Alaska is still the best state

Don't @ me, you know it's true

Last week I had the joy of revisiting my favorite state. I have been to all 50 (this is my proudest accomplishment, I talk about it all of the time) and Alaska is easily the best one. This trip was my best by far, we did all of the bucket list things and even saw Denali, which visitors only see 30% of the time. We saw lots of moose, which was glorious, but the bears hid from us, which was rude but just gives me another excuse to go to Alaska. If you haven’t been, you should absolutely go soon. And invite me along.

Speaking of things that I talk about all of the time, I find it so weird that people make fun of other people for being excited about things in their lives and talking about it. I thought we were done making fun of people who are vegan or love crossfit but tiktok has shown me that apparently we’re not? How weird is it to make fun of people for being passionate about something? Then again, tiktok has also shown me that apparently most people are deeply miserable so I guess it all makes sense. How did we learn about life before the tok?

On my trip I read Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes trilogy. It was excellent, of course. But then I came home and I have the post-vacay sickies (don’t worry, it’s not COVID) and I watched The Outsider series on HBO and started the Mr. Mercedes series and I just do not understand WHY IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2021 WE ARE STILL MAKING TV SHOWS THAT ARE NOTHING LIKE THE BOOK. Seriously, wtf tv writers. You think you’re better than one of the most bestselling authors of all time? Spoiler: you’re not. Stop changing the story!!! And especially because they OF COURSE always take the hero moments away from the women. This is actually one of the things that Stephen King and I disagree about (perhaps the only thing. I don’t know, I don’t know him). He is very very wrong about what the best adaptations of his work are. I don’t know why. Maybe they pay him more for the bad shows. Maybe he has personal beef with Kubrick, who doesn’t? But his opinions on these matters are wrong and I don’t mind you telling him so.

The Shining is an almost perfect adaptation. Kubrick didn’t include the scariest part from the book, possibly because they didn’t have the technology yet, possibly because IT IS SO FREAKING SCARY THAT I ALMOST DIED OF FRIGHT. He also made Wendy a stronger character who saves herself, unlike the book, which is weird because King is all oh he made Wendy weaker and while, yes, Kubrick did drive the actress who played Wendy literally insane (directors had so much more freedom in the 70s), the character was totally badass. In the book she literally gets CARRIED OUT BY THE COOK. In the movie the cook dies almost immediately because he’s black but Wendy gets herself and her son out by herself. Take that, King!

Anyways, all of this to say that I first discovered the book to movie adaptation problem when I saw Congo in the 6th grade and cried because I just did not understand why they would change Michael Crichton’s (RIP) amazing book AND I AM STILL CRYING.

What to watch:

Once Is Enough (Amazon)- This little indie doc about a guy who runs an ultramarathon after his mother passes away is so inspirational. It feels pretty likely that I’ll run an ultra at some point so it was nice watching a totally non-athletic dude do it and survive.

Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu)- I’m not sure if this is good or not. I don’t think I’ll know until the end. But it should be watched and discussed.

LEGO Masters (Hulu)- Season 2 of LEGO Masters is just as fun as the first season. It’s a reality show about LEGO. How can you not?

What to listen to:

Bad Blood/The Dropout (Podcasts)- We are living through two trials of the century at the same time. Glorious. These two podcasts are covering the Elizabeth Holmes trial, although not in as much detail as I’d like. They could learn a lot from Jury Duty. But, the hosts are great. Bad Blood is by John Carreyrou, who blew the lid off Theranos in the first place (and whose book by the same name you should definitely read) and The Dropout was a great podcast and documentary about Holmes that is now moving forward with the same hosts. This trial is going to be wild and Elizabeth is already up to her old weird tricks (she literally stared down the jurors because she thinks eye contact is important lol) so keep up with the trial and text me when things get interesting.

White Saviors (Podcast)- Remember Free The Children? I have a vague memory of it, but had no idea that it and the apparently massive organization behind it were and are so influential. I am, however, not at all surprised that it’s actually a criminal enterprise being run by a corrupt family that is exploiting the old trope of white people saving African children to make millions. It’s so weird that this is still happening.

What to read:

The news probably hasn’t told you this but ethnic cleansing is happening in Ethiopia.

Lila Nordstrom wrote an oped for Wapo!

Your brain is bigger than you think it is.