This Is Beautiful: Sweet Sweet Electricity

So yesterday the power went out around 7 pm, and it didn't come back until a little after noon today. It was pretty eye-opening to see how much we rely on electricity and the internet to get through the day. Especially since we're in quarantine and internet is the main way I communicate with other people these days.

Couldn't do any work really, also I unfortunately just finished my book and the podcasts I had downloaded and couldn't get any more. Streaming was a no-go, and the zoom dance class I was going to participate in was out of the question too. It's a good thing I had already finished "The Dragon Prince."

We just old-schooled it, I nearly always have a physical book on hand so I read that. Also I used it as an excuse to get outside and hang out in the sun which was lovely. Thankfully the power was back on almost immediately after I went back inside so things really weren't that bad. But it was a funny reminder of how much we rely on this aspect of infrastructure that we often take for granted.

“Walk A Mile” by P.K. Gardner

This is the sequel to Enemies Like These, a book I read a little while ago as part of the Great Ace Digital Book Box. I was in love with the first book, and the sequel is also incredible, and packs just as big of a punch.

This series follows Alex, a boy with superpowers. His alter ego is Good Guy, a flying, super strength wielding superhero. His best friend is Malcolm, aka Malevolence, a supervillain with super speed and who enjoys building killer robots. This installment in the series details how, somehow, Alex and Mal manage to switch bodies, with the help of a couple psychic supervillains looking to experiment.

Now of course, this is one heck of a trope to use. But Gardner is nothing if self-aware, she even details out in some dialogue that this can be an annoying trope, but maybe we just have not seen it done right yet. And to be honest, I think that this is the best iteration of the body-switching trope that I’ve seen. The narration details not only the different appearances of the characters, but the different ways that their minds work. Alex (within Mal’s body) suddenly finds himself a math whiz, and Mal (in Alex’s body) finds himself thinking more like a hero and with more restraint. But there’s a deadline they figure out for them to figure out how to get back to their own bodies, or end up stuck with the ones they’re with. Honestly the treatment of this storyline is so incredibly well done that it’s by far the highlight of the book.

Meanwhile, another superhero named Dodger is trying to restart The Superhero Project, a government research program to create superheroes. The trigger-happy hero X pledges to stop him, having escaped the original Superhero Project that destroyed his life. These two storylines collide, and end in tragedy.

I don’t want to give away the ending here, I’ll definitely spoil it when discussing the trilogy’s finale though. But needless to say, this book takes all your expectations and turns them on their heads. It’s a wild ride and incredibly enjoyable. The ending leaves you with Mal reinventing himself into, maybe not a hero, but probably not a villain either. I can’t wait to see how this series gets finished.

This Is Beautiful: The Dragon Prince

I really needed something lighter than "Killing Eve" this past week, and "The Dragon Prince" has honestly been perfect. It's a children's tv show centering on a fantasy world with magic, elves, and dragons of course.

What really drew me into the show was that it really makes an effort to be inclusive and diverse. The king is a black man, people of color are featured in nearly every community shown. Which is great, but then in the third episode you meet Amaya, a general who is also deaf and communicates by signing. Introducing her really made me shut up and watch the show more intently, how often do you see a deaf character who is also a badass? She's incredible.

For the most part the show isn't that deep, but there are really great concepts in it for kids. The king at one point explains social contract ideas and Rawls' veil of ignorance. This is the idea that you don't know what situation you will be born into, therefore you want to make opportunities equal for all. I was super taken aback by that, rarely are these ideas discussed so explicitly.

Having said all this, the animation style still throws me off a bit. They don't animate every frame so it can look kinda awkward for some movements. But a lot of the art is still gorgeous, the elves particularly look incredible.

I'll be watching this for a while, would definitely recommend it if you need to recharge as well.

Pride 2020

Sure doesn't feel like 🏳️‍🌈Pride Month🏳️‍🌈 but we're going to go for it and post a rant anyways.

Just a heads up that being LGBTQ+ is about WHO YOU ARE and not WHO YOU LOVE. That's literally why trans people are queer, why aces are queer, why aros are queer, and so on regardless of anything else. You can be "passing" and still be an integral and vital part of the gay community. Taking on the LGBTQ+ label is not inherent from any action that you perform (or even the way others treat you) but a statement about who you are as a person and how you define your own experiences. Taking the "who you love" shortcut is a dangerous misconception designed to alienate and exclude whole sections of the community, and also is flat-out incorrect. No gatekeeping allowed.

And that also means that if you're stuck in quarantine right now and are single, can't safely be out where you are, haven't been to brunch in ages, and all the events have been cancelled: you're still queer! You're still allowed to be proud! It is still Pride Month even if there isn't a parade and you should definitely do something (if you can do so safely) to celebrate and reaffirm your identity and your personal growth. Having said that though, if you are unable to celebrate or don't want to for any reason, that is totally valid and no one can tell you otherwise. A lot is going on in the world and it is okay to take a break, whatever that means to you.

Also not-so-friendly reminder that the original Pride was a riot led by trans women of color. Put some of that energy towards supporting those currently fighting for racial justice, because that fight is not over yet and you owe past riots for your rights today. #blacklivesmatter

This Is Beautiful: Killing Eve

I finally started the TV show "Killing Eve" this week and I am enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. Not that I thought I'd dislike it, I wouldn't be watching it to begin with then, but it's a really hard show to pin down. The easiest way to describe it is that an assassin and investigator investigating her have this strange attraction, which gets at it on a surface level, but the show seems to be developing into a lot more than that.

Now I thought that I wouldn't like it because I am not into stories about psycho assassins. The whole "Breaking Bad" thing really holds no interest for me, I am not here to develop sympathy for people who do not deserve it. And I was really hesitant to start this show as a result (even though others have told me that it was excellent and also gay haha). But this show definitely isn't going in that direction and in fact may be surprisingly deeper than that.

The show definitely does not shy away from what a horrible person the assassin is. She murders people in almost every episode, and basically keeps confirming to the audience that she's a psychopath through other characters as well. Which is all a huge sticking point for me, as I have said I am not here to sympathize with murderers.

While I am only on episode like 8, I think this show has the opportunity to be incredibly deep. I am most intrigued by what the assassin said to the investigator, "I think you'll find that we're working for the same people," and what that says about power and the forces at play in modern society. Will it be like the Matrix where rebellion ends up being part of the system? Or will it be more of a Watchmen where those in the know have set up a crisis to unite people? Regardless, I am definitely in for the ride and here for it.

“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!