Stephy Plays Animal Crossing: New Horizons

 Day 13

Last time on Hades...

Al moved in. And... I caught some bugs. And probably some fish.

Sorry the pictures are dark. I played after dark... 

Yay! New villager!

We're moving on up!

Look at my coconut tree!

I caught 100 fish!

Look at my pumpkins! I also planted some tomatoes. This little bit is now my garden.

I like what you've done with the place, Al.

Peggy is a pig... 

Oh yeah! Check out my purple roof! Which looks sort of blue in this picture... I'll try again later...

Gotta check in with Cherry before I stop playing.

“Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow Internet to see who they really are.” 

– Will Ferrell

Stephy Plays Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Day 12

Last time on Hades...

Got a new villager. Caught some fish. Caught some bugs.

Yay! New villager!

I've caught 100 bugs! Go me!

Wooooo!

Oh! I was right! Al is a monkey! Or an ape... I am not good at those...

Snacks are important. Very important. Take all the time you need, dude.

I like to call this fish the David Rose fish.

I made a mushroom partition. And I love it... Also, there is a wasp in that cage. I am hoarding it until Flick shows up cause I need him to make me a statue of a wasp. So I can show it off like a hunting trophy. Fucking wasps... Also, before this, I was stung by fucking wasps...

I think I'm gonna just plant a bunch of different flowers up here. It'll be pretty.

I am very sad that I can't ride this springy horse toy...

Yes! Get to building! *throws bells at him* Bigger house! Bigger house!

Stop asking questions and make my house bigger! *keeps throwing bells*

Purple! Purple roof!

Yesssssssss!

“Weakness is what brings ignorance, cheapness, racism, homophobia, desperation, cruelty, brutality, all these things that will keep a society chained to the ground, one foot nailed to the floor.” 

~ Henry Rollins

The Shining by Stephen King

 

The Shining 
by Stephen King

Warnings:

Language

Racist language

violence

abuse

magical negro trope

homophobic language (I think there was some in there, if there was, it wasn't enough to register in my memory banks very well)

Been a while since I did a book review. Let's see if I can remember how to talk about books... 

Fair warning: I will be mentioning the movie. 

So, the Shining is about the Torrance family (Jack, Wendy, and Danny) and their winter stay at the Overlook hotel. Which, I won't say it went badly. But I will say it went very, very, very not good. 

Jack is a short-tempered recovering alcoholic. Wendy, his long-suffering wife. And Danny is their young son that has psychic powers. Jack was a teacher, but lost his job after he lost his temper and beat the shit out of a student. So... he seems like a fun guy. Jack is in need of a job so his buddy Al recommends him to take a post as caretaker for a fancy hotel in the Colorado mountains. The book opens with Jack's job interview with the hotel manager. And we get a pretty good feel for Jack's character pretty quickly. He's an angry man (though Ullman's kind of a prick so being angry is understandable). But, he does love his family. 

As the story progresses, Jack becomes obsessed with the Overlook. Which, hey, I would be too. That place has a hell of an interesting history. But... Jack took it about five steps too far. And while he is all "This place is great!" Wendy and Danny are less excited. 

Now, I am going to assume everyone knows how this book ends. Well, sort of. Hell, I knew how shit was gonna go down before I even knew what The Shining was thanks to The Simpsons parody of it. Which, yeah, because of that, the first time I read this book (this is the second time I've read it by the way) I could not read anything that Dick Hallorann said without hearing Groundskeeper Willie's voice. So, thank you The Simpsons for making this a slightly weird read that first time. Even knowing how things are going to go down, the book is suspenseful as hell. It is drawn out enough to be suspenseful but not too much that it becomes annoying. Which is perfect. 

Now, I said I was going to mention the movie. So... The movie. I don't like it as much as the book. I will not say it is a bad movie, because it's not. It is a good movie. I just find the book way better. To me, the movie kind of just feels like a dude got some extreme cabin fever while stuck in a hotel for the winter and tried to kill his family. The book goes into more of the supernatural things that are happening. Which I prefer in fiction. I want some spooky shit as opposed to dude goes crazy and tries to kill people shit. You get a vague feeling that something supernatural might be going on in the movie.  But in the book it is very obvious that supernatural shit is going down. 

I love Stephen King's writing. This book has multiple POV characters. Jack, Wendy, Danny, and Dick (he was the cook for the Overlook and also has some slight psychic powers). And they all feel very different as they tell the story. Child characters always seem to be written weirdly. A lot of writers just can't seem to grasp how to write a believable child character. Mr. King does pretty well with Danny in this. Danny seems a bit smart for his age, but not to an extreme that makes it unbelievable. 

I highly recommend this book. If you have read it, read it again. If you watched the movie but haven't read the book, read the book. If you haven't watched the movie, read the book. 

Also, thank you Stephen King for making me afraid of topiary animals. Good fucking job, man. Though... Not afraid of hotels. Both times I have read this book my brain is like "Oh, spending three months or so in an empty hotel with just a group of my closest friends would be fun! As long as there are no topiary animals..." 

If you're interested: 

Lost in Adaptation video

The Dom Reviews The Shining

The Magical Negroes of Stephen King

“A book is a dream you hold in your hands.” 

– Neil Gaiman

Stephy Plays Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Day 11

Last time on Hades...

Got the spots ready for new villagers to move in. Met a rando on an island and convinced them to move to Hades. Caught some bugs and some fish, probably.

Able Sister! Shush, Tom Nook. Must buy clothes.

Oh yeah. I met Daisy on a random island.

Hello Mabel! Let me buy clothes! *whispers* move to my island...

And we are all shocked that Redd sold me a "real" painting. Still don't trust that guy...

Look at my little coconut tree!

Harv!

I will call you Harv.

Blathers got a little excited about the Red Snapper name...

Yay! Time to check out all my clothes!

Oh yeah. I don't have that many clothes... 

There's Daisy! So cute!

Oh yeah. I planted some pumpkins last time. Forgot.

Wrapping up with a sea anemone.

Each of us is full of shit in our own special way. We are all shitty little snowflakes dancing in the universe. 

-Lewis Black.

What I'm Watching

Photo by Nothing Ahead

With the new year, I got back into scheduling what I watch. By that I mean, each day I focus on one streaming service, watching DVDs/blu-rays I own or watching things on my DVR. I started doing this years ago and it really helped me to actually finish watching shows instead of just starting something and then going back and watching random shit on YouTube for the next month. Which is what I’ve been doing for the past year, really. It also spread out longer shows and movie series so I didn't get burnt out on them. So, I’m going to start some posts talking about what I’m watching for each day and my thoughts, and my expectations to actually finish it.

Disney+

Had to cancel our Disney+ subscription for a bit, so nothing is being watched there.

DVD/blu-ray

The Shining and Doctor Sleep

I have mixed feelings about The Shining movie. It’s a good movie, but the book is so much better. Which means I started reading the book again (I will hopefully post a review of that when I’m finished). Doctor Sleep was fantastic. I read the book around the time it was released (Thanks for letting me borrow that, Erica). My memories of the book were a bit spotty. And maybe after I read the book again the movie will not be as great to me, but for now, I think the movie was excellent and totally worth watching.

DVR

Trying to catch up on the Daily Show. I had episodes on my DVR from October… And I’m also really sad to see Trevor go. I love him.

HBO Max

Prodigal Son

I watched most (if not all) of this show when it was on the air and fucking loved it. The cast is great and the characters are so interesting. I can’t remember if I actually finished watching the second season, I’m pretty sure I did but my memory sucks, so I decided to give it a rewatch. Do not regret the decision. If you like detective shows with a bit of a twist, I highly recommend this one. Just… Don’t expect much as it only had two seasons. I wanted more but what can ya do?

Hulu

Elementary 

I loved Elementary from the first episode. I think it’s a great adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. I never finished the last season, so I am determined to actually do so now. I think Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes is a fantastic choice. And the supporting cast of characters are also fantastic. I highly recommend this to anyone that likes Sherlock Holmes stories but doesn’t need an exact replica of an adaptation. Also, great diversity.

Netflix

Lucifer

I watched the first couple of seasons back when it was first aired. And then just… stopped for some reason. I really enjoy the show though. Love Maze. I give her heart eyes every time she is on screen. And Trixie, the detective's daughter, is one of the best child characters I have seen on TV.

Prime

Grimm

I watched most of the first season before, I believe. I remember very little. I’m not loving this one as much as I’m loving other shows I’m watching. It is cool enough, but… If I was going to recommend a detective show with supernatural elements, I’d recommend Lucifer first. I’m going to keep with it, though. We’ll see how I do. My issues with the show are very nit-picky so I’m trying to look past them. Monroe is great though. I love him.

Roku

I can’t remember what I watched on Roku… Did I watch anything on it?

Tubi

Boogeymen: Monsters Among Us 

When this popped up while I was scrolling for something to watch I thought it was going to be a murder show. It is not a murder show. It is a cryptid show. Second episode is about Mothman, and as a West Virginian who loves cryptids, Mothman is my bro. Also, I met a few of the people that were in that episode, which was cool. And all the episodes seem pretty interesting. Especially if you like cryptids. If you like those shows where dudes go into the woods or whatever to prove these things exist, this is not the show for you. But if you like learning about weird shit in a documentary style, definitely check this show out.

VUDU

Supernatural

Oh, Supernatural… I can’t remember when I stopped watching this show before. I know plot-wise around when I stopped, but no spoilers so… Who knows when I stopped watching. I’m going to give it another go. I know I will at least make it through the first five seasons with no problems. After that is anyone’s guess.

YouTube

Started watching a bunch of North of the Border’s stuff. His sculptures are just so awesome and his sense of humor is hilarious. Also watched some Lazy Game Reviews futzing around with weird computer shit. Both channels are oddly calming and if you’re into nerdy shit, I highly recommend them. North of the Border makes tiny nerdy things, usually with clay. And Lazy Game Reviews does a lot of computer related stuff. His technical jargon goes over my head but I still find his videos enjoyable. 

And that's what I've been watching for the past 10 days (maybe nine? What the fuck did I watch on the Roku channel?) Anyone else watch any of these shows/movies? Any recommendations for things I should check out?

Sometimes I like to challenge myself by being an idiot and doing things the hard way.

-North of the Border (YouTube channel - I made Steve and a Warden video.)