Music Monday (261): Caroline Polachek and Beyoncé

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I'm currently listening to more of Caroline Polachek's music. I definitely have some favorite songs so far. One of them is her latest single, Dang, which I was listening to almost on repeat since it came out about two to three weeks ago, in October. The beat is fun. 

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to Irreplaceable by Beyoncé. Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

2023 Candy Corn Finds

Happy Halloween!* It’s actually been a few years since I tried to find some of Brach’s candy corn flavors. So I did just that! This year’s flavors include the ones I typically see like Original, Mellowcreme Pumpkins, Autumn Mix, etc. But I wanted (what I assume to be) the special ones: Fall Festival and Mellowcreme Caramel Apples.

The first one I had was Fall Festival. I was excited to try it, but I was side-eying Kettle Corn. Overall, the bag was just okay.

As figured, my least favorite was Kettle Corn. On one hand, it tasted like oil/butter with a hint of salt. On the other hand, it was like soggy popcorn. I tried so many times to like it, but I couldn’t. The first taste brought back memories of a butter jelly bean I disliked. I did wonder if I would have liked this now if liked that jelly bean then.

Anyway, next are the flavors that I found just okay. Strawberry funnel cake tasted just like the name. I’d even say, oddly, fried. Caramel Apple was nice, but I liked the caramel and apple separate. 

Then there’s Cotton Candy, which was another memory jogger. At first, I didn’t like them as much as my co-blogger did. Initially I thought it was more like mild cough syrup, but I gave it a few more tries. Then I thought it tasted like mild dum-dums lollipops (of the same flavor) than actual cotton candy. After that it wasn’t so bad. 

Last are my favorites from this mix: Lemonade Shake-Up and Lemon-Lime Snowcone. Lemonade Shake-Up was lemony, mellow, and enjoyable. But honestly, I don’t have much to say about it. Lemon-Lime Snowcone had a really nice flavor, and was another one that kind of tasted like its name. I thought this was the best flavor in the entire bag.

 

Since I was a little disappointed, I went searching for Mellowcreme Caramel Apples. When I found it, I also picked up a bag of original while I was at it.

If you’ve seen my first Candy Corn post, you probably know that Green apple alone is a favorite of mine. With the addition of caramel it was pretty good too. In comparison with Green Apple, I’d say Red Apple has a more natural (an artificial one, of course) flavor. I found it pleasant. And I liked it more than the one in Fall Festival.

 

This year, obviously, I preferred the Caramel Apples and Original flavors. Although I found Fall Festival to be average, there were some interesting and nice flavors. On the plus side, I loved the packaging art.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading.

*This was first posted on Toile, Think, Go.*

Happy Halloween & #Peachtober 2023!

It’s October 31st. So first and foremost, Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a great day. Now onto the bulk of today’s post.

Last year, I did an art challenge on Instagram through the month of October. However, this year I decided to change the way I participated in #Peachtober. I did do most of the 2023 prompt list. The main change was I didn’t post to social media and instead focused on making a single piece of art. So, for today’s Halloween post, I’m going to delve into my process. For the prompt list and the specifics about the materials I used see the notes section at the bottom of the post.

Some sketches (Right and left image)….

When the prompt list was released, I immediately started sketching and thinking about what medium I wanted to use. Last year, I went with colored pencil (Prismacolor Premier); this time I wasn’t as sure and considered acrylic paint—one of my favorite mediums—or a combination of markers and colored pencil. That, like my original idea, changed as I hammered out the details of what I was going to be doing.

Another sketch (Image on the right)….

So, what was I planning? Well my initial idea was a series of bottles for each prompt, but that was when I thought I would post almost every day to social media. Even during the early stages of developing that idea, the more I sketched the more my original train of thought turned toward what would eventually be my main source of inspiration: cabinets of curiosities. Not the Netflix TV show, but the actual concept of the thing. It allowed me to also incorporate (and organize) elements of my initial idea—with the various jars, bottles, and displays. Principally it gave me better direction with how I wanted to arrange everything on the page, especially as I moved farther from separate pieces and toward a single painting.

Here’s what the piece ended up looking like….

Painting process was pretty straight forward and took about four dedicated sessions across as many days. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the result.

So, once again, Happy Halloween and thanks for reading!

—Notes—

List of materials used:

• Canson Watercolor Paper 9in x12in; 140 lb/300g
• Liquitex Basics Acrylic Paint
• Sketchbook
• 0.7mm mechanical pencil

#Peachtober2023 Prompt List created by @furrylittlepeach **(The crossed out prompts are ones I decided to skip, simply because I couldn’t find a way to work them into the painting in a way I liked.)**

1.Bee / 2.Cosmos/  3.Sweet/ 4.Grub/ 5.Sprig/ 6.Eye/ 7.Crater

8.Dream/ 9.Blue/ 10.Citrus/ 11.Pencil/ 12.Nest/ 13.Ship/ 14.Garden 

15.Weather/ 16.Sidekick/ 17.Blush/ 18.Snooze/ 19.Candle/ 20.Bulb/ 21.Slingshot

22.Tunnel/ 23.Message/ 24.Wand/ 25.Coral/ 26.Ladybug/ 27.Pond/ 28.Chomp

29.Float/ 30.Moss/ 31.Spooky

Combined prompts: Float & Spooky; Tunnel and Grub; Garden & Ladybug; Nest & Blue 

Music Monday Halloween Edition: The Dickies, Allie X, Kris Bowers, Calmed by Nature...

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: It's that time of year again, the thirtieth of October, so it's time for our annual Halloween Edition of Music Monday! My pick is Magoomba by The Dickies. Youtube finally added the bands music from Killer Klowns From Outer Space, and this song feels fitting with its clown/circus theme.  

My second pick is Black Eye by Allie X. It was released earlier this month, and I love the whole vibe of it--including the visuals for the music video.

Adri: My pick today is this Halloween Party Ambience... video by Calmed by Nature. It's quickly become my favorite. 

Andrea: This week I'm listening to Don't Leave After Midnight and Grim Grinning Ghosts (Dance Party) by Kris Bowers. I discovered both songs when I watched Haunted Mansion 2023, and I thought these songs were fitting for the season. Have a happy and safe Halloween!

What are you going to be listening to on Halloween?

Short Stories I Read In September

It’s the twenty-ninth of October. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in September.

Simmered in Their Wealth Like the Richest of Sauces by Jo Miles (Lightspeed Magazine; September 2023; Issue 160)

Simmered in Their Wealth Like the Richest of Sauces by Jo Miles is the kind of fantasy story with a somewhat nested narrative that was also heavy with social commentary. Told from the perspective of a dragon, the subject was capitalism with a focus on the greed of the rich. It was essentially epitomized by the character named Dennis Knight, who had seemingly done everything—from game hunting, to deep sea diving, and even space flight. But this was a story about greed, he wanted more and more and more, and you can pretty much guess what kind of consequences are going to happen. But, generally, this was a good story and one I enjoyed. The choice of narrator was excellent, especially with the dragon’s analogies about Dennis Knight and how greed is greed no matter if it’s the medieval age or the present.

The Tale of Clancy the Scrivener by Ramsey Shehadeh (Tor.com; September 20, 2023)

The next one I checked out was The Tale of Clancy the Scrivener by Ramsey Shehadeh, a short story set in a post-apocalyptic society with a touch of horror via a plague with strange (almost fantasy-esque) effects. It’s been a while since I’ve read anything from this particular genre, but I enjoyed so much about it. The narrator was the titular Clancy. I liked his perspective for his frequent moments of reminiscing—about a world lost to the apocalypse—as well as his job at the scriptorium and his interactions with Pricilla, an orphan. The society he lived in was a strict and relatively dangerous one—i.e. the harsh punishment for infractions and what was expected to be recorded by the scribes and what was to be excluded—which is fairly typical for dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories. However, I liked the author’s approach to it. And what was a highlight was how much of the story was permeated by this a strange and horrifying atmosphere, between moments that felt very day-to-day with pop culture references.

**From time to time, I’m going to include what I’ve read from The Book of Witches edited by Jonathan Strahan and illustrated by Alyssa Winans. As a disclaimer: I won a hardcover of the book from the publisher, but this in no way affects my views about the stories.**

Met Swallow by Cassandra Khaw (The Book of Witches edited by Jonathan Strahan and illustrated by Alyssa Winans)

I’ve seen Cassandra Khaw’s writings around for some years now, but I never got to those stories. So when I saw Met Swallow in the table of contents, I was very excited to see what it would be like. Met Swallow is a horror-tinged short story about a fox inhabiting the skin (and the life) of a deceased witch named Amaranth. This was quite an intense little tale with a number of smart reveals and details about the life the fox had stepped into. From the beginning to the very last word, there was an underlying horror to the whole thing. All-in-all, it was a very good story.

The Nine Jars of Nukulu by Tobi Ogundiran (The Book of Witches edited by Jonathan Strahan and illustrated by Alyssa Winans )

I liked The Nine Jars of Nukulu just as much as Met Swallow. This one also had some horror imagery. At its core, though, it was a about a father and daughter as well as about the lengths someone would go to obtain power regardless of who was betrayed or hurt in the process. Sura’s perspective was full of moments of unease, and the ending brought a satisfying conclusion to the various aspects of The Nine Jars of Nukulu.

From around the web…

• Why Fanzines Now? [Christopher J Garcia; Uncanny Magazine Issue Fifty-Four]
• Interview with Author Lyndsie Manusos [Marissa van Uden; Apex Magazine; September 7, 2023]
• Experiences: On Not Being Creative Enough to Be Creative [Dana Cameron; Apex Magazine; September 14, 2023]
• Finding Magic in the Unexpected: The Fictional Worlds of Emma Bull [Jonathan Thornton; Tor.com; September 27, 2023]