#prose and cons

[thekylemeredith]

"I started off with big influences like David Bowie"

Legendary actor Russell Crowe joins Kyle Meredith to talk about new music,#TheGladiator sequel, #Nuremberg, & wine nights with #MichaelShannon

#RussellCrowe #NickCave #DireStraits #LeonardCohen

[squeemcsquee]

Anime Magic 2023: Sunday

So I never got around to writing up Sunday. Pregnancy has a way of making you forget things, and then being a new parent...anyway, it's been actual months. But let's see what I can remember, shall we?

Sunday started with breakfast, packing, and cleaning the room. Spoiler: we did not win. We did a walk around the gaming and exhibit areas again, for those last-minute cosplay photos, seeing if any of the machines had Magical Drop (I can't remember), and of course, last-minute impulse buys. Then it was time to find the panel room that held all of our Sunday panels - the Special Guest Room. Which just felt sort of tucked out-of-the-way in a hallway not far from the Main Events stage, but not super populated or trafficked.

Our first panel of the day was "That Doesn't Work How You Think It Does: Cosplay Supply (Mis)use with Pros & Cons Cosplay"

I remember being very entertained during this panel and finding it highly informative. But since I'm doing this Sunday August 2023 writeup in May of 2024, I can't add more than that. Really, I'm doing this in part to ward off the "missing ACen" blues, as unless there's a last-minute lottery win or something, we won't be attending even a single day of ACen 2024. Being a parent is a big responsibility and has been an incredible joy, but it also means tightening the belt a bit and so it may be some time before @lechevaliermalfet and I do big cons again. We're probably sticking closer to home with the smaller stuff for at least the next 6 months, likely longer.

We followed up this panel with Oriana's Sailor Moon panel. In which Sailor Moon was lovingly roasted. And I do mean lovingly - none of this was done from spite. It was just fans acknowledging the quirks of their chosen thing.

I'm pretty sure there were some technical difficulties during all the panels in this room, whether they were screen issues, mic issues, or whatever. But I could be just inserting that into my memory because of the fact Anime Magic has been known to have tech issues. I'm too lazy to try to search my posts in the ACen discord to verify (the AM one didn't exist yet during the 2023 con, so lots of us were posting about it in the ACen "Other Events" channel in their discord).

And finally, we wrapped with Cosplay Horror Stories, again with Pros & Cons Cosplay.

I do remember sharing the story of accidentally ruining @shbumi ' s cosplay during our first ACen in this panel. I also don't remember if it was this panel or their first panel on Sunday in which my experience as a Security guard came to play, because I can't remember the story that prompted me to share the knowledge that using spray paint indoors can set off a building's fire alarms. But yes, folks, that can happen. Not totally ready to say goodbye as yet - and I'm going to guess because I knew that this was probably going to be my last big con for a while - it seems we wandered a bit more, as I have photos of that empty Sunday feel. It really is a lonesome feeling as a con empties out, especially in this space, when I've seen it so packed before, for so many other cons.

But there is my far too overdue post to wrap up Anime Magic 2023.

All Anime Magic 2023 coverage

Anime Magic 2023 cosplay

Anime Magic 2023: Friday

Anime Magic 2023: Saturday

Anime Magic 2023: Sunday (current post)

[booksandwords]

Prose and Cons by Amanda Flower

Series: Magical Bookshop, #2 Read time: 1 Day Rating: 4/5 Stars

The Quote: There was a war going on in Charming Books as the crow and the cat positioned themselves against each other: a tight for shop mascot. Both Faulkner and Emerson thought they were deserving of the title. Faulkner, who had been a resident of the longer, had seniority on his side, but Emerson had him beat in crowd appeal. — Violet

I enjoyed Prose and Cons though not as much as Crime and Punishment. Though it's nothing to do with the characterisation and story perse more to the writing and the classic literature was used. Violet, Daisy, Emerson and Faulker are all still fantastic. Prose and Cons picks up in the 3rd week of October four months after the conclusion of Prose and Cons. Charming Books is all decorated for fall and Halloween. It's a busy time for Cascade Springs, it's their annual Food and Wine Festival. Being as it is Violet in Cascade Springs something inevitably goes wrong and someone dies. The death was entirely unexpected to me, Anastasia Faber. Anastasia is the literary fiction author from the Red Inkers we met previously. The prime suspect is another member of the Red Inkers, Sadie (the bubbly fashion queen). Worse still the death happens at Charming Books.

It was nice to meet some new faces during Prose and Cons especially Danielle and Aster Cloud and EMT Keenan all of whom I think will make further appearances. I'm hoping Renee does too. Renee does all librarians justice. She's loud full of passion and personality and is really not a shusher. The epilogue is adorable. I adore Aster. She is just too cute, the best Joan of Arc I can think of. As an aside, I am now convinced there is no signposting for the killer or the motivation though it's Anastasia she was not particularly liked, unlike Benedict who was well-liked and respected. This is all about the reading and the journey.

The story of Prose and Cons is self-contained though perhaps a little less pleasing for me than Crime and Punishment, potentially due to an accessibility problem. It might due to the use of Dickinson's The Carriage vs Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher and The Purloined Letter, as a poem The Carriage the can be replicated with ease giving us the most relevant parts for the story as they are needed. Whereas The Fall of the House of Usher and The Purloined Letter are both approx twenty-page short stories that rely more on themes and impressions than words. If you haven't read them you are likely to understand less. I'm likely to see similar problems with Murders and Metaphors which uses Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. As with the Poe works I've never read Allcott's classic but it won't stop me from reading the next book in the series. That said using Poe was a great choice it does allow Faulkner to indulge in some raven yelling (no one wants to tell him he's a crow, not a raven).

The tree is interesting, protective of Violet and healing. They don't hide its power from David but David himself says in the course of the story that as important as Charming Books birch tree is to Violet they are sacred to David's people. They hide the secret yes but with him, he observes more and notices that something near-impossible has happened. Have some David and Violet quotes just because.

My gaze glossed over Trudy and Richard and locked with the amber-colored eyes of the village police chief. As a member of the Senca tribe, Rainwater had coal black hair, which he kept short, honey-colored skin, pronounced cheek bones, and eyes that were like pools of warm maple syrup. It went without saying that he was a handsome man. The fact was he was an aspiring writer of children's books could topple a book-loving girl like me clean over. — This is a lovely descriptive passage. And yeah just ditto to that last line. There is just something truly appealing about children's book writers. (p.26)

"My work is fiction for kids, true, but it's still a peek into my deepest thoughts. In a way, isn't that what all writers allow readers when they share their work, a window into another person's mind? Poe, the tortured soul that he was, was the perfect example." — This is David's reason for not letting Violet read his draft well the final reason he settles on after she calls bullshit on the others. The line is accurate but I would love to see what is in that book. What truth is he hiding from her? I mean at this point it could be anything. (David, p.40)

My eyebrows shot up a little father with this new information about the chief of police. He sounded like a true Renaissance man. Chief, writer, role-playing game aficionado. It just seemed a little too good to be true. I wondered what else I didn't know about Chief David Rainwater. — This is after Violet founds out from Keenen that he's in a D&D group with David. But before we meet Danielle and Aster. That just adds a whole other level of oh wow. (p.66)

""You do realize everyone else in the village, including my own grandmother, is pushing me toward Nathan, not David." She clicked her tongue. "The mayor is all wrong for you," she said with conviction." — While Violet may not like this conversation at least someone is saying 'oh I can see that'. Also, I like Renee in this scene, she makes me smile. (Violet and Renee, p.192)

More quotes to finish this very, very messy review.

The pounding came again, and Emerson seemed unconcerned by it, so I felt myself relax too. In the last few months since I had adopted the small tuxedo cat, I had begun to trust his instincts about people. He always seemed to know who was friend and who was foe. It was nice to have a feline litmus test, — This is a great take on pets. And Emerson is the best when it comes to an indication of good faith. (p.24)

"Adrian boxed up some more cookies for you. He copes with bad news by feeding people." I took the box from her and smiled. "Since I cope with stress with sugar, we are well matched." — And this is why we adore Adrian. I know Lacey is the suspect for bk 3 so it is going to be interesting to see hope Lacey and Adrian cope with that level of stress. (Lacey and Violet, p.85)

Despite growing up in wine country, I wasn't much of a drinker myself. I'd never acquired a taste for alcohol. If I was given the choice, I would much rather eat my calories in the form of sugary baked goodness like the cookies from Le Crepe Jolie than from a glass of wine. — I feel this on a deep level. I did grow up in wine country (and brewing area now). I too would rather eat my calories, or drink them through something close to designer tea. (p.159)

I could use a ruler-high stack of chocolate chip pancakes after the night I'd had. On second thought, Grandma Daisy could hold the pancakes and just hand over the bag of chocolate chips straight up was the only medicine that would do the trick. — Oh my god yes to this. (p178)

A student strolling the sidewalk did an about-face when the librarian screeched at me. Perhaps a yelling librarian was even more alarming than a running librarian. Nat that Renee was your typical librarian, with her tendency to be loud and her infectious laugh that could be heard all over the library building multiple times throughout the day. She wasn't one to whisper, and I had seen her shush a student only once, when a group of football players was especially rowdy. — It has been so long since I saw a librarian written this well. Renee is loud. Personality plus. And I can see why Richard is intimidated by her a little.

[blurrypetals]

All This Twisted Glory by Tahereh Mafi - blurrypetals review

originally posted aug. 13, 2024 - ★★★☆☆

[read for my book club, Prose and Cons]

I read a few reviews for These Infinite Threads when I finished it last night and it legitimately got me a bit excited to read this book. Now that I've finished this, I can't help but feel like I've walked into a restaurant that serves nothing but plain toast and everyone is bringing in their own butters and jams.

What I mean by that is this: I can't help but feel like people are extrapolating from a good base and turning it into something more than what it is on paper.

With each book, I've been astounded, by the time I get to around the 75% mark, by how shockingly little happens in so much page time. It is introspection heavy, which is not always bad, but for me it has to be paired with actual events happening, and not just events occurring as a cliffhanger to lead into another do-nothing book.

It is legitimately wild to me that each book takes place over just a couple of days, but that's how little happens in every one. I can't help but feel like everything up to this point could have been covered in a single book, perhaps two, if Mafi simply got her shit together and dialed up the pacing. Certainly not three.

And the thing is, there is really some good stuff here. I like almost all the characters, the magic is interesting and unique, and there seriously aren't enough books that draw upon Arabic myth and legend out there, but Mafi seems hellbent on stretching it all out to such an excruciating pace, I scarcely can find the will to continue the series despite still wanting to know what happens next.

It's a pretty rough slog. I genuinely want to find out how things wrap up, but I know I probably won't want to read the next book directly when it's out, and by the time the final book is out after it, I probably won't remember the books previous enough to care anymore, which is, as my people say, a huge bummer.

Anyway, we'll see if I summon the ability to give a damn about how this wraps up in a year or two or if I just try to find a synopsis of the last two books to find out the ending, and I can't imagine a full synopsis of the final two books will require much verbiage if she continues at this snail's pace. Unfortunately, I see myself going toward the latter. I'll get the same amount of story in a fraction of the time, like this should have been in the first place.

[gabriella-arareyes]

And somehow, in all of that you lose your spark

[critical-quoter]

[gazkamurocho]

Prison buddies

[tomscryingcorner]

thomas █████ crying, previously known as ███████████████ crying, is lying dead* on the sand . the date is 11/1/█████ , and his body will be gone soon. He has asked Ender to do one last thing for him - Dissect his corpse.

aka. tom gets excited after the beastlife friday league season end and publishes zer first fic on ao3

[walkman-cat]

we have just started studying dracula in english lit and you KNOW i've already mentioned lizard fashion about 20 times in the two hours we had in class

[lifepath25]

That way it’s easier, easier to accept that I don’t have it all.

To dine and align with my inner being

that keeps on reminding me of

all that am not and

of all that am meant to be but so far I have failed to become.

[thekylemeredith]

Man. What a fun talk this was.

Big thanks to #RussellCrowe for dropping in to chat about his new album Prose & Cons, as well as his thoughts on the #gladiator sequel, & upcoming #nuremberg.

At Consequence or wherever you get podcasts

[squeemcsquee]

Otakon 2023: Day 3 (Sun)

Sunday got off to a slow start for us. We began with the Otamuseum, since @lechevaliermalfet was curious to see what they had on display from the other years he's attended the con.

We then parted ways to attend separate panels. I went to the Isekai Like It's 1999 panel. It wasn't a bad panel, though the title wasn't wholly accurate. I did learn about some shows I decided I might check out. And I left with some panel ideas of my own, which made @lechevaliermalfet happy when he heard about it. He's been encouraging me to consider doing panels for years now. I still don't know if I will, but I definitely got the idea for a few research rabbit holes to dive into as a result of attending this one.

After the panel, we met up and some general wandering around and soaking up con vibes occurred, before again heading to separate panels. I went to the Dubbing Around the World panel, which featured voice actors from the UK, Latin America, and Japan. The moderator was involved in the voice acting scene in the US.

It was a Q&A panel, and even though some of the questions were very typical ("How do you rehearse for a role?" "Do you have a good working relationship with your fellow dubbers?" "What's your favorite line you've ever dubbed?"), the answers were so widely different, it was great.

I always understood intellectually that there were likely different practices between different countries. But actually hearing it broken down in comparisons of rehearsal and prep time, booking time frames, group vs solo recordings...that was very illuminating. This is honestly a panel I would love to see repeated through the years, at any con that can afford to do so.

After the panel, it was time for lunch and the final rounds of Arist Alley. We always buy a ton of prints -this year was no exception. Especially after I found an artist who did FMA artwork based around Nina & Alexander memes. What can I say? I'm a sucker for them.

After our final shopping rounds and some last-minute pictures of cosplayers, we said goodbye to Otakon.

And while I didn't screenshot it, DC traffic moved slowly enough that I actually completed the Pokemon Go Community Day tasks during our drive out of the city.

All in all, I did enjoy my time at Otakon. But I don't think it's a con that @lechevaliermalfet and I will be adding to our annual roster. And not just for the expense and additional travel time. There's something about the overall feel of the con as well.

While we appreciated the differences in panel focus, artist alley, and vendor selection compared to ACen, I think we just both still feel that we really only have 1 large con in us per year. And ACen feels more like home to us, in that sense. So Otakon is one that we may do every 5 years or so, just to liven things up.

All Otakon 2023 Coverage

Otakon 2023 Day 0 (Thurs) and Day 1 (Friday)

Otakon 2023 Friday cosplay

Otakon 2023 Day 2 (Sat)

Otakon 2023 Saturday cosplay

Otakon 2023 Day 3 (Sun) - current post

Otakon 2023 Sunday cosplay

[perenlop]

rpgs are kinda like comfort food to me where theyre very cozy to come back to and just indulge in, especially pokemon where no one team is gonna be exactly the same, but dear god i need to take a break from them every once in a while or it risks feeling samey anyways

[blurrypetals]

These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi - blurrypetals review

originally posted aug. 11, 2024 - ★★★☆☆

[read for my book club, Prose and Cons]

So, absolutely nothing happened in this book.

It really was a huge slog, and the first book was already quite a slow build to begin with. Every time it felt like we might experience a small time skip or at least go to the next day, we'd just hear more of Kamran's Bad Day in excruciating detail.

I also really like Cyrus as a character and am extremely interested to see if he's going to end up as the endgame love interest, because as it stands at the moment, he's looking much more like a Warner than an Adam, if you know what I mean.

So with that being said, I am somewhat interested to see where this goes, especially since I have the third book from the library at the moment, but I'm unsure if I'd have been interested in continuing if I didn't have such an amenity at my disposal.

Fingers crossed that one single event at all happens in the next book, unlike this one!

[con-un-libro-lleno-de-emociones]

A veces se siente como si fueras a colapsar...

[dalliroch]

brindis de año nuevo 

“  ¿te gustaría pedir un deseo?  ” invita amablemente a la persona que estaba más cercana a ella, ofreciéndole una de las lamparas aerostáticas que llevaba bajo el brazo. “  acompáñame afuera. ” le agarró gentilmente por la muñeca y le  arrastró con ella entre la gente y las mesas, uno de sus guardias la siguió de inmediato cuando salió fuera del restaurante. se detiene un segundo para deleitarse con la vista privilegiada de parís e inspiró el aire frío de invierno que le mordió la piel de las mejillas. “ en veinte minutos tiran los fuegos artificiales, tendremos el mejor lugar. ” sonríe emocionada a su acompañante. “ hay que subir.  ”