Me, the Poplin

Where I come to blog for my weeples about books, movies, tv shows, commercials, and music of which I prefer Disney, Marvel, fiction, BBC, ATLA/LOK, Thrilling Adventure Hour, Postmodern Jukebox, Adventure Time, and fairytales. I'm also fond of tea.

[weetheweeple]

Name: Sense8

Creators: J. Michael Straczynski, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

Network: Netflix, 2015 - 13 episodes (~1 hour each)

Genre: Drama-rama

The Premise:Eight individuals scattered around the world become inexplicably and mentally linked, forming a hive mind of shared experience and ability called a Sense8. In an X-men-esque plot, the Sense8 is simultaneously regarded as the next stage of human evolution and a danger to the genetic purity of humanity by those who know of their existence.

The first season revolves around the Sense8 discovering and exploring their new connection, fleeing genetic purist manics, and navigating their own personal stories with a little help from hallucinations, mysterious abilities, and a touch of insanity. Be prepared. With only 13 episodes in a season, the creators make the most of it. Once you start watching this, you won't want to stop.

No matter who you are, there is something for you to connect with thanks to a brilliantly diverse cast of characters and plots (think Game of Thrones style where each character gets their own chapter and they occasionally overlap). Sexual orientation, gender orientation, cultural background, family experience, etc. they've got you covered, which makes the show all the more interesting as these individuals from vastly different backgrounds connect and interact through their stories.

Personally, I loved the geographic diversity of the cast, allowing you to glimpse the life of a devote and betrothed Hindu in India, a CFO/underground fighter in Seoul, and a bus driver in Nairobi (just to name a few). It's a visually stunning story as you explore each individual's world and see them interact with each other. Additionally, the chemistry between characters is on point, especially for the romantic couples, each with distinct, enthralling nuances and HBO-grade explicit content.

On That Note: Don't try to understand everything that's going on in this show. The creators developed a classic pilot season that uses mysteries and confusion to keep you clicking 'next' until you have more questions than answers, so just go along for the ride and prepare for everything you think you know about people and the world to change.

Recommendation: Binge watch (thanks next episode feature) and contemplate what it'd be like to have a twin...or seven.

*****Full disclosure, I would not have watched this show if it hadn't been for magzneto​'s compelling gif sets bombarding my dash and convincing me to watch basically everything she blogs, she's my media guru*****

[weetheweeple]

Title: The Word Exchange

Author: Alena Graedon

Publication:Knopf Doubleday, 2015

Genre: Fiction (undertones of dystopian Sci-Fi and a failed attempt at thriller)

The Premise: is brilliant. In a not too distant (somewhat alternate) future, the English language is on the brink of collapse as an imprudent computer virus transcends binary code to biological code, becoming known as 'word flu'. The enigmatic blip of coding turns epidemic overnight as swaths of humanity, reliant on super-smartphones called ‘Meme’s to tell them the word on the tip of their tongue, find communication to be their worst enemy. Nowhere is safe when every word could lead to infection.

If you want to know more, read the book, seriously. This book is critical of society's increased reliance on devices and satirical of the 'devolution' of the modern languages. Even better, the language of the book is used to emulate the progression of 'word flu' itself, punctuating the text with nonsense words to mimic aphasia (the loss of ability to understand or express speech). Additionally, Graedon uses excessive literary references and sophisticated word choices until you regret how ignorant you've become. Fret not, our protagonist and sometimes narrator, Anana, is just as clueless as the rest of us.

The primary element that kept me engaged is how recently the events have occurred within the book's timeline. Most of the events are narrated in present tense or from a few weeks into the future without disproportionate insight from the author, keeping me morbidly curious of the progression of the 'word flu' epidemic. Even as the book concludes for the readers and Anna, the story rages on in the background

On that Note: I could have done without the romantic tangent of major characters Anana, Bartleby, and Max. Ultimately, I would have loved to see this exact premise, in an entirely different subgenre (noir perhaps?).

Recommendation: Read when you've decided to become a cyber ghost and delete all your social media accounts, or when you swear off your smartphone and other digital devices. Preferably on Kindle.

[weetheweeple]

Hello Weeple

My mental health is very important to me lately. 

I am an unemployed, recent college graduate and my motivation can be measured in the negatives. So, I decided to blog, to keep my mind ordered and language skills honed and shout endlessly into the neverending void. 

So I'm going to blog about what us millennials love most: media. I'm partial to books, but won't feign from movies, tv series, and even the mildly irritating commercial or pop song.

Here goes nothing. Literally.