tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971648043377338702024-03-14T04:00:23.844+02:00Blowing Timeakirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01839366289378794826noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-38499819418577163652023-07-27T17:36:00.000+03:002023-07-27T17:36:27.288+03:00Thoughts about drawing and how I do it<center><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca2gmYys43Q/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 3px; border: 0px none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0px 0px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 1px 10px 0px; margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca2gmYys43Q/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0px;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0px auto 12px; width: 50px;"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g fill-rule="evenodd" fill="none" stroke-width="1" stroke="none"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0px;"></div> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px); width: 12.5px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0px; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); transform: translateY(16px); width: 0px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; transform: translateY(-4px); width: 16px;"></div> <div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); height: 0px; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px); width: 0px;"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0px 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca2gmYys43Q/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by ɴɪɢᴍᴀᴛɪʟʟɪᴜᴍ (@nigmatillium)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></center><p style="text-align: justify;">There are so many ways to do art, so many styles I don't even know the name of. Sometimes I look at a style and think I would like to try it too. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. And sometimes I do and find that maybe that style is not for me. For example, I love looking at pages filled with various pieces. You know the one, where you'd have a flower, a tree, a hand, a cube, a pinecone, and a chair all on the same page, slightly overlapping. I think it looks awesome and I would love to do it myself, but I can't, it throws me off. When I draw I need to have either the page carefully sectioned in advance or have the whole page available only for this one subject I'm drawing. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">What I ultimately want to achieve by trying out these styles is finding my own style. I think I am there, maybe, but not yet. Drawing is a work in progress, I wouldn't want to be stuck in one spot, I want to keep developing. And finding own style requires seeing other styles, taking something from here and there and adapting various techniques. Plainly put, making it as you go. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is how I started drawing, really. I kept seeing artists online and thinking that what they create looks so pretty and I would like to try it too. It took me a long time to realise <i>I can</i> try it too, but once I did, I loved it. My favourite part about drawing is when I am adding the details. Sometimes I look at something and think it looks awful, but I keep working on it, adding a line here, another there, creating a texture, and it starts to take shape and actually look good. I love being able to make something like that. </p><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div><center><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUYZNorM9cH/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 3px; border: 0px none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0px 0px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 1px 10px 0px; margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUYZNorM9cH/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0px;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0px auto 12px; width: 50px;"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g fill-rule="evenodd" fill="none" stroke-width="1" stroke="none"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0px;"></div> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px); width: 12.5px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0px; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); transform: translateY(16px); width: 0px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; transform: translateY(-4px); width: 16px;"></div> <div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); height: 0px; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px); width: 0px;"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0px 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUYZNorM9cH/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by ɴɪɢᴍᴀᴛɪʟʟɪᴜᴍ (@nigmatillium)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></center><div id="tap-translate"></div><p></p><div id="tap-translate"></div><p style="text-align: justify;"> What I also discovered, is that art is not as strict as I thought it is. Me, along with a lot of us, thought artists just get their canvas, notebook, paper, and draw whatever they dream up. I, and us because I know I was not alone in this, thought that artists don't need to look up at a picture in order to draw. That's not true at all, you look at multiple pictures of what you're drawing while you're drawing. When I draw something I look up the subject, then I look at parts of the subject, close-ups. In the case of flowers that would be leaves, or how they look like in a field (although I mainly draw only one). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't know if people who don't draw think that people who draw have some sort of superhuman feature where they know how everything exists and can put it on paper with ease, or they think using references is not something 'real artists' do. Now, I don't consider myself a pro, this is a hobby, but I did have people ask me if I use reference (only that they don't know to call it 'reference') or not, and look at what I created as not being as good once I say that yes, I do use reference when drawing. </p><center><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CYt1Yjgsgqo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 3px; border: 0px none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0px 0px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 1px 10px 0px; margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CYt1Yjgsgqo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0px;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0px auto 12px; width: 50px;"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g fill-rule="evenodd" fill="none" stroke-width="1" stroke="none"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0px;"></div> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px); width: 12.5px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0px; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); transform: translateY(16px); width: 0px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; transform: translateY(-4px); width: 16px;"></div> <div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); height: 0px; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px); width: 0px;"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0px 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CYt1Yjgsgqo/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by ɴɪɢᴍᴀᴛɪʟʟɪᴜᴍ (@nigmatillium)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></center><p style="text-align: justify;">Another aspect in which I found that art is not as strict is the use of mediums. I used to think that mixing mediums is a novelty, something extra and maybe a bit pompous. But no, it is perfectly fine to use ink, watercolour, and digital editing software in the same piece. And what is more, it is super fun to combine them and see what works and in which way. Lately I've been leaning into this combining of mediums thing. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I started doing art using fineliner only, black fineliner, but I like colour and I want to use colour. I like colour so much I own several sets of coloured pencils, several sets of markers in different sizes, and even watercolours. The watercolours bit is a mystery to me, but I enjoy using markers a lot, it brings something to what I draw, it makes it pop in a way I really like. </p>
<center><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CsJ1lfAtLRF/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 3px; border: 0px none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0px 0px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 1px 10px 0px; margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CsJ1lfAtLRF/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0px;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0px auto 12px; width: 50px;"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g fill-rule="evenodd" fill="none" stroke-width="1" stroke="none"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0px;"></div> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px); width: 12.5px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0px; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); transform: translateY(16px); width: 0px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; transform: translateY(-4px); width: 16px;"></div> <div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); height: 0px; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px); width: 0px;"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0px 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CsJ1lfAtLRF/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by ɴɪɢᴍᴀᴛɪʟʟɪᴜᴍ (@nigmatillium)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CsGDe0YN3Pn/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 3px; border: 0px none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0px 0px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 1px 10px 0px; margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CsGDe0YN3Pn/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0px;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0px auto 12px; width: 50px;"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g fill-rule="evenodd" fill="none" stroke-width="1" stroke="none"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0px;"></div> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px); width: 12.5px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0px; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); transform: translateY(16px); width: 0px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; transform: translateY(-4px); width: 16px;"></div> <div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); height: 0px; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px); width: 0px;"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0px 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CsGDe0YN3Pn/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by ɴɪɢᴍᴀᴛɪʟʟɪᴜᴍ (@nigmatillium)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script> </center>
<p style="text-align: justify;">My medium of choice is still fineliner, but it sure is really fun to play with colours, to mix and match and make something I think looks really nice and that I feel okay putting online. Speaking of, having an online account where to put my work on really helped me keep on drawing. Sometimes I am busy or not in the mood, but without the online account I would not have kept at it as best as I do. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"> So there it is, some of the things I learned since I started drawing, and some of the ways I do the drawing. (<span style="color: #f4cccc;">๑</span>•᎑•<span style="color: #f4cccc;">๑</span>)<br /></p><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-31604369665585661482023-07-07T19:09:00.003+03:002023-07-10T16:34:00.954+03:00Online cat people suck<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1567155183752-81177c1dd03f?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1074&q=80" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1567155183752-81177c1dd03f?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1074&q=80" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="yayNa rNOZR"><span class="MssrA"><a class="N2odk RZQOk eziW_ cl4O9 KHq0c" href="https://unsplash.com/@yancymin">Yancy Min</a></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Full disclosure: I am an online cat people.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Whenever you try and ask for advice online relating to a cat, you encounter tens of comments telling you how bad of a cat person you are. You should have done that, you should do this other thing, you should definitely not do this, are you crazy? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Here's the thing. This person comes and asks a question, from this we can deduce that this person might not know, if they would know maybe they would not have been in the situation they are describing. Or, they don't have the resources or the ideas to do something one certain way or at a particular time so they are looking for alternatives. Let's stop assuming the worst. Just by asking that's a huge important step, it's clear they want to learn and do better. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, cat people online, chill, help if you want to help because you are not achieving anything by making someone feel bad for asking. Actually, you do achieve something, you make people reluctant to ask, and then they don't learn and then the cats suffer, not because of ill intention, but because of adversity. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Good talk. <br /></p><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div><div id="tap-translate"></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-7096444593007667082021-12-02T10:15:00.000+02:002021-12-02T10:15:40.715+02:00Calendars, am I right?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oSznINP7nUI/Yah2dVvjmYI/AAAAAAAABv0/-aD5cNSlwV0j4pcI4rJZNW_KLJSmJtnTACNcBGAsYHQ/s950/windows-SwHvzwEzCfA-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="950" height="431" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oSznINP7nUI/Yah2dVvjmYI/AAAAAAAABv0/-aD5cNSlwV0j4pcI4rJZNW_KLJSmJtnTACNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h431/windows-SwHvzwEzCfA-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@windows?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Windows</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">I recently discovered this wonderful thing called 'calendar'. But what's the great thing about this calendar, apart from telling you what period in time you are in, it also allows us (a.k.a. me, I'm sure there are more aware people out there) to jot down an event or a task we want to do. Isn't that wonderful? So this is what I did this week, I created tasks for myself. Some that I want to do daily, others once or twice a week, others once a month. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">What's great about this system is that it might actually work. I tried all kinds of versions and I discovered that I work better when I set a task to be done some time in the week, not in a definite time slot. It's more open ended, if you will. I also allow myself to not finish a task. That's okay, we all have bad days, or days when we just can't bring ourselves up to do something no matter how small. So I don't beat myself over for missing a task and I'm not punishing myself for not completing it. Unless the punishment is fun.</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="text-align: justify;">There are things that I could have easily done three times over if I would have started doing them the first time I thought about them. Like learning a new language. I could have learned five languages. I wasted a lot of time not sticking to it and starting over because I forgot what I learned the first time around. As a result, now I know random foreign words, some I might not even know what they mean, and I have no way of connecting them to form coherent sentences apart from the basic 'My name is [...]' and 'I come from [...]'.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I always get excited when I start learning a new language or start a new goal, then I lose motivation. I need something to push me into doing these things and the notifications I get from my calendar, on my phone that I use countless times a day, might shame me into doing them. If I can't get motivation, yeah, I'll take shame. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Problem is I am afraid I'll get desensitised, get used to the notifications and won't pay much attention to them. What do I do then? I didn't quite figure it out, there's a big chance I will just sigh and delete all of the following notifications. I need to find a way to deal with this because I am pretty certain it is going to happen. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another thing that worries me is about the tasks I set for myself to do daily. Those are mainly study. I am afraid of burnout, but at the same time when learning a new language daily is the best way to go about it if I want any real progress. On the bright side I have countless tools that I can use: YouTube classes, language learning sites, Discord study groups, language study apps, language exercise apps, news in various languages, online radio, podcasts and so many more so I won't fall into monotony. If I don't manage to learn a new language I am the only one to blame. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The study task is the most challenging for me right now, but the other one I'm a bit worried about is writing. If you look at the sidebar, there's a button for another blog, <a href="https://written-in-lace.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Written in Lace</a>, that I made to post my stories. Well, I want to get serious about writing and my goal is to write something once a week. Besides the various forum contests and challenges I participate in (oh, I could post those stories too. Interesting). This week I am already behind because I decided to start on Wednesday and my plan is to get a random word on Monday and go from there. By Sunday the story should be posted. Now, what worries me is that I might procrastinate and not do it. I also don't want a punishment, like if I don't write one story one week I have to write two the next because I might feel overwhelmed and it's no fun writing when you are stressed. The piece will be utter shit, pardon my French. I guess I'll see how to deal with that when it happens. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">All the other tasks are a breeze. I've been doing a few of them for a while now and it's going really well so I'm pretty confident. I might or might not add posting on this blog as well, I'll see about that. I probably will post an update about this, though, either if I fail or succeed. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't get many readers on here, but if you stumble across this post, what kind of methods do you use to push yourself into doing stuff? What works for you? Or are you an upstanding, responsible citizen who needs no reminders? Let me know! </p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-27590510943811113862021-04-17T19:15:00.001+03:002021-04-17T19:15:12.735+03:00Beloved Enemy series<div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vgRPCDLrs00/YFe9WzEBVYI/AAAAAAAABqw/w1Lcc38xgrgLa7cUYKsCoG40O-HyL70fwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1441/be.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1441" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vgRPCDLrs00/YFe9WzEBVYI/AAAAAAAABqw/w1Lcc38xgrgLa7cUYKsCoG40O-HyL70fwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/be.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They don't look like that at any point in the series, but I kept seeing this image and I like it a lot.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Soooo, I watched <b>Beloved Enemy</b>, a 15 episode Chinese series made after a BL web novel. Light novel? Not sure, a novel of some sort. I recently joined a discord channel thinking it's BL novels focused, but instead I got BL series and I thought, why not. So off I go watching BL series. <i>Beloved Enemy</i> is not the first I watched, far from it, but it's the first time I, for some unknown reason, wrote down my impressions for every episode. I don't know why I did it and I had no idea what to do with it, but then I remembered I have a blog, so here I am. This post is going to be a massive spoiler. Like huge, the whole show is going to be spoiled, I am not leaving anything out. Except for the review, once I copy/paste every episode entry, it's going to be spoiler after spoiler after spoiler. Don't say I didn't warn you. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">This post is going to go like this: synopsis, perfectly innocent review, some series/novel spoilers, spoiler fest, and what I think/hope happens next. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Marck Script; font-size: x-large;">Synopsis </span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">GuQingPei is a new director allured with a high salary, but his first challenge at his new post is to help his boss raise his son? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A rich, hot-tempered, and arrogant second generation princeling best at causing trouble, YuanYang is rebellious and domineering, but GuQingPei has the confidence to make him bow down and submit. No one in this life has dared to make him (YuanYang) feel so grievous and troubled! Facing GuQingPei’s treacherous smiles and opossing him at every step, YuanYang decides to give GuQingPei a lesson. Instead, he loses control of the situation and they develop another type of relationship.</div></blockquote><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.novelupdates.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">novelupdates.com</a> </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Marck Script; font-size: x-large;">Review </span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The original story of this series is labelled as <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>ROMANCE</b></span>, <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>SMUT</b></span>, <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>DRAMA</b></span>. The series dropped most of the labels and kept <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>DRAMA</b></span>. I knew that when I started watching it and I went into it thinking okay, I might not get a <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>BL</b></span>, but there could be an interesting plot. While that turned out to be true, I also shipped QingPei and YuanYang most of the time. I also recognised some <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>BL </b></span>tropes and clichés and was delighted at how the production team went around them and made the series pretty darn good. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I liked the acting a lot, both main characters did a great job at portraying QingPei and YuanYang, in what I would say to be very good acting. I liked everyone else too. Since I didn't have any high expectations, I was pleasantly surprised. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plot was enjoyable. While the original genre was cast aside, there was still a lot going on that allowed the director and writer and the whole team to create something interesting. There was intrigue, complications, and anxious situations. Very well done. </div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Marck Script; font-size: x-large;">Series vs Novel </span></div><div><u style="text-align: justify;"><br /></u></div><div><span style="text-align: justify;">Here is where the spoilers start.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Initially I wanted to read the novel in parallel with the show and see what they changed. I read some of it, but I didn't make it too far. In the series, QingPei divorced his wife, ZhaoYang, because he wanted to focus on his career and in the original story he divorced her because he realised he was gay. In the series YuanYang hired a female escort to drug and have sex with QingPei while recording it. In the original story, YuanYang hired a male escort to drug and have sex with QingPei while recording it. In both versions the sex is not happening because the escort backs off. So, in the series YuanYang pretty much tries to kill QingPei, and in the original story YuanYang rapes QingPei. This is about as much as I properly read because, ew, gross. I dislike that so much. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At this point I didn't like YuanYang in the series at all. He is a prick, he's spoiled, he's impulsive and a generally awful person. But when it comes to the original story I couldn't stand him at all. I did go and skimmed the novel a bit later in the series because I was curious about some of the other things that happened, but the random chapters I looked into basically have QingPei and YuanYang being together, mostly fighting. Or having... No, I can't say having sex, because every instance that I skimmed through was YuanYang forcing himself on QingPei. So awful! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In conclusion, the original story is gross, I don't recommend it and I am so glad the series didn't go the same route. This is one of those rare cases where it's good that they didn't keep to the original story. </div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Marck Script; font-size: x-large;">Everything Spoilers </span></div><p><span style="text-align: justify;">This is a jumble of things, it won't make a lot of sense if you didn't watch the series. </span> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 01</b></span>. I really, really like GuQingPei. At first I thought he was going to be a prick, but he is badass and awesome. YuanYang is the classic spoiled rich brat, but at this point I'm sure he'll come around. The plot is pretty cliché, but I have hopes for this series, it looks like it's going to be really fun. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Marck Script;">Ep 02</span></b>. For someone who was in the military, YuanYang is very undisciplined. But there is something good in there somewhere. Or at least his training kicks in when needed and he rushes to successfully rescue even his nemesis. I am a bit worried about QingPei, though. Was that car coming at him intentionally or not? I tend to say not, but also I would be surprised for QingPei to not have some enemies. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 03</b></span>. At this point I am not a fan of YuanYang and I'm inclined to say his friend, PengFang, is a really bad influence. Planning to set someone up is bad enough, having him harassed is worse. I don't think Yuan Yang would have come up with it on his own and I can tell he's troubled by it. I really hope two of his neurons connect and he'll go rescue QingPei from sexual assault. That YuanYang planned, yes. I really am not a fan of his. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: Marck Script;">Ep 04</span></b>. YuanYang has a conscience, but not a lot of it. I didn't like the soundtrack in this episode (although I do still want to know the name of the band singing in this series) where after almost killing QingPei, YuanYang was made to be seen as a hero for going back after him, and later as kind when he waited next to QingPei while he was sleeping. And, what you see, he is made into a hero when he goes to retrieve QingPei's ex-wife from her kidnappers. Ugh! Also, I would have dropped the series if Yuan Yang would have sexually assaulted QingPei. Almost killing him is not better, I know, but I can get over it because I don't think that was YuanYang's intention. I also don't want QingPei to lose in front of YuanYang, I don't think he will, though. Hnggg. I'm also not a fan of the fact that PengFang kept the recording. At this point I think he's either going to turn against YuanYang or the recording is going to leak to someone. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 05</b></span>. Less excitement this episode, I got a conversation between QingPei and YuanYang. The brat managed to fix things somehow, he also rescued ZhaoYang who is now an employee at the same company. This might become tricky. I think YuanYang is going to be really funny from now on, judging by how the episode ended. The guy has no filter so that will help with it. I still want to know who sings that song. </div></blockquote><span style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khGJN729XbQ" rel="nofollow" style="font-size: small;" target="_blank">99乐团 - 不正常</a><span style="font-size: small;">. Oh joy! </span></div></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 06</b></span>. YangYuan sure has a... quality to him. At least now he actually wants to work on the company projects and to learn from QingPei so that's good. I'm starting to like him a little bit. I also find it amusing that he seems to be jealous on ZhaoYang. And I am so glad the recording is now in his possession. That increases the risk of QingPei finding it, but at least it won't leak and that means PengFang is a loyal friend. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 07</b></span>. YuanYang sure is a scheming prick. He's good at it, though, I have to give him that. I am glad QingPei found out about the whole kidnapping deal. I knew he will find out at some point and I'm glad to have that out of the way. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 08</b></span>. Something is brewing and both QingPei and YuanYang are going to be in so much trouble. I just hope it won't be a public thing, like when they are in the middle of the upcoming party, but that what's probably going to happen. Until then, QingPei is such a cute oversharing drunk. That was unexpected. The 'side story' at the end of the episode was so nice (ignoring the fact it is basically a commercial) and I loved how YuanYang's phone password being QingPei's birthdate only got a casual 'oh' from QingPei. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;">P.S.</span>: I keep wanting to mention it, but I forget because there are far more interesting things going on there, but right from the first scenes I disliked the employees fangirling, and I will continue to do so. Although I have to admit some meddling doesn't do any harm sometimes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 09</b></span>. PengFang is an idiot for making a copy of that video. I don't know who found out about it, but I hope it's not the guy on the second video. These people should not be in charge of a video camera of any kind. I kept expecting the video to drop at the party, but luckily it didn't. I really hope it won't be a public thing, that would be disastrous for QingPei. It's already awful enough that YuanYang's dad is casting him away. Oh, and speaking of LiYang, he's slowly finding out about everything that's been happening and that can't be good for anyone. It would have helped if they wouldn't have been idiots, but, well, what can you do about it now. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 10</b></span>. I am really glad ZhaoYang is moving on from QingPei, she held on enough. And she was right, she shouldn't have taken a job at the same company. What is that bullshit advice she got from a random book? Spending more time with her unrequited love? Yeah, I can see how that can do good. /s As glad as I am for her, there are more pressing matters going on... The video is now in someone else's possession. Who? My bets are on that white hired guy, HaiLong, but I wouldn't be surprised if WangLi was the one who stole it either. He could use it to get QingPei to work for him. First half of the episode had me quite bored with the drama, but the second half got me pumped. And just to be clear here, both YuanYang and PengFang are idiots. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 11</b></span>. Well, well, well. The video is now out in the open. (Not actually, it's not public... yet.) I am glad YuanYang got slapped and yelled at for it, but he deserves a more severe punishment. I think he's going to fix it somehow, because, d'uh, he's YuanYang, but as long as QingPei gets out of this unscathed I declare myself happy. The guy worked way too hard for getting where he is, and to see it all crumble because YuanYang is a spoiled brat in whom not even the army could knock some common sense, would be too cruel. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 12</b></span>. Can I really trust LiYang to have taken care of the recording? I don't know... He could have used it to make QingPei back off if he kept a copy so let's be optimistic about it and say that he did get rid of every copy. But before that, YuanYang, after misunderstanding what was going on between QingPei and WangLi, left to America. I think the two-year long trip will do him good and I am awaiting for when he gets back and everything is explained to him. I'm glad ZhaoYang found someone, she's completely over QingPei and that's great. As for QingPei, I'm still a bit worried about him. If this project he works on falls through it will be a blow to him, and he's doing so well, working for himself and seeming in a happier place than before. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 13</b></span>. Yay for figuring out a way to save the project, QingPei sure is a very good at what he's doing. The new and improved YuanYang scares me. He was a prick before, but now he's a prick who learned restraint and has an agenda. This would be completely fine by me, but not at QingPei's expense. I really like him and now he's sad again. I'm not surprised that HaiLong has a copy of the recording, but I'm worried if whether YuanYang needs the copy to blackmail QingPei or to keep him away from harm. Of course, I hope it's to keep him safe, but YuanYang is really scary now. Also, lmao, he bought QingPei's former house and if that's not proof he cares about QingPei and he's not over him, I don't know what is. Also, that girlfriend of his... I'm not convinced there's not some kind of understanding going on between them rather than an actual relationship in order for YuanYang to evade his LiYang. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 14</b></span>. Super glad that YuanYang found out what actually happened, but I'm not surprised about the manner in which he found out. I was also partially right about his girlfriend, we knew about the agreement, but she didn't. The series is coming to an end, with only one episode left so a lot is happening, all ends are getting tied, and people are being hit by karma left and right. I already can guess how it will all end, but let's just wait for the last episode. I must say I am not surprised nor upset that RanWang kissed YuanYang, but I'm still not thinking about them as an item (although they are likely going to be an item). QingPei is doing so great with all the shit that's going down all around him, and, seriously, someone should give him a hug, preferably YuanYang while apologising profusely for everything he did. QingPei is right, YuanYang is just a kid who tries to get his parent's attention. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Marck Script;"><b>Ep 15</b></span>. And I finally reached the last episode. Releasing the recording himself, and writing the actual article, was a great move on QingPei's part. He took matters in his hands and dealt with it, then took a well deserved vacation. I was worried I won't see him at all in this episode, but of course it wouldn't have been right without him around. I must say I am pretty happy with how this series ended. I seem to have been wrong about RanWang and YuanYang, they are definitely not an item, but all the better. I thought they really went on to 'straighten' this series, but maybe not. For me, YuanYang and QingPei's story only now starts. How they are now, I can totally see them getting closer and closer and developing feelings. Going back to the episode itself, everything worked out in the end, everyone atoned for their mistakes, everyone reached a happy conclusion, in a, ya know, completely unrealistic way, but hey, this is a series and I liked it. My watching of <i>Beloved Enemy</i> was a success! </div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Marck Script; font-size: x-large;">My Version</span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Thinking only about the series and ignoring the original story completely (the only thing I would keep is QingPei divorcing ZhaoYang because he is gay), here's what I imagine is going to happen next: now QingPei and YuanYang work together on this new project. They spend a lot of time bouncing off ideas and creating something together. Naturally, they spend more and more time in each other's company and they obviously get closer and closer. At some point they have a chat after a tiring day, being all casual and comfortable, and YuanYang tells QingPei he's sorry (this not being the first time he apologised) for everything he put him through and that he admires and appreciates him a lot. QingPei responds by saying all's forgiven, he wouldn't have helped him otherwise. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They look at each other, YuanYang shifts closer to QingPei who isn't sure what to do, scoot away or lean in. YuanYang tells him he really wants to kiss him and has been wanting to for a while now. QingPei is taken aback, but whispers that he would like that. So they kiss and a new kind of story starts. </div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Dunno about you, but I like my version of events way more. Just two enemies turned lovers, really, really slowly, but 100% consensual. </div><br />nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-38628469982800586982021-03-20T23:21:00.000+02:002021-03-20T23:21:05.020+02:00my reading journey<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/87/40/d8/8740d80a30ebbd7eb552c672ca260846.gif" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">[art by Marta Milczarek]</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Lately I've been reading a lot. With the lockdown going on and staying a lot at home, I've had a lot of time that I had to fill up somehow. So what better way to do that than reading? My preferred genres right now are LGBTQ+ (Romance), Mystery and Crime. I squeeze in other genres here and there (right now I'm reading a Slice-of-Life Fiction book), but those usually take more time to complete. I am, after all, taking a break from reading right now to write this while I'm only 23 pages in.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A while ago I started thinking about the books I used to read when I was little and then later in high school. I think those books helped shape my preferences for now. But let's go even further back. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think I always liked reading. When I was little my mum used to tell me stories at night and I still cherish those moments. If I think about it, I can feel the curiosity, the interest, and the warm comfort enveloping me in those moments. From then on, I don't remember ever not liking reading or wanting to lose myself in a made up story, being it by reading or imagining all kind of scenarios myself. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When I finally learned how to read, I took advantage of our small library at home, and that's when I read books like <span style="color: #d2b478;">Crime and Punishment</span> by Fyodor Dostoevsky, <span style="color: #d2b478;">The Phantom of the Opera</span> by Gaston Leroux, and <span style="color: #d2b478;">A Time to Kill</span> by John Grisham. Out of these three books, the first and last were for a very long time some of my favourites, and even now I like them a lot, the bits that I can still remember. I don't want to read them again because I'm afraid I won't be as awed as the first time, so instead I continue liking them the same way I did then. When it comes to <i>The Phantom of the Opera</i>, I can't remember much. I wanted to re-read it at some point, but I couldn't find the book anymore. I think someone borrowed it and didn't return it. Either way, that one didn't leave a lasting impression on me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only books I didn't particularly like reading where the mandatory school ones. I'm not even sure how I got away with skipping most of them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later, during high school, about the time I really got into anime and manga, I started becoming more interested in Japanese literature. My favourite from that time is <span style="color: #d2b478;">The Silent</span> Cry by Kenzaburō Ōe. I got the book as a gift and devoured it, mostly reading it during classes at school. If I were to read it now, I'm not sure I would like it as much. I might not even read it at all. Apart from that one, I also want to mention <span style="color: #d2b478;">Snow Country</span> by Yasunari Kawabata, and <span style="color: #d2b478;">Kitchen </span>by Banana Yoshimoto. I can't remember the circumstances surrounding the first, what I do remember is that I enjoyed it a lot and I went as far as declaring Kawabata as one of my favourite authors. Now I don't like Kawabata anymore. When it comes to the second, I remember finding the book at the school library and feeling intrigued. I borrowed it and I loved it. (Fun fact: right now I'm reading <i>Moshi-Moshi</i> by Banana Yoshimoto*). Since I read <i>Kitchen </i>I kept wanting to read more from the author, but I couldn't find any of her other books. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I would say peak reading for me was during high school when I raided the local library, much bigger than the one back home. I read a bunch of Paulo Coelho's books then (they read so easily and knowing a lot of people disliking his books only made me want to read them more), <span style="color: #d2b478;">The Portrait of Dorian Grey</span> by Oscar Wilde, and a bunch of others I don't remember without going through my Goodreads account. I'm not even sure I did remember all of them when I made the account and logged them in. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since I made an account on Goodreads in 2016 and following to 2020, my stats look like this: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lfxVjgqoBAQ/YFZl6EFncMI/AAAAAAAABqg/UamqqIDvcBA4fS7A3xF60qNFBdTUC60wQCLcBGAsYHQ/s882/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="882" height="230" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lfxVjgqoBAQ/YFZl6EFncMI/AAAAAAAABqg/UamqqIDvcBA4fS7A3xF60qNFBdTUC60wQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h230/Capture.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I am not happy when I look at my earlier stats. Why did I not push myself just a little bit harder when it comes to something I genuinely like doing? What was I doing instead? Well, working, that's what I was doing. Around that time I had a pretty soliciting job that I shouldn't have stayed in for as long as I did. It really wasn't worth it for more reasons than just not reading. But then again, here I am now. It might seem a bit silly writing about this, but I am pretty darn proud of myself. This is a journey in more ways than one and I used to beat myself up when coming across a good book, thinking I was such a fool that I didn't read more and getting to that good book earlier, but I slowly started giving up on that way of thinking, because—ironically—that way of thinking made me not read. Sometimes things come to us when they are needed, not when we want them to. And looking at my progress, at how the numbers got higher and higher, well, I am happy about that.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">__________ </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">* I actually dropped <i>Moshi-Moshi</i>. I loved <i>Kitchen </i>when I read it, and no doubt I would have loved <i>Moshi-Moshi </i>too, but I just can't read books where nothing happens anymore. They are good books, I like the vibe, but I was struggling to stay awake, let alone pay attention, so I am not going to torture myself. I need exciting and angsty books, not chill, barely anything happens books, regardless of how good they are. Just not my genre right now. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Extra fun fact: I wrote this post at the end of January and I forgot it in my drafts. Oopsie!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Extra extra fun fact: It took me so long to edit this because blogger decided to be a lil shit and not save my edits. This platform can be such a prick sometimes. </span></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-3196579545177971212021-02-24T18:55:00.001+02:002021-02-24T18:55:05.045+02:00I just nuked a bunch of my old posts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://64.media.tumblr.com/ff710351464db453eeff74fabceda114/tumblr_ms3mi43fBP1r7y61oo1_250.gifv" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="140" src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/ff710351464db453eeff74fabceda114/tumblr_ms3mi43fBP1r7y61oo1_250.gifv" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Maybe 'nuked' is a strong word, I merely reverted them to drafts. About 136 of them. That's a lot, isn't it? I have a few reasons for this. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">They are all old posts of mine. I kept wondering what was it that I didn't like about my blog, and I figured out it was those old posts. I used to be a fairly angry teenager and also still trying to find my feet on here, so a lot of those are me being angry, me talking gibberish or some very badly written reviews. Initially I thought I'd leave everything as is, but I really don't want that kind of negativity on my blog. That's the old me, I'm much more happy and comfortable with myself now so, there, I got rid of nasty reminders. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I might or might not go through my huge list of drafts at some point and I might or might not re-write some of the posts, maybe some of the reviews. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><blockquote ne="0.5957366353678828" style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Somehow I managed to keep at least one post from every year I've had the blog, I didn't plan it, but... Yay? However, a lot of the things I linked to past posts won't work anymore, sorry about that. I will try and remove them, but chances are I won't get them all. </p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote ne="0.457495721794831" style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">I've been thinking about the blog title too. I remember I used to have a really bad one, I won't even write it down here, but I'm going to say it was a pleonasm. I'm not sure how I came up with Blowing Time. It was definitely during high school, and I remember someone snickering about it at some point. And sure enough, if I look up Blowing Time the first result I get is from a page on Facebook with the same title that only has a photo of sneakers posted, and people asking how to give a good bj.</p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote ne="0.1332414123160437" style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">This blog's own FB page doesn't exist anymore since I deleted my account a few years ago and I don't know much about sneakers anyway, and about bj... Erm, listen to your partner, do whatever makes him gasp and moan. Play with the balls. Something like that. </p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote ne="0.6028296927461285" style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Anyway, the only blog title I might use I won't because that one fits a different kind of blog that I thought about making at some point (did make it then promptly forgot about it), and, well, Blowing Time is the very definition of this blog. I am, in a way, blowing time, rambling about whatever I feel like, writing about whenever I feel like or when I have feel like. Which is also what this post is. Coming full circle here, ha! </p></blockquote></blockquote>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-59124829374416519482021-02-11T12:45:00.001+02:002021-02-11T12:45:45.645+02:00Louise Collins's non-series prison series<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HGh6TrBk1-M/YCPbjkJ-w6I/AAAAAAAABoU/-RA6eR3H1Rw0RrQ8m-DQla67nkhjOSC5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s900/louise-collins.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="900" height="356" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HGh6TrBk1-M/YCPbjkJ-w6I/AAAAAAAABoU/-RA6eR3H1Rw0RrQ8m-DQla67nkhjOSC5QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h356/louise-collins.png" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Is the title too confusing? I think it is. Let me explain. Louise Collins wrote three books where the plot takes place in different prisons. Apart from that they are not connected in any way, there are no common characters, they don't know each other, it's not even the same prison, but I can't help thinking about these books as part of a series simply because they are so similar.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The novels are, in the order they were published, <i>The Freshman</i>, <i>The Psychopath</i>, and <i>The Rat</i>. I first came across <i>The Psychopath</i> and I read that, afterwards I saw there were two more books and decided to read those as well, so I am going to go ahead and mix them up a bit next. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">First I'm going to say a little something about each novel and what I thought about them, then I'm going to compare them a bit.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #01fefd;">The Psychopath</span> </b></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">When I read <i>The Psychopath</i> I enjoyed it a lot, there was tension from the first chapter and obvious chemistry between the two main characters, Zane—who's behind bars for murder—and Quinn—who conducts a study at the prison Zane is incarcerated. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">I liked Quinn a lot, he was both very smart and naïve, innocent even, and I found that to be adorable. I enjoyed his interviews with the inmates and everything involving him. He was just so likeable. About Zane I wasn't sure about, but I was still drawn to him. He was fun and interesting and I liked the little games he played with Quinn. I always like to read a fun, dangerous game. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">The plot was interesting enough and although I was expecting something more dramatic from it, I still enjoyed it. </p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Since I liked the novel so much, I rushed to look up what else Louise Collins wrote and that's when I discovered the other two books. I liked the writing style so I thought why not, onto the next one. Here is where things started getting wonky for me. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fb2e00; font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><b>The Freshman </b></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">In <i>The Freshman</i> we have Alfie, a new prison guard on the night shift, and Nate who is a dangerous criminal. What is his crime? Alfie doesn't know and although he has the option of reading his file, he doesn't want to because Nate caught his eye and he doesn't want to dislike him. Alfie is also around 18 years old. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Freshman</i> doesn't have as much tension. There was chemistry between the two main characters, but I wasn't swooned by them. The plot was okay, predictable, but it was still interesting enough. What I didn't like about <i>The Freshman</i> was the lack of character development and the fact that a lot of things were left unexplained. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;">I would have liked more background on both Alfie and Nate, to get to know them better, but I didn't get much. What I did like was Alfie. Although basically a new adult, he was pretty snarky and I liked his replies and remarks. He was also very brave and that really sold it for me. As for Nate, I don't have much to say about him. </p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Right about now I was pretty sure I would enjoy the next book, but that I should lower my expectations. While I still liked the writing, I didn't expect anything mind blowing plot-wise. With the next one,things plummeted. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #14f30e; font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><b>The Rat</b></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Rory is an undercover cop sent to investigate Sebastian. Sebastian seems to be planning something upon his release and the detective who put him behind bars wants to know exactly what, so he sends Roy to find out. Things get tough for Roy when he starts having feelings for Sebastian. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The plot is definitely interesting, but here I liked the characters even less. Roy is a terrible spy. Granted, he's a new cop, doesn't have training, but even so, he is so bad at it. I was surprised no one was onto him from day one. But then again, the inmates felt more like a bunch of college students than criminals so I guess no surprise there. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I liked this novel the least. Besides not liking the characters and already knowing what to expect from the plot, the last few chapters made me cringe. They were also rushed. </p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Next I'm going to compare the novels and there are some <b><u>spoilers incoming</u></b>, so read at your own risk. I am also going to colour-code the names of the characters according to the colour on the covers to make reading this clearer. I hope it won't be too distracting. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;"><b>Comparison</b></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: justify;">I have this theory that you are more likely to really enjoy the first book you read in this non-series. I might be wrong and I would have enjoyed <i>The Psychopath</i> more regardless of the order I read them, but looking at the ratings and noticing that the first released novel has the higher rating and the last has the lowest I am going to stand by that theory.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I did like the novels, I liked the writing style, it was pretty good. My main issue with these books is that Louise Collins didn't take any risks. The bad guys <span style="color: #01fefd;">Zane</span> and <span style="color: #14f30e;">Sebastian</span> weren't exactly bad guys. <span style="color: #01fefd;">Zane</span> faked the murders because he was tired of other people telling him what to do and what to be. He just wanted some quiet and prison offered him that. <span style="color: #14f30e;">Sebastian</span> was more or less framed and had tried to save the victim in the end. When it comes to <span style="color: #fb2e00;">Nate</span>, his story is really vague. I still don't know what he did and if he was actually guilty or not. Considering he escaped prison I'd say he was guilty, but of what, no one knows. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The good guys had more 'page time' in the novels. <span style="color: #01fefd;">Quinn</span> is the only one I actually liked, he was pretty great and didn't play as either helpless nor the helper and was basically a competent adult. The other two, though... <span style="color: #fb2e00;">Alfie</span> was just a kid. He tried to do the right thing, but ended up getting burned and shut out by friends and acquaintances. He even gained himself an investigation and lost his job when <span style="color: #fb2e00;">Nate </span>escaped prison, when it became obvious they had been in a relationship. The other one, <span style="color: #14f30e;">Roy</span>, was naïve but in a really bad way. He also didn't seem to have any self preservation skills which is really not good. He was also the 'helper' (also applies to <span style="color: #fb2e00;">Alfie</span>, but it a more tame way), going around and trying to fix everything for everyone in the end, making people rekindle with their estranged nephew who is in prison and even helping the prison useless psychologist and another inmate. He had no training, he barely could take care of himself, and yet. That bit about him pissed me off, but not more than the psychologist's incompetence. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another issue I have with these novels is that although the writing was okay, they lacked a lot of detail. Especially with <i>The Freshman</i> I had more questions than answers after I read it. They are also way too similar, the books follow the same pattern and the characters are similar in a lot of ways. The plots are basically the same, but a little to the left.<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">This is not all. I read these books and I have quite a few things to say about them. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Overall</span></b></p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite all this, I did enjoy reading them. Yes, my enjoyment went lower and lower with each book, so low that I went from rating fives stars to only one on the last book, but they are not bad. Some more detail could have gone into them, maybe some more research here and there, and more boldness from the author, but they are still readable. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Initially I was ready to go right into the next Louise Collins book, but after the last one I'm not sure I want to. I am willing to try another if something catches my interest, though, and hopefully it would go better. If not, well, at least I tried. Not all authors are for every reader, that's a given so while I still think Louise Collins is not a bad writer, it might just be that she's just not my type of writer. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Also, this is silly, but I thought about it as I read the last book and I have to mention it. One of the main characters in <i>The Rat</i> is named Roy and for a few seconds I thought that was a pretty neat thing to do, but then I remembered that in <i>The Psychopath</i> there is Quinn and not P-something, in <i>The Freshman</i> there is Alfie, not F-something and I thought that was a missed opportunity. That would have been a pattern I liked. </p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">And this is what I have to say about this non-series series. I'm still going to think about it as a series, I just can't separate them. </p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-30163741497531968382021-02-10T11:35:00.000+02:002021-02-10T11:35:10.145+02:00Music Break #39<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bLRl3ul6HPc" width="560"></iframe></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-54380109215602338172021-02-05T11:13:00.001+02:002021-02-05T11:13:50.128+02:00January's favourite books<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1521036392421-35d436448d6a?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1050&q=80" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">[photography by </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" rel="nofollow" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">Brandi Redd</a><span style="text-align: start;">]</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Watching films is not all I did this month, I read too, so now I want to write about some of my favourite reads. I'm not going to write about the ones I did not like, and this list might not be in concordance with the ratings on my <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Goodreads account</a>. Thing is, sometimes it's more to a book that just being written flawlessly. I might have rated a book 5 stars, but that doesn't mean it will make it into my top however many books. A 3 or 4 stars book might be higher on my list based on a thing that I thought was brilliant, or something that I found to be unique or outstanding. Or simply because on the vibe of the book and how I think about it a while after I read it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That being said, here I my favourite books from this January.</div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff9a5c;">✔ </span><span style="color: #ff9a5c; font-family: Marck Script; font-size: x-large;">All's Fair</span> series by Josh Lanyon </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mystery, Crime, MM Romance</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>There are three books in this series—<i>Fair Game</i>, <i>Fair Play</i>, and <i>Fair Chance</i>—and I loved every single one of them. The series focuses more on the crime aspect of it and less on the romance, and I am all in for that. I actually liked following Elliot around throughout the series. </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Elliot is an ex FBI agent, forced to quit his job after being shot. He is now a history professor, still recovering and trying to get accustomed to his new life, away from the action. <br /><span> </span>Tucker is an FBI agent and Elliot's... Ex-boyfriend? Did they even date or was it just sex? Either way, Elliot and Tucker are reunited when a student goes missing.</div> <span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>Elliot is not the most likeable character, but I did like him a lot. He's so stubborn and a pain to figure out, but clearly a very good agent (well, ex-agent), a good professor, and a genuinely good guy. I really appreciate him being able to acknowledge his shortcoming and act on it. In the opposite corner is Tucker. Tucker is awesome, it's impossible to not like him and he's amazing for putting up with Elliot. But also, they are so right for each other. I really, really liked them as a couple. </div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>The series is filled with adrenaline, anxiety and sweet, sweet, hot lovemaking. It has everything, and if you like Mystery-Crimes with a splash of Romance, this is the one for you. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff9a5c;">✔ </span><span style="color: #ff9a5c; font-family: Marck Script; font-size: x-large;">The Story of Us</span> by Barbara Elsborg</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Young Adult, Abuse, MM Romance </span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>This is the last book I read in January and the by from Barbara Elsborg, but I don't plan for it to be the last. I loved this novel so much! It is not an easy read and here I must warn you that there is some abuse towards children described (not sexual, but violence and cruelty). </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"><span> The book follows Zed and Caspian from the moment they first meet, it follows their growing friendship, their journey through an evil world where parents are the worst, where they are shut down and shut up, and where they are struggling to just be, wishing to be loved, and to love each other.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"> This is definitely one of the angstiest books I read. The plot stretches over ten summers and shows us Zed and Caspian at their lowest and their highest. They both have to deal with a lot, all the while longing for each other. I liked the writing, and I loved Zed and Caspian. They fit together so well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff9a5c;">✔ </span><span style="color: #ff9a5c; font-family: Marck Script; font-size: x-large;">By the Light of Dawn</span> by Adrienne Wilder</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Disability, MM Romance ~#2 of <i>Morgan and Grant</i> series</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> I read the first book in the series, <i>In The Absence of Light</i>, a while ago, in around 2019 I think, and it was my first Adrienne Wilder novel. I loved it, but I didn't even dream of a sequel so when I saw that there was one I rushed to get my hands on it. Right from the start I'm going to say that the book won't make a whole lot of sense if you haven't read the first one so I encourage you to read it before. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span> I'm not sure how to resume this one without referencing to the first book, but, just to outline what's going on there: Grant is an ex-smuggler who, at some point, went to hide away from the FBI. Morgan is a fascinating autistic man who Grant bumps into in a diner. That's how the first book starts. The sequel follows Morgan and Grant a few months after the first book as they sail across the ocean on a very important mission. What's the mission? No one really knows, but Morgan is sure they have to be there, wherever there is, at just the right moment. </span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span><span> Morgan is so great. He is funny and witty and I adore him. He's something else altogether and it's obvious to see why Grant loves him so much. If anyone's lucky in this relationship to have the other, it's definitely Grant. </span><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff9a5c;">✔ </span><span style="color: #ff9a5c; font-family: Marck Script; font-size: x-large;">In The Miso Soup</span> by Ryū Murakami</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Horror, Thriller, Crime</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> If you are planning on reading this book, I highly encourage you to not read the synopsis before. The novel builds up beautifully and keeps you on edge, but that's ruined if you read the synopsis before because it spoils it a bit.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> Reading this book I realised some things regarding Japanese horror films. I don't know how it didn't occur to me before, but the fact is that the book helped me understand Japanese horror films better. There are some things that simply don't make sense when you watch them so a bit of a background or some sort of hint is helpful, which is what this book offered me. I don't know how to explain it, but I bet you'll get what I mean if you dabble in both Japanese horror films and books.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"> I like Murakami and I liked this book too. It's intense, it's bizarre, and it's very good. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff9a5c;">✔ </span><span style="color: #ff9a5c; font-family: Marck Script; font-size: x-large;">Sycamore Row</span> by John Grisham </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Legal Thriller, Suspense ~#2 of <i>Jake Brigance</i> series</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> The last book on my list is actually the first I read this year. Well, I started it in December, but completed it in January. Either way. The book is a sequel to <i>A Time to Kill</i> which I <a href="https://blowing-time.blogspot.com/2020/07/john-grisham.html" target="_blank">mentioned</a> before, and by now you might know I like John Grisham a lot. The books can be read as standalone. There are some mentions to the first one, but you are not out of the loop or having trouble to follow the plot. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span> Speaking of plot, Jake Brigance is facing an interesting case: he has the explicit duty of protecting and enforcing a will. Things get messy as Jake tries to understand what's going on, what's the reason of all this, and do his job. </span><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span> Jake is a great lawyer and I loved how realistic the book feels. John Grisham being a lawyer himself means that's not a surprise, but even so. I liked all the emotions, the mystery of the case, and the hard work put into it. Definitely a good read. </span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><span>And this concludes my favourites for January. I am glad to see that I managed to pick such different books, all kinds of genres. It goes without saying that I recommend all of them. </span></span></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-34454301303011705742021-02-03T13:48:00.001+02:002021-02-03T13:48:16.049+02:00January's favourite films<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1505775561242-727b7fba20f0?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1050&q=80" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="427" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1505775561242-727b7fba20f0?ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1050&q=80" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[photography by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@timothyeberly" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Timothy Eberly</a>]</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">This year I really started strong on films. Last year I managed to watch 100 films, and I know that because I have a <a href="https://letterboxd.com/nigmatillium/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Letterboxd account</a> where I log my films almost religiously. This year I thought I'd watch some more, and I really went to town in January. I don't know if I'll keep this up, I actually didn't think I would manage to watch one every day for the whole month, but here we are, 38 films later. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm not going to list all of the films I watched, for that there is <a href="https://letterboxd.com/nigmatillium/films/diary/for/2021/01/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this</a>, but I am going to write about my three favourite films I watched in January, and two least favourite watched in the same month.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #7ad973;">✔ <span style="font-family: Righteous; font-size: medium;">The White Tiger</span></span> directed by Ramin Bahrani, 2021<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Drama, Crime</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span> </span>With no doubt this film is at the top of my list so far. I was not expecting to have a favourite just yet, but here we are. <br /><span> </span><i>The White Tiger</i> takes us on a journey, shows us the struggle of a driver trying to rise up and escape poverty. It shows and tells us about the caste system in India, about how women are perceived, about how the poor are being seen by the rich and how hard it is to basically make a living. I liked everything about this film, it was realistic, I loved the narration, and the cast was fabulous. Definitely a must watch. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #7ad973;">✔ <span style="font-family: Righteous; font-size: medium;">Your Name Engraved Herein</span></span> directed by Kuang-Hui Liu, 2020<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Drama, History, Romance</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> This one is actually my first watch of 2021, and I loved it so much. <i>Your Name Engraved Herein</i> is a historical film first of all, it revolves around the year 1987 when martial law ended in Taiwan. I have a soft spot for historical films so I loved watching this one. <br /><span> The film follows Jia-han and Birdy, two teenage boys who fall in love in such dangerous times. It shows their turmoil and their dealing with society and homophobia. I absolutely loved Jia-han, especially his dialogue with Father Oliver, it was intense. </span><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #7ad973;">✔ <span style="font-family: Righteous; font-size: medium;">New Trial</span></span> directed by Kim Tae-yun, 2017<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Drama, Crime, Based on a Real Story</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> I first watched this film in 2017, but I decided I wanted to watch it again, so that's what I did. I loved it on the first watch, and I loved it on the second one as well. I also have a soft spot for films based on real events, knowing that makes it so much more intense for me. <br /> In <i>New Trial</i> we see a lawyer struggling to make justice for a wrongfully convicted man. His only crime: being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Of course the film exaggerates real facts, but that's what makes it a film and not a documentary. I liked watching everything from trying to uncover the truth, gathering evidence, to trying to finally, after ten long years, make justice. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fb7979;">✘ <span style="font-family: Righteous; font-size: medium;">Happiness Adjacent</span></span> directed by Rob Williams, 2017<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Drama</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span> Ugh. This one will contain a few spoilers, proceed with caution. <br /><span> While I liked the acting in <i>Happiness Adjacent</i> and I thought it was pretty hot, I did not like what was happening. During a cruise two men meet and start a relationship. The only problem is that one of them is a cheating bastard, the other one is a prick who does not care he's helping this guy cheat on his wife who is a few rooms away. I never understood what's with the appeal on cheating and I'm not going to understand any time soon. Just no, don't do it. It's gross.<br /></span><span> The cheating is not the only issue I have with this film. The prick is seeing a therapist, and the bastard at some point tells him something along the lines 'you don't need a therapist to tell you how great you are' and the prick actually proceeds to call his therapist and tell him to fuck off. What? A rando comes and tells you you don't need a therapist and you actually listen? No, no, no. Not good. So yeah, this film is not worth it, unless you want to go ahead and simply enjoy the sexy scenes. </span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fb7979;">✘ <span style="font-family: Righteous; font-size: medium;">Blind Truth</span></span> directed by Adrianna Buckner, 2020<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Drama, Crime</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span> There are going to be some mild spoilers here too. This film is a disaster. <br /></span><span> While there is potential to the plot, the film is all over the place. I don't even know why I watched it, I knew from the opening scene I was not going to like it. The dialogue is not good. There are unnecessary pauses in the middle of it, it sounds like something a kid might have written and the supposedly FBI agents are all so bad! There is no procedures to be followed, there are no measures taken at the crime scenes, everyone does as they please.<br /><span> Right, the plot. The film follows an FBI agent obsessed with a serial killer who resurfaces after 25 years of inactivity. As I said, it has potential, but it's just so bad, I literally cringed, physically cringed, while watching it. Don't bother with this one. </span><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">And these are my top liked and disliked films in January. I definitely recommend the three liked ones, and if you're looking for more recommendations, I might also mention <i>Big Bad Wolves</i> (2013), <i>The Post</i> (2017), <i>Can You Ever Forgive Me?</i> (2018), <i>The Guard</i> (2011), and <i>The Half of It</i> (2020). I definitely watched some films I liked more than some of these, but I don't want to mention well known films that you might have already watched or are already planning on watching, and I wanted to cover a wider range of genres, in order: Crime/Thriller, History/Based on a Real Story, Drama/Based on a Real Story, Comedy/Action, and RomCom. </p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-70092122488849204712021-01-31T17:25:00.002+02:002021-01-31T18:19:02.116+02:00In the kitchen: Cooking tips from an amateur homecook.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://media1.tenor.com/images/3689b1d7129ae358711cdc3f30eb3dfa/tenor.gif?itemid=10121782" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="498" src="https://media1.tenor.com/images/3689b1d7129ae358711cdc3f30eb3dfa/tenor.gif?itemid=10121782" /></a></div><p> <span style="text-align: justify;">When it comes to cooking and me, it's less cooking and more experimenting. More often than not I just mix together whatever I feel like eating, plus any ingredients I think would go well. So far I've had only one complaint. Of course, I cook only for myself most of the time, and that one complaint was me managing to somehow smoke some cabbage so badly I couldn't bear eating it so I dumped it all in the bin. That was a sad day. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">But wait, I cooked for my best friend before and I usually get positive feedback. Not always stellar, but considering she usually finishes eating what I put in front of her, I'd say that's a success. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now that you know where my cooking skills are at, there are some tips I kept seeing around and started following. The results have been amazing and since they make such a big difference I thought why not put them all in one place. So here goes.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: Cookie; font-size: x-large;"> 01. When cooking eggs, take them off the heat right before they are done.</span> <br />I bet you have a certain preference when it comes to eggs, if you eat eggs at all, but right before they are that perfect consistency you love, take them off the stove. The cooking process doesn't stop the second you turn off the heat, so those extra moments will ensure you get the perfect eggs. Might sound bogus, but it makes a huge difference, I was surprised the first time I did it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #42e566; font-family: Cookie; font-size: x-large;"> 02. Get fresh vegetables.</span> <br />I used to get frozen vegetables most of the time because I thought it'll cook way faster. It turns out that's not necessarily the case. Most of the vegetables cook in about the same time your frozen ones take to defrost and heat up, so you are not saving any time. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Cookie; font-size: x-large;"> 03. Add butter.</span> <br />If you are not lactose intolerant, butter makes wonders. You can add it to your scrambled eggs and your meats and it's delicious. Well, you might have some preferences here too. I, for example, don't actually like butter in my eggs, or chicken meat, but I absolutely love it when it comes to pork. It makes the meat so much softer, it almost melts when eating, and the flavour is great. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e06666; font-family: Cookie; font-size: x-large;"> 04. Season meats beforehand.</span> <br />When cooking meat, season it at least 10 minutes before you start cooking it. This allows all those condiments to get right into it and you'll get a delicious meal. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: Cookie; font-size: x-large;"> 05. Parchment paper is your friend.</span> <br />The oven tray will thank you for using parchment paper or aluminium foil (not if you use an induction stove, though, aluminium doesn't go well with induction), it'll be so much easier to clean afterwards, and you can also use less oil since nothing will stick so stubbornly. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ffbaba; font-family: Cookie; font-size: x-large;"> 06. Do not improvise when it comes to baking.</span> <br />That's literally the only time improvisation doesn't help, baking is an exact science and it's so easy to mess it up even when you follow the instructions. Other than that, go wild, get all your favourite ingredients and mix and match to your heart's content. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Cookie; font-size: x-large;"> 07. Clean as you go.</span> <br />This will save you a lot of headache. Don't let the sink get full, clean as soon as you can, while waiting for the water to boil or when everything's in the oven. It will make your cooking experience so much better. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdr7s0eBBx1qk1or3.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="97" data-original-width="74" src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdr7s0eBBx1qk1or3.gif" /></a></div>And that's it! It's so easy to make your meals so much tastier, easier, and enjoyable. Also, don't be afraid of cooking meals you usually only eat when going out. You'll discover they are not so difficult to prepare. Go and try them out, you are the chef in your kitchen. </div><p></p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-50438326822924821632021-01-27T10:30:00.005+02:002021-01-31T17:28:01.652+02:00Diary of B. High school.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1565057748808-18c797216b0c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1189&q=80" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1565057748808-18c797216b0c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MXwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHw%3D&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1189&q=80" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[photography by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@sparkerz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barry Zhou</a>]</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Following my <a href="http://blowing-time.blogspot.com/2020/08/dear-diary.html" target="_blank">dear diary post</a>, that I might or might have not forgotten about, my next diary entry is about <a href="http://blowing-time.blogspot.com/2012/08/diary-of-b-liceul.html" target="_blank">high school</a>. High school was certainly a time for me to grow up, to learn more about myself, and to shape myself into what I am today. In my initial post I was saying that I don't know how to define high school, that I can only state a few things that I learned along the way. Now that there is some distance between me then and me know, I can actually define it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">High school, for me, was a time when I only started to learn about myself, when I only started to actually gain some sort of shape. I was still far from me now, but it was an important step in my journey. I can't say I am thinking fondly about it, and I can't say I miss it. It is what it is. <span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was always the quiet kid, and that held true throughout high school. I was never the type of person to speak up, I didn't make friends easily and, really thinking about it, I don't think my colleagues liked me. I had an emo phase, I was the only one not showing interest in fashion, I didn't share any interest with my colleagues, I generally kept to myself, I was genuinely clueless and not as willing as the rest of my colleagues to skip classes—which I think was the main reason for them disliking me; although I was all in by, I don't know, say, the third time there were talks of skipping classes, I was stuck with their dislike. I don't feel like I was given a chance after that, I had a label of some sorts. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the end of high school, I somehow ended up for part of a train ride to college with one of my former colleagues with whom I didn't really talk during school, and I remember thinking then, as we shared the train cabin and made small talk, that we could have been friends. I don't think my only two actual friends from then really liked me either, we drifted away really quick, even then. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Huh, I was not expecting to realise these things now. It feels weird. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, anyway. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We were predominantly a girls classroom and there were a lot of fights going on. I remember at some point our classroom was divided into three groups. The two more vocal girls who were good friends eventually fell out so two groups formed. The third group was the rest of us who wanted nothing to do with the drama and didn't give care about their made up issues. However, I never thought about my colleagues, any of them, as being bad people. I think it was all just part of us growing up. I do keep a bit of a grudge on two of them, though, for making fun of my interests in a mocking way. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's weird how my views changed from when I first wrote about it to now. At that time I was looking at my high school time in a happy light, but now that I put things into perspective, I was wrong. I did get along with most of my colleagues, but it was nothing I can value now. We had superficial interactions, and most of the time I was there only thanks to one of my friends that was actually friends with the others, that the others actually liked. I remember noticing her drifting away from me and for a while I wanted her to be my friend again, but ultimately I let go. I guess at some point I realised we just can't be friends anymore, simply because we grew up in different kinds of people, and instead of trying to cling to it and make her miserable in the process, I just let the friendship dissolve. We didn't keep in touch after high school and it took me until now to realise why. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We did go out sometimes, all of us, after classes. We were accompanied by our homeroom teacher most of the times otherwise I don't think that would have been possible, and I can't say I remember much of what we talked about then. I was so quiet, I don't think I ever actually took part in the conversations so eh, I guess not much to remember about. I do remember one colleague being a general menace, but that was also because he wanted to get closer to my friend. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Damn, I really was just a... blob there. Wow! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of teachers, I think that was the most fun part. I liked most of them. Our homeroom teacher was great, and most of the teachers were fun to be around. I can think of only about two or three I didn't particularly like, but two of those didn't stick around for long anyway. For the most part the classes were great, either because the teachers were fun or because they sucked and we made light of the situation. Maybe we were sometimes mean, but I don't think we ever took it too far. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This post has been enlightening in a way I was not expecting. The tone sure is different from last time I wrote about it and I'm not sure how I feel about the whole experience now. If anything I think I wish I would have been more outgoing, but at the same time I don't know if I could have gotten rid of that label. I remember that after a parents meeting I was accused of saying some things I did not say and I think someone came forward and said that another parent misunderstood what was discussed, but that didn't help me in any way. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was just... The quiet kid. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, it's all done now. I do have good things to take out of it, so at least there's that, but I still would have liked to make some more meaningful connections. </div><p></p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-4589289644333842232021-01-05T18:09:00.003+02:002021-01-05T18:09:31.744+02:00Stop ruining books!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://64.media.tumblr.com/998e912cbf8311e3622e2407970f9b5f/tumblr_mn73w53quc1s103ldo1_500.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="500" src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/998e912cbf8311e3622e2407970f9b5f/tumblr_mn73w53quc1s103ldo1_500.gif" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Woah, I have this in my drafts since September, how did that happen? I have some ideas, but either way, I think it gathered enough dust and it is about time I post this. But first let me just mention from that start that I am not yelling at the authors here. There are a lot of different topics and genres and unless the writing is absolutely awful, anything goes as far as I am concerned. Who I am yelling at is the readers, but more accurately the ones of us (yes, me included) who write opinions or reviews on various sites after reading a book. And I am so mad at some of the reviewers. I have pretty good reasons, too, I'd say. At least me concerned. </div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First of all I must mention that I was never a fan of spoilers. Actually, I outright can't stand them. If it is about something I am interested in, the moment I see a spoiler my interest goes to mush. Sometimes, if enough time goes by, I completely forget about it and get interested in that particular book again, but other times I have no interest in reading it. This caused me to not discuss what I plan on reading or what I am currently reading with some people. There is this person that I know that no matter how many times I asked to not spoil me, they do it first time I mention a title. Why would someone do that? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The thing with spoilers, and what most of the reviewers overlook is that anything, and I mean <u><b>ANYTHING can be a spoiler</b></u>. It doesn't matter how much you deem it relevant to the plot, it doesn't matter if it was briefly mentioned at some point, or if it is related to a two page character, if it is in the book it is a spoiler to someone. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I try really hard to avoid spoilers and whenever I mention something in a review that feels even a bit revealing of the story, I insert warnings. As someone who can't enjoy a book if I know what's going to happen next, I try to avoid doing it to others as well. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am going to admit that in my early reviews I may not have been as careful, if you go back to around 2010 and earlier, I'm sure there are some spoilers laid around that I may not have signalled out properly. That is to say I don't want to claim I am somehow exempt of what I am ranting against here, chances are we all did it at some point, intentionally or not. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next thing might come as childish, but I am mad about two acronyms that I see pretty often in reviews, sometimes in the very first sentence of a review and that is an ugly sin. Those acronyms are HEA and HFN, meaning 'happy ever after' and 'happy for now' respectively. I have two issues with these two:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>(1)</b> with those three letters the ending of a book is spoiled which is a pretty big thing to be spoiled. Usually people are more tolerant on smaller spoilers like a clue to the plot, or revealing what happens with a character, but spoiling the ending is a fucking big no. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>(2)</b> they look so ugly. This is most likely just me, but for some reason, before I looked them up and found out what they actually stand for, I thought they are acronyms to some chemical reaction, or some STI. I don't know, that letter combo is so unappealing. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, since I don't actually think reviewers will magically stop putting spoilers all around, I stopped reading reviews before reading a book. I don't even scroll lower on the page so I won't accidentally see something that will make me drop the book even before I actually give it a chance. </div><div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">What we learned from this rant? Spoilers are bad and if you spoil people without putting that cute lil spoiler tag around the text or warning the readers there are spoilers in your review, you should feel bad. </p><p>I also may or may not be a bit irrational about this. Dunno, call it unpopular opinion. ๑</p></div></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-52301456357036992862020-10-22T01:01:00.005+03:002020-10-22T01:01:37.734+03:00Update: anime, books, and drawing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.giphy.com/media/14ykqngG4rUYpi/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" src="https://media.giphy.com/media/14ykqngG4rUYpi/giphy.gif" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Can't believe this is my first post this month. I've been slacking. Okay, I have some good-ish explanation. In short I was so not in a state to write anything. I was, however, in the mood to draw. And watch some anime. Not movies. Reading... not quite, a little.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is a classical case of life happening. Work has been crazy lately. Besides an increase in customers (which is actually not a problem at all) some of the people I work with have gone completely nuts. Some ridiculous things go on, I don't even think you would believe all of it if I were to write it down here. I might do that at some point, preferably when that's not my main income source, but until then, take my word for it: people are nuts! </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Moving along~<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Montserrat Alternates; font-size: large;"><b>Anime. </b></span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't know when I started watching <i>Bleach</i>. If I try and think about it, I started watching it more than three years ago. That's crazy, isn't it? Did I watch like 100 episodes/year or something? What? Anyway, I started watching <i>Bleach </i>and then, in classical me fashion, I stopped watching it. Part of it because I lost interest, part because other things caught my attention. At some point I decided to finish watching it out of spite, but in the end I started watching the last episodes instead of YouTube videos and guess what, it worked. More than that, I got interested in it again, right before it went to shit. Point is I watched it. Will I watch the sequel once it comes out? Mayhaps? Dunno, I'll see. (Did you know there's gonna be a sequel? I found out by mistake.)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After watching <i>Bleach</i> I decided that yes, I do want to watch something else too, another anime, so now I am watching <i>Uraboku</i>. The first time I heard about it I was in high school, I think, and I had it on my watchlist since then. Why didn't I start watching it earlier? Well, that's a big mystery. So far I quite like it. The plot is interesting enough, not perfect, it makes me cringe sometimes, but I do like it very much. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Montserrat Alternates; font-size: large;"><b>Books!</b></span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">I mentioned at some point I got another <a href="https://blowing-time.blogspot.com/2020/07/john-grisham.html" target="_blank">John Grisham</a> book, <i>The Guardians</i>. It took me a while to start reading it, but I did manage to read it, and yes, I did like it. I am planning on writing about it properly at some point so I'm only mentioning it now. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Next I started reading <i>Sebastian</i> by Sam Argent which is supposed to be the first book of <i>Family of Lies </i>series, but since 2015 this is the only one published, so I don't know, I only hope it won't end in a cliffhanger. I only read a bit of it so far so I don't know yet if I really like it, but the synopsis sounded interesting (I don't remember much of it right now, but I think a dragon was mentioned). </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: Montserrat Alternates; font-size: large;"><b>Drawing? </b></span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">When I was little I liked drawing (what kid didn't?) and I had a few attempts of actually learning how to draw, but it never stuck. This year, since it's the first time I actually remembered it before it started, I decided to do <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>INKTOBER</b></span>. The goal was to doddle something for every prompt and have fun in the process, but it became actually trying to draw something decent. I've been following some tutorials online, I have a few favourites already, and I must say it is actually really fun drawing while listening to music. I admit I've been slacking on that too in the past few days, but I did manage to stick to <span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>INKTOBER</b></span>. After I'm done I might post some pictures on here.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Back to the tutorials, I am attempting to learn how to draw in ink. More accurately I use fine liner ink pens. I've already invested in fine liners, rulers, notebooks and everything else I need so I better go through with this. My goal so far is to fill up the two notebooks I got (a small one for pretty plants and a bigger one for practicing shapes, figures, the basics of drawing). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I started by following the tutorials made by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/alicelovesdrawing/" target="_blank">alicelovesdrawing</a>. I like the style so much! I've been following Alice on Instagram for a long while now and every time she posted a tutorial or a step by step I kept thinking I would like to try drawing such pretty things too, so now I'm finally trying it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The next one is <a href="https://www.instagram.com/alicelovesdrawing/" target="_blank">Alphonso Dunn</a>. At some point I was searching for tutorials online, I can't remember specifically what subject I was looking for, might have been eyes, but I stumbled upon Alphonso Dunn and I kinda fell in love. I mean, even the way he draws arrows is so nice (I remember now, it was definitely eyes), and the way he explains how to draw stuff is so easy to follow and actually sticks. I like watching the tutorials even when I don't have the notebook in front of me, it's so good. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The third artist I really like is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/bluefley00/videos" target="_blank">Mark Brunet</a>. Now, Marc Brunet mainly deals with digital art, but he gives a lot of great tips that can be applied to traditional art too. He is also funny and the the tutorials are easy to follow. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I am probably going to find some more great artists/professors in my drawing journey, I am sure there are a lot of amazing ones from whom I can learn a lot, but so far, these three are my go to and I highly recommend them as they offer a lot of useful tips, they make great tutorials, and they are such a joy to watch. </p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-50130713852360013722020-09-30T09:35:00.002+03:002020-09-30T09:35:01.329+03:00Music Break #38<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bLcNbXTAuAg" width="560"></iframe></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-57733580149597291152020-09-26T01:15:00.002+03:002020-09-26T02:14:17.647+03:00Two more books by Louisa May Alcott<div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1404959050l/22647401.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1404959050l/22647401.jpg" width="200" /></a> <img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587495520l/53217709.jpg" width="210" /></div><br /><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I would put the titles of the books instead of 'two more books', but they are so long! The books are <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8694" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Abbot's Ghost, or Maurice Treherne's Temptation: A Christmas Story</a> and <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8677" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Behind a Mask; or, a Woman's Power</a>. Just look at those titles. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Moving along, when I wrote about <a href="http://blowing-time.blogspot.com/2020/06/little-women-book-vs-movie.html" target="_blank">Little Women</a> I mentioned at the end of the post that the books Louisa May Alcott wrote under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard were more appealing to me. I downloaded then these two books and I was pretty eager to start reading them. Of course, it took my a while to do so and today I put in extra effort to finish reading the second book.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I won't write the entire titles from now on, I will refer to the books as <i>The Abbot's Ghost</i> and <i>Behind the Mask</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">As it sometimes happens when I am enthusiastic about a book, I didn't quite enjoy these two. On one hand I should have expected it since I wasn't a fan of <i>Little Women</i> either. It is a good book, it's just not what I usually read. At times it was difficult for me to follow the plot because (1) it didn't fully caught my attention and (2) because of the writing style. Nothing wrong with it, it just isn't my cup of tea. The most trouble I had was figuring out who is who since the same character is sometimes referred to by different names and/or titles. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Satisfy; font-size: x-large;">The Abbot's Ghost</span></p></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;">I read <i>The Abbot's Ghost</i> first because it is shorter. I wanted to get accustomed with the style and maybe get absorbed in the story, thus paving the way for the next book. Unfortunately it didn't happen like that. </p></div></div><div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Abbot's Ghost</i> is supposedly a horror short story—if the title wasn't indication enough—but there wasn't anything horror to me. It wasn't spooky and the plot overall felt underdeveloped. I was quite disappointed. You can still definitely enjoy the story, it is a nice moralising tale, but that's about it. I might have enjoyed it more if I would have read it when I was in middle school; I think it would have made an impression on me as the moralising bit is actually pretty good. </p></div></div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: Satisfy; font-size: x-large;">Behind the Mask</span></p></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;">I was more interested in this one than <i>The Abbot's Ghost</i>. The synopsis is intriguing: a cunning woman who disguises herself in order to fool her employers and secure the family's estate for herself. Jane, the protagonist, is indeed cunning, but she kept my interest for a few chapters only. I also searched for the list of characters because I couldn't figure out who was who and accidentally read a major spoiler. From then on I had no will to read it, but I did it for the sake of this post. </p></div></div><div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Back to Jane, if I think about it, I don't know how cunning she was or how foolish the other characters were. Maybe it was a combination of both. She wasn't implacable in her methods and she didn't completely woo everyone so is hard to give her full credit for the success of some of her actions. </p></div></div><div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;">As for the story itself, it didn't keep me waiting, there's no anticipation, no <i>I need to read what happens next!</i> What happens next is three lines bellow. I wasn't left waiting even for a bit, apart from the start of the story when I was curious. Overall, meh. </p></div></div></blockquote><div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: justify;">Although I did not enjoy these short stories as much as I expected to, I wouldn't turn you back from them. If you want to read them, by all means do it. They are both intriguing and they are pretty good. Especially if you like gothic literature or stories like... Oh, I don't know, I haven't read many in the style, but let's say <i>Wuthering Heights</i> or if you like TV shows like <i>Downtown Abbey</i> (someone said in a review that <i>The Abbot's Ghost</i> would fit in an episode there, don't blame me if it doesn't, I only watched the movie). And definitely give them a try if you liked <i>Little Women</i> or other works by Louisa May Alcott. </p></div></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-20955807504184911792020-09-23T08:25:00.001+03:002020-09-23T08:25:03.715+03:00Music Break #37<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xlEAutFdFxg" width="560"></iframe></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-16060882294514793502020-09-21T11:30:00.001+03:002020-09-21T22:55:16.580+03:00Eyeglasses. Or look, individual leaves!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://media.tenor.com/images/f51e006fa8706bf5223ded1c578584a3/tenor.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="498" src="https://media.tenor.com/images/f51e006fa8706bf5223ded1c578584a3/tenor.gif" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">I spend a lot of time on my laptop or staring at my phone, like a lot of other people. There's reading going on various sites, apps and novels (I have a timer on the app I use for books that lets me know when I should take a break, but I always ignore it) so eye straining happens. Because of that my eyes got stingy and red and they even hurt. After I got asked for the umpteenth time if I don't get enough sleep I decided that's it, I have to go get my eyes tested. So I made an appointment. </p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">Good news is my eyes are healthy. Bad news is I do need glasses (but not for reading, surprisingly). Worse news is I knew for a while that I needed glasses. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Okay, hear me out. At my previous jobs I had to get my eyes tested regularly. I never, ever could see clearly all the letters the doctor was pointing out to me, but they always said my vision is fine. I can see very well things that are close, I don't have too much trouble with the ones in the distance, but everything's blurry. Well, I did not know they were blurry before I got the glasses. I saw things like that since... ever, so that's how things were for me. But then I got the glasses and everything went clear and crisp and well defined. Literally HD.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I was honestly shocked by the difference. Without glasses I cannot see clearly about 5m in front of me (it gets worse with more distance, obviously), I had no idea my vision was so fucked. Actually, on my laptop I always have to keep it somewhat close to me in order to be able to read stuff, but with the glasses no such a problem. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Oh, yes, although I do not need glasses when reading I told the doc I use the laptop a lot so she gave me a prescription that helps with that too. Anti-glare I think it's called. So now I am able to see clearly things that are far away from me and my eyes don't sting/hurt anymore when using the laptop. Isn't that great? It is. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">What I want to say is that sometimes doctors suck and if you feel like something is off, make an appointment yourself and specifically ask for whatever test you need. I've been to different doctors (ophthalmologists) throughout the years and I guess since it was a routine check up they didn't feel like doing their job. Now that I think about it, some of the other tests were skipped, like measuring, weighting and other basic stuff. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">All this time I could have seen properly...</p><p style="text-align: justify;">One interesting thing I found out is that glasses don't actually change your dioptre if you are using them for reading instead of... gazing(?). They only change the way the eyes focus. There are all kinds of 'rules' I kept hearing and one of them was about all the different ways glasses can actually damage eyes. Well, they don't. Or at least they don't in the way some people say they do. If you hear something like that, look it up, ask a specialist, don't just believe them. People might have the best intentions and unknowingly spread wrong information that at worst might make things worse for you and at best be an inconvenience. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">So yeah, actually seeing stuff is pretty nice, highly recommend it. </p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-18991171449864506422020-09-18T09:55:00.061+03:002020-09-18T09:55:00.391+03:00Masquerade Hotel film<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://communaute.icotaku.com/uploads/news/news_6659/news_ZZXjFHzgnVL6gUr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="660" src="https://communaute.icotaku.com/uploads/news/news_6659/news_ZZXjFHzgnVL6gUr.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/masquerade-hotel/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Masquerade Hotel</a> is a long waited film by me. I looked it up all over the place (that being the Internet), but couldn't find it until one day when I just stumbled across it by mistake. I don't even remember what I was looking for, chances are I was randomly browsing films hoping to find something to watch when there it was. I did not hesitate and hit play immediately. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One major reason why I wanted to watch this film is Takuya Kimura who plays the detective Kosuke Nitta. I first saw Takuya Kimura in <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/mr-brain/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mr. Brain</a>, a Japanese mini-series (8 episodes) and I liked him so much! He is a brilliant actor and has the most colourful laugh. There is no laughing in <i>Masquerade Hotel</i>, but if you feel like watching <i>Mr. Brain</i> or any other happier films of Takuya Kimura, you'll get what I mean. </p><p><span style="color: #824235;">♦ </span><span style="color: #b24e33;">♦ </span><span style="color: #dd7d46;">♦</span> <span style="color: #dd7d46; font-size: x-small;">THE PLOT IS AS FOLLOWS</span> <br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">A serial killer is on the loose in Tokyo. Three murders already took place and the numbers left at the last crime scene indicate that the next murder will take place at Cortesia Hotel. In order to solve the case and catch the murderer, Kosuke Nitta goes undercover in the hotel. Naomi Yamagishi who works at the front desk is selected to train Kosuke, but the task proves to be challenging as their focus lie on the criminal in Kosuke's case, and on the customers in Naomi's case. </div><p></p><p><span style="color: #824235;">♦ </span><span style="color: #b24e33;">♦ </span><span style="color: #dd7d46;">♦</span> <span style="color: #dd7d46; font-size: x-small;">WHAT I THINK OF IT</span> <br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;">It was so fun watching <i>Masquerade Hotel</i>. I kept trying to figure out what was going on based on the little stories the characters tell throughout the film. I wondered if they are connected and if they are, how? </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I liked the dynamics between Kosuke and Naomi, they clashed so often, it was a challenge for both of them to work together. While Kosuke was indeed focused on catching the murderer, Naomi's focus was solely on the customer, making sure they are well accommodated and enjoy their stay at Cortesia Hotel. She was really devoted to her job and I admired her for it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The hotel, regarding the design, was so pleasing to look at. The way everything is filmed is so smooth, you can really tell a lot of work and thought went into producing <i>Masquerade Hotel</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">With all my guesswork while watching it, I was glad to find out my intuition was right, but the outcome still took me by surprise, and I am such a big fan of surprises. For me what makes or breaks a film (or book for that matter) is the element of surprise. Even if I see it coming the manner in which it is delivered plays a big part and it can still be just as surprising as if I couldn't have guessed it at all. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>Masquerade Hotel</i> is currently on my top favourite films list, so needless to say I recommend it. Especially if you like Japanese films or simply want to spice up your viewing experience. </p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-13723630203542169542020-09-16T09:10:00.001+03:002020-09-16T09:10:01.721+03:00Music Break #36 <div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KWgEyiCDQNQ" width="560"></iframe></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-64624388010620678772020-09-14T11:35:00.002+03:002020-09-14T11:35:00.499+03:00Diary of J. Long Distance Relationships.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1466096115517-bceecbfb6fde?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1050&q=80" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="427" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1466096115517-bceecbfb6fde?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1050&q=80" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">A while ago I said I am thinking of re-writing / translating / whatever some of my previous <a href="https://blowing-time.blogspot.com/2020/08/dear-diary.html" target="_blank">dear diary</a> posts. Well, here I am, this is the first one. But before I go into my experience with long distance relationships and how I view them, the photo you see on this post is taken by <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/fb7yNPbT0l8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mathyas Kurmann</a>.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A few years ago, back when I was in high school I kind of wound up in a long distance relationship. I started talking to someone online and we kept on talking. We had a lot of things in common and we talked about everything. Really, everything. At first we were very good friends and I can't remember who, but one of us, obviously, was like <i>hang on, I think I like you more than just a friend</i>. And the other one said <i>yeah, me too</i> and that was that. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I think I was about 17-18 at that time and we lived pretty far away so we couldn't meet. We wanted to, but it was a little tricky because of several reasons. In the end we didn't meet at all during the relationship which is surprising as it lasted for about two years. We just talked online, wrote stories together, sent letters and gifts to each other, stuff like that. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">At some point this whole long distance thing became frustrating for me. Yes, we did spend a lot of time talking and while that was nice, it wasn't the same as physically being with them and that drove me a bit nuts. Especially when my partner was going through a difficult time or when they were upset. It's not surprising that we started fighting towards the end of the relationship, I think we were both just as frustrated and it just didn't work anymore. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Again, I don't know who said it, but one of us said <i>I think we should end this</i>. And the other said <i>yeah, me too</i> and that was it. I know we were both so relieved, I distinctly remember them saying something along the lines '<i>I'm so glad I can finally tell you this</i>' after a certain conversation. And I was like, <i>yeah, I feel the same</i>. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I over simplified it in this post, two years is a lot, but anyway, that was about it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now... After everything was said and done we kept in touch. We actually still talk occasionally, and they are a very dear and special person to me. We shared a lot of things and during that time there was no one who knew me better or whom I knew better. I'm glad I could experience this with them. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">What I think about long distance relationships? Well, I'm not opposed to them, I would give it another try if the person is right, but with the condition we have to meet as soon as possible, and if everything goes well, move closer to each other. There's just so long a relationship can last without actual physical closeness. I mean, yeah, it's great to be able to talk about anything, but it's even greater to talk about anything while taking a walk together or cuddle. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">That being said it's impressive we lasted so long. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I should also note that nowadays it's easier to be in a long distance relationship. Back when I was in high school we used to send pictures to each other and we only had the computer, but that was about it. Now there's videocall, we have smartphones so no one has to rush at home to log in into whatever social media account, and even calling is waaaaay more cheaper than before. So yeah, things changed a lot. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I think I covered everything there was to without going in too much detail so yeah, that's about it. Oh, do I think long distance relationships work? Definitely, if both people really want it to work and both are prepared to compromise, yes, it works. </p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-38237033972647510012020-09-11T09:23:00.001+03:002020-09-11T09:23:01.825+03:00Julie & Julia<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LuKtF7CsC3Y/TlfVo2bOU8I/AAAAAAAAAIk/LJhOob3KPFE/s666/Julie+and+Julia-Book+and+Movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="666" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LuKtF7CsC3Y/TlfVo2bOU8I/AAAAAAAAAIk/LJhOob3KPFE/w640-h480/Julie+and+Julia-Book+and+Movie.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Once in a while I go through all the films some of the actors I like have been in and pick one to watch. Usually I read the synopsis, check the ratings and if everything looks good to me, I dump the film on my <a href="https://letterboxd.com/nigmatillium/watchlist/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">watchlist</a>. The films can stay on my watchlist for months before I actually watch them, and some I remove without even bothering to try and watch. </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I don't know why I do that. Maybe some of them sound interesting to me when I first find them, but I'm not in the mood when I want to watch something so after I skip them time and time again, I remove them. There are also cases when I don't find a particular film from my list to watch so there's no point in keeping it on the list. </p><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">When it comes to <i>Julie & Julia</i>, the film was on my list for a few months, but it kept calling me. I'm weak for real life inspired films and when I watched the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozRK7VXQl-k" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">trailer</a> it looked so fun. </div><span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The actress whose films I was stalking this time was, of course, Meryl Streep, a brilliant actress who I enjoy watching on talk shows as well. She has this personality, this joy that attracts me as a watcher to her. That's why it is shocking to me that I didn't watch a lot of her films. Yet, at least. I am obviously on the right track here. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Back to <i>Julie & Julia</i>, the film is inspired by the book Julie Powell wrote. Julie was encouraged by her husband to start writing a blog about cooking so she took her love for cooking and her admiration for Julia Child and began her journey. With Julia's help, Julie managed to grow as a person, to achieve her goals, and share the adventure in her tiny kitchen. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Julie and Julia are separated by time and space, but are connected by their passion. They are different, but the same. In a way. In this film we get to see the journey of both these amazing women and how their lives intertwine despite them not meeting each other. I enjoyed seeing both sides and see how they relate. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The film is also incredibly inspiring. Julie and Julia managed to do what they did, cook, publish a book, thanks to their perseverance. I am glad the film didn't leave out some of the hardships they met (although I suspect it left out some) so we get a more accurate and realistic portrayal. I say realistic because although the film is inspired by real facts, we know how these go, there's always some aspect changed, some cinematic effect to add drama, that kind of thing. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The cast is great, besides Meryl Streep there's Amy Adams who also plays Louis Lane and was in <i>Catch Me If You Can</i>; the well known Stanley Tucci who was in <i>The Devil Wears Prada</i> together with Meryl Streep, and also in <i>Captain America</i> and <i>Easy A</i>; Chris Messina who was in <i>Sharp Objects</i> and <i>Palo Alto</i>; and Jane Lynch who some of you might know from <i>Glee </i>or as the voice of Sergeant Calhoun in <i>Wreck-It-Ralph</i>. Well known cast, everyone was great, good chemistry, and superb acting. There's really not much else I can say.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That being said <i>Julie & Julia</i> is an excellent film. I did not read any of the books, not Julia Child's and not Julie Powell's the latter being the inspiration of the film, but I might check them out for the great recipes. The original blog is obviously not available anymore, but I did find <a href="https://juliepowell.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this blog</a> of Julie's. She stopped writing there in 2010, but looking through the posts it seems like a fun read if anyone's interested. </p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-11741985033734757462020-09-09T09:36:00.001+03:002020-09-09T09:36:00.233+03:00Music Break #35<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CkJk8E3foGg" width="560"></iframe></div>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-44889153385104001572020-09-07T11:25:00.000+03:002020-09-08T20:40:55.679+03:00The big cycle of procrastination<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/usercards/1317603427278_4319136.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="420" src="https://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/usercards/1317603427278_4319136.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">(Almost) No one is unfamiliar with this word, but for the sake of it and because I really like the dictionary format, I'm copy/pasting the definition a few paragraphs below. </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">People sometimes get frustrated and upset with their procrastinating habits, and they turn to the big ol' Internet for tips and tricks on how to stop procrastinating. For me there seems to be only one thing that actually works, but first let's see what procrastination is and how the Internet suggests to combat it. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: courier; font-size: large;">procrastination</span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c; font-size: xx-small;">NOUN</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c;">; </span><span style="color: #f6b26b;">[prə(ʊ)ˌkrastɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n] </span><span style="color: #f9cb9c;"> </span></span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">the action of delaying or postponing something</span></div></blockquote></blockquote><p></p><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">SYNONYMS</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">:</span></span></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f6b26b; font-size: x-small;">dithering · delaying tactics · dilatoriness · stalling · temporizing · hesitation</span></div></blockquote></blockquote><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: courier;">What the Internet suggests</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">One of the first tips on how to stop procrastinating I can find is to <span style="color: #f6b26b;">break your work into little steps</span>. Make your big work into several smaller work if you will. While this is a pretty solid advice and it should work, it doesn't work for me. In between those smaller works I naturally take a break and that break turns back into procrastination, so what I am left with is the start of whatever I was supposed to be doing and... That's it. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The second advice is to <span style="color: #f6b26b;">change your environment</span>. That could help even more, but I don't always have the option to change my environment. Unless I move from the bedroom to the kitchen but that doesn't work anyway. I have a small kitchen that other people use throughout the day so besides inconveniencing my housemates it would be difficult to focus on the task at hand. So no, good advice, but not always possible. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another good advice is <span style="color: #f6b26b;">creating a list of things you have to do</span>, a deadline on when you must have those things completed. The problem with this one is that I make the list, I set the deadlines so I can easily break them with no consequence. What am I going to do to myself? Be upset? Disappointed? Ha! I have a long history of those, it doesn't work anymore. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The lists follow with things like <span style="color: #f6b26b;">getting someone involved to motivate you</span>, which would be great, but it's incredibly hard to find someone to motivate you in this day and age when people have all kinds of stuff on their plate and don't need another, no matter how simple it might be. I also don't have a lot of friends so I don't have who to turn to for this. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another tip is to <span style="color: #f6b26b;">tell people about your plans</span>. Out of all of them this is the one that backfires the most. We, people in general, tend to have a feeling of satisfaction, of false completion when telling others about what we're about to do. It makes us feel as if we already did part of the job when in reality we did jack shit. As a result we feel better about ourselves, but don't actually do anything. I would not recommend this one. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: courier;">What I found works best for me</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">So now that I saw some of the tricks on the list and tried some of them in the past with no result, I'm left with finding a solution myself. We all do things differently, so obviously this won't work for everyone like it works for me, but what I found to actually help me stop procrastinating is to eliminate all procrastinating materials. This includes social media, websites I frequent, video sharing platform etc etc. My main procrastination buddies are Reddit and YouTube. If I eliminate those two I have no choice but to work on whatever I have to get done. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is where I am at right now. Ignoring procrastination enablers. Even when I'm done with all my tasks, I continue giving them the cold shoulder a while longer. If I'm done with everything instead of jumping right on the 'do nothing' train I read a few pages of a book. I have some on my phone that just can't wait to be read and I really want to read them too. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, this lasts for a limited period. At some point I'm going to start spending more and more time on various platforms, ignoring my tasks, then I'm going to get all <i>ugh, I have to do something</i>, then I'm going to be productive for a while, and then back from the top. I guess when we don't really have a lot going on we do create our own little inconveniences. </p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-597164804337733870.post-9662270157642488702020-09-04T11:05:00.000+03:002020-09-04T11:05:00.973+03:00The Agency series by Ada Maria Soto<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1495953087l/35238838._SY475_.jpg" width="213" /> <img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1534312798l/41147433._SY475_.jpg" width="213" /></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">There are those type of novels where you read the synopsis and think to yourself, <i>hmm, this sounds interesting, action filled, funny, maybe cute</i>, and you go read it expecting that. Only that you start reading and the novel is nothing like you expected it to be. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">That being said, if you don't already know anything about this series I encourage you to not read my 'review' and go straight to reading the series.</div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">As I said, this series was nothing like I was expecting it to be. I admit I was a little influenced by what I usually read, the title had something to do with my initial impression too and the synopsis made me think about an office affair of some sort. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Basically, Arthur is a newly (side)promoted agent who tries to fit in. He tries to befriend his colleagues, strike a conversation, but with no luck. However, Arthur is decided to turn his luck around, to make himself noticed and liked (by the higherups too); he is not easily discouraged and he is pretty ambitious. Arthur decides to try and break Martin's shell, the one agent who hasn't spoken a word to anyone in the office in the last three years. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><i><b>His Quiet Agent</b></i></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">When I finished reading <i>His Quiet Agent</i> I was at a loss for words. I needed a bit to recollect myself, to gather my thoughts and make some sense out of them. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The novel is very well written. Usually I have at least a couple complaints, something I didn't quite like, but when it comes to this novel, my complaints list is blank, there's none. <i>His Quiet Agent</i> is such a nice, smooth read. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">The two main characters are so great, I loved Arthur's perseverance and the silent encouragements he got from others. Martin is a quiet person, but his subtle reactions show us a glimpse of what's inside and luckily for everyone, Arthur was paying attention. I was surprised by everything that happened, and I loved how their relationship developed. They are both really great and it makes me feel warm and content knowing they can rely on each other.</div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #029e7a; font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><b><i>Merlin in the Library </i></b></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This second part of the series follows the plot of the first, and while the first is from Arthur's perspective, this is from Martin's.<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i>Merlin in the Library</i> made me feel a little... not sad, but somewhere along the lines, and content at the same time. I am so happy Arthur is there for Martin. His devotion and patience are limitless, it makes me like him so much more. Martin too, underneath his straight face he's someone so complex and someone who needs just a little bit of attention. It's incredible how much we can learn about Martin despite everything he's not saying.</div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">In a way <i>Merlin in the Library</i> is a sort of an epilogue where Arthur and Martin settle into a routine together. It's still early, but I have no doubt this is the start to something truly beautiful.</div></div></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">When asked about a sequel Ada Maria Soto said <i>As for more, I'm not sure. Of the dozens of characters chattering away in my head Arthur and Martin are the quietest. I also know they mean a lot to people so I wouldn't want to force out something second rate with them.</i> I think that is such a great thing to say. Arthur and Martin are one of a kind characters and I'd rather not have a sequel than have a rushed out story. </div></div></div><p></p>nigma-tllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04349411916249168475noreply@blogger.com0