Welcome to the Last Post in 2021

 I know a lot of people are thinking it, but when did 2020 become 2021...and how did 2021 pass by so quickly?

This will be my last post in 2021. I spent part of the year without a job, started traveling again, and have continued to worry about COVID (despite the vaccine).

This holiday season is a little different than last year. Though COVID is always at the back of my mind, being vaccinated has given me a little freedom. 

Last weekend I went to a local production of the Nutcracker with a friend. Most of the audience was made of the dancers' family and friends. I (being determined to see any production of the ballet live) really enjoyed myself. Some of the dancers were absolutely tiny and positively adorable. All of the dancers were fantastic. 

I am happy to encourage anyone who has a local theater group or community center to check out any productions they may be putting on. Not only are they fun, but they support your area's artists, dancers, actors, and talent. I'm actually kind of sad I missed a local production of the Dracula ballet (there are actually several versions of the Dracula ballet which can be found on YouTube). 

This weekend, I had a couple of friends over for my first holiday bunch! 

It was so much fun and I may have gone a little overboard while cooking (there are tons of leftovers). The Wassail I made was a particularly big hit, as was the pumpkin cake and mocktail I came up with on the spot (a scoop of cranberry relish, some pomegranates, and pomegranate bubbly water in Champaign glasses - the full thing will be in my food blog). Christmas music played in the background (okay it was the Nutcracker) and I had a roaring fire in the fireplace. Lights are strung up all over and my tiny tree is fully trimmed. 

Yesterday, I spent the whole day cooking and cleaning my apartment. I found the cleaning therapeutic and helped me feel like I was sweeping out the old year. I even took time to wrap up all the presents. It's hard to believe Christmas is in less than a week and New Years is in less than two. 

Over the next couple weeks, things will be quiet. The only major event I'll be attending is a driver through light display. I went last year with my dad and it was the only request he had this year to do during the season. Maybe I'll also take a day trip into DC to see the train display at the outdoor botanical gardens and the Congressional ("People's") tree.

2021 was a long year that somehow felt very short. It was eventful and at the same time very boring. My hope is for some peace and stability. Though I hope to travel again soon, I'd much rather know that people are safe and my cat can curl up on my head whenever she feels like it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. May you all have a nice rest, a little peace, and lots of fun memories. 

Good bye 2021.

Welcome 2022. 

If you enjoyed this post (or if really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Pit Falls of Data

 I recently finished a book about data - the collection, visualization, and future of its uses. Data is everywhere and used for a lot of things. I've worked with data in some form or another throughout my entire career (so far). 

This book is called "Living in Data" by Jer Thorp. In the book, Thorp details his many adventures around the world collecting data (including several trips to Africa and National Parks in America), working on new ways to visualize data (including a theater company in London who put on a performance using rice to explain populations around the world), and how who controls data also controls a lot of power. 

That last part isn't meant to scare you guys so much as emphasize the importance and dangers of data collection.

Thorp has had an amazing career collecting, analyzing, and visualizing data. Part of me wishes I could go on the same adventures to collect data (though I don't know how I would have handled seeing hippopotamuses in real life - they are scary). Thorp famously helped create the design for the World Trade Center Memorial in New York City. He designed a formula to make sure that the names of people who lost their lives were near their friends and/or family. 

However, much of this book focuses on the future of data and the people who are collecting it.

Most of us are already familiar with how social media sites have been tracking us for years, collecting so much data on use that they've managed to personalize our ads. Every few years there's a story that floats around the Internet about a man receiving coupons from a big box store for baby clothes and diapers. The man goes to the store in a huff - demanding to know why his family is getting this targeted ad campaign when they don't have little kids (they have teenagers). The store apologized for the mix up and says it won't happen again. Then, a few days later the man returns to the store to apologize for getting angry. Apparently his teenage daughter is expecting a baby. The store used the data they had collected on the family to anticipate the family's future buying needs and exposed the fact that a teenager was pregnant. 

Creeped out?

Though most targeted ad campaigns are quite that good, it's no secret that companies are collecting a lot of data on people...and making a lot of money while doing it. 

Whoever said data is the new crude oil wasn't kidding. 

And while there's lot of data being collected, there's some that purposefully not being collected. Knowledge is power and when that knowledge is squashed or withheld, it can lead to a suppression of power. Thorp goes in to a great deal of detail about how certain data sets have been prevented from being collected because the people in power don't want the knowledge to get out. Additionally, not having access to data that is being collected is another hurdle. Just because data exists doesn't mean that the average person can access it, analyze it, or publish it. Data sets can cost money (see previous statement about getting rich off data), be difficult to understand if the methodology isn't obvious, and possibly manipulated to the point where it becomes meaningless. 

However, even with access to data, there are dangers of releasing it. Many countries in Africa won't allow the release of migration data on elephants. Why? Because poachers might use it to track down and kill the elephants being tracked.

Data is dangerous when it's known and when it's unknown. 

So how do we balance this dichotomy?

Thorp doesn't offer any solutions...and to be honest, neither can I. I have always preferred having access to more data than less, but I also understand how data can be overwhelming (especially to non-math people) and nonsensical if it doesn't tell a good story.  

Data has become a tool for wealth can power. What can we do about it? Who gets to decide how it's accessed? How should it be analyzed?

I don't know and neither does Thorp. 

However, I do think pressure is mounting on governments to do something - such as regulating the collection (it's already in place for children - kind of) and mitigating targeted advertising. Our lives are so intertwined with the companies that collect our data that it's difficult to separate ourselves without leaving society at large. 

Like many of our modern problems, the solutions won't be easy and we'll be up against people who don't want to see change. 

But that's why we need to keep learning about what is going on and how the world is interconnected. 

I hope I didn't scare you with this post. My goal is to inform and give a book recommendation. 

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to December 2021

All I did was blink and suddenly it’s the end of 2021. 

As we are in the middle of the holiday season, I hope all of my readers (yes that includes you) are doing well. It’s the second year we face spending the season with the shadow of the pandemic hovering over us. 

Very random snowmen decorations along a wooded path near my home.

2021 has been a hard year…and it seems to keep getting harder. 

My greatest wish this holiday season is for a period of stability and peace in my life - something I haven’t really had since the end of 2018. Things have been rough. I thought 2020 would be the worst, but I took a (figurative) beating in 2021. I don’t even want to speculate about 2022.

My hope is that the season brings a little more kindness, especially to those in need. That we are all able to celebrate the good things and don’t dwell on the negative. May joy and love be spread.

Some of us get “blue” at this time of year. I tend to be one of those people. It could be because it’s dark outside and I get less vitamin D, it could be the forced upon cheer from every angle, or it could be perhaps that my shoes are too tight.

Don’t worry, I’m not planning on stealing Christmas or Hanukkah. 

Times have been hard and it’s not clear when they’ll get easier (or if they’ll ever get easier). What I can do for me is to be kinder to myself. The same can go for you. If you haven’t put up any decorations yet, that’s okay. I didn’t get my tree up until today (and some of my decorations have already fallen from where I hung them up yesterday).

If you can get out of your house or apartment, do so. I’m still going on daily walks and making plans for outings that will cheer me up. I’ve found a community performance of the Nutcracker to go to with a friend and a holiday lights show to drive through. These things are small, but they give me something to look forward to.

2021 has felt like an extension to 2020. So much has happened and the pandemic feels never ending. Money is tight, the job market weird (yes that’s the word I’m choosing), and politics (at least in the US) are driving me insane.

Maybe a little holiday season is what we all need.

Remember to check in with yourself. Sometimes small things are just as grand as big ones. Give yourself things to look forward to. And be kind.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Street Art of Detroit

If there’s one type of art that I can’t seem to get enough of, it’s street art.

I first gained an appreciation for street art in Reykjavik. Everywhere I looked I spotted different works of art - many of which had a social or political message.

Now when I go to a major (or even minor) city, I keep an eye out for the street art. New York naturally has fantastic street art and DC has started to get more in the residential parts of the city. I’ve even seen some nice murals in Anne Arbor.

However, my favorite place to see street art is around the Eastern Market neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit has a lot of amazing street art, but the art in Eastern Market holds a special place in my heart. Most of the art is done in large murals on the buildings. Some of the art is used to advertise local businesses, while others highlight the the produce that can be found within the three buildings housing the Eastern Market farmer’s market (try saying that three times fast).

Within the market itself are a few samples of street art as well. The last building has a large mural over the exit doors, opposite the community kitchen. Another area that has art featuring clocks (of all things) is on a small shack that holds a shoe repair shop.

A lot of the art in the area has little to do with the businesses in the area and instead demonstrates the unique culture that makes Detroit special. These street art murals often have fantastical or abstract elements, bold color statements, and eye catching designs. I have no idea how often the murals are freshened up or changed because they always look like they weren’t up the day before.

Detroit’s street art is everywhere. As soon as you take the exit off the highway, you’ll be able to spot three or four murals off the ramp. Some of these gorgeous works of art go by so fast, it’s hard to fully appreciate them (let alone snap a picture). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to record all of the murals I spotted (including some of my favorites), but I hope someone is documenting them.

Street art is a reflection of an community’s culture. Artists paint what they feel about the world around them. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the majority of murals in Detroit feature Black people and Black culture. Detroit has a majority Black population and the street art reflects that.

I get very sad (and sometimes a little angry) when people speak badly of Detroit. Yes, the city has its problems (what city doesn’t). However, Detroit has one of the most vibrant art cultures I’ve gotten to see (I prefer Detroit’s street art to New York’s). The city is slowly reinventing itself. Some of the current best things about Detroit are the art, food, music, and people. 

My mom lives in the Detroit metropolitan area and says that walking tours have started in different parts of the city to view the many different murals. I think this is a brilliant idea and one more cities should implement. 

I don’t know what the future of street art is. In (my) perfect world, street art would be celebrated and toured like the paintings and sculptures in museums. Outdoor walking tours would allow for stops at local restaurants and possibly incentivize local governments to make cities more pedestrian or bicycle friendly. Investment in public art might lead to investment in communities (though gentrification would need to be nipped in the bud), which would hopefully lead to a better living environment and happier people.

Now that I’ve shared some of my favorite street art, why don’t you guys share some of yours. Let me know where you’ve seen some of your favorite street art.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Welcome to a Quick Word About DC Culture

Washington DC (really it’s just DC, only tourists call it Washington) gives the general appearance of stuffy suits, Greco-Roman buildings, and pompous politicians. 

But that’s only one part of DC. Despite what the media might have you think, DC isn’t just alphabet soup government buildings, lobbyists, and free museums (that’s right I said free). We do have culture. Go-go was created in DC in the 1970s, there’s tons of amazing street art once you walk five blocks north of the mall, and our food trucks (the ones that serve the federal workers and business people not the ones on the mall) are fantastic.

November isn’t a huge time for tourists. In fact, it’s the start of our slow season that goes until about mid-March. Though there’s still a lot to do during the holidays, we’re no LA or New York. Most of the people out and about are locals to the city and surrounding DMV area (DMV = DC, Maryland, and Virginia).

This weekend there was a large Día de los Muertos event on 3rd Street off the Mall and a Christmas Market at the Czech Embassy. More Christmas and other Holiday related events will start to go up in the coming weeks. My favorite is always the train display at the National Botanical Gardens. The main building is closed right now, but the outdoor gardens are free for everyone to walk through and they have a cool display set up with different farms around the world.

Speaking of Christmas, we have Christmas markets in different parts of the city. The big one that I’ve seen is located near the Portrait Gallery near our (admittedly tiny) Chinatown. Other markets can be found in Van Ness, Dupont, and the National Zoo.

I would never have known about the DC food trucks if I hadn’t worked in DC for a summer. My office was located near L’Enfant Plaza (about 3 or 4 blocks south of the Mall) and every day around 10:30am the  food trucks would be lined up waiting for everyone to file out for lunch. I had an app and everything that let me track which food truck would be where.

Speaking of DC food, soul food (including several vegan restaurants primarily located in the Shaw neighborhood) is popular in the city and, if you like seafood, the DC Wharf is a great place to try Chesapeake blue crabs. However, if you want to see where the politicians eat when they don’t stick to their cafeterias, check out the restaurants to the South East. Bullfeathers in particular is a known spot to see Lobbyists outside of K street.

Historically, our LGBTQ+ community was centered in Dupont circle. The High Heel Drag Queen Race continues to be held the Tuesday before Halloween. Unfortunately, gentrification has change a lot of Dupont - as well as many other parts of the city (*cough* South East *cough*) and a lot of the legacy LGBTQ+ community is having to move elsewhere.

Yeah, that’s one sad thing about DC: gentrification and corporatization. 

I mentioned earlier out tiny Chinatown. It used to be a lot bigger than one and a half streets with the rest taken up by the Capitol One Center and chains with Chinese letters on the buildings. However, the restaurants there are really good and they do host a lunar new year celebration. The arch is also very pretty to see - especially at night. Plus there’s a lot more street art in the Chinatown area that’s fun to spot.

Speaking of night time fun, DC has tons of nightclubs. As I said earlier, Dupont has historically been a refuge for the LGBTQ+ community and that includes their nightclubs. There’s also a fair few in the downtown area (though you might have to fight for space between the George Washington (GW) students in Foggy Bottom).

There’s also Georgetown if you want fancy shopping, food, and even more pretentious college students. Georgetown is pretty and does have a great selection of places to eat (Georgetown Cupcakes anyone?). But it is a pain to find parking and there’s limited public transit options.

You can also check out Adams Morgan for their colorful art community. In the 1960s, Adams Morgan was the home of the (then) “radical left” and colorful Victorian homes. They have a cultural trail that you can walk through the neighborhood. It was where my child self most wanted to live.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Pentagon City, Crystal City, and Olde Town Alexandria. Though not technically part of DC, prior to the civil war they did fit nicely into the originally designed square for the city. The history of why they broke apart is not something I will be explaining now (but it had a lot to do with slavery), but it’s hard to leave them out of DC culture. Olde Town Alexandria also has a great food scene, but the coolest thing is the old Torpedo Factory that was turned into an artist enclave. The only downside is that the area tends to flood with even just a suggestion of heavy rain. Pentagon City has been built up a lot since I was a kid (plus Amazon is moving in *boo hiss*), but they’ve managed to keep their parks in great condition. Crystal City has somehow managed to keep its street art and food scene in tact. The best part of Crystal City is 23rd Street off Eads Street. That’s where all the restaurants and bars are.

Bethesda would be the Maryland equivalent. They also have great restaurants. Honestly, I sometimes am unsure where DC ends and Bethesda begins because there is so much overlap.

So next time you plan a trip to DC, try going in our off season. There’s still plenty to do and free monuments and museums to see. We’re not all politicians or political activists. DC has culture - it’s just off the beaten path.

I’m also sure that people from DC might read this post and tell me I forgot about including x, y, and/or z. They’re most likely right. This post is a “quick word” about DC culture and there’s a lot there that I didn’t cover. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to a Happy Halloween

 Today was quiet. Once again, not one trick or treaters at my apartment complex, but I could hear them the next street over. That’s okay because I still had a great Halloween.

I started with a pumpkin chocolate muffin with pumpkin butter and finishing my Halloween cross stitch project. I hung them up with care in one of my doorways.

I sent out texts to all of my friends and family I have in my phone’s address book wishing them a Happy Halloween. Most texted back and a few called. Pictures of younger family members were shared and my cousin managed to get her dog into a Harley Quinn outfit.

I had a lunch of pumpkin empanadas and watched The Haunting, then went for a walk to a small lake shopping center.

While enjoying a pretzel and hops tea at the local micro brewery, a man set up some music and his kids (dressed as Michael Jackson) danced to the joy of everyone at each of the restaurants. At about 2:30, a group of witches on paddle boards, kayaks, and a pontoon boat paraded into the docking area. A few of the witches had kids and dogs on their paddle boats. There was even a skeleton with a small graveyard on his board.

I then wandered a bit.

I spotted a fox sunning himself on a neighbor’s yard. I danced among some falling leaves on the wooded trail. I also pet several very fluffy dogs.

I returned home nearly two hours later to carve my first pumpkin in nearly a decade. I chose a sun and moon combo to represent the changing of the seasons. I had Over the Garden Wall on while I scooped the pumpkin’s guts out and drew the design on its face. 

My apartment filled with the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg as my soul cookies baked and I lit some pumpkin spice candles. I ate a silent dinner with the spirits on my balcony and wished a family dressed as black cats a “Happy Halloween”.

I rounded out the night with a pumpkin spice bath (with a bath bomb and haunted scented soap) to get ready for my spell casting. A good witch knows how to harness the wonderful energy of Halloween to work their magic. I built a fire and cast some bay leaves with wishes into the flames. The universe will hear me and guide me.

The cat especially loves the fire.

I plan on ending the night with some spiced hot apple cider and a tarot reading. Overall a simple, relaxing, and my kind of Halloween. 

I hope you all have a fun night, stay safe, and have a spooky time. This season passed by fast (though part of that might have been because I was deeply depressed for part of it). Know that how you celebrate during this time of year is up to you. Go to parties, commune with the dead, or watch some scary movies.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome to Pokémon Snap

 So...

I haven't been in a good place mentally for a few months. My mental health went from standard passable to I can barely function as a human being over the span of a month. 

Thankfully, I have loving and supporting people in my life to help me out. I also have a doctor who listened to my concerns and took them seriously. 

Needless to say, I'm getting better, but it's a slow process. 

This weekend, my friend came over and brought her Nintendo Switch. She brought an array of games that were meant to be soothing and relaxing. I picked Pokémon Snap.

Pokémon Snap is a nostalgic game. Though I didn't have a Nintendo 64 growing up, plenty of my friends did. We'd spend hours going head to head in Mario Cart and Smash Bros or trading off playing Mario 64, Golden Eye, and Pokémon Snap. I remember you could go to the local Blockbuster and print out your Pokémon Snap pictures (I was, sadly, never able to).

Pokémon Snap stands out as one of the best games on the Nintendo 64 (definitely in my top 5). It was only in my 20s that I ended up with a copy and a Nintendo 64 of my own. It's a relaxing game where you take pictures of Pokémon. There's some plot and secrets you need to unlock in order to "beat" the game, but for the most part, the objective is to throw "apples" (that's not what they're called, but it's what they look like), play the flute, throw smoke balls, and take pictures. You get points for how "awesome" your pictures are - it's some kind of internal algorithm that can drive you batty if you think too hard about it.

Some of my favorite moments in the original Pokémon Snap include creating a zombie army of charmanders, knocking down metapods to block your path in the river course to extend your time, bopping a bulbasaur on the head with a smoke ball only for it to turn into a ditto, and, of course, surfing pikachu. 

The only downside is that Professor Oak in the game is a total jerk if you don't get the best picture. He won't even finish rating the photo if there's one thing off with it. It's quite infuriating after spending hours trying to get pikachu to pose just right on the surfboard only for the little guy to not be dead center in the frame. Can't have that.

This brings me to the new Pokémon Snap.

It's amazing.

When we first logged on, new places had shown up on the map - so more updates and unlockable items are still coming. Some courses have both a day and night mode or multiple tracks you can take to see different pokémon. Each new unlocked level for a course shows the pokémon doing different things and hanging out in different places. In Level 1 of a course, Koffing might be hiding in one corner of the screen, but by Level 2 he's flying around blowing noxious gas all over the place. New pokémon show up all the time. We even managed to unlock a new season in one course without knowing that that was a possibility.

There's a lot of play back opportunity for this latest Pokémon Snap. Now instead of only taking one photo per pokémon, you need to find four photos based on a star system. You get more stars based on the position and actions of the pokémon you get pictures of. There are also optional requested photos Professor Mirror (the new Oak - don't know why they got rid of the tree names) and his assistants ask for. 

Todd is all grown up. He was the protagonist of the original game. Now, you can create your own avatar to navigate and take pictures. It still takes a little getting used to the controls, but once you do, it's fun to catch pokémon at their craziest!

The picture reviewing mechanic in this game is fantastic!

Gone is Professor Oak's grumpy grumblings about not getting the pokémon in just the right location. Instead we have the overwhelmingly positive Professor Mirror and his young assistants Rita and Phil. Rite, Phil, and Todd all pop up occasionally to tell you how awesome your photography skills are. Professor Mirror is equally positive and encouraging while judging your photos.

Playing this game is a huge kick to the dopamine. It's positive, relaxing, and soothing. I don't stress about not getting a perfect shot and am delightfully surprised by new unlockable places and items. I think my favorite was when I accidently discovered that you could get the season spring in the elsewhere forest level. It was so pretty!

This game is one of the best I've played in a long time. My only question is why Nintendo and the Pokémon creators took so long to make a second game (it's been over two decades!). If you have the Nintendo Switch, I can't recommend this game enough.

I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I have.

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to Another Haunted Mansion Adaptation

 Dear Disney,

I'd like to lodge a complaint - and no, this isn't about the love-hate relationship I already have with you. This is about your treatment of one of the best and most popular Disney attractions: The Haunted Mansion.

Look, as a kid, I was terrified of the place. My young self shrunk back from the ghouls trying to escape their coffins, covered my eyes when Constance showed up, and nearly jumped out of the doom buggy when the hitchhiking ghosts joined us on our way out. 

I also freaking loved it.

The Haunted Mansion is my favorite attraction at Disney World.

I am aware that this is the Disneyland one.

Sadly, I've only ever ridden the one in Disney World. When I tried to ride the one at Disneyland, Jack Skellington and the cast from Nightmare Before Christmas had taken it over - not that that was a bad thing. I just wish I had had the opportunity to see the original Haunted Mansion in her glory.

But that's not why I'm writing you today. 

I'm deeply disappointed in the number of attempts (and failures) you have made to create an adequate Haunted Mansion adaptation. The closest you have come so far might be the "Haunted Mansion" graphic novel by Joshua Williamson and illustrated by Jorge Coelho. I enjoy that graphic novel and love the little extra details (like a reference to the Matterhorn) that are sprinkled in. I think the ending is lame.

The 2003 film adaptation had a lot of promise. The opening 5 minutes was beautifully done and the scene in the mausoleum with the zombies totally scared pre-teen me. However, the humor is lukewarm, the acting is subpar, and the overall story doesn't gel very well with the ride's canon. What I mean is, the ghosts aren't trapped in the Haunted Mansion - they're perfectly happy to be there! 

Get this detail right Disney!

And now we come to the most disappointing Haunted Mansion adaptation to date. The Muppets have done a lot of great adaptations. My two favorites are Muppet Treasure Island and The Muppet's Christmas Carol. This mashup had the potential to be fantastic.

It wasn't. 

First of all 40 minutes felt both too long and too short for this special. Too long because I just wanted it to end by the half hour mark and too short because a well done story with a fleshed out plot would have been great. 

The next big misstep was having Gonzo go with Pepe. I'm not a huge fan of Pepe the Shrimp. I much prefer Rizzo the Rat (we have the same characteristic of being food obsessed). Rizzo also has a personality that plays off of Gonzo a lot better than Pepe.

Third, there needed to be more time spent with the whole Muppet cast. Not everyone needs a starring role. In fact, I like it when Gonzo is the focus of the story. But Kermit, Miss. Piggy, and the rest of the cast needed a bit more to their roles than passing cameos and a brief show number. I think it would have been way more interesting if the whole cast had either been happy haunts or thrown a party there.

Next, the songs weren't memorable at all. Maybe the first one in the graveyard, but it doesn't compare to "One More Sleep to Christmas" or "Cabin Fever". 

Fifth, too much focus on Constance. There are other ghosts that are way more interesting than her murderous specter. 

Finally, and most importantly, Disney keeps forgetting that the ghosts at the Haunted Mansion are "happy haunts". They are happy to be in the mansion - okay Constance is murderous, I don't know if that makes her happy. They're not trapped. They "retired" there. They enjoy and entertain themselves by giving tours and scaring the pants off of the living.

Why is this a difficult concept?

Disney, you had the potential for a great mashup between the Muppets and one of the most iconic attractions at your parks. Why didn't you get this right?

I guess I'll just keep going back to the awesome (though unofficial) creepypastas "Grad Night at the Haunted Mansion" and "The Man with the Cane". Their author(s) clearly understand and love the two Disney attractions. They're scary stories that are also super entertaining.

So, Disney, get your act together and make an adaptation worthy of the 999 happy haunts at the Haunted Mansion.

Your (reluctant) fan,

AJB

P.S. If you liked this blog post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to my Halloween Music Playlists

 Because I can't just have one Halloween playlist. 

Though it may not seem like it, there are a lot of really good music that might be considered Halloween music. There are of course the classics like "Monster Mash", the theme to the "Addams Family", and "Grim Grinning Ghosts". 

However, I have a lot of fun finding new songs to listen to every year. 

One of the first playlists I found on YouTube was of nightcore remixes of some pretty spooky songs. If you’re unfamiliar with nightcore music, it’s typically a song that has been sped up and played at a higher pitch so the recorded singer’s voice becomes distorted. The list included "Secret” (the Pretty Little Liars opening theme), “You’re So Creepy”, “Creepy Doll”, “Discord” (which I swear was written by a My Little Pony fan band), and other amazingly creepy songs. There are numerous playlists already set up on YouTube.

Continuing with my exploration of fun Halloween music on YouTube, eventually I found playlists of Halloween music spanning multiple decades. Naturally the 80s list included songs like “Ghostbusters” and “Thriller”.

My personal favorite decades lists are the ones that include music from before the 1940s. Since there are so few surviving recorded songs from that era, the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s are typically lumped together. These songs are spooky and creepy. Part of it is that the recordings haven’t been cleaned or restored to perfection, so there’s some static and background noise. Plus there’s the whole thing that everyone who recorded the songs are dead. 

So, I’m listening to music about ghosts sung by people who are no longer alive. It ups the creepy factor.

Then there’s the femme fatale cabaret  playlist I stumbled upon. It’s all songs about murder, death, and ladies being devious. The song about serial killers is particularly chilling. The picture of a silent film actress staring into my soul that the uploader picked, is equally off putting.

I love it all.

However, sometimes I don't want any lyrics in the music I'm listening to. I have a few go to artists and movie soundtracks that I like. Nox Arcana is a fairly popular music group that you might have heard at theme parks or festivals that want a spooky edge. Adrian von Zieler is another artist that has a lot of Epic Halloween or Dark Fantasy music play lists that will put anyone in the Halloween writing mood - or if you just need something in the background that won't cause too many distractions. 

As for the movie soundtrack play lists, my favorites include the Silent Hill movie, Halloween, the VVitch, Dead Silence, The Fog, and Suspiria (the original Goblin soundtrack is on point). There's something to be said about a fantastic movie score to put you into the Halloween spirit.

And I can't forget the video game soundtracks. Silent Hill 1, 2, and 3 are all fantastic musical compositions to listen to during this holiday season. I'm also quite fond of the ending themes to all of the Fatal Frame games, but especially "Chuo", "Koe", and "Zero no Chouritsu". I also really like official sound track to Corpse Party (both the game and anime). 

But it's not just these songs that make for a great Halloween playlist. Sometimes I want something more contemporary and hard rock.

One of my play lists includes songs like the amazing "Welcome to the Black Parade", "Helena", "Wrong Side of Heaven", almost everything the band Evanescence has released, and a lot of Breaking Benjamin. I started this play list on Pandora under my "Nightmare Before Christmas". It also mixes in some music from the movie Coraline and Corpse Bride. 

And naturally, I listen to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" multiple times during the spookiest season.

Now, these are just the songs and music I like to listen to to get me in the Halloween spirit. You guys might want to check some of them out or recommend some of your own favorite play lists. There's a lot of great music out there and I didn't even cover half the independent artists or all of the Disney villain songs I love to listen to at this time of year.

Let me know in the comments if you have any spooky recommendations.

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Fall 2021 Experience

 Happy Fall 2021!

To start off your Fall 2021 experience you should start with a quick fall cleaning. Remove dust and clutter, put away summer decorations, and reorganize your kitchen. Trust me, you’ll be spending a lot of time there for your Fall 2021 experience.

Once your living space is clean (or cleaner - I’m not going to judge you), it’s time to put up the Halloween fall decorations. If you’re anything like me, the fall decorations are mixed in with your regular decorations. Now you’ll want to bring them to the forefront - maybe put them on a pedestal - and set candles everywhere. You can’t have enough candles in fall.

Speaking of decor, you’re color palette for the Fall 2021 experience is deep reds, golden wheat yellows, warm oranges, nutty browns, and (of course) black. Some purple accents are acceptable and a dash of neon green is okay the closer you get to Halloween.

Fall 2021is dedicated to peace, transition, and going to farms.

Don’t forget your Covid vaccine and Flu shot.

Visiting farms is a tried and true pastime in American culture. Fall is usually the best time to go as it is the harvest season - when the best fruits and veggies are ready to eat. I recommend looking for farms that feature apple picking, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes.

I’m fairly certain that corn mazes are a uniquely American (northern continental) phenomenon. They can vary in size and might require participants to carry a flag in case they get lost and need help (cell phone service is typically spotty). You shouldn’t fear entering a corn maze. The worst that can happen is you get lost for a few hours. There is nothing stalking the rows of corn…unless the farm and town are run by children and have scarecrows that look suspiciously like corpses.

Many farms will have some late night haunted attractions. These have become a staple all around the United States and may have an over arcing theme. If you don’t like loud noises, strobe lights, fog machines, or being scared in general - then these events are not for you. Don’t worry, the actors aren’t supposed to touch you. If they do, they aren’t actors. You might have stumbled upon something dangerous and that goes against our Fall 2021 experience guidelines - please run away.

Now that you’ve had your farm experience, it’s time to get to work in the kitchen. The Fall 2021 experience naturally includes a lot of baking, roasting, and cooking. Some of the best recipes are made with fall flavors. These flavors include cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and anything else associated with pumpkin spice non-sense. Don’t feel basic if you want to try all the pumpkin spiced flavored things - this is normal. And noticed, it’s pumpkin spice flavored - pumpkins aren’t required, though greatly encouraged. They are a very healthy food.

I recommend trying apple or pumpkin scores recipes, baking bread, and a hearty meat strew. I’m looking forward to trying my hand at making a creamy mushroom soup this year. You of course can find ideas on the Internet, but for your Fall 2021 experience I recommend trying to find a local farmers market as they tend to have recipe recommendations with local produce.

Now that you’ve fully emerged yourself in the Fall 2021 experience, you can now start looking at what you can add on to bring this fall up from typical, to extraordinary.

First your movie list.

Horror movies are a staple for this time of year. There are some that just drip the fall aesthetic. I’m fond of House of Wax with Vincent Price, Halloween the original first three, and Sleepy Hollow the Disney animated version and the Tim Burton one (which is about as authentically American as cricket). 

If you aren’t into horror movies, there are plenty of spooky Halloween movies to chose from. I personally recommend Coraline, Halloweentown, Hocus Pocus, Paranorman (I always cry), The Addams Family, and Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost. If you’re wondering why Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t included, that’s because it’s a November movie.

But if Halloween isn’t your thing, there are still plenty of media for you to enjoy. The best being Over the Garden Wall. It’s a series that just drips everything fall.

Finally, you might be interested in adding one final detail to your Fall 2021 experience.

Witchcraft!

Many a young witch (male, female, and non-binary people may all use the term) find their calling during the fall season. It’s a perfect time to learn and experiment. Most of your first spells will probably  to go well at all. I recommend starting small. Learn to combine runes to creat charms, put together sweet dream sleep satchels, or reading tarot. Leave summoning eldritch creatures for when you’ve been practicing for a while - they’ll be less likely to eat you when called.

I hope you enjoy your Fall 2021 experience. May it bring you peace, tranquility, and a brief encounter with the darker things in life (in a safe, controlled setting - naturally). Set up a bond fire, invite nine of your closest friends, and dance naked under the crisp fall moon as leaves fall around you. You might even find yourself flying amongst the stars.

It’s the perfect time for fun.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome to Fall 2021

The weather might not agree, but fall is right around the corner y’all. The fall equinox is Wednesday. I’ve already started planning for my fall celebrations and am chomping at the bit to put up all my Halloween decorations.

One of my favorite things to do in fall is to go to fall festivals.

Usually they have some type of corn maze, a hay ride, and a pumpkin patch. Other farms have animals around with educational facts, apple picking, some type of play ground, and/or games (like an apple or pumpkin slingshot and corn hole).

Oh no! A fork in the corn maze!

Last year, very few places were open and I skipped out on my annual fall fun.

This year it feels like a lot of places are making their fall festivals bigger than ever. 

Yesterday, I went with a group to Cox Farm in norther Virginia (yep we still have a couple farms up here). It was massive and fantastic. The hay ride alone was worth the price of admission. They had lots of great themed areas, farm animals (along with a goat petting zoo), tons of slides, a tracker museum, a corn “maze” (it was more of a walk through with themed areas), an enchanted forest (with fun facts about local plants and animals), and foam-henge which is a “to-scale” replica of stone henge in England. There was a ton of food, live music, a farm store, and tons of places for kids to play. We even got to sample free apple cider.

Mama with her piglets

They even have haunted attractions for late at night (we did not do those).

I would have loved this place as a kid. Heck, I loved it as an adult. The themed areas were a lot of fun and clearly well taken care of. One of my friends is an artist and was thrilled that the farm had commissioned so much art work. I had fun finding all the little details hidden in the scenes.

I don’t know why this exists, but I’m impressed it does.

Now, I don’t want this blog post to sound like an ad for Cox Farms. It was awesome and what I needed to kick off the fall season, which is why I’m gushing so much about it.

Finding local farms that have fall festivals is a wonderful thing to do. I may try to go to another one before the season ends. But we still need to be careful.

All over the grounds of Cox Farms were signs reminding people that COVID-19 was still a threat. They’d let people know when it was required or strongly suggested to wear a mask. There were warnings before we entered the corn maze and got on the hay ride. Most people were good about wearing a mask. There were also lots of places to get hand sanitizer or wash up. People were happy and relaxed, while also being cautious.

It was a rare feeling of normalcy after a year and a half of stress and fear.

I will go ahead and recommend you guys find local farms hosting fall festivals. They’re a great way to get into the seasonal spirit and allow for people to pick up local produce. Some are bigger than others. Some have late night haunted attractions, while others will allow you to walk the corn maze at night with nothing but a flag and flash light (the flag is for if you get lost and can’t find your way out). I’ve been to places in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey and can give recommendations.

I hope all of you have a great start to the fall season. Stay safe, get vaccinated, and wear a mask.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my reads and I hope y’all like hearing from me,

Welcome to Climbing Mountains

Twenty years ago, one of the biggest traumatic events in the world happened. It triggered a series of further traumatic events that have rippled to affect things through the 2000s, 2010s, and today. There are adults who don’t remember a time when the US wasn’t at war.

But I don’t want to discuss that today. I’ve already written plenty of blog posts about it. 

This week has been stressful. My cat has been sick and I’m hoping she’s okay. One two hour trip to the vet left us with more questions than answers. I think she’s getting better, but it was a tough couple of days.

So much of the past few years have felt like never ending challenges - like trying to climb a mountain and finding more of that mountain to climb. I’ll think I’ll get to the top of my mountain, congratulate myself, turn around, and shout “you’ve got to be kidding me” as I see more mountain.

 However, I keep climbing that mountain because I know at some point I will reach the top and I’ll feel fantastic once I get there.

Just so long as this doesn’t turn into the story of Sisyphus.

If you’re not familiar with the Greek myth, it’s about a guy named Sisyphus who kidnapped the god of death, Thanatos, tricked Persephone, and royally pissed off Hades. He was punished by the gods to roll a giant rock up a mountain only to have the giant rock roll back down the mountain over and over again once he reached the top. Overly Sarcastic Productions has a great synopsis of the myth (click here). 

Personally, I always picture Sisyphus getting squashed into a pancake like a Loony Toon when the rock rolls back down.

Right now, I feel like the mountain of problems and stress I’m climbing is never ending. Some days, I feel like I’m Sisyphus about to be flattened by everything I’m doing - though I’m not sure which god I annoyed/tricked/kidnapped to cause that.

But unlike Sisyphus, I plan on getting to the top of my mountain. Sisyphus is on the mountain all by himself. I know I have help. It’s safer to climb (and hike) with a buddy or a group. They’ll catch you if you trip, hold the back of your shirt so you don’t fall off a ledge, and cheer you on when all you want to do is quit. We’ll get to the peak of the mountain together. 

By the way that squirrel was pooping . What a great view for that.

Once there, I’ll relax a bit and then find a new mountain to climb. Because even though mountain climbing might be tough, it feels great to get to the top. Plus there’s usually a spectacular view - especially when you can share it with those you climbed the mountain with.

How do I know this?

I climbed a mountain last week.

It wasn’t a big mountain, but it was a lot more precarious than my usual hikes to a spectacular peak. I went and visited my cousins who live near Acadia National Park in Maine. We had to get up at 5:45 to start climbing before everyone else got there. By the time we’d hiked the whole loop and got back to the ground, there was a line of people snaking their way up the rock’s face.

We’re all going to climb mountains. Some will be small and steep, others tall with gradual winding paths to the summit. Not one of us will have the same experience making our climbs. It’s not a contest or a race. Like any good story it’s a journey.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to Feeling like an Adult

 As we approach September, my anxiety is rising again. For the past few months, I’ve been a contractor. It’s a good position with awesome work. My contract ends the first week of November.

There is the possibility that the organization that I’ve been working for will make me a full time member of their staff, but nothing is guaranteed and after the past two years I’ve had regarding my employment status (or lack there of), I don’t want to get my hopes too high.

When I think back on my 20s, I realize what an ideal time it was in my life. I had stable employment, a great friend group, opportunity to travel and have fun, and a good support system. In my mind’s eye, the problems from my poor mental health are smoothed over in favor of memories of going to Broadway plays and trips to the farmers market. My homesickness replaced by laughter from my writer’s group and nights clubbing in Hoboken (as infrequent as they were).

I almost want to go back in time and give my younger self a pep talk. Enjoy this time, take a few more risks. I’d want that version of me to enjoy that life because COVID-19 is just around the corner - lurking like a vampire just beyond the streetlight’s rays - to upend everything.

Things haven’t all been bad, but I can tell how restless I am - how listless I’ve become. I’ve struggled to writer and create art. I’ve had to take on even more responsibilities (though I wouldn’t trade my grumpy fur baby for anything).

She’s sweet, but also has teeth!

For once in my life I actually feel like an adult, not an awkwardly old teenager pretending to be one.

Soon, this period of transition will end. And my mind will find something else to overthink. I’ve started looking at apartments in different areas and I want to cry over how expensive they all are. 

Sometimes I think life in general is just one long period of transition - though between what I haven’t a clue. It’s not life or death though. That answer doesn’t feel right.

Meditation and yoga can help me find some form of stillness that goes against the natural chaotic momentum that shapes our world. Time never stops moving forward, even when a clock does. The Earth will keep changing regardless of human activity. 

We live, we change, we go to the next life.

It makes for a great story though.

If you enjoyed this blog post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Until next week*.

*next week is Labor Day, so maybe the week after that.

Welcome to Ducktales the Reboot

Well, I finally did it. I watched every episode of Ducktales - the original and the reboot.

The reboot is by far superior to the original. Hands down, it’s great. Go watch it with your kids or without your kids (like I did because I don’t have kids).

They took the best park of the original series, mixed them with elements from the series spin-offs like Dark Wing Duck, and finally accented the series with what was learned from more modern shows like Gravity Falls. Add in an excellent voice cast and a superb finale that leads to an entertaining and meaningful show.

It’s not perfect - nothing is - but this version of Ducktales grew with the original audience and will allow the next generation to grow with it.

But the ending message is what’s most important: “family is the greatest adventure.”

This version of Ducktales heavily emphasizes the importance of family throughout the series. It’s the focal point of the first season while the Dewey tries to figure out who his mom is. The concept of what a person will do for family has multiple dedicated episodes in seasons 2 and 3. And the show challenges the idea of who gets to be a part of a family throughout season 3. 

Obviously the main family featured are the Ducks: Donald, Della, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. They have their uncle through the mother/grandmother Scrooge MacDuck. Then there are their cousins that pop up every now and again. Heck, we even get to meet Scrooge’s mom, dad, and sister Matilda in a very funny episode about how families can feud with one another (poor Webby thinks it’s her fault for destroying clan MacDuck).

There are a lot of “side” families that are in this version of Ducktales. This includes Fenton and his mom, the gods of Ithaquack, all of the Beagle Boys and their beloved ma, the running gag TV show brothers from Ottoman Empire, Lena and her evil aunt Magica (who has an equally evil brother that was turned into a raven named Poe), and the found family Darkwing Duck creates with Launchpad and Gosalyn. Heck, one character (Violet Sabrewing) has two dads and no attention is ever brought to it (this is good for a couple of reasons but mainly because it means that it’s normal and no big deal!).

Speaking of found families, I haven’t yet talked about Webby and her grandmother Mrs. Beakley. We first meet Webby in the first episode, already living in Scrooge MacDuck’s mansion, and trained in the art of espionage, self defense, and general mayhem. She’s obsessed with the Duck family and solving the mystery of who Della Duck is. She’s awesome, intense, and super different from the annoying tag-a-long character from the original.

I can’t say that Webby is my favorite character (it’s just too hard to have a favorite in this series),  it she’s one that I am super emotionally invested in.

She’s also the one who creates her own found family. Despite her obsession with the Duck family, Webby doesn’t spare much thought to her own family. She lives with her grandmother at the manor and she’s happy with that story (until season 3, but I refuse to spoil the finale - go watch it). She starts to create her found family through the Duck nephews (Huey, Dewey, and Louie). They recognize that she wants to be a part of their family and decide that she is. Scrooge also directly tells Webby that she is part of his family. Donald doesn’t really explicitly say anything, but doesn’t treat her any different than how he treats his nephews. I don’t think Della ever questioned Webby’s inclusion in the family (she doesn’t question Mrs. Beakley’s place despite constantly butting heads with her over how to parent).

Webby is also the first to reach out to and never give up on Lena. She even tells Lena that she doesn’t care that her aunt is the evil Magica De Spell. In many ways Lena is the older sister figure to Webby. Lena is also later adopted by Violet’s family - further showing how found families are just as important as blood families in this series.

Webby’s story is how she finds a family and the series finale brings it all together in a way that makes sense. (No spoilers!)

The reboot Ducktales is awesome and I totally recommend it. I’m sure in another 20 to 30 years we’ll get another reboot that will (hopefully) knock this reboot out of the park. Until that time we have the original and this version to watch.

Oh and David Tennant is the voice of Scrooge MacDuck. I want his autograph with that picture. (Actually I want all of the voice actors’ autographs on a poster size photo of the series - it’s been added to my wish list that includes the alligator Loki plushie).

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to if Money Weren’t an Issue

 Have you ever thought about what you might do if money weren’t an issue? 

It wouldn’t take away my anxiety or quell my cautious nature, but it might lead to some awesome adventures and new experiences. I know money can’t solve all my problems, but they could help me achieve some goals and do some things.

If I didn’t have to worry about rent or other bills I think I would spend most of my time traveling the world and exploring as much as I could. I could impulsively go to Spain or Italy and then hop over to Algeria or Senegal. I’d go to Tierra del Fuego and charter a boat to Antartica. I’d go urban exploring in forgotten hotels and camp in every national park. I could be like Scrooge MacDuck, but give the lost artifacts to their original country’s people to keep.

Planning my trip around the world would be a lot easier if I didn’t have to worry about money.

Once I’m done traveling and exploring, I would go back to school and get PhDs until my mind was so full of facts it would float into the stratosphere. I’d take that knowledge and dive deep into the ocean floor to count the number of species in the twilight zone and help people to adapt to climate change.

In between these times, I’d volunteer as a gardener. Helping plants grow and feed my community with healthy, fresh produce. I might even have my own house (with a secret passage and a tower and a library) with a huge garden.

I’d spend my time reading and writing books. I’d see every movie I’m interested in. I’d take dance lessons and maybe a martial art or two. I’d paint and create art to my heart’s content.

There is so much to experience in life and I know that I might only experience a fraction of it. I’ve barely scratched the surface of all the amazing wonders life has to offer. My goal in life is to live live as much of a fulfilling life as possible. I don’t think I’ve done that just yet. There’s so much I want. So much I wish for.

 But this feels selfish of me. 

It’s not that I’d be lazy and idle with my time. No matter how much I imagine a carefree life with travel, education, and creativity, I can’t help feeling that I’m undeserving of such things.

There are so many people who have hopes and dreams like I do. So many people who have to chose between x and y despite needing both to survive.

We have one life (that we know about) to live and it’s a very limited existence. I find it frustrating that there is so much to do and hardy any time or resources to do them. I also am very fortunate to have been given a lot of helping hands to get to where I am now. Am I ungrateful for wanting more?

Or is wanting more an intrinsic conviction of our human lives?

What about you, reader, what would you do if money weren’t a factor? 

You’d still have a time limit. And the pandemic would still be going on. Would you try to find an end to COVID? All illnesses?

Would you buy a nice house? Would it be on the beach? 

Would you travel? Or build the most amazing home entertainment center so you would never have to leave your home again?

Would you write novels? Make movies? Further your education?

Would you spend your days volunteering to build houses or gardening?

Would you spend the rest of your days floating in outer space?

I’d say it’s unfair that some people can do these things without second thought or worry where their next meal might come from, but that’s a little on the nose for this post.

I have so many wishes that are unlikely to come true. But the again…

If wishes were fishes, we’d all eat like kings. And the fisherman would be free to do other things.

If you liked this post (or it really pissed you off -or maybe it confused you this time) like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Let me know in the comments what you would do if money weren’t an issue. Or maybe right a short story, then send me a link to where you publish it.

Until next week.

Welcome to When the Sky Cries

Yep, that’s the title I’m going with to describe rain.

I created this image many years ago in Paint

I don’t know about you, my readers, but I love a summer rain storm. I especially love putting on a pair of rain boots, grabbing an umbrella, and getting caught in a lazy shower that cools the air and sounds like wind chimes.

Summer showers break the tension of heat and humidity. I know I feel a bit more agitated when the air is thick like cheese and broccoli soup and my skin is sticky from sweat. It’s like standing on the precipice of a major event - all anxiety and wishing something would give. Then, the sky breaks open and cries.

Have any of you had a good messy cry recently. I haven’t, but I can bring up the memory of them. It’s messy and gross which leaves me exhausted…and relieved. Much like the lead up to a summer shower or storm, I feel tense. I usually get a horrible headache behind my eyes that won’t go away until a river of tears cuts down my face.

I’m not a pretty crier. There’s always a lot of snot involved.

But I feel so much better after crying so hard. Usually, I take a shower or bath afterwards. The mess needs to be cleaned away to finally feel refreshed.

A good summer rain is the same. The air feels clean after the storm, less muggy and humid. The sweet smell of flowers is lightly carried on a breeze instead of heavily mixed in the atmosphere like too much coffee sitting heavy in your tummy (sorry, I couldn’t resist the rhyme).

Today I walked in the rain and felt at peace. Stress and tension drifted away like lilies down a stream. A few studies have come out saying that rain showers can help people with depression and anxiety feel better. The sound is soothing and the negative ions in the rain may help dissipate the build up of positive ions the come from our crazy everyday lives. The rain washed away my troubles and left me feeling like I can take on the crazy I know this week will be.

Without rain, we don’t have flowers or food. Without rain, we can’t appreciate the sun. Without rain, there’d be nothing to break the stressful tension of humid August afternoons.

After my walk (and shower), I sat outside with a cup of tea and listened. Rain creates a sound similar to white noise, which we humans can find relaxing.

Truthfully, I didn’t feel like doing much today. It was nice to take a break and curl up with my cat on the couch. I like to think the rain helped.

We need the rain the same way we need a good cry. It may be messy and not always pretty, but will make us feel better.

How do you guys feel about rain? What about thunderstorms? Leave a comment with your thoughts on rain. Do you guys ever think that rain is a little like crying?

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome to Mental Health Wellness Check

Hey!

How's it going?

Are y'all doing okay? Been feeling down at all? Is it hard to get out of bed?

Have you been feeling great? Have you started a new hobby? Or have you lost interest in things you used to love to do?

Are you distracted easily? Sleeping okay? Having any weird or vivid dreams that you want to share? 

I know I'm having a nightmare when the fluffy pink velociraptors with Valley Girl accents show up. A week ago, I had a dream where my mom gave me a very friendly tiger instead of my very fluffy cat and I didn't know what to do with a very friendly tiger that wanted tons of snuggles.

I have weird dreams.

Have you gone out and seen your friends? Made any new friends? Had a falling out you need to talk to someone about?

Are you obsessing over something?

I'm still thinking about the post I wrote last week.

Instead of taking some time to carefully compose what I wanted to say over the course of a couple of days - I impulsively word vomited some thoughts (that I still don't have a conclusive answer for) into the Interweb. 

Memo to me - don't do that again.

Eventually, I'll get over this angsty obsession and find something else to worry about.

Which reminds me of a saying one of my yoga teachers from New Jersey liked to say: "worrying is just payment for a debt you never owed."

At least I think that's what they used to say. I don't have a perfect memory - no one does. But I remember them encouraging me to let go of my worries and focus on the moment. 

I do find myself feeling happier when I slow down to just live in the moment. Today, I spotted a flowering bush with half a dozen swallowtail butterflies flitting about. I stopped and took a couple of pictures, appreciating their graceful movements and fluttering wings. The air was thick, smelling of campfires and newly blossomed flowers. Though the sun was setting, it had a few rays left to warm my skin. A few paces away, two monarch butterflies played tag in the tall grass.

One of the pictures I took.

That was a moment where I let all the background noise in my head fade away and I felt very happy.

Another picture I took. Does anyone know what kind of flower?

Have you had any moments like that recently?

On Friday, I went to the doctor's for my annual exam. I was nervous going. The pandemic hadn't been kind to my physical and mental health. But it's important to go. So that's what I did.

Part of my visit included a screening for depression. 

That was new. I know that a lot of studies have come out about how the past year and a half has wrecked a lot of people's mental health and depression is on the rise. I answered the questions honestly and had a conversation with my doctor about options to keep my mental health in check. She had a lot of information and happily provided me with resources. 

I'm glad depression, anxiety, and other mental health ailments are being taken seriously. I've been working on my mental health for a few years now, so I've become a bit blasé to my problems. But I remember how difficult it was to take that first step. I almost didn't. It took me crying in the car with my aunt on the phone for me to understand that I had to. My aunt had to help me make the appointment to see the doctor. 

It's okay to be nervous about admitting that you need help. It's intimidating to answer the doctor's questions. But without honesty, doctor's can't (or won't) help you.

So, take a moment. See how you're doing. Don't be ashamed if you're having trouble. It's okay to get help. It's okay to go to therapy.

How are you doing?

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week. 

Welcome to Changing Times and Literature

7/21/2021 - update. The most I think about this blogpost the more I am dissatisfied by it. I wrote this as more of me "thinking out loud" than trying to make an argument.  I'm not sure that the idea of updating books in the public domain to match modern language necessarily good or bad. I know I've struggled with books that were written 100 years ago because the language is very different from today. If they don't have updated language, then a guide and/or glossary should probably be included (it's the only way that I got through The Prince). If an author is still alive, a book should NOT be modified without their permission, but if they want to update their own books that's up to them (George Lucas has had varying success with the Star Wars movies).

I’ve started reading two books that were written in a very different time than the one that we are currently living in. One is an advice book on how to be an adult that was written in 2013. The other is about a dog parodying Proust’s writing style written in the 1990s (at least I think it was written in the 1990s because the language sometimes feels much older - like 1940s or 50s).

And I can’t help but noticing how dated their language is in places.

The 2010s was a rollercoaster ride for social movements and major events. And reading these books shows how much the United States (at least has changed). It’s not that these are bad books. It’s just that some of their humor and word choices have not aged well. The advice in the book from 2013, for example, is still fairly relevant to people moving away from home for the first time - just not all of it. And I can’t help but cringe at some of the humor. The dog book uses descriptions that may be accurate (like using the female word for a dog that is offensive to human ladies), but stick out like bad haircut in that one selfie you can’t escape. 

I almost wish I could read these books with 2021 language. 

That’s not to say that all books written in the past need to have their language updates. I’ve read plenty of books (even from a hundred plus years ago) that had language that was clearly from the era it was written in. If their language was updated to 2021 standards, it would probably take me out of the story.

However, that doesn’t mean that some language, especially language which is found to be very offensive, shouldn’t be updated. A few years ago, I remember hearing about a controversy about updating Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn to include less offensive language. Though it’s true that Mark Twain wrote that book to mimic the way people spoke (at that time in Missouri), I could barely read it and stopped less than half way through.  Between the offensive language and off syntax, I lost interest in one of “the American Classics”.

There are some publishers who have gone a head and updated their books as times have changed. Most notably are the girl detective series Nancy Drew. 

This is the version of the book I am most familiar with.

I grew up reading the Nancy Drew books. In fact, they were what motivated me to improve my reading I the first place. However, the books I read in the late 90s and early 2000s had been revised significantly from their original publication in the 1930s. 

The first major revisions began in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Many of the plots were updated to be less violent, sexist, and even racist (dang! Nancy, not you too!). Modernization has continued, though nothing as dramatic from the first major revisions. Thankfully, modernization hasn't gone too far. Nancy’s original stories mostly take place in a timeless spot somewhere between the American 30s and 60s. I don’t think I would have enjoyed too much modernization in the original novels. 

I don’t know if this is the latest version of the cover or not but it embraces the 30s/40s

However, like Scooby Doo, the Nancy Drew books get a facelift ever decade or so. And I really can’t complain because these are mostly marketed as new stories. I remember the first I’ve I picked up a Nancy Drew book and she was solving a murder in Paris.  To my young mind, Nancy Drew didn’t solve murders - that was Poirot or Ms. Marples. She also didn’t have a cell phone or laptop.

The Nancy Drew games have done a fantastic job keeping up with modernization and even remastering and updating the older games. It doesn’t always work out perfectly, but I’ve been impressed with he effort the Nancy Drew game developers have done to keep the famous girl detective relevant to new audiences.

 Modernization can be hit and miss. Some books pull off timeless story telling. Some books and stories are clearly products of their time. However, if we want to keep certain classics in the public eye, we’ve gotta get rid of the offensive language or be very careful how we teach the material. Certain references and jokes may age poorly, some may become the signifier of a generation.

After all we still read and preform Shakespeare (though my 12th grade class had a lot of trouble with Hamlet before our teacher found a recorded copy for us to listen to).

What are y’all’s thoughts on modernizing literature. If it’s super popular should it be updated every decade or so to make sure language is understood and inoffensive? Should books be products of their time? Who has the final say?

And this just doesn’t apply to books. It can apply to video games (already mention), comics, movies, etc. I’m just using books in this post.

Until next week.

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