what are we doing

oh brother.

I wish I had more inspirational and hopeful to say for this intro but truly, idfk man. Here are some things that brightened my week, maybe they'll do the same for you.

Whats for Dinner

I won't lie, there has not been much to report on in this category in the last 2-ish weeks. I did try to make "pulled pork" with oyster mushrooms that looked and tasted great but the photos leave much to be desired.

Sing it With Me

Last week at work, bestie Kami was regaling the rest of us with a 90s and 2000s diva playlist which featured a consequential amount of Celine Dion. It launched a few of us working into a discussion about her performance style and voice and her general air of kookiness.

I took the opportunity to introduce everyone to her early 2000s Vegas residency and told everybody to look up the It's All Coming Back to Me Now performance. First of all, I re-looked this up to talk about it and she had a show at Caesar's Palace from from 2003 to 2007 that was the most successful residency of all time?? The show grossed close to $400 million and they performed to over 3 million people??? I maintain that no one's doing it like Celine.

I've hunter-gathered some highlight performance vids here for y'all. Doing this made me reminisce about sitting on our terribly shitty couch in my college apartment on Huntington Ave. and having P. Kitch not only show me some of these videos, but also sing over them in the original keys.

The Reading Nook

Since we last spoke I have finished Dracula by Bram Stoker and I have thoughts!

First and foremost: I think this is an eerie, mysterious thriller that remains a classic for good reason. I could see how this has been historically categorized as a horror novel, but felt that by modern standards and comparisons, it was more fun and campy than horrifying. It definitely dragged through the middle and there were several instances of the same event happening over and over through several chapters to no obvious benefit (i.e. two main characters experience repeated bouts of a mysterious illness and their symptoms seem to sync up coincidently with visits from a bat at their bedroom windows. Three other main characters do not put two and two together for a solid 200 pages.) I did love the writing style and choice to tell the story through letters, journal entries, and newspaper articles. It felt very cinematic.

My fav part was: The chapter long sequence where Dr. Seward, Van Helsing, and crew are checking on Renfield, who's been unexplainably beaten up in his isolated room in the insane asylum. The two doctors have finally pieced together that Renfield is connected to Dracula and are going to question him when they discover him with his skull bashed in. Meanwhile, while the two are distracted, Dracula is upstairs with Mina and Jonathan Harker. This whole scene had perfect pacing and excellent reveals. Ate it up.

One thing I wasn't so fond of: The ending! I was looking forward to see how we would match the excitement of other earlier confrontation scenes but the book just kind of ended. Once we get into the final act, all of the main characters have splintered off into singles and pairs to maximize their chances of getting to Dracula as he travels from London back to Transylvania. I was expecting there to be a grand rendevouz where everyone would end up in the same place but we instead get Mina's journal perspective where she talks about how she watched from on top of a mountain Jonathan decapitating Dracula. Once he kills the vampire, everything is chill and everyone just goes back home.

Overall: 4.5/5, would definitely recommend, especially the Audible recording with Alan Cumming and Tim Curry.

TTYL

Recs! Recs! Recs!

a song on repeat:

• The Power of Love by Celine Dion

a movie i watched recently:

• The Lighthouse (2019) - 5/5. This is a documentary of an average day when i'm home in Maine for anyone wondering.

a book i'm reading:

• Circe by Madeline Miller - starting this for work book club. I'm excited, I loved Song of Achilles so I have high hopes.

Until Next Time!