#dylan baranski

Anyways, my mom has a couple of cats, one of whom is a silver shorthair named Bella, who is currently five years old. My youngest brother suspects that Bella might be part Norwegian Forest Cat, and my mom seems to think so too because of how the cat's fur feels. However, my best friend doubts that Bella is any part Norwegian Forest Cat because those tend to be long-haired cats, and Bella is a shorthair. I'm posting this pic of Bella for you to decide. If nothing else, the world can always use more cute cat pics.

I don't always look up indie music, but as a musician myself, I like to share good music that others might like, and in this case, I've found a DEFINITE like for any headbangers out there: a rock band called The Transatlantics. Who are they? They're an all-transgender band featuring @bubbleverseart on guitar, lead vocals and bass, @astrmastr on keyboards and backing vocals, and @kaylasartwork on drums and backing vocals. Rounding out the lineup are Denis Foret on harmonica - also being the producer of the album - and Ivan Verité providing French-language narration on "A Firefly's Tale".

Now, on to the review: I went in not sure of what to expect, but what I got was a pleasant surprise as these three expertly blended the best of 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s rock, starting with the bangin' opener "Transgression", which got me hooked like a fish. They keep the momentum going with "Cloudjam", which definitely reminds me of the Black Keys, or what if a 90s/00s group took on 60s rock. Another one of my personal favorites is "Electric Sheep", which gave me ZZ Top vibes mixed in with a bit of Aerosmith for good measure. They gear down a bit with the acoustic track "Cumulus", which reminds me of Led Zeppelin's softer side, particularly songs like "Goin' to California" or the softer portions of "Ten Years Gone".

The second half of the album continues the acoustic vibes with "A Firefly's Tale", which takes an interesting turn with the French narration in the opening, some of which I was actually able to understand with my four years of (rusty) French knowledge from high school, but then this track builds up to a hard-rockin' climax, kinda like a condensed version of "Stairway to Heaven". Speaking of hard-rockin', the album goes back into overdrive with Fresh Leaves, which reminds me of Led Zeppelin's harder stuff. Another one of my favorite tracks is "It's a Long Way Home", which not only reminded me of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, but even had a bit of UFO mixed in for good measure. Finally, the album wraps up nicely with "Dreammaker", which kinda reminded me of The Who. Overall, the experience left me hotly anticipating a second album, hopefully even a third and beyond.

My sister loves giving me gifts, and recently, she gifted me a book series unlike anything else: Cirque du Freak by Irish author Darren Shan. I haven't read heaps upon heaps of vampire literature, though I did read the original Dracula by Bram Stoker, and I gotta say, Darren Shan's concept of vampires is like nothing that Bram Stoker could ever have conceived of.

DISCLAIMER: This review is based off of the manga adaptation with art from Takahiro Arai, so some things may differ from the original books.

Anyways, here's the story: Darren Shan is a fairly normal kid living a fairly normal life hanging around with his best friend Steve Leonard. Then, one night, a mysterious figure hands him a flyer for a travelling freak show known as the "Cirque du Freak". Steve cajoles Darren into getting tickets, and they have a fun time. However, Darren wants more, and he steals a venomous spider named Madam Octa from the Cirque, training it to obey him. However, one day, a freak accident results in Madam Octa biting Steve and poisoning him, so Darren goes to the owner of the Cirque - a vampire named Larten Crepsley - and Crepsley agrees to save Steve's life, but on one condition: Darren has to let Crepsley turn him into a vampire, and from that point on, life will never be the same for Darren.

One of the first things I really admired about the book is the plot setup. Darren Shan does a really good job of setting up the events that set the plot in motion. Second of all, Shan does an excellent job of worldbuilding, not only differentiating his version of vampires from bloodsuckers of media past, but also by creating a rival faction of vampires known as the Vampaneze, who - in contrast to the main vampires - kill indiscriminately, and he does a great job explaining the history of this world. Also, since I read the manga version, I would like to say that I really love Takahiro Arai's art style, and Darren Shan couldn't have picked a better man to adapt his books. In fact, the art style makes me wish there was an anime adaptation. Granted, I have read that the manga condenses or omits certain events from the regular books, but it was so well-done that I didn't even notice. Getting back to the matter of the books, the subject matter is dark and bloody, but nevertheless so compelling that you'll want to read to the bitter end. Speaking of the end, I won't give it away, but I can tell you that you won't believe it when you read it, plus there are so many interesting plot twists along the way. I don't know how Shan came up with this, but he sure knows how to keep his readers hooked.