GeekosaurBlog about books, TV, movies, anime and music.2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/Falcongeekosaur@falcon.moeMovie Journal 2024 Week 10: More Giallo Movies!2024-03-14T20:45:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/movie-journal-2024-10/<p><strong>Blood And Black Lace</strong>: Strong start to the week, definitely a great Giallo movie. A bunch of suspects for the murders, great plot overall and I had a great time with it.</p>
<p><strong>Tenebrae</strong>: I usually like when stories involve book authors, and this one was no exception. It does have a nice twist and, while you can at some point guess who's partly behind it, it is not predictable.</p>
<p><strong>Phenomena (Creepers)</strong>: This was in my list for a while and I finally watched it. It was fun and way less gory and scary than I thought - still a bit gross on the last 15 minutes 😅. Jennifer Connelly is great and it was cool to see one of her earlier works. I guess I still want to go through other movies with her from the 80s and 90s. The soundtrack is also great!!</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/phenomena.gif" alt="Just go watch it!" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/28055">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/29702">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/29702">embed</a></p>
Movie Journal 2024: Week 92024-03-12T10:10:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/movie-journal-2024-09/<p><strong>The Boy and the Heron (2023)</strong>: after years without going to the theatre, went with my wife and friends. Definitely worth it! As many Miyazaki movies, it has a bit of adventure, is a bit trippy and makes you think about the meanings of the movies events and characters. That was another reminder that I need to watch more Ghibli.</p>
<p><strong>House of the Long Shadows (1983)</strong>: Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine in the same movie? Count me in. This one was a lot of fun, keeping my interested during it and had some nice twists at the end.</p>
<p><strong>Comedy of Terrors (1964)</strong>: this plot!!! It was something I would imagine seeing in a manga/anime too. It was funny and refreshing. Nice to watch Vincent Price and Peter Lorre together (with them, I also recommend The Raven).</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/movie-journal-2024-09/img/movie-journal-2024-09-cat.png" alt="And there's a cat!" /></p>
<p><em>I discovered the <a href="https://catsonfilm.net/2013/01/20/cat-of-the-day-092/">Cats On Film</a> and <a href="https://cinemacats.com/the-comedy-of-terrors-1963/">Cinemacats</a> blogs.</em></p>
<p><strong>The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972)</strong>: my second Barbara Bouchet giallo, after Amuck. It was a nice one, with cool story and twist.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/508883">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/39164-house-of-the-long-shadows">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/29486-the-comedy-of-terrors">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/40130-la-dama-rossa-uccide-sette-volte">embed</a></p>
Script: Better TheMovieDB2024-02-05T12:55:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/better-themoviedb-script/<p>A while ago, I decided to move away from <a href="http://trakt.tv/">Trakt.tv</a>, and found a new home on themoviedb. While I love TMDB, there are a few things missing that bothered me, and I decided to use ViolentMonkey to create a user script and make a some improvements so my experience is better.</p>
<p>The script is available on <a href="https://gist.github.com/thiagomgd/ddc36493dc934490fe3f4949e827e4bb">this gist</a> and for now, still being updated from time to time.</p>
<h2 id="actor-page" tabindex="-1">Actor Page <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/better-themoviedb-script/#actor-page" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Starting from the actor's page, I made a few changes to help me have some insights, and add items to my watchlist:</p>
<ul>
<li>Indicate which movies/shows I added to a list</li>
<li>Indicate which movies/shows I rated</li>
<li>Indicate how many are on my watchlist, other lists, and rated</li>
<li>Indicate actors I like/follow (this is a hack for now)</li>
<li>Average rating (my ratings)</li>
<li>Indicate when original language is not EN, and when it's flagged as adult</li>
<li>Indicate popularity and rating for each item</li>
<li>Show poster</li>
</ul>
<p>We shouldn't just a book by it's cover, but having the posters there definitely helps me. And also of course, the rating!</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/src/img/Pasted%20image%2020240131164333.png" /></p>
<p>Rated and Watchlisted items have a different icon, and also a different background. Background is also blue if it's on any list. Rating and Popularity are global, not my rating.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/src/img/Pasted%20image%2020240131164823.png" /></p>
<h2 id="media-page" tabindex="-1">Media Page <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/better-themoviedb-script/#media-page" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Added text to Indicate if the show/movie is on a list by showing the list names, and changing the Add To List icon.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/src/img/Pasted%20image%2020240131191219.png" /></p>
<p>Also added a button to load public lists that contain the show/movie. Clicking on the button will move to the next page of results (movies only for now)</p>
<h2 id="search-page" tabindex="-1">Search Page <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/better-themoviedb-script/#search-page" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Highlight items that are in a list, and append list names and rating to title. Will also add watchlist indicator later on.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/src/Pasted%20image%2020240205092933.png" /></p>
<h2 id="list-page" tabindex="-1">List Page <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/better-themoviedb-script/#list-page" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I missed having some information and filter on my lists' pages. I added the total number of rated items (only works on my own lists), and also some filters to only show items that are rated/unrated, and also media flagged as adult.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/src/Pasted%20image%2020240205092015.png" /></p>
Music Corner 24: What I've Been Listening To (Jan 16th-31st)2024-02-04T11:50:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-24/<h2 id="new-physical-media" tabindex="-1">New Physical Media <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-24/#new-physical-media" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>My wife got tickets for Avril's concert, so I got her Let Go on CD! Also got Paramore's self titled album on CD.</p>
<p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/27/Let_Go_cover.png" alt="" /><br />
<img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/eb/ParamoreParamore.png" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="new-artists-albums-listened" tabindex="-1">New Artists/Albums Listened <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-24/#new-artists-albums-listened" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><strong>Patti Smith</strong>: I haven't heard of Patti Smith before, but my sister-in-law mentioned it when she was here, because she had read her biography, so we listened to a few songs. I have to say it's pretty good! We just listened on shuffle so I don't remember which songs/album</p>
<p><strong>Lana Del Rey - Ocean Blvd</strong>: it's a good album, and has great songs. BUT, I'm not too fond of the intermissions, and I think that for me, they take away from the listening experience. I was a bit excited for it and planning on maybe getting it on CD, but I guess I'll just skip it.</p>
<p><a href="https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mVornEaauvDf9xIUpW7OmceH6_OwO_OoI">https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mVornEaauvDf9xIUpW7OmceH6_OwO_OoI</a></p>
<p>**Dorothy - Through The Years and Gifts From The Holy Ghost: Had some good time listening to those 2 albums. <strong>Through The Years</strong> is a digital only best-of compilation from 2023, and <strong>Gifts From The Holy Ghost</strong> is the latest actual album, from 2022. I did prefer Through The Years, which I guess makes sense since it's a compilation of notable songs, but kinda wish it was available in physical format.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbf_mF7_KmI">embed</a></p>
<p><strong>The Pretty Reckless - Other Worlds and Death By Rock'n'Roll</strong>: Other Worlds isa great compilation, with acoustic recordings, covers and reimaginings. Death By Rock'n'Roll is also a pretty fun album, but overall, I think I prefer Other Worlds for the variety + acoustics. (I bought Other Worlds BTW).</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sx0vEKmAVw">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="other-listens" tabindex="-1">Other Listens <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-24/#other-listens" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><strong>Molly Burch - Daydreamer</strong>: I have this on cassette, and had some fun time listening to it while reading</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AarUCTSVkY">embed</a></p>
<p><strong>Rhapsody Of Fire - Legendary Years (Re-Recorded)</strong>: This is so nostalgic. I think I haven't listened to them since they were still called Rhapsody. Great album, and I just love their first 4 albums. I guess I need to have a listen to their new stuff soon.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKl9JL1hXWY">embed</a></p>
<p><strong>Mariah Carey - MTV Unplugged</strong>: This live is just so good, and early 1990s Mariah just rocks so much!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4abd6m71hk">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="mvs" tabindex="-1">MVs <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-24/#mvs" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I also listened quite a bit to (G)I-DLE, and had their MVs running during work. Their new song and MV, Wife, is pretty cool! Loved the aesthetic and dance.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baaNwRAhHBo">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="live-shows" tabindex="-1">Live Shows <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-24/#live-shows" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Teddy pendergrass: This 1979 live concert is just so good!! Love Teddy's voice, and he's opening with an absolute banger!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuWeZkW3rGw">embed</a></p>
<p>Paramore - Live At Bonnaroo Music Festival 2023</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUuur5PwDKw">embed</a></p>
Music Corner 23: Jan. 1-15th music2024-01-17T10:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-23/<h2 id="new-music" tabindex="-1">New Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-23/#new-music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>My wife and sister-in-law were at Urban Outfitters and saw CHAI's album on sale for CAD$10. The record looks so cool, and it has a poster, and a signed postcard.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/src/img/music-corner-23.jpeg" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjr84nyaFkE">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="cool-listens-new-to-me" tabindex="-1">Cool Listens, New To Me <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-23/#cool-listens-new-to-me" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><strong>Eliana Cuevas - Seré Libre (feat. Angel Falls Orchestra)</strong>: Saw an album from her on a record store, and decided to check her out when I got home. Great surprise!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sr5xsDJxv4">embed</a></p>
<p><strong>Camila Cabello - Familia</strong>: an album with some great songs but that unfortunately, has a few totally skippable. The worst thing is that, feels like the songs I didn't like would be so much better with just a different accompaniment/instrumental. <em>Quiet</em> and <em>Boys Don't Cry</em> were a combo of too much bass for me, which is a shame because those those are between <em>La Buena Vida</em> and <em>Hasta Los Dientes</em>, which are great! I guess I basically just want her tiny desk concert.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7wIRxQEetc">embed</a></p>
<p><strong>Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You</strong>: Cool album cover, and my sister-in-law said she likes her, so I gave it a go!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_V2ccs_Urk">embed</a></p>
<p><strong>Kelly Clarkson - Chemistry</strong>: I've never listened to any album from her, back-to-back. But decided to give it a go, specially after seeing her Vampire cover a while back. This album is pretty good, and her vocals are, as always, freaking great.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eezWXJKJJG8">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=029o9dbkzPA">embed</a></p>
Music Corner 22: Dec. 16-31st music2024-01-03T18:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-22/<p>Been busy the last 2 weeks of the year, but was still able to enjoy some good music!</p>
<h2 id="new-music" tabindex="-1">New Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-22/#new-music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Not a lot, but got 3 CDs:</p>
<ol>
<li>Post Malone: Hollywood's Bleeding
<ol>
<li>Now our Post Malone CD collection is complete. We already have this one in vinyl, but decided it's good to have in CD for easier listening.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash And The Music That Inspired "Walk The Line"
<ol>
<li>Nice 3 CD collection. 2 discs are Johnny Cash's songs, and the last one is music that inspired Walk The Line</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>Taeyeon: To. X
<ol>
<li>Bought it on a whim when at ArtBox. At the moment didn't even think that it's the small version, without the full-size photobook. But that's fine!</li>
<li>Listened to it twice in a row on the next day. Pretty nice album!</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_n6t9G2TUQ">embed</a></p>
<p>I considered getting the small version of Red Velvet's Queendom (Girls. Ver). But I don't remember those songs, so maybe I'll listen to it a bit, and if I get it, will get one of the big versions (Queen ver.). <em>Note that there's no going wrong with Red Velvet for me anyway</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2fdC8LtjXU">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="cool-listens" tabindex="-1">Cool Listens <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-22/#cool-listens" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><strong>Cigarettes After Sex - Cry</strong>: This slowcore album is one that I kinda want to get on cassette, but I'm still on the fence about getting the physical edition, But it's awesome for streaming and to listen to while relaxing, reading a book, etc.</p>
<p><strong>Molly Burch - Daydreamer</strong>: Listened to this on cassette while reading on my Kindle. Pretty nice album.</p>
<p><strong>Rick Astley - Are We There Yet?</strong>: Have this on CD, and it's awesome. It's the latest album by him, released in 2023. His voice is great as always, and the vibes are kinda like George Ezra's Staying At Tamara's I think? Definitely Recommended.</p>
<h2 id="new-artists-listened-to" tabindex="-1">New Artists Listened To <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-22/#new-artists-listened-to" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><strong>Julianna Riolino - All Blue</strong> is a cool country album. Not what I usually listen to, but I'm happy to have found it</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m555UyihCY">embed</a></p>
<p><strong>Nuovo Testamento - Love Lines</strong> is great contemporary album with that 80s synth vibes. Saw that recommended by Maddy Danger on TikTok</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VErJ5P4rCxg">embed</a></p>
<p><strong>Sofia Mills - Baby Magic</strong> is a cool album if you want that slow and comforting pop type of music</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdMbvwb6DQM">embed</a></p>
<p><strong>Slowdive - Everything Is Alive</strong> is perfect for that dreamy pop feeling! Might end up getting it on cassette</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9RpHfPyEx8">embed</a></p>
<p><strong>Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We</strong> was a cool find for me. As with the bands above, I was looking for things closer to the slowcore vibes of Cigarettes After Sex, and this album is delicious to listen to. I saw her albums pop up here and there when looking for cassettes and CDs online, but until now I haven't gave her a chance. Now I'm a fan!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx4kLgnFexo">embed</a></p>
Music Corner 21: Dec. 1-15th music2023-12-17T05:50:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/<p>Lately I've been buying some CDs and cassettes, and also trying to organize my steaming music a bit more, creating some playlists and "mixtapes".</p>
<p>Let's have a look at new music I got, what I've been listening to, and new bands I discovered!</p>
<h2 id="new-in-collection" tabindex="-1">New In Collection <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#new-in-collection" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><strong>CDs</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Iron & Wine: The Shepherd’s Dog</li>
<li>Tears for Fears: Rule The World</li>
<li>Red Velvet: Chill Kill</li>
<li>Rick Astley: Are We There Yet</li>
<li>Olivia Rodrigo: Guts</li>
<li>Paramore: Riot</li>
<li>The Beach Boys: Sounds of Summer</li>
<li>George Ezra: Staying at Tamara's</li>
<li>Silk Sonic: An Evening With Silk Sonic</li>
<li>Post Malone: Twelve Carat Toothache</li>
<li>Post Malone: The Diamond Collection</li>
<li>Stranger Things 4 Soundtrack</li>
<li>BoA: Forgive Me</li>
<li>Twice: Merry & Happy</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Cassettes</strong> (<em>italics are used</em>)</p>
<ol>
<li>Molly Burch: Daydreamer</li>
<li>The Format: Dog Problems</li>
<li>The Mountain Goats: Jenny From Thebes</li>
<li><em>The Commitments Original Motion Picture Sountrack</em></li>
<li><em>Maynard Ferguson: H.O.T</em></li>
<li><em>Flashdance Soundtrack</em></li>
<li><em>Billie Holiday, Ray Ellis And His Orchestra: Last Recording</em></li>
<li><em>Roy Orbison: The All-Time Greatest Hits Of Roy Orbison Volume 1 & 2</em></li>
<li><em>Johnny Cash: The Best Of Vol. 2</em></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Vinyl</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>The Smiths: The Queen is Dead</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="mixtapes" tabindex="-1">Mixtapes <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#mixtapes" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>So, they are not physical tapes (yet), but I've been trying to create mixtapes online, putting a bit more effort into making selections, having a time limit. I think that's nicer than having just a few playlists that are several hours long.<br />
For today, I have something I created after seeing some fun videos on TikTok about polyJAMorous (like, listening to different styles of music). It's not as diverse as I would like, but let's see how the next one will play out. The theme for this one is "earworm", songs that will get stuck on your head!</p>
<div class="video-wrapper">
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?si=zxc4nX9vZSX5Or7d&list=PLymCWVtofZyZGkbiWTqPXKSPiToaq_vdK" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</div>
<p><strong>Tracklist</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Ikkyu-san (WEDNESDAY CAMPANELLA)</li>
<li>Diggy Diggy Hole (Wind Rose)</li>
<li>MACARONI CHEESE (YOUNG POSSE)</li>
<li>Nuestra Canción (Monsieur Periné feat. Vicente García)</li>
<li>Acenda o farol (Tim Maia)</li>
<li>Mary On A Cross (Ghost)</li>
<li>Big Time Changes (Seikima-II)</li>
<li>You Get What You Give (New Radicals)</li>
<li>Tu was du willst (Madeline Juno)</li>
<li>vampire (Olivia Rodrigo)</li>
<li>Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (Wham!)</li>
<li>Just Can't Get Enough (Depeche Mode)</li>
<li>Very Very Very (I.O.I)</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="discovered" tabindex="-1">Discovered <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#discovered" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Recently I got introduced to Kiss Of Life (thanks TikTok), and whoa, I really like it!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8A5sK5PRCI">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwi9IRFOfFw">embed</a></p>
<p>I also listened to SWAN - Twenty. I discovered it kinda by accident because I found that it has a cassette release</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai3r83XAhKo">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="listened-to" tabindex="-1">Listened To <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#listened-to" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This happy playlist that can make you day better</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbDhfNRx350">embed</a></p>
<p>YENA<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#fn1" id="fnref1">[1]</a></sup> is very fun to listen to, and her MVs are so cool! The K-Rising<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#fn2" id="fnref2">[2]</a></sup> playlist on Youtube is a nice way to discover some new k-pop<br />
Have also been listening a bit to the album Guts by Olivia Rodrigo<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#fn3" id="fnref3">[3]</a></sup>, and IM NAEYON<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#fn4" id="fnref4">[4]</a></sup></p>
<hr class="footnotes-sep" />
<section class="footnotes">
<ol class="footnotes-list">
<li id="fn1" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://music.youtube.com/channel/UC4mOLela441MNvGJNy6h8bg">https://music.youtube.com/channel/UC4mOLela441MNvGJNy6h8bg</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#fnref1" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=RDCLAK5uy_lxJoqDuhroQAeOd42owT2IKtZJYRpx5hw">https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=RDCLAK5uy_lxJoqDuhroQAeOd42owT2IKtZJYRpx5hw</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#fnref2" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kb-CH5idCHOTq6jKlzaujmLAgUDa77nYQ">https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kb-CH5idCHOTq6jKlzaujmLAgUDa77nYQ</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#fnref3" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn4" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l6AfnZoE9vXRdzb4l9yi2YA0Bn0MrqkJ8">https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l6AfnZoE9vXRdzb4l9yi2YA0Bn0MrqkJ8</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-21/#fnref4" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</section>
Thoughts #1: Bye Disney+. If only people let it go of Netflix2023-10-10T19:10:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/thoughts-1/<p>A couple weeks ago I said goodbye to Disney+. It was alright while it lasted - not like, really great - and I won’t accept not being able to share with my sister, which uses it because of my nephew.</p>
<ol>
<li>Like, I was going to cancel a while ago, but since my nephew watched it all the time, I decided to keep.</li>
<li>They do have a few interesting things, but most of the recent things I wanted to watch recently, like What We Do In The Shadows, Solar Opposites and Bob's Burgers, it arrives there after quite some delay.</li>
<li>And I'm sure: all other streaming services will follow after the huge success this was for Netflix</li>
<li>If only people let it go of Netflix for a short while, maybe that would have been avoided. But no... people can't stay even a month away from the content and catalog they always shit on, like drugs</li>
<li>Like, people keep complaining that Netflix makes crappy content, that it doesn't renew their favorite shows, and that the catalog is crap. They also complain that there are too many streaming service. So it's hard for me to see how they can't think of any alternative besides paying for new Netflix accounts.</li>
</ol>
<hr />
<p>Question for readers: Do you still have Netflix and Disney+? Have you cancelled/plan to cancel streaming services that ban password sharing?</p>
New Books! (Sept, 2023)2023-09-25T02:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/2023-sept-books-bought-wishlisted/<p>It's been a while since I posted anything here, specially something that's not Geekosaur News. So let's have a look at new books I got recently!</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/2023-sept-books-bought-wishlisted/img/2023-sept-books-bought-wishlisted.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>In the past couple months, I got those 8 new books on Kobo:</p>
<ul>
<li>Daughter of Sparta by Claire Andrews</li>
<li>Until The End Of Time by Brian Greene</li>
<li>Castle In The Air by Donald E. Westlake</li>
<li>Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn</li>
<li>We Are Never Meeting in Real Like by Samantha Irby</li>
<li>A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan</li>
<li>Perry Rhodan NEO 3 by Michael Marcus Thurner and Frank Borsch</li>
<li>Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie</li>
</ul>
<p>And today I also ended up getting the L. E. Modesitt, Jr. Humble Bundle by TOR books. It has 2 complete series: Recluce and Corean Chronicles, and also five sci-fi books. I'm interested in the Corean Chronicles, let's see if I can get to it soon-ish.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/2023-sept-books-bought-wishlisted/img/2023-sept-books-bought-wishlisted-1.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>I read a bit of Perry Rhodan NEO vol. 3, but paused it because my parents arrive to visit, and now that they went back home I was just not in the mood for it, so I went back to Durarara! Vol. 1, which I read just the first chapter quite some time ago.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what I'm reading next, but if non-fiction, it's going to be Brian Greene's Until The End of Time.</p>
Links #1: Just sharing some cool links!2023-07-25T22:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/links-1/<p>Aggregating links I shared recently online!</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://maggieappleton.com/cozy-web">The Dark Forest and the Cozy Web</a>
<ul><li>Saw this being re-shared today. Interesting visualization on the web, different medias and types of content</li><li>See also: </li></ul>
</li><li>
<a href="https://www.thegamer.com/disney-lorcana-first-tcg-cards-beginner/">How Disney Lorcana Became My First TCG</a>
<ul><li>Nice to see that Lorcana is going to bring new adult players. Which is expected, of course, but still good to see</li><li>See also: </li></ul>
</li><li>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adgh3h2t8Rs">5AM morning in seoul | 45min of krnb and soft kpop</a>
<ul><li>Now that's a nice playlist</li><li>See also: </li></ul>
</li><li>
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36770883">Firefox has surpassed Chrome on Speedometer</a>
<ul><li>Nice, maybe someday I'll give it another chance. My main gripe is the UX for some things, and how some features seem half-baked.</li><li>E.g.: to add a keyword for a search engine, it saves a bookmark, but there isn't (or wasn't) any way to filter for those later if you wanted to check what you had already created</li><li>See also: </li></ul>
</li><li>
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/09/19/1122120454/spanish-dracula-finds-new-blood-more-than-90-years-after-its-release">Spanish 'Dracula' finds new blood, more than 90 years after its release</a>
<ul><li>Remembered this while checking out some vampire movies. Will try to check it out soon</li><li>See also: </li></ul>
</li><li>
<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TheStoryGraph/comments/14kh6u1/navigating_storygraph_is_hard/">Navigating StoryGraph is Hard</a>
<ul><li>I’m using StoryGraph for a couple weeks now, but yeah, I would like to have a better way of organizing the books, A.K.A being able to create exclusive shelves.</li><li>See also: </li></ul>
</li><li>
<a href="https://halcy.de/blog/2023/06/21/perry-rhodan-part-1-die-dritte-macht/">Perry Rhodan, Part 1: Die Dritte Macht</a>
<ul><li>Nice post on Perry Rhodan. Actually made me finally go back to the franchise and start reading Perry Rhodan NEO!</li><li>See also: </li></ul>
</li><li>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCPTvr6fnQQ">When An Anime Leaves You Speechless</a>
<ul><li>Really glad to see "When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace" mentioned for voice acting. That scene was GREAT, and the VA did an amazing job in ONE take!</li><li>This is an anime that was quickly forgotten, I think, but this scene remains. Still, I would love to see a season 2 - or maybe someday read the light novels</li><li>See also: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNPK6DzQCzY">Actual scene</a></li></ul>
</li><li>
<a href="https://www.gamerbraves.com/the-new-pokemon-horizons-anime-is-a-bright-new-start-for-the-series/">The New Pokemon Horizons Anime Is A Bright New Start For The Series</a>
<ul><li>My wife mentioned this to me, I wasn't aware. We might actually watch some episodes together during our lunch breaks</li><li>See also: </li></ul>
</li>
</ul>
Geekosaur News 35: Reddit Boycott, Alternatives, Less Social Media?2023-06-23T21:10:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-35/<p>Soooo... after Twitter, now it's Reddit's time to go down in flames. And again, some people try to flock to some alternatives.</p>
<ol>
<li>The alternatives are still small, and yes, a lot of subreddits are still going. I guess what's going to happen is similar to Twitter, where the enshitification is going to lead to a few waves of people migrating as new changes are announced or service deteriorates</li>
<li>I don't think the impact is going to be as big as it was for Twitter, at least for now. Maybe if a lot of communities start having trouble because the bots they relied on stop working... We'll see.</li>
<li>The main alternative mentioned is Lemmy/Kbin. I signed up on lemmy.one, a Lemmy instance that DOES NOT HAVE DOWNVOTES. And that's amazing. Downvotes is something I actually always hated on Reddit, and I'm happy to be somewhere I'n not going to ever see them.</li>
<li>Being from the forum's days, I wouldn't mind also changing to using forums instead. The now-going-to-be-defunct DPReview has a nice forum interface that allowed you to see conversations either threaded or chronological. (<em>and no downvotes</em>)</li>
<li>And I guess there's also a last option, which is a mental health and sanity opportunity I guess... be less online. Use the time to read or watch something instead, practice music, whatever.</li>
<li>Which is an option that people sometimes really need to consider: do you actually benefit from jumping to a Reddit's alternative? Do you need, or is it good for you to spend this much time online discussing w/ strangers that don't even know you?</li>
<li>Like... on Twitter or Mastodon, I can focus on chatting with a few people, and kinda of getting to know them, or even become online friends. Now with Reddit... many times you don't even know if you already interacted with that person or not, so there's no connection being made.</li>
</ol>
<hr />
<p>Question for readers: are you migrating to Lemmy, kbin or something else? Boycotting Reddit in any way? Do you have any forum suggestions for me?</p>
Korean Dramas I'm Interested In (Jun. 09, 2023)2023-06-10T03:20:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/korean-dramas-interested-2023-06-09/<p>June is here, my interest in Korean dramas is here, so let's make a small list of shows premiering this month that are on my radar!</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/korean-dramas-interested-2023-06-09/img/korean-dramas-interested-2023-06-09.png" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="lies-hidden-in-my-garden-ena-jun-19-2023-jul-11-2023" tabindex="-1">Lies Hidden in My Garden (ENA, Jun 19, 2023 - Jul 11, 2023) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/korean-dramas-interested-2023-06-09/#lies-hidden-in-my-garden-ena-jun-19-2023-jul-11-2023" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>A SHORT drama. I love it already!</p>
<p>Jokes aside, this drama seems interesting, and it's something a bit more serious and dark. Hope it's dark like Strangers From Hell! (<a href="https://mydramalist.com/740197-a-house-with-a-yard">MyDramaList</a>, <a href="https://trakt.tv/shows/lies-hidden-in-my-garden">Trakt</a>)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>An ordinary housewife's life goes in an unexpected direction after noticing a strange smell in her backyard</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6KFAmQ0U5Y">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="revenant-sbs-jun-23-2023-jul-29-2023" tabindex="-1">Revenant (SBS, Jun 23, 2023 - Jul 29, 2023) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/korean-dramas-interested-2023-06-09/#revenant-sbs-jun-23-2023-jul-29-2023" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Trailer seems interesting, and it's been a minute I watched something like this. Episodes are on the longer side (70 min.), but it's only 12 episodes, so that sounds appealing to me too! (<a href="https://mydramalist.com/717539-the-devil">MyDramaList</a>, <a href="https://trakt.tv/shows/revenant">Trakt</a>)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>An occult mystery thriller in which a woman possessed by a demon and a man who can see the demon uncover mysterious deaths surrounding five bodies.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB3Vn5ZFqTA">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="heartbeat-kbs2-jun-26-2023-aug-15-2023" tabindex="-1">Heartbeat (KBS2, Jun 26, 2023 - Aug 15, 2023) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/korean-dramas-interested-2023-06-09/#heartbeat-kbs2-jun-26-2023-aug-15-2023" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I like vampire stories, and having a comedy with a half-vampire seems pretty cool! Will def. give it a try at least. (<a href="https://mydramalist.com/746637-my-heart-beats">MyDramaList</a>, <a href="https://trakt.tv/shows/heartbeat-2023">Trakt</a>)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Half-human and half-vampire Seon Woo-hyeol, who was unable to become human due to a one day difference amidst 100 years, starts to live together with Joo In-hae, a woman who has no humane side, and find true warmth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHi6sKUERho">embed</a></p>
<hr />
<h2 id="question-for-you" tabindex="-1">Question For You! <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/korean-dramas-interested-2023-06-09/#question-for-you" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Which Asian dramas (not only Korean) are premiering in June that you are interested into? Leave a comment/reply below and let me know :)</p>
Geekosaur News 34: Back from vacation, K-Pop and K-Dramas2023-06-02T01:40:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-34/<h2 id="back-from-vacation" tabindex="-1">Back From Vacation <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-34/#back-from-vacation" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I'm back from vacation, and back to a more normal routine - before our trip, my wife and I were busy with preparations and other stuff. Now we have a huge amount of pictures to go through and maybe post on our instagrams (I'm posting some street photography on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/geekosaur_photo/">@geekosaur_photo</a>).</p>
<h2 id="buying-k-pop-albums" tabindex="-1">Buying K-Pop Albums <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-34/#buying-k-pop-albums" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>On the trip, I bought 3 k-pop albums: IU's 5th Album 'Lilac' (<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/18048907-IU-IU-5th-Album-Lilac">HILAC Version</a>), Taeyeon's Purpose (<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/14814638-%ED%83%9C%EC%97%B0-Purpose">beige version</a>) and Red Velvet's <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/10792415-Red-Velvet-The-Red-Summer-">The Red Summer</a>. (<em>should have bought more, but I wasn't sure it was going to fit in our luggage</em>)</p>
<p>Then, after we returned, I ended up buying Le Sserafim's Unforgiven (<a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/27050652-Le-Sserafim-Unforgiven">Dewy Sage version</a>). I almost bought GFriends' Song of The Sirens, but they didn't have the <a href="https://www.discogs.com/release/15659685-GFriend-%E5%9B%9ESong-Of-The-Sirens">Broken Room</a> version, which I liked the photobook more.</p>
<p>I posted a couple unboxing videos on my TikTok (that's the only thing I posted so far there): <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@falconsensei/video/7234678842500140294">Red Velvet</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@falconsensei/video/7235421808084667654">Taeyeon</a>.</p>
<h2 id="language-learning" tabindex="-1">Language Learning <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-34/#language-learning" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>During our trip, I ended up deciding to stop studying German, and to start Korean instead. Already wanted to learn it so long ago, and I think it's going to be more useful in the shorter/medium term.</p>
<p>Also, harder for me to integrate German in my day-to-day, since there's not a lot of shows/comics/news/etc that I could keep in touch with the culture. While for Korean, I do enjoy the dramas, k-pop, and follow some idols on Instagram, etc, and am more interested in food/general culture</p>
<h2 id="tv" tabindex="-1">TV <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-34/#tv" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>My wife and I watched <strong>American Born Chinese</strong> on Disney+, and we enjoyed it! We are also back to watching <strong>From</strong> on Paramount+ and it continues to be great!!! <strong>Yellowjackets</strong> on the other hand has being feeling more like a chore... we didn't even watch the season finale yet - it aired this past weekend.</p>
<p><img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/24b5039d6071372edf339210da80756b/d645a7e852fc7de2-87/s400x600/3a622a0da6be0401ceadefb6a3ceaa3e53243f24.gif" alt="Me, full of excitement with Yellowjackets|American Born Chinese Actress Making Disappointed Face" /></p>
<p>By myself, I'm watching Signal, a Korean drama that I watched the first episode a few years ago but ended up not following through at that moment. Not I'm halfway through and enjoying it a lot!</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-34/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I've been listening to a bit more k-pop recently. Today I was checking <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf1dXoG9K-avMOWZPaNjFzWhPttAKLWzR">this playlist</a> by G Nitro on Youtube. I'm dumping some that I liked below!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emUfJ_LCyuw">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSeRIMNwNKI">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqG_Ckci5l0">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D33FdHvPYQM">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMcmbC455vE">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q55Z1BPFUsQ">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPNaYj6etb8">embed</a></p>
Missing A Blogging Community2023-04-12T22:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/missing-a-blogging-community/<p>I kinda miss the days I was on Blogger/Blogspot. Used to have one blog for comics, and another for random geek stuff.</p>
<p>It was nice how, specially on the comics blog, we had a nice little community of small blogs, and just kept commenting on each other blogs.</p>
<p>I know there's still this on Wordpress, but for some reason I was not able to get the same connection folks had on blogspot. Maybe it's a platform thing, or culture?</p>
<p>The comics blog was for Disney and Brazilian comics, in Portuguese, and on Wordpress it was mostly anime. But I'm not sure if it's just that the blogs I commented on were "bigger", or just more focused on posting than being a community.</p>
<p>Of course, I have basically been using this blog here as a place to dump some updates, and haven't been much involved. Will try to be more involved in some community from now on.</p>
<p>I guess I'm open for suggestions for small geek blogs. Send me suggestions in the comments - click below for Mastodon, Reddit or email. You can also reach me on <a href="https://twitter.com/geeko_saur">Twitter</a>. Also check my post where I talk a bit about my blogging past: <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/my-old-blogs-names-part-1">My Old Blog Names Part 1</a></p>
Geekosaur News 33: Addicted to a TV show, starting new manga, Disney new TCG2023-04-11T23:50:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-33/<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-33/img/geekosaur-news-33.png" alt="Wizard Mickey is here with some news!" /></p>
<h2 id="tv" tabindex="-1">TV <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-33/#tv" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>After I finished <strong>From</strong> on Paramount+, I started <strong>Evil</strong> and... kinda got addicted to it? In less than a week I'm already halfway though season 2. That's very unlike me.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqYQ9VklwSc">embed</a></p>
<p>I'm feeling like I should be watching Schmigadoon! so it hopefully gets renewed for a season 3 but... I just wanna keep watching Evil.</p>
<p>On another note, Silo is going to start streaming on AppleTV May 5th, and I'm really excited for it. I loved the first 2 books so much! Maybe I'll finally start the last book in the trilogy.</p>
<h2 id="manga" tabindex="-1">Manga <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-33/#manga" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I started 2 new manga on Shonen Jump: Tenmaku Cinema and Gokurakugai. I didn't get much invested in Tenmaku Cinema, but let's see how it goes. I'll probably read until chapter 4 or 5, and then decide if I'm following it.</p>
<p>Gokurakugai had an interesting first chapter, and the second was still good enough. Will catch up - there are 7 available now - and see if I'm still interested.</p>
<p>Apart from that, haven't been reading much manga this past week or 2. But I wanna catch up to Nagatoro, and then go back to One Piece, maybe read the next arc/saga: Whole Cake Island.</p>
<h2 id="games" tabindex="-1">Games <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-33/#games" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I was not aware, but Disney is releasing a TCG called Lorcana, which should be competing with Magic, Pokemon, etc. I'm not fan of Disney as a company but... c'mon, I just need that Robin Hood card.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-33/img/geekosaur-news-33-robin-hood.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>The cards look great, and I guess one of the advantages is that the game is likely going to be way simpler than what Magic turned out to be. I just hope it doesn't end up being kinda ruined by an adult fanbase like Pokemon.</p>
<p>Maybe my wife will be interested and this is something we could play together. Otherwise, not sure I would end up playing it. But I'll probably buy a deck or booster anyway just to have it.</p>
Geekosaur News 32: Fighting games, anime music, and watching a cool new TV show2023-04-05T22:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-32/<h2 id="the-updates" tabindex="-1">The Updates <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-32/#the-updates" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<ol>
<li><strong>Music</strong>: I didn't watch the Crunchyroll Awards - and it's not like I <em>really</em> care - but saw that Lost In Paradise was performed, and had to check it out.</li>
<li><strong>TV</strong>: Watched From on Paramount+. Finished the 1st season today, and I'm excited already for the 2nd season, which will start on April 23rd.</li>
<li>Since I got the 7 day trial for the Paramount+ channel on Prime Video, I think I'm going to give another show a try. Possible shows: Evil, School Spirits or Walker Independence</li>
<li><strong>Games</strong>: A friend of mine sent me the new <strong>Tekken 8</strong>'s Ling Xiaoyu Gameplay Trailer. That really makes me wanna play it but... I guess what I really miss is going to his apartment and playing in person with our group.</li>
<li>Also, I haven't been playing videogames at all. Like, it's really been a low priority, and I've been trying to find folks to play boardgames/ttrpgs in person as a way to play</li>
<li>I could do the same and find people to play Tekken in person but... since I hurt my hand 6 years ago, it hasn't been the same and it hurts when I play, specially something more demanding like a fighting game.
<ol>
<li>I remember when they added the 'new' Virtua Fighter for PS4. Played for a night or two, but ended up with hand/wrist pain for a few days.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><strong>Catan</strong>'s game creator died this week. And whether you like it or not, you can't ignore how important it was - and still is - for the boardgame community and boardgames' evolution.</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="mentioned-media" tabindex="-1">Mentioned Media <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-32/#mentioned-media" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="lost-in-paradise-performance" tabindex="-1">Lost In Paradise performance <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-32/#lost-in-paradise-performance" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XolcH0lLlzA">embed</a></p>
<h3 id="tv-show-trailers" tabindex="-1">TV Show Trailers <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-32/#tv-show-trailers" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDHqAj4eJcM">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFvo3fS4Zwc">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu1SdzZDBdQ">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9j3k2abYBw">embed</a></p>
<h3 id="tekken-8-ling-xiaoyu-gameplay-trailer" tabindex="-1">Tekken 8 Ling Xiaoyu Gameplay Trailer <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-32/#tekken-8-ling-xiaoyu-gameplay-trailer" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTd2XeL4ygQ">embed</a></p>
Making blog updates, again2023-04-04T19:33:57Zhttps://geekosaur.com/🦣2023-04-03T19:08:12Zhttps://geekosaur.com/Geekosaur News 31: Yellowjackets is back, reading cozy-mysteries2023-03-27T19:40:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-31/<ol>
<li><strong>TV</strong>: Still watching <strong>That 70's Show</strong>, but also started the new <strong>Yellowjackets</strong> season with my wife. The first episode was very interesting, and I'm excited for it!</li>
<li><strong>Books</strong>: I started reading <em>Witchlings</em><sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-31/#fn1" id="fnref1">[1]</a></sup>, a middle-grade fantasy about witches. But even though the premise is interesting, I wasn't hooked, and a couple things were bothering me. Then after checking some spoiler-free reviews, I decided to DNF it.</li>
<li>Almost started <em>Durarara!</em>, but ended up going with <em>Spellcasting in Silk</em> by Juliet Blackwell. It's the 7th book in the Witchcraft Mystery series, and it seems this series is a go-to for me when I don't know what to read and am kinda tired. Maybe will read Durarara! after.
<ol>
<li>This series is my most read cozy-mystery series to date. The 2nd place is the <em>Magical Cats Mystery</em><sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-31/#fn2" id="fnref2">[2]</a></sup> series, which I read 5 books.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>I kinda want to read more cozy mysteries. Maybe I'll return to some other series I've started in the past, or even start a new one? Spell Booked<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-31/#fn3" id="fnref3">[3]</a></sup> seems interesting.</li>
<li><strong>Manga</strong>: Read a bunch of Nagatoro volumes (4 through 8). I'll probably catch up to it before moving on to something else. So far it's been fun.</li>
<li>It also kinda got me wanting to read more manga and light novels/watch more anime. Let's see what happens.</li>
<li><strong>Music</strong>: I created a new Instagram account just to follow music profiles. Since I started seeing a bunch of ads and suggestions for bands/singers, it seems like a good idea. Let's see if I discover new cool things.</li>
</ol>
<hr class="footnotes-sep" />
<section class="footnotes">
<ol class="footnotes-list">
<li id="fn1" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://www.scholastic.ca/books/view/witchlings">https://www.scholastic.ca/books/view/witchlings</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-31/#fnref1" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/BGV/magical-cats">https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/BGV/magical-cats</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-31/#fnref2" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/130/retired-witches-mysteries">https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/130/retired-witches-mysteries</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-31/#fnref3" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</section>
Geekosaur News 30: Wrapping Up Books And Shows2023-03-21T00:45:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-30/<ol>
<li><strong>Servant</strong>: Finished watching Servant, which is on AppleTV. It has been one of he shows I've ben most fond of recently, and while I'm sad it's gone, it's nice that they won't be dragging it.
<ol>
<li>Really cool song playing on the last episode. Added it embed below :)</li>
<li>Seems people are divided on the ending, and while I agree with a couple specific things about the last episode or two (a couple things being rushed/etc), I don't think the finale was bad for not answering all our questions. That's how all those suspense/horror shows and movies works.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><strong>Other shows</strong>: Ted Lasso is back, and I'll probably be watching it as it release, as well as Yellowjackets, which is coming back in a few days. And then there's the 2nd (and last) season of Carnival Row, which I think I'll watch soon.</li>
<li><strong>Books</strong>: Finished The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, and it's fantastic. I highly recommend. It's a bunch of essays.
<ol>
<li>I wonder what I'm going to read next. Start Durarara? Pick up another non-fiction book (The Big Picture by Sean Carroll)? IDK</li>
<li>Today I received The Mountain by Laura Ding-Edwards. It's a book that contains this poem<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-30/#fn1" id="fnref1">[1]</a></sup>, which a few weeks ago I saw a reading by Stage Door Johnny on Instagram<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-30/#fn2" id="fnref2">[2]</a></sup>.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><strong>One-Punch Man</strong>: I've been reading One-Punch Man, and accidentally discovered the volume releases have new drawing, and even some changes to story/dialogue. Now I want to go back and re-read the current arc I'm in - the monster association.
<ol>
<li>Not sure what I'm going to read now that I'm catching up to volumes. I guess maybe I'll read a couple volumes of Mob Psycho 100</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><strong>Standup Comedy</strong>: Still watching occasional standup comedy to relax. Although I think soon I will start watching some cartoon/anime or TV show instead. Sharing a few I liked below.</li>
</ol>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSWueGGJEFY">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5jku2WIWHM">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuPZXt6vaUw">embed</a></p>
<hr class="footnotes-sep" />
<section class="footnotes">
<ol class="footnotes-list">
<li id="fn1" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://www.centerformentalhealth.in/the-mountain/">https://www.centerformentalhealth.in/the-mountain/</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-30/#fnref1" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc6Zo_LIf8V/">https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc6Zo_LIf8V/</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-30/#fnref2" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</section>
Oofff2023-03-17T00:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/2023-03-17-12-48/<p>I decided to dump all my open tabs - spread through A LOT of windows - to raindrop and... discovered I had 1.1k open tabs. WTF???</p>
Geekosaur News 29: Reading, Instagram, Doodles and Essays2023-03-13T19:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-29/<ol>
<li>Reading The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. It's a really nice on-fiction book, and love that it's all short essays about many different things. I'm halfway through it.</li>
<li>Also, if you do have Instagram, I recommend following him and his brother, Hank Green. Love watching their reels, and I wish I could maybe do something similar. Maybe someday I start with some short essays here, and then move on to recording short videos?</li>
<li>Another thing I really want to do - and this one I'm actually going to try - is to doodle tiny people when I go out. Fell in love with the profile SneakyArtist on instagram, and since I always wanted to try doodling, and I love just seeing people, I guess that's a nice thing to learn. Check their <a href="https://linktr.ee/sneakyartist">linktree</a></li>
<li>Back to reading: I read a bunch of One-Punch Man this weekend. Nice to be back to it. The art is amazing, and the story is fun. Will catch up to it, and then go read something else.</li>
<li>Since I'm reading OPM, I wonder if I should read or watch Mob Psycho 100. I watched the first episode a few weeks ago, but not sure if maybe the manga will be a better fit for me, since I haven't been watching a lot of TV alone lately - only with my wife.</li>
<li>I'm excited/anxious/curious about Fujifilm's event on April. I wanna get a camera, and I'm interested in the x-t30ii, but it would be really cool if they announced the x-t40. I coooould get the x-t5, but even disconsidering the price increase, it's bigger and heavier. Let's see what happens.</li>
</ol>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-29/img/geekosaur-news-29.png" alt="Example of SneakyArtist's work|https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/art-moves-translink-1.6682857" /></p>
Geekosaur News 28: Books And New Merch Edition2023-03-08T23:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-28/<p>Trying a way simpler format - inspired by <a href="https://shallowdivesinanime.wordpress.com/tag/dont-me/">Don't @ Me</a> from Shallow Dives in Anime. Just less focused here.</p>
<ol>
<li>Finished reading She is a Haunting. Pretty good!
<ol>
<li>Now I want to watch some Vietnamese movies</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>Started 6th Dresden Files book: Blood Rites, and also got The Anthropocene Reviewed on the library.
<ol>
<li>Will probably return the Dresden Files book? It's a long series, and the books are not that short. Maybe instead I'll sub it with Durarara or another light novel, or even Perry Rhodan NEO.</li>
<li>re: Perry Rhodan. I read quite a few of the original volumes in Portuguese, and I want to get back to that world. Since NEO is being officially published now, I wonder if I should start NEO.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>Wanna keep reading some manga too. And when I think about getting to the ones I'm already reading, or on my list, I add MORE things to my list.
<ol>
<li>Like The Girl In The Arcade, shared by weebdeluxe on this lovely <a href="https://mastodon.social/@weebdeluxe/109989125905136524">Mastodon thread</a></li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>Rent a girlfriend is going to receive a 3rd season. Season 1 was kinda fun, and the girls are cute, but I read a bit of the manga after that - and some people talking about the manga further in - and seems not only there's no progression, in terms of the MC character and also his relationship, but it moves backwards? It's a shame, it could have been a fun romcom.</li>
<li>New merch/stuff:
<ol>
<li>Bought a few 'open-box' blind boxes and a couple of new ones too. There's one that seems to be from a game/anime(?) that I'll probably will ask "the internet" to indentfy</li>
<li>Also went to an anime/manga store and bought a Madoka (Pop-Up Parade), and a Kotobukiya model kit (Koyomi Takanashi - Dreaming Style True Sapphire).</li>
<li>Assembling the model kit's going to be "fun" for someone with no motor skills</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>The trailer for Silo is out. I’m SO hyped - check it below this list
<ol>
<li>Got the trilogy on Kobo, at discount, after paying full price for the 3rd book on Amazon</li>
<li>Want to read Dust (last book on the silo series) soon.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBMajXwi6Cs">embed</a></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-28/img/geekosaur-news-28-figures.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://images.goodsmile.info/cgm/images/product/20220214/12330/95274/large/fb284c6b1a1d3754ecee84edca1c058b.jpg" alt="Madoka|https://www.goodsmile.info/en/product/12330/POP+UP+PARADE+Madoka+Kaname.html" /></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-28/img/Koyomi-Takanashi.png" alt="Koyomi Takanashi" /></p>
Friday Reads (Mar 3rd, 2023)2023-03-03T00:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/2023-03-03-05-00/<p>A couple days ago I started reading She Is A Haunting. I got it because it reminds me of Mexican Gothic, and it's set in Vietnam, which is very interesting. I love books that takes place in other countries (Mexican Gothic, Black Water Sister, etc.)</p>
<p>I'm halfway though - right at 50% - and I'm loving it so far.</p>
<p>Below are some quotes (maybe very small spoilers?)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This house was designed to make people feel small. I don't have to go close to know the pictures are old.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>It isn't a journal, I'm sure of that, since Ba taught me - when I was seven - that it was naive to keep my secrets where people could read them.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>There is no sixth bedroom.<br />
Florence must've counted wrong when she was here. You couldn't be a prodigy in every subject, even if it's basic math. Shaking my head, I scroll down the website's mock-up, delete the extra paceholder, and face the master.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>We haven't spoken since graduation. I should change the picture already, but I like seeing it. I just never know whether the memory will warm me up or break me in two.</p>
</blockquote>
Reading Manga, Wanting More2023-02-25T00:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/2023-02-25-05-22/<p>After catching up with Black Clover, I'm back to reading Ranma 1/2. Read a couple of the double volumes, and already started another one. Have also been checking the Manga Plus app to see what else is there.</p>
<p>Yeah, I know, shouldn't be doing that considering how many I'm already "currently reading", or already have in my list. But, if anyone has a suggestion of a manga that's on Manga Plus and NOT on Shonen Jump app, let me know :)</p>
<p>Also, updated my <a href="https://geekosaur.com/currentlyReading/">currently reading page</a> with a few manga I'm interested in maybe starting later this year:</p>
<ul>
<li>My Monster Secret / Jitsu wa Watashi wa
<ul>
<li>Watched the anime years ago and it was fun. Wanna see the whole story</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Call Of The Night
<ul>
<li>Anime was fun, BUT will probably end up just waiting for season 2 instead</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Ayakashi Triangle
<ul>
<li>Interested in the anime too, but haven't been watching anime recently</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Grand Blue
<ul>
<li>Read first few chapters a loooooong time ago</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>My Hero Academia
<ul>
<li>Since manga is ending, wanted to maybe read it along as it releases. Watched only a couple episodes of the current season, and stopped watching any anime at the moment</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
<ul>
<li>The anime didn't catch my attention, I think I don't even finished the first episode. But I wonder if I should give the manga a try</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Anticipated 2023 Book Releases2023-02-20T00:20:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/2023-anticipated-books/<p>A couple weeks ago I posted some <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/2023-anticipated-books-ya/">anticipated YA book releases for 2023</a>. Now I'm back with a few more genres. Yeah, I know it's LATE for this kind of list, but here I'm anyway.</p>
<p>All books come from the following Goodreads lists:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2507-the-most-anticipated-horror-novels-of-2023">Horror Novels</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2440-2023-s-most-anticipated-mysteries-thrillers">Mysteries</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2514-2023-s-most-anticipated-new-fantasy-and-science-fiction">Fantasy & Sci-Fi</a></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<h2 id="horror" tabindex="-1">Horror <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/2023-anticipated-books/#horror" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>We have two Silvia Moreno-Garcia book releases. They are kind of an instant TBR add. The first one, <em>Our Share of Night</em>, is a queer novel about vampires, and the one I'm most excited for. <em>Silver Nitrate</em> is a historical magical-realism story about making an horror movie.</p>
<p><em>Our share of night is actually already released, BUT that's just because I'm late to this list, so I'll cheat?</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780451495143">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/668250/silver-nitrate-by-silvia-moreno-garcia/">embed</a></p>
<p><em>Tell Me I'm Worthless</em> is a sapphic (and transgender) horror book, with a HUGE plus that it's adult fiction, and not YA - nothing agains it, I absolutely loved Sawkill Girls, but it's just that most hyped sapphic horror seems to be all YA, so I'm glad for that! It's also short - only 259 pages!</p>
<p><a href="https://tornightfire.com/catalog/tell-me-im-worthless-alison-rumfitt/">embed</a></p>
<p><em>Episode Thirteen</em> is about ghost hunting, which is something that is always interesting.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780316443104">embed</a></p>
<p><em>A House with Good Bones</em> is a southern-gothic. I don't remember reading any southern horror, so I guess it's nice to add to a "maybe I'll read that" list</p>
<p><a href="https://tornightfire.com/catalog/a-house-with-good-bones-t-kingfisher/">embed</a></p>
<hr />
<h2 id="mystery" tabindex="-1">Mystery <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/2023-anticipated-books/#mystery" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><em>Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers</em>: this title is basically my wife watching any crime drama or movie. Yeah, she is always pointing out how the assassin is screwing up when I'm watching Columbo, haha</p>
<p><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/707475/vera-wongs-unsolicited-advice-for-murderers-by-jesse-q-sutanto/">embed</a></p>
<p><em>Of Manners and Murder: A Dear Miss Hermione Mystery</em> is another cozy mystery, and this time, a historical mystery set in 1885 London. It sounds interesting, and blends two of my favorite mystery sub-genres, so it's a win in my book!</p>
<p><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250848567/ofmannersandmurder">embed</a></p>
<hr />
<h2 id="fantasy-and-sci-fi" tabindex="-1">Fantasy & Sci-Fi <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/2023-anticipated-books/#fantasy-and-sci-fi" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><em>Immortal Longings</em>: I saw this one in one of Daniel Greene's video, where we showing the GORGEOUS cover.</p>
<p>And even better: it's adult fantasy :). I saw that there's an Indigo Exclusive version listed on the author's website, but Indigo is partially offline now, so I can't see it :/</p>
<p>The only sad thing is that the best cover is for the UK release, and not US-Canada. Whyyyyyy? I guess I'll have to import that one if I decide to get it in print.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/chloe-gong/immortal-longings/9781399700429/">embed</a></p>
<p><em>The Archive Undying</em>: The premise reads: "<em>War machines and AI gods run amok in <strong>The Archive Undying</strong></em>". I guess I <em>had to</em> add it to my potential TBR?</p>
<p><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250821546/the-archive-undying">https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250821546/the-archive-undying</a></p>
Catching Up With Black Clover!2023-02-12T00:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/2023-02-12-02-44/<p>After a couple weekends, I finally managed to catch up with Black Clover. I originally stopped on the 6-month training hiatus a couple years ago, and they decided to finally catch up to it so now I can read it as published until it ends.</p>
<p>It's been a lot of fun! It's a shame the manga is not more popular. If you haven't given it a chance yet, try it :)</p>
<p>Now I guess I have to decide what to read next. Either catch up with Kaiju no. 8, finish Fire Force, read the next One Piece's story arc, or something else - maybe start a new title? Let's see what I'm in the mood for in the coming days.</p>
Geekosaur News 27: Kobo, Movie News, Book Recs2023-02-09T23:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-27/<p>Back again to talk about random things and some personal updates!</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-27/img/geekosaur-news-27.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>Currently Reading:</p>
<ul>
<li>Last Stand Of Dead Men (Skulduggery Pleasant #8)</li>
<li>Unlocked (Keeper of the Lost Cities #8.5)</li>
</ul>
<p>Currently Watching:</p>
<ul>
<li>That 70's Show</li>
<li>Kiling It</li>
<li>Servant</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="book-recs" tabindex="-1">Book Recs <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-27/#book-recs" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I discovered this Youtube channel this week, and this video has some pretty cool recs for! I definitely want to read a bit more sci-fi (soft or hard, young/middle grade or adult), and also some sapphic stories. So this list is pretty good for me.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZpQ-8pxWqw">embed</a></p>
<p>I added City of Shattered Light to my list!</p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/abd00467-9592-4ded-8c85-7aebceed3464">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="got-a-kobo" tabindex="-1">Got a Kobo <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-27/#got-a-kobo" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>On the last news (<a href="https://geekosaur.com/posts/geekosaur-news-26">#26</a>), I mentioned that I was going to migrate to Kobo, but maybe not buy it yet. <em>Of course I bought it</em>.</p>
<p>I had points on Indigo's rewards program, and they were running a 'your points are worth more' promotion last weekend. That plus the Kobo Libra 2 being on sale (CAD$20 off), it was just too good of an opportunity to pass on.</p>
<p>Already got a couple books at the library - the 2 I'm currently reading. Also added a few holds, and saw that they have a bunch of the Dresden Files books. The library is going to make me save all the device's money in a while.</p>
<h2 id="news" tabindex="-1">News <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-27/#news" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="ruined-childhood-cinematic-universe" tabindex="-1">Ruined Childhood Cinematic Universe <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-27/#ruined-childhood-cinematic-universe" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>So, you probably hear there's a Winnie The Pooh horror movie that just came out, and there's a Peter Pan in the works, and also Bambi is in planning? Now, seems this is all being planned as a cinematic universe that's all about turning our childhoods into nightmare fuel.</p>
<p>I'm not a big fan of slasher horror, but I guess I wanna check it out? At least the Peter Pan one.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Already on the docket: an adaptation of Peter Pan that finds the spritely Tinkerbell in recovery from drugs even harder than applause.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.avclub.com/winnie-the-pooh-blood-and-honey-cinematic-universe-1850093505">embed</a></p>
<h3 id="zootopia-2" tabindex="-1">Zootopia 2 <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-27/#zootopia-2" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This definitely made my day today. It took me years to finally watch Zootopia - so I definitely missed all the online buzz. But when I did finally watch it back in March 2021, I just LOVED IT so much!</p>
<p>It'll definitely be fun to return to this world, and this time, participate in the online buzz/discussions around it, see fanart, cosplays, etc.</p>
<p><a href="https://collider.com/zootopia-2-disney/">embed</a></p>
Anticipated 2023 YA Book Releases2023-02-03T01:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/2023-anticipated-books-ya/<p>I should have done this sooner, but here it is: a look at those "Most Anticipated Books" lists. This time checking some 2023 YA releases that I might like.</p>
<p>Will do other categories (Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi) later on. This is comes from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2510-2023-s-most-anticipated-young-adult-books">GoodReads</a></p>
<p><em>Immortality: A Love Story (by Dana Schwartz)</em> is the second volume in the <em>The Anatomy</em> duology. I read the first volume and thought it was good, so I already went ahead and pre-ordered the hardcover for this new one so I have the complete set on print.</p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/a725246b-0880-4040-9758-2652fba09cf2">embed</a></p>
<p><em>Wildblood (by Lauren Blackwood)</em> is a historical fantasy set in a Jamaican jungle? How NOT to be interested on that? Personally I would prefer this to not be YA, but if they don't go too hard on extra romance/romantic triangle, it can be GREAT!</p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/92f12802-31f8-4b8f-8264-785906a997c6">embed</a></p>
<p><em>She Is a Haunting (by Trang Thanh Tran)</em> is targeted towards Mexican Gothic fans. Add to that the Vietnam setting, Ghosts, Paranormal, Queer hashtags, and yeah, I'll be reading this one. Just need to decide if physical or eBook.</p>
<p><a href="https://trangthanhtran.com/book/she-is-a-haunting/">embed</a></p>
<p><em>Nightbirds (by Kate J. Armstrong)</em> also sounds pretty interesting, and yeah, it's another queer historical fantasy. This one sounds very interesting, but being the first in a series, I might end up passing on it. Maybe I'll keep an eye on it and get the whole thing after the series is done?</p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/9ae3469f-6fba-40f4-94f3-74194191e9de">embed</a></p>
<p><em>Flowerheart (by Catherine Bakewell)</em> is a queer cottagecore fantasy cozy mystery??? I'm intrigued by this one, and it's a standalone, so I'll keep an eye on it.</p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/a7dfc767-b846-4cbd-8f5e-8a3d4d14cb0c">embed</a></p>
<p><em>Zhara (by S. Jae-Jones)</em> is marketed as Sailor Moon meets Cinder. It's high-fantasy, asian literature, and... magical girls? And with THAT cover. I'll see how this goes, and how many books are planned - since I don't wanna start long series for quite some time.</p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/016272b6-6f68-419f-8799-dbc48ce54a02">embed</a></p>
Geekosaur News 26: Migrating To Kobo2023-02-01T15:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-26/<p><em>Currently Reading: Hollowpox (Nevermoor #3)<br />
Currently Watching: Lockwood & Co, How I Met Your Father</em></p>
<p>Another week, another round of quick updates and fun things.</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-26/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehy0ZQ6sN0k">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="moving-from-kindle-to-kobo" tabindex="-1">Moving From Kindle To Kobo <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-26/#moving-from-kindle-to-kobo" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I made a decision to migrate from Kindle to Kobo. While I'm probably not going to buy a Kobo right now (I shouldn't, right?), I decided that I won't be buying any new Kindle books.</p>
<p>It's not like I should buy any more books anyway, but you know how it is: you see a cool title on sale, and end up getting it. But that means 100s of books in my Kindle library that I haven't read yet, and probably never will.</p>
<p>So I guess it's good to switch to Kobo, try to get most stuff from the library, and be mindful of spending way too much in books I'm not 100% certain I'll be reading anytime soon.</p>
<p>Since the Kobo website is really not that good for keeping a wishlist - I know, I shouldn't be creating the list anyway - I created my own wishlist here on the blog: <a href="https://geekosaur.com/wishlist/">Kobo Wishlist</a>. This is basically a personal list that is updated with a script that scrapes the prices from Kobo and sorts it by price, and flags if something is available on Kobo+.</p>
<p>I guess after I actually buy a Kobo, I should go and keep a wishlist on my library instead.</p>
<h2 id="watching-now-lockwood-and-co" tabindex="-1">Watching Now: Lockwood & Co <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-26/#watching-now-lockwood-and-co" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This weekend I started watching Lockwood & Co with my wife, and we are both enjoying it. Someone recommended the books to me a while ago, but I ended up leaving it for later and now I went with the show. With only 2 more episodes to go, I'd say it's recommended :D</p>
<h2 id="random-fun-things" tabindex="-1">Random / Fun Things <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-26/#random-fun-things" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>You've made it this far, so let's see some random things!</p>
<p>The Boys was more popular than Marvel shows. I like that! Still need to watch the latest season, though.<br />
<a href="https://www.cbr.com/prime-video-the-boys-more-popular-disney-plus-marvel-series-2022">embed</a></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-26/img/geekosaur-news-26-1.png" alt="As a gunslinger wannabe, I like this|https://twitter.com/JasonWFD/status/1619520784913031168" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I hate the misconception that introverts don’t like talking. If you’re the right person, we’ll talk to you for hours on end about pretty much anything. However, it’s incredibly difficult to find the right people, so for the most part we’ll probably just stay quiet<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/IntrovertProbss/status/1619369860173271040">twitter src</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-26/img/geekosaur-news-26-power-rangers.png" alt="Power Rangers villains as metal sub-genres. Check src for full thread|https://twitter.com/sonofether/status/1345539853711257602" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p>marie kondo "giving up" on keeping her house tidy after having 3 kids simply bc she realized spending time w her family literally sparks more joy for her than keeping her house tidy is so fucking sweet<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/Iooneybird/status/1619011865488822272">twitter src</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-26/img/geekosaur-news-26-caturday.png" alt="I just wanna be a fantasy world librarian with a cat|https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn9gf5mKO4I/" /></p>
Music Corner 20: Lee Hi & EunBi Live Performances2023-01-30T22:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-20/<p>Last Music Corner of the month, this time with a few K-Pop Live videos I saw on my Mastodon timeline.</p>
<p>Loved the live band arrangements on all performances. I'm not familiar with the singers and songs here to compare with the studio versions - will probably check those later - but those sound really nice!</p>
<p>Starting with a couple Lee Hi performances shared in <a href="https://mastodon.social/@sariash/109768480721831003">this post</a>:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF4UF6VaBSc">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BktE3Ta8Mhg">embed</a></p>
<p>And on the post above, <a href="https://mastodon.social/@heyminto/109768371358638115">this other post</a> is mentioned, and it shares a couple Kwon EunBi live performances that are also cool.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iS-zw6sfrk">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri9Yszt_J3g">embed</a></p>
Friday Finds 1 (Jan. 27, 2023)2023-01-28T00:50:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/friday-finds-1/<p>A long time and a few blogs ago, I used to post Friday Finds, a tag where people posted cool new things they found. Mostly used for new titles that people discovered and added to their TBR list.</p>
<p>So, here are some books that I saw this week and got interested in. Except for the first one, all were seen in my last visit to the bookstore. The first I saw someone mentioning online, and it's still in pre-order.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/friday-finds-1/img/Pasted%20image%2020230127175338.png" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="the-lake-house-sarah-beth-durst" tabindex="-1">The Lake House (Sarah Beth Durst) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/friday-finds-1/#the-lake-house-sarah-beth-durst" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I've read Drink, Slay, Love many years ago, and it's still a book that I will occasionally remember. So, when I saw that the same author was doing a "<em>Yellowjackets meets One of Us Is Lying</em>" fantasy book, I got instantly interested. I'm not big on YA, but I'll keep an eye on this one. Or maybe even pre-order the print edition since it looks GORGEOUS.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-lake-house-sarah-beth-durst?variant=40651166154786">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="wild-and-wicked-things-francesca-may" tabindex="-1">Wild And Wicked Things (Francesca May) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/friday-finds-1/#wild-and-wicked-things-francesca-may" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Great Gatsby but as sapphic gothic horror? I'm in! This was on Indigo's Staff Picks selection, and I actually saw this book a while ago there, but this renewed my interest. Probably going to get it :)</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thelesbianreview.com/wild-wicked-things-francesca-may/">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="unseelie-ivelisse-housman" tabindex="-1">Unseelie (Ivelisse Housman) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/friday-finds-1/#unseelie-ivelisse-housman" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Took a pic because of the real nice cover, but I just saw that it has an autistic character, and it's written by an autistic writer. AND it's a duology. Did I ever tell you how much I hate that everything is a trilogy or longer series, and how much duologies needs more love?</p>
<p>This is so cool!! <em>*adds it to store cart</em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.harpercollins.ca/9781335428592/unseelie/">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="monstrous-heart-claire-mckenna" tabindex="-1">Monstrous Heart (Claire McKenna) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/friday-finds-1/#monstrous-heart-claire-mckenna" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>My wife pointed those 3 BEAUTIFUL covers at the bookstore. And seems to blend a bunch of stuff that I'm into. Also, good to read something on sea/water, instead of on land.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/monstrous-heart-the-deepwater-trilogy-book-1-claire-mckenna?variant=32991811207202">embed</a></p>
Book Finds (Nov. 3, 2023)2023-01-28T00:50:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/book-finds-nov3-2023/<p>Every time I pass by a bookstore, I end up taking pictures of dozens of books that seem interesting. <em>Yeah, I'm judging books by the cover, feel free to judge me</em>. So here are some things I saw at today's stop at Indigo.</p>
<h3 id="ya" tabindex="-1">YA <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/book-finds-nov3-2023/#ya" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I actually saw A Study In Drowning on the kobo store at some point but forgot about it. The cover is gorgeous and the hardcover version feels like something that would be nice to have. But... I don't have space anymore and dark academia YA is really tricky. Might check it later this year if I'm in the mood</p>
<p><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/a-study-in-drowning-ava-reid?variant=41001407152162">embed</a></p>
<p>Curious Tides seems interesting, and it's also a YA dark academia book. A bit of a coincidence?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Curious-Tides/Pascale-Lacelle/The-Drowned-Gods-Duology/9781665939270">embed</a></p>
<p>The Scarlet Alchemist is the first in a duology, which can be good. Might get back to this when I'm in the mood for some Chinese fantasy!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-scarlet-alchemist-kylie-lee-baker?variant=41003790499874">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="adult" tabindex="-1">Adult <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/book-finds-nov3-2023/#adult" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Starling House is cursed town, haunted house. I guess I will have to read it at some point</p>
<p><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250799050/starlinghouse">embed</a></p>
Geekosaur News 25: TV, Pathfinder, German2023-01-24T15:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-25/<p><em>Currently Reading: Hollowpox (Nevermoor #3), How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems<br />
Currently Watching: Ghosts, Columbo, Servant</em></p>
<p>A short one, but let's see if I can keep it alive at least!</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-25/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>My Analog Journal always have a great set for me to share. This time, some Caribbean disco, funk and soul!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrYa5x4U0fE">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="pathfinder-2e" tabindex="-1">Pathfinder 2e <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-25/#pathfinder-2e" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>My core rulebook for Pathfinder 2e arrived on Friday, and Guns & Gears is on the way. This Monday I ended up deciding to also get the Advanced Player's Guide, because why not?</p>
<h2 id="watching" tabindex="-1">Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-25/#watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This past week I watched That 90's Show with my wife and, while it's nothing great, it's entertaining enough for us to watch while eating something, and just disconnect a bit. Now we might end up watching That 70's Show, or try to find something else.</p>
<p>There's also Servant, but we are 1 episode behind already. We were tired and not in the mood for that this weekend, so I guess next weekend we'll watch 2 episodes. If you never watched it, give it a try. It's SO good!!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i15WxczTlf0">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="studying-german" tabindex="-1">Studying German <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-25/#studying-german" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Recently I got to 900+ words/sentences on Speakly, and got to the Intermediate level there. So happy! I know it's just a language app, and there's still A LOT to learn, but it's nice to see that I've been able to get some passive vocabulary at least.</p>
Music Corner 19: New Jeans2023-01-23T12:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-19/<p>I haven't been listening to much k-pop "recently", but a couple weeks ago my wife put on a long Youtube playlist with MVs, and we ended up discovering New Jeans. While nothing too new in terms of music (when is it anyway?), the songs are fun to listen too, so here it is!</p>
<p><img src="https://media.tenor.com/YCq2sjq1OJcAAAAC/haerin-new-jeans.gif" alt="For some reason this gif reminded me of Baby V.O.X's Get Up MV" /></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js1CtxSY38I">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSUydWEqKwE">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZAgIHmHLdc">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOmIplFAGeg">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11cta61wi0g">embed</a></p>
<p>Here are the songs in just 1 video:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlMw8LpOaIA">embed</a></p>
<p>And also the playlist (/ long video) I mentioned at the beginning:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L81sF1AsMKA">embed</a></p>
Geekosaur News 24: Music, Obsidian and Pathfinder2023-01-17T01:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-24/<p><em>Currently Reading: Hollowpox (Nevermoor #3)<br />
Currently Watching: Ghosts, Columbo</em></p>
<p>Wow, last time I wrote this 'newsletter' was April 2022, when I got my Sony a6400. Time definitely flies!</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-24/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I just love Poly-Ritmo's Brazilian music mixes, and here's a really cool new one!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBkmY-imhvs">embed</a></p>
<h2 id="obsidian" tabindex="-1">Obsidian <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-24/#obsidian" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I have started using Obsidian instead of Notion for most things, and this weekend I also officially migrated from using Notion to using Obsidian for my book notes - I mean, I still use GoodReads for status tracking, but now I export everything to markdown files inside my personal Obsidian vault. That seems to be working fine. I'll make a post later on with a couple iOS shortcuts that I use with Obsidian</p>
<h2 id="moving-from-d-and-d5e-to-pathfinder-2e" tabindex="-1">Moving from D&D5e to Pathfinder 2e <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-24/#moving-from-d-and-d5e-to-pathfinder-2e" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>One of the big news/focuses now for nerd folks is how badly Wizards of the Coast is screwing up with the new OGL. While I haven't been playing since I moved to Canada, I was meaning to return, but this news also gave me a reason to go with Pathfinder instead.</p>
<p>So, I went out and bought the Pathfinder 2e rulebook - the paperback version, since it's cheaper and more portable. Maybe will also end up getting other books later on. Even though I don't have any group to play right now, it might be an incentive to finally make some friends in the city and also go back to this hobby.</p>
<p>Legal Eagle made a cool video about the lawyer PoV of this issue. But I guess regardless of OGL being necessary or not, and what happens with D&D in the future, it just shows us not to trust WotC, and just go to Paizo or any other publisher for TTRPGs.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZQJQYqhAgY">embed</a></p>
<p>If you (like me) are new to Pathfinder, check these class summaries: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/xhtc2u/class_summaries_for_new_players_updated_again/">https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/xhtc2u/class_summaries_for_new_players_updated_again/</a></p>
<p>Some nice tweets on this (links in the image captions)</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/AGHJeBq.png" alt="I NEED to play this|https://twitter.com/LluisAbadias/status/1614710664546631680" /></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-24/img/Pasted%20image%2020230116173545.png" alt="Excellent thread about how the community is awesome|https://twitter.com/Rulelord2E/status/1612514268418813954" /></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-24/img/Pasted%20image%2020230116173700.png" alt="OMG, a goose-hydra?|https://twitter.com/SpookyStirfry/status/1614370590244147200" /></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-24/img/Pasted%20image%2020230116173843.png" alt="Ranger is back on table!|https://twitter.com/LluisAbadias/status/1614599137688682500" /></p>
7 books tag2022-12-04T06:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/7-books-tag/<p>There was a book tag trending on Mastodon (I’m there as <a href="https://mindly.social/@falcon">@falcon@mindly.social</a>, and phasing out Twitter usage) that’s #7Books. I’m late to the thing as always, but let’s see mine, in no particular order:</p>
<h3 id="1-enterprise-stardust-perry-rhodan-series" tabindex="-1">1 - Enterprise Stardust (Perry Rhodan series) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/7-books-tag/#1-enterprise-stardust-perry-rhodan-series" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I’m adding the first book here, since it was my introduction to this wonderful series. I’ve read the first 39 or 49? Like, almost the first cycle. I really do wish to get back to it. Every time I watch/read some sci-fi with space-travel, I get reminded of it. Not only it was a lot of fun, but I’ve got some fond memories.</p>
<p>I was reading the original series, but J-Novel Club is releasing Perry Rhodan NEO, the 2011 reboot. I already have the 1st digital volume, and I guess I will check it out soon-ish.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/13d55304-7f1c-4823-8044-0275352af8f9/kvsnIbPj9l-399.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<h3 id="2-hard-magic-grimnoir-chronicles-1" tabindex="-1">2 - Hard Magic (Grimnoir Chronicles, #1) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/7-books-tag/#2-hard-magic-grimnoir-chronicles-1" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This is a really fun alternate-history-urban-fantasy trilogy, with one of the best magical systems - or at least, coolest ones - I’ve ever seen. Along with Perry Rhodan, this one was also responsible for me going to sleep late quite a few nights.</p>
<h3 id="3-the-end-of-everything-astrophysically-speaking" tabindex="-1">3 - The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/7-books-tag/#3-the-end-of-everything-astrophysically-speaking" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This is an absolute must read if you have any interest in astronomy, astrophysics, or just the space in general. Even though it’s astrophysics, the book is laid out in a way that’s very easy to understand, while still going deep enough to be very relevant. 11 out of 10, with a gold start sticker on it. <em>Also go follow the author, Katie Mack, online (</em><a href="https://twitter.com/AstroKatie"><em>Twitter</em></a><em>)</em>.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/13d55304-7f1c-4823-8044-0275352af8f9/XGPlS56eD0-500.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<h3 id="4-house-of-secrets" tabindex="-1">4 - House Of Secrets <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/7-books-tag/#4-house-of-secrets" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Besides Harry Potter and Twilight, this is a series that I share a connection with my mother. She read the first 2 books right after me, but then the 3rd one was taking too long to come out in Portuguese, so I ended up getting it in English on my Kindle. But then after it was released, of course I had to get it for her.</p>
<h3 id="5-furiously-happy-a-funny-book-about-horrible-things" tabindex="-1">5 - Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/7-books-tag/#5-furiously-happy-a-funny-book-about-horrible-things" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I was never a big non-fiction reader, but this was a book that kinda changed my perception about memoirs. It’s SO fun, heartwarming AND heartbreaking at times, Jenny Lawson is just too great of a writer.</p>
<h3 id="6-the-hound-of-the-baskervilles-or-all-sherlock-holmes-books" tabindex="-1">6 - The Hound of the Baskervilles (or all Sherlock Holmes books?) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/7-books-tag/#6-the-hound-of-the-baskervilles-or-all-sherlock-holmes-books" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Sherlock Holmes was a huge for me when I was younger. I just couldn’t get enough of it at some point. It definitely made me fall even more in love with mysteries, and this is one that not only was fun, but I do remember grabbing it at the bookstore when I was a “kid”.</p>
<p>Bonus here: I also like The Boscombe Valley Mystery a lot.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/13d55304-7f1c-4823-8044-0275352af8f9/GG-TF2dCa9-1200.jpeg" alt="This was the cover of the version I have back home. Kinda nice, right?" /></p>
<h3 id="7-keeper-of-the-lost-cities-keeper-of-the-lost-cities-1" tabindex="-1">7 - Keeper of The Lost Cities (Keeper Of The Lost Cities #1) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/7-books-tag/#7-keeper-of-the-lost-cities-keeper-of-the-lost-cities-1" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I’m fond of this series, but also one of the reasons is that, a while after I read the first 3 books that I got in a boxed set, I lent it to my late grandmother, and she also really enjoyed it. Even though we didn’t talk much about it, but some time after that I came to Canada, and she passed away a year and a half later 😕</p>
<p>I ended up reading book 4 (or 4 and 5) in 2018 while I was in Toronto, but only actually got back to the series this year. Maybe just something I wanted to do to reconnect? But anyway, I ended up almost catching up, and the latest one, Stellarlune was just released, and is on my shelf just waiting for me to start it. I just need to read the 8.5 novella first</p>
<hr />
<p>So, I guess that’s it!</p>
<p>Of course, there are many more great books that I would love to talk about, but this is enough for you to have a glimpse on my reading. You can also always check my <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/22638412-falcon">Goodreads</a>, or even my <a href="https://geekosaur.com/books-per-year/">Books Per Year</a> page here on my blog.</p>
Music Corner 18: Wednesday2022-11-25T05:50:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-18/<p>I’m watching Wednesday with my wife, and one of the things that I’m enjoying is the soundtrack. Not only is the original score neat, but it also features some cool versions of songs like Paint It Black and Nothing Else Matters.</p>
<p>From the very beginning of the show, we have Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien from Edith Piaf, which is always a pleasure to listen to</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Kvu6Kgp88&list=PLQDTLf5bGRF2vS-BkDQBWpk-o2dbeRWDd">bookmark</a></p>
<p>We also have this really cool Paint It Black version. And the scene is also just great!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV8_9-ssEaU">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Episode 3 has Nothing Else Matters - Couldn’t find the actual scene on YT 😕</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjvGjUovxPU">bookmark</a></p>
<p>And the OST was composed by Danny Elfman and Chris Bacon</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhBHaz9SaLI&list=OLAK5uy_nFcAL1Q-1j--qnNgkkQ65bUYFC81uyfKc">bookmark</a></p>
Reading Fast, Memory, Improvements2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/af514034-719a-46a2-90fc-c9fa90566727/<p>Today I was chatting with work folks, and we talked a bit about speed reading. One of my co-workers is starting to study a bit more about it, which reminded me that I also should be looking into it. There’s just so much to learn, and being faster/better at it definitely helps.</p>
<p>We also talked a little bit about memory, as I was remembering Moonwalking With Einstein - that I still need to finish.</p>
<p>We also talked about Notion and Obsidian, and I’m looking into Obsidian, to have those evergreen notes that are linked and have a connection graph :)</p>
<p>I will still keep notion for blog, books, and a lot else though. All that I use as database, and not notes.</p>
<p>Below is a part of Moonwalking With Einstein where he talks about the poetry step on the memory competitions.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/af514034-719a-46a2-90fc-c9fa90566727/1EXHewtFfU-586.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
Small November Book Haul2022-11-10T04:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/november-book-haul/<p>Preordering books is nice. You go on with you life and then you receive an email that your books are ready! That always make a bookworm happy.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/332fe7cb-3c38-4d65-95cc-2e80c51ee1f9/bDl8PTQgZn-1200.jpeg" alt="Excuse me for my slightly tilted picture, but now it’s too late" /></p>
<p><em>The Ghost Woods was actually released on October, but Indigo seemed to lose my package (even though it was a pick-up in store order), and here I am. Got it like 20 days later.</em></p>
<p>The first book is The Ghost Woods by C. J. Cooke. I LOVED The Lighthouse Witches and had to get this one (<a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/the-lighthouse-witches-book-notes/">check my review here</a>). Should be an excellent read for the winter nights. I’m also happy that the cover also kinda matches the The Lighthouse Witches vibe, even with some details in… high relief printing? Is that how you say it? Anyway, it looks gorgeous and I need to read it soon.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/332fe7cb-3c38-4d65-95cc-2e80c51ee1f9/3nFzyyfs67-328.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p><em>Dies buried under own TBR pile</em></p>
<p>Legends & Lattes was highly praised for quite some time, and now got a new release by Tor Books, which is the one I got. Congratulations Travis Baldree!!!</p>
<p>I’m starting Legends & Lattes today!!</p>
<p>The last one on the small haul is Stellarlune (Keeper Of The Lost Cities #9) by Shannon Messenger. After a long hiatus, I returned to this series a few months ago and devoured the remaining books I haven’t read before, just in time for the new release. I actually finished the 8th volume a few days ago.</p>
<p>I’m saving it for after Legends & Lattes because I’m also reading another hardback (A Magic Steeped In Poison), and want something lighter to read in bed. Plus, I think I still need to read a short story on vol. 8.5 (Unlocked). Let’s see how it goes!</p>
<p>Below are the GoodReads links for the books mentioned.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60567943">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60222807-legends-lattes">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40219200-stellarlune?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_11">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57810940-the-lighthouse-witches">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/the-lighthouse-witches-book-notes/">bookmark</a></p>
Finished Legacy (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #8)2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/c2f069e6-0e8d-461f-abf5-ed3a6e2b941a/<p>Just finished reading Keeper Of The Lost Cities: Legacy, by Shannon Messenger.</p>
<p>Can’t wait for Stellarlune, the next book in the series, which is releasing in the next few days.</p>
German progress2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/65968750-57c8-40f3-b0b1-8a1cc54de011/<p>After a couple months, finally back to it</p>
Urusei Yatsura Ep 1 Review2022-10-15T21:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/urusei-yatsura-episode1-review/<p>This is an anime/manga that I always wanted to check, but never got to. Now that there’s a remake, I just HAD to watch it. You know, for science.</p>
<p>Went in almost blind - I mean, I knew Lum is an alien - but that was it.</p>
<p>I had A LOT of fun with this. Love this violent comedy, and Lum and Ataru are so fun together -and also by themselves. I’m already excited for the next episode, and I’m glad to know it’s a 2-cour anime with a 2nd 2-cour season already confirmed. Nice!</p>
<p>Seems like the OP was created by the same person who did Chainsaw Man OP, Jujutsu Kaisen OP 1&2, Ousama Ranking OP2 - Shingo Yamashita. And yeah, it’s a banger!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEVhv4eB8Q8">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Another cool thing about it is this:</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/CartoonCipher/status/1580787738974257158?s=20&t=jse3Gcmk3CcBjzq15wSEuA">bookmark</a></p>
<h2 id="images" tabindex="-1">Images <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/urusei-yatsura-episode1-review/#images" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/S8XFyK4.png" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/7jMERCS.png" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1030258162944725133/1030261558548365413/unknown.png" alt="" /></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/GayNicos/status/1580862400336916481?s=20&t=SHs8QB_dlW5sfAjZNQQf0Q">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/animecorner_ac/status/1581185606993838080?s=20&t=jse3Gcmk3CcBjzq15wSEuA">embed</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/Lumsmoke/status/1580913239923179520?s=20&t=jse3Gcmk3CcBjzq15wSEuA">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/jennthehero/status/1580702523870302208?s=20&t=jse3Gcmk3CcBjzq15wSEuA">bookmark</a></p>
<p>A big thirsty album for all you pervs</p>
<p><a href="https://imgur.com/a/ce0RnnE">bookmark</a></p>
<p>And a couple stitches</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/FnnbCnV.png" alt="Seems in the original they actually show her breasts|blur" /></p>
<h2 id="online-discussions" tabindex="-1">Online Discussions <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/urusei-yatsura-episode1-review/#online-discussions" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/Sayngelic/status/1580696944263192576?s=20&t=jse3Gcmk3CcBjzq15wSEuA">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/y367nj/comment/is74x61/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/y367nj/comment/is6w9ib/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/y367nj/comment/is72457/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3">bookmark</a></p>
My Hero Academia Season 6 - Eps 1 & 22022-10-14T02:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/hero-academia-s6-episodes-1-and-2/<p>As always, I’m late. But anyways… let’s have a quick check!</p>
<p>Those 2 episodes were really cool, and season 6 is off to a great start. The 1st episode was setting everything up, and bringing us a bit up to speed from Season 5. And the 2nd went full-on battle, with Mirko and Kaminari being the highlights! Not going to complain here</p>
<p>This Kaminari/Jirou moment was so nice, and then Kaminari showed that he is powerful indeed!</p>
<p>And seeing Mirko in action was just awesome. She is strong and kinda terrifying? Wouldn’t want to be on her bad side, unless you are wishing for death.</p>
<p>And I can totally see some of you perverts saying <em>death by snu-snu</em>:</p>
<p><a href="https://imgur.com/a/BPjCIvL">bookmark</a></p>
<h3 id="reddit" tabindex="-1">Reddit <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/hero-academia-s6-episodes-1-and-2/#reddit" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/xyoim2/comment/irijwda/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/xyoim2/comment/iri2zoq/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3">bookmark</a></p>
<h3 id="images" tabindex="-1">Images <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/hero-academia-s6-episodes-1-and-2/#images" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p><a href="https://gfycat.com/zestycolorlesshedgehog">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://imgur.com/a/nTC4K1X#HWIzcv9">bookmark</a></p>
Read Delicious In Dungeon 72024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/231cbafa-09d4-4b8c-a15e-33a4c960b569/<p>Today I finished Delicious In Dungeon Vol. 7. This is such a cool manga series that I started reading back when I was in Toronto.</p>
<p>This volume was really cool, and we learn quite a bit about the lunatic magician, the dungeon, and Senshi. That last chapter was just awesome.</p>
SPY x FAMILY Part 2 - Episode 1 discussion2022-10-07T16:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/spy-x-family-part-2-episode-1-discussion/<p>Laaaaaate, but I finally had soe time to make a quick Spy x Family post! I was able to wrap up season 1 just before part 2 started, and I'm so happy that it got a really cool adaptation.</p>
<p>This episode is a great start, and we finally get Bond! I just love every time he appears, so I hope they continue featuring him on the anime :)</p>
<p>Yor is just an amazing mom as always - at least when it comes to protecting Anya - and I love watching that. Keep over-protective and wildy imaginative Yor!</p>
<p>I just love seeing them together, and those bits outside of school are usually a lot of fun.</p>
<h3 id="images" tabindex="-1">Images <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/spy-x-family-part-2-episode-1-discussion/#images" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/4tbK8zj.jpeg" alt="Best response image" /></p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/vK5g2qT.png" alt="Yor is really terrifying, specially when it comes to Anya" /></p>
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Finished Nevermoor: The Trials Of Morrigan Crow2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/f313a361-05dc-4757-878d-e85495ea4cc7/<p>Just finished reading Nevermoor: The Trials Of Morrigan Crow. It’s the first book in a middle gra</p>
Book Preorders I’m Waiting For (Sept, 2022)2022-09-26T02:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/book-preorders-sept-2022/<p>I recently posted a bunch of new fiction books I got recently, and I guess now’s the time to share books I preordered and I’m waiting to receive!</p>
<p>Legends & Latter by Travis Baldree is what seems like a western and D&D take on the slice-of-life genre, and it’s been very well received. Got it as part of recent online order, and just waiting to get my hands on this!</p>
<p><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250886095/legendslattes">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Stellarlune is the 9th book in the wonderful The Keeper of The Lost Cities series, by Shannon Messenger. I got the first 3 books in a box set many years ago and fell in love with it. I put the series on hold after volume 5 in 2018, as each book was getting bigger and bigger, but this year I decided to go back to the series and WOW. It’s still so much fun, but also growing so much.</p>
<p>I absolutely recommend this series! I still need to read book 8 before this release, but I do have enough time 🙂</p>
<p><a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Stellarlune/Shannon-Messenger/Keeper-of-the-Lost-Cities/9781534438521">bookmark</a></p>
<p>The Ghost Woods by C. J. Cooke is something I just had to preorder. Not only does it hit so many right buttons - specially for a fall/winter read, but it’s by the same author of The Lighthouse Witches, which I read last year and found it SO enjoyable - <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/the-lighthouse-witches-book-notes/">see my short review here</a>. Very excited for this!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.harpercollins.ca/9780008515904/the-ghost-woods/">bookmark</a></p>
<p>The Poisoners Ring (A Rip Through Time #2) by Kelley Armstrong. Now, this one I still didn’t preorder, but I’m sure I’m going to do it soon; as soon as I’m 100% decided to go with the hardcover version, as this time there’s no paperback release announced yet. I would prefer a paperback for this, but for a mystery, I feel like a print release is better than eBook. Also, I have the 1st one in paperback (which I also preordered at the time). Plus, this is from a Canadian author. Hooray!</p>
<p><a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250820037/thepoisonersring">bookmark</a></p>
Got The Mapmakers On Audible2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/3da9cc88-b385-4b97-a33e-2797528078ee/<p>Just saw that Audible is giving 3 months for free, so I had to go in and grab The Mapmaker (Cordelia Hatmaker #2), written and narrated by Tamzin Merchant!</p>
<p>I still have to finish listening to the first volume (I’m terrible with audiobooks), but I’m sure I was going to get it someday anyway. And maybe I’ll get both books either in print or e-Book so I can read along 🙂</p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/34b7f228-5cf2-4a18-ac71-05b8e460f652">bookmark</a></p>
More Print Fiction Books (Sept, 2022)2022-09-18T20:40:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/more-print-fiction-books-sept-2022/<p>I just recently made a post about new print books I got, and then yesterday I received an email that some more from my last order were ready to pick up.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/08a4f3c3-73dd-4b39-abfa-902ba54208df/aphqx6CEvp-1200.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I was only expecting them next week, but I guess I’m happy! And I already started reading one of them: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34219873-the-trials-of-morrigan-crow">The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #1)</a>.</p>
<p>The other book I got where: <em>Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow</em> and <em>Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow</em>, which are the 2nd and 3rd books on the Nevermoor series - I got the boxset 🙂</p>
<p>I also got <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59131384-spineless">Spineless</a> by Samantha San Miguel, which sounds really interesting and fun, and has a gorgeous cover!</p>
<p>Check my previous post below!</p>
<p><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-print-fiction-books-sept-2022/">bookmark</a></p>
New Print Fiction Books (Sept, 2022)2022-09-15T02:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/new-print-fiction-books-sept-2022/<p>Huge TBR, small apartment, but this past week I still got some new additions to my shelves.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/8854fd23-0e40-4156-a92b-b30d5c79ae80/q33VdltghR-1200.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>A Venon Dark And Sweet by Judy I. Lin (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58484120-a-venom-dark-and-sweet">GoodReads</a>) is the 2nd in a duology of historical-fantasy where magic is in the tea? I’m reading the 1st volume still - A Magic Steeped In Poison - but having fun enough that I decided to just go ahead and get the second volume. Also, IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!!!</p>
<p>What If? 2 by Randall Munroe (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60190659-what-if-2">GoodReads</a>), the creator of XKCD, is a book where he answers absurd questions in the most scientifically accurate way possible. I read the first volume on Kindle, but since it has a lot of illustrations and footnotes, it’s going to be better this way. Also, I generally prefer non-fiction on paper. This is a pre-order from May.</p>
<p>The next 2 books I bought online on Sunday, since Indigo had a promotion to get a lot of points when spending more than $X. So I ended up buying 5 books, and those 2 where ready the next day:</p>
<p>Fairy Tale by Stephen King (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60177377-fairy-tale">GoodReads</a>) is… a magic book by Stephen King. Not like I really need to say more, right? It’s huge and the font is small, so I guess I’m in for a (wonderful) long ride!</p>
<p>Kitty And The Moonlight Rescue (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43245876-kitty-and-the-moonlight-rescue">GoodReads</a>) is a kids book I got for my wife. She loved the art style, and she’s an illustrator that does children’s clothes so… good way to give her something she would love.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/8854fd23-0e40-4156-a92b-b30d5c79ae80/E2l01D1FZ--1200.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/8854fd23-0e40-4156-a92b-b30d5c79ae80/rxxwzSmOrA-1200.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/8854fd23-0e40-4156-a92b-b30d5c79ae80/ks7VuNkr-x-1200.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/8854fd23-0e40-4156-a92b-b30d5c79ae80/Wcbu4fh1Cx-1200.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
Finished Keeper of the Lost Cities: Nightfall2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/2fa963da-1db5-40f5-ad22-1536ee722b57/<p>Just finished Keeper Of The Lost Cities: Nightfall (book 6). It’s so good!!!</p>
<p>A tiny bit annoyed with the romantic square/triangle, but other than that it was a great read. Excited for the next couple ones already released, and book 9 that’ll be releasing later this year!</p>
Music Corner 17: Songs From Anime I’m Watching2022-08-08T15:45:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-17/<p>This week I finally started some anime again, after a few months without watching anything. I’m basically watching (or going to start) a few from this season, and then watching the 1st season of Spy x Family!</p>
<p>These are the songs from the ones I’m already watching so far :)</p>
<h2 id="spy-x-family" tabindex="-1">Spy x Family <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-17/#spy-x-family" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Opening</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbH2F0kXgTY">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Ending</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_Oyplmhhv0">bookmark</a></p>
<h2 id="call-of-the-night" tabindex="-1">Call Of The Night <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-17/#call-of-the-night" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Opening</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRL5Cp_mPeo">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Ending</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6_zbnfxoBA">bookmark</a></p>
<h2 id="the-devil-is-a-part-timer-s2" tabindex="-1">The Devil Is A Part-Timer S2 <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-17/#the-devil-is-a-part-timer-s2" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Opening</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZRM73rImwc">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Ending</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-GVE4lpKkU">bookmark</a></p>
<h2 id="bonus" tabindex="-1">Bonus <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-17/#bonus" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>A cover for Spy x Family’s opening</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a66UgOlQhHE">bookmark</a></p>
Quote: Call Of The Night2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/f888901f-e6f5-4070-9f55-27f84375f7b7/<p>Started watching Call Of The Night, and liked this quote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>People sleep well when they’re satisfied with their day</p>
</blockquote>
New Fantasy Hardcover Books2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/aa3ab16d-e4f6-4070-8878-da3b63614716/<p>Quick stop at Indigo on Friday and ended up with two new books, by Judy I. Lin and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.</p>
<p>Started A Magic Steeped In Poison yesterday and it seems cool so far. Also excited to read The Daughter Of Doctor Moreau later on. (I absolutely loved Mexican Gothic by her)</p>
Got My Driver’s License2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/00aa3093-e352-43d6-8604-ca5a7d8f518a/<p>Today I passed my road test (my 2nd try) and passed it. So went with my wife to eat something at Craffles. Got waffles with fruit and a flat white coffee!</p>
Manga Reading: Mid-Year Check2022-07-14T04:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/manga-reading-mid-year-check-2022/<p>Just doing a quick check on what I’ve read so far this year in terms on manga and comics!</p>
<p>According to my stats - as you can see below - I’ve hit 100 volumes so far! And this is probably still missing a few volumes that don’t have the date set, or which I read chapters on Shonen Jump but didn’t add the corresponding volumes because I either forgot, or it is not listed on GoodReads yet. I’ll check those later on.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/cef1d8a6-4b41-4e1e-a1ea-8723a3e570bd/fMsJoKjz6G-781.jpeg" alt="Much reading, such manga. WOW" /></p>
<p>Let’s start with what’s right here on the screenshot: One Piece! This year I finally went ahead and decided to start reading One Piece again. I first started it many years ago back in Brazil (I guess like… 20 years ago?), but stopped when the publisher stopped, and only tried restarting it again at some point like 7 or 8 years ago.</p>
<p>Now I’m just 1 chapter shy of finishing volume 70 - chapter 700! It’s great that everything is available on the Shonen Jump app and I don’t even have to go to the library to pick more volumes.</p>
<p>Also, I’ve been wanting to get a tattoo (or some), and I think I probably going to get a Chopper :)</p>
<p>Next I have Sakamoto Days and Kaiju No 8. Both were kinda binged up to chapter 54. For Kaiju No 8 I actually read it in just 1 day. In both cases, it seemed like a good place to stop, and wait a bit for them to wrap the story arcs that were starting there. I should be reading more Sakamoto Days soon.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/cef1d8a6-4b41-4e1e-a1ea-8723a3e570bd/epfvm_wpw1-399.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/cef1d8a6-4b41-4e1e-a1ea-8723a3e570bd/lBoF5Hs71w-426.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Mieruko-chan I’m basically reading as they release the volumes, and I read the latest Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid volume available. Have to read the spin-offs at some point!</p>
<p>Gal Gohan is a manga that I’ve seen recommended a few times, specially for those interested in a Gal manga, and decided to read it. It’s pretty fun, although focuses on fanservice, so beware :)</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/cef1d8a6-4b41-4e1e-a1ea-8723a3e570bd/tRpiE956s--512.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>And for last, I’ve read a volume of GTO: Paradise Lost and also The Sacred Blacksmith as they were available on Kindle Unlimited, and I was in the trial. Also read the first half of The Woods with that trial (the latter volumes were not included, but I still wanna read them at some point)</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/cef1d8a6-4b41-4e1e-a1ea-8723a3e570bd/jhKayNqf1e-514.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I also read One Punch Man and some newer Spy x Family chapters, but I still need to add the volumes to GoodReads. If you wanna check my read list at any point, it’s all here on the blog (<a href="https://geekosaur.com/comics-manga-read/">link</a>), and you can also add me on GoodReads (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/22638412-falcon">Falcon</a>) and AniList (<a href="https://anilist.co/user/FalconSensei/">FalconSensei</a>)</p>
Printed A Couple Photos2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/2da86923-b26b-4133-925c-ad31a4394adf/<p>Today we got a couple of our pictures (street photography) printed and put in frames. They look so cool there!</p>
<p>We hope to print more in the future, so we can keep rotating them from time to time.</p>
Finished A Book, Starting A Book2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/54007b54-2344-45dd-a853-e4145708d834/<p>Finished reading Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz, something I picked up on a whim while browsing at Indigo.</p>
<p>Now starting A Rip Through Time by Kelley<br />
Armstrong, which I decided to preorder because it's a time travel mystery described as Outlander meets The Alienist</p>
Music Corner 16: Running Up That Hill! Stranger Things S42022-05-31T05:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-16/<p>This weekend was time to watch Stranger Things S4 (part 1). And if you watched it - or was on Twitter over the weekend - you know that Running Up That Hill from Kate Bush was there. And WHAT AN AMAZING CHOICE.</p>
<p>This song shows up on the first episodes, but then it plays at the end of episode 4 - Dear Billy. The whole episode was incredible, and that ending was just too good not to leave a lasting impression. Great scene and this song matches it so well.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV0RAcuG2Ao">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Of course, I think everyone remembers NeverEnding Story from Season 3</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5HQ1sZseKg">bookmark</a></p>
<p>And below, we have the OST for season 4. As always, a great selection.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhUE3wW2irI">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Which other songs on Stranger Things do you like?</p>
Quote: Anatomy, A Love Story2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/0b58c86a-cb14-4800-8dc2-ef7bbff64d00/<blockquote>
<p>Do not play games with your future. It permits the possibility of losing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz</p>
Quote: Shortcuts And Learning2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/3d830505-e17a-492e-ad86-9b82a040425f/<blockquote>
<p>These days people want to improve overnight, so when they hear they have to dedicate a year before achieving results, they get scared.<br />
Little do they know: if they practice without technique, they will get further and further away from achieving good results. By the time they reach old age, they have failed to learn anything.<br />
If you use proper technique to practice, you can actually count the days that it takes to improve. After a year you will have reached a high level of shooting.<br />
How is this not a shortcut?<br />
— Gao Ying, in <a href="http://url9854.butwhatfor.com/ss/c/XlhqSDn-bNdJ6HjElfvy5OOYAqMfHkwG5FZ8XtRdMQE/3m0/2cCGj6y8TqOQGwuKjYY2Og/h40/ZfFHvXP2KV_HsvVgzh_bnitAxQ7oLYZwDhWKB0nga-8">The Way of Archery</a> [1637], as translated by <a href="http://url9854.butwhatfor.com/ss/c/BN4mh0HYN2m9nda9Tq5y_x4faa1kfdxq_kpzCkMg8TvwDOjmweGMItwRy3y0JBcwhdwio_vnBPzjEZMlE6kBVQ/3m0/2cCGj6y8TqOQGwuKjYY2Og/h41/ncjgqteXDQkJnpdyipG-U2K3Ajk3h5qAdbkJHF2aTmQ">Justin Ma</a> & <a href="http://url9854.butwhatfor.com/ss/c/BN4mh0HYN2m9nda9Tq5y_x4faa1kfdxq_kpzCkMg8TvwDOjmweGMItwRy3y0JBcwhdwio_vnBPzjEZMlE6kBVQ/3m0/2cCGj6y8TqOQGwuKjYY2Og/h42/81btYBy0jGqQGNRLoZq2yZpKwupu9YsQCprJUurK2Rg">Jie Tian</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>From: <a href="https://newsletter.butwhatfor.com/p/butwhatfor-four-friday-no-038">ButWhatFor? Four for Friday | No. 038</a></p>
Music Corner 15: King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard2022-05-25T19:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-corner-15/<p>This weekend I went to VanCaf (<a href="https://www.vancaf.org/">Vancouver Comic Arts Festival</a>) and had a great time there. Saw (and bought) a lot of cool art, and one of the things I saw there were King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard’s records with covers by <a href="https://edencooke.com/">Eden Cooke</a>.</p>
<p>This is a band that every once in a while pops up on my Youtube suggestions, or on other social media, and finally I decided to give it a try, and guess what? They are so cool! When we went back to the event again on Sunday, I decided to grab a record for me, and ended up getting the last one!!</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/587ea582-9521-45e6-b0ea-d932f9e8b542/vx-duRPW4c-1200.jpeg" alt="Awesome cover art, or awesome cover art?" /></p>
<p>Enough talk, let’s check the music!!!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntbNRUycbD4">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzcWTjY3b8Q">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-01sgnVgkRc">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAdBWnp8W7Q">bookmark</a></p>
April Reading Wrap Up And May Plans2022-05-05T04:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/april-reading-may-plans-2022/<p>Last month I shared my plans for the month: 1 fiction and 2 non-fiction books, and manga (<a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading-plans-april-2022/">check it here</a>).</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I ended up not reading as much of the books. About 70-ish pages of one of the non-fiction books (The Courage To Be Disliked) and a bit over half of Death Masks.</p>
<p>I did read 302 chapters of One Piece - right at the end of the Slypiea arc, so it wasn’t like I wasn’t reading. Just read way more manga than planned.</p>
<p>Also, I ended up taking driving lessons, got a mirrorless camera (Sony a6400) and went out a few times to take pictures and all and also had friends’ birthdays two weekends in a row. So it was a good month, just less book reading than planning - and less studying German, which I’m hoping to correct now.</p>
<p>So I guess for May plans: finish those 3 books - Death Masks should be finished tonight, and decide on another fiction book to read. And, try to actually read more this month, watch less TV and waste less time on the computer in general - apart from studying German, photography and useful stuff.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/43dadffe-557d-492e-8087-5c1ee578a524/3uivyGfP9p-619.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Thumbnail by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@christinhumephoto?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Christin Hume</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/reading?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></p>
Reading One Piece: Finished Skypiea Arc2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/c14972fb-0484-43e8-8b0c-ec796856708e/<p>Today I finished reading One Piece’s Skypiea arc, getting to chapter 302! I had stopped last week at around 240, so that means 60 chapters in a day. Pretty good!</p>
<p>I enjoyed this arc. It got me really curious about what’s going to happen next, and to know more about the world’s mysteries.</p>
Reading Courage To Be Disliked2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/bd5055ef-933d-4685-becc-f675e0e36477/<p>As per my reading goals for April, I started reading The Courage To Be Disliked by by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga.</p>
<p>I don’t usually read self-help, but this one seems cool, and is very psychology and philosophy oriented. One interesting thing about it is that it’s written as a conversation between someone and a philosopher.</p>
<p>I just finished the first chapter - about 30 pages in - and so far I’m enjoying it.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf4Hs5E9eNg">bookmark</a></p>
German Updates: Back Again After a Pause2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/a5b72614-f04f-4cea-a7e8-f2f8025a0529/<p>Last time I posted was March 30, when I reached 550 words on Speakly. It took me a bit longer to get the next 50 words, but here I am!!</p>
Mid-April Reading Check2022-04-18T21:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/mid-april-reading-check-2022/<p>Earlier this month I shared my reading goals for April 2022 (<a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading-plans-april-2022/">see it here</a>). I defined goals for books (fiction and non-fiction) and also manga (not a ‘goal’ though, since I didn’t specify how many chapters).</p>
<p>Any way, most of my reading this month so far has been for manga: I’ve read 240 chapters of One Piece! I’m currently in the Skypiea arc, but it’s probably time to start taking it easy, unless I want to miserably fail at my book goals, haha.</p>
<p>But it was not a bad month so far, I was just busier and with less energy for books, as I mentioned in the <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-23/">last Geekosaur News</a>. Also, I wasn’t planning on getting involved in photography, and investigating which camera and lens to get, trying to find it - and then going out for photo walks - takes time, but was very enjoyable.</p>
<p>This is how much I read on the past couple weeks</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/995e6d0d-6198-4568-917a-cb1127e96ad8/UIg3BeiXyc-614.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I think it’s alright everything considered. But I’ll make some effort for the rest of the month!</p>
<p><em>Social Media Thumbnail by</em> <a href="https://unsplash.com/@sonnnchen?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"><em>Sonja Punz</em></a> <em>on</em> <a href="https://unsplash.com/collections/QUlPu1EDJjE/reading?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"><em>Unsplash</em></a></p>
Music Corner 14: The Blue Hearts (J-Music)2022-04-18T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-14/<p>A couple decades ago, a friend introduced me to The Blue Hearts, a Japanese punk-rock band from late 80s/early 90s.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT-8_TFxohI">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I68t-vJZinc">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egNok6oeMA0">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYC71PAuIKE">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydXxhVs18JE">bookmark</a></p>
<p>More about them: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Hearts">Wikipedia</a></p>
Geekosaur News 23: Getting Older Is Tough, I Guess?2022-04-17T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-23/<p><em>Currently Reading: One Piece, Death Masks (The Dresden Files #5)<br />
Currently Watching: Bob’s Burgers</em></p>
<p>Another week went by, and it went so fast. I had a 4 day weekend, but didn’t accomplish many of my ‘goals’, but at least I got to relax and go out with my wife to take pictures with our new camera and lenses.</p>
<p><strong>Getting older is tough</strong>: I don’t know if it’s just the age showing, or what, but I used to be way more into ‘deeper’/’slower’ TV shows and books, but nowadays I’m basically watching Bob’s Burgers and reading One Piece and urban fantasy because anything else is just too much.</p>
<p>Too much to think about, too much energy to spend, but I guess too much commitment, I guess. I mean, a cartoon episode is 20 min long, and I can actually just watch half of it and leave the rest to continue later on, without any issues. Manga is also easy to read a little bit and stop any time, since chapters are usually short.</p>
<p>I still binge things like Servant and Severance with my wife, but I used to complement those with other TV shows that, even if they were not anything deep, but at least 45 min long. Now seems that is too much of a commitment.</p>
<p>Is this a result of getting older and general lack of energy and desire to engage in things? A bit of depression kicking in occasionally? Let’s see how it goes, so far it’s something that comes and goes.</p>
<p><strong>Anime</strong>: I tried Crunchyroll to see if this time I would enjoy Love is War - I watched half of the first episode when the first season came out. But my TV doesn’t have Crunchyroll’s app, and their AirPlay doesn’t work? At least on my TV? So I guess for now I’ll try to decide on a live TV show, haha. Or maybe watch the cartoon version of The Boys, or the Critical Role show.</p>
<p><strong>Photography</strong>: I got a Sony a6400 with 2 kit lenses, and also bought a Sigma 30mm F1.4. My wife wanted a camera for a long time, and I also have some interest in photography, so we ended up getting that. We already went out like 3 times to take pics, and so far we are enjoying it a lot. It’s awesome to have an excuse to go out and explore! We created an Instagram account for it: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sugarcoast_pics/">@sugarcoast_pics</a>. We are going to slowly post things there, and I’ll also share things on my Twitter on <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1515549868357406727">this photography thread</a>.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/cf598040-f5a3-4b9d-ac29-8dccc886f3e1/s23A7wy0tj-1200.jpeg" alt="Taken with the Sigma 30mm - No edits, I swear!" /></p>
<p><strong>Wrapping Up!</strong></p>
<p>Let’s see how this week goes for me. I’ll try to take and share more pics - and try to learn how to take better pics and how to properly use the camera - and also will focus again on learning German, and try to read some non-fiction book like I had planned for April (<a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading-plans-april-2022/">shared on this post</a>). For now, getting back to playing trumpet will need to wait a bit. I’ll focus on those other things + exercising to see if I’ll have more energy going forward.</p>
<p><em>Social media thumbnail by</em> <a href="https://unsplash.com/@mathyaskurmann?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"><em>Mathyas Kurmann</em></a> <em>on</em> <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/newsletter?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"><em>Unsplash</em></a><em>.</em></p>
Reading One Piece: Laboom The Whale2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/98ebcb91-3a20-429b-ab99-94d9db1b5f9d/<p>I’m not crying… definitely not crying</p>
Geekosaur News 22: Twitter, Comedy And More2022-04-07T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-22/<p>Currently Reading: Death Masks (The Dresden Files #5), One Piece<br />
Currently Watching: Bob’s Burgers, Central Park, How I Met Your Father, Family Feud</p>
<p>Yes, I’m watching Family Feud highlights on Youtube, and they are quite funny. How I Met Your Father is not so good, but just alright to watch when having lunch, since I’m a bit tired of Golden Girls.</p>
<p>I just got a Sony a6400, and now I started following some people on Instagram and Twitter that have the same camera (or any other in the a6xxx family). Of course, also joined <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyAlpha/">r/sonyalpha</a></p>
<h2 id="news-thoughts" tabindex="-1">News/Thoughts <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-22/#news-thoughts" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><strong>Twitter</strong> is working on an edit button. I know is a very requested feature for a long time, and I also kinda want it, but I see this going wrong in so many ways...</p>
<ol>
<li>Retweets are gonna be tricky if I’m not notified that something I RTd was updated</li>
<li>Since my likes are advertised to everyone that follows me, that’s also a problem</li>
<li>Of course someone will try to sell viral tweets at some point</li>
</ol>
<p>Amy Schumer said she was going to take a month off from comedy following Will Smith’s slap because ‘that was too traumatizing’. And then she revealed that they didn’t let her make a joke about Alec Baldwin’s onset killing - the prop gun that was loaded with real ammo and ended up killing someone (<a href="https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1511029832611778564">twitter link</a>). I’m still trying to understand how the slap was too much, but an actual killing is so chill that she can joke about that.</p>
<p>Also discovered that she’s going to be in the next season of Only Murders In The Building, and now I’m worrying about it being any good. The first season was AMAZING, but whyyyyy.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/5568e72a-9aba-459b-8d06-a8762aef5cc0/OcuEiTDbpy-600.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p><strong>Blizzard</strong> removed the letter Z on the skins of Zarya, Overwatch’s Russian hero (<a href="https://twitter.com/Polygon/status/1511802982576406529">twitter</a>). Not that this makes us forget the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzchung_controversy#:~:text=In%20October%202019%2C%20American%20video,during%20an%20official%20streaming%20event.">Hong Kong incident</a>, and sexual abuse lawsuit. After all, Blizzards changed one of Tracer’s victory poses because it was ‘too sexualizing’, and then we discovered all sexual harassment and sexism in the company. Now they are only doing this because maybe they don’t care much about Russia anyway, since if China was doing anything wrong, they would bend or get on their knees as requested.</p>
<h2 id="fun-cool-stuff" tabindex="-1">Fun/Cool Stuff <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-22/#fun-cool-stuff" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I recommended Katie Mack’s twitter here recently, so let’s go with something that also applies to software development. Just change the minus signal to a ; or ,</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/AstroKatie/status/1511760122120339460">textTweet</a></p>
Gamers! Light Novel Arrived2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/33e8d98e-c116-44e8-9f6b-1093db736086/<p>I bought the Gamers! Light Novel in German so I’ll have a goal and an incentive to study. It’s good because it’s an anime that I liked, and the LN is not available in English, and I think chances are pretty small.</p>
Music Corner 13: Brazilian Music Vinyl Sets2022-04-04T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-13/<p>Recently I’ve discovered My Analog Journal channel on Youtube, and it’s SO great! I love how eclectic it is, with music and guest DJs from many different countries.</p>
<p>Since I’m from Brazil, I’m going with some Brazilian music mixes. But be sure to tune in the channel to see more interesting and different music!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQdKyQEaeqk">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rxG8quzCtA">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnnuU84S9rg">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj3M2aiyUrQ">bookmark</a></p>
Reading Plans For April 20222022-04-03T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/reading-plans-april-2022/<p>I think posting my reading goals for this month might be a good way of keeping my focus, and might do that every month - I hope - and also try that for movies and TV shows. Let’s see!</p>
<h2 id="books" tabindex="-1">Books <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading-plans-april-2022/#books" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="non-fiction" tabindex="-1">Non-Fiction <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading-plans-april-2022/#non-fiction" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>For non-fiction, there are 2 books I wanna read. And I’m probably going to only have time to actually finish 1, and start the other.</p>
<p>One of them I ordered this Friday, and should be arriving tomorrow. It’s Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. I never read Self Help books, but this sounds interesting and I really wanna give it a try. There’s a video review on Youtube, by Ali Abdaal (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf4Hs5E9eNg">link</a>).</p>
<p>The other one is a science book I got last year: The End of Everything (Astrophisically Speaking) by Katie Mack. I always wanted to read more about space and astrophysics, and this one sounds so good. Also, be sure to <a href="https://twitter.com/AstroKatie">follow Katie on Twitter</a>, it’s great!</p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/28473aa9-7e42-4ce1-9cb2-2534d9629ccd">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/8c784b55-c3e6-4e6b-8221-a8da7bf632d4">bookmark</a></p>
<h3 id="fiction" tabindex="-1">Fiction <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading-plans-april-2022/#fiction" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I’m “currently reading” Strange Weather In Tokyo, but I think I need something more adventure, fun and relaxing, specially since I’m going to try to read some non-fiction, and want to try ramping up on my German learning. So I’m going with Death Masks (The Dresden Files #5) by Jim Butcher. This is a highly entertaining Urban Fantasy series, with lots of action, some fun scenes and cool plot and world.</p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/637832e0-4f75-44e6-961b-6f301081feb5">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/f393a525-bdd2-4659-a456-946595d3fcc2">bookmark</a></p>
<h2 id="manga" tabindex="-1">Manga <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading-plans-april-2022/#manga" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Recently I started reading One Piece again. I read some of it - about 20, 21 volumes - when it first started being published in Brazil, but distribution in my area was horrible, I ended up missing a volume or two, and then the publisher went under so... I tried again years later (still like 10 years ago), but at that time, I was not up for the commitment. After #ONEPIECE1044 was trending on Twitter, I decided to finally give it another try. So that’s what I’ll be reading in April.</p>
<p>I’ll also be either continuing reading Black Clover - I read about 180 chapters on 2020, while I was “stranded” at my parent’s place in Brazil because of the pandemic - and maybe now it’s time to continue it. OR, I’m going to be starting My Hero Academia manga, since I’m a big fan of the anime.</p>
<p>One Punch Man is going to be paused for a while probably.</p>
Finished A Cozy Mystery Book2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/1cfe2fe4-e8b1-4b7c-80a2-e6240e29f9aa/<p>It’s been a long while since I’ve read a cozy mystery, but today I finished the 5th book in the Witchcraft Mystery series. It’s a fun read as usual.</p>
German Update2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/bd502d4a-fca1-4f54-8482-1a48208940fa/<p>Very slow week last week, and still trying to catch up on the energy for studying. But this week I’ll make sure to do at least the 10 new words each day, which is my goal.</p>
AppleTV+: Quality Over Quantity2022-03-29T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/appletv-quality-over-quantity/<p>As a result from CODA getting 3 Oscars this weekend, AppleTV+ is getting even more positive attention, and that’s great!</p>
<p>I think their general approach to quality over quantity is awesome, and the fact that they are not outright cancelling all their shows is even better. Of course not everything is a big hit, but overall I would say that their balance of good vs crap content is way better than others.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Apple TV+ has more than 250 wins in award ceremonies and almost 1,000 nominations over its two years of existence. (<a href="https://9to5mac.com/2022/03/29/wsj-apple-tv-praised-by-quality-over-quantity-nearly-doubled-its-revenue-in-2021/">9to5mac</a>)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While they do have a limited catalog, I have to say that Dickinson, Ted Lasso, Servant and Central Park are amazing, and they have so many interesting shows, that you sure are going to find something for you!</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/1d1604cd-6cd2-41dc-88a3-d3f7a9f4b51c/lOJkxs5vWH-480.gif" alt="" /></p>
<p>Already Watched and Currently Watching:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>Dickinson: period drama about Emily Dickinson. Made me fall in love with poetry, like Penny Dreadful did too;</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Ted Lasso: I’m not a fan of sports and soccer, but OMG I binged the first season so hard and was so excited when the 2nd came out. Now I’m here just waiting for S3 - the last one - to come out and see those characters again.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Servant: M. Night Shyamalan! Wonderful show so far, watched the first 2 seasons, and loved the 2nd even more than the first. The 3rd is currently being released, and I should be watching it soon!</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Amazing Stories: cool remake of the old series - or is it new stories? IDK, but it’s short, fun, with each episode being a different sci-fi/fantasy story. Neat!</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Central Park: animated musical comedy! It’s so much fun, has good jokes and great music.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Schmigadoon!: musical based on Brigadoon, a 50s musical. It’s nice, short, great to relax at night.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/1d1604cd-6cd2-41dc-88a3-d3f7a9f4b51c/lHjyfZ4gmB-600.gif" alt="" /></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>To Watch:</p>
<ul>
<li>Pachinko: The original book is in my TBR list, but this adaptation, looks FANTASTIC! I’m going to start watching it this weekend!</li>
<li>CODA: <em>duh.</em> JK, it has actually been in my list since forever, but I never take time to watch movies. That should be remedied. The main actress is from Locke & Key, and it’s a movie about music so... I’m gonna watch it!</li>
<li>The Essex Serpent: victorian era drama that sounds promising. Not released yet though.</li>
<li>Home Before Dark: mystery show that sound very interesting, and has a young girl as protagonist/person investigating. Why not give it a try?</li>
<li>The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey: Samuel L. Jackson in a mystery/drama show? I’m in.</li>
<li>Acapulco: I actually watched the first episode, and thought it was nice. But paused because there was so much going on and I didn’t want to watch that much TV. But it’s fun and I should be watching the rest as time allows me.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://9to5mac.com/2022/03/29/wsj-apple-tv-praised-by-quality-over-quantity-nearly-doubled-its-revenue-in-2021/">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apples-quality-over-quantity-approach-pays-off-at-oscars-11648499685">bookmark</a></p>
Updated Reading Stats2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/b3563def-90a5-4be4-9422-1b06d0a78d24/<p>My first 10 weeks of this year (up to last week). It’s not A LOT, but it’s good enough for me!</p>
<p>A few notes on the weeks I have a lot of pages/chapters:</p>
<p>For books, I read a lot more when I was reading the first 2 books in the Silo trilogy (still need to read #3), and Sawkill Girls.</p>
<p>For manga, the 102 chapters week was basically Sakamoto Days + Kaiju No. 8. About 50 chapters each. And then last week I read a few Gal Gohan volumes and some One Punch Man!</p>
Geekosaur News 21: Games!2022-03-16T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-21/<p>It’s been a long time since the last Geekosaur News - our <s>weekly</s> very infrequent and occasional newsletter. But this time, let’s talk a bit about games!</p>
<h2 id="new-games-for-me" tabindex="-1">New games for me <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-21/#new-games-for-me" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This weekend I got two games for the Nintendo Switch: Triangle Strategy and Mario Kart 8.</p>
<p>Triangle Strategy is a tactical jrpg that looks so cool! Aside from the graphics, it’s a story focused game, with about 20 chapters, and one battle on each chapter (plus training battles you can do as you progress).</p>
<p>That’s a big plus for me, since I have some difficulty with rpgs where you just keep getting random battles every 2 minutes and can’t progress on the story. It’s also cool that it’s a tactical one!</p>
<p>And since there was a Mario sale this weekend, my wife was interested in getting Mario Kart so we could eventually play a little bit together. I guess it’s not something we will be playing a lot, but it’s nice to have it available.</p>
<h2 id="news-and-discussions" tabindex="-1">News and discussions <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-21/#news-and-discussions" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Talking about kart games, I was interested in Chocobo GP, since I used to play Chocobo Racing on my PS1 when I was a kid. Unfortunately, it ended up being a full priced game that’s behaves like a mobile game in terms of getting you to pay for everything. It’s such a turn-off, but I guess it happens nowadays. And that’s one of the reasons I avoid preordering games. (<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/tduz50/psa_do_not_buy_chocobo_gp_for_your_children/">reddit discussion</a>)</p>
<p>I was watching the video below on big releases for the Switch this year, and one of the things that he says is that there’s a lot of tactical RPGs. Not that I’m complaining, of course :)</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cYDd6xwDZ4">bookmark</a></p>
<p>I know I’m not going to be playing many games anyway, but I would say I’m interested at least in Digimon Survive and Metal Slug Tactics. Although I loved Advance Wars, I’m not a big fan of the new visuals :/. Really prefer the 2d/anime style.</p>
<p>BTW, Digimon Survive seems very promising. I hope it’s a great game!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_gyu7tf3R4">bookmark</a></p>
Music Corner 12: Nao Yoshioka2022-03-14T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-12/<p>How about some R&B and Soul music from Japan? Nao Yoshioka delivers some great songs and nice live performance at Tokyo Funk Sessions.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQufZEijRmc">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6U5uYWR-OY">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTmaZAWVFsw">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgax00svOwQ">bookmark</a></p>
Favorite Anime Couple2022-03-11T08:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/reply-favorite-anime-couple/<p>This week, thespookyredhead asked: What’s your favorite anime couple?</p>
<p><a href="https://thespookyredhead.com/2022/03/05/favourite-anime-couple/">bookmark</a></p>
<p>I would say that for me, it’s Keiichi and Belldandy, from Oh My Goddess. This is my favorite anime of all time, holds a place dear to my heart, and I absolutely adore Belldandy and Keiichi and Belldandy as a couple.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/c3bccb26-39af-48d5-af8b-4b5faf25bcf1/xUdV2V0Mrc-480.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Also, this reminds me that I need to continue reading the manga! I stopped because I was so busy that didn’t have much time and energy, and the fact that it was mirrored to read left to right didn’t help. But I guess it’s time to continue.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion/c3bccb26-39af-48d5-af8b-4b5faf25bcf1/4oxNgRuGxC-498.gif" alt="They are just SO perfect together!" /></p>
Just another day2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/ec6b85af-093a-4ee2-995e-3e9ccc0dc344/<p>Today work wasn’t being very productive, but my wife and I decided to go to an early dinner on a sushi place nearby that we like. We had smoked salmon, mango and some veggie gyozas, along with Asahi beer and tea.</p>
<p>On our way back, a quick stop at Nordstrom to walk around a bit, and then, when arriving home, a beautiful and smiling samoyed was sniffing me, and after I continued walking, he (or she? seemed like a male) kept looking at me instead of walking. THAT WAS SO CUTE!!! Even the owner was like... what?</p>
<p>Now, time for a bit of What We Do In The Shadows, maybe start playing the Triangle Strategy demo or read One Punch Man.</p>
Reading One Punch Man2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/e57c9387-f77b-491b-b418-560cf99ebbc4/<p>After a long time, I’m continuing reading One Punch Man. I read the first 47 chapters in 2020 and then stopped, but I guess now I was in the mood for it again, after reading about 50 chapters of Sakamoto Days and Kaiju No. 8.</p>
<p>And now I finally saw the monster that was showing up on my Twitter feed when she debuted on the manga.</p>
Music Corner 11: AnnenMayKantereit Covers2022-03-07T08:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-11/<p>This is a German band and, while they have cool songs, today I’m sharing their covers because OMGTHOSEARESOCOOL! Let’s start with Can't Get You out of My Head by Kylie Minogue, which they recorded along with another band called Parcels.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RacxNskxySo">bookmark</a></p>
<p>If you are ancient like me, you probably are familiar with Tom’s Diner. If you don’t remember it by the name, the first 1 second might be enough to make you remember. Played with Giant Rooks</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r3B7yz6J68">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Something a bit newer: Valerie, played with Natalie Findlay and featuring a sweet flugelhorn solo!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm-FH82lVbE">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Come Together is a classic, right?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkP7QWsfNc0">bookmark</a></p>
<p>And let’s end up with one that’s not a cover :)</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8WJYwFlyUg">bookmark</a></p>
400 German Words2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/cb8fd534-4cf9-4570-87c1-7323024ea804/<p>Got a great week last week, and even though I didn’t study much on Sunday (or at all Yesterday), I’m happy to be making progress again.</p>
German Updates :)2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/2ebe8523-ce76-4910-9573-f94d830c5c89/<p>This week I got to 350 German words learned on Speakly. <em>Hooray</em>!</p>
<p>And today I was listening to a bit of German music, and when this song played. Since I love it, specially on this video, I decided to try to follow the lyrics. And hey, I was actually able to understand a bit of the first verse, and the first 2 lines of the bridge. That’s so cool!</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Du hast mich nie darum gebeten,<br />
ich weiß, ich weiß, ja ich weiß.<br />
Es tut dir leid, oder auch nicht,<br />
keine Ahnung, was weiß ich schon.<br />
Es war alles umsonst,<br />
Aber is' okay, es ist okay für mich.</p>
<p><em>you never asked me<br />
i know i know yes i know<br />
you're sorry or not<br />
no idea, what do I know.<br />
It was all in vain<br />
But it's okay, it's okay for me.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Denn du warst süß wie Honig in meinem Kaffee<br />
Präsent in meinem Kopf von früh bis spät.<br />
Viel zu spät hab ich gecheckt:<br />
Gäb's nen Wettbewerb für Idioten<br />
hätt' ich haushoch gewonnen.</p>
<p><em>'Cause you were sweet as honey in my coffee<br />
Present in my mind from dawn to dusk.<br />
I checked much too late:<br />
There's a competition for idiots<br />
I would have won hands down.</em></p>
</blockquote>
Book Notes: Shift by Hugh Howey (Silo #2)2022-02-18T16:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/book-notes-shift-hugh-howey/<p>After finishing <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/wool-silo-1">Wool</a> by Hugh Howey, I just had to start the next volume. And what a thrill!</p>
<p>The second volume is a prequel to Wool, and tell us how that world came to be. Like Wool, it tells the story through different characters and now, also different times. During the first part of the book, we are shifting between 2 characters: one is before people went to the silos, and is involved in how they got built; the other is working their first shift on Silo #1. Later, we also get to see what happened to silo #17 and how Solo ended up alone there.</p>
<p>I loved the story and how Howey told it to us. I think he also did a great job on writing something that is unfortunately, so believable, that you can't help but read and think "This is terrible, but yeah, that's how it would go". Not very uplifting maybe, but a great read anyway.</p>
<p>As many times with science-fiction, this is a book that teaches us a lot about ourselves, our society, and makes us think about were we are headed.</p>
<div class="unfurl">
<h4 class="unfurl__heading"><a class="unfurl__link" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17306293-shift">Goodreads</a></h4>
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<h2 id="quotes" tabindex="-1">Quotes <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/book-notes-shift-hugh-howey/#quotes" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<blockquote>
<p>When there’s only God to blame, we forgive him. When it’s our fellow man, we destroy him.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>There was no planning for insanity. With enough revolutions and elections, enough transfers of power, eventually a madman would take the reins.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>He saw what the Senator meant, how truth and lies seemed black and white, but mixed together, they made everything gray and confusing.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>What if they were all playing the same part? What if each and every one of them was concealing the same doubts, none of them talking because they all felt so completely alone?</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="thoughts-spoilers" tabindex="-1">Thoughts (Spoilers!) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/book-notes-shift-hugh-howey/#thoughts-spoilers" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<ul>
<li>
<p>I thought the nanobots idea was pretty neat. How it started as something that we used to repair our cells and live longer, but then started using them to kill. Kinda frightening too!</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>The horrors never stop, and it's crazy how in the end, only 1 silo is supposed to be opened. But it does make a lot of sense: if the idea was to only have people from 1 group, you can't have multiple silos opening, since they would start fighting.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Very curious and excited to see where this is going!</p>
</li>
</ul>
My 2022 Reading Stats So Far2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/1eb0e85b-e557-41e3-84ff-7a372e21c4d5/<p>This is how my year has been so far regarding reading. I read way more after I arrived back in Vancouver and was reading Shift, the second book in the Silo trilogy.</p>
<p>Also, yesterday I finished <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54305363-broken">Broken</a> by Jenny Lawson, and it’s very good. And now I need to find something else to read. Maybe Sawkill Girls? Or more nonfiction? I’ll decide soon, I guess!</p>
Notes Section: From Notion To Eleventy2022-02-15T16:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/<p>Recently I added a notes section here. The idea is that it's easier for me to post short thoughts and updates, and also it's something easier to search, organize and reference in the future. This is because if I post directly on Twitter, it's kind of gone forever.</p>
<p>So, I decided to make a way for me to write my thoughts directly on Notion (<a href="http://notion.so/">notion.so</a>), and have it automagically rendered on the blog as part of a <em>notes</em> section. I'm not 100% finished, as there's a few more things that I want to add, like <em>tags</em> for example, but what I have now is complete enough for the to use comfortably.</p>
<h2 id="part-1-create-notion-database" tabindex="-1">Part 1 - Create Notion Database <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#part-1-create-notion-database" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This part is basically creating a new database on Notion so I can use it to write the posts on.</p>
<p>As columns you have Title (renamed from Name), Tags, Images, Embed, Format and Created. Tags are not yet used to filter on the blog, but at least what I have is already organized. Format is not yet used, but I guess in the future I might want to do something like some Tumblr templates and have different layouts for gallery and music for example. Created is a calculated field that is just when the note was created. This is because I couldn't find how to filter by <em>created_time</em>, which is the internal value. Then I just need to write the notes normally in each page, since I load then as markdown later.</p>
<h2 id="part-2-get-notes-on-eleventy" tabindex="-1">Part 2 - Get Notes On Eleventy <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#part-2-get-notes-on-eleventy" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>One thing I absolutely love on Eleventy is how I can have anything as source data. A folder with markdown files, a single json file, a javascript that will load a json and import more things and then create the collection. On <em>_data</em>, my Eleventy data folder, I created <em>notes.js</em>, which loads the notes from Notion, does some processing, and then saves it on a cache in <em>_cache/notes.json</em>.</p>
<h3 id="the-data-file" tabindex="-1">The Data File <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#the-data-file" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>To load data from Notion, I used the official npm package from Notion<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fn1" id="fnref1">[1]</a></sup>, and then to get all formatted to markdown, I used notion-to-md<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fn2" id="fnref2">[2]</a></sup>. The core of it is below, and was based on the webmentions code I have that I got from sia.codes<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fn3" id="fnref3">[3]</a></sup>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-javascript">module.exports = async function () {
console.log(">>> Reading notes from cache...");
const cache = readFromCache(CACHE_FILE_PATH);
if (cache.notes.length) {
console.log(`>>> ${cache.notes.length} notes loaded from cache`);
}
// Only fetch new mentions in production
if (process.env.ELEVENTY_ENV === "development") return cache.notes;
console.log(">>> Checking for new notes...");
const newNotes = await fetchNotes(cache.lastFetched);
if (newNotes) {
const notes = {
lastFetched: new Date().toISOString(),
notes: mergeNotes(cache, newNotes),
};
writeToCache(notes, CACHE_FILE_PATH, "notes");
return notes.notes;
}
return cache.notes;
};
</code></pre>
<p>I have helper functions to read and write to/from cache, which you can see my helper file<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fn4" id="fnref4">[4]</a></sup>. Note that I have a <em>devbuild</em> process because I only want to save cache when running <em>npm run build:local</em>. And <em>development</em> will not fetch any new thing (notes, webmentions, etc) and only use cached data. My package.json has:</p>
<pre><code>"scripts": {
"start": "ELEVENTY_ENV=development NOTION_API_KEY=$ENV_NOTION_TOKEN npx @11ty/eleventy --serve",
"build:local": "ELEVENTY_ENV=devbuild NOTION_API_KEY=$ENV_NOTION_TOKEN npx @11ty/eleventy",
"build": "NOTION_API_KEY=$ENV_NOTION_TOKEN npx @11ty/eleventy",
"debug": "DEBUG=* npx @11ty/eleventy"
},
</code></pre>
<h3 id="fetch-from-notion" tabindex="-1">Fetch From Notion <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fetch-from-notion" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<pre><code class="language-javascript">async function fetchNotes(since) {
if (!DATABASE_ID || !TOKEN) {
console.warn(">>> unable to fetch notes: missing token or db id");
return null;
}
const newNotes = []
// only brings first page (100 items) but we should't have more than not in cache
// TODO: update to use fetch method on books.js
const response = await notion.databases.query({
database_id: DATABASE_ID,
filter: {
property: 'Created',
date: {after: since},
},
sorts: [
{
timestamp: 'created_time',
direction: 'ascending',
},
],
});
if (response.results) {
console.log(
`>>> ${response.results.length} new notes fetched`
);
for (const note of response.results) {
const noteContent = await fetchPage(note.id)
const newNote = {
...getMetadata(note),
content: noteContent,
title: getTitle(note),
tags: getTags(note),
images: getImages(note),
format: getFormat(note),
embed: getEmbed(note)
}
newNotes.push(newNote);
}
return newNotes;
}
return null;
}
</code></pre>
<p>Notion's API only returns 100 notes each time, but that's ok since at least once a week I do a <em>npm run build:local</em> and update the cache. Anyway, I solved this in another data source (books.js<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fn5" id="fnref5">[5]</a></sup>) that uses my notion helpers code<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fn6" id="fnref6">[6]</a></sup>. But <s>I'm lazy</s> I wanted to show you the basic on fetching that data :)</p>
<h3 id="proccess-notion-data-and-download-images" tabindex="-1">Proccess Notion Data And Download Images <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#proccess-notion-data-and-download-images" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Those <code>getXYZ</code> methods are done on the helper too in a general way (except for images), but let see:</p>
<pre><code class="language-javascript">const getMetadata = (note) => {
return {
id: note.id,
"created_time": note.created_time,
"last_edited_time": note.last_edited_time,
"cover": note.cover,
"icon": note.icon,
}
}
const getTitle = (note) => {
return note.properties.Title.title[0].plain_text
}
const getTags = (note) => {
const notionTags = note.properties.Tags.multi_select
return notionTags.map(tag => tag.name);
}
const getEmbed = (note) => {
return note.properties.Embed.url;
}
const getFormat = (note) => {
return note.properties.Format.select ? note.properties.Format.select.name : 'text';
}
const getImages = (note) => {
const imagesNotion = note.properties.Images.files;
const images = []
for (const img of imagesNotion) {
const fileName = `${note.id.substr(0, note.id.indexOf("-"))}-${img.name}`;
const imagePath = getLocalImageLink(img.file.url, fileName, 'notes')
images.push(imagePath);
}
return images;
}
</code></pre>
<p>All pretty straightforward, except for <code>getImages</code>, which has to download images. That's because Notion returns image urls that expire, so it's a no-go. I extracted the download method into a helper function, so I can download all external images that I use via the figure shortcode, and serve it locally. Please refer to <code>helper.js</code><sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fn4" id="fnref4:1">[4:1]</a></sup> for all helper functions, but the main code is below:</p>
<pre><code class="language-javascript">function getLocalImageLink(imgUrl, fileName = "", folder = "ext") {
if (!imgUrl) return "";
if (!external.test(imgUrl) || process.env.ELEVENTY_ENV === "development") {
return imgUrl;
}
const cache = readFromCache(IMG_CACHE_FILE_PATH);
if (cache[imgUrl]) {
return cache[imgUrl].url;
}
const fn = fileName || getFileName(imgUrl);
const imagePath = `/img/${folder}/${fn}`;
const path = `./src${imagePath}`;
if (!fs.existsSync(path)) {
fetch(imgUrl).then((res) => res.body.pipe(fs.createWriteStream(path)));
cache[imgUrl] = { url: imagePath };
writeToCache(cache, IMG_CACHE_FILE_PATH, "images");
} else {
console.error("> collision downloading image");
}
return imagePath;
}
</code></pre>
<p>The logic is simple: skip if no url (for my thumbnails), skip if it's a local image or is development mode. Otherwise, try to see if it's already cached, and return that local url. If not, download and save the local url on cache. The reason I'm caching <code>cache[imgUrl].url</code> is because I want to at some point optimize images and keep the original, so I would also have <code>cache[imgUrl].optimizedUrl</code>.</p>
<h2 id="part-3-adding-the-section-and-individual-pages" tabindex="-1">Part 3 - Adding The Section And Individual Pages <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#part-3-adding-the-section-and-individual-pages" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I created a <code>notes</code> folder with 2 files: <code>notes.md</code> and <code>note.md</code>. One for the whole list, and another for individual items. As I mentioned, it's still incomplete, but it's all you need to see the notes on your blog.</p>
<p>For the <code>notes.md</code><sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fn7" id="fnref7">[7]</a></sup> file, this is how I show everything:</p>
<p><em>update: currently there's a bug with <code>eleventyComputed.date</code>. You need to use <code>created_date</code>, and use <code>Tue Feb 15 2022 16:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)</code> on the template</em></p>
<p><code>anyEmbed</code> <sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fn8" id="fnref8">[8]</a></sup> is my shortcode to embed "anything". Basically, it checks the url, and then call the correct shortcode. For now it's only Youtube and Reddit, but I'll add Twitter, and also a basic <em>unfurl</em> that render a card/preview if it's a link I don't have an embed to. <em>Edit: I added unfurl and moved anyEmbed to asyncShortcodes</em>.</p>
<p><em>Another thing I didn't mention originally: I use the <strong>embed</strong> field in notion for that, but notion-to-md will give me <code>[embed](link)</code> and <code>[bookmark](link)</code>, so I could just update markdown-it's config so all links named like that are rendered as anyEmbed. That would allow me to actually use Notion for regular posts, which could contain more embeds. But I would still need to update how I fetch and update my Notion cache, so I could update posts after they are created. But that should be trivial. Feel free to reach out <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei">@FalconSensei</a> if you want some ideas</em></p>
<p>The only difference to the individual <code>note.md</code> on that, is that I don't cycle through all notes. This is the frontmatter for the individual pages, to enable it being generated on for all notes, with the correct thumbnails and everything:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/6nw0vl8.png" alt="Frontmatter (for some reason, embedding frontmatter code breaks the post" /></p>
<p>You can see my filters file<sup class="footnote-ref"><a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fn9" id="fnref9">[9]</a></sup> for those filters, but what they do is basically: generate the twitter exerpt from the content, and get the thumbnail, which would be the first image (if any).</p>
<h2 id="part-4-it-s-alive" tabindex="-1">Part 4 - IT'S ALIVE! <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#part-4-it-s-alive" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>That's it! You should have it working like mine!</p>
<h2 id="part-5-bonus-for-ios-users" tabindex="-1">Part 5: Bonus for iOS users <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#part-5-bonus-for-ios-users" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Now, I can write the notes on my phone, but I still need to trigger a build. My blog only rebuilds automatically once a day, and I don't want to go to the computer to call the webhook. Since I use Cloudflare Pages, I have a webhook that I can POST to to trigger a rebuild. With iOS shortcuts, I can call it from my phone. See below for example:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/rs8n76D.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>I cut off the first step, which is just defining the URL for the webhook (copied from cloudflare pages), but then add a second step to load the contents of a URL, using the POST method and it's done!</p>
<hr class="footnotes-sep" />
<section class="footnotes">
<ol class="footnotes-list">
<li id="fn1" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/@notionhq/client">https://www.npmjs.com/package/@notionhq/client</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fnref1" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn2" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/notion-to-md">https://www.npmjs.com/package/notion-to-md</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fnref2" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn3" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://github.com/siakaramalegos/sia.codes-eleventy/commit/d7318565917b1342b38d6b3bff4e3e548276afca">https://github.com/siakaramalegos/sia.codes-eleventy/commit/d7318565917b1342b38d6b3bff4e3e548276afca</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fnref3" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn4" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/_11ty/helpers.js">https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/_11ty/helpers.js</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fnref4" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fnref4:1" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn5" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/_data/books.js">https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/_data/books.js</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fnref5" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn6" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/_11ty/notionHelpers.js">https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/_11ty/notionHelpers.js</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fnref6" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn7" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/notes/notes.md">https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/notes/notes.md</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fnref7" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn8" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/_11ty/asyncShortcodes.js">https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/_11ty/asyncShortcodes.js</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fnref8" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn9" class="footnote-item"><p><a href="https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/_11ty/filters.js">https://github.com/thiagomgd/geekosaurblog/blob/main/src/_11ty/filters.js</a> <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/eleventy-notion-notes-section/#fnref9" class="footnote-backref">↩︎</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</section>
Music Corner 10: Luli Lee2022-02-14T08:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-10/<p>This time we are listening to Luli Lee, a Korean singer/bass player that I really enjoy!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4rHTk2oayk">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x50e46vO9c">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaNiHfXCp8A">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTijaOSvbvU">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXkhD3AMs1M">bookmark</a></p>
Reading Manga2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/6e35ea03-1d8d-48fa-b34a-9ad050b23316/<p>Today I caught up with Spy X Family, which I had stopped on chapter 53, and started Sakamoto Days. Read a couple chapter and so far enjoyed it.</p>
<p>I was planning on reading Jujutsu, Black Clover or My Hero Academia, but it’s good to read some comedy.</p>
The Serpent OST Record2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/0a9d42b3-a9e2-43b9-bb00-497769b21a2f/<p>Yesterday I received the OST for The Serpent, a show I enjoyed a lot and that has a great soundtrack. My wife and I binged the show, and I listened to the soundtrack during most of the time I was reading <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/the-lighthouse-witches-book-notes/">The Lighthouse Witches</a>.</p>
<p>I pre-ordered it a long time ago and the release was postponed so many times I though I was not going to get it anymore. But I’m happy it’s here now. And it looks BEAUTIFUL!</p>
<p>You can see the trailer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgB7rMuxY-s">here</a> and listen to the soundtrack <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgJeWP_vw8M&list=PLuF78wm0RiGZlDiRBcCa06LCQLBC4T938">here</a>.</p>
Studying German2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/cd6f98b1-1814-411e-8399-ede231748153/<p>Finally got to 300 words on Speakly and moved to Beginner II level. I’m really enjoying this app, as it gives you words based on the most used words in real life scenarios, instead of giving a dozen words from a different category each time.</p>
<p>The phrases are also more meaningful and realistic, so I’m probably keep using it to slowly build vocabulary, since I don’t have a lot of time and energy for more focused study and longer sessions.</p>
How to use Twitter2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/77c7d951-5294-4b96-a9ff-4e771ba308d8/<p>Today I saw a post titled How To Use Twitter, which has some interesting thoughts on how to improve the Twitter experience. And I guess the most important thing is not using the main timeline, but instead relying on the lists feature.</p>
<p>It’s really a letdown that to have a good experience on the platform we should avoid the main user experience they are offering, but I guess that’s the only way of really avoiding so many suggestions, likes and topics.</p>
<p>It’s still doesn’t solve my gripe with having my likes to myself, but that’s maybe ok for now.</p>
<p>The article: <a href="https://lee-phillips.org/howtotwitter/">https://lee-phillips.org/howtotwitter/</a></p>
<p>This HackerNews comment (and following thread) also gives some indication that yeah, trying to mark those suggestions as ‘not interested’ is not gonna help in the long run, but just make Twitter suggest worse content every time <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30271837">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30271837</a></p>
My Band Playlists2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/5346c10b-2d52-415e-93eb-a03e2f7b54b9/<p>This Saturday night I was listening to some songs that reminded me of my bands back in Brazil. Since I don’t use Spotify anymore and have migrated to Youtube Music, I decided to recreate my playlists there.</p>
<p>I never finished those playlists on Spotify, so I’ll see if someday I find the setlists so I can have complete playlists there. I also want to create setlist for other bands I’ve played with, and also my big band. But that’s for another time. They are both below:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZIaVOUaxLAOpQvzJCeugpYgRpPlnA8m2&feature=share">Trivial</a></li>
<li><a href="https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZIaVOUaxLAP7EK8JjXvc3FpWoM-LUVlI&feature=share">The Mad Mavericks</a></li>
</ul>
Music Corner 9: Blues Brothers2022-02-07T08:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-9/<p>This weekend I was creating a couples playlists on Youtube Music, with songs that I used to play with my bands back in Brazil. And how that brings back memories.</p>
<p>So, we used to play a few Blues Brothers tunes, and because of that I ended up listening to it for quite a good part of the day today, so that's what I'm sharing here. Enjoy!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHV0zs0kVGg">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_KkgPRo4wA">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTWH1Fdkjow">bookmark</a></p>
Figure Skating 20222024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/84daed7f-3d86-49c2-ba2e-41b21654ab99/<p>It’s kinda crazy how I got totally sucked in watching figure skating for the first time 12 years ago in Brazil, during Vancouver Olympics. And now here I am in Vancouver, watching the 2022 figure skating.</p>
Now with Notes2024-03-15T16:35:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/note/96a049dc-2184-4c66-9fb2-aac00b6b0c02/<p>This is a first note to test this new feature I added! Just to have some quick thoughts that I can add to <a href="http://notion.so/">Notion</a> and get it published here!</p>
Music Corner 8: Folk Tiny Desk Concerts2022-01-24T08:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-8/<p>For something chill and different, Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aq9WjdCUik">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxpuB10FaSE">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyHipL45pwM">bookmark</a></p>
Book Notes: Wool (Silo #1) by Hugh Howey2022-01-16T16:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/book-notes-wool-silo-1/<p>I've seen this book mentioned a few times on Media Death Cult - both the YT and Discord channel - and seeing it was on Kindle Unlimited, decided to give it a try. And WOW, I'm very happy that I did.</p>
<p>Before going into the notes, there are a couple things I need to mention, First, although this is part of a trilogy, I do think that it stands on its own.</p>
<p>Second, this book is divided in 5 parts, and originally, it was only a novelette, which is the first part. Later on, due to the success it was gaining, the author expanded and wrote the other 4 parts. And I assume at some point later came books 2 and 3.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Wool (Silo #1)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Hugh Howey</h5>
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<p>This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13453029-wool-omnibus">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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<p>So, what's it about? Trying to avoid spoilers, it's a book about people in the future living in a self-sufficient silo underground after some apocalyptic scenario happened. They live there and can never leave, and the simple mention on wanting out causes them to be sent to <em>cleaning</em>, which is basically being thrown out, and they are supposed to clean the cameras that allow for the people inside to see the outside world.</p>
<p>It's a great blend of character driven story and mystery. After every discovery, every twist, there's more to be intrigued by, to wonder, to be amazed at. It's also very human, as many times with science fiction, so we can at the same time think "<em>why the heck did they do that?</em>" while also totally see it happening in the real world. Bad thing happen, but it doesn't feel gratuitious.</p>
<p>The book is divided in 5 parts, but there's mostly 3 bigger parts: the first with sheriff Holston - the original part - which is very character focused and leaves too many questions on your mind, and you will want to know more.</p>
<p>Then there's the part with mayor Jahns and deputy Marnes, which gives a bit more of an overview of the silo and its residents. A better glimpse of that post-apocalyptic world, while still very character driven.</p>
<p>After that, the book focuses on Juliette, people in the mechanical section, and things that unravel after the second part's happenings. It gives us so much more on the silo, the world, the power structure, the rules. It has more adventure, more things at stake, and it's just so damn good. Not that the previous parts were not, they were great. It's just that as you discover more about that world, you want to know even more, to keep discovering things.</p>
<p>The cleaning, so important for these characters and the silo, an integral part of the rules and the life there, is intriguing and Hugh Howey makes great use of it - the impact on the ones that leave, and the ones left behind - to dig deeper in human nature and psyche.</p>
<p>After finishing the first book, I already started reading the second because yeah... I'm that intrigued. Probably going to read all 3 in a row.</p>
<h2 id="quotes" tabindex="-1">Quotes <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/book-notes-wool-silo-1/#quotes" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<blockquote>
<p>We are born, we are shadows, we cast shadows of our own, and then we are gone. All anyone can hope for is to be remembered two shadows deep.</p>
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<p>one of those who had grown old everywhere but in his heart, that one organ he had never worn out because he’d never dared to use it.</p>
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<p>Killing a man should be harder than waving a length of pipe in their direction. It should take long enough for one’s conscience to get in the way.</p>
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<blockquote>
<p>“What we control,” Juliette said, “is our actions once fate puts us there.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>We long for stories that drag us through agony but give us a glimmer of hope. We want to read disaster stories that teach us how to survive.</p>
</blockquote>
My Non-Fiction Must Read For 20222022-01-14T16:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/non-fiction-must-read-2022/<p>As time passes and our TBR grows, it's easy to lose track of books we really want to read. I get easily distracted, lazy, and then the year ends and I didn't do much of what I hoped to.</p>
<p>So I decided to list some non-fiction books (or categories) that are a must read to me this year. Let's see!</p>
<p><em>The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change</em> is a book that my manager recommended, and it's the one I'll try to read January/February. Other possible books on career include <em>A Philosophy of Software Design</em>, <em>The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership</em> and <em>Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos</em>.</p>
<p><em>The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma</em> is a recommendation from my family doctor. I've had a couple injuries in the last few years, and had a hard time recovering - seems like nothing ever was 100% again. Understanding how our minds and the stress can affect the body seems really like a good idea.</p>
<p><em>Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything</em> and <em>Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!</em>: these are books that I was loving reading a couple years ago, and not sure why I stopped. So I have to get back to them and finally finish!</p>
<p><em>Letters From An Astrophysicist</em>, <em>Brief Answers to the Big Questions</em> + something else: I have a few books about space, and reading more about the topic would definitely be cool. Those two are my 2 top choices and then, if possible, I'll read more of what I have.</p>
<p>And last but not the least, books on philosophy and poetry (and actual poetry books). I have a few already, including <em>Meditations</em>, <em>How To Think Like a Roman Emperor</em>, and I was in the middle of Poetry 101, and I have Emily Dickinson, Poe and a Romantic Poetry collections.</p>
<h3 id="to-read" tabindex="-1">To Read <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/non-fiction-must-read-2022/#to-read" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
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<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/zcetukgBh6-333.jpeg" width="333" height="500" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
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<p class="card-title">The Manager's Path</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34616805-the-manager-s-path" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
</div>
</div>
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<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/zpjZSN6xHc-1200.jpeg" width="1200" height="1846" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
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<p class="card-title">The Body Keeps the Score</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18693771-the-body-keeps-the-score" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
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<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/dwyQmbtAxM-261.jpeg" width="261" height="400" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
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<p class="card-title">Moonwalking with Einstein</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11539550-moonwalking-with-einstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/OEEi3CqUBp-800.jpeg" width="800" height="1200" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
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<p class="card-title">Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35167685-surely-you-re-joking-mr-feynman" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/ZoSPN-DtIF-740.jpeg" width="740" height="1200" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
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<p class="card-title">Letters From An Astrophysicist</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51294921-letters-from-an-astrophysicist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
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<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/LbAUjOYzTg-273.jpeg" width="273" height="400" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
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<p class="card-title">Brief Answers to the Big Questions</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40277241-brief-answers-to-the-big-questions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
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</div>
</div>
<h3 id="want-to-read" tabindex="-1">Want To Read <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/non-fiction-must-read-2022/#want-to-read" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
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<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/f_og3W9A7r-331.jpeg" width="331" height="500" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
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<p class="card-title">The Score Takes Care of Itself</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6342995-the-score-takes-care-of-itself" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/QqIh7dL6ZC-258.jpeg" width="258" height="400" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
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<p class="card-title">Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54505323-invent-and-wander" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/PFKUKMnv0A-1000.jpeg" width="1000" height="1231" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
<div class="card-content">
<p class="card-title">A Philosophy of Software Design</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58665335-a-philosophy-of-software-design" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/3WdWLuAzEz-324.jpeg" width="324" height="500" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
<div class="card-content">
<p class="card-title">How to Think Like a Roman Emperor</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40126247-how-to-think-like-a-roman-emperor" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/SJt9InWrlJ-1200.jpeg" width="1200" height="1628" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
<div class="card-content">
<p class="card-title">Poetry 101</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39939462-poetry-101" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
</div>
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<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/9Y-tnm1AZr-1200.jpeg" width="1200" height="1511" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
<div class="card-content">
<p class="card-title">Mythos: The Greek Myths Reimagined</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46228086-mythos" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/4SllVIHfWF-317.jpeg" width="317" height="475" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
<div class="card-content">
<p class="card-title">Play it Again: An Amateur Against the Impossible</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17332356-play-it-again" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="card">
<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/ppZsLs-w6P-1200.jpeg" width="1200" height="1827" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
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<p class="card-title">The End of Everything</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55711529-the-end-of-everything" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
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<div class="card-image-div"><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/FDPkMIDjGO-128.jpeg" width="128" height="193" alt="" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /></div>
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<p class="card-title">Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void</p>
<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8775982-packing-for-mars" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Goodreads</a></p>
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</div>Changing How I Track My Reading2022-01-03T16:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/changing-reading-tracking/<p>Last year, I started logging how much time I was reading every day, separated in Fiction, Nonfiction, Learning and Manga (<a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading-stats-so-far-sept2021/">Like I posted here</a>). During December, I gave up and stopped doing that, even though it was kind of a nice data to keep track of.</p>
<p>I'm still going to be tracking how much I read, but in a different way: instead of time per day, I'll use pages per week. The main reason for that change is that this is a less involved way of tracking my reading habits, and will interfere less ith my actual reading time.</p>
<p>Think about it. Every time I went to read something, I would pick my phone and start the timer on my time tracking app. Then stop when finished, or when going to the washroom or kitchen. But this is a great way of desincentivizing small reading sessions, and force me to keep my phone with me, instead of away from me.</p>
<p>Now, my plan is to once a week write down the current page I'm reading in my current books, compare with the previous week and write down the difference. Something I will probably spend like 5 min. doing. I'll also have to write down if I finish a book during the week, but that's perfectly fine.</p>
<p>What I also like about this, is that this can be an incentive for me to journal a bit and also maybe keep track or other habits/goals. Let's see how it goes.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion_weekly_journal.png" alt="Main view: week number + data" /></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion_journal_pages_read.png" alt="And this is inside the page for each week, along with personal notes/journal" /></p>
<p><strong>Update</strong>: One thing I didn't mention is that for manga, I'll be tracking chapters read, since comparing pages read fom a book to a comic book is going to mess with it. That's one of the reasons I had the tracking by time before. But I think that's going to work well :)</p>
My TBR for Jan/Fev 20222021-12-30T16:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/my-tbr-dec-2021/<p>Let's se what I'm planning on reading for the next month or two!</p>
<h2 id="fiction" tabindex="-1">Fiction <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/my-tbr-dec-2021/#fiction" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Currently I'm reading Wool (Silo #1) by Hugh Howey. I've seen it recommended on Youtube and Discord, and the whole trilogy is available on Kindle Unlimited so why not? Besides that, I've seen that Mindhunter is also available. I watched almost all of the TV show, and loved it, so ended up getting interested in the book. <em>Highly recommend the show on Netflix if you haven't watched yet.</em></p>
<p>I'll try to read all those books before my trial expires on Feb. 25. I kinda doubt I'll make it, but let's see. Otherwise I can always pay for a month, since those books are more expensive than the monthly fee.</p>
<h2 id="non-fiction" tabindex="-1">Non-fiction <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/my-tbr-dec-2021/#non-fiction" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I recently bought The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change by Camille Fournier since my manager recommended it for career growth. I've also seen Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos being recommended at work, and this one is available on Kindle Unlimited, so it's on the list!</p>
Geekosaur News #20: Games, Blog Migration and Nerd Comedy Standup2021-12-22T14:15:48Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-20/<p>Time for another Geekosaur Weekly, were I share some news, thoughts and random links.</p>
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<h2 id="thoughts-and-news" tabindex="-1">Thoughts and News <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-20/#thoughts-and-news" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<ol>
<li>River City Girls 2 is coming in 2022 and there's a <a href="https://twitter.com/WayForward/status/1471179503334576129">new trailer on Twitter</a>!! I'm very excited for it (<em>even though I still need to finish the first game</em>)</li>
<li>Also, seems like <a href="https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2021/12/18/gex-trademark-filed/">Gex might be back</a>? I remember playing Gex: Enter the Gecko on my PS1, and it was pretty cool.</li>
<li>For those that don' get the hate on NFTs, there are some short explanations <a href="https://twitter.com/emilyhiggs24/status/1471662482758455301">here</a>. Yeah, it's pretty bad.</li>
<li>There's a nice post on Animated Observations on seasonal anime: <a href="https://animatedobservations.com/2021/12/17/no-you-dont-have-to-watch-everything/">No, You Don’t Have To Watch Everything</a>.</li>
<li>Since I'm on the 3 month Kindle Unlimited trial, I decided to create a bookmarklet to help me see which books on my Amazon wishlist are eligible. <a href="https://gist.github.com/thiagomgd/b1c7331cdc04e02ec1b17e9a2c6eb14f">Check it here</a>.</li>
<li>I'm thinking about possibly migrating this blog from Hugo to Eleventy. Maybe that'll be what I will be doing after I'm back home mid-January</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="best-links-and-articles" tabindex="-1">Best Links And Articles <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-20/#best-links-and-articles" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://thewalrus.ca/looney-tunes-will-never-die-and-thats-all-folks/">Looney Tunes Will Never Die and That’s All, Folks!</a></li>
<li><a href="https://thewalrus.ca/wheel-of-time-tv/">Why It’s So Hard to Accept Adaptations of Our Favourite Books</a></li>
</ol>
<h2 id="random" tabindex="-1">Random <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-20/#random" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/fMKy2cAvg90" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
December 2021 Book Haul2021-12-17T12:45:57Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/new-books-dec-2021/<p>As every book lover, I always fail when I think about not buying more books. But at least seems like I have it in some kind of control, having got those mostly on huge sales on Kindle.</p>
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<p>Dragonflight and Tarnished and Torn I go on paper to read during my trip to (and my stay in) Brazil. I already have Dragonflight on Kindle, but since I was not bringing it here, I decided to get it on paper. Ultimately I decided to bring my Kindle with me, so I'll give it to my mother, but it's alright. Tarnished and Torn is the 5th book in a cozy mystery series, and it'll be a great read for winter time when I'm back home.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Tarnished and Torn (A Witchcraft Mystery, #5)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Juliet Blackwell</h5>
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<p>As the owner of a popular vintage clothing store, Lily Ivory can enjoy a day of antique jewelry shopping and still call it work. But as one of San Francisco’s resident witches, searching for hidden treasures can sometimes lead to dangerous discoveries...</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15815762-tarnished-and-torn">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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<div class="meta">
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<div class="description">
<h4 class="myEmbed">Dragonquest (Pern, #2)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Anne McCaffrey</h5>
<hr />
<p>Another Turn, and the deadly silver Threads began falling again. So the bold dragonriders took to the air once more and their magnificent flying dragons swirled and swooped, belching flames that destroyed the shimmering strands before they reach the ground.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/127584.Dragonquest">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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</div>
<p>Broken is the 3rd book by Jenny Lawson, and considering how much I enjoyed the other 2 (I completely adored Furiously Happy), I got to get this one. And Brief Answers has been on my list since the first time I saw it, and considering it was never on sale on paper, I needed to get it when it got cheaper on Kindle.</p>
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<div class="description">
<h4 class="myEmbed">Broken (in the best possible way)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Jenny Lawson</h5>
<hr />
<p>From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Furiously Happy and Let’s Pretend This Never Happened comes a deeply relatable book filled with humor and honesty about depression and anxiety.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54305363-broken">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
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<div class="description">
<h4 class="myEmbed">Brief Answers to the Big Questions</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Stephen Hawking</h5>
<hr />
<p>Will humanity survive? Should we colonize space? Does God exist? These are just a few of the questions Hawking addresses in this wide-ranging, passionately argued final book from one of the greatest minds in history.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40277241-brief-answers-to-the-big-questions">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
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<p>I saw Kings of the Wyld be recommended on Daniel Greene's channel, and... a funny fantasy series? Count me in! BTW, if you are looking for some laughs, there's The Dragon Lords series, which <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/finished-the-dragon-lords-books/">I have a short review here</a>. Sawkill Girls looks like an interesting sapphic horror book (a la Wilder Girls), so I'll give it a try!</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Kings of the Wyld (The Band, #1)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Nicholas Eames</h5>
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<p>Clay Cooper and his band were once the best of the best -- the meanest, dirtiest, most feared crew of mercenaries this side of the Heartwyld.
</p><p>Their glory days long past, the mercs have grown apart and grown old, fat, drunk - or a combination of the three. Then an ex-bandmate turns up at Clay's door with a plea for help. His daughter Rose is trapped in a city besieged by an enemy one hundred thousand strong and hungry for blood. Rescuing Rose is the kind of mission that only the very brave or the very stupid would sign up for.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30841984-kings-of-the-wyld">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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</div>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Sawkill Girls</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Claire Legrand</h5>
<hr />
<p>Beware of the woods and the dark, dank deep. He’ll follow you home, and he won’t let you sleep.
\[...\]
Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight… until now.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38139409-sawkill-girls">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>Geekosaur News #192021-12-14T14:29:42Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-19/<p>Very busy end of year, but at least I got time for some quick updates and thoughts!</p>
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<h2 id="thoughts-and-news" tabindex="-1">Thoughts And News <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-19/#thoughts-and-news" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<ol>
<li>The new Fantastic Beasts has a trailer and it shows Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald. It looks cool, and I'm not gonna shit on Mads, but I just can't get behind that movie anymore after Depp was fired, Amber is still in Aquaman, and J. K. Rowling is still being openly transphobic... it's a shame.</li>
<li>One Piece (actually Toei Animation) also had <a href="https://twitter.com/DanielBGreene/status/1468768666435133442">some problems with content creators</a>. In the end, Youtubers might stop making videos about One Piece, which is a shame for the fans, but totally understandable. Daniel Greene has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_OSm-wPLqA">nice video about it</a>.</li>
<li>If you use the term Latinx, <a href="https://twitter.com/politicalsock/status/1467876331203530762">you can stop now</a>. Seems I'm not alone in hating it, and most actual Latinos don't like it either.</li>
<li>I was wondering about adding comments to this blog. Unfortunately there's no good cheap/free alternative to Disqus. Maybe I'll either keep it without comments, add email form, or a hidden Disqus section that only loads when the user clicks a button. Let's see...</li>
</ol>
<h2 id="currently-reading-watching" tabindex="-1">Currently Reading/Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-19/#currently-reading-watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I saw some recommendations for the Silo series by Hugh Howey, so I decided to give it a try. It's a trilogy and all books are available on Kindle Unlimited - at least in Canada. So I signed up for a 3 month trial and so far I'm enjoying it a lot. I'm around 25% of the first book.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Wool (Silo #1)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Hugh Howey</h5>
<hr />
<p>The world outside has grown toxic, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. The remnants of humanity live underground in a single silo. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they want: They are allowed to go outside.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13453029-wool-omnibus">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
<p>As for watching, I was watching Everybody Loves Raymond a lot with my wife. But now that I'm in Brazil for the Holidays, I started a couple anime: Tawawa on Monday and Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory. Yeah, only ecchi for now</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/jM44MSM.png" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/4e6E2VY.png" alt="NSFW|blur" /></p>
Geekosaur News #18: Microsoft's Notion Clone, Twitter Blue And More!2021-11-13T17:11:52Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-18/<p>Another week, another round of news, thoughts and random stuff!</p>
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<h2 id="news" tabindex="-1">News <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-18/#news" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="microsoft-loop-a-new-notion-clone" tabindex="-1">Microsoft Loop - a new Notion clone <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-18/#microsoft-loop-a-new-notion-clone" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>About a week ago <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-loop">Microsoft announced Loop</a>, which is basically a Notion clone. For those not familiar, Notion is a very powerful text editor/journal/database/kanban board/etc that can be your one-stop-shop for getting organized. You can learn a bit about Notion it by watching Microsoft's announcement below.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/BkhaV46HM2E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>Jokes aside, I really like Notion, and it's FREE, so you should check it out <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-18/www.notion.so">here</a>. I will share my Notion board here sometime soon, but anyway, let's see why I will stick with it for the time being instead of migration over to Microsoft:</p>
<ol>
<li>They are the original service, and I already have everything there: hard to beat this one;</li>
<li>Microsoft might make a this sound like an important announcement, but not have further updates coming later. They are not exactly Google, but still, they killed Wunderlist, and Microsoft To-Do still has improvements to be usable to me.</li>
<li>If tools like Teams and other are any indication, it might be SLOW;</li>
<li>A new addition that I LOVE about Notion: the API. I have scripts to import and update data from Trakt, Anilist, Goodreads and more into Notion. I don't think Loop is ever going to have an actual easy-to-use API. At least not for free.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="twitter-blue-is-available-but-who-wants-it" tabindex="-1">Twitter Blue is available, but who wants it? <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-18/#twitter-blue-is-available-but-who-wants-it" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Twitter Blue <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2021/twitter-smarter--twitter-harder-with-twitter-blue">is now available</a> in the US and NZ. But really, is it any good? Let's see:</p>
<ol>
<li>The "undo" is actually just a delay to send the Tweet. Bad 3G already does that;</li>
<li>It removes ads for some free news sites, but it's what adblockers already do. It doesn't remove any paywall on articles;</li>
<li>You actually still have ads and promoted Tweets on Twitter;</li>
<li>You'll still see the obnoxious 'liked by' tweet, and your likes are still going to be announced to everybody.</li>
</ol>
<p>In short, it doesn't do much to actually improve your Twitter experience. Not that people tweeting more would be a good goal anyway.</p>
<h2 id="manga" tabindex="-1">Manga <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-18/#manga" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Daniel Greene has a great video with some critiques on One Piece. I feel like I should iterate a quote from the end of the video:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Manga is not a genre, it's a medium so it's totally fine to bring up mangas in a conversation about fantasy.</p>
</blockquote>
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<h2 id="books" tabindex="-1">Books <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-18/#books" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Merphy Napier reacts and has cool comments about book memes!</p>
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<h2 id="other" tabindex="-1">Other <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-18/#other" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>A bit late to share maybe, but still useful: November is the National Novel Writing Month, but you can use it for focusing on any goal that you have. And if it's too late for November, you can still prepare to have a good focus on whatever your goal is during December!</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Using NaNoWriMo for everything other than Novel writing</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">@Ryder_Krystal2</h5>
<hr />
<p>NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. It usually happens in the month of November each year. It is also a non-profit organization that helps young writers be able to have their novel…</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://kittenwhoeatsramen.blog/2021/11/02/using-nanowrimo-for-everything-other-than-novel-writing/">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
<p>I discovered <a href="https://hypnogram.xyz/">Hypnogram</a>, a site where you type what you want to see in a picture, and it creates a nice image that might make you think you are on magic shrooms. It takes a while to generate it, but it is fun to try.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/hjOHORJ.jpg" alt="Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas|Hypnogram image for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" /></p>
<h2 id="random" tabindex="-1">Random <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-18/#random" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/BRy84I10j9">pic.twitter.com/BRy84I10j9</a></p>— Rinvi Norway (@Rinvi11) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rinvi11/status/1437652764813926408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Book Notes: The Lighthouse Witches (C. J. Cooke)2021-11-12T04:31:12Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/the-lighthouse-witches-book-notes/<p>My notes and thoughts on The Lighthouse Witches by C. J. Cooke.</p>
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<p>This book was a very interesting read, with a mystery of disappeared people, witches burned and a story told by mother and daughters, twenty years apart.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">The Lighthouse Witches</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">C.J. Cooke (2021)</h5>
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<p>Two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty years later, one is found--but she's still the same age as when she disappeared. The secrets of witches have reached across the centuries in this chilling Gothic thriller from the author of the acclaimed The Nesting.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57310655-the-lighthouse-witches">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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</div>
<p>I enjoyed the POVs from Liv, Saffy and Luna, and experiencing the story through their eyes was a great experience and helped a lot in understanding the characters more. They are well written and each add their side to the whole story, that we slowly piece together.</p>
<p>The mystery is well told and it builds up the suspense and your interest and curiosity as you go. It is a slow burn on the first 2 thirds of the book - not that it is a bad thing - and then, when you start understanding and everything starts to make sense and click on your mind... that's just fantastic!</p>
<p>In the end, I picked up this book because it was beautiful and the plot sounded interesting - specially for an October read - but was gladly surprised on how much I liked it after I finished!</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Forgiveness is a kind of time travel, only better. Because it sutures the wounds of the past with the wisdom of the present, at the same moment as it promises a better future.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Most of the time reading this book, I was listening to The Serpent soundtrack, which I leave the first track below!</p>
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Music Corner 7: Tiny Desk Concerts2021-11-08T08:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-7-tiny-desk-concerts/<p>Another week, another Music Monday, this time with some Tiny Desk concerts, which I love.</p>
<p>First one is Camila Cabello. I never paid much attention to her music, but as always, went ahead and gave it a try on a NPR Tiny Desk Concert which, in this case, is not tiny at all. But it's SO good. I absolutely loved the band, mariachis, and the trumpet solos. It's such a delight to listen to it.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7wIRxQEetc">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Never heard of Nicki Nicole before, but that was really cool! I've been listening to this at least once a day for the past week!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG6O-Qq79G0">bookmark</a></p>
<p>And another cool one is Jenny and the Mexicats. Cool band, lead singer also plays trumpet, what's not to love?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yng5CTT8Ogk">bookmark</a></p>
Geekosaur News #17: Dickinson is back, I'm lazy, and also some cool things2021-11-07T17:30:45Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-17/<p>It's been a while since we had any Geekosaur News, so let's see some updates and cool things.</p>
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<h2 id="me" tabindex="-1">Me <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-17/#me" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Got an Amazon gift card from at work and of course, I used it to buy weeb stuff: the My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising OST. It looks BEAUTIFUL!</p>
<p>Also got some cool snacks at T&T. The green tea pumpkin seeds are real nice, and also the lime Lay's. I still have to try the rest.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Amazon gift card = new weeb stuff <a href="https://t.co/HqX9C0em0A">pic.twitter.com/HqX9C0em0A</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1456847044304195584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Got some snacks today <a href="https://t.co/K02sgbphu3">pic.twitter.com/K02sgbphu3</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1456508143677042696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>I'm feeling lazy and like not knowing what to do. I'm still reading The Lighthouse Witches and watching Seinfeld, and also started the new season of Dickinson - which is AMAZING - but besides that, everything feels like a <em>meh</em>.</p>
<p><img src="https://media4.giphy.com/media/qCn8beSdurE92BS6xL/giphy.gif" alt="" /></p>
<p>I started the last season of Big Mouth, but didn't finish the first episode. It's still as good as usual, I think, but I'm just not in the mood maybe?</p>
<p><img src="https://media0.giphy.com/media/IFUpfL1cwIFYqJW9C3/giphy.gif" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://media0.giphy.com/media/pQWxYYvGFOUaF6CJVh/giphy.gif" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="books" tabindex="-1">Books <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-17/#books" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I love both Cari's channels: her main vlog channel about her life in Korea, and also her book channel, Care Can Read. Here she talk a bit about coming back to books after not having time because of college and work. Also talks about Murakami, popular series and book tropes.</p>
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<h2 id="random-stuff" tabindex="-1">Random Stuff <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-17/#random-stuff" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="designs-from-kimono-pattern-books-ca-1902" tabindex="-1">Designs from Kimono Pattern Books (ca. 1902) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-17/#designs-from-kimono-pattern-books-ca-1902" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Designs from Kimono Pattern Books (ca. 1902)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">The Public Domain Review</h5>
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<p>
These designs capture a period of cultural change in Japan, when the kimono became increasingly associated with national mythmaking and tradition.
</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/unkindo-kimono-designs/">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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</div>
<h3 id="tweets" tabindex="-1">Tweets <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-news-17/#tweets" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/QniGWzbG62">pic.twitter.com/QniGWzbG62</a></p>— Effin' Birds (@EffinBirds) <a href="https://twitter.com/EffinBirds/status/1456033517205344259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/orFYCNOuck">pic.twitter.com/orFYCNOuck</a></p>— ATTICUS (@atticuspoetry) <a href="https://twitter.com/atticuspoetry/status/1455793880272719873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Book Review: Later by Stephen King2021-11-05T16:30:33Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/later-stephen-king/<p>Later is a Stephen King book that is part of the Hard Case Crime series, along The Colorado Kid and Joyland. It's a coming-of-age mystery with ghosts, so what's not to love?</p>
<p>The writing is great, with a good pacing for a book like that: not too rushed to give us time to feel the <em>vibes</em> (it's a ghost story mystery after all), but also not too slow to drive people of, or either too long that we feel like it's dragging. Just perfect pacing and length.</p>
<p>Jamie being the one telling us his story since the beginning made for a very pleasant reading experience. Like we should grab a cup of coffee (or glass of whiskey) and listen to him talk about his like.</p>
<p>It's also great to follow Jamie as he gets older and try to learn how to live with his ability. How his perceptions about it, about being able to see ghosts change over time, as he gets more mature, and things get more complicated.</p>
<p>By coincidence, that this is my second King book, and it also features a kid as the main character. What I have to say so far is that he does a great job at writing young characters, and their interactions with adults.</p>
<p><strong>Highly recommended!</strong></p>
<p>Some nice quotes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>So yeah, I see dead people. As far as I can remember, I always have. But it’s not like in that movie with Bruce Willis.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Smart people know a lot, and maybe that makes them think they know everything.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>He taught me a lot. But before the teaching, he listened.</p>
</blockquote>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Later</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Stephen King (2021)</h5>
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<p>The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine - as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54798175-later">Go To Link</a>
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</div>New books on my list (Nov. 2021)2021-11-03T16:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/new-books-on-tbr-2021/<p>Being interested in so many different things and genres is not easy. Paired with some good FOMO, and my to-read/watch lists just keep growing more and more. Still, let's see some books I recently got interested into!</p>
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<h2 id="to-be-read" tabindex="-1">To Be Read <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-books-on-tbr-2021/#to-be-read" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Saw some reviews praising and recommending this book, and the synopsis sound very interesting.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Last Night at the Telegraph Club</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Malinda Lo</h5>
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<p>“That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other.” And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its leaves and demanding to be shown the sun: “Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
</p><p>Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35224992-last-night-at-the-telegraph-club">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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<h2 id="very-interested" tabindex="-1">Very Interested <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-books-on-tbr-2021/#very-interested" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>The Hacienda is supposed to be something similar to Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which I LOVED. Still not released, but hopefully it's going to be good. Will wait a bit after release to check some reviews, but very interested already.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">The Hacienda</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Isabel Cañas</h5>
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<p>
Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca in this debut supernatural suspense novel, set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, about a remote house, a sinister haunting, and the woman pulled into their clutches...
</p><p>In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57840571-the-hacienda">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Zoraida Córdova</h5>
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<p>The Montoyas are used to a life without explanations. They know better than to ask why the pantry never seems to run low or empty, or why their matriarch won’t ever leave their home in Four Rivers—even for graduations, weddings, or baptisms. But when Orquídea Divina invites them to her funeral and to collect their inheritance, they hope to learn the secrets that she has held onto so tightly their whole lives. Instead, Orquídea is transformed, leaving them with more questions than answers...</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56898076-the-inheritance-of-orqu-dea-divina">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2 id="maybe" tabindex="-1">Maybe <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-books-on-tbr-2021/#maybe" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Mixed reviews for both The Wilder Girls, but in general people seemed to have enjoyed this one. I might get it, What Big Teeth or Horrid.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Wilder Girls</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Rory Power</h5>
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<p>It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her. \[...\]
</p><p>But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42505366-wilder-girls">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">What Big Teeth</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Rose Szabo</h5>
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<p>Eleanor Zarrin has been estranged from her wild family for years. When she flees boarding school after a horrifying incident, she goes to the only place she thinks is safe: the home she left behind. But when she gets there, she struggles to fit in with her monstrous relatives, who prowl the woods around the family estate and read fortunes in the guts of birds.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48560025-what-big-teeth">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Horrid</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Katrina Leno</h5>
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<p>From the author of You Must Not Miss comes a haunting contemporary horror novel that explores themes of mental illness, rage, and grief, twisted with spine-chilling elements of Stephen King and Agatha Christie.
</p><p>Following her father's death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor's doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone...and more tormented.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358142-horrid">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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<p>This one is not released yet, but I'm somewhat interested. Let's see how it goes when it's released.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">The Book of Living Secrets</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Madeleine Roux</h5>
<hr />
<p>This story follows two girls who transport themselves into the world of their favorite book only to encounter the sinister alternate reality that awaits them.
</p><p>No matter how different best friends Adelle and Connie are, one thing they’ve always had in common is their love of a little-known gothic romance novel called Moira. So when the girls are tempted by a mysterious stranger to enter the world of the book, they hardly suspect it will work. But suddenly they are in the world of Moira, living among characters they’ve obsessed about for years.</p>
<p>Except…all is not how they remembered it. The world has been turned upside down: The lavish balls and star-crossed love affairs are now interlaced with unspeakable horrors. The girls realize that something dark is lurking behind their foray into fiction—and they will have to rewrite their own arcs if they hope to escape this nightmare with their lives.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44432638-the-book-of-living-secrets">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>Music Corner 6: Lee Suhyun2021-11-01T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-lee-suhyun/<p>This weekend my wife and I were listening to some k-pop again, including Lee Suhyun. I was familiar with her work as AKMU (Akdong Musician), but somewhat recently we watched Mad For Each Other and she had a role there - and yes, she sings there. Also, she recorded a Lala Land cover with Lee Dongwook (Goblin, Strangers From Hell), and it's really nice.</p>
<p>So, let's start with this cool MV: Alien. I loved the visuals, specially the mix with cartoon/comics visuals.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GywDFkY3z-c">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Of course, I also need to share the cover mentioned before. They both worked so well together.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoxY6fX2sqo">bookmark</a></p>
<p>And to wrap up, she also covered BTS' Buter!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikhCYEALN84">bookmark</a></p>
<p>This weekend my wife and I were listening to some k-pop again, including<br />
Lee Suhyun.</p>
Checking Your Anime Recs And Favorites (Oct. 2021)2021-10-26T16:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/checking-your-anime-recs-and-favorites-oct.24-2021/<p>Let's just talk a little bit about anime and manga titles I've seen being recommended or talked about on the anime blogosphere.</p>
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<p>Irina had a very nice list of anime and manga about anime. What's not to love about that? The 2nd position in the list is <em>Shirobako</em>, which I love, and still have to watch the movie. <em>Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken</em> is a recent title that also caught my attention when it was airing, but I ended up forgetting about it. Maybe it's time to finally watch it.</p>
<p>Dewbond at Shallow Dives wrote a review of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S, which I had to skip some parts as I didn't finish it yet. It's strange to not want to see spoilers, considering I'm almost caught up with the manga. Anyway, this is one of my fav. anime/manga, and you should watch it!</p>
<p>Also, I've seen <em>Mother of Goddess Dormitory</em> being recommended at there and... I'm convinced, I guess? I was interested in it before it aired, but then decided not to start and now, seeing this post, I'm curious again. I admit that there was a specific image caption (and the related image) that convinced me. Can you spot which one? (<em>tip: it has the word uncensored in it</em>).</p>
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<div class="description">
<h4 class="myEmbed">Top 5 anime about Anime (or Manga) - I drink and watch anime</h4>
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<p>I love anime a lot so it makes sense that I would enjoy anime about anime (or manga). Here are 5 of my favourites." author:"I drink and watch anime</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://drunkenanimeblog.com/2021/09/24/top-5-anime-about-manga-and-anime/">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S: Twin Triumph</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">ShallowDivesInAnime</h5>
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<p>Even in a lackluster season, there is always one or two anime that stand out. For this show, I think having nothing really else that was ‘omg wow!” has helped it a lot. But I also think…</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://shallowdivesinanime.wordpress.com/2021/10/02/miss-kobayashis-dragon-maid-s-twin-triumph/">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Mother of Goddess Dormitory: Comedic Absurdity, with Ecchi</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">ShallowDivesInAnime</h5>
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<p>I said in my last post that this season has given us two shows that have reminded me of how much I love the ecchi and harem genres. We’ve discussed the first one, now it is time to talk about…</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://shallowdivesinanime.wordpress.com/2021/09/23/mother-of-goddess-dormitory-comedic-absurdity-with-ecchi/">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>Horror Book Recommendations2021-10-24T16:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/horror-book-recommendations/<p>October is almost done, and I just realized I never recommended any horror book here. Now, let's do it, in no particular order!</p>
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<h2 id="books" tabindex="-1">Books <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/horror-book-recommendations/#books" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="the-secret-life-of-laszlo-count-dracula" tabindex="-1">The Secret Life Of Laszlo, Count Dracula <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/horror-book-recommendations/#the-secret-life-of-laszlo-count-dracula" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This is a seriously, criminally underrated book. I've read it more than 10 years ago, and I'm still mad that I don't know anyone else, besides me and my sister, that read it. Written by a psychiatrist, takes a different approach at telling Dracula's tale: who was the human? How did the blood lust start? How did count Dracula, the human, fall in love with blood?</p>
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<div class="description">
<h4 class="myEmbed">The Secret Life Of Laszlo, Count Dracula</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Roderick Anscombe</h5>
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<p>In his mesmerizing fictional debut, psychiatrist Roderick Anscombe creates a stunning reinvention of the classic Dracula myth. In sweeping prose, this epic delves into the fevered mind of a man living two lives--a public healer and a private monster whose tormented psyche draws him into a world of violent emotion, bloodlust, and self-loathing.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1123376.The_Secret_Life_Of_Laszlo_Count_Dracula">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
<h3 id="conan-doyle-s-horror-short-stories" tabindex="-1">Conan Doyle's Horror Short Stories <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/horror-book-recommendations/#conan-doyle-s-horror-short-stories" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Readers are usually familiar with Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes' stories. But he also wrote great horror and supernatual short stories. I've the a compilation back in Brazil (The New Catacomb and other stories), but I guess any compilation would do. Check it our, you might be surprised!</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary…</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Arthur Conan Doyle</h5>
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<p>Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of those authors whose literary creation is much more famous than the man himself. Those who do know the name Arthur Conan Doyle tend to know him only as the inventor of the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. This two part anthology showcases his lesser know supernatural works.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23097080-study-in-terror">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
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<h3 id="mexican-gothic" tabindex="-1">Mexican Gothic <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/horror-book-recommendations/#mexican-gothic" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This was definitely one of my favorite books of last year, and many months after, I still want more. It's definitely a more slow-paced read, but it's SO damn intriguing and chilling. I love those 'haunted house' stories, and this one is a very welcome change from the usual ghosts/demons stories. I'm also VERY happy that it's being developed as limited series to Hulu.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Mexican Gothic</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Silvia Moreno-Garcia</h5>
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<p>After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53152636-mexican-gothic">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2 id="audio-dramas" tabindex="-1">Audio-dramas <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/horror-book-recommendations/#audio-dramas" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>How about some full-cast audio dramas?</p>
<h3 id="doctor-who-the-chimes-of-midnight" tabindex="-1">Doctor Who: The Chimes of Midnight <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/horror-book-recommendations/#doctor-who-the-chimes-of-midnight" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I absolutely loved the more scary Doctor Who episodes, and The Chimes of Midnight is a FANTASTIC horror mystery featuring the 8th doctor! It blends Agatha Christie mysteries with the best horror Doctor Who has to offer.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Doctor Who: The Chimes of Midnight</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Big Finish</h5>
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<p>Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring... But something must be stirring. Something hidden in the shadows. Something which kills the servants of an old Edwardian mansion in the most brutal and macabre manner possible. Exactly on the chiming of the hour, every hour, as the grandfather clock ticks on towards midnight.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1014769.Doctor_Who">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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<h3 id="dark-shadows-the-house-of-despair" tabindex="-1">Dark Shadows: The House of Despair <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/horror-book-recommendations/#dark-shadows-the-house-of-despair" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Dark shadows! Yes, there's the Johnny Depp movie that was not that successful (even though I had fun with it), but there's also the soap opera, AND a series of full cast audio books from Big Finish.</p>
<p>Dark Shadow: The House of Despair is GREAT, and, while a little bit of knowledge about who's who helps, a quick check on wikipedia might be enough, or you can even watch the show!</p>
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<div class="description">
<h4 class="myEmbed">Dark Shadows: The House of Despair</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">BigFinish</h5>
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<p>After years of wandering, Quentin Collins is coming home.. But the Collinwood that awaits him is no longer the sanctuary he remembers. As the inhabitants of the town of Collinsport hide in fear from other worldly powers. Quentin vows to unite old friends and reclaim the Collins family stronghold.. The Dark Shadows legend continues in this all-new hour-long audio drama, reuniting the cast of the classic ABC-TV series.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6240179-dark-shadows">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
<h3 id="the-scarifyers-the-nazad-conspiracy" tabindex="-1">The Scarifyers: The Nazad Conspiracy <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/horror-book-recommendations/#the-scarifyers-the-nazad-conspiracy" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>For something a bit more comedic, how about two detectives investigating the occult in 1939 London? The Scarifyers is very fun and entertaining, and a delight to listen to!</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">The Scarifyers: The Nazad Conspiracy (Scarifyers, #1)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Big Finish</h5>
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<p>Ghost story writer Professor Dunning (Terry Molloy) doesn't believe in the supernatural. So he's more than surprised when an invisible winged demon appears in his drawing room.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11505074-the-scarifyers">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
New mechanical keyboard: Dygma Raise2021-10-23T17:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/new-mechanical-keyboard-dygma-raise/<p>I've got a new keyboard and it's fantastic! Let's check my Dygma Raise split mechanical keyboard.</p>
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<p>The reason I was looking for a split keyboard is that, for a long time, I've been having some pain on my right wrist. Being able to use type with my hands and arms in a more natural position should help, so I decided to go with it. I considered a Kinesis, Ergodox Ez, Moonlander, and Dygma, but in the end went with the Dygma, and I'm very happy.</p>
<p>The reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li>Can switch the switches, a must have that the Kinesis lacks;</li>
<li>Staggered keyboard. Ortholinear might have been great, but it's another thing to get used to, so...</li>
<li>Thumb keys placement and ability to join the keyboard. Ergodox and Moonlander don't have that</li>
</ol>
<p>I got it with the Kailh Silent Brown switches - tactile 45g switches. I also ordered Kailh Silent Pinks along with the tenting kit, which should arrive December. The tenting kit is basically to incline the keyboard sideways, so my hands are not parallel with the desk.</p>
<p>So far so good, my pain really diminished, and it's also really nice to be able to configure the keys and have multiple functions in each one.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/rVVfEr8.jpg" alt="Dygma Raise Keiboard" /></p>
Watched Recently: Oct. 17th 20212021-10-17T17:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/watched-recently-oct-17-2021/<p>Let's talk a bit about what I've been watching!</p>
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<h3 id="movies-watched" tabindex="-1">Movies Watched <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched-recently-oct-17-2021/#movies-watched" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I've been mostly watching TV shows, but wanted to have a change and go for movies, so this weekend I watched a couple: Groundhog Day and Free Guy.</p>
<p>Groundhog Day is one of those classic <em>old-ish</em> movies that's part of pop culture, but I've never watched it. I was actually specifically looking for 80s/early 90s comedies to watch and saw it was available on Netflix. It's funny, has Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell in it, and it's about being stuck in a time loop in a small town. What's not to love?</p>
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<p>Then I ended up getting Disney+ again for a month, and saw that Free Guy was available there, so decided to give it a try. It's about online games like Fornite/Free Fire, and it's nice for a Saturday evening. It's a Ryan Reynolds action comedy so you know what you're getting!</p>
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<h3 id="ongoing-shows" tabindex="-1">Ongoing Shows <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched-recently-oct-17-2021/#ongoing-shows" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I started watching Seinfeld just as a way to have something that's not Youtube and... I'm on season 3 already 😂. If you like Friends and other comedies like that, it's great and I definitely recommend.</p>
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<p>I also started watching Hotel Del Luna, but stopped at episode 5. I might continue soon, it's just that so far, for some reason, it didn't get me that much hooked.</p>
<h3 id="shows-seasons-finished" tabindex="-1">Shows/Seasons Finished <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched-recently-oct-17-2021/#shows-seasons-finished" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Before starting Seinfeld, I've finished two recent seasons: Ted Lasso and Archer. I never expected to love Ted Lasso that much, specially considering I'm not big into sports. But it's SO GOOD! The second season just finished airing, and it was planed to last 3 seasons. Which is good as they know where they are headed instead of just seeing if they can get another season or not.</p>
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<p>And Archer's been big on me since IDK... 5 or 6 years ago? I absolutely love it, and I'm glad there's going to be at least one more season in the future. I couldn't find the trailer for season 1, but if you don't mind some spoilers, here's trailer for the newest season :)</p>
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<p>Yes, I also watched Squid Game, and Midnight Mass and before that I finished the last season of Jack Whitehall: Travels With My Father.</p>
<p>Midnight Mass is an amazing horror limited-series, from the same people that brought us The Haunting of Hill House. And Travels With My Father is a great travel-comedy show with comedian Jack Whitehall and his father (basically, the title)</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/k4XL6ybNOuM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>New vinyl records: Oct. 16th 20212021-10-16T23:30:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/new-vinyl-records-2021-10-16/<p>Recently I've got a few more records. Let's check them!</p>
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<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/halsey-wallows.jpeg" alt="Vinyl records: Halsey and Wallows" /></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/morphine.jpeg" alt="Vinyl record: Morphine, Cure for Pain" /></p>
<p>I ended up deciding to get <em>Halsey - If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power</em>. I never paid too much attention to Halsey before, but was curious, and after listening to her new album, I got hooked. It's great, so I ended up getting it.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/7Azv0G85lh8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>Wallows I bought for my wife when we were at Urban Outfitters. She likes that and it was cheap, so it just made sense to get it.</p>
<p>Now, for THAT ONE RECORD I wanted for a long time: <em>Morphine - Cure for Pain</em>. A friend of mine introduced me to Morphine years ago, and I immediately fell in love with it. Since it's an older band that it's not that mainstream, the records can go easily over CAD$200 or 400, except for Cure For Pain, which seems to be getting the occasional re-release. I missed it a couple times, but now I finally snatched it. Maybe someday I'll be able to get a brand new <em>Yes.</em></p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/BgvBWR0Tr7I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>If you wanna check my complete colletion, check my <a href="https://www.discogs.com/user/falconsensei/collection">Discogs profile</a>.</p>
Music 2021-10-11T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-5/<p>Recently I got a new record: Sam Smith live at Abbey Road Studios. I like Sam Smith, but absolutely loved this album. Those versions are cleaner - for lack of a better word - and delightful to listen to. Then I discovered that it's also available on Netflix for everyone to watch, so I say: go there and check it out!</p>
<p>A couple are available on Youtube, which you can check below!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loh6M3VR8jk">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TpfF9_lk_g">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTEfYyLmANw">bookmark</a></p>
Reading Now (Oct 9, 2021)2021-10-10T01:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/reading-now-20211009/<p>Recently I've been reading a bit more again. I've got a few books in the past couple months, and had a great time with the ones I've read so far.</p>
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<p>In the last few weeks I read <strong>Black Water Sister</strong> and <strong>Later</strong> and loved both of them!</p>
<p>Then I've started <strong>The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist</strong>, which is a transcription of three presentations Richard P. Feynman made. So far so good, and I should be finishing that one soon.</p>
<p>I was thinking about what to start next for my fiction reading, and like my mind was being read, I've got an email from Indigo with the new releases and staff picks, which included The Lighthouse Witches, a book that just released and OMG, it looks so beautiful and interesting.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/244627543_1213333155836129_2079068633666561123_n-1.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<div class="blog-card undefined">
<div class="meta">
<div class="photo" style="background-image: url(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1621523851i/57310655.jpg)"></div>
</div>
<div class="description">
<h4 class="myEmbed">The Lighthouse Witches</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">C.J. Cooke</h5>
<hr />
<p>
Two sisters go missing on a remote Scottish island. Twenty years later, one is found--but she's still the same age as when she disappeared. The secrets of witches have reached across the centuries in this chilling Gothic thriller from the author of the acclaimed The Nesting.
</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57310655-the-lighthouse-witches">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blog-card undefined">
<div class="meta">
<div class="photo" style="background-image: url(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582555657i/51661545.jpg)"></div>
</div>
<div class="description">
<h4 class="myEmbed">The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Richard P. Feynman</h5>
<hr />
<p>In this series of lectures originally given in 1963, which remained unpublished during Richard Feynman's lifetime, the Nobel-winning physicist thinks aloud on several "meta"-questions of science. What is the nature of the tension between science and religious faith? Why does uncertainty play such a crucial role in the scientific imagination? Is this really a scientific age?
</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17375.The_Meaning_of_It_All">Go To Link</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
Reading Stats So Far: September 20212021-09-19T21:44:50Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/reading-stats-so-far-sept2021/<p>I've been traking how much I'm reading, and below are my hourly totals for each month. So far it's been a rollercoaster, but I hope those last few months of 2021 are going to be better.</p>
<p>Small note on the categories: Books that 'teach' me something are categorized under the <em>learn</em> category. These are books about mythoogy, poetry, etc, while for <em>non-fiction</em> would be a biography, for example.</p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Month</th>
<th>Total</th>
<th>Fiction</th>
<th>Non-fiction</th>
<th>Learn</th>
<th>Manga</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>January</td>
<td>15:25</td>
<td>13:25</td>
<td>2:00</td>
<td>0:00</td>
<td>0:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>February</td>
<td>19:00</td>
<td>15:04</td>
<td>0:37</td>
<td>2:20</td>
<td>0:59</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>March</td>
<td>10:07</td>
<td>7:04</td>
<td>0:00</td>
<td>3:03</td>
<td>0:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>April</td>
<td>6:29</td>
<td>4:44</td>
<td>0:00</td>
<td>0:53</td>
<td>0:52</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>May</td>
<td>9:29</td>
<td>7:19</td>
<td>0:00</td>
<td>0:26</td>
<td>1:44</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>June</td>
<td>15:41</td>
<td>11:55</td>
<td>0:00</td>
<td>0:00</td>
<td>3:46</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>July</td>
<td>5:31</td>
<td>0:41</td>
<td>0:00</td>
<td>3:08</td>
<td>1:42</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>August</td>
<td>7:13</td>
<td>2:38</td>
<td>0:00</td>
<td>0:00</td>
<td>4:35</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Total</td>
<td>88:55</td>
<td>62:50</td>
<td>2:37</td>
<td>9:50</td>
<td>13:38</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>So far, the only non-fiction book I was reading this year was <em>H is for Hawk</em>, which is currently on hold, but I hope I get back to it before the end of the year.</p>
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Geekosaur News #16: Dropping Duolingo, Studying Poetry, And More2021-07-27T03:53:03Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-16/<p>So, I took quite a break from the blog and this newsletter. There are a lot of reasons, but an important one is that it was low priority and I didn't have much desire or ideas to write. And I guess my Jamstack for the blog doesn't help, as it not as easy as using wordpress or blogger to write and publish. Not that it's hard, but a couple extra steps.</p>
<p>I even flirted a bit with Revue, a newsletter website that was bought by Twitter, but for now I think I'll keep this newsletter as blog posts, as in the end I always find limitations and annoyances with those blog/newsletter services.</p>
<p>But anyway, I plan on returning, even if with a less strict schedule and maybe less posting overall. I still like to talk about what I've been up to, and specially recommend stuff that I think is good.</p>
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<h2 id="thought-dropping-duolingo" tabindex="-1">Thought: Dropping Duolingo <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-16/#thought-dropping-duolingo" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I was already a bit unhappy with Duolingo recently. It was so good many years ago when I was using it for French. But now some things that made it great are gone - or possibly, behind the pro plan. Things like the space repetition, which is one of the most important things. You can still go back and redo older lessons, but the whole 'review words you might be forgetting' is just not there anymore.</p>
<p>Also, while I'm slowly learning a bit of vocabulary, I'm not sure I'm actually progressing much, and I think with French I was making more progress, as I used Schaum's Outline of French Grammar along with Duolingo. Of course, I can still use Duolingo along with my (still unused) edition of Schaum's Outline of German Grammar. But I feel like there's a bit of pressure to keep Duolingo's streak going and, while it helps me do a bit almost every day, it might take away from opportunities to learn from books, Youtube channels, and more.</p>
<p>On Youtube, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3_iSRqqZ7DTVlBNd9lv8jA">Days Of French-n-Swedish</a> has some great videos criticizing Duolingo, specially after many updates that might have made it less useful. And I think I'm starting to agree with at least part of the sentiment.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I need to focus on some other stuff for a while, so my German learning might be impacted for now, and I probably won't start Schaum's grammar for now, but I guess that's going to be the direction once I have more time and energy. Also, will try to go back to Youtube - both channels for German learning, and music.</p>
<h2 id="recommendation" tabindex="-1">Recommendation <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-16/#recommendation" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I've started the second season of Cosmos, with Neil deGrasse Tyson, and it's very good. I highly recommend the 1st season, and so far the 2nd season is as good as the first. There's more information here on <a href="https://trakt.tv/shows/cosmos-2014">Trakt.tv</a>.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/_erVOAbz420" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="what-i-ve-been-learning" tabindex="-1">What I've Been Learning <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-16/#what-i-ve-been-learning" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I already had some desire to learn about poetry, and also read a bit. With Dickinson (on AppleTV), that desire grew, and I ended up getting a a few poetry books on paper and Kindle, and also <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Poetry-101/Susan-Dalzell/Adams-101/9781507208397">Poetry 101 (Simon and Schuster)</a> on a Humble Bundle. I started reading the 101 book and I'm almost 30% in, and loving it so far.</p>
<h2 id="what-i-ve-been-doing" tabindex="-1">What I've Been Doing <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-16/#what-i-ve-been-doing" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I've been playing Monster Hunter Stories 2 on Nintendo Switch. I'm watching Beastars (S02), Central Park (S02), Ted Lasso (S02) and a couple reality TV shows: Tiny House Big Living and To Catch a Smuggler.</p>
<p>Yesterday I watched The Woman In The Window (<a href="https://trakt.tv/movies/the-woman-in-the-window-2021">trakt.tv link</a>), and I thought it was good. Nothing exceptional, but not nearly as bad as the ratings made me think.</p>
<h2 id="want-to-buy" tabindex="-1">Want To Buy <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-16/#want-to-buy" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Currently I want a couple books from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, who wrote Mexican Gothic and Gods of Jade And Shadow. The books are:</p>
<p><img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/516eKXho+iS.jpg" alt="Velvet Was The Night" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p>From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a “delicious, twisted treat for lovers of noir” about a daydreaming secretary, a lonesome enforcer, and the mystery of a missing woman they’re both desperate to find.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51pIp66bJXL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" alt="Untamed Shore" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Renowned author Silvia Moreno-Garcia's first thriller, Untamed Shore, is a coming-of-age story set in Mexico which quickly turns dark when a young woman meets three enigmatic tourists.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="new-things-that-i-got" tabindex="-1">New Things That I Got <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-16/#new-things-that-i-got" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-dnt="true" data-theme="light"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today my Evangelion vinyl record arrived. Didn't listened to it yet because I was so tired today.<br />Played some Codenames with work ppl, including a new person that started this week.<br />Watched Central Park and Ted Lasso <a href="https://t.co/NvEgiwQRMc">pic.twitter.com/NvEgiwQRMc</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1418814834083303427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Look at what arrived today: My 8bitdo pro 2 controller :D <a href="https://t.co/iJ1PBhCCEz">pic.twitter.com/iJ1PBhCCEz</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1419867269111246849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h2 id="goals-for-near-future" tabindex="-1">Goals For Near Future <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-16/#goals-for-near-future" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<ul>
<li>Prepare for driver's licence knowledge test</li>
<li>Start some sleep hygiene habits and tracking</li>
<li>Exercise more</li>
<li>Study German (more immersion, and start Schaum's grammar)</li>
<li>Finish Poetry 101;</li>
<li>Restart Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer</li>
<li>Finish The Hatmakers, by Tamzin Merchant (audiobook)</li>
<li>Spend less time on social media and procrastinating, more on my 'general learning' Youtube account (watch TedEd, for example) or working on my goals</li>
</ul>
Geekosaur News #15: TV Shows And Games2021-05-30T23:08:42Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-15/<p>Another busy week at work, but now things will settle down for a while. And while I wasn't much online this week - being away from the computer when not working - I did enjoy some great TV shows on stream.</p>
<p>I think starting next week I can start having content recommendations and comments again :)</p>
<p><img src="https://media1.giphy.com/media/UtV2anPu7ryuRQ4DmQ/giphy.gif" alt="" /></p>
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<h2 id="watching" tabindex="-1">Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-15/#watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="new-shows" tabindex="-1">New Shows <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-15/#new-shows" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>If you follow me on Twitter, you might have seen me mentioning Central Park and Dickinson a few times. They are both AppleTv+ originals, and since we got a free year, I decided to give them a try.</p>
<p>Central Park has one season out, and another coming soon. It's a musical comedy cartoon about a rich old woman trying to buy Central Park to transform it into condos, and the main characters are the family of the park's manager. The first episode is nice, but it gets way better and addicting after it. Definitely worth the time, and I'm excited for the next season</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/mvrXv63y4kI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>And Dickinson is a historical drama-comedy about Emily Dickinson. I like the approach they used, in what it takes place in the correct time period, but the characters talk - and sometimes act - in a more contemporary fashion. This makes the comedy elements work way better, and it also gives a better sense of relatability for the general audience. It's very binge-able, and actually hard to stop watching! Also, the show definitively sparked more interest in poetry.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/7O9jAHUlT8E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="new-seasons" tabindex="-1">New seasons <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-15/#new-seasons" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Lucifer is back! And from Friday up to now I already watched like, 5 episodes, which is a lot for me. This new (part of a) season is fun, and it was worth the wait. Ragnarok is back with its 2nd season, and the first episode was nice!</p>
<h2 id="gaming" tabindex="-1">Gaming <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-15/#gaming" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Played a bit of Bomberman Online on Switch and it was alright, but what I'm really excited for is Virtua Fighter on PS4! I loved playing it with my friends on PS2 and PS3, and I think it's the best 3D fighter franchise.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dAzx2zh5DDA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
My Old Blogs Names Part 12021-05-24T17:52:54Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/my-old-blogs-names-part-1/<p>In the <a href="https://searchofno9.wordpress.com/2021/05/23/the-otakusphere-good-romances-bad-detectives-and-realism/">latest Otakusphere</a>, Iniksbane mentions how <a href="https://moyatorium.wordpress.com/">Moyatorium</a> is their favorite name for a blog, which I kinda have to agree. Compared to all blog names I ever had, it's on a whole other level of coolness.</p>
<p>But I realized I also never talked about this title blog's domain, my previous ones, and my complete incompetency at coming up with a <s>great</s> decent name and sticking with it. So let's chat a bit about my blogging adventures through the decades.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/tumblr-adventuresingoodtaste.png" alt="" /></p>
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<p>I'm pretty old to blogging overall. Used Fotolog as a personal blogging tool for quite some time, posting personal updates, but also some writings that I occasionally did. At that time my fotolog was <strong>Shadow Gonoman</strong>, because Gonoman was a fake super-sentai squad that a friend invented. Then at some point I also created <strong>Baka Neko</strong>, which I used a few times to post my teenage hurty-feeling ramblings.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/gLoMtU7.gif" alt="Fotolog was kinda neat. I had cool online friends and made - and posted - so many memories there" /></p>
<p><em>Doing a very quick check for Shadow Gonoman on Wayback Machine - which unfortunately didn't store the pics - got me to a guest post that a <s>crush</s> friend made there. Oh, the nostalgia!</em></p>
<p>I remember I also had Xanga and Posterous at some point, but only for a short while. Of course, I had multiple Tumblrs, on two different accounts. Some of them I can't remember my main name, as the account was deleted I think? Probably because the lack of use, or during the big Tumblr purge. Which is a shame, I don't like losing stuff - I hope my fotolog backup is safe and sound.</p>
<p>On Tumblr, it was too easy to have numerous 'blogs', and most being actually only used for 're-tumblr-ing' (?). I changed names occasionally, but what I had at the end for my main was <strong>Mais Ou Menos Util</strong> (<strong>More Or Less Useful</strong>). Apparently - according to my emails - one of my tumblr names was <strong>Mundane Utility</strong>, based on another with the same name, but in Portuguese. Which I think was also mine. Also had one that was <strong>Sharing Randomness.</strong></p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/tumblr-list.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>Then, <strong>My Life Rhapsody</strong> was one that I used for personal stuff, and locked behind a password, used mostly for dumping pics and notes on whatever I was doing. And at some point I started <strong>Adventures In Good Taste</strong> to try to write a bit in English and practice. There were also some other small things that were short-lived there, only to share some things</p>
<p><em>Talking about Tumblr, there was a friend of mine that had one that translated as I Want Cheese - <a href="http://queroqueijo.tumblr.com/">queroqueijo.tumblr.com</a> - that's quite an interesting title!</em></p>
<p><em>For a short while I also used Yahoo's Tumblr alternative (before Yahoo bought it), until they killed it, but it was very brief.</em></p>
<p>I think my most successful and long lasting blog were on Blogger/Blogspot, and the I moved to Wordpress, and to Hugo, and back to Wordpress, and Hugo again. But that's something for the next post 🙂</p>
<p>List so far:</p>
<ul>
<li>Shadow Gonoman</li>
<li>Baka Neko</li>
<li>More Or Less Useful</li>
<li>Sharing Randomness</li>
<li>Adventures In Good Taste</li>
<li>My Life Rhapsody</li>
</ul>
<p>Hope you liked this trip down my memory lane, and hope to see you in the next part!</p>
Geekosaur News #14: Sad Manga News, The Manga/Anime Takeover, And What I'm Up To2021-05-23T04:34:35Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-14/<p>These past couple weeks have been busy, but I hope things are going to fall back into schedule soon.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/H0RpY1H.png" alt="Fanfic as old as time" /></p>
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<h2 id="manga-news" tabindex="-1">Manga News <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-14/#manga-news" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This week we had the sad news that Kentaro Miura, Berserk's creator, died at 54 victim of aortic tear - something that apparently is normally caused by chronic high blood pressure and long term stress. That is really sad and painful to hear, as we already know that people working in the anime and manga industry are often overworked and underpaid.</p>
<p>Although I never read Berserk, I'm very aware of it's influence on both Eastern and Western culture, having influenced so many other creators and creations.</p>
<p>I hope the industry continues to shift towards a more flexible - or at least humane - schedule for everyone involved in creating these stories that we love so much. I get really happy when I see that some new manga series are having a lighter schedule, with 1 or 2 weeks off every month. I hope that platforms like the digital version of Shonen Jump allow them to take more breaks or deliver shorter chapters as necessary.</p>
<p>In some highly contrasting - and better news - is that the manga industry seems to be doing incredibly well overseas. While American comic books from the big (and many small) publishers keep getting more and more repetitive, political, and diversity-checkbox-filling, manga continues to thrive by telling stories that are engaging and people actually want to read.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, I love comics, but it can get repetitive quite fast, and the fear of trying something new, offending someone, or not checking enough diversity boxes is troublesome. Dannphan has an interesting video about the topic.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ch0vqHvz4EY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="personal" tabindex="-1">Personal <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-14/#personal" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="gaming" tabindex="-1">Gaming <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-14/#gaming" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I've FINALLY finished Streets of Rage 4 on Nintendo Switch. I stopped playing quite some time ago and ended up not getting back to it, but I'm glad I went back and finished. Now I just need to wait for the DLC :)</p>
<p>Late June I'll be getting Zombies Ate My Neighbors, which is a game that I loved when I was younger, but didn't get to play much because I didn't have a SNES. And on early July I'll get Monster Hunter Stories 2, which I already preordered. I'm also looking forward to Legend of Mana but unfortunately, it's coming late June, and I don't want to pile up 3 new games, as I also expect to be reading more manga by that time.</p>
<h3 id="watching" tabindex="-1">Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-14/#watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I'm still slowly watching Snowpiercer Season 2 on Netflix, and I started watching Dickinson with my wife on AppleTv. The first 3 episodes are really fun, and I'm excited to watch more. It reminded me that one of my goals for the year is to read poetry, and it's also a nice incentive. I have a collection of Poe's poetry and another of English Romantic Poetry.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/aF7Ao0bhoDw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="reading" tabindex="-1">Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-14/#reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I read vol. 2 of Mieruko-chan, which was fun and hinted that the manga might be starting to get a bit more into it's horror side, and also focus more on a plot instead of self-contained chapters. Hope vol. 3 is great!</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/mieruko-chan-vol2.jpg" alt="Nothing to see here" /></p>
<p>Not reading anything ATM, but THIS is some cool news. Loved reading the original Perry Rhodan series years ago, and I highly recommend everyone to try NEO!</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WAIT A MOMENT... <a href="https://twitter.com/jnovelclub?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jnovelclub</a> is translating the best and biggest SciFi book series of all time?<br /><br />Perry Rhodan NEO, here I come!!! <a href="https://t.co/iJrg1ytUsB">pic.twitter.com/iJrg1ytUsB</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1395595863641137158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<h3 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-14/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Recently I received 2 new vinyl records: Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (Moonlight Edition) and FLCL Progressive / Alternative OST. I got the last FLCL record on Amazon Canada, THAT was luck!</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Arrived today: Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (Moonlight Edition) <a href="https://t.co/V26wQYoP8W">pic.twitter.com/V26wQYoP8W</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1394113773493919745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Look at what arrived today: FLCL progressive/alternative record <a href="https://t.co/Qi3yWhtp1S">pic.twitter.com/Qi3yWhtp1S</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1394459750666887171?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Starting Less New TV Shows For Now2021-05-13T05:00:32Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/starting-less-new-tv-shows/<p><em>Too many cool TV shows, too little time to watch all of them. Who else has this problem?</em></p>
<p>It's a common scenario for me: start a new TV show, watch it over a week or two, and then wait a whole year for the next season. But then when the next season arrives, you are already watching so many other new TV shows that you end up leaving it for later, but never go back to it.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/notion-tv-board-may2021.png" alt="52 paused, 120 abandoned. That's a lot!" /></p>
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<p>On April I decided to organize my TV shows, and see which ones I'm waiting for new seasons, and which ones I have on pause (on completely abandoned). I also decided not to start many new TV shows for a while, trying to at least juggle between the ones that I stopped watching and the new shiny shows. <em>I still have 4 episodes of Breaking Bad left to finish.</em></p>
<p>The main reason is obvious: don't leave so many shows that I truly enjoy unfinished. But there's also another perk of it, something that TRULY bother me with Western TV shows, which I liked with K-Dramas. It's the fact that so many western TV shows are either plain cancelled without a proper ending, or keep going way past their welcome (and might be cancelled anyway).</p>
<p>So many shows seemed interesting, but weren't renewed for a second (or third) season, and sometimes left a huge cliffhanger, or too many unanswered questions. If I spend a bit more time catching up with shows that might be having more success and getting renewed, then later I can decide if that new show is worth my time or not.</p>
<p>Kyle XY is the earliest example of this that I can remember: It literally ended with a guy saying <em>I'm your father</em> to the main character. Why did you do this to me? It was a fun show nonetheless, and it had Jamie Alexander in it, so I'm not completely complaining. But it's frustrating, of course.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/MQTZlfM.gif" alt="How I feel not knowing what happens next!" /></p>
<p>So, I guess I'll try to balance more new shows vs ones I've already stated, trying not to leave way too many shows on hold. And as for new shows, I'll give a preference to the ones that I could watch the first season alone, without having to worry if a second doesn't come - or it's too bad I don't wanna watch.</p>
<p>The same thing I'll apply to anime and manga, because OMG THAT'S PILING UP.</p>
<p>Let me know in your replies which/how many shows, anime and manga you pused but never got back to!</p>
Geekosaur News #13: Busy Week And Books2021-05-10T03:25:09Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-13/<p>Busy week didn't let me check much online content this week, but at least I kept reading and managed to finish a book today!</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-13/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This OST is so god, and so nostalgic to me! It brings me back to the early 2000s when I was making new anime-lover friends, going to my first conventions, and we finally were getting some cool mangas (like Card Captor Sakura) published. One of the first few songs - Groovy - is one of my favs, I think.</p>
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<h2 id="reading" tabindex="-1">Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-13/#reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Today I finished reading Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I got this one because last year I read Mexican Gothic and it was absolutely fantastic, so I decided to get something else form the same author. I enjoyed it a little bit less than Mexican Gothic (which is a newer book) which is kind of a high bar anyway. I still had fun, and recommend it anyway :)</p>
<p>This week my pre-order of The End Of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack arrived. I'm excited to read it, and might start after I finish Mythos by Stephen Fry. She has a cool Twitter profile, and I suggest you to follow her there if you are interested in the Cosmos: <a href="https://twitter.com/AstroKatie">AstroKatie</a>!</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">New book arrived today: The End Of Everything by <a href="https://twitter.com/AstroKatie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AstroKatie</a>. Preordered this one a while ago. Excited to start it as soon as I finish Mythos <a href="https://t.co/JeXD7gOeU2">pic.twitter.com/JeXD7gOeU2</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1390905359988969473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Tomorrow I should also receive another book, The Ones We're Meant To Find, which I'll start reading in place of Gods Of Jade And Shadow - as I'm trying to keep reading a fiction and a non-fiction book at 'the same time'.</p>
<h2 id="other" tabindex="-1">Other <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-13/#other" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>On Thursday May 6th, I completed 2 year working at Indeed, and I'm very happy. Getting that job offer, moving to Vancouver, meeting awesome people that work there, it's been really great!</p>
<p>I also got into the 'Diamond League' on Duolingo, and I hope I can keep slowly but steadily learning German. Can't wait until I can actually read something or interact with people on Twitter in German.</p>
<p>Last week I mentioned that I wanted to try journaling more on Notion. That didn't go that well, but at least I'm keeping up with the daily tweets!</p>
Books of 2021 So Far (April 2021)2021-05-04T04:51:17Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/books-read-until-2021-april/<p>One of my goals for this year is to read more: books, manga, articles, poetry, anything. This is part of something that gets more and more important to me every year as I get older, which is spending time on things that are worth my time.</p>
<p>I can also play games and watch great shows and movies, of course, but I think reading is a great way for me to focus, and be away from the computer and smartphone.</p>
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<p>I haven't read A LOT, by any standards, but is great to be tracking that nonetheless, as if you don't measure, it's harder to know how you are doing.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/dNDIcVG.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>I knew April didn't go well, but I didn't think it was going to be like that. It's important to note that I wasn't actually tracking manga until the last day of April, so those 3 Ranma 1/2 omnibuses that I read weren't accounted for.</p>
<p>One of the reasons April was so bad is that I was programming at night, doing a script for exporting <a href="http://trakt.tv/">Trakt.tv</a> data, and other things. So it was not like it went to waste, but it's a reminder for me to limit some of my activities, or even in some cases, find faster alternatives. For example: I was going to also export data from Anilist, but in the end, I'll just get their <code>xml</code> export and use any online service to convert that to csv or json. Or see if there's any site that will export directly to <code>csv</code>.</p>
<p>This year so far I've finished the following books:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Word is Murder (started on 2020) (<a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/book-review-the-word-is-murder-by-anthony-horowitz/">Review</a>) (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36919462-the-word-is-murder">Goodreads</a>)</li>
<li>False Idols (The Dragon Lords #2) (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38369361-false-idols">Goodreads</a>)</li>
<li>The Institute (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50892339-the-institute">Goodreads</a>)</li>
<li>Bad Faith (The Dragon Lords #3) (<a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/finished-the-dragon-lords-books/">Review</a>) (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37760729-bad-faith">Goodreads</a>)</li>
</ul>
<p>And the following manga volumes:</p>
<ul>
<li>Ranma 1/2: omnibuses 1 to 3 (corresponding to vols. 1 to 6) (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18223762-ranma-1-2-vol-1">Goodreads</a>)</li>
<li>Mieruko-chan Vol. 1 (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54760327-mieruko-chan-vol-1">Goodreads</a>)</li>
</ul>
<p>Now I'm currently reading Gods of Jade and Shadow (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49185974-gods-of-jade-and-shadow">Goodreads</a>), and Mythos (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46228086-mythos">Goodreads</a>).</p>
<p>I truly believe May is going to be better for reading, as I'm more excited to be reading books and manga than April, and I'll be putting more focus on it. Great to waste less time mindlessly scrolling on Instagram, Reddit and Twitter, or watching people browsing Reddit on Youtube.</p>
<p>Before I go: what are you folks reading? (Anything goes)</p>
Geekosaur News #12: Books, Manga And More2021-05-02T18:15:46Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-12/<p>Warm and sunny Sunday here for me, and I wish everyone is having a great weekend.</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-12/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I already shared Raon Lee previously here quite some time ago, but here I go again! Her Digimon cover is fantastic, and the has so many great content. I suggest just listening to all her covers.</p>
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<h2 id="online-content" tabindex="-1">Online Content <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-12/#online-content" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Cari is a vlogger that lives in South Korea, but also has a separate channel about books. This video is great as it has STANDALONE fantasy recommendations. That's so welcome, specially if you want to read some fantasy, but get turned off by the usual commitment of at least 3 books.</p>
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<h2 id="manga" tabindex="-1">Manga <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-12/#manga" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I'm still reading Ranma 1/2, and recently finished the 3rd omnibus (vols. 5 & 6), and got the 4th omnibus, with the 5th coming up anytime soon (Amazon doesn't have a delivery date yet). It's being fun and lighthearted, kind of a cozy harem/fighting manga.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/HIG69l5.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Also, after seeing a post about Mieruko-chan on Irina's blog and the comments section, I decided to give it a go, and also test my wife's iPad to read. The first volume is fun, but it leaves the impression that it could get repetitive soon. But the comments I've seen say that it gets better and changes from a comedy manga to a more compelling mystery and horror blend. I'll get the second volume soon and see how it goes!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/kO9BYST.jpg?1" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="books" tabindex="-1">Books <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-12/#books" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I'm back at reading Mythos by Stephen Fry, and a little bit of Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.</p>
<h2 id="watching" tabindex="-1">Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-12/#watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Besides My Hero Academia and My Wife and Kids, I'm not watching anything. The 3rd and final season of Ducktales was supposed to be released on Disney+ on April 30th, but didn't show up here (Canada). I'm not sure about which show or anime to start (or continue) now, and there are so many movies (live and anime) that I just don't know what to watch. Also, I get too lazy to watch something for almost 2 hours 😂</p>
<h2 id="personal-updates" tabindex="-1">Personal Updates <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-12/#personal-updates" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I started a daily tweet thread on Twitter. Although I might not post on some days, the goal is to have sort of a simple journal/diary. I did that back in 2017 on Mastodon, and recently stumbled upon it, and was nice to have those memories there. I tried journaling in Notion previously, but I ended up abandoning it. I think Twitter's interactions and convenience to post might be an incentive to do it more regularly. With that being said, I intend to try using Notion again for more detailed and private notes, while keeping the short tweets there.</p>
<p>This week me and my wife repotted our plants to new self-watering pots with water level indicators. Our living room feels so cozy now. We also have a terrarium.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/TiPDJId.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/fJoK1cx.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<hr />
<p>That's it for this week. Hope you enjoyed and leave a comment if you have manga suggestions, any comments on Mieruko chan, or just anything to mention :D</p>
<p>I'll leave you with another Digimon cover by Raon Lee</p>
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Automating Things: Downloading Reddit Media Part #22021-04-28T04:11:01Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/automating-downloading-reddit-images-part2/<p>Recently I shared a post on how to automate <a href="https://geekosaur.com/posts/automating-downloading-reddit-images/">downloading images and videos from Reddit comments</a>, as well as saving links present in those comments. Today I'm adding one extra step, and making it also find the correct posts for me. That way I can download screenshots and videos for a whole show!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/9u3PBtG.png" alt="" /></p>
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<p>We already have a script that is able to download an entire post. So, how can we easily find all the discussion posts for an anime? The answer is way simpler than you may think:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">def search_posts(reddit, query='', subreddit='anime', sort='new', t='year', flair='Episode', l=None):
if flair and flair != '':
query = ' '.join((query, 'flair_name:"{}"'.format(flair)))
sr = reddit.subreddit(subreddit)
post_list = sr.search(query, sort=sort, syntax='lucene',
time_filter=t, limit=l)
posts = [post.id for post in post_list]
return posts
</code></pre>
<p>This <code>search_posts</code> function receives a few parameters, and some have default values to make usage simpler. They are:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>reddit</code>: an instance of the <code>praw</code> object we use to interact with Reddit's API</li>
<li><code>query</code>: the actual search, which for us is the anime title + season (optional). I.e: <code>Boku No Hero Academia</code> or <code>Boku No Hero Academia Season 5</code></li>
<li><code>subreddit</code>: the desired subreddit. Default is <code>anime</code></li>
<li><code>sort</code>: The order of the results. Let's have <code>new</code> as default</li>
<li><code>t</code>: Time. Defaults to a year</li>
<li><code>flair</code>: Anime discussions use the <code>Episode</code> flair</li>
<li><code>l</code>: Limit. Although the default here is no limit, that's being defaulted to 24 when reading the parameters<br />
`</li>
</ul>
<p>To run that, before downloading:</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">reddit = praw.Reddit(
user_agent=user_agent, client_id=config["client_id"], client_secret=config["client_secret"])
search_term = sys.argv[1]
limit = int(sys.argv[2]) if len(sys.argv) >= 3 else 24
posts = search_posts(reddit, search_term, l=limit)
print('{} posts found'.format(len(posts)))
download_posts_media(reddit, posts)
</code></pre>
<p>This will:</p>
<ul>
<li>Initiate our <code>praw</code> object, connecting to Reddit</li>
<li>Read the <code>search_term</code> from the parameters</li>
<li>Read the <code>limit</code> from the parameters, or default to 24</li>
<li>Seach</li>
<li>Print how many posts were found</li>
<li>download</li>
</ul>
<p>To call it, you can do:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>python3 gist_reddit_downloader_search.py 'Boku No Hero Season 5' 12</code></li>
<li><code>python3 gist_reddit_downloader_search.py 'Boku No Hero' 12</code></li>
<li><code>python3 gist_reddit_downloader_search.py 'Boku No Hero'</code></li>
</ul>
<p>Please note that on Reddit they use the Japanese title for the discussions. Hope that's useful for all weebs that love to have all those screenshots on our computer! May the collection of reaction images be with you. The whole script, along with instructions <a href="https://gist.github.com/thiagomgd/04dddb307b421d5f10986414d018c1ba">can be downloaded here</a>.</p>
Cathedral of the Sea Netflix Review2021-04-25T22:18:17Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/cathedral-of-the-sea-netflix-review/<p>Cathedral of The Sea (La Catedral Del Mal) is a 2018 Spanish show that has 8 episodes and is based on a book by Ildefonso Falcones from 2006 (which has a follow up named Los herederos de la tierra/The Heirs of the Earth). It's a rag-to-riches story set in a tumultuous era: plague, inquisition and anarchy.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the heart of medieval Barcelona, from the Great Plague to the Inquisition, Arnau, a young peasant, endures the worst torments and humiliations to become a free man. His extraordinary destiny will make him the hero of a whole people. In the fourteenth century, to the rhythm of the construction of the church Santa María del Mar - masterpiece of Catalan Gothic built "for the people and by the people" in record time (fifty-seven years), Arnau Estanyol tries to conquer his freedom.</p>
</blockquote>
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<h2 id="the-good" tabindex="-1">The Good <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/cathedral-of-the-sea-netflix-review/#the-good" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>There are some good reasons for me to recommend this show. The first is that the plot is really interesting as the show starts before the birth of its main character, proceeding to his adulthood. This is refreshing and not something we usually see on TV shows. That also make us care more about him, and also makes understand better the reasonings and feelings of the characters.</p>
<p>Another thing is that, while many shows will focus on the kings, the knights, this one features a simple peasant that has to work hard to survive, and them at some point manages to be a successful merchant. It's a different POV than usual, and also allows the story to be different than your usual medieval era story.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/QdYSaai.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>The production is also damn good! The scenery, costumes, music and acting are great, and it has that 'big budget feel' that comes from the production design and the awesome aesthetic of the show.</p>
<h2 id="the-maybe-depends-on-preferences-and-taste" tabindex="-1">The Maybe (Depends On Preferences And Taste) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/cathedral-of-the-sea-netflix-review/#the-maybe-depends-on-preferences-and-taste" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>While the different point-of-view is good, that also introduces a fair amount of suffering, grief and abuse. I know what you are thinking: most medieval shows are heavy; and I agree, in part. Game of Thrones - which I admittedly watched only 1 season - has a lot of physical and sexual violence, but a lot of that is directed at people involved in the power game. The main characters are not people that are just trying to survive.</p>
<p>This might be a bit off-putting to some or at least make the show non-bingeable, and that's what happened to me. Some days I was just not in the mood for another episode, and had to watch something more lightweight, preferably with some humor on it.</p>
<p>Another thing that is a <em>maybe</em> is that, while the show is only 8 episodes long, some parts have a slow pacing. Not that the shows drags too much, but it's definitely not action-fueled.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/phQIAIT.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="the-bad" tabindex="-1">The Bad <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/cathedral-of-the-sea-netflix-review/#the-bad" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I actually don't think there's anything BAD about it, just keep in mind that this might be heavy and somewhat slow. That makes it a bit un-bingeable, but that's not necessarily bad: take your time and let each episode sink in.</p>
<h2 id="the-veredict" tabindex="-1">The Veredict <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/cathedral-of-the-sea-netflix-review/#the-veredict" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I'm glad I have stuck with it and watched the whole show. It definitely had a lot of great moments that make up for the bits where the pacing and grief were a bit much. It was also announced that there's a new season based on the second book coming, but don't worry, the first season has a proper ending, and you don't have to commit to watching the second.</p>
<p>NOTE: As always, I watched with the original audio, and I have no idea about the quality of the dub. I recommend watching it with subs, as it will help keep you in the 'Spanish history' setting, and will also feature the original acting work.</p>
Geekosaur News #11: Cool Posts, And What I've Been Reading And Watching!2021-04-24T19:00:16Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-11/<p>This week I have a few blog posts to recommend, besides the usual music and what I've been watching and reading!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Wl9zDCx.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-11/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/70S1CZUfEPQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="articles" tabindex="-1">Articles <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-11/#articles" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This week, Irina reshared a previous post of her, <a href="https://drunkenanimeblog.com/2018/11/24/i-dont-understand-the-3-episode-rule/">I Don’t Understand the 3 Episode Rule</a>, which is very relevant as we are 3~4 weeks in the season. As she mentions, it's very arbitrary, and doesn't make much sense to insist in something for 25% of the content. Of course, for longer series it would be a lower percentage, but the logic still applies. I will usually just watch one or two episodes of the titles I'm interested in (or half an episode even), and I might give it a second change if after the season ends, people say it's really good. But for me, one of the reasons I drop is not necessarily because it's not fun, but because I think it has a good chance of getting repetitive or a disappointing ending.</p>
<p>Irina and Nabe-chan are sharing some cool webtoon recommendations, and I totally suggest you have a look. It's nice to have a change from the usual Japanese black-and-white comics (a.k.a manga). Irina is starting a weekly webcomic feature, with the first being <a href="https://drunkenanimeblog.com/2021/04/19/nan-hao-shang-feng-webcomic-recommendation/">Nan Hao & Shang Feng</a>, although her blog already has a nice amount posts in the webcomic tag. Nabe has a nice <a href="https://geeknabe.com/blog/5-comforting-romance-webtoons-recommendation/">5 Comforting Romance Webtoons</a> post. I loved the art featured for all recommendations, and I might try reading Dragonsitter or Princess to the Rescue!. Who needs free time anyway?</p>
<h2 id="watching" tabindex="-1">Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-11/#watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I'm still watching My Wife and Kids with my wife, and last weekend we also watched the new Netflix movie Love and Monsters. It's so fun! If you liked Zombieland and want something similar, I definitely recommend it!</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-19tBHrZwOM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="reading" tabindex="-1">Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-11/#reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I've not been reading books recently, as I was spending a lot of time on the computer, and last week also playing Katana Zero. But I've been reading Ranma ½, and I'm currently on the 3rd omnibus, which corresponds to volumes 5 and 6. It's a great comedy manga that slowly adds some harem, but not in a huge fanservicy way. It's peak 80's and 90's manga comedy. Reading it and seeing that art style throws me back to my teenage years. That's a good nostalgia there.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just finished the 2nd Ranma ½ omnibus. It's so cool, and vol. 3 is arriving tomorrow <a href="https://t.co/4KAf0v0r58">pic.twitter.com/4KAf0v0r58</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1384753220061319168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>That's it for this week's edition! Let me know your favorite webtoons, and what you think of Ranma ½!</p>
Geekosaur News #102021-04-17T17:53:12Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-10/<p>After a couple weeks off, I'm back with another Geekosaur Weekly! This time focused only on updates - no thoughts to share 😕.</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-10/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Lately I've been listening to a lot of those j-music compilations. Great way to discover new music, and also not worry about choosing a specific artist or album.</p>
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<h2 id="anime" tabindex="-1">Anime <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-10/#anime" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>The spring season is here, but so far I'm only watching My Hero Academia, and a few Great Pretender episodes on Netflix. I'm interested in others, but there's just too many things to watch, that I'll probably wait a few more weeks.</p>
<h2 id="games" tabindex="-1">Games <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-10/#games" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I learned some Mahjong basics by playing Mahjong Soul. I've developed some interest on it many years ago thanks to Saki (which I never finished), and seeing the game there was an extra incentive to try. Didn't play much, but had some good fun. I just need to learn the end game rules 😕</p>
<p>Also, with the indie games sale on Nintendo Switch, I snagged 4 games so far:</p>
<ul>
<li>Commander Keen in Keen Dreams: Definitive Edition</li>
<li>The Darkside Detective</li>
<li>Katana Zero</li>
<li>Cosmic Star Heroine</li>
</ul>
<p>Commander Keen is a really old platformer that I used to play when I was a kid, and I loved it - although I played another game in the series: Commander Keen 4 - Secret of the Oracle.</p>
<p>Right now I'm playing Katana Zero, and I think after that I'm going to play Cosmic Star Heroine</p>
<h2 id="personal" tabindex="-1">Personal <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-10/#personal" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Last weekend I went for a walk with my wife to see the cherry blossoms. They are lovely, as always, and it's unfortunate that the pandemic is still strong here so we are not comfortable staying outdoors for hours and having a picnic there.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/wjrqaUI.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I also got my first Moderna shot on Monday 😄. I'm very happy with that!</p>
<p>Also, I'm still working on exporting and organizing my things, like trakt and anilist lists, my youtube playlist, and etc. I want everything either on Notion (watchlists and readlists) or Raindrop (bookmarks, i.e Youtube links). As I go, I'll share script here, like I did with the <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/automating_downloading_reddit_images/">Reddit downloader that I posted last week</a>.</p>
Automating Things: Downloading Reddit Media2021-04-11T00:08:24Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/automating-downloading-reddit-images/<p>This week, Crow published an interesting <a href="https://www.crowsworldofanime.com/posts/automating-blog-tasks-blog-shop-talk/">post about automating blog tasks</a>. That reminded me of a few things I have done but never shared here (or on one of my previous blogs), and I think it's time to post them here.</p>
<p>Going back in time, about 6 years ago (I'm getting old....), and maybe 3 or 4 different blogs/domains, I was writing anime reviews as a way to practice my English writing skills. And part of doing anime reviews is getting images and gifs, right? At the beginning, I would go to <a href="http://reddit.com/r/anime">reddit.com/r/anime</a>, open the episode's discussion post, expand all images (with the help of RES - reddit enhancement suite), scroll to see whatever I liked and grab it. But this is not optimal, and being a developer, I started thinking of something more practical.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/tBhj7cK.png" alt="" /></p>
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<p>That's when I decided to create a script to do this for me. The basic idea is: I give it a list of discussion posts, the script would check all comments for links, download images, gifs and videos, and save some other things that I might want, like wikipedia and myanimelist links. For that - and everything that came after - I decided to use Python, which is (generally speaking) a high-level general purpose interpreted scripting language (I'm just throwing all mumble-jumble together). That means: it's quick and easy to write and run those simple automations [<em>citation needed</em>].</p>
<p>Now, I wrote this many years ago, and the goal was not to have a robust and elegant solution, but to save time when downloading images from Reddit. So it might not be perfect or very well written an organized, but it works for what I want. Let's get started with how to do it!</p>
<p>If you just want to run the thing, feel free to go <a href="https://gist.github.com/thiagomgd/4566ea92084f328c62ea6116521b959e">HERE</a> on github and grab the code. This post will not explain absolutely everything anyway.</p>
<p>This snippet below basically says:</p>
<ul>
<li>I want to download everything to <code>downloaded</code></li>
<li>I want to save errors, saved links (wikipedia, myanimelist) and output to these files</li>
<li>Initiate the praw instance</li>
<li>If you only have one code - not a list - turn it into a list</li>
</ul>
<pre><code class="language-python">folder = "downloaded/"
if not os.path.exists(folder):
os.makedirs(folder)
errors_file = open("{}error_logs.txt".format(folder), "a+", encoding="utf-8")
saved_links = open("{}saved_links.txt".format(folder), "a+", encoding="utf-8")
print_output = open("{}output.txt".format(folder), "a+", encoding="utf-8")
reddit = praw.Reddit(
user_agent=user_agent, client_id=config["client_id"], client_secret=config["client_secret"])
if not isinstance(submission_list, list):
submission_list = [submission_list]
</code></pre>
<p>Below is the main logic for each post:</p>
<ul>
<li>Load post (submission) with praw</li>
<li>Create subfolder with the subreddit's name, then another with the post's title</li>
<li>Expand comment replies, download, expand, and keep repeating until there are no more comments</li>
</ul>
<pre><code class="language-python">comments = []
ignored = {}
exceptions = {}
submission = reddit.submission(id=submission_id)
my_print('Getting submission {} {}'.format(submission_id, submission.title))
download_folder = "{}{}/".format(folder, valid_filename(submission.subreddit.display_name))
comments_folder = "{}[{}]-{}/".format(download_folder, submission.id, submission.title)
if not os.path.exists(comments_folder):
os.makedirs(comments_folder)
submission.comments.replace_more(limit=None)
comment_queue = submission.comments[:] # Seed with top-level
i = 0
while comment_queue:
i = i+1
comment = comment_queue.pop(0)
comments.append(format_comment_dict(comment))
url_list = get_links(comment)
download_links(comments_folder, url_list)
comment_queue.extend(comment.replies)
errors_file.flush()
saved_links.flush()
print_output.flush()
os.fsync(errors_file.fileno())
os.fsync(saved_links.fileno())
os.fsync(print_output.fileno())
time.sleep(0.1)
</code></pre>
<p>Now, let's see how <code>get_links</code> works. Because Reddit uses Markdown to format the comments, links are saved as <code>[TITLE](URL)</code>, which means I basically have to search the text for this pattern (hence those 3 regular expressions).</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">def get_links(comment):
# Links without title are not processed for now :(
# Anything that isn't a square closing bracket
name_regex = "[^]]+"
# http:// or https:// followed by anything but a closing parentheses
url_regex = "http[s]?://[^)]+"
markup_regex = "\[({0})]\(\s*({1})\s*\)".format(name_regex, url_regex)
ret = re.findall(markup_regex, comment.body)
links = []
for itm in ret:
links.append({"title": itm[0], "url": itm[1]})
return links
</code></pre>
<p>As for <code>download_links</code>, I check what's the link type, and then realize that action. Basically, do something different if it's imgur, gfycat, or whatever. The functions is on the inverse order to make reading easier (I guess?). Also, only added 1 example of the actions, but that's the idea: each different domain or type of link will have a different action that's executed.</p>
<pre><code class="language-python">def download_links(folder, links):
for link in links:
link_action = check_link_action(link["url"])
my_print(link["url"])
actions[link_action](folder, link)
def check_link_action(url):
if url.endswith(".gifv"):
return "special_imgur_gifv"
elif url.endswith(config["desired_files"]):
return "download"
elif "imgur.com/a/" in url:
return "special_imgur_album"
elif "imgur.com/gallery/" in url:
return "special_imgur_album"
elif "imgur" in url:
return "special_imgur_image"
elif "gfycat" in url:
return "special_gfycat"
elif "streamable" in url:
return "special_streamable"
elif any(x in url for x in config["wanted_links"]):
return "save"
else:
return "ignore"
actions = {
"download": download_link,
"special_imgur_album": special_imgur_album,
"special_imgur_image": special_imgur_image,
"special_imgur_gifv": special_imgur_gifv,
"special_gfycat": special_gfycat,
"special_streamable": special_streamable,
"save": save_link,
"ignore": ignore_link,
}
def special_imgur_image(folder, link):
url = link["url"]
fn = url[url.rfind('/')+1:]
url = url[:url.rfind('/')+1] + "download/" + fn
r = requests.get(url)
if "Content-Type" in r.headers:
try:
ft = r.headers["Content-Type"]
fn = fn + "." + ft[ft.rfind('/')+1:]
fn = format_filename(folder, link["title"], fn)
if not os.path.isfile(fn):
os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(fn), exist_ok=True)
with open(fn, 'wb') as outfile:
outfile.write(r.content)
except Exception as e:
errors_file.write("{} | {}\n".format(url, e))
else:
errors_file.write("{} | {}\n".format("IGNORED: ", url))
ignore_link(folder, link)
</code></pre>
<p>And that's it!! 330 lines of code on the full script.</p>
<p>Let's try that: <code>python3 gist_reddit_downloader.py 'mo8289'</code> on the command-line.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/xtFxVuQ.png" alt="" /></p>
<p>It's beautiful!!!! Those subfolders are imgur albums, which are conveniently saved that way. Also, the filenames contain the title on the comment followed by imgur or gfycat's id. So, if you just want to link to the original url, you can use that. As an exercise, you can change the script to just save all links as embeds in an html file, so you can have you own local gallery.</p>
<p>As mentioned before, <a href="https://gist.github.com/thiagomgd/4566ea92084f328c62ea6116521b959e">the code is available here</a>. And feel free to reach out on Twitter, Reddit or by the comment form if you have any questions!</p>
Finished the Dragon Lords Books2021-04-06T04:54:21Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/finished-the-dragon-lords-books/<p>This weekend I've finished the last book in The Dragon Lords trilogy, by Jon Hollins. I think the best way to introduce it: The Hobbit meets Guardians of The Galaxy.</p>
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<p>It's set on a medieval fantasy world, where dragons rule over everyone and the gods don't do anything and just collect everyone's coins as taxes, and a group of people decide to rob the dragons. It's a very simple premise for the beginning of the story, but I can assure you that it IS entertaining, engaging, and very surprising.</p>
<p>It's not so often that I see a medieval fantasy book with that good humour, but that also delivers an excellent plot, with smart machinations and schemes going on, and that kept getting me surprised and amazed on the twists. Also, it's not always that books get more and more interesting as you advance in the trilogy - which is something that makes me wary of trilogies.</p>
<p>As we advance on the books, the chapter names also start getting better and better. Let's check some out of curiosity:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Wort-Laid Plans</li>
<li>Something is going right</li>
<li>Good, Honest Thievery</li>
<li>The Inevitable Cliffhanger Chapter</li>
<li>Happily Never After</li>
<li>Sacrilege for Fun And Profit</li>
<li>WTF?</li>
<li>Changing Plans Like Diapers</li>
<li>Death And Other Minor Inconveniences</li>
<li>What The Hell Happened To Kansas</li>
</ul>
<p>Some quotes and highlights:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The ambassador was from Vinland, after all, an entire nation dedicated to the worship of Barph—god of drunkenness, excess, and revelry. Being sober was a great religious offense in their eyes.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Balur changed tactics. He didn’t want to be bleeding from too many wounds. Two was not too many, but it was the start of a bad trend.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Now there was no one to say, “No,” and it was glorious.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Firkin had never been one to plan out what to say. It was hard to prepare a speech when you couldn’t remember you were meant to give one.</p>
</blockquote>
Geekosaur News #9: Light Novel Censorship, Outrage Marketing and a Great Anime Fight2021-03-28T04:14:44Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-9-seven-seas-light-novel-censorship/<p>This week I'm here with some internet outrage agains Seven Seas, some cool articles on the anime blogosphere, and what I've been watching and playing!</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-9-seven-seas-light-novel-censorship/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>How about some Mushoku Tensei soundtrack, as the first topic of this week's newsletter involves this franchise?</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QG8UZUahRbI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
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<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/5ZzSxI2HGSs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="translation-localization-editing-abridging-and-censorship" tabindex="-1">Translation, Localization, Editing, Abridging and Censorship <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-9-seven-seas-light-novel-censorship/#translation-localization-editing-abridging-and-censorship" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><em>Note: I want to make a proper, longer post about this issue and my views on the translation process and censorship. But I want this opportunity to start a dialogue and possibly see your perspectives on it, so the final post could be more comprehensive.</em></p>
<p>A month or so ago, the manga and light novel publisher Seven Seas got on the news facing huge backlash regarding some of their light novels, namely: <em>Mushoku Tensei</em> and <em>Classroom of the Elite</em>. On the former, some content cut that could be viewed as 'problematic' was removed - even in a case where it serves as foreshadowing -, and in the latter, dialogues and internal monologues that helped readers understand characters motivations[<a href="https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-02-17/seven-seas-addresses-mushoku-tensei-classroom-of-the-elite-light-novel-localization-changes/.169582">source</a>].</p>
<p>Recently, <em>Bloom Into You</em> and <em>I Love the Villainess</em> were also revealed - by the fans - to have important content cut. Again, content that helps understand character's motivations [<a href="https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2021-03-19/im-in-love-with-the-villainess-author-responds-to-alterations-in-english-language-release/.170833">source</a>]. Many fans are irate about that issue, and so am I. That's something I absolutely can't stand, and seeing more and more series suffering from this issue, and no good official positioning that content is not going to be altered (or removed) again, makes me lose trust the the publisher. Also, seeing the fan translations used for the Mushoku Tensei comparison, I wonder if we (or I) are not better off with the good old days of fan translations.</p>
<p>When buying a translation of a book, I want it because I want to have the same experience other readers (in that case, Japanese) are experiencing. I don't want content to be edited to me more palatable to western audience. Otherwise I could buy American books!</p>
<p>Seems that besides censoring, some changes were made to make Rudeus more likeable, but I think that might be the problem that some people watching the anime might have experienced. Rudeus IS a faulty person, and the whole thing about the series - which has 24 volumes - is to show how he slowly evolves and become not only more powerful, but also a better person. Removing instances where he does shitty things is to remove the character development.</p>
<p>That reminds me of what happened when The Black Witch was first released. For those not familiar, there are some issues with racism, but IT'S THE POINT OF THE BOOK: the character learning what's wrong and improving to be a better person.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I'm not sure I will buy anymore books from Seven Seas, at least not for the short-medium term until there's more confirmation that everything is there on the volumes. There are plenty of series out there from J-Novel Club (and Fan Translations), and not enough time for them all.</p>
<h2 id="articles" tabindex="-1">Articles <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-9-seven-seas-light-novel-censorship/#articles" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This week I'm sharing a couple interesting articles from Irina (Drunken Anime Blog) and Karandi (100 Word Anime Blog).</p>
<p>On <a href="https://drunkenanimeblog.com/2021/03/24/a-twist-outrage-marketing-in-anime/">A Twist “Outrage” Marketing in Anime?</a> explores how outrages regarding anime and other media, and the following articles and tweets defending the content, are helping raise attention to the shows. The article offers great insight on human behaviour and marketing, and it's also interesting to think why some anime fans start defending shows even before we see outrage and articles condemning them. Are we too sensitive to years of being criticized? Or are more anime fans studying marketing and applying the 'any marketing is good marketing' rule to make their favorite problematic series more (in)famous? Be sure to check it out and draw your conclusions!</p>
<p>And Karandi has a great article on <a href="https://100wordanime.blog/why-bells-minotaur-fight-is-an-excellent-anime-moment/">Why Bell’s Minotaur Fight Is An Excellent Anime Moment</a>. As I mentioned on a comment there: I was already enjoying DanMachi, but that fight was excellent both in terms of a fight and action sequence, but also as an anime moment that shows character growth. Watching that scene game me chills and left a lasting impression.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/U7eTw7ePtvg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="watching" tabindex="-1">Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-9-seven-seas-light-novel-censorship/#watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Since last Saturday, I've finished watching Star vs The Forces of Evil (on Disney+) and the second season of Sex Education (on Netflix).</p>
<p>I also watched Coco, which my wife loves, so she was happy to watch it again. It is an amazingly good movie, and I highly recommend! Now I'm back at watching Great Pretender and X Files! Yesterday I also watched a 1 hour long Youtube video about Albert Einstein! I don't share it here because it's in Portuguese.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/xlnPHQ3TLX8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="gaming" tabindex="-1">Gaming <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-9-seven-seas-light-novel-censorship/#gaming" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Yesterday I got Crypt of the Necrodancer for my Nintendo Switch! After all these years, I'm finally playing it, and I'm having a great time. But it's difficult though, I'm still stuck on Zone 1 :/</p>
<p>I'll definitely buy Cadence of Hyrule when there's a sale!</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/xaNjmuttJzw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>There's a lot of people talking about Monster Hunter Rise, which was recently released for the Switch. Seems interesting, but I'm kinda interested in Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, which will be released in a few months.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/eXG8nqBfY34" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>What do you think about those two MH Games? And do you play Crypt of the Necrodancer or Cadence of Hyrule? Leave a comment or ping me on Twitter!</p>
Geekosaur News #8: Model Trains and Bluegrass2021-03-21T01:19:09Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-8-model-trains/<p>I'm here again with another Geekosaur Weekly! This is a shorter edition, due to a very busy week, and some elbow and wrist pain today. But there's still good things to check here, so keep reading!</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-8-model-trains/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Today we have some bluegrass with Aoife O'Donovan, Sarah Jarosz and Sara Watkins. I'm was only familiar with Sarah Jarosz, but I think this trio presentation was quite nice! Good vibes and relaxing for the weekend.</p>
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<h2 id="article-a-perfect-world-around-every-miniature-bend" tabindex="-1">Article: ‘A Perfect World’ Around Every Miniature Bend <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-8-model-trains/#article-a-perfect-world-around-every-miniature-bend" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>The NY Times has a nice article about miniature trains, which it very worth having a look: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/business/model-trains-pandemic.html">link here</a>. I don't have the patience, steady hand and creativity necessary to do anything regarding model trains/ships/figures. But I do like to look at it! That reminds me a bit of an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine where Holt and Terry are arguing what is better wen building those maps: focusing on realism or fun. I'd say both are nice!</p>
<p>Even better than the article, is this 5 min video that shows a German model railway. It has SO much cool things.</p>
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<p>There's also a great article about Miniatur Wonderland here: <a href="https://ecobnb.com/blog/2019/08/miniatur-wunderland-journey-miniature-world/">link here</a>.</p>
<h2 id="watching" tabindex="-1">Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-8-model-trains/#watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I continue watching Star vs the Forces of Evil, but I also started watching Sex Education on Netflix, and I'm already midway through season 2. I have watched the last 3 episodes (of season 2) with my wife a year or so ago, and it was pretty fun and binge-able.</p>
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<p>That's it for today! I hope you enjoyed this shorter edition and wish everyone a great week(end).</p>
Geekosaur News #7: Band Names And Song Lyrics in My Native Language2021-03-13T23:20:48Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-7/<p>This week I've been listening to Daft Punk a bit. They have recently disbanded, so I think it makes sense to feature them on an issue here!</p>
<p>If you never watched <a href="https://anilist.co/anime/731/Interstella-5555-The-5tory-of-the-5ecret-5tar-5ystem">Interstella 5555</a>, I highly recommend it. It's basically an anime made for their album Discovery. I remember watching it with my friends way too many years ago. I think it's time for me to watch it again!</p>
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<h2 id="thought-band-names-and-song-lyrics-can-sound-funny-when-not-in-their-original-language" tabindex="-1">Thought: Band names and song lyrics can sound funny when not in their original language <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-7/#thought-band-names-and-song-lyrics-can-sound-funny-when-not-in-their-original-language" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>That's for people who speak more than one language. Sometimes I like to joke doing literal translations of band names and specially, song lyrics, in my head. That has a weird effect as, even though I understand the lyrics in English, thinking about then in Portuguese makes everything sound weird, dumb, or just odd.</p>
<p>Take band names for example: for ESL speakers, Queen, Rolling Stones, Guns & Roses, they are all just names. We don't associate them with the actual words <em>Rainha</em>, <em>Pedras Rolantes</em> and <em>Armas e Rosas</em>.</p>
<p>With lyrics, they still make sense when thinking in Portuguese, of course. But if you do a more literal translation, it sounds off as expressions can't just be translated, and everything else might not be how we speak in Portuguese. And of course, all the years singing a song in English, will make Portuguese sound just plain wrong.</p>
<h2 id="link-webtoon-recommendations" tabindex="-1">Link: Webtoon recommendations <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-7/#link-webtoon-recommendations" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Nabe made a great post on webtoons: <a href="https://geeknabe.com/blog/7-comfy-and-relaxing-webtoon-recommendation/">7 Comfy and Relaxing Webtoon Recommendation</a>. The one featured in the banner is ReLIFE, which is an anime that I really liked, and I absolutely loved the webtoon. I still need to write about it, but maybe in another opportunity. The post got me interested on Roland Roland. I'm not sure <em>when</em> I'll be able to read it - my readlist is kinda enormous right now - but it sure seems pretty interesting.</p>
<p>The author is now currently doing <a href="https://anilist.co/manga/105281/Blue-Hearts">Blue Hearts</a>, which I read a few chapters a couple years ago and I enjoyed it. I stopped reading because the translation had stopped, but now might be time to continue reading it. Considering that ReLIFE features a lot of old Japanese rock and punk songs, I wonder if Blue Hearts comes from the band The Blue Hearts.</p>
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<h2 id="reading" tabindex="-1">Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-7/#reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Not much reading this week. Was a bit lazy, and also worked a bit more to wrap up stuff. But maybe this upcoming week will be better :)</p>
<h2 id="watching" tabindex="-1">Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-7/#watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Last weekend I watched the first episode of Vincenzo on Netflix. It was really cool, but then I saw that it's 20 episodes long, and both my wife and I got too lazy to continue. We will probably wait until it's over, and then see what reviews say about it. Too many dramas start dragging too much - or having nonsense twists - after 12 episodes. So we don't want to have 8 episodes of not-that-much happening. Let's see.</p>
<p>Me and my wife finished rewatching Brooklyn 99 on Netflix, and after a couple episodes of Family Guy, decided to get Disney+ so we can watch Futurama and some other stuff, including Simpsons. Me particularly: Star vs the Forces of Evil. I stopped on season 4 a couple years ago and never finished the show. Now it's my opportunity. It's a GREAT cartoon, and I highly recommend it!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/7W4NOvX.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I also started watching Great Pretender on Netflix, after 4 episodes I'm enjoying it a lot. But I'm probably going to pause it for a bit so I can finish Star. I also rewatched a couple of the first episodes of Community on Netflix. I LOVE that show, and it's still very fun on a rewatch.</p>
<p>And finally, we watched Zootopia last night. IT'S SO DAMN CUTE. I always wanted to watch it, and OMG, I need more. Seems that Disney+ is making a show of short episodes for next year.</p>
<h2 id="other" tabindex="-1">Other <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-7/#other" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I got an Asuka Funko to make company to my Rei! They look so cute together</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Asuka added to the collection. Now I have the pair XD <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FunkoPop?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FunkoPop</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/evangelion?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#evangelion</a> <a href="https://t.co/uRSFJgUvhO">pic.twitter.com/uRSFJgUvhO</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1370588112544432131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>I also started using Notion to organize my watchlist, for both anime and regular TV/Movies. I still use <a href="http://trakt.tv/">trakt.tv</a> to track and add to my 'watchlist', but that has so many things, that got too hard to manage the priority of what I'm going to watch. And Anilist doesn't allow prioritization, as far as I know, so... This is what I have already been doing with books. Goodreads has years of books added to my 'want to read' list, but on Notion I only have books I already own, that I'm actually going to read. Notion is free, and I suggest everyone have a look at it :) - <a href="http://notion.so/">Notion.so</a></p>
<p>Random thing for the week: this 'Russian' Simpsons opening.</p>
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## Closing thoughts
<p>Nice week overall for me, as I started organizing my lists better. That way, I hope I will spend a bit less time trying to decide what to read or watch. One can dream, right?</p>
<p>Leave a reply telling me how you organize your watch/read lists, I always appreciate seeing those. You can also follow me on <a href="https://anilist.co/user/FalconSensei">Anilist</a>, <a href="https://trakt.tv/users/falconsensei">Trakt.tv</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/22638412-falcon">GoodReads</a>.</p>
Geekosaur News #6: Don't Overthink, Just Do It!2021-03-07T00:59:15Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-6/<p>February is now ended, and March is here. Definitely looking forward to a better weather, warmer and with more sunlight!</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-6/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Today, we have mxmtoon's Dawn/Dusk album. Quite a pleasant music to listen to while writing this newsletter!</p>
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<h2 id="thought-just-do-it" tabindex="-1">Thought: Just Do It <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-6/#thought-just-do-it" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>No, this is not a post about self esteem and believing in yourself. I'm here to talk about not over-planning and over-thinking, but instead focusing on what you want to do.</p>
<p>If you didn't notice, I don't use Wordpress for my blog, I use Hugo, a static-site generator. One of the internal jokes about SSGs is that most blogs and blog posts on sites built with them is about how the site was moved to a SSG. And then nothing more.</p>
<p>This is mostly due to most users being technical (software developers, for instance), so tinkering with the technology behind the site gets too interesting and we end up forgetting about actually writing the posts. The ones that actually succeed in writing more posts are the ones that swear they are not going to make any further changes to the blog. And that actually works.</p>
<p>I think the time I was most productive with blogging was on my Blogspot days. I had a blog about trumpet, and one about comic books - both in Portuguese. After that, I was most productive when I was on <a href="http://wordpress.com/">wordpress.com</a> - and not when I was hosting my own Wordpress on Amazon.</p>
<p>I saw many discussions on Reddit and Hacker News about that - in a blog scenario, but also with notebooks and todo lists. People start using Notion as a note taking and organizational tool, but spend far more time making it look cool, than in the end, it's not actually very productive.</p>
<p>So, my advice for anything you want to do: just do it. Then you slowly iterate on it and make the process better. Want to learn a new language, to play an instrument, write a book? My advice is: spend way more time practicing, studying, and learning how to write and writing down your ideas, instead of finding sources, apps and reading posts about it. It's GREAT to find inspiration online, but don't forget your goal.</p>
<h2 id="article-on-social-media-and-content-creation" tabindex="-1">Article: On Social Media & Content Creation <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-6/#article-on-social-media-and-content-creation" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/melo__nsoda">Rose</a> (from Wretched And Divine) has a nice post on social media and content creation. I agree with her views on that, and think everyone should read it and think a bit about it. <a href="https://wretchedanddivine.wordpress.com/2021/01/21/on-social-media-content-creation/">On Social Media And Content Creation</a>!</p>
<h2 id="article-jon-s-creator-showcase-jan-2021" tabindex="-1">Article: Jon’s Creator Showcase (Jan. 2021) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-6/#article-jon-s-creator-showcase-jan-2021" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/InfiniteZenith">Zenith</a> shared a showcase of January's content around our community on the internet/blogosphere. I'm happy to have the first edition of Geekosaur Weekly on it. Also, the post feature the author's thoughts on each linked post, so it's not just a link dump, but a great read! It sure added many posts to my read list, which I hope I can go through this weekend. <a href="https://infinitemirai.wordpress.com/2021/02/28/jons-creator-showcase-valentines-month-special-and-celebrating-january-2021s-finest-content-from-around-the-community/">Check it here</a></p>
<h2 id="reading" tabindex="-1">Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-6/#reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This week I continued reading Mythos, by Stephen Fry. I read around 3 hours, and I'm a little over 40% of the book. I think I'm going to pause it for a week, to read more manga and also continue reading Bad Faith (The Dragon Lords #3) by Jon Hollins.</p>
<h2 id="other-updates" tabindex="-1">Other Updates <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-6/#other-updates" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Last Sunday I put on a couple shelves on my home office, to display some books and Funkos. There's also a cool Inuyasha poster. What do you think about it? Looks good?</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/0QZnA5N.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>The Einstein Funko is new, along with Rei and a Dalek. Check the twitter thread below to see me unboxing them!</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Got 3 new Funkos today: Rei Ayanami, Einstein and a Dalek (from Dr. Who) <a href="https://t.co/FZN7bq3UAr">pic.twitter.com/FZN7bq3UAr</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1366218024961806338?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 1, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>That's it for today's issue, hope you all enjoyed it!</p>
Geekosaur News #5: Ditch Yearly Resolutions, Use Monthly And Weekly Instead2021-02-28T22:40:09Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-5/<p>Better late than never: Geekosaur Weekly is a day late, but still here with some thoughts, music and quick personal updates.</p>
<h2 id="music-berge" tabindex="-1">Music: Berge <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-5/#music-berge" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This week I discovered the german band Berge. I discovered then by accident, while I was trying to see if Germany had something similar to the French Chansons (like Georges Brassens). Quite pleased with the finding anyway!</p>
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<h2 id="thought-micro-resolutions" tabindex="-1">Thought: Micro-resolutions <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-5/#thought-micro-resolutions" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I've never been a big fan of New Year's resolutions, as generally speaking, they don't work that well. A commitment for a year should be big, otherwise it's useless, but to make things 'stick' and turn into habits, we should aim for small improvements. Besides this contradictory nature of yearly resolutions vs how we change our habits, there's also a matter of what matters to you. If you commit to learning to play an instrument and then find out you actually hate studying music, what's left?</p>
<p>That's why making smaller, monthly and weekly resolutions is probably a better way to actually making improvements in your life and also finding new hobbies and passions.</p>
<p>Maybe your March goal can be to improve your health, and each week you can experiment with different things, like starting to exercise, trying to have a better sleep schedule, or improving your diet.</p>
<p>If you want to exercise your creativity, why not a week for reading poetry, another for trying to draw, another for being more critique and thoughtful on what you are watching?</p>
<p>Anything goes, and I ave to say this is kinda working for me: some weeks I really commit to reading more, and I'm able to do it. Some other weeks I decide to focus on studying German, and I'm able to put a good few hours into that. Then after I have a rough week, and decide to have a more chill week, and put time into taking care of myself and relax, and end up having a beer while listening to a good record on my turntable.</p>
<h2 id="reading" tabindex="-1">Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-5/#reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I started reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46228086-mythos">Mythos: The Greek Myths Reimagined</a> by Stephen Fry. It's the first in a serie of mythology books, and I already have the second volume on my Kindle: <em>Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures.</em> I started to read it now partly inspired by Blood of Zeus, which I resumed watching recently on Netflix. I'm at 20% at the moment.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/zZF2VeG.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="watching" tabindex="-1">Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-5/#watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>As mentioned before, I'm back at watching Blood of Zeus on Netflix. I've started it when it premiered on Netflix, but ended up stopping after a couple episodes. I also started watching Bridgerton (2 episodes in), and High-rise Invasion. But after 4 episodes, I'm not sure how frequently I'l be watching it. I think I'll finish it eventually, but is not what I usually watch (this kind of battle royale stuff), and it doesn't seem to do anything exceptionally well. It is fun indeed, but seems rather shallow. It has some fanservice, but it's too bland to be a reason to watch, and too present that takes away from the blood and psychological aspects of the story.</p>
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Geekosaur News #4: What's regret? Anime bingos, ditching RSS for emails, and more2021-02-20T20:30:02Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-4/<p>Another weekly updates, thoughts, music and internet things!</p>
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<h3 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-4/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This weekend let's groove to some Hayley Williams, Paramore's singer who is doing some great songs in her solo career.</p>
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<h3 id="watching" tabindex="-1">Watching <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-4/#watching" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>My wife started watching Start-Up, a Korean drama that ended recently, and it's available on Netflix. I've bee watching most of it with her, and seems entertaining enough.</p>
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<p>I'm not watching it yet, but Sisyphus: The Myth premiered on Netflix, with weekly episodes (2 per week). Im going to wait a bit, as I don't do that well with ongoing shows. The drama has Park Shin-hye in it (The Call, Memories of Alhambra, Pinocchio), so of course I'm going to give it a try.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ZAUfGo4.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h3 id="reading" tabindex="-1">Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-4/#reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This week I started the last book in the The Dragon Lords trilogy by Jon Hollins (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/181705-the-dragon-lords">Goodreads Link</a>). But I didn't read much, barely 1 hour. Probably compensating that last week I read a lot every day.</p>
<p>On the bright side, I read a little bit of Fire Force, a manga that I stopped a couple months ago. Lets see if I can make more time for manga starting from now.</p>
<h3 id="thought-what-s-regret" tabindex="-1">Thought: What's regret? <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-4/#thought-what-s-regret" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>The profile Aliens About Humans has an interesting explanation about regret.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/HumansExplained/status/1361373449919356929">embed</a></p>
<h3 id="ditching-rss-feeds-for-emails" tabindex="-1">Ditching RSS feeds for emails <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-4/#ditching-rss-feeds-for-emails" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This week I saw this link and discussion on Hacker News: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26167248">Kill the Newsletter – Convert email newsletters into Atom feeds</a>. There's a nice discussion of people going both ways: from RSS to email and from email to RSS. In the end, I decided to start switching from RSS to email.</p>
<p>The reasons are kinda simple:</p>
<ol>
<li>I forget to check my Feedly. Email is on my email, so as long as I create filters to put tem on a separate folder (easy by using <em><a href="mailto:myemail+blogs@domain.com">myemail+blogs@domain.com</a></em>), everything will be neatly organized;</li>
<li>Less limiting for me: with Feedly, any features are only available for paid users. To be fair, I don't need so many fancy things, but one thing that definitely makes a difference is that article only stay there for 30 days. While it's true that I will probably not read articles that I didn't read in 30 days, having it permanently in my inbox is less pressure.</li>
</ol>
<p>Of course, I miss some good displaying for the articles, with featured images, but still, I think this might be good in the end.</p>
<h3 id="internet" tabindex="-1">Internet <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-4/#internet" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>John Spencer and Nabe-chan posted some cool anime bingos on Twitter. I didn't complete them though. Am I a normie?</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">OK "<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/anime?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#anime</a>" fans, I bet NONE of you can get a BINGO on THIS card.<br /><br />Tweet using <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotANormie?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NotANormie</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/JS_Reviews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JS_Reviews</a> if you can get at least one. <a href="https://t.co/n0ApDlRQ22">pic.twitter.com/n0ApDlRQ22</a></p>— Jon Spencer Reviews (@JS_Reviews) <a href="https://twitter.com/JS_Reviews/status/1362891009122705410?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 19, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I made another <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/anime?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#anime</a> bingo card!!<br /><br />Link: <a href="https://t.co/RrUZNUIOM3">https://t.co/RrUZNUIOM3</a> <a href="https://t.co/4Wp8Tsq8Pj">pic.twitter.com/4Wp8Tsq8Pj</a></p>— nabe-chan || ribbon girl (@geeknabe) <a href="https://twitter.com/geeknabe/status/1363063797636759552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>We also got to see Emma Stone as Cruella De Vil! I'm excited for it and I hope it's good, as 101 Dalmatians was part of my childhood and I loved both live and animated versions.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">EMMA STONE AS CRUELLA DE VIL IS LITERALLY ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I'VE EVER SEEN <a href="https://t.co/sQiKFWDQfp">pic.twitter.com/sQiKFWDQfp</a></p>— merry crisis 🎄 (@wntrwidow) <a href="https://twitter.com/wntrwidow/status/1362025930915520519?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>That's it for this week's edition, wish everyone a great weekend!</p>
New Record: Babylon Berlin Vol. 2 (Season 3 OST)2021-02-19T04:07:48Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/new-record-babylon-berlin-vol2/<p>Today I received a new vinyl record: Babylon Berlin Vol. 2. This is the soundtrack for the 3rd season of the show, which is odd, but the first volume contained the OST for the first two seasons.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/BYvu8p7.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<p>This is a show that I love, and the soundtrack is wonderful. Also, both volumes are gorgeous, and it's definitely worth for me to have it in my collection. have a look at my "unboxing":</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/VUtrarf8B4c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>As for the songs:</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/rvxAkU0e9L4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/qgrigquC_so" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>The second one is sang by one of the actors, and I liked both the song and his voice. You can check the lyrics (with translation) <a href="https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Woods-of-Birnam/Du-bist-alles/translation/english">here</a>.</p>
<p>Here you can listen to the <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/44EqvbbLocS6wWZHSItcna">whole OST</a>.</p>
New Fiction Books [Feb. 2021]2021-02-18T00:21:59Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/new-fiction-books-feb-2021/<p>I haven't been buying so many books recently, which I see as a positive: I already have more books than I would need for this year, so there's no point in spending money just to expand my library. Although it's nice to do that, it adds some level of stress overall, as I see that huge (mostly virtual) pile of books I want to read and are there, just waiting for me. I recently wrote about 'backlog vs collection' in <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-3-collection-not-backlog/">the most recent Geekosaur Weekly issue</a>.</p>
<p>Anyway, I want to share of what I've got recently, fiction books only.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/hc7EVwD.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<h2 id="audiobooks" tabindex="-1">Audiobooks <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-fiction-books-feb-2021/#audiobooks" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Late january, I got an Audible trial, as Amazon was offering 60 days for Prime members, and a bonus credit also. That gives me 5 books: 3 credits, and 2 from editor's picks they also give each month. The free books for January and February were: <a href="https://amzn.to/3u52qka">The Queen's Gambit</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/3s5SXHI">The Tea Rose</a>.</p>
<h3 id="the-hatmakers-tamzin-merchant-amazon" tabindex="-1">The Hatmakers (Tamzin Merchant) (<a href="https://amzn.to/2ZqpsDV">Amazon</a>) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-fiction-books-feb-2021/#the-hatmakers-tamzin-merchant-amazon" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Tamzin Merchant is an actress that was in The Tudors, Salem, Pride and Prejudice, and is currently in Carnival Row along with Orlando Bloom and Kara Delevigne. This is her debut as an author, with this very interesting middle grade book. As a bonus, the book is narrated by Tamzin herself, and as a fan I just had to get it! Planning to listen to it soon!</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">The Hatmakers</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Tamzin Merchant</h5>
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<p>Cordelia comes from a long line of magical milliners, who weave alchemy and enchantment into every hat. In Cordelia's world, Making - crafting items such as hats, cloaks, watches, boots and gloves from magical ingredients - is a rare and ancient skill, and only a few special Maker families remain.
</p><p>When Cordelia's father Prospero and his ship, the Jolly Bonnet, are lost at sea during a mission to collect hat ingredients, Cordelia is determined to find him. But Uncle Tiberius and Aunt Ariadne have no time to help the littlest Hatmaker, for an ancient rivalry between the Maker families is threatening to surface. Worse, someone seems to be using Maker magic to start a war. It's up to Cordelia to find out who, and why . . .</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53404781-the-hatmakers">Go To Link</a>
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<h2 id="physical" tabindex="-1">Physical <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-fiction-books-feb-2021/#physical" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I want to go back to reading more physical books, and those two were a step in that direction: I bought them online at Indigo. My intention was to also buy in other stores (not Amazon) but unfortunately, while we are staying at home, that's not so easy. Amazon is just easier to browse, and my copy of <em>Gods of Jade and Shadow</em> arrived with some marks like someone was writing on top of it. That never happened with Amazon, and all my physical books always arrived in good condition.</p>
<h3 id="the-institute-stephen-king-amazon" tabindex="-1">The Institute (Stephen King) (<a href="https://amzn.to/2NzfXQb">Amazon</a>) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-fiction-books-feb-2021/#the-institute-stephen-king-amazon" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I've never read a Stephen King book, so I decided to give it a try. AND THAT WAS SO GOOD! Binged it in a week.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">The Institute</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Stephen King</h5>
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<p>In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”
</p><p>In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43798285-the-institute">Go To Link</a>
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<h3 id="gods-of-jade-and-shadow-silvia-moreno-garcia-amazon" tabindex="-1">Gods of Jade and Shadow (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) (<a href="https://amzn.to/2M6r8Q8">Amazon</a>) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-fiction-books-feb-2021/#gods-of-jade-and-shadow-silvia-moreno-garcia-amazon" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I absolutely loved <em>Mexican Gothic</em>, which is the newest release from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and when I saw that this one features the Mayan god of death, I had to get it.</p>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Gods of Jade and Shadow</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Silvia Moreno-Garcia</h5>
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<p>The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.
</p><p>The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.</p>
<p>Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.</p>
<p>In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36510722-gods-of-jade-and-shadow">Go To Link</a>
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<h2 id="ebooks" tabindex="-1">ebooks <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-fiction-books-feb-2021/#ebooks" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Every month, Amazon gives prime members a choice of a free book from a selection, with <a href="https://amzn.to/3jYB9LC">Amazon first reads</a>. Those two were my selections for January and February.</p>
<h3 id="after-alice-fell-kim-taylor-blakemore-amazon" tabindex="-1">After Alice Fell (Kim Taylor Blakemore) (<a href="https://amzn.to/3jXXBEF">Amazon</a>) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-fiction-books-feb-2021/#after-alice-fell-kim-taylor-blakemore-amazon" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">After Alice Fell</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Kim Taylor Blakemore</h5>
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<p>Until she discovers the truth of her sister’s death, no one will rest in peace.
</p><p>New Hampshire, 1865. Marion Abbott is summoned to Brawders House asylum to collect the body of her sister, Alice. She’d been found dead after falling four stories from a steep-pitched roof. Officially: an accident. Confidentially: suicide. But Marion believes a third option: murder.</p>
<p>Returning to her family home to stay with her brother and his second wife, the recently widowed Marion is expected to quiet her feelings of guilt and grief—to let go of the dead and embrace the living. But that’s not easy in this house full of haunting memories.</p>
<p>Just when the search for the truth seems hopeless, a stranger approaches Marion with chilling words: I saw her fall.</p>
<p>Now Marion is more determined than ever to find out what happened that night at Brawders, and why. With no one she can trust, Marion may risk her own life to uncover the secrets buried with Alice in the family plot.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55132472-after-alice-fell">Go To Link</a>
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<h3 id="west-with-giraffes-lynda-rutledge-amazon" tabindex="-1">West with Giraffes (Lynda Rutledge) (<a href="https://amzn.to/3jZVdNI">Amazon</a>) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new-fiction-books-feb-2021/#west-with-giraffes-lynda-rutledge-amazon" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">West with Giraffes</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Lynda Rutledge</h5>
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<p>An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.
</p><p>“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”</p>
<p>Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.</p>
<p>It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.</p>
<p>Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56449476-west-with-giraffes">Go To Link</a>
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Vinyl Record Pre-Orders [Feb. 15 2020]2021-02-15T19:50:22Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/vinyl-preorders-feb-2021/<p>This year I decided to invest a bit ore in my record collection and gradually expand it. I've been spending less on Uber Eats, and directing some of that saved money on music. Still, this is not a big list, as I don't pre-order much. Maybe I should? Considering the price usually goes up after release, it's actually a good idea.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/N0fIh0o.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<h3 id="march-26-dua-lipa-future-nostalgia-the-moonlight-edition-amazon-link" tabindex="-1">March 26: Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia (The Moonlight Edition) (<a href="https://amzn.to/3alGSI1">amazon link</a>) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/vinyl-preorders-feb-2021/#march-26-dua-lipa-future-nostalgia-the-moonlight-edition-amazon-link" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I've been listening to Dua Lipa recently and when I saw that there was this new, extended version of the Future Nostalgia album, I quickly grabbed the pre-order. It has an extra disc of content, and the running time is around 1 hour instead of less than 40 min. Also, I like this cover better, and the pre-order for the new edition is cheaper than the current version. Good deal.</p>
<p>Dua Lipa was featured in the <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur_weekly_1/">first edition of Geekosaur Weekly</a>!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/p7thLyG.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h3 id="may-21-london-grammar-californian-soil-amazon-link" tabindex="-1">May 21: London Grammar - Californian Soil (<a href="https://amzn.to/2LSj1q6">amazon link</a>) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/vinyl-preorders-feb-2021/#may-21-london-grammar-californian-soil-amazon-link" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I admit I haven't been listening to her a lot, but with a good deal on the pre-order, I had to get it. Her voice and her songs are cool to sit down, and listen on a vinyl record. She was featured in <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-2/">the second issue of Geekosaur Weekly</a> (am I seeing a trend here?).</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ebb5wrg.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h3 id="june-11-evangelion-final-amazon-link" tabindex="-1">June 11: Evangelion Final (<a href="https://amzn.to/37fvBqM">amazon link</a>) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/vinyl-preorders-feb-2021/#june-11-evangelion-final-amazon-link" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Now THIS is something I had to get. Fifteen-year-old would never imagine I would have this someday. If you are an anime fan and older than 30, I'm sure you heard <em>Zankoku na Tenshi no Teeze</em> on every anime karaoke at every con. The cover and the discs are gorgeous, and it's a great soundtrack to enjoy. And the running time is almost 1h:20min.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/JqrL6RC.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/SQBkphmGtgY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>The video below talks about all 6 variants of the release. The one I've got is the regular pink with black splash.</p>
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Geekosaur News 3: It's not a backlog, it's a collection2021-02-13T18:45:14Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-3-collection-not-backlog/<p>Welcome to the 3rd issue of Geekosaur Weekly, wishing everyone a great lunar new year!</p>
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<h2 id="shower-though-it-s-not-a-backlog-it-s-a-library" tabindex="-1">Shower Though: It's not a backlog, it's a library <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-3-collection-not-backlog/#shower-though-it-s-not-a-backlog-it-s-a-library" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><em>This comes from the r/patientgamers subreddit, which I highly recommend if you are a gamer.</em></p>
<p>Months ago I saw a post on Reddit called <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/patientgamers/comments/ibfbu6/you_dont_have_a_backlog/">You Don't have a Backlog</a>. It got me thinking, and helped me a bit to manage my FOMO, at least with books and games I have piling up. The thing is: backlog is a list of tasks that should be done. They are chores, and you do because you have to. That's not how it works for leisure time.</p>
<p>The way we should refer to it should be collection or library, and know that what we have is a list of things we can consume as we want, when we want. Time is the one thing you can't get back, and you can't buy more. Spending time on games (or books, or anything else) just because you bought them on a sale is not good for anyone. That's the basis of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunk_cost#Fallacy_effect">the sunk cost fallacy</a>.</p>
<p>I can't say that this though 'cured me' of thinking that my consoles are not being used, or that there are shows that I didn't finish, and books I bought that I didn't read. But being more aware of it definitely helps puts things into perspective.</p>
<h2 id="article-the-sunk-cost-fallacy-is-ruining-your-decisions" tabindex="-1">Article: The Sunk Cost Fallacy Is Ruining Your Decisions <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-3-collection-not-backlog/#article-the-sunk-cost-fallacy-is-ruining-your-decisions" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Since I mentioned the sunken cost fallacy in the previous section, I think it's good to have an article on it as this week's suggested reading!</p>
<p><a href="https://time.com/5347133/sunk-cost-fallacy-decisions/">The Sunk Cost Fallacy Is Ruining Your Decisions</a></p>
<h2 id="reading" tabindex="-1">Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-3-collection-not-backlog/#reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This week I devoured The Institute by Stephen Hawking. That's my first Stephen Hawking book and I can say that I definitely get it why people rush to read his new books as they come out. The book is quite long - around 560 pages with a font that's not so big. I'm not a speedy reader when it comes to enjoyment, and the book took me a bit over 14 hours to finish, 13 of which was this week - I started the previous Friday, but only read a bit on the first 2 days.</p>
<p>Last time I mentioned I wanted to read more, about 5 hours a week, and I guess I exceeded the goal. Now I'll chill for a bit, and maybe start binging my next book tomorrow!</p>
<p>A few quotes from it</p>
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<p>Great events turn on small hinges.</p>
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<p>He wanted to tell Luke that he loved him. But there were no words, and maybe no need of them. Or telepathy. Sometimes a hug was telepathy.</p>
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<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/EBqj56I.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-3-collection-not-backlog/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Did you know that Steve Martin plays the banjo, and he's really good at it? He collaborated with Steep Canyon Rangers for a while. He also worked with Edie Brickell. I highly suggest checking his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0AxsSOOvfqohTAbotpQUbQ">Youtube Channel</a>.</p>
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<p>As a bonus: he also played a banjo duel with Kermit the Frog</p>
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Geekosaur News #2: Buy What You Want, Not What's Cheap2021-02-06T21:42:28Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-2/<p>Another week, another Geekosaur Weekly. This weeks, let's talk about spending money, and taking naps. Also some music to enjoy over the weekend.</p>
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<h2 id="buy-what-you-actually-want-even-if-it-s-more-expensive" tabindex="-1">Buy what you actually want, even if it's more expensive <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-2/#buy-what-you-actually-want-even-if-it-s-more-expensive" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>One thing that I try to do in my life is to spend money where it matters to me. Of course, this can have vastly different meaning to each person, but sometimes spending money on things that are cheaper makes you actually spend more in the end. Or just not be as satisfied.</p>
<p>There's the obvious example of spending money on something with poor quality, clothes for example, and then having to buy new clothes every once in a while. But I also (try to) apply the same logic to books and games. For example, I won't buy very cheap/on sale games or books that probably I'm not going to play or read just because it has a 90% discount and it will be $2.</p>
<p>This is what I did recently when trying to buy some new vinyl records. I was looking at interesting records that are a bit cheaper, but ended up getting the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, which is fantastic, and have a long duration.</p>
<p><strong>Question for the readers</strong>: do you loose your mind with digital sales like steam, kindle and others? Do you</p>
<h2 id="recommended-reading" tabindex="-1">Recommended Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-2/#recommended-reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This week, my suggestion is an article about taking naps being linked to improved cognitive function. That actually reminded me to start taking naps again. Wasn't THAT successful this week, but I'm trying.</p>
<p>Article link: <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/afternoon-naps-linked-to-improved-cognitive-function/">sciencefocus.com</a></p>
<p>Discussion about the article: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25972342">HackerNews</a></p>
<p><strong>Suggestion</strong>: for a couple weeks, try having a regular nap time. Maybe after lunch, or right after finishing you work/study hours. Instead of 'losing time', think of it as a productivity boost for your day.</p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-2/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This week London grammar is the featured artist. I was not familiar with her until this week, although I think I already hear a song or two without knowing who was the artist. I love that voice tone, and the songs are pretty nice. Pre-ordered the new album (Californian Soil) on vinyl!</p>
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<h2 id="reading" tabindex="-1">Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur-weekly-2/#reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I didn't read much this week, but I received 3 new books that I ordered from Indigo a few days ago!</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They arrived!<br />The Romantic poets;<br />Gods of jade and shadow;<br />The institute <a href="https://t.co/rPOI6I1JMJ">pic.twitter.com/rPOI6I1JMJ</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1356833999465811969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>I started Stephen King's The Institute last night, read the first 32 pages and so far I'm enjoying it.</p>
<p>Gods of Jade and Shadow is from the same author of Mexican Gothic, a book that I read last year and absolutely loved!</p>
<hr />
<p>That's it for this week's edition. Let me know what you think of this week's content, and feel free to suggest music, articles, or contribute with some random thoughts too.</p>
What I Read in January, 20212021-02-03T04:48:23Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/january_reading/<p>This year I have decided to focus a bit more on reading. My previous attempts on 2019 and 2020 ranged from just mildly successful to barely nothing. To help I've decided to keep track on my reading time. First on Notion, which I used during most of January, to them using a timer on the phone, which is way easier for me.</p>
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<p>I started the year by finishing The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz, <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/book-review-the-word-is-murder-by-anthony-horowitz/">which I reviewed here</a>. Then I went back to the second volume of The Dragonlords series - False Idols - by Jon Hollins. I've started the second volume long ago, read up to 10%, but ended up putting it aside and preferring smaller books.</p>
<p>I'm very glad I continued reading it, as it was so much fun. The sense of humor is great, for me at least, and to see that in a medieval fantasy series... that's an awesome finding.</p>
<p>Being a long book, it took me a while to finish it: I've only finished it on January 25th. Then, I proceeded to return to H is for Hawk, another book that I put aside for a while. This one I started reading on my flight to Brazil last year, and was planning to continue on my flight back. But I was too stressed to read it.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Bi1i8sD.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>My reading stats are down below, grouped per week. As you can see, I've started the year better, but somethings kept me away from books later on. I also suspect I forgot to input a few days on Notion - that's why I moved to the phone timer.</p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th style="text-align:center">Week</th>
<th style="text-align:center">Total (in hours)</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center">1</td>
<td style="text-align:center">3:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center">2</td>
<td style="text-align:center">3:55</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center">3</td>
<td style="text-align:center">2:25</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center">4</td>
<td style="text-align:center">4:05</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align:center">5</td>
<td style="text-align:center">2:00</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>I know it's just a little reading, but I guess the most important thing was trying to read a bit every day. Maybe that way I can rise my weekly averages to above 5 hours. Let's see how it went in a month.</p>
<p>Note: the app I'm using is <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.razeeman.util.simpletimetracker&hl=en_US&gl=US">Simple Time Tracker</a>. It allows me to add widgets to my home, and press them to start/pause the activity.</p>
Geekosaur News #12021-01-30T20:00:49Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur_weekly_1/<p>For a while, I was thinking about returning with the weekly updates. And this week, after seeing that Twitter acquired a newsletter service (Revue), I decided to do it.</p>
<p>This is not actually a newsletter, as it's been posted on the blog, but the idea is the same: having a commitment to write a weekly list of personal updates, interesting things that I found on the internet, and random thoughts/questions for online discussion that might result in a separate blog post later on.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Gng2Fkk.png" alt="" /></p>
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<h2 id="random-thought-forums" tabindex="-1">Random Thought - Forums! <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur_weekly_1/#random-thought-forums" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I might be a bit older than people reading this, but if you ever participated in an old forum, you might relate to that. Sometimes I just miss old forums, smaller communities usually, with a few focuses, and a better sense of belonging, knowing everyone, being kind of a family.</p>
<p>I was part of a few forums years ago, including one for Pump It Up, one for anime, and one for anime sheet music. There were another couple forums that were larger, but didn't have that much impact.</p>
<p>My theories on what could be the reasons for that sense of belonging and community:</p>
<ul>
<li>Size: even bigger forums would lose that sense of 'we are a family'. Twitter and Reddit could be even worse. I have absolutely no idea who I'm interacting with on Reddit.</li>
<li>Form: Twitter focus on briefer interactions, Reddit doesn't feature avatars prominently. So you usually have less involvement on those platforms. Instagram can be even worse, when even when you send a DM to someone, they can just 'like' your message without even replying. Discord can have smaller communities, but the kind-of synchronous communication with no threads to separate different conversations ruin it for me.</li>
<li>Focus: in a forum devoted to ONE game (i.e Pump It Up), or hobby (anime sheet music), will attract more like-minded people, and the discussions will tend to be around things that are similar or at least, general common interests. Keep political discussions away from my book club.</li>
</ul>
<p>This is a short list, but I would like to know: do you miss forums? What's you favorite way of making online friends? Please join the discussion on Reddit or Twitter, the link is on the the of the post. (I know the irony, yeah.)</p>
<h2 id="recommended-reading" tabindex="-1">Recommended Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur_weekly_1/#recommended-reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This week, I suggest this article from BBC: <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-55826238">Social media damages teenagers' mental health</a>. And there's a good conversation about it on <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25928310">Hacker News</a>.</p>
<h2 id="personal-news" tabindex="-1">Personal News <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur_weekly_1/#personal-news" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>My standing desk from Flexispot finally arrived! It's so cool, specially because it's motorized and I can just press a button to adjust the height!</p>
<p>I also started using an app for taking my reading time. I was using Notion to register the time each day, but that's a mental overhead to it, having to remember and sum the time and remember to add it to a daily entry. Way better to just press a widget button to start/stop.</p>
<p>Also got 2 new vinyl records. Hollywood's Bleeding (Post Malone) as a gift to my wife. And Smile (Katy Perry) because both of us have been listening to that album every day! A good week for music in my home. Also have been listening to music more on my turntable :)</p>
<h3 id="reading" tabindex="-1">Reading <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur_weekly_1/#reading" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This week I finished reading The Dragonlords #2 - False Idols. It's a way too fun fantasy book with a crazy group of heroes that could be compared to Guardians of the Galaxy. I already have the 3rd book on the trilogy on my Kindle, and should read it maybe in a month.</p>
<p>And then I resumed reading H is for Hawk, which I stopped quite some time ago, but decided to finally finish it now.</p>
<p>I also bought 3 books at Indigo, which should be arriving next week:</p>
<ul>
<li>Gods Of Jade And Shadow (by Silvia Moreno-Garcia)</li>
<li>The Institute (by Stephen King)</li>
<li>The Romantic Poets.
<ul>
<li>A HUGE compilation on English romantic poetry with William Wordsworth, George Gordon Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, and William Blake</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur_weekly_1/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>For today, I have this Dua Lipa tiny desk concert. I'm not a huge fan of the album version, but this is just great! <em>Levitating</em> is very groovy and awesome to start the good vibes mood, specially in this striped-down version. Sounds more funnk/groove, while the original is a bit more dance-y. It also looses the (for me) weird and unnecessary rap at the middle.</p>
<p><em>Pretty Please</em> follows the groove vibe, but starting to get more cozy and relaxing, being a great bridge to <em>Love Again</em>. The 4th and last song is <em>Don't Start Now</em>, which takes us back to a more uplifting funk/groove. Damn, I would buy the vinyl record if those were the official versions.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/F4neLJQC1_E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="random" tabindex="-1">Random <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/geekosaur_weekly_1/#random" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://xkcd.com/810/">embed</a></p>
To The Lake: When Shit Hits The Fan2021-01-06T01:39:21Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/to_the_lake_netflix_review/<p>With a very interesting timing, To The Lake is a Russian show about a deadly epidemic that released on Netflix in late 2020. I'm not sure if this unfortunate coincidence kept some people away from it, but I'm glad I wasn't put off.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/xhtfSxG.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/38-mV480iLU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<blockquote>
<p>As a contagious illness, panic and looting ravages Moscow, a thrown-together band of families and neighbors forms a shaky alliance for survival.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The show starts the usual way those epidemic/plague/apocalyptic stories start. You can see how everyone is going on with their lives, and how here and there, there's something happening.</p>
<p>The main cast is formed by two families: Sergey's and Leonid's. Sergey is divorced, has a young son with his ex-wife, and lives with his current love, which has a teenager son with autism. Leonid has a daughter, his wife already passed away, and he has another woman, which is pregnant.</p>
<p>No one here is a saint, although some are more annoying or selfish than the others. In short: everybody sucks.</p>
<p>When the epidemic starts, hell breaks loose. That's when Sergey receives a visit from his Father, who tells him that they should run away. Over the years, he turned a stranded boat on a lake into a house. They all band together and try to get there.</p>
<p>That's the premise of the series, adapted from Vongozero (2011), a novel by Yana Vagner. During those 8 episodes, all hell breaks loose, shit keeps happening, you lose faith in humanity, you want to kill some characters, the usual.</p>
<p>But that's the beauty of To The Lake: it's very real. You are seeing a group of regular people that are only trying to flee from the epidemic and the anarchy that it ensues. Trying to survive, trying to save their loved ones.</p>
<p>The visuals are incredible, the characters are going to make you either root for them or want them to die a horrible death. But there's no denying: you will care.</p>
<p>This is a strong recommendation for fans of the shit-hits-the-fan genre. The series was already renewed for a second season, which I hope is as good as the first. As there's a sequel to the original book, maybe it would be based on it.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Bottom line: To The Lake is a great Russian show. Good plot, characters and visuals! Great entry point for Russian TV.</p>
</blockquote>
Book Review: The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz2021-01-03T04:10:48Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/the_word_is_murder_book_review/<p>Since I was very young, I've always been a big fan of good mysteries. I still remember when I first got The Hound Of The Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle. It was a delight!</p>
<p>Then, fast forward to a year or so ago, and I was reading The Magpie Murders, my first Anthony Horowitz novel. I loved it so much, and I still need to write at least a short review here.</p>
<p>After that excellent first impression on an exceptional mystery novel, of course I was going to get another Horowitz novel. So I got The Word Is Murder, the first book on the Detective Daniel Hawthorne series, published in 2017.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/5vePw9f.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
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<blockquote>
<p>SHE PLANNED HER OWN FUNERAL. BUT DID SHE ARRANGE HER MURDER?<br />
Buried secrets, murder and a trail of bloody clues lie at the heart of Anthony Horowitz’s new detective series.<br />
A wealthy woman strangled six hours after she’s arranged her own funeral.<br />
A very private detective uncovering secrets but hiding his own.<br />
A reluctant author drawn into a story he can’t control.<br />
What do they have in common?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This book is narrated by Horowitz himself, as presents a very interesting blend of fiction and reality. He is the narrator, which was approached by a detective to write a true crime book on an ongoing investigation he's beginning. It's very interesting to read the author himself, or his book version, talking about how it's different to write a true crime book instead of fiction. But that can also be a weakness, as in some very few occasions I though that some details and thinking could be left out.</p>
<p>Besides the somewhat unusual narrative style, the plot is also very interesting. It was great to try to guess who did it, and be completely surprised on how things turn out. Also, I usually read either older mystery books (Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle), or books that are historical mysteries. So, reading a contemporary mystery is very interesting and kinda new to me. And Horowitz definitely uses that to his advantage. I was completely surprised on how one little detail set my theories (and the narrator's) all wrong.</p>
<p>With that being said, even though I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it to mystery fans, I think that The Magpie Murders is a better book. Anyway, you can't go wrong with either book.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Bottom Line: Recommended! Interesting and innovative narrative, strong plot and surprising end makes it for a must read for mystery fans.</p>
</blockquote>
Watched: December 20202020-12-30T07:13:52Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/watched_december_2020/<p>The month (and the year) is almost over, so I though I would share what I watched during December. Hopefully I'll remember to do that every month :)</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/X0Qkjqi.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<h2 id="tv-shows" tabindex="-1">TV Shows <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched_december_2020/#tv-shows" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I've been watching Friends with my wife, as it's going to leave Netflix today (Dec. 30). We finished the show last week (I think) and then started it again from season 1. Honestly, I don't know how many times we watched it, but it's an easy and safe choice when you have no idea what to watch.</p>
<p>A great short show that I watched was Des, with David Tennant. It's only 3 episodes long, and it's about Dennis Nilsen, a Scottish serial killer.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/7vyu4NggbtI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<br />
<hr />
<p>A lighter watch was the first season of Truth Seekers, an 8 episode long comedy with Nick Frost. I enjoyed it and would definitely watch a second season.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yg8b-ZIQ4e8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<br />
<hr />
<p>I also watched the second season of Hilda, which is SO good! I absolutely loved it, and I'm very excited for season 3! It's beautiful, fun, heartwarming, cute. Everything you could wish for in a show like that.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/XCojP2Ubuto" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<hr />
<p>I started The Flight Attendant, with Kaley Cuoco, and watched the first 3 or 4 episodes so far - which is half of the season. Seems interesting, but OH MY GOD HOW SHE TAKES SOME BAD DECISIONS. Anyway, it's a fun mystery to watch, and an interesting change from the usual mystery shows.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/OP_WC5oOCe8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<hr />
<p>I started watching Better Than Us, a Russian sci-fi about robots, which seems very good. I left it on hold for now after 4 episodes because I was not in the mood for it at the moment, but I plan on getting back to it later. A few actors from To The Lake are here, which was weird, considering I had just finished it when I started Better Than Us.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/9CPWD4GRAsA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<hr />
<p>I watched the first couples episodes of The Restaurant (Our Time is Now) on Prime Video - with Sundance Now trial. It's a Swedish show that reminds me of Downton Abbey, and certainly D.A. fans will like it. I only stopped because I have so many things to watch, that starting a new show that is already filming its 4th season doesn't make much sense to me right now. Specially because I'm planning on watching some movies for a while. But let's see if I get back to it later.</p>
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<h2 id="movies" tabindex="-1">Movies <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched_december_2020/#movies" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I also watched a couple movies: Palm Springs and Happiest Season.</p>
<p>Palm Springs is SO GOOD! It's difficulty to see a good time-loop comedy à la Groundhog Day. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti were so great here. Definitely recommend!</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/CpBLtXduh_k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<hr />
<p>And the last movie watched was Happiest Season - a Christmas movie that I enjoyed, well... on Christmas eve. You get to ABSOLUTELY HATE Harper (Mackenzie Davis), but I guess that's the point of the movie. And besides having a good time during it, at the end, things make sense and I'm happy that I watched it.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/h58HkQV1gHY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>So that's what I got! Feel free to reply and recommend me something good you watched recently. Maybe I'll check it out and feature it on January's post.</p>
Happy New Year (And Late Merry Christmas)2020-12-30T06:16:52Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/happy_holidays_2020/<p>I haven't been writing much recently, but I still want to wish everyone a happy new year! I was going to wish everyone a merry Christmas, but seems I'm a bit late on that.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately I wasn't able to be very active here this year, specially this month, but I hope I can post more starting January. Even if that means keeping it simple and short.</p>
<p>On Christmas eve my wife and I enjoyed a nice bottle of wine, and watched Happiest Season on Prime Video. It's a lot of fun, with many cool actors. Great for a post-Christmas-dinner chill.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/h58HkQV1gHY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<blockquote>
<p>A young woman's plans to propose to her girlfriend while at her family's annual holiday party are upended when she discovers her partner hasn't yet come out to her conservative parents.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And that's all for today. Hope everyone is having a nice time and enjoying what's left of 2020. And to a great 2021!</p>
Paranormal: Supernatural Mystery From Egypt2020-12-19T05:26:04Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/netflix_paranormal_review/<p>As I mentioned in the last post, this year I've watched some great foreign language movies and TV shows. For this series of posts I'm going to start with the most recent that I finished: Paranormal.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/desgj4S.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<p>Paranormal is an Egyptian Netflix original and is based on a series of books. It's a supernatural show with some good mystery and horror. It released in November 2020 and the first season is 8 episodes long.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/LFtRkDC7aHc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>Set in the 1960s, the series, packed with mystery and suspense, depicts the adventures of PARANORMAL leading character Dr. Refaat Ismail, a single hematologist who finds himself faced with a series of supernatural events.</p>
<p>The structure is a good mix between case-of-the-week, which sometimes takes more than 1 episode to resolve, and a seasonal arc. Even with that somewhat episodic structure, it shouldn't be a problem for those who are not fans of the style. That's because it's a short season, and episodes are well connected.</p>
<p>The main character is very unique and refreshing, different than the usual protagonists you see in these shows. With the show taking place in the 60s Egypt, the setting and visuals are also different than anything I've watched recently.</p>
<p>This show is a strong recommendation!</p>
<p>Some quotes from the show:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some people make your heart skip a beat, even if you haven't seen them for 15 years.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>If your mind plays tricks on you, play along.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You can watch it on <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80214886">Netflix</a>.</p>
Which Foreign Language Shows And Movies Do You Like?2020-12-14T05:04:57Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/nonenglish-shows-movies/<p>I've always liked to consume different types of content. Not only different medias and genres, but also different origins. Recently I have been watching some great non-English (and non-Asian) TV shows and movies. Because of that, I decided to start a series of posts sharing some great recommendations, most of those from Europe.</p>
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<p>Consuming content from different cultures is great. Even when the story is similar, the way it's told will be different, the cinematography (or writing style, for books) is going to be different. That's very refreshing.</p>
<p>I know that many readers here like anime, and some will also watch Korean or Chinese dramas. But that doesn't count as variety if you only watch TV from 3 different countries, right?</p>
<p>So, during the next few weeks I'll be posting some recommendations on TV shows and movies that I enjoyed. If you have anything to recommend, please feel free to send it!</p>
My 2020 Spotify Wrapped2020-12-06T22:09:46Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/spotify_wrapped_2020/<p>The year is coming to an end, and Spotify released my 2020 rewind - or 2020 wrapped. Let's have a look on what I listened to this year. I saved the best for last, of course!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/2mdG4Zw.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<p>That's kinda cool: I discovered 708 new artists. I also listened to 348 genres, 151 of which are new to me. And here I was, thinking that this year I wasn't being so eclectic on my music habits.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/xNE6t5A.jpg?1" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/aKyGJJF.jpg?1" alt="" /></p>
<p>Speaking of genres, these are my top 5:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/YBJxITl.jpg?1" alt="" /></p>
<p>Funny little thing: this pioneer thing tells me I listened to a song before it hit 50k streams. That's cool. But that title though!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/lvfwVnP.jpg?1" alt="" /></p>
<p>My top decade was 1980. I noticed that I barely listened to 50s and 60s this year. But at least still listened to a good deal of 70s and 80s.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/94gvzKn.jpg?1" alt="" /></p>
<p>Now let's go back to artists: 1281 artists! My top 5 has 4 female singers, followed by one guy that I don't know. Checking his profile, he composed the soundtrack to Lost In Space, which I admit I listened to a few times this year. Though I believed I listened to Interstellar way more than Lost in Space. Figures...</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/0BMplMN.jpg?1" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/3Cf0zaS.jpg?1" alt="" /></p>
<p>Clairo was in filling my heart for the first 3 or 4 months of the year, before going to Brazil. And I listened to a lot of Katy Perry when I returned to Vancouver in August, as I loved her new album. Even though I was never a fan before. DAOKO is a lot of fun when it comes to J-Pop, and Madeline Juno is not much of a surprise to me.</p>
<p>Let's take a moment a see how much I like Madeline Juno:</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/6RRM6Zl.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Yeah, 2256 minutes streamed, and... seems I'm a top 0.01% fan?</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/nF6NQyN.jpg?1" alt="" /></p>
<p>Ok, let's change subject, enough Madeline Juno. How about my top 5 songs? Well... I guess I loved Madeline Juno's new album?</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/0QRk9vo.jpg?1" alt="" /></p>
<p>Small comment here: last year I was also addicted to her. I made a post with my favourite songs from her on Wordpress, and I guess I'll try to bring it back here soon! With that being said, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1ELWM5ckttZ9C">click here and listen to my top tracks of the year</a>!</p>
Anime Controversies [#Controversed]2020-11-07T22:05:39Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/anime-controversies-controversed/<p>Today it's time for something a little bit different: let's talk anime controversies. This is part of a series of posts that Moya from the Moyatorium is suggesting for November: <a href="https://moyatorium.wordpress.com/2020/11/02/announcing-controversed-a-november-workshop/">Announcing Controversed: A November Workshop</a>.</p>
<p>As I finally have an excuse to stop being lazy and actually write a blog post on my thoughts, let's see the prompt for this week:</p>
<ul>
<li>What is a controversy in the (anime/manga/other) community that bothers you, and why?</li>
<li>What do you think of controversies? Do you consider yourself or your blog controversial to any degree?</li>
</ul>
<p>If you want to skip to any specific part, there's a TOC on the sidebar. Also, I have no intention of offending anyone, but just sparking discussion, igniting a flame war and losing all my followers.</p>
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<h2 id="controversies-that-bother-me" tabindex="-1">Controversies that bother me <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime-controversies-controversed/#controversies-that-bother-me" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="the-this-is-totally-mundane-but-i-ll-make-a-big-fuss-about-it-way-of-thinking" tabindex="-1">The 'This is totally mundane but I'll make a big fuss about it' way of thinking <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime-controversies-controversed/#the-this-is-totally-mundane-but-i-ll-make-a-big-fuss-about-it-way-of-thinking" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This is very related to the second question <em>What do I think of controversies</em>, as many things fall into this category. But I guess I can say that increasing the status of mere preferences and opinions to controversies is something that really bothers me.</p>
<p>I guess this happens because the anime community, like the comic book and other geeky communities, is very passionate about their hobby, and their preferences regarding it. That is good for many things, but sometimes it only serves to drag people to useless internet flame wars.</p>
<p>WHO THE F cares if you prefer subs or dubs, or if you prefer reading One Piece/Hero Academia/Black Clover/whatever? I mean... if you like One Piece, other One Piece fans will care about it, as you are a part of their group. But there is no - or shouldn't be - a group of people that bond together in the fact that they don't watch One Piece. Is the same joke that people make of <em>what atheists do when they go to their atheist church/cult?</em>. The answer is: nothing, they just... don't. Not liking/doing/believing in something will just put you into a group of 1~7 billion people that also don't.</p>
<p>With that being said, the only correct answers are: subs of course, BNHA and Black Clover. The rest of you are damned to burn in the eternal flames of bad preferences. Just kidding. (But I'll talk about subs vs dubs in a separate post)</p>
<h3 id="i-feel-offended-and-this-shouldn-t-exist" tabindex="-1">I fEel OfFeNDed ANd ThIS shOUlDN'T eXiSt <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime-controversies-controversed/#i-feel-offended-and-this-shouldn-t-exist" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I'm not sure if this is an anime community controversy, as I really believe that as in with comics and games, most people that complain about offensive content don't actually consume that type of content anyway. BUT THIS!!!!! Yes, I understand that there are sexualization, violence, sexism and racism in the media - all of them, not only in anime - but some people try too hard to be offended by drawings and computer graphics when they are ok with the exact same content in a movie or music video.</p>
<p>I will not go deeper into that as I think this deserves its own post, but I'll leave below an extremely offensive image of an adult woman wearing a <em>sugoi-dekai</em> shirt.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/XneKzo9.jpg" alt="How dare you not have the same body type as me?|blur" /></p>
<h2 id="my-take-on-controversies" tabindex="-1">My take on controversies <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime-controversies-controversed/#my-take-on-controversies" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>In Brazil we have a saying when referring to people focusing on useless discussions/"controversies": it's lack of dishes to wash. People need to chill-out and find a better use of their time. My personal suggestions:</p>
<ul>
<li>Consume content you actually like</li>
<li>Finally start learning how to sing/play piano/speak japanese/play bridge as you always dreamed of since you were a kid but always say to yourself you don't have enough time. NOW YOU HAVE TIME!</li>
<li>Learn skills useful to get a promotion/better job/a job. Earn more money to buy those expensive figures you were planning on getting after selling a kidney on the black market. You get to keep your organs!</li>
<li>Transform all that accumulated hate energy in sweat, burnt fat, muscle mass as you exercise, lose a few pounds, improve your health and self-image. The not enough time + lack of energy + not liking to exercise is strong, I know. But 10 minutes of stretching + planking will do wonders for your body and mind, and also help prevent hand/wrist/elbow pain as you get older and have too much computer time. Trust me!</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/duty_calls.png" alt="of course|https://xkcd.com/386/" /></p>
<p>If you still think an issue is important - issue, not controversy - get out of twitter and devote some time into actually researching it. Do you think playing GTA is making people violent, anime lewds lead to child abuse? Go look into research and see if your thoughts are correct. Many, many times, our assumptions, suppositions, intuitions and hunches are actually wrong.</p>
<p>It's natural to think for example, that death penalty and poor prisoner treatment will deter crime, but that's really far from the truth. The same thing happens with thoughts on violence in videogames, and sexualization of 2d (or 3d) characters. It's perfectly fine to have a starting theory, but to go to war with people (and countries) producing and consuming media and art content, you need a little bit more.</p>
<p>I say this because I don't want the anime community to turn into something that people won't touch with a 10 foot pole, like games and comic books are sometimes. If you think that the community is ostracized from the general public outside of Japan, maybe that's part of the reason why: someone observing us will see a bunch of grown-ups acting like middle schoolers because they don't agree which drawing is better.</p>
<p>A friend once said (loose translation): people hate being seen as a cliché, yet they act exactly like it. If you hate the cliché, maybe stop proving it right.</p>
<p>Anime fans will be seen as children (or man-children) if we keep acting like children. Let's enjoy our favourite content and have a healthy community, and then we will be seen differently.</p>
New Nonfiction eBooks I Got Recently [Nov. 2020]2020-11-04T20:11:01Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/new_nonfiction_ebooks_nov2020/<p>Yesterday I posted about <a href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new_ebooks_nov2020">fiction ebooks that I got recently</a>. This time I'm sharing some non-fiction titles that I added to my Kindle collection!</p>
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<h2 id="mythology-timeless-tales-of-gods-and-heroes-by-edith-hamilton" tabindex="-1">Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new_nonfiction_ebooks_nov2020/#mythology-timeless-tales-of-gods-and-heroes-by-edith-hamilton" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I used to love reading about mythology when I was younger, and for a while I've been meaning to do it again.</p>
<figure><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/OMIAFGNRxw-377.jpeg" width="377" height="500" alt="" class=" vertical" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /><figcaption>Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes <a href="https://amzn.to/3p1aPTo">link</a></figcaption></figure>
<blockquote>
<p>This 75th anniversary edition of a classic bestseller is stunningly illustrated and designed to enchant fans of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology at all ages.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="how-the-west-won-the-neglected-story-of-the-triumph-of-modernity-by-rodney-stark" tabindex="-1">How the West Won: The Neglected Story of the Triumph of Modernity by Rodney Stark <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new_nonfiction_ebooks_nov2020/#how-the-west-won-the-neglected-story-of-the-triumph-of-modernity-by-rodney-stark" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<blockquote>
<p>Modernity developed only in the West—in Europe and North America. Nowhere else did science and democracy arise; nowhere else was slavery outlawed. Only Westerners invented chimneys, musical scores, telescopes, eyeglasses, pianos, electric lights, aspirin, and soap.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="atlas-obscura-2nd-edition-an-explorer-s-guide-to-the-world-s-hidden-wonders-by-joshua-foer" tabindex="-1">Atlas Obscura, 2nd Edition: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new_nonfiction_ebooks_nov2020/#atlas-obscura-2nd-edition-an-explorer-s-guide-to-the-world-s-hidden-wonders-by-joshua-foer" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>From the same author of Moonwalking With Einstein, which I was reading before and loving it.</p>
<figure><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/POi0D8SgiI-339.jpeg" width="339" height="500" alt="" class=" vertical" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /><figcaption>Atlas Obscura by Joshua Foer <a href="https://amzn.to/2TUIdgg">link</a></figcaption></figure>
<blockquote>
<p>Inspiring equal parts wonder and wanderlust, Atlas Obscura is a phenomenon of a travel book that shot to the top of bestseller lists when it was first published and changed the way we think about the world, expanding our sense of how strange and marvelous it really is.</p>
</blockquote>
New Fiction Books I Got Recently [Nov. 2020]2020-11-04T03:18:19Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/new_ebooks_nov2020/<p>On the past few months I've got some sweet new eBooks on my Kindle, further increasing the size of my ever-growing TBR list. But, who can resist a sweet deal, right?</p>
<p>Below I'm sharing some of the books I've acquired recently. It's not everything, as some are free classic books, and some just not that interesting. Also, the list is still a bit big, so I left the non-fiction reads for a separate post. I guess I need to stop buying books for a while. Anyway, let's check it out!</p>
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<h2 id="mexican-gothic-by-silvia-moreno-garcia" tabindex="-1">Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new_ebooks_nov2020/#mexican-gothic-by-silvia-moreno-garcia" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This is the book I'm reading right now. I'm a couple chapters in, and so far so good. Seems that HULU is doing a limited series based on it. That's going to be cool!!</p>
<figure><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/N5tn1KTitq-330.jpeg" width="330" height="500" alt="" class=" vertical" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /><figcaption>Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia <a href="https://amzn.to/3oXvkjx">link</a></figcaption></figure>
<blockquote>
<p>An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets. . . . From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes “a terrifying twist on classic gothic horror” (Kirkus Reviews) set in glamorous 1950s Mexico.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="the-bird-tribunal-by-agnes-ravatn" tabindex="-1">The Bird Tribunal by Agnes Ravatn <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new_ebooks_nov2020/#the-bird-tribunal-by-agnes-ravatn" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>A shorter read - only 177 pages - of a nordic mystery. Count me in for when winter hits!</p>
<figure><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/g4PDlL63V6-326.jpeg" width="326" height="500" alt="" class=" vertical" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /><figcaption>The Bird Tribunal by Agnes Ravatn <a href="https://amzn.to/3mRotXe">link</a></figcaption></figure>
<blockquote>
<p>When a disgraced TV presenter takes up the role of housekeeper on an isolated Norwegian fjord, she develops a chilling, obsessive relationship with her employer … an award-winning, simply stunning debut psychological thriller from one of Norway’s finest writers.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="the-kingdom-of-back-by-marie-lu" tabindex="-1">The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new_ebooks_nov2020/#the-kingdom-of-back-by-marie-lu" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Historical fantasy about musical prodigies? Ok, this is something I kinda have to add to my list. Music is - and will always be - kind of a sweet spot for me.</p>
<figure><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/ARv8t3yXYr-331.jpeg" width="331" height="500" alt="" class=" vertical" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /><figcaption>The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu <a href="https://amzn.to/328Hexa">link</a></figcaption></figure>
<blockquote>
<p>From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu comes a historical YA fantasy about a musical prodigy and the dangerous lengths she'll go to make history remember her--perfect for fans of Susanna Clarke and The Hazel Wood.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="above-the-bay-of-angels-by-rhys-bowen" tabindex="-1">Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new_ebooks_nov2020/#above-the-bay-of-angels-by-rhys-bowen" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Rhys Bowen is an author that always shows up for me on Amazon, as she writes a lot of historical mysteries - and many are cozy mysteries, <a href="https://cozy-mystery.com/rhys-bowen.html">which you can check here</a>. But I always put off getting new cozy mysteries because they are like light novels and urban fantasy series: long. At least with cozy mysteries there's no need to read much further than volume 1 if you don't want, but still, I'm a completionist, hahaha. Anyway, this is a good opportunity for me to read something from her that is not part of a series.</p>
<figure><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/PZyFuCNei0-333.jpeg" width="333" height="500" alt="" class=" vertical" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /><figcaption>Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen <a href="https://amzn.to/34SCGgo">link</a></figcaption></figure>
<blockquote>
<p>A single twist of fate puts a servant girl to work in Queen Victoria’s royal kitchen, setting off a suspenseful, historical mystery by the New York Times bestselling author of The Tuscan Child and The Victory Garden.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2 id="becoming-mrs-lewis-the-improbable-love-story-of-joy-davidman-and-c-s-lewis-by-patti-callahan" tabindex="-1">Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis by Patti Callahan <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/new_ebooks_nov2020/#becoming-mrs-lewis-the-improbable-love-story-of-joy-davidman-and-c-s-lewis-by-patti-callahan" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I got this one because... it was cheap? Also, looks interesting, as it's about C. S. Lewis' love.</p>
<figure><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/lGOBl88tqB-333.jpeg" width="333" height="500" alt="" class=" vertical" loading="lazy" decoding="async" /><figcaption>Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan <a href="https://amzn.to/34SCGgo">link</a></figcaption></figure>
<blockquote>
<p>In a most improbable friendship, she found love. In a world where women were silenced, she found her voice.</p>
</blockquote>
Fall 2020 Anime - What I'm Watching2020-11-03T02:02:36Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/fall_2020_anime/<p>A bit late to the party, but let's talk seasonal anime. This is going to be a slow season for me, as I both behind in some titles, and reading/watching other non-anime stuff (and playing Animal Crossing).</p>
<p>I guess I can start with the things I'm behind, which is mainly 2: Re:Zero and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?. For obvious reasons, I can't start Danmachi's 3rd season, even though I'm not sure I'm in the mood for it right now, and Re:Zero is something that interests me more/has a higher priority than most seasonal anime for fall 2020. I should also add that I have all Sound! Euphonium movies in my backlog. whew</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/BJIc6sd.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<p>As of now, I'm watching Jujutsu Kaisen and Moriarty the Patriot. I have also started Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai, which is an anime that I LOVED growing up, and is a manga that I think is absolutely great! But I've been postponing it so I would be in the right mood and have a bit more time. I just moved to a new apartment, and I'm still organizing stuff.</p>
<p>I'm also behind on Black Clover, which I want to watch the anime-only arc before returning to the manga. Basically I'll probably only be watching the anime-only arc, and then switching back to the manga.</p>
<p>So far so good for Jujutsu Kaisen: the action is good, and the plot is interesting. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary yet, but the show is getting stronger, so I hope it's going to grow into something really cool. My only real complaint is how they refer to themselves as 'curses', as if they are the same as the monsters, but human-looking. I guess would be better to say 'cursed', or just go with something else that indicated that they have curse energy flowing in them? Or maybe at some point is going to be revealed that they are half-human-half-curse breed?</p>
<p>Regarding Moriarty I've to admit I'm still behind, so for now my fears around this title is more based on how many mystery anime end up being not-so-good. Although I would still prefer if they went with new characters, instead of another Sherlock Holmes based title that might be disappointing in the end. But to give credit were its due, the first episode was cool, and I liked the origin story episode. Let's see how it goes.</p>
<p>I need to add that Jujutsu's ED is so cool and I LOVE IT!!!!!</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/AWEm4tA2hMc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
Happy Halloween!2020-11-01T00:30:08Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/happy_halloween_2020/<p>Have a happy halloween everyone!</p>
<p>It's been a while since I posted last here, and I didn't have time to prepare anything horror-themed :(</p>
<p>Enjoy the festivities, a pumpkin spiced latte, watch some Dark Shadows (the original soap opera) and listen to the Penny Dreadful OST!</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/s9KNYOfj-3w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>Listen to it on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/578R6rkHNqpyfEfrIluGLS">Spotify</a></p>
I'm Playing Animal Crossing2020-10-15T18:34:20Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/im_playing_animal_crossing/<p>Over a month ago, me and my wife got a Nintendo Switch to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons. So far we are having a good time!</p>
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<h2 id="the-island" tabindex="-1">The Island <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/im_playing_animal_crossing/#the-island" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>We named the island Sugar Coast, which is ironic considering I have diabetes, and our fruit is peach. We recently got the building app, and I already started changing a few elevations. I'll share it when it looks a bit better :)</p>
<p>She's the resident representative, although I've played way more than her (including with her character). It would be nice to be able to change who's boss, but I guess besides building bridges/inclines, I'm not missing anything. And when I want to do that, I just need to switch for her profile.</p>
<h2 id="residents" tabindex="-1">Residents <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/im_playing_animal_crossing/#residents" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>We started with Diva and Mott, then added Kitt, Prince and Wendy. And for the K. K. show, we added Henry, Admiral and Rudy. My next Animal Crossing post will be about their locations :)</p>
<h2 id="random-pics-and-moments" tabindex="-1">Random Pics and Moments <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/im_playing_animal_crossing/#random-pics-and-moments" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Here are a few screenshots and pictures I've shared on Twitter since I started playing.</p>
<p>Nice 'cute victorian' vibe here</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AnimalCrossing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AnimalCrossing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACNH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ACNH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NintendoSwitch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NintendoSwitch</a> <a href="https://t.co/bOeVY5aOBC">pic.twitter.com/bOeVY5aOBC</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1311896328926945280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Random wife's char pic. LOOK AT THAT FACE</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AnimalCrossing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AnimalCrossing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACNH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ACNH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NintendoSwitch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NintendoSwitch</a> <a href="https://t.co/bOeVY5aOBC">pic.twitter.com/bOeVY5aOBC</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1311896328926945280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>It's very convenient that I don't need to go to my bedroom to get changed. But WTF?</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">????????? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AnimalCrossing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AnimalCrossing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACNH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ACNH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NintendoSwitch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NintendoSwitch</a> <a href="https://t.co/boUB198BcT">pic.twitter.com/boUB198BcT</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1307451229488865280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Just having a nice virtual walk around. That's her house on the last pic.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AnimalCrossing?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AnimalCrossing</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ACNH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ACNH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NintendoSwitch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NintendoSwitch</a> <a href="https://t.co/LMlEjklW9s">pic.twitter.com/LMlEjklW9s</a></p>— Falcon | Geekosaur 🍥 (@FalconSensei) <a href="https://twitter.com/FalconSensei/status/1310115699252051968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
What I'm Watching [Oct. 4, 2020]2020-10-05T20:10:24Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/watching_now_oct4_2020/<p>So, after a post on what I'm reading, let's talk a bit about TV!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/U9lZXw5.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<p>A few weeks ago, I've started watching The X Files, and I'm having a lot of fun with it. Although not every episode is amazing, but overall it's very enjoyable. I'm currently finishing season 2, and I think that during/after season 3 I will probably want a little break from it.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Ynp7l3o.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I'm also occasionally watching Extracurricular, a Korean drama about students, criminal activity and prostitution. I've watched the first 3 episodes and so far I'm enjoying it and I'm very curious on what's going to happen. As a bonus, it's only 10 episodes long. (Yeah, I'm not a big fan of long dramas). Check more info on <a href="https://trakt.tv/shows/extracurricular">Trakt.tv</a>.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/I7DmrI9.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>ARCHER IS BACK!!! I love this show, and 3 episodes in, season 11 has been great, as always. Netflix has the first 10 seasons, so go watch it.</p>
<p>I also resumed watching Kim's Convenience. I had started season 4 when it was airing, but only watched the first 2 episodes, so now that it's on Netflix, I'll try to finish it.</p>
<p>And I've just finished Close Enough, which is made by the same creator of Regular Show. It's something I've been watching during breakfast, or when I'm too lazy, as each episode is only 10 minutes long, and there's no story arc going on or anything. Just simple fun.</p>
Watched: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 32020-09-27T19:33:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/watched_mrs_maisel_s03/<p>When I started this show, the first 2 season were out already. AND I BINGED BOTH SO QUICKLY. It became of of those series I absolutely love (almost) everything about: the actors, story, setting, music, costumes, comedy. I even bought the first 2 seasons' OSTs in vinyl.</p>
<p>For some reason though, I started season 3 when it was released, but didn't get to finish it at that time. And then I went to Brazil, and was locked there for 5 months... But coming back home decided to finally watch the second half of the season, and I loved it!!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/xMcYofs.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<p>There were a few things I didn't like so much, but overall, it was a strong season, even if not as wonderful as the first 2. I'm still very excited for the next season and what is going to happen to everyone.</p>
<p>On a small note: I absolutely love the cast, and I think they are perfect for each role. With that being said, I stumbled upon this comment on Reddit:</p>
<blockquote class="reddit-card">
<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMarvelousMrsMaisel/comments/it5p6k/hi_anyone_have_any_similar_shows_to_the_marvelous/">r/geekosaur Lounge</a>
from <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/geekosaur">r/geekosaur</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://embed.redditmedia.com/widgets/platform.js" charset="UTF-8"></script>
<p>I absolutely agree that Alison Brie would also be awesome as Mrs. Maisel. And I ask: there's any other actors you think could also have been great in this show? For which character?</p>
<p>Regarding some things I didn't like so much, or that I really liked, SPOILER ALERT. Stop reading if you didn't watch the season yet.</p>
<p>Episode 5: Lenny and Midget's "date". I think it was awesome, and the characters and actors have such great chemistry. It would be GREAT if they got together, at least for a day/night. But unfortunately seems that Rachel Brosnaham begged the series creator not to have them together... I have 2 problems with that:</p>
<ol>
<li>I don't think the actors should interfere with the plot. If the creator and scriptwriters (and the audience) want, they should do it. She's working there to make what the creator/producers/director are envisioning.</li>
<li>WHY NOT??? Both characters and actors have great chemistry, it's clear that Lenny likes Midget. I think forcefully avoiding that is just forcing that relationship to stagnate into a platonic interest from Lenny's part. Which will just drift them apart.</li>
</ol>
<p>Last episode:</p>
<p>Ben and Midget scene at the diner: That was an incredible scene, and shows how Midge is egoistical and self-centered. I think that serves as 2 good life lessons for the audience.</p>
<ol>
<li>If you are ending your engagement, do it in person. C'mon, it's not like you saw the person for dinner twice. You are ENGAGED, the guy got a ring and a house for you.</li>
<li>Don't end relationships because you think the other person is not going to like/stand something. She hurt someone that really liked her, lost something that could have been an amazing relationship, just because she didn't ask him what he wanted.</li>
</ol>
<p>Midget's standup and being fired: WHOA. Yeah, the moment Reggie told her to talk about Shy, everyone saw that coming... That finale was heartbreaking, and now I'm very curious to see what's going to happen in the next season.</p>
<p>Regarding the last scene, I'll leave this Reddit comment here</p>
<blockquote class="reddit-card">
<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMarvelousMrsMaisel/comments/e6r9wv/episode_discussion_s03e08_a_jewish_girl_walks/">r/geekosaur Lounge</a>
from <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/geekosaur">r/geekosaur</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://embed.redditmedia.com/widgets/platform.js" charset="UTF-8"></script>
Books I'm Reading Now [Sept. 24, 2020]2020-09-24T17:30:23Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/reading_now_Sep24_2020/<p>Time to talk about book I'm reading. On thing that I'm trying to do is have a few 'active' books, so I can have a change. Also, I'm trying to split my reads in 3 categories: fiction, non-fiction, and learning. The list below is a good example of that.</p>
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<h2 id="main-read-let-s-pretend-this-never-happened-a-mostly-true-memoir-by-jenny-lawson" tabindex="-1">Main Read: Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading_now_Sep24_2020/#main-read-let-s-pretend-this-never-happened-a-mostly-true-memoir-by-jenny-lawson" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1489415716l/12868761._SY475_.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>This is what I'm reading the most right now. It's life stories from Jenny Lawson, and they are truly entertaining. The way she writes is hilarious, and also touching. I read Furiously Happy before (her second book) and absolutely loved it. I'm currently at around 70%, and hope to finish it this weekend.</p>
<p><a href="https://amzn.to/3j1xziC">Link</a></p>
<h2 id="bottom-tier-character-tomozaki-vol-4" tabindex="-1">Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 4 <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading_now_Sep24_2020/#bottom-tier-character-tomozaki-vol-4" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1595880686l/53504751._SY475_.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I'm not reading this that much right now, because I'm more focused on Let's Pretend This Never Happened. I had a lot of fun with the first 3 volumes on this series, having pre-ordered books 2 to 4 as soon as I finished the current volume. But I guess at some point any light novel has the risk of turning a bit repetitive. I just hope that's not the case and that Tomozaki continues to evolve and face new obstacles.</p>
<p><a href="https://amzn.to/3i2nzUV">Link</a></p>
<h2 id="the-making-of-a-manager" tabindex="-1">The Making of a Manager <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/reading_now_Sep24_2020/#the-making-of-a-manager" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1542183307l/42776244._SY475_.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>As for learning book, I'm occasionally reading The Making of a Manager, something to learn about a possible future career path.</p>
<p><a href="https://amzn.to/33UZuKO">Link</a></p>
Music Corner 4: Katy Perry2020-09-07T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-4/<p>This past week I've listened a few times to the new Katy Perry's album: Smile. Below I added a few MVs, and also the spotify album.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZA5heWazIQ">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjmXERieW9s">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qFBUUN9N34">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNHM5CcvMm0">bookmark</a></p>
Finished Control Game2020-09-02T23:32:19Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/finished_control_game/<p>After so many months without playing it, and then some time trying to beat it, I finally completed Control's main story.</p>
<p>A couple weeks ago I got stuck in the last battle, and after dying many times I stopped playing it for a while. A bit because of the frustration, but also because I got Fall Guys on PS4, and a Nintendo Switch with Animal Crossing and Streets of Rage 4. Then this week I decided to give it another try, and was pleasantly surprised with an update that added assist options.</p>
<!--more-->
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HfwV3PKLFJ0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<p>So, I added auto-aim, immortality and 1 shot kill, finished the last battle - which is nothing special anyway - and finished the game. Now I can finally play the othe side missions, and then at some point get the 2 DLCs :)</p>
<p>But first, I still have Streets of Rage 4 to beat on Switch, and today I got Detroit: Become Human and Horizon Zero Dawn on PS4. I also have Uncharted: Lost Legacy on my list to play, to let's see when I'll be focusing again on the world of Control!</p>
Anime I'm Watching This Season2020-07-31T16:58:51Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/<p>We are a few weeks into summer 2020 season, and it's time to talk about which anime I'm watching this time. Let's see!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ZsMJ8Tk.jpg" alt="This is the true ship!" /></p>
<!--more-->
<h2 id="watching-now" tabindex="-1">Watching Now <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/#watching-now" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="uzaki-chan-wants-to-hang-out" tabindex="-1">Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/#uzaki-chan-wants-to-hang-out" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This anime is so fun! Great to relax and watch the main character's relationship (?) evolve as Uzaki starts hanging out more with Sakurai. Just plain fun and nothing to complain here.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/7NY5v3d.png" alt="Snarky Uzaki" /></p>
<h3 id="rent-a-girlfriend" tabindex="-1">Rent-a-Girlfriend <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/#rent-a-girlfriend" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I like the premise a lot, and the first episode was GREAT. But Kazuya is dumb and a bit annoying occasionally, and his ex-girlfriend is just mean and I hate her. Still watching because I like the plot, and it has Ichinose!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/YISrc8a.png" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="starting-soon" tabindex="-1">Starting Soon <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/#starting-soon" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="black-clover" tabindex="-1">Black Clover <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/#black-clover" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>About a month ago I started reading Black Clover, and WOW, I went through it really fast. It's been a LONG time since I've read 50 manga chapters in a day. So now, there's an anime only arc airing, which starts at the point I stopped the manga - a 6 month time skip. So I guess I'll watch this anime-only arc, and then jump back to the manga, right on the new story arc. So, I'll be starting from episode 129!</p>
<h2 id="waiting" tabindex="-1">Waiting <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/#waiting" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="re-zero-starting-life-in-another-world-season-2" tabindex="-1">Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2 <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/#re-zero-starting-life-in-another-world-season-2" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I'm very hyped for this one since it was announced. But unfortunately I still have to watch the OVAs and recap season 1. Also, I'm thinking about watching it after it finishes, as I did with season 1. I think I'll enjoy it more if I just binge the whole season :D</p>
<p>Yes, I know it's great to participate in online discussions and all, but I know that I will not do that. I think I never truly engaged in discussions about anime or TV shows that are airing, with the exception of Westworld season 1.</p>
<h2 id="still-deciding" tabindex="-1">Still Deciding <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/#still-deciding" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="digimon-adventure" tabindex="-1">Digimon Adventure: <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/#digimon-adventure" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>So, I started watching it last season, before it went on hiatus, but now that it's back, I'm not sure I'm going to continue. In the end, I think it's a kids show that I would watch because of the nostalgia - I truly loved Digimon when I was a kid. And considering it's probably going to have a massive amount of episodes, it would be a huge commitment.</p>
<h3 id="peter-grill-and-the-philosopher-s-time" tabindex="-1">Peter Grill and the Philosopher's Time <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/anime_summer_2020/#peter-grill-and-the-philosopher-s-time" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Yeah, basically "I can't believe it's not hentai: the anime". But it's a short, and maybe I'll binge the BD version next year.</p>
Good Old AMVs2020-07-03T17:08:36Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/great_old_amvs/<p>I remember many years ago (like, 2 decades) when I used to go to anime conventions and actually watch anime and AMVs. The 2000s were when the otaku culture was still beginning in Brazil, and internet and subbed anime was not common at all.</p>
<p>Sometimes I remember a few AMVs that I used to watch from time to time, and get a really nostalgic feeling. I still have a CD with AMVs somewhere, all of them downloaded on Kazaa. Maybe one day I'll find it and see what other videos it contains.</p>
<p>Anyway, below I have a few AMVs from my early otaku days, 3 from anime, and 2 from games. Hope you enjoy! And leave a comment on the linked reddit post below, with your favorite AMVs ever!</p>
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<h2 id="final-fantasy-destiny-stratovarius" tabindex="-1">Final Fantasy - Destiny (Stratovarius) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/great_old_amvs/#final-fantasy-destiny-stratovarius" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This! Even though I never played any of these FF games, the AMV is SO GOOD, that always fills me with nostalgia and good feelings. It actually made me want to play the games, it's just that I... didn't. But because of it, I checked the games' stories and characters, and also discovered Stratovarius. If you don't know the band, please check it out, they are great.</p>
<p>I know, it's a long video, but it's worth. The music and the lyrics are amazing, and the creator did a wonderful job matching the song to video. Listening to it now, I still remember the lyrics. 15 years later. That shows how much I listened to this song, and read the lyrics.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/sgrbVvM-G6M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="ranma-1-2-baka-song" tabindex="-1">Ranma 1/2 - Baka Song <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/great_old_amvs/#ranma-1-2-baka-song" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>After something with a feeling, how about a funny AMV? This one is just plain fun. Fun fact: in a convention I went, there was a girl that sang this song on the stage.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/DY8qPDrZH40" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="tenchi-muyo-don-t-speak-no-doubt" tabindex="-1">Tenchi Muyo - Don't speak (No Doubt) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/great_old_amvs/#tenchi-muyo-don-t-speak-no-doubt" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Tenchi Muyo is so cool. Go watch it if you didn't yet!</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/P_EPQcI3D18" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="ah-my-goddess-iris-goo-goo-dolls" tabindex="-1">Ah My Goddess - Iris (Goo Goo Dolls) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/great_old_amvs/#ah-my-goddess-iris-goo-goo-dolls" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This is one of the Ah! My Goddess AMVs that I like. But unfortunately I wasn't able to find my favorite, which if from the movie. Maybe someday</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Mjfz_5JFWXA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="final-fantasy-9-we-will-rock-you-we-are-the-champions-queen" tabindex="-1">Final Fantasy 9 - We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions (Queen) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/great_old_amvs/#final-fantasy-9-we-will-rock-you-we-are-the-champions-queen" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Just to end with something epic!</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Aa6TTWYfo2k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="bonus-amv-hell-series" tabindex="-1">BONUS: AMV hell series <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/great_old_amvs/#bonus-amv-hell-series" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>That's a series of anime edits, like the original version on Vine/TikTok compilations we have today.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/cCI1owQ7CXI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
My PS4 Games List2020-06-23T21:28:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/my_ps4_games_list/<p>A few weeks ago, <a href="http://notion.so/">Notion.so</a> was made free for personal use. One of the things I decided to use it to, is to organize my game's list, mainly PS4. Not that I have a lot, but it's still cool to plan what I'm going to play next.</p>
<!--more-->
<p>The cool thing is that you can add all type of extra info to each game, as the table is generaetd based on a database you create yourself. Very useful if you want to have info like: DLC you own, expected timeto beat, your trophies, etc.</p>
<p>I'm still adding more info on mine, and this version here is simplified, just so everyone who checks my blog can see what I have. You can check the full and updated list here: <a href="https://www.notion.so/thiagomgd/58f4b0b0efba4b6593d2e11be3e64d73?v=9650a5d956d9435785e189315c910d6b">Notion Link</a></p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Status</th>
<th>Media</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Control</td>
<td>Playing</td>
<td>Disc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Gran Turismo Sport</td>
<td>Playing</td>
<td>Digital</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Crash Bandicoot</td>
<td>Paused</td>
<td>Disc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Spyro</td>
<td>Paused</td>
<td>Disc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Nier: Automata</td>
<td>Paused</td>
<td>Disc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Soul Calibur VI</td>
<td>Paused</td>
<td>Digital</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Stickbold</td>
<td>Paused</td>
<td>Digital</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Uncharted: Lost Legacy</td>
<td>Owned</td>
<td>Digital</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection</td>
<td>Owned</td>
<td>Digital</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Blazblue Cross Tag Battle</td>
<td>Owned</td>
<td>Digital</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Journey</td>
<td>Owned</td>
<td>Digital</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Days Gone</td>
<td>Owned</td>
<td>Disc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Spyro 2</td>
<td>Owned</td>
<td>Disc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Spyro 3</td>
<td>Owned</td>
<td>Disc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Crash Bandicoot 2</td>
<td>Owned</td>
<td>Disc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Crash Bandicoot 3</td>
<td>Owned</td>
<td>Disc</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Injustice</td>
<td>Owned</td>
<td>Digital</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero</td>
<td>Finished</td>
<td>Digital</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Guns, Gore, Cannoli</td>
<td>Finished</td>
<td>Digital</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Music 2020-06-22T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-3/<p>Last week I started checking some random music on Youtube, and went down the rabbit hole (as always).</p>
<p>Here's some of the things I checked, enjoy!</p>
<p>Starting with something less random: a rock cover of Dance Monkey</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl9FFZZnWWo">bookmark</a></p>
<h2 id="orchestral" tabindex="-1">Orchestral <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-3/#orchestral" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>How about some orchestral music? Here we have a version of Sonic's Green Hill Zone, and also a live recording of The Hobbit's Misty Mountain.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScziwuuWf_M">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubHSQ-wu7hw">bookmark</a></p>
<h2 id="medieval-music" tabindex="-1">Medieval Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-3/#medieval-music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>How about this version of the great What Is Love?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbj4bulZX2Y">bookmark</a></p>
<p>I have no idea what a "hardcore medieval party" is, but hey, there's a mix for that.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaRNvJLKP1E">bookmark</a></p>
<h2 id="random-stuff" tabindex="-1">Random Stuff <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-3/#random-stuff" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This lady here is a great spoon player. Yes, spoon.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nLmM9kcBKs">bookmark</a></p>
<p>Gangsta bluegrass or, Gangstagrass.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCEHQ_nhxOA">bookmark</a></p>
<p>At last: if you have rhythm, one string is more than enough.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8H-67ILaqc">bookmark</a></p>
Music Corner 2: Some J-Pop2020-06-15T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-2/<p>Another Monday, another #musicMonday for you! Today, featuring some J-Pop: LELLE, Necry Talkie and Mirei Touyama.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCUOhpZhrpo">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l-qw9yRFOA">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSapSWuK44U">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLDeDs8F7s8">bookmark</a></p>
The King: Eternal Monarch - First Impressions2020-06-09T13:00:19Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/the_king_eternal_monarch_first_impressions/<p>This weekend I started two new Korean dramas: The King: Eternal Monarch and Strangers From Hell. Let's see my first impressions on the first show.</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/N1L1iaFZQ9I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<!--more-->
<blockquote>
<p>Story about a Korean emperor Lee Gon who tries to close the doors to a parallel world which was opened by demons who were unleashed by a deity into the human world, and a detective Jung Tae-eul who tries to protect the people and the one she loves.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The premise is interesting: the king of an alternate Korea comes to our world. The alternate world is not entirely different from ours, the main difference being that they still have a king, while in our world Korea is a democracy.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/dtdXqa6.gif" alt="Its cool to see a modern toy in this kind of setting|giving his friend a toy sword|" /></p>
<p>I liked the references to Alice in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass. It was cool seeing it being read in the alternate world! Also, I would enjoy having crazy, weid things happening as in Alice.</p>
<p>The lead actress is Kim Go Eun, who was in Goblin (one of my favorite dramas) and Cheese in the Trap.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/BGGjW1E.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>I admit that midway through the first episode I was in doubt if i should keep watching or not. But at the end of it, I'm glad I kept watching.</p>
<p>After just one episode, it's difficult to tell if it's going to be great, but I can say that it has a lot of potential. Seeing the ratings online, I think it's safe to say that people are enjoying it. So, give it a try!</p>
Music Corner 1: Kero Kero Bonito2020-06-08T07:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/music-monday-1/<p>Today I was listening to Kero Kero Bonito's playlist on Spotify. So, here we have a few recommendations. Enjoy!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qmwsg2pyEc">bookmark</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unaSEpEaIkU">bookmark</a></p>
<p>I also recommend <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DZ06evO41HwPk">Spotify's Playlist</a>.</p>
Watched This Week [Jun 5, 2020]2020-06-05T12:20:53Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/watched_this_week_jun05/<p>As I mentioned in the last post, my parents and I decided to watch more movies before starting a new series. Here are the movies I've watched with them, along with a couple series we watched.</p>
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<h2 id="movies" tabindex="-1">Movies <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched_this_week_jun05/#movies" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="booksmart" tabindex="-1">Booksmart <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched_this_week_jun05/#booksmart" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Teen comedy movie. Nothing laugh-out-loud, but definitely cool for a Friday night!</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Two academic teenage superstars realize, on the eve of their high school graduation, that they should have worked less and played more. Determined to never fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/o6l98sWPTgo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="proud-mary" tabindex="-1">Proud Mary <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched_this_week_jun05/#proud-mary" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Nice to see a female lead shooting everyone! Recommended</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mary is a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/kQ1Zcv54USA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="braven" tabindex="-1">Braven <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched_this_week_jun05/#braven" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Nothing special, but good enough to spend some time, grab popcorn, and enjoy.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A logger defends his family from a group of dangerous drug runners.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/WdNJnwC6enI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="going-in-style" tabindex="-1">Going in Style <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched_this_week_jun05/#going-in-style" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>Based on a movie from 1979 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going_in_Style">link</a>), this is a crime/comedy movie with a lot of heart. Seeing someone who has to rob a bank makes me root even more for then than Ocean's Eleven, for example. Really fun and recommended.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, three lifelong pals risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/hcdTN5soeQw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="tv-shows" tabindex="-1">TV Shows <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched_this_week_jun05/#tv-shows" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="history-101-season-1" tabindex="-1">History 101 - Season 1 <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched_this_week_jun05/#history-101-season-1" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>This is a really cool Netflix documentary series, each 20 minutes episode telling us a bit of contemporary history. The themes go from fast food to nuclear energy, feminism and the space race. A must watch if you want some easy-to-digest information.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Infographics and archival footage deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/han4ZONppi8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="the-good-place-season-4" tabindex="-1">The Good Place - Season 4 <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/watched_this_week_jun05/#the-good-place-season-4" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<p>I didn't know that The Good Place's 4th season was alread available on Netflix Brazil. I'm watching this by myself.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Eleanor Shellstrop is an ordinary woman who, through an extraordinary string of events, enters the afterlife where she comes to realize that she hasn't been a very good person. With the help of her wise afterlife mentor, she's determined to shed her old way of living and discover the awesome (or at least the pretty good) person within.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/RfBgT5djaQw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
Weekend Movies [Jun 4, 2020]2020-06-04T05:44:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/weekend_movies_jun04/<p>My parents and I decided to watch some movies, instead of starting a new TV show, so we can enjoy the last few days of Telecine's free trial. Check below what we watched this weekend!</p>
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<h2 id="where-d-you-go-bernadette" tabindex="-1">Where'd You Go, Bernadette <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/weekend_movies_jun04/#where-d-you-go-bernadette" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Nice family movie for everyone. My favorite of the 3 I've watched this weekend. A nice mix of comedy, drama, and family love. Recommended!</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When architect-turned-recluse Bernadette Fox goes missing prior to a family trip to Antarctica, her 15-year-old daughter Bee goes on a quest with Bernadette's husband to find her.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Em1onUCArxs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="the-professor-and-the-madman" tabindex="-1">The Professor and the Madman <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/weekend_movies_jun04/#the-professor-and-the-madman" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Not much to say about this one, but it as very interesting to see how much work was needed to create a dictionary, and how much the academics struggled to make it happen.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid 19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, Dr. William Minor.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/8UG0-caYLfc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="fighting-with-my-family" tabindex="-1">Fighting With My Family <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/weekend_movies_jun04/#fighting-with-my-family" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>This is a nice movie about Paige, the youngest WWE Diva champion. If you liked the wrestling aspect, I also strongly suggest watchin Netflix's series GLOW! You can also follow Paige on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE">@RealPaigeWWE</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Born into a tight-knit wrestling family, Paige and her brother Zak are ecstatic when they get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for the WWE. But when only Paige earns a spot in the competitive training program, she must leave her loved ones behind and face this new cutthroat world alone. Paige's journey pushes her to dig deep and ultimately prove to the world that what makes her different is the very thing that can make her a star.</p>
</blockquote>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/WqF3VTv0cqU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
Welcome To My New Blog2020-06-03T15:19:05Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/new_blog/<p>Hello everyone! I have decide to move away from Wordpress and use Hugo (again).</p>
<p>This has some disadvantages, but at least I'll have a bit more control over the blog. And here won't be ads on it.</p>
<p>There are no comments right at this moment, but I plan on using Reddit and Twitter threads as 'comment platform'.</p>
<p>Please head over our dedicated subreddit <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/geekosaur/">r/geekosaur</a> to chat. Also feel free to share cool content there!</p>
<!--more-->Review: Salvage Trouble2020-05-30T20:48:25Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/salvage_trouble_review/<p>This is a short science fiction book that also has a bit of fantasy. It's the first in a series, but can be read as a standalone story.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/ZmPRdsh.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<p>I've got it a while ago, when I was looking for a sci-fi book, but it took some time until I finally started reading it. It's only 140 pages long, and it focuses on a group of salvagers in space.</p>
<p>One thing that I really enjoyed on this book is how it's a light sci-fi story, but it has a bit of magic in it, at wizards are responsible for helping maintaining gravity inside the ship and also taking a ship to a deeper part of space. Or something like that. And of course, do some other tricks and fight.</p>
<p>The characters are diverse, varied, and they're responsible for much of the fun I had while reading this book. And the adventure is exciting. As it's a short book, there's no time to waste, and the pacing doesn't suffer.</p>
<p>For me, it was a great introduction to a very interesting series, and I plan on reading more of the series someday.</p>
<p>You can check more about it on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25992468-salvage-trouble">GoodReads</a>.</p>
Black Clover [Friday Reads: May 29, 2020]2020-05-29T21:41:53Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/black_clover_friday_reads_200529/<p>As I mentioned in another post, two weeks ago I started reading Black Clover, after catching up with Fire Force. I was curious as many people on my Twitter feed are passionate about it. And they were not wrong!</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/eiSHNOw.png" alt="" /></p>
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<blockquote>
<p>Young Asta was born with no magic ability in a world where magic is everything. In order to prove his strength and keep a promise with his friend, Asta dreams of becoming the greatest mage in the land, the Wizard King!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The wold building is amazing, the characters have depth, motivations for their actions, being it good or bad. The villains didn't just decide to kill a lot of people: the history of the Clover Kingdom, the human's actions, all that motivated the rage.</p>
<p>We can also see how much in a magic world everybody relies too much on magic, to the point that Asta can be phisically stronger than the adult Magic Knights, if they don't use magic to help.</p>
<p>It is also a great lesson for readers to see how many royals, used to having a lot of magic power, and not used to fail and lose, give up and think they were defeated at the first obstacle the appears. It shows how important is to fail and learn how we can improve.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/gHCx9E8.png" alt="" /></p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/G2NBcTy.jpg" alt="" /></p>
Spy x Family - Reading Now2020-03-24T17:42:04Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/spyxfamily_reading_now/<p>Yesterday, I've decided to start reading Spy x Family, a comedy manga about a spy, a hit-woman, and a telepath kid.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/l1FBJFX.jpg" alt="" /></p>
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<blockquote>
<p>The master spy codenamed has spent his days on undercover missions, all for the dream of a better world. But one day, he receives a particularly difficult new order from command. For his mission, he must form a temporary family and start a new life?! A Spy/Action/Comedy about a one-of-a-kind family!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So far I'm really loving it. The spy theme is something I haven't been watching/reading since The Americans, I think, and I really missed that. This manga is a mix of action, espionage and comedy, and it does a good job at everything. It's not an attempt to be a realistic and serious portrayal of spies, but a fun comedy within the theme instead. And that's fine for me.</p>
<p>There are so many titles based on a little gimmick (I'm looking at you, isekais) that stops being interesting after a short while, but this one really doesn't seem to be the case.</p>
<p>Here, this interesting set of characters is well used, as they are constantly put in situations that are handled that way because they are all keeping everything a secret from each other. I see that in the future, as this plot starts wearing off a bit, the situation can change completely as they learn about each other's true identities. And that will also be fun!</p>
<p>I have to mention that the highlight of the series are Anya's reactions, which are SO much fun that they themselves make it worthwhile.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/tMv1HXZ.png" alt="" /></p>
Personal updates for October (2017)2017-11-01T11:00:12Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/updates-7/<p>After a long time, I'm back with personal updates.</p>
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<h2 id="books-light-novel" tabindex="-1">Books (Light Novel) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/updates-7/#books-light-novel" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I finished reading My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong as I Expected Vol. 1 (read my review), and was willing to start Vol. 2<br />
but unfortunately, it's not available for Kindle, only in print, so I'm going to wait more to continue this series.<br />
But today <a href="http://amzn.to/2ygJXI5">The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria Vol. 1</a> was released, and as I already pre-ordered it, I'm ready to start.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/rE0nQxc.png" alt="The Empty Box and Zeroth Maria Vol. 1" /></p>
<p><em>Synopsis: Kazuki Hoshino treasures nothing more than his ordinary life, and March 2 should have been an ordinary day. The arrival of a transfer student, the mysterious Aya Otonashi, shouldn't have shattered the world he knows. He's never seen this girl before in his life, but she says she's met him thousands of times--and declares war on him for a crime he can't even remember... As the truth begins to unravel, nothing is as it seems, and at the heart of it all is a wish powerful enough to change everything...</em></p>
<h2 id="tv-shows" tabindex="-1">TV Shows <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/updates-7/#tv-shows" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I'm watching Outlander (Season 3), Stranger Things (Season 2) and Modern Family (Season 9), and just finished watching Big Mouth on Netflix.<br />
I didn't have high expectations for it, but it's way better than I thought it would be, so I guess you should take a look, watch the trailer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk_BoK0OwZs">here</a>. Also, I'm watching the new Ducktales show.</p>
<p><img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/l378hQDm0Fd41gb4c/giphy.gif" alt="This show will make your head explode" /></p>
<p><em>Big Mouth: Even for a cartoon character, going through puberty isn't easy for a young person. Andrew is learning that first hand as he experiences the nightmare that is growing up in this animated series geared toward adults. Along for the ride are friends Nick and Jessi, who develop a budding romance along the way.</em></p>
<h2 id="asian-dramas" tabindex="-1">Asian Dramas <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/updates-7/#asian-dramas" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>During October I finished Strongest Deliveryman, Suspicious Partner (Love in Trouble) and Circle on DramaFever,<br />
and started watching Okitegami Kyōko no Bibōroku. The latter is based on a light novel that I'm interest into, and I listed the novel on this post.</p>
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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% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></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=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BaKojRHAVGE/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Watched the first episode of okitegami kyoko no biboroku. Can't wait to watch the rest. #jdrama</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thiago.margarida/?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;" target="_blank"> Thiago Margarida</a> (@thiago.margarida) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-10-12T23:20:54+00:00">Oct 12, 2017 at 4:20pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<p><em>Okitegami Kyoko is a beautiful detective who has a deep love for money. She is also known as the Forgetful Detective. Her memory is reset when she sleeps at night, which means she can strictly adhere to confidentiality requirements. She solves all her cases within a day, whatever they may be. She is the world's fastest detective! There is something really important that Kyoko must never forget, and it is written on her body with a marker.</em></p>
<h2 id="anime" tabindex="-1">Anime <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/updates-7/#anime" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>After finally finishing Re:Zero, which I put on hold when it was airing, I decided to watch Overlord, and I'm glad that I did it. It's really cool, and I can't wait for season 2.<br />
I'm also finishing Gabriel Dropout, and I don't know what I'll watch next. From this season I'm only watching Shokugeki no Soma.</p>
<p><img src="http://78.media.tumblr.com/0784e85638f5222139ccf5c628a91891/tumblr_oycyjoCMUt1ut5ryuo2_540.gif" alt="" /></p>
<h2 id="music" tabindex="-1">Music <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/updates-7/#music" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Just watch this wonderful Taeyeon's video. :D</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/gzJDUlCc2bU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
Review: My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong as I Expected, Vol. 12017-10-23T13:01:59Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/review-oregairu-vol1/<p>Time for a light novel review here. This is a pretty famous property and I remember the anime was popular when it aired, and nowadays it still has a big fanbase. I never watched the anime, although I was always curious about it.</p>
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<p><em>Synopsis: Hachiman Hikigaya is a cynic. "Youth" is a crock, he believes--a sucker's game, an illusion woven from failure and hypocrisy. But when he turns in an essay for a school assignment espousing this view, he's sentenced to work in the Service Club, an organization dedicated to helping students with problems in their lives! How will Hachiman the Cynic cope with a job that requires--gasp!--optimism?</em></p>
<p>As most light novels (that I'm aware), the story is told in the first person, and everything that happens, you get to read what the character is thinking. All the time. But that's not necessarily bad, as that's what makes light novels different from other types of books. The downside is that the MC is constantly thinking how other people suck and how the girls are slurs, and that can be a little bit annoying at first. That's why I stopped reading it halfway through the book and almost dropped it.</p>
<p>But, this is a story about a cynical and isolated teenager who starts to learn how to make friends, and also grows and starts seeing the good side of other people, and also starts understanding them better. That being said, after I started reading it again, and started a new story arc, I started to enjoy this novel again, as the “slut calling” thoughts started to fade.</p>
<p>The characters are interesting and their development over time is good, which is a must for an everyday school romcom. The art is also very nice, and they do a great job of giving us a reference for imagining their situations and story clearly in our heads.</p>
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/cgN1S7t.png" alt="Inside art" class="img-medium" />
<p>For the comedy, it’s a hit-or-miss, because you have to like cynical and isolated characters, and also references for random Japanese shows, places, and history. But if you like this, you’ll have a great time with this novel.</p>
<p>In the end, I'm glad I gave this novel a second chance, and I think that the parts I didn't like won't be going to be a problem in the next volumes, so I think I'm going to continue reading this series. It's only a shame that there's no Kindle edition available, and buying a physical copy here in Brazil would cost a lot.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A friendship where you're always trying to be considerate of the other person, always worrying about what they think, always responding to every single text, always seeking their approval and then finally connecting with them, isn't friendship at all.</p>
</blockquote>
What Cosplays Do You Like To See At Conventions?2017-06-06T16:49:15Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/cosplays-at-conventions-taking-pictures/<p>Recently I've attended Aniventure, an anime convention I always enjoy going to, and I noticed one thing: I only took one photo.<br />
My wife did take a few: some of us, another with two youtubers (just her and some friends, I was taking the pic) and, of course, the cosplay contest.<br />
I'm not usually into taking pictures, and this got me wondering why did I take just that one.</p>
<p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/TVZMzd1.jpg" alt="Smile for the camera" /></p>
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<p>The question actually is: which cosplays do I really enjoy seeing at conventions?<br />
Of course, there are the sexy cosplays, made by beautiful (and hot) women, and the ones that surely took a lot of effort to make,<br />
usually from games, and involving a lot of armor and big weapons.<br />
But, as far as effort and beauty (or sexiness) go, the one that truly got me was a Tohru cosplay, from Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon.</p>
<p>To be clear, I'm not saying or implying that the cosplayer is not beautiful, I'm just stating that it wasn't the beauty that made me appreciate it.<br />
Also, I'm not saying that I don't appreciate a beautiful cosplay or a very well done armor, because it would be hypocritical of me to say that.<br />
The biggest part of my cosplay feeds (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) consists of hot girls cosplaying with little cover. And just few armor/weapon focused cosplays from time to time.</p>
<p>But one thing is what we like to see on the internet when looking at professional photos of pro cosplayers.<br />
Another is what we (or I, at least) like to see at conventions, where we (hopefully) end up meeting more people just like us:<br />
fans who use their free time to enjoy anime, manga, Japanese music and that like to share their passion and recommend content that they love to everybody they know.</p>
<p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/s2gyYuq.png" alt="Sharing is caring" /></p>
<p>So in the end, I took a photo of the only Kobayashi-san's Dragon Maid cosplay there. It was well done, a character that I like, from an anime that I really enjoyed watching each week.<br />
It's not near the difficulty of a League of Legends cosplay, and also not a closet cosplay.<br />
In the end, I didn't care if she made it all by herself, had help, or just bought it online.<br />
Knowing that there's more love for Tohru out there is enough of a reason for me to be happy.</p>
<p>Of course, there were some other cosplays that I wanted to take a pic, but as I stated before, I'm not a big fan of taking lots of pictures, and I don't like to ask people to take their photos.<br />
I may have taken a selfie with a few cosplayers, for example, but for me, it's hard to do it. I don't really know why.<br />
But that's something for another post.</p>
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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% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#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% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></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=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BTz_6rsAORO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">Only photo I took today at Aniventure: Tohru cosplay from Kobayahi-san chi no maid dragon.</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thiago.margarida/?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;" target="_blank"> Thiago Margarida</a> (@thiago.margarida) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-05-08T01:12:31+00:00">May 7, 2017 at 6:12pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
K-Pop Dump #12016-09-25T20:07:46Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/<p>Lately I'm into K-pop again (I started listening around the 00s), and now I want to share what I'm listening to this week.</p>
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<h2 id="new-songs" tabindex="-1">New songs <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/#new-songs" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>Newly released songs, or songs that I didn't knew about!</p>
<h3 id="anda-like-family" tabindex="-1">안다 ANDA - 가족같은 Like family <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/#anda-like-family" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-9rTievcNVI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="hyungdon-and-daejune-choice-feat-iu" tabindex="-1">Hyungdon & Daejune(형돈이와 대준이) - Choice(결정) (Feat. IU(아이유)) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/#hyungdon-and-daejune-choice-feat-iu" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/vZapfqjd8aM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="gfriend-navillera" tabindex="-1">여자친구 GFRIEND - 너 그리고 나 (NAVILLERA) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/#gfriend-navillera" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/1ZhDsPdvl6c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="acoustea-poco-a-poco" tabindex="-1">어쿠스티 Acoustea - Poco a Poco <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/#acoustea-poco-a-poco" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Fq2S1F-M00s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="" tabindex="-1">우주를 줄게 - 볼빨간사춘기 <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/#" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/9U8uA702xrE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="listening-again" tabindex="-1">Listening again <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/#listening-again" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<h3 id="twice-cheer-up" tabindex="-1">Twice - Cheer Up <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/#twice-cheer-up" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/c7rCyll5AeY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h3 id="oh-my-girl-a-ing-feat-and-mv" tabindex="-1">오마이걸(OH MY GIRL)_내 얘길 들어봐(A-ing)(Feat . 스컬&하하)(MV) <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/#oh-my-girl-a-ing-feat-and-mv" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/TXdnWI6_vEw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="gifs" tabindex="-1">Gifs <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/k-pop-dump-1/#gifs" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:56%"><iframe src="https://gfycat.com/ifr/GlisteningDeterminedAmericanbadger" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="100%" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:57%"><iframe src="https://gfycat.com/ifr/WideeyedPolishedAlpinegoat" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="100%" height="100%" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
<p>That's it for today!</p>
Atelier: A Refreshing Netflix Original2016-07-19T23:01:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/atelier-refreshing-netflix-original/<p>This time, I went for a Netflix original j-drama, developed by Fuji Television, called Atelier. Although I've watched Japanese and Chinese movies when I was younger, this was my first Asian TV show.</p>
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<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/atelier.jpeg" alt="" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mayuko finds a job with a high-class lingerie manufacturer in Ginza. It is the story of a woman experiencing confusion, struggle and growth in a world with a new set of values different from any she has ever known, and seizing the Japanese dream. Atelier is a workplace-based coming-of-age novel drama, written to present the story of a working woman, with the setting of a glamorous world of lingerie manufacturer.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>During half of the first episode, I was still getting used to the Japanese acting. They tend to exaggerate their reactions, and even Nanjo, the boss, seemed to be silly sometimes. But this difference in interpretation can be refreshing.</p>
<p>It's said that Atelier is the Japanese equivalent to The Devil Wears Prada, but I strongly disagree. Maybe at first Nanjo, but early on the series, she and Mayuko start having a nice relationship and developing a connection and deep understanding. During most of the show, it was about learning, self-development and making Emotion (the lingerie brand) survive and evolve.</p>
<p>What I liked the most about Atelier, and maybe it's a j-drama characteristic, is how they value the storytelling, the characters' relations, and emotions, rather than focusing on visual effects and CG. Another interesting fact is, while there was some romantic interest on Mayuko from a couple characters, it wasn't a big part of the show, and Mayuko didn’t show much interest, being much more involved with her work and her learning.</p>
<p>In the end, I watched the whole show in less than a week, giving it all of my reading and watching time. I really recommend Atelier even if you never watched any Japanese movie or TV series. At worse, it'll broaden your perspectives about TV and expand your mind a little bit. At best, it'll give you a pleasant and remarkable time, and maybe make you shed some tears in the process.</p>
<p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/iNNoKBu.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>You can watch it here: <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80067618">https://www.netflix.com/title/80067618</a></p>
Review: The Assassin's Curse Duology2016-03-24T14:22:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/review-assassins-curse-duology/<p>This is a book series (duology) that is not that famous (I think) but worth reading.</p>
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<blockquote>
<p>Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.<br />
And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>On this series, we are introduced to a young pirate girl called Ananna on her way to an arranged marriage.<br />
When she notices that her future husband won't be a good choice for her, she decides to jump ship ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )<br />
and run away riding a camel. But of course, things cannot be that easy,<br />
and her former fiancée's family hire an assassin to kill her.<br />
In this world, assassins are guns-for-hire (or wizards/warriors-for-hire) that never fail, at least until now.<br />
In the middle of this mess, Ananna escapes alive and bond to her assassin by a curse.<br />
And worse: both are being followed by magical beings that live in another world.</p>
<p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/zWLQqq6.gif" alt="" /></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I ain’t never been one to trust beautiful people, and Tarrin of the Hariri was the most beautiful man I ever saw.<br />
You know how in the temples they got those paintings of all the gods<br />
and goddesses hanging on the wall above the row of prayer-candles?<br />
And you’re supposed to meditate on them so as the gods can hear your request better?<br />
Tarrin of the Hariri looked just like one of those paintings.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a world filled with pirates, wizards, assassins and more, but everything here makes sense,<br />
and not even for a moment does it feel like a bunch of fantasy stereotypes that were just thrown together randomly in a story.<br />
For me, the author united many different types of characters and myths (some really surprising) in a fantastic way.</p>
<p><img src="http://i.imgur.com/zezw1Tn.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>The book also has a fair share of humor and romance, but in a way that it doesn't overlaps the adventure and magic.<br />
It's a pleasure to sit down and follow them as they travel through the desert, sail the high seas,<br />
live in a remote island and visit some places that'll amaze the reader.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>She moved like water, graceful and soft and lovely.<br />
Every part of me wanted to stick out my foot and trip her, just to see her stumble.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As you can imagine, I recommend this book for anyone who wants an interesting fantasy romance<br />
that doesn't delve too much on the ship ( ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) or force the romance.<br />
Instead, it gives them time to know each other and grown their emotions that at some point, turn into love.</p>
<h2 id="rating-4-5-stars" tabindex="-1">Rating: 4.5 stars <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/review-assassins-curse-duology/#rating-4-5-stars" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>You can buy the books here:</p>
<p>Amazon: <a href="http://amzn.to/1o7UDbz">The Assassin's Curse</a>, <a href="http://amzn.to/1rQpVLc">The Pirate's Wish</a></p>
<p>BookDepository: <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Assassins-Curse-Cassandra-Rose-Clarke/9781908844002">The Assassin's Curse</a>,<br />
<a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Pirates-Wish-Cassandra-Rose-Clarke/9781908844279">The Pirate's Wish</a></p>
Weekly Updates #42016-03-14T18:36:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/weekly-updates-4/<p>It's been a looooooong time since I did a weekly update (I guess it's not weekly), but I'll be <strong>trying</strong> to start posting it again.</p>
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<h2 id="movies" tabindex="-1">Movies <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/weekly-updates-4/#movies" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I've watched Ginger & Rosa this Saturday with my girlfriend and we both liked it.<br />
I personally have a soft spot for movies with Elle Fanning, and the photography of this movie is really great.<br />
The colors they used for each scene, everything seems to be carefully chosen. Recommended!</p>
<div class="video-wrapper"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/tFYeYKAGVek" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""> </iframe> </div>
<h2 id="tv-shows" tabindex="-1">TV Shows <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/weekly-updates-4/#tv-shows" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I <strong>finally</strong> finished Fortitude, thanks to my decision on watching finished seasons,<br />
and to finish some TV shows I've left aside.<br />
It's GREAT and unfortunately I can't say much why without spoiling everything,<br />
but if you like a dark mystery set on a small and isolated community, it's for you. You won't be disappointed, I promise.</p>
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Also, I watched And Then There Were None, a mini-series based on Agatha Christie's homonymous book.
It's also dark and violent, and if you haven't read the book, it also surprises you at the end!
<p>In addition to these shows, I also watched episodes of Grimm, Heartland, Be Cool Scooby Doo and Modern Family.</p>
<h2 id="books" tabindex="-1">Books <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/weekly-updates-4/#books" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
<p>I'm still reading The Dinosaur Lords, and started The Prisoner: Series 1 (a Big Finish audio drama).</p>
<a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/The-Prisoner-Series-1-Nicholas-Briggs-Jamie-Robertson-Iain-Meadows-Tom-Webster/9781781785614?a_aid=thiagomgd">
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/AoH1i4e.jpg" class="img-medium" /></a>
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Beyond this season's anime, I also started watching Rokka no Yuusha, which I did a first impressions post
[here](http://www.generalfalcon.com/2016/03/first-impressions-rokka-no-yuusha.html). -->
Book Review: Hard Magic by Larry Correia2015-05-29T02:00:00Zhttps://geekosaur.com/post/hard-magic-larry-correia/<p>Despite always being interested in the Urban Fantasy genre, I don't remember having read any recently. Not for lack of options, but mainly because YA and <em>regular</em> fantasy have a massive presence on blogs and YouTube channels, so there's always a new great book <em>that everyone should be reading</em> coming out. Another reason is because the genre is even less popular here in Brazil, resulting in an impressive lack of options in Portuguese. But now that I'm reading mainly in English and I have a Kindle, it's waaaay easier for me to finally give it a try to some great Urban Fantasy books.</p>
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<p>I was supposed to start my journey with the first book in The Dresden Files series: Storm Front by Jim Butcher. My Want-To-Read shelf on GoodReads was filled with other interesting books too, but then I discovered Hard Magic by Larry Correia, the first book on The Grimnoir Chronicles series and decided to buy and read it. And I'm REALLY glad that I did.</p>
<p><img src="https://geekosaur.com/img/hard-magic.jpeg" alt="French Edition Cover" /></p>
<p>This is a mix of Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Alternate History and Science Fiction, with a bit of Dark Fantasy too. Here, the magic is called Power, and everyone has one kind: alter gravity, healing, teleport, control the weather, just to name a few. Jake Sullivan, our hero (not that he really wants to be one), is a Heavy, being able to control the pull and intensity of gravity. He's a really good one, knowing more about the Power than almost anyone.</p>
<p>I liked that the characters are varied, with different Powers and personalities, each one being part of the plot and connected to each one in ways that you can't imagine. The plot is very good too, and although you can read this first volume as some sort of stand alone, you'll finish it wanting more and being anxious to know more about <em>that thing that I can't say because its spoiler.</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Heinrich scowled. “You’ve got a real problem with zombies, don’t you?”<br />
“I only want to have to kill somebody once. Killing them twice seems like work."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This book is full of surprises that make you like it even more at every page read. Several nights I went to sleep late because I didn't want to stop reading, and the pacing just keep speeding up, with more twists and cool things happening and being revealed all the time.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He took his place in a comfortable recliner and opened first to the obituaries, as was his daily custom, to see if anyone he disliked had died, but sadly the announcements held no joy.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So all I can say is: READ THIS DAMN BOOK AND THANK ME LATER!<br />
PS: #teamFayeForever</p>
<p><strong>Recommended to</strong><br />
People who likes Zeppelins, magic, a badass anti-hero, badass female characters and a really badass villains.</p>
<p><strong>Not Recommended to</strong><br />
People who don't accept any kind of swearing or violence. Because there's <em>some</em>.</p>
<h3 id="other-urban-fantasy-i-d-like-to-read" tabindex="-1">Other Urban Fantasy I'd like to read <a class="direct-link" href="https://geekosaur.com/post/hard-magic-larry-correia/#other-urban-fantasy-i-d-like-to-read" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h3>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Storm Front (The Dresden Files, #1)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Jim Butcher</h5>
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<p>HARRY DRESDEN — WIZARD. Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he's the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the "everyday" world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a—well, whatever. There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks.</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47212.Storm_Front">Go To Link</a>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Discount Armageddon (InCryptid, #1)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Seanan McGuire</h5>
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<p>The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity—and humanity from them.
</p><p>Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right?...</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11402002-discount-armageddon">Go To Link</a>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">Hard Spell (Occult Crimes Unit Investigation #1)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Justin Gustainis</h5>
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<p>Stan Markowski is a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD's Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit.
</p><p>Like the rest of America, Scranton's got an uneasy 'live and let unlive' relationship with the supernatural. But when a vamp puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that's when they call Markowski. He carries a badge. Also, a crucifix, some wooden stakes, a big vial of holy water, and a 9mm Beretta loaded with silver bullets.</p><p></p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9653291-hard-spell">Go To Link</a>
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<h4 class="myEmbed">The Grendel Affair (SPI Files, #1)</h4>
<h5 class="myEmbed">Lisa Shearin</h5>
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<p>We’re Supernatural Protection & Investigations, known as SPI. Things that go bump in the night, the monsters you thought didn’t exist? We battle them and keep you safe. But some supernatural baddies are just too big to contain, even for us…!</p>
<p class="read-more">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17912981-the-grendel-affair">Go To Link</a>
</p>
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