United States of Tara

I just binged watched United States of Tara over a couple days, and I really loved it! In the show, Toni Collette plays a wife and mother who has multiple personality disorder (which is actually not recognized as a real thing in real life, FYI.). This, of course, affects almost every aspect of her life. She has 3 alters, to start - Buck, a truck driver Vietnam vet; Alice, a prim and proper religious homemaker; T, an annoying teenager; later on, there’s also Shoshanna, based on a real psychiatrist whose book Tara read; and Gimmie, some kind of weird primal personality. The show deals with how these alters spontaneously popping up messes up her life, and also with the  mystery of what trauma caused her mind to splinter like this. It was really fascinating to see how her family members all interacted with these other personalities, where it was still their mom/wife/sister and yet not.

I was sad that there were just 3 seasons. I felt like it was great, up until the very end. I wonder if maybe they found out they were cancelled and had to rush to end it somehow. It was just very unfulfilling, and not at all a fit end for any of the characters.

Welcome to Night Vale

I was looking through iTunes in search of a fresh new podcast to listen to. I came across one called Welcome to Night Vale. It was described as something like a radio show of community events, except that this community, Night Vale, is home to some incredibly strange supernatural occurrences. I listened to a few episodes and got totally hooked. I raced through the 20-odd episodes in a matter of days, even though I only listened to them during my commute, instead of during the day like most podcasts, because I wanted to really pay attention to it, instead of having it as background noise like I do with some of the podcasts I listen to.

It’s so well-written, blending the commonplace matters of a small town with mysterious bizarre happenings. And I love Cecil’s voice, and how it can change from regular radio announcer, to creepy and ominous, to a schoolgirl with a crush. There’s great recurring characters who get mentioned, like the hovering cat in the station bathroom; the glow cloud on the school board; old woman Josie and her angels; Hiram McDaniels, the five-headed dragon who’s running for mayor; the hooded figures; and of course, Carlos the scientist, who Cecil waxes poetically about.

It seems like it’s gotten pretty popular recently. In the couple days after I started listening to it, I saw several mentions of it in various places around the internets.

Also, check out these 11 Burning Night Vale Questions, answered by Cecil himself.

Jalapeno Mac & Cheese, Are You Kidding Me

Okay, hold the phone, I had NO IDEA Kraft made Jalapeno mac & cheese now. Those are 2 of my favorite things, together! I ate literally a whole box of this in one sitting, all by myself, this weekend. Oinks all around.

BTW, it was delicious. Slight spicy kick, but not too harsh. Also it seemed like there were less macaronis than in a box of the regular. But hey, it’s a fair trade-off, I guess.

Power-Con 2013!

On Sunday, I went to Power-Con, a convention devoted to all things He-Man, She-Ra, Thundercats, and Ninja Turtles. The latter was a new addition this year; the previous 2 years of this convention focused only on the first 3. Power-Con is a really great, small-ish con located at a Marriott in Torrance.

They have a small exhibit floor filled with some amazing products, and a lot of artists with some really awesome prints for sale. I bought a She-Ra sticker, this She-Ra print, and check out this film cell of He-Man my boyfriend got!






They also had a pretty great line up of panels. We went to a few of them: one about the animated He-Man series, featuring some of the writers and directors; another about the She-Ra series, also featuring some of the writers and directors; and another that was a screening of a She-Ra episode with one of the directors doing a live commentary.

I love that all this stuff that was popular when I was a kid is experiencing a kind of resurgence. Look at this badass She-Ra action figure!!! They didn't have stuff this awesome when I was a kid!

Animal Crossing Update: My Villagers

I’ve got a pretty good mix going of villagers in my town. We’ve had a couple people come and go, with more to come perhaps. But right now, I like most all of them.

I have:

Curt, the tall gray bear. Grumpy on the outside but a sweetheart on the inside. One of my favorites. He’s not allowed to move. Ever.

Drago, a super chill dragon.

Agnes, the sweetest little black pig ever. Also not allowed to move.

Hamphrey, a black hamster. He’s the newest addition to the town. He’s a bit of a grump too, but it’s cute.

Aurora, a really sweet penguin. Another of my faves.

Cookie, a pink dog. She’s a new villager as well, and can probably be allowed to stay for a while.

Poncho... literally my favorite. He’s a little blue bear bro who calls me ladydude and ladybro. If he moves out, I will burn the town down.

Bella, a rock n roll mouse. Honestly, she’s next to go. No particular reason, just tired of her shit. No, seriously, it’s mainly just that I like all the other villagers more than I like her, so if I have to sacrifice someone for the sake of change, then so be it.

Tangy, an orange cat. No, not like the color orange. She’s like an actual orange... but also a cat. An orange cat. A cat orange. She has a leaf on her head. She can stay.

Delaware Punch

Have you ever heard of Delaware Punch? It’s a drink that was a staple during my childhood in Texas. It comes in this beautiful purple can, and it’s “fruit” flavored, but mostly tastes like an especially delicious grape flavor (or, you know, purple flavor). You can’t find it really anywhere now. A couple years ago, I was driving through east Texas to see my great uncle and found it in a convenience store in the middle of nowhere. My parents were able to buy a couple cases of it for me at some wholesale place in Houston. Other than that, I haven’t seen it anywhere in 15 years!

Some Fun facts that not even I myself knew:

• Coca Cola actually owns it.
• The name comes from the Delaware grape where it gets it’s flavor, and has nothing to do with the state of Delaware (another fun fact: I don’t believe Delaware is a state that actually exists.)
• It was more popular than Coke back in the 1910s and 20s.
  
  
  
  
  

I currently have a couple cans of Delaware Punch in my fridge, leftover from those cases my parents bought. It literally tastes like my childhood, like youth and innocence and good times.

Animal Crossing Update: Fall Is Coming Edition

Fall is coming! The leaves on the trees in my town are lighter in color, and it looks like the grass is a lighter color as well. Well, on what little grass I have! I’m hopeful that the grass will come back after winter covers the ground in snow, but I don’t know that for sure.

Another change is that the cicadas (and their awful sounds) are almost gone, and the crickets (with their much more pleasing chirping) are coming out.

This is one of many things I love about Animal Crossing - it is ever changing and evolving.