Ngozi Ukazu Absolutely Nailed Hockey Culture

Ngozi Ukazu absolutely nailed hockey culture

Seriously, my friend sent me this interview with a hockey captain from a few years ago, and I just... From the nicknames to the chirps, it just reads like @ngoziu​ wrote it for the @omgcheckplease​ Samwell team!

[Interview Transcript:

Title: Ten questions with captain Shirley

Collin Shirley led the Kamloops Blazers in scoring last season, registering 79 points, 37 of them goals. The 20-year-old forward from Saskatoon was named captain last month. KTW reporter Marty Hastings got to know Shirley and his teammates in this 10-question survey.

KTW: What’s on your iPod?

CS: I probably have the biggest mix you can find, but I love my country like a good Saskatchewan boy. [Cam] Reagan has got me into the rap lately. I usually rip him in our interviews, but it’s kind of catchy, so I like what he’s got.

KTW: What’s your favourite movie?

CS: It’s probably Endless Love. Me, Daws [Dawson Davidson], Nolan [Kneen] and Millzy [Erik Miller], we watch it probably three or four time a year. It’s unreal. We shed a few tears.

KTW: What team in the B.C. Division do you dislike the most and why?

CS: That’s a pretty easy question. It’s Kelowna for sure. It’s not even a dislike. It’s just the rivalry we have, especially after last year, losing in Game 7. It still hits pretty close to home. I like the battle.

KTW: What is your pre-game ritual?

CS: I’m always knocking on wood. Benjy [Quinn Benjafield] always makes fun of me. And I listen to music before the game.

KTW: Who is the most romantic Kamloops Blazer?

CS: Come on. That’s not even a question. Cam Reagan. He’s always got a new girl or getting over another girl. He likes talking about the dates and taking girls out. We like getting on his case about it.

KTW: If you were going to go to one person on the team for life advice, who would it be?

CS: Joe Gatenby. I’ve got to know him a little bit since he’s been traded here. He’s a serious guy and he’s really down to earth. He’s got his head screwed on right. The last guy I would go to is Cam Reagan.

KTW: What’s your favourite food?

CS: Steak, potatoes and cheesecake. I could have a bath in cheesecake. It’s unbelievable. The biggest appetite on the team is probably Jermaine [Loewen] or Reags. We always have our trips to A&W. They guys will have a burger, root beer and fries, but Reags is always getting the Chubby Chicken wraps. I have a lot of fun with him. I hope he doesn’t get too upset with me.

KTW: Who are the best- and worst-dressed Blazers? 

CS: The best-dressed Blazer is, besides myself, would have to be Reags. He’s got the cool bracelets, hats and always with the nice shoes. He’s high maintenance when it comes to that stuff. The worst is Connor Ingram. It’ll be plus-25 and he wears sweatpants and a hoodie. When he stops 40 pucks a night, we’ll let him do his thing.

KTW: If you could trade lives with anyone, who would it be and why?

CS: Probably the One Direction boys, just to see how life is on the road for them and how they go about their business. Me, Daws, Needer [Matt Needham] and Millzy made a music video and threw it in the group chat. We’re pretty good. I’m right there in the mix with them. I wouldn’t be ashamed of having it out there.

KTW: If you had access to a time machine, where would you go and why?

CS: I’d probably go back to the 1980 Olympics, with the USA and the Soviets. That’s another movie I love. It would be kind of cool to see how that played out, watch the game and the events of those Olympics.]

Tonino and Angelica during The Magicians of Caprona:

Reasons Why Howl Moved to Ingary:

1)      The magic! The fashion! The wizardly aesthetic!

2)      Tax avoidance

The Artino Sisters

I just finished Supernova, and now I desperately need a short story about Magpie and Nova finding out they are sisters

Because let’s face it, although they’d both be secretly relieved of guilt (Nova) and cautiously happy (Magpie), they 110% would not admit it 

Magpie: WHAT DO YOU MEAN I’M RELATED TO INSOMNIA??? I’D RATHER BE AN ORPHAN!

Nova: And here I thought Ace Anarchy was the worst possible relative

*cue them both screaming insults and denial while Adrian and Captain Chromium have to physically hold them back*

But also after Adrian and his dads have tried to hash out a plan for getting them on the same page, they accidentally spy on a quiet moment between them where Nova’s hesitantly explaining what their family used to be like

And while Magpie’s not saying anything, she’s also not hurling insults or running away

And that’s when the Everharts are hopeful for the two Artino sisters - even if they go back to screaming at each other the moment they notice someone watching them

I just love the book so much, man

forgot to say that, without Howl chasing girls and Sophie resenting him for it, the film completely erases part of the point of Sophie being old.  Wynne Jones is using an idea that Beauvoir talked about - that being an old woman is both tragic (as we lose male attention/attractiveness) and freeing (as we are freed from the male gaze).  the idea is that with being old comes liberation, and the true meaning of what it is to be a woman, as society no longer forces gender norms on us.

Sophie is free from Howl’s attentions and therefore safe from harm (a big part of the book is the fact that Sophie believes he eats women’s hearts, and him chasing girls proves this to her).  she takes solace in the fact that she’s old, and finds it freeing.  when she learns more about Howl (notably: that he doesn’t eat hearts and that he’s not evil), she starts to curse her age and resent him chasing girls.  BUT she remains old OF HER OWN VOLITION - Howl notes that she’s perpetuating the spell by wishing to remain “in disguise”.  there are SO many layers to this, and lots to do with gender politics - if she’s still old Sophie can’t get hurt, she likes the freedom, etc.  but of course on a personal level being old is her denying her feelings for Howl, and also a representation of her low self esteem - being old is a defence mechanism and protection, both on a gender level and a personal one.

and the film kinda… loses this?  the only thing that remains is being old = low self esteem.  which really sucks.  because there’s SO MUCH MORE to Sophie being old in the book (perspective I already mentioned), and a HUGE amount of this is gender politics.  that the film just erases.

Good folk/jazz/swing music recs?

I’m trying to find some jazzy folk music for a friend who swing dances. We don’t overlap on music a ton, but I showed them “Curses” by the Crane Wives and they absolutely loved it! I’m trying to put a playlist together of potential music (some Hadestown songs are already on there), but I need some ideas.

Any suggestions?