lunabee34

1. Card from misbegotten and a box of masks from executrix! <3

2. We watched Ad Astra this past week, and I really liked it. ( spoilers )

3. We're watching 3Below on Netflix, the companion animated series to Trollhunters. I don't think it's as good as Trollhunters, and you definitely have to watch Trollhunters first, but I am really enjoying it. I would highly recommend both shows to everyone of all ages. They're just fun (and totally tug at the heartstrings). Fiona got the book on which Trollhunters is based for her birthday, so we're having fun reading that, too; we're only a few chapters in.

4. Avatar fic recs:

In the Hakoda is a good dad to Zuko subgenre, The Family Matters series by WinterSky101

In both the Hakoda is a good dad and someone finds out about Zuko's scar subgenres, The Crown Hangs Heavy by monpetitpois

5.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really enjoy this novel for the nuanced portrayal of industrial life in a northern mill town. Gaskell definitely has her middle-class prejudices, and her thesis that the problems of industrialization can be overcome by good people of the working class and the good people who employ them coming to understand each other better is deeply flawed; however, her genuine sympathy for the working classes is deeply felt and she makes many good points that seem obvious now (like, of course, your workers get upset when you make decisions without explaining them).

I think most of us have a good idea of the terrible working conditions of the Industrial Revolution--dangerous equipment, people getting lung disease from breathing in fibers, children working in mines. But what I don't think we ponder too often is that many of the aspects of working that we take for granted--that our employers will dialogue with us about pay or policy or whatever--were not automatic and took a lot of fighting to become standard.

The book ends abruptly, but I absolutely adore the last two lines; John and Margaret are definitely in for a rocky reception from both their families.



View all my reviews

Vid recs!

Avatar Dance Mix by friendshipper; Avatar
This is a really fun vid to watch. Sholio does an excellent job of editing here, and I will always always be a sucker for those kids hugging each other. And Appa!!

One Girl Revolution by dangen; Multi-fandom
I don't know if I can be coherent enough about this vid to say anything other than, GIRLS ARE AWESOME OMG GIRL POWER FOREVER! Love, love all the fandoms represented (including B7 and my girl Janeway!), and I adore the lyrics to this song. Guaranteed rewatcher.

Around the Bend by dangen; Multi-fandom
This is a vid about women driving cars and flying planes and spaceships and riding motorcycles and in general being all kinds of badass and awesome. As with the previous vid, I am so stoked about all the fandoms represented, but what's even better is that the vidder intersperses images of actual for-reals-yo woman taking the wheel.

Wild Child by calapine; Multi-fandom
You should be sensing a theme about now, and that them is LADIES! AWESOME LADIES! This has some wonderful and unexpected fandoms represented (hello, Lois and Clark), and like the vids recced before, does an excellent job of celebrating women.

What About by fizzyblogic; Multi-fandom
This vid belongs to the same family as the ones I've just recced, and yet inexplicably it has only a handful of comments. Run, go, watch this vid! Revel in the women being awesome. Tell the vidder you liked it. :)

I Enjoy Being a Girl by absolutedestiny; Multi-fannish
In this vid, fewer fandoms are represented than the others I've recced, but the vid forms a much more cohesive narrative. Strong parallels are drawn between the characters in the vid, and we're shown clips of the women engaging in the same or similar activities back to back. Quite fun to watch.

Kiss Mr. Spock by gin1119; TOS Kirk/Spock
Oh, the silly! This is really a nicely edited vid that reimagines Kirk and Spock as Eric and Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Thank you, TOS, for giving us slash so thick, you can scrape it off the screen.

Voyager versus South Park by ZoeAmory; Voyager and South Park
Aahahahhahahaaahahah! This is like thirty seconds of South Park audio set to Voyager video, and it makes me snort milk out of my nose.

Janeway's Hair by dreamsavvy; Voyager
Just what it says on the tin--the many and multifarious hairstyles of Kathryn Janeway. (I am so besotted with this woman, it's not even funny.)

With or Without You by northernstar24; Kira/Odo DS9
This vid really cleverly mixes audio from the series with the song. It's pretty much the best shipper vid I've ever seen for these two. Makes me tear up like nobody's business. I love the way this vid articulates the tension between the love Odo feels for Kira and the duty he feels to his people.

Atheists Don't Have No Songs by Steve Martin
Give the vid two seconds; it's out of focus to start with. This is a barbershop quartet singing the whole of the Atheist Hymnal. *loves*