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 |    My primary Writing.com blog. |
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Logocentric (adj). Regarding words and language as a fundamental expression of an external reality (especially applied as a negative term to traditional Western thought by postmodernist critics). Sometimes I just write whatever I feel like. Other times I respond to prompts, many taken from the following places:  "The Soundtrackers Group"  "Invalid Item" "Blogging Circle of Friends " "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" "JAFBG" "Take up Your Cross" Thanks for stopping by!  |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 2 "One I Wanna Be With" by Trella I first heard this song on the finale of the latest season of Selling the OC, the spinoff series from Selling Sunset. If you're not familiar with the show, congratulations on successfully avoiding yet another drama-filled reality television juggernaut. It's a show about a real estate brokerage (the original "Sunset" refers to the original Los Angeles location on the Sunset Strip, and the "OC" spinoff refers to the office they subsequently opened near Newport Beach) that hires insanely hot listing agents (mostly women) and shows both their personal and professional lives. My wife and I love the show, mostly because catty people's interpersonal drama on reality shows is her guilty pleasure, and I love the architecture porn that comes with them touring listings of exclusive multimillion-dollar properties. It's got a little something for everybody.  And you can say what you want about the quality of Netflix's reality television content, but their music supervisor is worth every penny they're getting paid. The song selection for all of their reality programs (and especially these ones) is phenomenal. There are genuinely great songs like this one, and a fair amount of needle drops that mirror the sentiments/feelings of the personalities in the show perfectly. I don't actually know much about this artist other than what's on her website... which is that her real name is Lindsey Sweat, she grew up doing worship music in a church context, and moved to Nashville where she discovered the indie-pop genre and invented "Trella" as her new indie-pop project. I haven't heard many of her other songs at this point, but I'm definitely interested based on how much I like this one. |
| "The Soundtrack of Your Life" | Day 1 "Tear It Up" by Queen I usually devote most of my "The Soundtrack of Your Life" entries every year to new music that I've discovered, rather than classics that I find myself returning to after a time. But I had to start this year's challenge with this one because it's just such an energetic song, and the perfect way to kick off a playlist. Queen was never one of my favorite bands growing up, but they have some truly iconic songs that you know from the moment they start playing, and this certainly qualifies. I actually started listening to this again after a rewatch of Ted Lasso, where it was featured on the soundtrack at an end of one of the episodes. I added it to my annual playlist after that and have been listening to it ever since.When I was looking for YouTube videos featuring this song, I ultimately just landed on the band's official lyric video because I figure those are the least likely to be removed sometime in the future, but I did go down a bit of a rabbit hole watching Queen's live performances over the years and it made me realize all over again what a tragic loss Freddie Mercury was for the world. That man was a phenomenal entertainer. Anyway, this is it... my first official "The Soundtrack of Your Life" playlist entry for the year! |
| WDC 48-Hour Challenge: Media Prompt | Prompt ▼ I know that a lot of people love Harry Styles, but I honestly don't get the appeal. I think his songs are mediocre, he's not a very good actor (Don't Worry Darling was not very good (but his acting was far from the only problematic thing with that movie), and many consider him a fashion icon for the way he incorporates both masculine and feminine elements into his personal style, but I think his choice of attire is often overly flamboyant just for the sake of being over the top. That said, there's no shortage of fascinating facts about Harry Styles, including:  His primary residence apparently involves splitting time between two homes that are both located in North London. In 2022, his fans started throwing chicken nuggets on stage and encouraging him to eat them. He has polythelia (the condition of having more than two nipples). One of his many tattoos was administered live on television as part of a dare on a late night show.I do have to admit that I enjoy it when former band members achieve success after striking out on their own, and there's no question that Harry Styles is doing just fine for himself after moving on from One Direction. I'm not sure I'd go so far as The Guardian went, when Ben Beaumont-Thomas wrote that he is "a star who has negotiated one of the most difficult transitions in music - from boy band to solo act - with more panache than even successful forebears such as Justin Timberlake and Robbie Williams" (  ), but I do admit that he's having a very successful second act of his career as a solo artist.I just think all of his songs kind of sound the same.  (303 words) |
| To qualify for my Watch List every month, the following has to be something that I've watched that's new to me. It doesn't necessarily have to be a current show, but it can't be reruns or rewatches of something I've already seen. So if I'm including it in this list, it means this month is the first time I've watched it. I'll put "DNF" (Did Not Finish) next to anything that I stopped watching and have no immediate plans to finish. Movies Blue Beetle The Equalizer 3 Gran Turismo The Lego Batman MovieTelevision Five Star Chef Fool Me Once Gen V It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 1)The best movie I saw this month was Gran Turismo. I thought they did a really good job with it, and the true story of recruiting video game racers to compete in real-world professional racing is a fascinating story. It's probably the best racing movie I've seen since Ford v. Ferrari, although I do still want to see Michael Mann's Ferrari as well. The Equalizer 3 was okay, but a little too long, and The Lego Batman Movie was fun; they really know what they're doing with the Lego franchise. Blue Beetle continued the DC tradition of making terrible movies, unfortunately. On the television side, I had high hopes for Fool Me Once but kind of lost enthusiasm for it halfway through. I finally started It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia just to see what's so popular about that show... still not sure that I love it, but I'll give it a couple more seasons (the early seasons are pretty short). More than anything, it was a real trip to be reminded what the world was like back in 2005 when the show first aired. It was like an entirely different world. Five Star Chef was an okay cooking reality show, although the hosts always sounded like a bunch of snob, criticizing the contestants for not being classy or elevated enough. My favorite show of them all was Gen V, the spinoff of The Boys which focused on a group of students at a superhero university. The story was honestly way more interesting than I thought it would be, with good tie-ins to The Boys, some decent cameos, and the same level of absolute chaos, violence, and insanity that the franchise has come to be known for. It's definitely not for the faint of heart or easily offended, for those that aren't, it's a really smart and funny take on how superhumans might actually act when they have phenomenal powers and few morals. TOP PICK: Gen V |
| "Invalid Item" Andre's Fractured Resolutions Week 3 | Prompt 1 ▼ As someone who's currently working three different jobs, my resolution this year is to actually get rid of a job. In addition to my day job working at Marvel Studios in their legal department, I'm also the president of the board of a local community development nonprofit, and the Director of Operations for our church. For almost a year, I've been balancing the responsibilities of each and it's safe to say that I'm pretty exhausted at this point as I constantly shift from one job to the next, trying to get everything done that needs to be done each day. Turns out, the church job situation will probably take care of itself in the coming weeks, so I'll be down to two. And the community nonprofit is the least work of the three, so I'm really hoping that my workload will be reduced enough to introduce some balance back into my life. One of the most difficult things about having multiple jobs is that you're just never "off duty" because something's almost always happening somewhere. The last time I was this busy was when I took a bunch of consulting gigs during a brief period of unemployment about five years ago, and then a bunch of work came my way all at the same time. I was working a full-time office job, then working two consulting gigs in my spare time (on my lunch break, after work, late at night, etc.). I used to carry three different laptops around in my work bag, so I always had each job at my fingertips just in case something came up. The money was great, but the physical and mental and emotional toll was pretty high. So this year, I find myself resolving not to get a job, but to get rid of one. (301 words) |
| "Invalid Item" Andre's Fractured Resolutions Week 2 | Prompt 2 ▼ Hiking is one of those activities that I'm wary about, because it means different things to different people. If you're talking about hiking in terms of it basically being an "outdoor walk" then, sure... hikes are lovely. I like being out in nature, and low-impact walking is great, especially with some scenery to appreciate along the way. But if you're talking about hiking in terms of it being a "grab your backpack, your expensive hiking boots, and make sure you carry your own food and water because we're going on a ten-mile hike in the mountains" then no thank you. I've never been much of an outdoorsy type. My parents would take us on fishing trips often, and I was in the Boy Scouts for most of my youth, so I'm not unfamiliar with outdoorsy-type stuff. I just don't really like it. On family fishing trips, I'd just bring a book and go off somewhere and read a book. On Boy Scout camping trips I'd set up the tent and then spend most of my time inside of it. Also reading a book. Now that I'm older and spend the majority of my time inside (at an office for work, in a home taking care of kids, etc.) I've come to appreciate the outdoors much more, but I still can only take it in small doses. We have friends who love long-distance hiking and "dig your own latrine" camping and, well, that's just not for me. But drive out to the ocean for a half day at the beach? Or take a morning hike for an hour or so? That I definitely can appreciate more these days. So I actually can resolve to take a nice healthy hike this year... as long as it's not too far and I'm home by lunchtime. (308 words) |
| "Invalid Item" Andre's Fractured Resolutions Week 2 | Prompt 1 ▼ I was listening to a podcast the other day (Episode 103 of Offline with Jon Favreau titled "The Science of Achieving (and Enjoying) Your New Years' Resolution"), which included an interview with Wharton professor Katy Milkman about the limits of willpower, the science behind habit formation, and ideas for building incentives to accomplish your goals. My big takeaway was that trying to accomplish something by willpower alone is almost always destined for failure. Basically, willpower saps your energy, so trying to "push through" something with sheer force of will usually ends with you hitting a wall, exhausted, and then giving up.The recommendation for those who want to form better habits is to create incentives and alternatives that are appealing to you. If you're trying to eat healthier, get rid of all the junk food in your house and replace it with something better. By creating a barrier to the bad behavior (you have to go out and buy junk food if you want it), you make it more likely that you'll make a good decision. Keep in mind though, that "better alternative" doesn't always mean you have to set unrealistic standards. If you swap our your Doritos for raw kale, you're probably still going to drive to the nearest convenience store to get Doritos when you have a craving. But if you swap out your Doritos with a healthier chip or similar snack, it's more likely you'll say, "Ugh, I'd have to drive all the way to the store to get Doritos... I guess these veggie sticks or mixed nuts will give me that crunch I'm looking for..." The other option is to create incentives so you want to do the new habit. If you hate going to the gym, is there other exercise that you do enjoy? Maybe a hike or a bike ride outdoors? What about swimming instead of huffing away on a treadmill? Or what if you gave yourself an incentive to go to the gym... like if you manage to go every day for a week, you'll allow yourself to have a reward. The optimal solution is to combine both (which is called "habit stacking"), where you create multiple incentives at the same time. Let's say you want to lose weight and get in shape. You could replace the bad snacks at home with healthier options, and sign up for a gym. You could set an incentive where, if you can go five days without slipping (i.e., missing a gym day or eating a bad snack) then on the weekend you can treat yourself to a dessert with dinner. Or have a small serving of that snack you've been craving all week. Maybe the trick is to not make any definitive resolutions at all, because resolutions by definition imply achievement by willpower. Maybe the key to achieving your goals is less resolving to change and more building habits that naturally facilitate the change you seek. (499 words) |
| "Invalid Item" Andre's Fractured Resolutions Week 1 | Prompt 2 ▼ The Muse looked over the contract Andre slid in front of him. "You're selling the Banana Bar?" "Thinking about it," Andre replied. "But... why?" The Muse asked. Andre pointed to and tapped the paragraph that included the sale price. The Muse's eyes went wide. "I had no idea it was worth that much." "Neither did I," Andre said. "But it's certainly worth considering with an offer like that." "Did you read the rest of the fine print?" "Pfft," Andre scoffed. "What for? I'm going to be rich. I can afford to not sweat the small stuff now." "This isn't really small stuff," The Muse muttered, scanning the rest of the contract. "It says here that they reserve the right to use the land however they please, up to and including demolishing the Banana Bar and reselling the empty lot to a company called BLP for conversion into a parking garage." Andre grabbed the contract back and skimmed it. "Wait, they want to bulldoze the Banana Bar?" "Probably to charge the hotels and other restaurants on this street $10 every fifteen minutes to valet their customers' rides." Andre sagged his shoulders behind the bar. "I can't let them do this to the Banana Bar," he lamented. "I was only thinking about selling when I could come back to the bar and enjoy a drink that someone else was going to make for me. I don't want it to go away completely." The Muse watched as Andre tore up the contract and tossed it into the trash behind the bar. "At least now you'll still get those free drinks as part of your for-profit public good company restructure," The Muse said. "Speaking of which, I'll have a Banana Alexander." Andre pulled out two glasses from behind the bar, along with the cognac from the top shelf. "You're trying to make me feel better with one of my favorite drinks." "It's the least I could do," The Muse said, "I'd feel awful if I passed up that much money on a deal." Andre glared at The Muse and subtly reached for the cheaper cognac on the bottom shelf. (355 words) |
| "Invalid Item" Andre's Fractured Resolutions Week 1 | Prompt 1 ▼ "Three hundred words a day?" The Muse scoffed. "That's a piece of cake. I can crank out three hundred words in, like, twenty to thirty minutes tops." "So why aren't you already doing it?" Andre asked, putting the finishing touches on a trio of RumChata Banana Cream Pie cocktails for a pair of patrons in the corner of the Banana Bar. "I'm just saying," The Muse replied, "That twenty to thirty minutes is, what, the time it takes to put in a quick workout at the gym? It's an easily accomplishable daily goal." "Speaking of the gym, how's that resolution going? I know that's not specifically your purview as a Muse, but still a similar 'easy' resolution that's not being carried out by your charge, right?" Andre carried two of the drinks to the patrons in the corner, then returned to his place behind the bar, picking up the third drink and eyeing it thirstily. "Why did you make three drinks if there are only two customers?" The Muse asked. "We just restructured the Banana Bar into one of those public-benefit corporation things. You know, the for profit company with a mission thingies? Like how TOMS gives away a pair of shoes for every pair sold? Or how Warby Parker gives away a pair of eyeglasses each time they sell one to a paying customer? Well, whenever a customer buys a drink here from now on, we also give one away." "It actually looks delicious. Can I have it?" "Sorry," Andre said, throwing back the drink. "The only member of the public the Banana Bar benefits is Andre. It's in the bylaws." "You're a menace." "And you're getting off-topic," Andre observed. "In fact, after all this, you didn't even meet your quota today." "One stinking word..." The Muse grumbled. (299 words)1 Footnotes |
| To qualify for my Watch List every month, the following has to be something that I've watched that's new to me. It doesn't necessarily have to be a current show, but it can't be reruns or rewatches of something I've already seen. So if I'm including it in this list, it means this month is the first time I've watched it. I'll put "DNF" (Did Not Finish) next to anything that I stopped watching and have no immediate plans to finish. Movies Lion King II: Simba's Pride MigrationTelevision The Continental (Season 1) Halo (Season 1) Reacher (Season 2)I didn't watch a lot of new stuff this month. Lots of Christmas movies that I've seen a bunch of times (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation will always be a classic, and we've been really enjoying the animated movies Klaus and Scrooge: A Christmas Carol on Netflix in recent years). We've also been rewatching some favorite shows like the Newsroom, so there's just a few things I watched this month that are new to me. I enjoyed Migration (Illumination's newest movie) but I didn't think it was as good as the Sing or Minion/Despicable Me franchises. The Continental was an interesting show... it was three 90-minute episodes, so essentially a trilogy of prequel movies to the John Wick franchise more than a television series. It was pretty good but I don't see myself rewatching it or anything. I'm five episodes in on the new season of Reacher which has been really great so far. It takes everything that was good about the first season and doubles down on it. As a fan of the book series, I was always going to be a fan of the show, but I'm really happy with how well they're adapting it for television. TOP PICK: Reacher (Season 2) |
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