“Degas in New Orleans” by Christopher Benfey

Right before we went into quarantine, I grabbed this book from a local used bookstore. Yes it has been a while since then, in my defense it took me ages to get the energy to read things. But I finally finished it, and it was an interesting read, even if the subject matter was not wholly what I expected.

With a title like Degas in New Orleans I expected the focus to be on the painter Edgar Degas and what he was doing in New Orleans, who he was painting, things like that. This book takes a much more broad approach to it where entire chapters are spent on Degas’ contemporaries like Kate Chopin and George Washington Cable, who were also in New Orleans around the same time frame, as well as Edgar’s brother Rene. The result is that the painter that I expected to be at the forefront of the novel had a tendency to go missing for sections at a time, leaving the reader with some cool stories, but it definitely felt off-topic.

Having said that, when Benfey goes in depth to a painting Degas did while in New Orleans, he goes stunningly through all of the details. A lot of what Degas painted were portraits of family members, meaning that we usually know who everyone is within a scene. And often the way that they are portrayed reflects either their life or New Orleans customs of the time. Having the larger picture of New Orleans during this time period definitely helps to make sense of all this in that sense.

Other than the unexpected subject matter, I have to say that the book is written stunningly well. It is a rather light read, very easy to follow all of the characters (and there are many, often with similar names that can get jumbled up) due to the way Benfey divides up his narrative and presents the individuals. Which made it hard for me to put down once I realized that it was not exactly the book I thought it was.

So very well-written, fascinating read overall. Just be sure that you know what you are getting into once you crack the spine. The contents go way beyond what is conveyed within the title.

This Is Beautiful: Heart's Choice games

Alright I've picked up a new interest. I've started playing some Heart's Choice games in my spare time. These are games that are entirely text-based, no graphics or music or anything. It's a bit like a choose your own adventure book to be honest. They are part of the larger Choice Of games, but these are all intended to be like a romance novel.

Now this seems really out of character for me, but I have an explanation. I found these games because I heard that for a lot of them you can play as asexual and/or aromantic. A number let you play as any gender that you want as well. So initially I was coming at this as a chance to check out some representation in media.

But also, we're in a quarantine right now and I live alone. I started the first one, "Never Date Werewolves," and kinda really liked the romance aspects of it. Having a choice in the storyline made it seem just a little more real than reading a fanfiction or something, and knowing I had a choice in who my character was and what they want made it personal.

So surprisingly, these have actually been helping with my loneliness a lot. You can play them through once for free (with 2 hour breaks between chapters which is kinda annoying) or can buy it for a couple of dollars. I would definitely give it a shot, if you hate it it's free and it's maybe 15 minutes of your time per chapter. Have fun!

Ace Attorney Games

I finally finished "Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice" which is the most recent Ace Attorney game. I really liked the last case, and it made me reflect on the series as a whole.

I first came to this series in middle school. I wasn't really into video games, but my friends were already familiar with the series and bought me a copy of "Trials and Tribulations" for my birthday. I really fell in love with the series, I went back and played the other two in the trilogy ("Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney" and "Justice For All") and was even on a forum talking about the game for a while.

What I really liked about the game was, well, the fact that I was good at it. I was a smart kid, I knew how to find contradictions and finish the games, they aren't super difficult. And the rest was kinda bells and whistles, sure the tunes were catchy and the characters were fun but it wasn't so different from characters in books and I wasn't really paying attention to the music.

This is the first time that I played ANY Ace Attorney game in a very long time. I fell off after "Apollo Justice" mainly because I really didn't like that game haha. Also by then I was in high school and didn't have as much time for games any more.

Coming back to these games with the ones adapted for the 3DS and with the ones starting to circle back to the original trilogy made for some excellent timing. I could take the changes in stride and was greeted with plenty of familiarity from the characters. I might not have kept going if it ended up being radically different.

And this second time I really started appreciating the artistry behind these games. The characters are so compelling in a way that is rarely found in video games (seriously how often do you play a game for the plot?) and incredibly colorful and vibrant. The songs are catchy and incredible at distilling a mood or a character down to a melody. And since it's a game the way they are composed as a group works together incredibly well, it must have been hard to come up with that. And more than anything else, this is a game series that makes you THINK. It raises questions about the law (it isn't an accurate depiction of the legal system by any means, but it's a way that's easy to understand) and isn't afraid to have the player make legal choices for themselves. Having that element of choice is so important because you HAVE to think about it and come to a conclusion. What is the role of the law? What is the "right thing" in this situation?

I'm sure that growing up with this made me think about issues that shaped me in the ensuing years. And I'm super glad that I took this chance to revisit it now. If you haven't played the Ace Attorney series, I really can't recommend it enough. It's truly one of the best game trilogies that I've seen, and well worth whatever the cost is for it on Steam or iOS.

This Is Beautiful: The Half of It

Alright so over the weekend I finally got around to watching "The Half of It" on Netflix. Honestly I'm always skeptical when it comes to Netflix movies, I think that they very rarely are anything beyond a way for the platform to push out more and more content regardless of quality. This movie really isn't like that. It's a heart-warming movie about love, in all of its forms.

Having said that this is a movie about love, you're probably expecting a rom-com, maybe you know that it's also an LGBTQ+ film and think that it's a gay love story and that's why I'm into it. Nah. I dig this movie because it's primarily about the love between friends. Again, love in all of its forms. And the love within friendship is arguably the most important kind of love, and it just keeps getting overlooked time and time again. It's so nice to see it highlighted here.

Now the general plot of the film is Ellie (Chinese-American, gay) makes money writing essays for other students. Paul (football player) then hires her to write a love letter to Aster (popular girl). Of course, they're both crushing on the same girl, which complicates things. Hilarity ensues, involving Ellie finally making friends with Paul, the truth coming out, and everything getting incredibly messy before resolving.

The best part of the movie is how none of the characters end up being the trope you think they belong in. Paul is the dumb jock type, but he ends up looking after Ellie, taking her home after a party, trying so incredibly hard to get Aster to date him, and trying to get everyone to try his taco sausages. Aster seems like the airhead pretty girl, but in her letters to Paul/Ellie, reveals that she feels as though in being pretty she becomes everyone and also no one. She wants to go to art school, but also doesn't know if she's good enough. Ellie seems like the outcast nerd, but a really nice sequence of scenes shows how she changes throughout the film. While watching an old movie Ellie says that a character's a moron for chasing a train that the other is on. But by the end as she departs for college, she cries as Paul chases her train. She's learned that it's alright to be a moron for others.

Since I'm pretty similar to Ellie with the whole thinking-people-are-morons thing, I really liked watching her learn to make friends and be vulnerable. And it's not just Paul prying Ellie open, getting her to like others, Ellie also gets him to open up over the course of the letter writing.

Anyways, this isn't super well written, but I really enjoyed this movie, definitely a good call if you need something loving to watch in these trying times.

“The Alpha and his Ace” by Ana J. Phoenix

This is the last book from the Great Ace Digital Book Box for now! I thought this one was pretty cute. It clearly was written with the goal of spreading information about asexuality and how a relationship with an asexual could work. The story talked about Brandon, a guy who can turn into a wolf. In fact, he’s the alpha of his pack. And his mission is to find his mate, who he’ll know on sight to be his mate, so that he can gain the respect of his pack.

Right off the bat we’re told that Brandon is gay, and really comfortable with that. He is a bit of a player and loves hitting up gay bars for one night stands and the like. But then he meets Aidan and realizes instantly that his human is his mate. Only problem is that Aidan is asexual and doesn’t think that it’ll work out. So the majority of the story is these two rooting out their issues and figuring out how to communicate to each other and navigate their boundaries.

It’s a pretty quick read, I expected there to be more discussion about the whole wolf thing and what’s up with that lore, but the book really skips around that and goes straight to the relationship drama. And the book raises a number of good points that I really appreciate when talking about mixed relationships. Like how websites like AVEN contain good information, but it really says nothing about the individual you are talking to. You have to make sure to ask about people’s personal boundaries and what they are willing to do instead of assuming based on their asexuality.

But other than that there isn’t that much to the book. Also I really didn’t expect a kind of detailed description of a hand job in a book with an asexual focus. So it’s a nice easy read, but that’s about it. Definitely get on the Great Ace mailing list though, I can’t wait to see what will come next!

This Is Beautiful: Ace Attorney

So another video game that I've been playing is Ace Attorney. I grew up with the original trilogy of games for the Nintendo DS and it's still one of (if not the) best video game series I have ever played in my opinion. But since then the creators have made a couple more games for the 3DS which I never bought and therefore never played. To my delight though, the creators adapted the games for iOS, so I've been able to play them on an iPad.

Before I get into the new games, I'll just talk about this series in general. So Ace Attorney is a game where you play as a lawyer and are tasked with proving your client innocent. Typically game play alternates between investigating the scene and battling it out in court. All of the characters are incredibly colorful, as though they were straight out of an anime, and that leads to a quirky cast that you really can't help but fall in love with. I really can't recommend any of the games from the original series to the new ones.

Getting back into these games has been wonderful. I forgot how much I liked these puzzle games where you look over evidence and piece together what you think happened. And how much I missed the characters. You truly do form a bond with the protagonist, Phoenix Wright, as you defend clients with him. So in general, getting this window back into my childhood has been incredible.

And then there's the game itself. I finished "Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies" already and that game is easily just as good as any of the original ones. With the improved graphics, the characters really come to life but never lose that original color and variety. And what I really liked about this game was the strong link it had to the originals. The series had a single game in between the original trilogy and the 3DS newer ones that didn't do as well (in my opinion) because it broke too much with the originals. Dual Destinies reaffirms its link and builds off of it in a really nice way, creating an ideal balance of familiar faces and new stories.

The game isn't that expensive, I want to say it's $1 for the first case, $15 for four more cases, and $3 for a bonus case. If you're looking for an entertaining story with interactive aspects only a video game can provide, I really can't recommend it enough. I just started "Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice" so we'll see how that game goes as well!

“The Foxhole Court” by Nora Sakavic

Next book from the Great Ace Book Box that I’m discussing is here! Alright so in the interest of not wasting time I’ll just be honest and say that I did not like this one. Mainly because I couldn’t stand any of the characters, but I will get into that.

So this book centers around Neil who is a high school student about to graduate. His only real interest in life is playing Exy, this lacrosse-esque sport that he can’t get enough of. Teased out throughout the novel is that Neil’s identity is essentially a fake. He and his mom were on the run his whole life, until she died. Then he was on his own for high school. Right before he graduates, he gets recruited by the Foxes a team that recruits only athletes that have been through some shit. Through this team, Neil is forced to confront his past and begin to find his place with his teammates.

Alright so yup I wasn’t the hugest fan of this book. Neil was just so angsty and such a whiner throughout the whole team, constantly talking about how his past forced him to not trust anyone and all that. But then he also doesn’t show any serious signs of psychological damage other than lying a lot. Like he doesn’t have panic attacks or do drugs or anything. Which feels fundamentally unrealistic to me. And just got pretty annoying to listen to.

Then there’s the rest of the team. Almost every single one of them were insane psychos constantly trying to hurt each other. Not to mention that one of them is openly homophobic and the gay one forcefully kisses Neil against his will multiple times. And another one drugs him without his consent. Don’t like any of that. And they never really get punished for any of these things, the team is still a “family” and protects each other and like whatever.

Honestly I can’t even really speak to other aspects of the book because I checked out partway through when I realized I didn’t give a shit about any of the characters. But the plot is overly convoluted and kinda not well organized. It ends with one of the teammates overdosing accidentally, but we don’t see any grief or closure from the characters. It feels like it was thrown in so that you’d read the next book in the series to find out or something. And there’s a lot of complicated stuff to Neil’s past and his relationship to his sport that just required much more of my concentration than I was willing to give.

So yeah, not a fan of this. I mean it’s free so can’t complain that much, but still, there’s much better free literature out there. Won’t be checking out the sequel or anything, but would still recommend signing up for the mailing list.

This Is Beautiful: Choreographing

Alright I've probably talked about this before but it's relevant again so I'm going to do it again. Being an amateur artist in quarantine really sucks. There isn't much that I can work on and few people I can talk to now that we're separated and I don't need to rely on my art for income. Not many projects are happening and even if they were it'd be very hard to make a performance happen.

So I stopped choreographing and making anything for a while. I had one solo that I made shortly after we went into isolation, but I had mostly created it before then. And for the past couple of weeks I did truly know that I needed to start working on something or go insane. I can kinda feel the itch these days. But I had ignored it for a while in favor of reading and watching TV. Both of which are things that I enjoy, but they don't come with that feeling of creation that I was missing.

Then yesterday I finally sat down and choreographed something. It'll probably never see the light of day sure, but I made it anyways. And I could tell right away that I got happier. The main proof being that I realized how hungry I was and ate an entire thing of dried cranberries in between choreo ideas. That forced me to realize that I was probably undereating since I've been sad again.

It is important to do active activities while in quarantine as well, which I had forgotten. (By "active" I don't mean physically active, I mean more like activities that require us to actively think about an activity. Like choreographing, or playing an instrument, or drawing. We can't just passively consume media, we also need to be active.) But I'm glad I managed to remember it!

“Enemies Like These” by P.K. Gardner

The second book from the Great Ace Digital Book Box’s April edition is here! This book is also the first of a trilogy, and it centers on superheroes and supervillains. To my utter surprise, I loved it.

This is surprising mainly because I can’t stand superhero stories these days. The Marvel industrial complex has been churning out what (in my opinion) amount to trash and I’m just so over it. But I got a kick out of this book, and I’ll be real surprised if I don’t look into the rest of the series. Why I enjoyed this so much amounts to a couple of reasons.

First of all, this really isn’t a typical superhero story. It is more similar to “Watchmen” where it tries to turn the superhero narrative on its head. The heroes and villains aren’t absolute good and evil respectfully, they all have their flaws and secrets of their past. Good Guy became a superhero because his friend died. Malevolence became a super villain because he was part of an explosion but survived. X isn’t a noble superhero so much as a trigger-happy maniac. Not even all of their superpowers are beneficial to them, Shadow hates his powers more than anything. And they keep tearing the same city apart time after time, which goes unquestioned in most comic books, but here it is acknowledged within most characters that they really should just get the hell out and find somewhere safer. Just acknowledging their flaws and pointing out irrational behavior goes so against the typical superhero narrative it’s ridiculous.

Second is the fact that, like all the Great Ace books, this has some queer characters. X and his nemesis SuckerPunch are queer and sleeping together. Dodger created his nemesis by using telepathy to transition to being male, which wrecked his younger sister. I was fascinated by this because it is a great example of having a character be trans not just as a token but it being integral to their development. And how being trans is a struggle between what you see yourself as and how others see you.

Finally, as I alluded to with X and SuckerPunch, this is really a story about the bonds between superheroes and super villains. Yes they are nemeses and fight all the time, but to have a relationship where neither kills the other, they also have to be friends. The plot revolves around Good Guy’s relationship with Malevolence, and how they have to confront their pasts together. Both supers lost someone close to them in their transition to having superpowers, and both are haunted by that. With their forces combined, they finally can make headway into facing those ghosts head on.

I am definitely hunting down the rest of this trilogy, and I really can’t recommend picking this book up yourself. Like the last one, it is totally free on Kindle, so you really have nothing to lose here.