Good morning. Hello. How are you? #1014
Aircrete, a call for a docudrama about AOC's pivot to centrism, Barbie, Damn you eyes, AI.
Good morning. Hello. How are you? All well? Why does notes always crash on my brand new, top-of-the-line Mac? Oh god I’m gonna have to upgrade to OSX Sonoma today, aren’t I? Crap. Okay. Fine. Let’s make a day of it.
I have today off. So does Jane. She is still sick but this is a teacher work day, as is Monday, so hopefully she’ll be well enough to go Tuesday. I like how you guys are like “oh if she has pink eye don’t send her, that stuff is contagious.” You guys are so charmingly 90’s I love it. The doctor outright said she could go back to school. The school does not care at all. You could tell the school your daughter has Ebola and I’m pretty sure they’d say “send her on in.” Covid killed off any semblance of schools — at least around here — caring about that shit.
But I digress. I tried to get her excited about going to the recycling center and Walmart but apparently I have created a five year-old surly teen cuz she said “nah, I don’t think I want to do that.” Well fair enough, Jane. Why would you find the same things exciting as a 51 year old washout.
Fixed my Hulu last night. Had to completely delete the app from the Apple TV and then the web version would let me request a forgotten password. Seriously. I tried to get a password, no luck, deleted the app from my Apple TV, and then tried again and it worked. Figure that one out. Anyway, it’s back and I can now find out who killed Paul Rudd in Only Murders in the Building. So many of my shows have finished up, I need this. Foundation ended, season 2 was just great. The After Party ended, season 2 was… fine. Lower Decks, the finest Star Trek ever, is still going, that is nice.
Last night we finally watched Barbie and it was just about as good as everyone said. I was prepared for the Stephen Malkmus joke but no one prepared me for the Duolingo joke which hit very, very close to home and I had to gaffaw for a good ten minutes. The politics of the film were very interesting, blah blah blah woulda been hilarious if it was full-on revolutionary but it’ll mostly do. I am deeply, profoundly disappointed that Mattel has not made a Irresistible Thoughts of Death Barbie that is such bullshit. I mean, I feel bad for Mattel, pretty sure they did not expect to have a worldwide smash hit on their hands and a geopolitical crisis. It was too much for them. Really just a masterful exercise in brand repositioning, though, A+, top notch. Also notably did not address plastic toxicity but whatever there is a limit to how much you can expect from a toy movie and I think we pretty much hit upon it. Rollicking good time, some emotional moments, mostly earned.
Listening to my Release Radar on Spotify this morning and it is mostly artists I have never heard, never even heard of. There is a new Mitski album today, yay. The vinyl has not yet arrived, but the day is young, I will reserve judgement. But, man. Release Radar. Real mystery. I’m always annoyed at all these bands I’ve not heard being on my playlist that is literally supposed to be “all the latest music from artists you follow,” but whatever. Because mostly the shit is pretty good, which I hate hate hate damn your eyes, AI. Oh shit that is a great song title — mix of Johnny Cash and modern horror I like it. Okay, okay, Etta James and modern horror, but I learned of Damn your Eyes from the Cash American version, produced by two-time housefire victim (not suspicious at all) Rick Rubin.
Damn your eyes, AI.
I was putting away my laundry last night, enjoying a reward tiny wine I am still only allowed to have domestically while putting away my laundry and I skipped it the last few laundry times honest, and I got to my AOC Green New Deal shirt, and I regret to inform you, reader, that I am now officially embarrassed to wear that shirt, and I moved it from the regular rotation rack to the archival rack. Am I embarrassed to wear it because the conservatives successfully tarnished the meme to the point where it feels cliched? No, no, quite the opposite. I’m embarrassed to wear it cuz AOC went centrist. I mean, I’m kinda a centrist, and I super love her and we went to the same school and had the same major and the same concentration within that major, but also I was not a great hope of the progressive movement, and I was not a US Representative from a safe district and, man, I get it, I get it AOC, but I am sad. I wonder what happened. I wonder who got to her. Was it Pelosi? Nadler? Her own ambition? I would watch a docudrama about the centering of AOC I would watch the hell out of that.
Crap I just burned the waffles. Forgot they were cooking. Dammit.
Damn your eyes, AI.
My teco-block is coming today, and the concrete pad has cured a week so very soon now we are gonna start building the support wall for the greenhouse. We are getting close. It is very exciting. Also I’m going to move some Cast Iron Plant Aspidistras from a too-sunny area by the garage side door to some nice and shady areas for them, and then pave that spot for some outdoor equipment storage. That’ll be fantastic. But now I am stuck trying to figure out exactly what kind of shelter to put there. Do I buy some of those ugly outdoor storage cabinets? Try and build something? Try and make a roof on it that somehow matches the house? Really am torn.
Speaking of which I got super obsessed with aircrete last night have you heard of this stuff? Basically you mix Portland cement (not named for any city named Portland, actually not a thing at all, Portland cement, but that is a topic for another time) and a bunch of, basically, dishwashing soap foam, but made to an exact, specific density, and you mix the foam in with the concrete and you get this ultra-light, but very hard material that you can use like concrete, making bricks and forms and stuff, but it’s super light and you can cut it with a saw and once it’s in shape you plaster it and it’s pretty f’n strong. I am very into this. I don’t know what I want to make with aircrete but boy oh boy do I want to make something with it. ]
Maybe make a Hobbit Hole.
Drone mix! Two oldies, well, four, but two for me, and a bunch of new stuff. Just discovered thid Bonnacons of Doom band and so far A+ just great. Everyone’s going off on the new Föllakazoid being a masterpiece and man, that record rules. A+ on the extraneous umlaut as well. Still totally stanning for the new Cindy Wilson and MAN ON MAN records they are both just great and so far this new Horze band is holding immense problem. And thank you Bill for championing The Veldt I am finally giving them their proper due and they really are great.
Everyone have a lovely weekend! Talk next week.