggie o’farrell: explores the shakespeare family after the death of their child, Hamnet, from the plague, and how this leads to Shakespeare writing Hamlet. cool as fuck concept and boring as fuck book with such tropey female characters. ★★

all the light we cannot see by anthony doerr: WW2 fiction, dual perspective between a blind girl living in france and a german boy forced into nazi youth. I cannot believe this book is award winning it’s so boring and predictable and i reget the time i wasted on it. ★

poetry:

on earth we’re briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong: poetry memoir. vuong writes a letter to his illiterate mother, knowing she’ll never read it, exploring their relationship, his experiences growing up as second generation Vietnamese-American, and hers during the Vietnam War. My favorite book I’ve read so far this year, just too good to explain, genuinely just feel like everyone is better off for having read this. ★★★★★

currrently reading:

girls of storm and shadow by natasha ngan

meet me at the intersection: edited by rebecca lim & ambelin kwaymullina

stamped from the beginning: the definitive history of racist ideas in america by ibram x. kendi

get a life, chloe brown by talia hibbert

[robobrainmurdermysterytheatre]

Do ALL the OC things!

I was tagged by @suplexranger and @marvilus73 and @commonwealthhero in a few different OC things recently and I am a creature of efficiency so I have mushed all the things together to make one OC post because that sounded fun!

I’m tagging you guys back for whatever parts you didn’t do if you want to do them (or do them again!!!) and y’all that I’m pretty sure have OCs if you haven’t done any of these @red-king-4 @humans-are-friends-not-food @infamy-and-plunder @lamorellenoire6 @tatosoup @ashleyanthrax @nukenai @lobselvith8 @purple-martin111 @theredalice @angeliquedevive @rakimaiirisa ~~ I lowkey stalk some of your OCs ngl 😏 As always no pressure on doing it and IF I MISSED ANYONE WHO WANTS TO DO IT FOR THEIR OC @ me because I love all your brain children they are amazing. 

Of COURSE it’s about my favored child Jack Daniel 

It’s long so go under the cut 👇

(There are also more pictures😏)

OC Profile

NAME: Jack Daniel O’Kelley

NICKNAME: Jackie, Jackie O, General Jackoff

AGE: 24

SPECIES: Human

PERSONAL

MORALITY: Somewhere in the neighborhood of Neutral/Chaotic Good

RELIGION: It’s  c o m p l i c a t e d. Raised Catholic and really wants to believe there is a loving God, but believes more likely than not there isn’t. He’s super mad at organized religion, though.

SINS(greed/gluttony/sloth/lust/pride/envy/wrath): Lust, wrath, gluttony (not for food but for drugs and alcohol)

VIRTUES(chastity/charity /diligence/humility/kindness/patience/justice): Kindness, patience (for certain people and things), justice, charity

KNOWN LANGUAGES: English, Latin, Chinese

PHYSICAL

BUILD (scrawny/bony/slender/fit/athletic/curvy/herculean/pudgy/plus size/average): fit/athletic Prewar and coming out the vault, but he gets pretty scrawny because malnutrition in the wasteland is a thing

HEIGHT: 5'11

SCARS/BIRTHMARKS: His one scar from before the war he got in Anchorage by standing up and hitting his head on a suit of power armor he was repairing (very heroic battle scar, I know). During the game he gets clawed in the face by one of Kellogg’s synths during that fight, and that’s where the scars on the left side of his face come from. He later loses his right arm via grenade in the Battle for Bunker Hill which also left a new scar on the right side of his face.

ABILITIES/POWERS: Extremely mechanically and technically talented and pretty fuckin’ charismatic. Better than decent at sniping. After his quasi-religious LSD trip courtesy of the Children of Atom in Far Harbor his eyes changed color, radiation began to heal him and sometimes ferals are friendly (I legit saved my level points to max out the Ghoulish perk at that point for this like a pro RPer)

FAVORITES

FOOD: Sugar Bombs

PIZZA TOPPING: Hawaiian 

COLOR: Red

MUSIC GENRE: Rock and roll ❤ applies regardless of if we’re talking about in-universe 50′s style music or the IRL genre

MOVIE GENRE: Sci Fi! 

CURSE WORD: FUCK, also son of a bitch

SCENTS: cigars, BBQ, leather

FUN STUFF

BOTTOM OR TOP: Why not both? 🤷‍♂️ Both is good 👍

SINGS IN THE SHOWER: Yes. And on the road. And when building settlements. And while modding guns. And while doing anything, really.

LIKES PUNS: Will absolutely bug Codsworth for at least a solid hour to hear his puns and laugh like an idiot at all of them every time.

OC Phrases: Bold the phases that you connect with one of your ocs.

SIGHT. small towns. big cities. six thirty curfews. lights that take the place of stars. blanket nests. light through the blinds as a wake up call. found family. finding a single star in the middle of new york city. window shopping. watching something terrible and enjoying it. growing numb to the sight of injustice. wilted flowers. faded caricatures. bright, bold colours.

HEARING. crickets and lightning bugs. car engines and a / c units. a phone call to mum / dad. laughing with friends. jokes that are so bad you have to laugh. the clicking of computer keys. noise canceling headphones. the sound of silence. muffled music from another room. drumming fingertips on a table. the clicking of pens. listening to a clock and swearing the ticks get slower. ringing in the ears. the voice of someone you love. pitch shifted songs.

TOUCH. being held close during a long night. fleeting reassurances. holding hands when you’re scared. brushing fingers through strands of hair. freshly dried clothes. bruises on your knuckles. silk and satin. your favourite pet’s fur or feather. wringing your hands anxiously. snuggles. comforters in the dead of winter. nails against skin. cold metal. leather in summer.

TASTE. coffee in the morning. tea in the evening. bubblegum that lost its flavor. alcohol burning the back of your throat. homemade cooking, no matter what’s made. blood in your mouth. stale air. mint. fresh vegetables. that processed taste of citrus candy. the first meal you cook by yourself that tastes good. foreign sweets. fast food. bittersweet. sour. spicy. sweet. bitter. too much salt on fries.

OC and Songs

Avenged Sevenfold - Strength of the World

“Strength of the world! is on my shoulders Strength of the world! is on my side Strength of the world! the one true beholder Ice in my veins! for those who've died I've seen my family fade away, you've taken my whole life There's nothing left to say Avenge the dead. killed all who cross me in my path Suicidal, I never planned on coming back I want it, I need it, revenge is dripping from my teeth Need nothin', to feel power, and bring the killers to their knees Nothin' ta lose vengeance ta gain (you know I'll never be the same) So taste my breath I'm close behind you (so desperate on your final day) Sorrow swallows my screams Sitting in silence with heaven above me, I prayed every night by their graves While I search for closure I feel it no longer I can't turn my cheek away I stand before you; I'll sin when I have to But now I leave your side, to avenge my family's pride “

I was trying to pick a handful of songs and I couldn’t so I’m gonna dump a medium-sized not-comprehensive/exhaustive list 👇

Greenday - 21 Guns // Sia - Elastic Heart // A Perfect Circle - Imagine // Hozier - Arsonist’s Lullaby // Radiohead - Wolf at the Door // Tool - Schism // Kesha - Spaceship // Whitesnake - Here I Go Again // Bon Jovi - Blaze of Glory // David Bowie - Heroes // Roger Miller - King of the Road // Frank Sinatra - My Way

[calligraphypage]

Dead by Bloodlines

Y’all. Ever since I saw the trailer for Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 2, it’s all I’ve been able to think about. I LOVED the first Bloodlines game and I’m really stoked for the new one (possible inability to play as a Nosferatu aside).

But because my brain is also still stuck on Dead by Daylight, it’s meshing the two games together. So now I’m stuck wondering what clans every DBD character would be in. XD If you’re interested, here’s what I have so far.

SURVIVORS

Dwight: Ventrue. He might be cowardly and meek, but when it comes to leading and rallying others to him he knows what to do. That high command skill comes from only two classes and we all know pizza boy ain’t a Toreador.

Jake: He was tougher to place than I thought! But his primary motivation is rebellion and freedom. That screams Brujah to me.

Nea: Street artist. Sneaks away at night. Gets in trouble or arrested regularly. Brujah all the way.

Ace: Charm and luck that gives him the ability to con his way into and out of anything? Toreador.

Feng Min: Ventrue. The determination to be the best at everything she does, the willingness to sacrifice others where needed to win. She’d be right at home in the Camarilla.

David: Brujah. I almost made him a Gangrel, but his brutishness isn’t indicative of an animalistic nature so much as a “fuck you” attitude.

Quentin: My poor baby boy. The ability to walk through dreams, the mental and sleep issues, the slow insanity caused by bad memories and a monster only he can see? I’m sorry but I can only see him as my favorite clan: Malkavian.

Tapp: Ventrue. He’s tough enough to be a Brujah but the respect for order and law makes him better suited for what are essentially the lawmakers and lawkeepers of the vampire world.

Kate: Toreador. A gorgeous musical performer who just wants to make you feel happy, whose strength only comes out when it needs to be used. <3

Jeff: This’ll sound weird, but also a Toreador! He looks more like a Brujah or a Gangrel but he wouldn’t fit in with them at all. Having such a gentle personality and a deep love for art and music places him neatly with the vampiric lovers of beauty.

Jane: Such a Toreador. Her job was in entertainment, her skills are making you feel good about yourself and making people love her, and she’s brimming with confidence.

Ash: Brujah. Name another clan that would discover they were obligated to save humanity and would first say “Bitch, don’t tell me what to do.” But the other reason is that Brujah are most useful when their enemy is definitely in the wrong, and that’s the Deadites for sure.

KILLERS

Trapper: He’s tricky to place. On the one hand, he hunts, kills and delights in it; on the other hand, he came from privilege and entitlement. I’m torn between Gangrel and Ventrue for him.

Hillbilly: Gangrel. Do I really have to explain this one? Sure, Max is a victim, but so is pretty much everyone turned by the Gangrels.

Nurse: Slow madness from working in a mental hospital, abilities granted to her for the loss of her sanity, and the ability to see the pain of others. That’s all pure Malkavian. 

Michael: He’s a tricky one to place too, but I’m gonna say Gangrel, because Michael’s primary defining characteristic is his complete inability to suppress his instincts.

Hag: Gangrel. I don’t wanna have to put her there, but hey, if the swamp-dwelling, snarling and feral nature fits...

Doctor: I couldn’t decide between Malkavian and Tremere for him at first. On the one hand, he can make you hallucinate and is clearly insane. On the other, his intelligence and knowledge of the human body would fit him in nicely with the bloodbenders. Ultimately I’ll say Malkavian.

Huntress: Gangrel. Animalistic lifestyle, no social understanding of others, and incredible physical strength.

Leatherface: Also a Gangrel. Yes, this is a bit of a trend for the killers.

Freddy: Literally the first one I decided on, and my other favorite clan: Nosferatu. Come on. The ability to show you things that aren’t there, the reliance on fear as a weapon, the dark sense of humor, the grotesque appearance, the way he knows everything about you and is super smug about it? Pure Nosferatu.

Legion: Dear. God. The Brujah energy. It’s enough that they’re a tight-knit gang loyal only to each other, but the frenzied attacks and the gleeful lawbreaking makes them even more Brujah than some of the Brujah survivors.

Plague: So far she’s our only Tremere. Her power was granted to her by means beyond our ken, her abilities all revolve around control of the body, and she has a deep obsession with religion and rituals.

Ghostface: He might just be our only other Nosferatu, but it’s not clear yet. Jed’s primary skills were information-gathering and hiding, and that’s what the Nosferatu are all about. But Nosferatu aren’t usually glory-hounds like him. His desire for fame might mean he’s a Nosferatu ghoul or possibly a thinblood.

-------------------------------------------------

That’s all I have so far; you wouldn’t believe how many of these characters are tough to pin down into one clan. If you have any ideas feel free to reply to this post!

[aion-rsa]

Hulu New Releases: August 2021

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

While the other streaming services set up recurring franchises, Hulu has opted to get a bit more experimental with its original offerings in August 2021.

Hulu’s list of new releases this month is highlighted by three original series concepts with promise. Reservation Dogs premieres on August 9. Co-created by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok), this story will follow four indigenous teenagers in Oklahoma as they stave off boredom and adulthood. Next up is Nine Perfect Strangers on August 18. This miniseries, based on a book of the same name, is produced by David E. Kelley and features staggering cast of Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy, Luke Evans, Samara Weaving, and more.

Only Murders in the Building is likely the biggest thing to look forward to in August though. Premiering on August 31, this comedy stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez as three true crime-obsessed friends who stumble into a true crime of their own. On the movie side of things, the John Cena and Lil Rel Howery-starring Vacation Friends premieres on August 27.

The library titles coming to Hulu in August aren’t particularly inspiring. August 1 sees the arrival of Attack the Block, The Grudge, Watchmen (2009), and more. After that, there isn’t much to write home about. But at least we’ll have all the Steve Martin and Lil Rel Howery we could ask for.

Here is everything else coming to Hulu this month.

Hulu New Releases – August 2021

August 1 Hamilton’s Pharmacopia: Complete Season 3 (Vice)  10 to Midnight (1983) 21 (2008) 30 Days Of Night (2007) 30 Minutes Or Less (2011) All About E (2015) Alpha & Omega (2010) Are We There Yet? (2005) As Good as It Gets (1997) Attack The Block (2011) The Baby-Sitters Club (1995) Bagdad Cafe (1988) The Beast Within (1982) Black Swan (2009) Blood Games (1991) Blood On Satan’s Claw (1970) Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) Cherry Pop (2017) Christina’s House (2001) Contagion (2011) Every Breath You Take (2021) The Final Girls (2015) First Knight (1995) Fish Don’t Blink (2002) Fred Claus (2007) Freelancers (2012) French Postcards (1979) From Prada To Nada (2011) Garbo Talks (1984) Getting Go: The Go Doc Project (2013) The Girl King (2015) The Grudge (2004) Gulliver’s Travels (2009) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) The Hawaiians (1970) Heart of Midnight (1989) Heartbreakers (2001) Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party (2015) Henry V (1989) Hondo (1953) The Hot Chick (2002) The Hunter (1980) I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) I Love You, Don’t Touch Me! (1998) It’s Kind Of A Funny Story (2010) Jack And Jill (2011) The Killing Streets (1991) King Arthur (2004) Kingpin (1996) The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) Liz in September (2014) Mad Max (1980) Miami Blues (1990) Mirror Mirror (2012) Mud (2013) My Bloody Valentine (1981) Naz & Maalik (2015) Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) Plaza Suite (1971) Roadhouse 66 (1984) Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion (1997) Rudy (1993) Shane (1953) Shark Tale (2002) Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) Special Effects (1984) Spellbinder (1988) Thelma & Louise (1991) The Thin Red Line (1998) Those People (2015) Toy Soldiers (1991) Transcendence (2014) Under The Tuscan Sun (2003) The Vatican Tapes (2015) Watchmen (2009)

August 4 The Devil You Know: Complete Seasons 1-2 (Vice)

August 5 Princess Cyd (2017)

August 6 Madagascar: A Little Wild: Complete Season 4 (Hulu Original)

August 8 The Party (2018)

August 9       Reservation Dogs: Series Premiere (FX on Hulu)

August 10       Together Together (2021)

August 11     Fantasy Island: Series Premiere (Fox) AWOL (2016)

August 12 Homeroom (2021) (Hulu Original) The Force (2017) Held (2021) The Virtuoso (2021) The Waiting Room (2012)

August 13 Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season 8 Premiere (NBC)    

August 15       The Hate U Give (2018) Silo (2019)

August 17      Bachelor in Paradise: Season 7 Premiere (ABC) The Skeleton Twins (2014)

August 18       Nine Perfect Strangers: Series Premiere (Hulu Original) The Marijuana Conspiracy (2021) Unsane (2018)

August 19 Blast Beat (2020) Jungleland (2021)

August 21 We Broke Up (2021)

August 23 The Ultimate Surfer: Series Premiere (ABC)

August 24 Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013)

August 26 American Horror Story: Season 10 Premiere (FX) Archer: Season 12 Premiere (FXX) Disobedience (2017) Feral State (2021) Love and Monsters (2021)

August 27 Vacation Friends (2021) (Hulu Original) Chaos Walking (2020)

August 28 Four Good Days (2021)

August 29 Horizon Line (2021)

August 30 9/11: One Day in America: Series Premiere (National Geographic) Spell (2020)

August 31 Only Murders in the Building: Series Premiere (Hulu Original)

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Leaving Hulu – August 2021

August 14 Life Like (2019) The Shape of Water (2017)

August 24 The Grapes of Wrath (1940) How Green Was My Valley (1941) The November Man (2014)

August 30 The Chaser (2008) Kindergarten Cop 2 (2016) Like Father, Like Son (2013) Nobody Knows (2004) The One I Love (2014) Still Walking (2008)

August 31 10 to Midnight (1983) 50/50 (2011) A Most Wanted Man (2014) Across The Universe (2007) Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid (2004) Arachnophobia (1990) As Good as It Gets (1997) The A-Team (2010) Bagdad Cafe (1988) The Beast Within (1982) Beetlejuice (1988) The Best Man (1999) The Big Chill (1983) The Blair Witch Project (1999) The Blair Witch Project: Book of Shadows (2000) Blood Games (1991) Blood On Satan’s Claw (1970) The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009) Bucky Larson Born To Be A Star (2011) Christina’s House (2001) Cliffhanger (1993) The Company You Keep (2013) Confessions Of A Shopaholic (2009) Conviction (2010) The Cookout (2004) Date Night (2010) The Dead Zone (1983) Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005) Dragonfly (2002) Dragonheart (1996) Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer’S Curse (2014) Dragonheart: A New Beginning (2000) Dragonheart: Battle For The Heartfire (2017) Driven (2001) Fish Don’t Blink (2002) The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) Garbo Talks (1984) Hancock (2008) The Haunting (1999) The Hawaiians (1970) Heart of Midnight (1989) Heartbreakers (2001) Henry V (1989) The Hustler (1961) I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) I Love You, Don’t Touch Me! (1998) Jennifer 8 (1992) Jennifer’s Body (2009) Just Wright (2009) Kick-Ass (2010) The Killing Streets (1991) King Arthur (2004) Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2000) Lady in a Cage (1964) The Last House on the Left (2009) The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) Mad Max (1980) The Mask (1994) Miami Blues (1990) Open Range (2003) Ordinary People (1980) The Outsider (1980) Phat Girlz (2006) Predators (2009) Primary Colors (1998) Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) Richie Rich (1994) Roadhouse 66 (1984) Rudy (1993) Scrooged (1988) The Sitter (2011) The Skull (1965) Shine a Light (2008) Soul Survivors (2001) Special Effects (1984) Spellbinder (1988) Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift (1990) Still Waiting (2009) Thelma & Louise (1991) Vanity Fair (2004) The Virgin Suicides (2000) Waiting… (2005) Weekend at Bernie’s (1989) William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996) Witless Protection (2008)

The post Hulu New Releases: August 2021 appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[egogone]

Camp Camp Convos

Camp Camp Characters reanacting conversations I’ve had/overheard while I was away camping this weekend

—

Gwen: alright you little rats-!

Neil: Space Kid ate a snail

—

Max: why do I have to pretend to enjoy things?

Preston: it’s called acting

—

David: aw, I really wish you were having more fun this weekend

Max: and I wish I was dead

—

Nikki: *screaming and frantically waving hands in front of a kangaroo*

Neil: that thing has claws it can fucking kill you!

—

David: how will you know if you’ll have fun or not if you never try anything?

Max: I’m pretty sure putting away a sleeping bag wasn’t designed to be fun

—

Gwen: all of these kids are fucking ferals

—

David: hey can I have some of that melatonin stuff? I’m too cold to sleep

Gwen: it might help if you actually got into your sleeping bag

—

Gwen: okay Ered, I think you’re old enough to eat from the adult platter, but only if you protect the food from the rest of the ravenous little shits

Ered: I was gunna eat it anyway but sure

—

David: did ya sleep well?

Max: no, I kept waking up every hour because it was so fucking cold

David: yeaaah me too

—

Well every single ‘Max’ was something I said, I guess I’m a depressed camper too.

[concerningly-murder-y]

Campe fucking Diem - introduction

This is my Camp Camp fanfiction with my OC’s, please don’t hate. This is the introduction, I was thinking of posting my story on here but I wanted to see if anyone would be interested so please let me know if you are.

A dark skinned boy in a blue hoodie and green eyes crouched behind a bush, next to him was a scrawny looking boy with an Afro of brown hair and a yellow turtleneck who bore resemblance to a nerdy beanpole. Crouching on all fours like a feral animal waiting to strike was a girl with teal hair in two ponytails, she wore red overalls over a yellow shirt. “Okay guys, when the bus gets here with whatever new fucked up campers sent to die in this hellhole, we run and jump in while David is distracted probably doing some heartfelt fucking speech about this camp.” The dark skinned boy - Max - informed them like he was exposing the secret plan to a mission (which in a sense, he was). “Got it.” The nerdy kid - Neil - and the teal haired girl - Nikki - echoed together, expressions of determination on their faces. Nikki punched her fist into her hand, practically vibrating with excitement, she held out a fist, then two fingers up, the action of some people walking, she continued making weird gestures, trying to convey a plan and- oh look now she’s doing scissors paper rock…. Okay, she lost, against herself. “Nikki!” Max hissed in frustration. “We- we don’t need. Ugh, whatever - bus is here, quick lets get out of this shitty camp.” He noted the bus’ arrival. David’s face was shining in excitement, his eyes stretched out with - was that stars twinkling in them? The bus pulled to a slow stop, the doors slowly opening like some sort of dramatic introduction ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) but before the rip off of every action movie ever could continue Nikki jumped out of the bushes, charging at the bus with a wild war cry. In the bushes Max face palmed before yelling, “for FUCKS SAKE! That wasn’t the plan Nikki!” And ran out behind her, Neil following with a less than confident war cry. “Max!” David scolded, halting their progress by grabbing the backs of their shirts and lifting them with ease, Max slumping in his hoodie and muttering his former yell ruefully, “for fucks sake.” “Language.” David scolded, Max bristling, ready to explode in his face when the doors of the bus opened with a jolt, the Quartermaster was hunched over the buttons, pushing them impatiently, “stupid door.” He grumbled. He looked up as he heard the door opening to see David holding up Max and Neil and yelping as Nikki bit his foot savagely like a dog, hanging off it as he lifted it of the ground in pain. “I hear pain.” A low voice announced with a tone that sounded like the owner was the incarnation of those dark, evil, villain laughs in movies. A girl then stepped into view, trudging down the steps of the bus to the ground with cool disinterest, she wore a grey beanie, a black shirt and pants and an unzipped dark hoodie, contrasting her pale olive skin tone, her blond hair was cut short at the back, the ends just barely peaking out from her beanie, like a boys hair cut and the front side bangs swept over her right eye, one lock of dyed red hair. She stepped to the side and another figure appeared at the top of the steps, this one seemed to be a walking guitar, taking up most of the small space, the guitar lowering itself down the steps, attempting to leave through the door only the find it was blocked by the narrow space. The guitar backed up a step and tried again, hitting the door frame with a quiet, dull thud. The goth girl stepped back in front of the door to push the guitar back and turn it to the side so it could go through, when the guitar finally plopped onto the ground clumsily it stood to the left, they could now see the top of a light brown head of hair and small pale hands holding either side of the guitar. The guitar was set against the side of the bus and they could finally see the owner, a pale girl with cute baby fat and her light brown hair in a braid, some locks on the right side of her face were free showing her hair was wavy. She wore rectangular glasses and a white shirt with a unicorn on and long grey pants, her and the goth girl stood expectantly - well, she did, goth girl was busy carving a pentagram on the side of the bus. “Hello, happy campers!” David cheerfully greeted, dropping Neil and Max as the bus sped off, leaving Max staring after it angrily. “This. Is music camp?” The girl with glasses questioned disbelievingly, surveying the camp. “Well. At Camp Campbell, we have a number of camps. If you like I could sing you a song~” David slowly raised his guitar prompting a quick “oh please fuck no.” From Max. “We’re good.” Goth girl spoke up quickly, David pouted sadly before turning back to the girl with glasses. “You must be Marina.” Marina grinned a cheesy smirk and finger gunned the overly eager attitude, “‘sup.” He turned to the goth girl, “and you’re-” “Avis.” She cut him off, “got any rope? ‘Cause I’m about fucking ready to kill myself.” Max raised an eyebrow and smirked while David’s smile wavered, he kept it up determinedly, “now now happy camper, why not give Camp Campbell a chance? You could meet some new friends. In fact, how about these lovely campers show you around!” He gestured to the three standing beside him. Both Neil and Max looked repulsed by his happy attitude. “This is Max.” “Fuck off.” “This is Neil.” “Help me.” “And this is Nikki!” “Hi, wanna go poke frogs with me?” Max and Neil had their eyes narrowed while Nikki was practically vibrating with excitement, bouncing on the heels of her feet, bobbing up and down. Marina and Avis shared an apprehensive look before Marina picked up her guitar and Avis picked up the knife she used to carve a pentagram which had fallen from her grip when the bus sped off. Marina was humming a tune as Nikki led them to a clearing full of what looked like stalls with labels, there was a rickety cardboard tower, a skateboard ramp, a wooden lab, a place full of easels and paintings and more. “Oh, I get it. This is a rip off.” Avis said, eyeing the multiple 'camps’, David hastily shushed her, “ah-ah, Camp Campbell is not a rip off-” “yeah, and I’m not gay.” Marina interrupted, “huh?” David turned to her, “huh?” She echoed back innocently. David smiled obliviously and introduced them to the campers with had begun to gather curiously. “This is Erid.” “'Sup dudes.” She drawled from the top of the skate ramp. “Dolph.” “Hallo! I am currently drawing the Reich.” “What?” Marina and Avis asked, concerned, Dolph turned the painting towards them and they could see it was a bowl of rice, painted off of some rice placed on a stool in front of him. “Nice.” Marina offered weakly and Dolph seemed happy at the praise, Avis looked put off, “is it just me or is he-?” “Yeah, it’s fucked up.” Max informed her, “well then at least this camp reflects my life.” She humoured dryly and Max looked at her sideways, smirking. Marina was talking with Dolph, obviously slightly put off by his atmosphere making him seem… Natz-so normal. “This is Harrison.” “Would you like to see a magic trick?” “Yeah, you can make me disappear.” Avis commented under her breath, David remained oblivious to her sardonic tone and took it optimistically, “that’s great! You’re already participating!” He applauded her and she leaned to Max warily. “Is he always so…” “Optimistic?” Max guessed irritably at the same time she said, “fucking annoying.” Max looked at her in surprise then grinned. “Every fucking day of my life.”

Tagging some people in case anyone would be interested in me posting more chapters? @gogetsomesnacks @miss-lee-lee-fan @cajs0037 @aphcanadaiscool @bluestripedshirt

[nigeiadigitalmarketingcompany]

Links 8/3/19

Digital Elixir Links 8/3/19

California: Bees drop dead around 5G towers Express (furzy)

A Single Male Cat’s Reign of Terror Atlantic (guurst). 2 million feral cats??? And for the record, all my cats have been indoor only cats.

Satellites Reveal ‘Hot Lightning’ Strikes Are Most Likely To Start Wildfires IEEE

3 killed as cliff collapses on popular California beach Associated Press (David L). The headline was “1” when I first put the link up

‘Forever chemicals’ have been found in bottled water brands sold at Whole Foods and CVS, and it’s part of a larger contamination problem Business Insider (David L)

How Mosquitoes Changed Everything New Yorker (resilc)

World’s first human-monkey hybrid created in China, scientists reveal Independent

Colorectal Cancer Rises Among Younger Adults New York Times (UserFriendly)

Study Finds Living Near Trees, Not Just Green Space, Improves Wellbeing CityLab

China?

A battle for supremacy between China and the US Asia Times (Kevin W)

Good for Google, Bad for America – New York Times. UserFriendly: “Peter Thiel explains how trade works and why China and Google are evil….” Even if Thiel as a Facebook board member thinks calling out Google somehow helps Facebook, this seems awfully naive. In the minds of a lot of the public and increasing numbers of regulators, Big Tech is evil. Amplifying that message can’t be helpful to Facebook. But these squillionaires aren’t big on getting advice.

EU looks past ASEAN for deals and pacts Asia Times (Kevin W)

Brexit

Mark Carney warns of instant shock from no-deal Brexit BBC

Tory rebels threaten Boris Johnson after majority cut to one Guardian (Kevin W)

Tax on tech giants will rule out trade deal, US warns Britain Telegraph

New Cold War

US pulls out of decades-long nuclear missile pact with Russia claiming they violated treaty abc.net.au (Kevin W)

U.S. Imposes More Sanctions on Russia for Chemical Agent Use Bloomberg

Blockading Venezuela Would Be Illegal and Wrong American Conservative (resilc)

Imperial Collapse Watch

The ‘Special Relationship’ Is Collapsing… and That’s a Good Thing Strategic Culture Watch. Chuck L: “Hard to categorize. How about Revisionist History of the UK/USA “Special Relationship?” Also a Must Read candidate.”

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Pentagon testing mass surveillance balloons across the US Guardian (Kevin W)

US Cities Are Helping People Buy Amazon Surveillance Cameras Using Taxpayer Money Vice

Trump Transition

Federal judge rules against Trump asylum policy The Hill

Trump scuttles plan to nominate Ratcliffe as top intelligence official NBC (furzy)

Hacked Emails Show GOP Demands on Border Security Were Crafted by Industry Lobbyists Intercept (Chuck L, resilc)

Saikat Chakrabarti to leave Ocasio-Cortez’s office Washington Post. UserFriendly: “Pissed she folded to Pelosi.”

TSA seizes rocket launcher in Baltimore — for second time this week New York Post. Resilc: “They have big rats, you need firepower.”

Solitary Confinement Caused “Complete Mental and Physical Collapse” of Man in Virginia Prison, Lawsuit Contends Solitary Watch (Chuck L). Horrible.

Health Care

Listen to @DrDooleyMD. Patients don’t “love” their costly health insurance plans. They need Medicare for All now. pic.twitter.com/ELQ0QNhmWJ

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 2, 2019

Congressional Moves on Drug-Pricing and Competition National Conference of State Legislatures (UserFriendly)

Glad this is getting traction:

If you get hit with a huge surprise bill well in excess of what the procedure should cost that is NOT your insurance company gouging you. That is the PROVIDER GOUGING YOU. Private equity firm are buying up doc group to gouge people hoping reporter will mistaking blame insurers 1/ https://t.co/gjiPtihOFX

— Jon Walker (@JonWalkerDC) August 2, 2019

2020

Biden holds two-to-one lead over Sanders in post-debate poll The Hill

Biden, Inc.: How ‘Middle Class’ Joe’s family cashed in on the family name Politico. UserFriendly: “Biden’s family; horribly corrupt! Must read.

Obama Looms over the Primary in Invisible Ways Talking Points Memo and ‘Stay away from Barack’: Dems seethe over criticism of Obama Politico. UserFriendly: “Dems morphing into the Catholic Church, Obama = infalible, now where are all the raped kids?”

UserFriendly: “I don’t know how well sharing ‘moments’ on Twitter works [neither does your humble blogger]… but dear God, literally no one understands what nuclear first use is. Shoot me.” This is the “moment”; here’s a comment:

To no one’s surprise, @RepLizCheney has it completely wrong. First use of nuclear weapons is suicidal. A recent @globalzero study found that 21.6 million Americans would die in a Russian counterattack. That’s 30% of the total population of America’s top 145 most populated cities. https://t.co/geOdCrDomx

— Derek Johnson (@derekjGZ) August 2, 2019

Bernie Sanders Dominates as Analyses of Fundraising Data Show Vermont Senator With Widespread Support Across Nation Common Dreams (furzy). More on that heat map….

Gabbard reaches donor threshold for September debate The Hill

Tulsi Gabbard Thinks We’re Doomed New York Times (resilc)

The 2019 DSA Convention: Showdown at the Caucus Corral Current Affairs (UserFriendly)

Our Famously Free Press

CNN’s Industry Spin Shows Need for Independent Debates Common Dreams (furzy)

Police State Watch

Eric Garner: Chokehold cop ‘should be fired’, says US judge BBC

Woman, 65, tasered by police after fleeing then kicking officer who stopped her over broken light: ‘You’re not placing me under no arrest’ Independent. Resilc: “If she was black she would have been gunned down.” Moi: Yes, but if she had been black, she would have presumably figured out long ago not to carry on like that with cops, particularly over a ticket they were entitled to issue.

Puerto Rico

When people ask why Puerto Rico is in turmoil, I try to emphasize 2 things:

1) The Great Recession in the US lasted 18 months. Puerto Rico has been in a recession for *13 years*

2) PR has lost ~15% of its population to outmigration since 2008, more than any country not at war

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) August 3, 2019

Newly stringent FAA tests spur a fundamental software redesign of Boeing’s 737 MAX flight controls Seattle Times (barrisj)

Local pension costs grew in California at nearly six times national rate, new data show Sacramento Bee. Loath to sound like I am defending CalPERS, but CalPERS didn’t set the benefit levels. However, CalPERS can be criticized for keeping its return assumptions too high for too long, forcing plan sponsors to play catchup now that it is using better assumptions.

How Trump’s Political Appointees Overruled Tougher Settlements With Big Banks — ProPublica. UserFriendly: “For Fuck Sake!!!! I never would have thought it was possible to go easier on the banks that caused the recession than Obama did, but…. ” Moi: But the stakes and the total $ involved were way higher post crisis than now

How the Fed Should Fight Climate Change Atlantic (resilc)

Mr. Market Has a Sad

US-China trade tensions hit global markets Financial Times

Here’s the real reason U.S. stocks are losing so much ground after their long bullish run MarketWatch

It Was the Week Trade Wars Went From Uncomfortable to Scary Bloomberg

Class Warfare

One Opioid Patient Worth $200,000 a Year to Purdue, State Says Bloomberg

Antidote du jour. MGL: “A hummingbird makes the rounds at the Jensen-Olson Arboretum on June 30, 2019. (Courtesy Photo | Janice Gorle)”

And a bonus from guurst:

Ocelot gets a scritch scratch scrotch! pic.twitter.com/PxirG49Vub

— Mr. Meowgi (@Mr_Meowwwgi) August 1, 2019

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

Links 8/3/19

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[kitten-and-crow]

Kuroshitsuji and Godchild Playlist 1

For your listening pleasure...

View Playlist 2

View All HERE

03 - Caprice 24 [Garrett vs Paganini]-David Garrett 

All I Want For Christmas - MINOR KEY! ft. Chase Holfelder

Antidote-Faith Marie

Blinding-Florence and the Machine

Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5-David Garrett

Breathe-Fleurie

Burning Heart-Svrcina

Bye Bye Babylon - Cryoshell

Call Me-Shinedown

Can’t Sleep, Can’t Breathe-Digital Daggers

Carol of the Bells (METAL COVER) - Jonathan Young & RichaadEB

Carousel-Melanie Martinez

Castle/Dollhouse Mashup-Halsey & Melanie Martinez

Ciel Ciel-Ciel Star

City of the Dead-Eurielle

Come Little Children-Artist?

Counting Bodies Like Sheep...-A Perfect Circle

Cry Baby-Melanie Martinez

Cut the Cord-Shinedown

Dance with the Devil-Breaking Benjamin

Dangerous-David Garrett

Dark on Me-StarSet

Dead Boy’s Poem-Nightwish

A Demon’s Fate-Within Temptation

Dog Days Are Over-Florence and the Machine

Don’t Lose Your Way-Kuro Musical

Emperor's New Clothes-Nightcore

Enamel-Omar Caban

Every Breath You Take-Chase Holfelder

F. Geminiani - Sonata in re maggiore per Violino e basso Op.IV N.1

Fallen Angel-Svrcina

Feral Hearts-Kerli

The Fighter-In This Moment

Fire-Paulina Rubio

For My Sake-Shinedown

Game of Survival-Ruelle

Ghost Song-Max Ablitzer

Gingerbread Man-Melanie Martinez

Girl With One Eye-Florence and the Machine

Hate Me- Eurielle

Hide and Seek-Nightcore

Hymn for the Missing-Red

I Want You Here-Plumb

I'll Be OK-by Nothing More

Imperitum-Immediate

In Chains-Shaman’s Harvest

Inner Demons-Julia Brennan

It’s My Party-Lesley Gore

King-Lauren Aquilina (x)

Kuroshitsuji OST 1 ~ 02. Si deus me relinquit ♥

Like a Funeral-Erik Jonasson

Lost But Won-Hans Zimmer

Lost In Paradise-Evanescence

Love Game-Lady Gaga

A Mad Russian’s Christmas-Trans Siberian Orchestra

Milk and Cookies-Melanie Martinez

Monochrome no Kiss-Amy B Cover

Monochrome no Kiss-Classical Version

Monochrome no Kiss-French Version

Monster-Beth Crowley

Monster-Lady Gaga

Monsters-Ruelle

My Demons-Starset

My Name (Wearing Me Out)-Shinedown

Nigram Clavem-Kuroshitsuji Soundtrack

Not Strong Enough-Apocalyptica

Nothing Else Matters-Marlisa

Outer Science-Kuraiinu

Over the Hills and Far Away

Palladio-David Garrett

Pity Party-Melanie Martinez

Please Don’t Leave Me-Pink

Radioactive-Macy Kate

Remember-Yiruma

Requiem for a Dream-Dream Music Box Ver

Romance in F Minor, Op. 5- Tchaikovsky

Safe and Sound-The Civil Wars

Shiver 黒執事Ⅱ(Black Butler 2) OP-ROMIX Cover

Si Deus Me Relinquit-Ciel Star

Spider Dance-Adriana Figueroa

State of My Head-Shinedown

The Sound of Silence-Disturbed

Tarantella Op. 6-Camille Saint-Saëns

Teeth-Lady Gaga

This is Halloween-Marilyn Manson

Used to Be-Arrows for Athens

The Voice-Celtic Women

When The Darkness Comes-Colbie Caillat

White Christmas-Jonathan Young

Winter (The Four Seasons)-David Garrett

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing-Set it Off

Wonderland-Natalia Kills

[prayersforpets1org]

The world’s first images of dogs? They are on leashes

New Post has been published on https://prayersforpets1.org/worlds-first-images-dogs-leashes/

The world’s first images of dogs? They are on leashes

By David Grimm Nov. 16, 2017

Carved into a sandstone cliff on the edge of a bygone river in the Arabian Desert, a hunter draws his bow for the kill. He is accompanied by 13 dogs, each with its own coat markings; two animals have lines running from their necks to the man’s waist.

The engravings likely date back more than 8000 years, making them the earliest depictions of dogs, a new study reveals. And those lines are probably leashes, suggesting that humans mastered the art of training and controlling dogs thousands of years earlier than previously thought.

“It’s truly astounding stuff,” says Melinda Zeder, an archaeozoologist at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. “It’s the only real demonstration we have of humans using early dogs to hunt.” But she cautions that more work will be needed to confirm both the age and meaning of the depictions.

The hunting scene comes from Shuwaymis, a hilly region of northwestern Saudi Arabia where seasonal rains once formed rivers and supported pockets of dense vegetation. For the past 3 years, Maria Guagnin, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany—in partnership with the Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage—has helped catalog more than 1400 rock art panels containing nearly 7000 animals and humans at Shuwaymis and Jubbah, a more open vista about 200 kilometers north that was once dotted with lakes.

Starting about 10,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers entered—or perhaps returned to—the region. What appear to be the oldest images are thought to date to this time and depict curvy women. Then about 7000 to 8000 years ago, people here became herders, based on livestock bones found at Jubbah; that’s likely when pictures of cattle, sheep, and goats began to dominate the images. In between—carved on top of the women and under the livestock—are the early hunting dogs: 156 at Shuwaymis and 193 at Jubbah. All are medium-sized, with pricked up ears, short snouts, and curled tails—hallmarks of domestic canines. In some scenes, the dogs face off against wild donkeys. In others, they bite the necks and bellies of ibexes and gazelles. And in many, they are tethered to a human armed with a bow and arrow.

The researchers couldn’t directly date the images, but based on the sequence of carving, the weathering of the rock, and the timing of the switch to pastoralism, “The dog art is at least 8000 to 9000 years old,” Guagnin says. That may edge out depictions of dogs previously labeled the oldest, paintings on Iranian pottery dated to at most 8000 years ago.

“When Maria came to me with the rock art photos and asked me if they meant anything, I about lost my mind,” says co-author Angela Perri, a zooarchaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Perri has studied the bones of ancient dogs around the world, and has argued that early dogs were critical in human hunting. “A million bones won’t tell me what these images are telling me,” she says. “It’s the closest thing you’re going to get to a YouTube video.”

The ancient hunting dogs of Saudi Arabia (bottom) may have resembled the Canaan breed of dog (top).

(Top to bottom): Alexandra Baranova/Wikimedia Commons; M.Guagnin et al., Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2017

The dogs look a lot like today’s Canaan dog, says Perri, a largely feral breed that roams the deserts of the Middle East. That could indicate that these ancient people bred dogs that had already adapted to hunting in the desert, the team reports this week in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. Or people may even have independently domesticated these dogs from the Arabian wolf long after dogs were domesticated elsewhere, which likely happened sometime between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago.

But Zeder notes that the engravings may not be as old as they seem. To confirm the chronology, scientists will need to link the images to a well-dated archaeological site—a challenge, she says, because “the archaeological record in this region is really spotty.”

Paul Tacon, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Gold Coast, Australia, agrees that “dating rock art is often a guestimate.” But based on his nearly 4 decades of studying such images around the world, he says, “Their chronology is sound.”

Even if the art is younger than Guagnin and her colleagues think, the leashes are by far the oldest on record. Until now, the earliest evidence for such restraints came from a wall painting in Egypt dated to about 5500 years ago, Perri says. The Arabian hunters may have used the leashes to keep valuable scent dogs close and protected, she says, or to train new dogs. Leashing dogs to the hunter’s waist may have freed his hands for bow and arrow.

But Tacon cautions that the lines in the engravings could be symbolic. “It could just be a depiction of a bond.” Either way, he says, that bond was clearly strong, as the artists appear to have depicted dogs they actually knew, with particular coat patterns, stances, and genders. “These creatures were very important, beloved companions.”

Such a relationship would have been critical to helping people survive a harsh environment. Dogs could take down gazelles and ibexes too fast for humans, Perri says. Details of the images also suggest that the ancient hunters tailored their strategies to the landscape, Zeder says. At Shuwaymis, where the dogs may have been used to drive prey into the corners of uneven terrain, the art depicts large packs. At Jubbah, the images show smaller groups of dogs that may have ambushed prey at watering holes. “People were able to venture into these inhospitable areas by strategically marshalling dogs to survive,” Zeder says. “And now we’re seeing a real picture of how it happened.”

Credit: Science

[reviewsfeed-blog]

Happy Friday folks! I hope you are all looking forward to a fabulous weekend!!

Today I am posting another Down the TBR Hole post, in an effort to clear out my Goodreads list of unwanted books. In case anyone needs a brush up on just what this tag entails:-

This meme was started by Lia @ Lost in a Story to clear out my reading list of unwanted books. Here is how it works:

Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.

Order on ascending date added.

Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books

Read the synopses of the books

Decide: keep it or should it go?

Without further ado, here are the next ten books on the TBR:-

  Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Goodreads

According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (the world’s only completely accurate book of prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.

So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel and a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.

And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist��

To be honest, this book was a no-brainer before I even re-read the synopsis. I love Pratchett’s humour, and Neil Gaiman is also an esteemed author in his own right. Whilst I wasn’t so fond of American Gods as I’d have hoped, I did enjoy Stardust. This is an easy keeper for me!

Verdict: Keep!

  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon

Goodreads

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. Routine, order and predictability shelter him from the messy, wider world. Then, at fifteen, Christopher’s carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork, and he is initially blamed for the killing.

Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents’ marriage. As he tries to deal with the crisis within his own family, we are drawn into the workings of Christopher’s mind.

And herein lies the key to the brilliance of Mark Haddon’s choice of narrator: The most wrenching of emotional moments are chronicled by a boy who cannot fathom emotion. The effect is dazzling, making for a novel that is deeply funny, poignant, and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing is a mind that perceives the world literally.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is one of the freshest debuts in years: a comedy, a heartbreaker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.

This is a book I had heard of growing up, but it wasn’t until I understood what was special about it, i.e. that the main character is autistic that I added it to the list.

One of the ladies I used to work with has an autistic nephew, and I’m curious to take a moment and see things from an autistic child’s perspective. I think we could all benefit from gaining some understanding of autism and how people think differently on the whole! It is easy for people to be labelled nowadays, “fat”, “thin”, “simple” etc. I don’t want to use any further slurs, including race and religion because frankly, I don’t condone them. I acknowledge their existence here.

This book is also a keeper!

Verdict: Keep

  Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo

Goodreads

Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he’ll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:

Break into the notorious Ice Court (a military stronghold that has never been breached)

Retrieve a hostage (who could unleash magical havoc on the world)

Survive long enough to collect his reward (and spend it)

Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done – and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable – if they don’t kill each other first.

This is the first book I am resigning from the list. The synopsis sounds perfectly okay and readable, but doesn’t sound WOW! It lacks the pop, so it’s going to drop…

Verdict: Go

  Sleeping Giants – Sylvain Neuvel

Goodreads

A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.

Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected.

But some can never stop searching for answers.

Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What’s clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery—and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?

An inventive debut in the tradition of World War Z and The Martian, told in interviews, journal entries, transcripts, and news articles, Sleeping Giants is a thriller fueled by a quest for truth—and a fight for control of earthshaking power.

I remember adding this book to my TBR – what drew me to it was how different it was to anything else out there! I also like the idea of the story being chronicled in the manner of articles etc instead of prose.

Verdict: Keep

  Join – Steve Toutonghi

Goodreads

What if you could live multiple lives simultaneously, have constant, perfect companionship, and never die? That’s the promise of Join, a revolutionary technology that allows small groups of minds to unite, forming a single consciousness that experiences the world through multiple bodies. But as two best friends discover, the light of that miracle may be blinding the world to its horrors.

Chance and Leap are jolted out of their professional routines by a terrifying stranger—a remorseless killer who freely manipulates the networks that regulate life in the post-Join world. Their quest for answers—and survival—brings them from the networks and spire communities they’ve known to the scarred heart of an environmentally ravaged North American continent and an underground community of the “ferals” left behind by the rush of technology.

In the storytelling tradition of classic speculative fiction from writers like David Mitchell and Michael Chabon, Join offers a pulse-pounding story that poses the largest possible questions: How long can human life be sustained on our planet in the face of environmental catastrophe? What does it mean to be human, and what happens when humanity takes the next step in its evolution? If the individual mind becomes obsolete, what have we lost and gained, and what is still worth fighting for?

I’m a little on the fence about this one. I’ve had to have a good long think about it.

I love the idea of the book exploring advancement in technology and individuality (or the lack of). I feel my reservations are the result of thinking the synopsis isn’t written all that well. I’m going to keep it tentatively based on potential.

Verdict: Keep

  Three Parts Dead – Max Gladstone

Goodreads

A god has died, and it’s up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart.

Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without Him, the metropolis’s steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will riot.

Tara’s job: resurrect Kos before chaos sets in. Her only help: Abelard, a chain-smoking priest of the dead god, who’s having an understandable crisis of faith.

When Tara and Abelard discover that Kos was murdered, they have to make a case in Alt Coulumb’s courts—and their quest for the truth endangers their partnership, their lives, and Alt Coulumb’s slim hope of survival.

Set in a phenomenally built world in which justice is a collective force bestowed on a few, craftsmen fly on lightning bolts, and gargoyles can rule cities, Three Parts Dead introduces readers to an ethical landscape in which the line between right and wrong blurs.

Okay, so this was added to the list a year and a half ago. Looking at it now, I can say that my reading preferences have certainly changed. This doesn’t appeal to me anymore, so it’s off the list.

Verdict: Go

  Doors of Stone – Patrick Rothfuss

Goodreads

The eagerly awaited third book of The Kingkiller Chronicle.

It is absolutely eagerly awaited – I love this series so far!

Verdict: Keep

  Golden Age – James Maxwell

Goodreads

The discovery of a strange and superior warship sends Dion, youngest son of the king of Xanthos, and Chloe, a Phalesian princess, on a journey across the sea, where they are confronted by a kingdom far more powerful than they could ever have imagined.

But they also find a place in turmoil, for the ruthless sun king, Solon, is dying. In order to gain entrance to heaven, Solon is building a tomb—a pyramid clad in gold—and has scoured his own empire for gold until there’s no more to be found.

Now Solon’s gaze turns to Chloe’s homeland, Phalesia, and its famous sacred ark, made of solid gold. The legends say it must never be opened, but Solon has no fear of foreigners’ legends or even their armies. And he isn’t afraid of the eldren, an ancient race of shape-shifters, long ago driven into the Wilds.

For when he gets the gold, Solon knows he will live forever.

This book doesn’t appeal to me much at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I could read it… I may even want to in the future, but I’m not feeling the love right now.

I’ll keep it because I bought a copy, but it’s not something I am likely to pick up in the near future.

Verdict: Keep

  Children of Earth and Sky – Guy Gavriel Kay

Goodreads

From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request—and possibly to do more—and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman, posing as a doctor’s wife, but sent by Seressa as a spy.

The trading ship that carries them is commanded by the accomplished younger son of a merchant family, ambivalent about the life he’s been born to live. And farther east a boy trains to become a soldier in the elite infantry of the khalif—to win glory in the war everyone knows is coming.

As these lives entwine, their fates—and those of many others—will hang in the balance, when the khalif sends out his massive army to take the great fortress that is the gateway to the western world…

This synopsis really doesn’t say a whole lot about the book, in my opinion. Unless you are die-hard feminist and want to invest into special agent “doctors wife” – nothing stands out about these characters.

It’s a nope from me.

Verdict: Go

  The Psychology Book – Nigel C Benson

Goodreads

Clearly explaining more than 100 groundbreaking ideas in the field, The Psychology Book uses accessible text and easy-to-follow graphics and illustrations to explain the complex theoretical and experimental foundations of psychology.

From its philosophical roots through behaviorism, psychotherapy, and developmental psychology, The Psychology Book looks at all the greats from Pavlov and Skinner to Freud and Jung, and is an essential reference for students and anyone with an interest in how the mind works.

I definitely have a kindle copy of this – and I am fairly sure I have read at least some of it. Psychology is a subject I am interested in and like to visit periodically, so I’ll keep.

Verdict: Keep

  There you have it!

I only dropped three books of the list this time. I think now I am coming to books that I have added more recently (within the past year and a half or so) there will be less I drop off the list as my reading taste will be closer to it is now.

I’ll still benefit from reviewing, however, as you never know. Plus, doing so gets the books put on the ACTUAL reading list I work from.

Have you reviewed your TBR recently?

  Down the TBR Hole is a tag designed to help clear Goodreads lists of unwanted books #bookblog Happy Friday folks! I hope you are all looking forward to a fabulous weekend!! Today I am posting another Down the TBR Hole post, in an effort to clear out my Goodreads list of unwanted books.

[nightmareonfilmstreet]

[Recap] STRANGER THINGS 2, Episodes 1-5: What Goes Up, Must Come Upside Down

New Post has been published on https://nofspodcast.com/episodes-1-5-of-stranger-things-season-2-recap/

[Recap] STRANGER THINGS 2, Episodes 1-5: What Goes Up, Must Come Upside Down

Stranger Things just debuted its second season on Netflix. Last year’s breakout viral sensation garnered critical acclaim and audience goodwill for its heady mix of nostalgia and horror, appearing on multiple end of year lists and snagging two Golden Globe nominations.

So how does the “sequel” (as series creators The Duffer Brothers have taken to calling it) fare? Read on for my recap of the first five episodes of season two.

Overall thoughts on Season 2

Immediate thoughts upon finishing the season: it’s more of the same, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Duffer Brothers clearly know the show and their audience and even if at times they’re prone to replicating elements from Season One, I would argue that the season wraps up in a more satisfying fashion. Noah Schnapp (Will) proves to be the show’s secret weapon: the young actor has an uncanny ability to play a range of different roles to perfection. Bonus points for a more successful climax in round two, as well.

Episodic Breakdown

As people make their way through the new episodes, Nightmare on Film Street has prepared episodic recaps so be sure to bookmark this page and come back when you finish each episode. Look for the recap of episodes six – nine tomorrow.

Will doesn’t fit in in the season premiere of Stranger Things “Mad Max”

Episode 1 – “Mad Max”

Online chatter suggested the first episode back was slow, but ‘MadMax’ is simply a table setter. We need this reintroduction to Hawkins, Indiana and its denizens in order to set up the season. That means introducing new characters like Sean Astin’s Bob, Paul Reiser’s creepy Dr. Owens and new schoolmates Billy (Dacre Montgomery) and the titular Max (Sadie Sink) – though neither of the kids are given much to do.

“Mad Max” has a few intriguing supernatural occurrences to whet our appetite, including the mysterious poisoning at the pumpkin patch, the lit up control board at Hawkins Laboratory and, of course, Will’s visions of the looming insect-like threat (which would be more striking if it hadn’t been spoiled in Every.Single.Trailer). As for everyone’s favourite Eggo-eating, telepathic feral little girl, the Duffer Brothers naturally keep Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) hidden until the very end of the episode as one of several examples of characters keeping secrets from each other.

At once point, Dr. Owens tells Joyce (Winona Ryder) that things will get worst before they get better. For her, that’s terrible news. For Stranger Things viewers, that can only means good things ahead.

Odds and Ends:

The cold open features a series of unknown characters getting chased by police before one passenger displays Eleven-like powers that allows them to escape. This will clearly be paid off later (see episode seven in tomorrow’s recap – or rather don’t), but for now, it’s little more than a distraction from our reintroduction to Hawkins.

Danger looms for Will on Halloween night in 2×02 “Trick or Treat, Freak”

Episode 2 – “Trick or Treat, Freak”

First off, let’s address the ridiculous #JusticeForBarb storyline that’s dominating the Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Steve (Joe Keery) story line. The Duffer Brothers clearly want to address the outcry for the fan favourite from Season One, but can we all agree that they’re leaning into it a little too much? Thankfully all it takes is one drunk party for the real fireworks to come out: Nancy drunkenly confesses about the inadequacies of her relationship with Steve and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) gets to put the object of his affection to bed. Just remember kids: repression is bad because it manifests as a giant red punch stain on the front of your First Lady/Figure Skater costume.

The other element that stands out about episode two is that there’s a lot more comedy: the four boys are the only ones who dress up for Halloween at school, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) struggle to speak to Max, Eleven passes her time watching soaps and dimwitted Officer Callahan (John Reynolds) mistakenly touches poisoned crops with his bare hands.

That last piece – the mysterious crop damage storyline – also begins to take shape as we learn that most of Hawkins’ farms have been affected by a mysterious poison, hinting at bigger things to come.

Odds and Ends:

Are the Duffer Brothers candy addicts? First Will and Dr. Owens debate Reese’s Pieces last episode and now there’s a prolonged discussion about the terribleness of 3 Musketeers bars? (Which, for the record, are delicious)

Initially it seemed like this episode was going to offer more insight about contentious siblings Billy and Max, but aside from their chicken-inspired driving on the highway, they remain obscure figures on the periphery. What’s their deal?

Bob and Joyce share a quiet moment in 2×03 “The Pollywog”

Episode 3 – “The Pollywog”

While I appreciate the effort being put into developing Sheriff Hopper (David Harbour) and Eleven’s relationship, I don’t think that the amount of screen time dedicated to this plot line is well spent. Three episodes in and we’re seeing the same content covered repeatedly: she was lost in the woods in winter, Hopper found her after a few feral encounters and they set up a temporary home with three “don’t be stupid” rules. We get it Stranger Things. At this point it just feels like the Duffer Brothers are delaying bringing Eleven back together with the gang.

Thankfully the second season’s dual mythology plot lines continue to develop nicely:

Hopper enlists Dr. Owens to investigate the contagion affecting the crops, which we learn is accounting for the odd smell that Billy and Max described in the last episode.

Meanwhile, Dustin names the “pollywog” creature that he finds in his trash D’Artagnan (because 80s!). A quick examination of the new species reveals that D’Art is a) afraid of the light b) growing exponentially and c) tied to the thing that Will spit into his sink at the end of Season One. Unfortunately the unnatural occurrences end in disaster when Will takes Bob‘s advice to confront the monster head on and he’s literally infected by the smoke monster from his visions. Oops!

Odds and Ends:

Was anyone else surprised to see Shirts vs Skins in gym class was a real thing? I won’t lie: all of these scenes felt remarkably homoerotic. It’s tantamount to a late night flick on Cinemax.

The aftermath of Will’s attack in 2×04 “Will The Wise”

Episode 4 – “Will The Wise”

After the cliffhanger possession ending of the last episode, we pick right up with Will, who claims not to remember what happened to him. After some prodding by Joyce, Will reveals that the creature wanted inside him and their parasitic relationship is deepened when Will refuses to take a hot bath, proclaiming “He likes it cold.”

When Hopper finally arrives at the Byers residence (following an uncomfortable battle of wills with Eleven after she abuses his 3 rules), there’s no narrative clarity about what’s happening, but it still feels like forward momentum. The result – Will confiding in Hopper and Joyce, Mike (Finn Wolfhard) revealing Will’s secret to Dustin and Lucas – makes “Will The Wise” the most satisfying episode of the season to date.

Unfortunately I simply cannot care about the stuff with Nancy and Jonathan and Barb’s mom. The only element of this story line that worked for me was the editing of the sequence in the park, which effectively highlighted Nancy and Jonathan‘s paranoia. The suggestion that these high school students could pull off a covert sting operation against the Hawkins Lab guys is a bit of a laugh, but we’ll see where it goes.

Odds and Ends:

Eleven‘s investigation into her history hits the jackpot when she discovers Hawkins Lab boxes hidden under the floor of Hopper‘s cabin. From there she’s able to connect with her very-much-alive mom, who identifies Eleven as “Jane” before disappearing in a literal puff of smoke.

I’m definitely losing interest in Billy and Max‘s storyline. Is there anything more to this than the fact that he’s racist?

RIP Mews. It always sucks when animals are killed on TV and that poor dead kitty didn’t deserve to be D’Art’s snack. 🙁

Will’s illness is finally address in 2×05 “Dig Dug”

Episode 5 – “Dig Dug”

This is essentially a “choose your own adventure” episode. Most of the characters venture off on their own: Hopper spends the episode foolishly investigating the tunnel system without back-up; Joyce, Mike, Will and Bob decode Will‘s drawings; Lucas catches Max up to speed, and Nancy and Jonathan and Eleven go on separate road trips.

I definitely appreciated the grotty visuals of what Hopper encounters in the tunnels (the blast to the face by a not-at-all-anus-like vine is particularly visceral and icky). Meanwhile Bob earns his high school “Brain” nickname when he deduces that the drawings are a map of Hawkins, though admittedly, hadn’t we all figured this out well in advance? It seems pretty obvious.

The two mythologies finally collide when Will‘s map leads to Hopper, whose survival ironically depends on his smoking habit. Luckily Joyce, Bob and the Hawkins Lab army show up just in time, ending the episode on another cliffhanger when it is revealed (unsurprisingly) that Will‘s physical health is connected to the tunnel vines and he winds up in Grand Mal territory.

Odds and Ends:

I’m glad that Dustin is no longer acting stupid about how dangerous D’Art is. It was evident from the start that the unknown creature was dangerous and “Dig Dug” confirms that as D’Art grows, he becomes more of an (unnatural) threat.

Let’s take a moment to recognize the comedic genius of Lucas‘ sister Erica (Priah Ferguson), who is officially the Dustin of this season. She’s equal parts annoying and hilarious. I love her.

Finally, Eleven‘s storyline continues to (annoyingly) exist completely outside of the main narrative. This episode she meets her Aunt Becky (Amy Seimetz), a Clea DuVall-esque woman looking after her mother. What follows is essentially a redo of Season One: Eleven‘s mom communicates via flickering lights and there’s a whole extended flashback that’s basically the Stranger Things version of Hodor’s “Hold The Door” backstory from Game of Thrones.

Check back tomorrow for recaps of the final four episodes of season two. In the interim, leave your impressions below in the comments!