I Am Not One Of the Ted Lasso Faithful

 I still like it, it's not that I don't think it's a good show. It must not have hit me like it did everyone else. Maybe it's the earnestness, because I don't handle that well. Maybe because it's a comedy that goes a while without a joke or funny conversation between characters.

It just didn't it me the way it did others. When it dropped in quarantine, I wasn't at a point where I needed a show about optimism and good people. I had also just finished watching Halt and Catch Fire, which is a pretty optimistic show, so maybe I had had my fill on that. 

I'm probably still gonna watch it. Just not binging or losing my mind over it. But I'm happy if you are, I love that for you.

the telly

What Do I Want For Dinner Tonight?

 The question I ask myself virtually everyday. "What do I want for dinner?" 

I'm never in the mood for specific meals most of the time. Like, I never get hankerings. My sister get hankerings for food all the time and she won't stop thinking about it until she has it. Me, nothing. Unless it's a dessert, but a nutritious meal that does not make.

So then I find myself in food ruts. Eating the same meals all the time, my grocery list looking virtually the same, my delivery orders looking the same.

I'm also not the most accomplished cook. Notice the use of "cook" and not "chef". That is my bar. There are not many meals in my repertoire, admittedly partially out of impatience. I should look for fast and easy recipes to cook, but I think I find one and then it says "prep time 40 minutes", and I say "nope".

Whatever, I'm just gonna heat up some frozen chicken nuggets.

journal

I Don't Think I'm Gonna Make My Reading Goal This Year

 We're past the halfway point of the year, and it's safe to say I'm probably not gonna make my reading goal of 10 books. I am currently at 3 read, with no intention of picking up another book anytime soon. 

I promised myself two years ago that I would read more, and you'd think with all that time during the pandemic I would've knocked out a lot of books. I did not. Last year, before the pandemic even started, I stupidly set my reading goal at 20 books. And one quarantine started in March, I thought I'd be reading a lot to pass the time. I only completed 8. I just could not get in the headspace to read that much. But this year, I figured 10 would be reasonable. 2 more than I read the year before, but still doable for me. And yet, I'm back in that headspace. And there are books that I want to read. Before this headspace set in I picked up The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine. Taylor Jenkins Reid just came out with a new book in the beginning of June and I loved her last two.

I'm just gonna have to force myself to read a chapter or two a day, and get back into the habit of reading. Wish me luck.

journal

Movies I Probably Should Have Seen Already

There are movies that are classics. Classics that everyone should see at some point in their lives. But, sometimes you just don't get to them. Here are some I haven't gotten to yet, and I should probably do something about it.

Now these are all specific to me and my tastes, where if you knew me, you'd be surprised I hadn't watched these films yet. Remember, I'm the person who loves classic rock that didn't see Almost Famous until this year. That's the bar.

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cinema, lists

The First Batch of Marvel Disney+ Shows Have Wrapped So It's a Good Time to Evaluate

 I would call this Phase one of the Marvel TV Redux (RIP Marvel Netflix shows), and now that it's ended, I'd say it's time to evaluate.

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the telly

Earworm: "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John

Have you ever just wanted to have your own private singalong? That’s what happens for me whenever this song comes on because you just can’t not reenact Almost Famous, even by myself. I don't even realize I start sometimes until I get to the chorus.

earworm

What is with Billionaires’ Fascination in Going to Space?

 Like, I get it kind of. I had a space phase as a kid. I had a telescope and the planetarium was one of my favorite places as a kid. But do we really need to go to space now? Right now?

But, seriously this is what you're spending your untaxed wealth on? This planet could use that money instead of wasting on these vanity competitions between billionaires to see who can build the best rocket. How about spending it on ways to save the planet the rest of us have to call home once you colonize the moon and Mars?

Also, pay your workers fair wages.

UPDATE: 7/13 Really? with Seth And Amy

They did it better.

thoughts

Gossip Girl is Back and I’m Intrigued(?)

Hello Upper East Siders. Oh how I've missed Kristen Bell's narration. 

It's been almost nine full years and Gossip Girl is back on our screens. Especially since are lives are fully ensconced in social media, it feels like this is a thing that could happen in a high school. (I do love the characters making fun of the OG Gossip Girl page for being a blog, as I sit here writing my own blog.) My love for the original series is complicated. But with time I hope that the reasons I have problems with the original won't continue into this reboot. (*cough* Chuck *cough*)

I do love the twist of the teachers at Constance Dillard being the new Gossip Girl, and they acknowledge that it's a skeevy thing to do. But it takes out the mystery of Gossip Girl's identity that the original obviously didn't have the answer to until the final season when they decided it would be Dan, which still makes no sense. And, it gives them room to play and do a social media equivalent of the cat and mouse game.

There are some things early on that I notice are lacking. First off, only a few of the teen characters feel like real people right now, mainly just Zoya and Obie. The rest feel like types. Hopefully that will come with time, especially for Monet and Luna, who were pretty much only Julien's lackeys. I'm especially intrigued by Savannah Smith, who plays Monet, because she has a presence about her and I hope she has a storyline to dig her teeth into.

The second issue in the first episode is that there wasn't much humor. Hopefully that's just because they needed to set up the dramatic stakes of the show, because I don't remember the original's pilot having much of that show's signature humor. 

But I'll keep watching with hope. Now that everything is set up for these new characters, maybe the action will really kick it up.

the telly

Clips That Bring Me Joy, Vol. VI

 These make me smile, and maybe they can do the same for you.

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lists

I Just Wanted Some Baseball Magic. The Rain Had Other Ideas.

You're planning for July 4th weekend with your family. Your team, the Mets, are in town playing the Yankees for a good old fashioned subway series, and you pick the first game of the series on Friday. It's also a night game so less of a chance of getting sunburned. Perfect seats in the 300s with a great view of home plate. Sounds like an excellent night for baseball.

We got there as soon as the gates opened, found our seats, and about fifteen minutes later the rain hit. We waited and waited and waited for it to clear. Then at 8:30 they finally called it and sent the crowd home.

rain rain go away, i wanna watch the yankee game pic.twitter.com/iFelB4ELgK

— Kerry Archbold (@kerryarchbold) July 2, 2021

I hadn't seen a baseball game live in years. And especially after the last year and the quarantine, I was so excited to see a game in person again. It was also my first time ever seeing a game at Yankee Stadium. 

Hopefully we'll be able to see a game later in the season thanks to the rain check we got served today, and my baseball magic is only postponed and not totally ruined.

journal