I'll Tumblr For Ya

I am probably around 60 listens to the album and there are two main things: what it is about and what the main theme is. It is about Reade's journey of acceptance of her true self as a trans woman. The theme is about the duality that lives in people. This makes it hella relatable to pretty much anyone who has become aware of duality in themselves (for me it is the side that accepts being disabled and the side in denial.) But the second part that is less relatable for many since it is about unifying the disparate parts of each half that you need to thrive and discarding what you don't need or what causes you suffering.

Pasadena is the first song and has this line "underwater you can't breathe without her" and December ends the album with "like a swing set in the sea we are anything/everything but ordinary" the water imagery bookending the album is really kind of interesting since it is needed for life and can also take it so easily. Just like not being the person you are supposed to be can do to you.

Weirdly, the entire album plays like a concept album out of order. Especially due to Make It Easy which I believe Reade has said isn't part of the concept, but I think it is, it is the ending of the story not the middle. That time when you finally found yourself enough to be able to let someone else in and look for love again.

At any given time pretty much any song can be my favorite, though I fully believe December is far and away the best. The mix of modern and retro is melded really well throughout and it hits like a freight train.

I read Stephen King's "Elevation." Probably my third favorite book of his I have read (and aside from the Dark Tower I have like 5 of his books I have not read.)

It is short, about 140ish pages, and can be read in an hour or so it is all killer and no filler with every moment being important. It is sweet, warm, and heartwrenching. A truly beautiful tale of a man facing his mortality and deciding how to live his last days.

No horror other than the situation under which he is dying (which is a really cool concept.) It is spiritually like "Thinner" but the character has the opposite disposition.

Quick impressions of a bunch of movies I recently watched:

Happy Death Day - mix a slasher flick with a romantic comedy and coming of age tale, add some Ground Hog's Day and you get this movie. It is hella fun and while not perfect, but it has some cool progression of the gimmick and a wonderful character arc buoyed by Jessica Rothe giving a great performance.

Super Troopers 2 - I feared this movie. A sequel to one of my favorite comedies of all time happing over 15 years later and crowdfunded? Ohh bad news, especially with how few current comedies I really like. It felt just like the original and used old jokes to build new ones. It was hella fun.

Alvin and the Chipmunks Road Chip - look, I saw the first Alvin flick and it was a trashfire. This one was largely enjoyable. Felt like a very different writing team. Jason Lee stopped caring at all and it is wonderful, and Tony Hale works his ass off. It is stupid, but a nice, easy watch.

Baywatch - twice this year, really love this movie, feels like how the Brady Bunch movies updated that tv series. Highlight the absurd and exaggerate much of what the show was loved for.

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle - some roughness here and there, but very fun. Rock "The Dwayne" Johnson, Jack Black, and Karen Gillen playing against type was super fun and where the best part of the movies lie. Kevin Hart however just pulled a Kevin Hart and that was disappointing.

Jurassic Park - in glorious 4k with HDR... damn this movie looks amazing this way. The coolest/craziest part was how great and detailed the dinosaur skin looked.

The Shape of Water - Also in 4k, and if you can, this is the way to watch it. The work on the sets really pops this way, so many great little details that are so much more clear and vibrant. Really loved the movie too, also been a fan of mermen/Creatures. Great acting, wonderful use of music, and great design work. Grinding Nemo was beautiful.