A Broken Man + The Dawn [Podfic] Read by Me - Chapter 2

Read along with me. n_nami's fic is at https://archiveofourown.org/works/979369/chapters/1971321. Read with her kind permission.

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The Song I'm Obsessed With Right Now

The song I'm obsessing over in August 2024 is "Joyride" by Kesha [Sebert].

I know the Kesha song "Supernatural," from her previous album Warrior, is about ghost sex. I know it isn't about the CW tv series of the same name. Still, this gave me an idea.

Borrowing an image from this Tumblr post, I overlaid some of the "Joyride" lyrics.

I reblogged the unedited Jensen Ackles pic from Bunny Jones. This is Bunny's art blog.

Then, borrowing an image from this Tumblr post, I made the complementary one for Castiel. 

I reblogged the second unedited image from diana2095. They're not active on Tumblr anymore, and haven't been for years, but their archive of Destiel fics is still there if anyone is interested.

Want to know what else I've been listening to? I made this "August Summerween" playlist. I'm not ready to fully lean into my extensive Halloween playlists yet -- I save that until September. But I did lean a little bit into the end of summer/autumn-ish vibes, with a hint of dark lyrics and lowercase-s supernatural references. 

Of note: The playlist includes a song-poem called "The Slitheree-Dee," performed by Shel Silverstein. You may remember it from Chapter 5 of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. While Silverstein wrote and arranged the version heard on Spotify, according to Alvin Schwartz's notes, it appears to have been based on an older folk song. 

Here is a drawing I drew in my 1999 sketchbook based on Stephen Gammell's 1981 illustration. 

Also on that now-deleted playlist: A song from the Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes film soundtrack. I haven't seen the movie, but I finished reading the book in July. I've heard there's another Hunger Games prequel to be released in 2025.

Songbirds and Snakes came out in 2020. I was quite slow to read it.

Lastly, you may also note the tracks "Murnau" and "Pentagrams" from the Smashing Pumpkins album that dropped on Friday, August 2. Those are the favorites on first listen. Those could change. It's a very new album. 

Bummer August

This is a repost of some previous Pagan Spirits book blog content. It combines the original Bummer August post from 2022 with the update.

August 1, 1994: An electrical fault sparks a fire at Norwich Central Library in Norwich, England, that destroys an estimated 100,000 books and historical papers.

August 1, 2018: 32-year-old Canadian model, artist, and actor Rick Genest, known as Zombie Boy for his numerous bone- and viscera-themed tattoos, dies from an accidental fall from an icy balcony where he has apparently gone to smoke a cigarette.

August 2, 1973: Approximately 50 people are killed when the Summerland indoor amusement park catches fire. The building’s ceiling is constructed using a transparent acrylic material, which melts, raining burning-hot liquid acrylic down on the victims of the fire.

August 2, 1997: William S. Burroughs dies, having had a heart attack the previous day.

August 3, 1924: Author Joseph Conrad dies of a heart attack at age 66.

August 3, 1966: 40-year-old comedian Lenny Bruce is found dead of an apparently accidental morphine overdose.

August 4, 1875: Hans Christian Andersen dies, possibly suffering from liver cancer and never having recovered from injuries from falling out of his bed.

August 4, 1962: Marilyn Monroe dies, apparently by suicide, of an overdose of prescription sleeping medicine.

August 7, 2016: 10-year-old son Caleb Schwab is killed while riding the Verrückt water raft ride at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The tallest such ride in the world at the time, the ride had a screen over the top, held in place with a series of metal support rings, to keep guests from accidentally flying off the ride in the event that the raft should become airborn. Caleb, who was riding on the front of a raft with two unrelated women riding on the back, struck the metal support ring and was decapitated when his raft became airborne.

August 8, 1965: American author Shirley Jackson dies at age 48 of cardiac arrest, possibly brought on by her alcoholism and use of a variety of prescription medicines. 

August 10, 1978: Three teenage girls, all members of the Ulrich family, are killed in an automobile accident while riding in a Ford Pinto. The state of Indiana charges the Ford Motor Company with homicide, claiming that the company was aware of manufacturing defects that made the vehicle more likely to cause death in the event of certain types of accidents. Ford is found not guilty.

August 12, 1964: Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels and of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, dies.

August 12, 1982: Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashes into a mountain after the pilots lose the ability to steer the plane. Of the 509 passengers and 15 crew members, only three passengers and one crew member survive. Rescue operations are delayed due to darkness and mountainous terrain, which means many people who may have initially had non-fatal injuries died of exposure, blood loss, and other conditions. 

August 12, 2022: Indian-British* author Salman Rushdie is stabbed ten times at an event in Chautauqua, New York, allegedly by a 24-year-old man from New Jersey. Rushdie suffers nerve damage to one arm, one eye, and his liver. The attacker was apparently motivated by a late Iranian religious leader’s description of Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses as blasphemous since it depicted the prophet Muhammad as a fictional character. 

Rushdie is an atheist. The attacker had not read The Satanic Verses.

*Rushdie now lives in the United States with his wife, American poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths.

August 13, 1521: Hernán Cortés and his small army of Spanish conquistadores conquer the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán after an extended siege that began in 1519. 

August 13, 1944: Lucien Carr, friend of Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs, stabs and kills his acquaintance David Kammerer. Carr will serve two years in prison for manslaughter, then go on to father children who include novelist Caleb Carr.

August 16, 1949: Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell dies in the hospital of injuries she sustained on August 11th when she was struck by a speeding car with an intoxicated driver. The driver was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served 11 months in jail. 

August 17, 1966: English race car driver Ken Miles is killed when the Ford Mk IV he is test-driving crashes at over 200 miles per hour.

                  Christian Bale played Miles in Ford v. Ferrari. Here is a fic that I particularly like.

August 18, 1992: On or around this date, 24-year-old adventurer Christopher McCandless dies of apparent starvation in the Alaskan wilderness. The story of his nomadic, short life is the basis of the book and film Into the Wild. 

August 19, 1936: According to LitHub, “Federico García Lorca—the Spanish avant-garde poet, playwright, and ardent socialist—was shot and killed by Nationalist militia before being buried in an unmarked mass grave somewhere outside Granada, where he remains to this day.”

Lorca had predicted his manner of death in his 1929 poem “The Fable And Round of the Three Friends:”

“Then I realized I had been murdered.

They looked for me in cafes, cemeteries and churches

…. but they did not find me.

They never found me?

No. They never found me.”

https://www.redbubble.com/i/sticker/Federico-Garc%C3%ADa-Lorca-FIGHT-FASCISTS-by-ErinORiordan/142424208.EJUG5

August 21, 1986: A naturally-occurring limnic eruption of Lake Nyos in Cameroon releases poisonous carbon dioxide into the air, killing 1,746 people. 

August 23, 1981: East German comedic actor Rolf Herricht suffers a heart attack and dies while performing in Kiss Me Kate at Berlin’s Metropol theatre.

August 25, 1984: Truman Capote dies of liver disease.

August 25, 1914: During World War I, German troops occupying Leuven, Belgium, set fire to the city and destroying almost half of it. 300 civilians die. Included in the burning and destruction is the library of the Catholic University of Leuven, which loses approximately 230,000 materials, including priceless medieval manuscripts.

August 25, 1992: The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina is destroyed by Serbian bombing during the Siege of Sarajevo.

August 26, 2001: Tit and I got out of bed this morning and turned on the news to hear that the singer/dancer/actor Aaliyah had perished in a plane crash in the Bahamas. Born in 1979, she was only 22 years old.

August 27, 1883: Mount Krakatau (Anglicized as Krakatoa), which had begun to erupt on the 20th of May, intensifies in seismic activity with an eruption that destroys more than two-thirds of its island. The eruption is one of the loudest sounds ever heard by human ears, with the explosion being heard 4,800 miles away from the Indonesian site of the volcano. Pyroclastic flows, ash expelled into the atmosphere, and resulting tsunamis are estimated to have killed more than 36,400 people. Only the 1815 Mount Tambora explosion is thought to have been deadlier.

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August 28, 2020: 43-year-old actor Chadwick Boseman passes away from colon cancer.

A Broken Man + The Dawn [Podfic] Read by Me

My first attempt at recording a podfic is "A Broken Man & The Dawn." The author, who goes by the name n_nami on Archive of Our Own, graciously allowed me to make this recording. I'm no professional. But I couldn't shake the notion that I didn't only want to reread this fic, I wanted to listen to it.

Amazon Prime Day: Coastal Cowgirl Style Inspiration

This is an affiliate post and if you click on some of the links inside it, I may earn a small commission. 

What is "coastal cowgirl?" It's a trendy aesthetic that combines effortless beachy style with traditional Western style. In Disney terms, it's been described as the fins-and-pearls aesthetic of The Little Mermaid meeting Jessie the Cowgirl from Toy Story 2. 

Please note that even though it has "girl" in the name, the gender label on an article of clothing is merely a suggestion. You do you. 

Coastal Cowgirl is trendy on Amazon in July 2024, so here are a few ideas if you're into this fashion. For inspiration, let's start with the unofficial cowpoke anthem of the year.

These KaroNairy faux suede, mid-calf boots come in 13 other colors, in case you don't like turquoise.

https://amzn.to/45X2PbV

As far as affordable accessories go, it's hard to beat a pair of statement earrings like these.

https://amzn.to/4cxZYIE

This super-casual, fringy paisley halter top works for everyday wear or as a cover-up over a bikini top.

https://amzn.to/462xJzt

Need an affordable necklace to go with those earrings? This is one of eight possible designs using vintage wooden beads.

https://amzn.to/4ePOMJ5

Be eco-friendly and trendy at the same time with a crocheted tote bag.

https://amzn.to/3xEnIMi

Pair a beachy halter top with a long, flowing, asymmetrical skirt.

https://amzn.to/3RYU3V3

Now you have at least one of everything you need to rock Coastal Cowgirl style. Visit Amazon.com for more style inspiration and Prime Day deals!

And if you've enjoyed the musical inspiration, check out my Femme Country playlist on Spotify.

Amazon Prime Day is Coming, July 16-17

Links in this post are affiliate links and if you make a purchase after following one of these links, I may earn a small commission. Very small. I've earned about $10 since I started posting Amazon affiliate links last year. These are only some of the categories of deals you can shop on Prime Day, July 16-17, 2024: Reading, Groceries, Movies, Music.

See Amazon's Best Books of 2024 (So Far) Here

Here are a few early Prime Day deals:

Do you like chocolate? Do you like terrible Washington Irving puns? Then you might want to eat Rip Van Wafers. https://amzn.to/3zqn19J

Speaking of food, did you know that Prime members can skip the delivery fees on GrubHub orders? 

GrubPrime

Of course, a huge part of Prime Day is back-to-school deals. Getting the kids ready for summer to end? Amazon has everything you could possibly need. 

Pirates Don't Go to Kindergarten by Lisa Robinson

Thanks for checking out the Prime Day deals! If you bought a book, comment below and tell me what you'll be reading!

P.S. All of my ebooks are free at Smashwords during July 2024.

More Unfortunate Happenings of Past Julys

Read 2023's Bummer July post here.

July 3, 1999: Musician/artist Mark Sandman, perhaps best known as a member of the band Morphine, collapses while playing a Morphine show in Palestrina, Lazio, Italy. He is pronounced dead in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. The 46-year-old’s fatal heart attack is thought to have been triggered, in part, by the extreme heat of the day.

July 5, 1932: Z. Smith Reynolds, an heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune, dies of a gunshot wound. Three other people are inside the house with Reynolds at the time: Reynolds’s wife Libby Holman (a noted Broadway singer/actor), Holman’s personal assistant Ab Walker, and friend Blanche Yurka. A party has taken place at the home earlier and all of the witnesses are drunk when the shooting occurs. It’s unclear if Reynolds died by suicide, accident, or murder. Holman maintains she was too drunk to remember what happened that night. She and Walker are indicted on murder charges, but the Reynolds family insists that the charges be dropped.

Here is a post about July 6th specifically.

July 12, 1979: Singer Minnie Riperton dies of breast cancer. She’s 31 years old.

July 12, 1996: Multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Melvoin, at the time touring with the Smashing Pumpkins as a keyboardist, dies of a heroin overdose. He’s 34 years old.

July 12, 1997: The bodies of Lela and Raymond Howard, a couple from Texas who’ve been missing for over two weeks, are found in their Oldsmobile about 350 miles away from their home. The couple had been making their annual visit to the Pioneer Days fiddle festival on June 28th when they apparently become disoriented and lose their way, ending up near Hot Springs, Arkansas. No foul play is suspected; their deaths are apparently accidental. The Oldsmobile is found at the bottom of a ravine with Lela at the wheel.

Raymond was 88; Lela was 83. They’d married 11 years earlier after each had lost their previous spouse. The incident inspired the Fastball song “The Way.”

July 14, 2015: Arthur Cave, the 15-year-old son of Australian musician Nick Cave and English fashion model and designer Susie Bick, dies after sustaining a brain injury in an accidental fall from a cliff in the family’s home of Brighton, U.K. Arthur has used LSD before the accident. He’s survived by his twin brother Earl.

July 15, 1958: John Lennon’s mother Julia Lennon is struck and killed by a car while walking home.

July 17, 1959: At 3:10 a.m., Billie Holiday passes away under arrest in her hospital bed. Her death comes from heart failure and fluid in her lungs brought about by a failing liver. She’s 44 years old.

July 17, 1967: 40-year-old jazz saxophonist John Coltrane dies of liver cancer. Although he has been sober for the last 10 years of his life, earlier struggles with heroin and alcohol use may have contributed to his cancer.

July 25, 1984: Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, the first artist to record “Hound Dog,” dies of a heart attack and liver disease at age 57 in Los Angeles.

July 26, 2015: Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, the daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, dies in a hospice care facility at the age of 22. She had been in a coma for the previous six months after being found unresponsive in her Georgia home by her fiancé, Nick Gordon. Brown was discovered face-down in her bathtub less than three years after her mother died in a bathtub at a hotel in Los Angeles. Eerily similar to her mother’s passing, Brown was found to have been intoxicated with alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, prescription drugs, and other substances when she apparently drowned in her bathtub.

July 29, 1974: Cass Elliot dies of a heart attack. Years of heroin abuse and cycles of rapidly gaining and losing weight have weakened her body. Cruelly, urban legend will afterwards contend that she died by choking to death on a ham sandwich. 

P.S. All of my ebooks are free at Smashwords during July 2024.