Open Thread: Purple, Green, and Off-White

A purple flower in front of out of focus green stems and leaves

Picture taken June 15th, 2018.

I'm trying to get back to having open threads every week; we'll see how that goes.

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Friday Saturday Recommendations!  What have you been reading/writing/listening to/playing/watching lately?  Shamelessly self-promote or boost the signal on something you think we should know about - the weekend’s ahead of us here, so give us something new to explore!

And, like on all threads: please remember to use the "post new comment" feature rather than the "reply" feature, even when directly replying to someone else!

Film Corner: Dracula Untold

Dracula Untold

Ok, so here's the deal:

- My work computer is broken.
- Tech support is massaging it with healing oils or something.
- I have to "stand by" to reboot it when they ask but otherwise stay out of their way.

So you're getting an #AnaWatches. This *particular* live-watch is very dear to me because it's of a movie I was very excited to see and then spent the entire film shrieking "I'M SORRY WHAT" at the screen in increasingly louder volumes, and it's dedicated to @liminalfruitbat because you always hurt the ones you love, etc.

What is this movie, tantalizingly teased? DRACULA UNTOLD: "the origin story of the man who became Dracula." I want to stress before we start that I have very low standards for Dracula movies. I like the Keanu Reeves one. I like Dracula 2000, which involves a plane crash and Mardi Gras. I like Van Helsing, because I am hopelessly gay. Et cetera. I am not hard to please.

Open Thread: Weathered Hood Ornament

Weathered Hood Ornament

Picture taken June 8th, 2017, in a parking lot in South Portland, Maine.  In addition to the stylish hood ornament, there were also fuzzy dice hanging from the car's rearview mirror.

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Friday Recommendations!  What have you been reading/writing/listening to/playing/watching lately?  Shamelessly self-promote or boost the signal on something you think we should know about - the weekend’s ahead of us, so give us something new to explore!

And, like on all threads: please remember to use the "post new comment" feature rather than the "reply" feature, even when directly replying to someone else!

Narnia: Those Who Take and Never Give

[Narnia Content Note: Misogyny]

Narnia Recap: Digory and Polly have returned home, but have accidentally brought Queen Jadis with them. She has ordered Uncle Andrew to procure means of transportation so she can begin her world conquest.

The Magician's Nephew, Chapter 6: The Beginning of Uncle Andrew's Troubles

(I'm back? Not sure what to say about that! Hi! The new Blogger interface is awful!)

   The old man went out, looking like a dog with its tail between its legs.
   The children were now afraid that Jadis would have something to say to them about what had happened in the wood. As it turned out, however, she never mentioned it either then or afterward. I think (and Digory thinks too) that her mind was of a sort which cannot remember that quiet place at all, and however often you took her there and however long you left her there, she would still know nothing about it.

One of the reasons I wanted to do the Narnia series in publishing order rather than the in-universe "chronological" order is that it matters to me how the tone and style of Lewis' writing changed over time. We've gone from a relatively straightforward approach which was tinted with cozy elements (here thinking of the sewing machine in the Beavers' home) to the more dreamy style which I think Lewis preferred in his later writings and which I'm very much not a fan of, at least in his hands. I think this passage is a good example of this tonal shift: instead of Jadis having a logical reason for not confronting the children over their attempt to leave her in the Woods, Lewis postulates that she's just...forgotten about the place. Indeed, that she is entirely incapable of remembering it, no matter how long she is there.

I'm sure there's some religious parallel he's trying for here, but I will admit I don't understand it. The peaceful Woods both hurts and harms her (it seemed to be tortuously draining the life out of her!) yet she can't remember the place even enough to avoid returning to the torture? The two seem almost mutually exclusive; I can almost believe the Woods would be torture for Jadis, and can almost believe she can't remember being there, but trying to believe both at the same time throws an Out Of Cheese error in my brain.

Open Thread: Rhododendron

Rhododendron Engulfing a Chain Link Fence

Sorry it's been almost a month since the last open thread.  Picture taken June 8th 2017.

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Friday Sunday Recommendations!  What have you been reading/writing/listening to/playing/watching lately?  Shamelessly self-promote or boost the signal on something you think we should know about - the weekend’s ahead of us, so almost over, but you can still give us something new to explore!

And, like on all threads: please remember to use the "post new comment" feature rather than the "reply" feature, even when directly replying to someone else!

January Newsletter (2021)

Oh my gosh, it's a new year. I want to tentatively poke at it. 2020 was painful and spiky in a lot of ways and I really do hope that 2021 is gentler and more loving, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I woke up trembling like a newborn lamb and I haven't quite gotten my legs under me yet.

But! Regular posting will resume this month, both here and on my Patreon! I have an absolutely lovely Grimms fairy tell retelling (or perhaps I should say queertelling? no? I'll workshop it a little.) for my patrons, as well as two dreadfully awful movies that were painful to watch but which I hope resulted in pleasant live-watching material for you all.

I hope you're all well and safe as we step into the new year. Please don't feel you have to be bright and cheerful here if you aren't feeling it (this isn't the instagrams!) as this is a safe space for people who are scared out of their wits like me. All my love to you. ♡

Links
@KissmateKittens: Here.
My Ramblings Deconstructions: Here.
My YouTube Let's Plays: Here.
My Favorite Tumblr Funnies: Here.