Sunday Snapshot is Back from Japan! Also: Readathon Wrap-Up

Currently Reading:

The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman: Finally making something of a dent in this one.

The Heir by Kiera Cass: Only just started this one on audiobook.

Posted:

Whilst I was away, several of my posts mysteriously popped up on the webbernets:

• I guest-posted for Sherlock Month over at Tif Talks Books, with a list of books that naturally assume Sherlock Holmes is not a fictional creation of Conan Doyle, but in fact a real person.
• Do you read in your dreams? If you do, congratulations–scientists say it's impossible.
• As some of you might know, A Short History of Dante Alighieri and The Divine Comedy in Art is one this blog's most popular posts. Recently, I got to write about The Divine Comedy some more thanks to an exhibit of Salvador Dali's Comedy illustrations at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.
• Ever wanted to try a wine subscription box? I break down some of the pros and cons of the top services here.

Movies:

The Accountant, starring Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick

Chris Wolff is an autistic accountant who uncooks the books for criminal organizations. Ironically, it's only when he takes a "legit" job that he runs across real danger and has to protect fellow numbers nerd Dana from nasty assassins.

I imagine the pitch sentence for this movie was, "A Beautiful Mind meets Jason Bourne," and if that sounds like it doesn't make sense, well. It doesn't. How Wolff evolved from an autistic child into a highly sophisticated criminal/badass assassin is about as plausible as a superhero origin story. The script also lacks focus and spends too much time on some questions–Ray King's history, for example–and completely forgets to explain other things, like how both brothers became assassins.

Aside from that, though, it does have entertaining moments. Affleck is actually pretty charming, and I liked the chemistry between him and Kendrick. Just leave your brain at the door.

Sing Street, starring Ferdia Walsh Peelo and Lucy Boynton

Dublin teen Conor hates his awful school and his home life sucks. His one escape is music. But it isn't until he meets the beautiful Raphina that he gets the idea to start a band a discovers he has a talent for writing songs.

If you like '80s music, particularly that of Duran Duran and the New Romantics, then I think it's practically guaranteed you'll enjoy this movie. It walks a fine line between comedy and seriousness, and finds the perfect balance. Plus the songs are really fantastic. Yes, the funniest scene is also the first, and the ending's completely unrealistic, but overall I'd definitely recommend searching this one out.

Now You See Me 2, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, and Daniel Radcliffe

Really dumb. I mean, I expected it to be pretty dumb, and it totally exceeded my expectations. Great movie if you want to go to sleep.

Central Intelligence, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart

Calvin's life is not turning out how he expected. Sure, he has a decent job and a beautiful wife, but feels like he's stagnating. Then he accepts a Facebook friend request from a goofy weirdo he barely knew in high school, and suddenly Calvin's thrust into a world of spies, assassins, and danger.

The main reason to watch this movie is just to see Kevin Hart flipping out and Dwayne Johnson wearing a fanny pack, which doesn't sound like much but is honestly enough to justify this movie's existence. Otherwise it's pretty meh. I don't remember laughing a lot but I certainly didn't hate it.

These weeks in heidenkindom:

I'm baaaaaaack! I spent the last few weeks in Japan, with layovers in Los Angeles. We visited Tokyo, Hakone (a hot springs resort area near Mt. Fuji), Kyoto, and Osaka. Hakone was the highlight for me, but the entire country was lovely. People went out of their way to help us and it was an amazing trip. Here are some pictures:

Mastodon skeleton at La Brea Tar Pits, LA

Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood

My foot is larger than John Wayne's!

Doing magic at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Alohomora!

Inside Hogwarts

🇺🇸   ✈️   🇯🇵

First night in Tokyo!

Kabuki-Cho, one of Tokyo's most famous nightlife districts.

Shinjuku-Gyoen National Gardens

The "Book Clock" in Ginza

Entrance of our awesome hotel in Hakone, the Fujiya.

View from the extensive and gorgeous hotel gardens.

Hakone Open-Air Museum

Owakudani, volcanic fissures

Pirate ship you can take across Lake Ashi

On the lake

Visiting temples in Kyoto

Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto

Jishu Shrine, for luck in love

Buddhist cemetery in Kyoto

Nijo Castle, with nightingale floors meant to creak at every movement to prevent ninja attacks!

Grounds surrounding Nijo

View of Kyoto from the castle walls

Manga Museum in Kyoto

Castle moat

Geisha!!!!

Osaka view from my hotel room

Famous takoyaki place in Osaka. Aka octopus balls!

At the Osaka Aquarium

Largest ferris wheel in the world

View of Osaka from the ferris wheel

Pet a shark! Just not its mouth.

Yummy ramen <3 <3

 🇯🇵  ✈️  🇺🇸

Manhattan Beach in LA

That was a whirlwind trip!

I also participated in the Readathon this Saturday. As usual I finished ONE book. This was kind of a frustrating Readathon, TBH, because I kept getting interrupted and I'm still tired from jet lag. But at least I did finish that one book.



Hope you all have a great week and I'm happy to be back and visiting blogs again!




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Sunday Snapshot Last Post Before Japan!

Currently reading:

The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman: Book 2 in the Invisible Library series.

Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H Watson by Lyndsay Faye: This book has me a little spooked.

Japan by Rail by Ramsey Zarifeh: Good tips, but I would have expected A LOT more rail maps from a rail-focused guide book than they provide here.

Posted:

The magic of photoshop!

A book lover's guide to living abroad on Book Riot.

Movies:

Populaire, starring Déborah François and Romain Duris

Rose's dream is to leave her tiny Normandy village and be a "modern" secretary. Insurance agent M. Louis Échard knows she's a terrible at it, but he hires her anyway. First of all because she's pretty (yay, feminism!), and second of all because she's super fast on the typewriter, an invention that apparently didn't reach France until the 1950s. When Louis convinces Rose to enroll in typing competitions, she finds fame and fortune. But will she find love?

I'll be honest, this movie is pretty weird. How did Louis learn about typing competitions, and why is he so determined Rose compete and win them? I have no idea; the movie kind of skips over that part. But there's still a lot to love about this film: for one, it looks incredible. If someone wanted to convince me it was actually filmed in the 1950s, they could probably do it. For two, Déborah François is absolutely perfect. She has the whole Aubrey Hepburn innocent-yet-plucky charm vibe down pat. Lastly, despite the bizarre plot, I found myself actually getting pretty involved in the story. I laughed, I cried, I wanted to put on a record and do a goofy French dance... This movie is a little sketchy sometimes, but it won me over anyway.

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, directed by Brian Knappenberger

Have you always wanted to read Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous by Gabriella Coleman, but didn't because tl;dr? Well, I don't blame you. But luckily someone made a documentary about it, and it's actually pretty good!

I learned a lot from this doc, such as:

• Did you know DDoS attacks are a federal offense? Members of Anon have actually gone to prison for it! (I think this is a good time to remind everyone to use your Tor browser and VPNs)
• The Bush Administration liked to take credit for the Arab Spring. LULZ. No. It actually started with Anon, who attacked government websites in countries that were practicing online censorship. They were the ones who had "boots on the ground" during uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, making sure people still had access to the internet after the governments shut it down and providing information on treating tear gas, etc.
• Anon isn't a group of hackers, although hackers participate on occasion. Most of them know as much about programming as I do. Really, at their heart they're just nerds who enjoy chaos.

Anyway, if you're at all interested in Anonymous, I recommend this.

Night Owls, starring Rosa Salazar and Adam Pally (where you know him from: The Mindy Project)

A one night stand turns into a nightmare when Kevin discovers the girl he just hooked up with is suicidal and his boss's mistress.

I was wary about this movie because it only has two stars on Netflix. After watching it (felt like I had to because of the title, even though neither character is actually a night owl), I know why. It started out okay, but after a while it felt very high school drama club: a long series of conversations designed to let the actors EMOTE. I'm also still unclear as to why Maddie wanted to kill herself, not that the film takes suicide very seriously. Basically it left a bad taste in my mouth.

The week in heidenkindom:

We're coming down to the wire for our flight to Japan. By this time next week I will be wandering around Tokyo! Hopefully not completely lost! I've spent most of the week making lists (I find lists very soothing) and trying to get everything set before we leave, including driving all the way up to Denver for an interview for the US Customs Global Entry program. Protip: don't save that till the last minute.

Anyway, I was going to post a pic of my suitcase all packed, because I'm always interested in how other people pack for trips, but it's not packed yet! I planned on pre-packing today, but we went up to look at the fall colors instead. Maybe if I manage to get it done later tonight I'll post a pic on FB or save it for when I get back.

Bonus:

Tif Talks Books has a #ReadSherlock month going on right now with readalongs, watchalongs, an Instagram, and tons of guest posts (including one by moi). Check it out on her blog.


Have a great two weeks, everyone! I'll see y'all when I get back.





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Sunday Snapshot

Lacuna by Andrew Ramiro Tirado, CSFAC 

Currently reading:

Noblesse Oblige by Cynthia Smith: An oldie I found on my mom's shelves.

The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla by Lauren Willig: Only 3 more hours to go!

Posted:

Welcome to Château Mouton Rothschild, the most famous winery in Bordeaux.

Movies:

A Royal Night Out, starring Sarah Gadon, Bel Powley, and Jack Reynor

Proposed alternate title: Royal Rumspringa

It's the eve of VE Day, and all of London is celebrating. All except Princesses "Lilibet" and Margaret, who are trapped inside Buckingham Palace until they escape (with their parents' permission, the rebels) and spend the night amongst the little people.

There are two things I learned from this movie: one, it's apparently illegal to show Queen Elizabeth kissing someone who's not Prince Philip, even if she's not married to him at the time. And two, the British have no appreciation for the irony of the Poor Little Rich Girl trope. Or at the very least, this movie doesn't. Other than that, it was enjoyable. It spends a little too much time establishing a motivation for the girls to leave the palace, and the whole thing with getting their parents' permission was lame. But once they got out in London, it turned into a fairly delightful romantic-ish comedy, with vignettes of various London neighborhoods during WWII to satisfy your inner historian.

The First Monday in May, directed by Andrew Rossi

This documentary is about four things: "living legend" Anna Wintour; the intersection of industry and art in fashion; the glamor and celebrity of the Met Gala; and the work that goes into setting up both a major exhibition and a major event. One thing I definitely have to give the filmmakers props for is how they captured the sensuality of the clothing and fabric–even if you know nothing about fashion, it'll make you appreciate the level of artistry and craftsmanship in those gowns. Oh, and the exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass looked super-cool. If you're interested in either fashion or curatorial practices, this is an absolute must-watch.

These weeks in heidenkindom:

I'm back to being busy, writing-wise, which is good. I don't know why September is one of those months that always seems to be hectic when you're a writer, but if I didn't have a bunch of deadlines this month, I'd be worried.

I've also been busy Doing Things. Most of these things involve preparing for Japan and getting various problems with my car fixed–something I've been putting off for way too long–but I've also been doing fun things! Last week I went to an exhibit of Dalí illustrations of The Divine Comedy, something I've wanted to see ever since I wrote my "short" introduction to art and the Comedy.

We also went to a lecture on the national parks and conservation by John Fielder, who's a famous Colorado photographer. They had free food! Empanadas, yummmmm. Also, the photographs were pretty cool, although I think Fielder might be a little crazy. He spent 50 days camping in every corner of Rocky Mountain National Park. 50 days of camping with 100+ pounds of camera equipment, plus camping equipment, climbing 14,000-foot peaks. Let that sink in for a minute.

Finally, this past Saturday I went to the Mile High Author Event with my mom. It was packed! Daisy Prescott let me have a free donut with Fruit Loops on top that was really good. Then on the way back we got stuck in a nightmarish traffic jam that lasted an hour and a half, and came thisclose to being involved in a road rage pile-up. There was also a full moon last night. Coincidence?

Bonus:

Want to read more diverse books? Participating in the Diversathon? Check out Xicanti's post on diverse books you can download on Scribd and buy for cheap in ebook format.



Have a great week, everybody!






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Sunday Snapshot for September

Won't you give Thor his summer back?

Currently reading:

A Lesson in Love and Murder by Rachel McMillan: The type of book you want to read in a gulp instead of in sips.

The Black Widow by Daniel Silva: Kinda struggling through this one, TBH.

The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla by Lauren Willig: The only other Pink Carnation book my library has.

The Vegetable Butcher by Cara Mangini: Soooo many good recipes. This book makes me crazy hungry.

Movies watched:

I, Anna, starring Charlotte Rampling and Gabriel Byrne

Anna is a divorcé of a certain age; yet she's still putting herself out there, looking for love. In all the wrong places. When one of her take home guys winds up dead, the police can't help but take an interest in her, both professionally and personally.

This is a very Truffaut-style film, by which I mean it's Hitchcock interpreted through the lens of art more than entertainment. The beginning is really slow, but there's some truly fantastic cinematography, and Rampling's performance is perfect. She is SO GOOD in this movie. By the end, it had won me over. Recommended if you're in the mood for a slow-moving psychological thriller.

Touch the Wall, directed by Grant Barbeito and Christo Brock

A documentary on Missy Franklin and Kara Lynn Joyce getting onto the 2012 London Olympics US Swim Team. At the time, Missy had just turned 17, and Joyce was in her mid-20s. Even though I don't swim at all, I always like watching movies about how people who are excellent at what they do actually go about it, and this doc was much more engaging than I was expecting. The only thing that bothered me was that when it came to Joyce, sometimes I was reminded me of that scene in Dangerous Beauty where Veronica takes that younger woman to the seedy part of Venice to show here how the old courtesans live and is like, "This is where we wind up." But other than that it wasn't too sexist, and the filmmakers only showed Michael Phelps' face like six times.

Hell or High Water, starring Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster (where you know him from: he wore the awesome jacket in 3:10 to Yuma), and Gil Birmingham (where you know him from: played Charlie's BFF in the Twilight movies)

On the verge of losing their childhood ranch to Texas Midlands Bank, Toby and Tanner hatch a fool-proof plan to steal the money to pay off the ranch from the bank that's about to foreclose on it. Not only are they bank robbers, they appreciate irony! But will they avoid capture by an old-timer Texas Ranger and his trusty Indian sidekick?

This is one of those movies that has a lot of great elements, but needed more focus to pull them all together. I liked that it was a modern western, I loved the scenery, and I appreciated the portrait it painted of these small plains towns on the verge of going extinct, which was at once nostalgic and realistic. The story's far from realistic, however, and the motivations of the characters are a bit simplistic, especially when it comes to the various townspeople who are all like, "Down with banks! Up with robbery!" It also feels really slow when there's not a robbery going on. But if you enjoy heist movies it's worth watching. Pro-tip: be sure to drink every time someone says, "Old man."

This week[s] in heidenkindom:

It seems like only a few weeks ago I was getting all pumped about 100 degree temperatures, and now it's September and the last weekend of summer! Dislike. It's only downhill from here; pretty soon I'll have to start wearing socks. sadface

Anyway. Last Sunday my mom and I went to a tasting of Argentinian wines, which was kinda cool. On the reading front, I'm having trouble settling into a book, but I did start binge-watching Mr. Robot after reading this article about its connections to Hitchcock. It's trippy, fun, and disturbing at the same time. Definitely worth watching, especially if you're a tech geek.

Bonus:

On the lookout for some good, basic recipes, or maybe just a cookbook with lots of cursing and sardonic humor? You can find both in Recipes You Absolutely Can't Fuck Up, a cookbook written by "The best goddamned sister in the whole mother fucking world" for her brother, "Warren," and shared with the world via Google Docs. It's a short, fun read, but what do I like most? The recipes all sound really good!



Have an exceptional week, everyone!








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Sunday Snapshot

Thor's a lone wolf.

It's not even the end of August yet and it's already starting to feel like fall. Dislike.

Currently reading:

Goodnight, Mr. Holmes by Carole Nelson Douglas: Almost DNF'd it because the narrator was so annoying, but decided to stick with it. It's a pretty quick read TBH.

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen: Books! Books! All the Books!

Movies:

Man Up, starring Lake Bell (great name, btw) and Simon Pegg

Nancy's dating life is dismal, probably because she'd rather watch movies than socialize with people. But then a random guy mistakes her for his blind date, and they have an amazing night together where All The Things happen.

This movie's a step up from your typical romcom. Both Nancy and Jack are super quirky, in a fun and not overly twee way, and the film does an excellent job of showing how they're perfect for one another without getting cheesy and predictable. Even their fight scenes were hilarious. The only thing I didn't like was that Nancy had a seriously creepy stalker, which the film brushed off as HAHA SO FUNNY (wth?), but other than that I thought this was pretty much the perfect it-can-happen-in-one-night type of romance! Definitely recommended.

Begin Again, starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo

Dan, an AR man and semi-professional drinker, hasn't "discovered" an artist in years. Then he comes across a singer-songwriter in a bar, and immediately knows she's The One–the one who will revive his career! Together they make an album recorded in locations all over NYC.

A fairly good movie. I'm not sure anyone ever mentions Keira Knightley's character's name, but it's incidental–she's just the catalyst for Dan's comeback. The beginning was a little slow, but the making of the album was really cool, and Adam Levine was surprisingly good as Knightley's hot, SO HOT, boyfriend. I just wish the songs had been better. If you liked Once you'll probably enjoy this one.

The Big Short, starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale

The more I ruminate on this movie, the more it annoys me. It's a textbook example of sexism in Hollywood, but that's a mild irritant at this point. What confuses me is why it was made into a movie and not, like, a Frontline special. Or, if it was made into a movie, why they didn't pick one of these groups of guys to focus on instead of all three; you could have cut Christian Bale's character out entirely and it would have been the exact same movie. But never let it be said Hollywood cut out a white guy for the sake of expediency! And then the ending. All the main characters get filthy rich off their bets, whilst the rest of America suffers. BUT THEY FEEL REALLY BAD ABOUT IT, GUYS. Not, you know, give the money back bad, but ehhhh.

Basically it's a mildly self-indulgent movie made by rich Hollywood insiders about rich Wall Street insiders, with barely a token nod to the millions of people who lost their jobs and homes. I'm sure when they pitched it, it was as some sort of crusade for "the little guy," but if that was their goal they failed.

This week in heidenkindom:

Not a lot going on this week. I've been ramping up trip planning for Japan–less than two months to go!–and not reading much because Goodnight, Mr. Holmes has me less than excited. I started watching Stranger Things on Netflix and I am LOVING it. It's like a combination of the Hardy Boys, The X-Files, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Besides that, we've just mainly been watching the Olympics.

Bonus:

I came across this recipe for honey dijon vinaigrette on one of the French blogs I follow, and I am totally addicted to it! It's so easy and delicious I've been eating salad every day. Give it a try!


Have a great week, everyone!






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Sunday Snapshot

Cute scruffy little Calypso

Currently reading:

The Spirit Chaser by Kat Mayor: 🔥🔥🔥💩

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen: A Robin Hood type! Hmmmm...

Movies:

I seem to be on a bit of a romcom kick.

The Decoy Bride, starring David Tennant and Kelly Macdonald

Two words: David Tennant.

You need more words? Um, okay. Well, Kelly Macdonald is absolutely adorable as "the decoy bride," a woman who moves back to her childhood home in the Outer-outer-outer Hebrides and is roped into pretending to be a film star to distract the paparazzi from the star's wedding. Also, Michael Urie (whom you might remember from Ugly Betty) completely steals the show as the film star's manager, who's determined to give her the wedding of her dreams NO MATTER WHAT. To be honest, the movie felt a little long, but I did laugh a few times and loved the ending. Also: DAVID TENNANT. I mentioned him, right?

Eagle vs Shark, starring Loren Taylor (or Horsley?) and Jemaine Clement

The highlight of Lily's day working at a fast food restaurant is when Jarrod comes in for lunch. Unfortunately, as she finds out, Jarrod is an asshole. After they sleep together he takes her to visit his family, an objectively awful group of people who are like the Royal Tenenbaums but without any charm or likability. Oh, and PS, he has a daughter who lives with them. Surprise!

I'm of two minds with this movie. On one hand, it's probably the most Jane Austen-esque contemporary love story I've come across in years (Taylor would make an excellent Anne Elliot), and it is charming and sweet... eventually. On the other hand, getting there is a long damn walk full of scenes that are either boring or painfully awkward. But I guess you could say the same for Austen, so.

High Strung, starring Keenan Kampa and Nicholas Galitzine

I am not going to tell you this movie is "good," because that would be a lie. The acting is terrible and the dialog is a mess. That said, this might arguably be THE GREATEST MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN. There are dance-offs in the subway, a Will Smith lookalike, dueling violins, a talent contest at the end where Everything Happens, and a foodie character named PopTart. I have no idea what the foodie character's purpose in this movie is, other than to make 1 meal, but whatever. Filed under Cheesy Movies Tasha Likes.

Today's Special, starring Aasif Mandvi, Naseeruddin Shah, Jess Weixler

Samir is the sous chef at a fancy-pants Manhattan restaurant, but when he's passed over for a promotion, he quits and decides to go to Paris to learn from Les Grands Messieurs. When he goes to his parents' dingy Indian restaurant to inform them of his decision, however, his dad has a heart attack and Samir has to stay and keep the restaurant afloat until his dad's back on his feet. This movie is billed as a romcom but it's not, really, unless you count the bromance between Samir and the chef he hires, Akbar. I would have enjoyed it more if it made more sense. Samir's a sous chef, so presumably he knows something about cooking and running a kitchen, yet he doesn't know even the very basics about Indian food. Like I don't know a lot about German food, but I think I could probably fake my way through certain dishes, you know what I mean? And I didn't even go to culinary school! I was also irritated by the ending: Oh, congratulations, you fancied up affordable meals and now you can charge $50 for what used to cost $10, and tasted better.

But other than those two things it was a cute, feel-good movie.

This week in heidenkind:

A bit of a lull in the regular work schedule this week, so I had a chance to finish proofreading the paperback version of The Introvert's Guide to Drinking Alone, and it's now available for purchase on Amazon! You can doodle on it, make origami, use it to prop up a slightly uneven table leg... the possibilities are limitless! Buy yours today!

Also, the Olympics! Of course, it's the summer Olympics, so not quite as exciting as the winter Olympics, but still.

Bonus:

This octopus art (#octoart?) exhibit in Qatar looks really cool.

Huang Yong Ping, Sea Monster, Gallery al Riwaq, Qatar, 2016
Photo by Wen-You Cai of Cai Studio, via Steampunk Tendencies.

Have a great week, everyone!


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