Chit-Chat and Recommendation Post: March 2022!
Added 2022-03-31 19:19:19 +0000 UTCWelcome to the first Vanilla Velvet Audio Chit-Chat and Recommendation post! πππ This is a nice cozy spot to update each other on what we've been up to, and gush about what we've enjoyed during the month!
Personally, I've been pretty busy during March, what with launching Patreon and planning content for the next couple of months. I was feeling a little run ragged, if I'm being perfectly honest, because I've been putting all my meager free time into making audios basically since October. But this month I scheduled some Mandatory Fun to offset any encroaching burnout! (10/10, would recommend forcing yourself to have fun instead of doing more work.)
Hereβs what Iβve been obsessed with this month! (None of these are affiliate links, btw.)
Best Article(s) I Read: There are two very different contenders here. Did HAL 9000 commit murder?, which I mentioned in my recent Q&A, and the absolutely harrowing How an Ivy League School Turned Against a Student. The first is pretty light, fluffy reading, but the second--while stellar journalism--is not for the faint of heart. (Aside: I actually loathe The New Yorker as a publication and its editorial style, almost as a point of pride. But even I can admit this was some solid reporting!)
Nonfiction book(s): Lipstick: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Cosmetic
Uneven! And a little, uh, "You go, girl!" for me. But interesting! It had a fascinating chapter on the history of cosmetics from Ancient Greece to the present day (well, present as of the late 1990s when it was published anyway) and I have a particular soft spot for ephemeral curiosities and anything that examines the roles women and our various glittery trappings have held throughout history. (See also: Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present, a book about clothes that killed! that I've been lusting after for awhile now. I love that shit.)
I also skimmed through Coal: A Human History and will be giving that a more thorough read soon I hope! Because it is very, very good.
Fiction: I couldn't fit a full novel in this month between real life responsibilities, youtube/patreon stuff, and like, trying to eat and sleep like a reasonable human--but I made up for it with a lot of bite-sized stories! I of course favor speculative fiction (horror, sci-fi and fantasy) here are some of my favorites from this month!
- Paladin of the Lost Hour β Harlan Ellison (free on the author's site.)
- The Scythe β Ray Bradbury (free on kindle unlimited, if you have that! Also available elsewhere, me hearties, if you feel like flying the ol' Jolly Roger.)
- Laura Silver Bell - J.S. Le Fanu (public domain)
- The Spectre Bride - William Harrison Ainsworth (public domain)
The first two are old favorites, both about unassuming men who wield incredibly powerful items on which the destiny of the world hangs--but that's where the similarity stops. They couldn't be more different as narratives and tones go: Bradbury's is quite dark and angry, and Ellison's is melancholy and sentimental. (Quite a tonal reversal if you're familiar with their respective bodies of work and temperaments!)
The last two stories are spooky little Victorian-era penny dreadfuls that aren't quite ghost stories, but aren't quite...not, either. I didn't have nightmares, but I definitely regretted reading them under the covers late at night with the lights out without my kitty to protect me from things that go bump in the night.
Bonus: Books added to my to-read list in March that I might get to someday eventually maybe perhaps! The first is a slice-of-life fantasy novel about a retired orc adventurer who opens a coffee shop and gets dragged back into adventuring, Legends and Lattes. The second is a Pokemon-inspired series debut novel called On Lavender Tides. Will these be any good? No idea!
Song in Heavy Rotation: Artificial Intelligence β Tom Cardy
...I just like goofy songs about robot apocalypses okay?
Game(s): Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, a short, cute Zelda clone about mutant vegetables available on steam, gog, the switch, wherever. And I definitely stayed up too late a couple of times playing some of my old standbys Cities: Skylines and Oxygen Not Included. Because sometimes you gotta schedule fun when you should be sleeping, like you're still twelve or something.
WHEW. That concludes my what-I've-been-up-to/recs for the month! How about you? How was your March? And was there anything you got absorbed in this month that you'd like to share with the rest of the class? :3
Comments
That all sounds great! I'm glad March was good for you. I don't play any instruments personally. I did a little bit as a kid, but I never got any good lmao.
Vanilla Velvet Audio
2022-04-04 06:48:55 +0000 UTCMarch has been pretty awesome for me personally. I've started reading books and I'm working out more than ever. I really notice how it has a positive effect on me. Soon I'll buy a new bass guitar to treat myself :D The colours are gold and white, which already looks incredibly cool, but I'm thinking of maybe adding another colour to really make it 'mine'. Do you play any instruments?
Robin
2022-04-02 13:29:07 +0000 UTCHey, that sounds like a pretty good month all told! Good luck with everything you've got going on! I haven't been reading much Marvel in recent years, but I know some of their current output is stellar by reputation. (I know someone who was VERY into a recent Hulk run, but I can't remember which one off the top of my head.) That weird transition period after the Disney buyout was messy, to put it lightly. Nice to know they're finally finding their feet again!
Vanilla Velvet Audio
2022-04-01 18:28:21 +0000 UTCWell March was busy for me due to work, I help with doing outreach and calling clients from an interest list to help file taxes. It's overwhelming at times at the center I work at, but I try my best. This month we had to complete two trainings for our work, one was for Mandated Reporters of Child Abuse/neglect and the other was for Sexual Harassment, I recently went to my first bar on St.Patrick's day with some coworkers, it was an ok time nothing crazy happened and I didn't drink too much cuz I gotta drive home, just a couple shots, not a beer person, sorry. I don't really read too many books, however I have been getting into more comic collecting, mostly Marvel comics like Venom, Daredevil, Amazing Spider-Man, and a couple other standout books. My ongoing favorite comic series is the Moon Knight series from 2021 by Jed Mackay, it's such a great introduction into a character I never knew I would love. HUGE props to the artist Alessandro Cappuccio, one of the biggest things about comics that draws me in is the artwork, and he does an incredible job making this character look badass, threatening, and just awesome. My nights this past march are about the same for most nights, I usually get on the xbox and play at least an hour of Halo Infinite, and before people tell me why I play it with the lack of content and how "bad" it is, I personally enjoy the gameplay and it's a shooter game that I don't want to put down yet despite what the community thinks or says, plus there aren't any other games that currently interest me at the moment. I'm also trying to pursue a relationship with a friend/coworker, things are going ok, we haven't really gone out much on dates or hang out outside of work due to time conflicts, however we try to text each other and express how we feel and we have almost always have lunch together, which is always nice. We do have our moments when we're alone, nothing scandalous though lol, just a nice hug and holding each other in our arms, hopefully all goes well because it's been a number of years when I didn't really try to pursue a relationship with someone or tell them how I feel because I can be self-conscious and negative about myself when it comes to being with someone, I'll update you guys on what happens. Hope everyone is well, have a great day/night depending on where you're from, and I'll chat with you guys later :)
Respawn753
2022-04-01 03:13:21 +0000 UTC
