Just for Fun: Cute Gifs Galore

First, the G in "gif" is pronounced like the G in "girl".

Second, thought I'd take this just for fun post and share some of my favorite and most used (perhaps abused?) gifs. Just a quick little fun post to serve as a respite before you plunge back into the void that is contemporary culture. Also, I feel the need to balance the heavy post I published earlier this week.

Not feeling sure of yourself? This cat knows that feel.

Feeling exceptionally sure of yourself? Like you could take on a monster many many times bigger than you? This cat is right there with you.

 

So excited about something good that you can't stand it? Monsieur Wigglebutt is on your wavelength.

Feeling the opposite? Hate the entire world? Here's a different kind of canine who agrees 100%.

And one more emotional spectrum... are you feeling bad about something you did wrong? Like this cat?

Or know you did wrong, but don't care at all?

I hope this string of relatively nonsensical gifs has put a smile on your face. If you need more cute, please remember I have a semi-curated collection of cute and distracting gifs over on my Pinboard account, ready at a moment's notice to help you find a smile.

Just for Fun: Valentine Stuff

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A day to celebrate all things romantic love, especially cisgendered, heterosexual love, makes pretty much everyone feel less than. Even those of us in relationships that look - at least on the surface - like the stereotypical, media driven ideal, can feel less than. Further, there is so much hype that accompanies this holiday that it makes everything such a hassle. Case in point: I am in a healthy, happy romantic relationship, but we decided to put our plans to take advantage of half price night at a local museum on hold rather than deal with the nonsense around today.

Having said that, I still kind of want to share some of my favorite Valentine related things I've seen this year.

First, there's #ValentineASpecies over on Twitter. I have long contended that #SciComm twitter is the best twitter, and this fun trend is just more proof of that. Here are some fun ones I saw, but I recommend perusing the hashtag if you need a laugh:

Roses are red
Peacocks are blue
They're polygamous
Or have lots of boos 😘#ValentineASpecies pic.twitter.com/Nw6dXAHa8o

— WCBS880 Author Talks (@wcbs880books) February 14, 2019

Roses are red
We all need more culture
So forget about looks
And make friends with a vulture#ValentineASpecies #LoveVultures
Photo: Ottilie Zivanovic pic.twitter.com/92nRQgWFr6

— Hawk Conservancy (@HawkConservancy) February 14, 2019

Then there's the neural net written candy heart messages. I encouraged people to tag themselves. For the record, I'm definitely "My Hag":

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Finally, I've written about how much I admire Jeffrey Marsh before, and their public reminder that aromantic and asexual individuals are just as loved and wanted and supported and seen made me admire them even more:

If you’re ace or aro I know this is a hard time of year. My heart is with you. I see you. 💛🌈💕

— jeffrey marsh (@thejeffreymarsh) February 14, 2019

So, whether you're happily in love and in a romantic relationship, or happily single and looking forward to half-priced chocolate tomorrow, or some other state that combines those two or is a completely other thing, I hope you have a great day.

Just for Fun: No Resolutions, Only Intentions

I'm pretty sure that panel from Calvin & Hobbes was meant to make Calvin look silly, but the joke's on Bill Watterston because Calvin was perfect the way he was. In fact - hold onto your hats - we are all perfect just the way we are. We are all as we need to be in any moment. Sure, your brain chemistry might not be where you want it to be and you might have more adipose tissue than is condoned by mainstream culture. You probably have less money than you'd like and more books on your to read list than you'll ever have time to complete. But really - REALLY - I know in my heart that you are doing the best you know how. So am I. So is everyone.

People make and then break resolutions every year, me included, so this year I'm going to do something different. I'm going to try my hardest to love me as I am. Right now. Sensitive stomach and occasional acne. Bad back and fat legs. Even going to try to love my anxiety. (For those who've been paying attention, yes - this intention is shaped by How to be You.)

The first step in this will be to stop as much negativity as I can. I know this may seem contradictory - I just said I'm going to love me as I am, and then I immediately talked about something I'm trying to change. Not actually a contradiction, since I know my negativity has served me well in the past and if I'm going to love me as I am, I have to love all of me. Kindness is my highest aspiration, however, and I want to make it a habit.

Please take a moment to tell yourself some things you like about you as we move into this new year, with all the wonder and terror it will probably entail. You're a pretty great person. And so am I.

Just for Fun: Learning How To Be Me

This post is somewhat of an experiment, and very different from what I normally publish for this monthly series of posts that are less library-y and more blog-y. You see, I've been buddy-reading How to Be You by Jeffrey Marsh with a friend. We read one chapter a week and then discuss. Sometimes we share the answers we gave to the questions Marsh asks. Sometimes we talk about the memories that arose as we read. Sometimes we talk about how hard but important it is going to be to embrace the ideas the author discusses. This week I'm jumping the gun, though, because one of the exercises in Chapter 5, "Let Go of Punishment and Control", really hit me hard, and I want to share.

On page 96, Marsh invites their reader (Marsh is famously non-binary, which is yet another reason for me to like them) to: "Ask someone who loves you what they like most about you." Wow. This is an exercise in vulnerability if ever I saw one, and I - like so many other people - am horrified at the idea of being that vulnerable.

But I did it. I asked the person who is Dante to my Randall what he likes best about me. His answer? My sense of humor. I couldn't help but smile, because that's a thing that I value about myself as well.

Before I asked him, though, I'd been thinking - and here's some more vulnerability for you - that I'm also someone who loves me. I not always kind to myself, but I do think I'm pretty rad on the whole. I'm going to be 46 soon, so it's about time that I started liking this person with whom I have a life long relationship, right? So, in keeping with the ideas from Marsh's book and as an exercise in self esteem and vulnerability, here are some things I like about me:

• I'm clever. Yes, I'm smart, and I'd like to think that I've earned a certain amount of wisdom, but I'm also clever. I can see how seemingly disparate things fit together, sometimes in ways nobody imagined before. It's a thing I used to think everyone could do, but it's not. I'm not unique in this attribute, but it does seem to be rare, so I value my cleverness.
• I'm a good friend. I am, for a few people in my life, the one person who is allowed to call them on their bullshit. I think that's because I do it lovingly and always phrase it that way. "I love you no matter what, and support you in your decisions whatever they may be, but..." is a thing I've said to friends - and meant every word. I also do the opposite. I've lost count of the times I've exhorted my friends to be kinder to themselves. "Hey, that's my friend you're talking about there. I think you should cut them some slack."
• I have a culinary imagination. This is another thing I thought everyone could do until I learned otherwise. I can think about a recipe and rearrange it in my mind with other flavors that people might not think would work together, but that are fantastic. I have made risotto everywhere from pure as heck vegan to meat meaty meat. I can tell you which cheese will taste better in a specific circumstance (even though I'm now lactose intolerant). This talent also made it easy for me to sell wine back when I was a waitress.
• I'm always looking for ways to improve myself. I will admit that I don't always enjoy the "why am I not best at this already?" part of learning something new, but I've come to embrace that stage as just a part of the process. I can easily tell you all the things that I'm currently trying to improve, but that's not the point of this post. However, I can say that the things I'm trying to improve are about skills and not the core of who I am.
• Kindness is my highest aspiration. I'm not nice. Nice doesn't get the work done. Nice is... well... nice...? But nice always seems to want to tell people what they want to hear even when it's not the truth. Kindness, on the other hand, wants the best for people, even if that means a failing grade or a less than stellar evaluation. Kindness is also compassionate, and compassion is something we are sorely lacking in our culture.

So how about you? What's something you like about you? Feel free to tweet it or put it in a comment here, but you don't have to. Please, though, take a moment at least to ask someone you love and trust to tell you what they like about you. I know when I told the friend with whom I'm reading this book the thing I value most about them, it really resonated and I've seen that friend really embrace that quality in themselves.

Just For Fun: Romance Is For Everyone

I'm talking about romance novels, to be specific. I've been hinting at this on Twitter, but I'm ready to come out completely. My name is Jessica Olin, and I like reading romance novels. I read them as a kid, but put them aside because that's what I thought I was supposed to do. This summer I realized how foolish that was, so I'm reading romance novels again.

Further, I refuse to be ashamed. Sure, there are some poorly written books in this genre. Sure, there are some problematic tropes. That's true of every genre - even literary fiction. But there is also so much to love about romance:

• Guaranteed happy endings. This is so much a part of the genre that there's even a well-known abbreviation for this. HEA, or Happily Ever After. Lord knows with the current state of the government (and not just the one in my country - I see you, Brazil and UK), I need some happy in my life.
• Emotional intelligence. The characters in these novels - whether they're contemporary or period, hetero or queer, normal or paranormal - all display emotional intelligence. Sometimes it takes them a while to get to that point of realizing they're in love with this other person (which is one of the tropes I kind of love). Sometimes it takes them a while to realize why they're experiencing other emotions as well. But they always get there.
• Love. I think The Beatles were wrong. I think we need more than love. I also think love is part of good friendships. But I love that romance novels are love stories. I don't need more bored-middle-aged-male-sex-romps-with-underage-girls-self-insert novels. Not that I'm a prude. I feel cheated if there aren't a couple of steamy sex scenes, but I want to see more love in the world.

My main requirement, beyond the above, is that there be something other about the novel. Contemporary is fine, if it's paranormal or sci-fi-ish. "Normal" settings are great, but they have to be historical. One of my favorite romance novels I've read since I started reading them again was paranormal, historical, and queer (oh my!). I've read and enjoyed novels with cisgay men, cisgay women, and cisstraight people. I've not yet read any with transgender characters or nonbinary characters, but I have a few on my to read list. I've also not yet read much with non-caucasian characters, but have some of those on my to read list as well.

Here are a few I've read and loved:

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

A young  woman who thinks she's firmly "on the shelf" gets pissed off and decides to start breaking the rules. The first rule she decided to break is kiss a notorious rake. Hilarity, both sexy and non-sexy, ensues. The characters were fun and their reactions felt genuine. The manwhore/womanvirgin trope was fully in play here, which is not one I appreciate, but other than that it was a great read.

More info on this book at GoodReads.

The Highlander by Kerrigan Byrne

A woman escaping a bad marriage pretends to be a governess and gets hired by a Scottish laird to get his children in line. He's battle hardened and also had a bad first marriage. She's scarred from severe mistreatment by her husband, who put her into an asylum. Trigger Warnings for spousal abuse and attempted rape (not a fan of rape/attempted rape as a plot point - that's another trope I dislike). But I loved that she wasn't a virgin and that was okay. Another great read - so great I've gone on to read the rest of this series.

More info on this book at GoodReads. 

Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk

A philologist who got his PhD at Miskatonic University (!!) learns that a man for whom he had a long-held but secret affection is killed. Enter an ex-Pinkerton detective who is investigating that death. Sparks fly between the two as they try to defeat a plot to bring an unspeakable horror into our world. The tension and fear of recrimination and prosecution that were attendant upon any same sex relationships in this era are handled well. Loved everything about this book and immediately bought my own copy after finishing it.

More info on this book at GoodReads.


I've read more in the last 5 months or so, and if you're interested you can check out my short, almost always spoiler-free reviews over on my GoodReads profile. I know this genre is labeled as "for women", but I've never understood that. Some of the novels have so much sex they verge on pornographic. Besides, doesn't everyone secretly love a happy ending? At least on occasion?

How about you? Do you have any favorites? I'm figuring you like romance novels or are at least interested in them if you made it to the end of this post. Please leave recommendations in the comments or @ me on Twitter. I'm always looking for new authors.

Just For Fun: Elizabeth Bishop

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A long time ago (25-ish years) in a Galaxy far, far away (a Boston suburb), my parents gave me The Golden Treasury of Poetry. I think it was for Hanukkah, but it might have been for my birthday. It may sound like hyperbole to say this book changed my life, but it really did. In particular, the poem that is featured above blew my little mind. Up until I read "The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop, I had no idea that poems didn't have to rhyme. I didn't know poetry could be so visual and symbolic and still feel good as you pronounce the words. Up until then, the poetry I'd read was probably nothing more than doggerel. Lines like "backed and packed with tarnished tinfoil" delighted me endlessly. I should say "delight" instead of "delighted" because "The Fish" is still, to this day, my favorite poem.

It started a small, but definite, obsession with the works of Elizabeth Bishop. Take, for instance, her sestina:

September rain falls on the house.
In the failing light, the old grandmother
sits in the kitchen with the child
beside the Little Marvel Stove,
reading the jokes from the almanac,
laughing and talking to hide her tears.

She thinks that her equinoctial tears
and the rain that beats on the roof of the house 
were both foretold by the almanac,
but only known to a grandmother.
The iron kettle sings on the stove.
She cuts some bread and says to the child,

It's time for tea now; but the child
is watching the teakettle's small hard tears
dance like mad on the hot black stove,
the way the rain must dance on the house.
Tidying up, the old grandmother
hangs up the clever almanac

on its string. Birdlike, the almanac
hovers half open above the child,
hovers above the old grandmother
and her teacup full of dark brown tears.
She shivers and says she thinks the house
feels chilly, and puts more wood in the stove.

It was to be, says the Marvel Stove.
I know what I know, says the almanac.
With crayons the child draws a rigid house
and a winding pathway. Then the child
puts in a man with buttons like tears
and shows it proudly to the grandmother.

But secretly, while the grandmother
busies herself about the stove,
the little moons fall down like tears
from between the pages of the almanac
into the flower bed the child
has carefully placed in the front of the house.

Time to plant tears, says the almanac.
The grandmother sings to the marvelous stove
and the child draws another inscrutable house.

The rules of a sestina are set and painstakingly particular and exacting. It's using the same words over and over again in a very specific pattern, and is sometimes seen as an intellectual exercise, but Bishop makes the intellectual exercise sing.

Then there's her poem "Casabianca." It is an homage to another poem by the same name, written by Felicia Hemans. The Hemans poem is shmaltzy and the kind of thing people are made to memorize (or at least used to be made to memorize) for public speaking classes. It's a poem about a boy's loyalty and love for his father. But Bishop's homage takes that idea and story to another place and punches me in the gut with its eloquence:

Love's the boy stood on the burning deck
trying to recite `The boy stood on
the burning deck.' Love's the son
stood stammering elocution
while the poor ship in flames went down.

Love's the obstinate boy, the ship,
even the swimming sailors, who
would like a schoolroom platform, too,
or an excuse to stay
on deck. And love's the burning boy.

I can pick up a collection of her works and open to any page and know I'm going to find something I love. Can't say that about any other poet, except maybe Shakespeare.

So how about you? Do you have a favorite poem? Poet? Please share!

Just For Fun: Mayonnaise!

I'm going to go against the grain of typical blogs that share recipes. I'm going to give you my main recipe up front (based almost exactly on this one)!

1 cup extra light tasting olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg (size matters)
2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Put everything into a container with a mouth wide enough for an immersion blender, but not much wider. You MUST use an immersion blender for this recipe. After everything is in the container, put the blender in, and turn it on high - holding it still - for 30 seconds. You'll be tempted to move it, but don't. After that, move it around and blend the rest of the oil in, for another 30 seconds. Et voilà: mayonnaise! There are other methods that call for letting the egg warm up to room temperature or pouring the oil in very slowly, but if you are like me and have no patience but still want homemade mayo, this is the recipe for you.

Now for the chatty bits! I told a couple of friends about making my own mayo now, and they demanded a taste test. With McDonald's french fries. Their idea, not mine, but it ended up working well. Anyway, I rose to the occasion and made four different versions (the one above and the others listed below), but there was no consensus on which was the best. I liked the spicy one the best, but both the original recipe (above) and the dill version got votes as well. We certainly had fun trying them, and I definitely had fun coming up with the different recipes.

Spicy: instead of lemon juice, I put 2 tbsp of original Cholula. You need an acid of some sort in mayo, and hot sauce is made with vinegar. When I tasted the Cholula mayo, though, it didn't have any kind of kick, so I added a tbsp of Frank's RedHot. If I make this again, I'll just go with 2 tbsp of Frank's.

Vinegary: instead of lemon juice, 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. This was also recommended by the person who wrote the recipe I cited above. It's not good for everyday applications, because the vinegar taste comes through super strong, but it's fantastic with potatoes. It'd probably be amazing for potato salad.

Dill: instead of lemon juice, I put 2 tbsp of pickle juice, I also added a small amount of fresh dill - hard to explain how much, other than to tell you I pulled off a couple of inches from the top of the dill I bought. Didn't chop it up, either, since the stick blender did that for me.

Yes, this does use fresh, raw eggs. That means it won't last as long as long as store-bought, but it will last a couple of weeks past the expiration date on the eggs you buy. But I gotta say - it never lasts more than a week for me.

Good luck with this, and let me know how it goes!

Just For Fun: Fictional Librarians Revisited, or Oook!

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People who know me well, and therefore know that I'm unreasonably afraid of monkeys (it's an uncanny valley thing *shivers* erg), are probably going to be surprised when I tell you all that the Head Librarian of the Unseen University is my favorite fictional librarian. It's cool, though - he's an ape.

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Anyways, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the Head Librarian, Unseen University, Ankh-Morpork, and the Discworld in general... here's quick description from the same page as where I found the picture above:

"Transformed into an orangutan by a wayward beam of magic, the Librarian is a member of the small, elite group who have the knowledge and ability to travel through L-space. His true identity is unknown and he speaks only through a series of “ooks” and “eeks,” but he’s still a pretty low-key guy when he’s not protecting the world’s knowledge. Just don’t call him a monkey. Trust us on that one."

The Discworld series, by the sorely missed and dearly departed Terry Pratchett, is one of the finest examples of parody we have available. All the fantasy novel tropes - ALL. OF. THEM. - are held up for examination and destruction. The Librarian, in my opinion, is a take down and reexamination of the "noble savage" trope, but he's not noble. He's out to protect his own hide, the grimoires and other magical tomes in his care, and his pile of bananas. However, he is more in tune with the forces of magic than pretty much anyone you'll encounter in the Discworld novels. Or, at the very least, he's more wise and wary of them.

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He's not my favorite character in Discworld. That's probably Death, or maybe Granny Weatherwax. But when it comes to fictional librarians, this orangutan has got it all over the rest of them.

How about you? Do you have a favorite fictional librarian?

Just For Fun: You Remind Me of the Babe

Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City pic.twitter.com/cxS49RufW1

— Unhappily Ewa After (@EwaSR) July 28, 2017

This is another one of those "just for fun" posts that I have a hard time believing I haven't written yet. But I checked and double checked, and unless the goblins are rearranging my blog around me to hide a prior Labyrinth post, I really have neglected to write about one of my earliest media obsessions for 6 years of this blog. What?

So here I am to fill that obvious gap.

Let's start with the writing, which means talking about Terry Jones. I didn't think about this until much later, but I think Labyrinth was my gateway to Monty Python. I know MP predates this film, but I'm pretty sure it was the opposite order in my life. Regardless, there's something utterly enchanting and so right about the seriousness clothed in extreme goof that typifies Jones' writing. Gawd, how I love his writing, his imagination run amuck. Here, let me share some of my favorite moments:

That last line? Kills me every time.

"It's so stimulating being your head."

"You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is."


Then there's the characters. Even the minor characters are fully realized and distinct from each other. From Hoggle to Sarah to the Fireys. With the writing, we get Jones' imagination running wild. With the characters, it's Jim Henson.

Ludo is so lovely (seen here with Sarah)

I think Sir Didymus (and his mount, Ambrosius) are my favorites.

And all the variety of the goblins!

But I think the most important thing about Labyrinth, the thing that caused my obsession, was David Bowie as The Goblin King. Let's set aside, at least for now, the intensely problematic situation of an eons old man falling in love with and courting a 16 year old girl. David Bowie was amazing casting. I've watched and read some things about the making of this film, and Henson said that Bowie was their first choice for the role (although they thought about Michael Jackson as well).

As much as the creative minds behind Labyrinth might have imagined other people in this role, it could only have ever been David Bowie.

So how about you? What did you love (or even... *gasp* hate) about this movie?

Just For Fun: Viktor Victorious

Mr. Viktor, my gray tabby boy, came into my life about a month after Martin the Gozerian died way too young. V was exactly what I needed in my life. He's boisterous and gregarious and goofy - definitely not to be ignored. More important than his good taste in music, as seen in the above (I like Paul's Boutique a lot, too), he's seriously the most happy-go-lucky cat I've ever known. (Except when it comes time for me to wash the bed linens. Then he gives me a face. See below.)

People with whom Viktor has made friends:

• Every repair person ever. He especially liked the guy in charge of maintenance at my apartment complex in Delaware.
• The guy who delivered and set up the futon I bought for my second bedroom here in New York. Viktor loved him so much that he sat in the guy's lap while my futon was being put together.
• Every friend of mine who has come to my apartment. 
• He may have never met you before, but trust me: Viktor loves you and is your friend, too.

If the rescue organization that brought him into my life is to be believed, Viktor has always been this way. Apparently when they found him, he was in the company of some much younger kittens. The rescue group assumed he was a she, and the mother of the kittens, because of how affectionate Viktor was with the littler kits.

Actually, the only creature I've ever seen him treat with anything less than full on, storybook, eternal love and devotion...? Is my other cat, Zephyr. But even with her, it's more like a kid brother pestering his big sister. (Before you ask, no - they aren't related. I know they look it a bit, but it seems tabby is just very common coloring among Delaware cats.)

And last, but not least, is the fact that he has very refined tastes in cinema. He is watching The Seventh Seal in that picture below - and he watched it very intently for almost the whole film. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this striking film by the auteur, Ingmar Bergman, but there's no doubt that Viktor is a fan.

Here's to my odd little man - long may Viktor reign over my apartment and life.

Just for Fun: Death

No, this isn't a plea for help or even a "Suicide is Painless" kind of thing. Nope, I want to talk to you about fictional portrayals of death - namely, sharing my favorites. And which is my most favoritest of all of them? I don't even know. Ask me again tomorrow and I might have a different answer.

Anyway...

Death of the Endless (Mostly from the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman)

In this universe, the personifications of ideas have pretty much always been there. They are perceived differently by different species, but each of them - Destiny, Dream, Delirium (originally called Delight), Desire, Despair, Destruction, and Death - are essentially the same being throughout. Though  I love each of the Endless, I think Death is my favorite. She is never cruel, but is instead always kind. However, she is not to be denied. When she takes an extremely long lived person in the course of the story arc, and he starts to complain, Death responds, "You get what anybody gets - you get a lifetime."

Incarnations of Immortality

This series has a similar idea - that these abstract ideas are actually a person - but with a very different twist. The book about Death is the first in a series that also encompasses Time, Fate, War, Nature, The Devil, and God. (For those of you who've read the series - I refuse to acknowledge, except in passing, the book about Night.) In this series, these roles are jobs that each pass on in particular ways. Death has to kill the previous incarnation to get the job.

Discworld


I'm in the midst of a reread of the early books in this series. I had been putting it off for a while, not wanting to run out of Terry Pratchett books, but I did it for so long that I forgot enough details that I decided to start over. Regardless, I'll never forget how much I love Pratchett's Death. He is fascinated by humans, and cats, and is kind when needed but also ruthless when it is called for. One of my favorite things about him is that after a particularly nasty problem that caused a bunch of different little deaths to start roaming around, he reabsorbed all of them except Death of Rats.


So how about you? Do you have a favorite fictional portrayal of Death? What should I read or watch next?

Just for Fun: Nothing More Hazardous to My Health Than Boredom

There's something so compelling about the show Elementary. It's not as quotable as other shows I've discussed on here, but then again it's not populated by archetypes and stereotypes. As much as I adore every other television show I've discussed on LtaYL, there's just a bit more when it comes to Elementary. Normally I try to avoid discussing specifics because I'm trying to get you to watch a show with me, but when it comes to this particular show I can't make any promises. Basically, what I'm saying is spoilers abound.

So here's your last chance to turn around, leave the post, and avoid having the show spoiled.

Still with me?

Okay then...

The first thing that I love about this show is how real everyone feels - even the "bad" guys, but especially the "good" guys. (And yes, I used those quotation marks on purpose: I do mean "so called bad guys" and "so called good guys," since nobody is purely one or the other.) Kitty Winter is damaged by what happened to her, but she is more than that damage. Marcus Bell takes a very very long time to forgive Sherlock for getting shot. And Sherlock's relapse into drug addiction... Also there's the fact that people grow and change and evolve. Maybe not Sherlock himself, because he's frighteningly brilliant (the quote in the title is something he says), but everyone else feels like someone you know or could know.

Next, I love how perfectly Sherlock it is. Not that I've read every Conan Doyle story in existence, but I've read enough to love how this series (like most Sherlock-based series) plays with the original stories. Of course, Elementary avoids the Anglo-centric angries that were attendant upon Conan Doyle's writing... which makes it even better.

Then there's Aidan Quinn. I had such a crush on him when I was younger (Desperately Seeking Susan, anyone?) and he's aged nicely. He's a pretty pretty man, and his acting is exceptional. I know there's a real Lestrade in this series, someone who Sherlock left back in London who occasionally comes back into his life, but Captain Thomas Gregson is fantastic in the Lestrade role. And did I mention how pretty I think the actor is? Oh, those eyes...

Next? The gender flipping of crucial roles. Instead of Professor James Moriarty, we get Jamie Moriarty (who is also Irene Adler?!?!) the art restoration specialist. Instead of Dr. John Watson, we get Dr. Joan Watson - both still veterans of a sort, only Joan is a veteran of the war on drugs. It's the kind of twist I like to think Conan Doyle might have liked, if he hadn't been so busy hating Mormons.

Finally, speaking of Joan Watson, can we talk about how amazing Lucy Liu is in this? I've always liked whatever she's done, but with Elementary, I finally saw what an amazing actor she is. Sure, I've had a bit of a crush on her since Kill Bill, but her performance in this series just blew me away. Plus, her character kicks ass.

And one last word before I ask you what you love about this show: please don't say anything if it's about the last three episodes of the most recent season. I haven't watched them yet, so... no spoilers for me.

So, if you've read this far... what do you love about Elementary?

Just for Fun: Copper and Cut Grass

I am firmly and completely head-over-heels in love with the October Daye books by Seanan McGuire. Some of why I love these books are tied to spoiler-y, things such as characters who I 'shipped early on getting together later in the series, but worry not if you haven't read these books yet because I've decided to make this spoiler free.

• These are urban fairy mysteries. Urban fey stories mashed up with great mystery stories. The main character, Toby Daye, is a private investigator and she's also a changeling - half fairy and half human. Prior to the series, she worked for humans, but during the series she works exclusively within the local fairy population.
• No rape, at all, not even as a plot point. Yes, there's murder - that's kind of the point of most mystery series - but no rape is a nice reassuring thing as I read books.
• The world building is immersive and consistent and amazing. The stories are mostly set in and around San Francisco, both in the fairy worlds that touch on that part of California and in the human parts. The way magic works is consistent and the geography feels real.
• This is a minor spoiler, but it's for something that comes up in the first book fairly early on so it's not going to ruin the books - I love the rose goblin Spike. He's an animate rose bush that is shaped loosely like a cat and that also acts like a cat. Love love love him.
• I've mostly listened to these books, and the narrator for the series thus far - Mary Robinette Kowal - is absolutely perfect for the material.

And as proof of how much I love this series, let me submit the following two pieces of proof:

• I named my home wifi network "Tamed Lightning" which is also the name of one of the counties in the books.
• I wear this t-shirt on a regular basis:

So how about you? Have you read these books? What do you love about them? If you haven't read them, have I convinced you to give them a try?

Just for Fun: In Case of Emergency (Cute Therapy)

I talk about this occasionally on Twitter, but I have an entire tag on my Pinboard account that is just cute/funny things: InCaseofEmergency. I've tried to label all the animals, because I don't want there to be any surprises like a snake I think is cute but you're an ophidiophobe. I offer this up because this is a crazy-inducing time in politics, and I think we could all use some gratuitous cuteness today. Here are some of my favorites, but please @ me on Twitter or comment here with others and I'll add them to my files... to my little mental health public service.

If you don't know about the adorableness that is the fossa, time to learn:

Then there's this ridiculously cute creature:

https://library-graffiti.tumblr.com/post/150225890147/trashgnomesanonymous-thenimbus-charmera

A squeaky baby fruit bat (not sure why there's no image here, but the video does work):



And perhaps my favorite of all my saved links, an argumentative ibex:

So how about you? What makes you laugh no matter what? What helps you calm down? Please share!

Just For Fun: Don't Dream It's Over

You know how it usually works when you revisit something you loved as a child? You read or watch or listen, and are deeply disappointed. Sometimes it's because you know better now, like oh my GOD, the casual sexism and racism of M.A.S.H.. Other times it's because you've moved on, such as how I'm embarrassed by how much I loved Garfield and Duran Duran. So when I recently decided to revisit the music of one of my earliest favorites, Crowded House, I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only does their music live up to my early memories - I've actually got a deeper appreciation of their skills now than I did back in 80s.

Maybe it's the power of nostalgia, but I don't think so. I think this is just an amazing band that everyone should be listening to. When I listen to other acts that these people were involved with, such as Finn Brothers and Split Enz, I'm still completely enthralled. And here are some songs to get you going (or for you to enjoy again, if you're already a fan):

The song that made me fall in love with the band:



A favorite from their second album:

The song that most people have heard, and lots of people have covered:

And a bonus from the band they were before they were Crowded House:

So, what do you think? Love them, too?

Just For Fun: Yippie Kayak, Other Buckets

I know I'm late to this particular party, but wow I'm in love with this show. I'm going to try to write this with minimal spoilers, and as a result I'm not going to be able to write about some of my favorite things about the show.

My favorite thing about this show? How intersectional it is. There are two Hispanic women characters, Diaz and Santiago, and neither are a stereotype. Also two African American men, also not stereotypes. In fact, the only stereotypical cop behavior - donut eating anyone? - comes from two older, white men. Later on in the series, one of the characters says something like "I liked that movie up until the end when it got a bit transphobic." A character on a prime time, network television show that says the word "transphobic"? Sign me up. (One caveat: this series is fatphobic at times, but that's the only drawback for me.)

Another thing to love is that characters are allowed to grow and change. They are so relatable! The relationship between Amy Santiago and Jake Peralta is one, small example of this growth. I adore watching Gina grow up and yet not grow up. Some characters soften over time, and others harden (but in good ways). Even secondary characters have growth! Detective Lohank, anyone?

The fact that they don't shy away from hard issues also pleases me. Subjects like police brutality, racism, sexism, and homophobia are in the mix on a regular basis. Best part? The show also doesn't rely on stale and boring tropes to make these topics fit the comedy of the show... like the time there was a joke about same sex marriage, but the joke was that they were so worried it wouldn't stay legal that they rushed through the ceremony.

When I first announced on Twitter that I was going to watch this, someone (I don't remember who - sorry!) asked me to let them know my favorite running gag. I also have a couple of favorite characters to share:

Favorite running gag: Die Hard. Jake Peralta's obsession with this movie series is beyond over the top, and it reminds me so much of how obsessed I get about things - like Brooklyn Nine-Nine for instance. The title of this post comes from an episode where Jake's obsession gets to be the basis of an entire episode.

Favorite regular character: Captain Ray Holt. Here is a man who is open and honest about who he is - a gay, African American police officer - and does not let it stop him from going after his dreams. The moments when he can admit his own mistakes and grows as a result are some of my favorite moments in the series. I recently took a Buzzfeed quiz, "Which Brooklyn Nine-Nine Character Are You?" and even though I didn't game the quiz in the slightest, I got Holt as my result:

Favorite recurring character: Doug Judy. If you've watched this show, you can probably guess why I adore him. He's got charisma and charm and is all about playing into your stereotypical expectations while also flouting them. By the time I got to his most recent appearance on the show, I actually clapped when I saw him come on screen. And oh wow when he sings...


Okay, so if you already know this series, what's your favorite thing? And if you haven't watched it yet, have I convinced you to give it a go?

Just for Fun: Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2016

Like a lot of people, I did the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge last year. I finished the book for my last required category on December 30, 2016, just in the nick of time. I'm so happy with myself for completing this challenge. I stretched myself with some of these books, but mostly I was looking for a way to knock things of my forever long To Read list. It didn't quite work out that way, but I still had fun. Here's what I read for each of the categories, and what I thought of each.

• Read a horror book: Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss. This was fun. It had the slow burn, slow build rhythm of a gothic horror novel, but with a talking cat and a contemporary setting. 
• Read a nonfiction book about science: Alex & Me by Irene M. Pepperberg. This ended up being more of an animal memoir than a book about science, so I found myself wishing for more science, but I still enjoyed it for the most part.
• Read a collection of essays: Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan. I got about 1/3 of the way through this book before I gave up. Yes, there was a lot of promise in these essays and stories, but I doubt this book would have been published if the author hadn't been a pretty, white, cishet young woman who died just after her graduation from an Ivy League school.
• Read a book out loud to someone else: Mee-Yow by Lee Priestly. I love this goofy book that is basically a build up to a goofy pun. Read it to my boyfriend who rolled his eyes almost the entire time.
• Read a middle grade novel: Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Some middle grade novels work well for anyone, no matter the audience, but this one didn't quite do it for me. I liked the idea, but the end was a bit too schmaltzy for my tastes.
• Read a biography (not memoir or autobiography): Notorious R.B.G. by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik. I enjoyed learning about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but the writing style was a bit off. 
• Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I had a little bit of a hard time getting the gist of this book at first, but once I did... wow, it grabbed me and never let go.
• Read a book originally published in the decade you were born: Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. This book was deliciously strange and convoluted. Loved it.
• Listen to an audiobook that has won an Audie Award: Yes, Please by Amy Poehler. This memoir audiobook was one of the best things I listened to last year (and I listen to audiobooks all the time). 
• Read a book over 500 pages long: Digger by Ursula Vernon. I'm somewhat obsessed with Vernon's writing and with her art, so this forever long graphic novel about the adventures of a wombat and Ganesha was the perfect combination.
• Read a book under 100 pages long: Four Eyes v. 1 by Joe Kelly. A kid, during the depression era, gets involved with a dragon fighting ring. I always enjoy Joe Kelly's work, so of course I had fun reading this.
• Read a book by or about a person that identifies as transgender: Redefining Realness by Janet Mock. This was an important book, and I'm glad I read it, but Mock's writing style shows her professional origins (popular press magazines) and was not to my taste.
• Read a book set in the Middle East: Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. I loved this book. Loved it. Rich world building; relatable, flawed characters; and an engaging story line.
• Read a book that is by an author from Southeast Asia: Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan. The characterizations of women in this book made me put it down shortly after I picked it up. Sexist nonsense.
• Read a book of historical fiction set before 1900: Salamander by Thomas Wharton. This was another slow build kind of book, and a convoluted story, but so lovely.
• Read the first book in a series by a person of color: Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho. This was, perhaps, my favorite thing I read last year. It was also the last thing I read for the challenge, so it's fresh in my memory, but dang I loved this book. Great characters; a surprising plot; and rich language.
• Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years: Mae #1 by Gene Ha. I was not a fan. It was too slow to start and the characters didn't grab me.
• Read a book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie. Debate which is better: Skellig by David Almond. Nothing to debate here - the movie was horrible because they changed too much about the story. Ugh. No. Just read the book.
• Read a nonfiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes: Shrill by Lindy West. I liked this book, but I didn't love it. I did identify with a lot of what she said, but... Yeah.
• Read a book about religion (fiction or nonfiction): Getting Unstuck by Pema Chodron. Ani Pema's writing is what sent me down the path to embracing Buddhism, and this was a helpful book for me.
• Read a book about politics, in your country or another (fiction or nonfiction): BioGraphic Novel: The 14th Dalai Lama by Tetsu Saiwai. Learning more about the Dalai Lama was nice, but as sequential art goes this was kind of meh.
• Read a food memoir: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I know it's not just about food, but the first third of the book is about her eating her way through Italy so I think it counts. And I loved this book so much that I bought a copy for my own collection.
• Read a play: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany, Jack Thorne, and J.K. Rowling. This reads like mediocre fan fiction. Don't do this to yourself, even if you are a fan of the series.
• Read a book with a main character that has a mental illness: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. I also gave up on this book. I just can't handle books where women are more object than subject.

I had so much fun doing this challenge. Even the books I ended up hating weren't wasted effort. For instance, I've always thought I *should* read Eugenides, and now I know I don't have to.

In 2017, I'm going to do a different challenge - something I've designed for myself. Like so many other people, I buy more books than I read... and I put even more books on my GoodReads To Read list than that. So for 2017, I am going to make myself stick to the unread books I have already decided are worth reading - whether by purchasing them or by putting them on a list. I'm going to allow myself a loophole, however: if one of my favorite authors publishes a book, I can buy and/or read those books, too.

I'm claiming this goal publicly in hopes that you'll help me stick to my goal. I have so many unread books on my shelves and on my To Read list that it would take me around 17 years to read them all if I read at my current rate. I know I'll give up on and/or change my mind about some of those book, but I'm never going to get through the list if I keep adding to it.

So, I've got a lot of reading to do. Feel free to give me this look if you find out I'm breaking my promise to myself.

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How about you? What are you planning to read this year? Or are you just going to take it as it comes?

A Lifetime of Antisemitism

The dominant non-Jewish White person's relationship to Nazism and antisemitism has always been symbolic and rhetorical.

— Sarah Hamburg (@sarahrhamburg) November 27, 2016

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I'm a Buddhist now, but I was raised Jewish. And I still identify that way culturally. So when the tweet up there showed up on my timeline (retweeted by April Hathcock), something started to bubble up inside. I'm guessing, if demographic statistics are anything to go by, that most of the people reading this post are not Jewish. In the past I know that my gentile friends are astonished at the experiences I've had, but it's important to know these things, so I decided to share a sampling of my experiences with antisemitism. I'm going to share small ones and big ones, because Sarah Hamburg is right - most people don't encounter real, live antisemitism.

Small: In high school, I was called "kike" by the younger brother of one of my closest friends. He thought he was being funny, and other people laughed. I know I didn't cry, and I'm pretty sure my friend made their younger sibling apologize, but I knew I could never trust that person - or anyone who laughed - again.

Large: The synagogue I attended when I was a child, the building where my father's funeral service was held, was desecrated with swastikas. I felt so safe, so loved, in that building when I was young. The rabbi and his wife embraced me and my family when we joined the synagogue, and it's one of the few places where I've ever felt like I actually belonged and was welcome. Those swastikas took that from me.

Small: When I was 7, my parents bought a house in a nice suburb of Boston. I immediately set out to make friends with kids in the neighborhood - I'm a gregarious person, after all - and I ended up meeting a girl close to my age right next door. Success! However, a couple of weeks later, the little girl who lived in the house next door yelled at me when she found out we were Jewish: "I never would have wasted macaroni and cheese on you if I'd known you were a Christ killer!"

Large: If I want to visit my father's grave, I have to contact the board that is in charge of the cemetery because they have to keep it locked up with a chain link fence. They have to do this to keep people from desecrating the graves because it's a Jewish cemetery. And to drive the point home: he's buried north of Boston, in Massachusetts, where people are supposedly liberal and open and accepting.

Small: At a previous library, I was told I was over-reacting, and that a work party wasn't just Christmas, because they played "White Christmas" (which was written by Irving Berlin, who was Jewish). I don't know if the person who said this to me actually believed what they were saying, but I'll always remember that almost nobody else spoke up to correct that person.

Small: I've been called "[word]-nazi" multiple times in my life. "Grammar Nazi" mostly, and some "Table Nazi" when I worked in a restaurant. It's ridiculous to compare anyone to a fascist, genocidal regime for things like a predilection for correcting grammar or wanting the tables to be done according to spec at the end of a shift, but it stings extra hard for someone who is Jewish.

As hard as this all may have been for you to read, please know that this is only a sampling of things I've experienced. Never mind the ever-present micro-aggressions - things that are easily brushed off by people who aren't on the receiving end.

One other thing: I didn't publish this to make you feel bad. I published it to let you know that racism, sexism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate, have always been a part of the culture in the US. It's going to be worse now, so you need to believe people. And you need to speak up when you witness this kind of hate.

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