Ah memage...I love memage..
Jan. 31st, 2024 08:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Have you ever made a really large jigsaw? How many pieces is the maximum you've made?
Define made? You mean worked on? Or actually created? I've not created one, no. I have worked on a lot of huge jigsaw puzzles. We used to do them at Christmas time as a family (as adults) - it gave us all something to do.
2. It's croissant day - do you prefer sweet, savoury, plain or would you rather not eat them at all?
I can't have them. It is impossible to make a gluten-free croissant. Unfortunately. But when I could (basically before they diagnosed me with ceiliac or gluten intolerance) - I loved chocolate and almond croissants. So maybe sweet?
3. When was the last time you looked at some art?
Well, I am an artist - I draw, paint, and do photography - and have art from my Aunt. So probably daily? Or do you mean other's art as in museums or galleries? Eh, in October, around October 18, 2023 in Hilton Head, with Mother. Also Mother's house has lots of art.
4. What are you reading now?
The City We Became by NK Jeimsin - this is a 2020 urban fantasy novel about a bunch of people who give birth to a living breathing city or become a part of it?
The City We Became takes place in New York City, in a version of the world in which major cities become sentient through human avatars. After the avatar of New York falls into a supernatural coma and vanishes, a group of five new avatars representing the five boroughs come together to fight their common Enemy.
A homeless black graffiti artist who inhabits rooftops is told that he is the avatar of New York City by Sao Paulo, the avatar of the Brazilian city, who warns that avatars face a great enemy. The avatar is chased through the streets by shape-shifting creatures attempting to take over the city; he defeats them but is wounded and destroys the Williamsburg Bridge in the process.
That's as far as I've gotten to date. It's kind of a fun book to read, if you happen to live in NYC and work in infrastructure. Not only live in NYC, but have lived or worked in four of the five burroughs, along with Long Island, and know a lot about it.
I like books about the nitty gritty of NYC, not the ones that romanticize it - to the point in which I can tell the writer has never actually lived here or really spent time here. New Yorkers can tell. If you don't talk about the F train, or the number trains, and just mention taxis, you've not been to NYC.
At any rate, so far, I like the book better the list of others I've tried. (I honestly think I've burned out on the romance genre, and possibly the horror genre. Although I may go back to it. List of DNF books: Paladin's Grace, I Will Repay, We Could Be So Good, The Crimes of Marian Hayes, Meet me in the Margins...and Wylding Hall, The Book of Accidents...)
I've discovered that the problem with reading more than one novel by the same author in a row is that more often than not - the writer keeps writing the same story over and over again. And it's kind of obvious if you read them one right after each other - not only that it becomes boring and predictable, because you know what will happen next. Some may find this sort of thing comforting? I find it irritating. It's why I rarely read more than one book in a row by the same author (unless of course it's a series and I have to - to know what will happen next).
5. What have you just finished reading?
See above for list of DNF books, which don't really count. I'm trying to remember the last one? Maybe it was Starling House by Alix Howard? Which I was disappointed by? (I don't count all the graphic novels/comics that I have read, of which there have been many.)
6. What do you plan on reading next?
Hmmm. I may do T Kingfisher's House of Good Bones. I don't know yet. After the Barbara Streisand memoir, I may grab Scalzi's Starter Villain, or listen to Piransi.
***
And the end of the January Meme..
22. What Are the Best Things You’ve Acquired Secondhand?
I don't tend to? I don't know, books, some furniture?
23. Do You Believe That Everything Happens for a Reason?
Yes and no. Depends on the day of the week? While I do believe in a causal universe, I also believe in the randomness of things...
Honestly? I think we're all here to learn, and things are thrown at us to test, teach, and ...
24. Do You Believe in Intelligent Alien Life?
Yes. They've left us alone - that's all the proof I need.
25. Have You Ever Felt Pressured by Family or Others in Making an Important Decision About Your Future?
Yes. Although not that much...my mother will pester me to do a will, I do it but don't get it executed. I'm not a person who should be pressured.
26. Would You Like to Ride in a Car That Drives Itself?
Yes. But I also despise driving.
27. Do Your Television Viewing Habits Include ‘Binge-Watching’?
Yes.
28. Have You Ever Interacted With the Police?
Yes. And multiple types. NYC has let's see...four police forces. 1) NYPD, 2) MTA PD, 3) Port Authority PD, and 4) State/Federal PD (they are in Swat get up usually, and carry big guns). All carry guns. Some carry batons or phasers.
Interactions? I was robbed - so I had them visit my apartment and make a report. Then I followed up at the police station to see if I could get the one item stolen returned. I couldn't. They laughed at me. I was so pissed off - I wrote the whole thing into my first novel.
I've been searched a few times at train stations - just my bag. The stop and search. And by NYPD.
I've worked on contracts that dealt with MTA PD. And MTA PD gave me money once when I couldn't find my wallet for a subway pass.
I've passed and said hello to the camuflagued cops guarding Atlantic Terminal Train Station.
And in Kansas - I've been stopped for speeding and gotten speeding tickets by traffic cops.
29. Should Prostitution Be Legal?
No. More for the protection of the women and to prevent human trafficking. This is a slippery slope that we do not want to go down. Masturbation is a good thing, figure it out.
30. Do You Worry A Lot About Germs?
No. I don't wear a mask on the subway. Nor hand sanitize, except at work.
I have a high immunity. Also, weirdly, no one is coughing or sneezing on the subway and hasn't since 2020. I find that very odd.
Define made? You mean worked on? Or actually created? I've not created one, no. I have worked on a lot of huge jigsaw puzzles. We used to do them at Christmas time as a family (as adults) - it gave us all something to do.
2. It's croissant day - do you prefer sweet, savoury, plain or would you rather not eat them at all?
I can't have them. It is impossible to make a gluten-free croissant. Unfortunately. But when I could (basically before they diagnosed me with ceiliac or gluten intolerance) - I loved chocolate and almond croissants. So maybe sweet?
3. When was the last time you looked at some art?
Well, I am an artist - I draw, paint, and do photography - and have art from my Aunt. So probably daily? Or do you mean other's art as in museums or galleries? Eh, in October, around October 18, 2023 in Hilton Head, with Mother. Also Mother's house has lots of art.
4. What are you reading now?
The City We Became by NK Jeimsin - this is a 2020 urban fantasy novel about a bunch of people who give birth to a living breathing city or become a part of it?
The City We Became takes place in New York City, in a version of the world in which major cities become sentient through human avatars. After the avatar of New York falls into a supernatural coma and vanishes, a group of five new avatars representing the five boroughs come together to fight their common Enemy.
A homeless black graffiti artist who inhabits rooftops is told that he is the avatar of New York City by Sao Paulo, the avatar of the Brazilian city, who warns that avatars face a great enemy. The avatar is chased through the streets by shape-shifting creatures attempting to take over the city; he defeats them but is wounded and destroys the Williamsburg Bridge in the process.
That's as far as I've gotten to date. It's kind of a fun book to read, if you happen to live in NYC and work in infrastructure. Not only live in NYC, but have lived or worked in four of the five burroughs, along with Long Island, and know a lot about it.
I like books about the nitty gritty of NYC, not the ones that romanticize it - to the point in which I can tell the writer has never actually lived here or really spent time here. New Yorkers can tell. If you don't talk about the F train, or the number trains, and just mention taxis, you've not been to NYC.
At any rate, so far, I like the book better the list of others I've tried. (I honestly think I've burned out on the romance genre, and possibly the horror genre. Although I may go back to it. List of DNF books: Paladin's Grace, I Will Repay, We Could Be So Good, The Crimes of Marian Hayes, Meet me in the Margins...and Wylding Hall, The Book of Accidents...)
I've discovered that the problem with reading more than one novel by the same author in a row is that more often than not - the writer keeps writing the same story over and over again. And it's kind of obvious if you read them one right after each other - not only that it becomes boring and predictable, because you know what will happen next. Some may find this sort of thing comforting? I find it irritating. It's why I rarely read more than one book in a row by the same author (unless of course it's a series and I have to - to know what will happen next).
5. What have you just finished reading?
See above for list of DNF books, which don't really count. I'm trying to remember the last one? Maybe it was Starling House by Alix Howard? Which I was disappointed by? (I don't count all the graphic novels/comics that I have read, of which there have been many.)
6. What do you plan on reading next?
Hmmm. I may do T Kingfisher's House of Good Bones. I don't know yet. After the Barbara Streisand memoir, I may grab Scalzi's Starter Villain, or listen to Piransi.
***
And the end of the January Meme..
22. What Are the Best Things You’ve Acquired Secondhand?
I don't tend to? I don't know, books, some furniture?
23. Do You Believe That Everything Happens for a Reason?
Yes and no. Depends on the day of the week? While I do believe in a causal universe, I also believe in the randomness of things...
Honestly? I think we're all here to learn, and things are thrown at us to test, teach, and ...
24. Do You Believe in Intelligent Alien Life?
Yes. They've left us alone - that's all the proof I need.
25. Have You Ever Felt Pressured by Family or Others in Making an Important Decision About Your Future?
Yes. Although not that much...my mother will pester me to do a will, I do it but don't get it executed. I'm not a person who should be pressured.
26. Would You Like to Ride in a Car That Drives Itself?
Yes. But I also despise driving.
27. Do Your Television Viewing Habits Include ‘Binge-Watching’?
Yes.
28. Have You Ever Interacted With the Police?
Yes. And multiple types. NYC has let's see...four police forces. 1) NYPD, 2) MTA PD, 3) Port Authority PD, and 4) State/Federal PD (they are in Swat get up usually, and carry big guns). All carry guns. Some carry batons or phasers.
Interactions? I was robbed - so I had them visit my apartment and make a report. Then I followed up at the police station to see if I could get the one item stolen returned. I couldn't. They laughed at me. I was so pissed off - I wrote the whole thing into my first novel.
I've been searched a few times at train stations - just my bag. The stop and search. And by NYPD.
I've worked on contracts that dealt with MTA PD. And MTA PD gave me money once when I couldn't find my wallet for a subway pass.
I've passed and said hello to the camuflagued cops guarding Atlantic Terminal Train Station.
And in Kansas - I've been stopped for speeding and gotten speeding tickets by traffic cops.
29. Should Prostitution Be Legal?
No. More for the protection of the women and to prevent human trafficking. This is a slippery slope that we do not want to go down. Masturbation is a good thing, figure it out.
30. Do You Worry A Lot About Germs?
No. I don't wear a mask on the subway. Nor hand sanitize, except at work.
I have a high immunity. Also, weirdly, no one is coughing or sneezing on the subway and hasn't since 2020. I find that very odd.