Dog Days 41 and 42

So Saturday. I overslept (or rather went back to sleep after my alarm, forgetting why I had an early alarm in the first place) but still managed to get to brunch on time (averaged a 12 mph and since it was cool in the morning, I barely broke a sweat). Brunch was nice. Apparently the place was owned by Albanian immigrants and I had an Albanian lamb sausage platter. Good to hang out with people. On my way home, I stopped at my sisters house since she wanted help finding Walmart. So we hooked up the bike rack to the car and took our bikes over to my house then went shopping. After Walmart we went to home depo for light bulbs. Returning home we put together my new record player (still working to get everything balanced right to stop skipping, also to get better sound quality) and I made some adjustments to her bike. Then we biked over to the capitol for a food festival. Wandered around with other people from the ward and ate lots of food. I got rendang (not spicy enough), some brisket (not juicy enough), a cheese donut (very good, make pick up the frozen version some time) and various other things. Got a ride back with my roommate and that was basically that. Oh, we hung out for a while longer before my sister went home. Stayed up too late (like 3).

I slept in today, which was fine because I wasn't running in the morning. Regular Sunday morning. Sacrament meeting went well. Sunday school was pretty boring. After church my sister and I went over to my place (after stopping at hers to pick up cash) and then with one of my roommates went over to another city to pick up a table/desk for her. Dropped it off at her house and then hung out at my place for a few hours. She went home, I made dinner and then did a run. It was very hot, but since the sun was already going down and the humidity was low, it honestly didn't feel too bad. I still sweated a lot though (I weighed in two pounds less than this morning and that was after drinking a bunch and eating dinner). The route was almost exactly 5 miles so I set a 45 minute timer. I took my 48 minutes (so a 9:37 or so pace) which was really disappointing. I know that the conditions were not ideal and this route is hillier than some of my other routes (also all I'd eaten was a burrito an hour before), but this is basically what I did last week except half as long and without the morning run or 20 miles of bike riding. Anyway, after showering I watched the last two episodes of the new superman tv show. I'm really liking this show, shame the season is only 10 episodes. They build the plot and characters well and I like where it is going. Then I accidentally took a very short nap and here I am. Except I keep getting distracted by cleaning (there's a leak in our basement that needs frequent cleanings when the ac runs heavy...like right now; also I think I finally unclogged our sink) which I don't like since bursts of semi productivity like this can be a sign of hypomania. Or maybe not. It's hard to tell. There would be something poetic about the traditional summer starting with extreme depression and ending with hypomania but I really hope that isn't the case. Why can't I get the happy hypomanias? (At least if this is a hypomania coming on, I'm not depressed so hopefully no mixed episode).

I have two potlucks this week. For my ward potluck I signed up to make a tomato mixture (we're trying out theming), so I'll make Timatim. With that in mind, I guess I'll do a wat for the office party, probably a misir wat. Keep the theming going.

Dog Days 27 and 28

 It's so so so hot. So the title is relevant again.

Saturday I overslept. Finally made it out of bed to go to the grocery store and get supplies for cooking. Then I went to a baptism, followed by a bit more shopping (this time with other people). Got home, showered because I was very sweaty and then made tomato confit and garlic confit (which turned out a bit overcooked I think). For the most part, this just meant I peeled a lot of garlic. My main herb base was the Scarborough Fair herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme). I also added salt and black pepper, plus dried chilies for the garlic and apple cider vinegar for the tomatoes (should have added sugar too, oh well). While those were cooking, I decided to use the leftover herbs to make pesto. Except I had no cheese and no pine nuts, so I used my leftover shredded coconut and a bit of palm oil for texture and oils. I also added too much lemon juice, so it came out quite sour. I guess I could call it pesto-like instead of pesto. While everything was cooking, I also watched more of My Adventures with Superman. I'm quite liking it. After cooking was done I did dishes.

Sunday I got up at 6:30 so I'd be ready for our 7:30 run. It was already so hot (like 75 degrees) so the run was pretty miserable. Got home, showered and finished doing the dishes. I decided to toast the rest of the baguette I bought Saturday in the oven. Burnt some of it but that was okay. Went to church (threw my bike in the back of my roommate's car because biking to church would have been miserable). Sacrament was fine, so was Sunday School (where I spread the good word of Christian Anarchism and my belief that 4th Nephi is the best book in the Book of Mormon). Had elder's quorum presidency meeting after church and then hung out at a friend's house for a bit while writing my message to a potential workaway host. Then we went over to the park for the charcuterie picnic (which is why I made those spreads in the first place). It was very hot, but more bearable in the shade of the pavilion. I didn't play volleyball because I had to take a phone call and that was a convenient excuse not to. Hung out more, returned to my friends' house and then biked home (by this point it was still hot but more reasonable, like sub 90). At home I rested a bit and then dug up my vaccine records for my appointment Tuesday. Apparently I'm due for tetanus as well so that's two shots I forgot I needed along with a consultation about malaria pills (the reason I set up the appointment in the first place). How serendipitous. And that was my day, pretty much. 

Feeling fine, just hot. Have my next appointment with the psychiatrist Tuesday.  

Dog Days 20, 21 and 22

More tired and busy leading to laziness. 

Saturday: Got up and went to Walmart to get milk and a couple of other ingredients. Then we went climbing. Embarrassingly couldn't make it up an easy route but I did make it up some highball slabs (and a fun chimney problem). Swam in a lake but it was dirty enough (non blue-green algae bloom) to not want to swim across it. Tried the Culver's pub burger, it was excellent. Got home and played pathfinder (was very late). Made paneer by boiling milk, adding lemon juice and then squeezing out the whey. Pressed the cheese for 2 hours and meant to write this while that was happening but ended up falling asleep on the couch instead.

Sunday: Got up early to cook. Took like an hour to fry my paneer/tofu and blanch 3 pounds of spinach. The rest of the cooking went a lot faster. I doubled the spices of the recipe (and the number of chilies and yogurt) which was probably a quite good idea. I also let the onions caramelize (for much longer than the recipe suggested) before adding the ginger and garlic. This is something I always do, not sure why the recipe called for adding them all together. Anyway, the saag paneer turned out really well.

Church was fine, I skipped out on the last third of elder's quorum to reheat my dish before the potluck. Was really glad someone else brought rice as well because mine was demolished. There wasn't much food so it was a good thing that I brought so much of a main course. Everyone (who could handle a little spice) got some. The sisters asked if I could sit in on a lesson and it went well. The investigator really wants to set his life straight and feel the progression of the gospel. The prayer he gave at the end was very sincere and powerful. Anyway, he's aiming to be baptized this Saturday. Went home, did dishes and I honestly don't remember the rest of the day. I did watch the first few episodes of the new Superman show, which is quite cute.

Monday: Got up and it was storming. Prepared a bag just in case but decided it wouldn't be worth it (especially since we weren't doing FHE at the church). Did a little bit of work, but not enough really. I know what I need to add to my proposal, but I just haven't done it yet. Took a nap (I've been really tired this past week but not in a depressed way, in a I'm not getting enough sleep because I'm dumb way). Ordered a record. Went to FHE. And that's about it. Now I'm back here. 

Pre-Summer Day 3

Woke up at like five, took more ibuprofen just in case. Woke up again around 7, got ready to go running. Went running and even at 830 it was already very hot. Did around 4.25 with a just over 10 minute pace, which was pretty good and I was dying by the end, so I need to improve on that. Luckily the itch wasn't too bad. Talked with friends for a while afterwards and then went home (I grabbed McD's on the way). Showered, the itch was coming back a bit but luckily not too bad. Applied aloe. Took more ibuprofen I think. Went off to the movie theater but not before noticing the ward discord seemed to have disappeared (it got deleted? We're still trying to figure out what happened).  Watched Across the Spiderverse on Imax at the first showing (it was 20% off) because I wanted to and quite frankly I feel bad so I'm going to do what makes me happy. Absolutely amazing. Went to Taco Bell to wait 20 minutes and eat (I wasn't even hungry, but I needed a reason to be there). Went to the park for the bird collision corp meet-up + birdwatching event. Did that for a while (watching birds with old people who know what they are doing is fun) and then left to go to the baptism. Baptism went well but no one brought treats so ooops. Went home. Made grilled cheese and ate some cookies (more for calories sake but I think I had a slight appetite. But I also ran a lot and also biked like 30 miles so that's kinda to be figured (even all the fast food together probably only came out to like 1600 calories). Played bass very aggressively and hurt my finger from picking too hard/fast. Press Gang Redux is gonna be awesome. Worked on these posts.

Despite feeling better most of the day (and objectively speaking, being a good day) I feel my mood slipping again. So we'll see how I am tomorrow. Definitely still unmotivated. I much prefer days like today and yesterday, where I'm unmotivated and anhedonic but don't feel sad to days where I feel sad and also only want to curl up in bed.

Across the Spiderverse spoilers incoming. 

Camping- May 2023

Combining the last few days into a single entry since it's a weird flux time anyway. Only some of the days actually had camping. 

So Friday was a lazy day. I played Xenoblade DLC and generally did stuff at home. In the afternoon, I packed my bag, managed to get all my stuff on the back of my bike (including the tent) and went to meet up for a carpool. After getting to the site, we went to the lake and then started prepping the fire and getting coals ready. I did not help much, which was fine. Dinner was good, we had an annoyingly friendly racoon want to invade our campsite. Put up my new pup-tent a little before dark. Sat around talking and listening to people. It was nice.

Woke up with the sun and stayed in my sleeping bag for like an extra 40 minutes because it was cold outside. Went out of my tent around six, helped eat breakfast and then break camp. Most people left at that point but I went hiking with my ride. We went up to a little cave and saw some cool birds (Indigo Bunting, a nuthatch, maybe some Scarlet Tanagers) on our hike. I hiked well enough given my hurt foot and all. Got a ride home directly to my house, so after resting a bit (and playing Xenoblade) I took the bus up to campus. Since it was weekend schedule and my foot still hurt, I ended up renting an e-bike to go the rest of the way instead of walking or waiting for the last bus (about equal times either way). First time riding such a bike and it was heavy and awkward but also ran real fast and smooth. Got my bike, stopped in the arboretum on the way home to do a trail I hadn't done in a while. Saw a red-bellied woodpecker and heard either a pileated woodpecker (are those actually around here? I feel like I only see Red-bellied woodpeckers and hairy/downy woodpeckers) or a belted kingfisher (or possibly a flicker. Actually it was probably a flicker except that I was near water so kingfisher is a possibility). After getting home, I ate dinner and then caught up on Rick and Morty, watched the first episode of Unicorn Eternal Warriors (what beautiful animation) and then watched FLCL since I've been meaning to watch for like 15 years. By like two in the morning I was pretty tired, so I set aside the last half of the final episode for later. 

Woke up and finished FLCL. Good show, I love how it plays with animation as a medium while still delivering a solid story about growing up. I wish I had watched it 15 years ago when I would've been just a bit older than Naota. Not that things like "Nothing can happen until you swing the bat" don't still hit me now. Showered and got ready for church. Rode my bike up (it was a beautiful day), prepared the sacrament and church went as normal. Sunday school was good too. Since there was a watch party for the devotional, it made more sense to just hang out in my office until that (cut off about 7 miles from my total for the day). So I went to my office and read more of Infinite Jest. 2 and a half hours (with a tiny nap) got me like 90 pages further, what a dense book. I'm like a quarter of the way through now though. Rode 9 miles to watch the devotional and made good time. Felt really called out, especially given how I'm not answering the question and not doing a good job dating. Chat for a bit. Rode home, ate dinner and basically collapsed because I'm tired and did like 30 miles on a microwave burrito. Got up and wrote this.

Feeling fine to good emotionally. But not too good, I think. Hopefully I can stay this way a while longer.

Your Name: how to do the remake right

So there's been a push (by Japanese investors iirc) to do a westernized live-action remake of Your Name. Completely unnecessary but let's suppose that there's no way to stop this venture. What currently is being done (at least the rumors I've heard) and what should be done to actually capture the spirit of the movie? Spoilers below, obviously.

Spring Day 37

 I could've done this yesterday, but I didn't.

I think I read more Wrestling the Angel in the morning. I also finished writing out my suggestion for why the book club should read Infinite Jest, as a pastiche of DFW of course. Complete with a footnote longer than the actual suggestion. Didn't do much in the afternoon. A little after 4 I headed out to the Southwest part of town to help a friend move and then to see Suzume (the theater was in the same part of town).

Suzume was awesome. First of all the animation was incredible, as expected. Secondly, it was just a good straightforward road-trip/adventure. But that's not really why it hit me. I don't know what it was, but all the disaster scenes just dug right into my heart. Especially near the end

Some tv show ideas

 I'm currently avoiding the massive pile of work (and have been avoiding for quite some time) so I figured I'd blog some of my more creative thoughts. Thoughts that have been kicking around my head for a decade.

I am not the creative type, in the sense that I'm no good at "the arts". In fact I am very much a consumer in the pejorative sense of the word. But I have been fascinated by creative processes for a long time and have always been something of a world builder. And so my whole life, I've entertained myself by (mentally) sketching out games, novels, movies and so on. It must've been around 2011 when I expanded to thinking about western animation as well clearly inspired by My Little Pony. And so now I finally am writing down some of those ideas?

But first, why western animation, especially those more oriented towards youngish people. One because that's what I knew but I also think there's some interesting constraints when you're trying to make something appealing to kids that can still draw in and appeal to an older demographic. Also I like pissing off those people.

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The Mythos Wyrm Show

This was basically my take at a parody of somewhat plot driven but still slice of lifey/episodic, 9-13 year old target audience with a large teenage/young adult periphery demographic, that I based around a skeleton of characters I'd been using forever. It's a pretty big archetype but apparently it's still around. Anyway, the main conceit is that there's this tightly driven plot but everything is aired out of order (except the first episode and the finale). Oh and main characters can die/permanently disappear. So you never know exactly why a character is or isn't in an episode, nor do you know if inconsistencies are because of bad writing or character development. The main idea is that the Demon Slayers are fighting a war against the Demon King and this is their journey to unite a bunch of imps/other demon tribes in rebellion against the Demon King. Oh and trying to work with a mysterious Afrit who claims to be the former ruler of this plane and his four disaster themed sons...

I've even thought up some episodes. The series opens up with a POV of Mythos Wyrm waking up and someone commenting that he got hit on the head. Then there's some introductions (a reminder of what he showed already know but hey, maybe that brick caused some memory loss) and we're off.

A play on the idea of the bottle episode would be a two-parter (aired together, I'm not that much of a monster) where Mythos Wyrm and the Demon King end up stuck in a cavern together and have to work together to get out, all while discussing their feelings and philosophies (Mythos Wyrm's semi-anarchism vs the paternalism of the Demon King). Just to end up fighting again when they get out. 

The finale would be a grand assault on the Demon King's palace, where all the remaining characters end up dead, while Mythos Wyrm fights the Demon King in the throne room. But then, as he's about to kill the Demon King, the world falls apart around him and he ends up in a modern office, where he learns his tv show is being cancelled. Then he rampages around, eventually finding the executives, just for a brick to hit his head and everything goes dark...

Oh and all the main characters are sort of 1 dimensional animated show archetypes (with twists), like the comic relief character who mostly relies on reference humor (which lands flat to the other characters and the viewers because it is all out of day). Or the chick who exists basically because these shows always have a chick in order to appeal to an audience you're never capturing.

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The Šyþed Pyklez Show

Classic sitcom about an up and coming band and their struggles surviving (while being bankrolled by the main character's record executive dad). Complete with an unlikable main character and terrible songs. Their sitcom archnemesis is another band ("The Knights of Shythe) who are actually successful but are considered sell outs. Not much more to say about it

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Unnamed Island Hopping Show

This one is based on an RPG setting that I've been tossing around ideas for at least half a decade (Actually over 6 years by this point), but I'll fully admit that the idea of doing this as a tv show came after watching Castlevania and Avatar: The Last Airbender this past fall. One of the big ideas I've wanted explore is a story where there is a chosen one and the main characters interact with the chosen one but also aren't really part of that story. And this setting would be a good place to explore it. Another thing I want to do is make sure that the characters are masters of their own fate, rather than passive and reactionary. But that's a broader writing problem.

The setting (and this tv show idea) deserve their own posts so I'll just outline it here. The son of a colonial administrator is hired to be a scout/guide/bodyguard by a priest who wants an escort to the capital of one of the local kingdoms. But soon enough it appears he and his friend (a newly arrived soldier/constable) bit off a more than they could chew on this mission, as the priest is more than he appeared to be and the tenuous peace between the colonists and the locals starts to unravel...

Season two would continue with them and another traveling companion, now considered fugitives and deserters, deciding they'll explore the Treasure Island instead. But when they get captured by an old pirate king, their only chance of freedom is uncovering information about a mysterious and charismatic new pirate prince, the Jago Hitam who poses a threat to both the traditional power structures and the colonial administrators...

The third seasons follows our adventurers in the Treasure Islands. This is the most episodic of the seasons, as the protagonists hop island to island and try to avoid the war that's engulfing the rest of the archipelago. Rather than directly continuing the plot, the main purpose of this season (other than generating action figures) is really diving into character motivations, like the protagonist's feeling of conflict between his father's nation and his mother's home and how the group can't just keeping running away from their problems. Oh and it dives more into lore as well, especially with all the ancient ruins spread across the islands...

The final season is a return to the main islands and a race to stop the potential end of the world by solving the mysteries of civilization past. But can the protagonists actually prevent a prophecy from happening? And does it even matter that the protagonists may not be able to effect change outside their own lives?

 While I assume what would draw the most Avatar comparisons is the Asian influence and the many different cultures but honestly that's unfair. The magic system is based around capturing spirits and summoning (so basically pokemon combined with alchemy), not elements; the different cultures aren't really different in magic or philosophy (as usually seen in Avatar clones); the cultures themselves are very Austronesian/Pacific instead of East Asian; and rather than deconstructing the Chosen One trope by showing how much it sucks, it's more about controlling one's destiny even in a world dictated by the Chosen One. But wanting to incorporate cool martial arts (in this case based on pencak silat), that's an actual Avatar influence.

Anyway, this one is worth more discussion so I'll blog about it more some other time.