Spring Reading List

Starting off with some interesting news, I got a paid account, and promise to use this journal a lot more often (even though I have so few friends who still read/comment). I will also comment more often.

Anyway, I've finished some reading (not really) and I've gotten some new books. Almost all of them are digital. I'm trying not to spend so much money on physical books, and am trying to thin out my shelves (replacing what I get rid of with digital versions).

So here's my Spring Reading List

Finished:
The last three Fables graphic novels
Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart
Iron Spike's Poorcraft which I read and read again.
(to read reviews, check my goodreads account)

Reading now:
Storykiller, by Kelly Thompson

Reading next:
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline (which I put on the backburner for Storykiller)
A Commonplace Book of the Weird (the unused stories of HP Lovecraft), by various writers
A Country Doctor's Notebook, by Mikhail Bulgakov (after seeing the show)
Call The Midwife, by Jennifer Worth
Saga 3
and some other graphic novels

Stéphane Berla et la Mécanique du Coeur

I took a 7 hour ride down to NYC last Saturday (the 23rd) to see the premiere of Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart at the New York Int'l Children's Film Festival. The version I saw, sadly, was in English, but it was still worth it! My entire trip cost under a hundred dollars (I'm even including food in that price).

I arrived with a little over an hour to kill, so I first went to find the SVA Theatre (easy enough, as the bus dropped me off a block away). I found a delightful little 'shrewd fast food' vegan place called Blossom du Jour, which is in plain view of the theatre, and ducked in for some breakfast (Smoky Avocado wrap - avo, smoked tempeh, tomato, lettuce, and chipolte aioli - so delicious). I wandered off to the tail end of the garment district to a place supposedly called 'Early Halloween' but was actually a little antique thrift store, where I met a cheeky old-world woman selling loads of antique dolls. I didn't buy anything, and had to get back to the theatre anyway.

In the theatre, sponsors of the film festival were lined up giving away products, including a bunch of snacks and drinks. I nabbed a fizzy grapefruit-flavoured water and headed to the bathroom. I was about 10th in line outside the theater, but that trip to the bathroom put me about 90th in line, but it was well worth it, because I got front and center (not ideal for a normal theatre, but this one had a big stage between the screen and seats). I turned off my phone, checked out the programme handed to me,

and saw...

...the most amazing detail below the information for this specific screening...

Stéphane Berla, one of the two directors of the film, was there for a Q&A session (with translator). I would have probably soiled myself if Mathias Malzieu was there, too, but he couldn't make it. My heart needed winding after that, sitting front and center, two feet away from him, while he towered 6 feet above me on the stage. I attempted to get some attention to ask a question, but he wasn't the one picking people out, it was one of the hosts of the festival, who was choosing mostly children, but Stéphane answered every question fully and elegantly, covering just about everything. Even though I didn't get to ask my question, Stéphane would periodically look right at me, and give me a smile, and he even sent me a secret message: at one point, while his translator was translating what he'd just said, he looked at me and tapped his finger to the side of his chest, indicating that he liked my heart tattoo. My heart stopped. Time stopped. The world melted. I wanted the day to last forever.

And as we were all ushered out of the theatre, I flipped through the mental-rolodex to remember how to say certain phrases in French, so I could ask him if he could sign my programme. He thankfully knew enough English that I didn't need to embarrass myself too much, and he gladly signed it.

I could have cried.

As for the movie itself, check out [my review] on Letterboxd.

March Recap

Gonna make this quick and dirty.

Made a [video] of my art. Gave a name for my machete (Khoshekh). Attended a gig starring my friend Sean's band ACK! (and made buttons for them). Got rid of a bunch of books (mostly young-adult). Marched in the St. Patrick's Day Parade with the Roc City Hurlers (wasn't expecting to, so wasn't dressed the part). Saw the tail end of a Sisters of Murphy gig, which filled me with joy. Went to Lovin' Cup with friends a few times. Misadventures in bus-ticket-buying. Watched the series premiere of The 100, with forgettable results. Saw one of the scariest short films called [Lights Out]. Visited parents. Discovered a show called The Young Doctor's Notebook, which is fucking hilarious. Reconnected with my best friend. Went to NYC to see Jack and the Cuckoo Clock Heart. Met Stephane Berla! Tried my first macaron. Highly dismayed over the death of Dave Brockie (frontman for GWAR). Discovered 2048. Recorded my final [Animatic Attack] podcast on the Audioshocker. Finished watching Call the Midwife S3. Discovered the original Addams Family house is pastel pink. Got health care, dental, and eye care. Had to lay it down on my fam regarding posting bullshit without doing the research (re: Naked and Formaldehyde, which is actually vitamin goddamn B5). Bought a paid LiveJournal account for the better themes, no ads, and double the icons.


Assorted pics: