Kris 0:00
Hey everyone! Welcome to Queerly Recommended. I’m your host Kris Bryant and with me, as always is Tara Scott.
Tara 0:26
Whoo. Hey, everybody, it is Episode 11. Now, something big happened since the last episode. Well, Kris you got your first haircut in more than a year. Holy shit, congratulations.
Kris 0:40
Thank you, I got about eight or nine inches cut off. So now I can finally like, you know, I wish it was all the COVID weight was in my hair but it really wasn’t.
Tara 0:51
But you can at least sit in a chair without injuring yourself.
Kris 0:54
Right, or in bed trying to turn and flip because let me tell you something, if you have long hair, and don’t put it up and over your pillow, you’re gonna strangle yourself. And I have tried to kill myself several times. And so I was so happy to finally get an appointment and get it all back up.
Tara 1:10
Yeah, that’s….phrasing.
Kris 1:16
I know. And it was weird, because somebody was like, “Why did you let your hair grow this long?” I’m like, “Pandemic”. First of all, I just thought, well, let’s see how long I can grow it. You know, because where else am I going to go? What am I gonna do? There’s nothing going on. So let’s just let’s have a challenge. Let’s have a health and beauty challenge. So let’s see how long I can grow it. But I cut it back in April of last year. My mom hacked off a couple of you know, every year, I usually get about 10 inches cut off. It usually stays about the same length. But I just let it grow. And so, I’m glad. I’m glad. I feel free. I feel lighter.
Tara 1:52
Yes.
Kris 1:53
But I’m also sad because I really love long hair.
Tara 1:56
Well, I mean, you know, the answer is? Another challenge!
Kris 2:01
Another challenge. My challenge for 2021 is to grow it out again. And you have some exciting news today, something great happened in your life.
Tara 2:12
It’s true, I was able to go for my first vaccine, because in Alberta, there are a few provinces in Canada, where they opened the eligibility for the AstraZeneca vaccine to 40 and above. And for once being over 40 is paying off with more than just perimenopause and a bad attitude. I mean, unfortunately, our government is kind of, and by kind of I mean, shockingly colossally shitting the bed when it comes to the response here. So we were recording this episode about a week and a half, like about week and a couple days before it’s actually going to go live. So I don’t even know what the numbers are going to look like, at that point. But our province has currently what our population is…
Kris 3:00
Twelve. Nobody lives in Canada.
Tara 3:03
Nobody lives in Canada. No, I mean, in Alberta it’s probably about 3 or 4 million people total. And yesterday, we hit our new record high number ever of 2500 new cases, like that’s kind of where we’re at daily now. So I think our premier is trying to vaccinate our way out of it. But it’s like, okay, but it’s not the 40 year olds that are driving new cases, you asshole. We’re the ones who have been staying home and doing our best. And so I don’t know, we will see what’s gonna happen. And obviously, of course, like it is, as much as I say, it’s bad here it is nothing compared to what’s happening in some countries.
Kris 3:43
Oh my gosh, I know.
Tara 3:45
Like what’s happening in India is absolutely heartbreaking. I was glad to see that your country’s leader is finally, like releasing vaccines and releasing materials for vaccines to go help over there. Because that’s just, it’s one of those things that yet again, is showing a lot of the inequities. And it’s heartbreaking. And so at the same time, while I’m so grateful to have had mine, I also just wonder, like, how can we help people in other countries get access?
Kris 4:14
Well, I think we’re slowing down in the US. I think people have, you know, people who want the shot can get it. Half of the country is not getting the shots for stupidity reasons or whatever.
Tara 4:26
Or not getting their follow ups.
Kris 4:27
Yep. And not getting their follow up shots. I’m just like, shocked. I was like, I don’t understand. And you know, what gets me going is I’ll go on Twitter and you know, fall down that COVID-19 vaccine frickin hole. And then I have to like respond, and it’s just like, stop it. No, people are just gonna do what they’re gonna do. And everybody’s like, well, when you go into a store, you have to wear shoes and shirt. You know, why can’t you wear a mask and like, there’s this whole I just don’t understand it. I blame Trump. I will always forever blame Trump for anything. Everything bad that has happened. last four years
Tara 5:01
Oh, do it. He was trending on Twitter this morning. And I was like, my heart started pounding. I’m like, “Why? Why would he do you do?” And then I was like, “Oh, wait, he’s not allowed on Twitter, it doesn’t matter”.
Kris 5:11
You know, my mind goes to like, I, I’m- you know, it’s like you, when you when you read a book or when you see a movie, you’re all about the angst, like, you think something bad’s gonna happen. And I feel like, whenever I see his name, I think something bad has happened. Because when is it ever good?
Tara 5:28
I know. It’s like we all just collectively have PTSD now, regardless of if it was your country or not your country we’re all just like, “Oh no!” So, but how about on a wildly different note, because let’s stop talking about that asshole, we have a whole bunch of people to think on a few different fronts today. Because you know what, we’ve had a lot of people reaching out to us. And we’re just so grateful. And we want to share the love right on back. So Zapp32 reached out to me on Twitter and said “Loving Edge of Glory by Rachel Spangler. Thanks for the recommendation”. That’s probably because I have an auto scheduler that I use to tweet out five of my previous reviews a day. I’ve been professionally reviewing lesfic for five years on a bunch of different sites and so I think I have 400 or 500 that are kind of in there and so if you’re looking for new recommendations come find me on Twitter, @taramdscott. So yeah, that’s probably how she found that book. Also, so glad that you enjoyed it. I love that book. That is my favorite of Rey’s everybody should-
Kris 6:35
Really?
Tara 6:36
Oh yeah, actually this is gonna be perfect and people are gonna find out why later on but it’s like an ice queen figure skater with like a carefree – it’s an opposites attract – with this like, go with the flow kind of snowboarder, and so good.
Kris 6:55
I love listening to Rey describe all research for all of their books. Love it.
Tara 7:04
Oh, yeah. And this one was great. Like, go back to there. If you look for Edge of Glory on their blog, like some great stuff happened there. One of the things that I really really loved about that book, especially with the character who is a snowboarder, I think her name is Corey is it just talks about how muscular she is, which is like, yeah, you’re an Olympic level snowboarder. That’s exactly what’s gonna happen. And so I just “Oh, stunning”. But that’s not even the whole tweet. She then goes on to say, “Found your podcast. Never will have enough time for all the great recommendations but I will try. I started with episode 3 in solidarity with Kris Bryant as an Earper. Will listen to all. Thank you. Zapp32, we’re so so glad that you’re enjoying it. I mean, we’re not going to hold it against anybody if you can’t get through all the recommendations.
Kris 7:53
Right. And Wynnde left a review on Apple podcasts that says, “Kris and Tara are awesome. And I love the show. They have a great vibe”. Yes we do.
Tara 8:05
Thank you Wynnde, we’re so glad that you liked it. And you know what? Thank you to all the people that have left reviews, or have even just left ratings. It really does help other people find the show. We really appreciate it. Wynnde, we’re sending you an air high five from afar. Now that we’re vaccinated, maybe we can turn it into an air hug.
Kris 8:25
Wynnde lives in my state. She’s on the other side of the state. So here’s a high fives to Missouri State even though we hate Missouri and the politicians in Missouri.
Tara 8:33
Oh yeah, I was about to say I don’t hate Missouri. I don’t know anything about it. And then you politicans and I’m like, Oh, I know that one. Josh Hawley can die in a fucking fire. He’s the literal worst.
Oh, God.
Wasn’t he the only guy that voted against the AAPI hate thing, like, who hurt him so bad?
Kris 8:57
Who didn’t kill him enough.
Tara 8:58
Well, or that one. I don’t know.
Kris 9:01
I don’t know that it’s a hurt thing. I just think that he’s just the most entitled white dude in Missouri who feels like the world belongs to him. And it’s just him and Ted Cruz. Just horrific people.
Tara 9:16
Canada does not want Ted Cruz back by the way. We don’t.
Kris 9:19
Yeah, FU for that. Take him!
Tara 9:26
We also had a few people who used ko-fi to support the show and we want to thank all of you who did that. You know if for anybody who doesn’t know what ko-fi is, it’s kind of like a digital tip jar. It’s a way that content creators like and including us use to let people show their financial support if you want to do it once if you want to do on a recurring basis, whatever you like. I know Kris and I we are so grateful because it really helps with the costs of running this show. And so, you know, these three amazing people we don’t know all their names, especially the first one who literally didn’t leave any kind of a name, fake or otherwise, but they said “Always up for a queer podcast and frankly thought I’d already subscribed, so donation was ainn order for my negligence. Take care, ladies”.
Kris 10:09
Thank you.
Tara 10:10
Fangirllovespizza says “Love the podcast! The recommendations are wonderful!” Thank you fan girl. You also are wonderful. And Nancy Jean shared “You make me enjoy hearing about gaming. So weird. My Kindle thanks you for the new books to explore. My being thanks you for bi/pan and trans/nonbinary visibility. My cat Patsy and I find joy in the audio hangout. Purr. That is all.” Thank you, Nancy Jean. And thank you, Patsy. How cute is that? Yeah, you know, it’s funny if you would have told me this time last year that I would be doing a new podcast, because I had a different podcast at that point. But it was like if you had told me at that point last year, “Hey, guess what? You’re gonna be doing a podcast. Kris is gonna be your partner you’re going to talk a lot about video gaming”, I would have been like, “Are you fucking high?” And you know what? I love it.
I am having so much fun with gaming. And I love that people are picking up on the fun that we’re having. Because that’s, you know, I am having an absolute blast doing this and if people are finding content to enjoy along the way that makes my heart happy.
Kris 11:19
That’s great. And Patsy, I mean, come on.
Tara 11:22
Come on. Right? A cat named Patsy. That’s the cutest ever.
Kris 11:26
Cat listening to our podcast. Okay, so it’s time for listener questions. And we got a question this week from queer weirdo human being on Twitter. “What do y’all wish that straight would know about queer people? AKA wish it was common knowledge.” And I’m gonna go ahead and take this one. Because first, I’m gonna take you on first because my thing is, just because you’re straight and you’re a woman does not mean I want to have sex with you. It does not mean that I’m attracted to you. It just means you’re my friend. Or you’re just a woman I just met or see. I feel like there’s this. That’s the one thing that people either want to know, are you attracted to me? Or think in their head? Oh, my god, she’s attracted to me. Or, you know, I mean, I just I feel like that’s not even a thing. That’s a thing that should not be a thing. Yes. What about you?
Tara 12:18
Yeah, I absolutely agree. I’m gonna “Yes, and” all of that. So I feel like, for me, it’s a little, it’s a little different. Because and I mean, to do this, of course, I have to kind of disclose my like, “where are my queerness things or labels or whatever”. And so for me, I am bisexual, I feel like I could use the term pansexual equally well. But I also feel like not as many people understand it. And so I use bisexual with the, I’ve seen a few different definitions for it and the one that resonates best for me is that I am attracted to my own and other genders. And that’s, you know, kind of an important thing. And I am married to a straight man. I also identify as a genderqueer woman. I don’t identify as fully non-binary, but I, in some ways feel some kinship to some non-binary people. I don’t feel like I exist outside the binary, I feel more like I slide along it. So that there are days when I feel more feminine, there are days when I feel more masculine. I haven’t changed any pronouns. I don’t feel like that’s kind of important to me.
And so I think, all of that said, I guess the thing that I wish straight people would know is just don’t assume anything. And take a step back from whatever stereotypes that you might have. And especially as a person who is attracted to multiple genders, don’t assume, similar to yours, like don’t assume I’m attracted to everybody. Because I’m not. Definitely don’t assume that I’m sleeping with everybody just because I’ve adopted the bisexual label. I’ve actually been asked that before I have been asked flat out. I’m not gonna say who asked me but I’ve been asked flat out if I am “practicing” if I’m a practicing bisexual, which I was like, “Are you asking me if I’m sleeping with other people that are not Neil?” and that, yeah, that was exactly what the question was and which is like, no, because I’m not polyamorous. Those are very different things. Bisexual does not equal polyamorous. So like, kind of take all of that idea about, and I mean, I, polyamory is absolutely fine. If that’s your jam. That’s not something that I ever taken on as a label. It’s something I like, we’ve never pursued it. We’ve never- so again, no judging, but it’s not. It’s not who I am and what I do. So don’t assume that just because of the way my attraction works.
And then the other thing is also don’t assume just because I use she/her pronouns that I buy into any kind universal idea of womanhood and kinship around that. Like, my experience is going to be very different from anyone else who identifies as a woman. I don’t want to- I don’t like the almost like that “women, am I right?” Or like, just because I have a period doesn’t mean that my, I don’t know, I’m articulating this very badly. But basically like, I just hate gender stereotypes and I don’t buy into them. And often when I see stereotypes, like I fall more into the stereotypes about men, which I don’t always love, because I’m not a super big fan, especially of cisgendered straight men. But yeah, that’s my like, I guess that’s my thing. I wish. I wish straight people knew that we were more than stereotypes about us.
Kris 15:53
Awesome.
Tara 15:54
Yeah. Now, Yurific on Twitter had a question for you, and said, “flat out probably more for Kris. Number one. Does the author get paid when we listen to the audiobook that is part of the audible plus catalog? Number two, what does the publisher slash author get out of making a release quote, unquote, audible exclusive? And number three? What are the motivations to put on Audible plus versus full price? Now Kris, you don’t actually manage making, like the production of your podcast? This is the podcast the production of your audio books, which are very different.
Kris 16:33
Right.
Tara 16:34
Do you know any of this?
Kris 16:37
And you know, unfortunately, I don’t I just know, I just I really don’t know. I don’t know how the process works. I just know like, “Hey, we’re gonna put this book on audio, do you have? Are you okay with this narrator?” We talked about that last week, or last podcast about narrators and how we pick them and- but that’s it, I get, you know, I get quarterly statements that say, you know, how many audio books have sold? But that’s it. I don’t know, when Bold Strokes Books puts them in any sort of category? And if they do, I just don’t know the answer to that.
Tara 17:11
Here’s the thing, however, we know that there actually are some authors who listen to this podcast. Hello, we love you. Thank you for following us. And if anyone listening happens to know the answer to these questions, we would love for you to send them to us. And specifically, please email us at podcast@queerlyrecommended.com or you can DM us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. And then we will share the answer on a future podcast episode because I mean, I gotta be honest, I’m curious to know the answer to these questions too.
Kris 17:45
Yeah, I don’t know what they are.
Tara 17:47
Pause for more tea
Kris 17:50
Tea? Not coffee?
Tara 17:51
Yeah, no I can’t drink coffee, it fucks with my anxiety. I used to drink coffee. I’ve had periods in my life, ike I didn’t drink any coffee at all until I was in university. And then I drank a lot of coffee when I was in graduate school. And there was one day, so I lived in half of the top floor of this house that was like, well over 100 years old, it was one of the historical homes in Kingston, Ontario, cuz I went to Queen’s University there. And on the other half of the floor was a first year med student. And we each had our own space but we were kind of like roommates. And one day, I was like, “Sharm. I feel like my eyes are like bouncing all over the place”. And she’s like, “You got to drink less coffee”. And I was like, “I can’t I can’t do that. I can’t- I’m not- I’m not doing that”.
And so yeah, so I did end up having less because I started getting heart palpitations, which again, is like your body just being like, “Fucking calm down, dude”. But I kept drinking coffee until I cut it out when I was trying to get pregnant with our oldest daughter because I bought into all of that, like, “No, you need to turn your body into this like perfect sacred temple and cut out all the toxins” or whatever bullshit as if, like, people haven’t been getting pregnant despite, you know, let’s just say major, major challenges of all kinds throughout all of humanity. But she was a baby with colic. I’m telling you my coffee journey now because I’m through the story and now I got to finish it right. I can’t finish the coffee story.
So I had had no coffee at that point for more than a year. I had had no caffeine at all in more than a year. And I was like, “Well, she’s not sleeping, so I’m not sleeping, and I’m not functioning and I’m just going to try this like yes, I might get the jitters”. I was kind of afraid that I would just be like, it would be awful. And I had that first cup of coffee and I was like, “Oh, this is very nice”. And it just went down like water. And so I kept drinking it until probably about five years ago when I don’t really I can’t really pinpoint it but my anxiety just started getting pretty out of control and it was giving me like physical symptoms and dropping the coffee helped. It wasn’t like the full solution, but it was a good part of the solution. So now I’ll have like, sometimes I’ll have like one cup of tea in a day, like a black tea, but that’s about it. I miss coffee. It’s nice.
Kris 20:16
It is nice. I doctor mine up so much, is it really coffee by the time I’m done with it? Yeah, I use like French Vanilla creamer and then I have like a little bit of cinnamon and-
Tara 20:27
Oh, yeah, you’re having dessert. I’m having.
Kris 20:30
I’m having dessert. Like if I had to drink a cup of black coffee and I couldn’t leave the table until I finished it, kind of like how it was when I was a kid and I had to eat brussel sprouts. I couldn’t leave the table until I was done. I mean, that coffee would be like super cold. And it would be like three days later.
Tara 20:51
You will have peed your pants.
Kris 20:54
Exactly. So it’s not my thing. But I have to have like, the the- I have to fluffify my coffee.
Tara 21:01
Yeah, well, that’s fair. Well, how many? How much coffee are you having a day, then?
Kris 21:06
I’ll have one cup. Because – same reasons – anxiety and just, you know, I fight sleep. I mean, I don’t quite sleep. I have an issue with sleep. And so I take medication to slow everything down. And that’s how I’m able to sleep. But I can’t have coffee past like 11. Like noon for sure. I won’t have coffee. But I try to usually just have one cup before I leave for work or before I start work depending on if I’m going into the office or not. And that’s it.
Tara 21:34
And then the sugar helps wake you up with the caffeine.
Kris 21:36
It does. But I think you know, it’s so funny because I remember one time I had two cups of coffee. And I was talking to two of my engineers and I was just (garbled alien sound) One of them looked at me and said “How many cups of coffee have you had today?” And I was like, “Oh my gosh, you know what I had two?” And they could they could tell that I had two cups of coffee. So I need to cut that off.
Tara 21:58
Oh my god, that’s so funny. So, in other news for our listeners who love FF romances, The Lesbian Review, which is a site that I am a part of. I’ve been reviewing there for five years. We’ve recently put out a new best of list, which is the 52 Best Thawing The Ice Queen Books. Lots of people love their ice queens.
Kris 22:26
Yes, they do.
Tara 22:28
And so I really think you know, Sheena is just doing a service to the world. Everybody needs to read them. And actually, Kris, you have a book on there.
Kris 22:39
I do. My book Temptation has made the list.
Tara 22:43
And now, did you always see that as an ice queen romance?
Kris 22:47
You know, I did. I did because Brooke Wellington is ,you know, she is running her family empire. And she doesn’t- She’s had really bad relationships. And she just got out of a divorce and she has a six year old son. And she doesn’t have time for romance or any sort of relationship. So I made her a stoic and as unemotional as I could because I think it’s a lot of fun to see the cracks as you’re writing, see the cracks in the ice queen starting to thaw. Just by little things, it doesn’t have to be you know, she might notice the love interest, but she won’t put those thoughts in her head. Because, you know, once they do, they’ll never leave. But every so often something’s you know, sneaks in and crack, crack crack. So, I love writing ice queens, I should do it more. But I just, I think that this was a special story. I threw in as many tropes as I could. Just because they’re fun, tropes are fun to write. I like tropes. And ice queen was one of them. So I really enjoy it.
Tara 23:52
Love it. So yeah, if you, dear listener, have been saying to yourself, “Where all the ice queen books at?” Head on over to The Lesbian Review and we can drop the link in the show notes as well, if you don’t want to do that.
Kris 24:06
Yeah, it’s a great list. It’s a great list.
Tara 24:09
Now, I feel like maybe we should talk about what we’ve been reading or watching. Now that we’ve talked about everything from our Trump PTSD to our coffee drinking habit.
Kris 24:20
Yes. So I rewarded myself. This week. I finished my manuscript. I finished my blurb.
Tara 24:27
Congratulations.
Kris 24:29
Thank you, I’m a super procrastinator. I wait to the last minute on everything. Like if I say, “Oh, I’ve got I have three months to write this book”. You know, I’m still struggling in the 11th hour. So I rewarded myself. I said I’m just gonna watch some totally random, really, spacey film. So I found a movie that had Anna Kendrick.
Tara 24:29
Mm hmm.
Kris 24:31
Toni Collette
Tara 24:32
What’s not to love?
Kris 24:57
Right so far. Yeah. Boom, boom. Awesome. And Dolls from Wynonna Earp. (excited gleeful gasp) This is it. This has got to be the best movie ever. It’s a movie called Stowaway. And I didn’t like it.
Oh, no.
I did not like it.
Tara 25:14
It was supposed to be a reward.
Kris 25:17
Anna Kendrick, come on!
Tara 25:19
Was she not good?
Kris 25:21
Um, like everything about it was just kind of unbelievable. And so I mean, and I am an author, I know about stretching the imagination and trying to you know, ask for forgiveness from your readers just to suspend your disbelief. And this one was just, I just got, I ended I was like, “Wow”. So I do not recommend.
Tara 25:43
Have you watched anything good?
Kris 25:46
Yes. So this is awesome. Okay, so I’m torturing myself. And I started watching The Handmaid’s Tale.
Tara 25:54
Oh, no, no,
Kris 25:55
Yes, season four just started.
Tara 25:57
And had you already watched all the rest of it.
Kris 26:00
Oh, yeah.
Tara 26:01
Oh, okay. Okay, so you’re just catching up on what’s new.
Kris 26:04
Right, because they just released- so what they do and this is what I love. So Hulu doesn’t release everything at once, because everybody on earth would binge watch it and then it would take two years to build another season and then that, then you have to go back and re watch it. So what Hulu does for Handmaid’s Tale is they released the first three episodes of the new season. And then once a week, you have to watch it. So you get that fix, that three hour fix of Holy Shit.
Tara 26:29
Yeah.
Kris 26:30
So that so that was me. So. Yeah, so it was really, you know, it’s, I just tell myself, why do I do this to myself? Just when I think I’ve hit like rock bottom in this show. Whoosh. You know, the bottom slips out from underneath me. And I still keep watching it. Because I have hope, or desperation. It’s something. Yeah. And it’s like, do I have this horrible need to feed my own failures and feel better about them? Or, you know, why do I continue to watch the show, but I can’t stop. So I’m gonna go with hope. I have hope for the show.
Tara 27:07
I remember distinctly, I think it was in its first season, and one of my co workers was like, “You need to watch this show.”
Kris 27:15
Oh no.
Tara 27:16
And I- Right! Right. Which already shows that you know me better than she did after she and I have been working together for three years. But I was like, “No, because first of all, I read the book”. I mean, I haven’t read it recently, but like, I read the book, I know what happened there. But and I know the TV show is a totally different artifact, like to me, it felt too much like real life.
Kris 27:41
Right?
Tara 27:42
Like when Margaret Atwood was writing that I remember reading an interview at some point. And I can’t remember if it was like as part of promo for the series. I think it might have even been years before that, but they were like, how did you come up with this world? Because it’s this kind of like it’s a dystopian future. But at the same time, she’s like, “I looked at history”. Like it’s not that hard to figure out.
Right.
Things like this have happened before. And it’s not that inconceivable and it was like we saw steps towards it with your last president and government. The only thing was that there wasn’t some like catastrophic event that like wiped out all of government so that some fascist came in and it was like “No, the fascist got voted in”.
Kris 28:28
Right.
Tara 28:28
So to me, it just, it felt, especially watching the abortion restrictions that were going in like state by state. What was happening there to me felt very like “Oh, no, like, it’s it’s just real life at this point”. No, yeah. Oh, also, it seemed like it would be kind of rapetastic, which is not my thing.
Kris 28:52
Right!
Tara 28:53
I don’t know if people know that about me. Big secret. It’s also, shocker, why I never got into Game of Thrones. I tried four episodes of it and Neil was like, “So are you enjoying it?” And I said, “It’s very good”. And he’s like, “Sure, but are you enjoying it?” And I was like, “No”.
Kris 29:15
I mean, yeah, there are some really tough shows out there for women to watch, or anybody who’s sensitive. And I think, like, I watched Game of Thrones, too. Like, for sure. I watched it. Yeah. And Handmaid’s Tale it’s- I think it is hope, it’s like okay, surely this is going to get better. But surely this is going to get better. And that’s so it’s this hope thing that’s inside of me that’s like I’m invested in this because like, sure as shit this could happen here in this country. Frickin’ Josh Hawley running for president in 2024 or whatever, like this could happen. I could totally see this. It’s just, and so I was like, and since history repeats itself, I’m like, Okay, I’m gonna be prepared. That’s why I watch zombie stuff because when you apocalypse comes I’m going to be prepared.
Tara 30:02
That’s right. You’ll have your action plan in place. Like you have your slow zombie action plan. Do you have your fast zombie action plan.
Kris 30:11
Yes. I even have I even have drivers. I know who’s going to be driving and what kind of car we’ll be driving. So it’s funny. It’s just kind of funny because just because, it’s for fun, really. But seriously, I think that I watch this stuff because to see like, if something like this could happen, like, what is happening, especially politically. I have to stay attuned you know, to everything that’s going on in our politics to make sure that we don’tregress anymore. So.
Tara 30:50
So did you watch anything else?
Kris 30:51
Yes. So because I didn’t torture myself enough and I hate my friend Tiffany for recommending it. But she said to start Cruel Summer. And I want to say that’s also on Hulu.
Tara 31:03
Is it a tv show or a movie?
Kris 31:06
It’s a TV show. It’s a series, and it’s about angsty teenage life. And like there’s like, yeah, it’s… I don’t know why I did this to myself. I was shredded over Handmaid’s Tale and I went straight into there down the slippery slope and,
Tara 31:22
and now Tiffany is not your friend anymore.
Kris 31:24
Tiffany can suck it because it’s given me some really bad advice, and suggestions. So in summary, I think is one of those where it’s released all at once, or maybe it was from a while ago. And I’m just now watching it. I don’t know. But I only made it through three episodes. So that’s where I’m at.
Tara 31:43
Oh, my God.
Kris 31:43
What about you? What are you reading? Enough of this hardship.
Tara 31:48
So in terms of what I’m watching, so Neil, Amanda and I are watching- because this is an ongoing thing. We continue to watch things with Amanda, we started rewatching- So Amanda had never seen the Clone Wars TV series, which is like from Star Wars animated series.
And we were, actually she’d never seen Rebels either. I can’t remember which we were talking about first, we were like (gasp) “You haven’t seen it?” And so we’re starting a great rewatch of the series. And we also started watching the show Shadow and Bone on Netflix, which they like, they like it very much. I hate a lot of the people in the cast. I don’t I mean, we’ve talked about how like, I’m a sweet baby. I don’t like cruelty.
Kris 32:07
Yeah.
Tara 32:21
Like I don’t like watching cruely, and there’s a lot of cruelty in the show. And so what I do is I play a game on my Switch while I listen. And they watch and pay attention. And that is working out better. In terms of what I’m watching for myself. So Drag Race US is over, the season that seemed like it would never end. Well they went four episodes without an elimination. They had like two or three double saves, like it was insane. But I mean, also if you’re going to have an extended season like yeah, you know what the quarantimes is the time to do it. Give everybody- thank you Mama Roo for giving everybody a gift. We all needed that. In the top four, there were two that I especially wanted one of them to be the winner. There was another one that I would have been quite happy if she won. And then there was one other one that I was like, “No, absolutely not. No”. So of the two that I wanted to win one of them made it to the final two and actually did win, which made me so happy. So that’s Symone. Absolutely stunning, stunning drag queen. So beautiful, very funny and campy at times. Also, you know, really committed to using her drag to showcase black excellence which I loved. Absolutely loved. So good and I was so I was very very happy that she won I would have been equally happy if Gottmik won.
Gottmik is the first trans man to compete on Route race and had some looks that were so gorgeous and especially in that finale I was like “Oh my God. How?” Like the artistry and just incredible. The person that I did not want to win made it to the top two and I was like “What the fuck is happening?”
Kris 34:05
Television, that’s what’s happening.
Tara 34:31
I have nothing against, like Kandy Muse is that drag queen. I have nothing against her as a human. I am not going to be that person who is going to like talk a bucnh of shit because like some of the some of the drag queens that compete on drag race, especially queens of color, get a lot of hate. There’s a lot of racism in the fandom, unfortunately. And I think it’s really gross. Just how many of the black and indigenous queens that have been like driven off for social media by it. That is not me, I’m not going to talk that kind of shit about Kandy Muse. It’s just for me. She was actually eliminated in one of the earlier episodes, and RuPaul was just like, “I’m not ready for you to go home yet”. And so to see her land in the top two, and like to be fair, that particular lipsync that got her from top four to top two, she definitely did better. She was competing against a drag queen who’s injured, but I was talking to my brother and sister in law about it. They’re the ones that got me into drag race in the first place. And I was like, “I just, I like what? she got to top two?” And my sister in law said, “Yeah, it’s kind of like a kid in class who gets the answer right in math, but like, can’t show the work for how they got there”. And I was like, yeah, that feels right.
So yeah, I mean, I’m a little sad that it’s over. And I was like, What am I gonna do now? Well, in good news, Drag Race Down Under started.
Kris 35:53
Nice.
Tara 35:54
So it was like, we went from one week to the end of Drag Race US to Drag Race Down Under and that’s been really fun. I kind of love that they opened it up. I think it was originally supposed to be Drag Race Australia, but COVID happened and so New Zealand, basically told the TV and film world, you know what, we don’t have COVID here if you want to do your productions here. And so that’s where it ended up being. So there’s three New Zealand queens there, they’re are a couple of Aboriginal queens, some of them are so, so good. And my favorite in particular, I think this might also be my favorite drag queen name that I’ve heard in a while.
Kris 36:33
Oh, tell me.
Tara 36:34
Karen From Finance. And her entrance look is inspired by Jane Fonda in Nine to Five. It’s just-
Kris 36:45
I love it. I love it.
Tara 36:48
-spectacular. I don’t know who’s gonna win. Like, I’m not totally sure, usually I have some kind of like, this is who I think the top four is going to be. I’m not sure yet for the full top board. But I do hope that Karen from Finance makes it there. Because so far, she is the queen of my heart for this season. Yeah, there’s that. But in terms of reading, I think you know, for people who have been listening the last episode, I’ve been talking about how I’ve been kind of like digging into the history of punk. Music very specifically. And my latest book that I picked up is definitely along those lines. It’s not recent, but it’s called Please Kill Me The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain, it was recommended to me by a friend at work. It was the same friend who’s been like helping me with actually getting the music with Spotify playlists and stuff like that.
And it’s really, really interesting, because it’s not- it’s the first time I’ve seen a nonfiction book like this, but I’m sure there are others like this. In fact, I think Legs McNeil has done other ones like this. But instead of it being like following some kind of a narrative where it’s like, told in the third person “and this happened and then this happened”. It just goes from person to person. It’s like quotes from people. And you go from like, quote to, quote, quote, quote, and the way it’s laid out, is what tells the narrative. And so say like in the prologue, it talks not only about the Velvet Underground, but talks a lot about Velvet Underground, because that’s like, you don’t get the punk scene without Velvet Underground. And so, you see, especially with that, like the first album, that the one with a banana on it, the one that Andy Warhol was involved in developing. And so you’ll go from like, somebody talking about how they brought Nico into it. And then you hear from Nico and then you hear some guy- Yeah, like, there’s just one guy who’s like, “Everybody got the bang Nico, but me” and it’s like, well, you sound like an asshole. And then this other person who’s like, “Niko, banged almost nobody”. And I was like, “Oh, yeah, he is an asshole”. So, if you’re at all interested in the history of punk, I really recommend it. And if you’re like, “Okay, but is it queer?” There is a guy who talks about having sex with Lou Reed, so there you go. There’s a little bit of there is a little bit of queerness there. Lou Reed also sounds like a colossal asshole from what I’ve read so far. In good news, he had a fantastic voice. So I guess it worked out.
Kris 39:27
Yes.
Tara 39:28
It is clear, like when you go into it, you just kind of got to know that, like women were not treated super well in this scene. And so that’s like, you have to be prepared.
Kris 39:38
I think we’re learning this. I think we’re learning this. Early rock. Punk. Just about any sort of music I think we’re seeing and life in general. I mean, women were not treated well.
Tara 39:51
No. And they’re like, there’s very much like a “any hole as a goal” vibe to a lot of these guy which sucks. But at the same time, it’s like you either want to learn about this history or you don’t, right? I would say it’s one of those like very much your mileage may vary. On a wildly different note. I’m also reading a romance. This is the part that’s gonna shock people because it has a man and a woman together. But it’s still queer because she’s bisexual. And so the book is called Hang The Moon. And it’s by Alexandria Bellefleur. And if her name sounds familiar it’s because she wrote a spectacular FF romance, one of my favorite romance of all of last year called Written in the Stars. And so this book has Brenton and Annie getting together. Brenton is the brother of Darcy, one of the leads from Written in the Stars. And Annie is Darcy’s best friend. So this is Brenton and Annie’s book.
So Brenton runs a successful dating app. Like he is the founder and creator of this dating app, I believe. Or he’s at least like it’s his company. And Annie, I don’t really understand what she does. It’s some kind of like, she works in HR, she does corporate strategy. I don’t know, that’s not the part of companies that I work in. So it doesn’t really matter. But the important thing is that Annie comes to Seattle because she wants to visit her best friend Darcy and Darcy’s girlfriend, Elle. Darcy, and l are in Canada. Dammit, Canada. They’re on vacation. Being in love. When they were on vacation. She didn’t like Yeah. She. I mean, it works in finance. It’s a little bit of a, it’s a tiny plot hole. She decided to surprise them. It is a touch fo a plot hole because like she literally just shows up, like she just like, flew there with all her shit and was like, “Hey, oh, I’m in your airport” and Darcy, like, ‘I’m in Vancouver”. And so Darcy says “Go stay at my apartment. Don’t don’t get a hotel, stay at my apartment. I’m going to send somebody over so that you can get in.” She sends a brother over, Brenton in his Darcy’s little brother. And it’s like, This scene is so great when Annie’s at the building, and she’s waiting. She’s like, “Who’s this hot guy getting out of this car”. And then she’s like, “Oh, fuck”.
And so he learned that she is quite cynical about love. She doesn’t really think it’s a thing she doesn’t think true love is real. And he is like the squishiest, cinnamon rolliest. He absolutely believes in love. And he’s- I’ve just gotten to the part where like, he has decided he is going to make her believe in love. And he is going to do it by wooing her. And of course, this is a romance. So they will be together in the end. But I think what’s going to happen is that while trying to show her love, he is going to be completely fucked in the feelings department. It’s going to be great. It’s so cute. I love revisiting this world. And I’m pretty sure the next book is going to be another FF romance. So I kind of like the continuity. Like there’s another friend in the friend group who is single, so I think it’s gonna be her turn next.
Kris 43:14
Nice.
Tara 43:15
It’s so cute. And it’s out. June 1, I think. It’s not out yet, but if, if that sounds at all interesting, I think, you know, I don’t read many stories about bisexual woman who end up with men, but it’s kind of nice. And I just love how sweet Brenton is. I think that’s the thing like part of it- Part of what drove me away from reading romances with men as love interests was because it was that like, I think I talked about that on a previous episode about how it was like, alpha dudes were all the way sound. Like you couldn’t really find these like, squishy, sweet-
Kris 43:50
Sensitive
Tara 43:51
Exactly. And that’s like, I’m not married to a dude bro. I’m not married to this like, “I’m going to tell you what”, like that would just never work. And so for me like I love finding, I don’t search for them very hard, but like when I come across characters like that where it’s like yeah, the dude is actually like really sweet and really lovely. Rebecca Weatherspoon wrote one. I actually edited that book for her but the book Rafe. I love so much because he reminds me of Neil, like this beardy dude who takes care of the kids and who like it’s just lovely. So, yeah, I love it. But yeah, hang the moon coming out. Go get it. Now. I’m just gonna say Kris.
Kris 44:43
Yes.
Tara 44:44
What is your official recommendation this week?
Kris 44:48
Okay, so I loved LOVED the US version of Queer As Folk years and years ago. Like who didn’t love the asshole Brian? And the adorable Justin? Anyway, Peter Paige. He played Emmett in the series Queer As Folk. And he directed a movie last year called The Thing About Harry. And he also stars in it. So here’s the synopsis. And it’s kind of like I pulled it from the internet. And then I also added a few things because I didn’t feel it was complete enough. So here’s a synopsis:. Sam is a young gay man finishing college – and it’s somewhere in Chicago – whose forced to share a car ride with Harry, a popular jock who was his enemy in high school. So apparently they go to the same college. So friends of theirs are getting married and they begged Sam to give Harry a ride back home because they’re having an engagement party. So their home is Liberty, Missouri, which is 10 miles up the road from me, so I’m like, “Okay, cool. I’m there.” But that’s not really the point why I watched it. That was a bonus when I saw it I was like ‘Oh my God, it’s Liberty, Missouri!”
Tara 45:13
That’s a nice bonus, though.
Kris 45:58
It’s because I mean, it’s the Midwest. Okay, so things take an unexpected turn when the car breaks down, of course, and they have to stay the night in a seedy hotel. Of course. Sam learns-
Tara 46:11
Is there only one bed?
Kris 46:13
There’s actually two bedrooms.
Tara 46:14
Okay.
Kris 46:15
Sam learns that Harry has come out as pansexual opening the door for potential romance. Nothing happens but they bond and even though Sam says best friends could never date, you see and feel his longing for Harry. So first of all, Harry, played by Niko Terho. I think that’s how you pronounce Terho. He’s pansexual and super adorable, like super adorable. You would totally love this guy. He’s very carefree and goes with the flow. He doesn’t really seem to have ambition, unlike Sam who’s like this really- He’s very driven. He has a plan. He knows what he’s gonna do after college. And they are complete opposites in life. But life keeps throwing them together.
So this takes place over several years. It’s like they run into each other or they run into each other at a party, and they run into each other here and there. So Sam, he looks like he’s so just stiff. It looks like he doesn’t have any fun ever. And you know, he was teased in high school. And the reason why he just had such a negative experience with Harry in high school was because Harry gave him a nickname. And then somebody took it a step further. And so his whole high school, he was called the certain name and I honestly can’t remember I think they call them Samantha or something like that something something Samantha. And Harry doesn’t even remember it. So he calls him out. Sam calls them out. When they’re in the hotel room. They’re just like hanging out. And he’s like, “You’re the one that gave me this”. And he’s like, “Really? I’m so sorry”. You know, he’s extremely, you know, heartfelt about the apology feeling.
And he’s like, how did you not know that I admired you in high school? He’s like “You were out in high school. And it was something that I could never be”. And so the whole, exchange is super sweet. And so like I said, the movie spanned several years, and they bump into each other, and they get close, and you just want to scream. “Oh my god, kiss! Kiss already!” And then you’re like, “No, wait, wait a minute. Harry’s kind of a jerk. But he’s not really he’s super sweet. And he’s super smart”. And so like you’re pulling for the whole time. And so it’s- the good ending is good. Yes, it is a good ending. And it has a pansexual main character and it’s and it’s mainstream, like movies. The quality is great. I really enjoyed it. Yeah, I thought it was a great movie. I was super excited that I saw it and I it wasn’t one of those where I started and I was like, ‘Ugh, this is horrible.”
It’s very, you know, has that Hallmark feel, which is what Iike the fresh sweet romance. And yeah, so I recommend The Thing About Harry.
Tara 48:58
I feel like I should see this one. I think I might actually like this one.
Kris 49:02
You would totally like it.
Tara 49:05
I’m gonna see if we can get it in Canada.
Kris 49:07
Yeah, I would say I don’t know what it was on. I don’t know if-
Tara 49:10
You talked into your?
Kris 49:12
I did my magical remote. Actually, I don’t even think I did that. I think I googled because sometimes a lot of the LGBTQ movies are either like coming out stories, like 80% of them are high school, you know, or college and then you have the the 10% that are like the old lesbians from period piece, like we talked about. And so I was trying to find something that was a little bit more adult. And so I think I googled best queer movies of, you know, I went through 1920 and this year and so this was last year that got a lot of good ratings. So I actually did my research and looked before-
Tara 49:54
Before you start watching and like, “Oh, shit, one of these people are gonna die.”
Kris 49:59
Exactly. There’s rape or there’s death or someone goes into an institution. I should use that stupid freakin website that we talkabout all the time.
Tara 50:10
Does the Dog Die.
Kris 50:12
Yeah, I mean I say stupid but in a good way. Yeah, but yeah, I should have used that but I didn’t.
Tara 50:18
That’s so funny.
Kris 50:19
But you need to watch it and I do recommend it. It’s super sweet and it has a lot of queer characters. So it’s good, good ending, solid, solid review.
Tara 50:27
I like it. I’m gonna look for it.
Kris 50:29
Okay, good.
Tara 50:30
Well, my recommendation this week is actually off of the 52 Best Ice Queen Books. Cuz I thought, “What have I read or watched recently, that’s a big recommendation?” And I was like, “Nothing”. So I needed inspiration. That’s not fair. I have been gaming more and reading less and I’m not playing any queer games right now. And that lis just has so many really good books, to be honest. Like if you go to that list, if you do a search for my name, like any of the books that has my name to it, are ones that I personally vouch for. And my recommendation is the one that I vouch for the most, which feels like a bit of a betrayal to Lee Winter. I’m so sorry. You know, I love your books so much.
Or me.
Kris 51:25
Yeah, lately, like took that. I mean, she for sure writes a lot of great ice queen books.
Tara 51:32
Yes. And to be honest, I also highly recommend, especially her book, The Red Files has one of my favorite ice queens of all time, Catherine Ayers, because she’s such a fucking bitch. But like watching her melt, but that’s not really strictly a romance. The romantic element is very, very strong in that first kiss is like insanely good. And it has like a really great kind of snappy dialogue. But if I’m going to pick what I think is like the ultimate thawing Ice Queen book, it’s got to be The Music in the Mirror by Lola Keeley. And so I’m going to start by reading the blurb.
Kris 52:16
Okay.
Tara 52:17
Which says: Anna is the newest member of an elite ballet company. Her first class with her mysterious idol Victoria almost ruins her career before it starts. When she shows she might be a potential star, Victoria chooses Anna to launch a new season around. Now Anna must face down jealousy, sabotage and injury, not to mention navigate the circus of friends and lovers within the company. The pressure builds as she knows she must pour everything she has into opening night and to prove to her rivals and herself the victorious faith in her is not misplaced. In the process, Anna discovers that she and the daring beautiful Victoria have a lot more than a talent for ballet in common, and that not every thrilling dance can be found on stage.
This is a book that actually started out as fanfic. It was an alternate universe fanfic based on, if I remember correctly, which I’m pretty sure I do. It comes out of Supergirl, which I’ve never seen. Please don’t come and yell at me.
Kris 53:16
Same.
Tara 53:16
But if the there are a few different pairings in there that people get highly passionate over which is where I’m going to say again don’t come at me. I didn’t write this. I don’t read in the Supergirl fandom. I don’t. But I think it’s meant to be the whoever Supergirl is. See if that’s how little I know somebody is gonna yell at me on Twitter. But whoever plays Supergirl and then I can’t even remember the actor’s real name Ally McBeal. Calista Flockhart! Calista Flockhart. Her character.
And so it’s that like, it’s definitely it’s got that age gap pairing thing. And oh, man, in terms of ice queens, like Victoria, for sure is like one of the iciest.
Kris 54:05
Yes.
Tara 54:06
And it’s not like they have instant chemistry or anything like that. Like sometimes you see in those, you see that. But I think the thing that makes this story, especially special, like really just so beautiful, is that there is so much passion in it. And it’s not just passion for each other. But they actually, they really kind of come together over a mutual passion for ballet. And because they both love the craft of it so much. And they really kind of bond over that, that that then finds its way into their relationship. I don’t think you could just like take away the ballet. Like if you took away the ballet it wouldn’t be the same.
Kris 54:53
Right.
Tara 54:53
Because that drives so much of it. And it’s really interesting, like Victoria used to be, she used be a principal dancer. And she was the one who was like in the spotlight. And she had, you know, she ended up with some kind of an injury as is not uncommon for athletes of any kind. And so now she’s kind of like, she has to prove that she can put on a really great season. And this is kind of her, In some ways. It’s almost like her last shot. to really continue to be somebody in this world. I’m trying to remember like, I haven’t read this one in a little while, but it’s so good. And when the list came out, I was like, “No, no, this is definitely like, this is my recommendation”. Even if I don’t have time to reread the book, people need to read this book, because it’s so freakin good. And the way she’s able to just spot that talent in Anna, that she can see that like, “Okay, Anna doesn’t have all the skills, but she has the raw talent, and she has the fire that’s necessary”. And she does not pull any punches in training her. Like, it is rough, and it is raw, but it’s just it’s so beautiful. The only thing, the only warning I’ll give people and I think I actually gave this morning when I reviewed it is that the structure is a little different than what I was used to with most romances because even when you’re almost at the very end, it’s like, are these people going to actually end up together?
Oh, my God, what’s happening? Because usually, that’s resolved. I don’t know a good What? 10% from the end or something like that right?
Kris 56:41
Like 90%, right.
Tara 56:43
Not so with this book. And there is a tiny epilogue, which I’m so glad there was. I think it really like if there was a book that needed an epilogue. This is the one. I am greedy. So I wanted more in that epilogue, but it’s still wraps it up very, very nicely.
Kris 57:02
But that’s a pretty, pretty thick book. If I remember it. Isn’t it pretty long?
Tara 57:08
Yeah. It’s definitely it’s a full length romance. I read it on my Kindle. So I don’t remember for sure. But it’s not, it is not a novella. And it’s not on like the shorter end of full length romances. So whatever the upper end is, that’s probably roughly where it is. It’s so good. And like I really- if you if you like you have to like ice queen romances though. If you don’t like ice queens, you’re gonna hate this book. But if you like ice queens, like if you love them, like I do, like this is one of the best of the best especially for FF romances. So that is all for this episode. Thank you so much for joining us and my barking dog who’s very mad at probably somebody walking a dog across the street. You know what, fuck it, that’s just like that’s life in our house. The dog barks a lot. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe wherever you’re listening to your podcast so you make sure you don’t miss an episode. If you do listen on Apple podcast please just please consider leaving a rating or a review, we love you very much. We really appreciate it just like help other people find the show so they can hopefully get some pretty decent recommendations too.
Kris 58:27
Nice, or if you want to connect with us on your fafer, faffer, faffer? social media sites just search for @queerlyrecommended on Instagram Twitter or Facebook or email us at podcast@queerlyrecommended.com. Goodbye, everybody.
Tara 58:46
Bye!
Are you able to hear the dog barking?
Kris 59:28
Yeah, for sure.
Tara 59:30
For fuck’s sake.
She appears to have calmed down.