Soft-Launching a New Year

Happy New Year!!! Also, happy trails to the “I’ll get to it tomorrow” of yesteryear. Tomorrow is here and with the rolling in of the new year, most people attempt to set a goal or two they wish to accomplish in the new year. Then the old trope of unaccomplished resolutions becomes more of a statistic as people fall off the wagon after about 3 weeks. For me, New Year’s resolutions are always a trial-and-error situation all year long as I may fall off, but I do get back on. I feel that it is not about if you have failed or not, it is about the fact you keep trying all year long and then re-evaluate your situation toward the end of the year. It is more like a soft launch with an easy landing if it all goes to hell, than it is an ultimatum followed by a downtrodden diary entry of “I wish I could have kept going.” I am not saying that all resolutions can be done this way. In fact, most resolutions are a do-or-die with no in-between. I am also not saying that all resolutions are even possible. Honestly, there is no easy way to lose 200 pounds in 365 days. What I am saying is that if we phrase the resolution in a tone of “Let’s see how far I can get”, instead of a “I do it or else,” then maybe, just maybe, we will be happier come December 31^st knowing that we may not have fully succeeded, but we sure did try our best. Besides even if you have been dry all year, New Year’s Eve is just more fun with a drink in hand. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Merry FestiKwanYuleHanamas

Holiday greetings and gay, happy meetings when friends come to call. Words of a carol have never rung so hard. The issue comes when people get so disheveled at what a holiday greeting should be. My family is bad for this. To my parents, it is “Merry Christmas” or nothing. They absolutely despise the idea of saying “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays.” I then have to explain that it is something most companies do as a measure to not offend anyone. Which is where my ramble starts. Why do we have to worry about offending people with a holiday greeting. I think everyone should say their holiday greeting, whatever that should be. If I say “Merry Christmas” to you, then by all means say “Happy Kwanzaa” back to me. I will take no offense because you did not wish me my holiday be happy. In the same sense, you should not feel upset because I do not know what you celebrate. Honestly, we all need to settle down about how we send cheer. It is not about religion or freedoms of speech or any other thing like that. It is simply one person trying to make another person’s day a little better by passing on festive spirit, because the holidays is no time for downtrodden feelings. So, to all my ramble readers, may your days be merry, may your candles burn all 8 days, may your ancestors get much gratitude, may your log stay hot, and may your pole stay silver. This year lets all have a great holiday, greeting people with a gay, happy smile. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

It Is Not About Neo-Dystopian Outlaws

Have you ever seen a movie with a friend and gotten into a hot debate about what the movie was actually about? Is your friend one of those people who over-analyzes every scene in a way that makes it nearly impossible to enjoy said movie? Welcome to my life. A life full of watching movies alone, because I have more than one friend like this. Long gone are the days of simply enjoying a movie for what it is. Unfortunately, I have a friend group that actively try to get their rotten tomato basket full as they decide what movies are actually about. The Barbie movie was a woman empowerment movie that spelled out how bad it can get if we ignore the signs of sexism. The Rise of Skywalker was about overcoming inner darkness and how we choose our identity. I remember one time trying to have a conversation about what a great movie The Fifth Element was, only to be told that the movie was actually a view on a dystopian future where the female has become a true object of sex and the only real masculine character was Bruce Willis as Corben Dallas. Now don’t misunderstand me, some of this is probably true. Moreover, what is a great movie without a little subtext of one theme or another, but does every movie have to be analyzed to death. What is wrong with just enjoying a movie for what it is, a piece of cinema. We are not in English class folks. We can watch a movie, enjoy what we saw and heard, and move on. What’s worse is when you have a friend who clearly has a bias and tries to make their bias seem correct for every film they see. The inequality of people of different race, gender, faith, and social class is something that everyone should be aware of, but if you expect me to feel this sense of inequality in The Secret Life of Pets, you are crazy. I am a movie buff. It brings me great pleasure to sit for a solid 2 or 3 hours and gnaw a bucket of popcorn, but I refuse to have a lengthy discussion about how deep Meet Dave gets. For me, I just like any movie Eddie Murphy plays in. In the end, I guess the aliens in control of my body need to learn how to overanalyze movies instead of just having opinions about random subjects. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.