October & November 2018

I completely forgot to write an October entry, so here are two months worth of recommendations. Whoops. As you can tell, I followed through on my goal to enjoy some relaxation time and make up for my very busy summer. Read on for my favorite books, movies, and games, and probably too many uses of the word "trope". 

MOVIES & TV

SUSPIRIA (1977)

When I was in college a friend told me about Suspiria (specifically a scene involving razor wire) and made it sound so scary that I decided I would never be able to watch it. Well, I finally worked up the nerve and managed to catch a theatrical 4K restoration and WOW. The combination of incredible color, stunning visuals, and the rad AF synth score work so well together and excited every one of my creativity neurons. The story is supremely weird and strange (not super scary) and totally what one expects to see in an abstract Italian horror film from the 70s. I'm pretty sure it involves witches in a dance school? 

CASTLEVANIA (Season 2)

I liked the first season of Netflix's Castlevania but it definitely felt like a prologue. With season 2 we finally get to the meat of the story and it's great. I loved all of the characters, including a host of villains that were genuinely interesting and often sympathetic. The season is a bit of a slow-build but the finale is deeply satisfying. I think I must have watched the fight scenes from the penultimate "For Love" episode at least 20 times. In fact, I think I need to go rewatch that episode again - brb. 

VIDEO GAMES

RATCHET & CLANK (2016)

I started playing Vampyr in October but had to call it quits (for now at least) after constantly feeling punished by game mechanics I did not understand. Oh wow, did you charm that NPC? Surprise! That NPC is dead now because you charmed her and a huge section of the town is permanently in chaos. *autosave* I understand the developer's goal was to make you "live with your choices" and will probably try playing it again now that I know how the game works but ugggghhhh, I was totally not in the mood for that at the time. 

So I needed a bit of a palate cleanser that wasn't grim-dark or excessively frustrating and then remembered I had downloaded the Ratchet & Clank remake a few months ago. It's silly and light and very fun to play. I restarted second and third playthroughs immediately so I could get every collectible and upgrade every weapon. I loved the original games and the 2016 version combines lots of good elements from the franchise and manages to feel both new and familiar. 

BOOKS

I set my highest reading goal to-date this year (75 books) and surpassed that goal in October! Here are some of my favorites and they aren't ALL romances for once.

...

...

I mean, most of them are but hey...

TRAIL OF LIGHTNING (Rebecca Roanhorse)

After a huge portion of the world is covered in water from an apocalyptic flood, the gods and mythological creatures from Navajo legends are reborn and start appearing on earth. Trail of Lightning takes place in what was formerly the Navajo reservation (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico), which declared independence from the US and surrounded itself with an impossibly high wall of turquoise. The story follows Maggie, a monster hunter with a violent past, and Kai, a Medicine Man in training, as they try to find the source of a new kind of monster. 

I loved this book. The mythology and setting are wonderfully rich and the characters are complex and interesting. The story is written in a way that you don't always know what is going on or what the characters are thinking and it works. Trail of Lightning ends on a bit of a cliffhanger (aaarrrrrggg!) so I am chomping at the bit for the next installment. 

AGENTS IRISH AND WHISKEY series (Layla Reyne)

I've been reading romance books for a few years now and somehow completely missed the FBI-Partners-Who-Fall-In-Love set up until recently. It is most definitely a thing and I am here for it. The Irish and Whiskey series follows all of the familiar beats, as an experienced (handsome) agent returns to duty after the death of his husband and is paired with a fresh-faced (handsome) partner who is a hacker and used to be a NCAA basketball player. Romance protagonists ladies and gentlemen! It's so very tropey and melodramatic and unbelievable in the best ways and I tore through all three books in a weekend. 

THE LIGHTNING-STRUCK HEART (T.J. Klune)

The Lightning-Struck Heart is a fantasy romance (knights, unicorns, dragons, etc) through the filter of RuPaul's Drag Race. It is high camp, wall-to-wall innuendo and sex jokes, and an utter joy to read. I was laughing out loud constantly. Our main character is Sam, a phenomenally powerful wizard's apprentice who literally has NO filter - everything that comes into his head comes out of his mouth. He is accompanied by Gary, a gay unicorn who lost his horn, and Tiggy, a half-giant. Sam spends his days being captured by dark wizards and pining for the dreamy knight commander Sir Ryan Foxheart, who is engaged to marry the prince. When the prince is captured by a dragon, Sam, Gary, Tiggy, and Foxheart set out on a quest to rescue him. 

In the universe of The Lightning-Struck Heart everyone talks about sex without shame or reservation, and there are characters with a huge spectrum of sexual identities that never face discrimination for who they love. This is a kingdom where there is nothing unusual about a prince marrying a knight. It's incredibly refreshing. The book is non-stop sassy, salty banter, sexual innuendo, and supreme ridiculousness, yet at the same time there are real moments of heart that caught me off guard. Sam is surrounded by people who love him - his family, the wise old wizard, the king - and there are so many wonderful passages where those characters help and support him. Occasionally the narrative gets a bit lost in the excessive banter (to the detriment of the story) and once in a while a joke goes on way too long, but this didn't detract from my overall love of the book. 

AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING (Hank Green)

In the very near future, an army of ten-foot-tall statues that look like Transformers in samurai armor appear in locations all over the world. When protagonist April May records a video about one of them and posts it to YouTube, it is an overnight viral phenomenon and April becomes one of the most famous people in the world. The book follows how this fame shapes and corrodes her life and the growing mystery of why the "Carls" are here on earth. While the book features a frustrating main character (who pissed me off constantly), I think she has a solid, interesting story arc and the novel is well constructed and wonderfully original. 

SALT MAGIC, SKIN MAGIC (Lee Welch)

Salt Magic, Skin Magic is a gothic romance with an unexpected combination of supernatural elements and folklore. The book starts with Lord Thornby, a rudderless bon-vivant who is dragged home and trapped on his father's estate by mysterious, violent forces. A year into his imprisonment, a magician named John Blake arrives to investigate a purported case of witchcraft and the two begin working together to lift Thornby's curse. The magic in this book is really unique (Blake is an "industrial magician" who can communicate with objects like nails and salt) and the chemistry between the two main characters is great. 

BAND SINISTER (K.J. Charles)

Whenever K.J. Charles releases a new book I snap it up immediately. Band Sinister follows a classic romance formula with two characters stuck together in a country house and slowly falling in love. It feels very much like a Jane Austen set-up with a gay twist (the author refers to it as her ode to the work of Georgette Heyer, who I have not read). If you want a light-hearted, cockle-warming historical romance, this one is a lot of fun. 

PHOENIX UNBOUND (Grace Draven)

Despite featuring my absolute least favorite narrative trope (abductee falls in love with her abductor) I somehow still liked this book. I think it's because the author did a lot of work to reenforce the motivations of the characters? I can absolutely understand if a different reader would be unable to get past that crummy set-up - I was on the fence a number of times. 

Every year, the evil Empire sacrifices one girl from each village in a huge pyre. For many years, Gilene has been offered up by her town and has survived due to her ability to wield fire magic. On her fifth trip to the flames, a gladiator recognizes her and leverages his knowledge of her secret powers to gain help in escaping slavery. After they are free, the gladiator kidnaps Gilene and the two travel back to his home country where he intends to use her magic to help re-establish his position as leader. Not the most enjoyable start. But the story that follows includes some vivid storytelling and world building (including a super creepy haunted city) and managed to keep me involved and mostly rooting for both characters. I still really hate that plot device though. 

September 2018

Between the Lincoln Arts Festival and my new show at Gallery 9, I genuinely had no free time in September. Needless to say I’m feeling some really hardcore burnout right now. I had a few nights off this week and it was wonderful.

BOOKS

I took reading breaks amidst all of the art, which really helped keep the stress from becoming overwhelming. A good romance book does wonders for stabilizing my brain when i’m anxious. I only wish that I had picked better books since despite reading 13 of them, I only have a few to recommend. 

THE ART OF MURDER Series (Josh Lanyon)

(The Mermaid Murders, The Monet Murders, The Magician Murders)

I knew nothing about this series when I started (I think one of the books popped up on an “Amazon recommendations” list?) and ended zooming through all three in quick succession. The series has a long-running they-love-eachother-but-won’t-admit-it romance plus a different mystery to solve in each installment. The main character is an FBI agent from the “Art Crime” devision who keeps getting pulled into the orbit of a legendary (and aloof) criminal profiler. Sleuthing, smooching, and some murders ensue. Definitely a fun series to check out if you want popcorn mystery with your romance.

THE DUKE I TEMPTED (Scarlett Peckham)

The Duke I Tempted mixes a gothic-romance atmosphere with a duke who is secretly into BDSM and a gardener who remains unmarried so she can run her own business. I really liked the characters and the way that the "forced marriage due to scandal" plot device doesn’t lead to immediate romance. The two MCs are stuck in a moment of passion/big fight/confused feelings loop for a good long while. But, of course, this makes it all the more satisfying when they finally figure out they're in love. I would definitely recommend this one, although be warned, I found myself yelling “just tell him/her you’re true feelings you idiot!” on more than one occasion. Sadly the second book in the series follows my least favorite character (the Duke’s self-absorbed, phenomenally annoying sister) so I probably won’t read number two. 

MUSIC

Usually I like to have favorite movies or youtube videos playing in the background when i'm working. While prepping my recent LA show for example, I binged three seasons of Fringe. Yet for some reason I found myself getting instantly distracted whenever I tried to watch anything in September (with the one exception being OutsideXbox lets-play videos), so I ended up listening to music most of the time. Specifically a constant rotation of BTS and Troye Sivan. Seriously, the entire month it was just these guys on unending repeat.

ART

I created 11 new pieces for my show at Gallery 9 (which is up through the month of October) and will finally be adding new prints to my shop this week. CLICK HERE to see all the new art. I really don't like how blogspot displays groups of photos so I will spare us both the frustration of trying to add them into this post. 

Now i'm taking a little time for myself to play video games, clean the house, and pay attention to my dog before hopping back in the studio. With all of the really awful things happening in the news I’m finding it harder and harder to recoup between shows, but I’m bolstered by the fact I have new project ideas already. Hopefully that means that my brain is just dried out and not dead all together.

Ok, now to get caught up on GBBO and about a million Netflix shows...

July & August 2018

July and August were a blur of art work and traveling followed by a short period of decompression. I basically read/watched/played nothing in July and then overcompensated by doing nothing but those things for about a week and half in August. So here is a combo run-down of some things I enjoyed this summer...

MOVIES

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT

The word that keeps coming to mind when I try to describe this movie is BONKERS. In usual MI fashion, the plot is basically just a flimsy delivery device for super cool action sequences, and they really outdid themselves with Fallout. The finale involves a fight with/in/around helicopters while in mid-air. As soon as I left the theatre I was animatedly recounting the insanity and utter bonkers-ness of this sequence in particular. Plus, it's one of the few movies where Henry Cavill seemed appropriately cast. So I definitely recommend seeing this if you are in the mood for some spy nonsense and rad stunts. 

Other highlights include LOVE, SIMON which had me happy-sobbing, CHRISTOPHER ROBIN which was so god damn cute, and TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE which was fluffy and sweet. I also had a chance to see all three extended edition Lord of the Rings films in the theatre with my mom and dad, which was really wonderful. 

VIDEO GAMES

RUNNER 2

Since I've been so busy with art/life stuff, I haven't had much time to really dig into any games this summer. But I did occasionally find myself with 15 minutes where I needed an art break and I used that time to finally finish Runner 2. I love this series to bits and always get a great sense of accomplishment when I'm able to perfectly dance my way through a hard level.

BLOODBORNE

I've never considered myself to be a particularly skilled gamer; I resort to button mashing more than I'd like to admit. But for some reason, I decided to try out Bloodborne and....I like it? Yeah man, I'm surprised too. I've only made it through the first three bosses so far but I think I might play more when I have free time again. 

BOOKS

I ended up reading two long-ish books in July and August that I didn't really like, which meant less time for books that I would actually recommend. On the plus side, I've recently gone on a bit of a romance bender (as I tend to do when I am stressed), so I will probably have lots of good recommendations to share next month. 

MORTAL ENGINES by Philip Reeve

Mortal Engines is a surprisingly dark adventure/coming of age story set in a grimy future where the big cities of the world have become giant, roaming monstrosities that move around and swallow up smaller townships and settlements. I'm not sure if I'll sit down and read any of the other books in the series, but this one was good. 

I would also recommend the romances A GENTLEMAN NEVER KEEPS SCORE by Cat Sebastian and THE LION AND THE CROW by Eli Easton. Gentleman is a fun period romance which pairs up a socially outcast, emotionally scarred victorian dandy and an ex-prize fighter as they try to find a missing painting. The Lion and The Crow is a weird one for me; I didn't love the writing but found myself becoming rather invested in the characters anyway. What made this one memorable is that it follows the romance/relationship from beginning to literal end. Where most romance stories end with "and then they lived happily ever after", The Lion and The Crow actually follows the two main characters through old age and contented death. Yeah, obviously it made me cry. 

ART

The big exciting news from the art front was my August group show at Gallery1988 in Los Angeles. I was able to attend the opening and meet lots of great people. Plus, after the reception I went to dinner with a bunch of good friends and drank margaritas while being serenaded by a mariachi band in a room decorated with twinkle lights, painted portraits of celebrities, and a whole wall of dusty wine bottles. It was a memorable evening.

I am now well into another crazy busy month of art as I prepare for the LINCOLN ARTS FESTIVAL (September 22 & 23) and a two person show at Gallery 9 which opens in October. I'll have more details soon! 

June 2018

I didn't get up to a whole lot in June, since I have been steadily working on new collages for a Gallery1988 show in August and haven't had much free time. I did get a new tattoo though, and that was pretty darn exciting. I'll be posting again soon with more information about the upcoming show and some sneak peeks.

MOVIES

UPGRADE

I adore the work of screenwriter/actor Leigh Whannell (although some of his recent work has been too scary for me to watch), so I was very excited to see his first foray into directing. Upgrade is great fun - it's a bloody nod to the tropes of the action/horror/sci-fi genres with the twists and turns that Whannell does so well. Plus, it contains an excellent Saw-style montage (a "Sawntage" if you will). While this is definitely not going to appeal to everyone, if you have liked any Whannell's other screenwriting ventures (Saw I & II, Dead Silence, Insidious, etc.) I would recommend Upgrade.

BOOKS 

Since my brain has been so hyper-engaged with art stuff, I've mostly been reading romance books to help me relax and cheer me up when I need a stress break.

RIVEN (Roan Parrish)

The premise: reluctantly famous rock star front man falls for a recovering addict who gave up his music career. It is total romance candy with angst and beautiful people smooching each other and I was SO INVESTED IN THIS BOOK. *sigh*

THE CALIFORNIA DASHWOODS (Lisa Henry)

A modern, gender-swapped take on Sense and Sensibility that works a lot better than I expected. While the "main" romance seemed a bit underdeveloped, the characters and story were very well crafted and kept me engaged. 

WRONG TO NEED YOU / HURTS TO LOVE YOU (Alisha Rai)

These two books finish up Alisha Rai's Forbidden Hearts series, which I definitely recommend if you like modern romance stories. They have all of the ingredients of a good romance series: feuding families, forbidden entanglements, long simmering crushes, interesting protagonists, and plenty of steamy interludes. Wrong to Need You was probably my favorite of the bunch, but the whole series is worth reading. 

WICKED AND THE WALLFLOWER (Sara MacLean)

Wicked and the Wallflower is the first entry into Sarah MacLean's new Bareknuckle Bastards series and was a lot of fun to read. The hero is the bastard son of an evil duke, who makes a living as an ice merchant and not-so-secret crime lord (with a heart of gold, naturally) and smuggler. The heroine is a social pariah spinster who spends her time picking locks and sneaking out of the house. MacLean has mentioned recently that her writing style changed in the social and political wake of Trump's election and I have definitely noticed how important agency and enthusiastic consent has become in her books. There is never a sense of "she says no but she means yes" in these books. Both parties are vocal and clear about what they want and they take actions to achieve their goals. The book felt a smidge wobbly in places and rushed toward the end, but overall Wicked and The Wallflower was time well spent. 

THE HOUSE OF IMPOSSIBLE BEAUTIES (Joseph Cassara)

This was my only non-romance selection in June and one of the reasons I dove so hard back into the comforting embrace of romance books. Because this one made me cry. A lot. The House of Impossible Beauties follows the fictionalized lives of the real-life House of Xtravaganza (included in the documentary Paris is Burning), a group of gay and trans youths creating their own family within the Harlem ball community. The members of Xtravaganza struggle through addiction, abuse, sex work, constant tragedies both big and small, and the rise of AIDS, all while trying to cling to hope and love and the possibility of a better life. It is a heartbreaking account of LGBTQA+ history and a really stark reminder of how a lot of things have changed and how some things have stayed the same.

May 2018

I spent a week relaxing lake-side in Canada and then the rest of the month working on drawings for an upcoming art show, so my May review blog is a little sparse. Except for the books section. I read A LOT of books at that lake. 

MOVIES

SOLO

This is literally the only new movie I watched in May, so it kind of makes the list by default. I actually quite liked this film, despite some uneven pacing and the fact that it takes a while to find its feet. It’s pretty formulaic and safe, but I think SOLO is a perfectly decent heist romp with fun characters and some good action bits. After the last two rather depressing entries into the SW franchise (and I did like The Last Jedi), I enjoyed having a bit of fluffy fun where the main goal was “complete the heist” not “save the universe AGAIN”.

BOOKS

THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER (Jen Wang)

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel about identity, love, and friendship that follows a young prince who secretly goes out at night as his fabulous alter-ego Lady Crystallia, and the seamstress who designs his gowns. I highly recommend this one. 💖

SPACE OPERA (Catherynne M. Valente)

Space Opera combines two of my favorite things: space adventures and glam rock. This book is weird and clever and I already want to read it again. In the not too distant future, a group of semi-psychic blue flamingo/angler fish aliens makes first contact with Earth. In order to prove that humans are sentient and worthy of inclusion among the other space-faring life-forms, one Earth band must attend the Metagalactic Grand Prix, an extra-terrestrial talent competition that will determine the fate of humanity. This monumental task falls on the glittery shoulders of has-been glam-rock icon Decibel Jones and the one remaining member of his band The Absolute Zeroes. If the duo does well, humans will be accepted into the greater galactic community; if they fail, all human life will be exterminated. Space Opera combines the linear story of Decibel’s journey to the Grand Prix with the larger galactic history that surrounds the event, and is written in a flamboyant, funny style akin to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

THE WEDDING DATE (Jasmine Guillory)

A fun contemporary romance about a woman who gets trapped in an elevator with a charming doctor and agrees to be his date at an awkward wedding the next day. Perfect popcorn romance novel set-up right there.

THE TURNER SERIES / IT TAKES TWO TO TUMBLE / UNMASKED BY THE MARQUESS (Cat Sebastian)

My big discovery for this month was the historical romances of Cat Sebastian. In the course of about a week and a half I devoured every book this author has written. I really enjoyed the different characters and pairings: criminal + soldier; confidence man + eccentric scientist; disgraced rake + proper gentleman; sea captain + vicar; and Unmasked by the Marquess which features a nonbinary MC. These books do all feature the kind of highly-awkward romance cover art that is like nails on my internal graphic design chalk board, so I was very happy to be able to read them on my kindle.

ART THINGS

I finally finished my Nerd Love series! All of the new and remaining originals are now available in my Etsy shop. Other than that, I've been working pretty steadily on prep-work for an upcoming group show at Gallery1988 (more info on that soon). 

April 2018

Flowers! Baby animals! Thunderstorms! It's finally springtime! Here are some of the things that I got up to in April.

 

MOVIES 

LOGAN LUCKY

I ended up watching Logan Lucky during one of those "I don't know what to watch - is there anything new on streaming?" evenings and really enjoyed it. It's a fun heist movie with quality slapstick, visual gags, and deadpan humor. There is a particular scene where a bunch of inmates discuss the Game of Thrones books that had me gasping for breath because I was laughing so hard. 

A QUIET PLACE

While I have a few criticisms - I found a few parts to be a bit hokey and unsuccessful - A Quiet Place earns a spot on the list for how effectively it made use of the main gimmick: lack of sound. The smartly executed sound design and editing do a great deal to elevate this film and build up the tension. I enjoy it when films try something new and I did't feel like I had seen this story a hundred times before.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

*Don't worry - I'll keep this spoiler free* Connecting 10 years worth of films into one story is a seriously hard task and sure, Infinity War is a bit overstuffed with some underdeveloped plot lines, but somehow the film manages to make time for lots of good character moments and growth in between all of the big set-piece fights, explosions, and shenanigans. I think the decision to go the direction they did (with that ending) was really smart. It feels like a big comic-book cliffhanger and a fitting epic finale to cap (Cap?) off such a large collection of films and characters. 

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BOOKS

ENLIGHTENMENT #1-3 (Joanna Chambers)

I'm a big fan of historical romance trilogies/series that stick with the same main characters; I like when a relationship is given time to grow and change over the course of several books (see also: Abroad, Arden St. Ives, and A Charm of Magpies). The Happily Ever After is far more effective when you've spent so much time with the characters and this is one of the main elements that makes the Enlightenment series stand out for me. By the end of the third book I was I *very* invested in David and Murdo's love story and the HEA they had to work very hard to achieve. The first book didn't seem quite as strong as the following installments, but I would definitely recommend this trilogy if gay historical romances are your cup of tea. 

THE TERROR (Dan Simmons)

(Steps up onto soapbox) *ahem* I have some things to say about The Terror. My opinion varied wildly while I was reading it, but overall I really liked this behemoth of a book. The Terror is a fictional monster story wrapped around the real-life Franklin expedition, a doomed naval voyage which set out in 1845 to find the fabled North West Passage.

This positive review does come with a few caveats. First off, in the author's attempt to realistically depict a group of 19th century colonialist British sailors, he does include a lot of racism and misogyny. While I understand why this was included (these aspects would definitely have been present at that time, with these people) and some of it is addressed as characters change throughout the story, every time one of the sailors spewed a racial slur or called a woman a whore I just wanted the monster to show up and eat them all.

The author's fascination with breasts also caused a lot of eye rolling. Literally EVERY time a female character was mentioned, the author took time to describe her breasts (were they heaving? were they covered in sweat? what was their exact size and shape?) Seriously. This happened EVERY TIME. It reminded me of the recent "describe yourself like a male author would" meme that was going around twitter. While at first this breast obsession pissed me off, it happened so often and so reliably that eventually I just started to laugh. 

And finally, there are parts of The Terror that delve into Inuit folklore, characters, and history and tread that fine line of "this feels a bit like cultural appropriation..." 

But with all that being said, the bulk of this book is a really engrossing story of monsters, adventure, and survival in a beautifully envisioned environment that managed to keep me hooked the whole way through.

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GAMES

A WAY OUT

A Way Out is a co-op game in which you play as two prisoners who plan and execute a jail break and then go on a road trip of revenge and redemption. Most of A Way Out is great and does some really clever and innovative things with cooperative, two-person gameplay. Unfortunately, the last 15 minutes of the game change so drastically in tone and narrative that I wanted to throw my controller and turn off the game. I think it's still worth playing despite that, but just be warned that the end goes off the god damn rails.

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MUSIC 

DIRTY COMPUTER (Janelle Monae)

Janelle Monae is amazing and her new album SO GOOD. 😍 It's rebellious, cheeky, and feminist AF. Plus, the visual album that goes with it is equally awesome and full of glorious color and imagery. I have been listening to/watching Dirty Computer non-stop for the past week and i'm sure it's going to influence some art pieces.

LOVE YOURSELF 承 'HER' (BTS)
A friend of mine recently introduced me to the infectiously good album Love Yourself 承 'Her' by BTS. I am a total K-Pop newbie and I don't speak a word of Korean but I sure give it my best shot when I'm singing along with these songs in the car. BTS makes really fun boy-band pop music that I immediately want to dance to and of course, all of the band members are incredibly cute.

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ART THINGS

My art inspiration seems to work a lot like the ocean right before a tsunami - before the waves come flooding in there is that period of time where all of the water recedes far from shore. With two big shows coming up in August and October, all of my motivation and ideas seem to have receded in preparation for the upcoming months of intense art time. I've been trying to combat this a bit by finishing up the final batch of Nerd Love collages, but I constantly find myself sitting at my desk staring into the distance and unable to make progress anything. I've been starting to feel a bit more motivated this week and finally tackled the bearded Nerd Love gents that I had been putting off forever, so I think I'm definitely climbing out of the frustrating art trench. Now I just need to convince my brain to focus on these two 2018 shows instead of obsessing over all of the ideas I have for a solo show in 2019. 

March 2018

Ah March. That time of year where Nebraska taunts us with spring weather only to dive right back into winter. I even got my hammock out. And then it snowed.

Here are some things I enjoyed this month:

MOVIES + TELEVISION

ANNIHILATION

This film seems to have been very polarizing; I really liked it but I know of a number of people who had the complete opposite reaction. I found Annihilation to be enjoyably strange and engaging with great visuals and some really interesting music. I also loved that I was watching a sci-fi/action movie with an almost entirely female cast. The end of the film is particularly surreal and almost entirely dialogue free, relying on the images and music to tell the story instead of tacking on a voiceover or clunky dialogue to explain everything. This pleased me.

JUMAMJI

I was utterly surprised that I liked this film as much as I did. I went in with zero expectations and ended up having a really fun time. It's campy and silly and sometimes that's exactly what you need. It does contain some unfortunate lampshading in the form of Ruby Roundhouse's costume, as well as a few other missteps, but overall I found it charming.

THE TICK

Amazon's The Tick brought me some much needed optimism. The first couple of episodes are a bit uneven in tone, partly because of the way Amazon films pilots so far in advance, but once the show finds its footing it's really fun. The Tick manages to be meta and play with superhero tropes without getting annoying and still telling an entertaining story.

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BOOKS

A HOPE DIVIDED (Alyssa Cole)

The Loyal League series tackles a time period and subject matter that you don't often see in historical romance: The Civil War. Cole's books feature really interesting, strong characters and don't shy away from the danger, horror, and injustice that her black female leads face in the confederate south. A Hope Divided is the second book in the series and my favorite so far. Cole takes her time building a strong and interesting relationship between the two main characters, making the slow-burn romance very satisfying and giving weight to the very bleak world in which they live.

ANNIHILATION (Jeff VanderMeer)

There are some broad-stroke similarities between the Annihilation book and movie, but for the most part they are completely different stories. VanderMeer's novel takes its time building up an environment of dread and tension and hinting at all the bad things that are going on without fully explaining them. I loved the melancholy tone, the unreliable, hard-to-like protagonist, and the unusual structure of the writing. It reminded me a lot of House of Leaves. There are more books in the series and once I can work myself up to another dread-filled book experience, I'll read the next one. 

PROSPERITY (Alexis Hall)

I almost gave up on this book immediately after starting because I was not prepared for the stylized fantasy slang used 100% of the time by the main character/narrator. Luckily I stuck with it and eventually got used to the dialect and started to enjoy myself. Ok, now stick with me: Prosperity is a steam-punk-ish adventure story/romance with a plucky young ne'er-do-well protagonist who ends up leaving the grimy floating city in which he lives and joining a motley airship crew on an adventure to collect explosive magical air energy. On their travels they encounter crazed priests, air-pirates, mechanical zombies, and giant Lovecraftian extra-dimensional krakens. It's silly and fun and at the same time genuinely had me caring about the characters.

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MUSIC

I'LL BE YOUR GIRL (The Decemberists)
YAY NEW DECEMBERISTS! I'll Be Your Girl mixes the lyricism and melodies that I have loved for years and adds rad synths. I love rad synths. HOW DID THEY KNOW??? Anyway, it's good and has a darker tone which feels very timely.

DEAR EVAN HANSEN

I finally made time to sit down and listen to the original cast recording for Dear Evan Hansen and it is wonderful. The show is about a teenager with severe social anxiety whose entire life changes when he lies about being friends with a fellow student who recently committed suicide. Here is one of the songs that stuck with me the most:

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ART THINGS

Definitely the biggest art news from March is the launch of my very own Patreon page. I also finished eight more Nerd Love collages which are now available in my Etsy shop. I have the final 14 pieces all sketched out and am hoping to get them finished up in April.

February 2018

Despite spending a majority of my February free time begrudgingly shoveling snow, scraping ice, and wishing I could hibernate until spring in some sort of blanket cocoon, I did manage to watch a couple of new things and finish a book or two.

MOVIES + TELEVISION

BLACK PANTHER

BLACK PANTHER is very good and if you haven't seen it yet I recommend you do so. While I have a few nitpicks about the pacing and story-lines that felt incomplete, they are far outweighed by all of the things I liked. This film has an array of interesting, well formed characters, including a villain with actual motivation and development and female characters with agency in roles other than just "love interest", both rarities in the Marvel cinematic universe. Plus the costuming and art design are effing spectacular, so it will make your eyes happy as well as your heart.

YURI!!! ON ICE

All of my time watching Olympic coverage this month finally put me in the right mood to finish watching YURI!!! ON ICE. It has drama. It has ice skating. It has rivalries, friendships, and cute boys falling in love. It has sparkly outfits. What's NOT to love? 💕

BOOKS

SOCIETY OF GENTLEMEN (KJ Charles)

I spent a good portion of February working my way through a very hit-or-miss vampire series that I'm still not sure if I liked, so that sucked up (sorry) a majority of my reading time. Luckily I managed to read through all of the the SOCIETY OF GENTLEMEN books before that bogged me down. After falling in love with Charles' work in 2017, I decided I wanted to try and read everything else she has written, and while not my favorite of the author's work the SoG series was still a lot of fun. This trio of gay victorian romances feature lots of smooching and drama obviously, but also themes of class, inequality, family, and politics. Be warned: the covers for these books are really awkward and have very little to do with the actual stories.

PAPER GIRLS (Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chang)

I've seen this series mentioned on numerous "best comics" lists, but as usual I was super late to the party. I went in completely cold, with zero prior knowledge and no idea what it was about, which turned out to be a VERY GOOD IDEA. The story takes all sorts of wild twists and turns and not knowing what to expect really added to my enjoyment. So I'm not going to say anything more about PAPER GIRLS other than it follows a group of newspaper delivery girls on an unexpected adventure. The art and writing is great and I am looking forward to reading more.

ART

The main reason I didn't get much read or watched in February was that I was actually getting art done! FINALLY! In addition to adding two new giclee prints to the shop (Allerdale Hall and Pileated Woodpecker), I also made progress on 14 new Nerd Love collages, six of which are finished. While I can't bear to part with my beloved Dragon Age boyfriends Fenris and Dorian, the original collages for Tris Merigold, Imperator Furiosa, and Alyx Vance are now available.

January 2018

Since I spent a lot of time being sad or angry in 2017, I set myself a goal to try focus more of my energy on positive things in 2018. To that end, I'm cutting way down on my Twitter usage and trying not to check the news every 30 minutes. While writing my 2017 end-of-year recap blog, I found that I really enjoyed sharing/talking about about the various movies, books, and games I have been consuming. So in my quest to devote more of my time to positive things that make me happy, I've decided to try something new in 2018 and blog more often about good things I've seen/read/played.

As always, these are just my personal opinions about things that I like. I'm certain we won't agree on all of them. 

MOVIES + TELEVISION

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

I completely fell in love with this movie. I really like the way the film approaches topics of love, identity, friendship, and sex, and the creative ways the director is able to illustrate these abstract concepts. Michael Stuhlbarg's wonderful monologue toward the end made me instantly erupt into tears, even more so the second time I saw the film, and the final long shot is so beautifully simple and heartbreaking that it's going to stick with me for a very long time. There is also some really excellent new Sufjan Stevens music written for the movie that I've been listening to exhaustively.

GET OUT

I think it's well known by now that GET OUT is a very good movie and i'm so glad I finally watched it. The film is such an effective approach to horror because there is so much natural tension and fear created by the real-life situations the main character Chris encounters, that you're already on edge by the time the more traditional horror elements kick in. And good lord did it have a satisfying ending. I can't wait to see what Jordan Peele makes next.

JOHN WICK 2

The combination of impressively choreographed, over-the-top action scenes and fun takes on common tropes make these films really stand out for me. I liked the first film a lot and the second one was equally entertaining. There is a bit toward the end which takes place in a series of mirrored rooms that just blew my mind - it's bloody gorgeous.

VIDEO GAMES

ASSASSINS CREED ORIGINS

When I started ORIGINS, I didn't quite realize how huge the game would be. I've played many AC games, but this one is much more of an RPG than previous installments, so there are way more side quests and grinding opportunities to get lost in. I've sunk about 30 hours into the game so far and I am nowhere near completing the actual story. I've been happily diverted from the main missions by my need to max out all the equipment, climb that pyramid, explore this sunken ship, escort that crocodile, etc. At one point I accidentally stumbled onto some totally non-canon DLC that gave me a chocobo for a mount and Final Fantasy-themed super weapons. It was a while before I stopped laughing. Then I immediately equipped it all.

So overall, I am really enjoying the game. The only downside is my growing disinterest in the modern day story lines that interrupt the far more interesting main games. The juxtaposition of past and present narratives worked in the early AC games because it felt like it was an important part of the story. But in the last few installments these parts have felt increasingly unconnected to the main meat of the game and immediately grind everything to a halt. I keep finding myself putting off main story missions because I know it's very likely that another boring present-day section will follow. Hopefully that isn't the case for everyone - there have to be some people who like the modern story - it's just totally doesn't work for me.

BOOKS

THE GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE (Mackenzi Lee)

GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE follows the rebellious, bisexual son of an English Nobleman, who ventures out on one last "Grand Tour" with his friend (who he is completely in love with, naturally) before he is expected to settle down, be respectable, and take over the family estate. The characters are unexpectedly rich and interesting, the romance is supremely satisfying, the writing is smart, and the over the top adventure and melodrama kept me thoroughly entertained. Despite the fact that our main character Monty makes the wrong decision and says the wrong thing at pretty much every opportunity, Mackenzi Lee was able to keep me rooting for him and on his side even when he didn't deserve it. That takes talent. The sequel to this book (slated to come out at the end of this year) promises "travel, pirates, and a science girl gang" so I'm definitely on board.

ABROAD (BOOK TWO) (Liz Jacobs)

This two-book series follows an introverted American college student who travels to England for a year abroad, falls in love, grapples with the fear of coming out to his Russian immigrant family, and tries to come to grips with his anxiety and find his voice. The first ABROAD book was one of my favorites from 2017 and the second part did not disappoint. I highly recommend this series.

THE GIRL IN THE TOWER (Katherine Arden)

I failed to mention the first book in this series - The Bear and the Nightingale - in my 2017 wrap up, but probably should have. It's good. This series is set in medieval Russia and follows a really interesting heroine who is able to see the magical creatures that are fading away from the world as people turn to Christianity and abandon older beliefs. Needless to say, things aren't very pleasant for a witch-like woman in medieval Russia, so despite the magical setting, these books are pretty dark. But in a good way. Sure, there's plenty of tragedy, drama, and injustice, but there are also magic horses, a really interesting frost demon, little imps that live in ovens and bathhouses, a rich, well crafted setting, and some triumphs too.

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (Andre Aciman)

I really loved the movie so of course I also wanted to read the novel. There is a floaty, stream-of-consciousness style to the writing that will definitely put some people off (I lost patience with it myself during a few particularly rambling passages) but once I got into the rhythm of the book it worked for me. What stood out the most was Aciman's ability to capture the idea of memories - what moments we vividly remember, what we forget, what we see completely differently from someone experiencing the same thing. It also beautifully illustrates the strange, conflicting emotions Elio experiences as he falls in love for the first time. And, just like in the movie, Elio's father's monologue (drawn nearly word-for-word from the book) reduced me to a ball of tears. I don't know why that scene in particular effects me quite so much. Maybe it's just rare to read/see stories where a parent is so loving and supportive of their child.

ART

At the end of 2017 I decided to bite the bullet and invest in a proper fine art printer and, thanks to the major revelation that it might help to install the drivers that came WITH the printer (thank you Nicole), I have everything up and running and can now make giclee prints at home. This means new prints will go up in my shop a lot sooner and i'll be able do small runs of things like my Nerd Love series (which are available now).

I also have a new piece on display at Gallery 9 in February as part of a black-and-white themed group show, plus a few older pieces in their month-long silent auction. Prints of this piece will be available soon in my shop.