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Showing posts from July, 2019

“Things Every Southern Woman Should Know How to Make”

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Alice clicked on the headline, mildly curious about what yet another stranger thought should be in her kitchen repertoire. Pictures of China plates mounded with crispy fried chicken, greens, cobbler, and a pile of biscuits a mile high flooded the screen, all set off with a pitcher of sweet tea beaded with condensation. The table was set; an apron draped off to the side next to a box labeled “Gramma’s Recipes” in fine calligraphy. She closed the browser and put away her tablet. She was born a Georgia peach, but she couldn’t make a cobbler to save her life. Did that mean she wasn’t southern? Or maybe just not “Southern.” For Alice, there was no recipe box full of family traditions. Her younger years were filled with rental homes in different states and her father’s voice coaxing her toward a text book rather than a cookbook. Metalworking and fabrication held more interest than learning to flambé or sauté. Did it make her less of a woman that her cooking skills consisted of fresh salads...
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Anime Rambles: Forest of Piano

Forest of Piano is an anime presented for your viewing pleasure on Netflix. In the forest rests an abandoned piano, and Kai Ichinose, a poor boy from the nearby red light district, is the only one who can coax music from its keys. When his talent is discovered by his new friend Shuhei and his music teacher/former world-renowned pianist, Sosuke Ajino, Kai ventures out to hone his skills and share his piano with the world at the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition. Kai is this wonderful, bounce-back kid who doesn't let hardship slow him down. He has a natural talent for the piano, but he meets the challenges that Mr. Ajino sets before him with hard work and tenacity. It's about the love of the music for him, even when he's in a competition, and his enthusiasm lifts up his competitors so that they face their challenges head-on. Unfortunately, not everyone sees it as challenge to themselves. His childhood friend, Shuhei, whose dad is a professional pianist, cr...
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Comic Rec: DAYS OF HANA by Seokwoo

Today’s recommendation is the webcomic, DAYS OF HANA, by Indonesian artist Seokwoo, whose romances are far more than a love story. They deal with social perceptions of minority groups, in the case of DAYS OF HANA, werewolves, what happens when the world views begin to change. In the world of this story, humans keep werewolves as pets, but Hana and Haru were raised together like siblings, and the line between owner and pet is blurry. Hana’s family took Haru in when they found him injured and alone one winter. There's an adorable montage of photos of Hana and Haru growing up, ending with a family photo. But as the two get older, the hazy boundaries between human and werewolf become a problem. Werewolves are given limited rights—education, right to work for wages, etc.—with the hopes they they’ll be able to live independently and on equal footing with humans. However, as the werewolves explore their newfound freedoms, there’s pushback from the humans who have owned them. Tensio...
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Ramblings of a Gamer: Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age

I played the original FFXII way back in the day, and I didn't love it. The graphics were great, but Vaan annoyed the crap out of me, no one really stood out, the game battle mechanics were meh, and--a personal pet peeve--Ifrit and Shiva and my other favorite summons had been relegated to airships in favor of a new crop of espers. When Zodiac Age came out, I decided to give it a second shot--and it fell into my queue because my game TBP list is greater than my free time. But, at last, I found a moment, and I'm once again exploring Ivalice. And I still have mixed opinions. Vaan is still grating, though he doesn't seem as bad after he finally understands Basch didn't kill his brother. I didn't find much use for him in my original go-around, but this time, with the job system, I've been using him in battle a lot. As a shikari, so far he's fairly well-rounded when it comes to health/speed/strength, though I'm struggling with what I want his second job t...
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Book Recs: A BLADE SO BLACK by L.L. McKinney

Alison “Alice” Kingston suffers the worst night of her life when her father dies. Overcome with grief, she flees into the dark, and trips down the rabbit hole. Only, the rabbit hole doesn’t take her to a brightly colored world filled with odd wonders and a disappearing cat; it instead threatens her with a monster—a Nightmare—and introduces her to Addison Hatta, who recruits her to fight the Nightmares plaguing Wonderland and encroaching on the human world. A BLADE SO BLACK is a magnificent twist on Alice in Wonderland , where Alice is a dual-blade wielding Dreamwalker badass backed up by her mentor, the mysterious Addison Hatta and the sleepy-eyed Maddie, a Poet who keeps them going with her potions. She’s got a healthy fear of her mom, who worries about her and wants her to stay safe in a world that’s not always safe for a black girl going about her business. I really like Alice and her friends. Even though she was a skilled fighter, she didn’t come out on top in every battle,...
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Comic Rec: UNSOUNDED by Ashley Cope

I may sound like a broken record, but if you haven't read UNSOUNDED by Ashley Cope, and you like twisted tales of undead wizards and cocky sneak-thieves with tails, you really should. This is an ongoing comic, and the author is 66 pages into chapter 14. It's beautifully drawn and intricately woven for a tight storyline that never fails to surprise you. The characters are wonderfully flawed, messy, and true to character throughout the story, and it's amazing to watch them grow as they face their prejudices and fears. The magic system is well-grounded and the world's history tied to it. Ashley Cope has successfully Kickstarted three volumes of UNSOUNDED at the demands of her fans, and she offers them for sale on her website with a few other items. BUT! You can read the story and enjoy the artwork for free right here!  http://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic/ch01/ch01_01.html So, check out UNSOUNDED and follow along as Duane, the formerly alive scribe, travels w...
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Ramblings of a Gamer: Drakengard

Hey folks! Today I'm hopping into the game time machine! (cue flashy lights and eerie noises) I dove into gaming late. My brother played everything, but nothing really caught my attention until some high school friends of mine shoved Final Fantasy VII into my hands, and then I was hooked. So, for the longest, FF games were my go-to, and from there it was Square and later, Square-Enix. DRAKENGARD was one of the first non-FF games I played. I was drawn to the gorgeous artwork and movie clips and it had dragons! And it was by Square-Enix, so I felt confident that I would love it. And I did love it, but it was so very different from the worlds I was used to. The game was an action-RPG, where I was used to turn-based RPGs, but I caught on quick enough. I honestly loved the weapon wheel and the ability to change weapons on the fly. My favorite weapons were the pole-arms, and that running dash that sent my enemies flying was the best. With the help of free expeditions, my body c...
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Happy Independence Day!  When you're celebrating the birth of the nation, mind your fingers, keep your fireworks on a level surface, and clear the area before detonation!  We'll see you next week! 
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Ramblings of a Gamer: Detroit: Become Human or an Interactive Choose-Your-Own-Adventure

If you're looking for a game with a lot of action, then this is not the game for you. However, if you're looking for a game that challenges the way you think and every decision affects the outcome of the story, look no further! DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN lets you play as three different android characters in a not-so-distant future full of rising tensions between humans and the androids who serve them. As you play, a timeline is created for each character based on the decisions you make for them, which is cool because you can see how one simple choice bends the future in several different ways. I've only completed a single playthrough so far, and while I was mostly satisfied with the outcome, I have a couple characters that I would like to improve their futures. A single playthrough doesn't take too long, but the replay value promises to give me my money's worth--which, by the way, was a bargain in the Quantic Dream collection with HEAVY RAIN and BEYOND: TWO SOULS. T...
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