MEDIA MONDAYS: FLASH FIVE + BOOKTUBEATHON RESULTS.

Last week I announced that I was going to participate in the 2015 Booktube-A-Thon. Well, it went both better and worse than I expected. I managed to read a grand total of two and a half books in the week. Considering I've been in a reading slump this year, I'm pretty proud of myself, especially since one of those books was read in less than a day and was around the 350-page mark. I think my mistake was starting with The Waves by Virginia Woolf. As much as I love Woolf's writing, it is quite heavy and for somebody who hasn't been reading a lot lately, it was a big ask. I'm still about halfway through it.

As for what I did finish...
The Sleeper And The Spindle - Neil Gaiman
Otherworld Nights - Kelley Armstrong

With those two books, I managed to fulfill four challenges out of seven: a book with blue on the cover, the last book I acquired, finish a book without letting go of it and read a book you've really wanted to read. Not bad considering I only finished two books.

It's been a while since I did a media flash five - the last one was back in May - so I thought it was about time I shared what I've been enjoying lately.

TELEVISION - SKINS (UK).
I watched the first two seasons of Skins with my brother when it first aired back in 2007 and enjoyed it a lot - but I was the same age as the characters. When I saw that it was available on Netflix, I was eager to rewatch and share it with my husband. We made it through season one on a lazy Sunday and are both loving it. It really is deserving of the praise it receives and it's strange seeing actors like Nicholas Holt, Hannah Murray and Joe Dempsie who are now reasonably well-known. I stopped watching the show after the first generation moved on so I'm looking forward to giving the rest of the seasons a chance.
Netflix AU

BOOKS - OTHERWORLD NIGHTS.
This was one of my booktube-a-thon reads and a book that I was so excited to stumble upon earlier this year. When the series ended I was disappointed because it was over and because it just wasn't the ending that I wanted. Otherworld Nights is a collection of old and new short stories about some of the characters from Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series. Hidden, Stalked, Demonology and From Russia, With Love are all spectacular, with Hidden being what I wish the series end had been. You can read my full review on Goodreads. If you're a fan of the series, it really is a must-read and such a nice return to beloved characters.
Goodreads | Booktopia | Book Depository

I know not everybody is loving Bitten. Deal with it.

GAME - LIFE IS STRANGE.
Life is Strange is a five-part episodic game that follows a teen girl attending a prestigious art school to pursue her dream of becoming a photographer. Okay, that's a really boring way of telling it. Protagonist Max is sitting in class when she falls asleep and dreams of a hurricane heading towards her hometown. When she awakes, she finds she can control time. The story is heavily based on your choices - which you can obviously manipulate but will have more and less obvious short- and long-term consequences - so there's not a lot else you can say without getting spoiler-y. At the end of each chapter you can see what the rest of the world chose, which can be a little horrifying. Despite some of the painful teen dialogue, it's definitely worth a playthrough or two.
Website | Steam Store

PODCAST - SHE DOES.
I love when a recommendation from an app pans out! She Does is a fortnightly, hour-long podcast interviewing creative women working in media. Each podcast goes through the interviewers story of how they got where they are today and what their job entails. Episode 13 featured Maggie Steber, a prolific documentary photographer, who talked about her personal and professional experiences in Haiti. In episode 12, Senior Development Executive at Pixar, Mary Coleman who talks about her work on recent Pixar film Inside Out and the influence of her grandmother on her life and work. The stories are both touching and inspirational and there's a small segment at the end of each episode devoted to the band/artist who provided the soundtrack for the episode.
Website | iTunes | Stitcher

YOUTUBE - THE FLOG.
If you aren't already aware, Felicia Day's The Flog has finally returned to Geek and Sundry. If you were never aware of The Flog, it's a weekly vlog of sorts by Felicia where she discusses things she's enjoying like games, books and the oddities you find online, and does crazy activities like room escapes, pole dancing and neon-sign making. You can find a playlist of every episode here. The relaunch of The Flog coincides with the release of Felicia's book, You're Never Weird On The Internet (Almost) for which she is currently touring and shamelessly plugging everywhere but it's only mildly annoying at the beginning and end of every episode. Watch the latest episode below...


What have you been enjoying lately? We'll be going to see Trainwreck tonight so look for that review next Monday!

CRAFT ALIVE EXPO

  
On Saturday, I met up with my mother and (albeit, reluctant) little sister to attend the Craft Alive Expo in Wagga Wagga. If you've never heard of Craft Alive, it's a three-day fair full of supplies, handmade goodies and workshops held in various parts of regional Victoria and NSW (click the link for upcoming dates).

We had a lovely day, browsing stalls of fabric, marveling at beautiful quilts, lusting after handmade jewellery and we stopped to enjoy a cuppa and some cake. We also attempted to join in two of the free quilting workshops, however since the hosts weren't miked up and there wasn't a lot of space, we didn't stick around for long.

For an expo that totes itself as hosting "craft of all ranges", the overwhelming majority of the expo - at least the one we attended - was quilting related. Sure, there was some papercraft/scrapbooking, woodwork, candles, jewellery, teddy bears and, oddly, aromatherapy, but mostly there were quilts. Did I mention that there weren't any yarn crafts?

Given that there are two other expos - Stitch! and Pages! - I expected Craft Alive to be more well-rounded. While the quilts were beautiful to look at (and touch) and there were lots of gorgeous materials to peruse and ponder over, as somebody who mostly knits, crochets, and might occasionally dabble in dressmaking, I was a little disappointed. Still, it was a fun day with the girls!

Sadly the day was a slightly marred by one stall owner (who I've chosen not to name). While taking photos, as I and many others had been doing all day, a woman abruptly and rudely said that while she didn't mind if we took photos, she'd prefer if we asked first. I cannot stress in text just how rude she was. I was so taken aback that I quietly slipped my camera away.

There are better ways to deal with this situation - if you aren't capable of being polite, perhaps post a sign. It's a shame that this woman felt the need to verbally assault me at what should've been a thoroughly enjoyable event. In the social media age, as a business owner you should be nice to everybody! That said, the majority of people were friendly and helpful.

I did make one little purchase - a pair of bee-shaped silver studs from a store called Hunter and Jade. Michelle has some lovely products so if you're into animal earrings or beautiful wooden necklaces, definitely give her website browse!

The next Craft Alive expo is in Morwell, Victoria on 14-16th August, then in Orange, NSW on 11-13th September.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for concession and $5 for children 6-15yrs (under 5s are free!) with workshops ranging from free to $20pp.

The expo runs from 10am to 5pm daily. 

MEDIA MONDAYS: BOOKTUBE-A-THON 2015

I'm not a booktuber - obviously - but occasionally challenges arise from other parts of the web that just catch your eye and you can't help but thrust yourself into them even though you will inevitably crash and burn. But I haven't learnt that lesson yet so this week I'm going to push through the 2015 Booktube-A-Thon.

The Booktube-A-Thon is a week long reading marathon, run by Ariel Bissett from the third to the ninth of August. The goal is to read as many books are possible, but the official challenge also offers some smaller challenges. You can complete each challenge as a separate read, have some that overlap or disregard them altogether. The challenges and my potential picks are as follows:

1. Read a book with blue on the cover - The Waves Virginia Woolf (167)
2. Read a book by an author who shares the same first letter of your last name - The Horologicon Mark Forsyth (241) 
3. Read someone else's favourite book - Good Omens Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (401)
4. Read the last book you acquired - The Sleeper and The Spindle Neil Gaiman 3/8
5. Finish a book without letting go of it - The Sleeper and The Spindle Neil Gaiman 3/8
6. Read a book you really want to read - I Know I Am, But What Are You? Samantha Bee (239)
7. Read seven books - The Tales of Beedle the Bard JK Rowling (105)

Yes, the majority of these books have blue on the cover, if they aren't entirely blue. I've tried to put in a good variety of lengths and genres. Hopefully I'll be like this over the course of the week...

...and not this.

I have a lot of books in my to-be-read (or TBR) pile and with any luck I'll be able to make a bit of a dent in it and pull myself out of my 2015 reading slump. On the off-chance that I come to a book and just aren't enjoying it or don't feel like reading it, I have a small pile of books to swap out for some of the more flexible challenges:

This Year Will Be Different Maeve Binchy (261)
The Storyteller's Daughter Cameron Dokey (218)
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk David Sedaris (159)
Surfacing Margaret Atwood (199)
Hark! A Vagrant Kate Beaton (166)

Over the course of the week, I'll try to update this blog post with my progress.

If you're interested in participating, GO START NOW. Book Depository also have a sale running in conjunction with the challenge with some great reads on it (cannot recommend Oryx and Crake or Wicked enough).

Official Booktube-A-Thon Channel | Official Twitter

FOs, WIPs and OTHER BITS.

Like many other crafters, I am hopeless at focusing on one project at a time. I usually have at least one side project in case I need a break or I do a lot of little projects in short succession. Over the last month, I've made two hats, started another blanket (albeit a lot smaller than the last) and, despite what I said back in mid-June, Sophie has grown. Keep reading if you want to see what I've been working on!

After a recent yarn hunt for something specific turned into a stash addition, I had to turn this Patons 8ply Cotton Blend in a lovely shade of mustard (actually called Mineral) into something worthwhile. When I found this Beeswax hat pattern by Amy van de Laar, I was sure I had a winner but unfortunately - and despite swatching, frogging and starting again with fewer stitches - it's just too big. I think I have just enough yarn left to reattempt with smaller needles, but it is a little disappointing.

We're at that age where everyone we know is doing one of two things: getting married or having babies. Since we're not planning on having children, the latter is always a nice opportunity to bust out some smaller projects. I made this hat for one of husband's co-workers, whose wife is due to have a little girl this weekend. The pattern is the Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap by Gro, with alterations for worsted/aran yarn thanks to this version by Ravelry user, wskmontanna. I used Malabrigo in Sunset, which I had in my stash.

I think I might make some little booties to go with it, but I haven't found quite the right pattern yet, especially for a chunkier yarn like Malabrigo. Any suggestions are welcome!

I've had this baby yarn in my stash for a while (I used little bits of it to make a baby-themed dodecahedron for a commission a few years ago) and decided I wanted to put it to use. Finally inspiration hit when I stumbled across this simple yet gorgeous blanket by The Purl Bee. It's done in fingering/4ply yarn, which is a rarity in blankets and much better suited to the Australian climate. My squares are a tiny bit bigger than the pattern (six inches as opposed to four and a half - is it Aussie yarn or me?) so I'm aiming for a 5x6 crib blanket, rather than 7x9 - though we'll see how that goes when we get there. I don't have an intended recipient for this one just yet but I'm really excited to see how it comes together.

If you're interested in giving this one a go, The Purl Bee sells yarn kits with Koigu Premium Merino the appropriate colours. I'm using five different colourways of Bambini Print and regular Bambini in white for the borders by Baby Bella.

Finally, after having a "completed" Sophie's Universe sitting around my house for a week or two, I couldn't take it anymore, declared it not-quite-right and decided to add the border (but not the granny squares). I am so much happier with how it looks now - the scalloped edging make it look that much more finished compared to the flat edge it had before. It is now a whopping 2.05m (almost 81") and is quite heavy but I love it all the more. I'm so glad I can now genuinely call it done and that I can promise it won't appear in another blog post!

What's are you working on at the moment? Are you a one-at-a-time wonder or a multi-project nut like me?

MEDIA MONDAYS: TERMINATOR GENISYS

If you're totally unfamiliar with The Terminator franchise, stop reading this review and go watch the first two films. Minor spoiler alert but nothing terribly surprising.

Time travel is a funny thing. It raises all sorts of, "but why can't they just..?" and usually creates more plot holes than it solves. Look up the likes of Harry Potter, Back to the Future, Looper or About Time and find dozens of people wondering why they didn't just do this or how didn't that cause that to happen. It's such a fun concept but from a writing perspective, it really is a headache to do well.

Terminator Genisys rewrites most of the history set out in the first movie: Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) is sent back to 1984 to save Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) from the T-800. As he leaves, he sees John Connor (Jason Clarke) being attacked by the Eleventh Doctor an unknown figure (Matthew Smith) and receives new memories from an alternative history. A history where Judgement Day didn't happen, but instead an operating system known as Genisys (Skynet by any other name...) will launch in 2017.

He arrives in 1984 only to find Sarah Connor already knows her fate, courtesy of a T-800 similar to the one in T2 - affectionately nicknamed Pops - who saved her life when she was nine and gave her information regarding her future. Somebody else has been playing with history! Reese agrees to help Sarah destroy Skynet before it launches, but instructs her to travel to 2017 instead of 1997 because of the changes to the timeline he witnessed.

Confused? It's actually less confusing to watch than it is to explain.

If you've seen the trailer, you'll know that there are plenty of events from the first two films that still take place. Unfortunately, they either feel like groan-worthy fanservice or not all that surprising (and hey, the big twist was in the trailer!). I just can't imagine a lot of people are jumping in at film number five with zero franchise knowledge. Using time travel and knowledge of the timeline to their advantage (again, again) is actually mildly annoying - why not go back two years instead of two days before the launch of Genisys (Skynet)? Why not see what would actually happen if John wasn't born? Why not this, why not that.

In my review of The Martian last week, I mentioned an unpopular opinion that I thought perhaps made me a little morbid, but I was left with the same feelings after seeing Terminator Genisys. In the original film, Kyle Reese dies saving Sarah from the T-800. Since that T-800 is taken care of pretty quickly (they already know he's coming), Reese never dies in this reality. In fact, none of the good guys do this time round and there's even a semi-happy ending (yes, she chooses him again). There's just no emotional cost and you never really worry about anybody's safety.

No, really.

I remember being terrified in the original two movies, feeling Sarah's fear that ultimately makes her into a crazy badass, the loss of Kyle, the shock when the T-800 isn't the bad guy and being even more scared of the T-1000. That horror element and emotional depth is so lacking here as it is in a lot of media nowadays. Giving Skynet a face (the Genisys program is a physical AI a la Matt Smith meets Cortana meets HAL 9000) actually makes it less scary. If the idea of what is essentially cloud technology were supposed to be mild-terrifying, it fails.

All of that said, for a mindless action film it's pretty great. There are all sorts of chases (trucks, vans, buses, helicopters, you name it), melty robots, explosions, fancy gadgets and weaponry and a scene with Arnie fighting himself, The moments of humour that aren't totally cringe-worthy are definitely chuckle-worthy. Emilia Clarke, while no Linda Hamilton, looks great and holds her own and Jai Courtney and Jason Clarke are adequate as Kyle Reese and John Connor. I was excited to see a disheveled JK Simmons and mildly disappointed he didn't get more screen time.

There's a very short, "of course it didn't!" mid-credits scene (we were the only ones in our viewing who actually caught it) that shows that Skynet Genisys wasn't destroyed. I suppose the question is, how many more times can we do this? I wouldn't say give it a miss, but maybe wait until it's out on DVD.

SYDNEY MEET-UP HAUL.

So naturally during my recent trip to Sydney, I spent a little bit of money. Given that we went to half a dozen bookstores, I bought books. I received books. I got a lot of books.

I managed to find Buffy Season 9 Parts 1 & 2 for $45 each - a total bargain if you live here. I had to fight another girl for them and when we did find them in another store, they were closer to $60. I did a thorough search of the Dymock's music section for biographies and came across Viv Albertine's (guitarist for The Slits) autobiography, Music Clothes Boys. Expect a review of it soon, I'm currently making my way through it.

Much to my surprise I found I don't own every Kelley Armstrong book so I had to buy Otherworld Nights. I guess I stopped keeping track after the series ended and I'm now looking forward to the release of Otherworld Secrets next year. As part of our bi-annual book exchange, I received Sabriel by Garth Nix. I recently watched booksandquill's review of Clariel so I'm really looking forward to getting into the series.

Moving on from books, I couldn't walk through Sydney's Chinatown without going into Morning Glory, where I picked up a handful of goodies including a plush Domokun (in main picture), this adorable red panda notebook (it says, "I'm a lesser panda"), a suction cup nose keychain, some colourful bandaids for a friend and a Micro Block Mike from Monsters Inc. I also received a hand warmer for spending over $10 (not pictured).

Naturally we went into a tabletop gaming store where I purchased the Oz edition of Fluxx. It has been a great hit in our household so far! It's such a great game to pull out and quickly play a few hands (with two people at least, it gets a little more complicated when you have 4-6 people) and it's so based on chance since the rules are ever changing that anyone can win.

Finally, after discovering I wasn't the only one who wanted to go into Sephora (the conversation was "THERE'S A SEPHORA HERE?!"), I picked up a Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Cathedral. I also had my eye on one of the Bite Beauty lip crayons but after a bit of a mixup, they did not have the colour I wanted in stock.

And that's it from me! Naturally most of my money was squandered on things like food and public transport. We're already planning for next year's trip to Brisbane!

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MEDIA MONDAYS: THE MARTIAN REVIEW.

Right, let's get this out of the way: I am not a fan of "traditional" sci-fi. If there's astronauts or aliens or space travel, you can usually count me out. It's mostly the science and tech-speak that does me in, but I also have a hard time connecting with the scenarios and characters. I have next to no interest in reading about exploring worlds beyond our own or finding alien life forms. There are a couple of exceptions, but mostly I'll stick to fantasy or some amalgamation of the two.

I am only talking about books. Gimme Doctor Who or Firefly or Aliens any day.

Except for 2001. Not a fan.

That does mean when it comes to book club picks, I occasionally miss out. Usually that's fine... unless everybody is raving about an amazing book. That's why I, non-sci-fi fan, decided to read The Martian.

Or listen to the audiobook, rather. Everyone said it was great and I'm not interested enough to actually read the book. If I hadn't, I probably would've quit pretty early on. I don't like sci-fi!

If you're not already familiar (I'd be surprised - the book is getting a lot of attention and there's a movie release coming), The Martian is about astronaut (and botanist/engineer) Mark Watney, who is presumed dead after a sandstorm and left on Mars by his crewmates. Before you think that sounds heartless, they had good reason to believe he had died and it's not NASA policy to carry "dead" weight, so to speak, so they don't search for his body. Without giving too much away - though it's not that mysterious in the first place - thanks to some... science Watney pulled through and is now struggling for survival as he becomes the first man to do a great many things on Mars.

...aaand I'll probably just watch the movie 'cause Matt Damon.

For the most part, the story is told in the form of log entries from Watney himself. They get a little formulaic after a while - ate bad food, this thing broke and I'm not sure what I'm going to do, oh wait, fixed it! oh crap, nearly died again... - but Watney's humour and resilience (or resilience through humour?) and my desire to see if Mars really does kill him make the journey worthwhile. He has a witty tenacity that makes him sort of charming. Unless you hate sarcasm, childish jokes and strong language, then this book is not for you. His original estimation is, "I'm pretty much fucked" and that's about all you need to know about him. It really is an understandable coping mechanism, though by all accounts Watney was like that before he was left on an inhospitable rock.

Since it's more the diary of one man's struggle to survive rather than strict sci-fi, it's an enjoyable and easy read. Where I'm usually turned off - science and technology - sounded great. That said I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything crucial if I tuned out for thirty seconds because I'm not an astrophysicist or mathematician. Again, I probably couldn't have handled reading it though. Despite Watney's manner and the occasional screw-up, what he does pull off by himself isn't totally unbelievable since I'm sure NASA picks their guys with purpose and care. That or 'cause science, I guess.

That's my usual reaction too.

While I didn't dislike Watney - I did audibly laugh on occasion and think shucks, how is he going to get out of this one - I was relieved when around page 109 the book switched to third person for some time with NASA and was annoyed when we went long hauls without hearing from them (though this may have been a stylistic choice to display Watney's isolation). I imagine it's even worse on the page. Later on, we get to see how Watney's crew is dealing with leaving a "dead" man behind on Mars. These are the moments where narrator RC Bray really had a chance to shine. Despite their one-dimensional nature (more on that later), he did a stellar job giving them personality and life.

Unfortunately where this falls short for me is the writing. Weir is not a seasoned author and it shows. There's a lot of great technical speak (or I think it was?), which make sense as Weir is a programmer by trade, but you come out not having any visual notion of the characters. Or Mars. Or anything else for that matter. Descriptions tend to be measurements or shapes or colours, which is a little disappointing. The characters, while thankfully diverse, tend to be quite flat and trope-y and the one piece of development comes out of nowhere. It could be because we only really get to know Watney, but you definitely can put everyone into little boxes.

Duuumb ways to die... so many dumb ways to die.

I have some probably unpopular opinions regarding the end of the book, but I think I'll keep my spoilers to GoodReads - which you can find over here. Overall it is an entertaining read, even if like me you aren't a fan of the genre. I don't believe it's worth the hype it's getting, but I understand why it's getting it. It's just enough of a break from the norm to make it stand out. It lacks some literary finesse and gets a little repetitive but it's a solid concept and Watney really is a likable nerd. I still probably wouldn't physically read it though.

Oh, and Watney? You might be a botanist/engineer, but you're also an astronaut. Those guys are fit. Don't try to tell me that doesn't have any pull with the ladies.

He's probably pondering the friendzone. Dick.

ANNUAL BOOK CLUB MEET-UP.

Once a year, the members of my book club flock together for a weekend of fun, exploration and generally nerdiness. This year five of us spent four days together in Sydney (with a couple of locals flitting in and out as they could) and spent the weekend visiting galleries and gardens, shopping and table-top gaming, eating and doing karaoke, and my personal favourite, our annual bookstore scavenger hunt (there will be blood!).

Below are some of the highlights from the trip!

The view from our apartment

The box is 43 square centimetres!

For privacy reasons, I've left out a lot of our group photos. I had such a fantastic time with the girls, it just flew by and next July cannot get here fast enough! In the next couple of days I'll put up a haul of all the goodies I bought (and received - we have a secret book exchange twice a year) on the trip.

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