Monthly Archives: April 2020

Me On Two Podcasts? In This Economy?

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I hope everyone’s hanging in there. If you’ve read this post, you know I was a part of an awesome podcast recording. Well, Belle & Dubs Season Two is now out! I was fortunate to be a part of Episodes Three, Five, and Six! Be sure to check out Belle And Dubs: Subscribe, listen, and laugh! I play Jan Malcolm, an enthusiastic paleontologist, in Episode Five, and a spirited suffragette named Rose in Episode Six. It was so joyful to participate in my friends’ hilarious project. I hope it brings you joy too!

 

Last weekend I got the chance to reunite with my friends from Mouthy Broadcast! I was a moron and forgot all about the recording session, so if I sound off and not very witty, it’s because I jumped on pretty hungover and unprepared. Nevertheless, it was a blast. Love those folks. Click here for Mouthy escapades!

 

Stay safe, my friends!

I-Love-You-GIF-for-Him-and-Her

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Quick Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone

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Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha, #1)Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh boy, I was starving for a good fantasy escape, with amazing world-building, interesting characters, and most importantly, a solid story. Thankfully this delivered. Zélie is a badass heroine from the get-go. Her journey isn’t unique in this genre (think Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen), but the way the author incorporates themes from the Black Lives Matter movement and African mythology give it an emotional, weighty punch. She aids the fugitive princess who escapes evil King Saran, and thanks to a mysterious scroll, Zélie unlocks her magical powers. This leads to a mission to return magic to the world and restore her oppressed fellow diviners to the Maji they were born to be. Really good stuff. The novel ends on a cliffhanger too, so I shall be diving into the sequel, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, very very soon.

P.S. The inhabitants of Orïsha ride big cats. BIG CATS!!!!

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Jellicles Come To The Jellicle Ball

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This isn’t going to be a long post, but something happened during this current quarantine we find ourselves in. I watched the Cats movie.

It was terrible! I mean, you’ve seen the clips, right?

Disturbing on a million levels. No one needs to see a handsome gentleman such as Idris Elba, naked apart from creepy CGI brown fur! I mean, if that’s your thing, more power to you, but it poisoned my retinas. The entire film did. Some musicals can be cinematic and it’s fine to adapt them with movie stars and on-location performances. A stage production about kitties, starring human beings, dressed up as kitties? NO.

Which brings me to the Andrew Lloyd Webber thing.

I saw a production of this when I was a kid. I don’t remember much about it, apart from cast members prancing down the aisles of the theater, doing their cat stuff before the first song. I thought that was cool. It’s such an 80’s thing, right? The legwarmers and Jane Fonda workout leotards that basically make up the feline costumes (just add furry material!). The coked-up crazy dance numbers! I’m sure I enjoyed the experience. I’d enjoy it now if I saw it as an adult, but I’d also think it was pretty dated and…. odd. Apart from Memory, most of the songs are just descriptions of these damn Jellicle Cats!

Jellicle Cats. Jellicle Cats. I think the whole reason for my fascination for this horrid film and bizarre musical stage production revolving around my favorite kind of pet is the source material! T.S. Eliot’s collection of poems, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. The whimsical wordplay, zippy narration of all those kooky kitties, and the names themselves. They’re fun to say! Rumpleteazer, Skimbleshanks, and Growltiger, oh my!

I was today years old when I found out Edward Gorey illustrated a version of this anthology and I’m OBSESSED:

This concludes my random musings about the enchanting and unsettling world of Jellicle Cats. If you need me I’ll be stuck in the house, looking at Youtube tutorials on making top hats and tuxedos for felines.

Recurring Dreams, I Has Them

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I woke up 30 minutes ago, from the wildest dream. I’ll probably be thinking about it throughout the day. This has been happening frequently since the Coronavirus has forced me into a homebound lady, and I’m not the only one. I’m getting the greatest hits from my staple of recurring dream themes, with all kinds of extra bizarreness thrown in. As I sat down with my cup of coffee today, I thought I’d list some of those motifs that have been reappearing in my dreams for as long as I can remember…..

 

Yelling at family members or past/present partner. I’ll find myself in a helpless situation, unable to convince anyone to listen to me or show concern for my plight. No matter how loud I scream, throw things, or shove them, I’m completely ignored. Last night’s dream had elements of this; I was so maddened by my mother not defending me from a bunch of bullies throwing my suitcases, I was hollering in her face like a drill sergeant. Suitcases. This brings me to another theme…

Being late for a flight. I know there’s an urgent trip to the airport in my near future, but moving quickly, getting everything packed, gassing the car, gathering my travel companions, or putting clothes on is impossible. It’s all in slow motion. I know I’m going to be late and it’s driving me insane. I’m getting irritated right now, thinking about it.

Gross or kooky bathrooms. Lordy, this one shows up A LOT. Often in conjunction with being late for the flight. The toilet is filthy and I have to find a way to squat over it. The bathroom is nightmarishly shaped and I can’t seem to fit myself into the shower. I have no space to put my toiletries/clothes, except for a slimy floor. YUCK.

Spiders. Enough said.

Going back to my receptionist job at the veterinarian clinic. Ugh, this one’s never fun. The office never looks the same, and the coworkers are always different, but this dream never fails to feature my awful boss standing over me. Sometimes I have to speak to her, but mostly she’s just THERE. I usually have to go back to the clinic area too. It’s consistently maze-like and unfamiliar, and I’m tasked to find a pet for a client. There’s a line of other clients waiting in the receptionist area on top of being stuck in a The Shining style maze of dog kennels and exam tables. With the awful boss THERE.

Working retail and not knowing how to use the cash register. Like the previous theme, there’s usually a long line of customers, getting angrier by the minute. Regardless of what button I push, I am incapable of entering a price or dollar amount.

It would be sweet if I had dreams of vacationing with Tom Hiddleston pop up in my brain on the regular, but sadly, I am not so fortunate. Dreams riddled with anxiety, fear, and frustration are for me! How about you? What do you dream about persistently? Have your dreamscapes been super vivid lately? Leave me some comments!

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Quick Book Review: Speak of the Devil: How The Satanic Temple is Changing the Way We Talk about Religion

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Speak of the Devil: How The Satanic Temple is Changing the Way We Talk about ReligionSpeak of the Devil: How The Satanic Temple is Changing the Way We Talk about Religion by Joseph P. Laycock

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After seeing the documentary Hail Satan? on Hulu a few months ago, I was intrigued by The Satanic Temple and joined up. A community that promotes activism? Cool. Exposes the Christian majority hypocrisy? Cool cool. Welcomes intelligent discussion? Nice. A sense of humor? Love it. Engages in philanthropy? Wonderful. I’ve never been a fan of organized religion, but TST sounded like what the idea of religion should be.

This is a very thoughtful piece that describes the history of TST, interviews current & former members, and gives insight on what religious freedom really is. Very interesting stuff!

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Quick Hello

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The world is quite mad right now, isn’t it? People are staying away from each other. Cooped up in our houses. Scared. Anxious. Some of us have lost work, or have been working from home. Too many people are ill and WAY too many have died. It’s all a surreal nightmare that we won’t wake up from for a while.

 

I am currently working at the house. My office is the library and my desk is the Ikea table we use for game nights. There’s a blanket next to my laptop so the cats have somewhere to plop down and not bother me. And lick their butts, apparently.

I’m trying not to freak out about everything, but it’s not an easy task. Focusing on the positive parts of it helps. For instance, no social anxiety! Pants are optional! Doing chores at lunch! So many movies and shows to watch! Factiming friends! Cat snuggles up the wazoo!

How are you doing? Let me know in the comments. Hang in there. Be safe. Reach out if you need to.

“Yes, it’s one of the basic truths of the universe,…Things don’t disappear. They just change, and change and change again.” – Jim Henson