Even taking away the homesickness I knew I was going to feel, moving to Michigan was not going to be easy for me. Moving across town is expensive, so yeah, it was going to be thousands of dollars to move across states. So what did I do? I said, “fuck it,” and bought a 2004 Fleetwood Tioga 31-W and then got rid of a bunch of my stuff because I only have so much storage space. Then I packed up…
Shit. I thought I had posted more recently than February, and here we are, already in August.
Whoops.
Well, a lot has changed over the last six months. To summarize: bought an RV, did two more travel nurse contracts, accepted a permanent position in Michigan and moved up there (yes, in the RV), adopted another kitten, sent Nelson back to Tennessee, started dating again … and that’s just off the…
I’ve written, deleted, and rewritten this post about fifteen times because honestly? What else could I say that hasn’t already been said by thousands of people with much larger platforms than I? What perspective could I offer that would be unique or helpful to others?
Who would care?
My social media presence isn’t what it used to be back in the mid- to late-2000s, when Tumblr and message boards…
Back in December, I turned 42, and although it’s not really a milestone birthday, I went full on navel-gazing. So much of my life over the past two years has been about returning to me, evaluating my values, my habits and practices, and it all kind of solidified into this … thesis? I don’t really know how else to explain it.
To sum it up, the mantra I keep repeating to myself is “I want to live…
Designed to rival the top resorts of the Strip, the Fremont opened in 1956 as the tallest building in Las Vegas and the state. President Ed Levinson headed a group of 15 partners. Architects, Wayne McAllister & W. Wagner.
Color photos from The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister by Chris Nichols.
Carnival room (lounge), 1956
Casino floor, 1956
Mike Sarge and His Sergeants in the Carnival room, 12/18/56. Mike "Sarge" Gambino was a Las Vegas local, performer, boxing manager, and later president of the Steelworkers Union 711A. Las Vegas News Bureau, LVCVA Archive.
Aaaaaaand I’m back!
I tried doing only Paradiso-related things on this website, and yeah … I wasn’t too happy with it. My entire identity isn’t within my writing projects, and there was so much I wanted to share that wasn’t about a fictional space station orbiting Mars!
And really, so much has happened over the past several months that I don’t really know where to begin. But here’s a stab at…
"don't assign human morality to non human things" is so true except when it comes to printers. they know what they are, they understand dilemmas and ethics and morality. they choose to be how they are, they choose to be evil, at their very core they are rotten
A man's cap with turned up cuff, of off-white linen embroidered in a pattern of rainbows arching over clouds with rain falling, with snails and caterpillars interspersed. In blue, green, yellow, red and pink silks and silver metallic yarns.
Why the fuck do I cry like a little baby whenever I see those videos of dogs doing agility courses? Like there must surely be a reason for this insanity
Just watched the full first four episodes of Stranger Things 5 -- for a spoiler-free stream-of-consciousness sort of experience, you can see my thoughts here -- and I have ... some issues.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU
Okay, so first of all, the story is ... fine. I knew it was going to be bigger scale than all the previous seasons since the military is more directly involved now, mostly as an antagonist, but sort of like how Escape from New York is superior to Escape from L.A., this fifth season is too big. Granted, they sort of wrote themselves into a corner last season, presenting a Big Bad that was going to have to raise the stakes and include more overt government control, but still. It's disappointing. It kind of feels like the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where they were like, "What if the military decided to weaponize demons?"
Also I know that, at the end, it shows that Kali (008) is being used by Dr. Kay for something, but that doesn't really explain how the military figured out how to remove El's powers from the equation.
Other than Max showing up in the third episode, I could not care less about Holly's storyline. Like I said over on Bluesky, Holly's addition as a POV character was just irritating because 1) Nell Fisher's performance was lacking, especially in comparison to Sadie Sink's, and 2) she is just such a random addition, a cute younger character to add some of the original spark back that was supposedly lost because the main characters aged out, a trick that was used by so many shows in the 80s and 90s. Sure, there were references to Holly being able to sense things, kinda like Lottie from Yellowjackets, but was it necessary to bring her into the fold? Maybe I'll be okay with it once the rest of the season is released, but then again, maybe not.
And fleshing out my complaints with Holly, I wanted to skip through the whole Saved by the Bell: The New Class situation with Dipshit Derek and the other kids that happened to be approached by Mr. Whatsit (Vecna/001/Henry Creel). Derek was frustrating and annoying, and I even told the TV that the demogorgon could take the little shit into the Upside Down for all I cared. The other kids had no personalities to speak of, and I'm still not sure what plans Vecna had for them.
And of course, I still have no clue as to what Vecna's plans are. World domination? Destroying reality because he finds the Upside Down beautiful? He's bored? At least with other primary bad guys in other shows, the heroes kind of have an inkling as to what their nemeses want, especially when the antagonist has been around for a whole other season.
I know Byler fans are probably disappointed that no romantic relationship started between Will and Mike, but at least Will has powers now? Not sure how that happened, but hey, there's four more episodes fully flesh that out. I could get into the Byler ship, but meh. I'd love to see Will find romance, obviously, but it's rare that a middle/high school crush stays the love of someone's life -- and that's what Mike is for Will. And whether or not Mike is queer-coded is a whole other thing that I also don't feel qualified to talk about. Plus I think a lot of the evidence that has been presented is people reaching, and this is coming from a queer person.
Also who the fuck was the woman pretending to be El in the very first episode??
Ugh, and the continuous dick-measuring contest between Steve and Jonathan. Less of that, please. I hope Nancy breaks up with both of them; I don't care that Jonathan has a ring for her.
Anyway, as far as what I liked though, god, Cara Buono (Karen Wheeler) was fantastic in her epic battle with the demogorgon trying to kidnap Holly. She was quick-thinking and resourceful, fierce like the fighter that Nancy said she was back in Season 3. Ted was fearful and fighting for his own life with his golf club, but Karen?? Oh, no, she went full-on feral mama bear, and I was here for it.
Honestly, the parents were my favorite parts of these episodes. Both Hopper and Joyce are having trouble letting go of their kids, letting them take control of their lives, because they fear losing them (like Karen did with Holly). Danger is constantly around the corner, but they both feel like they can still shield El and Will respectively from it. Obviously, El and Will rebel against this because, let's face it, they're adults now, partially because they had to grow up and fight literal monsters since 1983 but also because, well, that's how time works.
Then there's Dustin. He's still reeling from Eddie's death, even placing himself in precarious situations like wearing a Hellfire t-shirt to school despite knowing the consequences. He's angry and reckless, driven by grief and an unwillingness to deal with it. He lashes out at arguably his best friend, Steve, and misses the vital mission in the first episode because he gets beaten up at Eddie's grave. Eddie may not be present physically, but his loss reverberates in every scene that Dustin is in.
Anyway, I wasn't entirely impressed with the first half of this season, but I'm willing to give the rest of it a chance. I'm not expecting a Game of Thrones-style debacle, but I have some notes. Not that the Duffer brothers care; they made this successful and impactful show that just sticks with you.
I still may just go back and watch the first season again, though.
Stranger Things time! You know, considering I was wholly uninterested in this show when it first came out, I'm surprised I am as excited as I am. Granted, part of that is because Joyce quickly became my favorite character once I finally gave it a chance
Part of me is worried that I'm going to hate everything, but the other part is hopeful as hell. And then another part is annoyed that I have to wait until December 31st for the whole season
But on a positive note, I have been learning how to play with my new Polaroid camera and I've made three (soon to be four) watercolor paintings AND I've been making progress on my WIP, which kind of ends my creative dry spell
I haven't read a single fucking book all goddamn year. Have I tried? Oh, I have indeed. On Storygraph, I have four books that I've started but haven't finished. It's not like I'm not interested in them - Chuck Wendig's Black Apple Orchard, Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries, etc. - but I just can't focus long enough to read more than a chapter at a time. And I can't do audiobooks for the same reason.
What the hell is wrong with me? I used to love reading so much.
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