📚🐱 Non-fiction Book Club! – Neko’s Blog 🐱📚

yeesss, Princess Monomake, I started that today!

what do you think of it so far?

Pretty good. Was a little taken back by how the antagonist was literally stripped when crossing the river. Sad that his fate is to die. I don't like that lady who controls the Iron Fort, very shady!

Update #2 - 26.07.20
Helo pawb! (I think that means hello everyone, in Welsh according to Google Translate), welcome to update #2

Today’s update won’t be a filler update because I just finished watching Tales from Earthsea and I’m going to write a bit about that (on this day in history will return another day, sorry! otherwise this update will be too longggggg)

Neko’s Nonsensical Film Review
Tales from Earthsea is a 2006 fantasy Ghibli film based on a series of books by Ursula K. Le Guin (called the Earthsea series). I didn’t really have any expectations for this film because...
1. It’s one of Studio Ghibli’s less well-known films
2. I read some guy’s reviews of all of Studio Ghibli’s films and they had this one ranked last
3. The author of the series, Ursula Le Guin said “It is not my book. It is your movie. It is a good movie" but then later said she was disappointed with the film

Anyway, I’m really bad at summarising stuff (flashback to GCSE English lang questions) so I’m not going to even try, but the key themes/tropes are: sorcery, self-discovery, friendship, loyalty, love, morality, death and dragons! It’s a bit similar to Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke if you’ve seen those before. Ghibli are well-known for their adorable characters and for being more or less kid-friendly, this film though... is more a PG 13 because violence! (ok it's really not that bad)

It’s a pretty good film with some deep messages about facing your fears and what it means to be alive. The characters are pretty relatable, and I think it’s really underrated film! I’d give it an 8.5/10!



Neko’s Nostalgic throwbacks - (spinoff of On This Day in History is On This Day in My Life - much less exciting ik)
Google Photos tells me that 4 years ago today I was in Tokyo! Who would have known that 4 years later we’d be stuck in this pandemic
So, on this day 4 years ago, I was at Senso-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo (see de attachment for a photo I took that day at precisely 12:02pm). Wikipedia tells me that Senso-ji is one of Tokyo’s oldest temples and was founded in 645 AD. It was bombed in WW2 but was later rebuilt and is a symbol of rebirth and peace to the Japanese people. It is so so pretty, if you ever go to Japan, definitely visit Senso-ji!

I also went to Nakamise-dori which is just next door to the temple, this is where I got lost because I was too busy playing Pokemon Go. It’s a bustling shopping street selling traditional Japanese gifts and lots of other really cool stuff. My photos are all rubbish so I just put in this one from Japan Guide.


Have a nice day everyoneeeee

you put so much effort into these, it's amazing!!

Update #2 - 26.07.20
Helo pawb! (I think that means hello everyone, in Welsh according to Google Translate), welcome to update #2

Today’s update won’t be a filler update because I just finished watching Tales from Earthsea and I’m going to write a bit about that (on this day in history will return another day, sorry! otherwise this update will be too longggggg)

Neko’s Nonsensical Film Review
Tales from Earthsea is a 2006 fantasy Ghibli film based on a series of books by Ursula K. Le Guin (called the Earthsea series). I didn’t really have any expectations for this film because...
1. It’s one of Studio Ghibli’s less well-known films
2. I read some guy’s reviews of all of Studio Ghibli’s films and they had this one ranked last
3. The author of the series, Ursula Le Guin said “It is not my book. It is your movie. It is a good movie" but then later said she was disappointed with the film

Anyway, I’m really bad at summarising stuff (flashback to GCSE English lang questions) so I’m not going to even try, but the key themes/tropes are: sorcery, self-discovery, friendship, loyalty, love, morality, death and dragons! It’s a bit similar to Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke if you’ve seen those before. Ghibli are well-known for their adorable characters and for being more or less kid-friendly, this film though... is more a PG 13 because violence! (ok it's really not that bad)

It’s a pretty good film with some deep messages about facing your fears and what it means to be alive. The characters are pretty relatable, and I think it’s really underrated film! I’d give it an 8.5/10!



Neko’s Nostalgic throwbacks - (spinoff of On This Day in History is On This Day in My Life - much less exciting ik)
Google Photos tells me that 4 years ago today I was in Tokyo! Who would have known that 4 years later we’d be stuck in this pandemic
So, on this day 4 years ago, I was at Senso-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo (see de attachment for a photo I took that day at precisely 12:02pm). Wikipedia tells me that Senso-ji is one of Tokyo’s oldest temples and was founded in 645 AD. It was bombed in WW2 but was later rebuilt and is a symbol of rebirth and peace to the Japanese people. It is so so pretty, if you ever go to Japan, definitely visit Senso-ji!

I also went to Nakamise-dori which is just next door to the temple, this is where I got lost because I was too busy playing Pokemon Go. It’s a bustling shopping street selling traditional Japanese gifts and lots of other really cool stuff. My photos are all rubbish so I just put in this one from Japan Guide.


Have a nice day everyoneeeee

Update #2 - 26.07.20
Helo pawb! (I think that means hello everyone, in Welsh according to Google Translate), welcome to update #2

Today’s update won’t be a filler update because I just finished watching Tales from Earthsea and I’m going to write a bit about that (on this day in history will return another day, sorry! otherwise this update will be too longggggg)

Neko’s Nonsensical Film Review
Tales from Earthsea is a 2006 fantasy Ghibli film based on a series of books by Ursula K. Le Guin (called the Earthsea series). I didn’t really have any expectations for this film because...
1. It’s one of Studio Ghibli’s less well-known films
2. I read some guy’s reviews of all of Studio Ghibli’s films and they had this one ranked last
3. The author of the series, Ursula Le Guin said “It is not my book. It is your movie. It is a good movie" but then later said she was disappointed with the film

Anyway, I’m really bad at summarising stuff (flashback to GCSE English lang questions) so I’m not going to even try, but the key themes/tropes are: sorcery, self-discovery, friendship, loyalty, love, morality, death and dragons! It’s a bit similar to Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke if you’ve seen those before. Ghibli are well-known for their adorable characters and for being more or less kid-friendly, this film though... is more a PG 13 because violence! (ok it's really not that bad)

It’s a pretty good film with some deep messages about facing your fears and what it means to be alive. The characters are pretty relatable, and I think it’s really underrated film! I’d give it an 8.5/10!



Neko’s Nostalgic throwbacks - (spinoff of On This Day in History is On This Day in My Life - much less exciting ik)
Google Photos tells me that 4 years ago today I was in Tokyo! Who would have known that 4 years later we’d be stuck in this pandemic
So, on this day 4 years ago, I was at Senso-ji in Asakusa, Tokyo (see de attachment for a photo I took that day at precisely 12:02pm). Wikipedia tells me that Senso-ji is one of Tokyo’s oldest temples and was founded in 645 AD. It was bombed in WW2 but was later rebuilt and is a symbol of rebirth and peace to the Japanese people. It is so so pretty, if you ever go to Japan, definitely visit Senso-ji!

I also went to Nakamise-dori which is just next door to the temple, this is where I got lost because I was too busy playing Pokemon Go. It’s a bustling shopping street selling traditional Japanese gifts and lots of other really cool stuff. My photos are all rubbish so I just put in this one from Japan Guide.


Have a nice day everyoneeeee

Update #3 - 27.07.20
Dia dhaoibh! (hello everyone in Irish... is that right? @Dell PC, do you know Irish?) welcome to update #3

I wasn’t going to do an update today, but I will because I’ve just finished watching Despicable Me! I borrowed it from the school library when I heard that lockdown was coming our way and I’ve only just watched it. Had a really hard time getting it to work because it wasn’t playing and was making funny noises in the computer. Also, there’s a Despicable Me 3? When did that come out? Has anyone seen it and is it good?

Neko’s Nonsensical film review
I’m going to keep it brief because I think most people have seen it/know of the film but I’d say that Despicable Me is an alright children’s film. A bit above meh, is probably what I’d say. Sure it’s heart-warming, funny and light-hearted but it’s not realllyyyyy that memorable if I’m honest. It’s probably also cos I’m a bit old for Despicable Me….

I’ll be generous and give it a 6/10 though. (Next film, Ponyo!)

also Agnes is really cute

On this Day in History
67 years ago today (not 69 I’m afraid @Raptor Jesus), the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, drawing the Korean War to a close. The Korean War started in 1950, when the communist North (backed by the Soviets and China) invaded the South (backed by the US). After 3 years of intense fighting, stalemate was settling in. After 2 years of negotiations, an armistice was signed on the 27th July 1953, at Panmunjom, on the 38th Parallel (the border between the two nations).

One of the outcomes of this armistice was the creation of the demilitarised zone, the most heavily militarised frontier in the world. North and South Korea are still technically at war today, because what was signed was an armistice rather than a peace treaty. 5 million people died in this conflict and about half, were civilians. The rate of civilian casualties in the Korean War is higher than WW2's and Vietnam.


“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime” – Ernest Hemingway
Sorry to end on such a morbid note, this was not what I envisioned today’s update to look like when I first started writing

Love that quote by Ernest Hemingway
ANd this is one of my fave blogs so far (:

Update #3 - 27.07.20
Dia dhaoibh! (hello everyone in Irish... is that right? @Dell PC, do you know Irish?) welcome to update #3

I wasn’t going to do an update today, but I will because I’ve just finished watching Despicable Me! I borrowed it from the school library when I heard that lockdown was coming our way and I’ve only just watched it. Had a really hard time getting it to work because it wasn’t playing and was making funny noises in the computer. Also, there’s a Despicable Me 3? When did that come out? Has anyone seen it and is it good?

Neko’s Nonsensical film review
I’m going to keep it brief because I think most people have seen it/know of the film but I’d say that Despicable Me is an alright children’s film. A bit above meh, is probably what I’d say. Sure it’s heart-warming, funny and light-hearted but it’s not realllyyyyy that memorable if I’m honest. It’s probably also cos I’m a bit old for Despicable Me….

I’ll be generous and give it a 6/10 though. (Next film, Ponyo!)

also Agnes is really cute

On this Day in History
67 years ago today (not 69 I’m afraid @Raptor Jesus), the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, drawing the Korean War to a close. The Korean War started in 1950, when the communist North (backed by the Soviets and China) invaded the South (backed by the US). After 3 years of intense fighting, stalemate was settling in. After 2 years of negotiations, an armistice was signed on the 27th July 1953, at Panmunjom, on the 38th Parallel (the border between the two nations).

One of the outcomes of this armistice was the creation of the demilitarised zone, the most heavily militarised frontier in the world. North and South Korea are still technically at war today, because what was signed was an armistice rather than a peace treaty. 5 million people died in this conflict and about half, were civilians. The rate of civilian casualties in the Korean War is higher than WW2's and Vietnam.


“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime” – Ernest Hemingway
Sorry to end on such a morbid note, this was not what I envisioned today’s update to look like when I first started writing

Update #3 - 27.07.20
Dia dhaoibh! (hello everyone in Irish... is that right? @Dell PC, do you know Irish?) welcome to update #3

I wasn’t going to do an update today, but I will because I’ve just finished watching Despicable Me! I borrowed it from the school library when I heard that lockdown was coming our way and I’ve only just watched it. Had a really hard time getting it to work because it wasn’t playing and was making funny noises in the computer. Also, there’s a Despicable Me 3? When did that come out? Has anyone seen it and is it good?

Neko’s Nonsensical film review
I’m going to keep it brief because I think most people have seen it/know of the film but I’d say that Despicable Me is an alright children’s film. A bit above meh, is probably what I’d say. Sure it’s heart-warming, funny and light-hearted but it’s not realllyyyyy that memorable if I’m honest. It’s probably also cos I’m a bit old for Despicable Me….

I’ll be generous and give it a 6/10 though. (Next film, Ponyo!)

also Agnes is really cute

On this Day in History
67 years ago today (not 69 I’m afraid @Raptor Jesus), the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, drawing the Korean War to a close. The Korean War started in 1950, when the communist North (backed by the Soviets and China) invaded the South (backed by the US). After 3 years of intense fighting, stalemate was settling in. After 2 years of negotiations, an armistice was signed on the 27th July 1953, at Panmunjom, on the 38th Parallel (the border between the two nations).

One of the outcomes of this armistice was the creation of the demilitarised zone, the most heavily militarised frontier in the world. North and South Korea are still technically at war today, because what was signed was an armistice rather than a peace treaty. 5 million people died in this conflict and about half, were civilians. The rate of civilian casualties in the Korean War is higher than WW2's and Vietnam.


“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime” – Ernest Hemingway
Sorry to end on such a morbid note, this was not what I envisioned today’s update to look like when I first started writing

Update #3 - 27.07.20
Dia dhaoibh! (hello everyone in Irish... is that right? @Dell PC, do you know Irish?) welcome to update #3

I wasn’t going to do an update today, but I will because I’ve just finished watching Despicable Me! I borrowed it from the school library when I heard that lockdown was coming our way and I’ve only just watched it. Had a really hard time getting it to work because it wasn’t playing and was making funny noises in the computer. Also, there’s a Despicable Me 3? When did that come out? Has anyone seen it and is it good?

Neko’s Nonsensical film review
I’m going to keep it brief because I think most people have seen it/know of the film but I’d say that Despicable Me is an alright children’s film. A bit above meh, is probably what I’d say. Sure it’s heart-warming, funny and light-hearted but it’s not realllyyyyy that memorable if I’m honest. It’s probably also cos I’m a bit old for Despicable Me….

I’ll be generous and give it a 6/10 though. (Next film, Ponyo!)

also Agnes is really cute

On this Day in History
67 years ago today (not 69 I’m afraid @Raptor Jesus), the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, drawing the Korean War to a close. The Korean War started in 1950, when the communist North (backed by the Soviets and China) invaded the South (backed by the US). After 3 years of intense fighting, stalemate was settling in. After 2 years of negotiations, an armistice was signed on the 27th July 1953, at Panmunjom, on the 38th Parallel (the border between the two nations).

One of the outcomes of this armistice was the creation of the demilitarised zone, the most heavily militarised frontier in the world. North and South Korea are still technically at war today, because what was signed was an armistice rather than a peace treaty. 5 million people died in this conflict and about half, were civilians. The rate of civilian casualties in the Korean War is higher than WW2's and Vietnam.


“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime” – Ernest Hemingway
Sorry to end on such a morbid note, this was not what I envisioned today’s update to look like when I first started writing

Brb ??

You didn't learn about the korean war!

Nope 😭 I only did cold war in Europe

Update #4 - 30.07.20
Halló allir! (in Icelandic) welcome to update #4, I hope everyone is welllllll Haven't been up to much for the past few days, just going on TSR and went shopping with my family yesterday. I did finish a MOOC though! So, as promised @Mesopotamian., I'm gonna do a review of it

Neko's Nonsensical MOOC Review - Visualising Imperialism & the Philippines (1898-1913)
So, this MOOC is all about the Philippine-American War. A bit of context... after Spain was defeated in the Spanish-American War of 1898, it ceded the colony of Philippines to the US in the Treaty of Paris, but just 2 days before the US Senate ratified the treaty, fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists who wanted independence. Over 4,200 Americans and 20,000 Filipino soldiers died (time to think back to that Ernest Hemingway quote from last time...)

Has anyone read Rudyard Kipling’s poem The White Man’s Burden? Interesting fact – it’s about the Philippine-American War and the poem’s purpose was to encourage American colonisation of the Philippines, saying that the “white race” has a moral obligation to “civilise” non-white people through colonisation.

The course focuses solely on visual materials e.g. political cartoons and photography. This is something I quite like because looking at these historical artefacts is like opening a window into the past world, and images are great at exploring unequal power relationships e.g. Who is in the image? Who is left out? etc. Some of the images are also quite explicit e.g. nudity and dead bodies, and we might ask ourselves is it ethical to be looking at these photographs in the first place?

But, as George Santayana famously said,
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” – and that’s one of the reasons why I think it’s so important to learn that we learn about history

Anyway, here are 2 political cartoons about “The White Man’s Burden”, notice the ‘rocks’ that Uncle Sam and John Bull are climbing on and their end goal, as well as the racist caricatures of the people Uncle Sam are carrying on his back.


And in this second cartoon, see if you can spot the children representing the Filipinos, the Chinese, the Native Americans and the African Americans, and how the use of a ‘schoolroom’, links to Kipling’s ideas of the white man’s burden.

Eigðu góðan dag allir! (Have a nice day everyone!) Is this update too long and a bit waffle-y? sorryyyy
Let me know if you would like to be tagged/I've tagged you by mistake/you don't want to be tagged anymore - das ist ok

Update #4 - 30.07.20
Halló allir! (in Icelandic) welcome to update #4, I hope everyone is welllllll Haven't been up to much for the past few days, just going on TSR and went shopping with my family yesterday. I did finish a MOOC though! So, as promised @Mesopotamian., I'm gonna do a review of it

Neko's Nonsensical MOOC Review - Visualising Imperialism & the Philippines (1898-1913)
So, this MOOC is all about the Philippine-American War. A bit of context... after Spain was defeated in the Spanish-American War of 1898, it ceded the colony of Philippines to the US in the Treaty of Paris, but just 2 days before the US Senate ratified the treaty, fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists who wanted independence. Over 4,200 Americans and 20,000 Filipino soldiers died (time to think back to that Ernest Hemingway quote from last time...)

Has anyone read Rudyard Kipling’s poem The White Man’s Burden? Interesting fact – it’s about the Philippine-American War and the poem’s purpose was to encourage American colonisation of the Philippines, saying that the “white race” has a moral obligation to “civilise” non-white people through colonisation.

The course focuses solely on visual materials e.g. political cartoons and photography. This is something I quite like because looking at these historical artefacts is like opening a window into the past world, and images are great at exploring unequal power relationships e.g. Who is in the image? Who is left out? etc. Some of the images are also quite explicit e.g. nudity and dead bodies, and we might ask ourselves is it ethical to be looking at these photographs in the first place?

But, as George Santayana famously said,
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” – and that’s one of the reasons why I think it’s so important to learn that we learn about history

Anyway, here are 2 political cartoons about “The White Man’s Burden”, notice the ‘rocks’ that Uncle Sam and John Bull are climbing on and their end goal, as well as the racist caricatures of the people Uncle Sam are carrying on his back.


And in this second cartoon, see if you can spot the children representing the Filipinos, the Chinese, the Native Americans and the African Americans, and how the use of a ‘schoolroom’, links to Kipling’s ideas of the white man’s burden.

Eigðu góðan dag allir! (Have a nice day everyone!) Is this update too long and a bit waffle-y? sorryyyy
Let me know if you would like to be tagged/I've tagged you by mistake/you don't want to be tagged anymore - das ist ok