and yet, here i am
My life continues to be boring. As of this writing I am a little over two weeks away from the Portland (Half) Marathon, which is kind of exciting. Between it and now, however, pretty boring.
Been playing the Big Two video games of the past month or so: Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3. Both are good for different reasons. If I had to pick one over the other though, it would be BG3. Very detailed, lots of great story and combat moments. Starfield is fun but it’s just Fallout in space. A lot of it feels unmotivated; the base building is Fallout 4, the upgrading is Fallout 4, character models look like they’re from Fallout 4. But you can build ships like Legos, which I enjoy, and the combat is sufficient and the planets are neat. I did board a pirate-raided ship whose power was malfunctioning, meaning that every few seconds it would turn off, causing me to float in the air from the lack of gravity. But that pales in comparison to the amount of havoc wreaked in Baldur’s Gate 3. A lot of choices you make in that game have consequences. Not consequences. Consequences. Which I enjoy a lot.
Running is going very well. I finally ran a sub-30 minute 5k at the Beaverton 5k. I’ll just post some blog links if you want to read more:
The Portland (Half) Marathon is a little over two weeks away from this writing. I’m excited for that. Still don’t feel like a proper runner, and by that I mean I feel like my body is not a runner’s body, and by that I mean I think I’m too fat to be a runner. Typical body dysmorphia bullshit. If you run, you’re a runner. But it still nags at me in the back of my mind. Bought new proper running shorts; that little nagging part thought, numerous times, Why did you buy these? These are for runners, not you. Shut up, brain.
In the end, my body craves comfort because I was born with particular stars and planets in the night sky, or something like that, I don’t know how astrology works. So I bought the shorts because they are light and keep my cool when I run. Take that, self-confidence.
Been watching TV. Ahsoka is great. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is good and fun and a proper middle finger to Picard’s depressing nonsense. The only streaming service I pay for is AppleTV so I’ve been watching a lot of shows there. Foundation is good, but feels like one of those cheap sci-fi shows you’d watch in the 90s, like Stargate. Shows that have mediocre acting and terrible setpieces but decent storylines and interesting characters. Foundation is a bit above that, but still.
Physical is a show that I didn’t think I’d enjoy but I actually really love it. It’s very raw and difficult to watch at times, which is surprising for a show about a woman trying to create an aerobics workout empire in the 1980s. It deals a lot with eating disorders, but since the creator and a lot of the staff on the show are women, it really comes at it in a way that’s rough to watch sometimes. I feel like if a man made this show it A) wouldn’t be as good, but B) would probably tone down the eating disorder stuff a bit.
There’s probably an essay somewhere in the idea of women-created art and how much more emotionally raw it feels, especially art about women. Reminds me of menstrual performance art. It seemed like the late 90s or early 2000s had a lot of women making art about or even with their period blood. (I doubt that was the only time it happened, it’s just when I was aware of it.) The shocking “gross” aspect of it being the point, in a way; period blood is a natural body process for most women and the fact that society finds it gross is kind of weird, really.
Anyway, the idea being that women are ultimately better at shocking people than men because there are more “taboo” concepts for women than for men. Think of when women were dressed head to toe and then a woman would show her ankle and it was scandalous. Physical is a show in part about a woman overcoming the taboo of having an eating disorder and, in turn, owning it and her own body and mind. It’s good. I like it.
The other Rose Byrne show on Apple, Platonic, is meh.
Hijack is surprisingly good. It’s about a plane hijack. Don’t know what else I need to say there.
The Afterparty season 2 is fun. I appreciate that the first episode is an homage to sequels. A little meta joke there. I also like the conceit that Aniq and Zoe will just somehow arrive at a murder at the beginning of every season. I was thinking about this re: Hijack as well—it would be great if every season started with Idris Elba getting on some form of transport that ended up getting hijacked in the first episode. Season 1, plane. Season 2, bus. Season 3, boat. Season 4, elevator. Etc.
Invasion is … alright, though I can’t stop thinking about Naian Gonzalez, who is just super attractive in that show. I’ve only gotten through the first episode though, maybe it picks up.
I think that’s it on micro television reviews.
My FAWM 50/90 music output has slowed to a snail’s pace. I’m at 23 songs and will definitely not get to 50, but that’s alright. Some decent stuff to tinker around with in a couple of months.
So there’s my past couple of months. Running, watching TV, playing video games and D&D with friends, and making some l’il songs. Here’s one of those songs with lyrics if you’d like to listen. See you next month.
the cool waitress of the sabbath got the midshift this time how's about a few hours to sleep in? there's drool on your pillow; a dream of a beach lined with palm trees two missed calls from your mother voicemails wondering if you forgot jesus? you drop off your cigarette butt in the half-empty can of budweiser displayed on your bedside table your car's in the shop again the bus smells like pot again you wish you had pot again apply makeup in the restroom just like the ancients before you the cook is a new cook the old cook got fired for stealing angeline hands you your apron tells you her boyfriend is leaving her a brief hug while she wipes her eyes you don't have the heart to describe how much you despise her here's where the fun begins the regular crowd shuffles in how they greet you with smiles and a neverending empty gut so this is your sunday whiled away for a pittance and free dinner late on your rent and your money's all spent on some vices to quell your own wrath the days keep on pulling you under the sway while your mother's convinced you're a sinner but someday they'll know what your CV can't show the cool waitress of the sabbath
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