Week ending 7/27

Hey, it's me. 

It's been kind of a quiet week.

I did manage to get a fair amount of writing in, so I'm happy about that. I'm staying about 4 chapters ahead on my current SimLit story, In Shadow, which means I have time to think about how to unravel some plot tangles. I'm even managing to enjoy the process again, which is great.

The other thing I wanted to talk about... a new movie. 

Yes, it's your roving movie reviewer. This time... Death of a Unicorn (2025) with Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father and daughter who, while on the way to a billionaire's country estate (for reasons that really don't matter), accidentally hit and kill a something unusual with their car. 

" ... it is horse shaped. With some sort of protrusion or a growth."

"It's a fucking unicorn!"

OK, first Jenna Ortega is amazing. Anyone who has seen her Wednesday Addams in Netflix's Wednesday knows this and this movie show that it's no fluke. She is amazing.

As for the rest of the movie... it is a monster movie, in the tradition of Alien... only the monster here is a unicorn. A very big, very angry unicorn. We are not talking a My Little Pony cute unicorn here. We are talking a pissed off Clydesdale with three inch fangs and a broadsword on it's forehead.

What's really cool is how closely the movie sticks to actual unicorn folklore. (What, you thought unicorns were cute and nice? Yeah... not if you make then angry.) The movie is not only inspired by the famous unicorn tapestries but actually directly references them as Jenna Ortega's character hits the proverbial books to understand what is happening.

Anyway, it's a great movie. I highly recommend it. I think mom would have enjoyed it. 

Well, got to run.

Onward 

Hey, it's me. (Week ending 7/20/25)

 I'm missing my mom a lot this week. These past couple of weeks have been the kind of weeks where I really want to call her and talk to her. 

I used to call her at least one a week, sometimes more. If I called and got her voicemail, I always left the same message. Kind of my little ritual...

"Hey, it's me. Just called to say 'hey.' Talk to you later. Love you. Chiao."

Well... I've decided that this post is going to fill the emotional gap. I've got some thing I want to talk about. So I'm going to.

-------------------

So, it hasn't been a horrible week. I think I'm mostly recovered from last week and I've been sleeping better.

But wow... can we talk about the news?

OK, the Epstein Files thing. I don't want to say that I don't care about Jeffery Epstein because obviously... horrible man, abused children, should rot in hell. One can hope. 

Trump and Epstein... I mean, we know that President Grab 'Em is also a horrible person. It's pretty clear that he has a thing for young women. Underage girls? Probably. Were he and Epstein friends. Pretty much certainly. Does that mean Epstein procured underage girls for Trump? I mean, it's a pretty distinct possibility. Unfortunately, we'll probably never know.

Right now, for Trump, it doesn't matter. 

Trump built a base of conspiracy nuts. These people absolutely believe that there are Files that Name Names of Rich and Powerful Men. Some go so far as to believe they reveal The Satanic Pedophile Cabal (of Shape Shifting Lizardmen). The truth of whatever is in the documents the DoJ holds doesn't matter to these people. I mean, they won't read them anyway. If what is in those documents doesn't fit their theory they will believe the documents are false, or incomplete, or fabricated, or whatever... and it will only reinforce their particular tinfoil hat beliefs. 

Trump won the presidency on Alternative Facts. Now, he's got to deal with it.

Then we have the Stephen Colbert/Late Show thing, which is oddly the flip side of the coin.

I mean, was the Late Show really canceled for "financial reasons" or was it canceled because Colbert is a relentless and fearless critic of Trump, who cannot abide criticism? 

Is the belief that Trump pressured CBS into canceling Colbert just our version of a conspiracy theory? 

I think the difference there is doubt. 

Do I believe that CBS cancelled the Late Show under pressure from Trump? Yeah, looking at Trump's behavior, his tendency to sue anyone he doesn't like and the fact that they paid him off rather then deal with that, I can believe it. So, I have actual evidence to support the belief. But, I don't know it. It is possible that CBS made an honest financial decision. I find that hard to believe, but it is possible. 

I cling to that possibility, to that doubt... not because without that doubt I risk become a conspiracy nut myself.

I just don't think a tinfoil hat would look good on me... not with my hair. 

Thanks for listen.

I love you, mom.

Onward

Week Ending 7/13

 Well... that sucked.

Had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, which was horrible. 

First, my doctor got on my case because I've put on weight. OK, I'm overweight. I'm fat. I've got to own that. I can barely move, so exercise is a nonstarter. So, I gain weight. It sucks and I hate it, but if I don't eat, I'm on pain. Pain sucks and I hate it. Fine, I've slack about managing portions and my diet went to hell in a handbasket because of the whole "driving to Vermont" thing. I'll work on it. 

Second, and far worse, my doctor is retiring. Even when she gets on my case about my weight, I love my doctor. She's nice. She's smart. She listens to me... and she was my hero when we had to deal with the disability insurance scumbags. Seriously, my lawyer was practically bouncing with excitement at her rebuttal letter to them. Now she's retiring and I need to find a new doctor. Worse, I'm being told I can't actually make an appointment to meet a new doctor because I've still got a follow up appointment with my doctor. What kind of bullshit is that?!

I hate this. I hate it. Hate it. Hate! It!

Then, as if that wasn't enough, I've felt horrible this whole week. I'm even more exhausted than my default exhausted. I can hardly get out of bed. I'm in pain and I'm miserable. 

To make matters worse, I'm basically finished watching all the things I've been watching, and I can't decide what to watch next because my brain is totally fogged. 

Yeah. This week sucked!

Oh well...

Onward

Week Ending 7/6

OK, I either need to write these earlier in the day or... 

No, I just need to remember to write these earlier in the day. 

Pretty quiet week for me. I'm at a point where I'm not crashing as hard, which is good. I've usually just "coasted down" around lunch time (a little before, a little after). I'm also managing to take naps during the day, which helps in some ways but has an odd consequence. I'm more likely to have a hard time falling back to sleep when I wake up in the night. Not sure how to work with that one. I think mom would say I should just "be up when I'm up and sleep when I'm tired." She did that... but she lived alone. 

Still thinking about mom. Still catch myself thinking I really should call her. I don't imagine I'll ever stop doing that, but maybe it will start hurting a little less. 

Juno grilled for the 4th of July, and we watched ID4, which is a tradition in our house. I dozed off sometime after they got to Area 51 but woke up for the final battle. That kind of a day.

I'd like to say I'm doing OK, but it's a lie. I'm not OK. Working on it though.

Onward