it’s just as you always said it was
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I’ve just returned from a week away on vacation–a whole week! I spent it on the North Carolina coast. I was desperate for this vacation, so naturally I got sick my second day there and stayed that way. But I’m stubborn, so I went to the beach every day anyway, and coughed and sneezed in the ocean breeze. It turns out salt air is very good for clearing sinuses and soothing sore throats! Thanks, ocean.
In a past life, I was an art history scholar studying decorative arts, and I spent a summer as an intern at the Whalehead Club, one of the best examples of art nouveau in America. We went back to visit, and I was overwhelmed with love for the place, with its bright walls, Tiffany glass light fixtures, and Louis Marjorelle furniture. It stood abandoned for decades, once. I don’t know how anyone could have left it.
Notable Breakfast
Balance is important.
Dog Thing
Mixed Media
Earlier this year, I read The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin and it rocked my world. I’m not sure why it took me so long to get to it? But somehow I found myself following Jemisin on twitter, and loving the things she had to say, and I kept hearing great things about the book, and I caved. And, wow.
The Fifth Season is about the end of the world. The world is one in which the earth itself seems to be trying to buck humans off–there are tremors and quakes fairly often, and every few hundred years a catastrophe called a Season will occur. The land is littered with ruins of the past civilizations which did not survive. Jemisin’s world-building is dense, but deft–you don’t feel like you need an encyclopedia to refer to as you go, because everything you need is right there on the page.
The book follows three women at three different stages of their lives–a girl, a young woman, and a woman in her 40s. All three are orogenes, meaning they have the ability to control the earth. They’re not quite earthbenders, but close. Despite performing a very necessary service–quelling the near-constant tremors–orogenes, derisively called rogga, are feared and hated almost universally.
The Fifth Season is a book that’s fueled by rage. It feels extremely human, for all that it’s about people who are essentially magic users. I won’t tell you more, because it’s so well-written and one of the joys is figuring out what’s really happening as you go. The same is true of The Obelisk Gate, its recently released sequel and honestly, astonishingly, perhaps even better than its predecessor.
The Fifth Season won the Hugo Award for best novel last month. It deserved it.
Also:
I started watching Star Wars Rebels, and have just finished the first season. The animation style put me off at first–3-D CGI just doesn’t look as slick on tv, no matter what you do–but I kept with it, and am glad. It’s a lot of fun, and builds out the Star Wars universe in an enjoyable way. Also it features a droid who is a huge jerk, which is generally delightful.
(L) what I brought with me, (R) what I actually read (all or most of)
Gail Carriger’s Prudence and Imprudence are part of a new series that builds on a preexisting universe in which werewolves and vampires rub elbows in Queen Victoria’s England. They’re a lot of fun! If you like supernatural creatures and also detailed descriptions of hats, these books are for you.
I saw Laika’s newest film, Kubo and the Two Strings, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. It’s a very, very good movie, and Laika’s stop-motion artistry is incredible. However, it is very clearly a Japanese story set in Japan–if a magical realism version of it–and all of the lead voice actors, not to mention the production team who created the film, are white. Laika’s really the only one doing stop-motion anymore, and I want them to continue doing it, but this is really not okay. I saw Bad Moms, which was a lot of fun. A good vacation movie, mostly works if you don’t think about it too hard. Kathryn Hahn kills it.
“Here Comes a Thought,” the song featured in last week’s Steven Universe, is lovely and life-changing and you should listen to it 100 times. Hey Violet put out a crisp, 3-song EP and I’ve listened to it a lot! Here’s the single. Dario Marianelli did the score for Kubo and the Two Strings, so that’s of course gorgeous, but the credits were set to a Regina Spektor cover of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which is fantastic.
Anxiety Pyjamas
Fics I Shouted About
Doctor’s Orders by genericfanfic Voltron, Keith/Lance, post-S1. Keith & Lance end up crash-landed on the same planet, and have to learn to survive without killing each other.
Took My Life to Make by cosmic_llin Star Trek Beyond, Jaylah, Gen. Give me all of the Jaylah character studies, shovel them into my open mouth. Jaylah learns about her house.
to the sky without wings by leupagus Star Wars TFA, Poe/Luke, pre-movie. I know. I know. I don’t know if I would have started this fic if I’d known what the pairing was going in, but by the time I realized I was too far gone to stop. Laupagus builds out the years between Return of the Jedi & Force Awakens with such skill that honestly the movies should aspire to it. Finn/Poe still owns my heart, but this is great.
Rhythm of the Night by TheRavenLady Voltron, Keith/Lance. Lance goes to the training room when he can’t sleep. Keith pretty much lives there. A friendship ensues.
is it too late now to say sorry by magneticwave Check Please!, Jack/Bitty, AU. Bitty is a baker in a Canadian town which decides to rename its lake in hockey hero Jack Zimmermann’s honor. Bitty is incensed.
a song, unexpected by Lizzen Ghostbusters, Erin/Holtzmann. Holtzmann falls quickly. Erin takes her time.
i wanna feel your heartlines (i wanna feel your heart) by notcaycepollard Captain America Civil War, Sam/Bucky. Sam falls asleep places, sometimes. Sometimes those places are on Bucky.
Forging Bonds by mikkimouse Teen Wolf, Stiles/Derek, season 3 AU. What if Stiles and Lydia had made it in time to save Boyd? This is basically a fix-it fic for the entire latter half of season 3, and I am here for it.
Lastly
the article about how to approach a woman wearing headphones (if you haven’t heard) is a blight on the internet, but it gave us these two incredible, funny, biting poems: “So, You Must Talk to the Woman Who is Wearing Headphones” by Alexandra Petri, and “This Vote is Legally Binding” by T. Kingfisher.
if you love Voltron, you can’t go wrong with elentori’s fanart.
that’s all from me
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