I don't recognize those old buildings that used to mean so much to me
Bertie Owen's keyboard is really breaking and I didn't fall asleep until well after eight this morning. I did not get much done today that was not work, but I did have post-holiday corned beef and soda bread with my parents in the evening. I did not have cabbage. I like cabbage in coleslaw and several other dishes—and I will eat it by itself if it's stir-fried—but when it's steamed or boiled I feel there is no safe ground between the raw food movement and sublimated into a fart.
1. In context of discussing the longstanding (and totally deserved) community argument with Michael Weingrad's "Why There Is No Jewish Narnia," my mother remarked that of course portal fantasy has Christian origins; Christianity has its other world into which you can be assumed or translated at any second right there in its conception of Heaven. On the one hand, C.S. Lewis himself presumed this link in his wraparound of Narnia into Aslan's Country. (Elizabeth Goudge made a similar connection in The Valley of Song (1951), though hers works much better for me on account of avoiding allegory and including Fairy.) On the other, I can't remember seeing anyone really write about it. Please point me toward articles to the contrary, if they exist? Otherwise I can tell my mother she just said something tremendously useful about twentieth-century fantasy.
2. Please enjoy a non-binary penned punk song about Claude Cahun: Worriers, "The Only Claude That Matters."![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rydra_wong, I thought you should know.
3. Everyone in general, I'm just really charmed by Madeline McGrane's "Vampire Horse."
4. Courtesy ofmoon_custafer: Brad Dourif in Fatal Beauty (1987). I will resist all efforts to explain to me that he is not playing the title role.
5. And then I made the mistake of clicking on an article about millennial millionnaire-billionaires:
I steer the conversation to the subject of how utterly detached from the real world elites seem to have become. "Elitism, the way I would define it, is obtainable," he replies. "All that stands between you and being elite is your own investment in yourself."
I tell Rosenthal that I've met many people in America who work as hard as him and his friends—harder, in fact—but struggle to make ends meet. He acknowledges that he's benefited from considerable advantage, but insists we now live in an era in which "the internet is the great equaliser".
"What are you doing to create the utility for yourself? Are you introducing people so they can collaborate?" he says. Struggling Americans, he adds, might want to "host a dinner. Invite 10 strangers. See what happens."
Rosenthal presses on with his thesis, telling me there are just not enough people in the world who will "excessively commit their lives to something. Journalism, cheese, automobiles, whatever. Rocket ships—perfect example. Everyone wants to work at SpaceX, no one wants to go to engineering school."
I believe the emotion I experienced at that moment is technically known as "eat the rich."
I am trying to convince myself to go to bed early; I have two doctor's appointments tomorrow and one of them is at eyebleed o'clock. This would be a more compelling argument if I didn't also want to read things.
1. In context of discussing the longstanding (and totally deserved) community argument with Michael Weingrad's "Why There Is No Jewish Narnia," my mother remarked that of course portal fantasy has Christian origins; Christianity has its other world into which you can be assumed or translated at any second right there in its conception of Heaven. On the one hand, C.S. Lewis himself presumed this link in his wraparound of Narnia into Aslan's Country. (Elizabeth Goudge made a similar connection in The Valley of Song (1951), though hers works much better for me on account of avoiding allegory and including Fairy.) On the other, I can't remember seeing anyone really write about it. Please point me toward articles to the contrary, if they exist? Otherwise I can tell my mother she just said something tremendously useful about twentieth-century fantasy.
2. Please enjoy a non-binary penned punk song about Claude Cahun: Worriers, "The Only Claude That Matters."
rydra_wong, I thought you should know.3. Everyone in general, I'm just really charmed by Madeline McGrane's "Vampire Horse."
4. Courtesy of
moon_custafer: Brad Dourif in Fatal Beauty (1987). I will resist all efforts to explain to me that he is not playing the title role.5. And then I made the mistake of clicking on an article about millennial millionnaire-billionaires:
I steer the conversation to the subject of how utterly detached from the real world elites seem to have become. "Elitism, the way I would define it, is obtainable," he replies. "All that stands between you and being elite is your own investment in yourself."
I tell Rosenthal that I've met many people in America who work as hard as him and his friends—harder, in fact—but struggle to make ends meet. He acknowledges that he's benefited from considerable advantage, but insists we now live in an era in which "the internet is the great equaliser".
"What are you doing to create the utility for yourself? Are you introducing people so they can collaborate?" he says. Struggling Americans, he adds, might want to "host a dinner. Invite 10 strangers. See what happens."
Rosenthal presses on with his thesis, telling me there are just not enough people in the world who will "excessively commit their lives to something. Journalism, cheese, automobiles, whatever. Rocket ships—perfect example. Everyone wants to work at SpaceX, no one wants to go to engineering school."
I believe the emotion I experienced at that moment is technically known as "eat the rich."
I am trying to convince myself to go to bed early; I have two doctor's appointments tomorrow and one of them is at eyebleed o'clock. This would be a more compelling argument if I didn't also want to read things.
no subject
I will miss no chance to promote it! Here is my review:
Lord Underwood is about to rise from his grave in 2008 after a 50-year "sleep" in Spain. David Flinch, a recovering alcoholic and former military paramedic, is dragged (metaphorically) kicking and screaming (not so metaphorically) from his job as an EFL teacher to take up the family tradition as guardian and servant to the vampire. His sister Lydia would rather it be her position, and frankly, David would just as soon it be hers as well. But then...things get complicated.
Sex, violence, murder, Russian mobsters, pirates, wolves, white slavery, incest, evil estate agents, expat pub owners, people in over their heads, a man from the 1950s learning about smartphones and CD players....basically there is nothing in this book that isn't awesome. It's dark humor with a very sharp bite - so to speak. The vampire is very much not a good guy - but he's not really a bad guy, either, and the tension between David's moral and ethical sensibilities, and his new job as the chap who buries the bodies, makes this story compelling.
The story is only enhanced by Bennett's magnificent and very professional production. He's as talented a voice actor as he is a writer, and this along with his droll intro/outro bits for each podcast, as well as the excellent music, make listening to the audio version a real delight. AND IT'S FREE. If you really don't do the podcast/audiobook thing, the ebook is free on Smashwords as well, but the added dimension from the reading is what elevated this book to five stars, for me.
http://www.underwoodandflinch.com/ is the website.
The first two volumes make up the complete first novel; there is a third volume which is a shorter sequel, though it's David listening to recorded tapes of Underwood talking about his history, so in some sense it's a prequel. The fourth volume (which is a direct sequel) is currently being published on Patreon, $1/month gives ebook access and $3/month gives podcast access.
no subject
Thank you! That sounds delightful. I really don't listen to podcasts or audiobooks if I have any other alternative, but I'm glad to know the performance aspect is that good.