then there are blackbirds

Woke up this morning to news that Agent Orange had, of course, tweeted about the "Chinese Virus." As if the amount of anti-Asian violence I've been hearing about through the few feeds I actually skim wasn't worrying enough. If I had a rocket launcher right now... *sigh*

Some of my DJ friends are doing their thing on livestream in my dance community (ETA1: I heart zouk radio; ETA2: Going Back to Africa 1.0), but I'm curious as to what other stuff everyone's listening to right now. What's on your avoiding-the-plague-lists? :P I already mentioned I Use Tabo (a Swalla parody) elsewhere, because I can't do anything about the toilet paper panic-buying except laugh... and side-eye.

Some happy/things that cracked me up recently:

♣ Still working on my first drabble, but my multifandom promptathon remains open! I'll be attempting to write in my procrastination/downtime all this week, so keep tossing ideas at me. :)

♣ I nearly finished a cowl from a free crochet pattern last night! All it needs is either whip stitching or some cute buttons. :3

♣ You know that meme? That "Pick up the book nearest to you and turn to page 45. The first sentence explains your love life." meme? ... yeah. As I said to oyceter when I saw it a few days ago, the book nearest to me was (and still is, actually, as I haven't rearranged my desk) a blank diary.

Speaking of books, if anyone has recs for shiny books of the fluffier variety, I'd really appreciate them! It's been a while since I've found anything to just fall into.

1. Things I've read in the last week or so (between an afternoon in Book-Off and a couple of library stints): ( Nabari no Ou, Hikaru no Go, Monkey High, Rurouni Kenshin, Tattoo, A College of Magics, When the King Comes Home, Magic Under Glass, Kotuku, The Stone and the Maiden, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit )

2. While at the library, I also picked up Shaolin (because Andy Lau and Fan Bingbing!) and Painted Skin II (because REASONS, obviously) from their DVD collection. Since my thoughts on the latter are ASD:SLFJS:LDFJK *_____* ♥ ♥ ♥, here is my attempt at coherence for Shaolin: Pretty grim and manpain-y, and the three female characters were sadly auxiliary and ( spoiler/trigger warning ). I mean, it achieved its goal of ~heartbreaking wartime epic~, and I do enjoy martial arts action sequences, but seriously? It couldn't have done so without throwing the women under the bus (WARTIME epic! betrayal! power struggles! subthread of English people trying to advance their empire! etc.!)? Sigh.

3. I also discovered that the DVD section in the library has a HUGE Bollywood selection, so please to be throwing your recs at me! :D

Earlier this week I went to Bookoff and read the first two volumes of Rurouni Kenshin. They were cute, but so far I am not extremely enthused, just interested enough to keep reading when I get a chance. I am in the mood for moar manga/anime series right now, so any recommendations/reminders for those &/or fluffy books would be welcome!

Also, I've decided to start Duolingo now that I'm freeeeeee, haha. I know a bunch of you have mentioned you're on it, but remind me? :) ♥

Guys, Kaleidoscope's current nominations list gives me a bigger grinny face every time I look at it! I am SO EXCITED, thanks so much to everyone who's nominated/promoted/volunteered/helped spread the word thus far. Also, &hearts to dharmavati, troisroyaumes, and wistfuljane! &Team Darkness;;;

On a personal note, though: dear circle, please rec me some more non-East-Asian fandoms! Of course I am all excite about the East Asian movies/shows/dramas/anime/manga series/etc. that people have already nominated, but I am uncomfortable with spending my nomination slots on East Asian sources that someone else will probably come up with anyway and would instead prefer to boost some underrepresented groups that deserve love.

So, revamping from my previous ideas, my current consideration list looks like this:
- Janelle Monae's albums (NEED MOAR CINDI MAYWEATHER FIC!)
- Karen Lord, Redemption in Indigo
- Witi Ihimaera, Whale Rider
- Louise Erdrich, The Birchbark House

I haven't decided whether or not I want to reserve a slot for Sarai-ya Goyou (or perhaps Hiromi Goto's Half World? or Samurai 7?), but either way, I have at least two definite openings for non-East-Asian stuff! Anything you'd particularly like to see? Anything short-ish that you think I should watch or read (since I'd prefer to nominate things I can, you know, actually offer)?