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phasephd.bsky.social
Phase_PhD
@phasephd.bsky.social
290 followers 960 following 52 posts
Geologist that left academia. Likes music, board games & TTRPGs. Plays guitar. I don't comment often. 230601
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phasephd.bsky.social
Finished "Magica Riot" by @magicariot.com the other day. It was a LOT of fun to read.

It's about a queer rock band of magical girls defending the Earth (or at least Portland) from agents of chaos and destruction and makes for a fun story.

I'm looking forward to the sequel!

magicariot.com
The cover of the book "Magica Riot" by Kara Buchanan - cover art by Amber Dill. There is a purple color scheme to the book with the main character striking a "magical girl" pose with her right hand raised in a fist behind her head and her left hand held open with the palm facing down toward the reader's perspective. Her left leg is kicked back and is putting her weight on her right leg. There are depictions of glowing glyphs surrounding the character. The back ground shows a suspension bridge and clouds. The books summary from the jacket is: "The last night of Claire Ryland's old life in the closet was pretty normal, aside from the alley fight with interdimensional monsters. Fortunately, the drummer of her favorite local band transformed into a magical girl and saved her. Then Claire became a magical girl as well. Things got a little complicated after that. Now Claire is juggling two new living as a girl and as a member of Portland's super-secret supernatural defense squad, the hard-rocking magical girls known as ... Magica Riot!" The GoodReads summary also describes this book as: "The story of a young transgender woman who's discovering herself at the same time she's learning how to be a magical girl, Magica Riot is an action-filled musical adventure inspired by classic magical girl anime, tokusatsu shows, and the vibe of the American Pacific Northwest. Featuring a cast of LGBTQ+ magical girls, mysterious monsters, and villains that are more than they appear to be, Magica Riot shows that finding your true self is the first step toward saving the world".
January 5, 2025 at 2:40 AM
phasephd.bsky.social
I think "The Glass Box" by JMS ( @straczynski.bsky.social ) tops the list of books I read this year.

I am very glad I read it earlier in the year, as it deals with an altogether too plausible scenario, but it shows there are ways to move forward in dystopian situations if we stand together.
The cover for the 2024 US Hardcover edition of "The Glass Box" by J. Michael Straczynski. The title is in large yellow text. The rest of the cover is in shades of blues ranging from almost white to a deep navy. The cover shows a human silhouette pressed against a glass wall. The lighting of the silhouette is diffuse and no details are clearly visible aside from the figures hands. The glass wall is breaking towards the bottom of the image. Book Synopsis "Riley Diaz was born to fight back. When she's incarcerated under the authority of a shadowy new defense act, Riley is sent to one of a growing number of American Renewal Centers (ARCs)--institutions modeled after psychiatric facilities--for mandatory reeducation. Forced therapy, involuntary medication, solitary confinement, restricted rations, and more are all in the ARC program's bag of dirty tricks designed to break down dissidents. Give in, and you go free. Resist, and ... Riley declares a one-woman war against the gaslighting and manipulation in a struggle to take down the ARC program and its white-coated collaborators. Despite being isolated and resented by her fellow inmates, Riley eventually wins their trust, and forms a heartfelt, life-and-death bond with a mysterious patient known only as Frankenstein, who is as enigmatic as his namesake. Sometimes breaking an unjust system starts with one person willing to stand up--when standing is the hardest thing in the world--and saying "no." Riley Diaz is willing to stand behind that word, regardless of the cost, in order to put her fist through the Glass Box once and for all. Acclaimed creator J. Michael Straczynski takes the reader on a mesmerizing journey inspired by pressing contemporary issues, including our right to protest and the threats designed to undermine that right. Told with drama and heart, The Glass Box is a moving story that features a colorful and often eccentric cast of characters readers will fall in love with".
December 19, 2024 at 10:00 PM
phasephd.bsky.social
Just to cleanse my palate from... well... seems like everything these days...

Last weekend, I read "Upright Women Wanted" by Sarah Gailey (@sarahgailey.bsky.social) - originally published in 2020.

It is a near-future western where queer librarians are aiding the Resistance. I highly recommend it!
The cover art for the Book "Upright Women Wanted" by Sarah Gailey. The cover shows the title in red capitalized text in a serif font with one word per line with the author's name in smaller black letters in a sans serif font between the words of the title. The artwork for the cover is rotated 90 degrees clockwise, so that the "ground" is to the left hand side of the image and the "sky" is to the right. The left side of the cover shows the characters around a cook fire in their camp with their wagons and a desert background all in a silhouette. The sky is a teal with sepia toned clouds. The summary of the book (not pictured) is: “That girl’s got more wrong notions than a barn owl’s got mean looks.” Esther is a stowaway. She’s hidden herself away in the Librarian’s book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her—a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda. The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing. They'll bring the fight to you. In Upright Women Wanted, award-winning author Sarah Gailey reinvents the pulp Western with an explicitly antifascist, near-future story of queer identity. Additional taglines on my copy (not pictured) read: "Are you a coward or are you a Librarian?" and "Fight the State. Be a Librarian."
December 12, 2024 at 7:50 PM
phasephd.bsky.social
That canceled TV show you'll never stop thinking about?
The title screen for the 1997 TV series 'Spy Game'. It is a two tiered logo with a walkway that the word "Spy" is sitting on, while the walkway is supported by the word "Game" with the two main characters standing next to it in the lower right. Max London (Allison Smith) was a weapons expert and Lorne Cash (Linden Ashby) was an expert hand to hand fighter who would improvise weapons. It was incredibly corny and reminded my parents of The Avengers (not the marvel series Avengers, the British spy series Avengers). It aired from March to July 1997. (This was absolutely not related to the 2001 movie with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt).
November 16, 2024 at 3:42 AM
phasephd.bsky.social
Here is my scottie pup! Named Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley - after the designer of the Flying Scotsman - but we all call him Herbie (because he is a Love Bug).

He is only "Sir Herbert" when he is being stubborn.
A cream-colored Scottie, with his tongue out, lying in green grass with a blue tennis ball at his front feet. The Flying Scotsman - a 3/4 front image of a green engine with red bumper pulling its tender and a single brown passenger car. Image from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A3_4472_Flying_Scotsman Herbie, from Disney's "Herbie Series" of movies. A white, 1963 Volkswagen Beetle with a red, white, and blue racing stripe going vertically from the front to the back of the car with the racing number '53' circled on the doors and hood. The car is parked on a flat field if turf with a small body of water in the background. Image from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie
October 19, 2024 at 4:59 PM