Halloween 2026. Total no-go for me. I braved Walmart this afternoon, and that was more than enough of “being in public” or “people-ing” and so on for ME today.
Not even to mention the frustration with other drivers out there and the stupid stuff people do. (Lane lines are there for a reason. Parking spot lines are there for a reason. Stop signs and crosswalks are there for a reason. Etc.)
I started a new job this week. 60 mile commute each way…takes a LOT outta someone, especially after a week of it, after being unemployed for 6 months and remote-work for 7 1/2 years prior. Then there’s the curse of the empathy and being on-edge/stressed/etc myself as well as soaking it up from someone else AND feeling like I’m contributing to that person’s stress just by existing.
We lost Walter Koenig this week–the actor who portrayed Chekov in the original Star Trek. He was also in Generations, which was my first full, official introduction to the world of Star Trek back at the end of 1994 (nearly 32 years ago). I think that was where I “got” the line that “I was never that young” from.
Then we lost Patrick Stewart. Captain Jean Luc Picard. Professor Charles Xavier. Ahab. Scrooge. And as with Koenig, I was too exhausted and “out of it” from this week’s new job start to really “feel” or process it. Still haven’t, though I see and “know” the ENORMITY of it. But there have been the beginnings, seeing memes and videos/reels, remembering that I left off a couple years ago in season two of TNG, that I believe Stewart’s Xavier is in the new Avengers movie out in a few more weeks here, and seeing action figure stuff of his characters out there and so on.
That it feels so recent my contemplation of age, and how old he was when he first portrayed Picard, and the character’s age at the time….and comparing that to my OWN age NOW and how woefully I measure up.
Yesterday was Dad’s birthday. He would have been 76. And though I’ve been volunteering with GriefShare for a couple years now, attended awhile before that….somehow it STILL managed to sneak up on me and impact me way more than I even consciously realized or was prepared for. Like having the “clinical KNOWLEDGE of” something, yet failing to apply said knowledge to reality.
Stack that on top of exhaustion from the week and the pending feelings looking at the two Star Trek losses, and the ripple/waves of meaning across pop culture, and the lives of many of my friends and “people” and the empathy, and yeah….not a good recipe.
Followed by now, tonight, feeling guilty.
It’s been 4 years or so now that I’ve been “involved with” the TCG “Flesh and Blood” or “FAB.” A fighting game set in a fantasy world (maybe akin to Brian Sanderson’s book universe?). After the “debacle” that was the Magic: The Gathering 30th Anniversary stuff, I saw one of “The Professor’s” videos about FAB and wound up looking further into it, getting ahold of some cards, watching other YouTube videos about it, and so on…eventually going to a local-ish shop to learn in-person how to play, and then a few days later returning to participate in a “draft” event at the shop.
My first-ever “official” TCG in-a-shop experience, having always played various card/minis/board games casually just with friends at home/dorms. I had never been one for going to play at a shop with other people that I might only even “recognize” at the shop(s), and otherwise be total strangers with.
That first draft event–October 30, 2022–carried added significance as being on Dad’s birthday….his first without him here on Earth. And against odds, I pulled a card with a 1:96 pack rarity, AND another card with a 1:960 pack rarity.
Supposedly several HUNDRED dollars’ “worth” at the time.
But to me, that remained and HAS remained something that I think on, how Dad would have taken it when I’d’ve showed/shared/told him. Considering he was the one who apparently suggested some new game to me back in 1993 that I supposedly had no interest in, that he had spotted in an advance catalog at the time.
Having pulled them on his birthday and having the feeling/anecdote, those have become fairly priceless to me, two cards I’ll absolutely keep even if I ever divest myself of the rest of my FAB collection.
It’s also been 30 years now that Clark Kent (Superman) and Lois Lane have been married in the comics. They got married in the Wedding Album special in October 1996. Aside from 3-4 years back in 2011-2015ish with the “New 52,” it’s been solid, and by far has outlasted “the Spider-Marriage” (Peter and MJ) on the Marvel side. For me, it DOES seem that it’s become a solid “fact” within the “Superman Mythos” or lore or whatever. 30 years out of the 88 or so years the character has EXISTED. 35% of the existence. The characters had only existed for 58 years to THAT point in ’96.
This week gave us a 30th Anniversary wedding special; co-created by several of the creators who were on the Superman books back in ’96. “Unfortunately” some newer creators as well, whose story, wordflow, and the artists’ visuals just felt so…”off” to me. Whether lack of detail in a panel for Superman’s ear, or a ridiculously cartoony/caricature face for Jimmy Olsen…definite INCONSISTENCY even within the same creators’ pages.
Mr. Mxyzptlk had a couple of different visual versions, but that “worked” because it played off the silver age visual and post-CoIE visual; sort of the charmingly annoying imp and the dangerous, fit-for-’80s-grittiness imp.
It was a relief to see Jon as Tomorrow Man rather than “Young Superman”; if he’s gotta be an active hero and not the “Superboy” we had from 2016 until Bendis, I definitely prefer him like this. And withOUT them playing up controversial romantic stuff.
I am a huge Dungeon Crawler Carl fan. Big-time.
But maaaaan, does it just annoy the heck outta me some of the “tiktock trends” of BUYING the merchandise.
People trying to get “internet points” for having bought UMPTEEN blind boxes or trading card packs.
People posting finding a box or pack and “so is this worth anything?”
Like…if you were interested enough TO buy it, then it was WORTH IT to YOU.
STOP looking to internet strangers for “validation” of something’s “worth.”
Stuff is only WORTH what someone else will ACTUALLY PAY YOU for the transfer.
Speaking of DCC…I arts-and-crafts-ed a yard sign a couple weeks back to read “Carl and Donut” in a “play” on the political yard signs.
Today, found a note in the mailbox “Mongo is appalled!”
First “Crawler in the Wild” experience for me.
And to “wrap up,” gotta love how INCONSISTENT provision is for financial hardship–Unemployment/ODJFS supposedly is there to help provide stability for individuals.
But because I worked this week, I’m not gonna qualify to get unemployment pay FOR this week. And most of the past few months the Unemployment pay has BARELY lasted from Monday to Sunday, with me having just about wiped out my SAVINGS supplementing it. So this PAST monday’s pay for the week before has to last me BOTH this week AND next. And then the first paycheck is gonna be 20% LESS than if I’d just gotten the two weeks’ Unemployment pay to last me another 2 weeks til a “regular” paycheck.
NOT exactly good “incentive” or such TO actually work.
But “The System” treats everything as BINARY and treats people like CRIMINALS. GUILTY until providing proof of one’s own innocence.
