Recent Reading: Welcome to Night Vale

Aug. 18th, 2025 04:08 pm
rocky41_7: (Default)
[personal profile] rocky41_7 posting in [community profile] books

Now that I don’t have a commute, I really had to create time to finish my latest audiobook, but it was worth it. Today I finished Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel, the first book put out by the team behind the Welcome to Night Vale fiction podcast and set in the same universe (as is likely apparent by the title). This book was written by Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink.

First, I don’t believe you need familiarity with the podcast to enjoy the novel. Nor do you need to read the novel if you’re a podcast listener; it builds on what listeners may know, but also centers incredibly peripheral characters from the show (local PTA mom Diane Crayton and pawn shop owner Jackie Fierro), so if you’re a podcast only fan, you’re not missing any crucial story information by forgoing the book. If you’re not a listener of the podcast, I think as long as you go in understanding that the core of Night Vale is the absurd and the surreal, you’ll be okay.

This was a fun book! I was curious to see how the Night Vale Presents team would manage a longform story in the world of Night Vale (podcast episodes are about 25 minutes and almost always self-contained), and I think they did a solid job! The book can be a bit slow, especially in the beginning; the drip of information it feeds you about the mysteries at the center of the story is indeed a drip. But it wasn’t so slow I found it tiresome, and the typical Night Vale weirdness and eccentricity kept me listening even where I wasn’t sure where this story was going (if anywhere).
 

Read more... )

 


Monday yawns...but is otherwise okay

Aug. 18th, 2025 06:04 pm
shadowkat: (Default)
[personal profile] shadowkat
It's a Monday. But at least the weather for the most part was pleasant. Over cast most of the day, until I got home, but in the low seventies. I took a long walk to McNally's Book Store, and back. Picked up a book that I'd been eyeing the last time I was there. Read more... )

Entertainment Items of note

1. To anyone who watched Angel the Series (and more importantly still remembers it well enough to answer this question) - someone on Facebook thinks Angel was turned human by Wolfram and Hart then turned into a vampire again because he had to fight the monsters in LA. They are referring to the fifth season. To my recollection, the only time Angel ever became human was in I Will Always Remember You. Granted it has been some time since I've seen Angel the Series, but I'd think I'd remember that? (Considering how many metas and reviews I wrote about it.) Anyone remember Angel turning human in Season 5? Or is this person completely deluded?

2. Buffy Revival - it's not a Reboot, although people keep calling it a Reboot, and people keep fighting over whether it is one or not, which I find amusing, because they've managed to completely confuse the fandom.
At any rate, Charisma Carpenter has finally clarified that she is not in it, she's not been contacted, and has no idea where they are with it, nor is she in contact with anyone involved. She's only made it known that she'd like to be in it.

I think the people who have been contacted and may be involved are Gellar's friends: Marsters, Hannigan, and Seth Green. They appear to know something.
But I could be wrong. Those are the three she still appears to be close to on some level and in contact with.

3. Alien Nation - the newest thing by Noah Hawley - who is best known for the television series: Fargo and Legion (he also worked on Bones for a bit). No, Ridely Scott isn't involved at all. And I could tell - after seeing the first two episodes. Scott is scarier. I can't watch Scott's Alien.

Once again, folks are fighting over whether it is a reboot. (It's not. It's an expansion on the previous series. Similar to say the Star Trek franchise.)

The first two are intriguing? But I'm on the fence about it. It's biological sci-fi leaning towards horror. [Anyone else see it?]

4. Alan Cummings reports loving filming Avengers Doomsday
excerpt )
***

Music and Religion

Finally, I decided to listen to the Superman 2025 soundtrack, Punkrocker, Nine Inch Nails...I need album recs. I only really have listened to Downward Spiral and Pretty Hate Machine.

Also Jimmi Hendrix's Machine Gun, rec'd by a Franciscan Priest on loan to a Unitarian Church during a sermon on how to tell the Jesus story. (Yes, I was intrigued by all the contradictions in that sentence as well.)

Mother: Wait. What is a Franciscan Priest doing at a Unitarian Church?
ME: No clue. But I find it intriguing. More intriguing than the wannabe Rabbi playing Unitarian Minister actually. Plus he's doing bible studies.
And is a Jimmi Hendrix fan. What are the odds? [And having done the wannabe Rabbi's bible studies, I'd like to try the Franciscan Priest's bible studies.]

I like contradictions. I'm contradictory. These are my people.
fatalfae: Sunnydale Herald use ONLY. (Default)
[personal profile] fatalfae posting in [community profile] su_herald
DAWN: There you are. Knew you were under that dirt somewhere. (nervous laugh)
Buffy doesn't react, just stares at her reflection. Dawn looks nervous, turns back to the sink, then back to Buffy.
DAWN: (false cheer) You remember what Mom used to say? "Either wash that neck or plant potatoes." (Buffy still doesn't react) Yeah, I never thought it was funny either.

~~After Life~~



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[personal profile] thenewbuzwuzz posting in [community profile] su_herald
Xander: Oh, that's meaningless drivel. I'm not interested in Willow like that.
Buffy: Yeah, but you got used to being the Belle of the Ball.
Xander: No, it's just... this Malcolm guy? What's his deal? I mean, tell me you're not slightly wigged.
Buffy: Okay, slightly. I mean, just not knowing what he's really like.
Xander: Or who he really is. I mean, sure he says he's a high school student, but I can say I'm a high school student.
Buffy: You are.

~~I Robot, You Jane~~




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Kill the Villainess, Vol. 3

Aug. 17th, 2025 11:58 am
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] books
Kill the Villainess, Vol. 3 by Haegi

Spoilers for the first two volumes ahead.

Read more... )
shadowkat: (Looking Outwards - Tessa)
[personal profile] shadowkat
Much like The Fantastic Four film - I was on the fence about seeing this film. It had mixed reviews, and I didn't exactly love the last few Superman films I'd seen. Also, James Gunn's last cinematic effort, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol III gave me a headache. (Although I'm thinking that may have been more of a Star Lord and Rocket issue than a Gunn issue.)

As you may or may not know, Superman 2025 is the eleventh Superman film in a long and winding series of films, dating back to 1948, with the most recent being Zack Snyder's highly controversial Man of Steel (2013). (That's not including all the television serials and animated films and serials.) Superman was originally created by two Jewish immigrants way back in 1938 - when fascism was on the rise in Europe, and Hitler was in the midst of persecuting the Jews. They created Superman as a sort of inspiring hero during those dark times, he was an immigrant to the US, an alien, who was kind and helped others no matter what. A beacon of hope.

I've seen various people in comics and in film try to do a more nihilistic take on the character of Superman or a nihilistic commentary on the character - and it never quite works for me. I understand the desire to do it - and why a lot of folks don't like the original version, but Superman at his core is a hopeful character and a kind one. What lies at the center of the Superman story, at its very core, is hope. Get away from that - you lose the story. If you veer too far away from that - you are kind of losing who the character is and why, which is what happened with the previous take on the character, and why Gunn for the most part wisely goes back to the source material and the Salkind's version. It's worth noting that Gunn cleverly references both Salkind's take on Superman and Snyder's. Snyder's science fiction take, and version of Lex is kind of melded with Salkind's.

Superman 2025 directed by James Gunn, written by James Gunn, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster - is the first film in James Gunn's Gods and Monsters arc for DC's rebooted film verse. Clocking in at just over two hours, it clicks by at a good pace, and I didn't notice the time fly by, but, there are one or two fight scenes I'd have trimmed, but I feel that way about most action films.

It's important to note that unlike all the previous films, with the exception of sequels, this does not start with Superman's origin story. It starts in the middle of story - Superman has lost a major battle, his first, the film tells us why and what later on. A lot of action happens before the film even begins. We're in the middle of it and it works, because we've all seen the origin tale multiple times, over twenty to be exact, so it's not really needed. They refer to it, we're told what it is, so in case you were hiding under the proverbial rock for the last 80 years, you know.

Unlike the Fantastic Four Film - this film is harder to discuss without substantive spoilers. I tried, I gave up.
spoilers )

All that aside? I loved the movie. It kept to the core values of the source material, and the original intent of the writers. The filmmakers told their story with just the right amount of humor, and humility. And it put a smile on my face. Lifted my spirits. And gave me hope.

After watching it, I had an overwhelming urge to break into a jig and cheer, instead I just posted online that I loved it to little bitty pieces. I enjoyed it so much, that I've watched it twice now. And will most likely down load the soundtrack to listen to - tomorrow at work.

It also taught me a valuable lesson - be careful with reviews or read them with discretion. Many of the reviews I read turned me off of the film - leading me to believe, erroneously so, that it was too busy, head-ache inducing, with a low-brow and crude sense of humor. This couldn't be further from the truth. I don't know what film they saw? But it wasn't the same film I saw - and I've watched it twice now.

Reviewers, myself included, are human and tend to critique the film through their own lens. We often tell a story with an agenda in mind, either hidden or overt, and that includes reviews. I've learned, the hard way, not to determine what to watch, read or listen to based solely on someone else's view of it. More often than not, I have to see it for myself. We never see the same films as others do, because we see them filtered through our own mind and baggage. And more often than not, we only see what we want to see.

I hate this timeline

Aug. 17th, 2025 09:41 pm
elisi: Living in interesting times is not worth it (memes will save us)
[personal profile] elisi
“This is our last hope”: Bisan Owda issues urgent call on x to stop occupation of Gaza city

(no subject)

Aug. 16th, 2025 11:11 pm
shadowkat: (Default)
[personal profile] shadowkat
Well, I kind of got some stuff done today?

Finished watercolor, made bed, took a brief walk, read a little of my current book, cleaned out some spoiled food from the fridge, took out the composting, took out the garbage, talked to mother, read DW correspondence list, watched the latest episode of the Gilded Age, two episodes of Alien Earth, and rented Superman on UHD on Prime.

By the way? I loved the Superman movie. That is far and away the best Superman movie that I've seen to date. I adored it. I may watch parts of it again. (And I've seen all of them. I've also seen all the television series. And most of the cartoons, and animated films. I've also read a few of the comics here and there.)

I'll do a review later, when I've more time to ponder it, and write it. Assuming anyone wants a review? I may do it anyway. I was certainly looking for folks reviews.

Off to bed.
veronyxk84: Editor icon for su_herald (_Herald Editor#1)
[personal profile] veronyxk84 posting in [community profile] su_herald
BUFFY: Thanks for coming by.
TARA: Is it bad?
BUFFY: I was sort of hoping you could tell me.
TARA: I knew this was gonna happen. What did Willow do now? Did she ... she hurt anyone?
BUFFY: Wha... uh, no, no, um... Ta-Tara, this isn't about Willow.
TARA: I-I thought that's why you didn't want to meet at the house.
BUFFY: Uh, sorry, it's, um ... Willow's fine, uh, she, she's been doing really well. You'd be proud of her.

~~BtVS 6x13 “Dead Things”~~




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Friday is just wandering by...

Aug. 15th, 2025 05:48 pm
shadowkat: (Default)
[personal profile] shadowkat
Breaths a sigh of relief - it's finally Friday. It's been a difficult week, I'm glad it's over. Although today wasn't bad overall? The weather was pleasant for once. If a touch on the hazy side.

Question a Day Meme : August

days 8-15 )

*****

Facebook and other social media platforms - keep throwing Buffy the Vampire Slayer Revival articles at me. They keep calling it the Buffy Reboot, and people keep stating - "it's not a reboot". And then other people state: "no, it is a reboot, the other is a remake". Sigh. Keep in mind this is the same fandom that fought over what a soul meant, and whether vampires had breath. They also were still fighting over the shanshu and were worried the Buffy Revival would mess with their precious Angel. (No, the writers of the Buffy Revival couldn't care less about Angel. Gellar didn't care about Angel. I doubt she's ever watched it. ) That said? If they decide to bring back Spike or Angel - they will either have to be human (and there are many ways for that to happen outside of a shanshu, all you need is an imagination - I could do it, easy), or be insanely aged vampires (which is also possible), because both actors have definitely aged and they look their age.

Note, what I've learned from various articles thrown at me about the Buffy Revival?

It has an IMBD page now.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale appears to be the working title.

Description? Follows Buffy Summers as she trains a new vampire slayer, to fight the forces of evil.
Read more... )

Still rewatching S3, although debating skipping a few episodes and jumping to S4. I really don't like the Faith/Mayor main plot arc for some reason or other. I know I'm in the minority. Most people adore it for some reason or other.

***

Off to bed. Hopefully to sleep and dream of sheep...or ponies.

Endings of Different Importance

Aug. 15th, 2025 07:13 pm
yourlibrarian: Villanelle Pink (OTH-VillanellePink-winterfish)
[personal profile] yourlibrarian
1) I'm in S16 of Silent Witness now but started the month finishing out the Sam Ryan years before jumping back ahead. (I started watching the show in S8 and did about 5 seasons before going back to the start.)

It was a very different show and felt more like a star vehicle, as she was not only the main character but the early seasons also spent a lot of time on her personal life and family. I was glad when Leo and Harry came along to make it seem more like a team show.

I thought the way her character exited the show was a really well done job even though I had some issues with it. Read more... ) In short, I think many characters would like to have had this kind of ending.

2) Speaking of Silent Witness, I was amused that in the episode with Jodie Comer claiming to be possessed by demons, Tom Ellis turns out to be her priest. Well yeah, you're possessed with Lucifer himself guiding your religious life!

3) Google is quickly taking us to a zero click environment. "In this system, the platform harvests and delivers information without sending the reader to those who actually created it, often at significant cost and always with the intention of serving their own audiences. For premium publishers, it means fewer readers, ad impressions, and subscription conversions. For the open web, it means less discovery, diversity, and accountability in the information ecosystem." Read more... )

4) I was curious about this How Americans Do Laundry survey. I'm sharing it here because I know a lot of people like to know stuff like this for their writing. Read more... )

5) Posted some more trip photos of the Devil's Punchbowl and lake views at [community profile] common_nature.

Poll #33493 Kudos Footer-534
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Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

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double_dutchess: (Sunnydale Herald)
[personal profile] double_dutchess posting in [community profile] su_herald
Angel: Um, am I gonna see you this weekend? You, uh, you-you probably have plans.
Buffy: Right, birthday. Um, actually, I, I do have a thing.
Angel: Oh, a thing. (trying to be cool) A date?
Buffy: (nods) Nice attempt at casual. Actually, I do have a date. (steps closer) Older man. Very handsome. He likes it when I call him 'Daddy'.
Angel: (smiles) Huh, your father. (frowns) It is your father, right?

~~Helpless~~


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rocky41_7: (Default)
[personal profile] rocky41_7 posting in [community profile] books
Today I finished book #11 on the "Women in Translation" rec list: Concerning My Daughter by Kim Hye-Jin, translated from Korean by Jamie Chang. This book is about an a widow in her mid-70s who ends up sharing a home with her adult daughter and her daughter's partner. Her contentious relationship with her daughter pits her long-held beliefs and societal viewpoints against her love for her child; simultaneously, she struggles in her job caring for an elderly dementia patient in a nursing home.
 
The protagonist is a person who values, above all, keeping your head down and doing what's expected of you. She does not believe in standing out; she does not believe in involving yourself in other people's problems; perhaps for these reasons, she believes the only people you can ever count on are family. This is how she's lived her whole life, and she believes it was for the best. However, this mindset puts her directly in conflict with her daughter, a lesbian activist who is fighting for equal employment treatment for queer professors and teachers in the South Korean educational system. 
 
When her daughter, Green, runs out of money to pay rent after a quarrel with the university where she was lecturing, the protagonist allows Green and her partner Lane to move in, despite their fractious relationship.

Read more... )Read more... )

The Proving Trail

Aug. 15th, 2025 12:57 pm
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] books
The Proving Trail by Louis L'Amour

The young narrator of this tale leaves his job herding cattle to find his father, and learns that his father was murdered after a night of successful gambling.
Read more... )
fancyflautist: (Editor 3)
[personal profile] fancyflautist posting in [community profile] su_herald
Giles: The rest of the pack were spotted outside Herbert the mascot's cage. They were sent to the principal's office.
Willow: Good! That'll show 'em... Did it show 'em?
Buffy: They didn't hurt him, did they?
Giles: They, uh... ate him.

~~The Pack~~




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    • Sacrifices, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, R) by GuinevereSummers
    • The Choice To Stay, Chapter 32 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Spikelover4ever
    • Buffy and the Slayer - Season 2, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Sunnydale Sentinel
    • Undead, Chapter 9 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Nora
    • Thursday... what a concept, Chapter 67 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by NotYourGrave
    • No Truth Left Behind, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Maxine Eden
    • An Abundance of Buffys, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by JayeMaru
    • If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck..., Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, R) by zinjadu
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    • The Spooky Tree Strikes, Chapter 25 (Buffy/Spike, R) by GuinevereSummers
    • Fake It 'Til You Make It, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Cazzy
    • A Demon With No Name, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by Cazzy

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[personal profile] burnhername posting in [community profile] su_herald
CONNOR: All right. I get it. I messed up.
FAITH: Hey, cheer up, punk. That just makes you one of us.
GUNN: You headed out?
FAITH: Yeah, no tears, big guy. (gives Gunn a high-five)
GUNN: Nah, I'm good. I just wish I could've seen you kicking the crap out of junior, here.
FAITH: It was pretty funny.

~~Orpheus~~




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shadowkat: (Looking Outwards - Tessa)
[personal profile] shadowkat
I owe you a Fantastic Four: First Steps review, don't I?


The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 (cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first superhero team created by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and editor/co-scripter Stan Lee, and through this title the "Marvel method" style of production came into prominence.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Four



This is a film that I was admittedly very much on the fence about seeing. I've not seen a Marvel film or a superhero film in theaters since...roughly, I can't remember? I think the last one was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. III? I'd gotten a tad burned out on the genre. And so many of the films felt repetitive. And well, it's the Fantastic Four - and I've always been ambivalent of the comics and the team. I read a few here and there, curiosity and well, I'm an X-men comics fan since roughly college, and there's cross-overs. But I wouldn't call myself anything approaching a fan or expert? So I went into this with mixed feelings, low expectations, and for the most part blind. I hadn't really seen the trailers and I knew very little about the film - outside of who the villains were, who the cast was, and that it was retro-futuristic 1960s from the posters, whatever that meant.



The film, directed by Matt Shackman, and written by Josh Fredman, Eric Peterson, and Jeff Kaplan - is among the tighter of the genre entries to date (and believe it or not shorter). Clocking in at just under two hours. The plot clicked along, it had just the right amount of suspense, and emotional gravitas for this genre. It wasn't overly predictable, nor convoluted. It did a good job of setting up both its world and the characters without inundating us with too much unnecessary exposition, and it was fun. There was in short, no huge information dump, yet at the same time - it introduced the story to those who may never have read a comic or seen a Marvel flick or television series (a rarity for Marvel). It also had an almost childlike innocence to it - which is true of the early 1960s comics and 1970-80s superhero flicks - which some may find silly, but I oddly enough found refreshing? It may just be that I'm tired of dark grim films and content, the world can be depressing enough all on its own. In some respects this film reminded me of another era - the films released in the 1940s and in the 1960s, films depicting a better world, where problems can be solved with a smattering of cool science and cooperation, a kind of cartoon escapism.
vague spoilers and mainly just cut for length - what works, why it works, why it's better than all the previous efforts, and why you should see it. )

Overall, the film is worth a watch, particularly on a big screen and in a good theater. And well, if you are an MCU, Marvel or most importantly? A Fantastic Four fan? I'm certain there's a few of you out there?

Sanders' Union Fourth Reader

Aug. 13th, 2025 01:07 pm
marycatelli: (Golden Hair)
[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] books
Sanders' Union Fourth Reader by Charles Walton Sanders

Despite the titles, this is more recent than his New Fourth Reader. It repeats three or four readings from the earlier works, not all of them from the fourth reader.

Interesting nowadays chiefly for the views of edifying works and science of the time.

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