[athousandwords]

1 hour ago, Laghail said:

The official title of the dissertation is “SPECULATIVE ESCAPISM IN CONTEMPORARY FANTASY: LABOR, UTILITY, AFFECT”; which translates to Liam examining the ways capitalism hates reading for pleasure, especially when it’s sci-fi and fantasy. Specifically he’ll look at portal fantasy, like Narnia and any Isekai, and talk about the weird imperatives for the characters to come back from the other worlds, and the bizarre monsters that characters are turned into when they don’t follow the rules and bring back something from Narnia for the market to exploit. 

 

1. This sounds amazing! My favorite class in college was a Children's Lit class where we focused on Narnia for the entire 10 weeks. I hadn't read the series as a child, so all my views on that series are through a highly critical lens.

2. This specifically: "the weird imperatives for the characters to come back from the other worlds" reminds me of the end of Ted Lasso (spoilers if anyone hasn't seen it - no pressure to read if you haven't)

Spoiler

A lot of viewers were upset when he left England to return home, despite the massive foreshadowing that it was always going to be a portal story (specifically the allusions to The Wizard of Oz). It just makes me think about how we're conditioned to expect children to return home in these stories and resume the destiny that adults (or maybe Liam's argument: capitalism?) have prepared for them. We're meant to root for the Pevensies to leave Narnia or Dorothy to return from Oz, yet viewers who empathized with Ted felt cheated when he returned home. An argument I heard a lot was that it felt like the ending was decided in advance, despite the character's growth and happiness. Maybe in adult stories we want to believe we have more control over our destiny?

 

I peeked in on the livestream but I think he's already into the Q&A at this point. He sounds very professional though! Hopefully it's going well!

[Laghail]

1 hour ago, Leigh said:

Dude! I need to read that dissertation like yesterday. I fucking love literary analysis and how it shows how absolutely messed up reality is and how reality affects our perception of what is right and wrong (not morally but like in a 'that is/isn't how we do things here' sort of way)

 

Can... Can I read it? *Insert giant Battle Angel Alita eyes here*

I think so! Lemme get his sign off before I post a link, but should be fine 

[Laghail]

56 minutes ago, athousandwords said:

 

1. This sounds amazing! My favorite class in college was a Children's Lit class where we focused on Narnia for the entire 10 weeks. I hadn't read the series as a child, so all my views on that series are through a highly critical lens.

2. This specifically: "the weird imperatives for the characters to come back from the other worlds" reminds me of the end of Ted Lasso (spoilers if anyone hasn't seen it - no pressure to read if you haven't)

  Hide contents

A lot of viewers were upset when he left England to return home, despite the massive foreshadowing that it was always going to be a portal story (specifically the allusions to The Wizard of Oz). It just makes me think about how we're conditioned to expect children to return home in these stories and resume the destiny that adults (or maybe Liam's argument: capitalism?) have prepared for them. We're meant to root for the Pevensies to leave Narnia or Dorothy to return from Oz, yet viewers who empathized with Ted felt cheated when he returned home. An argument I heard a lot was that it felt like the ending was decided in advance, despite the character's growth and happiness. Maybe in adult stories we want to believe we have more control over our destiny?

 

I peeked in on the livestream but I think he's already into the Q&A at this point. He sounds very professional though! Hopefully it's going well!

really good input!! 

[Laghail]

Alright, our boy is a doctor! Now to imbibe a fry-up and wander over to the gym for a leg day. Possibly with an hour or two between those activities. 

[WhiteGhost]

Massive congratulations to Liam!

[Scaly Freak]

7 hours ago, Laghail said:

The official title of the dissertation is “SPECULATIVE ESCAPISM IN CONTEMPORARY FANTASY: LABOR, UTILITY, AFFECT”; which translates to Liam examining the ways capitalism hates reading for pleasure, especially when it’s sci-fi and fantasy. Specifically he’ll look at portal fantasy, like Narnia and any Isekai, and talk about the weird imperatives for the characters to come back from the other worlds, and the bizarre monsters that characters are turned into when they don’t follow the rules and bring back something from Narnia for the market to exploit. 

 

 

 

Oh goddamit I missed it.  😠

 

Well, it better have been appreciated, because that topic is fucking brilliant. Please add me to the list of people who would love to read this.

[sarakingdom]

On 3/26/2024 at 3:19 PM, Laghail said:

I think so! Lemme get his sign off before I post a link, but should be fine 

 

[Laghail]

 

Taylor Tomlinson is having a goddamn moment. She's from a similar background as me and her humor hits like self-evident observations about my reality, but somehow American millennials are vibbing with her in a major way. Three specials so far and hosting the new Colbert-produced "After Midnight" show, our girl is slaying.

 

Her 2019 5:00 set from Conan

Spoiler

 

 

A 4:54 clip from from her 2020 Netflix Special "Quarter-Life Crisis".

Spoiler

 

 

And finally, a 3:15 clip from her 2023 special "Have it All".

Spoiler

 

[AI image generated by HotPot.AI with the prompt "The comedian Taylor Tomlinson as a Vampire Slayer, wielding a microphone as a weapon."]

 

Slayer Training

• Lore 
  • Reading in bed by 11pm - 5x/week
    • ✅ ✅ ✅ 🔲 🔲  
  • Duolingo streak by noon -  7x/week

    •  ✅ ✅✅ 🔲 🔲 🔲 🔲

• Meditation
  • Ass on meditation pillow - 7x/week

    •   ✅✅ ✅ 🔲 🔲 🔲 🔲

  • Bodhrán meditation 3x/week

    •   🔲 🔲 🔲 

• Strength
  • Bench
    • 3x3 55%
    • 3x8 70%
  • HIT 15 mins

Life Stuffs

• Liam is officially a doc! Thanks to all the nerds here who blew him up yesterday, he felt so supported and engaged in the presentation. He can't drop a copy of the dissertation here but he's checking if his publisher will let him share the slides. 
• Hungover as heck after all the focus yesterday. We grabbed a midday diner breakfast on the way home and both of us were crashing before we finished our food. Very glad we're doing his grad party on Saturday instead of trying to cram it all into one day. 
• I maaaaay have received 22 lbs of beads in the mail yesterday. Maybe. I've already made a few pieces with the new swag, I'll try and post pics tomorrow. 
• We've recently dubbed Wednesdays as Rotisserie chicken day. It's pretty fantastic to bring home hot dinner for $6 and no one has to cook.
•  Having vision problems today from stress-related neck tension and postural stress adjusting to the CPAP. Taking Motrin and using a heating pad while my period cramps tension headache calms down.

[Leigh]

My gf had similar issues when she got her CPAP, she had success with taking an ibuprofen/methocarbamol tablet. I think it would be the Purple Robax?  If the Motrin doesn't help.   

[Sea-to-sky]

Whoo, go liam! So glad it went well for him.

 

Also, yay, bead haul. Shines are the best kind of post. 

 

[Laghail]

 

Sasheer Zamata is a slayer with an impressive rouges gallery; Uprights Citizens Brigade, ABC News, MTV, SNL, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Tuca & Bertie, Inside Amy Schumer, and the Muppets. This slayer was even named the ACLU's celebrity ambassador in 2015 and has done significant work fighting gender discrimination and colorism. Zamata has a TED talk-like delivery, structuring the jokes in the context of systematic observations about culture. I dropped the rating system because it was feeling uncomfortable, but Zamata is a great example of a raconteur comedian, whose longer stories trade some LPM for thoughtful pauses.

 

A 4:08 clip from her 2017 special "Pizza Mind"

Spoiler

 

 

A 4:02 clip from from a 2013 bar set

Spoiler

 

 

And a 12:38 clip from her 2023 special "The First Woman Here"

Spoiler

 

 

[AI image generated by Dezgo with the prompt "Sasheer Zamata as a vampire slayer, wielding a microphone as a weapon, with natural hair." Every other prompt produced a lolita pinup result with straightened hair. Zamata would literally slay me if I posted AI of her like that.

 

 

Slayer Training

• Lore 
  • Reading in bed by 11pm - 5x/week
    • ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🔲  
  • Duolingo streak by noon -  7x/week

    •  ✅ ✅✅ 🔲 🔲 🔲 🔲

• Meditation
  • Ass on meditation pillow - 7x/week

    •   ✅✅ ✅ ✅ 🔲 🔲 🔲

  • Bodhrán meditation 3x/week

    •   🔲 🔲 🔲 

• Strength
  • Squat
    • 3x3 85%
    • 3x8 70%
  • Paused leg extensions
    • 5x5 65%
  • HIT 15 mins

Life Stuffs

• Weltschmerz has me down. NF is kinda a happy place so lets not get into it, but the world is bad out there. Hitting the comedy and self-care a little harder than normal while I process the ongoing "god is dead" moments from the news.
• Eyesight is back to normal after working hard on neck tension last night. Might be popping a NSAID before bed for a bit while my neck adjusts to wearing the mask. 
• Uploading counting bracelet pics below. Counting bracelets let you get around the 108 beads of a normal meditation/prayer beads set, by wearing 27ish beads on one bracelet to cycle through 4+ times, while keeping count of your rotations with the beads on your second bracelet. 

[Laghail]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5EJvv6ucTf/?igsh=MXdoN2FuMzZoMHFiag==

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5EKJBTOpvb/?igsh=bnNiZXdoOHg1eWww

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5EMGnkORjm/?igsh=MXVpOWVvcjJrbWZsbw==

[Sea-to-sky]

5 minutes ago, Laghail said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5EJvv6ucTf/?igsh=MXdoN2FuMzZoMHFiag==

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5EKJBTOpvb/?igsh=bnNiZXdoOHg1eWww

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5EMGnkORjm/?igsh=MXVpOWVvcjJrbWZsbw==

So pretty. Snowflake obsidian is just gorgeous with the green. 
like that you are using magnetic catches on some of them. I am always a tad shy if elasticated ones after having a bracelet explode on my wrist on a very hot day once. 

[Laghail]

1 hour ago, Sea-to-sky said:

So pretty. Snowflake obsidian is just gorgeous with the green. 
like that you are using magnetic catches on some of them. I am always a tad shy if elasticated ones after having a bracelet explode on my wrist on a very hot day once. 

I’d be shy too! I have magnetic catches but they’re unsuitable once the bead is larger than 4mm. I have quite a few toggle and wire options that work for a fatter 8mm bead. To my mind, 8mm is the smoothest bead for counting while you meditate. 10mm moves great too, but they’re less common. 

[Scaly Freak]

11 hours ago, Laghail said:

• Weltschmerz has me down. NF is kinda a happy place so lets not get into it, but the world is bad out there. 

 

Yes, it is. But it's not here at NF with us, and we are going to keep it that way. (That said, if you need to vent to an outside third party who won't judge, feel free to send me a PM. And if not, that's fine too. Again, no judgement.)

 

I've been meaning to thank you for posting these comedians slayers, by the way. Comedy is one of those very personal things - a comedian, or a comedy, is funny if they have the same sense  of humor as I do. The thing with humor is that it's almost entirely dependent on cultural context (this is why Chaplin movies aren't funny anymore), and as someone who grew up outside the US, I'm missing a lot of the context a lot of the stand-up comedy here relies on to be funny. But when women comedians make jokes about all the struggles around being women, that appears to transcend cultural differences somehow. I look forward to see who else you'll post videos of and hope for specific ones to show up. I won't mention their names because I don't want to influence your process. I'll just cross my fingers and hope to see them here (you got three of them already ).

 

 

[WhiteGhost]

On 3/28/2024 at 8:40 AM, Laghail said:

Taylor Tomlinson

One of my favorites

[Laghail]

10 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

One of my favorites

 

I got to see her on her 2023 tour. I am NOT a fan of live music, usually once the crowd has passed 100 people, I'd rather listen to it digitally and have a better experience all around. Comedians live tho, the crowd work, the outtakes, I'm here for it.

[Laghail]

 

Suzi Ruffell is a blue collar slayer from Portsmouth and she spends her career on intra-class UK social commentary. High LPM, sky-high laughs per minute; Suzi sorta skips across her topics, keeping things light even while she sketches out a woman's life across the boundaries of income and orientation.

 

Her 5:07 set from 2014 on BBC Radio 1

Spoiler

 

 

Suzi's 12:43 set at the Apollo from 2019

Spoiler

 

 

Suzi's 7:11 set on ClubNite from 2019

Spoiler

 

[AI images generated by Dezgo with the prompt "Suzi Ruffell as a vampire slayer, wielding a microphone as a weapon."']

 

Slayer Training

• Lore 
  • Reading in bed by 11pm - 5x/week
    • ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ 🔲  
  • Duolingo streak by noon -  7x/week

    •  ✅ ✅✅ 🔲 🔲 🔲 🔲

• Meditation
  • Ass on meditation pillow - 7x/week

    •   ✅✅ ✅ ✅ 🔲 🔲 🔲

  • Bodhrán meditation 3x/week

    •   🔲 🔲 🔲 

• Strength
  • Bench
    • 5x5 80%
  • Overhead Press
    • 3x8 65%
  • HIIT 15 mins
  • Yoga

 

Life Stuffs

• In a better mood place after hitting the self-care a bit and reminding myself that I'm titrating down off of my SSRI. #TeamLexapro has had my back for the last 7 years and I'm happy to be graduating, even if my mood isn't the most stable while I wean off. If you compared check boxes between today and yesterday, you might notice I blew off most of my checkboxes last night to play Neverwinter Nights until midnight. Not my ideal outcome, but happy with how I managed an emotional day. 
• Relatedly, I was reminded that Wellbutrin, the SNRI that's managing my depression/anxiety in conjunction with Vyvanse for ADHD-related anxiety, Wellbutrin makes you horny. Lexapro, mostly in the rearview mirror for me now, depresses libido and has been doing so for 7 years. Interesting, interesting, interesting...
• Unrelatedly, I seem to have developed a small harem of short autistic men who are managing bipolar disorder. Jokes aside about my type being the grippy sock gang, I'm actually pretty proud of how I've been managing attachment and expectations with lovers lately. Not usually my strongest suite, post-cult trauma, my tendency has been towards inadvertently love bombing both a new lover and myself with the hopes of forming stable connections immediately. Apparently *checks notes* we're capable of getting better???

[Laghail]

Bonus Slayer vid because OBGYN humor is amazing.

 

5:30 minutes from Suzi's 2022 special "Dance Like Everyone's Watching"

Spoiler

 

 

[AI images generated by Dezgo with the prompt "Suzi Ruffell as a vampire slayer, wielding a microphone as a weapon."']

[Laghail]

13 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

Yes, it is. But it's not here at NF with us, and we are going to keep it that way. (That said, if you need to vent to an outside third party who won't judge, feel free to send me a PM. And if not, that's fine too. Again, no judgement.)

 

I appreciate you and all the nerds here.

 

13 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

I've been meaning to thank you for posting these comedians slayers, by the way. Comedy is one of those very personal things - a comedian, or a comedy, is funny if they have the same sense  of humor as I do. The thing with humor is that it's almost entirely dependent on cultural context (this is why Chaplin movies aren't funny anymore), and as someone who grew up outside the US, I'm missing a lot of the context a lot of the stand-up comedy here relies on to be funny. But when women comedians make jokes about all the struggles around being women, that appears to transcend cultural differences somehow. I look forward to see who else you'll post videos of and hope for specific ones to show up. I won't mention their names because I don't want to influence your process. I'll just cross my fingers and hope to see them here (you got three of them already ).

 

Mood. I grew up outside of mainstream American culture and comedians often made me feel like I could use their observations to translate culture. I have a master list of slayers that I'm working through, and I can post it at the end of the challenge. I usually play comedy when I'm doing my bedtime routine at the bathroom sink; giggling with floss in my teeth, doing a spit take with mouthwash, that kind of thing.

[Sea-to-sky]

Yay for personal growth!

sorry about the meds cocktail. Hormonal meds are the pits side effect wise.
🤘solidarity there dude, also in same boat (my meds are in the same family as SNRI’s). Not the most fun. 
 

 

[Laghail]

 

Jessica Fostekew is a weightlifting slayer with an axe to grind re: body fascism. Written up in the Guardian recently under the title, "the joy of pecs",  the queer comic takes a swing at our hellscape expectations of bodies, and she manages to bring a fair degree of rage into her humor. A brilliant woman with a background in the London School of Economics, her comedic persona launches into tongue tied stuttering truth blurts as she walks through her own life and growth. Not a woman to be taken lightly.

 

Fostekew's 2019 13:12 set at the Apollo

Spoiler

 

Her 2023 1:14:45 full special, "Wench". Long, well worth it.

Spoiler

 

A 2:57 clip from Fostekew's 2022 special, "Hench"

Spoiler

 

[No AI images today, every attempt made me sad lol]

 

Slayer Training

• Lore 
  • Reading in bed by 11pm - 5x/week
    • 🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲  
  • Duolingo streak by noon -  7x/week

    •  🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲

• Meditation
  • Ass on meditation pillow - 7x/week

    •   🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲

  • Bodhrán meditation 3x/week

    •   🔲🔲🔲 

• Strength
  • Sunday was a rest day.

 

Life Stuffs

• Sick and taking the rest of the day. Burned the candle a bit on both ends and caught a sinus infection thingy. Worth it, but now I'm paying the price.
• Celebration for the new PhD went well on Saturday and was surprisingly affordable. Liam's friends fought over who got to pay for him, so my purse strings stayed tied for the whole day. 
  • Highlight: the bar named "At Random." I hate bars, I love this bar. It primarily serves boozy ice cream drinks, and the interior is softly lit in red, with slow jazz playing throughout. Perfect environment for us anxiety enjoyers.
  • 
  • Highlight: a very stoned shop proprietor at a queer-themed gift shop insisted the whole party pose for a marketing promo photo. 
  • Highlight: the used bookstore had a surfeit of secondhand small prints, including my favorite Spitzweg, "the Bookworm."
  • Tomorrow I level up! Level 38 is looking excellent, I'll let you know how it feels once that ding hits at midnight.

[Sea-to-sky]

Sounds like an amazing phd party. Also boozy icecream bar is the best setting option imho. (Gift shop and book shop also look incredible)

 

Hope you sinus thing clears up and you feel better soon. 

[Jarric]

On 3/29/2024 at 5:02 PM, Laghail said:

 

Suzi Ruffell is a blue collar slayer from Portsmouth and she spends her career on intra-class UK social commentary. High LPM, sky-high laughs per minute; Suzi sorta skips across her topics, keeping things light even while she sketches out a woman's life across the boundaries of income and orientation.

 

I've seen her twice in the last couple of months - absolutely fantastic comedian.

 

Congrats on the level up mate! Here's to many more to come 🍻

[Laghail]

 

Our slayer of the day comes from Dublin and is part of both team queer and team neuro-spicy. She has a fantastic tight ten, but having gone through much of her catalogue, it seems like that tight ten is the entirety of her material. Honest, no notes. Better a perfect short story than a tepid series of novels.

 

Our slayer's tight ten, or 9:27 set, from the 2019 Up Late Comedy Fest

Spoiler

 

Catherine commenting on mental health as she roasts a few audience members for 5:33 at the Soho Theater, as part of her special, "Immaculate." Odd. Funny in the aggregate but odd.

Spoiler

 

 

A bizarre roast battle between today's slayer and her ex-girlfriend, Sarah Keyworth. 4:52 of awkward roasts between former lovers, but there's clearly still love between them. Odd, interesting, very odd. 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[AI images generated via hotpot AI with the prompt "the comedian catherine bohart as a vampire slayer, wielding a microphone as a weapon."]

 

Slayer Training

• Lore 
  • Reading in bed by 11pm - 5x/week
    • ✅🔲🔲🔲🔲  
  • Duolingo streak by noon -  7x/week

    • ✅🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲

• Meditation
  • Ass on meditation pillow - 7x/week

    •   🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲🔲

  • Bodhrán meditation 3x/week

    •   🔲🔲🔲 

• Strength
  • Birthday was a rest day and a sick day.

 

Life Stuffs

• Birthday was lovely despite still being sick. Wore a mask and got the one tattoo as planned, pic posted below. Spent the rest of the day napping, playing Deadfire Archipelago, and watching golden girls. No notes.
• Tattoo means I'm on upper body only for the next two weeks, and no deadlift for the next four. Should be a bunch of push/pull splits.
• Doing the ballad of Jed Clampett for teacher Bob today and I'm nervous. Gotta keep fighting perfectionism.