the lonesome lows don't quite go away overnight

Movies:
- Strange Way of Life dir. Almodovar. Pedro Almodovar is almost a genre in himself, right? I liked this, though there is a rumor that Ethan Hawke smells like urine, and I couldn't stop thinking about it because he looks like he smells like urine.
- I Saw the TV Glow dir. Jane Schoenbaum. I have no idea how to talk about this film, because so many others are doing a great job. My god, this made me feel everything and is still making me feel everything. It is about my teenagehood, my fandom, my autism, my gender. I rarely attend a film and feel like it was made for me, but Jane Schoenbaum is making films for me. 

TV Seasons:
- Star Wars: Clone Wars, s7. The show brought it home! I found season 7 really engaging. There was so much less Anakin! <3 I know Ashoka (the series) is Not Great, but I thought the finale of CW actually fed really well into that series. We're going to do X-Men and X-Men 97 and then probably head back around and do Rebels. 

Actual Play:
- The finale of season one of the Periodic Talks podcast (now defunct, sadly) has Gillian Jacobs playing D&D with her co-host, Erika Ishii, and others. I am saying that is qualifies for this category because godddamnit I make the rules. Hilariously, Gillian lands in a similar character to the role she usually plays on Comedy Bang Bang. I liked it. 

Albums:
- Allison Ponthier, Breaking the Fourth Wall (EP). Really feels like a blooming or emerging, end of a 3-EP cycle (per Ponthier herself). I love the blend of genres here, where it felt like the blend wasn't quite gelled (or just wasn't quite my thing) previously.
- Henri Bardot, Throwing, Part 1 (EP). Instrumental. Bardot is artist Miel's brother, and I like his sensitbilities whether working with Miel, working on his own vocal material, or here, primarily piano. 
- I Saw the TV Glow soundtrack. Schoenbaum used a chunk of budget to commission original songs, landing at a 90s television soundtrack that was made in 2024. Some tracks keep smacking me in the face. 

Recipes:
- I've made several but not logged them. Oops.
- Mini meatloaves. Total meal cost was like $8 and enough to feed everyone, even if the young ones didn't want to try. Win for me. 

I've been offline so long I hit the end of my Reading Page. Hi.

Movies (5/16): [REC]. I had a commentary typed out but deleted my draft accidentally so we'll just leave it at "fine."

TV Seasons (3/11): Party Down, season 2. Feels a bit like a dream, since I spent so long in season 1 fandom life. 

Albums (8/11): Gracie Abrams, Good Riddance. Dedicated listen twice. I love what she's doing with repeated lyrics and songs that feel like mantras.

Kate Davis, Fish Bowl. This deserves to be a top 10 album of the year. Comparable to Mitski's Laurel Hell or gosh, Punisher, but so much weirder. Just brilliant. I'm on my... 6th listen. It came out Friday, and I didn't get to listen until Saturday morning. 

Books (1/5): Process! by Mike Paton and Lisa Gonzales. Speed read for work. 

Podcasts (4/8): The Dead Authors Podcast, episode 40. Hosted by Paul F. Thompkins "as" a time travelling H. G. Wells, this episode features Virginia Woolf, played by Mary Holland. It is quite lovely. The podcast is recorded from live shows (sigh) but this one is worth pushing through.

Pretend podcast. The current season is called The Stalker. I truly have no idea what is going on. If stalkers/stalking fascinate you, I'd recommend the series.

Oh No! Ross and Carrie. Recent episode is a re-broadcast of Carrie's talk for Skeptics in the Pub on Trauma Pseudoscience. This was a good and welcome wake up call for me and helped cleanse my Instagram habits a little so I stop absorbing nonsense. 

New Recipes (7/12): Two smoothie recipes I'm referring to as "Green" and "Orange." Green didn't fly; kale is just so incompatible with sweetness. Fight me. Orange is a winner, but takes literally a full orange per glass, so we're a bit more limited supply.

Shrimp and Orzo. We loved this. https://www.howsweeteats.com/2021/04/one-pot-shrimp-and-orzo/ We left out the lemon because I forgot to buy it.

Chicken and Tortellini Alfredo. Half of us liked it, but the barrier for repeat is all of the older humans, and that didn't pass. Sigh. Might make tortellini alfredo without the meat, since it was very easy and that was the preferred item.

Honey and Soy Glaze Baby Potatoes. Recipe from instagram. Very strong soy/garlic when what it seemed to call for was MUCH heavier on the honey. Added a lot, still could have used more. 

Album Listens (12/10)

Julia Jacklin, Pre Pleasure: Quite the atmosphere piece. I've listened completely twice now, and it is, in a weird way, difficult to select individual tracks for my rotating playlists, because the album as a whole piece is such a cohesive mood. Which isn't so say that there isn't movement, or excellent guitar. I like it a lot. I like her lyrics, and the way the music moves.

Muna, Live at Electric Lady: This live EP really showcases the expert musicianship in the band. Taken, August (a Taylor Swift cover), and Anything But Me are highlights, but this version of Silk Chiffon is just... next level. There's some awesome mixing, AND Naomi does verse 2, showcasing her absolutely perfect voice. 

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New-to-me Recipes (18/12)

Salmon and Udon Stirfry: Made this for my birthday dinner, and it turned out really good. The salmon is kept spice-free, adding a really clean taste to balance out the flavor fest of saucy udon stirfry with bok choy, peppers, and my favorite recent food purchase, furikake! The sushi sauce makes leftovers a LITTLE bit too fishy if served without salmon, but that's really my only critique. 

Slow-Cooker Boursin Chicken Pasta: I'd never had Boursin cheese before, but this recipe looked so creamy and good that I couldn't resist. In the end, it was all a bit... bland? Essentially the cream cheese, chicken (shredded), and pasta. No one hated it though, so we're going to attempt a version two with some sun-dried tomato. 

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We're wrapped episode two of A League of Their Own (so good) but otherwise haven't had the energy or... anything for watching much. We're consider turning Hulu back on for Abbott Elementary, (possibly) The Patient, and What We Do In The Shadows.

For my birthday, Liz and E got me a beautiful Coleus plant. My other exciting purchase is a new sheet set and pillow. I'm truly an Old.