#kaye recommends

[pluggedintosaverockandroll]

favorite video essays pt 2

"learned helplessness" & the tech literacy crisis | Internet Analysis

The Long Queer History of Punk

How Nostalgia Controls Us

Sympathy for the Machine

The Beautiful Horror of Deep Space

the perpetual infantilisation of millennial women

I Want More Quiet Horror

Boeing: How Capitalism Crashes Planes

How Greed Ruined Gaming

shop 'til you drop: horror's condemnation of overconsumption

part 1 | part 3

[healerqueen]

Fortnight of Books 2024: Day 1

Overall - best books read in 2024?

My Top Fiction Books of 2024:

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (my first time reading the book after loving the movie and the story all my life)

Chase the Legend by Hannah Kaye (a thrilling epic fantasy retelling of Moby Dick, with a sea dragon as the white whale)

Crack the Stone by Emily Golus (a fantasy retelling of Les Miserables, featuring an escaped goblin convict as the Valjean character)

Urchin and the Raven War by M. I. McAllister (the fourth book in the Mistmantle Chronicles, a cozy adventure fantasy series I began reading only last year, that is now an all-time favorite)

The Heir of Mistmantle by M. I. McAllister (the third Mistmantle book, see above)

The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsberg (a clever and heartwarming contemporary book about four intelligent middle schoolers, their teacher, and other people in their community)

The Smoking Iron and Other Stories by Elisabeth Grace Foley (an anthology of Western short stories by one of my favorite historical fiction authors)

Bandit’s Moon by Sid Fleischman (intriguing, spirited historical fiction about a girl who meets a famous Mexican outlaw in California in the mid-19th century)

Two Excellent Non-Fiction Books I Read in 2024:

One Soldier’s Story by Bob Dole (a memoir of one soldier’s journey of healing physically and emotionally after life-threatening injuries, paralysis, and permanent disability in World War II)

Reflections of One Army Nurse in World War II by Gladys Bonine (an American nurse in England during World War II shares her memories in a memoir)

Best series you discovered in 2024?

The Extension Squad series by R. M. Scheller. (She’s @anythingforstories on Tumblr.)

Best reread of the year?

I had many amazing rereads in 2024. Winter Cottage by Carol Ryrie Brink and The Secret Garden and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett were particularly moving rereads. I enjoyed rereading the first few books in a few of my favorite series, which I plan to continue: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in the Narnia series, Eagle of the Ninth and The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff, in the Dolphin Ring series, and Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, in the Little House series. All of these rereads were very satisfying.

I also had a wonderful experience rediscovering Princess Academy by Shannon Hale and loving it even more than I did many years ago. It is now an all-time favorite. Other wonderful rereads of my favorite books included The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright, Courage in Her Hands by Iris Noble, Bridge to Trouble by Elisabeth Grace Foley, The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye, Derwood, Inc. by Jeri Massi, The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo, The Key to the Chains by Allison Tebo, and Buffalo Brenda by Jill Pinkwater.

[justsomeguy-cassavetes]

if you say so 🫡🫡

[animehouse-moe]

Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut Volume 4: Star-Crossed

Following up the single volume affair of Bart and Kaye that put them in competition with Irina and Lev, volume 4 approaches the tensions between nations and the products of the space race. It's not so much about space itself as it is the roadblocks placed upon Earth that stop them from reaching the stars. Through that we face struggle, attempting to understand the unique struggles of others, and how as a single collective humanity we can reach the stars.

One of the, obviously, best aspects of this story is how well it blends reality with fiction. The challenges of the space race, of the differences between what's chosen for how to land on the moon, even historical events. Vast swathes of the story have some degree of truth to them, and are wonderfully complemented by the romanticism and drama that Makino has penned. Making promises under the threat of nuclear war, standing up to the pressure of a nation and expressing that you remain a person, finding ways to surpass oppression and discrimination and hatred. It's all very beautiful and thoughtfully composed, so it's hard to pick a place to start.

I say that, but what I'm most excited to chat about was the Cuban Missile Crisis. A grim name for sure, but I think Makino captures that Cold War panic perfectly, even with the characters "closest" to the issue. Bart and Kaye are massive fans of Lev and Irina, so the blow struck them incredibly hard. Both as fans of the cosmonauts who's named ships carried the weapons, but also as nerds with their head amongst the stars, dreaming of rockets rather than missiles. The awkward nature between them is tense but not intense, the silence speaks volumes, and the broken conversation before they separate really drives home the sheer shock of the event. In conjunction with that, I liked how they framed it. They took hold of the situation and spun it to paint Arnack (a United States-United Kingdom blend) as a saint that did no wrong. It's a blink and you'll miss (though really skip over) it moment where the text admits that Arnack was the first to place weapons in proximity to the rival country. They grasp the nature and expression of the crisis incredibly well, and given that we're currently alongside Arnack, ensures that they're shown to be better than the USZR.

Anyways, the actual best moment of the Cuban Missile Crisis (though titled the Imprisoned Island Crisis, a somewhat subtle nod to the state of the country) is what unfolds between Bart and Kaye. The threat of nuclear war looming, a single shot in the dark arriving the next day to effectively save ANSA's desire to land on the moon. Fear mounts and bubbles over into anxiety and terror that brings the two together in a dim room with the sound of rain droplets dancing across the dim window. There's nobody there to reassure the two, Bart doesn't have his brother, and Kaye is still without her mother. It's between themselves that they find a reason to drive their futures forward. That shared passion, the understanding of their fears and desire to find comfort when the world might end the next day. It's a hopelessly dramatic pseudo-tragedy, using threats of annihilation to spur Bart and Kaye forward into making a borderline erotic blood pact. What is with vampires and being hot?

Alright alright, moving on. There's lots to enjoy with this novel outside of the missile crisis. Like Queen Sundancia. I'll be honest, I don't personally think that the introduction to the character was the best it could have been. It's hard to express emotion effectively through just words, so when establishing Sundancia as the 18 year-old girl with her head in the clouds but a crown atop it that forces her to ground it comes off a little heavy handed for my tastes. That said, the more time we get with her, the more enjoyable and relatable her character is. The weight of responsibility is rather common and well understood, but I liked how it was broached with a girl faced with words that could drive the world to destruction or guide it towards a bright future. Talk about heavy. But that's what makes it enjoyable, and it's not obligation to her nation or duty that produces the outcome, but rather her first chat in a very long time where she's treated as that 18 year-old girl rather than the Queen of Arnack.

Speaking of new characters, Professor Klaus was a really nice addition to the exploration of content in this volume. Being directly linked to missile development, and having defected to Arnack gives Klaus a lot of flack, and expresses the approach of a man that has been buffeted by such words throughout the entirety of his career. He faces a different kind of discrimination to Irina and Kaye, and fills a nice middle ground that picks apart race and origin in a somewhat different fashion. Through it all though, Klaus shows that sciences and passion prevails, as even his own tough and stony exterior is cracked by a shared excitement and passion for space that had nearly been extinguished in his heart.

Okay, back to reality really quickly. Lev and Irina do a great job in their roles of this volume, as the cosmonauts isolated from space. The expo and their experience there really drive home their passion, and how alone they feel when alienated from not only what brought the pair together, but what they promised each other. The dejection and sorrow that's experienced by each is very well expressed to that end. Lev is bit more resigned to his fate, almost wearing a cynical smile in the face of his reality, while Irina first shows indignation towards their treatment, before stooping to dejection as she is forced to face reality through some of the experiences at the 21st Century Expo. It's a really sad sight, but serves to explain why the cosmonauts have spent so long travelling the world, and what the reality of early space travel is. In that way, Makino is very good at picking up on the nuances and flow of bureaucracy and how it affects people that are genuinely passionate about what they do.

So, to close it out: another very good volume. The drama is found outside of the oppression of Vampire and Dhampir, which is great to see that Makino isn't relying on it to drive things forward, but it still finds a way to isolate and direct hatred towards people. It doesn't give up on what brought it together, but it also doesn't cling to it hoping that it can continue to deliver. It's a natural progression, one that can feel odd at first as it places the USZR in the crosshairs of Arnack and the reader, but one that at the end of the day remains well executed and received. Vampires, Space, Romance, and Drama. All still apparent in the story, and all still important, but in varying concentrations and degrees, just enough to shake things up. Plus, Karei's art remains really pretty. So there's not really anything else to say other than, "I'm really looking forward to the next volume!".

[hotvintagepoll]

Trying to get more into old movies because of this blog (I only know about half of these people and feel like a poser) do you have good recommendations on where to start or is it just a situation where you watch stuff and find what you like as you go?

you are not a poser <3 i myself am just here for the hotties.

here is my quick and dirty list of fun films to start with if you're new to old movies. and of course if you like one of these, do try to find more stuff as you go! there's no bad way to try out old movies.

(this list is not official and is SUPER quick. i'm tagging for content warnings where I can, but if I forgot something let me know.)

"I want to watch something SILLY!"

The Court Jester (Danny Kaye, Angela Lansbury, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone)—everyone in this movie is hot. everyone is in fancy medieval dress, which makes them hotter. everyone here is very silly. You can stream this on Hoopla, last time i checked, so you might be able to stream it through your library!

Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang (Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Frobe)—some people hate this movie and to them I say What Is Wrong With You. dick van dyke is a hot absent minded inventor who lives in a windmill with his two adorable children, his gorgeous sheepdog, and a grandfather who is categorically useless. it feels like the two films mary poppins (1964) and willy wonka (1971) had a baby and that baby was born on roller skates singing an old broadway showtune. this one has been showing up in some odd places lately—I think you can catch it on Tubi or Hoopla? It's definitely around.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Jane Powell, Julie Newmar, Howard Keel, Russ Tamblyn)—my problematic fave. everytime i watch this i change my mind whether it's a sexist pile of garbage or a feminist paean, and fellas, today we're on the feminist paean bandwagon!! jane powell's millie is truly the star of the movie, she is the hero she drives the plot the narrative is on her side, and besides all that there are seven very hot men dancing next to her and six beautiful ladies making me bisexual. (on Tubi last I checked.)

The Duke Is Tops (Lena Horne, Laurence Criner)—I get a huge kick out of watching Laurence Criner and Ralph Cooper swindle everybody while also trying to put on a show; there's just something silly and sincere here, plus you get a ~musical extravaganza~ at the end when all is right as rain again. Free on YouTube I think?

"I want to watch something DRAMATIC that may make me FEEL SOMETHING."

Witness for the Prosecution (Marlene Dietrich, Tyrone Power, Elsa Lanchester)—I love a campy twisty turny mystery, don't you? :) I'm not going to talk about this one much because it's better to go in blind, but if you like Agatha Christie stories you'll probably like this.

To Be Or Not To Be (Carole Lombard, Jack Benny)—always relevant, always makes me laugh, also makes me cry. this takes place in poland during wwii so big tw for nazi imagery and mentions. (don't worry. this movie fucking hates nazis.)

Seven Samurai (Toshiro Mifune)—this one is Great Cinema™™™™™™™™™™™ for a goddamned reason

"I want to watch some stuff with the scrungles in it!"

Mr. Washington Goes to Town (Mantan Moreland)—I've been checking out more of Mantan Moreland's stuff because every time I see him in something I think he's delightful, and I really enjoyed this silly-spooky comedy. Does this story have a brain cell? No. Are the special effects and goofy slapstick fun? Yes. This is a fun example of an all-Black cast in a film that was made for Black audiences, and is a striking counterpoint to the stereotypical representation Black actors were given in white-targeted films, showing the enormous amount of talent and artistry the racist studios missed out on by excluding these actors. This is not A Great Film™ but it's still A Fun Time,™ with a goofy Laurel and Hardy type vibe. (It's free on Youtube.)

The Red Shoes (Robert Helpmann, Leonide Massine, Marius Goring)—hey kid, you wanna watch something fucked up? This movie is so fucked up. It's about ballet, it's about art, it's about technicolor, it's about dance and toxic relationships and making theatre and nightmares and ambition and death. A lot of these recs tend on the silly side (because I tend on the silly side) but this one is actually Serious Film and will definitely help you chat up Martin Scorsese should you ever meet him. Big content warning if you can't handle dark themes right now—this movie's pretty dark, not in the gore way but in the Haunting Creepy Image way. (it's also free on Tubi and Kanopy most of the time.)

The Invisible Man (Claude Rains)—my favorite of the vintage horror flicks and a great introduction to Most Dunked On Hot Vintage Man of All Time, Claude Rains. (it helps that you barely ever see him!) Very very silly but the special effects are just plain fun. (I think this is on Internet Archive in full?)

"Can I just get more hot people please?"

Flower Drum Song (James Shigeta, Nancy Kwan, Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo)—there are so many unbelievably hot people in this movie which is somehow very good (thanks to its cast) and also incredibly, horrifically bad (thanks to its white team of writers, directors, and producers). on the one hand, it's a mostly Asian cast in a big budget, beautifully designed MGM style musical! there's dream sequences, lots of fun dancing, crooning Rogers & Hammerstein cabaret moments, and just charm galore. it is also freighted with so. many orientalist assumptions and stereotypes, absolutely ridiculous shit that the writers ABSOLUTELY should have known better about in the 60s and nonetheless carried into this. this is a hard one to recommend because I loved this cast, and I loved seeing them in a context beyond the usual stereotypical bit parts so many of them frequently were limited to—yet the movie itself perpetuates so many stereotypes on its own it can be a hard one to watch, and I totally understand if it does not work for most people. tl;dr watch for Shigeta, Kwan, Umeki, and the others, but content warnings galore for one (really bad) case of yellowface casting, orientalist tropes, extremely stereotypical character types, etc. (On Tubi/Kanopy last I checked.)

Charade (Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, James Coburn)—this movie feels like a Hitchcock movie except I had a ton of fun watching it, which I can't always say for a Hitch film. (I told you my taste was bad.) This one is free on YouTube and thank god because Audrey wears a lot of Givenchy, Cary Grant wears spectacles and keeps almost dying, it's very exciting and thrilling and funny and sexy. I don't think there are any content warnings but it's been a minute since I watched it. (I should go watch it right now.)

The Big Sleep (Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall)—they're so hot askjdljhjghladkghjksahkhgslkahgshskjhgsalhgsahgjh. i like this one a lot :)

[this is NOT A FULL LIST of all the hot vintage movies to start with but it might give you some starting places! i banged this out as quick as I could at 2 am, so apologies that it's sloppy and not perfect.]

[iloveillusion]

One of the coolest movies ever! 👌🏻

The Court Jester (1955)

[queerliblib]

Any recommendations from trans feminine or non-binary authors? My local queer book club for non-male identifying folk is great, but it’s starting to feel a little too consistently cis for comfort. Thanks!

Hell yeah! Not sure what genre or vibe you’re going for but here’s a few from our collection <3

I Hope We Choose Love: a trans girl’s notes from the end of the world, by Kai Cheng Thom

Manywhere, Morgan Thomas

Any Other City, by Hazel Jane Plante

Super Late Bloomer, my early days in transition, by Julia Kaye

Detransition, Baby, by Torrey Peters

Pet or Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

Nevada, by Imogen Binnie

Finna or Homesick by Nino Cipri

[longwuzhere]

My Adventures with Superman Season 2 Easter Eggs

Welcome to the penultimate episode of My Adventures with Superman! Very sad that the season is ending next week but we still got the comic in the next 4 months! Hell yeah!!!!

My Easter eggs lists for season 1 is here if you haven't seen it!

My season 2 episode 1 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 2 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 3 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman comic issue 1 post is here

My season 2 episode 4 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 5 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 6 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 2 post is here

My season 2 episode 7 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 8 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 10 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 3 post is here

Spoilers if you haven't seen the episode

Starting things off, we see Clark, still trapped by Brainiac live a life on "Krypton" with his "family" and we see him feed a Sun Eater.

In the comics, the Sun Eater makes its first appearance in Adventure Comics #305 (1963) where Mon-El, disguised as Marvel Boy is trying to get in the Legion of Superheroes team and in order for him to pass and be accepted, one of their test was to stop a Sun Eater and Mon-El was able to successfully drive it away from a sun.

The scene that this is homaging is similar to what happened in All-Star Superman #2 (2006) [<- highly recommend everyone read it btw] where Superman feeds a Sun Eater that he has in the Fortress of Solitude, a miniature sun that he created as seen in the page below (W: Grant Morrison P: Frank Quitely, I&C: Jamie Grant, L: Phil Balsman).

In the comics most of the time Sun Eaters are depicted as nebulous black hole-esque things, other times its a creature, but the closest MAwS's Sun Eater design is based on is the Sun Eater from the Supergirl CW tv show.

Next we see "Lara", invoke Rao's name after seeing Clark feed the Sun Eater a miniature sun.

So for those who do not know, Krypton's red sun is named after Rao, Krypton's sun god.

Rao, the red sun of Krypton, makes its first appearance in Superman #141 (1960) [W: Jerry Siegel, P: Wayne Boring, I: Stan Kaye] where Superman investigates a strange planet that turns out to be a creature and as Superman chases after it, he hits the time barrier and flies back to before Krypton's explosion.

Now Rao the Kryptonian God, makes his first appearance in Superman: The Last God of Krypton #1 (1999) [W: Walter Simonson P,I,&C: Greg and Tim Hildebrandt (yes Greg and Tim Hildebrandt who designed the original UK Star Wars poster from 1977), L: Ken Lopez] where Cythonna, Kryptonian goddess of ice, emerges from her banishment and sees that Krypton is no more. She goes after the last Kryptonian, take a wild guess who, to kill the last of Rao's descendants . We see Rao in the comic where Superman and Lois go to the Fortress of Solitude to see what Cythonna's history was before Krypton's destruction.

The episode's title is a reference to Gurren Lagann (<-Great anime if you're a Studio Trigger fan) where it is a quote from Kamina who says "Your drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens." Appropriate title considering what Clark and Lois does to free Clark from Brainiac's control.

We see that Lois is still under the Black Mercy's, well, mercy and I talked more about it here.

In the Black Mercy's dream world for Clark, we see that Lois has been captured by "Jor-El" and we see Clark and Lois meet up again, however both do not have memories of each other. Clark mentions that he's always in the Hall of Science where they keep the alien species, like the Sun Eater we saw before, working as a scientist.

The first instance of the "Hall of Science" was in Brave and the Bold #28 (1960) the first appearance of the Justice League where Starro was attacking Science City, and thus the Hall of Science. The Hall of Science's association doesn't come up until Secret Origins #1 (2014)

[W: Greg Pak, P: Lee Weeks, I: Lee Weeks, Sandra Hope, C: Dave McCaig, L: John J. Hill] where we see a retelling of Superman's origins. where scientist, Jor-El was trying to warn about the planet's explosion, but the Hall of Science expelled him for his alarmist warnings thinking nothing of it. Guess how that turned out for the planet. Very cool thing to have Clark be a scientist on this fake Krypton just like his father in the comics.

Back in MAwS IRL, one of the OMACs destroys the spaceship that was carrying Lois, Jimmy, Kara, Mallah, and the Brain and when Kara, Jimmy and Lois crash land, they get arrested by Waller and Taskforce X. Lucky for Jimmy that he was live streaming and this caught Perry's attention and he, the Daily Planet, and Vicky Vale were able to stall Taskforce X so Steve Lombard can sneak behind the Taskforce X prison carrier and break the trio out.

Steve's van has wolves howling at the moon painted on its exterior kinda invokes the three wolf moon shirt (designed by Antonia Neshev) vibes.

Later when the trio are in Steve's van, we see a blink and you miss it easter egg where apparently Steve went to Jump City Community College.

Jump City is a reference to the city that the Teen Titans from the 2000 cartoon are located in. So hey we got a Victor Stone and a city where one iteration the Teen Titans were in, so the Teen Titans are possible in the MAwS universe!

Jimmy's speech to Kara kinda gives off that "you choose who you want to be" quote vibes from Iron Giant, appropriate considering the Iron Giant is a Superman fan. Good movie too highly recommend checking that movie out too.

Back on "Krypton", Clark and Lois were able to get their memories back after so many groundhog day moments for Lois and we see this cool AF moment for her paying back how Clark protected her when they were attacked in the forest by the OMACs in episode 6 of season 1.

This scene specifically^

As Brainiac loses control over Clark thanks to Lois, Brainiac puts on anti-Kryptonite armor for him and his robots thanks to Lex using his Metallos that are now powered by Kryptonite (I talk more about Metallo here). Brainiac hacks into the Metallos and prepares to fire on Earth with an Archer beam from Kandor.

The Archer Beam, well technically the weapon itself makes its first appearance in Superman: The World of New Krypton #2 (2009) [W: Greg Rucka, James Robinson, P&I: Pete Woods, C: Brad Anderson, L: Steve Wands], where the Archer Rifle was developed as a weapon to stop rogue Kryptonians as the rifle blasts red sun to depower them for 30 minutes so they can be apprehended.

And finally, after Kara blocks the first Archer beam with her body, Clark comes in to stop the second and gets a new outfit.

The new suit doesn't have the red trunks anymore and that kinda makes you think of the New 52 suit that Superman wore during the DC universe reboot in 2011 (Final page of Justice League #1 (2011) [W: Geoff John, P: Jim Lee, I: Scott Williams, C: Alex Sinclair, L: Patrick Brosseau]). Ngl not a fan of this new look for MAwS Superman. The red trunks helps break up the large areas of blue, plus symbolically it helps tie back to his origins on Earth with Ma Kent being the one to give him the trunks. Also I do not like the yellow outline S-Shield, it makes me think of the new 2025 Superman movie S-Shield, which irks me when movies try to influence the source comics, when it should be the other way around *death glares at the MCU*. Really hope we get the red trunks again by the end of the season or at least in season 3.

Anyways come back next week for the final episode of My Adventures with Superman season 2 and then in August and the following 3 months for issues 3-6 of the comics too!

My Easter eggs lists for season 1 is here if you haven't seen it!

My season 2 episode 1 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 2 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 3 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman comic issue 1 post is here

My season 2 episode 4 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 5 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 6 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 2 post is here

My season 2 episode 7 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 8 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 10 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 3 post is here

[esotericfaery]

Pluto in Aquarius, After Capricorn

This is the planet of endings, intense upheaval and clearing the way for new beginnings.

Pluto leaves ambitious Capricorn for revolutionary Aquarius on Jan. 21st, then is back in Capricorn from Sept. 3rd to Nov. 19th, and then He settles into Aquarius for about twenty years, until March 8th, 2043.

With Pluto in Capricorn we’ve seen the slow breaking down of structures, plus exposing of issues with governments, rules and traditions. Pluto works socially / politically, but also personally. We see radical transformations in beginning stages.

In Aquarius, Pluto is much more about what happens next with social groups, communities and friends, humanitarianism, scientific inventions & progress, and individuality.

Aquarius pushes strongly for reform of all social structures, through idealism, equality or equity, technology, freedom, and a highly mental energy more than emotional, while Pluto brings in strict and transformative energy related to duties, responsibilities, & personal and social value systems.

Through issues of power and control, this energy causes strange, and intensely dramatic events to occur; even more so than the events of the last few years. This can cause a complete overhaul of society, and we could be living in a very different world in twenty years.

The last time Pluto was in Aquarius, the following impactful events occurred therein, or shortly thereafter, in no particular order: The Industrial Revolution, The French Revolution, and revolutions for America concerning their civil war, Haiti, and many more intensely dramatic social changes and shifts in power structures. I recommend learning more about that time, but I won’t make this post too long by going into that stuff further. We can expect that for this one also, critical issues will come up, and big changes will happen on the world stage, and within if we do conscious work. Irma Kaye Sawyer has mentioned that the American Civil War took place while Pluto was in Taurus. There has been some discussion about dates, and confusion online. Some are saying the American Revolutionary War was when Pluto was in Aquarius. As we're Astrologers on social media, not Historians, it isn't clear. If anyone would like to share specifics, please feel free to comment, with links if possible. If you're an American, maybe you remember those dates from high school history.

This is a gigantic opportunity for purging and renewal when the proper introspection happens and is followed with the right actions being taken.

If you’ve been seeing the Tower card a lot lately, it will certainly have something to do with Pluto. This manifests as personal, and or social / political events, depending on who and where we are in life. We can find the best ways to go through this rebirthing energy, or fight against it and make the experience more difficult for ourselves.

Over this twenty year period, we should work closely with Plutos transits, to see where we need to confront issues such as jealousy, paranoia or obsession, and find personal growth. All important transits are covered weekly in my Astrology affirmations series.

Pluto pushes for wisdom through confronting and transforming adversity, and Aquarius encourages standing up for the people whenever it’s right to do so, and causing real change.

[sotwk]

I'm SO excited to receive the artwork print I purchased from @g-m-kaye's Etsy store!!! She paints gorgeous Tolkien artwork, mostly for The Silmarillion, but here is a rare painting of Mirkwood, with two Mirkwood elves/princes riding through the forest!

@g-m-kaye is so enormously talented and very sweet, and I'm so honored to have her as a friend! Highly recommend checking out her shop; if you find any art on her blog that you want to have as a print, she might even be able to accommodate your request (like she did mine, LOL!). She even included an extra art print (Finrod and Beren!), and I'll treasure her personal note as well!

Having artist friends is just the COOLEST EVER. AHHH. MORE PLEASE!

[pluggedintosaverockandroll]

even more random youtube videos i enjoy

I promise this story about fonts is interesting

a goofy history of classic doctor who (1963-99)

Legends Summarized: Arthur's Knights

merlin being sassy for 15 minutes straight

The Curious Life of a Mars Rover | Nat Geo Live

The Experimental Phones of the 2000s…

the criminally underrated costume design of Jennifer's Body

8 Terrible Science Takes

Hands (2024) | A Student Short Film on Female Friendships (Shot on Sony FX6 & FX9)

Stanford Computer Scientist Answers Coding Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

[pupyuj]

hi babe!! can you recommend any other blogs like yours?

i’m glad you asked, anon! 💕

@wonysugar — ofc, my favorite blog on here 💞 super awesome if you’re looking for short n’ sweet but satisfying reads!☝️there’s a great variety of idols she writes for too!

@aliceiwk — she’s going to kill me for dragging her in this list but TOO BAD! aespanators this is the blog for ya’ll, i very much recommend reading alice’s jiminjeong stuff she goes insane on them 🥰

@fanfiction4sooya — AAAA LUA i love her style and she basically writes for every female idol under the sun god bless 💓‼️

@wintersera — during my reader days, i started out reading kaye’s fics so i highly recommend checking out their stuff ✨ esp their aespa works!

@bitchiswild — if you like Plot like i do, anon, you’ll find my good friend mya’s fics enjoyable! 🤓

@yujinnieswifeu — EEEE my fellow ive writer + yuyu‼️‼️ writes so earnestly, works so diligently i love her stuff so much 🥺

i know i have a lot more writers to recommend in the back of my mind but i’ve forgotten which ones FUCKKK 😭🥲 but anyways, it’s 100% worth it to check out these writers as they are all amazing in their own little ways 💕 happy reading!

[healerqueen]

Fortnight of Books 2024: Day 3

Book you recommended most to others in 2024?

Chase the Legend by Hannah Kaye (an epic fantasy retelling of Moby Dick) and Rebel Wave by Tor Thibeaux (a futuristic undersea dystopian adventure series).

Book you most anticipated this year?

The Realm Beneath, an anthology of undersea fantasy stories by several of my favorite authors and new-to-me authors, edited by Allison Tebo.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Crow Heyden-Kaye was in Grade 8 when a worksheet handed out during class asked students to consider how they would describe their gender. It was the first time it occurred to Crow that "girl" didn't actually fit with how he felt. Over the next few years, he began using the pronouns they and them. In Grade 10, he came out as trans. His pronouns are "he" and "they."  "Immediately, it was like something clicked," said Heyden-Kaye, who is now 18 and lives with his parents and sibling in Ponoka, a central Alberta town of about 7,300 people. At 16, he asked his mom to make an appointment with their longtime family doctor so he could get a referral to a gender clinic. He wanted to start exploring the possibility of hormone replacement therapy. But during the telephone appointment, the family doctor began asking questions Heyden-Kaye felt were inappropriate.  "What if I wanted to get pregnant someday? What if I had a husband someday? Not related at all," he said. "I think he asked me 'What if you want to keep your boobs?' "  A week later, a staff member from the doctor's office called back and said the physician was also recommending that Heyden-Kaye read a book that discouraged transitioning.  "A referral was all that we wanted and then it would be out of his hands. He refused to do that for us."

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[animehouse-moe]

Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut Volume 3 - Fly Me To The Moon

This third volume, a new story, something not adapted to an anime format yet, and something that I really need to give Kesiuke Makino credit for.

Let's take a short trip down what amounts to historical memory lane. Of course, Makino-sensei gets stuff like New Orleans down pat, and weaves a tough but considerately accurate and faithful picture of racism and discrimination of the era. So let's get the nitty gritty out of the way first.

Makino paints a very strong picture of segregation and discrimination, not just of the sentiment of "the other", but a systemic and foundational isolation of Dhampirs (in this story coming from full-blooded Vampires that immigrated to Arnack). The Moonlight District being an underdeveloped and under supported section of the somewhat fictional city of New Marseille, Dhampirs live in fear and constant poverty. Jobs opportunities are incredibly limited, wages are the bottom of the rung, and lynch mobs and supremacy groups roam the streets with a bloodlust.

It's a very bleak, and very faithful representation. They don't stop at "racism bad" or anything like that, they launch into full on descriptions, making sure that readers understand that members of the racial supremacist group of the novel are members of the community, are police officers and state troopers, are judges and political officials, and that they will abuse their power to abuse their position. It's willing to be realistic enough that it referenced historical events such as the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing.

Of course, its representation of racial discrimination and tensions is more than even just the harrowing aspects of it. It sees the middle ground, the indifferent, the challenges of breaking down those walls, and of trying to pretend they don't even exist. As was the case with the first two volumes, this third volume represents an incredible amount of perspectives and ideals, and even touches upon aspects such as the perception of class traitors and self-imposed responsibility to your community.

It really is impressive how well they work with this stuff, though some might find it a little prickly at first as Makino integrates stuff like Jazz culture, funerals, and the French/Creole aspects of Black culture. But, credit at the minimum has to be given for the passion and accuracy that Makino treats it with. They find the brilliant aspects between the rough lines and allows them to shine brightly, but refuse to ignore the negative pieces.

I think that's just enough of the heavier side of things though, let's talk about the amazing pieces of history which Makino highlights in electric fashion. So, there's a group of women Dhampir in this story, that provide calculations via punch card computers using FORX (the fictional equivalent of BASIC), who work out of what's called the D-Room. I'm sure most people know of Margret Hamilton, who famously stood next to a massive pile of punch cards that are in part responsible for the moon landing, but what about NASA's human computers and some of their first programmers?

Well, those were also women, but even more than that they were African-American Women. Under the helm of Dorothy Vaughn, one of the Langley Center's first African-American managers, a team of (largely African-American) women came to be and provided incredible feats such as the calculations for the first suborbital spaceflight of the United States, the first orbital spaceflight, and even calculations for the moon landing of Apollo 11. These historical women are represented fictitiously here in this volume, and it's incredible to see (though I do wish Makino could compile their research notes to provide context and information to readers!).

The story is riddled with incredible references like this. Take the whole thing with Fly Me To The Moon, rather than it being the song that it is in our reality, it's now a science-fiction novel. More than that though, and something that I think has beautiful meaning in relation to the lead characters, is the name of the original artist for the song, Kaye Ballard. Our damphir protagonist carries the same first name, Kaye Scarlet. The content of the song, and the significance of the novel to both Kaye and Bart provides such a stunningly picturesque sense of romance. The beauty in the song that "Kaye" made being the reason that Bart fell in love with outer space is just such a wonderful piece.

Alongside that though there's other stuff that might be picked up on, like the Keighley Research Center vs the Langley Research Center, and so on and so forth.

Makino really does such an incredible job of telling impactful and important stories of history with such riveting fictional additions. Every moment has you tense, worried, excited, angry, laughing, smiling, and so on and so forth. It catches you off-guard with realizations and reveals, builds tension in the blink of an eye, and sells its characters incredibly well.

If there was one thing that this volume wanted to impart upon readers, it would be this. No matter where you are in the world, no matter what challenges or difficulties lay ahead of you, whether everyone or no one will support you, it's okay to dream. It's okay to aim for the stars, to look past what lays in front of you and express that passion, to chase after what lays in your heart. Even if people tell you that you can't do it, or that it's a weak or measly dream, or that they say it won't change anything or that it'd be a waste - dream.

Coming off the tail end of volume 2, and leading with a new story with fresh characters and concepts, Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut volume 3 continues to stun and leave readers in awe at the quality and writing that Makino gives readers. Such an amazing science-fiction series that appeals to so many important pieces.

[hotvintagepoll]

Donald O'Connor (Singin' in the Rain, Francis, Call Me Madam)— LOOK AT HIM. Those giant blue peepers. Those tappy tappy little feet that don't quit. The ears that stick out like little wings, ready to lift him up to goofy heaven. The way his face contorts into the strangest yet most endearing expressions. His ability to sing and dance alongside the hunk that is Gene Kelly and yet pull all attention away with his big-eyed buffoonery. The way his energy is unmatched in songs like "Make 'em laugh" - bouncing off the walls and tumbling through the air straight into my cold cold heart. Who else but a true scrungly lil guy would sit upon the witness stand and defend a talking mule with all the love and affection in the world - staring out into the court room with his bright wide eyes and eternally mouse-like expression, openly admitting that the mule is his best friend?!??! I see him and I want to pull him from the screen into my hand and just squiiiiiiiiiiiiish with all my might. I want to pinch his cheeks and have him bat those eyes at me. He just makes me go "eeehehehehehe" every time I see him and his silly little self. He is pure chaotic, ridiculous, scrungly perfection!

Mantan Moreland (Mr. Washington Goes to Town, Cabin in the Sky)—i love mantan moreland SO. MUCH. and he is the pERFECT scrungly little guy!!!!! like a lot of black actors at the time he was always getting sidelined into small parts, but unusually he also managed to become a star in his own right and was almost one of the three stooges! he was a groundbreaking comedic actor known for his distinctive stare (very good for the horror movies he did), and he always is way more fun to watch on screen than anyone else. he had a famous double-act where he perfected this technique of non-conversations (where both people keep finishing each other's sentences before any actual information is conveyed). a lot of his movies are free on youtube and i really enjoy seeing him do his silly little guy thing in all of them!!! anyways yeah please include mantan he deserves some recognition as peak scrungle

This is round 3 of the contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you’re confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.

[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]

Donald O'Connor:

My silliest little guy. My funnyman. My horsie. I have watched many a bad movie for this man. The scrungliest fact I know about him is that he was supposed to star as Danny Kaye's role in the iconic White Christmas (1954), as he had known Bing Crosby since he was a child, but couldn't because he caught a mule disease while working on those Francis the Talking Mule films Universal endlessly made him do. I wouldn't exactly recommend those movies, but Don's character getting psychologically tormented by a sardonic mule does make for quite a good movie night, if you know what you're getting into. Are You With It? is another one I don't exactly recommend, but it does open with Donald as a math genius actuary who is about to kill himself over a displaced decimal point before getting taken in by a traveling carny instead. His more well-known and beloved roles have plenty of scrungliness too, in my opinion. This man slapsticked so hard he wound up bedridden for his physical exertion! Rather than submitting Make 'Em Laugh, which the electorate has likely already seen (I hope), I'm submitting an underrated dance number of his, where he explains maths through tap dance. That movie is Not good, but god do I love him in that role.

I think it's arguably very scrungly to seemingly be a real life cartoon character made out of rubber, as proven by how slapsticky the list of scrunglies is so far. In which case, Donald O'Connor? He scrungles supremely. He even played Buster Keaton in a movie (that apparently can't be recommended, but still).

Mantan Moreland:

here's his double act in action!! [editor's note: Benson Fong cameo too!]

He just had a scrungly look about him and he played big with his roles so any of it became especially scrungly. Plus he was very funny in the way only scrungly people can be.

the FUNNEST GUY TO WATCH ON SCREEN. he was an immensely gifted physical comedian, able to convey loads with his eyes, and while some of his parts are so sad and cringeworthy, I feel like he always brought a humanity and humor that lifted them beyond cheap stereotype.