This post is a late edition and rare experiment. It is being put together on my tablet. I am not sure if I like working this way. However I have to get myself in the habit of putting up content. The picture selected is a representation of spring.
I wrote in the update, that Hollywood Homicide was complete. I was inspired to listen to Hollywood Endings. It is the second book in the Detective by Day series. Both books were narrated by Bahni Turpin. She is really good. I have not started to listen to the Fated Sky. The other 3 books mentioned in previous posts are in a holding pattern.
There was a time I thought writing reviews would be easy. I like to read and listen to books. I love writing what could possibly go wrong. Reviews come in various quality. It is my goal to write useful reviews. While I am attempting to hone the skill, this post is here to help me form the habit. Meanwhile enjoy the picture of spring.
That is all for this post. Have a good rest of the week.
I feel like every time I post on Wednesday, I’m keeping on track. Nothing planned for Wednesday is where I want them to be. This is a short note to let you faithful few know what I am doing. I am going to briefly talk about two books, I’m currently listening to on Audible; two books I will start to listen to this week and a book I am reading with no audio and planning to complete end of the week.
These are four books I’m listening to. Except for Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett, all the books are sequels. I didn’t know it when I bought the Dating Plan by Sara Desai. I will elaborate further in the posted review. Full disclosure and all that The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal is a relisten. I have posted my thoughts on The Calculating Stars and decided to continue. Especially when I heard from the author herself she is writing the fourth book in the series. I will most likely be writing a review on Blade Song and Night Blade together. Because all of these books are audios, I will speak a little bit about the narrator as well. Bringing a story to life with your voice is a skill that not everyone has. I have learned this after listening to over 100 books.
This is the last book, I am going to write about and it will be in the series of YA books that tricked me. Just joking, I bought this book because I like the summary and this cover. It is so pretty. I have moved away from Young Adult years ago, however, there are a few that catch me once or twice a year. A good story is a great story at the right time. This story is intriguing enough to keep me reading.
In the past, I have posted a reading list that was more than ambitious. I kind of set myself up for failure. With this accountability post, I am using this small list as a test. The goal is to complete at least 3 of these books by the end of the week. I am still giving myself a week to post the first review. Next week’s Wednesday post will be a status report or maybe a hot-take.
Writing decent reviews is also a skill that can be learned but to write a review that inspires someone to either pick up that book or make talking points, is a form of greatness. I hope this short post finds you all doing well. Please leave a comment, like, or follow.
This is a late edition and I really have no excuse. Time got away from me and my energy was low. This has been my struggle for many years. There are times I have actively fought against being unmotivated and then there are times I let the feelings win. I don’t know if those are signs of burnout or what but that was how last week was for me.
I watched two episodes of the Legend of Vox Machina on Amazon Prime Video. I didn’t pay much attention to the commercial about the series. My initial thoughts about it were that it was a Dungeons & Dragons, Rat Queens mash-up and drawn a little better than Disenchantment on Netflix. Then I find out later that it is a D&D-based story. So my bad. I like the animation. It is a lot gory, similar to Invincible also on Amazon, it is a little cliche since we all know the story of the ragtag losers who could do better when they are determined. It is still entertaining.
I also watched the first episode of Naomi on the CW app offered by Roku. I don’t know what to think about it. I might wait until the season is complete and binge-watch it, once it is on HBOMax or Netflix. Naomi is based on a DC comics character Naomi. I have the comic series on my TBR and I think I should take time to read it before I give my opinions on it or the show.
This week’s writing goals are slightly different than usual. Last year I stated that I wanted to incorporate short stories into this blog. Then I started to have thoughts about copyright issues and I realized I needed to clear that up before I post. I know I am the smallest of fries in the writing world. However, over the years I have come across so many plagiarism horror stories. Many are fought and won with copyright. I do believe that WordPress is safe for intellectual property but I will feel better once the copyrights are taken care of. Instead of writing, I will be reading my fiction. I have several short stories in various stages that need work. That is what I will be working on this week. Yes, I am writing this for accountability.
I hope this update finds you all doing well. Please remember to be kind and leave a comment if you feel inclined. Have a great week and be open for positive opportunities.
In the 1950s, Elma York and her husband Nathaniel York were on a short vacation, when a meteorite fell from the sky and crashed into the Chesapeake Bay. Destroying a large part of the East Coast, but that was not the only devastation. The whole world is at peril, making the choice for the whole human race.
My Thoughts
I listened to The Calculating Stars when I was in the hospital with Covid-19. I was on my stomach, struggling to breathe. Traveling to the past and then the stars seemed plausible. Mary Robinette Kowal did a wonderful job writing this series and narrating the novel. The story didn’t start with this book. The story started with a short story called The Lady Astronaut of Mars. The Calculating Stars is a prequel to that short story. Full disclosure I haven’t read the Lady Astronaut of Mars; I haven’t listened to the Relentless Moon yet. The Calculating Stars is a decent prequel, the best I’ve come across so far. I admire the skill Mary Robinette Kowal has to make the past, futuristic.
Mary Robinette Kowal is a co-host of a writing podcast called Writing Excuses. It has been running for almost 16 seasons. She is not a co-founder but when they brought her in as a host, she introduced the method of writing called the MICE quotient. She has explained it in the early episodes and just recently did a kind of in-depth class about the MICE quotient in season 16. It is something I saw throughout the story in The Calculating Stars, and I enjoyed it.
If you listen to Writing Excuses and she says that the Calculating Stars is about women being the computers in NASA. For the most part she is right, both Dr. Elma York and her husband Dr. Nathaniel York work for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) before the disaster. Once the International Aerospace Coalition (IAC) is established they resume their roles. However, there is so much more going on. Despite Elma being a brilliant mathematician and licensed pilot, who was part of the WASP program during World War II, all the requirements to be part of the astronaut program. She faces anxiety, misogyny and deals with them in a clever ways. Elma and other women, some also working as computers in NASA and some are qualifying pilots decide to strive to become the much needed female astronauts during this time of desperate trouble for the world. They are still underestimated, belittled, and outright disregarded. In this book, there is grief, racism, and microaggressions. Undaunted Elma speaks about it all, and to be clear she is not always on the right side of the equation. The interesting part of this is that Elma realizes this, apologizes, and does better. One of the things I realized with this book is that being wrong does not make you evil. Sometimes a person needs help, understanding, I think that is one of the many themes in the series.
The Calculating Stars deserved all the awards it won in 2019. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hollywood is knocking down Ms. Kowal ‘s door for movie rights. I have given this book five stars.
I usually only write that sentence with the update posts but let us be real. These place holders are unofficial updates. Except for this one because I am not writing about my work or what my week will be like. This is just a response to a question. It is my opinion, and it could very well be wrong. However, this is where I am today.
Last week on the YouTube channel Casually Comics, the host Sasha posted a video she titled: The return of Supergirl, Is Kara being exploited? The episode consisted of how Supergirl or Kara Zor-El came back to the DC Universe after being killed off in a Crisis event. A question came up that is paraphrased by me like this: Is there a double standard for female fan service as opposed to male fan service? Dick Grayson/Nightwing’s booty is admired by fans and characters in the comics on many occasions. His body had been ogled and taken advantage of, in the comics and animations, look up Batman and Harlequin 2017. However, hackles rise when it is Supergirl. Full disclosure I am attuning my response to the images shown on CC and memory of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse 2010. I have not read the comics that this Supergirl was based on. I was pleasantly surprised in the movie Kryptonian actually sounds like Esperanto. I would also like to add that I focus more on story than artwork even in comics.
For me, the cringe factor grew as they emphasized her age. Kara should be older than her cousin, however, due to science magic, and happenstance, she is younger and underage. She is 17 years old in mind and body, adults are looking at her with inappropriate thoughts. Yes, I know she is a fictional character. I don’t get the same cringe from Nightwing. I think that is because he is an adult. I don’t admire his body when he was Robin. Only when he is a young adult or new adult in his mid to late ’20s. It all sounds ridiculous to think this hard about a subject. But consider this situation, in Nightwing #93. Nightwing is sexually assaulted by another “superhero”, her name is Tarantula. The issue came out in 2004. I don’t know when it was outright called rape, but I first saw an article about it in 2018. There was a lot of shrugging off the issue by the writer and DC comics editors that green-lit the whole scene. I believe the situation would’ve been stopped immediately if Dick Grayson had been a 17-year-old boy. No one would be questioning if it was rape or just “nonconsensual sex” as if one is not like the other. A situation like that cannot happen to 17-year-old Kara because people would call it out for what it is, immediately. The fact that Nightwing is an adult, despite emotional trauma, plays into what people think of the whole situation. So maybe we are just twisted individuals on varying levels.
During the episode, I didn’t feel offended, I knew a number of images were taken out of context, but I did feel a whole lot of cringe for Kara Zor-El/Supergirl. There will be a number of fans who don’t see this and a number of fans who will, and a percentage of that number will also have inappropriate glee from it. This is what puts a shadow on most of my feelings the idea that some jerk is enjoying the scene for the ick value. This brings another thought to mind, exploitation is easy.
When Sasha asked my thoughts on the issue, too many words came into my head. I don’t think a dissertation needs to be written in the comment section of a YT video. I would have liked to put up a compare and contrast pictures but didn’t want to be sued. So enjoy the peaceful science view of the mountains. There will be people who read this or watch Sasha’s video and say that this does not matter. I of course, don’t agree with that. I don’t condemn the writers or artist that drew the characters they way they did or the wrote the stories the way they did. I do believe we should be free to analyze them from all angles. For some these images and even the situations are harmless for others they are trauma triggers. We should be able to face both sides with rational thoughts. Not have these things retconned or pulled from publications because a percentage is upset. This is not for every image and situation, I believe in case by case.
I am truly amazed I had so many words on the topic. I hope this video finds everyone doing well. Please leave a comment, like and subscribe. The week is still new and full of opportunity.
JC Henry Universe 