Disney these days

There's an hilarious Breaking Bad reference in Zootopia. And several G.I. Jane references. BUT THERE'S A HUGE BREAKING BAD REFERENCE IN A DISNEY MOVIE.
I LOVE IT.

The Hutt (kind of) Recommends: Something More Than Night

Something More Than Night by Ian Tregillis.

The story makes a running start when the ashy remains of the murdered archangel Gabriel rains down on Earth to earn the attention of our wannabe gumshoe and voluntarily part-time exiled angel Bayliss. Though mystified, Bayliss knows that this is the time to get cracking on finding a replacement for old Gabby which he sets out to do... to find that not only was Gabriel murdered but the Jericho Trumpet has gone missing, setting Heaven on the cusp of overwhelming crisis and the victim of a con job millions of years in the making. Somehow Bayliss knows that he's been played the fool by heavenly powers that want to make certain none other than old Bayliss himself gets fingered for the job. On top of that he fumbles the angel recruitment process and is suddenly stuck with the hot-tempered Molly. Bayliss now needs to solve a heavenly mystery AND act babysitter for a newborn angel whilst not getting in the way of the more belligerent members of the Heavenly Choir or the METATRON.

I was about ready to give up on the book soon after getting started on the first chapter. The book didn't speak to me at all (Bayliss and I obviously don't get along - he's a sexist douche canoe), until I finally reached chapter 2 and was properly introduced to Molly Pruett. Not only does her name sound a lot like another fellow redhead (my favourite mother hen Molly Weasley née Prewett from the Harry Potter books) but also, she's a lesbian whose story arc does not overuse, fetishise or stereotype her sexuality. (Without spoiling anything, the name is basically the one thing the two Molly's have in common. That, red hair and a temper.)

The narrative is split between long parts, often chapters, where Bayliss narrates and the other long parts, also often chapters, where a third party narrates Molly's actions. I got through the book much the same way I got through A Song of Ice and Fire - I read through the boring chapters (Bayliss or Daenerys) to get to the good bits (Molly or Tyrion/Jon/Cersei).

I read a review of the book in passing that explained how the cover was better than the book itself and... they're not wrong. Sadly. Or maybe I'm just not the noir detective story type AT ALL. (I'm not, really.) And don't get me started on the physics! I don't have a degree (not even close) but Tregillis has a doctorate in this stuff and likes showing off a bit.

This book was not for me.
But I finished the fucker nonetheless.

60 000 pageviews

The blog just passed 60 000 pageviews (since july 2010).

A great many thanks and high-fives to all of you.

Pride is still relevant

Pride is still political. Pride started as a riot and should still be a riot. It's not all cute and fluffy and glitter make-up and rainbows. We need to be angry and in people's faces as well. Not violently, but relentlessly.

Roller coaster mood crisis

I'm having some severe ups and downs mood-wise right now and I have no clue as to why. The shifts between happy and giggling to furious and biting people's heads off are many and abrupt. I apologise to everyone whose misfortune it is to cross paths with me.

I need to sort myself out, but I don't know how.

Post Midsummer

I've had an incredible weekend. Strange, but overwhelmingly... It was great.

Happy Midsummer!

I might not look forward to this traditionally festive occassion as much as many of my fellow Swedes but at least I look cool as fuck.

One more work day and then I'm off on a romantic weekend with my man.

Laters, nerds! 😛

I need dis

Hair is green again. Midsummer party this weekend.

The Hutt Recommends: Lighthousekeeping

Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson

Last time I mentioned this book I wrote that it's not what I usually read, because what I usually read is classic scifi (Adams, Henlein, Verne, Asimov etc) and fantasy of all sorts (Pratchett, Lynch, Rothfuss, Tolkien, Rowling etc). Tales of the supernatural.
But not this one. Not really.

It's difficult to give a short account of Lighthousekeeping.
It's about a girl named Silver raised in the 1960's, orphaned by a windy Scottish town called Salts. But it's also about a man called Babel Dark who built the lighthouse where Silver is taken in by the blind lighthousekeeper Pew. Pew tells Silver many things. Stories that will shape her and set her on a journey into life, trouble and love.
Pervading themes are light and dark, and the stark contrast between what is permanent and what is ever-changing and how to find meaning in balancing the two.

As far as storytelling goes, Winterson does a wonderful job weaving a tale over centuries. It immediately soared to my Top 5 Favourite Books and after reading it again I can honestly say that I will read it again.
Other people have called it extraordinary and so will I.

"Our business was light, be we lived in darkness./... /Darkness came with everything. It was standard. My clothes were trimmed with dark./.../The darkness had to be brushed away or parted before we could sit down. Darkness squatted on the chairs and hung like a curtain across the stairway./.../ I learned to see in it, I learned to see through it, and I learned to see the darkness of my own."

Happy Towel Day

Today is a very important day for me. Today is the 25th of May. Today I celebrate Towel Day and remember the brilliance brought to my life by Douglas Adams. The love I have for this author is immense and every year on this day I remember just what a shame it is that he didn't get the chance to write more. Do more. Experience more of the technological advances we've made in the last decade and a half.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is very different from other pieces of scifi I've read. Despite actually being dystopian, the Earth being demolished and all that, it's absolutely hilarious. It is so easy to identify with our main character Arthur Dent; a man who just happened to end up an intergalactic hitchhiker and isn't very happy about it.
I've read the books.
I've listened to the books.
They are fantastic.

This nerd's home

This past weekend I really got busy.

I repainted a chest of drawers for my bedroom, put up brass curtain hooks to finally let some sunshine in, hung a poster of the Shire and reduced the height of that pile of clothes that needed some rejuvenation before wearing. Also went to a Geek Pride parade. Didn't wear my hobbit costume.

Deadpool - new and improved

Yeah, I fucking LOVED that the damage done by that tragic excuse for a Wolverine movie was entirely obliterated by the great success that is Deadpool. And yeah sure, I'm aware that it's only thanks to afore mentioned success that the next Wolverine movie might actually be 'R'-rated. We'll see.

This man of... mine?

It's not official until it's on facebook, right? I mean, that's what I've been told. I dunno. This has to be seen as foreign territory to me after being single for the last 6½ years. I actually have a boyfriend. Let that sink in for a moment...

And it was him that I took with me to Dara O'Briain last night to have a fantastic time.

#chuggyhaditcoming

Time to get this Hutt crispy

Haven't updated in a while now due to 'life' getting me down yet again. Coming back from my relaxing little mini vacation only to be hit in the face by everyday pet peeves that suddenly ganged up on me made me seriously consider uprooting myself and becoming a hermit. That way I won't have to deal with any other idiocy but my own. I hate reality.

But alas, I was finally able to supress my seething anger and move on. This much thanks to one of my closest friends paying me a visit to let me vent my frustration but also make me experiment with cooking. For the first time ever we made Chinese dumplings and though they were rather time consuming in the making, they were in the end absolutely yummy. Being brought back up from my mood swing I'm now also back to reading and that meant picking up the next book on my ever growing list of reading material; 'Anansi Boys' by Neil Gaiman (a kind of sequel to 'American Gods' which I loved). Slow start but gathers up speed pretty quickly after the first 30 or so pages. I've only about 70 pages left but had to move out of the sun by reason of being paler than a sheet of bleached paper and expecting to be lobster red by sunset.

Oh, and Psst! Tomorrow is the day I get to see Dara O'Briain perform his stand-up Crowd Tickler here in Gothenburg. That'll be amazing beyond words.

Bad/Good mornings

Some mornings I find myself waking up to find something out of the Black Lagoon looking back at me from the mirrors. Other mornings I feel like I could conquer the world.

This last autumn has been absolutely terrible for me with a lot of stress and tension both in my professional and private life and Christmas didn't make it any better. At all. So I promised myself that I would take time off as soon as I could and catch up on sleep and company. Which I now have. I've had two weeks off and fuck me, they've done miracles!

I've finished three books, slept a bit, gone back to the gym, had company, had great food... and I've had some good mornings.