#this is just like part of the intro to set the historical background the book is focused on our cave art and i havent gotten there yet

[coridallasmultipass]

TW for racism and genocide of Native Americans

Today I learned that the original "The only good _, is a dead _," was "The only good Indian, is a dead Indian." And it really sucks that now I know this information.

Looks like it's speculated to be attributed to one specific Union general due to his actions, but it was more likely just a common anti-Native sentiment of the time held by a lot of the settlers, not just one person.

Like I know I hear 'the only good snake, is a dead snake' most often since I love being in snake discussion groups, which also sucks because I love snakes, and they shouldn't be killed.

But I've also heard like 'the only good Nazi, is a dead Nazi.' And like, I So agree with that, fuck Nazis, but I don't want to think about the original phrase being reclaimed like that for a laugh, no matter how much I agree that Nazis suck.

It should stay as horrifying and sickening as 'the only good Indian, is a dead Indian' in my opinion. I think we should retire the phrase entirely and just note that, that was the origin of it - the continued genocide of Native Americans during the 1800s when settlers were eager to get rid of us so they could claim property for themselves while forcing us into insufficient reservations as US America expanded westward.

This book I'm reading describes that the usual retaliation for the theft of a cow would have been the execution of an entire Indian village. One specific horrifying example given, is from accounts of a traveler that joined a group of Mexicans pursuing Indians (Chumash) in possession of stolen horses. They come across a group of some old Indians, women and children, drying the horse meat. Every last one was killed, and their ears cut off as proof for the priests that they made every effort to retrieve the horses.

This shit is so sickening. They were hungry and trying to survive.

It also describes how the accounts of Indians from my tribe before the mission system were all about how generous and welcoming they were. (Though, it was through the lens of the Spanish who saw us as ideal candidates for conversion because of this.) Then after the collapse of the missions and post-assimilation, the accounts simply describe the Indians' drunkenness and disorder. What did you expect???? You assimilate a group of people so they're entirely reliant on you (the rigid structure of the mission system and the dismantling of their previous tribal villages), and then suddenly turn them out to a world without their previous villages and social order. Of course they're going to struggle and suffer and abuse the drugs (alcohol) you introduced them to.

I hate this so much.

The book also mentions how, during the mission period, anyone who ran away from the missions to go back to their original tribal lives, would be dragged back to the missions and cruelly punished with restraints, lashing, or stocks, and they couldn't understand why because punishment was exceedingly rare before Spanish rule.

Ugh. Anyway.

I'm going to bring this up any time I hear anyone mention that phrase, because the horror of that time period should not be diminished in its modern reclamation. ('Diminished,' because I, a 30yo Native American, did not even know the origin. I thought it was a modern phrase. Our local Native history was always glossed over in school to focus on the mission system. I didn't even learn of my tribe's revolt until like 2016 when I went to a lecture my tribe held.)

I get that reclamation is supposed to be like a good thing, to take away the power of its original use, but I personally don't think that's appropriate for this phrase that was used as a rally for genocide.

Maybe I'm just being a sensitive baby, though, who knows! I'm crying while reading a history book about my tribe. This shit really hurts deep, though. It always has.

[blackjack-15]

Avenge My Twistery Depth — Thoughts on: Trail of the Twister (TOT)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR, CLK, TRN, DAN, CRE, ICE, CRY, VEN, HAU, RAN, WAC

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: TOT, WAC, mentions of GTH.

The Intro:

Let’s talk about Trail of the Twister, shall we? No clever intro, no pun, no sassy statement on the quality (whether lacking or overflowing) of the game…let’s just Talk.

Like I said at the beginning of my WAC meta, TOT is one of two games that doesn’t really fit into a category besides it and WAC demonstrating HER’s growing pains. The world opens (kinda), the characters get a little deeper (kinda) and a few new things are tried with plots and character (to varying degrees of success). Both WAC and TOT — but especially TOT — represent a shift in the tone of the games and their approach. You can ascribe this to a lot of reasons — an aging fanbase, technology marching on, a new writer in the mix — but you really can’t ignore it, no matter if you’re a Classic Games Elitist or a Newer Games Snob (or neither one).

To paraphrase a fabulous song, there’s something there that wasn’t there before.

This is not me saying in any way that TOT is a fabulous — or even moderately successful — game. In fact, it whiffs a lot where WAC hit solidly, which makes playing them one after the other a sort of chore; WAC is weighed down by the knowledge of what comes next (after such a brief respite from games like ICE, HAU, and RAN), and TOT’s repetitive chore list seems even bleaker after the snack shop and secret societies of WAC.

Which is truly unfortunate, because hiding behind the rat traps and the car chases (or drives, if you drive like a normal person in this game) and the endless moon chunk offerings is one heck of a story. Unfinished and beleaguered and (to my suspicions) censored as it is, there is a definite, multilayered, morally ambiguous, honest-to-moon-chunk story in TOT.

Like I said, something there that wasn’t there before.

Playing through the games in order, it seems like the reason WAC is so solid is, in part, because the games before it have so little cohesive story as to be laughable. Playing them out of order will show you that though WAC does come off a little better than it actually is due to the games that came before it, it’s also actually a step-up from a lot of games in the complexity of its plot and characters. At this point in the series that’s about to happen a lot, but WAC is the first real instance where you get it. Like I said, these two games mark a tonal and approach-based shift in the games.

So let’s turn our attention to TOT.

There are a lot of things that bog down this game — it feels sometimes as if you’re simply going through Farmville-esque tasks to get from Point A to Point B — but its plot and characters (save in one large instance) aren’t actually the culprits. Surprisingly enough, we have a mystery here with enough twists, turns, small crimes, and red herrings to make for a perfectly serviceable plot with relatively well-developed (for the length of the game) characters (whom I’ll go into more below).

A huge difference from a lot of the games is that we have a prominent unseen character who isn’t the one who hired Nancy or who is part of the historical background. Brooke’s actions actively move the plot along no matter what Nancy does, and I do like that the world of TOT goes on spinning (as it were) without Nancy driving everything.

You get the sense that Nancy truly was just dropped into the middle of this without having any control over the situation, and that she spends the entire game (or most of it) playing catch-up, rather than being on the scene for the crime(s) or arriving shortly thereafter.

In TOT, this sabotage has been going on for a while — the competition is nearly over, in fact — and Nancy has to actually do some detective work to even get caught up, let alone to try to step a few feet in front of the guilty party.

One interesting thing is what TOT and WAC share: they both feature casts who are only a few years off of Nancy’s age; in WAC, they’re a tiny bit younger, while in TOT, they’re a tiny bit older. Nancy, being Nancy, is much more in her element with the ages of her suspects in TOT than she is with high schoolers — with how much time Nancy spends around people significantly older than her, I’d be shocked if she got along well with high schoolers when she was in high school herself.

As a side note, I know it’s sort of a fandom thing that Nancy gets along well with children, but honestly outside of Lucas, it’s not something we really see (no, I’m not counting pelting Freddie with snow 10 times sans mercy as getting along with children) — and honestly Lucas is just charming, so I see no reason why Nancy wouldn’t get along with him. Generally speaking, kids who grow up the way Nancy has [especially as an only child] are far more comfortable with ‘adults’ — well established, 35/40+ adults, who make up the majority of her suspect pools — than they are with peers or children.

There’s also a great deal of care taken with making all the suspects (mostly) equally likely for a large portion of the game; it’s not until past the halfway point that a suspect (Chase) is cleared due to his confession of a different crime, and even then, he doesn’t really become Nancy’s helper, as is the usual case with cleared suspects. This is actually one of the few games where Nancy doesn’t really have a helper; she relies on herself, the Hardy Boys, and (questionably) P. G. Krolmeister to get the job done.

And speaking of the Hardy Boys…you knew an intro wouldn’t be complete without my mentioning them, hush.

The Hardy Boys are arguably the set piece that benefit most from Nik’s writing (and yes, I’m going to ascribe it to him; he’s the most prominent variable). Don’t get me wrong, the Hardy Boys were great before, but the Nik games are where they start attaining a place of more prominence and solidify their distinct personalities other than “focused killjoy and playful scamp”. In this game, you get more of Frank’s protectiveness (directed towards Nancy) and Joe’s actual sleuthing abilities — not the least of which because this game coincides with that DS Masterpiece “Treasure on the Tracks”.

Oh yeah, we’re going there. It’s relevant.

Treasure on the Tracks, as mentioned, was a game for the Nintendo DS (and the only one, mind you) focusing on the Hardy Boys. In the game (as in TOT), they’re tracking down the Romanov treasure with the help of a surprising ally — Samantha Quick herself. Samantha is under orders (from who, she never says, but a future game makes it obvious) to help the boys find the treasure aboard the royal train that the Romanovs used to own.

And yes, I would have loved that to be a joint Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys PC game, but I’ll push the bitterness aside for the facts. Which are that this game has a rad premise and would have been a very cool addition to the ND series…but I digress. Regardless, that’s what the boys are doing during TOT, so we get little hints to their investigation as well as having them help Nancy out.

I love that the Hardy Boys have an actual mystery that they’re investigating, as beginning with this game we see a lot more of their ‘agent’ side being brought out. It’s nice to feel that Nancy isn’t alone out there fighting against the forces of evil, and gives excuses to have the Hardy Boys in the games more, so I’m a big fan in general. It also helps build them up as investigators; while they offer hints to Nancy a lot, we don’t get to see them doing a lot of spy/detective work, and it’s lovely to be able to see it here.

And I love their sibling banter. It’s obvious that JVS and Rob Jones have a lot of fun with their roles, and it really lightens and enhances any Nancy Drew game that they’re in.

The last interesting thing that I’ll point out before diving into the game itself is what TOT does for the world of Nancy Drew. Beginning with this game, we start the tradition of each game leading directly into the next one; for her help in TOT, Krolmeister sends her to his favorite ryokan in Japan, which leads to her being hired for CAP; her absence and fight with Ned in CAP lead her back home for the Clues Challenge in ASH, and so on and so forth.

It really makes the world feel solid and cohesive, and lets our characters grow and shift and change without making it feel episodic or sudden. The Nancy of SPY is quite different from the Nancy of TOT in how she behaves and tackles mysteries, but her character growth throughout the games in between make it feel right and natural — like actual character growth.

The Title:

As a title, “Trail of the Twister” isn’t bad — it’s got that alliteration that ND books tend to like doing, and makes it feel a little classic. It also gets a play with words in there — you’re tracing the actual trail of the actual twister, and you’re also walking through the evidence left behind (aka a trail) of a twisting plot. Solid, if not exceptional, with its only real detriment being the hilarious acronym (TOT).

The book it’s (loosely) based off of is called “The Mystery of Tornado Alley” which, obvious to anyone with eyes, is a much worse title while telling us the same thing. It also doesn’t apply to the game as much – you’re not figuring out a mystery as much as unwinding the tangled threads of character motivations — and is supremely clunky to boot.

The Mystery:

Called in by P.G. Krolmeister to go undercover, Nancy joins a team of storm-chasers bent on winning a grant for their research — and beating the opposing team that wants the same thing. Nancy begins the mystery by finding a tin box full of cash (payment for an as-of-yet unspecified action) and it spirals from there, putting the not-so-amateur teen sleuth through her paces learning about tornados and storms, taking pictures, and trying her best to keep everyone happy and working towards the money.

It’s not as easy as it sounds, however. There are competing forces at work outside (and sometimes within) the two teams, and the personalities of the storm-chasers that Nancy must investigate mean that no one trusts anyone else. Things continue to go wrong and Nancy chases down the clues until the mother of all tornados hits town, and our culprit takes advantage of the distraction…

I mentioned above some censorship that I suspect went on in this game, and I’ll talk about it here. Given the darker themes of this game and the mentions of death and serious injury (more than most other games in the series at this point), I would say part of the reason why our story is a little more…displeasing, especially by the end, is that HER was really intent on the 10 part of the 10+ rating.

There’s lots to explore — the Ma storyline that goes nowhere, the collateral damage of these tornadoes, the fact that our cast is filled with genuinely unpleasant criminals — and yet it gets glanced over while feeling like the game is building up to it. Like CRE and ICE where I postulated a lot of the attention went to the new engine, I’m going to postulate here that the reason why we have hanging plot threads and injustice at the end (which I’ll talk about later) is that the game was censored by the HER bigwigs to ensure it still fit in a 10+ rating.

As a mystery, like I said above, there’s absolutely nothing wrong here. We’ve got plenty of means/motive/opportunity spread out in our cast (and in the periphery cast, just to keep things interesting), the threads and smaller crimes/wrongdoings/etc. are realistic in scope and in motive to keep them hidden, and it’s the personalities of the suspects that give us our conflict and tension, rather than random “interferences” by the writers. And speaking of our suspects, let’s go to the other area that TOT does (almost) nothing wrong.

The Suspects:

First off is Chase Releford, a junior who took Scott’s class for a science credit who got super interested in the actual work. The team’s handyman, Chase has noticed (and fixed, and fixed again) the equipment acting up, and is being stretched pretty thin in order to keep it all shipshape and in working order.

He’s also one of Nancy’s sources of Pa Pennies, if you wanna spend hours doing circuit boards.

As a culprit, Chase is a great option (which is a sentiment you’ll hear repeated for all of our suspects, never fear). He’s secretly spending his time looking for oil with Pa’s divining rods, which puts two crimes on his conscience (stealing the rods and not working on company time) and helps the team fall even further behind. It’s important to note that for a large chunk of this game, the likelihood of the suspect also hinges on how much they want Scott to fail, and Chase is pretty much the only one without any real anger towards Scott.

The owner of the local general store, Pa Ochs might be a surprising option to put ahead of Chase in order of culprit likelihood/suitability, but I stand by it. Having lost his wife (Betsy “Ma” Ochs) to a tornado (the warning sirens, which were Scott’s responsibility, didn’t go off), Pa alone mans the counter, helping Nancy find everything she needs — for a price, of course.

The price being annoyingly hard to get Pa Pennies. Unless you exploit a glitch.

Here’s where we start with the culprit possibilities that have an actual grudge against Scott. Though not as angry as he could be, Pa is deeply hurt by the loss of his wife Betsy, and has grounds for an axe to grind with Scott. As much as I would have loved to have the ‘friendly general store owner’ be the culprit, it would have been like a mix of DOG’s Emily and FIN’s Joseph (minus the Crazy), and it’s (sadly) best to leave that ground alone without re-treading it.

Frosty Harlow is next up; a second-year grad student in digital media, Frosty got his nickname (his real name is Tobias) from his storm photography and is, well, trying to re-capture that lightning in a bottle.

He also screams like a little girl. So that’s fun.

Like Chase and Pa, Frosty is a wonderful option for a culprit. His crime is selling university property (the video of the storm he and Nancy shot) to an aspiring photographer (who happens to be on the rival team) to help them get a toehold into the business, along with working with Debbie to try to stress Scott into quitting.

What really makes Frosty stand out is that, unlike Chase, Frosty doesn’t feel bad about what he did at all. He also holds far more animosity towards Scott than Pa does, and has a little more…innate anger as a person.

If you haven’t noticed by now, we’re going in order of “worst” culprit option to “best” (and then the actual culprit), and it really says something about how fleshed out these characters already are that we start with people who are solid options to begin with.

Though only appearing vocally and for a few minutes total of the game’s runtime, I’m going to list Brooke Tavanah as our next most likely culprit — in part because, well, she kind of is our culprit. The leader of the rival storm-chasing team, Brooke offered Scott money to sabotage his own team to let her team win the grant — an offer that he takes her up on.

Of course, Brooke isn’t the only one sleeping with the enemy (so to speak) to ensure her team’s victory; her videographer, Erin, is apparently so talentless as to need to buy footage from Scott’s team as well.

Things don’t exactly look great for the Kingston University team — as they can’t really get ahead even through sabotage and skullduggery, and one does wonder if they’d even be able to put the grant to good use. That, of course, is not the point; Brooke wants her team to win, come hell or high…wind…and a little thing like scientific ability isn’t going to stop her.

(Interestingly enough, this is the first of three times we’ll see Kingston University pop up; we meet their alumni again in TMB and DED).

I love that Brooke is guilty, because so often in Nancy Drew games the tendency is to implicate an unseen character and then to have that implication be a poorly done red herring. Instead, Brooke isn’t a distraction, nor a smoke screen — she’s just another piece of the puzzle.

Our last non-Culprit (by the games’ common definition) suspect is Debbie Kircum, a recent PhD graduate who is on her fifth time working with Scott in chase season, and who has gotten a lucrative offer to teach at a university in New York.

Worrying that Scott would let his resentment towards the college hurt their chances in the competition, Debbie leads the conspiracy to stress him out so much that he just quits. I’ll talk more about this later, but it is both one of my favorite and least favorite things about this game. For now, I’ll say that her plan works…but not the way that she planned; for her and lots of other suspects in this and upcoming games, the quote “the price for getting what you want is getting what you once wanted” works perfectly to describe their arcs.

As a culprit, (as Debbie fully qualifies as a culprit), Debbie certainly has the shortsightedness and nastiness that Nancy Drew culprits tend to have. She’s extremely good at getting what she wants…but see the quote in the previous paragraph.

She also over-contours her cheeks so much that it looks like someone slapped her with an open compact of bronzer.

That takes us to our final culprit and character, Scott Varnell, genius professor of meteorology and the leader of the Canute team. Scott is my personal favorite character not just because he’s the most interesting, but because he’s a tragic figure who isn’t historical/dead, and those are a bit of a rarity in Nancy Drew games, especially at this point.

Being an expert on tornadoes yet denied tenure based on his personality, rather than his academic prowess (a gripe I share as it applies to jobs/academia), Scott holds a grudge against those who don’t recognize his contributions to meteorology and to the study of tornadoes specifically. Unbeknownst to him, two members of his four-man team have been conspiring to stress him out so badly that he’ll just quit, as they think he’ll be a hindrance (again, due to his personality) in winning the competition.

Scott is in some ways the obvious option, and yet the game never turns into a howdunnit. Throughout the mystery he tends to be the prime suspect, but is also the prime victim — a dichotomy we’ve never seen before in the Nancy Drew Games. I’ll talk more about Scott below (a sentence increasingly common in this meta), but I both love and hate him as the culprit, and that’s something new (and interesting) that TOT brings as well.

The Favorite:

Don’t worry, we’ll get into TOT’s myriad flaws soon enough, but for now I want to focus on what it does right.

The first thing the game nails is the Hardy Boys. Their inclusion, their plot, their characterization, the voice acting — all of it is nigh-flawless, and is by far the most enjoyable part of the game. Don’t get me wrong, the Hardy Boys are usually quite far up there on the list of things I love about a game with them in it, but they really start to shine more in TOT, gaining some character development, plot relevance, and just overall depth.

Oddly (or perhaps not oddly at all) I don’t have a favorite moment nor a favorite puzzle in this game; barring that, I’ll talk about some of the great threads to the game, rather than any particular moment/puzzle that stands out.

I love that we get new and interesting layers to our story and characters. As I mentioned briefly above, there’s a real sense of the world existing before Nancy’s arrival, which works wonders for the world of the games, and our characters here are more layered, more distinct, and more ‘realistic’ (for the value of ‘realism’ in stories) than they ever have been before.

This is a game unafraid to deal with the topics of death and mistakes, and that accounts for part of the depth to the game as well. No, not the whole “Where’s Ma” thing — which I fully believe to just be a script that didn’t fire/didn’t stop firing in the game’s code after finding the newspaper that says exactly what happened to Ma — I’m talking about Scott’s mistake in the tornado warning system, Debbie and Frosty’s mistakes in dealing with Scott (which I’ll talk more about), and even Brooke’s miscalculations that lead to the ending of the game. Everyone here deals with the fallout of their mistakes, and it’s how they handle it that forms the basis for our plot.

It’s a seemingly small thing, but I love the sheer level of detail in this game. You can click on everything, read everything, explore everywhere — there’s a lot of information crammed into the game that sometimes you won’t get until the second or third replay (that is, if you have the stomach to play through this game repeatedly).

The use of our tertiary NPCs (Brooke, Krolmeister, Erin) is also inspired; they help the world feel whole and varied rather than existing simply for the benefit of the game, and show that Nancy doesn’t have control over everything when she’s investigating — and that she can be wrong in her focus of investigating (whether because she pays too much or not enough attention to the ‘minor’ characters).

Speaking of characters, I also love that our characters in this game – our suspects — are able to be fully formed without (on purpose, I feel) being particularly likable. It’s always fun to get a cast of characters that are hostile to Nancy, but TOT’s characters are slightly different from that: they just don’t care about her. She’s another intern to them, nigh-invisible except when they need a chore done. Nancy also doesn’t really try to befriend anyone because of it, and I like that too. Sometimes, a game should just be 1 vs 4, with some backup in the wings courtesy of phone friends.

The last facet of the game that I love is Scott himself as a character. Sure he’s cantankerous, blunt, egotistical, and a thousand other things, but the game is very clear that these ‘faults’ don’t make him anything other than what he is — a brilliant meteorologist and the foremost mind when it comes to tornadoes and tornadogenesis. The university undervalues him, but the team really can’t function without him, sabotage or no sabotage.

His motive for the sabotage isn’t the money nor fame — it’s simple tit-for-tat. For such a complex game (note, I’m still not saying it’s a fun or good game), our ultimate motive is deceptively simple: do unto others what they have done unto you. Tired of being devalued and having his worth judged on his personality rather than his work, he decides that if the university doesn’t care enough to keep him around (and for his worth as a professor, look at how accomplished and passionate his team of former students is), then they don’t care to keep up their program either.

It’s hard not to sympathize with that, especially if you’re the kind of person who’s been valued based on any defects in your personality — rather than your ability to do a job and do it well — and been found wanting. Whether you’re too serious (or not serious enough), too flighty (or too inflexible), or any other stupid “personality defect” that the workforce loves to throw around, we’ve all heard it before. Scott’s thrown into an unfair situation and — wrongly or not — decides that his troubles are going to have trouble with him.

The last thing I’ll add on the topic of Scott for this section is that I do love that Debbie and Frosty create their own villain. In figuring that Scott’s personality is going to prevent them from getting the grant (never mind the 4 other years that Debbie’s been on this team with him where it hasn’t been a problem), they decide to screw him over presumptively — and thus create a Scott who actually does want to prevent them from getting the grant. It’s usually a mark of a solid story (and solid writing in general) where the villain is created not from some problem inherent in them, but because they’re perceived to be a problem in the future — and thus live down to the expectation.

The Un-Favorite:

The problem with everything TOT does right — and that’s nearly a thousand words about what it does right above — is that it never combines to make a game that’s enjoyable to play. Before I go into the specifics, I do want to make that clear; TOT is a fascinating game to think and write about, but it’s honestly nigh-unplayable. The puzzles and chores are laborious (and repeated ad nauseum), pieces of the plot don’t make sense, and the ending is the bleakest in the series until GTH’s multiple endings took the cake.

A game should be well-written, complex, and interesting, but it just has to be fun to play as well. It has to. And that seems to have been forgotten during the course of making TOT. My least favorite moment is the ending of the game (more on that below), but I don’t have a least favorite puzzle — on the basis that most of the puzzles are equally bad. There’s no real standout…but that’s not a good thing.

Now let’s get into some of the bits and parts of the game that I really despise.

The handling of Scott is one of my favorite parts of the game, but it’s also my least favorite part of the game as well. They’ve set up a character who firmly believes that everything ends poorly, that he’ll never profit no matter what, and that, ultimately, no matter how hard he tries, nothing will go the way it should. And then the game confirms that worldview to the end. There’s no other option; no matter what Scott does or doesn’t do, no matter if he tries his best or blows it off, the end result is the same, and that’s a tragedy. Sure, you can argue it’s his actions that led him to a bad ending, but he only took those actions because he was heading to a bad ending anyway.

The feeling you get at the end of the game isn’t a feeling of justice served, nor success — it’s pity in a way that’s never been cultivated for any criminal up to this point in the series. And it’s not cathartic — it’s just more misery.

The other huge thing that I hate about this game ties into it — there really is no justice. The supposed ‘happy ending’ is Debbie getting people from both teams to ‘win’ the grant (where does it ultimately go — Canute or Kingston? Can it count as winning if there’s only one team? HER certainly didn’t bother to think about these things)…but Debbie’s hands are just as filthy — and I think more so — than Scott’s are.

Debbie leads Frosty in conspiring to make Scott quit and actually created their own monster — does she even know Scott at all? He’s lead a team through at least the last 4 years, probably more, and not had a problem; why now? Power? Greed? Pride? Whichever way you spin it, she and Frosty are guilty.

Frosty and Erin (of the Kingston Team) are also guilty on a separate charge; Erin for buying the footage and Frosty for selling it. If Brooke and Scott are kicked off, Frosty and Erin (at least) should also go for the same conspiracy charge. Everyone on the team (excepting possibly Chase) knowingly sabotaged their team; why is Scott the only one punished? Why does Debbie (and Frosty, and Erin) get off scot-free (pun intended) to win the prize, despite everything?

When I say that there’s no justice nor success here, this is what I mean. The whole thing stinks from top to bottom, and any way you look at it, a culprit walks.

Honestly, the ending should have just been “Chase, guilty only of petty theft, led the team (of himself and Pa) and was given the grant, which they donated to a charity for tornado victims”. Kingston actively cheated and Canute doesn’t deserve it either. In a game where everyone deserves to lose, declaring a winner just leaves a bad taste in my mouth — and a black mark on the game.

The Fix:

So how would I fix Trail of the Twister?

My feeling is that if you’re going to go with a downer ending — which TOT is — then go for a full one. Have Nancy discover everyone’s crimes — and I do mean everyone’s — and report to Krolmeister, asking what he wants her to do. Don’t forget, Nancy’s got an actual client in this game, and can’t go off half-cocked like she tends to in her more informal mysteries.

In the end, as nearly everyone would be disqualified, the competition should go to a third party — a storm chasing team that’s not Kingston nor Canute — and create chances for less corrupt institutions to study tornadoes at a level they haven’t been able to before. Sure, our suspects would lose, but, honestly, outside Chase…does anyone deserve to win?

I’d also be a fan of Scott getting a second chance due to outside sabotage (directed solely at him) with a job opportunity to consult for storm chasers. It’d be an arena where he’d be seen as the expert he is, without having to deal with the namby-pamby bureaucracy that infects universities (and that he hates anyway). He’d get the name recognition and the ability to actually do work in his field that he needs without being put in situations where he can’t help but fail. Honestly, I’d prefer that P. G. Krolmeister offered it (while saying he’s going to be keeping an eye on him), but really anything would do.

Exposing the crimes of everyone – and focusing on more than just Scott’s — would be the quickest way to improve the story of the game. The puzzles, on the other hand, need to be completely redone; a mix of ostensibly tornado-related intern-type chores (like the circuit boards) and more detective-type puzzles (fingerprinting suspects for a match on the tin bribe box, tracking everyone’s movements, solving codes used for communication) would be a big help in making TOT not just feel like a list of chores with a bad ending.

Oh, and fix the broken code leading Nancy to ask about a man’s dead wife over and over again. She lacks tact as it is.

[readingaccountability]

snow crash - neal stephenson

my playlist (because of The Way That I Am)

final thoughts:

okay, im going to be honest right out of the gate- i cant decide whether this is a book id recommend or not. it was really fun for the most part, but personally there was a lot more exposition than id like. the early portions of the novel have exposition which feels completely fair, mostly things relating to worldbuilding. stephenson creates his own vision of future america, and some places online referred to it as cyberpunk, and some as post-cyberpunk. id be more in the latter camp, mostly due to the way he plays with tropes, leaving the reader unsure of which will be subverted and which wont.

the use of language was really fun, and i enjoyed the worldbuilding a lot. his vision of a futuristic capitalistic earth feels surreal in its immediacy and recognizability. the back jacket blurb ends with "a future america so bizarre, so outrageous, you'll recognize it immediately." which, yeah. a texan info-tech magnate? two competing corporations owning the highway system? suburban city-states? this was another enjoyable thing- everything was colorfully named, and names treated totally normally, which kind of poked fun at how we have everyday things named very ludicrously and for the most part we are totally blind to it.

one aspect i really enjoyed was that the author often doesn't make certain things clear to the audience, until he does, and then it becomes necessary to reassess the entire story and setting. this goes to underscore the theme of the importance of information and the ways we take it in and perceive the world based upon it. for example, we don't learn that y.t. is fifteen until maybe 75 pages in, at which point a lot makes sense in retrospect. the same thing occurs in the worldbuilding, as suddenly a detail is given in passing and the reader must incorporate it into the setting, which by default we assume to be similar in many ways to our idea of america. it keeps the reader on their toes as well as furthering the worldbuilding. for the most part, the tech stuff didnt feel outdated to me, despite being a future projected out from '92.

however, aspects of the book are definitely very 1992. id put these into two camps: the first, being that the book does at different times use slurs. the main character is black and asian, the n word is used a few times by racist side-character/antagonist types, as are a few other racial slurs. there was also the occasional usage of the r slur, within the narrative prose itself, rather than usage as an insult within dialogue.

the protagonist, who is named, unfortunately, hiro protagonist, is a great character and felt very fleshed out to me, though at times he reminded me more of dirk strider than normally would be ideal. (its obvious that stephenson and andrew hussie are of a similar type of writer, and play with similar tropes, lmao.) hiro is a man of many worlds. he seems to shift between them easily, though never fully existing in any of them. this is reflected in his background, both in his biracial identity and in having been raised on a myriad of army bases. this is layered further in his fluidity in interacting with both reality and the metaverse, yet remaining slightly, consistently aloof. fascinatingly the first moment i sensed this drop was when we meet juanita- aka where his real and meta realities coincide. the description of them as the adam and eve of the metaverse is both insanely romantic and thematically key (good god i wish we had more than like, two conversations between them). juanita designed the facial component to metaverse avatars, doing the majority of this work when the two were together, and hiro can see echoes of both their facial tics in the face of every avatar in the metaverse. in a way, by having done this work juanita is positioned by the narrative as one of the gods of this digital realm. she is also hiro's call to action, being aware of the coming trouble and alerting him to it, as well as connecting him to the informational database he needs to prepare.

y.t., the secondary protagonist, fucking ruled. i loved that she was just a fifteen year old punkass kid whose mom doesnt know how crazy this part time job is. y.t. being worried about her mom was a great thread throughout, and a really good balance to how obviously independent y.t. is. i do wish there had been a chance to explain more about her background (she has a dad who left who is mentioned in a throwaway sentence, and a boyfriend who is mentioned near the beginning but never again.) i really enjoyed how obviously hyperaware y.t. was at all times about her own place within the insanities of the setting, while also consistently writing her as a teen maybe in way too deep who thinks about things in typically teenage ways. but like, that wasn't ever held against her? the narrative meets her where she is. it was honestly awesome. HOWEVER,

i absolutely hated the raven and y.t. scenes. how creepy!!! he basically statutory rapes her!!! we know hes at least late 20s early 30s, because hes the same age as hiro. if this sort of content is upsetting to read for you, i definitely do NOT recommend this book. (if you want to avoid reading these bits: ch 47 y.t. meets raven, ch 50 they are in a bar eating, ch 52 things happen that result in y.t.'s anti-assault device activating- she did not activate it on purpose, but forgot it was there- and raven is knocked out.)

please PLEASE dont take any of the following analysis as like, trying to be apologetic towards this scenes. because again they were awful and hard to get through and really gross. but im also cognizant that the author was obviously trying to convey something by making the choice, like the way it was written is obviously not condoning this sort of thing.

i think maybe what stephenson was trying to get at with that, was that we see hiro internally negate any potential for anything untoward with y.t. basically immediately, since he kind of senses that she might have a small crush on him (though this doesnt last more than a fleeting moment, especially from her perspective). vs raven, whose 'poor impulse control' warning tattoo eventually elicits a sarcastic remark from hiro after he finds out raven and y.t. were "a thing". i really dont think hiro knew how far it went? like it was just suuuper weird, but i figured it was meant narratively to 1. execute the chekovs gun of y.t.'s anti-assault device, 2. contrast hiro and raven (especially considering the bike-racing argument where theyre telling the story together, which is supposed to parallel them, while contrasting the differences in how they ended up?), and 3. just to get raven unconscious, i guess. but good god it was weird and i hated every second of it, why couldnt the device have like, activated way earlier?? gah. fucking upsetting. moving past that!

honestly i was really frustrated by how little screentime juanita got, because the way she was introduced was so fucking interesting and then shes mostly off doing her own thing. the bits of explanation she gives at the end about what she was up to on the raft are so sparse and im like damn, can we get a little bit of her pov in here? please? that would have ruled. additionally, shes supposed to be hiros love interest, but we see so little of them interacting outside her intro scenes. a huge portion of why hiro is getting into the sumerian mythology is literally framed as something that will help him understand juanita, but we dont get to see him talk to her about it barely at all.

the supporting characters were quite fun, i particularly liked the librarian. big surprise, i liked the overly literal ai information-dispensor, lmfao. watching him and hiro interact reminded me SO hard of geordi laforge having honest to god conversations with the computer where he tries to coax information out of it, aka one of my favorite little aspects of tng.

and lastly, the major plot themes themselves. i adore the way stephenson approached action, it was very entertaining. usually i cant really visualize action scenes written out, but his use of language was really really effective and engaging. the plot itself was absolutely fascinating, though i found the premise pretty contrived. which isnt bad in itself, i was fully suspending my disbelief until the last hundred pages or so. which for a 550+ page book, isnt too bad.

i did like the approach of linking the ancient to the modern, that is always really neat. and i think ultimately stephenson did it in an interesting way, not how i would have done it, but definitely interesting! creating these ideas about information infrastructures, and there being words that can access those and be used to control people, was wild. not sure if i agree about the equating of religion to a virus, though he did specifically establish that it was more the approach to religion, than religion itself. (maybe if juanita had been more goddamn present in the narrative that could have been elaborated on a little more. literally her perspective would have been perfect in balancing that out!!)

ultimately what did me in was the very very very long winded MONOLOGUE where hiro re-explained the whole premise, in ways that didnt really neatly organize into a cohesive argument. a lot of the scenes where hiro talks to the librarian, which are interspersed throughout the book, are really exposition heavy, because stephenson is rooting his ideas in historical concepts that need to be explained to both hiro and the audience. and i thought all that was fine, because it was a conversation where hiro was grappling with the information, and he was figuring it out along with the reader, and most importantly it was a conversation between him and the librarian computer program.

howeverrr later on we get a full rehash of all that, where hiro makes clear some stuff that was just implied for the reader, and hes literally just telling these important men whats up in this big long monologue. utterly worthless. i kept reading it and going YEAH, we KNOW, we know this we know this. and the important men barely interjected. it added basically nothing to our understanding of the situation, other than reframing it. but everything added was already an implicit thing, and didnt really need to be said again.

the resolution to the book was stellar, the last 30-40 pages, once hiro is onto the raft, were great. ultimately after reading and giving some time to digest it, i think it was a solidly great book with a few big drawbacks near the end, but which dont carry through and sully the ending.

[darklingichor]

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss

Okay, so remember a couple weeks back when I ranted about Sherlock Holmes being used as a romantic figure?

We'll, I finished the book that inspired it.

That is a very small part of it, so my foot-stamping about this point will be brief and kept till the end of this entry, because dispite this bit of literary nails on chalkboard, I really enjoyed this book.

The Greta Helsing books seems to have been my intro into a sub-genre that I didn't realize was so popular. For lack of a better phrase I'm going to call it Classical Fanfiction. Wherein the author takes characters from classic lit and plays with them.

I'm enjoying these sort of stories but I find it funny that some people look down on fanfic writers who do essentially the same thing for free with no claim on the characters they are using, while so called "ligitiment" novelists are getting paid for it simply by the virtue of the fact that the characters they are playing with, are older.

Anyway.

So this one, starts out focusing on the daughter of Dr. Jyekll, Mary.

She's 24 years old and just buried her mother, after the latter spent years secluded and insane.

The household is out of money and she can't find work. When looking through papers, her lawyer, notices an account previously unknown to Mary. The account is set up to give money to The Mary Magdalene Society "for the care of Hyde".

Mary wonders if the reward for the capture of Hyde, after he committed murder, is still able to be collected and sets out to find out if the man she knew as her father's research assistant is still alive and living at this society.

To this end she heads to 221B Baker Street and first encounters Holmes who had just finished shooting into one of his walls and Watson who reminds him to act in accordance with polite society.

To her credit, Mary doesn't take much from either of them and employs Holmes to help her.

The book then weaves together elements from The Island of Dr. Moreau, Frankenstein, Rappaccini's Daughter, and  Dracula along with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Throw in The Whitechapel Murders and a couple side shows, you have a story to sink your teeth into (pun half intended).

I've read all but Rappaccini's Daughter.

To be honest it took me a long time to read

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

See, when I was a kid, Nickelodeon would play animes and obscure cartoons on the weekends and during the summer.

I remember all the ones that either made me cry (The Velveteen Rabbit), that I could watch over and over (Rikki Tikki Tavi), that left me weirdly unsettled (The Legend of Manxmouse... Don't know why on this one) and one that scared the shit out of me: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But it didn't scare me like other shows scared me.

No, this one left me disturbed, because even though I couldn't put my finger on it at the time, there is nothing scarier to me than losing one's will and being aware that it's happening.

Which is why this book interested me, but I was hesitant to read it.

Thankfully it is much more of a mystery/adventure story than a examination of good and evil.

It also has an interesting gimmick that I didn't mind, but others might find annoying. The book is, as a whole, about seven different ladies, Mary, Diana, Beatrice, Catherine, Justine, Alice, and Mrs. Poole.

It is told mostly through Mary's perspective, but being "written" by Catherine. The others frequently interrupt the narritive to make comments and bicker about the way the story is being told.

I kind of liked this, I thought it was funny and a cool way of telling the story. But a co-worker of mine who is also reading it, finds it annoying, which I totally get.

All in all I liked it, except for... *Deep breath*

Okay so Mary is presented as very logocal, observant, and somewhat no nonsense. A good foil for Holmes. And it started that way. He found her useful and helpful with the case she tasked him with as well as with the Whitechapel Murders.

And she found him arrogant, but interesting and someone to learn from.

But some where about a quarter of the way through, she developed a crush, and over halfway through he started acting very un-Holmes like in general, and to her in particular. It is heavily implied at the end that he is akwardly trying to court Mary.

No, no, no, no, fucking, no!

No going to reiterate my rant, but jeez!

On top of it, does a book that combines characters and storylines from six different classics as well as a set of historical unsolved serial murders really need the start of a love story? I personally don't think so.

I am hoping the series keeps it in the background, if it just has to be there, because otherwise it will make me grind my teeth.

[iprocrastinatefartoomuch]

Some Thoughts on AWAE 3x10 (a lot of spoilers ahead)...

Yay, Winnie and Gilbert have broken up!

Since Winnie is fundamentally an unproblematic character, I can’t help but feel a bit bad for her. On paper, they seemed like the perfect couple.

Winnie is right, why did he lead her father on?

“I don’t have any plans to marry.”- Sure…

I love how Gilbert is compassionate and emphatic at this moment. He never takes a moment to doubt the actual heartbreak and emotion associated with her reaction. Even though they’re breaking up, he tells her that she is someone that shouldn’t be settled for.

Diana got in!

“Is there anything else you want to say to me?”-Now is your moment, Gilbert!

“Congratulations.”-That’s all? Seriously Anne is giving you opportunities on a silver platter.

Yes, he’s applying to Uni. of Toronto with Dr. Emily Oak

“Deceitful child, how could you?”-Remember that time you couldn’t figure out improper fractions?

Where would there be a gaggle of eligible, wealthy and educated men? College/university. Also, no wealthy and educated man wants an uneducated partner.

Diana’s parents’ reasoning is just uggggghhhhhhhhh.

Why do I have the feeling that Diana’s parents aren’t going to let her go to Queens?

Mathew, now was not a great time to tell her the news about the changes.

I swear to god that note better not fly away.

Wait, how does he know where her room is within the house.

You can’t sell half of Pride and Prejudice.

WTF, WHY WOULD YOU TEAR UP THE NOTE, ANNE?

No, no, no! The note was the opposite of those sentiments. I’m going to buy that very infuriating action as a plot device to him confessing his feeling IN PERSON.

I’m continually amazed by how quick Anne sets aside her own problems in order to be there for her friends.

I can’t help but chuckle at how happy Marilla is at the corset.

Oh no, Elijah’s back. I thought was touching that he bought back Gilbert’s Dad’s watch from the pawn watch. While Bash’s treatment of Elijah is harsh, I understand where he’s coming from.

“The more I held her back, the less I was included.”-Never were truer words spoken.

“I’m so sad to see you go yet so happy I know you.”-Love Miss Stacy’s wisdom and I just wish a certain someone had said the exact same thing to her.

“I’d advise you to smarten up and explain yourself.”-YES, YES!

Happy to see that Bash’s relationship with Elijah has softened, considering that he’s been trying to make a concerted effort.

Oh, Anne looks so grown up!

I would have preferred for her skirt to be solid-colored but love the ensemble.

Glad to see that Ka'kwet hasn’t been forgotten. I love that she decided to take the hair accessories that she gave Anne with her.

Now would be a great time to initiate the conversation, Mathew.

That was a moment missed. Now, he better tell her right before she moves in.

The costume designers did Tillie dirty with her ensemble. Besides the hat, the outfit looks like an outfit made for Rachel. Seriously, couldn’t they cut her jacket at her waist?

I feel like I’ve seen Mrs. Blackmore in something else. Glad to see the intro of a deaf character.

Deaf-mute is a questionable but probably a historically accurate choice of words.

I laughed so hard when the girls were stopped from running up the stairs.

“I promise not to snore”.-Tillie

Was glad to see Josie’s shitty experience with Billy didn’t put her off from any notion of courting.

It feels surreal to see all the girls look so grown up with corsets and with their hair up.

Side note: Bash’s mom’s skin is just stunning. Seriously, she is glowing.

Elijah’s staying on! Mary’s wish to have her family together has been fulfilled.

Mathew, tell her that you’re sad that she’s going to be gone but you’re happy about her future.

I love how Marilla has really come to regard Aunt Jo to be part of the family.

I love how Cole has come into herself.

That dress, Marilla!

Sad to see that her inquiry in Scotland has led to a dead end.

Anne handled her feeling so maturely.

Yes, Mathew, is finally admitting his feelings!

That velvet looks so plush but isn’t that dress a little inappropriate for daytime?

“If I know you, you better tell me who and how.”-I found it hilarious, it was just in such sharp contrast to the happy background music.

There’s finally

I forgot that Anne doesn’t know that Gilbert and Winifred broke up.

Diana’s face dropped when he mentioned that he isn’t going to Queens but the University of Toronto.

Love the contrast between Gilbert’s smile and Diana’s scowl.

Seriously, Diana’s rant deserves all the awards. Glad she brought up the fact that he literally gave her 30 seconds to decide about her future.

Also if Diana’s very eloquent rant isn’t an indicator of her ability, I don’t know what is. Seriously, her parents want to waste all of that?

I also love, for the most part, how her story of finding her independence unraveled throughout the season.

He’s going after her!

I swear to god if there’s going to be another missed connection, I’m going to scream.

Just in the nick of time!

I love how her hair has slightly unraveled, it’s such a romantic look. It’s giving me Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View vibes.

THEY’RE KISSING!!!!

Damn, he’s a good kisser.

Mrs. Blackmore better not be looking out the window, I desperately need them to have a moment.

“Do you truly have feelings for me?”-Idk, you guys should kiss again but seriously, was that kiss, not an indicator?

Anne went for it! Gleefully remembering, “Why must the girl wait?”

Oh darling, the second kiss was EVERYTHING!

I wonder what made Diana’s father’s mind change?

Maybe he saw her rant and thought, finishing school is a waste (and probably more expensive than college).

Damn, Gilbert.

Love Diana’s surprised look.

I wonder if Marilla and Mathew saw the kissing?

Love that they were able to give Anne the book, for her to have something of her parents.

“You’re a wish come true, I never knew I was making.”-Never truer words said.

Final Thoughts:

They really tied up everything in this episode. I wonder if they did that on purpose because if they were to be canceled, it wouldn’t be fair to leave on a cliffhanger.

I wonder if they’re going to do that Glee thing where they essentially split the show between two different plots. I hope they don’t do that because it didn’t work for Glee.

For two people who don’t have a lot of experience with kissing, they sure looked like they knew what they’re doing.

I really liked how when Gilbert and Winifred broke up, they didn’t emphasize Anne but the fact that it’s wrong to marry someone you feel as if you’re settling for.

Seriously, what made Diana’s dad change her mind?

Can’t wait for Queens plotlines!

His plan to go straight off to Paris without learning the language seriously doesn't make sense.

[palenoface]

DEH YouTubers AU

Personal channels

Jared is the first to really be active on YT : he doesn’t have a big community until he starts streaming for eight hours straight ; he becomes unexpectedly popular.

his fanbase makes memes out of his ragequits or his ridiculous winning poses. 

He called his fans “children” one time and it stuck with them.

Every now and then he posts tutorials on how to fix tech junk, pretty much like that one guy he saw doing a big “FUCK U” to apple 

His channel’s name is TheInsanelyCoolJaredKleinman but it’s kind of a mouthful so the internet shortened it to TICJK. His intro is “*spinning chair* SUP FUCKERS THE INSANELY COOL JARED KLEINMAN HERE AND TODAY-”

Connor accidentally uploaded an unedited video and the algorithm pushes him in the front of the scene maybe six months after he posted it.

Most of his channel is just him sitting at his desk, often high, ranting about everything that is wrong in the world and how one can get better on a personal level.

His most popular vid is the one where he talks about beating depression and prevening suicide. He almost cries on camera.

His channel reeks of chaotic energy and people are here for it.

His channel’s name is murphyrules and his intro is “Okay so.”

Alana does pretty much the same thing as Connor, but in a more calm,  collected way. Her channel is all about feel-good activism.

A lot of her vids are recorded outside. She usually writes what she wants to say before she turns on her camera and checks multiple times that her arguments are fair and valid.

She’s very LGBTQ+ oriented and talks a lot about feminism and racism, and just equality in general.

Her fanbase is pretty small and chill, so she hosts a discord where her fans can talk together and reach out whenever they’re in need.

He channel’s name is just Alana Beck and her intro is generally a quote from someone probably famous followed by “Hello everyone, you’re in the good place.” She likes the Good Place.

Zoe starts later than the rest of the team, but really gets into it when she sees how much it helps Connor and wants to try it for herself.

She mostly posts covers of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald‘s songs, but occasionally makes book reviews.

She’s probably the least connected to her fans, because they aren’t all that numerous and barely comment, but she always gets an excellent ratio views/likes.

Her style is a little messy but everyone sees how much potential she has and is encouraging her to impose herself more.

Her channel’s name is Soul’s Pulse. She doesn’t have a real intro, but she fingerguns more often than not.

Evan didn’t plan to become a youtuber at first.

He’s mostly in the background of the other’s vids, like sometimes he’s listening to music in Jared’s room during a livestream, or how he sits on Connor’s bed when he decides to film anything, because he’s often high and Evan doesn’t want him to get hurt while setting up his stuff, or he goes on walks with Alana and holds the camera for her when she vlogs outside so she can have her hands free, or sometimes he and Zoe discuss about a particular line in a song or a book and try to understand why it works the way it works.

But one day Jared edits out twenty seconds out of one of his streams and it’s just Evan rapping at the speed of fast on Guns and Ships and the internet basically exploses.

He’s not sure at first, but then under the insistant demands on his instagram and twitter he finally makes his own channel : turns out he’s very good at beatboxing, rapping and singing acapella, so he mostly does that for a while, but then branches out a little and starts doing his own rant videos about ecology and mental health.

His channel’s name is Ev Rants and his intro is “Today is a good day and here’s why.”

Collabs

Jared is, as often in their group, the first to be asked to do official collabs with his friends, and not just Evan or Alana walking by in the background.

Jared & Connor sometimes play together online on random games, and eventually get kicked out of their respective teams because they keep targeting each other no matter what the main goal is. They often end teaming up and beating everyone else’s ass.

Jared & Alana play strategy board games. It usually take them a whole day to get through a single game because they keep trying to one-up each other with ridiculous yet very effective tactics.

Jared & Zoe collab very rarely on Jared’s channel, but there are one or two videos of Zoe describing very cool mods she found for Skyrim.

Jared & Evan don’t really collab, it’s more like Evan tags along at some point during livestreams and acts like an unhelpful second driver, trying to give Jared directions. It’s very frustrating for both of them but very funny for the public.

Connor never titles his videos as collabs, and his thumbnails are always a black screen with the title on it, so it’s generally a surprise whenever there is someone else on screen.

Connor & Jared made a short series of videos where Jared looks at stuff on the internet and Connor has to tell if it’s true or made up.

Connor & Alana team up on subjects like white/male privilege or capitalism and make a lot of historical researches to understand where it comes from and why it still exists.

Connor & Zoe’s collabs are the more frequent as they live under the same roof. It’s always less-than-a-minute videos recorded with a phone, where one of the siblings does something stupid or weird, like accidentally setting fire to a frying pan.

Connor & Evan are both present in most of Connor’s videos, but Evan doesn’t always speak up. When he does, it turns into a question-answers kind of game about a specific topic until they both know enough about it to write a whole thesis.

Alana puts all the tags possible on her collabs, because she wants to make sure everyone knows that, yes, she actually has friends in real life.

Alana & Jared once tried to host a DnD night with the gang, but ended fighting over technicalities of the main quest. It’s probably the longest video on her channel to this day.

Alana & Connor vlog together when she finds a way to lure him outside of his house. They go to museums where Alana plays the guide and Connor makes snarky comments about everything, but they overall enjoy themselves.

Alana & Zoe decided from the start that their collabs would never be heavy themed, so they do a lot of challenges - or at least the non-dangerous or stupid ones - and tags and asks videos.

Alana & Evan love to record their treks in the mountains or in the forest, because Evan has an impressive memory when it comes to trees and plants, and Alana is always eager to learn.

Zoe gets more important once the others include her in their videos, but there is always the idea that her subs are here for her and her only.

Zoe & Jared make vine compilations. That’s it, that’s all they do.

Zoe & Connor made one (1) cover together on a random song and for some reason it’s now a daily thing.

Zoe & Alana talk a lot about music theory when they are together. Sometimes they also do wholesome memes and satisfying sped-up videos of the two of them cleaning a whole room.

Zoe & Evan sing a lot acapella when they have the time, and if they don’t they just review cartoons. (Zoe has a thing for Steven Universe, but shhh.)

Evan & Jared come up with game theories when they collab on Evan’s channel. The most popular video about it is the one where they realized the theme songs of the characters in Undertale are always connected to one another.

Evan & Connor make sure to film together once every five videos. They don’t always know what they will be talking about, but Evan just hit the record button and they spend the afternoon together, after what he edits it out and keeps the important parts.

Evan & Alana do yoga on saturdays, sometimes with Connor as a special guest. It never goes as planned and always ends in laughter when one of them inevitably slips and falls.

Evan & Zoe’s collabs are kind of messy when it’s on Evan’s channel, but it’s always wonky DIY and weird cooking recipes they found online. They sing together while working.

Group channel

Alana is the one who thinks of it, because she’s been asked multiple times on her Discord if she would do a Q&A, and most of the questions are about her relationships with the other members of the team.

They call the channel Dear Unholy Five after the first meme to come out is all five responding “porn”at the same time at the question “what did the internet brought you that you would never have learned in school ?”

Zoe does most of the group challenges on this channel instead of her own, like making everyone’s makeup - this one was a disaster, they had no idea what they were doing - or watching terrible movies and commenting it.

Connor uses the channel as an excuse to play ouija. Evan is lowkey the only one enjoying himself, weirdly enough. Jared jokes that Evan has a supernatural kink on top of the tree one. “Ghost tree kink” becomes a new meme within the community.

Jared just loves being asked stuff.

The community

Because the group is close-knitted and is used to read each-other’s comments, Zoe quickly notices that some of their fans are starting to shipping them. While her and Alana’s relationship isn’t a secret - they hold hands in various vlogs and sometimes even kiss on camera, and no one really made a big deal about it - Evan isn’t officially out of the closet, Jared’s SO prefers to keep their identity private and Connor isn’t the most comfortable around feelings.

As it starts happening more and more often, Connor and Evan figure out that whatever is between them doesn’t need to make it on the internet, so they don’t confirm nor deny anything.

It only fuels the fanbase more, but because they’re such a small community based on each other’s respect and privacy they don’t pry too much, and when anyone starts to be too nosy the rest of the fanbase quickly shut them down. There are however the occasional shippers who never miss anything on screen and notice whenever Connor makes heart-eyes at Evan, or when Evan becomes flustered by Connor’s proximity.

Zoe is the one unexpectedly confirming the theories when she records the two boys singing Marianas Trench at two in the morning, and Connor suddenly kisses Evan in the middle of Here’s to the Zeros and resumes on singing like it’s nothing. The bad quality of the video doesn’t stop it from trending, before Zoe finally takes it down on Evan’s request.

The fans stay respectful of their wish for privacy, and after the first wave of hype it just becomes common knowledge that they’re together. (It doesn’t stop Connor from killing his fans a little whenever he and Evan swap clothes, though.)

[superchartisland]

Discworld (Perfect 10/Psygnosis, PC, 1995)

The worlds of computer games and fantasy/sci-fi books have long been close together. Early British gaming milestone Elite was one of many, many games to have taken some inspiration from Douglas Adams’s sharp and funny science fiction parody The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. In the other direction, let’s look at Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams fan and the UK’s best-selling author of the 1990s thanks to his Discworld series roughly doing for fantasy what Hitchhiker’s did for sci-fi, but many times more prolifically. Pratchett drew on his lasting interest in computer games in his writing. Small Gods (1992) is a spin on the central mechanic of Populous that gods get more powers the more believers they have, with the twist of considering what really counts as belief. Racist mis-step Interesting Times (1994) ends with its main character controlling a Terracotta Army stand-in via what is obviously the interface from Lemmings. Outside of his Discworld series, Pratchett wrote a whole book about a computer game, Only You Can Save Mankind (1992) in which the main characters are drawn into a game that’s somewhere between Space Invaders and Elite. He takes the side of the aliens.

Meanwhile, alongside Adams and Pratchett’s witty, knowing parodies of genre fiction, in the world of gaming LucasArts were making a big success of point’n’click graphic adventures which served as witty, knowing parodies of genre fiction. There’s no coincidence there: Douglas Adams worked together with LucasFilm Games (as was) on their first adventure game, Labyrinth, a logical extension to Adams’s own interest in computers and his role writing the text adventure version of Hitchhiker’s. Across the Atlantic from LucasArts, the biggest British success in the world of graphic adventures in the early ’90s was Simon the Sorcerer by AdventureSoft, who had originally wanted to make a Discworld game but couldn’t get the rights. Instead they made something in much the same spirit. Title character Simon is essentially an amalgam of Pratchett’s early Discworld protagonist (and useless wannabe wizard) Rincewind and LucasArts’ Monkey Island protagonist (and useless wannabe pirate) Guybrush Threepwood.

By 1995, a Discworld graphic adventure wasn’t just a good idea, but practically an inevitability. Beyond the intertwined background, the format is perfectly suited. The slow, detail-focused gameplay is a perfect delivery vehicle for comedy. There’s a reason why Rincewind and Guybrush Threepwood, self-aware and sarcastic commentators on the world around them, were so compatible, and indeed you play as Rincewind in the Discworld game. The meta tendencies of the genre line up with one of the key repeated themes of Discworld, the idea defined on occasion as ‘narrativium’: narrative is one of the key building blocks of the world and able to exact a powerful force upon events. Things happen because they are expected to happen, and because they make for the best story. At one point Discworld the game plays on one of Pratchett’s best straightforward manifestations of this — “one-in-a-million chances happen nine times out of ten” — getting the player to work out the exact series of accessories that will add up to the hero’s chances being 1,000,000–1.

Lots of games make you work out what their developers want you do as a solution, but few tie that puzzle-solving as directly in to the narrative as graphic (and text) adventures. The actions in question tend more to the detailed mechanics than the grand sweep, but at best progress is a kind of collaborative narrative process between creator and player, tuned to the same wavelength. You progress the story by working out what the story is going to be. Or what the story should be. The player enacts the force of narrativium.

And so in Discworld the game, Rincewind is not just aware, as in the books, that he is the unwilling hero in a fantasy story, and what the rules of that story are. He is aware that he is the hero of a fantasy point’n’click adventure. His ambulant suitcase companion of infinite and terrifying capacity, the Luggage, may not have been written as a parody of game inventories, but it certainly reads like one.

After watching the game’s intro the player knows that it’s a story about a dragon on the rampage in the city of Ankh-Morpork, but Rincewind doesn’t yet. Look out the window at the distant figure of the dragon, labelled as ‘shape’ and he comments that it’s obviously a plot element, or it would have a better label. In that kind of moment the game extends in a worthwhile way from both Discworld and point’n’click games. In others, its puzzles are far too obtuse to give the feeling of figuring out the story, going a long way beyond the standard of the genre in difficulty. That makes for a lot of time going around trying out everything possible, which means that the world and its characters being enjoyable to spend time with is even more important.

Rincewind’s turn as sarky, put-upon man, dealing with a world around him which is obviously mad, is enhanced by being voiced by Eric Idle. I won’t go into the further links between Monty Python and Douglas Adams, because my history bit at the start was already long enough and because Elizabeth Sandifer already did it excellently, but there is a positive kind of obviousness to that casting too. Likewise, given the comedy fantasy-historic setting of Ankh-Morpork, the presence in the cast of Tony Robinson (throw Blackadder into that web of British humour fiction somewhere too). As a fan of the Discworld books, one of the best parts of the game is hearing familiar characters given voice. Tony Robinson’s take on amoral street peddler Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, unflappable in the face of having his cons pointed out, played like Baldrick if his obliviousness was a cunning front, is particularly delightful. As a representation of the daft, inventive, funny world of Discworld, the game is a happy success. It fills its inevitable role very well.

However, as a series, Discworld isn’t just daft and inventive and funny. Well it pretty much was to begin with, and remained that way in much popular perception for a long while afterwards. There was a reason Pratchett kept bringing Rincewind back for lazy romps in new places. Discworld would not be as well-loved as it remains if that was all it was, though.

The plot of Discworld the game draws heavily on the eighth novel in the series, Guards! Guards! (1989), which was a distinct turning point in the tone and range of the series and its satire. In it, a dragon is set loose in the city and is eventually stopped with help from the efforts of the under-funded, under-respected, under-the-influence guards of the City Watch, who gain some self-respect in the process. The book turns away from the typical special one born-into-the-role hero of the previous books, giving starring roles to characters in positions that would previously have made them cannon fodder or comic relief alone. The importance of the life and story of every single person is a strong theme throughout the series. Keeping the Watch as leads would have made for a different and less obvious game, but replacing them with Rincewind — a wizard from the parody of privileged academia that is Unseen University — loses that strand of the message.

The other thing that Guards! Guards! brings through strongly is anger at how society is run, and to whose benefit. In its story a manipulative palace insider uses the petty grievances of a bunch of working men to incite them to summon a dragon. He plans to stage a vanquishing and install a puppet ruler, but loses control and instead himself ends up as puppet to the monster he conjured. Pratchett returns repeatedly to the fickle will of the crowd, influenced via the forces of narrative. When the dragon winds up in charge of the city, the most cutting satire is how easily treasure-hoarding and virgin-sacrificing are accepted as the new normal. The people in power in a position to do something quickly fall to collective self-interest, content as long as they believe they’re not supporting the burning of their faces. That kind of seething argument for greater justice became more prominent as the Discworld books went on.

This whole theme, though, gets minimised by the game’s changes to the plot and its wider insistence on prioritising knockabout comedy. No chance is missed for cartoon logic, and even where aspects of the plot like the dragon’s desire for revenge on its summoners are kept, they’re played for laughs There is parody but nothing like the sharp satire of the source material, and it puts humour above anything, including sometimes fidelity to its characters. Across the series Pratchett has a running joke of the university’s orangutan librarian reacting violently to being called a monkey, but the many times the game has slapstick scenes of Rincewind doing that (or similar to other characters) and being bashed on the head doesn’t ring true. He’s the Librarian’s assistant from pretty early on in the series and regardless, if nothing else, his defining cowardice would make him more cautious than that. The game’s humour goes broad again and again. It may well include more jokes about men wearing dresses than it does women, in dresses or otherwise. That doesn’t come out of nowhere — Pratchett never quite got past the temptation to bite on easy jokes even if they sat uneasily with his moral messages — but the game feels closer to his worst early instincts.

To get completely anachronistic, I like to imagine a Discworld point’n’click based instead on much later books in the series. Tiffany Aching, analytical teenager training to be a witch (a position portrayed as being social worker and midwife more than it is magician) would fulfil a need for a level of unawareness and observation as player stand-in really well, and would allow for a game with a very different tone. That could be more than a cartoon romp in a familiar funny world. As it is, Discworld the game is a well-realised vision of Discworld, but it’s a vision of Discworld which was already old hat by the time of its inevitable creation.

Gallup Compact Disc chart, Computer Trade Weekly 3 April 1995 (chart for week to 25 March 1995)

[theolivechickken]

Wie geht's aaaaaaab?

Translation: What’s uuuuuuup?

Jan 12

Oh dear, the days are already zooming and fading away into each other.

Our nature hike was cancelled since there was too much snow. But was perfect for sledding! We hit the hills, tumbled down on our plastic seats, and walked on scenic trails on the Mönschberg.

The afternoon was still young, but the city went to bed a little early. We tried to go down to get sim cards at the store but left too late in the day and missed the bus. We had 2 hours to chill before dinner (and didn’t want to hike back up the mountain just yet), so we crossed the bridge and explored the New Town. Most things were closed since it was Sunday, but I found us cute little hipster coffee house. We all got hot chocolate and had a good time chatting and hanging out on the couches. I think this was my first time waving down the waiter for the check, too. I really like this system of payment and knowing how much you owe (taxes and all included). If something costs 3,50 you can round up to 4 and the rest is considered a tip (or you can ask for the change back).

The clock towers started ringing and we realized we should head to the restaurant that was a 20 minute walk in old town. At Gasthaus Krimpelstätter, we ate plain and simple comfort food: salad, Schnitzel, and french fries :) Back at the Mönschberg, we went down into the dungeon for a Salzy bonding game night.

Jan 13

In the morning, we got the rundown on community service opportunities for the semester and had time to prepare for our first volunteer session at the elementary school. We would be running workshops that allowed youth to practice their English.

In the afternoon, we sat down together in the student room upstairs and brainstormed an outline of cities we’d like to visit this semester. Even if we don’t completely stick to the outline, it’s nice to know that we have places we are interested in traveling to together, and it makes me more excited that this will soon be a reality for us each weekend :)

Later in the evening we had a dinner party at the house. Marcus made traditional sausages and salads for us to try. We were also able to try some grapefruit radlers. Quick historical background: drinking and driving is illegal, and that counts for cyclists too. So the radler was designed so that cyclists could enjoy a drink but would still be legal enough to ride their bikes.

Jan 14

My crusty, tired eyes took some time to open when my alarm went off. I splashed my face with some soap and water and head downstairs to have some bomb ass pancakes with fresh jam and hot tea for breakfast. Climbing 4 sets of stairs gets your heart pumping (and can make you sweaty if you’re wearing too many layers). Katharina walked into the room, plugged in the Aux, and got some bops playing in our classroom. She had us dancing around and stretching, which definitely woke all of us up for our 8:30am class.

I'm actually super excited to be learning German! It's activating the Spanish that's been sitting unused in the back of my head. It’s the weirdest thing ever. Every time I hear questions in German, I want to reply in Spanish. I’m honestly surprised by how much Spanish I actually know and remember. I almost feel like once you learn an additional language (other than your first language), it can be easier to pick up new languages.

Lowkey forgot that studying is part of studying abroad. I’m mentally here for the abroad part. But I’m also taking a handful of classes split up by different professors so it feels like 6-8 classes but it’s just 4??

German 101

Intro to German taught by Katharina

Austria in Europe: History, Identity, and Remembrance

Part 1 taught by Sara

We have to keep a tagebuch and write several entries within each week as well as maintain a literary journal where we answer prompts inspired by one of our books

Part 2 taught by Wolfgang

Studying and analyzing Austrian and European history to understand the identities and cultures formed within society, and also exploring Austria’s role in the two world wars

Sights and Sounds of Salzburg: An Interdisciplinary Window on European Culture

Sights taught by Elisabeth and Sounds taught by Betty

In the classroom, we will be studying Western European art, architecture, and music in different styles and time periods. Outside the classroom, we attend museums, architectural sites, and concerts.

And our final mystery class will begin sometime towards the middle of the semester. It was originally going to be taught by Kathleen Feely (one of the History professors from the University of Redlands) but she wasn’t able to attend last minute. So I believe we will have two visiting professors from the Salzburg area (or maybe one is joining us from the US for two weeks) and they will be focusing on Austrian (and/or German) film and social justice within Austria.

After classes, we had an Asian fusion stir fry/ chow mein dish for lunch. It even had a little kick to the flavor too  (okay Marcus I see youuuu - and also hear all your little hums and random songs and noises in the kitchen)!

DOWN TIIIIME - will it ever exist other than today?? We all gathered in the Winter Garden to watch Deadpool. I joined everyone on the couches but focused on starting my journal entries since we have to get 20 down each week.

Raine and I were also responsible for making brownies for one of our community service organizations (Caritas). I am the girl who burned water twice when trying to make mac and cheese, and nearly forgot to add the third ingredient to a 3 ingredient boxed brownie recipe. Cooking and baking stresses me out. At least I learned from previous mistakes and now know what not to do! And this was just another round of boxed brownies where you just add ingredients. Easy peasy, right?

Welp the directions were in German and the stove was foreign. We had no idea what setting to put the oven on so that it would warm up and bake the goods. I ended up watching 3 YouTube videos on German ovens and their settings so that I would understand de ways.

Luckily, we figured it out, shoved them in the oven and left them there for 40 minutes to bake. We came back just in time for them to be done and the kitchen smelled delightful. I mean, one of the corners was slightly crispier than the others, so we cracked a few windows open so the smokey smell wouldn’t set off the overly-sensitive fire alarm. But I would call it an overall success.

We got ready to head down into the city and Patrick forgot to set an alarm to wake up so we were a little late to dinner. We went to a pizza shop (Il Sole) and I had salami pizza. They also brought out little glasses of neopolitan ice cream for dessert. I feel like all I write about is food. But what can I say, I'm a fan of eating. Terrified of cooking but I'm down to try any dish.

[riley1cannon]

Favorite books of 2017

A Murder is Announced, Agatha Christie; Miss Marple mystery

The Zig Zag Girl, Elly Griffiths; first in the Magic Men mysteries (Brighton, after the war; DI Edgar Stephens & Max Mephisto – if you want to picture, say, Dan Stevens and Matthew Goode, I certainly won’t object – are on the case.)

Wouldn’t It Be Deadly?, D.E. Ireland (Eliza Doolittle has to prove Henry Higgings didn’t murder someone. Yes, I know, and honestly my expectations were set really low for this one, but it was vritually free so what the heck. Turned out to be fun, however, and the main trick was fancasting the characters in my head to provide distance from the musical.)

Ghost Talkers, Mary Robinette Kowal (The Great War, mediums employed – in a scheme dreamed up by Houdini and Cona Doyle – to debrief soldiers who have passed over; a cameo by J.R.R. Tolkein; a tear jerker romance; a murder and other skullduggery to solve; and ghosts.)

Design for Dying, Renee Patrick (Our heroine, Lillian Frost, teams up with not-yet-legendary costume designer Edith Head to solve the murder of a starlet – and Lillian’s former roommate – Ruby Carroll in 1930s Hollywood. Look for cameos by Preston Sturgess, Bob Hope, and Barbara Stanwyck, along with a fun cast of original characters, and a pretty good mystery.

Rules of Murder and Death by the Book, Julianna Deering (Books one and two in the Drew Farthering Golden Age-style mysteries. One head’s up: These are from a Christian book publisher, and matters of faith do pop up. It’s not pervasive or preachy, however, so unless you just absolutely loathe even the tiniest whiff of that, you should be able to enjoy these. Example: There is a romantic subplot going on, and while things are kept chaste and above board, there is plenty of sizzle going on between Drew and Madeline.)

Lost Among the Living, Simone St. James (The author’s farewell to the 1920s, but still featuring a heroine getting to the bottom of a what’s behind a haunting.)

A Fatal Winter, G.M. Malliet (The second Max Tudor mystery, and rather better than the first, although I enjoyed that too, with a couple of reservations. Max is former MI5 agent who left the service after a mission went bad, and found a new calling as vicar Nether Monkslip. His former skill set serves him well when murder comes to his parish. If you love Grantchester, this should go over well. Frankly, Max may prove better company than Sidney does at times.)

Lois Lane: Fallout, Gwenda Bond (While I didn’t love this one as much as hoped, it was still a lot of fun. There is a strong Smallville vibe, and that’s not a bad thing.)

Holding Court, K.C. Held (The other YA title on my list. This one is a mystery, with some romance, some laughs, and twist or two along the way. It’s a stand alone title but could easily be the start of a series.)

Speaking From Among the Bones & The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches, Alan Bradley (Books five and six in the Flavia de Luce series.)

The Invisible Library, Genevieve Cogman (Librarians saving the universe, w/steampunk fanasty elements. Difficult to describe; heap of fun to read.)

Claws for Alarm & Crime and Catnip, T.C. LoTempio (Books two and three in the Nick and Nora cozy series. Nora is a former true crime reporter, now operating a sandwich shop in a fictional SoCal town; Nick is the cat who adopted her after his other human, a private eye, disappeared. If you like cozy mysteries with cats, this is a good series to check out. And in case you don’t know, cozy mysteries with cats is a huge, huge thing.)

Romancing the Duke, Tessa Dare (A romantic frolic with engaging characters, and enough substance to maintain interest. Just when you think it’s going right over the top, it doesn’t. If that make any sense. Steam rating: High.)

Foxglove Summer, Ben Aaronovitch (Wacky paranormal hijinks for Peter Grant in the English countryside. So, you know, par for the course, and enjoyable as the preceding books. Bonus points for this one for giving us some more insights into Nightingale, although the man himself doesn’t appear very often. And when am I going to get around to reading The Hanging Tree? It’s been in my to read stack for ages now...)

Indigo Slam, Robert Crais (Private eye novel featuring L.A. detective Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. This time the guys are hired by some kids to find their father. Since it’s Elvis and Joe, of course things get way more complicated.

Property of a Lady, Sarah Rayne (Another ghost story/mystery, the first in a series featuring Oxford don Michael Flint and antiques dealer Nell West. The story revolves around a creepy old house, and there are some genuine chills as Michael and Nell investigate. Their primary means of investigating involves discovering hidden documents. That begins to strain credulity a bit, but I found I coud put up with it. I will probably read more, to see if something at the end of this one is followed up in a subsequent book, and to discover if we ever actually meet Michael’s cat, Wilberforce.)

Night of the Living Deed, E.J. Copperman (Another cozy, this time with ghosts.)

Borrower of the Night, Elizabeth Peters (The first Vicky Bliss novel, and a fun intro to her and her life. John won’t turn up until the next book but there are other romantic interests. Not to mention mysterious shennanigans in a creep old castle, some shivery moments, and a bit of history along the way.)

A Familiar Tail & By Familiar Means, Delia James (Another cozy cat mystery, this time with a pinch of witchcraft as well.)

Whiskey Beach, Nora Roberts (Suspense, romance, family ties, longer than it needed to be but someone I mind that less with Nora than some other authors. Steam rating: Moderate.)

Garden of Lies, Amanda Quick (One of the things I love about AQ books is that along with the romance, we usually get a murder mystery to solve, often with paranormal elements. Another thing is, that although she has some Regencies in her backlist, she’s staked out the Victorian Era as her primary time period. Nothing against Regencies but this reader does sometimes need a break from the ton and all that. Now AQ appears to be moving into the 20th century, which this reader also applauds. Bring on the Jazz Age, baby! Anyway, I liked this one and only wish it was the start of a series of Ursula and Slater mystery romances. Oh well… Steam rating: Moderate.)

Agatha Christie: They Came to Bagdhad; A Pocketful of Rye, The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side, Murder with Mirrors, 4:50 from Paddington (The first is one of her non-series novels, a fun thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat, and also made me wish Dame Agatha had turned her hand to spy thrillers more. The rest are Miss Marple mysteries.)

Mary Stewart: This Rough Magic & Madam, Will You Talk? (This Rough Magic was a reread, and one that held up quite nicely. Young actress on holiday on Corfu, intrigue, romance, gorgeous scenery, and a charming dolphin. Madam, Will You Talk? is her first novel, but just as polished as the later ones. Young, war widowed teacher on holiday in France, brooding hero with dark past, gorgeous scenery, and even car chases. Why there aren’t a series of movies based on these books mystifies me.)

Those were the print books. Here are the ebooks that made a good impression:

Little Clock House on the Green, Eve Devon (Contemporary romantic comedy set in a quirky English village. My only complaint with this one is that certain reveals, re: the heroine’s motivations, took too long to come to light. It wasn’t a huge problem for me, though. The characters were good company. Steam level: practically Hallmark Channel.)

Murder at the Brightwell, Ashley Weaver (First book is the Amory Ames mystery, an homage to the Golden Age, and this one isn’t bonkers. Amory is at the Brightwell, a resort hotel, to help out an old friend--and one-time romantic partner--as well as evaluate the state of her marriage to husband Milo. And then of course there’s a murder. I went into this one expecting one thing to happen, re: Amory and the men in her life, and wound up rather nicely surprised at developments. The mystery was good too.

The Yankee Club, Michael Murphy (Another historical mystery. This time we’re in 1930s New York, with a private eye-turned-mystery writer back in town and getting involved in the murder of his former partner, reunited with his former girlfriend, now a Broadway star, and winding up hip deep in a conspiracy that threatens the very foundations of America. There’s some actual history to back that up, however, and it doesn’t play as over the top as it may sound. Like Design for Dying above, there are cameos by real life celebrities of the time like Cole Porter.)

Bed, Breakfast & Bones, Carolyn L. Dean (Young woman in need of a change moves to a small town on the West Coast, decided to revive the bed & breakfast, finds a body--the usual cozy formula. It’s played well here and I wouldn’t mind reading more books in the series.)

Southern Spirits, Angie Fox (This time our cozy heroine is struggling to keep her ancestral home, while she gets involved in a mystery and is assisted by both the local hunky sheriff and a ghost. I went in expecting nothing, and in fact anticipating to wind up deleting it, and wound up pleasantly surprised. An instance of: don’t judge a book by its cover.)

The Undateable, Sarah Title (Contemporary romantic comedy. A librarian finds herself part a meme that goes viral. This leads to a makeover and a quest to prove she is not the most undateable woman in San Francisco, and it is really way better than I’m making it sound. Promise. Steam level: practically Hallmark Channel.

Act Like It, Lucy Parker (Contemporary romantic comedy, set agains the background of the British theater world, and employing the fake dating trope. I loved it. Steam level: also moderate.)

Marriage is Murder, Emma Jameson (Historical mystery once more. England just before the War, and our doctor hero is sent to a small town in Cornwall, the same town his wife left behind her, and where secrets abound. They no sooner arrive than the wife is killed in a hit-and-run, and the husband left badly injured. Horrible accident or was it murder?)

There were other books–58, total–and many not listed here had their merits, but this batch were the ones that were the page turners, the don’t want to put it down and go to bed ones, the can’t wait to get back to it ones.

There were several books started and not finished; there were others started and put back the shelf to try another time. The latter, I think, is the better option. They may win me yet.

I have no reading agenda for 2018. Just more books, good books, and if I’m lucky one or two that surprise me by being so much better than they looked going in. Love when that happens.

[adamrenfro]

Character Development - A Quick Look (and All You’ll Need)

Over the years, I’ve developed my own process for character development. I eventually turned the details of that process into a book, Live Action Character Development, which you can find on Smashwords. I’ve used the book with my students, writing groups, and mentees. However, as a writer and writing teacher, I would really rather share the information than earn 90 bucks every year or so. What follows is the gist of the book. 

My process is based on my collegiate studies in literature and writing, teaching at workshops, attending seminars, scouring the internet, participating in countless late-night internet discussion forums, and, naturally, my own writing. From all that, I’ve found there are fourteen elements a writer needs to explore to create a well-developed character. 

This process eschews those Frankenstein charts of character development where you identify arm length, eye color, cat’s name, peanut allergy, favorite sushi roll, etc. Those are a tremendous waste of time, as are lengthy character backgrounds. We don’t have that kind of time to waste. We should be on a relentless drive to finish our story.

I knew a writer who completed 120 pages of his novel when he gave up. He also had over 400 pages of character notes. He spent months, years, working and writing but not in a way that helped him complete his work. 

So I advise writers to forsake the overly copious notes of character development. So much of it will go unused. You want to work on your story, not character notes. These fourteen elements can and should appear on the pages of your book or script, implicitly if not explicitly. 

The goal here is to keep your character development notes to about one page for each major character. I’ve included some sample “character cards” at the end.

And here are the fourteen . . . .

IMAGE: Find an image that best depicts the character. This is for you, not the audience or readers. The image may be an actor, historical figure, friend, acquaintance, or an image you found on the internet. This picture should function as an emotional cue that sums up the character for you. It will trigger all the responses you have to the questions below because you will know these faces like you know your friends.  

EMOTIONAL DRIVE: What is the character's emotional drive? This is the character’s main emotional drive in the story. It’s a character’s inner motor that’s fueled by a dominant unconscious goal they are striving for. Here’s a short list of Emotional Drives and Mindsets.  These emotions are the deep-rooted psychology behind a character’s personality. Choose an emotional drive that represents where the character enters the story. This drive can change during the story. If it does, it becomes part of the character’s arc. Keep in mind, a powerful emotional drive doesn’t always drive a character to make the best choices.

WANT: What is the character's main want / desire / goal in the story? This desire also drives the character.  Make this a clear, straightforward sentence: Jeremy wants to be in a relationship with Lisa.

MOTIVATION: Now we’re looking at the character’s emotional drive and want. Why does the character have his or her want / desire / goal? This reveals the character's motive. It dives deeper into your character’s psychology.  Jeremy is afraid that he will be alone all of his life.  

NEED:  What does the character need to improve in life?  This is not the character's want. This is something she needs. She might want revenge. What she needs is to heal. Your story will be better when the wants and needs are in conflict.

A character's need is usually something the character does not recognize. Be your characters’ life coach. Decide here what they truly need.  Jeremy needs to accept the fact that his parents were demented and that he is a good person.

CONFLICT REACTION:  How does the character react to conflict?  This is THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of your character’s development. Stories are based on conflict, and the way characters respond to conflict says more about them than anything. Jeremy shuts down during conflict. He becomes quiet, choosing to internalize the torment. This continues until his torment boils over. This also helps distinguish characters from one another more than anything. It’s way more memorable than “Claire is the blonde and Jane is the brunette.” Boring.

CLAWS:  What sends the character into a rage? Jeremy’s claws come out if you criticize his kid sister. This is a line that can't be crossed. Explore this in your story. Either let readers see the claws or let them know the red flags that trigger the claws. This adds tension to the story.

DREADFUL ALTERNATIVE: What happens if the character doesn’t achieve his goal? Jeremy is prepared to quit his job, give up on his dream, and move back home. Isolation, depression, and death will follow. The dreadful alternative is what’s lost if the characters don’t achieve their goals. Your hero must be invested in the outcome of the story, or your audience will not care about your hero or your story. If the character doesn’t achieve her goal, then she must face the dreadful alternative.

TRAITS: What are the most pronounced character traits? Make a top five, not fifty. These traits are not descriptions or background trivia. They are, again, more about how the character acts.

Stumped on traits? Check out the Ultimate Character Guide for hundreds of character traits.

Be sure to include both positive and negative traits. The negative traits are the character's flaws. Even your hero should have flaws. This helps humanize them and it adds tension to the story. How will the character possibly overcome this flaw and achieve what he desires?

THE GHOST: What is something from the character's backstory that haunts him in this story? The backstory ends where the story your writing picks up. Your characters had a life before the point where your story begins. The entire backstory will not make it into the story you are writing. That's why it's called the backstory. However, elements from that backstory will affect your characters in the story you are writing. We are interested in "The Ghost." What past event haunts the character?

ARC:  How did the character change over the course of the story? This is essential for your protagonist. The hero learned something to overcome the main conflict that he or she couldn't do at the start.

THEME: How does the character impact the theme of the story? Each major character should touch some angle or facet of the theme. What is it for this character? Including this in the story ties the narrative together and lets the reader see contrasting views on the theme. This is how you weave the theme throughout your story. This develops a rich tapestry of love, greed, rebirth, envy, desire, isolation, revenge, optimism, power, innocence, sacrifice, justice, or whatever themes you're exploring.  

CHARACTER TYPE: What is this character's "character type"? The Ultimate Character Guide gives you 33 to start with. These go far beyond the simplistic protagonist, antagonist, and supporting character labels that don't help us construct our narrative. These character types are the major archetypes from film and literature. Identifying the character type helps you consistently write that character from scene to scene.

A complex character will likely be a blend of two or more character types. This is important to visualize as you assemble your cast of characters. You want a variety of character types in your narrative just as you have in real life.

FIRST APPEARANCE: You will use some of your most crafted writing when you introduce a character for the first time. You get one shot at this intro. It doesn’t have to be lengthy. You don’t need to reveal everything about a character all at once. Some of the best are short but revealing, like this one from American Beauty:

This is Ricky Fitts. He’s eighteen, but his eyes are much older. Underneath his Zen-like quality lurks something sounded . . . and dangerous.”

Use descriptions that engage the reader with action.

She wears a scarf to hide what her mother describes as a weirdly long neck. She doesn’t care it’s gotten caught in the subway doors twice.

All your descriptions can be revealed with action. Descriptions revealed through actions add tension and develops character. Notice the difference in the two here.

Not so good:

The room was a mess. Litter on the floor. Clothes piled on the worn couch.

Julie entered the room as the phone rang.

Okay, you get the picture but nothing happens. Your story is about people, not their things or setting.

Here’s a better version:

Julie stomped into the living room, kicking the discarded McDonald’s bags on the floor to make a path to her final resting place, the threadbare couch. In one motion, she swept the clean clothes off the couch and onto the pile of dirty clothes on the floor. Then she finally plopped down for the night.

The phone rang.

Character revealed. Tension raised. 

Pitfall: One last thing. Don’t introduce male characters with intellectual characteristics and female characters with physical characteristics. It’s a common mistake (for male writers).

FINAL THOUGHTS

I have three goals with Live Action Character Development:

First - Examine compelling questions that look at the psychology of inner character. Go beyond the superficial character charts that don’t actually reveal a character’s character.  

Second - Don’t waste time and effort. This process should generate enough character notes to fill up one or two pages for each major character, but that’s it!  Once you begin writing, you won't refer back to any notes beyond one page. So you want to keep a character’s resume tight.

Third - These notes are designed to go onto the actual pages of your story or script.

That’s it, and all the best!

Here are some of my one-page character cards.

[sewjourn]

Goals and Expectations

I’ve wanted to pick up sewing for a while now. For many, many years, actually. It’s always been that hobby that I was too afraid to pick up because I didn’t have the time or resources or wasn’t proud enough of my interest in it to admit to my parents that I even wanted to get started.

That being said, I’ve resolved to really make something of this hobby. Not a career or anything, but really get into it and pick up skills and just be capable of making cool things.

This blog is created as a way for me, as a beginner, to both share my journey, step by little step, as well as maybe connect with others on their own journeys, or maybe to inspire someone only just starting their own adventures.

This post, as an entry point into this blog and thus my entry into the realm of sewing, fashion, and all the rest, is to lay out what exactly I want to achieve as I begin my foray into this wonderful new world, as well as lay out the background of where I am currently and how much I’m capable of starting. In another post, I will make clear all of my experience in the field prior to the creation of this blog (and all experience after will, of course, be put here as well, given the purpose of this blog).

So, here we go.

Intro

Basically, my interest in making clothes, generally, lies in two spheres. One is in historical reconstruction and the other is in cosplay. I do absolutely want to make clothes just to wear, but that’s one of those “if I have the idea for it” things, not something I’m actively working towards.

I’m not really a cosplayer, per se, but I’ve always been more interested in the costumes themselves than in dressing up even if I had gotten into it. So basically I just want to make cosplay for the purposes of like, putting it on instagram or something. Though, if I have it anyway, I might take the leap and wear it to a convention sometime. But for now, my interest is mostly just personal and for fun.

Historical reconstruction is in a similar vein, though I legitimately do want to actually wear some of what I make. I’m more likely to wear this stuff more often, and honestly there will surely be some things that I want to make simply for the sake of wearing them. But this interest in particular stems more from a passion for history and not only the clothes and how they’re worn but the methods by which they were made as well. So, when I start with this, there will be a lot of research and I’d be attempting to create it all in historical practice to the best of my ability.

Now, it’s not just sewing and costuming that I’m interested in. I really want to give all aspects of this a try. Knitting, crochet, leatherwork, embroidery, all of it. I’m aware they’re all very different skills, but the whole point is to go on an adventure and try new things and figure out what I enjoy the most.

Those are sort of vague long term expectations and motivations, but now lets move on to concrete goals. All, of course, subject to change as I do research and learn what exactly is required in the projects I have in mind.

I have three “tiers” of goals, which are designed in a sort of ladder. The immediate goals are things I can accomplish today - things I have the ability and materials to do right now if I chose to work on it, or even just things I can go and buy for big projects. Big goals are the next step up and are mostly single projects. A single article of clothing like a shirt or a scarf or even just a simple project. Something that I could do with some preparation, whether it’s going and buying the materials or just doing some research. The last tier is stretch goals, which is a major project, in this case an outfit, that I’m ultimately working towards. I won’t necessarily use everything my big goals teach me to accomplish my stretch goal, but the idea is that, especially since I have basically no experience sewing, those big goals are laying the foundation and will teach me how to approach the stretch goal, which, without the lower goals, is a daunting and seemingly impossible task.

Basically:

Stretch - Big picture ultimate goal. Usually a multi-part project. (Once I start mine, each individual piece will be a big goal of their own.) Big - Single projects that are achievable with preparation. Immediate - Anything achievable currently with just some time and attention investment.

Stretch Goals:

That is, goals which I am ultimately working towards accomplishing, and probably won’t even be started until I get some practice and have a general understanding of that they would even entail.

For cosplay/sewing, my biggest goal at the moment is to make Ranulf’s outfit.

Fire Emblem is literally one of my favorite games ever, and Ranulf is one of my favorite characters. It seems like a fun outfit just to have, anyway, even if I wouldn’t necessarily wear it out. (I’d 100% wear the loincloth/skirt thing around the house lol. And the top is basically half of my entire aesthetic so there’s a good chance I’ll legit wear it out if I can style it.)

Secondary is actually Keaton’s outfit because it’s legitimately wearable and I’d be able to take those pieces and actually wear them in everyday life. Also, I could probably find patterns to start with that would help me make it.

I don’t have any concrete historical stretch goals, though I’m hoping to get an idea of what time periods I’m especially interested in working with through some more research on the topic. Not concrete enough to be a “goal” but still something in a similar time frame that I want to achieve. Besides, I don’t like the idea of having more than one or two stretch goals. I feel like I’d be trying to go in too many different directions.

I do have the vague idea of recreating one of my favorite clothing items from The Sims 4, but as I said I like to have a single stretch goal to work towards, which right now is Ranulf’s outfit. At some point along the line, the Sims idea might make a good “big goal”, though.

For life, which isn’t necessarily sewing/etc., but is sort of immediately important in accomplishing any of my stretch/big goals, my stretch goal is to move out and get my own place. Sadly, until I do this, progress on anything past immediate goals will be slow at best, and realistically probably straight up stalled. I won’t go into detail, but I just have a hard time creating while I’m here. Not to mention money is always a concern and after I move out I’ll have that all budgeted and will know how best to approach these goals financially.

Those are what I’m currently working towards being able to do.

Big Goals:

There’s a lot more here, naturally. These big goals are major projects that I’m thinking of starting on. They’re sort of my first big projects, in theory. Attainable things that will teach me the skills that will bring me closer to accomplishing the stretch goals.

My first thought on how to get into not only sewing, but historical sewing, was to make something simple. And simple, to me, means underwear. It isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to do, but minor mistakes aren’t seen and it provides the foundation for everything you wear on top of it, so it’s pretty important. That said, I’d love to start a historical journey with some braies, some medieval men’s underwear.

That being said, that might be the second or third thing I actually try making simply because I think it would be more practical for my first big project like that, where I’d be making something from just bolts of fabric, to not have to make the pattern myself. If I can’t find a pattern, even if it’s not strictly a historical one (authenticity is important, but I’m just learning and the point of this in particular is simply to learn how patterns work in the first place), then I’m better off with something else as I feel I need that experience with how the pattern affects the actual clothes before I can attempt drafting my own.

So, yeah. Braies, by which I hope I will gain a basic understanding of patterns and a feel for what research will be like for future historical projects.

Knitting/Crochet: I admit I’m not fully aware of the difference. That being said, I think that both can be used to make scarves. I’m not sure which I’d try first, but the big goal here is to make a Ravenclaw scarf. I have an official Universal Studios one, but it really irks me that it’s blue and silver (like the movies) instead of blue and bronze (like the books). I want a blue and bronze one, and without knowing anything about knitting/crochet, it seems like a decent goal to start working on/towards as a beginner. Just a two-color, long rectangle.

Leatherwork: I don’t plan to begin leatherworking anytime soon, but very generally my first idea is some kind of leather case, like in this video by Morgan Donner, just as an accessory that can be worn with costume/cosplay stuff later on. I probably won’t worry too much/at all about decorating it over just leaving it plain and functional. Secondary big goal project would be just an art piece on a piece of leather, not made into anything in particular, just leather as the canvas. Oh, also a leather thimble. That might come sooner.

Embroidery: I don’t have any big goals laid out for embroidery yet, but I do definitely want to try it. The only idea I have right now is one of those store-bought embroidery kits that give you the thread and a design and you basically just do the hand work. That’ll probably be first just to give me an idea of how embroidery works and what it can do.

Sewing Machine: How do? I’m probably going to steal my mom’s old one, so hopefully I’ll learn more about how it works as I clean it. Otherwise, I’ll be asking her and looking it up online. Concrete goal: make something with the sewing machine. Just like, a square or something. Just to figure out how it works.

Life: Big goal for life is to get a job. I’m currently in that liminal state between finishing college and getting a job. There’s really no telling how long this will take, but setting out goals like this are really important for me in getting literally anything done, and as I said getting my own place is very important in getting bigger projects rolling, which is why I’m putting this here.

Sewing and the braies project is the top thing, save for life goals, obviously, with the others being secondary. There’s so much here that it could easily go in too many directions at once, but my “stretch goals” for everything but sewing (which aren’t measurable goals and so don’t count here but still) is to get fundamentals in the skills for use in making accessories or just helping on the road to achieving the stretch goal. They’re all very different skills, but they do all fall under the same sphere, and so I think they’d be useful skills to have. Besides the fact that I’m just interested in them.

Immediate Goals:

Sewing: Sew on a button. Make a buttonhole. Research what stitches are most common and practice them. “Practice them” is not a measurable goal, but I’m going to focus on the life goal until I get into a place where it’s routine, and then I’ll figure out exactly how often to practice. I only have so much scrap fabric and thread, anyway.

Historical: Prepare study material for braies project. Look for patterns and records of how they may have been assembled. Compile folder for reference when starting that project.

Knitting/crochet: Research each approach and decide which to start with for the Ravenclaw scarf project. Compile any information (pattern?, instructions, historical techniques?, material, material cost, etc.) that’s relevant for the reference folder.

Leatherwork: The thimble is something I want relatively quickly, since it’ll help with other projects. Immediate goal for this is, like the others, simply to compile information on how to cut/sew it so that it fits and doesn’t immediately fall apart.

Life: Get the resume in check and apply to at least one job every other day subsequently. Others, but they’re irrelevant to this journey and blog specifically.

Close

Clearly there’s a lot there, but if you break it down there’s not actually all that much. I might condense it into shorthand and make a separate page on this blog to document my goals and reference as I work on them. Still considering that idea, though. Maybe I’ll make a separate post ruminating on how that might work.

Anyway, point is, there’s not really all that much. It’s the braies, really, and then the Ranulf project, though I might divert into making more of a 15th century outfit stemming from the braies as a base before starting the Ranulf project. That’s a lot more research, though. It’ll depend on how I feel after the braies and where I am at that point in. The other big goals are all side things dipping my toes into other areas.

But, as I said, I’m not planning to start the braies until after I move out and settle into my own place, which could take any length of time. At the moment, there won’t be too much to update on other than small “look I did this stitch!” things.

So, it’ll be slow going here at the start. Things are still subject to change and I have a lot of thinking to do before I really get started. That said, I want to lay the groundwork and start getting all of this organized. Thus, here we are. My goals and ideas laid out as they stand currently, an indeterminate amount of time before things get rolling in earnest.

The possibility it just doesn’t get rolling is there, of course, but this is actually something I’ve wanted to do for most of my life, so I’m really passionate about it, and I love learning, so I hope things will all work out when the time comes. In the meantime, I’ll think about trying to make a more accessible and easily modified list of goals (with less detail, obviously) that can be updated as I work on them. Again, I’ll likely ruminate on that in another post.

[fluidsf]

Sonic Picks 33 THU20: VROEG WERK (2012) Reviewed format: 2 CD compilation on Monochrome Vision Welcome to review number 33 in the Sonic Picks review series in which today we have this excellent 2 CD compilation of early works by Dutch experimental Industrial group THU20 titled VROEG WERK. This was released by the label Monochrome Vision which was founded and owned by Dmitry Vasilyev, who sadly passed last year. Vasilyev also created the inventive artwork for this compilation and wrote the liner notes. THU20 is a group with a lineup that changed overtime, with some members joining later on in the group’s existence but to keep things simple for now (and leave room for your own personal research if you want) I’ll list all members featured on this compilation just by name. On here we have, Jac van Bussel, Guido Doesborg, Peter Duimelinks, Roel Meelkop (who I also saw perform live at the recent concert with Kate Carr), Joe Smolders and Frans de Waard. The 2 CD (obviously) comes in a 2 CD jewel case, the cover artwork features hand drawn artwork by Vasilyev showing the artist name and title of this compilation. On the spine we have the artist name, compilation title and catalogue number as well as a continuation of the artwork on both sides. Included is a two page booklet with a description and historical details about the music contained on the compilation in both English and Russian. On the back page you can find details on the source of every track as well as a listening that shows which group member played on which track as well as more artwork in the background. The two CDs feature artwork similar to the compilation cover but with more straight edges and completely filled black rather than fuzzy lines and this artwork is inverted on DISK 2. The two CDs feature indications of the two parts (CDs) the compilation are made up of as well as copyright information. On the back you can find the artist name and compilation title again, tracklists and track times of all the tracks on the two CDs, Monochrome Vision logo, copyright info, artwork credits and contact and booking information for THU20. Now, let’s get into the music on VROEG WERK, starting with DISK 1 - STUDIO WORKS + LIVE IN BORDEAUX. What caught my attention especially in Dmitry Vasilyev excellent notes on THU20 is that he mentioned how their approach to making music is similar in style to how you’d listen and perceive a radio play. Indeed, it’s not uncommon for Industrial artists to use field recordings, radios, sound effect recordings and more in their music, but the approach I heard so far still fits these all in a continuous Noisy Industrial stream of sound or repeating rhythms, THU20 however changes up the structures of their pieces quite a bit and like radio plays often plays more into “emotional” dynamics or creating various sonic events that don’t repeat, after each other, eschewing the traditional form of Industrial often and creating their own original unpredictable compositions. Besides metallic percussion, bursts of Noise, THU20 makes use of tape / music manipulations as well as various live vocals and vocal samples that are often distorted but while the music is often pretty abrasive and sometimes aggressive, there’s also quite a lot of humour within the pieces, often the result of absurd sound manipulation and vocal effects that comes all out of nowhere and has a funny effect on the listening experience, adding some sunshine to the sometimes doom laden ambience of Industrial music. DISK 1 - STUDIO WORKS + LIVE IN BORDEAUX starts with 5720, a piece in which a Noise loop forms the background of a whole barrage of chaotic metal clanging but also funny percussive sound manipulations that sound quite cartoony. There’s also some bursts of vocal sounds, that sound like coughing. It’s an enjoyable piece in which Industrial rhythmic repetition is accompanied by richly resonant distorted “junk” percussion improvisations and there’s great manipulation of the panning of the sounds too, adding quite some depth to the otherwise quite centre focused Noise textures. 4023 features an Industrial percussion loop again as a base but also an entertaining jumpy distortion drum machine groove as well, the main performances on this piece consist of feedback manipulation as well as funny tape manipulation of material as varied as male voice recordings and a random children’s film. It’s an amusingly odd and playful piece, very nice. On 6554 we have a “swamp” like muddy texture forming a background rhythm accompanied by looped siren like sounds. Again, feedback manipulation is a main element of performance in this piece, though more subtle and mysterious this time, creating almost meditative ambience like resonant waves of sound that sweep over the muddy swampy rhythms and crackling sounds. 5857 features a sweet Industrial machinery rhythm and plenty of harsh Noise and feedback manipulations as well as more distant voice recordings fluctuating over time for some great harsh old-school Industrial performances in this enjoyable piece. 08 JG features some wild Noise manipulations, with a lot of very fast filter resonances warbles, sharp metallic drone repetitions and some weird vocals. It’s hard to distinguish any words from them through the distortion and reverb, but it amusingly sounds like a dialogue from a Disney animation between a demon and Mickey Mouse. It’s a really odd balance between the sharp tense Noise and synth manipulations and the absurd distorted dialogue. Some wildly original music here, very good. On The Four Elements you can hear what sounds like a an Industrial interpretation of a natural soundscape, featuring water sounds, wind, bird sounds all created through sonic manipulations. One of the more experimental pieces on this compilations there’s an intriguing progression in the piece in which the looped feedback, sweeps of Noise, watery squelches and more sounds all develop subtly overtime creating a kind of “imaginary field recording” of a landscape filled with birds as a storm is approaching. A great piece. Eerste Uni is the first piece of a series of pieces that follow that are all a bit shorter and seemingly create a single longer piece together playing after eachother. It’s definitely a great quality of the tracklist sequence that this compilation flows so smoothly from track to track. Eerste Uni features a strong focus on manipulated (music) recordings in juxtaposition with crackly treble laden Noise, very nice. Tweede Uni is a quieter piece with a darker tone, featuring low distorted Noise drones, eerie manipulation of music samples and eerie avant-garde “broken” melodic patterns on piano. Human Interface is a short piece consisting of raw trebly Noise manipulation which is very effective. Rollebollen features quite a lot of high pitched tape manipulation of recordings of stones being dragged as well as various sounds made with the mouth, a fun piece. Groningen Excerpt is a short fragment of a trebly and heavily distortion crunchy Industrial piece that is pretty resonant, very nice. Insthumixermix is a very heavily high frequency focused piece that also features some glitchy crackles that subtly shift into a more hollow sound as well as a wind like noise. A mysterious that sets quite an intriguing scene of quiet tension through the many high pitched sounds creating a “night” like sonic landscape outside. Djan Remix is a Noise piece but with a lot of resonant sounds in the mixture as well and the noise is very crunchy and ferocious, feels like being attacked by a hail storm made out of metal hail, very intense and sonically pleasing as well. The last track from DISK 1 - STUDIO WORKS + LIVE IN BORDEAUX is the live track Bordeaux. It’s a long live recording of a concert by THU20 which features them at their harshest of the whole CD. It’s filled with very abrasive Noise, feedback as well as aggressive voice recordings but also amusingly mixed with astronaut communication recordings and communication beeps. While it’s obviously quite a challenging listen as long Noise pieces often can be, the variation, panning and energetic sound manipulation performances make the live track very enjoyable with the many variations in Noise, feedback, voice recording manipulations and insane synth effects, a very energetic and powerful performance, which finishes off the first CD in this 2 CD set. Then we move to DISK 2 - EARLY LIVE. This second CD is a bit less varied in terms of sonic material, being mostly Industrial and Noise oriented in a more traditional sense and at times a bit more repetitive but does feature some strong and energetic live performances by THU20 and the tracks are “mixed” into each other in a way, mostly crossfading from one track into another creating what feels like an extended live set. ’s-Hertogenbosch starts off this CD with a roomy and distant Industrial piece that is quite resonant but also rather dark and filled with shifting and shuffling sweeps of fuzzy sound filling the sonic space, this piece definitely’s got quite a great immersive ambience to it, sounding like some big hidden machine making noise underneath a thick steel floor. Intro Rotterdam is a short interlude piece featuring some fun distorted playful synth arpeggios panning through the stereo field moving to Heiloo 2. Heiloo 2 features Tribal like Industrial rhythms and Noise screeches, what I particularly like about this piece are the heavily distorted music samples in the background. They give the minimalist piece quite a unique kind of juxtaposition in which cheerful music is combined with tense and sometimes harsh Industrial sounds, very effective and enjoyable. On Heiloo 3 the juxtaposition of distorted music samples and screechy Industrial is continued though with a much harsher and darker sound and the male voice dialogue samples add a nice recurring theme to the intense mixture of sound. Winterswijk 4 features a more droney reverberated sound mixed with squelchy synth effects and film samples that feels a bit like a quirky thriller film soundtrack, interesting sound. Rotterdam 2 features a heavily thumping Industrial groove, fuzzy distorted voice and some hilarious details like the easy listening jazz samples and siren like synth that does bring back some of the playfulness of CD 1 though with a harsher sound overall. ’s-Hertogenbosch [outtake] features a spooky drone and a text in Dutch about the pressure that is put on people in their daily life. Indeed it’s a piece that’s more effective if you can understand Dutch, but the gloomy mysterious ambience definitely does give off an intriguing feeling in this piece. Heiloo 4 is completely built of manipulated voice recordings that credit fuzzy, crunchy and squelchy distorted tones and rhythms, a very raw Noise sound collage piece, sounds good. Winterswijk 5 is an aggressive Noise piece with an Industrial mechanic rhythm within it, quite abrasive and energetic, it’s definitely a nice track to add some wild screeching to the mixture on this CD and the phaser usage is great too. Rotterdam 3 is quite a straight-forward Noise piece featuring screechy high frequencies and helicopter like pulsations. Rotterdam 4 is another rather aggressive piece with insane screaming vocals, thumping distorted drum machine groove and a lot of screechy Noise and feedback. Delft 3 is a very resonant feedback based piece with water sounds, delay manipulation and also some fun Industrial banging sounds. Heiloo 5 is a long track with a pretty hilarious Industrial drum groove that actually features an orchestral hit, there’s also plenty of Noise and Industrial percussion performances in here as well as more aggressive screechy harsh vocals, this all is combined with a distorted recording of what sounds like a Gregorian choir, the percussion performances in this piece are particularly nice. Rotterdam 1 has quite a great ambience with mechanical sounds that sounds like a big hydraulic machine slowly moving creating this distinctive sucking sound and bang afterward which is accompanied by feedback, water sound and amusing manipulated music recordings, quite a bit different of a piece and a nice interlude in between the other tracks. Afterwards we have a short Industrial loop in ’s-Hertogenbosch [excerpt] which leads into Mainz [excerpt]. This is definitely one of the stronger pieces on this CD featuring some really harsh mechanical Noise that’s very screechy, speeding up and down overtime, really intense good experience. Last piece Stuiterthu Ariane Danssolo continues this vibe some more but moving into a rhythmic Industrial direction again with looping percussion accompanying a lot of high frequency laden squelchy synth effects, very nice final track. All in all VROEG WERK by THU20 is definitely an essential collection for anyone who wants to get into the Dutch underground music (tape) scene from the 80’s and while I do prefer DISK 1 a bit more than DISK 2 (due to the more varied sound on DISK 1), both CDs features some great energetic performances and THU20 definitely has their unique twist on Industrial and Noise music with the often absurd juxtapositions of sound manipulations, inventive compositional structures and the sometimes surprisingly subtle pieces that you can also come across on this 2 CD set.

[cover2covermom]

*Books included in this batch of mini book reviews: Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson & Ellen Hagan, We Set the Dark on Fire (We Set the Dark on Fire #1) by Tehlor Kay Mejia, Girls Like Us by Randi Pink, and How to Raise a Reader by Pamela Paul & Maria Russo

  » Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson & Ellen Hagan

*3.5 Stars* » I LOVED the overall feminist themes in Watch Us Rise.  I think this book addresses some heavy issues like sexism, sexual harassment, racism, body shaming, etc. in a very thought provoking way.

» I really enjoyed the blog posts & poetry included throughout the story.  I think these elements really enhanced the story.

» I appreciated that the authors included resources at the end of the book.

» While I appreciated what the authors were trying to do here, this book was a bit heavy handed at times.  Chelsea’s character in particular was a bit over the top.  I also didn’t feel that Chelsea’s character grew enough throughout the course of the book.

» I don’t think the voices in this dual perspective novel were distinct enough.  In fact, I had a hard time distinguishing which character’s perspective I was reading.  I feel like this story would have worked better told only from Jasmine’s perspective.

» I wanted more development in Nadine & Issac’s characters.  For secondary characters that are so prominent throughout the story, they felt very surface level.

› Recommended to ⇒ those looking for YA books with feminist themes

› Trigger/content warnings ⇒ sexism, body shaming, sexual harassment, etc.

› If you liked this book, try ⇒ Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

» We Set the Dark on Fire (We Set the Dark on Fire #1) by Tehlor Kay Mejia

» I thought the society that Meija built here was very interesting: men of high standings get to chose two wives.  These wives are selected from girls that have attended a special school to prepare them to either become a primera, first wife, or a segunda, second wife.  The culture of this world was very compelling.

» The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Kayla Garcia.  Her accents gave the story a very authentic feel.

» Carmen was an excellent secondary character.  She was fiery, passionate, and bold.  She actually stole the show from Dani, our main character.» Had we started earlier in Daniela’s life with her early years & life at the Media School for Girls, I think I would have connected more with this story & the characters.  In reality, this book should have been the second book in the series.

» While I found the concept for this society intriguing, there was not enough context or background for me to connect with the political intrigue.

» The antagonist was not well fleshed out.  We were not shown any type of motive or reasoning behind their cruelty, which made for a poor villain. 

» The romance in this book felt very forced & out of the blue.  While I loved seeing these two characters come together, it just didn’t come about in a natural way.

› Recommended to ⇒ fans of dystopian novels with a Latinx flavor

» Girls Like Us by Randi Pink

Wow!  A book about teen pregnancy set in the 70s?  Yes, please!  » I was equally invested in each perspective & storyline of the three main characters: Izella, Missippi, and Sue.  I loved each character for different reasons.  Izella for doing everything in her power to protect her sister, Missippi for her tender heart, and Sue for her strength.

» I flew through this book.  The short chapters alternating between the three different perspectives worked very well here.

» Teen pregnancy is a topic that needs to be addressed more in the YA target audience.  I appreciated that the author explored three different unplanned teen pregnancy experiences.

» Girls Like Us features heavy themes like teen pregnancy, PTSD, sexual assault, abortion, etc.  These issues are handled with care & sensitivity.

» I enjoyed the afterword glimpse of the characters years into the future.  It felt very satisfying.

› Recommended to ⇒ YA historical fiction fans; those that enjoy reading about hot button issues

› Trigger/content warnings ⇒ sexual assault & abortion

› If you liked this book, try ⇒ A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

» How to Raise a Reader by Pamela Paul & Maria Russo

School is where children learn that they have to read.   Home is where kids lean to read because they want to.  It’s where they learn to love to read.

» This was a wonderful book with realistic & practical tips and tricks on how to instill the love for reading in children.  Instead of focusing on research & the science behind the benefits of reading, or the “why,” How to Raise A Reader focuses more on the “how.”

» I think the format of this book, headings & small chunks of info, is very accessible.  This is a very quick & easy book to read.

»  I like how the authors organized this book intro age groups.  I feel this is particularly helpful for parents to be able to go to the sections that apply to them.

» The authors encourage parents to allow their children to read graphic novels!  Thank you!  I cannot tell you how my librarian heart breaks when I overhear parents saying “put that back and get a REAL book” at the library when their child picks up a graphic novel.  Graphic novels are a great way to instill the love for reading and can be more accessible for kids that are more visually oriented.

» How to Raise A Reader was well balanced with its practical tips and personal anecdotes.

› Recommended to ⇒ parents; teachers; librarians

› If you liked this book, try ⇒ The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease & The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie

Have you read any of these books?  If so, what did you think?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

      Mini Book Reviews: March 2020 - Part 2 #BookReview #BookBlogger #Books #Reading #Review #YA #Bookworm *Books included in this batch of mini book reviews: Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson & Ellen Hagan, …

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What Was The Jamestown Settlers' Greatest Problem In The Early Years From Negotiation Off 1607

Notable: Played for the Olds Grizzlys in the Alberta Junior Hockey Game from 2010-2014. Sibling performed Team Alberta for Canada Winter Games. Named Lions' most strengthened gamer in 2014-15. Joined high school at M.E. Lazerte. About Blog site - In Color Purchase is actually the private craft blog post from Jeni Baker paid attention to sewing jobs, present day comforters, as well as tutorials in addition to thrifting, vintage finds, baking, and bunnies. This is actually not the first time Nvidia has tried its own hand at video game streaming, but the brand new GeForce Now is actually fairly different coming from its own previous manifestation. William Chyr's video game seems like a lithograph, its architectural sketch as well as brutalist dreamland rolled right into one. That selection, created in the warm from a second, exposed the firm as ultimately not really prepared to fight this ideological struggle on the cultural phase, functioning as a multi-million-dollar defense for video game creators wishing to represent gender in their video games. Currently, sex was actually the natural" advancement, as he placed this to Kolbe, an important subject for games to deal with if they were actually to declare the innovative independence managed literature as well as movie theater. An effective player or a sportsperson could play also the video game of lifestyle efficiently. In the end, the initial procedure educated me ways to make peace along with my work, the imagination I put out into the globe, and also along with whatever the action to guide will be. That is actually a huge one. Stencyl now supports native, hardware-accelerated Microsoft window, Macintosh and also Linux video games that give premium performance as well as a better general take in. I have actually additionally included my Project Meals Blog posts at the top of my dishes web page If you are trying to find some of the recipes I have actually produced PFB, that is where they are actually hiding! I will really love to elect, yet guide is on my Christmas listing thus regrettably I do not have it yet. While many experience activities are actually loaded with dialogue and also talkative personalities, Machinarium's actors of tin-can robotics certainly never speak. It's challenging to assess this without looters- therefore let me just state, this manual broke my soul, made me laugh, made me irritated as well as that's an odd target, yet the technique it is actually carried out, THAT FUNCTIONS. The tablet on its own is actually a straightforward, brilliant part of set, along with many of its own property occupied through its own 6.2" screen. 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I also believe Microsoft pointed out outdated activities will definitely need to have spots to operate much better on Scorpio in comparison to the X1. Good news is actually NEWER GAMING will certainly give the advanced increases on launch, s' all I actually love tbh. Without any know-how from just how the activity should end, they innocently tumble carelessly in to passion. Rockstar has actually carried out a wonderful work from building hype for the video game, and also its own most up-to-date trailer possesses certainly received us thrilled to discover the Old West once again. But what a choice that is. The Shift might discover on its own in the unusual role of having one the tiniest launch selections in past, but the very best specific launch game considering that Super Mario 64. Although Breath from bush also discharging on Wii U performs muddy that issue. Even the means he is first launched in guide is one of the absolute most unforgettable scenes ever. The importance of the very first intro appears to be on the House of Stark, that have actually suffered a variety of undesirable and gruesome tragedies at the hands of competing Westeros empires over the past handful of seasons before asserting back Winterfell, their farm, complying with the Struggle of the Bastards at the end from period 6. I claim this whenever I go through a manual by Kristen Callihan - she is one of my most favored authors around now. I could say that your first manual is one of the most greatly utilized away from my comprehensive collection!

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Why Feminsim isn’t One, Universal, Homogeneous Movement

I think everyone can agree that this U.S. election has brought about a lot of debate, anger, frustration, joy, hope, and a variety of other emotions depending on what candidate one supported. A huge conversation that occurred, and continues to occur, is the one about feminism. On both sides of the aisle there are people who are die-hard feminists, and there are those who hate the word feminism with every fiber in their being. I must admit, I am a feminist. But please don’t let that take away from what I am going to say. Something that worries me, as a young, left-leaning, woman attempting to educate myself on major political, cultural, and historical events is the lack of both sides in attempting to find common ground. Look, I am a ‘liberal’, but that doesn’t make me a bad person. Just like someone who voted for Trump in hopes of bringing back jobs to America is not inherently a bad person. What makes us bad people is when I refuse to listen to a steelworker in the rustbelt because I think his job security is not as important as my right to choose. Both are equally important concerns, but the current political climate causes us to become enemies, instead of working cooperatively together in order to bring a compromise that helps both parties. After all, our government was built on compromise – and if the past few election cycles have proved anything, it’s that the Republican and Democrat’s inability to compromise and work towards a common goal just hurts us, the American people the most. And the same can be said for people’s views towards feminism. You may love it, you may hate it, but at some point both sides need to get together and find a compromise because an inability to do so just hurts all members in the end.

Before I begin in my analysis, I want to talk about the feeling/vibe I get from the media and political commentators on feminism. Something that I have noticed is a urge to make feminism a homogeneous, universal movement. When the women’s marches were occurring in January, or when Sara Silverman made controversial comments about abortion, many were quick to point and say “Oh my God, Look, the feminists contradict themselves, all feminists want abortions – they are baby killers.” Or another statement I heard about feminism, and I still do, is that feminists are crude when referring to their vaginas, or breasts, or other body parts. I actually got into a heated conversation about this with my grandma (thanks in-part to a cousin who mentioned I was at a women’s march) who said that because I marched for women’s rights, it made me a “vile feminist” who should learn to “talk about oneself in a more appropriate manner.” Look, at the end of the day I respect these viewpoints. If someone believes that what women are saying at these marches or in interviews is crude or vile, then they have a right to voice those concerns. However, this brings me to my most important point – feminism is not, now, nor will it ever in the future, be a homogenous, one, united movement. Feminism has such an incredibly complex, deep history, and to assume that what one woman puts on her sign at a women’s march, or what one comedian says is representative of the whole movement is absurd. To help bring this point forward, here is a little background.

So, what is feminism? This one word that evokes grand statements of approval or dismay – is really just a fancy word for a women’s movement. A lot of individuals when they first read that quick and gritty definition will have one of two responses: 1) HA, exactly, I knew it was just a movement to help women become more important and powerful than men, those darn men haters. Or 2) That is so wrong and simplistic, this person has no idea what the feminist movement is about that uncultured swine! Okay, to be fair both responses are fair to my overly simplistic definition of what feminism is. But to put this in context, I am referring to the first stage of feminism here. When one takes a basic gender studies course (like I have), the professor will most likely label the first stage of feminism the Suffragette Stage. So this movement occurred in the 1910s through 1920s in Britain and the United States as a way to get women the right to vote. This is very true, but in both the United States and Britain, this was a movement directly linked to middle-class, white women. It was not inclusive, and arguably the term homogenous could definitely be applied. There was no variety in the types of women who were able to vote: only white, middle and upper class women. This is important to remember about feminism, especially since many minority women such as Indigenous women did not gain the right to vote until the late 1960s.

But, the first stage of feminism is still a little bit more complex and historic than a basic intro class gives one credit for. An absolutely fabulous book that I read last summer is titled The Feminist Papers: From Adams to de Beauvoir. It is edited and commentated on by Alice S. Rossi, and goes through the first wave of feminism in great detail. Something really great about this book, is that it talks about women from the 1770s – specifically Abigail Adams. She writes a letter to her husband, John Adams, pleading with him to “remember the ladies” because if the males of the Second Continental Congress did not, the women were “determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.” Totally kick-ass right?! Abigail Adams is one of my favorite feminists because she existed before there was even a movement for it. She is writing to her husband, who would eventually be the second president, demanding he recognize women’s rights. That is pretty bad-ass. Yet, largely looked over in intro classes. In fact, if one takes Rossi’s book at face value, the first women’s movement was largely women demanding they be educated so that they could eventually make arguments for having the legal rights that men did. Another major area that early feminists such as Judith Sargent Murray is forced to deal with it the biblical interpretations of women. Though some today may use the bible to attempt to limit the rights of others (homosexuals anyone?), women being powerless really does not have religious connotations these days. But in the late 1700s, you bet. And this is so very important for people to understand. While it is true that the first real feminist movement revolved around voting, we tend to forget the pre-feminist period, or at least the early half of the first feminist movement, where women were demanding education, proving the bible didn’t support their subservience, and in the end really got the ball rolling towards women’s rights. And look, if feminism was ever ‘homogenous,’ the argument could be made that it was during the first wave, but even then, look at the length of time that the first wave took. You’re looking at the late 1700s all the way to the 1920s. That is a good chuck of time, with many cultural, political, and even economic shifts. Women were not completely the same, nor was their primary goal in regards to women’s rights.

The second wave of feminism takes place from the 1960s through the 1980s. This to me is what I think of when I think of feminism. The 1960s, mass protests, bra burning, and lots of sex. And to be fair, this is an overdramatized point of view, but something I think a lot of my generation shares. But what did the second wave of feminism fight and stand for? Well, they were primarily fighting for a broader set of values than the first wave did. They were looking at reproductive rights, legal inequalities (that weren’t solved in the first wave), cultural inequalities, sexual liberty, family rights, workplace rights, and even attempted to tackle the issues of domestic violence and marital rape. There were some issues with the second wave. First, there were splinter groups such as radical feminism, which called for the complete destruction of patriarchal constructs and a reordering of culture, politics, and the economy to create an evener playing field for both men and women. The other main splinter group was social feminism. This argued that while the patriarchy is important in creating inferior women, it was not the only method. They believed that the economy and women’s inability to be economically independent ultimately caused their inferiority. It tends to be women of these groups that get labeled ‘man haters.’ –whether or not you think that title is accurate is up to you to decide. Additionally, the second wave coincided with the Civil Rights Movement and other movements of the 1960s. African American, black, indigenous, minority groups were fighting for their rights, and what happened in large numbers was that these minority women were fighting two fronts: one for rights for their race, and one for rights on their gender. A trend that developed is that these women were largely ignored by the feminist movement – either due to racism or the perception that these women were focused more on their race rights over their gender rights. Many people believe that the second wave did not go far enough in incorporating various races and ethnicities into its ranks – but to be fair the feminist movement is still charged with this accusation today (I believe, rightly so).

The third wave of feminism is really a reaction to first and second wave feminism, and particularly their flaws. As I have said previously, the first and second waves of feminism have lacked both racial and class variety among their ranks. Even second wave feminism, which was at its peak during the height of the Civil Rights Movement failed to really draw any large numbers of minorities to their movement. The third wave, however, focused on these racial, class, and sexuality minorities of society. The third wave brought black, queer, white, poor, affluent and transsexual all together. The third wave began in the 1990s and many argue is still around today (though some argue we have entered into a 4th wave, either way I will stop at the third wave).  It is during the third wave that ‘feminism’ really transforms from a women’s rights movement to an equality movement. During this movement we have seen, just recently, an attempt to break down masculinity stereotypes that can be damaging for males, we have seen marriage equality in our country, we have seen an ability for many LGBTQIA to have open relationships and be out and relatively safe. Now, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I know we have much to do with equality in the United States, and especially with the LGBTQIA, but arguably because of feminism and the third wave’s attempt to be more open, inclusive, and cooperative with other movements (such as the LGBTQIA movements) progress has been made.

So as you can see, feminism is a complex movement. Especially now under the third wave of feminism, as the movement attempts to become and embrace equality as its main goal, it is hard to be a homogenous movement. Think about the dates of these movements. There are women and men from the second wave still alive. There are people who are radical, socialist, Marxist, or a variety of other feminists alive today, who are actively working with Generation X third wave feminists and millennial third wave feminists. So when political commentators such as Tomi Lahren call feminists out for not wanting the same things, for contradicting themselves – remember that there are lots of different experiences and people in the movement, and one cannot expect them to all have the same ideologies, backgrounds, or hopes for the future. These individuals who claim to be feminists are hoping for a more equitable future – but that future may occur based on a variety of paths.