The Hutt (kind of) Recommends: Autonomous

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

   Our hero Jack is a drug pirate. She pirates drugs and distributes them to the less fortunate like some pharmaceutical Robin Hood, but has lately run into some unexpectedly bad drugs which has put her reputation in danger of being ruined entirely. She has to salvage what she can, all the while running from law enforcement.
   The agent and the A.I. on her tail will not only have to sift through all the disinformation Jack leaves behind, but also deal with their growing affection for each other.

   I enjoyed the story and most of the characters, but I have so many opinions (no, really? me?) on the gender issues of this book - to simplify, in my eyes it makes a mockery of trans* experiences. The relationship between Elias and Paladin is weird and frustrating and I wanted to scream from the top of buildings that Elias is a testosterone-damaged homophobic prick and Paladin deserves their autonomy just for having put up with Elias' garbage for so long.
   But that might just be me, right? (Hint: it's not just me.)

   It's an entertaining read with lots of thrilling heroics and some new exciting ideas. Though I have issues with some aspects of the book I think Newitz is on the track towards something amazing if only lessons are learnt and themes improved upon.
   I will recommend it nonetheless.

Ugh, the levels of procrastination

Aight.
   I need a new Halloween costume and I was planning on making one for myself this year.
   Then I agreed on working extra because cash is a good thing. Especially this time of year (oh, how I fucking hate X-Mas...).
   The amount of stuff I can get done when I'm supposed to be doing something else will never cease to amaze me - I've mended and reconstructed things I've had lying around since last year. A whole lot of those "I'm gonna. Eventually" garments.

Still the Queen of Procrastination.

Random thoughts on dates and body hair

   I really hope that the people I date, and I'm talking about men in particular here, realise just how much energy I put into primping and preparing for said dates. Because if they don't - they should, and if they do - thank you for your appreciation, it's duly noted and taken into consideration.
   I don't shave my legs for just anything. Or anyone.
   Usually you can tell how long it's been between dates by measuring the length of my leg hairs.
   And now I have a cold.

HAPPY HOBBIT DAY

   Today I'm celebrating my 31st birthday (though I was actually born on the 18th) and I've invited a few nerd friends over to eat and play board games with me. My partners are here to help with all the preparations, and we're going to be joined by my family members, and my best and closest friends a little later.

   In two years time I'll be an adult hobbit. And that's when the big party'll start for real.

Part of the Hobbit Generation

Backbreaking work

"Brutal".
   That's how I'd describe getting the backpiece done. It's nothing I'd like to do again, because PAINFUL, but then on the other hand I kinda don't have much room now... The piece is colourful and lovely and sore and sweet and finally fucking finished after yesterday's grueling six hour sitting. (I am going back to fill in the tree one more time because apparently I bleed a lot in the neck area, so that's not going to be fun...)

BUT LOOK AT MY LITTLE PIECE OF HOBBITON:

by the super talented and super sweet @filthyswede

Soooo, I wonder what the next one is going to be?

A Game of a 100% DONE WITH THIS

   Thank the Gods it's over and done with now.
   A Game of Thrones has finally aired its last episode and it was, just like previous episodes of this last season, a great mess of "MEH..."
   Congratulations to Benioff and Weiss for making the conclusion to the great epic that was GoT uninteresting and bland. I've never felt so rushed through the story before. Ugh.
   #DISAPPOINTED

If we wish hard enough, do you think G.R.R. Martin can fix any of this in the next book?

"BOKREA" got me going crazy

Yes.
It's that time of year.

Here. Have a picture of this year's haul.

Happy Valentine's Day Folks

This is when I write another scathing remark on how Valentine's Day is bullshit but, though it is and I am, I also need to remind all of yous that Valentine's isn't all about romantic relationships.
   It can also be about all kinds of love.
   At the time being I find myself in a situation I've never been before.
   I send more love to my close friends and my family than I have ever done before, at the same time as I'm in a romantic relationship that absolutely smashes all kinds of norms applied to what relationships should be.
   Lets celebrate love my friends. Lets just do that. Lets show each other what the power of love can do to people.
   Tell your friends how much you appreciate them. Give some flowers to a loved one, be it your mum or a sibling or your best friend/s. Remember: life is chaos, be kind.
   And y'all motherfuckers need love, I can tell. ❤ 

The Hutt Recommends: DEADLINE

DEADLINE by Mira Grant
#2 in Newsflesh

I don't read zombie fiction very often but stumbled over the first book of the Newsflesh series (FEED) and found the description quite captivating. A book written by a female author about a female blogger in a zombie-infested world? Could this really be what would let me enjoy reading about zombies?
   Answer? YES. Yes, it was.
   I devoured Feed (haha...) and put Deadline on my to read-list for later. 
   In January I finally bought Deadline and finished it in three days. If I hadn't had to go to work I'd have finished it much sooner seeing as I couldn't put it down once I had it in my stubby lil' hands.

BEWARE, SPOILERS AHEAD (make sure you've read Feed first):
   Ex-blogger Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. These days. His mission used to be poking zombies with a stick while someone filmed it, but then his sister died and suddenly playing with dead things wasn't as much fun anymore. His news team is still the best at what they do, but assuming the wheel after Georgia was never something he strove for.
   And then one day a researcher from the Center of Decease Control shows up on his doorstep with a scoop that can make even Shaun's shrivelled heart beat extra hard.

   We know the characters. We know the fight. We all want to know what the ever-loving hell is going on at the CDC. And Mason is the exact right amount of sarcastic little shit paired with whiny but brave hero that I enjoy. His inner struggle and the friendships portrayed in this series are engaging and down to earth.
   I have books #3 and #4 in my bookshelf.

The Clusterfuck We Affectionally Call 2018

This is the 10th Year Review I'm putting together. That deserves a star.

   We mourn the loss of Johannes Brost, Dolores O'Riordan, Ursula K. LeGuin, David Ogden Stiers, Stephen Hawking, Rick 'Zombie Boy' Genest, Aretha Franklin, Margit Sandemo, Burt Reynolds, Emma Chambers, Al Matthews, STAN LEE (!!!) and William Goldman. 

• I cut my hair shorter again. Stayed green though.
• BOOKS. And COMICS.
• I finally got off my ass and started looking for a new job. Got one! but the search goes on.
• My best friend and I went to New Zealand. Dreamy.
• I got to see Stephen Lynch again.
• I had another great Midsummer's Eve.
• I FINALLY got myself some of that good HBO streaming. So much win.
• My furry ginger roomie Sengir turned 6 years old.
• I cut some more of my hair off. An then some more.
• I reached 70 000 page views.
• I had some epic vacation time with some very close friends.
• Went to the world's biggest separatist music festival for women, non-binary and trans*people.
• I turned 30. And I was lovingly surprised by my friends with dinner! ❤
• I ran out of chlorophyll so my hair turned from green to orange.
• I got a new tattoo.
• I celebrated New Years Eve on my own in my bath tub with delicious champagne.

   I had the unspoken goal to read more books by female authors and I'd like to think I made an effort.

   I also made promises to myself to treat myself to other people, as in: I need to see that I might not be as much of a nuisance as my anxiety-ridden brain would like me to think and wedge myself into other people's lives or rather myself into theirs. In short; I wanted to socialise more. Whether it'd be having coffee, having a PJ party, going out for a drink or whatever... I need to be with people. And I was. To a certain degree.

   I went to the cinema a shitload more than I used to which means I'm keeping up last year's Year Review promise to myself: MOAR FILM PLZ.

Top picks of 2018

 Movies: Black Panther - holy shit! The Shape of Water - wow! Avengers: Infinity War - WHAT IN THE GOD DAMN?! Deadpool 2 was laugh-out-loud funny. Tom Hardy made Venom hilarious.

 TV shows: I finally watched Limitless and liked it, Everything Sucks! was pleasantly nostalgic, Altered Carbon was kinda awesome. I binged the amazing 2nd season of Dear White People in two days, they gave me a new season of Elementary (oh YEAH...!) of which I could only watch half before I got cut off and, whadda ya know, CBS is only available in the US and Canada so fuck me, right?! The new season of Handmaid's Tale was great (AWFUL, but great). Killing Eve ❤ !!! Despite not being a big fan of horror I absolutely loved The Haunting of  Hill House.

 Books: I've read a shitload of books (68!) in 2018 and obviously found a few nuggets of gold in that heap... FEED by Mira Grant felt new and awesome, Queers Dig Time Lords edited by Sigrid Ellis was thoroughly heartwarming, The Road by Cormac McCarthy took me completely by surprise. I fell entirely in love with Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower and the follow-up Parable of the Talents, and Richard K.Morgan's Altered Carbon was even more fascinating than the tv show they made of it. The long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers was SO FRIGGIN' AWESOME I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START. Sea of Rust (!!!) by C. Robert Cargill made my brain happy.
 Comics: I need all of you to read Paper Girls and Saga, aight?

 Events: Oscar nominations I could get behind: Get Out, The Shape of Water, Logan... turning into Oscars for Jordan Peele and Guillermo del Toro. And for Coco!❤ The super endangered Black Rhino is moving in to areas they haven't lived in for many years, which is awesome. IRELAND VOTED TO END ITS ABORTION BAN. Sweden approved stricter consent laws, making it illegal to have sex with someone without their explicit consent (ABOUT TIME). Sweden also decided to ban micro-plastics in cosmetics. Researchers have found methods to help reverse damage caused by Alzheimer's decease in the human brain. Scientists have also managed to reanimate pig brains up to 36 hours after initial death, leaving further possibilities to save human lives in the future. Humans now have the power to grow food in space (well... so far it's "just" onions on a space station but... still cool).

   For 2019 I want more books and comics. I want good cinema experiences. I want more stories by women and people of colour in my life. I want more hugs and good food. Honestly, I want more sex. I don't make promises. I can only hope and strive.

What I'm trying to say is this:

Dear 2018, get fucked.

Lets make 2019 something brilliant.

The little victories

It's early in the day and I've eaten breakfast, and then second breakfast. Not only that, but I've bested the laundry mountain, folded it and tucked it away. I've showered and dressed (!). I've hoovered my flat and, most importantly, the innards of my computer - the poor thing was filled with ginger fur...
Now on to the Christmas shopping!

NEW TATTOO

HEY GUYS. I'VE GOT A NEW TATTOO GUYS. LOOK AT IT GUYS.

JUST LOOK AT IT.

Work by @filthyswede, Liza Nordqvist

Next time: colours.

Feeling the fall

I be orange now. It feels... good actually. Cool.

To be or not to be... an adult

   Now we're just... looking for the adultier adult to ask for life advice. But like... can I just... not be an adult? and maybe... not have to work so much? Because fuck, I'm exhausted. I'm working full time for the first time in... well, for the first time EVER, and I'm feeling the hours. I'm disappointed at myself for not spending enough time with my cat and I LIVE WITH HIM, which means that the amount of time I spend with the people I hold dear is minimal. The pressure to squeeze in as much fun at possible into the weekends is absurd. I feel more stressed about that than work. And work stress me the fuck out. Ugh.