The Haylien

Mostly Harmless

[the-haylien]

Men in my family from the 1800's. The one in the upper left corner is Charles Rockefeller, My great grandmother's father or uncle.

[the-haylien]

They really don't look alike -- I mean they're not even close enough to look like brothers.

They were both born in 1971. They are both actors.

Anthony Rapp played Mark Cohen in the Broadway musical Rent. He is more widely known as Paul Stamets from the television series Star Trek: Discovery.

Alan Tudyk played Wash on the series Firefly, and more recently played the title role in the series Resident Alien.

[the-haylien]

Season 4 of Resident Alien is on Netflix now. Rumor is, this is the final season. Don't miss it.

[the-haylien]

Next up in Murderbot Diaries, HOME is actually a short story that takes place just after Exit Strategy. This story is freely available, but won't make much sense if you haven't read Exit Strategy. It is probably also not really essential reading for the series.

[the-haylien]

BLACK CRAB

"Black Crab" is a 2022 Swedish action thriller film directed by Adam Berg, featuring Noomi Rapace as a soldier on a dangerous mission across frozen sea ice during a war. I really like the concept of sending out a covert team on ice skates to cross a frozen sea. But it takes more than concept to make a good movie. Have you seen it? Did you like it?

[the-haylien]

C-PTSD

I don't think I'll finish this book. I worked through a lot of shit with Huberman here. I wrote down the worst of my trauma several times over a few months. And I tried EMDR here. Foo says her friends generally had it worse than she did. But Foo had it a lot worse than I did. So I don't think the severity has as much to do with your response as your own resilience and awareness of what is going on. Like, if you think it is normal to be punched in the face and maybe you deserve it, then you are not going to suffer a big woe is me moment. Whereas if you are shocked to be punched then you are going to have a much bigger negative emotional response that becomes more ingrained in your system. (I don't know. This is just my opinion.)

I found the book to be depressing. I was going through some unrelated physical problems some time ago which I felt changed me emotionally. I cry more easily, and I changed from being an existentialist to a nihilist. This book seems to highlight those ideas, and doesn't give me much hope for obtaining a more typical outlook on life. Foo says herself that the first half of the book can be depressing.

I may try some of her techniques, but I lack social skills, so something like self-parenting may not be very effective.

[the-haylien]

ROGUE PROTOCOL

The third book in the MurderBot series by Martha Wells. Murderbot is on a mission to uncover illegal activities of GrayCris Corporation while dealing with its own emotions and the need it feels to protect a group of human researchers. While the story starts out rather busy with the mundane giving the reader the feeling of "here we go again," pay attention, because by the end this is another "hell yeah" book.

May 11, 2026

[the-haylien]

I could eat Costco Organic Sun-Dried Figs all day long, every day. I used to get them at Trader Joe's, but they can't keep them in stock. So far Costco seems to have a reliable source.

[the-haylien]

Artificial Condition is the second novella in The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells, published on May 8, 2018. It follows the character Murderbot as it seeks to uncover its past and the events that led to its rogue status, while taking on a job as security for clients involved in corporate intrigue, and assisted by an AI in a Research Transport vessel. Murderbot calls himself Eden in this book, an makes a few minor changes to his appearance and demeanor in order to more closely model a human.

I found this book enjoyable. But all the Murderbot Diaries books are too short.

5/6/26

[the-haylien]

Wow. The Creator from 2023 is a gorgeous film, hits all the right emotional buttons, nominated for best sound, and visual effects. This shoulda won awards big time. Must not have gotten the right publicity. I love this movie. AI wars.

I watched it on Netflix, May 6, 2026

[the-haylien]

IT'S WHATS INSIDE

This is a body-swap sci-fi movie involving a whole group of people. So it gets pretty confusing because you don't really spend enough time with all the characters to get to know them enough to pick them out in a new body. But it's fun and has a twisty end. So, you may like it anyway.

[the-haylien]

An out-of-work party girl is forced to leave her New York City life and move back home. When news from Seoul reports that a giant creature is destroying the city, Gloria gradually realizes that she is somehow connected to this phenomenon.

May 5, 2026

[the-haylien]

TotK

[the-haylien]

The oldest family photos I have. I don't even know who these people are.

posted May 4, 2026

[the-haylien]

This is a pretty good teen sci-fi movie. Two Brooklyn teenagers, build a time machine and try to save C.J.'s brother, Calvin, from being wrongfully killed by a police officer. Things get messy, as time jumps tend to be.

May the Fourth, 2026

[the-haylien]

BUGONIA

I don't even know what to say.

A paranoid beekeeper and his trusting cousin kidnap a high-profile pharmaceutical CEO, convinced she is an alien sent to destroy humanity.

So. Nope. You're just going to have to watch it yourself. You will either love it or hate it. There is no in between. But you could be suspended for quite a while.

May 2, 2026

[charliejaneanders]

Never Say You Can't Survive is my Hugo Award-winning book about how to survive the worst stuff life can throw at you -- by making up your own stories. <3

For a few days, it's just $2.99 in all the ebook formats (Kobo, Nook, Kindle, Zarble, Moopnoop, etc.)!

Never Say You Can't Survive: How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories

How to Get Through Hard Times by Making Up Stories