#ray reviews

[seaweed-is-cool]

So I saw Next To Normal and I'm not okay

Who knows if this is going to be a comprehensive review or just ramblings about Jack Wolfe (because let's be real that's the initial reason I wanted to go).

The main set was a good choice. The floating kitchen island was utilised effectively in conjunction with the turntable. The use of levels was phenomenal so that even though I was standing, I could see a lot of the action especially the parts in the band boxes and the stairs. Other people who saw it said that during one part where Jack sings in the box they could only see his knees. There was one bit where they came out of the fridge (which I called before the show started aha) and that was fantastic. I wasn't a fan of how they constantly made the screens go up and down. I think it would have been more effective if certain screens weren't used. Nevertheless, the set and costumes were fab and I enjoyed them immensely.

The portrayal of mental health in this show was the best I have ever seen. I felt incredibly seen throughout and if I had the capability to cry (thank you sertraline) I would have. I still feel kinda numb to it but I know that when I listen to the soundtrack I will feel things ahha.

The performances given by each actor were phenomenal. Every single actor was perfect and they hit each section with the love and care it deserved. I would like to have seen more of the doctor because I think he was underutilised. Still, when he was there, he was extremely enjoyable.

Now, onto Jack Wolfe. When he first appeared I was astounded. He had a fantastic American accent (which is hard for a northerner fr) and the way he carried himself on stage was amazing. Little angsty boy for real. I think he'd make an amazing Puck (or maybe I'm just finding similarities between him and Colin Morgan) cause he has this mischievous nature about him that really came out in Gabe.

I adored the other performances so much so that I cannot pick a favourite from them. This musical was the most well-acted I have seen in a very long time (since I saw Les Mis last year). And I really hope that they bring out that archived performance or at least a cast recording.

Thank you again to @annoying-is-my-middle-name for the tickets. I am ever so grateful.

#next to normal #jack wolfe #ray reviews #but this time theatre edition

[pintsofguinnesmakeyoustrong]

absolutely fucking reeling from puss in boots the last wish. my grown ass friends made me see it and it absolutely fucked. it was mad max fury road for kids. it was a horror movie about the fear of death. it was a western about an ageing outlaw trying to regain his youth with the help of his ex fiance and homeless harvey guillen. it was about found family. it was about needing people and asking for help. it had the best depiction of a panic attack i've ever seen in a mainstream film. the villain looked exactly like boris johnson. there was a wicker man reference. it had a kill count higher than most slasher films. it set up shrek 5. they even said fuck.

#puss in boots #puss in boots the last wish #pibtlw #pib the last wish #pib #puss in boots: the last wish #antonio banderas #harvey guillen #salma hayek #florence pugh #olivia colman #ray winstone #samson kayo #boris Johnson #shrek #shrek cinematic universe #movie review

[rvnzr]

Reading Like a Writer Review

Reading Like A Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose

I feel like I’ve been recommended this book before. In my efforts to consume more writing media, I picked this up off the library shelf, and I’m glad I did. I was really engaged in the earlier chapters, particularly in Words and Sentences. Throughout the book, Prose chooses poignant examples and largely explains why she chose them. I’ve added several books and short stories to my to-read list because she showcased them here.

That said, I wish she had spent a little less time giving examples and a little more time exploring some of the longer examples in later chapters. Sometimes I felt as if I was reading excerpt after excerpt with little understanding as to why or what in particular this was highlighting. I felt like I was left hanging a little bit in the later chapters with half-forming ideas of what Prose was trying to illustrate that I didn’t feel in some of the earlier chapters.

Her voice is easy to engage with and I’m left feeling that she wants me to understand and enjoy what she is saying. This is a book I will seek out to include in my own library as a permanent installment.

#book review #reading like a writer #francine prose #ray reviews

[therefugeofbooks]

A few years ago, I was really into reading classical dystopian novels, and I liked Fahrenheit 451 a lot. Recently, with all the talk of book banning, I decided to revisit this book. While it was still an enjoyable read, I have to admit that it didn't quite live up to my memory of it.

#booklr #books #book photography #fahrenheit 451 #ray bradbury #books and food #books and coffee #rereading is reliving #book reviews #the refuge of books

[tanglepelt]

Dc x dp idea 135

Jack and Maddie accidentally de-age Danny. Of course toddler Danny doesn’t have good control of his powers. Cue reveal.

Danny bolts.

This could be good parents. Could be bad parents.

Cujo decides Danny must be protected. So he takes position of guard dog. Danny just roaming city streets with a green giant dog. Multiple hero’s report the meta child with flying dog.

And the armed RV chasing said toddler.

#dpxdc #dpxdc prompt #good boy cujo #the Fentons could be searching for him cause the think they killed him #the ray turned him into a ghost #they have to help him #now they have a ghost son #they need to review their entire life’s work #or #decide Danny isn’t Danny #and just the perfect way to help their research #it’s what Danny would of wanted #meanwhile heros are chasing this toddler #who could walk through walls disappear and fly #with the dog who won’t let them near

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #5 – The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler

I read Nayler’s The Mountain in the Sea last year and, despite thinking it was ultimately kind of a noble failure, liked it more than enough to give his new novella a try. It didn’t hurt that the premise as described in the marketing copy sounded incredible. I can’t quite say it was worth it, but that’s really only because this novella barely cost less than the 500-page doorstopper I picked up at the same time and I need to consider economies here – it absolutely lived up to the promise of its premise.

The book is set a century and change into the future, when a de-extinction initiative has gotten funding from the Russian government to resurrect the Siberian mammoth – or, at least, splice together a chimera that’s close-enough and birth it from african elephant surrogate mothers – to begin the process of restoring the prehistoric taiga as a carbon sink. The problem: there’s no one on earth left who knows how wild mammoth are supposed to, like, live- the only surviving elephants have been living in captivity for generations. Plop the ressurectees in the wilderness and they’ll just be very confused and anxious until they starve. The solution: the technology to capture a perfect image of a human mind is quite old, and due to winning some prestigious international award our protagonist – an obsessive partisan of elephant conservation – was basically forced to have her mind copied and put in storage a few months before she was killed by poachers.

So the solution of who will raise and socialize these newly created mammoths is ‘the 100-year-old ghost of an elephant expert, after having her consciousness reincarnated in a mammoth’s body to lead the first herd as the most mature matriarch’. It works better than you’d expect, really, but as it turns out she has some rather strong opinions about poachers, and isn’t necessarily very understanding when the solution found to keep the project funded involves letting some oligarch spend a small country’s GDP on the chance to shoot a bull and take some trophies.

So this is a novella, and a fairly short one – it’s densely packed with ideas but the length and the constraints of narrative mean that they’re more evoked or presented than carefully considered. This mostly jumps out at me with how the book approaches wildlife conservation – a theme that was also one of the overriding concerns of Mountain where it was considered at much greater length. I actually think the shorter length might have done Nayler a service here, if only because it let him focus things on one specific episode and finish things with a more equivocal and ambiguous ending than the saccharine deux ex machina he felt compelled to resort to in Mountain.

The protection of wildlife is pretty clearly something he’s deeply invested in – even if he didn’t outright say so in the acknowledgements, it just about sings out from the pages of both books. Specifically, he’s pretty despairing about it – both books to a great extent turn around how you convince the world at large to allow these animals to live undisturbed when all the economic incentives point the other way, a question he seems quite acutely aware he lacks a good answer to.

Like everyone else whose parents had Jurassic Park on VHS growing up, I’ve always found the science of de-extinction intensely fascinating – especially as it becomes more and more plausible every day. This book wouldn’t have drawn my eye to nearly the degree it did if I don’t remember the exact feature article I’d bet real money inspired it about a group of scientists trying to do, well, exactly the same thing as the de-extinctionists do in the book (digital resurrection aside). The book actually examines the project with an eye to practicalities and logistics – and moreover, portrays it as at base a fundamentally heroic, noble undertaking as opposed to yet another morality tale about scientific hubris. So even disregarding everything else it had pretty much already won me over just with that.

The book’s portrayal of the future and technology more generally is broader and less carefully considered, but it still rang truer than the vast majority of sci fi does – which is, I suppose, another way of saying that it’s a weathered and weather-beaten world with new and better toys, but one still very fundamentally recognizable as our own, without any great revolutions or apocalyptic ruptures in the interim. Mosquito's got CRISPR’d into nonexistence and elephants were poached into extinction outside of captivity, children play with cybernetically controlled drones and the president of the Russian Federation may or may not be a digital ghost incarnated into a series of purpose-grown clones, but for all that it’s still the same shitty old earth. It’s rather charming, really.

#book review #the tusks of extinction #ray nayler #sff #cli fi

[victorialovesstiles]

First and Khaotung are on Tumblr's year in review top 100 mentioned celebrities! 🥹 Bold text means this is their first year in the top 100!

Only Friends & Moonlight Chicken also made the top 100 shows list!

#firstkhao #first kanaphan #khaotung thanawat #firstkhaotung #only friends the series #only friends series #sandray #only friends ray #only friends sand #moonlight chicken #alangaipa #tumblr year in review #akkayan #the eclipse

[raylex]

SORRY FOR NOT SHUTTING UP ABOUT THE LOVELY CAMEO I GOT BUT. IT SERIOUSLY MEANS THE WORLD TO ME Y'ALL HDHFJHDHBFHD <333 I tried to. very badly. splice some rayman clips over on top of it hahahah. it's not great, but it gets the job done, yeah? 🥹

#I left a kind review I hope menkin knows he has made me the happiest person on the planet #I always find myself going back to 'although things may suck at the moment everything's gonna be okay' 💖💖💖 #self ship #💜☀️ray of sunshine☀️💜 #mine

[kabhi-kabhi-aditii]

"you can read on a train and bus?! i swear, it's the most daring things ever. 'cause like everyone will be looking at you"

so what? i am not afraid to be admired lol <3

(i hate it tho)

#im just a girl #booklover #book reviews #bookish #books #books and reading #booktok #booklr #bookworm #bookblr #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #coquette girl #gaslight gatekeep girlblog #lana unreleased #national anthem #lana del slay #taylornation #beautiful women #mature woman #self love #self confidence

[beatrizonfilm]

Devotion (Why I Write) by Patti Smith

review because im sure the girl bloggers would love this book!

Patti Smith, a National Book Award-winning author, first presents an original and beautifully crafted tale of obsession—a young skater who lives for her art, a possessive collector who ruthlessly seeks his prize, a relationship forged of need both craven and exalted. She then takes us on a second journey, exploring the sources of her story. We travel through the South of France to Camus’s house, and visit the garden of the great publisher Gallimard where the ghosts of Mishima, Nabokov, and Genet mingle. Smith tracks down Simone Weil’s grave in a lonely cemetery, hours from London, and winds through the nameless Paris streets of Patrick Modiano’s novels. Whether writing in a café or a train, Smith generously opens her notebooks and lets us glimpse the alchemy of her art and craft in this arresting and original book on writing.

WHAT I THINK...

Patti's choice of words allowed me to transport myself to the exact location she describes, it's impeccable as if I were living it. Without comparison with the work of others but only with hers, I need to say that I don't know if any will be as special to me as Just Kids but Devotion definitely increases my love for her. | 4.5/5 ⭐️

MY GOODREADS <33

#book review #girlblogger #girlblogging #hyper feminine #lana del ray aesthetic #lana del rey #lizzy grant #sylvia plath #gaslight gatekeep girlboss #girl blog #otessa moshfegh #girl blogger #girl interrupted #coqquette #coquette #lizzy grant aesthetic #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #locally hated #female manipulator #female hysteria #femcel #joan didion #books and reading #book quotes #booklover #book blog #patti smith #the lover #just kids

[behindthescreamz]

newspaper reviews for “wild things” (1998)

#wild things #john mcnaughton #neve campbell #suzie toller #denise richards #kelly van ryan #kevin bacon #ray duquette #matt dillon #sam lombardo #thriller #mystery #drama #90s movies #dark movies #dark comedy #90s #90s women #movie review #old newspaper

[seaweed-is-cool]

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Started: 28th September 2023

Finished: 7th October 2023

Pages: 554

Incredibly poignant, Zusak presents a story in which memory and loss are central themes. Moving and so truthful, the novel is beautifully written with just the right amount of metaphor. The words are crafted with such care that it is impossible to find fault. Even though we are told about the deaths of Liesel's family at the beginning, the desperation felt at the end matches Liesel's own hysteria. A brilliant piece of literature.

Characterisation: 10

Worldbuilding: 10

Spice: 0

Writing Style: 10

Enjoyment: 10

The Gay Agenda: 0

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#ray reviews #book review #ratings are out of 5 #other categories are out of 10 #the book thief #markus zusak

[aislxnnruna]

Are we there yet ?

Definitely one of the books where there is no plot line to hope for, it’s one where you could simply read just for the fun of reading. I don’t recommend it to people who aren’t fond of what I like to call “lazy reads”.

I went on a run this morning and I saw a child walking with his parents to preschool, I smiled and waved and they returned the favour, it made me reminisce into my childhood, which most of it I can’t remember. I couldn’t help but think that that simple gesture of kindness was insignificant to him, since he expected it. Becoming a teenager means getting startled by someone just smiling or waving or even being kind to you, because we don’t expect that in this day and age.

I sent my math and English paper for remarking last year (yes you can do that in my country) and the results are coming out this Friday, I hope I can get an A for both subjects.

If you’ve been following my blog for the past 2 days you’d know that there’s this guy that (maybe) likes me, well I gave him a bracelet at the beginning of this year and I asked him about it :

As you can see the results speak for itself. Does this mean that he likes me? Or is he just not being a douche bag?

#coquette #fyp #fypage #tumblr fyp #gilmore girls #girlblogging #tumblog #fypシ #blog #lana del rey #boys #gaslight gatekeep girlboss #this is what makes us girls #just girly things #this is a girlblog #pedro pascal #tom hiddleston #im just a girl #tumblr girls #girlhood #i miss 2014 #are we there yet #books #book review #crush #lana del ray aka lizzy grant #jeremy allen white #fypツ #fypシ゚viral #fyp2024

[rvnzr]

The Color of Magic Book Review

I’ve heard you shouldn’t start with this one if you’re reading Discworld, but I forgot that when looking at the library selection and just picked one that seemed fun. And it was fun! I enjoy Pratchett’s voice and the way he uses words and irony. 

The main issue I have with the book is just that personally I didn’t like the two main characters. I found Twoflower and Rincewind annoying in their own unique ways and couldn’t be much bothered whether they actually made it out of each subsequent mishap, and there were many of those. The rest of the cast of characters was wide and not much relief as they did not get many chances to develop their own personalities before Twoflower and Rincewind were on their way.

My favorite character was The Luggage, which was just delightful in its obstinance and imagery.

The worldbuilding was interesting and I’m looking forward to reading more about it. The way Pratchett plays with expectations in the rules of the world is interesting and often funny, while not taking away from the gravity of the situations he places his characters in. There’s clearly a lot more to explore and opportunities for a lot of great stories that I’m looking forward to continuing.

#book review #the color of magic #terry pratchett #ray reviews

[g3mface]

I still try to forget

#explore #black tumblr #goth #grunge #aesthetic #grunge dark #soft grunge #pop music #grunge aesthetic #tumblr #lana del ray moodboard #lost empire #art skills #body art #art #arte #tattoed hottie #skeleton aesthetic #traditional art #your tumblr year in review #artists on tumblr #tumblr milestone #iconic #icons #weight loss #i wanna lose weight #dark grunge #gothic #grungy style #goth boy

[eternalspring4]

i ranked the songs on danger days from best to worst.

1. na na na

2. the only hope for me is you

3. save yourself, ill hold them back

4. bulletproof heart

5. destroya

6. planetary

7. s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w

8. the kids from yesterday

9. summertime

10. sing

11. party poison

disclaimer: I fucking love this album and think every song is incredible. I have ranked them by innovation, creativity, strength, and memorability (is that a word?). this was not easy, ive been obsessed with this band for about four years now but I stand by my decisions. comment or dm if u want to discuss further, I'd love to talk about music

#mcr #my chemical romance #my chemical fucking romance #my chem romance #gerard way #frank iero #ray toro #mikey way #danger days #ddttlotfk #music review #:33333