When the sun came up, I was lookin' at you
Yo.
Did you know, before Dana Scully became my hero, before Sam Carter showed me grace under pressure and Veronica Mars snuck into a single office, I had Nancy Drew. Nancy was smart and curious, she always seemed to know just what to do in any situation, even if that situation was her getting knocked over the head and dumped in a shed (which happened all the time). I read many, many Nancy Drew books, and in the late 90s, I discovered that a series of Nancy Drew video games existed. I didn’t really understand how these things were released, so I used to go haunt the computer game aisle at Staples, praying a new game would appear.
Playing these games, I learned history and discovered artists. They took place everywhere: in castles and caves, on islands and in soap opera studios. They were all about Nancy asking questions and opening drawers and finding secret passages and I ate them up. The 32nd game in the series came out this week, and I played it the day it arrived. It took place in Iceland, and now I know a little bit about the Icelandish language. Nancy Drew, still teaching me stuff.
Side note: if you have any interest at all in the way the Nancy Drew books were written & published, I highly recommend this book.
Notable Breakfast
Omelet with green onions & cheese, turkey sausage, sliced pears!
Dog Thing
ANGRY YAWN.
Mixed Media
I really didn’t know what to expect of Mad Max Fury Road going into it. I’m not a Mad Max fan, nor interested in bleak post-apocalyptic landscapes in general. If you’re wondering if I only saw it because it angered the MRAs, you would be absolutely correct. But I walked away from it completely converted.
The greatest thing about Fury Road is that it shows us how insanely easy it is to make a film with well-rounded female characters–even the one who are barely in it!–to the point where you start thinking about all the movies that didn’t manage it (ie, most of them) and being generally disappointed in humanity. Or, well, I do. But then I start thinking about Furiosa again and it’s hard to stay disappointed in the face of that.
This movie isn’t just a triumph of feminist storytelling, it’s also just a fantastic fucking movie. Talk about a master class in showing and not telling, plus literally every single performance is incredible. Charlize Theron is mesmerizing, driving the film forward like her war machine, and Tom Hardy is perfectly minimal, using gesture and grunts to convey a completely broken madness, a far cry from Mel Gibson’s rage in the original Mad Max.
I cannot praise this movie highly enough. You need to see Mad Max Fury Road. And you’ll probably want to see it twice.
Also: I saw Pitch Perfect 2, which was largely enjoyable with some highly problematic jokes. But a movie written by a woman, directed by a woman, and all about women made $70 million in its first week, and that is incredible. And the soundtrack is hella fun. Also hella fun: the new Tanlines album. I expect Slipping Away to be an oft-revisited summer jam. Final also: the season finale of Flash blew me the heck away. I expected I’d be crushed by the last Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode, but not Flash. If you’ve been on the fence about it, hop off the fence.
I Read Comics for a Living
A-Force #1 The was a lot of hype surrounded this issue, and it delivered. First and foremost: American Chavez, my girl and the punchtastic darling of the Young Avengers, is back. She’s here. I missed her so much. It’s probably good to have some knowledge of what’s going on in Secret Wars before grabbing this, since it is a Secret Wars title (it’s a whole event. Marvel loves its events), but the important thing is that all your favourite ladies are here (including Loki, in her female aspect), it’ll knock your socks off, and they just announced it’s going to be an ongoing. American Chavez on the monthly, be still my heart.
Also good:
Jem & the Holograms #3 If you were bummed out about the Jem movie trailer, the good news is that this comic exists. It is so, so good. The characters are well-rounded, the relationships–both platonic and romantic–are great, and the art is fantastic. I am just a little younger than the core Jem-watching demographic, so I don’t have that level of nostalgia to fall back on, but I love this comic so much.
Lumberjanes #14 I love the girls, but I’m glad the book is starting to explore more of the secondary character’s histories, as well as the surrounding forest. Brooke Allen’s art continues to be just the best thing about this book.
Shaft #6 This was the final issue of Shaft, which I didn’t realize until I finished it and was very distressed. What a fantastic series this was, just great hardboiled detective stuff. I really hope it turns into new work for the artist, Bilquis Evely, I am dying to see more of what she can do.
Ufology #2 Ufology is a book I am just really excited about. Aliens, mystery, awesome supportive families, wonderfully written teens. This is James Tynion IV’s second spooky teen book for Boom! (the first was The Woods, which I also love), and he’s clearly got a groove that works for him.
Books I liked: Apocalyptigirl: An Aria For The End Times, Aama 3: the Desert of Mirrors
Anxiety Pyjamas
ASOS All Over Frog Print Tee & Legging Pajama Set
These aren’t very summery, but it’s gotten cold here all of a sudden, and I love me some ASOS pjs.
Fics I Shouted About
Everything We Know About You Guys Is Wrong by devildoll, Teen Wolf, Sterek, sort-of How To Train Your Dragon AU (not really, but there is a dragon). Derek gets “rescued” by a dragon and actually sort of comes to like it.
This week, I actually wrote a fic, which involved flexing some atrophied muscles, but I think it came out okay:
Extra Whip by me, Teen Wolf, Sterek. From the perspective of Derek’s regular barista.
Lastly
Thanks, Tay.
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