#anyway here have a gift via my latest obsession

[aceedoodles]

it's been 500 years since i last did charcoal art RIP

[daggerzine]

You Gotta Lose? Hell, Some Of Us Ain’t Dead Yet by Mary Leary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0fz3FVBlOE

NRBQ has done so many amazing songs. I never thought much about “Roll Call,” from Tiddlywinks - for one thing, it has a lighter, almost Billy Joel sound that’s more about latter day Terry Adams style than what I think of as the classic Q. Yet just as Adams’ work has grown on me, this track has made its way into my consciousness. The lyrics speak to me more in 2020 than they did when Tiddlywinks was released in 1980, before the D.C.-area music scene had lost Robert Goldstein (Urban Verbs), Kevin MacDonald (brilliant visual artist and scene stalwart who helped me design and layout [The] Infiltrator), Danny Gatton disciple/guitar maverick Evan Johns, bassist Michael Maye from the original H-Bombs, Rick Dreyfuss (Half Japanese/Chumps/Shakemore), Libby Hatch and Michael Mariotte  (Tru Fax and the Insaniacs), Sally Be/Berg - REM/Egoslavia/SHE/Robert Palmer), Nurses member Marc Halpern (heroin, 1982), Lorenzo (Pee- Wee) Jones (Tiny Desk Unit) and hybrid rocker Jim Altman (HIV, 1990s).  Goldstein, Dreyfuss, Maye and MacDonald succumbed to cancer, while Evan Johns’ deterioration followed years of touring, hard drinking and pushing himself past the limit.

(Top to bottom: Tommy Keene, Kevin MacDonald, Susan Mumford)

Those named above have been joined by Tommy Keene (the Rage/the Razz/solo/Paul Westerberg/Matthew Sweet - cardiac arrest at the age of 59; 2017), TDU’s Susan Mumford (cancer, 2018), David Byers (Psychotics/H.R./Bad Brains), and Skip Groff (Yesterday and Today/ Limp Records/Dischord - seizure, 2019).  This is just an imperfect/incomplete naming of D.C.-area losses - I’m sure journalists from other cities could make lists. A horde of New Wave and early alternative musicians have died within the past few years. Whether through the stress of hard living/poverty, substance abuse, cancer or Covid-19, we’re seeing artists pass much earlier than I, anyway, expected them to.

(Top to bottom: Fred "Freak” Smith, Michael Maye with Evan Johns, Tru Fax and the Insaniacs)

We’re already past the loss of all the original Ramones. All the Cramps less Poison Ivy. Joe Strummer. Robert Quine. Hilly Kristal. Lou Reed. As of July, 2020, since 2018 we’ve also lost Andy Gill, Ivan Kral, Genesis P-Orridge, Adam Schlesinger, Danny Mihm, Ric Ocasek, Daniel Johnston, Kim Shattuck, Lorna Doom, Mark Hollis, Keith Flint, Ranking Roger, Mark E. Smith, Glenn Branca, Randy Rampage, Hardy Fox, Pete Shelley, Matthew Seligman, Bill Rieflin, Dave Greenfield, Florian Schneider,  Ian Dury, Benjamin Orr, Kirsty McColl and David Roback.

(Top to bottom: Sally Be/Berg, Ranking Roger, Danny Mihm)

Talking about the deaths of talented, gifted creatives is a helluva way to start a column. But here we are. Older performers don’t always get the attention afforded newer, so the rest of this piece shares and celebrates artists from the original New Wave/punk scenes who are still around and active. Many are from the D.C.-area cornucopia I know best, while others have just come to my attention, or seem especially noteworthy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MED9_XK_JVQ

The Zeros’ Javier Escovedo has been steadily emitting tasty Americana-ish rock while occasionally dropping some Zeros sturm-’n’-drang - most recently with Munster Records single “In The Spotlight” and a track on Burger Records’ Quarantunes compilation. Quarantunes is a seven-album affair featuring 140 alternative/punk performers old and new, all of whom wrote songs between March-April 2020. A cursory listen to Volume 2 reveals the recorded version of a good night at a very wild bar, with Zeros still handily kicking ass of all ages.

https://velvetmonkeys.bandcamp.com/album/legacy-of-success?fbclid=IwAR0lJyS0YDE4e3o7LJiITEtw1lhBWMkUX47Vuag1Lf9fs2QozJJKD1lwkes

Velvet Monkeys/B.A.L.L. player and Sonic Youth/Teenage Fanclub producer Don Fleming reports, “We’ve put out new tracks ‘Theories of Rummanetics’ and ‘Legacy of Success.’ Jay has written a few ‘modules’ and Malcolm and I are having fun doing the music,” adding, “I play some electric six string on the new Rob Moss album - it’s fun to be on, with lots of guitar slingers from the DC daze.”

Yup, Rob Moss of Skin-Tight Skin has solicited contributions from Fleming and from Marshall Keith (Slickee Boys), along with a pile of talent including Stuart Casson (Psychotics/Dove/Meatmen), Franz Stahl (Foo Fighters/Scream), Billy Loosigian (Nervous Eaters, the Boom-Boom Band), Nels Cline (Wilco) and Saul Koll (the guy who made guitars for Henry Kaiser and Lee Ranaldo). The set is called We’ve Come Back To Rock ‘n’ Roll.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdIB8a_0Q4c

Chumps/Workdogs/Jam Messengers player Rob Kennedy apparently has too much energy to throw in the towel - he’s kept recording, performing and making various sorts of lo-fi, DIY mischief that never loses that fresh, ‘70s feeling. Jam Messengers released Night And Day on vinyl in 2017. One of my fave Kennedy tracks, “A Low Down Dirty Shame” speaks to this moment as well as any.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-CRBEGVLE4

Former Tiny Desk Unit/Fuji’s Navy/Rhoda & the Bad Seeds members Bob Boilen, Kevin Lay, Michael Barron and Bob Harvey have released a new Danger Painters joint, Thank Speak Love This Record. Lay joked, “I have a voice made for Morse Code” before revealing his recent work with Rhoda and the Bad Seeds material, released June 30 as Live at Nightclub 9:30. Boilen continues to introduce artists both vital and obscure via Tiny Desk Concerts and All Songs Considered/NPR.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejQ1GajwfB0

I’ve seen David Arnson play recently and can attest to his proclivity for unfettered growth via Insect Surfers, the instrumental group that originally had some trouble establishing cred. with younger D.C. punks. The Surfers’ most recent release was Living Fossils (2019). Arnson celebrated the band’s 40 years of existence with a European tour in 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SkIuWIZVkM

Jad Fair says, “Half Japanese will have a new album released in November on Fire Records.” Jad’s art was recently featured at the Hiromart Gallery/Tokyo, while David has created a Facebook page where fans can pick up his colorful images for, well, mere bags o’ shells, as far as we can see -  https://www.facebook.com/David-Fair-Painting-107055447700859/

Despite health issues for several members, Bad Brains has collaborated with Element to make BB themed skate wear https://www.elementbrand.com/mens-collection-bad-brains/ and added some killer live tracks to its YouTube channel.  

Former WGTB programmers John Paige and Steve Lorber have been presenting Rock Continuum on WOWD-LP FM 94.3 since 2017.

Mike Stax continues to give excellent motivation for hunting down a pair of Beatle boots - Munster released the Loons’ 7” EP, A Dream In Jade Green, last year. The latest issue of Ugly Things, said by Stax to be heavily focused on the Pretty Things’ Phil May, was reported in early July to be nearing publication.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6jSc7gEAv0

Razz (the) Documentary will tell the story of how an uncommonly combustible rock band - especially with the Bill Craig/Abaad Behram line-up - helped spread the Flamin’ Groovies gospel while throwing down oddly compelling originals and taking the two-guitar thing up several notches - the producers are purportedly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Whether anyone can ever recreate the experience of being in an altered state via obsessive, sometimes conversational repetition of certain chords, anchored by Ted Nicely rethinking just what can be done with a bass guitar, given girth by Doug Tull’s intuitive drumming; with Mike Reidy the heat-seeking missile somewhere near the center... well, I doubt it. ‘Cause at this point you’re feeling no pain and it’s not about drinking; there is no room for anything but water - the beer will be knocked over when you’re this busy matching David Arnson’s other-side-of-the-front-line’s leaps into joydum while PCP’d out yahoos from the sticks learn the hard way that hugging Marshall amps can lead to lifelong repercussions. There (in case nothing I want to say about [the] Razz makes it into the film) - I’ve said it.

Discussions among old friends have confirmed that I’m not alone in being happily surprised at this development - we never expected our actions - which led to the hardcore explosion that’s received a lot more attention... would ever make it into any history book. Yet coverage of many of the D.C.-area musicians featured in this piece also comes with Punk The Capitol, A History of D.C. Punk and Hardcore, 1976-1983. Spring 2021 is the projected date for streaming/DVD release.

Ivan Julian came back from a scary 2015 bout with cancer to do a show in New York in 2016. The cancer has returned. Friends have organized a GoFundMe to raise money for surgery and basic needs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDB_3by-xkI

The Shakemore fest also refuses to fade, promising “eight hours of streaming steaming video” on August 1. Sounds will be provided by R. Stevie Moore, Velvet Monkeys, Tav Falco’s Panther Burns, Half Japanese, Johnny Spampinato, Weird Paul and the Chumps, among many, many others.

Despite having played at CBGB and other alternative venues in 1979, at the height of the New Wave, Gary Wilson’s work is so distinctive, he’s rarely been included with any musical genre other than the oft-vague “experimental” category. Folks were too unmoored by his visceral performances to get behind him. Wilson’s 14th album, Tormented, was released by Cleopatra in February.

Paul Collins recently published a book that he wrote with Chuck Nolan; I Don’t Fit In: My Wild Ride Through the Punk and Power Pop Trenches with the Nerves and the Beat (Hozac Books).

As “Heath,” Michael Layne Heath, a journalist who contributed to (the) Infiltrator and many other ‘zines, published My Week Beats Your Year: Encounters with Lou Reed in May (Hat & Beard Press).

In April, X released its first album in 35 years; Alphabetland.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ1I-laItPI

As exciting for me as any of the above is Richard Hell with the Heartbreakers’ 2019 release of Yonkers Demo 1976. Hell’s “You Gotta Lose” is one of my picks for best punk/new wave singles of all time. The Heartbreakers version is, predictably, messier than the Robert Quine guitar-spiked classic. Its more excessive charms are growing on me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48QnsysCN_A

This piece could go on and on - compiling it has been exhausting. The best part has been the response to my social media call for any info I didn’t have re: the D.C.-centric scene I left for New York in 1983. Musicians anxious to keep their compadres’ names alive have hammered that post with 138 comments to date. Urban Verbs percussionist Danny Frankel, who’s played with a colorful spread of artists including Beck, Marianne Faithful, Lou Reed, John Cale and k.d. Lang, made a point of being sure I knew about the passing of Marc Halpern, a source of obvious pain. People were worried I wouldn’t mention John Stabb (Government Issue - 2016), rockabilly player Billy Hancock (2018), Fred “Freak” Smith (Strange Boutique/Beefeater - murdered in Los Angeles, 2017), John Hansen (Slickee Boys - 2010), record store owner/Wasp Records starter/music supporter Bill Asp, Jimmy Barnett of The Killer Bees, and David Byers.

One of the hardest for me to write about is Chris Morse, whose 1984 passing from a drug overdose wrenched so many - I managed to get an obituary into, I think, The New York Rocker (that physical trek was part of a long-ago blur; a very hot day of traipsing over steaming concrete in a narrow-skirted dress to deliver the copy). Chris popped up in my dreams for years - one “visitation” pushed me to write a poem about it in the ‘90s. Morse, who played in Rhoda & The Bad Seeds and worked as a doorman at The Pyramid after moving to NYC in the early ‘80s, was on one of the Urban Verbs’ early flyers. I’m on another.

(Top to bottom: Me in an early Verbs flyer/photo shot at the Atlantis; Chris Morse on another Verbs flyer)

I ended up getting so burnt out on the responsibility of populating this sad roll call, I’ve started a memorial page for them all on Facebook. The nature of truly alternative music is such that many of its lights still fail to fill the pages of major publications. Many of these lights gave a great deal of their lives, if not everything, for the art they believed in. It’s good to remember them, and those heady early days. It’s good to enjoy what we still can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA3IfK76mmI

[themagiciansreccenter]

Author Spotlight: @kaci3po

Every week we interview a writer from The Magicians fandom. If you would like to be interviewed or you want to nominate a writer, get in touch via our ask box.

First things first, tell us a little about yourself.

By day I'm a health insurance claims processor and by night I'm a fanfic writer who has probably been in fandom longer than most people on this website have been alive. I have terrible taste in music and share my home with two dogs and five cats.

How long have you been writing for?

I've been writing fanfiction since 2005, but I've been writing in general since before Kindergarten. I was always a writer. Fanfic just helped me figure out where I was interested in aiming my efforts.

What inspired you to start writing for The Magicians?

I read the books years ago and liked them well enough until the last one. Julia and Alice were my favorite characters so when the show was announced, I put off watching it because I was convinced they would never do either of those characters justice. I eventually caved and binged it on Netflix and I'm really glad I did. The show is an entirely different beast than the books, and to be honest the show is way more in my wheelhouse. Watching 3x05 and then not having it addressed for the rest of the season left me really frustrated but I've always believed in writing the stories you want to see in the world so I dusted off my keyboard and got to work.

Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? What it is about them that makes them your favourite?

Quentin is my favorite POV to write from. That voice comes pretty naturally to me. And I like writing him because I can identify with a lot of his issues and choices. But Eliot is my favorite to write from an outside POV because he has a very specific voice that you can have a lot of fun with. You can put some fairly outrageous things in his mouth and have it still be in-character, because that's the sort of guy he is. Even though I think I end up writing more drama than comedy, the latter is definitely my favorite to do and Eliot is such a great source for both.

Do you have a preference for a particular season/point in time to write about?

3x05 and 4x05. I'm not someone who comes up with great plots for fics. I admire people who can do that, but that's not the sort of writing I'm good at. What I like doing is "fix-it" or "fill-in-the-blank" type stuff. I like being given a situation and then figuring out how characters I already know would react to that circumstance. 3x05 and 4x05 are perfect for me because they showed just enough to leave the door wide open for speculation.

Are you working on anything right now? Care to give us an idea about it?

I'm toying with the idea of writing Margo's reaction if/when she ever finds out the full story about the mosaic timeline and the Conversation they had when they remembered. I find it interesting that until that moment, Margo was the person who had seen Eliot at his worst and still loved him, but she has no idea (as far as we know) about this new memory that Eliot himself considers his darkest and most shameful. Their friendship is one of the most important things on the show to me, so I am very curious about how she'll react to Eliot keeping all of that a secret if/when she eventually finds out.

How long is your “to do list”?

Not very long. Like I said, I'm not the sort of writer who comes up with tons of plots she'd love to write. I just ask questions based on canon and explore the answers.

What is your favourite fic that you’ve written for The Magicians? Why?

Probably 'all these young bodies turn,' which I did not realize was a title someone else had already used for a Queliot fic when I posted it so great minds, I guess. I liked writing that one because it let me explore the trope of quests demanding sacrifices and the fact that Quentin was very aware of that fact. I like the way the show twists and turns tropes on their heads and I liked getting to do that too, in my own small way.

Many writers have a fic that they are passionate about that doesn’t get the reception from the fandom that they hoped for. Do you have a fic you would like more people to read and appreciate?

Not really. Everyone's been super nice and supportive of my work in this fandom, probably more so than my writing actually warrants. I'm that person who (a lot like Quentin, actually) is sort of always surprised people like my work and want me around. Blindsided by it, to be honest.

What is your writing process like? Do you have any traditions or superstitions that you like to stick to when you’re writing?

I honestly don't have a process or rituals. I've never been the kind of person who likes writing from outlines or notes. I just sit at the keyboard and keep asking myself, "Okay...and what comes next?" I'm just as surprised by what comes out of my brain as the next person.

Do you write while the seasons are airing or do you prefer to wait for hiatus? How does the ongoing development of the canon influence and inspire your writing process?

I like to write while the episodes are airing, if possible. If I wait, I lose the inspiration and frantic drive to fix and fill in blanks. Once the entire season is out, it feels to me like it's been chiseled in stone and that's not as much fun for me to play with. Writing while the episodes are airing allows for interesting moments where your predictions turn out to be completely wrong but the canon spins you off in a new direction you never would've thought of.

What has been the most challenging fic for you to write?

"5 Times Quentin and Eliot Had to Have Uncomfortable but Necessary Conversations and 1 Time They Didn't Need to Talk at All." I honestly don't know why but writing that fic was like pulling teeth. I rewrote huge portions of it constantly and I'm still not fully satisfied with it.

Are there any themes or tropes that you like particularly like to explore in your writing?

I don't know that I've really gotten to explore this yet in The Magicians fandom, although after 4x05 I think I might, but my all-time favorite trope is the character who swears up and down they don't want to be in love and can't help falling anyway. Most of my all-time favorite couples fit into this trope and now with the reveal that Eliot rejected Quentin's interest in him, I can't wait to see them actually together once he gets his body back and decides to be brave.

Are there any writers that inspire your work? Fanfiction or otherwise?

Seanan McGuire is my biggest writing inspiration. If I could write half as well as she does, I'd be happy.

What are you currently reading? Fanfiction or otherwise?

The "Home For Wayward Children" series by Seanan McGuire is my latest obsession and I'm also listening to the audio book of "Anger is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro. Fanfiction-wise, I'm just devouring every post-4x05 fic AO3 has to offer.

What is the most valuable piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?

This is a tough call because I've had some great mentors over the years, but the most helpful thing I've ever been told is to read everything I write out loud. It probably looks silly when I do it, but I do full-on dramatic readings complete with different voices and actually acting the parts of everything I write. I don't post it until I've done a complete read through with no complaints. Not only does this help you catch any grammar or spelling mistakes, but the biggest thing it does is help you make your dialogue more natural. I'm trained in scriptwriting, not prose, and in that genre all you really have to tell your story with is dialogue, so it's important to me that mine sounds like people really talk. I don't post something until I can read it out loud and think, "Yeah, that's how those characters actually speak."

Are there any words or phrases you worry about over using in your work?

I use ellipses way more than anyone probably should and I'm overly fond of pulling up sentences short with punctuation that's not grammatically correct but makes you read it in the exact cadence I want you to.

What was the first fanfic that you wrote? Do you still have access to it?

I don't remember what my first actually was about, but it was in the Friends fandom and probably Monica/Chandler. I don't have access to it anymore, and I tried googling around to see if it was still out there on the internet somewhere, but it doesn't seem to be. That's probably for the best because I'm sure it was absolutely awful.

Self-edit or Beta?

Self-edit. In a perfect world, I'd have stuff beta'd but it's been years since I had someone I trusted to do that. These days I just go over it with a fine-toothed comb and hope for the best.

Comments or Kudos/Reblogs or Likes?

Comments always make me happy and I obsessively read the tags on reblogs, but it doesn't bother me if someone doesn't take the time to do that. People have busy lives and sometimes you can really like something without having more to say about it other than, "This was good." So a like or kudos is fine by me.

Smut, Fluff or Angst?

Smut, then fluff. I don't really like writing angst. Fandom is my escape from the real world so I'd rather focus on happy stuff if I can.

Quick & Dirty or Slow Burn?

Quick and dirty as a writer, slow burn as a reader. I like to "get in quick, hit hard, and get out" as a writer. The fewer words I can convey something in, the better. But given the choice as a reader, I'll take a 100k+ slow burn any day. It's always so satisfying when you get to the end.

Favourite season?

Season Three

Favourite Episode?

4x05 and 3x05 are the obligatory answers, but I also absolutely loved the bank heist episode.

Favourite book?

The Magicians

Three favourite words?

Fuck, callipygian, & widdershins.

Want to be interviewed for our author spotlight? Get in touch here.

[yumeka36]

Being bullied for your hobbies

I didn’t experience any kind of teasing or bullying for my hobbies in school until my second year of middle school, which is, ironically, the same year my Pokemon fandom began. Unfortunately I went to a private and snobby middle school, and none of my classmates shared my interest in it. One reason could be that I got into Pokemon at an older age than most kids at that time; the majority of kids getting into it were around 7-10 years old while I was 13-14. So many of the younger boys at my school were into it, so of course, being in middle school where peer pressure is rampant, you were considered a nerd if you were older than them but liked the same things. All the girls my age were into boys, glamour, dating, the latest hit movies and TV shows, and other teenager stuff. So liking Pokemon and cartoons at my age was out of the question! As far as actual incidents of bullying, there was one girl in particular who would always mock my Pokemon obsession. She wouldn’t attack me directly per se, but she’d do it by making subtle comments in my presence. For example, she had a 6 year old brother who also liked Pokemon and one day when I brought my Poke-Dex toy to school, she said something like “Oh, my brother has that, but he’s 6 years old…the right age.” And another time when I brought a magazine to school that had Pokemon fan art drawn by artists in their late teens and I showed it to her, trying to prove to her that older teenagers like Pokemon too, she said “Well, they must have no life.” Then another time when I took a Pokemon book out of my locker, she tried to take it away from me and give me a fashion magazine instead.

There were countless other incidents like that with her, and a few with other students too. When we were talking about going to high school one day in class, and this other girl found out I like Pokemon, she was like “You’re going to high school? Drop the Pokemon” (wish I could tell her now how Pokemon is what helped me make friends in high school!) Then I remember another time Pokemon somehow came up in the topic the teacher was discussing and some boy blurted out “Isn’t Pokemon for preschoolers or something?” and the whole class laughed while I just sat there feeling awkward. I even recall a couple of my teachers saying Pokemon is stupid, and one time, when I had brought my Pokemon Red version to play on the bus when we were on a school trip, one of my teachers noticed it and, after confirming that it was Pokemon I was playing, he asked the girl next to me “You like Pokemon too?” and she said “No, I hate Pokemon!” Then he turned back to me and said, “Hear that? She HATES Pokemon!” I don’t think I responded at all and just continued to feel bad.

As you can see, compared to extreme bullying cases you hear about, this is pretty mild. I wasn’t being verbally or physically abused and no one was vandalizing my stuff or anything like that. It was just a lot of hurtful remarks which, at that impressionable age, inhibited my self-esteem and made me keep thinking something was wrong with me for not being like everyone else. Luckily I had a couple of friends outside of school who liked Pokemon and I could share my hobby with.

Thankfully I went to a public high school with thousands of students, so there were plenty of “nerds” like me who liked anime and video games. That, together with the fact that during those years, anime was becoming more well known as a form of entertainment for adults too, with anime DVDs becoming available everywhere and anime airing on TV via Adult Swim and Toonami, so that helped make it more acceptable to like by the time I got to high school. Surprisingly, despite covering my school notebook in anime pictures and wearing anime shirts to school, I don’t recall being put down about it at all. Everyone just ignored it, or, if they were anime fans too, they’d compliment my stuff. That’s how I made a lot of friends in high school actually. It was also around this time that I started learning how lucky I was in terms of having a mom who supported my anime fandom and didn’t put me down for liking so-called childish things. A couple of my friends in high school weren’t so lucky and were constantly being harassed by their parents for liking “cartoons” at their age. While my mom was always buying me the anime stuff I wanted, it baffled me how my friends’ parents would never buy them anime stuff for their birthday, Christmas, etc., even though that’s what they really liked. Some years later when I was in college and I was telling one of these friends how my other friends who like anime got accepted to these prestigious universities, she said she had to tell her mom about that – that she had to prove to her mom that you could be an anime fan and still be smart and do well in school. It made me sad to think that people were that ignorant.

Luckily my only account of bullying in school was when I was into Pokemon in middle school, and luckily I never had any family members put me down about liking the stuff I like either (since my family is basically just my mom and she has total respect for it, and the 2-3 other family members I have I’m hardly in touch with, but they don’t mind either). But besides school and home, there is another place where you have no choice but to interact with people who might not approve of your tastes: the workplace. At my first job at a greeting card/gift store, a few of the girls working there would tease me about liking anime, insisting that it was all hentai and I was watching perverted stuff. Of course I would try to tell them that not all anime is hentai, but they wouldn’t listen. I would even fantasize about how I would someday get up the nerve to tell them about the stories of good anime series I was watching at the time, like Nana and Fullmetal Alchemist, so they couldn’t keep saying all anime is hentai and may even get interested in watching it themselves (I never did get up the nerve though). But it wasn’t anything serious, just a few remarks here and there, and unlike being teased for liking Pokemon as a kid, I was an adult by then and I didn’t let it get me down at all. It was just a little annoyance.

Looking back on these incidents now, I have to say that it’s true that people act differently as a group than by themselves. Back in middle school, most of the girls acted alright when it was just me and them. Even that one girl who always teased me about Pokemon acted nice to me when it was just me and her. I remember we used to both get dropped off early to school before most of the other kids and so we’d hang out together and I’d be playing Pokemon and she wouldn’t have any snide remarks. Sometimes she’d even talk to me about it in a friendly way. But once the other girls were around, she changed her tune. Another girl even went so far as to act like she liked Pokemon too when it was just me and her, saying how she would have certain Pokemon cards I would tell her about. But then she’d make fun of it as soon as the other kids were around. And even among the adults at my first job, they wouldn’t make any hentai comments when it was just me and one of them, only when they were in a group. It really is interesting how people can be persuaded to act differently than they normally would when they’re in a group and they don’t have enough self-confidence to overcome peer pressure. Which is why I’ve always felt that “I like individuals, but not people so much.” Unless the thing that someone likes is immoral and by taking part in it they’re causing actual harm to others, I don’t think anyone should be put down for the things they enjoy.

Anyway, I guess I’m lucky that my mom always respected my hobbies, and once I got away from that snobby middle school, I met a ton of fellow anime fans throughout the rest of my school years, many of which I’m still friends with today. And at my last job and the one I’m currently at, I haven’t had any teasing. In fact, I’ve met many coworkers with the same interests. I even have a group of coworkers from my old job that I get together with sometimes outside of work to play Pokemon and talk about anime. And at my current job, I completely decorated my office desk with Disney, Pokemon, and other cartoon/game pictures and figures and nobody cares – most of my coworkers think it’s cool actually =) I really feel that during the past several years it’s becoming more and more acceptable for the adults of the new generations to like these kinds of things. If that’s the case, I’m very glad for it ^_^

*This is a revision of a previous post I wrote on my old anime blog. You can also comment on the revised post here*

*Crossposted from my main blog, Yume Dimension*

[romireads]

One of the plussides of having a job is earning money to buy books with (who needs food anyway?), and so this is already my third book haul of the month September! There’s still another book on its way, but because I ordered it via the Book Depository I think it’ll take a while before it’s here! Nevertheless, here are my four latest additions to my shelves and also another bookish thing, that every booknerd needs in their life!

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

You never know what’s happening on the other side of the wall.

Your neighbour told you that she didn’t want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn’t stand her crying.

Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You’ll have the baby monitor and you’ll take it in turns to go back every half hour.

Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She’s gone.

You’ve never had to call the police before. But now they’re in your home, and who knows what they’ll find there.

What would you be capable of, when pushed past your limit? (Goodreads)

As you could see in Tuesday’s post, this was the book I’ll be enjoying a (blind) date with! I got this one from The Book Matchmaker and I really can’t wait to sit down with it. I might just make room for it in my October TBR!

A Little Life by Tanya Yanagihara

When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they’re broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever. (Goodreads)

I have to admit that I have never read the full blurb of this book, but I have heard a lot of emotional things about it. Angry, heartbroken, you name it! Since I love books that make me feel heavy emotions, I think this book is perfect for me!

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

The house looked right, felt right to Dr Louis Creed.

Rambling, old, unsmart and comfortable. A place where the family could settle; the children grow and play and explore. The rolling hills and meadows of Maine seemed a world away from the fume-choked dangers of Chicago.

Only the occasional big truck out on the two-lane highway, grinding up through the gears, hammering down the long gradients, growled out an intrusive threat.

But behind the house and far away from the road: that was safe. Just a carefully cleared path up into the woods where generations of local children have processed with the solemn innocence of the young, taking with them their dear departed pets for burial.

A sad place maybe, but safe. Surely a safe place. Not a place to seep into your dreams, to wake you, sweating with fear and foreboding. (Goodreads)

I already talked about this book in my post on 10 creepy books to read in October and this will definitely be on my October TBR. Jo is holding a read along on this book over on her instagram, so if you’re still looking for a good October read, you should definitely head over to her page! I have heard people saying that this was the most creepy King book they’ve read so I’m definitely looking forward to reading this (I think!).

11.22.63 by Stephen King

Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away…but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke… Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten…and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful. (Goodreads)

This is a Kingbook that doesn’t sound creepy at all (that is in my humble opinion), but just like Pet Sematary, this one’s high on some Constant Reader’s top five/ten lists! And I love myself a story where someone goes back in time to make the future better (or worse!)

The perfect gift for book lovers (or just for yourself, because TREAT YOSELF!)

Now the … thing that every booknerd needs in their life! This cute little bookmark light by IF! Pieter always has troubles getting to sleep when I’m still engrossed in my book at night, so we came up with the idea of purchasing a booklight. At Waanders in the Broeren (the prettiest bookstore I’ve ever seen so far) they had a couple of different ones, but this one was definitely the cutest! As you can see in the pictures above, you can either place it on your desk with the weighted foot, or clip it on the back of your book! Perfect right?!

September book haul #3 One of the plussides of having a job is earning money to buy books with (who needs food anyway?), and so this is already my third book haul of the month September!

[lotsofdogs]

Top 10 Pregnancy Favorites

During my first pregnancy with Chase, I shared my pregnancy favorites by trimester and I’ve had a few requests to do the same thing this time around. While I tried my best to randomly highlight some things I’ve loved during this pregnancy periodically on the blog, I wanted to combine all of my favorites from this pregnancy in one place for the sake of convenience and as a reference just in case it’s a post some of you might want to look back in the future.

I’m also working on getting all of my pregnancy posts from this pregnancy categorized onto one page like my pregnancy posts from my first pregnancy and it’s a work in progress around here. Hopefully soon!

Also, I just wanted to quickly say that I’m not planning to share a post tomorrow for my usual Things I’m Loving Friday roundup because I’m planning to take today to step away from work and focus as much as possible on some quality time with Chase before our little one arrives. I just wanted to share this here because I didn’t want anyone automatically thinking it’s baby time if you happened to stop by the blog tomorrow and don’t see a post from me!

I gave a brief update via Instagram Stories on Wednesday (this is also where I’m planning to share the first info about any baby news!) but just in case you missed it, here is the latest: During my 39-week appointment, I learned that our baby has officially dropped! My midwife said our baby’s head is very low and while I’m only 2 centimeters dilated and 60 percent effaced, she encouraged me to “not waste any time” getting to the hospital after labor begins because she’s anticipating a fast labor. (Famous last words?!) Ah! I’m seriously getting so, so excited and cannot wait to meet our little one so soon!

Anyway, onto my pregnancy favs…

Pregnancy Favorites

DIY Organic Belly Butter

I shared my recipe for this DIY Organic Belly Butter on the blog last week but I am 100 percent obsessed with it! I initially made it as a gift for my sister who is expecting her first child in September and loves natural, organic products. I couldn’t resist whipping up a batch for myself after she told me how much she loved it and I became addicted to applying it after my shower every day and often before bedtime as well.

The belly butter is made with a combination of organic oils and butters and feels like a luxurious whipped body butter but even more hydrating and moisturizing. I love using it on my growing belly and my breasts to help with tight skin, itchiness and the prevention of stretch marks. If you’re not into the whole DIY thing, my second-favorite belly butter is Mambino Organics Oh Baby! Belly Butter which I initially discovered during my pregnancy with Chase and continued to love during this pregnancy as well!

Lululemon Align Leggings 

I struggled SO MUCH with finding comfortable clothing during this pregnancy. My belly grew faster, I gained weight almost immediately and my hips, thighs and lower back seemed to soften and expand more rapidly. All of this was a recipe for feeling really, really uncomfortable in my clothes very early on in pregnancy. Many of the below-the-belly leggings I loved during my first pregnancy felt horrible to me during this pregnancy (my belly positioning was very different this time around) and I became frustrated and basically lived in joggers and sweats for months. Thankfully a ton of you (and I really do mean a TON) recommended lululemon’s align leggings to me and I purchased my first pair during my second trimester. I instantly fell in love with them and have since bought three pairs. (Note: I love the 25’’ pant but they’re also available in a full-length legging and crops.)

When I went into the store to try them on for the first time, the woman working at lululemon said the align leggings have some kind of maternity cult following and women absolutely rave about them. She encouraged me to try on my pre-pregnancy size saying they somehow grow with you and work well in the postpartum period, too. This actually made me feel a little bit better about splurging on the leggings since I know I’ll wear them for years, whether I’m pregnant or not. They feel soft and buttery and have lululemon’s “naked fit,” meaning they’re supposed to feel like you’re wearing nothing and they really do. Somehow the fabric is also smoothing and flattering without feeling the least bit restrictive. They’re magic, I’m tellin’ ya.

Snoogle Pregnancy Pillow

It’s safe to say the Snoogle and I have a very intimate relationship. (Snoogle and Sadie are also BFFs. She’s in love.) I cannot help but cuddle up to this pregnancy pillow monstrosity every single night and swear it’s the only way I can get myself feeling even remotely comfortable in bed. It helps takes pressure off my aching hips and back and I use it in a myriad of positions. It can cradle my belly or go behind my back and I love the way I can semi-lay on my back at a comfortable angle when I’m reading at night with the Snoogle wedged under one side of my body. It’s a nighttime pregnancy game changer.

ASOS Maternity + Maternity Outlet Clothing

(Wearing the ASOS Maternity Cold Shoulder Top at my friend Danielle’s baby sprinkle)

This was such a wonderful discovery! I don’t love spending a ton of money on maternity clothing since it’s not something you wear all that long but there’s no denying that maternity clothing is 10,000 times more comfortable and often more flattering to changing and growing bellies. I am so glad I discovered ASOS Maternity Outlet clothing during this pregnancy because I was able to nab some cute but affordable additions to my wardrobe, including a couple of feminine dresses and flowy tops and some trendier items like a maternity romper. The regular ASOS Maternity line is also a great find and not that much more expensive. I loved it for maternity basics like tees and tanks. (Also, someone please nab this maternity jumpsuit ASAP! I didn’t see it earlier in my pregnancy and now I’m too far along to get it but it’s so darn cute and can easily be dressed up or down.)

Hydroflask / Yeti

Pregnancy thirst (and the need to stay hyrdated!) is REAL and I know thirst will only increase when I (hopefully) begin nursing our little one. I am kind of a baby about drinking a large amount of water – it’s oddly hard for me – but when water is COLD and I have a straw on hand, it’s a lot easier for me to sip away. I have my Hydroflask or Yeti with me at all times during pregnancy and it definitely helps me stay hydrated and consume more water throughout the day. A must!

Quease Ease

I SWEAR by this as a natural nausea fighter! I discovered Quease Ease during my first pregnancy with Chase when I was desperate to find something to help me travel when I was pregnant because I would throw up every single time I flew anywhere. This is the only thing that helped with motion sickness that was only exacerbated by pregnancy and I used it a lot during this pregnancy as well, especially during longer car trips.

Prenatal Vitamins

I did a lot of research into high-quality prenatal vitamins before Ryan and I began trying for a baby after our first loss last year and while I liked the prenatals I was taking before (they were gummy vitamins and totally delicious), I switched to Rainbow Light after reading so many wonderful things about them online. (I bought them through Thrive Market which helped with the cost a bit.) It is a plant-based vitamin that provides all of the standard essentials (folic acid, Vitamin D and more) and seemed to be easier on my stomach which was VERY welcomed during the first 18 weeks of my pregnancy when I was constantly nauseated. One important note: The pills in the original bottle of Rainbow Light prenatal vitamins I purchased were HUGE. We’re talking horse pills, people. I had the hardest time swallowing them every night and was MUCH happier when I switched to their mini tablets. I actually ran out of my  the Rainbow Light prenatal vitamins a few months back and have most recently been taking prenatals, calcium and fish oil supplements from Care/of and love them as well! I’d recommend either option!

Pregnancy Teas

I struggled big-time with nausea for the first 18 weeks of this pregnancy and then nausea returned with a bang in the final few months of pregnancy. My nausea definitely didn’t dissipate after the first trimester and there are a few things I look to that help me when I struggle the most. Some pregnancy teas seem to help with nausea and settle my stomach more than others and my favorites are Traditional Medicinals Organic Pregnancy Tea (a comforting combination of raspberry leaf, strawberry leaf, spearmint, rose hip and more) and Earth Mama Organic Morning Wellness Tea(my go-to when I feel extra queasy).

Natural Calm

Bless you guys for introducing this slightly sweet drink into my life! When I initially mentioned an increase in foot and calf cramping to my doctor, he recommended looking into a magnesium supplement. Since I also struggled with sleep during this pregnancy, a few of you mentioned Natural Calm to me and said it helped tremendously with both cramping and sleep. I figured it was worth a shot and quickly fell in love with this stuff! It mixes easily into water and it’s not overly sweet. I honestly look forward to drinking it at the end of every day and feel like it helps my cramps and also makes me sleep deeper.

Preggie Pop Drops

These little candies are my first and second trimester obsession. For a few months there, I felt a bit like the grandmother who always has some kind of a candy at the bottom of her bag because I never went anywhere without a few of these in my purse. They work well for me, especially when I am somewhere that I cannot immediately eat something substantial and need something to help dissipate nausea until I can eat real food again which always seems to help the most.

Shop My Pregnancy Favs

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  Additional Pregnancy Favorites

And here are a few additional pregnancy favorites I loved during this pregnancy. Long-time readers may recognize a few of these from my first pregnancy with Chase as well!

Panic Free Pregnancy (A wonderful book, especially for the more anxious expectant mamas out there!)

Maternity Support Belt

Sparkling Water

Birkenstock Madrid Slides (So comfy and great for sweaty feet!)

Babes & Babies Podcast

Witch Hazel Toner (This was a second-trimester natural beauty find and a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B and Vitamin A – great for natural skin brightening and anti-aging! While I cannot claim that this toner helped my skin since I know my hormones are all over the place right now, I have not had any break outs or cystic acne since I started using it which is awesome.)

Rose Water Spray (So refreshing!)

BabyCenter App

Question of the Day

Are there any things you absolutely swear by as pregnancy must-haves? Please share below!

[Read More ...] https://www.pbfingers.com/top-10-pregnancy-favorites/

[brittanyyoungblog]

Don’t Have a Bae for Valentine’s Day? Live It Up Anyway!

Valentine’s Day is upon us, and few things send single women running for the Ben & Jerry’s faster than the thought of spending another February 14th alone. From the obnoxious singing gorillas in silk boxers (I mean, c’mon, what self-respecting man—or ape—still wears silk boxers?!?) that assault our ears at Walgreens to the over-saturation of, “I love my hubby soooooooo much!” posts that wage war on our Facebook feeds… Let’s face it: Valentine’s Day is not an equal opportunity holiday.

That’s why I wanted to flip the script a little bit this year and provide single ladies everywhere with a little positive motivation in case you happen to be feeling like one, is in fact, the loneliest number. Consider this: If Valentine’s Day is the “Holiday of Love,” isn’t this the perfect time to love yourself a little more fiercely? To remind yourself of how strong, and spirited, and independent you are? To celebrate yourself and your life a little? To take a moment to appreciate and honor all the different kinds of love you have in your life instead of focusing on the one kind you don’t have?

Or, in other words: Without a bae this Valentine’s Day? Live it up anyway!

But how? You might ask, as you gaze wearily at the aisles upon aisles of gargantuan stuffed teddy bears and monster-sized boxes of heart-shaped candy at the supermarket. (Is it just me or does Valentine’s Day get more and more extra every year?) Well, let’s start with what NOT to do.

1. Step away from the sappy rom-coms and love ballads. I’m sorry, Ed Sheeran and Ryan Gosling, but thank u, next. I’m all about a good chick flick, but there are 364 other days in the year to Notebook ourselves. Instead of watching or listening to things that make you feel sentimental and sad, how about amping up the girl power mojo? Brush off your box set of Sex & the City (or binge the whole series on your streaming service of choice) or rock out to Beyonce’s Lemonade. Nothing gets me feeling more like the badass, strong, empowered woman that I am than basking in the glow of other badass, strong, empowered women.

2. Absolutely positively NO TEXTING YOUR EX! Here’s the thing, he’s your ex for a reason. Don’t let the misty water-colored haze of Valentine’s Day become beer goggles. When you’re tempted to only remember him as a wonderful, adorable, romantic prince (for example, last Valentine’s Day my ex got me a dozen purple roses—because he knew it was my favorite color—and a bracelet inscribed with the GPS coordinates of the location of our first kiss) remind yourself of the big, croaking, warty toad he was capable of morphing into. (Less than a month later, that same ex broke up with me in a ten-minute long phone conversation.) Come tomorrow, Valentine’s Day will be a thing of the past. Let your ex remain that way, too. There’s no need to open the door to someone today who you’ll regret inviting back into your life tomorrow.

3. Don’t isolate yourself. If you don’t feel like going out and partying it up, don’t. Believe me, I get it. Netflix is my middle name. But don’t sit at home alone all night feeling sorry for yourself, either. Invite some girlfriends over to watch a movie. (I can’t recommend the movie Girls Trip enough for a girls night in. You will laugh your socks off.) Or get out and do something social. The movie Dirty Dancing is coming back to theaters for its 32nd anniversary and a group of girlfriends and I are going to have a girls night and go see it on February 13th because nobody puts Mandy in a corner—even on Valentine’s Day. (Side note: I am low key obsessed with this film and have been my entire life. I even write about my pilgrimage to go stay at the resort where the movie was filmed in my latest book You Are Enough.) Does this not count as a sappy rom-com, you might be asking? No. Because if anybody embodies the spirit of a badass, strong, empowered woman who breaks all the rules to follow her heart and shake her booty, it’s Baby Howseman.

Okay, we’ve covered what NOT to do. Now let’s talk about what TO do in order to live your best life on Valentine’s Day.

4. Do something that day that lights you up inside. Again, if love is what this holiday was created to celebrate, then what better way to do that than by doing something you love? For me, it’s dancing. I LOVE to dance. I always have. I recently got back into ballroom dancing and I’m having an absolute blast. The dance studio where I take lessons is having a dance party that night, so I’m grabbing a group of single ladies and we are going to go get our groove back on the dance floor. The waltz makes me feel like a graceful princess and the chacha make me feel like a sassy vixen, so it’s a win/win. Remember, when in doubt, dance it out! (Paint it out, run it out, sing it out, read it out… you get the point.)

5. Don’t be afraid to take a little social media break. If all the cheesy, over-the-top declarations of love from your taken friends starts getting you down, then shut it down. It’s perfectly okay and even healthy to unplug from time to time. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat will still be there tomorrow.

6. Remember to celebrate all the love you do have in your life. Instead of focusing on the love you don’t have, think about everything else you’re grateful for. Your friends. Your family. Your co-workers. Your church. Your pets. Love of self. Your faith. There are soooooooo many beautiful kinds of love so why let the lack of romantic love in your life blind you to that fact? Plus, when you focus on the things and people you love, the great big bonus of that is that you tend to attract even more things you love into your life—and who’s to say that doesn’t include a soulmate?

So here’s to not just surviving this Valentine’s Day, but THRIVING! Valentine’s Day, no matter how disappointing or anxiety-inducing or depressing it may be, is just one day out of the year. Regardless of what goes down on February 14th, the beautiful guarantee about life is that February 15th is going to come. And guess what comes with it? Half-off everything on the Valentine’s candy aisle at Walgreens. I can’t think of a better gift this holiday gives us than that.

The post Don’t Have a Bae for Valentine’s Day? Live It Up Anyway! appeared first on The Date Mix.

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