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matchajian · 11 months

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EMERGENT LITERATURE

SCIENCE FICTION

The Book That Wouldn't Burn

Mark Lawrence's 2023 novel The Book that Wouldn't Burn portrays a world where the protagonists are unnoticed at first but finally come to be. In a massive library that is older than empires and bigger than cities, a young boy has spent his entire life confined. On the other hand, a girl has spent her time in a small village out in the desert, where nightmares lurk and no one goes. The lines between the truth, the falsehoods, and the hearts are blurred in this story. Although the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be shed and towns will be set on fire during this journey as knowledge erodes certainty.

ILLUSTRATED NOVEL

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

In 1964, Roald Dahl wrote the magical and humorous story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This tale focuses on a young kid who obtains a golden ticket to visit Willy Wonka's enigmatic and magical chocolate factory. Charlie is a young boy who comes from a low-income family where his father lost his job and other unfavorable events occurred. Five golden tickets were said to be concealed in five Wonka chocolate bars, according to Willy Wonka, the owner of a large chocolate factory. Because the other four kids who discovered the golden tickets had been acting disrespectfully, Willy Wonka gave Charlie the entire chocolate factory as a reward for his good behavior.

GRAPHIC NOVEL

Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel (Four Eyes #1)

The graphic novel Four Eyes was written by Rex Ogle and illustrated by Dave Valeza in 2023. The story revolves around Rex, who faces bullying and hardships in middle school, and having the need to use eyeglasses makes him think that the bullying will get worse. He had a hard time fitting in as well as finding the right pair of glasses, which made the story kind of humorous. As the year ended, he found a new friend who taught him to stand out for himself. Readers will surely sympathize with the character much more now that the novel includes captivating illustrations that make the narration more heartfelt and relatable.

MANGA

Ao Ashi

The seinen sports manga "Ao Ashi" by Yuugo Kobayashi and Naohiko Ueno was published in 2015. The storyline, which was first serialized in Big Comic Spirits, has grown in popularity and now has a spin-off series and an ongoing novel. This manga is focused on the life of Aoi Ashito, a middle school student, and explores the journey of a young, driven athlete in Japan. It follows his development as he joins a prestigious J-League youth soccer team and advances to fulfill his aspiration of becoming a professional player. Aoi encounters various people who will help him develop his potential and personality as the story goes on, including his new friends and coaches.

CREATIVE NONFICTION

The Sleeping Beauties And Other Stories of Mystery Illness

The Sleeping Beauties, written by Dr. Suzanne O’Sullivan in 2021, delves into culture-bound psychosomatic syndromes. The author is an award-winning Irish neurologist who wrote this biography to seek to unravel the complex meaning of these strange illnesses. These syndromes manifest in various communities worldwide, such as people in Sweden experiencing prolonged periods of sleep-like states, those in New York developing involuntary twitches and seizures, and those in Cuba who suffer from headaches and memory loss after exposure to strange noises. The author explores these mysterious illnesses through her global travels, documenting the compelling stories of individuals affected by these syndromes in diverse locations. Through her compassionate approach, she sheds light on these distressing case studies.

DOODLE FICTION

Danny's Doodles: The Squirting Donuts

In 2014, David Adler published Danny's Doodles: The Squirting Donuts. The story began when an incident occurred in Danny and Calvin's fourth-grade class. Mrs. Cakel has abruptly changed from a ruthless enforcer of rules to a meek excuse-acceptor. As a consequence, mysteries developed, and Danny and Calvin came to the conclusion that there was only one way to discover the truth: spies. A bigger mystery involving trials with prune butter, jelly-injected donuts, riddle mania, and dog chasing is quickly revealed as a result of surveillance.

FLASH FICTION

The Wind, It Swirls

Dan Crawley authored The Wind, It Swirls in 2021. It features depictions of typical individuals, including a university lecturer, a kid on a bike, and a woman behind the wheel of a regular car. They thought they already knew. However, as the book's title implies, there is a wind that blows through the cover and raises the story to show what is concealed, personal, and somehow universal. Readers will undoubtedly remember the author's ending for a very long time owing to his keen sense of description, character, and storytelling.

CHICK LIT

Second First Impressions

In Second First Impressions, the author’s intent is to explore self-growth as well as stepping out of our comfort zone at the right time. The primary concept of the story is that the readers should be both selfish and selfless if they want to live life to the fullest. The novel started by describing a tattooed, muscled man who worked as an assistant for two elderly women while being looked after by a beautiful retirement home manager. The author can inspire readers to be both selfish and selfless if they want to live life to the fullest. Being selfish doesn’t mean that someone should harm others in order to be happy; instead, they should let themselves be free from social constructs and do what their heart truly desires. Readers can actually relate to the interesting plot and the dynamics of the characters.

References:

THE BOOK THAT WOULDN’T BURN | Kirkus Reviews. In Kirkus Reviews. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mark-lawrence/book-wouldnt-burn/

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Plot, Characters, & Facts. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Charlie-and-the-Chocolate-Factory-by-Dahl

Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel (Four Eyes, #1). (n.d.). In Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/work/95801581-four-eyes-a-graphic-novel-four-eyes-1

Ao Ashi. MyAnimeList.net. https://myanimelist.net/anime/49052/Ao_Ashi

The Wind, It Swirls: Crawley, Dan: 9798528309699: Amazon.com: Books. (2021, August 15). The Wind, It Swirls: Crawley, Dan: 9798528309699: Amazon.com: Books. https://www.amazon.com/Wind-Swirls-Dan-Crawley/dp/B09CKTQYDB

The Squirting Donuts (Danny’s Doodle, #2). (n.d.). In Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/work/26203387-the-squirting-donuts-danny-s-doodle-2

The Sleeping Beauties by Suzanne O’Sullivan Review – 21st Century Health Mysteries | Health, Mind and Body Books | the Guardian. (n.d.). The Sleeping Beauties by Suzanne O’Sullivan review – 21st century health mysteries | Health, mind and body books | The Guardian. https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/14/the-sleeping-beauties-by-suzanne-osullivan-review-21st-century-health-mysteries

Review | Sally Thorne’s ‘Second First Impressions’ Is Full of Cracking Attraction and Cackling Laughs. (2021, April 29). Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/sally-thorne-second-first-impressions/2021/04/29/58e91460-a8fe-11eb-8d25-7b30e74923ea_story.html

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lilydalexf · 3 years

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Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Vickie Moseley

Vickie Moseley has 252 stories at Gossamer, some of which have also made their way to AO3. She has obviously contributed a ton to the fandom over the years! I’ve recced some of my favorites of her stories here before, including Giving Thanks, Stunned, and a bunch of post-eps for particular episodes, including “Firewalker” and “Pine Bluff Variant.” Big thanks to Vickie for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

Not really. Well, actually, it has always surprised me that anyone would read my stories even during the heyday of the series, but that’s my self-consciousness talking. That people are discovering The X-Files is not at all surprising and that they are stumbling on fan fic is a natural extension and I find that wonderful. My husband and I never watched Grimm when it was on network TV and we’re currently going through that series, so it’s the streaming-on-demand-there-isn’t-anything-new-on-TV times we find ourselves.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

Friendships. I have a group of women that I’ve been friends with for over 20 years. Until this year we gathered in person every year. We are in contact on Facebook messenger all the time and a conversation will start up just out of thin air when we haven’t conversed for months! It’s been wonderful knowing these women from all parts of the country (and the world for that matter).

And strangely enough, medical research. My writing tended to focus on ‘injured Mulder’ (or Mulder Torture as we termed it) and I also liked reading that in fan fic. Two years ago this managed to help me in real life. My husband experienced a bilateral pneumothorax (both lungs collapsed spontaneously). One of my favorite stories that I have read and reread is “Short of Breath” by the incomparable dee_ayy. She did some serious research while writing that story and it’s all in that fan fiction. I’m not saying it’s the same as a medical degree, but I knew what was happening, why the doctors where performing certain procedures and it really eased my mind as we went through the whole experience. I never would have known what was going on if I hadn’t read that story so many times.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

Email was the ‘social media’ for the day. That, and newsfeeds. There were two newsfeeds in the beginning: the official FOX website had a message board, and there was one on ‘alt.tv’ which was an internet newsfeed where fans posted spoilers and discussed episodes. The alt.tv newsfeed got tired of the fan fic writers posting stories so a separate newsfeed was formed just for fan fic. EMXC, which was an AOL mailing list, was invite only and somewhat exclusive at first, but opened up to everyone. When the old OSU (Ohio State University) mailing list turned into Gossamer and Ephemeral, the fandom, and fan fic just skyrocketed.

But what you lived for the most, as a writer, was actual feedback. Emails from people all over who read your story. It was nice to get a quick ‘Hey, read this and really like it!’ but the wonderful emails, the ones you kept in folders on your inbox, were the ones that went into detail, sometimes critical, sometimes grammar related, but always showing where you could improve, or where you touched someone. Every friend I have from the fandom started as feedback, either to me or from me. I’m on AO3 and I appreciate ‘kudos’ but I really love getting comments.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

Confidence in my writing. I learned a lot from other writers. Constructive feedback was a gift! I may never write the great American novel but I don’t think I’m afraid to give it a shot after all my years in fan fic.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

They had me at ‘aliens’. I’m a sucker for UFO shows. Was front row center at Close Encounters of the Third Kind, read many of the UFO standards, still watch Ancient Aliens on History Channel. I was waiting for The X-Files based on the tiny blurb in the 1993 Fall Preview Guide from TV Guide.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

I kinda got fired from a job I loved and couldn’t go back into that arena for a long time. I was so depressed I was cleaning out my kitchen cabinets. My husband ‘gave’ me the internet for my birthday just to get me out of the dumps. I went straight to ‘yahoo’ and typed in X Files. After reading all the character bios I saw a ‘hyperlink’ (yes, that’s what we called them in 1995) to something called ‘fan fiction’. It was the OSU tree directory of about 100 fan fiction stories. I was instantly hooked.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

I still love the show and all the fans I run across. I was not happy with S8 or S9 but I did watch The Truth. I was on Haven for a while during the reboots (S10 and S11) but it wasn’t the same. I’ve got all the seasons on DVD or blu ray and both movies. When I hear from fans, I’m so happy to connect but I don’t go out and look for new stories anymore.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

None. My heart belongs to Mulder ;)

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

Captain Kirk, Spock, Captain Picard, Will Riker, Luke, Han, Leia, Poe, Rae, Kylo at the end. I like strong characters but it’s OK if they have flaws. I’d like to see more strong female leads in science fiction (Gammora and Nebula are favs of mine, too). I love Brea Larson’s portrayal of Captain Marvel!

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

Sure. When the Pandemic hit we started going through the series for maybe the 20th time. It’s nice to watch them on a larger TV screen. Kim Manners was a genius with lighting and showing just enough of the ‘monster’. I suspect he will be better appreciated in the future than he was at the time he was alive.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

I still go back and read my favorites from XF. I read Blood Ties by Dawn about once a year, the whole series. I go back and read the Virtual Season X seasons. We had some really good stories in those years.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

Too many to list! Dawn, of course. Susan Proto (I co-wrote with her), Sally Bahnsen, dee_ayy, Suzanne Bickerstaff’s Magician Series was the first (and only) fantasy I ever truly liked! I loved all my co-writers and there are plenty of writers that I wish we’d gotten around to collaborating.

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

I’m proud of Out of the Cold because it’s Mulder before Scully. I’m partial to the Flight Into Egypt series because I like ‘righting’ what I thought Carter got wrong in the end.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

I keep trying! I’m working (have been working for almost a decade now) on a Flight Into Egypt story set at Christmas. Each fall I drag it out of mothballs, write a paragraph or two and get busy doing Christmas stuff. Funny, but it was easier to find time to write when I was a working mom of 6 than as a retired grandma of 3.

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I’m putting together a cookbook for my kids and grandkids of all our family recipes. It’s not just the recipes, but the stories behind them. It’s a WIP (work in progress).

Where do you get ideas for stories?

I had a book, just a cheap paperback of unexplained events—all true stories, supposedly—that I got a lot of ideas from. Or, like Carter, I would see something in the news and it would turn into a story. One time I had a dream about our Pur water filter and it turned into a fan fic.

What's the story behind your pen name?

My older sister named me because my Mom and Dad let her. I never used a pen name. That’s my real name, you can google me and find out all about me. I used to have a wiki page or so my kids told me.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

My kids used to tell their friends that ‘Mom is famous on the internet’ as a joke. Most of my friends know. My other life is in politics and the two lives usually don’t cross but once on a campaign I was asked by a reporter if I was the ‘same’ Vickie Moseley who writes fan fiction. If I had lied, that would have been the story—that I lied about this hobby of mine. Like it was something to be ashamed of or I was ashamed of my writing. So instead of ducking the question I said ‘yeah, have you read any of my stuff?’ Fan fiction was not mentioned in the finished article.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

I’m on AO3 but only a partial list. My website is still up thanks to Mimic.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

Back when I started writing (1995) it was a sort of commune. We all loved reading fan fiction, we didn’t want the story to end with the credits. So if you wanted to read, you were encouraged to write, too, so that others had stories to read and share. It was a cooperative arrangement very much like the old Literary Societies back in the 19th Century. I really miss that, so I hope that on some level that is still going on.

(Posted by Lilydale on November 10, 2020)

#new post #old school x #xfiles fanfic #xf fanfic #xf fanfic author interviews #vickie moseley

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cosmosogler · 6 years

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hi guys. not doin too hot. and by “not doin too hot” i mean “I AM TOO HOT OH GOD WHY”

don’t worry. when i realized i would not be able to fix the ac myself (at like 8:30 pm) i put in a maintenance request. so hopefully that will be fixed tomorrow or friday. again.

i feel bad putting in so many orders but like, 58 degrees is too cold and 80 degrees is too hot. please. i’m not THAT picky but it’s so much and i’m sweating all over my papers and i can’t tell if poor snoopy is uncomfortable or not. she spends a whole lotta time by where i have the fan on by an open window.

it doesn’t cool off my desk/bed area but at least my kitchen is a nice temperature.

when my alarm went off i realized that i just... did not sleep very much. i had bad dreams but i don’t remember enough about them to say why. i ended up skipping my first class to try to get SOME sleep but unfortunately i just laid there with my eyes closed feeling hot and miserable for 40 minutes. i was so pokey getting ready for school that i was actually late for my second class despite getting up with more time to get ready than usual.

i took notes on my ipad. it was nice. i like the line sensitivity. i picked up my pen from the mail room in the afternoon so now i can write more than four words per line too.

keegan and harrison and i got spaghetti lunch and then i went to my doctor’s appointment. the doctor took a look at my throat and lungs and stuff and said everything seemed fine but i could take some allergy medication that might help it clear up faster. so i did that. also my other problem with the birth control is ok if it happens once. if it happens three times in a row there’s gonna be a problem but otherwise between missing a day (even though i caught up) and all the stress and getting sick it could be anything.

the allergy medication also serves as a sleep aid and anti anxiety medication so she said if it works i could use it for the whole month or when i start sleeping normally again and if it doesn’t work to just stop usin it and don’t worry about it.

i helped ammar and rebika and luis get set up with the printer network in our building after a lot of hassle with my computer. luis and taylor were talking so loud that i couldn’t think at all and harrison was getting annoyed because i wasn’t using any of the convenient tools that computers have like search functions.

and i took my accommodation letters to both my professors and hashed out the test plan with them. my stat mech professor invited me to sit for a while and then... blocked the door with his chair. i don’t think he did it on purpose but I NOTICED. i got antsy immediately and i couldn’t seem to find a good opportunity in the conversation to leave.

i doubled my score on the prelims! now i have a 22/120 instead of, like, a 10. all i gotta do to pass is get up to ~60 though. but it was a DEFINITE improvement. i feel conflicted about it. on the one hand, i did double my score and that’s really impressive. on the other hand, the score is still total garbage and kind of embarrassing if it wasn’t already incredibly well established that i am really bad at taking tests no matter how well i know the material.

hopefully next time i won’t have the worst and longest cold ever.

i ended up spending like 2 hours hanging out with harrison and drawing on his blackboard. he said i draw really fast when i did a blue in about 30 seconds and i said “yes i’ve always drawn abnormally fast.” i did some base shape stuff with him and he showed me one of the symbols he’d been working on.

jennica wandered in at one point to talk about the em homework and i was gonna die. “what is that?” she asked. “harrison is teaching me how to draw,” i said. i knew that she knew it was total bs because i was holding the chalk and had been drawing when she came in so i made a big deal out of saying over and over that i definitely wasn’t the one drawing. i think she understood it was a joke.

i biked home and picked up my mail and ran a quick errand (the corner store doesn’t carry the item i want any more so that’s a bummer. i’m gonna have to figure out what i want to do about that. the cashier said they might start ordering it again). i fiddled around with the ac trying to get one of the buttons to do the thing i want but it doesn’t seem interested in doing anything but blowing hot air into my apartment. i made some dinner while i did my dishes... i was out of plates.

i should be drinking more tea but hot drinks just really don’t appeal to me right now.

then i sat down and started drawing. it took like an hour and a half to do three panels out of the seven on this one page. i had made my boards too crowded because i drew too big so i had to take pictures of my pages, load them up on my computer screen, and then erase my work and redraw each panel with everything a little bit smaller. it would have been fine except IT’S SO HOT AND IT’S SO HARD NOT TO SMUDGE MY LIGHTER LINES TO HELL.

snoopy was a little more active than usual today, at least when she was “hunting” for her cookies. i put them in slightly more out of the way places than usual and it looks like she got all of them in about ten minutes. i’m going to have to bump up the difficulty for her just a bit. though earlier i noticed that if i hide her cookies in places that require using her paws to get them out she won’t do it even if they are easily visible.

maybe getting all those mats off her underside improved her mood. seeing just how much fur got shaved off her stomach, it was probably really hindering her movement.

a good thing todayyyyyy isssssss while i was waiting for the doctor i wrote a whole bunch of notes about nastasia. since my classmates’ em period starts 2 hours earlier this semester i got to the doctor’s office about 40 minutes before my appointment so i just settled into a chair and grabbed my phone and started typing. i’m working really hard to give these characters a common thread and i think it fits pretty well with the general theme of the story. i don’t know if i’m laying it on too thick or not though. it’s hard to write drafts for comics except for the individual scenes you’re currently setting up. i can’t go back and change the beginning because it’s done and uploaded. all i can do is adjust the current page.

so that’s a challenge!!!

it’s fun that having a group of characters with different manifestations of the same flaw creates such a disaster though. count bleck is such a dumpster fire.

(i am also a dumpster fire and i write characters that are almost exclusively trash man level of emotional maturify)

GAAHHHHH IT’S GONNA BE 80 DEGREES TOMORROW??? THAT’S THE EARLY JANUARY WEATHER I WANT TO SEE!!!!!!

ok anyway it’s 10:45 now so i should probably start thinking about maybe getting ready for bed sometime. i’m so tired. but i really, really don’t want to sleep. i’m so tired of nightmares.

a good thing that i like about myself maybe is, uh, i’ve been working harder at following up with people lately. i was doing it before, but now i’m trying harder to make sure i ask people how a thing went if they bring it up earlier. like suzanne’s cousins are visiting today. i dunno. suzanne seemed impressed that i remembered, last time i did it with her. but now i don’t remember what it was i had asked her about!! i’m trying to find more ways to show people i care, i guess. as i get more and more sleep deprived though i am getting less good at remembering things to bring up in my conversations.

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soloziamwillbetheendofme · 7 years

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At least six journalists were charged with felony rioting after they were arrested while covering the violent protests that took place just blocks from President Trump’s inauguration parade in Washington on Friday, according to police reports and court documents.

The journalists were among 230 people detained in the anti-Trump demonstrations, during which protesters smashed the glass of commercial buildings and lit a limousine on fire.

The charges against the journalists — Evan Engel, Alexander Rubinstein, Jack Keller, Matthew Hopard, Shay Horse and Aaron Cantu — have been denounced by organizations dedicated to press freedom. All of those arrested have denied participating in the violence.

“These felony charges are bizarre and essentially unheard of when it comes to journalists here in America who were simply doing their job,” said Suzanne Nossel, the executive director of Pen America. “They weren’t even in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were in the right place.”

Carlos Lauria, a spokesman and senior program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, called the charges “completely inappropriate and excessive,” and the organization has asked that they be dropped immediately.

“Our concern is that these arrests could send a chilling message to journalists that cover future protests,” Mr. Lauria added.

The arrests and charges were reported by The Guardian.

Witnesses reported that sweeping arrests during the parade targeted rioters, protesters and journalists indiscriminately. A lawyer representing dozens of people arrested, Mark Goldstone, told The Associated Press that the police had “basically identified a location that had problems and arrested everyone in that location.”

The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington declined to comment Wednesday on why the journalists had been charged along with protesters.

Mr. Engel, a Brooklyn-based journalist who writes for Vocativ, a media and technology outlet, was among those charged with felony rioting and released. He said by email on Wednesday that he was unable to comment on the case since it was active, but that he was looking forward to the day he could say more.

The document charging Mr. Rubinstein, who wrote for RT America, an affiliate of the Russian state-run television network, is identical to that charging Mr. Engel: While it says that protesters carrying “anarchist flags” were observed smashing large plate-glass windows at businesses and setting a limousine on fire, it does not accuse any individual journalist of criminal activity.

Court documents for Mr. Keller — who works on the documentary series “Story of America” — and for Mr. Hopard, Mr. Horse and Mr. Cantu — who are independent journalists — included similar information.

Jeffrey Light, a lawyer based in Washington who has been working on civil rights and first amendment related cases for about a decade, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of 51 plaintiffs arrested that day against officers from the police department and the park police. The suit accuses the police of surrounding and arresting “not only protesters who had engaged in no criminal conduct, but also members of the media, attorneys, legal observers and medics.”

Mr. Lauria, of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said it was all the more alarming that journalists had been arrested. “A car set on fire, windows broken in downtown businesses: I think that this is important information that the public needs to be informed about,” he said.

He said his organization was concerned about what he called “the sharp deterioration of press freedom in the U.S.,” which he linked to Mr. Trump’s campaign, noting that the candidate had “obstructed major news organization, vilified the press and attacked journalists by name with unrelenting hostility.”

All those actions were seen to contribute to a threatening climate for journalists covering the election.

The committee had sought to meet with Vice President Mike Pence during the transition, Mr. Lauria said, but that meeting never took place. “We’ve been in touch with aides, and we’re talking about the possibility of having this meeting in the future,” he said.

Ms. Nossel, of Pen America, also linked the charges to a climate fostered by Mr. Trump.

“Obviously we were girded for worrisome and troubling developments,” she said. “But the speed, pace and ferocity of the attacks on journalists, the purveying of falsehoods, the silencing of government and agencies that interface with the public — for all that to happen in a matter of days puts us on notice that some of the worst fears may not have been so far-fetched.”

Representatives of Mr. Trump did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Wednesday.

#donald trump #medias

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citizentruth-blog · 5 years

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White House Fires Back to CNN Lawsuit

The tense relationship between the White House and CNN has elevated to a lawsuit over Jim Acosta's access to White House press events. CNN filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against President Trump and the White House accusing the White House of violating CNN reporter Jim Acosta's First and Fifth Amendment rights. Now the Justice Department has responded back claiming the President and the White House have "broad discretion to regulate access to the White House for journalists." The White House had revoked the media pass of CNN’s journalist Jim Acosta for a tough line of questioning during a press conference that the president found unprofessional. The international news agency in an 18-page complaint accused the White House of muzzling the press and employing viewpoint-based discrimination to limit press access.

What is the CNN Lawsuit About?

The heated exchange between Trump and Acosta happened during a White House press conference on November 7. Acosta asked Trump if the caravan of South American migrants approaching the United States was still an “invasion.” The word “invasion” had earlier been used by the president to describe the potential arrival of the migrants into the country. Acosta wanted to know if their impending arrival was still an "invasion". But President Trump in his characteristic loose way of speaking fired back at Acosta. “You know what? I think you should let me run the country. You run CNN. And if you did it well, your ratings would be much better.” Acosta attempted to raise another question, but a female White House staff approached and removed the microphone from him. Thereafter, the White House revoked Acosta’s security clearance.

What the CNN Lawsuit States

The CNN lawsuit demands the White House reinstate Acosta and return his credentials. Both CNN and Acosta are listed as the plaintiffs and represented by former Solicitor General Ted Olson, described as a Republican heavyweight who successfully argued for George W. Bush in Bush v. Gore. Also representing the plaintiffs is another prominent outside attorney, Theodore Boutrous, and CNN's chief counsel, David Vigilante. The lawsuit lists the following as defendants – President Donald Trump White House Chief of staff John Kelly Press Secretary Sarah Sanders Deputy Chief of Staff Bill Shine Secret Service director Joseph Clancy, and The unnamed Secret Service agent who seized Acosta’s media pass CNN said they are challenging the White House's treatment of Acosta in order to protect freedom of the press. Olson said the First Amendment protects the rights of journalists to ask elected public officials tough questions. The "reasonable inference from defendants' conduct is that they have revoked Acosta's credentials as a form of content- and viewpoint-based discrimination and in retaliation for plaintiffs' exercise of protected First Amendment activity," CNN's lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit is also seeking a declaration that Trump's action was "unconstitutional, in violation of the First Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment."

Support for CNN Lawsuit

Judge Andrew Napolitano, the top legal analyst on Fox News, thought CNN had a strong case. "I think this will be resolved quickly," he said, adding "I think it will either be settled or CNN will prevail on motion." Other news outlets around the country have stepped up to express support for CNN's lawsuit. In a statement Wednesday, The Associated Press, Bloomberg, First Look Media, Fox News, Gannett, NBC News, The New York Times, Politico, USA Today and The Washington Post, plus others, said, "Whether the news of the day concerns national security, the economy, or the environment, reporters covering the White House must remain free to ask questions. It is imperative that independent journalists have access to the President and his activities, and that journalists are not barred for arbitrary reasons. Our news organizations support the fundamental constitutional right to question this President, or any President. We will be filing friend-of-the-court briefs to support CNN's and Jim Acosta's lawsuit based on these principles." The White House Correspondents' Association is also backing CNN and said on Tuesday that the president "should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him."

White House Response to CNN Lawsuit

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders accused Acosta of failing to yield the floor to other journalists at the news conference in question. She said this was not the first time the reporter has monopolized the floor. She also accused Acosta of touching the agent who tried to remove his microphone in an “absolutely unacceptable” manner. However, videos of the incident recorded by other journalists at the conference show a mild interaction between Acosta and the intern with Acosta largely pulling away. Others have interpreted the exchange differently and accused Acosta of aggressive behavior. On Wednesday the Justice Department issued a response to the CNN lawsuit claiming, "The President and White House possess the same broad discretion to regulate access to the White House for journalists (and other members of the public) that they possess to select which journalists receive interviews, or which journalists they acknowledge at press conferences."

Viewpoint-Based Discrimination?

In the lawsuit, CNN cited several instances where Trump had derided CNN, ABC and CBS among other major news outlets as “fake”. There was reference to the president’s interview with CBS’ Lesley Stahl of “60 Minutes” where he said “You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.” There was even a December 11, 2017 tweet where Trump wrote that Acosta was the “dumbest man on television.” PEN America, a literary advocacy group, which also filed a federal lawsuit against Trump last October for his attacks on news publishers, issued a statement hailing CNN for their lawsuit. “The revocation of Jim Acosta’s press pass in unmistakable retaliation for his tough questions of the president was a bald and dangerous infringement on press freedom rights for all to see,” PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement. “This is why PEN America has filed our own suit…challenging the full breadth of President Trump’s threats and acts of retaliation against journalists and the media, so that no reporter will have to carry out their work under the dark cloud of a vindictive president ready to use the machinery of the bureaucracy to retaliate against hard-hitting coverage.” Judge Timothy J. Kelly, a Trump appointee, has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. CNN and Acosta are asking Kelly for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction that would restore his access right away. Read the full article

#CNN #CNNLawsuit #FreePress #JimAcosta #PENAmerica #WhiteHouse

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the-unholy-trinitea · 6 years

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Factionless Fan girl Divergent fan fiction

Factionless Fan Girl by Kava

It was supposed to be a fun weekend but instead it turned into Dauntless "fun" as they call it. I was in my bedroom reading Allegiant chapter 50 when I starts crying hysterically over how much she loves Tobias and Tris and how I really wanted factions. All of the sudden my books start to float off of the bookshelf and Allegiant out of my hand creating a huge door where the bookshelf used to be. Under the welcome mat is a bag with a key attached. It reads:

This is my key to you. Go through and talk to iconic characters. Love, Veronica Roth.

I was like "Oh My GOD!" and went through the door. Once I actually figure out how to use the key I go into Hunger Games and take out my iPod downloading the WonderBook app to my home screen. "Peeta," Katniss breathes, "promise I'll never lose you. I just love the way you-"

I sigh dramatically forgetting I'm not at home.

"WHAT THE NIGHTLOCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Katniss takes out her bow

Peeta chimed in, "Yeah what do want with me?"

I bite my lip, and say, "What makes you think I'm here for you!" Katniss retracts here bow as Peeta gets all defensive saying, "Are you calling me a pansy cake?!" I am surprised at this because first of all last time I checked Hunger Games characters are not supposed to know about Divergent AT ALL. "You read Divergent?" I ask and Katniss says, "Well, yeah it's not like we hate each other."

Woah! I didn't think they'd think to check out their competition. It was imevitable though but I cam here for a reason: to get my Tobias

I turn to go and say, "Gotta go to the factions." One of Katniss' sharp bows lands in my hand and it hurts. "You're not going anywhere. Sit. Stay. And be my mockingjay." I do as I am told as I am not in the place to even contradict the Girl On Fire. I am only the reader of these novels not the creator. Only Katniss doesn't shoot me again or stab me in the back, she asks for something. "Please take me to Chicago." She pleads. I nod telling her to be ware of the serums.

Chicago is really nice and Peeta bundled up for nothing. "Where's Tobias," he begs repeatedly. Just then the most handsome person ever walks up to us and says, "My name's Tobias. Welcome to our new home." He leads us to the Factionless sector and he and Peeta start talking. "Hey I'm Peeta," the blond introduces himself, "I'm a baker." Tobias smiles. "You bake cakes," he asks. "Yeah." Peeta assures him. "We should hang out sometime," a starstruck Tobias says. I almost pull out my iPad to snap a post a photo on Instagram but I'd be exposed. Luckily, I was wearing back leggings with a yellow shirt and a blue cardigan: the colors of Dauntless, Erudite, and Amity. "So," Christina jumps up out if nowhere, "how's life in the city." I cringe since I've never really been asked that before and never found it convenient to answer. I just shrug and reply, "Fine. I guess. At least we have great technology." Christina laughs, "Yeah no more crazy serums for me."

Bzzz! "Ow!" I rub my neck howling in pain. The key shocked me and I discovered that it lost power as my iPod did. "Sorry, Christina. I just have cramps." Tobias, course is aware of me, he rushes to my aid. "Are you okay? Let's get you some bandages on that burn." His eyes are so dreamy and hypnotic I only nod. As my new "knight in shining armor" rushes from my side I turn to Katniss and Peeta and warn, "We must go now. I'm running out if time in this world." Instantly I see a blur of emotions appear on Katniss' face, mostly combinations if angry, worried, sad, and confused. "Tick tock! Tick tock," she squawks, "Tick tock! Tick tock! There goes the clock!" She repeats this incessantly and it gets on my nerves so I go and get Tris.

"Divergent," she says, "You're divergent. Then everything goes black as I hear gunshots and another volt comes to my chest. Tobias falling to the floor dead is all I see.

"Is she up?" Three voices chorus as I wake. "I think so Christabelle," the chestnut-haired a one says to the long haired girl. "Guys, wait. I think she's moving. Elena," the one with the bob says as chestnut haired girl turns to come over. "Rebecca! Christabelle!" Elena says to her, "I think she forgot." I wake up in a blur and find my friends there with sleeping bags and snacks in their hands. I give myself a look up and down only to see that the key is still there. I tap my window. "This isn't real," I say and Katniss appears behind them. "Ooh! I love that movie," she intrudes. How, I think, could Katniss be in my own home when I exited the world? "Get out!" I shriek and she's gone and so is the book shelf and so is my key. There is a ring at the doorbell and I rush to it hoping to find my friends instead of these fictional characters. Sure enough, Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth rush in carrying pens and notebooks. "Surprise!" They cheer. "We wrote a book together! Allegiant and Mockingjay were just set ups."

Instead of letting me react I am crowded around and there Marcus is with a vase this time and he smashes it on my head. Hard.

Finally I've regained my vision. My true vision and sure enough the key is sound me again and I'm in the infirmary. My ears pick up the faint sound of bells in the room.

#fanfic #divergent #bookworm #booklover #old fanfic

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nofomoartworld · 7 years

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Hyperallergic: The Novelty and Excess of American Design During the Jazz Age

“Muse with Violin Screen” (detail) (1930) from Rose Iron Works, Inc., designed by Paul Fehér, wrought iron, brass, silver and gold plating (courtesy the Cleveland Museum of Art, on Loan from the Rose Iron Works Collections, © Rose Iron Works Collections, photo by Howard Agriesti)

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum’s The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s is billed as the “first major museum exhibition to focus on American taste in design during the exhilarating years of the 1920s.” Rather than narrow the lens on this era of rapid cultural and technological change, this concentration on the post-World War I United States is a lively, international showcase of design. “We felt very much that European exhibitions of Art Deco had tried to cover a broad swathe of things, but definitely from a European point of view, and either left out what was going on in America entirely, or dumped everything in but the kitchen sink,” Sarah Coffin, Cooper Hewitt’s curator and head of product design and decorative arts, told Hyperallergic.

“Study for Maximum Mass Permitted by the 1916 New York Zoning Law, Stage 4” (1922), designed by Hugh Ferriss, black crayon, stumped, pen and black ink, brush and black wash, varnish on illustration board; 26 5/16 x 20 1/16 inches (courtesy Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, photo by Matt Flynn, © Smithsonian Institution)

Coffin co-organized The Jazz Age with Stephen Harrison, curator of decorative art and design at the Cleveland Museum of Art. After closing at the New York museum in August, the exhibition will open in Cleveland this September. The collections of both institutions majorly informed the structure and themes of The Jazz Age. “It was when the traditionally minded Cooper Hewitt had started to acquire contemporary design,” Coffin said of the 1920s at the Manhattan museum. During the Cooper Hewitt’s recent multi-year renovation, these holdings came to light. “We began to realize how much material that we had from the 1920s that had been little exhibited, if at all,” she explained.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Museum of Art has several pieces acquired from the influential Paris 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. Exploring the two floors of The Jazz Age is a bombastic visual experience, and any museumgoer who attempts to read every label, to examine each of the over 400 objects, may quickly find their brain saturated. Of course, decadence, novelty, and a collision of colors, styles, and shapes are part of what made the Roaring Twenties so dynamic. As F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in his 1931 essay “Echoes of the Jazz Age“: “It was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire.”

Installation view of The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Centered on themes like “Bending the Rules” and “Abstraction and Reinvention,” The Jazz Age offers curated tableaux of furniture, flapper dresses, paintings, Prohibition-era cocktail shakers, and all manner of objects to demonstrate influences across media. Many of the featured designers were immigrating from Europe, or having their creations imported to the United States. Others were Americans who went abroad to study and train, picking up tubular metal techniques at the Bauhaus in Germany or ideas for bold hues from De Stijl in the Netherlands. For example, Ruth Reeves studied textiles with Fernand Léger in Paris before she worked on abstracted designs for Radio City Music Hall, and Viktor Schreckengost melded his sculpture studies in Vienna with Michael Powolny with his Ohio pottery background.

“What we were trying to do was show that all this innovation was very much the vibrant conversation of people from many countries coming together in the rising urban environment of New York and places across the country, and interacting across the board in every medium,” Coffin said. She added that the “overall impact of this was an extraordinary amalgamation of designers from a variety of countries who came here with an interest in bringing some of their modern design thinking to American soil.”

“Tissu Simultané no. 46 (Simultaneous Fabric no. 46)” (1924), designed by Sonia Delaunay, printed silk, 18 5/16 x 25 9/16 inches (courtesy Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, © Smithsonian Institution)

Installation view of The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

The installations in The Jazz Age reflect this rise of international exchange. British designer Wells Coates’s green, circular Bakelite radio, one of the manufacturing innovations being spread to the new middle class, rests on German designer Kem Weber’s sage-hued, streamlined sideboard, which was also intended for serial production. Russian-born craftsman Samuel Yellin’s curling wrought iron fire screen mingles with Lorentz Kleiser’s monumental tapestry showing Newark’s transformation from an indigenous village to an orderly town, both pieces demonstrating the endurance of historical European aesthetics. A towering “Skyscraper Bookcase” of California redwood with black lacquer, all designed by Austrian émigré Paul Frankl, incorporates the zoning-enforced architectural setbacks of the new skyscrapers, something which Erik Magnussen’s Cubic coffee service with its silver angles does on a smaller scale.

“It’s in those conversations where we hope that people can see if we put a beige and gray Jean Dunand enamel vase next to a similarly colored dress that it shows that these colors are the palette of the era,” Coffin said. “You start seeing connections, like an Edgar Brandt screen influencing the Rose Iron Works of Cleveland. It all keeps bouncing back and forth.”

Installation view of The Jazz Age at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

“The New Yorker” (Jazz) Punch Bowl (1931), designed by Viktor Schreckengost, manufactured by Cowan Pottery Studio (Rocky River, Ohio), glazed, molded earthenware; 11 3/4 x 16 5/8 inches (courtesy Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, © Smithsonian Institution)

A portrait of Hattie Carnegie by Jean Dunand (1925) with a day dress designed by Marcel Goupy (1919-20) (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

A trophy designed by Jean E. Puiforcat for a 1923 figure skating competition at the Palais de Glaces in Paris (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Paul Manship, “Actaeon (1925), bronze (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

“Mystery Clock with Single Axle” (1921), produced by Cartier (Paris, France); owned by Anna Dodge; gold, platinum, ebonite, citrine, diamonds, enamel; 5 1/16 × 3 13/16 × 1 7/8 inches (Cartier Collection, photo by Marian Gerard, © Cartier)

Accessories and barware, including a silver owl-shaped cocktail shaker designed by Peer Smed (1931), a design that hid its function during Prohibition (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

An evening dress and underslip designed by Gabrielle Chanel and produced by House of Chanel, made from blue silk chiffon with applied blue ombré silk fringe (1926) (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Pair of wrought iron and bronze gates designed by René Paul Chambellan for the entrance to the executive office suite of the Chanin Building in New York (1928) (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

“Tourbillons Vase” (1926), designed by Suzanne Lalique for René Lalique; pressed, carved, acid-etched and enameled glass; 7 15/16 x 6 7/8 inches (courtesy Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, © Smithsonian Institution)

Installation view of The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

A daybed designed by Frederick Kiesler (1933-35) and Aaron Douglas’s “Painting, Go Down Death” (1934) (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Installation view of The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Installation view of The Jazz Age at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

A bergere chair designed by Paul Follot after Robert Bonfils, manufactured by Tapisserie des Gobelins and L’Ecole Boulle (1922-25), featuring an airplane (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Detail of a door designed by Edgar Brandt inspired by Persian manuscripts (1923) (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Installation view of The Jazz Age at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Woman’s wool knit striped bathing suit (1920s) (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

A wrought iron and gilding firescreen designed by Edgar Brandt (1925) (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Installation view of The Jazz Age at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

A ten-panel screen made of gilt and lacquered wood with patinated bronze, designed by Armand-Albert Rateau (1921-22) (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Installation view of The Jazz Age at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

Detail of a linen textile designed by Thomas Lamb, manufactured by DuPont Rayon Company, with the Diana’s leaping gazelle motif that was popular at the 1925 Paris Exposition (1920-29) (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s continues at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (2 East 91st Street, Upper East Side, Manhattan) through August 20.

The post The Novelty and Excess of American Design During the Jazz Age appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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mysteryshelf · 7 years

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BLOG TOUR - Pekoe Most Poison

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

Pekoe Most Poison by Laura Childs

Pekoe Most Poison (A Tea Shop Mystery) Cozy Mystery 18th in Series A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (March 7, 2017) An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC Hardcover: 320 pages ISBN-13: 978-0425281680 Kindle – ASIN: B01KGZVXTK

Synopsis

In the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs, Theodosia Browning attends a “Rat Tea,” where the mice will play…at murder.

When Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is invited by Doreen Briggs, one of Charleston’s most prominent hostesses, to a “Rat Tea,” she is understandably intrigued. As servers dressed in rodent costumes and wearing white gloves offer elegant finger sandwiches and fine teas, Theo learns these parties date back to early twentieth-century Charleston, where the cream of society would sponsor so-called rat teas to promote city rodent control and better public health.

But this party goes from odd to chaotic when a fire starts at one of the tables and Doreen’s entrepreneur husband suddenly goes into convulsions and drops dead. Has his favorite orange pekoe tea been poisoned? Theo smells a rat.

The distraught Doreen soon engages Theo to pursue a discreet inquiry into who might have murdered her husband. As Theo and her tea sommelier review the guest list for suspects, they soon find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse…

INCLUDES RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS

Interview With The Author

What initially got you interested in writing?

Thanks for inviting me today to celebrate the release of Pekoe Most Poison. I’d have to say that I always loved story telling. As a kid I wrote poems and short stories, and when I graduated from college I was immediately drawn into advertising where I wrote radio and TV copy. At the tender age of 28 I started my own advertising agency and ran that for 25 very successful years. Of course, along the way I wrote 3 screenplays and 2 thrillers. That piqued my interest in fiction writing and, lucky me, I was able to sell my business and launch a full-time transition.

What genres do you write in?

My Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbooking Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries are a hybrid between a cozy and a thriller – what I call a thrillzy. In other words, there’s no bad language or gratuitous violence, but they do have a distinctive edge that incorporates fast pacing, multiple plot lines, and other thriller characteristics. And readers who like pure thrillers might enjoy one of the Afton Tangler Thrillers, Little Girl Gone, or the soon to be released Shadow Girl, both written under my name Gerry Schmitt.

What drew you to writing these specific genres?

I was the kid who was always reading Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton under the covers with a flashlight. I told ghost stories around the campfire, ventured into haunted houses, and loved The Twilight Zone. So becoming a mystery-thiller writer seemed a natural fit.

How did you break into the field?

Once I decided to change careers and write mysteries, I recognized that writing and publishing is a serious business and I treated it as such. I made contacts, researched the craft, and attended a few writing classes. A friend introduced me to mystery great Mary Higgins Clark and she not only gave me some pointers, she introduced me to her agent!

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

I’m always thrilled when I get an email or Facebook post from a reader who enjoys my books and finds them a fun, exciting getaway. I’m also touched by the many readers who tell me that my books helped get them through a particularly stressful time in their life, such as surgery or family illness.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

I love hearing from readers who refer to my characters as if they are close friends. That’s exactly what I want the takeaway to be – that readers feel like they’re right there in the story, sorting out suspects along with Theodosia, Drayton, and the gang.

What do you find most challenging about writing?

Time. It seems there’s never enough time to write every story that’s buzzing around inside my head. They’re good ideas (really!) but since I’m writing 4 different series, I just don’t know how I’ll ever get to them.

What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

I love the old Nike war cry – “Just Do It.” If you want to write a short story or novel, you need to come up with an idea, write an outline, and then bang out your product. Persistence is the key. Every word and story you write helps make you a better writer.

What type of books do you enjoy reading?

I’m a huge fan of John Sandford. He tells a whopping good story wrapped in superb plot lines. His Prey novels feature the dashing Lucas Davenport, a tough detective who drives a Porsche. Who could resist?

Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting about you?

I’m married to a professor of art history, so we do lots of foreign travel and art collecting. I’ve also served on the boards of two service dog organizations.

What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

I keep my website current with information about all my series. For example, I am delighted that Devonshire Scream has just been released in paperback, so for those who haven’t read it, now is a terrific time to scoop it up.

http://www.laurchilds.com/

I love to comment back and forth with friends and readers on Facebook, so please feel free to link with me there.

https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

About The Author

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:

Webpage – http://www.laurachilds.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

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cosmosogler · 7 years

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i’m not sure how to begin today. i was gonna start writing five minutes ago... but then i just kind of sat there and i’m not sure what to say. i’m so tired.

well i wrote a post here when i woke up. the dream bothered me all day though. i feel like it means something but i don’t know how to unpack it and i don’t got an individual therapist to talk about it with.

it’s so hard to condense those dreams into words, especially in 15 minutes. i dropped whole... i can’t call them “plot lines” but stuff that was important for understanding the dream in order to hurry up and get to the ending to try and summarize.

like i left out that dad always has nightmares about sharks and alligators, and the last third of the dream (which was the only part he was in at all) was in an area of my dreams that always has a big ass shark living on the coast. i don’t know what it means. but i noticed it. i recognized the coast line while i was falling out of the sky.

and i left out most of the actual ending. which was, i discovered who was manufacturing the dimensional bombs as i traveled through forests and neighborhoods, becoming more and more disheveled. i wasn’t sure if they transported all of what they touched or just cut things off in a set radius. but i was cold. i found out where the leader was. i teleported into the airship chamber and found him in a crowded room surrounded by armed guards. i knew what would happen but i still did it. i was holding one of the bombs i’d plucked off the guns outside. i threw it at him. when it hung in the air for a second i set it on fire and exploded his whole head. the 100 guards leveled their guns at me. but i didn’t care. i woke up.

i think it was interesting that at the beginning of that part of the dream i was in a store for stuff to pamper yourself with and by the end of the dream i was shoeless and covered in dirt and rain and about to die.

it also seems to be about the first time i’ve ever killed someone easily in a dream. usually the “monster” is like, a guy with a gun or a rabid dog, and i only have my weak hands and arms and i don’t want to hurt them but i need to survive. this time i didn’t even care at all and also i could set things on fire with my mind.

anyway i got ready for school. i picked up snoopy’s cat food from the front office. my home package came later in the day but i won’t have time to retrieve it until maybe saturday. booked until then. and i don’t know how heavy it will be so i can’t just pop down and grab it in five minutes before i leave in the morning.

i felt... ill, today. not sure how to describe it. “crummy” i guess is an accurate word. the feeling didn’t go away at all over the course of the day. by the end of the day i was retching every time i coughed. keegan asked if i was ok. i said i just felt sick.

it wasn’t like a sore throat or runny nose or anything. i mean i still have coughing fits but it doesn’t feel like there’s anything to cough up. it was like my stomach was just uneasy. it was the kind of thing that was maybe supposed to stop happening after i got my gallbladder out?

eating didn’t make me nauseous or anything but... ehh describing it in too much detail is weird. if i am reading this in the future it’s THAT feeling.

so that set the stage for everything i did today!!!

in classical, first thing in the morning, there was a screeching noise that just... was present for the first 30 minutes of class. i was going to die. i was about ready to run out of the room and go out the front door of the building and cry. poor luis must have been tired of hearing me fidgeting and scratching out stuff in my notes and being indecisive about what color i wanted to use.

i’m still taking notes with the four-color pen. i like it a lot but god it’s gonna be hard to read those notes because i had to scratch stuff out constantly because that noise was destroying my brain and my coordination and my ability to comprehend words and pictures. and also my patience.

half the class wasn’t there this morning. i think most, if not all, of them got out of that midterm at 10 when it ended. suzanne didn’t show up. she came for the next class and later she told me she had sat down to plink at her piano and ended up just wanting to be there for an hour. i gave her my notes even though they were messy from the distant but unceasing metal on rusted metal sound.

then we went to spaghetti day! i talked to suzanne about dreams the whole way there. she said she remembers basically every dream she has every night. it was such a, i guess, relief to meet someone who also remembers all their dreams??? it made me feel less, unique, i guess. mostly it was just REALLY nice to listen to someone else talk about how they dream about the same places over and over and remember stuff they did in previous dreams because they spent so much time remembering everything. we compared notes.

i guess i was looking for an answer or some kind of context to put this dream in. i didn’t get that information here but i did really appreciate how open suzanne was about her dreams.

so we had spaghetti. i don’t remember what we talked about while we sat in the grass. we mostly gave the halava a running commentary when suzanne noticed they had changed up the recipe. she said they used to do that more often.

then i went to group therapy. we talked about the guy talking here next thursday. he who shall not be named. the racist guy. one interesting thing happened, besides me sharing my discomfort with how to approach the danger since i’m only tangentially affected by it.

the interesting thing was that one member was telling a story about their experience with a very sketchy person earlier in the day. they were joking around and laughing and making a face that our therapist interpreted as “smiling.” she asked why the person was making so light of this kind of pretty scary situation.

i said “no. i’ve spent a lot of time telling jokes about bad stuff, and that’s not a smile. that’s a grimace at best.”

the person gave me a sort of look that i’m not sure how to describe. recognition? gratitude? embarrassment? maybe all of them.

i walked back to the physics building and went straight to e&m class. i took notes!!! the professor didn’t really make any sense though. but i found out suzanne works with one of my classmates so i asked her if it would be ok for us to maybe be introduced during their next meeting tomorrow. she said that was probably a good idea.

after that i bummed around in my office and worked on the new quantum assignment (due monday because god hates us).

i showed harrison the card crusher video. i also realized while i was being sick in the bathroom that i don’t feel very comfortable... not laughing around some of my classmates. i guess i just fell into this really easy, natural pattern of telling horrible stories about my childhood and then pretending to laugh and be not upset. it’s something i did a lot at villanova too.

the pattern is that almost every story i tell will contort itself in such a way that, in the last sentence or two, if it wasn’t already dark it will get there at light speed.

like one doozy i told yesterday when we were talking to rebika about child labor in the united states was that “oh yeah, my mom would take me to work with her when i was about ten. she’d tell me, ‘here, put this away. do this. do this. and do this.’ and she’d do that for eight hours. this happened a lot. but she wouldn’t take me out for ice cream afterward or let me keep any of the money. she’d just take me home and beat me.”

i... want to say it’s an exaggeration? but i feel like it’s kind of not. maybe some of the words aren’t quite accurate. like the beatings had mostly stopped by the time i was 10-12... more or less? but the emotional beatings never ended.

maybe i was a little older than 10 when she did actually start taking me there and forcing me to work all day. pretty sure i was 12 at that point because i was on The Forum and i’d have pretend conversations with my internet friends in my head while listening to one of the two albums i had on my ipod and removing staples for nine hours straight.

i guess i get some sort of satisfaction from the look of utter horror on harrison and jennica’s faces.

at 6 we had a second round of quantum. classes normally go for 50 minutes but the professor decided to keep talking for another 20 minutes after that and my brain turned to mush about 8 minutes before he finally let us go.

poor keegan couldn’t actually see the board because we were in a lecture hall instead of the classroom. i probably should have noticed that he had really bad vision. he just... never complained/bragged about it the way suzanne or jennica do. i offered to let him see my notes tomorrow morning because about halfway through the lecture my eyes stopped working.

they felt dry and gunky and stopped focusing which was giving me a headache. like, there was a delay where i couldn’t see between looking up at the board and looking down at my notes.

i thought that things might improve since i am taking more frequent breaks and also biking home which requires ONLY long distance vision. maybe i should pick up some eye exercises.

then i was sick one more time and then i biked home. i went TURBO FAST. all the parts where i usually get tired i flew by. i mean, i was still tired and my legs burned, but i didn’t pant as much after getting up the hill and i forced myself to keep going.

then i made the rest of the tempeh tacos for dinner because i didn’t want the leftovers to go bad and waste the beautiful experience of tempeh tacos. my onion had gotten a pink spot though and i think it’s what was making the fridge/kitchen area smell funky. i need to learn how to preserve those better.

they were still pretty good! i made the tempeh way better this time, texture-wise, and i didn’t drown everything in lime juice, but my body was just unhappy and i thought this would cheer me up but it didn’t really.

after that it was 8:40 so i just listened to some mbmbam clips and played a logic puzzle and read some real short fanfiction. now it’s 10:54 and i’m ending my journal entry late but i guess... i don’t want to sleep honestly.

i’ve got the follow-up appointment with the psychiatrist tomorrow so i’ll be talking to her for a while i think. i’ve got some notes compiled as i mentioned earlier. tomorrow i gotta teach for four hours though and i don’t know if i’m really up for that. i mean, i have to be up for it, but i don’t know if i’m really honestly up for it. which means i’ll just be tired tomorrow all day too.

something good about me. i can’t think of anything i ain’t said already. dang it.

i think my comedic timing is pretty on point. yesterday harrison mentioned again how my sarcasm is virtually indistinguishable from my normal voice. i said something in reply... he started drawling something really obviously sarcastic and i cut him off.

“i’ve been doin this since before you were born! literally everything i say has a drop of sarcasm in it! GET! ON! MY! LEVEL!!! scrub.”

jennica died.

i’m glad someone thought it was funny. people seem to generally like my for real jokes. even the stupid puns. luis said today that “i think sammie is the only one who actually likes my nonsense” and i gave him a thumbs up.

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