There is something about January that makes me feel like
writing a listicle. Maybe it’s because after Christmas I have lots of cash and
very little self-control left, or maybe it’s because it feels more productive
than the 100s of things I’m meant to be doing. I’ll try to stick with things I
haven’t referenced on this channel before because I don’t want to devote this
page to buffy (at this point my love of the show is borderline cultish) and I can’t
guarantee that everything I include on this list is modern, but they helped me
get through a year of Trump, Celeb deaths, and killer clowns.
First up – what I’m reading
I am currently halfway through the first “Wicked and the Divine” graphic novel. A sharp story about gods running around as celebrities
with a two year lifespan. It’s fantastic, with enough modernity to be fun
without feeling like its shoehorned in (looking at you “batgirl”!) It’s also
wonderfully British without resorting to Sherlock holmes-esque references to
it. Finally I love the aesthetic, and it makes sense that gods would be worshipped as celebrities, with what can only be described as the best hair – there are so many colour streaks in this series. Luci being my favourite character so far, I just love the idea of the devil’s reincarnation being a powersuited queer woman with “David Bowie” hair, even if the comparison still stung a little since this time last year.
Edit: nope. My favourite character is definitely inanna now, Hands down!
I also delved into Constantine recently, which is excellent,
it’s about a slightly scouse, bisexual, Alcoholic, dark magician sorting out
people’s supernatural problems. I read my copy of “Constantine: the Hellblazer
vol 1” and he’s just rugged enough and charming enough for his character to
work. His sexuality is also a working part of the story without being a major plot
point (looking at you YouMy first Constantine ever was a dark one, so this was a nice way to get the bitter taste of his more serious books out of my system. I really like the idea that he goes off on adventures surrounded by the ghosts of his close friends purely to torment him and my favourite part is the house calls he makes, solving monster attacks like they are mere inconveniences, talking about them in a tone that an average person would talk about a broken washing machine.
Final book:
A proper book this time. It’s Kendall Kulper’s “The Magic Thief.” This series follows a young orphan who is immune to magic. Because of this trait he is an outcast of the magic society and considered dangerous. If I’m honest the book started a little slow for me, but in fairness I had watched nothing but high paced 90s Wheadon that month. However I kept with it and found it to be both very witty and quite insightful. The magic world she made is very stylised and exact, with great details like which countries specialise in which styles of magic. This book came to me at a time when I needed it and it was like it flickered a switch in my brain.
A proper book this time. It’s Kendall Kulper’s “The Magic Thief.” This series follows a young orphan who is immune to magic. Because of this trait he is an outcast of the magic society and considered dangerous. If I’m honest the book started a little slow for me, but in fairness I had watched nothing but high paced 90s Wheadon that month. However I kept with it and found it to be both very witty and quite insightful. The magic world she made is very stylised and exact, with great details like which countries specialise in which styles of magic. This book came to me at a time when I needed it and it was like it flickered a switch in my brain.
What I’m currently watching
The Buffy spinoff show Angel has been big on my radar this
year, with drama varying from Darla and Wolfram and Hart to the end of the
world and the return of Angelus. This show, just like its little sister, mixes
big questions and real world issues with light hearted goofiness and crazy
monsters. It also sparked my love of the show when everyone’s favourite rogue
slayer, Faith returned to the light to fight a bigger problem. Honestly reformed
Faith is my favourite, because she’s grown and less reckless without losing her spark. Out of all the
characters in the whole show, I want to be Faith the most, even despite the
fact that A) I am a dude and B) Anya is much closer to my spirit animal than
Faith. As you can tell i haven't managed to break free from my addiction yet.
The one thing that almost thawed me from being frozen in the
90's with my favourite show is Community. Which has all the goofiness
required to fill the gap. it’s about a community college called Greendale that does
everything accept a functioning lesson. I was first introduced to it when Mike
Regnetta talked about its link to Postmodernism, which is covered within my
sociology course. 3 seasons later it became my favourite show. However its humour
being either bang on hilarious or miles away, but this tends to be the pattern with
American humour. It’s also so quotable, there is literally a set of quotes for
everyone regardless of personality or situation.
Finally gravity Falls ended this year, which is a little sad
but I believe they ended it at a good place. This show is about two twins who
move to their great uncle’s for the summer and find weird and wacky hijinks
going on. This show has a diverse range of role models including two polar
opposite twins, a plethora of adult jokes and more than enough mysteries hidden
within through the story to make it comparable to franchises like “Lost” and
“Welcome To Nightvale”
It’s occurring to me that I have a niche, urban
supernatural/fantasy fiction
What I’m listening to
First off I would like to thank the universe for podcasts.
These are the only reason I have survived this long on public transport. Grace
Helbig’s “not too deep” has forced me to stifle laughter in public transport
and Dear Hank and John has provided me with a more stripped back version of
everyone’s favourite Youtube sibling duo. DHAJ has less restrictions than the
ones associated with the brand that is the Vlogbrothers, allowing them to swear,
ramble and discuss topics ranging from bull semen to Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Finally Lore is a godsend, with winter happening the narrator’s eerie stories
make walking home in the dark so much more thrilling. 
I also listened to lots of Lorde and Marina and the Diamonds this year,
I know it makes me a cliché moody teenager but I can’t help it. They both sing
about a range of topics such as coming home after the fame of being a celebrity
and finding all your friends treat you differently, getting revenge on an ex,
and the stresses of body image issues on young women. They contrast each other
quite well with Lorde being slow and gravelly and Marina being known for the fast high notes.
Finally what started up as one look at the soundtrack of the
video game Bioshock opened the floodgates to vintage sounding music. I have a
guilty pleasure about older style music, my love of both Brendon Urie’s “death
of a bachelor” and my longstanding love affair with singer Caro Emerald and her
tunes became the pillars of what became for a short while a weird combination. My phone has become clogged up with music varying from vintage 50's style Taylor Swift covers
to 80's power ballads, one to calm me down and the other to hype me up, depending
on the situation.
Miscellaneous bits
This year I got into ginger beer. What started off as a quick
drink one day after work snowballed until I received a giant tray of the stuff
from my grandparents for Christmas! It tastes better than cider and is my go to
drink of choice now, but I fear if I consume any more I will become a member of
the famous five. I think my blood is now a 3rd sweeter because of
it.
I also returned to portal this December. Can we talk about how witty Glados is? She is awesome and so much better after her morality chip got burned. The whole game is riddled with Easter eggs about what the building once was, mind bending puzzles and awesome science that I want in real life. Like seriously I need one of those portal guns, and at least one gallon of the weird orange/blue paint in my day to day life, just for my commute if nothing else.
Speaking of Portal, I just received a Portal themed candle from a company called Boonzy Art. It smells like delicious cake, the kind Appature science failed to deliver in the first game. Its packaging even goes as far as to read like the science posters on the wall of the labs. The box had a stamp on it which is always a win and it’s a decent size. I just wish shipping from America didn’t cost me selling my firstborn to Satan.
Finally lush fun, its like playdoh except its bodywash! I use it in a very utilitarian way, making tiny cubes out of it. It can be used as shampoo, body wash and a bath product. It leaves coloured soap streaks on your body making me feel a tiny bit closer to warpaint and the profits go to charity. However,be warned, it melts when exposed to steam so maybe storing it in thebathroom isnt the wisest choice.
So thats my year in things, lets hope there are more awesome things in 2017.
