Ik maak enkele uren deel uit van de wereldhandel. Over het algemeen floreert deze handel maar hier niet zo. Het is te vroeg. Ik heb dus tijd en die help ik om zeep met een stuk. Overigens verkopen wij geen zeep, wel geurig spul, op dit moment echter niet.
Ik voer vijf dingen op om een rol te spelen.
Een grijze muis van vilt, Grijze muis.
Een koffiemok met Love er op, Love Mok.
Een reep, Tony de Reep.
Een kleine eekhoorn van steen, Eikel.
Een klein olifantje van hout (sleutelhanger), TrumpE.T.
De lokatie : Een dorpswinkel.
Love Mok : Ik zit bomvol koffie, laten we ergens aan beginnen.
Tony de Reep : Zolang het maar niet met mij is! Vat je ‘m Love Mok?
Love Mok : Ja Ja leuk, ik dacht aan iets groters, een geheel.
Eikel : Maar hierboven staat dit toneel stuk is.
Grijze Muis : Ik denk dat dit leuk bedoeld is.
Eikel : Pffft.
Love Mok : Neem even een slokje.
Eikel : Wie ik?
Grijze muis : Ik?
TrumpE.T. : Tikt iets in op zijn mobiel.
(5 telefoons ontvangen bericht, 5 verschillende geluiden klinken)
Eikels telefoon : “Donder op!!”
Grijze Muis telefoon : “Pling, bzz bzz”.
Tony de Reeps telefoon : “You have an incoming message from the Big Giant Head”.
Love Moks telefoon : “iiiiiiiiiee!! iiiiiiiiiiiee!! iiiiiiiiiiee!!!!”.
TrumpE.T.s telefoon : “Oh my God”.
(Grijze Muis drinkt snel een slokje uit Love Mok, dan TrumpE.T., dan Tony de Reep, dan TrumpE.T., dan Eikel)
Love Mok : Dat licht op, zeg! Ik voel me een stuk beter.
TrumpE.T. : Ik ben blij dat ik zo vaak kon helpen.
Grijze Muis : Heeft iemand de krant gelezen?
Tony de Reep : Ja van a tot z, maar in de krant stond niks bijzonders. ik kende alle letters al. Ik hoop iedere dag op een nieuwe letter.
Grijze Muis : Wat heb je daarna met de krant gedaan?
Tony de Reep : Ik gaf de krant aan Love Mok die gaf hem aan de overburen en die aan de buren en sindsdien ben ik het spoor bijster. Hoezo?
Grijze Muis : Er stond een artikel in over handel met een grafiek, die grafiek wil ik graag boven mijn bed hangen.
Love Mok + telefoon : iiiiiiiiiee iiiiiiiiiiiee iiiiiiiiiee!!! Oh nee, nog een persoonlijk bericht ook. Ik zet het geluid uit & blokkeer Twitter, Whatsapp en Facebook, TrumpE.T. Wat wil je? Vraag het gewoon we staan op 3 meter van elkaar.
TrumpE.T. : Je bent leeg.
Grijze Muis : Nu al?
(vier incoming mail berichten klinken uit vier telefoons)
TrumpE.T. : Dat is mijn mailtje, ik heb jullie uitgenodigd voor een evenement. Mijn achter achter neef Lee Trump Towers treedt op bij ons in de buurt.
Grijze Muis : Dan moet ik mijn agenda raadplegen. Ik heb veel plichtplegingen. Vergaderingen, commissies, etentjes & bijeenkomsten.
Love Mok : In de buurt! Het is 150 kilometer verderop.
Eikel : Het is in een kerk, vergeet het dan maar.
TrumpE.T. : Ik doe net of ik dat niet heb gehoord. Dus dan zijn we al met twee en waarschijnlijk is Grijze Muis er ook bij. Gezellig.
Love Mok : De handel is stroef.
TrumpE.T. : We kunnen de concurrentie wat aandoen!
Eikel : Wat dan?
TrumpE.T. : Heffen, zwart maken, blokkeren en belemmeren..
Love Mok : Hoe dan?
TrumpE.T. : Nou ... en ... dan .... dit ... en .....dit ....zus ...... en ...... zo ..... fake .... dreigen ..... spionage ..... ontwrichten ...... geweld ..... belasting.... etc. & etc. en enzovoorts (30 min)
(de rest ging inmiddels gewoon door met de rest van het leven en deed belangrijker dingen)
Grijze Muis : Heb je dit wel eens gegeten, deze zilvervlies rijst noedels?
Eikel : Ja, samen met die rode curry.
Love Mok : En?
Eikel : Mwoah ..
Love Mok : Ik hoop dat je tegen de klanten iets enthousiaster bent.
Eikel : (tranen springen in de ogen) Nee, o nee.
Love Mok : Geeft niet Eikel. Neem nog een cashew nootje.
Eikel : Ze zijn al bijna op
TrumpE.T. : Ik ben doodop van al mijn goede ideeën, is er nog iets in je Love Mok?
Love Mok : Een bodempje.
Tony de Reep : Ik lig hier maar wat te liggen op mijn collega’s. Zelfs mijn speciale collega’s worden niet verhandeld.
Grijze Muis : Het komt wel goed.
Eikel : Niet meer met deze noten.
Love Mok : Ik ben op.
TrumpE.T. : Ik ga even verderop twitteren.
Love Mok, Eikel, Grijze Muis en Tony de Reep : wij geven er ook de brui aan.
(Alle spelers nemen hun plek in & zwijgen. Love Mok vult nog één keer bij met een halvie, de schrijver houdt Grijze Muis in beweging, dat is het beste wat je er mee kunt doen. Eikel knabbelt er lustig op los & eet de noten, repen, truffels, cookies, pindakaas en kokosmelk inventaris op. TrumpE.T. hangt aan een sleutel verderop te tweeten dat het een aard heeft & ondertussen loopt de handel langs de ramen voorbij naar ergens anders.
It’s always hard writing reviews for books that I absolutely adore because I never know where to start and how to stop myself from rambling on and on about the book.
This is one of those times.
From the very first page until the last, I was hooked. With every page and every POV character I met, I fell for this book. It has everything I want in a fantasy novel: compelling POV characters, a lush universe filled with life, magic, and history, a really cool magic system, romances that didn’t feel forced, representation, and a super interesting premise that was well executed.
This book honestly left me hungry for more. Hell, I devoured this book. Had it not been for nursing school and the fact that I had 3 exams coming up, I would have finished this book the day I started it.
About the Book
Title: The Never Tilting World
Author: Rin Chupeco
Synopsis:Frozen meets Mad Max in this epic teen fantasy duology bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of Furyborn.
Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.
While one sister rules Aranth — a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea — her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.
But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses — along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger — set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.
This novel follows four characters from two very different worlds: one of endless nights and the other of endless days. Okay — yes technically speaking, they all live on the same planet, Aeon, that basically caused to split into these two halves after an event called The Breaking. This event was caused by twin goddesses both of whom place the blame of the event on the other sister whom they claim is dead. Each sister rules their own half of the world: Asteria rules Aranth and its eternal night while Latona rules the Golden City and its endless days. Each twin has a daughter, Odessa and Haidee, who are two of the POV characters we meet. The other two are Tianlan (Lan) and Arjun.
Neither Odessa nor Haidee know of the other’s existence, let alone the existence of each other’s worlds. This is due to the fact that this harsh world is filled with monsters, magic, and extreme environments that kill anyone who tries to explore Aeon.
Nevertheless, Odessa and Haidee set off on their own adventures in an attempt to fix their broken worlds and restore the balance by going to Brighthenge — the temple where this mess began.
While the plot is slow at times (and almost frustratingly so), what kept my interest in the story was the alternating POV chapters — each one in 1st POV — and alternated between the two worlds with something that either developed the world or developed the characters. I honestly appreciated it because something would happen on one side of the world during Arjun or Haidee’s POV that explains or adds to the experiences Odessa or Lan would deal with on the other side of the world and vice versa. It made things more suspenseful because of the foreshadowing.
But I think also what is truly striking about this plot is how much hope is in each page. Even as things looked really bad on one end, there was still that hope that things get better. It’s so deeply intertwined. It embodies this line from Hadestown: “Take what's broken, make it whole/A song so beautiful/It brings the world back into tune/Back into time/And all the flowers will bloom…”
The Characters.
Tianlan (Lan). Arjun. Odessa. Haidee.
I loved them all. I loved each one of them by the end of this novel. I loved them because each one was different and oh so human.
However my favorites have to be Haidee — who immediately captured my attention — and Odessa — who I admit, I didn’t care for at the beginning.
I honestly connected so much with Haidee. She is an adorable Nerd ™ who needs to be protected. From the start, I liked her. I immediately connected with her. She wants to change things for the better and has ideas, but how she goes about them — well, for someone with the brains, she can lack common sense sometimes.
But that’s good! It balances out her intellect and makes her more human. It shows even smart people can sometimes lack common sense or lack the ability to see beyond their goal. I also liked how the more she learned about the rituals, the more fearful she became. This only added to the excitement because we see what’s happening with Odessa. I wish that we had more time in this book so we can see how Haidee reacts to everything that happens once the two parties meet up, but unfortunately, the book ends before we get that.
As for Odessa? Man, I was so bored with her in the beginning. Every time her chapter popped up, I yawned. But then she started accepting those fancy gifts and she got new powers. Man, oh man.
The change in her throughout the book was so well done and subtle, but obvious enough that there’s something wrong. And to add to the suspense was the fact that in Haidee’s chapter, we get more and more background about the rituals and the sinister nature of that the goddesses are forced to take part in order to maintain balance. What made things even cooler is that we have another POV character who is witnessing all the changes Odessa is going through.
In terms of Lan and Arjun’s characterizations, I enjoyed the both of them as well. I sort of wish we had more of them, but at the end of the day, the story revolves around taking a broken world and making it whole again. Like I said above, hope is so deeply infused into this story. Yeah, there are sinister things happening without a doubt but these characters all have so much hope in them for creating that better world.
“There are people dying out there! We can’t just pick and choose who we should save! They deserve sanctuary, too!”
“… “I got brothers and sisters back home, and they deserve a better world than this. And just because the people in charge screwed everything to hell and beyond doesn’t mean we can’t find a way to take back what we’re owed.”
Hope, man. This desire to create a better world when greedy, corrupt people would rather keep it the way it is to maintain the status quo? Yeah, I feel that.
The Worldbuilding.
This worldbuilding I just — I have no words to describe how much I adore the worldbuilding in this world. Rin has this amazing, spectacular ability to weave and shape universes that are well-crafted, developed, and has layers on layers. The mythology, magic system, environment, creatures, devices, and so on are all absolutely fantastic. I bow down to Rin’s worldbuilding skills because they take my breath away.
I’ve mentioned it before in my other reviews just how important worldbuilding is to me. Even a good plot can crash and burn if the worldbuilding isn’t well done. It’s hard to immerse myself in a book that doesn’t have an established, well-developed universe. Obviously, worldbuilding is just one aspect of a novel — an important puzzle piece that ties everything together.
This world that Rin has created is harsh. It’ll eat anyone alive. It’ll drown them, freeze them, starve them, or leave them in the scorching desert with the sun blistering their flesh.
And I know this because Rin shows it. I know people will complain about the slowness at some points. I know I did just now. However, even in those moments of slowness where the plot wasn’t moving, the world around our characters was being colored in and sharpened. There’s a part of me that of course wishes that the plot was faster paced and had no breaks, but at the same time? I need breaks like this to understand this world better and to get why the characters are doing what they’re doing.
How do I know that this world is unfair? Because we get scenes where characters are trying to find food or water. We read about how people are hungry and need shelter. We read about the abuses some people face from those in higher positions of power. We read about how those in power shrug and turn their heads away from those who are suffering.
But this world has goodness and justice left in it as well. The scene in the desert with Arjun and Haidee and the dolugongs is just one of the cutest scenes in the book. It’s a reminder that even in this dog eat dog world, there’s kindness and hope out there. Not everything or everyone is trying to kill you.
The Writing.
As I mentioned before, the chapters are in 4 alternating POVs and we’d jump between Odessa or Lan to Haidee or Arjun. Each one of these POVs was distinctive. I knew when I was reading an Odessa chapter and when I was reading an Arjun chapter because their voices were totally different. The emotions they experienced would leap out of the page and I would feel my hands start to sweat and my heart palpitating a bit there.
Other Things of Note.
The Representation.
While I am a minority (Filipino-American), I am neither disabled or a part of the LGBTQ+ community. As such, I don’t feel comfortable commenting on either one of these communities because I can’t give the same insights as someone who is a part of them. It’s not my place to speak about things that I am not a part of because while I can empathize with people’s struggles and desires, my experiences as a Filipino-American heterosexual woman is not the same and colors my vision differently.
I will say, however, that I truly appreciated the fact that there was representation in this book. It’s a book filled with diversity with inspirations from various cultures.
I appreciated the fact that PTSD was present here and it wasn’t magically cured with love. I appreciate the fact that these characters were treated like human beings with real, raw emotions and they weren’t magically cured of their ailments and worries.
The Romance.
Yes, there’s romance in this book. Two, actually: one established and one in the works. I enjoyed them both. I don’t really have much to say about either one which is surprising because I usually have a lot of things to say. However, I did like both the ships and enjoyed them.
Overall — Do I recommend?
I loved this book. From the plot to the worldbuilding to the characters, I adored it. I thought it was funny, thrilling, nerve-wracking at times, and just beautiful. Hope and bravery fill this book. It doesn’t let you go. I am honestly so looking forward to the next book.
So do I recommend The Never Tilting World? Absolutely. 100%. Go read this book and immerse yourself in this beautifully crafted universe.
Caffeine Book Tours — Join the Conversation
I want to thank Shealea of Caffeine Book Tours for giving me this opportunity to review this awesome book. I want to thank HarperTeen for providing me with the eARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
About the Author.
Rin Chupeco has written obscure manuals for complicated computer programs, talked people out of their money at event shows, and done many other terrible things. She now writes about ghosts and fantastic worlds but is still sometimes mistaken for a revenant. She is the author of The Girl from the Well, its sequel, The Suffering, and The Bone Witch trilogy.
Despite an unsettling resemblance to Japanese revenants, Rin always maintains her sense of hummus. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. Dances like the neighbors are watching.
een nucleaire catastrophe, wereldoorlog 33, vloedgolven vegen halve steden weg, metershoge bruggen storten in, miljoenen doden, bossen staan in de fik, eten is schaars, de nederlanden staan voor de helft onder water, doden drijven aan je voorbij, ziektes maken korte metten met de overlevenden van deze rampen, schoon drinkwater is er nauwelijks, buitenaardse wezens kidnappen kleine kinderen, geld is niets meer waard, lawines vernietigen dorpen, overal in afrika is het iedere dag 25 graden onder nul, maar op de polen is geen ijs meer en kun je ananas verbouwen, als je nog leeft, ratten zijn overal, je staat thuis in een overgebleven stukje keuken en denkt, altijd weer een gezellig moment met de lekkerste koffie die je kent.
Filed under #observations, #risingearly and #lifehacks
Another work day where I wake up early. But I've made a change to my early morning habits:
The plan is now:
Get out of bed as soon as the alarm goes clock off
Press snooze
Get dressed
Go downstairs
Turn off the alarm
Make coffe
Press play on the podcast I am listening to
Start browsing Instagram
Stop browsing when podcast episode finishes
The second last item on that list might sound weird to almost everyone else but I can forget looking at or even thinking about Instagram for days or weeks.
That might sound great for someone who struggles with addiction to social media, and I guess it is less annoying and dangerous,but also means I miss out on a lot of what is happening.
So for now I'll try this to see if I can include a healthy dose of updates from friends and family.
Observations:
it helps a lot that I have decided well in advance what the first 30 minutes of the day will look like
it works reasonably well, my brain turns on (possibly related to an interesting podcast)
generally my brain seems to respond well to spoken words while I'm doing something else
Instagram ads generally have a lot better targeting for me (it took 12 long years for Google to realize I was not looking for scammy-looking dating sites)
writing blog posts takes more than 5 minutes, I guess this took 30 minutes
it is now 0522
I've been trying this for less than a week, so add a pinch of salt, but I feel I'm into an habit that can work well for a few weeks.
u had na het lezen van de titel misschien verwacht dat u op deze plek het onderzoeksrapport van de lange tenen commissie kon lezen maar na enkele bezwaren omdat onder andere ons gebruik van witregels niet werd gewaardeerd door de commissie voor openbare ruimte. we zijn gaan twijfelen over het gebruik van hoofdletters omdat we klachten kregen van de overige letters. ze vonden dat ze kleiner leken en niet de aandacht kregen die ze verdienden. we konden ook niet voorkomen dat woorden werden afgebroken. deze woorden hebben bezwaar gemaakt tegen deze ruwe behandeling. enkele afkortingen konden niet verdragen dat ze niet volledig zijn opgeschreven onder andere onder andere, zo snel mogelijk en what the fuck. sommige commissie leden waren niet tevreden over de lengte van hun bijdrage en over de kwaliteit van de bijdrage van andere leden. uiteindelijk was er maar één conclusie mogelijk maar wij hadden vijf en niemand wou afzien van zijn conclusie. het leek ons beter om het rapport onder in een lade te leggen en niet online te publiceren. voor klachten over de titel kunt u terecht bij writeas. wij zijn ontbonden meteen na het rapport en deze publicatie.
Beeld je in dat je thuis zit
Ja dat lukt
Probeer een voorstelling te maken van deze situatie. Je zit op de stoel met een krakkemikkige laptop op schoot.
Tot zover prima.
Je bekijkt op die laptop dit stukje. Beeld je in dat je dat stukje om 20 over 12 's nachts intikt op je mobiele telefoon.
Gaat nog steeds goed.
Beeld je nu in dat de batterij van je laptop opeens leeg is. Maar je grijpt heel snel in en je hoeft de laptop toch niet te herstarten.
Nee helaas. Dit gaat even mis.
Geeft niet. Beeld je in dat je nu voor de klas op een schoolbord 100 x opschrijft. Ik zal mijn laptop nooit meer leeg laten lopen.
Lastig.
Naakt.
Lastiger.
Terwijl een strenge meesteres je met een zweepje op de billen slaat.
Nee. Tenzij, ziet ze er uit als de presentatrice van boer zoekt vrouw?
Dat zou kunnen.
Nu zie ik iets voor me.
Mooi. Beeld je dan in dat niemand dit stukje leuk vindt.
Ja ja, dat gaat dan weer prima.
Goed, dan ga ik nu verder met voorbereiden van de volgende aflevering van boer zoekt vrouw, bedankt.
Jij ook bedankt.
(mijn boeren zijn niet slecht voor het milieu maar dit terzijde. en ik ook niet)
I'm a bit surprised, WikiHow has a How to Djent page. I like wikiHow because their tutorials are generally high quality. For example, their How to Play the Piano page is written by professional concert pianist Michael Noble and has pearls of wisdom like this:
All of your playing power comes from your core, so you want to make sure you're sitting with your back straight and your shoulders down and relaxed.
A timely tip for me as I need the energy to arrange and play my first Dhymn after a long day of work!
Also wikiHow's instructions for how to play my game Rejection Therapy* is superb, and better than I ever explained it.
Back to How to Djent: the first step is, logically enough, listen to lots of Djent, so that's what I've been doing today in my free moments. A djenty gem you should check out is Siren Sound by Intervals:
Honorable mention goes to the band Modern Day Babylon, who seem to have a mind-blowing riff on every track. Excited to listen to more of them.
Note: Several years ago I sold Rejection Therapy. It's in good hands, but I'm not involved with it in any way.
Meditation
Time bookstanding today: 30
Quality of meditation (out of 10): 5
Practice
Minutes on the keyboard today (out of 40): 25 minutes
Quality of practice (out of 10): 6
A commitment I already made, but am RE-making for the sake of motivation
I am committing myself to walk every other day, despite weather, at Cliff Cave Park, and I am going to do this until Oct 1, 2020. If I got my weight loss “goal” of 190 pounds before then – I still walk. I will just increase the plant-based fats in my diet (avo, olive oil, etc) to maintain weight.
So at 8 AM tomorrow, I will be out there walking. And my shins are recovered so I am looking forward to this. Wish it were 8 AM now (I have 12 hours to go).
Oh my gosh.. surely pure coincidence.. but I must admit feeling degrees of at least accidental engagement in seeing an article entitled “Houses of the Holy” a few hours after I belched out a post title that was a mild bastardization of lyrics from a song on that album!
I'm not religious or spiritual. Aside from a brief dalliance with Buddhism in my teens, don't think I ever will be. But places of worship fascinate me. The architecture, the aesthetic and, often the scope, can be stunning. These places are as much for praying to a deity as they are for instilling a sense of awe and reverence in the people who gather in them.
Not being religious, that sense of reverence is lost on me. But the sense of awe? For the longest time, I've believed that you can tell more about a place when it's not being used for purpose than when it is. I've been to many lovely churches, cathedrals, and temples around the world when worship or services weren't happening. In most of them, I never felt a sense of awe or majesty or whatever holy spirit was supposed to fill me by my being there.
One of the few times it did was at St. Laurence's church in Bradford upon Avon. It's an old Anglo-Saxon church that dates from somewhere between the seventh and tenth century AD. It's definitely not a building on a grand scale — the place was built using rough, hand-hewn stone.
The first sense I got when walking into the church is that it was a working church. It was the centre of the community. It was a place where the locals gathered to get closer to their god. There were no adornments. Function overrode form.
The day before I stumbled upon St. Laurence's, I'd visited Salisbury Cathedral. The contrast between the two couldn't be sharper. St. Laurence's church lacked stained glass, the ornate decorations, even the graves of clergy and crusaders. But it seemed the holier place.
Even though the church had also served as a barn and a school, I could feel the purpose, I could feel the piety of the place. It's as if the spirit of religion, of belief in a higher power, had seeped and set into the stones that made up the church.
Stepping into St. Laurence's church didn't put me on the road to conversion to any religion. Not even close. I did, however, gain an appreciation for the power of religion in the life of the ordinary person living in the centuries before I was born.
A truly idiotic article title: “We Need a New Capitalism”
Why idiotic?
Because “capitalism” (or any other “ism” seemingly categorizing how a group of people are behaving with and relative to each other) isn't a thing: it's a description.
It's not like people are en masse looking at various socio-economic system options and going, “Oh! Let's do this one!”
Rather, people do what the heck they want, and later people looking at a meta level of collective results imagine seeing patterns, and going “That IS some thing!”
Nope. Totally an emergent property of people individually doing what the heck they want.
So, we don't need a new emergent property as though such could reach back and change emergent interference patterns of millions/billions of people doing as they please.
We need people doing something(s) else, something(s) whose collective interference patterns seem to create a new, more benevolent, less-likely-to-implode emergent meta description.
The aforementioned article title is classic belief a tail could wag the dog.
In case the meaning of the title isn't jumping right out at you, I'm on the treadmill. ;–)
Oh, boy... huge, wondrous email morning – to the point where I can imitate Ringo's “I'VE GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS!!!” with ease.
(“White Album”, youngsters)
New working definition of “ego” (partially inspired by this wonderful post):
Ego: the ignoring – aka ignorance – of what we are in favor of pretending to be so much less at the mercy of the rest of what we are as though the latter were separate.
Other than that, I'm kind of limping through a three-day work week in the sense I'm feeling less than zero motivation. But it's partly because I'm waiting on answers, and partly became my main project can't be advanced with the nickel-and-dime-grade attention a troublingly mysterious sky-anvil-in-love-with-the-ground bug is demanding.
God, I hate software!
And what a crappy state of affairs, to have slowly descended into a sort of hatred hell of the one thing others might feel I'm worthy of being paid to do....
But I'm sure the impending four day weekend cometh bearing salve – aka ignorance. :–)
