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50% Got What?

Aug24

So many things I can’t wrap my head around these days. Not sure how to get ahold of a Pfizer vaccine insert, but if this lady reading through it is correct, wow. I hope, I really, really hope she’s correct that only 50% of the people got the actual vaccine and 50% got a placebo. Thank God, because it means my friends and family who’ve already taken the vaccine have a chance! Although the virus may be a mythical creature–thank you, Alberta!–the vaccine certainly is not, otherwise the world governments and corporations wouldn’t be so hellbent on forcing us all to take them. Now the story a few months ago of people all getting saline solution instead of vaccine makes sense. Now it makes sense that Pfizer got rid of their initial control group–they had been promised a much bigger one, the general public. But this makes me hopeful that at least the physical harm of this experiment will be limited. Sadly, the true harm of all of this is psychological and spiritual, and so far it’s had no limits. If you are a Christian, I encourage you to pray like you’ve never prayed before. The regular people of the world are all facing an assault the likes of which perhaps the world has never been seen before. All our great technology is being arranged to enslave us. Pray for all peoples, but especially for those in Australia, who are having a very hard time, and pray that Americans truly wake up and stand up. If America falls, there’s isn’t anywhere else to go for freedom. This tyranny isn’t going to stop unless we stop it, unless we say no. With jobs and income on the line, it’s a very hard thing to do, but it still is going to be easier to do now rather than later.

Thank God, also, that these evil people are planning on boosters, boosters, and more boosters. They just can’t help but overplay their hand. It’s funny that just as people were becoming wise to the futility and perhaps even harm of the flu shot that this mythological creature comes along, huh? And, what do you know, same symptoms as the flu? So, so interesting. The truth will out, I know it will and the greedy tyrants will be their own undoing. May God foil all of their plans and use them instead for His plans and our eternal good. These are trouble filled days, but exciting ones, too.

Let me share again something with you I wrote a few years ago. This is no longer fiction. I wrote this 9/29/2010.

A Society of Health

“Aaachoooiee!!”  Alyssa Taylor sneezed mightily into a tissue from the box on her desk.

“Bless you.”  Raymond Bins, her coworker said as he tapped away on a computer spreadsheet.  “Coming down with something?”

“I think it’s allergies.  Ever since we moved here––”

“Who sneezed?”  Ariana Blight stepped ferociously around the office partition.  She looked a bit like a crow with her tiny, birdlike frame, black sweater and pants.  Her dull gray hair was pulled tightly back into a bun that rested heavily on top of her little, wobbling head.  

Alyssa raised her hand.  “Guilty,”  She smiled sheepishly.  “Sorry, I know my sneezes are so loud.  My daughter always says I sound like a firecracker.”  She drew back into her chair as the older woman stepped up to her, the woman’s beady eyes bright with anticipation.  

“Do you have a cold?”

“It’s…just allergies.”  Alyssa exchanged a glance with Raymond who had stopped typing.  “This building is so full of dust…”  Ariana continued to inspect her, bending low enough to look up her nostrils.  “Is everything all right, Ariana?”

“You have mucus,”  She pointed to the left nostril.  “There.  It appears yellow, not clear.  Blow into this.”  The small woman brought forth a crisp handkerchief from the bowels of her sweater.  Laughing a little, Alyssa obliged.  Raymond rolled his eyes and made crazy signs that the old woman couldn’t see.  It had never been clear to them what exactly Ariana’s job at the company was, but she always seemed to know everything about everyone.  Ariana fearlessly opened the handkerchief and proceeded to inspect the leavings.  “As I thought. Yellow, going on green.  You, Ms. Alyssa Taylor, have the beginnings of a very bad cold, an infection.”

Alyssa shrugged.  “You know, I did feel a bit off yesterday, but I thought it was the weather.  And my allergies get so bad this time of year…”  She trailed off when she saw the glinting triumph in the older woman’s eyes.  “Is there a problem?”

Ariana Blight pulled a small flip-top notebook out of a sweater pocket.  She proceeded to read:  “United States Code, Title Forty-Two, Chapter Two, Section Eight Thousand Four Hundred and Nineteen:  All persons shall take precautions to prevent the spreading of the common cold.  Subsection D, Four:  Any person expectorating or sneezing in a public place shall be examined for infection.  If infection is found, said persons are duty-bound to report to the nearest Health Center and receive treatment.  Upon refusal to do so within one hour of infection report, said person may be subjected to a fine of One Hundred Dollars or up to Thirty days in the local quarantine cell.  Subsection D, Twenty:  Any and all persons failing to comply with this Chapter shall be labeled as a Spreader of Disease and a criminal under this Title Forty-Two.”  

“What?”  Alyssa blinked up at her.  “I don’t…I’ve never heard…”

“They didn’t publish it, you see,”  Ariana whispered softly, leaning over her.  “Only passed it, our wonderful…New Congress.  Now, let’s come along down to the office Health Center, shall we?”  Alyssa sat there blankly.  “Ah, and Raymond…”  The crow-like woman filled out a yellow slip from her pad of paper, ripped it off, and handed it to him.  “The citation number, should you wish to pursue legal action in the near future.  Being around her nine hours out of the day, you are the likeliest to suffer from her…negligence.”  Raymond took the paper and paled at its contents.  “Of course, should you also come down with said infection and fail to address it immediately, you will be issued a citation as well.”

Awaken: Sci-Fi Awesomeness (spoilers)

Aug10

This was one of the most well-written shows I’ve ever watched. Awaken by Shin Yoo Dam, is a mystery revolving around events that happened 20-some years ago at an orphanage called White Night Village. If you haven’t yet seen this show, I would recommend watching it while knowing little about the plot or characters, much better that way. I was confused at what was going on the first few episodes, but it kept me watching, so props to writer Shin.

The first episode gives a little teaser into what happened at White Night Village, but then we are soon introduced to our police investigation team led by Do Jung Woo, played by Namkoong Min (The Undateables). Haven’t seen Min in a lot, but he’s a cutie, and he’s my age, so yay for 1978! He is so totally awesome in this role and I can’t see anyone else playing Do. An FBI agent from the US enters the scene as she’s been called to help with the strange serial killer case they working, a case in which people appear to kill themselves for no reason–A Study in Scarlet, anyone? Jamie Leighton is no Sherlock, but she’s dogged in her work and gets along well with the team. And her backpack is almost its own character. Jamie is played by the beautiful Lee Chung Ah, and I know her best from that crazy movie The Temptation of Wolves.

Also on the investigation team is Kang Hye Won, played by Seon Hyun (Orange Marmalade), and although she’s an awesome fighter, she had way too many anger management issues at first, so that it took me a bit to warm up to her. The team tech guy is Yoon Seok Pil (Choi Dae Chul, Vagabond) and the new recruit is Jang Ji Wan (Lee Sin Young, Crash Landing on You).

Throughout their investigation, the team gets drawn into a deep, dark web, I’m sorry of which to say probably has some basis in reality. We all know of child trafficking in the world, and we all know that key rich people are the ones doing it and that awful things are done to the children. We all know scientists exist who care only for their experiments and little for humanity. Awaken puts both things together. The bad guys are truly villains, even the ones we don’t get to see much of, and it is their lack of remorse that is truly chilling. Aside from Min, the other standout actors were Yoon Sun Woo as an abused young man and later a villain, and An Si Ha who’s beauty makes her character all the more frightening.

Some watchers will probably get frustrated that little is explained in much of the first half of the show, but as the explanations unfold, their clockwork intricacies turn the story into a true morality tale. And the ending was poignant and spot on. Truly great characterizations and great writing. Can’t say much for the soundtrack as I barely noticed it, and if you’re looking for romance, keep looking. Love is there, though, and that’s more important.

As for the big spoilers, ah, I don’t really want to give them now. It’s so, so much better if you don’t know what’s coming. Kinda like life, really. However, I will never think of lollipops in quite the same way. Awaken is both a great police procedural and an old school sci-fi story. In some respects it’s a slow burn, but the payoff is satisfying. Did I mention the writing was great? Looking forward to what writer Shin does in the future. This would also make a great book.

Updates

Aug4

On vacation the rest of this week, so won’t be posting any reviews until next week. Almost done watching the Kdrama Awaken, which is fantastic, so look for that review coming. I’ve started Dostoevsky’s The Possessed, loving it, of course, but it’s very long, so I am not sure when I’ll finish it. Planning how to resist buying more used books on my trip, but it seems like a futile task, because I will surely find something I just have to get. Slowly figuring out what a TwiP is, so look for that, too, in the near future. TfD3 is coming along, coming along, just rather a hobble right now. Despite all the craziness going on in the world, I am happy and confident in Christ and salvation. God is ultimately in control and always wins. Gab is an exciting place to be these days. God be with you ’til we “meet” again. 🙂

Touch Your Heart: A True RomCom

Jul22

Why it took me so long to watch Touch Your Heart, which came out in 2019 is this: One, it looked boring. Two, I wasn’t confident in the acting skills of either of the leads. Despite how good they were in Goblin, in much of their previous works I found both Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na rather boring and without good screen presence. However, as they’ve aged, they have improved much, and Goblin showcased that. Lee was especially good as the lead in Tale of the Nine-Tailed, so I thought I’d give him another chance.

Coming close on the heels of the successful romance fantasy Goblin aka Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Touch Your Heart snapped up the second lead couple in that drama to star in this one. I don’t know how Lee and Yoo relate to each other in real life, but on screen they are gold. And gold is gold. Both could have continued success simply starring together in romances from here on out. Chemistry like that cannot be bought or manufactured. They are actors that bring out the best in each other. They also seem to not age, which is a plus in their industry.

Despite how many romantic comedies exist, it’s rare to actually find a movie or show that is fully romantic and comedic. Touch Your Heart was both, but I was very glad for the comedy because the romance was almost too perfect and promotes unrealistic expectations–no one is that caring for the other person, right? Based off a web novel, the story follows a down-and-out actress Oh Yoon Seo (Yoo), who dearly needs a break. When reluctantly offered the lead in a courtroom romcom, Yoon Seo eagerly accepts, promising to work at a law firm for a few months as research for her role. Fortunately her agency boss is BFFs with a CEO of the law firm Always, and the CEO is an embarrassingly big fan of hers. Yoon Seo is assigned to apprentice as secretary with lawyer Kwon Jung Rok (Lee) and immediately her bright and bubbly personality clashes with Jung Rok’s prickly introvert style.

As the main characters begin to fall for each other, the minor characters come out to play, and they are hilarious! They seamlessly replace the comedy of the leads as the leads take over the romance part. The biggest standout is Oh Jung Se (It’s Okay to Not Be Okay) as the CEO, who has great and sarcastic deadpan humor. The second lead couple are also amazing, and as in Goblin, they nearly upstage the main couple. Lawyer Choi and Lawyer Dan could easily headline their own show. Choi, played by the almost too good-looking Shim Hyung Tak (Melting Me Softly), and Dan, played by Park Kyung Hae (Goblin), seem an unlikely fit at first, but by the end they’ve convinced us (and themselves) they have something together that they couldn’t have with anyone else. Shim really needs to star in his own show, already. He’s stuck on comedy, but clearly has the presence and skills to do much more. He is definitely my latest Kdrama crush.

Props to whoever chose the opening song in the first episode, which became an instant addiction for me: “Strike Up the Band” by The Kinnardlys. It’s peppy and talks about living well and sincerely, a good fit for the story we are about to watch. Both leads live life to the fullest no matter what they are doing and have solid hearts and characters. Props also to the sound effects people! They had to do a lot of work in this one, but every weird sound makes it all more hilarious. They did a great job.

If you’re looking for a satisfying and heartfelt RomCom, check out Touch Your Heart. It won’t disappoint, the lead actors are gold together, it delivers unexpected thrills, and it is satisfying both romantically and comedically.

Dr. Mütter’s Marvels: Book Review

Jul20

After reading a mystery story about a cabinet of curiosities, Dr. Mütter’s Marvels, A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine, was a good next nonfiction read. This book is by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, and not only is it a fascinating tale, but the book is very artistically designed.

Thomas Dent Mütter was a famous surgeon in Philadelphia, 1811-1859, at a time when surgery and medicine were a free-for-all. One didn’t have to have a medical license to practice, and surgery itself was positively barbaric compared to today. Mutter, who later added the umlaut affectation to his name, was quite a character, brilliant to his students, compassionate to his patients, and a true innovator, especially in the field of plastic surgery. He often worked on the poor unfortunates whose defects and deformities no one else would touch. O’Keefe Aptowicz visited his famous museum in Philadelphia as a child and became so fascinated by him that she ended up researching his life and writing this story.

What an amazing story it was too read! All the infighting between doctors and surgeons and all out in public, the dramatic and bombastic medical lectures, the competition between the University of Philadelphia (America’s first medical school) and Jefferson Medical College, the weirdness of Mütter, who often wore silk suits to surgery, and his colleagues like Charles D. Meigs, the differences in experience from Paris to Philadelphia, the amazing surgeries and cases–this story would make an awesome TV show. Meigs could even be the villain in the piece, but he’s more to be pitied than anything else. Sometimes time passes people by, sometimes people don’t change with the times when really they should.

Doctors and surgeons are not gods; neither is the medical industry infallible. In the early 1800s, perhaps the mistakes made in medicine can be excused somewhat, as everything was just getting started with regulating and licensing and all that, but in many ways doctors and medicine have not changed. Even today there are big controversies and differences of opinions in the field, and as it was then, the doctors that don’t fit the industry narrative are silenced as much as possible. It’s sad that more aren’t willing to let all opinions be heard, but that’s they way it so often is with many things. That Mütter made any change is remarkable, and it seems to me he was blessed by God in this, but also that God had him born at the right time, a time when people were willing to change and to consider change. Near the end of his life, America went through a Civil War over slavery, that’s how much things were changing. Today, it’s tempting to think we’ve figured things out medically, but it wasn’t so long ago that most did not know or did not believe that infection and disease could be transmitted by not washing ones hands. Meigs was one such surgeon and refused to change. How many died by his hand when they didn’t need to? It’s a sobering thought. How many die today at the hands of medical professionals who refuse to looks at standards of care that are doing just the opposite for their patients? Fortunately, there are always some, like Mütter, who are true forward thinkers, people with genuine smarts and common sense.

The most striking aspect to me about Mütter was his compassion for the patients–the time he took to get them used to what would happen in the surgery in a time when the only anesthesia was wine, the quickness with which he performed his cutting and stitching, and his brilliant idea of installing aftercare. He really brought the “care” into medical care. It’s mind boggling now to think that patients were given wine and held down for a surgery or amputation and forced to go through with he surgery no matter what, then dumped into a bumpy carriage to recover at home, all performed in front of hundreds of medical students. Compassionate care is more or less standard in America today, though we still have a long ways to go, too. So, so many people are sick today, especially with things like cancer and chronic illness, that it’s too easy to start treating patients like numbers. That’s what I see with vaccines and COVID, the patients are numbers and everyone wants a part of the staggering amounts of money being thrown in at both things. There are doctors who very clearly disagree with the narrative, who have tried explaining that COVID is fairly easy to treat, that it’s not the worst thing since the Black Plague, and that for most a vaccine isn’t even necessary. A step beyond that, there thankfully are many medical professionals also decrying the hasty use of the COVID experimental vaccines, calling attention to the concerning reactions and side effects. As in Mütter’s day, they are purposefully being drowned out, but not for long, I think, for the truth does will out.

Take anesthesia, a new innovation in Mütter’s time, and something that actually bypassed the need for his brand of surgery preparation, which was to meet for weeks with he patient touching and massaging the area to be cut open, so that they wouldn’t be afraid when the surgery finally happened. Instead of being angry about it, however, Mütter embraced the technology, knowing that if it was better for the patient, it would be better for the surgeons too. He also stressed that for the doctor and surgeon, a surgery should be a last and best step–most all other avenues should be tried first. This is a big way we fail today. Surgeries are recommended today so often as to make them routine. Perhaps this should not be. Perhaps there are other ways and better ways to heal. I think of the experience people have had changing their diet, going on keto or carnivore. Much of their inflammation and distress disappears. The truth is getting out there, little by little, especially as people perhaps now have less money to spend on expensive surgeries, but it’s still only a precious few doctors that really embrace these cheaper means.

This story is a great read and of course whatever one’s experience in the medical field, different aspects will resonate more keenly. What I got out of it, would not be what you get out of it. What a fun trip it would be to go to Philadelphia someday and see Mütter’s museum and all of the curiosities collected there. It is amazing that even today we really don’t know sometimes what causes odd growths and deformities on a person. God’s creation is complex and we have a long way to go.

Half-Book Review: Unwind

Jul11

Being a fan of Neal Schusterman’s Arc of a Scythe series, the third book of which I have yet to read, I wanted to try another of his series. Schusterman likes weighty moral topics and is a great writer for young adults. Not many authors are truly able to write YA. It’s a delicate balance between being too childish and too adult. He succeeds by simply treating his characters as people, and giving them introspection without navel gazing. Although teens and toddlers are the ages of humans in which we are most likely to act the most immature and the most selfish, these are stages of life, not a place where any human stays. Toddlers grow out of their tantrums and teens eventually get a handle on their hormones and emotions. Basically, I like that Schusterman doesn’t dwell so much on the kids being teens as he does on the societies in which they find themselves.

I really loved Unwind, but only got halfway through. Right now the topic is just too heavy for me. Unwind is set in an alternate America where there was a Heartland War with the pro-life people fighting the prochoice people. Yes, as in for or against abortion. Really don’t know why the abortionists get a pass with “prochoice.” The stance is really pro-death, not really about having more choices. Certainly not more choices for the babies in question. Anyway, in this war, the pro-life side basically ended up losing. A compromise was made that is a mockery of honoring life. Abortion is now illegal–unwed mothers and/or fathers, and or married/unmarried couples who conceive a child are required to complete the pregnancy and bring the baby into the world, caring for it as they should. However, once a child reaches the teenage years, their life is suddenly forfeit. The parents or guardians can sign away their lives, marking them to be “unwound,” or all of their body parts used in transplants to other younger or older people who need them.

This plot immediately brought to mind Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, as it deals with a similar world and plot: Clones are raised to be come organ and limb donors and everyone pretends this is okay. As the teens in Unwind are not clones, and still live and interact with supposedly loving parents who decide to unwind them, Schusterman’s world strains credulity a bit more than Ishiguro’s does. However, when considering the topic of abortion and the atrocities done to those babies, not only murdering them, but murdering them for body parts and research to improve the lives of older people not denied life, Schusterman’s world could be possible if the love of most for human life continues to grow colder and colder.

The most terrifying thing about reading this book was how normal everything was, how legal, how every i of the law was dotted, how every t was crossed. But of course that’s how it works with psychos who want to take life. Psychopaths will say they talked too loud or something, psychopath abortionists will say the babies are unwanted, or won’t live full lives. Same with euthanasia advocates. And then once the abomination is sufficiently normalized, the dotting and crossing doesn’t matter so much, and Schusterman gives us evidence of that in this world, too, as pretty much any teen can be unwound for most any reason, and one can guess that things didn’t start out that way. Even religion is in on the scam, pretending some teens to be unwound are “tithes” or “offerings,” presumably to the God Creator, but it never actually said, though the religion seems nominally Christian. Could be a revival of any number of ancient religions that practiced child sacrifice. Nothing new under the sun.

The biggest legal framework still in place with this open season on human life is the age definition. You can only kill teens, not before age 13, and not after 18. And in this way the society can pretend it still values life. And, I’m getting so worked up already, which I why I just couldn’t take anymore of this story for now.

It’s a difficult topic. There are unwanted children. There just are, and what to do with them is tricky. Do other people, not their biological parents have a responsibility towards them? Does society? Unwind takes this question a step further, do legal parents have a responsibility to raise teens to full adulthood? Does society have responsibility towards unwanted teens? They get away with all this in justifying their actions due to the teens’ behavior. Many of the teens marked to be unwound are juvenile delinquents or belligerent in some way. (One would think uncooperative teenagers were a new invention). Eugenics is put into practice by trying to weed out undesirable behaviors from society, but then there’s a requirement that all body parts of the unwinds must be transplanted and/or used on a living human being. It’s just bizarre and totally fitting, for once regard for human life is thrown out the window, everything is permissible, including illogical double think. And most likely the teens are going to find that nobody’s really following the rules. That’s it’s a free-for-all.

This book hit closer to home than the Arc of a Scythe series. Scythe, for right now, seems something truly of fantasy, but Unwind…oh, boy, it’s possible. Heartbreakingly possible. There’s a great part in the book where some of these kids marked to be unwound discuss when they think life begins. Like many, they conclude they just don’t know, but people conveniently pretend not to know things when they don’t want to deal with reality. Life begins at conception. Before conception, there is no life. It’s really not that hard, but in this society, and in ours, too, we’ve fallen so far away from actual science and truth, that it’s easy to think we really just don’t know the answer to some things. But, if we truly don’t know the answer, why not err on the side of caution? Why not err on the side of life, not death? In this society they have in part, they’ve made abortion illegal, but in wanting to stop a war, they’ve made an even bigger error by allowing the mass murder of those in a certain age group. If they were smarter, they would have picked an age group that’s not so volatile. But of course, it’s really about the body part harvesting, and for that to work the best, the young must be used.

It is my opinion that those on the side of life should not compromise with those on the side of death. Pro-death is evil. We shouldn’t compromise with evil. Even to stop a war. War is preferable to a society like this. War is often necessary to fight evil, and it’s something we forget. Time and time again I see those who are supposedly on the side of good compromise with those on the side of evil. I’m sure I’ve done it myself–go along to get along. It is a truly cowardly sin. And society moves more and more away from God instead of towards him.

Someday I hope to come back to this series and see how it plays out. Really like the life topics that Schusterman focuses on in his stuff. It makes one thing, really think about the logic and emotions behind life and death issues and human rights. Do the characters become solidly pro-life, wanting life for all, a chance for all human beings? Some probably do and some do not. Was this truly the only way to stop the Heartland War? Likely not. Likely as it is today, the society is being lied to about what actually happened and how it happened. But, the truth will out.

One additional thing: The religious tithe kid had a party, kind of like a Bar Mitzvah, and this is an idea I had too, for my vaccine story that I was working on awhile ago. In my story those kids, too, were excited to get a one-time vaccine that promised to prevent all sickness in their lives. As reality became stranger than my fiction, I simply stopped writing the story. It’s jaw dropping to me all that has happened in recent years, the trampling of life and liberty, the outright lies from everyone, the continuing silencing of the truth, the rush to coerce people into vaccinating–even against their will–and refusing to look properly at all of the negative consequences of the experiment–and it is still an experiment, not something properly approved. The quickness to forget simple truths, like sunlight and fresh air being the best medicine for respiratory diseases. Every day, I feel like shouting the mantra I created in my story to all the vaccine zealots: The Science is Safe, the Science is Sound, the Science is Settled. Say it enough times and it’s all true, right?

Okay, okay, stepping off the soapbox again. Kudos to the writer, but I just couldn’t finish the story at this time.

Shelves with Stories Built In

Jul9
My new bookshelves already filled with stories

Although inanimate objects don’t have souls, we sometimes think of unique furniture or houses that way. We say they have “character,” and what we mean is that those objects are full of stories that whisper happily to our imaginations. This bookshelf definitely comes with stories built in, including its own story, of which I’ll tell you in a little bit. It’s sad that sometimes due to lack of interest, and more likely due to lack of funds and time, furniture like this doesn’t get built much for the average person. They would get a kick out of designing something and see it brought to fruition.

First, let me tell you a little bit about where I live, because I never would have come up with this design if I didn’t live in this particular place at this particular time in my life. I live in both a lakehouse and a treehouse…and a tiny house. Well, a studio apartment above a garage, but I like to think of it as a tiny house. The builder made this place with his own two hands and out of his own imagination. His imagination told him that his apartment was steampunk, and so it has places where the vaulting brackets were left up, pilot-y knobs in the bathroom, and a floor that showcases its would-be flaws to perfection. This quiet place, overlooking the lake in a cold Minnesota spring is where I came up with my design. And let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised to find I could design a set of bookshelves, for I’d never tried it before.

The second thing that happened was that I suddenly had a group that wanted to talk about books every week. Someone offered to build bookshelves as he likes doing that sort of thing, and I decided to take him up on it. Probably the builder didn’t expect it to be this much time and work, but we both really learned a lot during the process–and what a process!

To say that I don’t build anything, is an understatement–I never build anything! Stories are my thing and maybe some crafty things every once in awhile. And I’m not much of an artist, so design stuff? Ha. The first problem I came up against was that my builder actually wanted me to design what I wanted! Yikes. What did I want in bookshelves? Quickly, I realized I couldn’t just say, oh this high and this wide, and maybe this many shelves. Nope. Specifics were needed. So I dutifully bought a tape measure and began measuring and dreaming. My heart set on a secret drawer, but of course I was imaging something out of the National Treasure movies, not something actually, you know, buildable. Slowly, my mind turned to practicality, but also to steampunk. Steampunk is a difficult genre to describe. It’s sort of modernity mixed with rustic, Victorian era decor, and that usually manifests in things like a modern computer decked out in gears and clocks. And pipes. The pipes stuck with me and ended up being the fixtures holding up the top two shelves.

Secret drawer thrown aside, still my brain ran to the impractical. Long have I loved the Cambria quartz countertops and I thought that maybe that material could make the shelves. Not so, not so, for the sales clerk mournfully told me that first, the shelves would be insanely heavy, and secondly it would break my bank account. With a sigh, I threw that idea out, too. Here is my final design:

My design that almost has straight lines

It took me an embarrassingly long time to draw, but when it was done, excitement overtook me. Was it really possible that this bookshelf could actually become a reality? Fortunately, my very good friend, who is also a builder who likes building bookshelves, didn’t laugh in my face. He said he could build it and would I please pick out the wood that I wanted to use. Oh dear. I had no idea, really no idea, but, again, I dutifully went to the lumber store and looked at all the wood planks and they started to run together and I didn’t know what I wanted. More confusing was the possibility that whatever wood I chose, it could always be painted to any color. What colors did I want? Red, yellow, blue, green, why did God make so many amazing colors?

For some reason, I kept going back to the blue stain pine. But with misgivings, because it only seemed to come in thin boards, not wide, bookshelf-sized ones, but maybe online there were other options? My builder found out there were no other sizes. Oh, but my heart was set on it! He said he could make it work.

Weeks and weeks later, after a lot more time and effort and money than either of us were prepared to invest at first, the bookshelves were finished. And how wonderful and remarkable they are. Nowhere else can you find a bookshelf like this. The boards are all unique for they were made patiently and carefully by pegging and gluing blue stain pine boards together and sanding them down to become one board. Their very imperfections make them perfect for this steampunk, lakehouse, treehouse. The pipes at the top add an elegance and make the shelves look truly steampunk. I wouldn’t paint any part now, not a single part. I’m sorry to say it doesn’t come with the brick background, that’s a bit of staging from my friend who actually works on stages from time to time. Here they are in the space:

The shelves in the lakehouse treehouse – and isn’t the floor awesome?

Notice the crowded bookshelves nextdoor? That’s the likely future for this set, but it will mean they are loved, very loved.

As for the drawer knobs, what a job that was trying to decide. Do you know Hobby Lobby carries about a thousand cool drawer knobs? Seriously. But I ended up falling in love with the water diving guy and then it was an aquatic theme: 2,000 Leagues Under the Sea–er, in the trees–Steampunk. Steampunk with a capital S!

Aquatic Steampunk

Seeing the shelves finally finished and in place, I did tear up a little. I couldn’t believe that my design was actually reality. And I was awed that my builder had stuck with me all the way through, and I’d stuck with him, too, for there were surely a lot of moments that the bookshelf project seemed headed for disaster. Through this project, I learned a lot, like how important specific dimensions are. Like how the choice of materials can make something a lot more difficult. But I also learned that persistence, hard work, and giving each other grace are key, no matter what or whom you’re working with. It was a privilege to be a part of this project from start to finish, to be a part of all the excitement, the worries, the triumphs and pitfalls. And to do it all with a friend was a joy and something I will always remember.

I learned that designing something isn’t just about making a pretty something, the design needs to be actually buildable. What a greater respect I now have for builders, woodworkers, and carpenters, especially in working with custom designs and super rookie designers. But the biggest thing I learned, was that sometimes friends will nudge you in a direction in which you need to go. They’ll help you spread your wings and they’ll use your love of stories to do it. Horrible friends! No, no, awesome friends, and they get to learn from the experience, too. Sometimes this begins with a simple offer to build bookshelves. And those bookshelves will always have stories built right into their core, their soul.

No name for the shelves as a whole, but I’m thinking of naming the little diver guy Rusty or Teague. Rusty Teague? Captain Rusty Teague! Who owns a diving vessel with lots of pipes and steam. He’s a punk, he really is.

Doom at Your Service: No Action Figures Here

Jul9

Doom at Your Service is the latest in a recent slew of paranormal romance TV shows out of South Korea. And because it stars excellent actor Seo in Guk (The Smile Has Left Your Eyes) and Park Bo Young (Strong Woman Do Bong Soo) I really, really wanted to like it, but it just ended up being a meh story for me.

Make no mistake, Doom has everything going for it, a unique paranormal figure and world, a fascinating dilemma our heroine faces, good music, great acting and very pretty actors. Almost too pretty, like, how could they possibly be real people? I joke, I joke.

So, what went wrong? After a few episodes, the main couple and storyline began to suffer from lack of action. Doom, or Sa Ram (Seo), is a cool looking dude who really doesn’t do much physically. He doesn’t get into many or even any fights, and although he visits doom on the people of the world, we really don’t get to see how it plays out very often. A symbol of this would be Sa Ram’s smoking. He never actually smokes, but only puts a cigarette in his mouth. Even at the end of the romance, I found the payoff to be very lackluster, especially compared to the recent Tail of the Nine-Tailed, which is very action packed, having the benefit of a clear villain.

The biggest sign for me that something was amiss with the writing was that I became way more interested in the secondary love triangle plot, to the point that I actually forgot about the other storyline and had to continually remind myself of the show I was watching. The triangle, too, started to suffer from lack of action, though. Sometimes a passionate kiss is necessary. Instead, we got quite a lot of talking. Sometimes you can have to much talking–and I like to talk–a lot.

To the writer’s great credit: All of the characters in the entire show had change and growth. I don’t think a one of them was missed, and that is a feat to be proud of, so if the action problem is fixed, I look forward to whatever he or she writes in the future.

One interesting takeaway: Okay, so if you’ve followed my blog enough you know I like to puzzle out how men and women interact together. With the love triangle, the woman is talking to her friend about the guy she used to like. She used to want to kill him. That sounds bad, but she didn’t really want to kill him, it was just frustration because she’s so attracted to him. Then they start talking about the new guy and she can’t figure out which one she likes. Her friend says, “Ah, so this new guy is the one you want to kill now?” Problem solved, now she knows which one she really likes, which one gets her all hot and bothered. Don’t know why, but I can say for at least some women we find the men we like to also be the people who irritate us the most. Probably just attraction and sexual tension or something, but men will probably find these women are easy for them to tease and to get a reaction out of. It’s kinda similar to when Hitch (the movie with Will Smith) tells his clients that hitting is a good thing. It’s not really hitting, it’s about the women being attracted to the man.

To some it up, although Doom at Your Service is a solid show with stellar acting and some great interactions with the characters, the severe lack of action and catharsis had me bored. The main romance would have worked much better as a shorter story, I think, and the secondary love triangle story, as well as the whole world of editors and writers, could have simply been its own show and entertaining in its own right.

In Search of Romance

Jun24

With the dearth of romance in my own life, I often rely on stories to make up the difference. Sad to say, but as of late, whether dramas or tacky Regency Romances, nothing is really engaging me. Real life is actually more interesting for once, though no particular romance to be found, but…let’s just say God has an interesting sense of humor.

Here’s what hasn’t worked: Kdramas Doom at Your Service and Touch Your Heart. Not bad stories, good acting, just really slow. Touch Your Heart will probably heat up a bit as I’m not very far into it, but Doom…sometimes chemistry can’t make for a lack of action. The couple(s) are together constantly, but it’s just not exciting. And the second lead love triangle is a lot more interesting than the main romance. Even that, though, falls flat. It’s like dating someone for a long time, but you never really progress or go to the next level or whatever. The relationship is just…there. Which is fine in real life, but to watch, is so boring it’s almost painful.

As for the tacky Regencies: Tried Julianna by Judith Nelson. It was boring, boring, boring. I really did like her short story Christmas at Wickly, though, so might give her another shot if I come across one of her other books at the thrift store. Next, I tried two Candlelight Regency Specials published by Dell and authored by Lucy Phillips Stewart. Bride of a Stranger jumped around a lot and stopped making sense after awhile. The dialogue was supposed to witty, but was ridiculous, which was unfortunate, because that’s really the only place any chemistry with the leads shone through. Her Bride of Chance, again, the dialogue just was not good. It’s hard enough to write really good modern day dialogue, much less Regency talk, but whatever the author was going for, was not working. It would be amusing to finish both stories, as they are pretty tacky, but I’m not in the mood. I need some good romance, so am turning to Elizabeth Mansfield.

In the Regency surprise box I bought last summer, there is another book by Mansfield called The Grand Passion. Doubt it will be as good as The Fifth Kiss, but I’m hopeful. I’m always hopeful when it comes to romance, both in stories and real life.

As for other stories: So far The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong is trippy, very trippy.

6 Quick Drama Reviews

Jun17

Tale of the Nine-Tailed

Starring Lee Dong Wook (Goblin) and Jo Bo Ah (Shut Up Flower Boy Band). 2021.

Enjoying it a lot more the second time. The characters are all great.

The Devotion of Suspect X

This one’s a Chinese movie from 2017. Starring Wang Kai (When a Snail Falls in Love) and Zhang Lu Yi. Directed by Alec Su.

Although I really liked a lot of the shots and the silence of the movie, it just wasn’t compelling. It’s a murder mystery that’s too easy to figure out, and although the friendship of the main two men is interesting, the story just isn’t thrilling in the way it could have been. The movie is based on a book and there are some other adaptations, so might check those out sometime.

One Page Love

Starring Hashimoto Kanna. 2019 Japanese drama directed by Keita Motohashi. Not having much luck with the Jdramas. This one I will maybe finish eventually, but I find the main character boring. And three love interests in a little much for only a few episodes.

The Divine Fury

Korean movie from 2019. Although I love me some Park Seo Joon (What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim?), this was too scary for me. And the theology was certain to bother me before long, so I gave up.

Touch Your Heart

2019 Kdrama starring the much beloved second lead couple from Goblin: Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na. Am only on episode 2, but it’s pretty funny, the kind of romcom women love to watch and probably most men hate to watch. Both main characters are simultaneously lovable and annoying. Whatever youth serum the two leads are ingesting, I want some! They look great.

Doom at Your Service

This one is 2021 and currently on air. Starring Seo In Guk (The Smile Has Left Your Eyes) and Park Bo Young (Strong Women Do Bong Soon), it is a slow-burn supernatural romance with fantastic acting, an odd world in which the god of it is pictured as a young women who must continually die for the world. Definitely not as powerful as Jesus. He only had to die once for all time. There’s a lot to like – the acting and chemistry between the leads is awesome. The soundtrack’s pretty good, and the love triangle subplot with the minor characters is unexpected and interesting on its own. Still, the show is a bit slow for me and muddled. The world isn’t so far (I’m on episode 10) explained well to my satisfaction and I would prefer more action. No real villain so far, except for Doom himself, and the god girl who sometimes seems good, sometimes malicious. As it’s got SIG in it, I may do a longer review when I finish it.

Updates

I’m getting so, so close to finally finishing my initial draft of TfD, Season 3. It would help if I actually wrote from time to time…but, there’s so many distracting–look, a squirrel! As I’ve committed to a book fair this fall, I’ve got to start to be on the ball, already. Fighting!

As for reading, I am now on Prince Caspian in the Narnia series and am just going to write a blog post once I’m done with the whole series. Have lately to find a Regency Romance that I like enough to actually finish to review. Nonfiction reading: Dr. Mütter’s Marvels by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, and then The Story of Japanese Tea by Tyas Sosen (I don’t know how to make the line above the o). Thriller reading: The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong, and then the second book in the Bowers Files series.