#pardal rambles

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coltland gentry fic written from the POV of an investigative journalist working on an exposé about the crimes of the Project Hail Mary, and especially the "hero" scientist Ryland Grace who covered as the scientist after a very suspicious incident at the final hours of the project.

at first, it was an investigation around the explosion and if it was a mistake at all, or if it was conspriacy by Eva Stratt to cover her tracks and remove her second-in-command from the picture for the international trials. given her track record, that woman is capable of anything, after all. then wouldn't you know, not a few months after the launch his estranged brother gets caught in an awful murder scandal. sure, he eventually gets cleared of the charges, but surely that's not a coincidence? (it is)

...and then there's the tiniest hint from Colt's big old mouth about an older brother who disappeared from prison after being sentenced for patricide. a brother who, as far as official government papers are concerned, never existed?

said brother who is suddenly very much alive and menacingly waiting for the journalist in their home, and has taken quite the interest in their work. because he also has questions about his baby brother's final days, and of course so does Colt. so maybe they can help each other...

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Movie-A-Day-Thon #50: The Gray Man

Been a hot minute, huh? Life kind of got in my way, but even before that, I kind of got distracted by a dilemma. At first I wanted my 50th movie to be a brazillian movie but then I couldn't find what I wanted to watch on streaming. Then I procrastinated enough that I thought I do some big bad classic, but then they all ended up being atrociously long and my patience for longer older movies was limited. And then life happened. So here we are.

Anyway I have watched movies in this gap, but none of which I felt like doing a Movie-A-Day-Thon about it. I kind of do them as I watch, pausing to do comments and such, very in the moment impressions cus I wanna focus on the visuals rather than digesting them into curated reviews and stuff.

So yeah, I'm kind of slowly going through the Ryan Gosling filmography cus I am not in fact immune to the Project Hail Mary-to-Goslingverse AUs-to-Ryan Gosling enjoyer pipeline. Sue me. Already watched Fall Guy and The Nice Guys and Drive, which in retrospect I should have probably done the review on Drive cus that's a very visually striking movie... but whatevs, let's do The Gray Man for this one, fuck it.

Right of the bat, gorgeous visuals in the Bangkok scene. Rygos looks so good in red and isn't Sierra Four that guy from.... Winter Soldier I think? Idk I first paid attention to him back in Marvel days lmao. And this lady with the bob and the floral suit, gosh, who's her tailor? Gorgeous, mwah!

It's such a small thing, but I like how the transition titles are slightly translucent? Very web design, very chique very bouge. And I like that we're dropped right in the middle of the action and timeskip, Six knows stuff that we don't and he'll showcase what and who he knows as he goes along. One of the best ways to do action movies imo.

Speaking of, my face blindness is so bad sometimes... I didn't recognize Fitz because the actor got a beard, sobbing emoji. Wait is that Chris Evans? Damn they cast half of Marvel in here, no wonder Rygos got Ghost Rider lmaoooo

I think it says a lot about me that I recognized the Zizka statue in the funeral scene just from the eye bandana and the mace. Kingdom Come will never leave me, huh? That or real historical human person Hussite general Jan Zizka just has amazing character design.

I don't know why but Six checking the corners to sneak in some chewing gum after Clarie told him not to was so goshdarn endearing. And great characterization! Plus always great to see Rygos getting all awkward by a young girl running laps around him. March and Holly, Six and Claire. I think his experience being a girl dad helps a lot on that I think xD

WAGNER MOURA???? MY FAVORITE UFO??? Nobody told me he'd be in this movie I feel so cheated and decieved, I'd have watched this one first if I knew!! Even if his part is so short, it's very striking. Alfre Woodard was also so good in her part, chef's kiss.

And I'll even admit, the drone views are growing on me. Like a fungus. I just get too motion sick sometimes but, they are a nice way to do establishing shots. I've mentioned before I don't vibe with the too-shaky cams, especially during coreographed fights, but it worked really well in the airplane and tram scenes. It made sense for the camera to be shaky, look at everything going on! Not so much in the final showdown in the maze. But hey, battle of the wills call back, Six got so many wounds yet Lloyd can't adjust to his own? That was nice.

Also lmao on those stooges for thinking they had it under control, when they never had it in the first place uwu very good action flick, just the right level of serious tension vs Six's moments of dry humor!

[sparrow-in-boots]

Books & Me

thaaaank you @dessathealien for the tag!! starting a new post thread cus the previous one was getting long u.u

The last book I read: if we're counting audiobooks, then Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, i finished it this week actually! but if not mmmm Journey to the West vol.2, still need to get vol.3 and 4 to finish the colleciton on my shelf!

A book I’d recommend: For fun times reading overall, then I recommend Journey to the West, absolutely! it can be one of the abridged books if you like, but I swear it genuinely plain good fun.

A book I couldn't put down: Been a hot minute since I've had this happen to me, but The King In Yellow by Robert W. Chambers got pretty close.

A book I've read twice or more: A number of those endless YA fantasy series back in the day, buuut Watership Down by Richard Adams is an easy re-read.

A book on my tbr: Still gotta finish Alamut by Vladimir Bartol, and a few of my academic nonfictions. Jurassic Park, The Forever War, Foundation, House of Leaves... Sighhhh I miss having time for reading.

A book I've put down: Assassin's Creed - The Secret Crusade by Oliver Bowden. Fuck that shit.

A book on my wish list: The other JttW books!!

A favourite book from childhood: Oh boy, lemme think... The Little Prince solidly got me into reading as a kid. Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda got me into longer series in middle school, I'd pick them up at my school library and reread them all the time.

A book I’d give to a friend: If this means me picking smth from my own shelves to give away.... I wouldn't lmao

A book of poetry or lyrics that I own: A Rosa do Povo by Carlos Drummond de Andrade. I don't have that many poetry books tbh, but Drummond is a brazillian classic!!

A non-fiction book that I own: Literally two thirds of my collection lol but uhhhh randomly, Fogo no Mato by Luis Antonio Simas and Luiz Rufino. It's a short non-fiction book about afro-brazillian umbanda terreiros and the magic beliefs around them.

What I'm currently reading: Mostly administration introduction books rn, back to studying with me!

What I'm planning on reading next: When time and leisure allows, I'd love to read some more Ursula K. Le Guin. Or maybe Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.

for tags mmmmmm @crzyimp @cosmosredshift7 @timeturner-jay @reflectionsofacreator @glamygdala @shadesofflame @henryhoorray @croik and whoever else wants to join! as always, no pressure to join <3

[sparrow-in-boots]

yall ever see fandom charcterization so foul and ooc that it inspires you to get into a whole new genre, just to write it in a way that makes sense to you?

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i love eating raw onions, i love the free sinus cleanse

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okay no more tadc posting, time to listen in to my world cup match coverage (the people at the bars in my neighbourhood)

[sparrow-in-boots]

There's a particular kind of humiliation when you're learning a new skill, where you decide to push forward with the imperfect stuff and showcase it anyway cus hey, it's not perfect but it's progress!

But then the skill evolves way faster than you expected, and it's not that long since those first stumbling attempts and you look at them and think "wow, if I had sit on these for a couple days, I could have made them way better before showing them off but now everybody knows this. Should I just delete and repost?"

And I say no. Don't erase your own progress. Let people see how much you've improved in such a short time, even if it's cringe for you. You wanted to show off what you were able to do at the time, so what? Are you going to punish yourself for being excited? Fuck off with that.

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I know Weir confirmed eridian brains are more potent than human's, but I do like the idea that they do have effectively similar capacities but geared towards different things.

Eridians canonically can hold more than one thought process at once, done more than one thing at once, and are mathematical powerhouses. But human brains are processing different things beyond their awareness or consciousness.

Humans are cataloguing spatial awareness constantly, which eridians don't (they need to focus ans actively memory spaces). We also have a whole other sense that eridians don't, and it takes up A Lot of out processing power as humans are incredibly visual creatures.

Also humans Can become calculators if they dedicate themselves to it, so I imagine human brains are more malleable and adaptable than eridian brains. Similar to some people who learn to echolocate, a whole sense that is not inate to us like in other species - like eridians.

I wonder if human malleability with a mass of gray fat in their skulls frustrates or fascinates them. Imagine Grace being fully unable to explain his own brain cus, yeah we don't really understand how our own brain works haha go figure! and a couple eridian scientists are trying not to grab and shake him about it.