And with that, another July has come and gone. Maybe it’s because my birthday falls somewhere towards the front half, but it always feels like a special month. Everyone is out enjoying summer and doing what they can to form some new memories. For me personally, I have launched SCRAPS! with the intention of making a more thorough personal diary. There may not have been a lot of articles written so far, but I feel an invigoration in the short window that makes me hopeful that this will replace my former operation of The Private Life. It was a sturdy placeholder, but I needed to have a shake-up to really get ideas flowing again.
More than anything, I think I needed that motivation to try and write one of these on a weekly basis, and the checklist nature was not doing it for me. On weeks like this, where there’s not a lot to account for, I don’t want to dedicate a lot of empty space to saying how it’s mostly me beating the heat and attempting to understand how serious that supposed west coast tsunami is going to be. It was all over the local news, but so far, there’s no sign of a threat. At most, it’s going to splash a little further on the shores before going back out to wherever it goes.
For me, the past few days have been largely about consistency. I am in the middle of editing my next short story, temporarily titled “Stencil,” which I hope will come out in the next 10 days. It’s going to be about the feeling of summer and the fleeting nature of those days before everything returns to normal. It’s kind of a relief to write something so carefree because I do feel like 2025 has inspired me to be a bit darker and more introspective in ways that probably aren’t as fun. This is my most spontaneous in a while, and I hope it translates well with audiences.
I also want to mention that I have uploaded my latest entry of Failed Oscar Campaigns for the month onto Patreon. Because of Elio (which is good, not great), I was motivated to explore Turning Red, which ended up turning into a deep dive of how the pandemic reshaped the direction of Pixar and maybe has inspired them to be more cautious. I’ll admit that I go in more speculative directions by the end, but it was fascinating to notice how even during an age where streaming was the new norm, Turning Red was not being as respected as it should’ve been. The numbers were there, but I think the notion that box office makes all the difference caused a few setbacks. I am currently trying to decide what to write for August, which is wide open after two months that were comparatively immediate in ideas. Then again, it helped that Queer and Turning Red had this larger narrative to build into it. I wonder if I can find something just as substantial.
Other than that, I am getting ready for the fun of August. It’s not my favorite month. It oddly feels like the leftovers of summer at some point. Yes, it’s got a lot of good things about it, but it often feels like people are still riding the highs of July. Still, there’s new Ethel Cain and King of the Hill within the next 10 days. My life is going to be just fine. I’m thinking of writing an essay on the Mike Judge show just because it’s one of my favorite shows, and I'm looking forward to the reboot. I’ve also been closing out my backlog to make room for it, and I’m happy to say that The Bear is still enjoyable and Such Brave Girls has plenty to like about its raunchy dark comedy premise.
As mentioned, there’s not a lot going on with me this week. I guess it’s mostly looking ahead at this point. Cameron Brink is back and playing with The Los Angeles Sparks, so I have that to look forward to as well. Other than that, I’m still reading Charles Dickens’ “Bleak House” and should be done in the not-too-distant future.
I suppose if I want to highlight any art, I recommend giving Quadeca’s “Vanisher, Horizon Scraper” a chance. I have been a fan of his past three albums, and this is another masterpiece. What I love just as much is his ability to create a visual album that is mostly him dancing around water and having it be provocative and emotional. I’m not sure if it’s THE album of the year – I still love The Weeknd’s “Hurry Up Tomorrow” a lot – but it’ll likely be in my Top 5 unless the next few months really go off. For now, I put on headphones and quickly become immersed in the world that Quadeca has produced. I feel every emotion and remember why music is such a vital part of life. I’m not doing it justice, but it is an achievement of art that makes me want to create.
Otherwise, life’s been good to me. I’m trying to stay busy, but the heat does make me spoiled and lazy at times. Do I want to do yardwork when my back is going to sweat? Not really. I’ve had days where I go for walks and I’m sore and dizzy. It makes me wonder if I have to space out the strenuous activities more or if I’m doing something wrong. I also need to work on sleeping, which has the paradox of being warm enough to go to sleep without blankets, but I wake up in the middle of the night needing them.
That’s all I’ll say for this week. I’m sure the beginning of August will be a lot more exciting and bring some highlights worthy of another entry. For now, I wanted to get one last piece in before July ended. Not sure if these are the dog days, but it does feel like I need to sometimes push myself forward just to not grow tired and weak. I could do better, which is all I’ll say on that.
So until next time. Hope all’s well and I’ll see ya when I see ya.
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