Because Holodecks Don't Exist: Sushi with Tolkien and The Doctor

Well, once again it's Wednesday and I'm just now getting around to this post about last week's reading/watching. Honestly, this time it's mostly not my fault. We woke up Sunday to find our internet completely out. People, this was a harrowing experience for us. Anyway, it was back by Monday but then I started having some really awful sinus/tooth pain. I pretty much just laid on the couch all day and watched the ceiling fan spin. Today I trekked down to LA and visited my lovely dentist who said that my top teeth are probably hurting because of sinus pressure but that my bottom molar probably needs a root canal. Nice, right?

Anyway, here's some of what I watched and read last week:

#1- LOTR: The Return of the King
I finished the LOTR series. Man, what a whirlwind. This series ends about fifteen times and I still felt like that wasn't enough. All I wanted was more. I can see myself re-reading all of these books every couple of years. Just, absolutely beautiful and inspiring storytelling. It's the kind of work that makes me glad it exists and challenges me to raise my own work to another level. I'm so glad I was prevailed upon to read them.
Next, I'm considering starting the Chronicles of Narnia. I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when I was about eight years old but but I feel like I should give these books another shot.

#2- Avatar: The Legend of Korra (finale)
Seriously, this is one of the best scripted shows on TV. It's a perfect show. And, this season? Guys, it's amazing. I could write at least five lectures on lessons learned from Korra/Avatar. This show is basically a clinic in how to write action, how to write a sequel, how to write dynamic female characters, how to write an extensive mythos, how to create a world and how to write the rules of said world...

#3- Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Available on Netflix)
Ok so this is a documentary (it's all in Japanese so prepare yourself for 2 hours of subtitles) about this octogenarian sushi master in a tiny, unassuming sushi restaurant in Japan--and his sixty-year-old son who is still serving as an apprentice under his father. It's a quiet, contemplative look at, not only a complex father/son relationship, but also the dedication and obsession it takes to become a true master of one's craft.

#4- Doctor Who: SSN 8, Premier
Have I gone into my Doctor Who fandom before? I can't remember and my head is full of sinus medicine and I can feel this blog post getting away from me so I'll try to make this quick. Basically, I watched DW with my parents when I was a kid. Mostly Tom Baker. Scott and I started watching the reboot when it was in its second season but went back immediately to get caught up. I loved Nine. I loved Ten. I loved Eleven. I even loved The War Doctor. And, so far, I think I love Peter Capaldi. Actually, I'm pretty sure I do. And, I have zero problems with Jenna Louise Coleman. And, I do love the way Moffat plays with fan expectation while still delivering new and surprising elements of the Doctor's personality. I also love the score and I love how beautiful and cinematic everything is. But... I also kind of feel like it's gone off the rails. When Moffat first came aboard, I worried that full seasons of his work would be like eating cake icing. A spoonful is the best thing you've ever had but once you're halfway into the bowl, you can't take anymore. It's too rich to stomach and your teeth hurt. I loved the first Moffat season and would put it up against anything but, after a while, I think I just got fatigued with everything being epic. Everything probably shouldn't be epic.

At a certain point, when The Doctor, his companion, a lizard woman, her bad ass wife, and their thumb-headed butler are all standing on the bank of the Thames in Victorian London while a T-Rex stomps by and everything is dark and lovely and the score rises and the T-Rex screams and The Doctor is blabbering almost incoherently and everyone's questioning what's going on... All of this stuff, individually or in many combinations, is brilliant and perfect for Doctor Who. All together, it had me rewinding my DVR about five times just so I could attempt to decipher what The Doctor was saying. And, the Doctor just regenerated. Seems like whatever he and Clara say here is probably pretty important. It just seems like too much. Sometimes, you don't need a million things. Maybe most times.

On Monday, while we were waiting on the cable guy, we happened to catch "The End of the World" which was the first, regular season episode of the Nine era. Here we are at the literal end of the world and you'd think, "Oh, this shall be very epic, indeed!" but it's a quiet, intensely personal episode about a girl who's being introduced to her own (and her planet's own) mortality. It's paralleled by a look at The Doctor's remorse at the loss of his own planet and people. Every moment isn't played for epic crazyness. The score is there but it's just enough to help the script and acting shine without overpowering it. The world blows up and no one even sees it. We don't have to see it. That's the
 point. This isn't a show about the world blowing up. It's about people.

Anyway, I still love this show but didn't realize until this week how much I missed the earlier episodes.

Alright, that's it. I watched and read other things but I feel like this post is plenty long (especially with that whole DW rant) already. I'm going to make some hot chocolate and watch Penn & Teller and then go to bed and hope that I wake up tomorrow with clear sinuses and a can-do attitude. 

But how likely is that, really?

Sisters of Star Trek

So last week I was super depressed and I shut everything down and did some paintings. One of those paintings was a watercolor for my little sister and, soon after I finished and sent it to her, I got to talk to her. She's a super-busy and important RA this year and she's all, "I have duties!" which makes me giggle because I'm actually less mature than my 19-year-old sister. Anyway, I was really glad to talk to her and it made me feel better and we talked about Harry Potter and fantasized about getting sister tattoos. It was nice. Then, a few days later, we both got some surprise mail.

She got my painting. I got a crazy sweet letter and a signed first issue of Pretty Deadly by Kelly Sue DeConnick. It was pretty awesome. This whole experience reminded me of how wonderful it can be to have a sister. Even though we, for the most part, grew up several years and hundreds of miles apart, we've always been close. I get her. She gets me.

Anyway, all this made me think about Sisters in Star Trek. And... here's the thing, there aren't a lot. And, I don't know what kind of thing Trek has against sororal bonds but, for the most part, this is a pretty grim bunch:

1-  The Duras Sisters: TNG, DS9, Generations
Ok, these chicks are just basically walking chaos. They show up in "Reunion" to #1- Ruin Mr. Worf's day and #2- start a damn Klingon Civil War. They succeed on both counts. They show up again in DS9 to ruin Kira's day and then again in Generations to ruin everyone's day. Honestly, it feels like these women were in about twenty episodes but it was actually only 4 plus a movie. I guess they're just really memorable.

2- Deana's Secret Sister, Kestra: TNG
I remember seeing this one when I was a kid and being pretty freaked out. At the time, I was an only child (my oldest sibling wasn't born until I was eleven) and the idea of there being a secret sister that no one ever told you about because the memory of their death was too painful to discuss just blew my freaking mind. And, I mean, when your dead sister is channeled through freaky little Kirsten Dunst, that doesn't make any of it easier to digest.

3- DS9: Nope nothing here, folks!

4- The Delaney Sisters: Voyager
Alright, these chicks were mentioned a lot but rarely ever seen. They were like some kind of rare, two-headed space unicorn. When I was re-watching all these last year, I couldn't actually remember if you ever do see them or if they're just talked about a lot. But, ultimately, they do show up... in a Captain Proton Holodeck program. We don't really know much about these two besides Harry's opinions about which one he wants to date and why.

5- Seven and Naomi: Voyager.
Oh hush, I know they're not really sisters and I know a lot of folks hate Naomi but I don't care. I love these two. First, I love Seven and wrote at least one post about why. But, secondly, Naomi provides the perfect foil for the austere Seven. It probably helps that, because the age difference between me and my sister, I specifically identify with this sort of relationship. I get the way Seven wants to do her own thing and not be bothered by some little person asking questions and following her around and I get that she also doesn't want to let Naomi down. I get wanting to be close to a little sister but also being a little afraid of that kind of bond. I get it.

Ok, that's basically IT for girl/girl sister combos. Here are a couple of meaningful honorable mentions:

Neelix and Alixia: Voyager (Mortal Coil)
Well, this is heartbreaking. Basically, Rinax (where Neelix' family lived) was hit by a crazy weapon of mass destruction called the Metreon Cascade and Alixia (who Neelix was very close to) was killed. The memory of Alixia haunted him for years thereafter and he struggled with survivor's guilt in a very real, heartbreaking way. He never stopped writing letters to her.

Trip and Elizabeth Tucker (Enterprise Season 4)
Ok, pretty much everything I said about Neelix and his sister applies here. Except that we see the events that kill Elizabeth and then watch Trip deal with her death in a very fresh, raw way. The rage and malice he feels in grief fuel a new xenophobia and desire to seek vengeance against the Xindi. His struggle to overcome these feelings is an interesting part of his arc.

Anything from TOS, you're asking? Honestly the closest I could get to this in The Original Series was imagining Kirk asking, "Does she have a sister?" anytime one of his bros got a girlfriend.

One Year Ago Today: In The Pale Moonlight

Because Holodecks Don't Exist: Running On Empty

Ok so last week was--it was depressing. And I've been having a hard time.

Robin Williams died and I wrote a post about it and things pretty much went downhill from there. What's going on? Well, I didn't get to do my Shakespeare Camp this year. This would've been its 10th year. Maybe I'll write more about that later. But the loss of it has been awful. I've been having problems with my current novel. Family stuff. Etc etc. Oh, and my arm/shoulder is still messed up. Not being able to lift has really affected my happiness level and, after several weeks of all this compounded with last week's issues, I kind of ran out of steam.

So, what do I do when I my endorphin tank is empty? When I get so deep in a hole that I kind of don't even want to come out?

#1- Kiki's Delivery Service
My Kiki DVD is about ten years old and covered in scratches that read like a map of my various depressive episodes. I plan on writing a whole, probably over-long post about why I'm obsessed with this 1989 Miyazaki classic so I won't go into it too much here. Just know that, for me, there's nothing better thank settling in with Kiki when I'm feeling really, really down.

#2- LOTR: The Two Towers
I finished this book last week and started Return of the King and now I'm about 30% in. These books have been amazing therapy for me. I find myself actually trying to slow down now because I want the experience to last longer. Last week though, I was storming through The Two Towers and it gave me two specific gifts:

This scene: 

And this one: 

 I cried like you wouldn't even believe in the first and the second had me buying potatoes just so I'd have an excuse to go around the house constantly repeating the words, "What's taters, Precious!?"

#3- Pride and Prejudice, 2005

I know there's a lot of heated debate in the Austen Movie Fandoms about which adaptation is better--even which Darcy is better. But my first P&P was Joe Wright's. This is the movie that made me want to read the novel and, when I finally did, I loved it. I get why hardcore 1995 fans aren't into this adaptation but I don't watch the film so I can see a faithful adaptation--if I want the full force of Austen's searing prose and complicated social nuances, I'll just re-read the novel--I watch this one for long takes of the sunrise filtered through fog, rolling over hills, for the gorgeous piano soundtrack, for the way Wright managed to modernize and channel the subtleties of P&P's complicated romantic/non-romantic relationships into wordless or nearly wordless modes of communication, and the way Austen's English countryside is basically a main character. This film may gloss over a lot of what makes P&P sizzle but, in the end, what it gets right, is the emotional heart. Basically, I watch this one because it's a fantastic, beautiful film and it totally calms me down when I'm freaking out. 

Other things I've been doing? 

I made these posters for my friend Kristin's High School English classroom: 

I was also reminded that I have some pretty fantastic friendships stretched out across the internets. My friend, Ben, sent me this crazy super-cut of poor Mr. Wof getting shut down over and over and over: 

 

Oh, Worf, don't feel bad. When you get back to your quarters, just pop Kiki's Delivery Service into the DVD player (because Disney still won't have released them on instant play) and make some hot cocoa (or prune juice) and Nutella toast and enjoy the evening as your endorphin tank gets a much needed fill-up. 

Mork to the Bridge: Remembering Robin Williams

Back around 1978, there was a lot going on over on the Paramount lot. One show was being resurrected after a near ten year hiatus. And, across the lot, a new show was just starting up. In the end, both shows and their stars, became legends. They were Star Trek and Mork and Mindy. One afternoon, a young Robin Williams rode his bicycle over to the Star Trek: The Motion Picture sound-stage and explained that he was a huge Star Trek fan and that he would really love to see the set. They let him on. And there, on that day, Williams walked around on the bridge of his beloved Enterprise. An enterprise he'd thought might never come back. Walter Koenig said, "his wide-eyed admiration not withstanding, his squeaky-voiced reaction to all the buttons and panels is, "Hmmmm, microwave!"

Today we lost Robin Williams and my Facebook feed exploded with tributes, memories, clips, pictures, and articles about this amazing performer. Looking at these heartfelt, personal memories of an artist, poured all over everyone's public space, it occurs to me that Robin Williams' work spanned several generations. In fact, you can just about tell which generation a person belongs in by which Robin Williams they chose to pay homage to. In your 40s? Mork & Mindy, Comic Relief, Good Morning Vietnam. In your 30s? Awakenings, The Fisher King, Hook, Aladdin. In your 20s? AI, Good Will Hunting, Patch Adams. And I'm leaving out about fifty other amazing movies.

I'm thirty. Here's my Robin Williams experience.

#1- Aladdin
When I was a kid, after my parents divorced and I was living alone with my mom, we were pretty poor. My mom worked. She was always working at least one job but we still had trouble keeping afloat. Treading water--that's what it was. Anyway, I was poor but I kind of enjoyed it. I knew I didn't have the same stuff the other kids did but I had a lot fewer restrictions. My mom didn't care if I got dirty playing, if I stayed up late, if I was walking to the library by myself and checking out the same copy of A Wrinkle in Time over and over. I had freedom. Then Disney's Aladdin came out. About six months after it came out, it was playing at the teensy Dollar Theater in my town and I finally got to see it. Then, one day when my mom had to run errands, I said, "How about you drop me off at the theater? I'll watch Aladdin." And she did.  It was amazing. So amazing that I begged to do it every time she was going out of the house until the end of summer. And she let me. She gave me a dollar for the movie and sometimes a dollar for coke or candy and I just paid my way inside, picked my usual seat (there weren't more than 5 or 10 people at the matinee) and sat there while the film rolled.

I was Aladdin and I was Jasmine and I was Genie. I was the street rat. I was the girl who craved adventure. I was the one trying to make everybody laugh, trying to hide my own fear, trying not to show how captive I felt in spite of my apparent freedom. I laughed with Genie. I cried with Genie. I learned every single song in Aladdin without ever owning the film. It's because of Genie that this very morning, before I heard about Robin, I burst into "Prince Ali" as I was packing my gym bag.

#2- Mrs. Doubtfire
I had a little something here about me and my dad but now it's gone. Just know that I really appreciated this movie when I was a kid.


#3- Jumanji
Holy shit, a board game makes crazy jungle business happen in small town America? Sign me the hell up for that. I remember watching this in every single sixth grade classroom that I happened to attend. (If you're wondering--it was four) I never stopped loving it.

#4-What Dreams May Come
The first time I really, really struggled with depression the year was 1997. I get that I was a kid (pre-teen? do people still use that word?) but kids get depressed too, man. I was sensitive and extremely introspective and my circumstances did not lend themselves to the healthiest of mental states. In 1998, this movie came out and I saw so much of myself in it. I remember wishing I knew what kind of poison Annie ate. I remember being afraid to find out what happened if I went through with it. I wanted to hide in my art, in my writing, in my books, in my TV shows and movies. I bought What Dreams May Come on VHS and watched it no less than twenty times, always wondering if I'd ever find anyone who'd be willing to walk through Hell to find me.

I'm a lot better now. Do I still have days where I want to just stay in bed? Where I want to sleep until it doesn't ache anymore? Where I wish I could turn the whole world off? Where I feel like I'm crying even when there aren't any tears?
Yeah.
But it happens a lot less than it used to. I learned to channel a lot of my frustration and anxiety into my workouts and my art and writing instead of hiding from it. I learned what kinds of things trigger my issues and try to avoid those things. I found people who love me without reservation and I held onto them like treasures.

#5-Robots
I have to confess, I only saw this movie once and I remember almost nothing about it except that Robin Williams was in it. I remember a lot about that night though. It was my first date with my husband, Scott. We'd been friends and flirts before but we'd never actually put it to the test. Our Robots date was basically our proof of concept. Could this really work? We knew, on that night, that we would get married. And Robin Williams was there.

#6- My Friend, John
If you're sitting there, thinking to yourself, "My friend, John? I don't think I've seen that one." It's because it's not a movie. I'm talking about my real-life, actual human friend, John. I met my friend, John about ten years ago (really? wow!) and we were cast together in a play. Immediately, we had a connection. And, before long, John became my best friend. We hung out all the time and he even had a hand in getting Scott and I together. Here's the thing about John--he's amazing. He's an actor and a comedian. He's a geek of legendary epic-ness. He's a radio personality. He's a safety officer. He's even Santa Claus. He's a hundred things for a million people and--no, actually, he's one thing for a million people--an instant smile. John makes everyone smile. Instantly.

Here's the other thing about John. He struggles with depression. I don't know how much or how bad it is these days. I don't know what his triggers are or how he channels his pain. The truth is, John and I, in spite of being intense BFF, eventually drifted apart a little bit. We're still friends on Facebook. We still message each other from time to time. We still hangout whenever Scott and I go back to our home town. When I do my camp he always comes to the show and stops by to see me. But the days of sitting in an all-night diner eating ham sandwiches and arguing about Star Trek are pleasant memories.

But, my friend, John always reminded me of Robin Williams. The huge personality. The passion for laughs. The darkness behind the smile. Today, when I saw the news about Williams' loss, my thoughts immediately ran to John. Was he ok? Had he heard? And then I saw all the tributes. All the pictures. All the stories. I thought, I know it might not have helped, I know sometimes the darkness wins. But, I hope Robin knew how loved he was. I hope he knew the difference he made. And, John, I hope you know too. I hope you know how much I appreciate you. How much--every kid who visits you at Christmas time, every audience member in your plays, every radio listener, every classroom you visit, every person you've told to "Stay Safe,"--every one you've ever made smile appreciates you.

I've never had a friend like you.

Because Holodecks Don't Exist: Past Tense

On Friday morning I was standing in the shower thinking about this post. I'd meant to get in there and think about a problem I needed to solve in the Awesome Jones sequel but, instead, the only thing running through my mind was how I haven't really watched anything new or exciting because all I've been doing is working. Then, Friday continued to go by and I eventually fixed my Awesome Jones issues, and I watched The Dodgers game and then, somehow, it was 1AM and I was still awake and I wound up watching an infomercial for the Ed Sullivan DVD Collection from Time Life.

Friends, let me tell you, I didn't even know infomercials still existed. When I was a kid and always up way later than I probably ought to have been, I saw a lot of these things. Me and Time Life were BFF even though I never bought a single thing from them. I knew the first 10 seconds of all of the following songs thanks to this very infomercial:

Anyway, much to my surprise/horror/delight Time Life infomercials are still alive and well and they're still pedaling overpriced physical media to the insomniac masses. The Ed Sullivan infomercial had clearly been produced in the 90's and, at the time, I can only assume they were trying to pawn off gigantic VHS box-sets but now it's all DVDs and, for the low, low price of 5 easy payments of 19.99, when you call this 800-number, they could be yours. I really, truly considered calling the number to test whether anyone at Time Life was actually there to take my call or if the infomercial was, as I suspected, being beamed to me (via a wormhole or something) directly from the past.

It really seems like I'm disparaging this poor Ed Sullivan infomercial but I'm really not. I flipped it to the channel because all it said was "Ed Sullivan" and I'm way into old TV. I caught it just coming on and Scott and I ended up watching their entire 30-minute spiel. We couldn't look away. Not because of the fantastic presentation skills of Sun Vista/Time Life but because of how truly amazing the performers on Ed Sullivan were.

Back then, there weren't 900 channels. There were three. At the show's height, on Sunday night you had a choice between Ed Sullivan and who-even-knows-what because no one in their right mind was going to miss what happened The Ed Sullivan Show. So, here's the thing, in order to make it onto the Ed Sullivan show you had to be amazing. Everyone wanted to be on this thing. You had to be the very best to get there.

The performers you still hear about, all these years later, the performers who really set the bar for American popular culture, were walking onto the Ed Sullivan stage at their peak and letting the whole world know that they were something special. And, even now, their performances are completely, perfectly captivating.


 Ok, I realize I just plastered five YouTube videos on this blog post but I don't even care. These performances are objectively fantastic. They hold up so well and I can only imagine being a kid in the 50s or 60s and having my brain exploded by a bunch of freaking muppets (Jim, uhh...Newsom's Puppets) or watching a scene about young, ill-fated passion in the inner city at a time when everything on TV was so censored and clean you couldn't even say the word "pregnant." I can only imagine what it would've been like to see performers like Ella and Sammy Davis Jr. and The Supremes just owning the biggest stage in the world in an era when Jim Crow laws still divided the American South. And don't even get me started on Barbara. Freaking Barbara. 

Alright, so I have spent way longer writing about this infomercial than I did actually watching it. The point is this: In so many ways, we're lucky. We have about nine-thousand channels now, and the internet, and we're connected globally in a way we've never been before. And that is fantastic. But, it's also an over-saturation of stuff. It's static. I spent at least fifteen minutes today staring at a buzzfeed gif dump of cats jumping off things. Don't get me wrong, I love watching cats jump off things. I just think Time Life had something going on when they tried to sell DVDs to me and you and everyone else who watching one of our nine-thousand channels at 1AM. 

Like Star Trek, these performances still hold up. You can still hit play on YouTube and be thrilled/amazed/awed by Elvis/The Beatles/The Jackson 5 just like you can still be thrilled/amazed/awed by City on the Edge of Forever/A Taste of Armageddon/The Corbomite Maneuver. This stuff is still effective. It's still powerful. Like the actual Time Life infomercial, this stuff reaches out from our country's past and cuts through the static. If I did have a Holodeck, I'd be using it (Tom Paris-style) to re-live these legendary performances.

Oh, and if you made it to the end of this crazy person rant about the Ed Sullivan show, here is my gift to you. Think of it as, like, a Certificate of Completion (it can be yours for only 9 payments of 19.99):







One Year Ago Today: I was helping break a Star Trek World Record in Vegas

Going Deep/To Sleep

Ok, so it's freaking Wednesday and I'm just now getting around to writing last week's Holodeck Post because we all know I got super waylaid by a bunch of foolishness on Sunday.

But here's the thing, I'm working on the sequel to Awesome Jones and I'm in this kind of mode where I just can't really do much of anything else. You shouldn't feel too jealous though, blogreaders. I actually neglected an entire year of everything non-Trek for you. (See All of 2013)

Anyway, when I'm writing, I have a tendency to not do anything but write. I don't mess around on Facebook. I don't respond to emails, phone calls, or--for the most part--actual, human conversation. It's like I just put everything I have into my work and I can't be bothered to cook or buy groceries or shower or any of that real life stuff.

I just do this:

A (not at all) rare glimpse of an AshleyRose in her natural habitat

But, here's the thing, I can only do it for so long. I have a policy where I take at least an hour and a half (preferably two hours) off before bed. Last night, I was reminded of why. I worked until 12:30 (I got 2400 words so it sort of seems worth it) then stretched out on the couch and zoned out while I watched the last twenty minutes of Murder She Wrote before hitting the sack. I was feeling all gross and congested yesterday so I took a Nyquil before bed and, in spite of my low tolerance to the blue stuff and my exhaustion, I still woke up every few hours in a cold sweat, with my heart thumping, thinking I had some incredible, unsolvable problem in the Awesome Jones sequel. It was awful. Of course, I got up this morning and realized said problem didn't exist and I was pissed at my nighttime self for not realizing that.

So that's why I have the policy. Tonight, I made myself wrap it up at 10:00 and I'll spend my next two hours finishing the Dodger's Game and probably re-watching the DVR'd episodes of Going Deep which brings me to the actual Holodeck part of this post.

Here's some of what I've been watching/reading lately:

1- Going Deep With David Rees
On NatGeo, Monday Nights (Also Hulu)
This half-hour gem is all about the regular, everyday activities we take for granted (flipping coins, tying shoes, making ice cubes, even opening doors) and how we can look at them on a deeper, sometimes ridiculous level. You know I'm ALL ABOUT enthusiasm and David Rees' is contagious. People are saying it's the best science show since Cosmos and I completely agree. This show is all about curiosity, enthusiasm for the small stuff, and the science that makes all that small stuff happen. I can't recommend it highly enough.

 

2- LOTR: The Two Towers

by J.R.R. Tolkien (obviously) 

Ok, people, I cannot tell you how much I just want to stop all life and do nothing but read these books and then start them over and read them again. I am OBSESSED. I keep referring to Scott as Strider and Bunny as Bunwise Gamgee and I can't stop sending my friend Kate these Merry/Pippin outfits I find on Pinterest with ridiculous messages like, "let's do this every day forever!" :

From Fictional Fashionistas

Seriously, I can count all the books I could/would/do re-read on one hand: Slaughter House 5, The Princess Bride, Bleak House, The Hero and the Crown, and now LOTR. 

3- Ancient Impossible

Airs on H2 and Hulu (and I don't even know what night this happens because I have a bunch of them backed up on my DVR.)

 I am a sucker for TV documentary style shows about how people did stuff a million years ago. I've watched Buckaroo Banzai talk about how the Maya put Cinnabar all over their tombs like at least seventy times. Anyway, this is that kind of show. A lot of historians talk a lot about how people did stuff in the olden days and I love going to sleep to this kind of show. I mean, if you're going to spend an hour talking about water clocks I don't even need to know anything else. I am IN.

Bonus Points for featuring my longtime Lady Historian Crush: Bettany Hughes

 So there you have it. That's what I've been filling the final two hours of my nights with. And now I'm off to do it again. I've made my tea, I've given Bunny the all-clear, and now it's time to watch some guys talk about Ctesibius and how pneumatics work until I fall into the kind of sleep where I don't wake up every couple of hours worried I'll never finish the Awesome Jones sequel.

Wrapped Up In A Game Of Fizzbin

I'd planned to write another Because Holodecks Don't Exist Yet post this today but I ended up getting kind of distracted. Here's what I did instead.

1- Made breakfast.
I couldn't bring myself to make bacon AND eggs so I just made bacon. And toast. I can do toast.

2- Worked on the Awesome Jones sequel.
I wrote 1034 words. Which is about 1000 fewer words than I'd like to have written. Whatever, it's still happening a lot faster than seven years--which is how long the first one took me.

3- It rained.
Seriously. Guys, it hasn't rained where I live (just picture every desert planet in every desert-episode of Star Trek) in like three months. I grew up in South East Appalachia aka the USA's temperate rain forest. I went outside for the entire duration of this meager sprinkling.

3- Worked on an art commission.
This was like three hours of my time because I had to completely re-draw a bunch of stuff I'd already tried to color and finalize.

4- Watched the Dodgers lose the series against the Cubs.
WTF.

5- I colored my hair.
Yeah. This is something I do and have done since I was about 9 years old.

6- I painted my nails.
This is something I pretty much only do when I color my hair. So like...about four times a year. And then I just let the polish wear off because I'm somehow even lazier with remover than with the polish itself.

7- I wrote this post while watching TV.
I watched Going Deep with David Rees which is (really) awesome. And an old episode of Rick and Morty. And this show about condiments.

8- I'm closing my computer and making tea.
Technically this item hasn't happened yet. But it will! It's in the future!

Also in the future is that Holodeck post so keep your eye out.

One Year Ago Today: Passing The Torch

If you're interested in the epic game of fizzbin referenced in the title of this post, see the TOS episode, A Piece of the Action wherein Kirk, Spock, and McCoy take on a bunch of space mobsters on the Paramount backlot.