Delighted to have finished another week in which the British political establishment continued to lose its absolute fucking mind, and Tony Blair mysteriously continued to not be tried for war crimes.  Sometimes I wish I was one of those people who genuinely don’t care about current affairs, because as vacuous as I might be, I’m pretty sure I’d be happier.

 

Added to Wishlist

1. The Regional Office Is Under Attack! – Manuel Gonzales.  Added mostly for the title, but it’s about super-powered female assassins so yay!
2. Sorcerer to the Crown – Zen Cho.  I’m a sucker for the combination of magical powers and the Regency/Edwardian/Victorian periods, and this sounds like a good combination of the two with some interesting things to say of gender and race.
3. Phobos – Victor Dixen.  This isn’t out in English until 2017 and sounds absolutely bonkers.  Can’t wait! 😀
4. A Shadow Bright and Burning – Jessica Cluess.  Also not out yet, but there’s only a two month wait for this one.  Another combination of English-of-proper-and-polite-times and magic.  With a heroine who is not the chosen one, but who can set herself of fire.  Yay!

 

1. Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge – Paul Krueger.  THIS IS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO FIGHT MONSTERS WITH ALCOHOL!!!!!  I almost don’t care if it’s actually any good <3 <3 <3
2. Dark Matter – Blake Crouch.  By the sounds of it, this is a genre-bending, mind-fuck of a book.  Sign me up!
3. Mirror in the Sky – Aditi Khorana.  When an alternate Earth is discovered by NASA, life on this Earth starts to change irrevocably.  I get an almost dreamlike vibe from this one.
4. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena – Anthony Marra.  Set in Chechnya, I’m a little bit afraid that this book might break me.

 

Articles of Note

• Trent Reznor Recalls How David Bowie Helped Him Get Sober.  A slightly misleading headline, but a touching read.
• Some of the Signs at the Brexit Protest in London Yesterday Were Class.  “We just want EU back for good!”
• Creating the First Transgender Superhero.  Sounds like this could be a really good read.  The fact that the script gets vetted by actual trans people is a good sign, at any rate.
• The Forgotten Story of How Scottish Train Drivers Tried to Derail the Iraq War.  Good for these guys.  They were in a position to take a stand that would have some impact and they did it.
• This Deadly Feminist Cover of Wannabe is Going Insanely Viral on Facebook.  It’s not really a cover, but it is an incredibly powerful feminist video, and you should watch it, even if you have to mute the volume 😉
• Aborted Star Trek Movie Had Captain Kirk Fist-Fighting Jesus.  Ahahahaha.  That Gene Roddenberry, man, he was a strange one!
• John Cho Says Sulu is Explicity Gay in Star Trek Beyond & George Takei: Making Sulu Gay in New Star Trek is ‘Really Unfortunate’.  I can see both sides to this argument, but I’m kind of leaning more to George Takei’s side.  I’m just happy we get to keep Demora either way.
• The Iceland Football Team Were Welcomed Home From the Euros With This Spine-Tingling ‘Viking Clap’.  The ‘Viking Clap’ is my favourite thing to come from the Euros this year, and this video is beautiful.  I have this thing where seeing thousands of people acting together makes me tear up (watching the news is hard for me sometimes), so this hit me right in the feels.
• What Happens When You Wear a Pro-Choice Jumper Around Dublin & This Repeal Mural by Maser Has Just Gone Up In Temple Bar.  Repeal the Eighth.  I’d just like to correct the first article by saying Ireland doesn’t ‘still’ have blasphemy laws, it actually only recently introduced them.  Thanks for signing that one in Mary McAleese!
• These 10 LGBTQ YA Novels Will Keep Hope in Your Heart.  With everything that’s happening around the world at the moment, we need a little hope.
• The Odinson Finally Returns to His Own Solo Comic, The Unworthy Thor.  I’m quite into this as an idea, but I’m disappointed to see they’re having him pick up another hammer.  A series following a confused, uncertain Odinson around would have been much more interesting.  Sidenote:  the new Iron-Man sounds awesome.  Hopefully they’ll manage to keep Tony on the sidelines as a mentor, like they plan.
• Warning: Pokemon GO Is A Death Sentence If You Are A Black Man.  Well, this is one of the most depressing things I’ve ever read.

 

Bookmarked Recipes

• Rosemary Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Salad.  I’m not really one for salads but this looks exceptional!
• Individual Rhubarb Ripple Pavlovas.  Pavlova was one of my favourite desserts as a child, but I’ve never actually made one.  Time to change that, I think.
• Lemon Beer Party Cake with Rum Lime Whipped Cream.  Drool-worthy.
• Caramelised Banana Pancakes.  Oh, to live the dreamed-of life where you make beautiful brunches on a Sunday and don’t just sit on your couch eating handfuls of cereal straight from the box…