#Vance Warner

[dijidweeeb]

Motivational Music in the Morning ... Vance Warner & The Pike County Players, House on the Hill (Official Audio Track) ... from the Album: Slow Boogie Rockin' / House on the Hill #2TrackSingle #BSide (1962) (1960's Underground Country, Local & Unreleased) #MMitM1

[missin-you-already]

Torsten Jerabek as Vance Drew || Resident Evil (2002)

[wanderingaroundwithmysoul]

Am I allowed to ask for all of Rain's team❓️

-🚬

"Dumbass." (J.D.)

"Nerd." (Kaplan)

"Smartass." (Drew)

"Clown." (Warner)

"Stern." (Olga)

"No-nonsense." (One)

[collapsedsquid]

At first, the F.B.I. and other investigators believed that China’s hackers used stolen passwords to focus mostly on the system that taps telephone conversations and texts under court orders. It is administered by a number of the nation’s telecommunications firms, including the three largest — Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. But in recent days, investigators have discovered how deeply China’s hackers had moved throughout the country by exploiting aging equipment and seams in the networks connecting disparate systems. [...] But the Chinese activity in the past year has taken these intrusions to a new level, Mr. Warner said on Thursday. “This is far and away the most serious telecom hack in our history,” he said. “This makes Colonial Pipeline and SolarWinds look like small potatoes.” He said that only in the past week had it become clear that “every major provider has been broken into.” The hackers were not able to listen to conversations on encrypted applications, like those carried over WhatsApp or Signal. Nor could they read encrypted messages, such as those sent from one iPhone to another over Apple’s iMessage system. But they could read regular text messages between an iPhone and an Android phone, for example, or listen to phone calls over the ordinary telephone networks, much as the government can if it has a legal order. The Chinese went after the conversations of national security officials, politicians and some of their staff, investigators have concluded. There may have been several Chinese groups at work, said a senior official involved in the investigation, who noted that one of them might have focused on Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance.

How nice of the US government to provide a convenient method for it to be spied on

[disasterhimbo]

Source

[ID: a quote tweet by Stephen Semler (@stephensemler) dated March 23, 2024. It is responding to a tweet by the Associated Press (@AP) that says, “BREAKING: Senate passes $1.2 trillion funding package in early morning vote, ending threat of partial shutdown.”

It says, “All but two Democratic senators just voted to:

-give Israel $3.8B in weapons, violating US law

-defund a UN inquiry into Israel's violations of international law

-defund UNRWA, worsening famine in Gaza

-sanction the UN Human Rights Council if it highlights Israeli abuses.”

It contains an image of only text showing who voted yea, who voted nay, and who abstained. 74 senators voted yea, including 47 democrats, 25 republicans, and 2 independents. 24 senators voted nay: all republicans except Senator Bennet (Democrat, Colorado), and Senator Sanders (Independent, Vermont). 2 Republican senators abstained. Full transcription of this image under the cut.]

Transcript of the image contained in the tweet:

“YEAS --- 74

Baldwin (D-WI)

Blumenthal (D-CT)

Booker (D-NJ)

Boozman (R-AR)

Britt (R-AL)

Brown (D-OH)

Butler (D-CA)

Cantwell (D-WA)

Capito (R-WV)

Cardin (D-MD)

Carper (D-DE)

Casey (D-PA)

Cassidy (R-LA)

Collins (R-ME)

Coons (D-DE)

Cornyn (R-TX)

Cortez Masto (D-NV)

Cotton (R-AR)

Cramer (R-ND)

Duckworth (D-IL)

Durbin (D-IL)

Ernst (R-IA)

Fetterman (D-PA)

Fischer (R-NE)

Gillibrand (D-NY)

Graham (R-SC)

Grassley (R-IA)

Hassan (D-NH)

Heinrich (D-NM)

Hickenlooper (D-CO)

Hirono (D-HI)

Hoeven (R-ND)

Hyde-Smith (R-MS)

Kaine (D-VA)

Kelly (D-AZ)

King (1-ME)

Klobuchar (D-MN)

Lujan (D-NM)

Manchin (D-WV)

Markey (D-MA)

McConnell (R-KY)

Menendez (D-NJ)

Merkley (D-OR)

Moran (R-KS)

Mullin (R-OK)

Murkowski (R-AK)

Murphy (D-CT)

Murray (D-WA)

Ossoff (D-GA)

Padilla (D-CA)

Peters (D-MI)

Reed (D-RI)

Romney (R-UT)

Rosen (D-NV)

Rounds (R-SD)

Schatz (D-HI)

Schumer (D-NY)

Shaheen (D-NH)

Sinema (I-AZ)

Smith (D-MN)

Stabenow (D-MI)

Sullivan (R-AK)

Tester (D-MT)

Thune (R-SD)

Tillis (R-NC)

Van Hollen (D-MD)

Warner (D-VA)

Warnock (D-GA)

Warren (D-MA)

Welch (D-VT)

Whitehouse (D-RI)

Wicker (R-MS)

Wyden (D-OR)

Young (R-IN)

(This is the end of the yeas.)

NAYS --- 24

Barrasso (R-WY)

Bennet (D-CO)

Blackburn (R-TN)

Budd (R-NC)

Crapo (R-ID)

Cruz (R-TX)

Daines (R-MT)

Hagerty (R-TN)

Hawley (R-MO)

Johnson (R-WI)

Kennedy (R-LA)

Lankford (R-OK)

Lee (R-UT)

Lummis (R-WY)

Marshall (R-KS)

Paul (R-KY)

Ricketts (R-NE)

Risch (R-ID)

Rubio (R-FL)

Sanders (I-VT)

Schmitt (R-MO)

Scott (R-SC)

Tuberville (R-AL)

Vance (R-OH)

(This is the end of the nays.)

Not Voting - 2

Braun (R-IN)

Scott (R-FL)”

(This is the end of the transcribed image.)

[nocturnalstarlet]

— 𝑾𝑯𝑶 𝑰 𝑾𝑹𝑰𝑻𝑬 𝑭𝑶𝑹 🪐

— 𝑨 𝑪𝑶𝑼𝑹𝑻 𝑶𝑭 𝑻𝑯𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑬𝑺 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑹𝑶𝑺𝑬𝑺

🪐 ››       cassian, azriel, nesta archeron, elain archeron, feyre archeron, lucien vanserra, eris vanserra.

ships i'd write for: cassian x nesta , elain x azriel , gwyn x azriel , and elain x lucien.

— 𝑩𝑩𝑪 𝑴𝑼𝑺𝑲𝑬𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑹𝑺

🪐 ››       aramis, porthos.

— 𝑩𝑹𝑰𝑫𝑮𝑬𝑹𝑻𝑶𝑵

🪐 ››       anthony bridgerton, daphne bridgerton, benedict bridgerton, colin bridgerton, king george iii.

— 𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑽𝑨𝑳 / 𝑶𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑼𝑷𝑶𝑵 𝑨 𝑩𝑹𝑶𝑲𝑬𝑵 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑻

🪐 ››       legend, julien santos, scarlett dragna, donatella dragna, jacks/prince of hearts.

— 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑴𝑬𝑫

🪐 ››       phoebe halliwell, paige matthews, wyatt halliwell, chris halliwell.

— 𝑫𝑨𝑰𝑺𝒀 𝑱𝑶𝑵𝑬𝑺 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑰𝑿

🪐 ››       warren rojas, eddie roundtree, graham dunne, camila alvarez, karen sirko, daisy jones, simone jackson.

— 𝑭𝑨𝑺𝑻 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑭𝑼𝑹𝑰𝑶𝑼𝑺

🪐 ››       dominic toretto, brian o'conner, letty ortiz, mia toretto, roman pearce, deckard shaw, tej parker, han lue.

ships i'd write for: dom x letty.

— 𝑮𝑨𝑴𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑻𝑯𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑬𝑺 / 𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑶𝑵

🪐 ››       tormund giantsbane, podrick payne, sansa stark, robb stark, jorah mormont, theon greyjoy, sandor clegane, samwell tarly, rhaegar targaryen, daenerys targaryen.

🪐 ››       aemond targaryen, jacaerys velaryon, alicent hightower, daemon targaryen.

— 𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑹𝒀 𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹

🪐 ››       ron weasley, hermione granger, dean thomas, blaise zabini, luna lovegood, neville longbottom, cedric diggory, viktor krum.

🪐 ››       james potter, lily evans, narcissa black, regulus black, andromeda black, sirius black, remus lupin, frank longbottom, peter pettigrew, lucius malfoy, pandora lovegood, alice fortescue, marlene mckinnon, mary macdonald, emmeline vance, dorcas meadows.

🪐 ››       theseus scammander

🪐 ››       teddy lupin

🪐 ››       godrick gryffindor, rowena ravenclaw, helga hufflepuff, salazar slytherin

**a very big fuck you to jkr. this account is HEAVILY anti jkr and always will be. **while some of the fics for these characters may occur during their time at hogwarts, the characters will be assumed to be 18+ regardless of fic type.

— 𝑰𝑻

🪐 ››       richie tozier, stanley uris, ben hascom, mike hanlon.

**none of my writing for these characters will take place in the first film. i may instead do college!fics for this. everything else will come from when they're adults.

— 𝑴𝑨𝑹𝑽𝑬𝑳 / 𝑿-𝑴𝑬𝑵

🪐 ››       steve rogers, james buchanan "bucky" barnes, natasha romanoff, yelena belova, wanda maximoff, pietro maximoff, thor odinson, loki laufeyson, bruce banner, druig.

🪐 ››       john allerdyce (pyro), bobby drake (iceman), peter rasputin (colossus), scott summers (cyclops), alex summers (havoc), anna marie lebeau (rogue), logan howlett (wolverine), ororo munroe (storm), peter maximoff (quicksilver), charles xavier, erik lehnsherr.

— 𝑶𝑼𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑩𝑨𝑵𝑲𝑺

🪐 ››       pope heyward, sarah cameron, kiara carrera, jj maybank, john b routledge, rafe cameron, topper thornton.

— 𝑷𝑬𝑨𝑲𝒀 𝑩𝑳𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹𝑺

🪐 ››       thomas shelby, arthur shelby, john shelby, michael gray, finn shelby.

— 𝑺𝑨𝑳𝑻𝑩𝑼𝑹𝑵

🪐 ››       felix catton, venetia catton, farleigh start.

— 𝑺𝑪𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴

🪐 ››       tara carpenter, sam carpenter, chad meeks-martin, mindy meeks-martin, ethan landry.

— 𝑺𝑯𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑴𝑬

🪐 ››       aaron warner, kenji kishimoto, juliette ferrars.

— 𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑵 𝑾𝑶𝑳𝑭

🪐 ››       derek hale, peter hale, stiles stilinski, isaac lahey, lydia martin, scott mccall.

— 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑯𝑼𝑵𝑮𝑬𝑹 𝑮𝑨𝑴𝑬𝑺

🪐 ››       finnick odair, haymitch abernathy.

ships i'd write for: finnick x annie

— 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑽𝑨𝑴𝑷𝑰𝑹𝑬 𝑫𝑰𝑨𝑹𝑰𝑬𝑺 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬

🪐 ››       elijah mikaelson, marcel gerard, klaus mikaelson, kol mikaelson, rebekah mikaelson, bonnie bennett, enzo st. john, stefan salvatore, damon salvatore, jeremy gilbert, caroline forbes, elena gilbert.

— 𝑻𝑹𝑼𝑬 𝑩𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑫

🪐 ››       eric northman, jason stackhouse, alcide herveaux , jessica hamby.

— 𝑻𝑾𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻

🪐 ››       charlie swan, carlisle cullen, emmett cullen, rosalie hale, alice cullen, sam uley, paul lahote, jared cameron.

— 𝑾𝑬𝑫𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑫𝑨𝒀 / 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑨𝑫𝑫𝑨𝑴𝑺 𝑭𝑨𝑴𝑰𝑳𝒀

🪐 ››       morticia frump, gomez addams, wednesday addams, enid sinclair, bianca barclay.

ships i'd write for: morticia x gomez.

— 𝑴𝑰𝑺𝑪𝑬𝑳𝑳𝑨𝑵𝑬𝑶𝑼𝑺

🪐 ››       ransom drysdale (knives out), andy barber (defending jacob), killian jones (ounce upon a time).

don't see what you're looking for? feel free to ask if i know a fandom/ship/character and if am willing to write what you're looking for!!

[titleknown]

So, you know all those bad laws I tell y'all to call your senators to kill? Well here's a good one for you to promote!

Basically, you know how payment processors freak the fuck out if even the slightest whiff of adult content shows up on a website, which has lead to the widespread sanitization of the internet?

Well, this bill, S.293; aims to prevent that crap!

And, it's currently in the Committee of Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, so if your Senator is one of the following, call them and tell them to vote yes on it:

Sherrod Brown, Ohio, Chairman

Jack Reed, Rhode Island

Bob Menendez, New Jersey

Jon Tester, Montana

Mark Warner, Virginia

Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts (Tell her it would be a start on apologizing for voting yes on FOSTA/SESTA)

Chris Van Hollen, Maryland

Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada

Tina Smith, Minnesota

Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona (ugh)

Raphael Warnock, Georgia

John Fetterman, Pennsylvania

Tim Scott, South Carolina, Ranking Member

Mike Crapo, Idaho

Mike Rounds, South Dakota

Thom Tillis, North Carolina (Probably not reaching this asshole)

John Kennedy, Louisiana

Bill Hagerty, Tennessee

Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming

J.D. Vance, Ohio (Ugh)

Katie Britt, Alabama

Kevin Cramer, North Dakota

Steve Daines, Montana

If they're one of those right-wing dipshits, tell them it would help them prevent "cancel culture" via socially-conscious payment processors. Because subterfugue towards conservatives is always cool and good! Always!

Also mention that, in a happy irony, this would actually make kids safer by allowing platforms to acknowlege that, yes, people make a living selling well-endowed monoecious horsegirl drawings on their platform, and actually put properly finetuned safeguards in place.

As opposed to now, where they have to dance around it and put it in a grey-area hell so that Peter "Dracula" Thiel doesn't get his seastead in a shoal and ban them, which nobody likes!

So, call 'em if you can, boost even if you can't!

[breatheslight]

every   time   you   close   your   eyes   and   feel   his   lips,   you're   feelin'   mine   and   every   time   you   breathe   his   air,   .   .   .   just   know   I   was   already   there   !

ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴍᴜꜱᴇ ʙʟᴏɢ. temp muse list underneath.

note that most of these can fit into college settings also.

all muses are bisexual or pansexual.

𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩 𝐦𝐮𝐬��� 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭.

females.

Josephine langford. / ainsley ward - 911 dispatcher. 26.

hande ercel. / aylin alabora - lawyer. 28.

madison bailey. / monroe james - flight attendent. 24.

carlacia grant. / devin myers - interior designer. 30.

fiona palomo. / shelby cole - wedding planner. 25.

madelyn cline. / tatum marshall - news reporter. 25.

lola tung. / florence yeung - singer / waitress. 22.

ana de armas. / vivian nichols - tattoo artist. 33.

sabrina carpenter. / stevie rose - reality tv star. 25.

indiana evans. / delaney hart - ballerina. 28.

nicole wallace. / piper lane - nurse. 22.

samantha logan. / skye andrews - emt. 26.

olivia holt. / sutton washington - actress. 26.

greta onieogou. / sydney carroll - social media intern. 24.

maia reficco. / samantha riley - swimmer. future olympic gold medalist. 23.

daisy edgar jones. / francis schmidt - bakery shop owner. 26.

grace van patten. / swan fox - physiotherapist. 26.

grace rose robertson. / lacey jacobs - former child star turned swimsuit model. 22.

danielle campbell. / peyton larson - model. 27.

madison beer. / leighton frazier - figure skater. 24.

tate mcrae. / lane silva - surf shop attendant. 22.

emily bader. / jocelyn brewer - private chef. 26.

nina dobrev. / wren jensen - travel agent. 28.

rain spencer. / blake parks - make up artist. 24.

leah halton. / shannon rhodes - food vlogger. 22.

lalisa manoban. / amara saelee - dancer / singer. 26.

leighton meester. / mallory steele - reality tv host. 34.

cindy kimberly. / leslie wolfe - fashion designer. 25.

————————————————————————

males.

jacob elordi. / griffin keller - paramedic. 28.

michael evans behling. / wesley bowen - firefighter. 28.

leo woodall. / william reeves - detective. 28.

rudy pankow. / gavin cross - photographer / small business owner. 24.

drew starkey. / kellan townsend - fitness trainer. 29.

chase stokes. / rory patton - pilot. 30.

jonathan daviss. / miles francis - lifestyle vlogger. 25.

christopher briney. / everett brady - ghost writer. 26.

alex fitzalan. / rowan blaise - video game designer. 27.

damian hardung. / warner briggs - youtuber. 25.

tom blyth. / sawyer holloway - writer for murder mysteries. 29.

david iacono. / jude clarke - veterinarian. 24.

nicholas chavez. / soren davenport - street car racer / comes from rich family. 25.

dylan o'brien. / theo bradford - drug dealer. 30.

josh o'connor. seth ackerman - news anchor. 32.

mike faist. / tylan vance - mechanic. 30.

————————————————————————

𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧. request only.

they are all multi ship, crossover and oc friendly.

belly conklin. 18+. lola tung.

elena gilbert. 18+. madelyn cline or nina dobrev.

[crashandswirl]

What kind of tragedy are you?

Written in the stars: Luther West, Alf Warner, Joseph Frost, Terri Morales, Bruce McGivern, Nica Pierce, Tiffany Valentine.

It had to end this way. We all know it. Only you were unaware. You had hope. Hope, of course, only makes it hurt all the more. We all knew you would look back, oh love, there's no other version of the story. And yet, alongside you, we still had hope. We believed in you, even though we knew you couldn't win. And you believed in yourself till the last moment. It isn't fair, is it? You didn't know you were doomed.

Self-inflcited: Cassandra Dimitrescu, Ana Lucía Cortez, Katarin, Jill Valentine.

You were given the chance to live, a thousand times over, and yet you never chose it. Not intentionally, oh no, you didn't know it was a grave you were digging. But with every turn, you were twisting the knife deeper. Every decision doomed you more. Had it been anyone else, they would have made it. But you? You are so perfectly you, there was no escaping it. The true tragedy of it all was how preventable it was.

Doomed from the start: Inéz Diaco, Camila Salgado Díaz, M, Angela Miller, Vance Drew.

There was no way of winning, and you knew it too. But you still tried. You tried again and again and again to change it. You fought tooth and claw to change your fate, but she cannot be easily manipulated. It's not your fault. The game was always rigged against you. From the moment you entered the narrative, your fate was sealed. You didn't stand a chance.

Wrong place, wrong time: J.D. Salinas, Letty Ortiz.

It shouldn't have been you. Oh my love, you should have lived. If only. If only you had made a right instead of a left. If only your friend hadn't had so much to drink. If only it hadn't rained last night. Then everything would be fine. A butterfly could have flapped its wings at another time and you would have been fine. Safety was so close, and yet so far. But alas, the stars just had to align.

Tagged by: @pretty-isnt-pretty-enough (thanks for the tag! I was only gonna do like, four muses, but today is not a productive day lol)

Tagging: @torntruth, @tootyfuckingfruity, @mould-girl, @v-jestica / @slxver-scrxm, @bcrntalive, @bullet-x, + anyone else who wants to do it :P

[missin-you-already]

Sanitation || Resident Evil (2002)

[kjbytheriver]

My email has so many newsletters now. It’s like

[NYT] HUNDREDS DEAD IN RACE RIOTS

[CT Birds] I just made a documentary :)

[NYT] Is this the best portable speaker?

[Fr. Peter] PLEASE COME TO CHURCH

[John Warner] Why Aren’t Men Reading Novels?

[NYT] JD VANCE DID NOT FUCK A COUCH!!!!

[wanderingaroundwithmysoul]

Rambling about Rain and her passion for guns :)

In most timelines where she survives to Extinction and ends up in Claire's convoy, I like to picture her wearing a baseball cap with a Kendo's Gunshop logo haha. I imagine she went there many times before Raccoon City blew up.

She is the type of person who memorizes model names.

Rain played with a lot of airsoft and BB guns as a kid. She spent a lot of time shooting cans, bottles, and things of the like in the backyard.

Because her interest began with simply finding it fun to hit faraway targets, she never liked getting toy guns that only made sounds/didn't fire any actual projectiles.

That being said, although function will always take priority over form, she does have an appreciation for "pretty-looking" guns. Barry Burton's iconic magnum? Rain would call that pretty.

Shotguns are her least favorite type of firearm.

Before the whole global apocalypse happened, she would frequently visit shooting ranges. Practice is important to her. But also, y'know, it's just something she loves doing.

She'd often have competitions with her friends. Usually J.D., sometimes Vance, Warner, or someone else she knew from Umbrella. The loser would pay for dinner or drinks.

Rain doesn't prefer using bolt-action rifles in combat, but she does love using them at the range.

The end times got her way more into modding. Almost every gun she keeps ends up being modified.

[monkeyjaw]

Year in Review (by way of books) 2023

Books and Comics/Graphic Novels 2023

January

The Doubtful Guest – Edward Gorey (illustrated book/graphic novel)

The Promised Neverland: Volume 6 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu(manga)

The City and the City – China Mieville

Sandman Volume 6: Fables and Reflections – Neil Gaiman, various artists (graphic novel)

Sandman Volume 7: Brief Lives – Neil Gaiman, Jill Thompson, Vince Locke (graphic novel)

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas – Frederick Douglas, read by Charles Turner

The Sandman Volume 8: World’s End – Neil Gaiman, various artists (graphic novel)

The Bartimaeus Trilogy 2: The Golem’s Eye – Jonathan Stroud

The Man Who Fell To Earth – Dan Watters, Dev Pramanik (graphic novel)

The Carpet People – Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs

Hikaru no Go Volume 15: Sayanara – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Hikaru no Go Volume 16: The Chinese Go Association – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Witch Hat Atelier Volume 1 – Kamome Shirahama (manga)

February

The Sandman Volume 9: The Kindly Ones – Neil Gaiman, Marc Hemple, various artists (graphic novel)

Titus Groan – Mervyn Peake, read by Simon Vance

Paper Girls Volume 3 – Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang (graphic novel)

Beastars Volume 1 – Paru Itagaki (manga)

Revenge of the Librarians – Tom Gauld (graphic novel)

Lucifer Volume 1: Devil in the Gateway – Mike Carey, Peter Gross (graphic novel)

Saint Young Men Volume 1 – Hikaru Nakamura (manga)

The Sandman Volume 10: The Wake – Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli, Jon Muth, Charles Vess (graphic novel)

Hikaru no Go Volume 17: A Familiar Face – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand – Helen Simonson

Beastars Volume 2 – Paru Itagaki (manga)

Woman World – Aminder Dhaliwal (graphic novel)

Black Paradox – Junji Ito (manga)

Beastars Volume 3 – Paru Itagaki (manga)

March

Lucifer Volume 2: Children & Monsters – Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly (graphic novel)

Doomsday Book – Connie Willis, read by Jenny Sterlin

Moonshadow – J.M. DeMatteis, Jon J. Muth, Kent Williams (graphic novel)

The Magic Fish – Trung Le Nguyen (graphic novel)

Sleepless Volume 2 – Sarah Vaughn, Leila Del Luca (graphic novel)

The Monkey Prince Volume 1: Enter the Monkey – Gene Luen Yang, Bernard Chang (graphic novel)

Unbroken – Lauren Hillenbrand, read by Edward Hermann

Thrawn: Ascendancy 2: The Greater Good – Timothy Zahn, read by Marc Thompson

Thud! – Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs

April

Operation Mincemeat – Ben McIntyre

Beastars Volume 4 – Paru Itagaki (manga)

Parasyte Volume 2 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand – Helen Simonson

The Promised Neverland Volume 7 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Parasyte Volume 3 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

The Wheel of Time Bk 4: The Shadow Rising – Robert Jordan

Twig – Skottie Young, Skyle Strahm (graphic novel)

Spring Rain: a graphic memoir – Andy Warner (graphic novel)

The Multiversity – Grant Morrison, various artists (graphic novel)

The Promised Neverland Volume 8 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Goldie Vance Volume 2 – Hope Larson, Jackie Ball, Brittney Williams (graphic novel)

Team of Rivals (Abridged) – Doris Kearns Goodwin, read by Richard Thomas

Stretching the Heavens – Terry L. Givens

May

The Promised Neverland Volume 9 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Parasyte Volume 4 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

Parasyte Volume 5 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

Conan Volume 1 – Robert E. Howard, L. Sprage De Camp, Lin Carter

Parasyte Volume 6 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

The Promised Neverland Volume 10 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Penric’s Demon – Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Grove Gardner

Kamen Rider: The Classic Manga Collection - Shōtarō Ishinomori, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian (manga)

 Parasyte Volume 7 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

Shuna’s Journey – Hayao Miyazaki, translated by Alex Dudok de Wit (manga)

Parasyte Volume 8 – Hitoshi Iwaaki (manga)

Maggy Garrison – Lewis Trondheim, Stephane Oiry (graphic novel)

Double Cross – Ben McIntyre

The Promised Neverland Volume 11 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

June

The Promised Neverland Volume 12 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

The Promised Neverland Volume 13 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

My Hero Academia Volume 1 – Kohei Horikoshi (manga)

Think Again – Adam Grant

Adventure Game Comics Volume 1: Leviathan – Jason Shiga (graphic novel)

Ranma ½ Volume 35 – Rumiko Takahashi (manga)

Ranma ½ Volume 36 – Rumiko Takahashi (manga)

The Promised Neverland Volume 14 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Thrawn Ascendancy Volume 3: Lesser Evil – Timothy Zahn, read by Marc Thompson

Leviathan Wakes – James S.A. Corey

The Man Without Talent – Yoshitsaru Tsuge (manga)

July

A Bride’s Story Volume 3 – Kaoru Mori (manga)

The Promised Neverland Volume 15 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

The Promised Neverland Volume 16 – Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (manga)

Almost American Girl – Robin Ha (graphic novel)

The Woman Who Smashed Codes – Jason Fagone

The Swamp – Yoshiharu Tsuge (manga)

The Wheel of Time Book 5: The Fires of Heaven – Robert Jordan

A Bride’s Story Volume 4 – Kaoru Mori (manga)

Pulp – Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips (graphic novel)

Locke & Key: Small World – Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Breaking Cat News – Georgia Dunn (graphic novel)

August

Labyrinth Coronation Vol 1 – Ryan Ferrier, Simon Spurrier, Daniel Bayliss (graphic novel)

A Bride’s Story Volume 5 – Kaoru Mori (manga)

Worst Journey In the World Volume 1 – Sara Airress (graphic novel)

Best American Comics 2016 – various artists, writers, edited by Roz Chast (graphic novel)

Labyrinth Coronation Volume 2 – Ryan Ferrier, Simon Spurrier, Daniel Bayliss (graphic novel)

Hikaru no Go Volume 19: One Step Forward! – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Hikaru no Go Volume 20: The Young Lions – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Thirsty Mermaids – Kat Leyh (graphic novel)

Criminal: Coward – Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips (graphic novel)

Parable of the Sower – Octavia E. Butler, read by Lynne Thigpen

Hikaru no Go Volume 21: Great Expectations – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Hikaru no Go Volume 22: China vs. Japan – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Hikaru no Go Volume 23: Endgame – Takeshi Obata, Yumi Hotta (manga)

Dead Boy Detectives Vol. 1: Schoolboy Terrors – Toby Litt, Mark Buckingham, Gary Erskine (graphic novel)

Dead Boy Detectives Vol 2: Ghost Snow – Toby Litt, Mark Buckingham, Gary Erskine (graphic novel)

Seek You – Kristen Radtke (graphic novel)

John Constantinte Hellblazer Volume 2: The Devil You Know – Jamie Delano, David Lloyd, Richard Piers Rayner (graphic novel)

September

Once & Future Volume 5: The Wasteland – Kieron Gillen, Dan Mora (graphic novel)

The Once and Future Witches – Alix Harrow

The Sandman Presents: The Deadboy Detectives – Ed Brubaker, Bryan Talbot, Steve Leialoha (graphic novel)

Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham – Mike Mignola, Richard Pace, Troy Nixey, Dennis Janke (graphic novel)

Free Country: A Tale of the Children’s Crusade – Neil Gaiman, various writers, artists (graphic novel)

Man’s Search For Meaning – Victor E. Frankl, read by Simon Vance

John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 1: Original Sins – Jamie Delano, Mark Buckingham, Richard Piers Rayner (graphic novel)

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? – Roz Chast (graphic novel)

Edge of Spider-Verse – Dan Slott, Jason Latour, various artists/writers (graphic novel)

Spider-Gwen Volume 1: Greater Power – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

John Constatine Hellblazer Volume 3: The Fear Machine – Jamie Delano, Alfredo Alcala, Mark Buckingham, Mike Hoffman (graphic novel)

Cosmic Odyssey – Jim Starlin, Mike Mignola, Carlos Garzon (graphic novel)

October

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. –edited by Clayborne Carson, read by LeVar Burton

Spider-Women – Robbie Thompson, Jason Latour, various artists (graphic novel)

Spider-Gwen Volume 2: Weapon of Choice – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Gender Queer – Maia Kubata (graphic novel)

Black Orchid Book 1 – Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean (graphic novel)

Black Orchid Book 2 – Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean (graphic novel)

Black Orchid Book 3 – Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean (graphic novel)

Tombs – Junji Ito (manga)

Locke & Key: The Golden Age – Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Wraith – Joe Hill, Charles Paul Wilson III (graphic novel)

A Great and Terrible King – Marc Morris, read by Ralph Lister

The Birds and Don’t Look Now – Daphne du Maurier, read by Peter Capaldi

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness – Nagata Kabi (manga)

Spider-Gwen Volume 3: Long-Distance – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

The Birds & Other Stories – Daphne du Maurier

November

John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 4: The Family Man – Jamie Delano, Grant Morrison, various artists (graphic novel)

The Feng Shui Detective Agency – Nury Vittachi

Delicious in Dungeon Volume 1 – Ryoko Kui (manga)

The Saga of Swamp Thing Volume 1 – Alan Moore, Stephen Bisette, John Totleben (graphic novel)

Spider-Verse – Dan Slott, various writers/artists (graphic novel)

Breakfast With Socrates – Robert Rowland Smith

Harleen – Stjepan Sejic (graphic novel)

Spider-Gwen Volume 4: Predators – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Spider-Gwen Volume 5: Gwenom – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Flipped – Wendelin Van Draanen

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer – Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin, read by Jeff Cummings

Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen: Sitting in a Tree – Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Latour, Sara Pichelli, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

December

John Constantine Hellblazer Volume 5: Dangerous Habits – Garth Ennis, Jamie Delano, various artists (graphic novel)

My Solo Exchange Diary Volume 1 – Nagata Kabi (manga)

Birds of Prey Volume 1 – Chuck Dixon, Jordan B. Gorfinkel, various artists (graphic novel)

My Solo Exchange Diary Volume 2 – Nagata Kabi (manga)

Shuna’s Journey – Hayao Miyazaki, translated by Alex Dudok de Wit (manga)

When Stars Are Scattered – Victoria Jemison, Omar Mohamed (graphic novel)

My Alcoholic Escape From Reality – Nagata Kabi (manga)

Dune Messiah – Frank Herbert, read by Simon Vance, Euan Morton, Scott Brick, Katherine Kellgren

Smoke Bitten (Mercy Thompson #12)  - Patricia Briggs

Lore Olympus Volume 1 – Rachel Smythe (graphic novel)

Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank, read by Selma Blair

Lore Olympus Volume 2 – Rachel Smythe (graphic novel)

Spider-Gwen Volume 6: The Life of Gwen Stacy – Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez (graphic novel)

Hungry Ghosts – Anthony Bourdain, Joel Rose, various artists (graphic novel)

I read 156 books and graphic novels in 2023. 119 graphic novels, 37 books. 25 non-fiction, 131 fiction. 69 graphic novels, 50 graphic mangas. 15 re-reads.

Starting in March with Unbroken, I started reading a number of books about World War II. I think I had, as ever a goal to read more non-fiction and since there are so many books on the 2 World Wars, they are often the ones that I’m able to check out from the library without a super long wait list. Then Oppenheimer came out this summer so I was more intrigued and decided to read the basis for the film (which is atypical for me outside of comics). Following Unbroken I read a few spy books, Operation Mincemeat and Double Cross in May by Ben McIntyre that were super interesting.

I had previously read The Confidence Men about 2 British POWs from WWI who escaped a Turkish POW camp by (among other things) a Ouija board. I had started reading The Diary of Anne Frank/Diary of a Young Girl sometime this past year I think and finally finished it near the end of the year and Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning in October. I started listening to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in November or December and read for my family’s book club The Woman Who Smashed Codes about Elizabeth Friedman and her husband who developed cryptology in the US between World War I and II and was treated pretty wretchedly by the US government for her efforts. This was in no small part due to J. Edgar Hoover, who seems to be more and more a villain every time I have the misfortune of encountering him in books and other media.

A manga series I had started last year, The Promised Neverland, I’m close to finishing (I believe there are 20 volumes, which isn’t super long for a manga series. Full Metal Alchemist is 20-something volumes if I remember correctly) and I finally finished Hikaru no Go about a teenager who accidentally finds himself competing in the Japanese game Go due to a haunted Go board in his grandfather’s attic. A web comic that my wife got me interested in, Lore Olympus, retells the story of Persephone and Hades with a combination of contemporary and antiquity culture. The comic is broken up into “seasons” and the second season was recently finished so I wanted to read up to that point while waiting for the end of the third season. Unfortunately, it was long enough ago that I had read up to the end of the first season I ended up having to start over. But this was good as there were a number of things I caught the second time through and appreciated more on a re-read.

      I also read the 4th and 5th Wheel of Time books for the second time this past year, which was an interesting experience. There were a lot of things I remembered incorrectly because of the 25ish years since I read them initially. I don’t think I’m going to read the entire series all the way through again, but I might read book 6. I finished re-reading The Sandman (partly due to the release of the Netflix series) and went on a kick of other Vertigo (an imprint of DC Comics that focused on non-superhero books, more adult and more creator-controlled that is now largely if not entirely defunct) titles (the Dead Boy Detectives, Hellblazer, Swamp Thing). Don’t know where I’ll go with that. Also read a decent amount of Spider-Verse comics (mostly Spider-Gwen but one big crossover book that was sort of the culmination of the Spider-Verse storylines (I think?)) that was interesting. Spider-Gwen is a great comic that has yet to lead to the frustration I felt with the later Miles Morales books.

      Nagata Kabi’s memoirs about self-esteem, her fraught relationship with her parents, alcoholism and eating problems is both interesting and very frustrating. I am very lucky to not have hardly any of her emotional, mental and health issues that are wound up together but reading her mangas it is hard not to want to shake her when she seems to recover from one life-threatening catastrophe only to work herself into another. I’m morbidly curious about her later volumes about pancreatitis.

      Lastly, there were some books on Arthur and some non-fiction or books by African-American authors that I had intended to start or finish that I’m dragging my heels on. We’ll see what happens in the next year with that.   

[justthegreat1]

Answer The Call: The Black Phone Review

I know I’m a little bit late for this review as “The Black Phone” came out on June 24th,2022. But this movie is something I have been wanting to talk about for a while and I didn’t get a chance to do that until now. I’m going to give you my spoiler free thoughts about this movie.

The Black Phone is a 2022 horror film directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister and Doctor Strange) who also produced this movie, The Black Phone is produced by Jason Blum and C. Robert Cargill. The executive producers are Joe Hill, who is Stephen King’s son (and the movie has that Stephen King elements), Ryan Turek, and Christopher H. Warner. The cast involves Ethan Hawke (Sinister) as The Grabber, Mason Thames as Finney, Miguel Cazarez Mora as Robin Arellano, Madeline McGraw as Gwendolyn “Gwen” Blake, Jeremy Davies as Terrence Blake, James Ransone (Sinister, Sinister 2, and IT chapter two), Tristan Pravong as Bruce Yamada, Jacob Moran as Billy Showalter, Banks Repeta as Griffin Stagg, Brady Hepner as Vance Hopper, Rebecca Clarke as Donna, Gaven Wilde as Moose, Spencer Fitzgerald as Buzz, Jordan Isaiah White as Matty, and Brady Ryan as Matt.

The Plot:

After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer’s previous victims.

Positives:

One of the many positives I have about this movie is the cast, and I know I said this in my “Scream (2022)” review, but the cast worked so well together. I really enjoyed Ethan Hawke’s performance as The Grabber as it sent chills down my spine when I saw him wearing that mask and the dialogue he had in the movie. I loved the performance of Mason Thames and Madeline McGraw as brother Finney and sister Gwendolyn Blake as they felt like actual siblings trying to protect each other and their performances make the audience hope that they get reunited.

Pictured above is Ethan Hawke as The Grabber

Image credit: Universal Pictures and BlumHouse Studios

The second positive I have is how faithful the movie was to the short story which can be read over here, The Black Phone short story by Joe Hill. I really loved the fact that Scott Derrickson includes elements from the story while telling his own story. Now it may seem cliché to some, but I believe that adaptations of stories can be faithful to the source material while telling their own story has the potential to be good or at least decent…but that’s just my opinion.

The third positive I have is that the victims felt like actual people and not meaningless characters that killed off with no consequences. These victims matter and it pays off in the finale. As the movie progresses, we get to learn some backstory on some of the victims and that makes the movie so disturbing.

Negatives:

One negative I have about the movie is that we do not learn about The Grabber played by Ethan Hawke’s backstory. With the movie having a budget of $16 million and earning over $150 million, Here’s hoping that we get a prequel exploring The Grabber’s backstory and his motivations.

My overall thoughts

After watching this movie, I can say that this movie has the potential to be a classic for future generations. This movie is one of my favorite horror movies of 2022 as it delivered on the scares, the chills, and the thrills. The characters were amazing, I enjoyed the soundtrack, and it had many edge of your seat moments.

What did you think about The Black Phone?

Feel free to leave a comment

The Black Phone trailer:

The Black Phone Trailer (2022)

Where to watch The Black Phone?

Blu-Ray, DVD, Digital Retailers, and Peacock

Sources of Information:

IMDB-The Black Phone

The Black Phone short story by Joe Hill

CNBC: Blumhouse’s ‘The Black Phone’ shows that horror, and original storytelling have a place at the box office.

 Pictured above is “The Black Phone” poster. Image credit: Universal Pictures and BlumHouse Studios

[alledherlu-q-pereon]

Alaska - Lisa Murkowski / Dan Sullivan

Hawaii - Brian Schatz / Mazie Hirono

Washington - Patty Murray / Maria Cantwell

Oregon - Ron Wyden / Jeff Merkley

California - Alex Padilla / Laphonza Butler

Arizona - Kirsten Sinema / Mark Kelly

Nevada - Catherine Cortez Masto / Jackie Rosen

New Mexico - / Ben Ray Lujan

Colorado - Michael Bennet / John Hickenlooper

Utah - Mike Lee / Mitt Romney

Wyoming - Jon Barasso / Cynthia Lummis

Idaho - / Jim Risch

Montana - Jon Tester / Steve Daines

North Dakota - John Hoeven / Kevin Cramer

South Dakota - John Thune / Mike Rounds

Nebraska - Deb Fischer / Pete Ricketts

Kansas - / Roger Marshall

Oklahoma - James Lankford /Markwayne Mullin

Texas - Jon Cornyn / Ted Cruz

Minnesota - Amy Klobuchar / Tina Smith

Iowa - Chuck Grassley / Joni Ernst

Missouri - Josh Hawley / Eric Schmitt

Arakansas - / Tom Cotton

Louisiana - / John Neely Kennedy

Tennessee - Marsha Blackburn / Ben Haggerty

North Carolina - Tom Tillis / Ted Budd

South Carolina - Lindsey Graham / Tim Scott

Kentucky - Mitch McConnell / Rand Paul

Alabama - Tommy Tubberville / Katie Britt

Mississippi - / Cynthia Hyde-Smith

Georgia - Jon Ossoff / Raphael Warnock

Florida - Marco Rubio / Rick Scott

Illinois - Dick Durbin / Taamy Duckworth

Michigan - Debbie Stabenow / Gary Peters

Wisconsin - Ron Johnson / Taamy Baldwin

Indiana - Todd Young / Mike Braun

Ohio - Sherrod Brown / J. D. Vance

Pennsylvania - Bob Casey, Jr. / John Fetterman

New York - Chuck Schumer / Kirsten Gillibrand

New Jersey - Bob Menendez / Cory Booker

Maryland - Ben Cardin / Chris van Hollen

Delaware - Tom Carper / Chris Coons

Virginia - Mark Warner / Tim Kaine

West Virginia - Joe Manchin / Shelly Moore Capito

Connecticut - / Chris Murphy

Rhode Island - Jack Reed / Sheldon Whitehouse

Massachusetts - Elizabeth Warren /

Vermont - Bernie Sanders / Peter Welch

New Hampshire - Jeanne Shaheen / Maggie Hassan

Maine - Susan Collins / Angus King

i have genuinely one of the weirdest skills to be able to brag about