June Wrap Up

Let me start with the greatest thing to happen this month.

#TonyAwards cookies on the blog https://t.co/NXkGaTQrvm pic.twitter.com/kzjtFVWC0B

— Melissa Storm (@eris_discord42) June 8, 2016

My Tony Awards cookies pic got liked and retweeted by the OFFICIAL TONY AWARDS TWITTER. Did I proceed and call people about this? You bet I did!

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Iggle News

This month over at The International Geek Girls Pen Pal Club it has been craft-a-magedon. One of the challenges was to make a postcard to represent our house. My house is House Organa. I totally used fake tattoos to make this and I love it. My handwritting aside.

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Heatwave

I have mentioned here before that Oklahoma Weather is evil. Now that Tornado Season has abated Summer comes in like a heartless cow.

The humidity is so bad that even walking to the mailbox makes me wilt. I miss Fall. It seems like we haven't had a real Fall in years.

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Back to Bad Gamer

I have a new goal for the next month. Finish The Legends of Zelda Twilight Princess.

Maybe about two years ago I gave up Twilight Princess. Why? Let me tell you.

I had been playing this game for awhile. I had finally completed the Temple of Time. Then the Wii glitched and it took me back to the beginning of that Temple, incomplete. I then put the game up and never spoke of it again.

But I feel like now with the heat keeping me indoors, now is the time to get back on this.

Literary Fixation- Rules of Civility

For Literary Fixation this month I read the book Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.

It has a Great Gatsby vibe. I am going to try and review this without any real spoilers.

Rules of Civility mainly takes place during the year 1938. It follows Kathy Kontent and the series of people she meets and how they directly or indirectly affect her life.

New Year's Eve introduces Kathy and her roommate Eve. Two young women trying to find a cheap night on the town to ring in the New Year.

Eve comes from a wealthy midwestern family, bust she has basically shunned her background in order to become her own person. She comes across mercenary at times.

On NYE they meet Tinker Gray. A wealthy man who may not be all he seems.

It is through Tinker that Kathy gets introduced to different sections of the Upper Class of New York. Rich widow Anne Grayden, wealthy but sweet Wallace and trust fund heirs of all sorts.

A lot of the novel focuses on the choices Kathy makes and how those choices change her trajectory in life. The friends she makes, the crowds she runs with, the men she dates and the jobs she takes.

Despite the time period Kathy is an independent woman. She occasional questions her choices in retrospect but seldom allows herself to wallow in the "could have beens" (unless you consider her fairly excessive drinking wallowing).

The structure of the book is interesting. For the most part it is broken up by the seasons of the year in 1938, with a prologue and epilogue set in 1966 as Kathy reflects at a photo exhibit.

The protagonist Kathy may have her flaws but she remains a grounded character you want to succeed.

The other characters weave their way in and out of the story as they do in Kathy's life. It reminds me of how people we know in real life also come and go. Some you never see again others will always be available but they all make an impact no matter how big or small.

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I would definitely recommend this book. While it is set in the past the characters are fresh and relatable.

5 Fandom Friday- Favorite Youtube Channels

It is 5 Fandom Friday time thanks to The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick

This week I decided to change the theme from Podcasts to Youtube channel.

1. Dan and Phil Games

Two of the most well known British youtubers DanIsNotOnFire and The Amazing Phil have a gaming channel. Why do I like this? The Sims. I never have to play the Sims myself instead I can just watched these guys play and laugh my ass off at their commentary as they play.

2. Unboxing Rocks

Some of the most enthusiastic Funko and subscription box fans. Mixx and I have v ery similar taste in our fandoms. I love watching their Mystery Mondays when they open cases of Mystery minis. I can't afford these so I live vicariously through them.

3. Ashens

For a completely different take on unboxing videos there is Ashens. He is blunt about some of the crap you get in subscription boxes. Yet he says in in a British accent so it is charming.

4. Tabletop

Wil Wheaton gets his geeky and famous friends together to play tabletop games. Perfection.

5. Carrie Fletcher/ ItsWayPastMyBedtime

As a theatre girl myself I really enjoy seeing the behind the scenes world of the West End and touring companies. Carrie Fletcher is adorable and talented. Her videos are always entertaining. She has played Eponine in Les Mis and is currently touring as Truly in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Faux Foodie- A Little Game of Thrones

I decided to make a quick Game of Thrones themed Faux Foodie this month. This one is inspired by the meal at Castle Black. 

First off Lemon Sugar Cookies for Sansa. I feel that Sansa has left behind her love of Lemon Cakes and would like something that travels well. 

 I do not have any "making of" pictures because things went wrong with the first batch. As in small fire wrong.

The parchment paper is evil. I must always remember to use tin foil.

Also I grated my knuckle when I started grated the lemon.

The cookies in the picture above are the second attempt. SO much better than the knuckle and smoke flavored first attempt.

Tormund's Sexy Bread

Never has bread looked so suggestive than when Tormund tried to seduce Brienne with his bread eating.

I made this bread using a simple crusty bread recipe I found online. They said to use a dutch oven which I don't have but any oven safe dish is allowed.

Crusty...um, you could say that.

The Wildlings could used this bread as a weapon. It took three different knives before we managed to cut through this bread. If Tormund had this bread it would have been a different type of scene.

5 Fandom Friday- Fandoms I Couldn't Get Into

Fandom Friday is back thanks to The Nerdy Girlie and SuperSpaceChick. 

This week "Fandoms I Couldn't Get Into".

1. Supernatural

via GIPHY

Let's get the one I am most ashamed of over with first. I tried to watch a few episodes of Supernatural because I know a lot of people who LOVE it, but I just could get into it. Maybe I didn't watch enough episodes. IDK

2. Twilight

via GIPHY
I grew up reading Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles so the Twilight series just didn't cut it with me. I read the book and saw the first movie. No thanks

3. P.C. Cast
Since I live near Tulsa, OK I could not escape P.C. Cast's series The House of Night. A vampyre series set in and around Tulsa. Yes it is interesting to read in a book about places you can go to whenever, but for me the books just fell flat.

4. Comics
Yes I love the Marvel Cinematic and Television universe. Yes I grew up watching Batman the 1960's series. But actually reading comics. Nope. I have a few comics. I think anyone with a geeky subscription box has a few laying around. But I have never actively sort them out.

5. The Magicians
via GIPHY
This is another one that I hate to fess up to not liking. I watched the entire first season, but I really did not like any of the characters (Eliot being the exception even though he could be very unlikable at times too).

There it is. I feel bad about not liking most of these. Maybe in the future this will change.

Tony Awards Cookies 2016

The Tony Awards are this Sunday!

I have not missed a Tony Awards in a least a decade. I love this awards show. It always has great performances, good hosts and as someone too far from Broadway this is as close to it as I can get... for now.

Since I started this blog I have made some sort of Tony Awards theme food. I went with cookies again this year mainly because I was strapped for time but I wanted to try something different.

I painted these cookies with food coloring and loved the results.

For the Hamilton and Fiddler cookies I made stencils. (they worked out okay)

I will be live tweeting again this year so follow me on twitter.

Hamilton

Fiddler on the Roof

American Psycho

Tuck Everlasting

Waitress

2015 Tony Cookies
2014 Tony Awards Menu

Netflix Picks- June 2016

A new month and some new Netflix picks.

This month I choose three semi-cult films. These have not reached the cult status of say Rocky Horror (LOVE that film).

Remember that these suggestions are currently on Netflix US but they could leave soon.

Aeon Flux

If you grew up in the 90's you might remember the animated version of Aeon Flux on MTV. This is the sci-fi thriller film adaptation. It stars Charlize Theron as Aeon. It is set in a future Utopian city where the rest of Earth as been basically destroyed. Even though they live an idyllic life, something isn't right in this world. Que rebel warrior Aeon Flux as she discovers the truth behind this false Utopia.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I have been a big fan of Kate Winslet since Heavenly Creatures which is why I initially watched this. What always surprises me is how good an actor Jim Carey can be when he is not being over the top. When he reacts to the weirdness around him instead of contributing he is brilliant (See The Truman Show for another example).

The interesting thing about this film is that it isn't really linear. A good clue is to pay attention to Kate's hair color to figure out the time frame (if that makes sense).

Basically this is about what could happen when you have the option to completely erase someone from your memory. Is it really worth it?

Queen of the Damned

I have loved the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice since before should have been allowed to read them. Lestat is my favorite but Tom Cruise's version just didn't work for me. Lestat in this film is closer to my Lestat. The music is great (I have the soundtrack). And Aaliyah was fantastic as the Queen.

These are my picks this month. Tell me if you watched any of them and what you think.

Also I would love to know if there is anything you would like to recommend to me. I'm always looking for something new to watch

May Wrap Up

May has been a tiring month but it has had some bright moments.
Mainly Captain America: Civil War
I don't know of you can tell but I loved this movie.

Oklahoma Weather
One of the reasons I do not have much to write about is Oklahoma Weather.
Spring in Oklahoma is Tornado Season and May is the peak month for some monstrous storms. To be honest, tornadoes can happen year round here. The terror never truly ends.
I spent many a day this month standing in front of the TV watching the news and waiting to see if I must grab the cat and make a mad dash out of the house to the storm shelter.
That is the bad thing about having a storm cellar outside of your house. You must leave the house to find shelter when every basis instinct say "nope".

Hopefully with summer starting things will pick up and I can find something interesting to write about.