#penguin christmas classics

[bibliophilecats]

A beautiful edition of this Christmas classic. Let us live in the Past, the Present, and the Future and keep Christmas well.

[tolive-forever]

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

[azazel-dreams]

The Penguins of Madagascar: The Classic Penguins Christmas Caper

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤

[skyburger]

shut the fuck up im playing sky burger

[awolfinpeopleclothes]

[boin-de-bindery]

My Immortal by XXXbloodyrists666XXX (Tara Gilesbie)

Being a hobbyist bookbinder gives you a lot of power in curating what populates your bookshelf. Sometimes I use that power wisely, like saving my fiancé €50 by handbinding their PhD thesis (not shared, since it's labelled with their name).

Other times, I give iconic works of fiction the Penguins Classics Clothbound treatment they don't deserve—only true goffs will understand. (AN: f@#% off prepz!)

It's an early Christmas gag gift, which I'm considering pairing with a transcript/mock screenplay of The Room.

A5 case binding on white printer paper

Faux velour bookcloth + endpapers

HTV cover titling and motifs

Handsewn headbands

Gouache painted edges

Inspired by this incredible work of art, which was one of the posts that lured me into bookbinding in the first place. You can see samples of the wonderful typesetting in that post.

I used this resource to generate the HTV cover elements, which made things so much quicker and more precise than doing it from scratch. The temptation to use the generator for EVERYTHING I make from here on out will be hard to resist.

That said, I have about... four?? ongoing binding projects, all with unique covers. There's no danger of Enoby becoming Just Like Other Girls yet 🧛‍♀️

[small-sinclair]

Holiday Gifts

Hc of what slashers got you for Christmas and what they do.

Ft: the Sinclairs, Brahms Heelshire, Johnny Slaughter, Rusty Nail, Reggie Morgan, Thomas Hewitt, Billy Lenz

Bo Sinclair:

Holiday Sex

He’s not one to get you much, but if you two been together for at least 6 months- 1 year, he’ll get you something nice.

He’ll help get the tree and hang lights, but you’re decorating the tree. He’ll move some of the ornaments.

Chocolates because why not.

A Promise Ring

Fried chicken, rice, and red potatoes for dinner.

Vincent Sinclair

An oil painting of you and him.

Making tree decorations from some dollar tree wood ornaments.

Cooked meal.

A dance.

He’ll clean the main area, dust it, sweep. He’ll have candles lit and the record player playing Christmas music.

Lester Sinclair

He’ll cook you good stew.

A jacket for when you come with him on drives.

A necklace made out of raccoon bones.

A holiday photo: Jonesy with reindeer antlers, Bo wearing his Christmas tree tie, Vincent wearing his Santa hat, Lester in his light blue suit with snowflakes on it, and you in a holiday sweater with a penguin on it.

Brahms Heelshire

He’ll probably would want to make cookies with you and put up the tree.

A colored picture of you and him.

He’ll play you a song on his violin.

Christmas Cuddles.

Holiday Sex

Johnny Slaughter

He really doesn’t like giving gifts, but he’ll make an exception for you.

A necklace made from human bones. If you’re not into that, he’ll go around to Nubbins’ collection of jewelry he gets off the victims and will take the best one for you.

He’ll take today to be a good human towards you and be a real gentleman.

Rusty Nail

The truck driver has the holidays off because he wants to be home to his little candy cane.

He’ll drive around in his pickup truck and go see the town lights and decorations.

He’ll give you one of his trucker hats.

Reggie Morgan

His little camper off the farm is decorated with Christmas kangaroos.

He got you a camera so you can take photos.

A puppy! You’ll get an Australian Shepherd!

Holiday Sex

Thomas Hewitt

He’ll make you ornaments made of bones and leather (non-human)

A little carved wooden tree.

You’ll get to see his face, too, so be nice to him. He’s not comfortable with his face. Give him little kisses over his scars. Call him handsome.

Billy Lenz

Classical Christmas movies, too. Pillow fort and some blankets.

He has a tree in the attic that you and him decorate.

He’ll get tied up in the tree lights, so give him a lil kiss.

Billy didn’t get you anything.

But he got his cat in a sweater! And it’s cute!

[la-femme-au-collier-vert]

From the Library of Anne Rice (Part 2)

Cherubs Angels of Love.  Boston: Little, Brown, & Company, 1994. Inscribed. 

Horst His Work and His World.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984. With a note. 

Arroyo, Raymond. The Spider Who Saved Christmas.  Sophia Institute Press, 2020. Inscribed. 

Chester, Laura. Free Rein. Providence: Burning Deck, 1988. Ownership Signature. Inscribed. 

Frankel, Ellen. The Illustrated Hebrew Bible. New York: Steward, Tabori, & Chang. 

Hendrick, Susan & Vilma Machette. World Colors Dolls & Dress.  Grantville, Maryland: Hobby House Press, 1997. Inscribed.

Kepler, Lars.  The Sandman.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018. With a note. 

Laughlin, Clarence John. Ghost Along the Mississippi. New York: Bonanza Books, 1961.  

Link, Luther. The Devil Mask without a Face.  Reaktion Books, 1995. With a note. 

Lopez, George R. and Perron Andrea. In a Flicker.  AuthorHouse, 2015. Inscribed. 

Nelson, Robert S. and Kristen M. Collins.  Holy Image and Hallowed Ground Icons from Sinai.  Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007. Inscribed. 

Pearson, Dave. Byzantium and Beyond. The Dave Pearson Trust, 2012. With a note. 

Riesem, Richard O.  Mount Hope.  Landmark Society of Western New York, 1995. Inscribed.

Penny, Louise. The Nature of the Beast. New York: Minotaur Books, 2015. Signed and inscribed by Penny to Anne Rice.

Penny, Louise. A Great Reckoning. New York: Minotaur Books, 2016. With Anne Rice ownership signature and inscription.

Penny, Louise. Glass Houses. New York: Minotaur Books, 2017. Advance reading copy. Signed and inscribed by Penny to Anne Rice.

Penny, Louise, Kingdom of the Blind. New York: Minotaur Books, 2018. First edition, signed and inscribed by Penny to Anne Rice.

Penny, Louise.  A Better Man. New York: Minotaur Books, 2019. Signed and inscribed by Penny to Anne Rice.

Cazeau, Jean-Louis and Rick Knowlton. A World of Chess. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 2017. Inscribed by Knowlton to Anne Rice on the half-title: "You have given me many hours of pleasure with your vampire series! May you enjoy this peculiar corner of world culture I have been exploring...."

Brown, Nancy Marie. Ivory Vikings: The Mystery of the Most Famous Chessmen in the World and the Woman Who Made them. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2015. With Anne Rice ownership signature and annotations in red ink throughout.

Chernev, Irving and Kenneth Harkness. An Invitation to Chess. New York: Fireside Book, 1985. Minor annotations in red ink by Anne Rice throughout.

Ackroyd, Peter. Dickens. [New York]: HarperCollins Publisher, 1990.

Ackroyd, Peter. Dickens. [New York]: HarperCollins Publisher, 1990.

Bloom, Harold, editor. Charles Dickens. New York, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.

Cotsell, Michael. Critical Essays on Charles Dickens's 'Great Expectations'. Boston, Massachusetts: G.K. Hall & Co., 1990.

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2017. Gift inscription on the flyleaf. 

Dickens, Charles. American Notes. Mineola, New York: Dover Publication Inc., 2017.

Dickens, Charles. Bleak House. New York: Everyman's Library, 1991.

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Barnes & Nobles Classics, 2004.

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Everyman's Library, 1992.

Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. Norwalk, Connecticut: The Easton Press, 1979.

Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. [New York]: Penguin Classics, 2011.

Dickens, Charles. Little Dorrit. New York: Everyman's Library, 1992.

Dickens, Charles. Nicholas Nickleby. New York: George Routledge and Sons, [1880].

Dickens, Charles. Oliver Twist. New York: Everyman's Library, 1992.

Dickens, Charles. Our Mutual Friend. New York: Everyman's Library, 1994.

Dickens, Charles. The Mystery of Edwin Drood. New York: Modern Library, 2009.

Dickens, Charles. The Old Curiosity Shop. Mineola, New York: Dover Publication Inc., 2003.

Dickens, Charles. The Uncommercial Traveller and Reprinted Pieces. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Forster, John. The Life of Charles Dickens, Volume 3: 1852-1870. [Cambridge, England]: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Goodheart, Eugene, editor. Critical Insights: Charles Dickens. Pasadena, California and Hackensack, New Jersey: Salem Press, 2011.

Hammond, Mary. Charles Dickens's 'Great Expectations.' [London]: Ashgate, 2015.

Ingham , Patricia. Dickens, Women & Language. Toronto, Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 1992.

Jordan, Joseph P. Dickens Novels as Verse. Madison, Teaneck: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2014.

Jordan, John O. The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens. [Cambridge, England]: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Nelson, A.N. The Mystery of Charles Dickens. [New York]: Harper, 2020.

Pykett, Lyn. Critical Issues: Charles Dickens. [New York]: Palgrave, 2002.

Slater, Michael. Dickens and Women. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1983.

Slater, Michael. The Great Charles Dickens Scandal. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012.

Tomalin, Claire. Charles Dickens: A Life. [New York]: Penguin Books, 2011.

Tomalin, Claire. The Invisible Woman. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.

Wilson, Angus. The World of Charles Dickens. New York: The Viking Press, 1970.

[nejjcollectsbooks]

Part 3: This is a collection of short stories, 50 penguin's modern classics.

21. FOUR RUSSIAN SHORT STORIES by GAZDANOV & OTHERS. In these stories, four writers - all exiles from revolutionary Russia - explore four deaths in a world in which old certainties have crumbled.

22. THE DISTANCE OF THE MOON by ITALO CALVINO. These exuberant, endlessly inventive stories interweave scientific fact with wordplay, whimsy and cosmic flights of fancy in a strange and wondrous universe.

23. THE MASTER'S TOOLS WILL NEVER DISMANTLE THE MASTER'S HOUSE by AUDRE LORDE. From the self-described 'black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet', these soaring, urgent essays on the power of women, poetry and anger are filled with darkness and light.

24. THE SKELETON'S HOLIDAY by LEONORA CARRINGTON. These dreamlike, carnivalesque fables by one of the leading lights of the Surrealist movement are masterpieces of invention and grand-guignol humour.

25. THE FINGER by WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS. A deliberately severed finger, a junky's Christmas miracle and a Tangier con-artist, among others, feature in these hallucinogenic sketches and stories from the infamous Beat legend.

26. THE END by SAMUEL BECKETT. From the master of the absurd, these two stories of unnamed vagrants contending with decay and death combine bleakness with the blackest of humour.

27. NEW YORK CITY IN 1979 by KATHY ACKER. A tale of art, sex, blood, junkies and whores in New York's underground, from cult literary icon Kathy Acker.

28. AFRICA'S TARNISHED NAME by CHINUA ACHEBE. Electrifying essays on the history, complexity and appropriation of a continent, from the father of modern African literature.

29. NOTES ON CAMP by SUSAN SONTAG. These two classic essays were the first works of criticism to break down the boundaries between 'high' and 'low' culture, and made Susan Sontag a literary sensation.

30. THE RED TENDA OF BOLOGNA by JOHN BERGER. A dreamlike meditation on memory, food, paintings, a fond uncle and the improbable beauty of Bologna, from the visionary thinker and art critic.

[cacklingpumpkins]

"Games aren't fun any more"

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I think it's good to have discussions rather than getting angry at others for not lining up with you. But I just can't agree with this notion.

Usually whenever people make such statements they typically have a overly simple view of the industry. Seeing the triple AAA scenes as nothing more than just shooters, narrative games, live service titles and Nintendo. And I'm sure many people have seen that image claiming that all indies are just Earthbound inspired RPGs, rogue-likes or Pizza Tower.

Things are not that simple though. You're going to have to dig deeper than just what's regularly advertised to you or what shows up on your feed. Since the new decade started we've been getting more variety than what the 2010s were offering.

Hi-fi Rush, Pseudoregalia, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2, Crash 4, Corn Kidz 64, Laika: Aged through Blood, Endoparasitic, Freedom Planet 2, Neon White, Shredder's Revenge, Madness Project Nexus, Mighty Fight Federation, Crumble, Pumpkin Jack, Noita, Man Eater, Ultrakill, Fight Crab, Carrion and It Steals are just a few fun games I got on Steam that all came out in the 2020s.

And who said you had to play new games anyway? Steam has many older games available for cheap like Doom 1993 or Half-Life. There are even some games I didn't think would even be on their like this shovelware Wii game called Martian Panic and an Atari Jaguar game called Attack of the Mutant Penguins. There are multiple game collections to try to like Namco Museum, Contra Anniversary Collection, SEGA Genesis and Atari Vault just waiting to be tried.

There are many resell stores too. And yes, I know that many like to rank up the prices but my best advice is to go in an browse rather than trying to look for a specific title. I find that a PS2 or classic Xbox and their games are way cheaper than what they often charge for GameCubes and their library. Plus there's a lot more variety too. I was able to get Assassin's Creed 1-3 and Brotherhood on the PS3 for just 20 bucks.

I want to make a post about browsing in retro game stores instead of going in to look for specific games but one thing I love about it is the sense of discovery. I'll find weird games I didn't even know existed for only 5 or 10 dollars. What's Scaler? What's Zapper? What's Pirate's Legend of the Black Buccaneer? I have no idea but they were like 5 bucks each. Even if I don't enjoy them at least I didn't spend that much on them.

Games are still fun. You just need to stop focusing on what's shoved into your feed or think that you have to exclusively enjoy new games.

Now excuse me I've got 18 chapters left in Nightmare Before Christmas Oogie's Revenge to beat.

[writermuses]

Open to: Anyone (F if romantic and Mun/Muse/FC should all be 21+) Plot: Your muse has come over to help him prepare for the team's annual holiday party he's hosting. Muse: Cayden Davis-Gruffydd, 34, plays hockey for the Pittsburgh Penguins and has been the captain since 2007. Building camaraderie on and off the ice and preventing homesickness through team events.

As the team captain and one of the many players that waited to go home for New Years instead of Christmas, Cayden made a habit of celebrating the holiday at his place with any player or staffer that wanted to join in. With the typical hectic game schedule, he'd been left with last minute decorating because he refused to hire a service. Unlike many players of his caliber, Cayden hadn't bought a mansion or fancy cars, he didn't take lavish vacations, or cover his body in expensive art. His parents had raised him to be humble and hardworking, wise with his money, appreciative of his community. That level head and work ethic had made him a great captain and a legendary player. What he had spent large amounts of money on was making sure his parents and siblings were debt free and comfortable. Charities that interested him got his time and anonymous donations. The people in his life received just as much attention when he could manage it. Still, Cayden worried that the text he sent letting them know he was home and could use some extra hands was welcome. He didn't want to seem like he solely needed help, he also wanted them to come over so they could have a few moments together before the chaos.

When the doorbell rang, Cayden hadn't even picked up his phone to see their response. He'd put on his Christmas playlist and got to work on the tree. There were several bins of decorations unopened in his living room, the tree looking almost out of place with nothing else ringing in the holiday, he huffed and made his way to the door, pulling it open with a bright smile. "If you weren't already my favorite person, then I'd need to tell you that you're my favorite person. I could kiss you for showing up like this." The corner of his mouth ticked into the classic flirty Cayden smile as he stepped out of the way so they weren't standing out in the cold.

[therealvinelle]

As a casual Agatha Christie fan, I am delighted by that recommendation. Do you have any other favorite books from her?

Sure!

And Then There Were None Ten people go to an island, it does not go well. This one stands out in that it has a good adaptation!

Appointment with Death The murder is ingenius and all in this one, but what I particularly enjoy is how well Christie captures the power an abusive mother can have over her adult children, it's a dynamic you don't often see in fiction (at least not played out this way).

Cards on the Table M. Shaitana has a fantastic idea: he's going to invite four murderers and four law enforcers to his house for a night of bridge, and he's going to stir up as much drama as possible. Things do not go well for M. Shaitana. (Stay miles away from the Suchet adaptation)

Crooked House The patriarch of an affluent family dies, and his twelve-year-old granddaughter decides to investigate. I was the same age when I first read it, which made the ending uh interesting.

Curtain Poirot finds the perfect murderer.

Death on the Nile Makes the list for many reasons, it's such a classical Christie but also because nobody agrees with Jackie's life choices, not even Jackie.

Hallowe'en Party A child claims to have witnessed a murder, no one believes her. A few hours later she's found murdered. I mostly like this one for the utterly insane murderer. What a champ.

Murder on the Orient Express There's a murder on the Orient Express. (If you want a film version, the 1974 version is the best. Suchet's version is... melodramatic, I don't like its ending but it had a fantastic opening scene, while the Branagh version is an atrocity, do not watch.)

Ordeal by Innocence Five years ago Arthur Calgary nerded about penguins to some random guy then left for Antarctica the next day. It was great. Now he returns to England only to find that the man was Jacob Argyle, and he was accused of murdering his mother that night. He kept claiming his alibi was some penguin guy and could give very specific, identifying details that five years later make Arthur Calgary "yup, that's me!", but Calgary was in Antarctica at the time so he never came forward. And uh Jacob died in prison in the meantime. But, Calgary tells himself, the important thing is that Jacob was innocent, right? Right? The Argyle family, who had finally put this behind them only to learn that their brother was innocent and one of the remaining members did it, don't agree.

Sad Cypress Elinor Carlisle is sad. She's about to hang for a double homicide she might not have committed, but even without that she'd still be pretty miserable.

The Secret Adversary I felt I had to recommend a Tommy and Tuppence, and while I don't remember much of any of them I'll just recommend the first one in the series. Tommy and Tuppence books are more political thriller than the usual fare, great fun if you want to switch things up during your Christie binge. (Do not touch ITV's By the Pricking of My Thumbs, though.)

The Mirror Crack'd One of my all-time favorites and weirdly formative. Miss Marple is grappling with the realities of old age, and solves a murder along the way. It's more character heavy than many of Christie's books, people do the things they do because it is in their nature and they can't escape it.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles The very first one! It makes the list for that. And because if you plan to read Curtain, you should read this one first as it references this one a lot.

Towards Zero Following the logic that the murder isn't the beginning of the story, but rather the culmination of one, this story is building towards the zero point - the moment the murder will occur.

Honestly, anon, I'm just listing Christies I fondly remember, I can keep going but the post will just get unreasonably long. Go read Agatha Christie, she's great.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas and A Pocketful of Rye get special shoutouts because while I haven't read the books, the ITV adaptations were really good, the former particularly with the casting and the latter particularly with the way the reveal was done. Same goes for One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, haven't read it but the adaptation was great.

(Overall I'm ambivalent about ITV's adaptations, the Poirot series wanted to be a fairly light, feelgood show the whole family could watch after dinner, and while both series liked to change things from the books and overall make them more daytime television, the Miss Marple series changed a lot more than the Poirot series did. They both have a nasty habit of putting Poirot and Marple in stories they weren't originally, usually to the story's detriment (passive aggressive shoutout to By the Pricking of My Thumbs). It's annoying, though does make it hilarious that they couldn't put Poirot in Crooked House.

They're still entertaining and I don't turn off the TV when an episode is on unless it's one of the bad ones, but... well it's daytime television-ified Christie.)

[quotidian-oblivion]

I see you have an ask game active so why not send you asks? :D

Also I just realized that I don’t really send you asks and that must be fixed immediately so without further ado

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Share some ideas! I’d love to see it

Ask game

HI VIBEY!!!

Aww, tyy. I really appreciate it! /gen

I have... ideas alright! Hold on- I got a perfect one.

The Rogue's Bi-monthly Meeting

So I wrote this while just being lazy on the bus and my mind was not staying still and kept bouncing around in my skull. I was gonna post it on Tumblr sometime after finishing it, but couldn't bother so. Here ya go, enjoy:

[Jason goes undercover as Red Hood to a rogues' meeting when Bruce got some intel that some of Gotham's rogues get together to discuss plans. Here's how the conversation goes basically.] Riddler: As the nominated chairperson of the bi-monthly rogues meeting, I officially declare this meeting open. State your order of businesses.  [They all give a vague idea of their plans] Penguin: hey wait. You can't attack Gotham City Thomas Wayne Orphanage, Croc. I'm attacking it on the 23rd of April.  Croc: Too bad.  Penguin: Back off. I thought of the idea first.  Riddler: Now now. The whole reason for this meeting is so that we don't pull the same gimmicks over and over. I'm sure there are plenty of other orphanages to go around. Penguin: I don’t want other orphanages. I want this one. It always ticks off Batman more than the others.  Croc: You're supposed to be clever, Penguin. Figure something out.  Penguin, pulling out his umbrella: now listen here you— Riddler: Do you want to be banned from the meetings like Kite-man? No? Then shut your trap.  [Penguin grumbles but sits back down] [They discuss special days and who's doing what on which day and Jason's recording everything when—] Riddler: And what about you, Hood? We still got Christmas Eve, Saturnalia and Eid-ul-Adha. Choose your pick.  Jason, absentmindedly: Uh, Saturnalia. Condiment King: You kidding? There are so many gigs happening at that time that you'll go unnoticed.  Scarecrow: I believe it's the opposite. Batman always had a hard spot for Red Hood. Makes me wonder what he did to earn the Bats' love more than the rest of us. Jason, gritting his teeth: Nunya business. Riddler: Moving on! Now… the vigilantes themselves. Does anyone know if any of the Bats are on their period right now? Catwoman: Black Bat's on hers.  [The whole room bristles with fear] Penguin: There's no way I'm pulling off any gigs now. Scarecrow: This sucks. Croc: Yeah, I'm pulling out. I'm not ready to be paralyzed right now.  Puppeteer: Yeah man, I'm out too. Now's a good time as any to go to that Hawaii trip I've been planning. Jason, mouthing under his helmet: What the fuck? Bane: Why does Black Bat always have to have her periods irregularly? It sucks balls. Riddler, sighing: I agree. And I had cooked up such a beautiful surprise for Batman. Anyway, is Spoiler's periods still regular? Judging from how stiff Firefly is looking, I'd say yes.  Firefly: Those are two Bats who have their period at the same time! Riddler, having giving up on his mission to stay out of Arkham this week: Indeed we are truly in hell. Next order of business is— [Harley and Ivy bust through the doors] Harley: We just got word that Batman just banned Red Robin from drinking coffee! Ivy: Red Robin's on a caffeine withdrawal! [Immediately, the whole room bursts into shrieks. One of them give a classic high-pitched scream] Penguin: Why?! Why?! Can't Batman just let him have his coffee?! And that too on Spoiler’s and Black Bats’ periods! *wails* Riddler: Now I gotta postpone all those riddle hunts I planned! If he wasn't on caffeine withdrawal and two Bats weren’t menstruating, I would have gotten enough time to establish an actual game! Scarecrow: Puppeteer, you got room for one more person for that Hawaii trip? Jason, squirming cuz he was the one who dobbed in Tim's hidden coffee stash: Uh… Can I come?

[vedurnan]

Get To Know Me

Tagged by @upatreewithoutaharness. thank you my angel, i love tumblr things like this :)

Tag (5) people you'd like to know better! I'm tagging @ivalician @offspring @scootil @softboypassing @psygull

Last song: At Giza by OM. i listened to it while stocking yogurt inside the cooler at work and it was great. i felt like i was in communion with all people who have lost themselves in the motions of a thoughtless and repetitive task. my coworker was on the other side facing the stuff as i was stocking it and she waved to me through the yogurt, which made me remember how we planned to hang out and watch conan the destroyer later in the week, and i thought about how we would order chinese food to eat while we watch the movie, how i was looking forward to that, and how cool it was of her to ask to come over and watch it. the whole experience made me very glad for my life which is a feeling that OM provokes in me a lot!

Currently reading: THE BOOK OF THE NEW SUN, endlessly... i am now early in Citadel of the Autarch. where will fate bring Severian next? i think much has yet to be fulfilled. it just keeps getting better and better. the book of the new sun is something that to me is so good it's almost impossible to talk about.

i pass in and out of reading a few other things also. two big ones for me have been the Penguin Classics selected writings of Meister Eckhart and The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh. i enjoy both but both leave me wanting something. i also have a kindle sample downloaded for Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl, which a few friends were talking about reading together as part of a book club... although i have not looked at the sample yet!

Currently watching: last night i really wanted to watch Children of Men but i didn't want to pay the 4 dollars to rent it on any kind of service so i just watched clips on youtube from the movie until i felt like i remembered enough of the rest of it that it was "refreshed" in my mind and i didn't need to watch it again. remembering this makes me feel some regret. i should have just rented and watched the movie.

today i was thinking that i should watch some of the star trek shows from the 80s and 90s again. i loved them as a kid and there's this toy store near work that has tons of the old action figures of all the characters. one of my coworkers is super into star trek and he showed me his collection of like every deep space 9 figure. i have such a fond, warm place for those shows in my memory!

Current obsession: wintertime! i keep thinking about autumn and winter and how eager i am for them to come. i want to walk around in the frigid and misty winter night and go downtown and really feel like i am in the absolute center of some kind of cold, austere, hierarchical structure. then i go back to my apartment and the warm light and comfortable things. today my friend asked me if i was doing anything for christmas this year. like five months in advance! how cute! when i was a child for some reason i had a playmobil playset of the three wise kings from the nativity story. just the kings and their camel and their supplies, no other nativity stuff included. i had no awareness of any bible stories as a child except the nativity scene and i only knew about it because my dad explained who the three toy kings were. because of that i always associated christmas with a feeling of extreme ancient mystery as a kid

[perenial]

just drove past a burly tradie with arms like christmas hams walking a chihuahua the size of a penguin classic. there is good in this world mr frodo

[strangewomanactuallylargebass]

Ranking the Madagascar ☆comics☆ (because why not)

Before I get into it, I'll lay down my criteria for what exactly counts as a comic in this ranking. For one, it has to actually be available (so I'll unfortunately be excluding two of the TPOM comics since they are not available to read anywhere). For two, I'll be doing it in terms of the physical copies I own - that means for the ones I have singular issues of I'll count each issue as it's own comic, but for the ones I have graphic novels of I'll count the entire graphic novel as one comic. Maybe I'll rank every story individually eventually, but that'll be for another time. I also want to preface this by saying that despite any negatives I may point out in the ranking, I do still love all of the comics, and they all have something exceptional to them that makes them worth reading. Anyway -

15. DreamWorks Classics Presents Madagascar #2 - Game On: This one...isn't great. The stories aren't very interesting, and feel pretty pointless overall. The first story involves Melman thinking he's sick while on Madagascar, and the other two involve the zoosters getting involved in hijinks back at the zoo. There are a few standout moments (including one of my favorite quotes ever from Julien), but overall the stories just aren't that engaging.

14. The Penguins of Madagascar #3 - Operation Wonder From Down Under! Part 3: This story is also isn't too interesting. There are some funny moments with the penguins encountering some jerboas who want to rule the world, but other than that the story just feels like it's trying to take up space and fill in the gap between issues #2 and #4.

13. Penguins of Madagascar: The Great Drain Robbery: This comic has a few stories all set after Penguins of Madagascar, and showcase the penguins travelling between hideouts and missions. It has a lot of potential, and that's the problem - that potential is never taken advantage of. There were so many cool stories set up, and with a few more lines of dialogue explaining some things the stories could've been taken to another level. Instead, the stories feel confusing and all over the place, jumping from one point to the next with no rhyme or reason. There are of course some fun stories and jokes, but overall it is just such a shame that the full potential of this comic wasn't realized.

12. The Penguins of Madagascar #4 - Operation Wonder From Down Under! Part 4: I'd say at this point in the ranking is when the comics go from "alright" to "pretty good". The penguins finish a story arc here and finally reach Australia. There are some great jokes with the penguins not understanding human technology, and there are some fun interactions amongst the penguins themselves (especially regarding a few panels that have Kowalski and Rico interacting). When the lemurs and penguins finally meet up again, there are some parts that feel exactly like an episode of The Penguins of Madagascar.

11. The Penguins of Madagascar #1 - Operation Wonder From Down Under! Part 1: This comic is pretty good. It feels exactly like the setup to one of the specials in TPOM, and it feels like an exciting return to form. The penguins are being skeptical and doing their paranoid-military thing, Julien and Maurice have their usual back-and-forth thing going on, and the cliffhanger at the end puts the reader on the edge of their seat, excited for what's to come. The only downside is the art style - it's alright for most of it, nothing special, but some of the time (especially in regards to Maurice's character design) it is truly awful.

10. Madagascar #1: The art style in this comic is actually fantastic. There are some great character moments, and the banter between Alex and Nana is on point. It's a fun little romp through the New York City streets, and it's always nice to see Nana interacting with Alex again. Since this comic presumably takes place some time before The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, Nana is much more mellow in regards to her attitude towards the animals; however, she still very much acts like her usual self at times.

9. Madagascar #4: This one is great! The penguins get a great introduction, and it feels like there's a nice blend in personality between how they act in the first film and how they act in the other movies and show. The way the zoosters and penguins go about achieving their goals is actually quite reminiscent of Merry Madagascar, in a way, but without feeling like a useless rehash. There's some nice character development, fun jokes, and a surprise cameo appearance from the lemurs!

8. The Penguins of Madagascar #2 - Operation Wonder From Down Under! Part 2: This is my favorite issue of the Wonder From Down Under story arc. There are some great backgrounds and character designs utilized in the jungle setting, and it really makes the most out of the series' art style. The jungle animals are fun, the story is progressed in an intriguing way, and Kowalski and Skipper have some great back-and-forth conversation. Also, the backup story featuring Private's birthday is really touching.

7. Madagascar 3: Long Live The King!: This comic has two fun stories that serve as a prelude to Madagascar 3. We see the penguins and chimps get up to some shenanigans in Monte Carlo prior to the zooster's arrival, and there's a hilarious (though admittedly somewhat predictable) twist at the end. The backup story with the circus is great, too, and there are some really emotional moments between Vitaly and Gia.

6. The Penguins of Madagascar: Operation Weakest Link & Other Stories: These stories are fantastic, and feel like they were ripped straight from an actual episode of The Penguins of Madagascar. The first story has some unique pairings of characters, showcasing some character interactions that we never really got a chance to see in the show itself. The second story has some fun moments with the penguins finding out more about the lives of humans, with the penguins coming closer together by the end.

5. Penguins of Madagascar: The Elite-est of the Elite: Right about here at the top 5 is where the comics go from "pretty good" to "you should absolutely check these out because of how great they are". This comic has a fantastic multi-part story involving the penguins and the North Wind teaming up yet again. There are twists, turns, and awesome action set-pieces. Everything is cohesive with one thing directly leading to the next, and feels like if The Great Drain Robbery had managed to reach its full potential. It's overall a lot of fun, and there are some really neat short stories at the end that expand on the North Wind as well as give us some cute moments between the penguins when they were babies!

4. Madagascar #2: I had always imagined the zoosters having more escape attempts besides the hot air balloon in Merry Madagascar, and this comic delivered on exactly that. There are some hilarious panels and pages with all the animals working together to get the zoosters off the island, and each attempt is better than the last. It's nice to get to see more of how the zoosters felt in their time on Madagascar, and the lemurs are the standout as usual.

3. DreamWorks Classics Presents Madagascar #1 - Hide & Seek: As I briefly mentioned with the last comic, I always find it so interesting to see the zoosters' lives on Madagascar in between the first and second films. This comic, then, fully delivers on that. We get to see so many great moments with the zoosters transitioning from life in New York to life on Madagascar, and the penguins are fantastic in their brief appearance here. Also, in the third story Maurice is definitely the stand out and is the best character.

2. DreamWorks Classics Presents Madagascar #3 - Let Them Eat Cake: The first story has some great interactions between King Julien, Maurice, and Mort, and Julien's personality feels like the perfect blend between his movie personality, his All Hail King Julien personality, and his TPOM personality. The second story is a bit of fun, though not anything too spectacular. The third story, however, is what really makes this comic one of my favorites. The premise involves Julien placing a property tax upon the beach the zoosters reside on, the zoosters subsequently retaliate. This has got to be one of my favorite stories of any of the comics, and as a whole helps elevate this comic to something fabulous.

Madagascar #3: This comic is simply stupendous, phenomenal, fantabulous, and any other similarly descriptive words. The plot involves Julien finally making his way back to Madagascar after abandoning it all those years ago in the second film, but finding out that another lemur has taken his place as king in the meantime. Our main lemur trio is just the best, and the royal competitions Julien has to take part in make for a great setup for some hilarious jokes. The rival king is just as stuck-up as Julien, yet seemingly even more self-centered and ignorant. The ending is one of the best parts, and makes for this comic to be a wonderful addition to the franchise as whole. While it's a shame that there weren't any real references to AHKJ or TPOM, it's understandable since this isn't the type of franchise to be completely interconnected.

And those are my thoughts. While there were a few missteps here and there, taken as a whole I am so glad the comics are a thing that exists for the franchise.