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About this blog

A collaborative effort from Free Jinger members to review and recap books, movies and tv shows.

Entries in this blog

Flowers in the Attic: Table of Contents

Here is the Table of Contents for Flowers in the Attic. New recaps will be linked as they are hastily written.  Part One Prologue and Good-Bye-Daddy. The Road to Riches The Grandmother's House The Attic The Wrath of God Momma's Story Minutes Like Hours To Make a Garden Grow To Make a Garden Grow (Part II) Holidays Holidays (Part Two) The Christmas Party Christopher's Exploration and Its Repercussions The Long Winter, and Spring, and Summer   Part Two

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Disney Animated Feature: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

I thought it might be fun to rewatch some old Disney films and examine them under modern day morals and norms, and see how they hold up. If this isn't your thing, that's cool. I'm sure I'll get bored before I make it to the Renaissance Disney stuff, anyway. Full disclosure, there are several I haven't seen, and one that I've only seen in French. So I don't have the same level of nostalgia that many of you might have.   Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is the first full length Animated Featu

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Rewatching Contact: 23 years later

I recently rewatched the 1997 Sci-Fi film Contact. Directed by Forrest Gump's Robert Zemeckis (among many, many other well known films), Contact was a film that I had mostly forgotten about. Sure, everytime a new sci-fi film came out in the past decade, it was mentioned. But mostly I remembered it as kind of weird Jody Foster film that I saw in high school. (Now you know how old I am!)  Contact, despite being 23 years old, is still incredibly relevant to this day. Dr. Ellie Arroway works fo

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Chapter 24

Veruca in the Nut Room   You've got to hand it to OG Veronica. She inspired this. Alas, this is the book. Wonka warns his guests about the NUT ROOM by saying "Whatever you do, don't go into THE NUT ROOM. If you go in, you'll disturb the squirrels." Seems straightforward. Wonka explains that the squirrels are trained to shell walnuts. Mike Teavee, being the reasonable one in the room, asks why squirrels instead of Oompa Loompas. Let's not get me started on food safety

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Chapter 23

Square Candies That Look Round I'm trying to keep myself from going to the coffee shop and buying a $4 brownie.  They are very good brownies but I'm no longer in a place where a $4 brownie covered in chocolate art is affordable for my bank account or my health.  So instead I'm going to take a second and show you this screenshot of something I saw 5 minutes ago. So that's how Grandpa Joe got out of bed.  Anyway, this chapter is useless. They look at some candies (or swee

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Along the Corridor Mr. Willy Wonka points out to the rapidly diminishing crowd that there are three "good" children left, and two "naughty little children gone." Charlie, bless his little poverty stricken heart, has the sense to ask Mr. Wonka if Violet will ever be OK again. Mr. Wonka assures Charlie that Violet will be "de-juiced" (I think just "juiced" works here, tbh) and will come out "thin as a whistle" although, she'll be purple. Mr. Wonka drives home his hatred of gum by

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Chapter 21: Good-by Violet

That's not a typo in the header. My Chromecast is telling me that it's -26C, which is like -15F i think (I know. It shows both). The thermostat in my store is showing that it's too cold to give a reading. So obviously I'm just going to curl up next to a space heater (because customers? HA!) and read a chapter of this book.  Considering that the title of this chapter is "Good-by Violet," I bet you that this is the chapter when Charlie drinks the flying potion. Haha, no. Honestly, though

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Chapter 19 & 20

Chapter 20: The Inventing Room -- Everlasting Gobstoppers and Hair Toffee  ALRIGHT I'm on a REAL LAPTOP with an actual keyboard and my kindle app on my phone. My actual Kindle was murdered in a backpacking "accident" last year and I THOUGHT I might get a new one for XMAS but I was WRONG! Oh well. So our heroes recently lived through watching their peer be sucked through a very wide pipe in a candy-processing factory, then drank chocolate out of the non-contaminated river. Well, I guess ther

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Chapter 18

Chapter 18 - Down the Chocolate River. Mr Winks tells everyone not to worry about Augustus, and that's cool with me. He's barely a character in this book and now he's gone. One other thing about the previous scene - Mr Wonka mentions to the Oompa Loompa that he might need to grab a stick and fish out Augustus. So maybe this kid is unconscious! Risk of drowning if he is. If not, why can't this kid climb out on his own? How big are these pipes? Is there hair mixed into the chocolate? Oka

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Augustus Gloop Goes Up The Pipe Betcha can't guess what happens in this chapter.  To recap, Charlie is not an orphan, but he might as well be. His dad refuses to update his skills after his job at the toothpaste factory was automated. He has four grandparents who haven't gotten out of a shared bed in 20 years. And so our hero wins a ticket to tour a chocolate factory and managed to get his tobacco addicted grandfather out of bed. Four other children are present at this

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Little House in the Big Woods Recap: Sundays

Sundays I remember reading about Sundays in Farmer Boy! They sounded awful and boring.  Regardless, Laura and Mary also find Sundays to be long, since they have to stay inside and be quiet. They get to take baths on Saturday night, which is nice for them. In the winter, Pa and Ma (the text says Pa, but let's just be historically accurate) melt snow for bath water. They have a screen made out of a  blanket hung over two chairs. Laura goes first, then Mary, then Pa has to empty and refil

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Little House in the Big Woods Recap: Christmas

Christmas Here's a list of things I enjoy about this book:  It is apolitical. Trump does not exist.  It is pleasant to read.  There is no comment section full of people yelling at each other about things that have nothing to do with the article.  The illustrations are perfect. They fit the theme and aren't too modern, yet still nice too look at.  I enjoy the setting & it's a picture perfect view of a time when things were likely not picture perfect. 

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Little House in the Big Woods Recap: The Long Rifle

The Long Rifle Laura and Mary are schooled in the art of bullet making. Every night, Pa makes some bullets for the next day. I want to know why he doesn't plan ahead. The food will last. The woods are plentiful. This isn't like living in Huslia or Kobuk or Shungnak, where it's all hands on deck when a caribu herd comes around. He's got lots of food stored up. He can spend a day a month making bullets, which would likely save some resources.  Also, let's talk about the fact that bullet

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Little House in the Big Woods: The Story of Grandpa and the Panther

The Story of Grandpa and the Panther  This is Grandpa Ingalls.   Pa tells a story in which Grandpa is hunted by a panther on his way home from town. Grandpa shoots the panther.  That's it.  Which lead me to some questions about taxonomy. It's likely that Grandpa saw a cougar, which are common enough in North America. They are not normally black, though.  There is no follow up as to what happened to the body. If I shot a jaguar that had been stalking me, I would get it stuff

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Little House in the Big Woods: Winter Days and Winter Nights

Winter Days and Winter Nights It's winter now, and Pa is trapping animals. I can't imagine how much work he must be forcing on poor Ma. They are trapping small animals, big animals, and medium animals. I also despise trapping, more so than any other type of hunting. And now, in 2019, selfish trappers who can't be bothered to follow regulations occasionally trap someone's pet. Anyway, so back in 1873, Pa goes to check his traps and comes back with a bear and a pig. Pa "didn't know" where the

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Little House in the Big Woods: Little House in the Big Woods

Little House in the Big Woods This chapter starts off with "Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs." 1959 was VERY different! In this chapter, we are introduced to the little girl, named Laura. She is just described as "little." She's got a Ma and Pa, and two sisters. Mary is older and Carrie is younger. I apologize for my lack of LHOTP knowledge, I never read all of them, and I watched a bit of the show. I d

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Little House in the Big Woods Recap: Table of Contents

These are the links to each individual blog post for my read of: Little House in the Big Woods By Laura Ingalls Wilder    Little House in the Big Woods Winter Days and Winter Nights & The Story of Grandpa & the Panther The Long Rifle Christmas Sundays Two Big Bears The Sugar Snow Dance at Grandpa's Going to Town Summertime Harvest The Wonderful Machine The Deer in the Wood

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Flowers in the Attic: "Endings, Beginnings" and "Epilogue"

Endings, Beginnings In the last chapter, we were left with a cliff hanger. Cathy was braced for the "knockout blow" of bad news that Chris alluded to, but didn't share. He was too busy describing the sex that John the Butler and a woman named Livvy had on the sofa he hid behind. He also described the Grandfather's library, right down to the placement of the furniture.  Chris asks Cathy to guess the reason that "she" (I think he's referring to the grandmother) gave for not having the ch

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Flowers in the Attic: Escape

Escape I bet you can't guess what happens in this chapter from the title!  It's November 10. I am reminded of how the timeline issues could so easily be solved if the author would have just not had them keep track of days in the attic, or had she not tied them to specific calendar days.  Cathy and fam are visited in the attic by their mother, who was "ill at ease" with little time to spend in the attic. Bart is taking her out. She doesn't want to go. He doesn't know why Corrine lo

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Flowers in the Attic: "Color All Days Blue, But Save One for Black"

Color All Days Blue, But Save One for Black I realize that this chapter title is referring to something earlier, but I can't remember where, or why they are coloring days. I also think that things are about to get really dark.  Cathy and Chris seem to have forgotten their worries, and are now dreaming of moving to Sarasota and joining the Circus. What child didn't dream of joining the circus? I know I for sure wanted to be a trapeze artist, just like Cathy. Or do horse tricks like on "

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Flowers (Children) in the Attic: "My Stepfather" (Part 3)

TW: anti-feminist behavior, discussion of rape.  They go out onto the roof. Apparently Corrine has not yet brought them cigarettes and cheap wine, so they cry into each others arms. This night is described a "night for lovers." Whatever that means.  Cathy blames herself because this book was written in the 70s and takes place in the 80s, though, she does say "he didn't mean to." Which is something, I guess. Cathy worries to herself about giving birth to a deformed baby or an idiot. (Ni

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Flowers in the Attic: "My Stepfather" (Part 2)

My Stepfather aka Forbidden Pleasures of the Sexual Kind.  Part 2. Cathy whines to the reader that Chris is taking too long to come up with $500. Oh, wait, I already read this section. Corrine looks fabulous in black. This is very important information.  Chris and Cathy are sharing everything, problems, aspirations, doubts. He's her doctor. (Are they "playing doctor"?) Scandalous.  Cathy says her physical problems are not much consequence, only the monthly cramps. Her "womanly tim

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Flowers in the Attic: "My Stepfather" (Part 1)

My Stepfather This chapter starts with "That spring, Chris got sick."  I am going to just retcon that the timeline is a bit wonky because it's being written in past tense, as Cathy tells this story to a ghost writer. How long did they hang out in the attic knowing they could sneak out at any time? I can't imagine not going anywhere for years. That makes me feel uncomfortable and claustrophobic.  Chris is sick and being a giant baby. He yells at Cathy, and tells her to be independant, n

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Flowers in the Attic: "Our Mother's Surprise" (Part 4)

Part Four: Our Mother's Surprise.  I will finish this chapter today. Even if I have to take a nap at work to do so. Sort of kidding but also not. I recently interviewed for a new lateral position at a sister type organization. I didn't get it. I don't even know if I wanted it. But I still feel the sting of rejection, despite the weirdness of the "culture fit" interview. I actually don't know if they ever intended to treat me like a normal candidate. Or maybe they did? I don't know. I do kno

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae

Flowers in the Attic: "Our Mother's Surprise" (Part 3)

PART THREE OF THIS NEVER ENDING CHAPTER The next section of this chapter is nine paragraphs.  Cathy's "bright" dreams are interrupted by nightmares of her grandmother cutting off her breasts. Even when Cathy is sleeping, she is thinking about her breasts. In my head, I just simultaneously compared VC Andrews to GRRM's idea of what women think about and wondered how big VC's breasts are. Unfortunately, google image search only returns headshots, and I'm not putting the phrase "VC Andrew

Maggie Mae

Maggie Mae



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    • Kiki03910

      Kiki03910

      https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/03/finally-engineers-have-a-clue-that-could-help-them-save-voyager-1/
      GO SCIENCE.
      · 0 replies
    • Kiki03910

      Kiki03910

      I love baseball but I'm dreading the new season because the White Sox ownership is THE FUCKING WORST. I watched Dominican League Baseball (Lidom!) over the winter and fell in love with their joy, spirit, and exuberance. The broadcasts were in Spanish and my Spanish is pretty weak but I loved catching phrases and repeating them. Bombe! I'm sad about MLB and Commissioner Idiota's busywork rules. But I love baseball, always and forever.
      I guess I don't have a point. Just bitching. Te amo mucho, Lidom!
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    • WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?

      WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?

      Happy International Women's Day!

      Humanity may have some work to do, to improve gender equality, but I was glad to hear that France has taken an important step to protect healthcare for women (and people of other genders who can get pregnant). 
      (The links are just to a UN page and the AP News.)
      Anyhow, love to y'all!
      · 0 replies
    • Giraffe

      Giraffe

      Feeling ragey this morning. I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon in the hope of getting help for an ongoing injury. I went to a (different!!) doctor late last year who completely blew me off. He wouldn't do diagnostic testin, he refused to send me to a specialist, and he just told me to "take it easy" and "take ibuprofen." I'm hopeful for today's appointment but I'm also feeling a SEVERE amount of rage at that doctor from last year! 
      · 6 replies
    • BlackberryGirl

      BlackberryGirl

      Well, the rash is back with a vengeance. It never completely cleared up. I saw the derm yesterday and they did another swab and yup, raging infection again, still? It is definitely strep skin infection. I am getting so damn tired and run down from this. Who the f would immagine being hospitalized freaking TWICE for a rash? 
      · 2 replies
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