LOL, JK. This isn’t a Dystopian Future Edition. Because we’re living it.  The dystopian future is now.

Anyway. Let me tell you about the escapism things I’ve been enjoying to help cope with the fact that the whole world is basically on fire:

Currently

Watching:

NBC’s The Blacklist. I’ve watched this show from the beginning and found the last season and a half to be…. rough. The writers really didn’t seem to know what to do with actor Megan Boone’s pregnancy. I was so irritated with how they handled it that I nearly quit the show. And I ranted about it a lot. Because misogyny and pregnancy tropes really hit my rage button. The writers seemed to be writing themselves out of that hole, and by the time the show went on its winter hiatus, I was back onboard. Especially because M and I guessed the BIG TWIST that really makes for a compelling story. Good job, Blacklist. I figure this show will be canceled after this season, though, because I can’t have nice things.

Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. I’ve been watching this series for Snark Squad, and we’ve finally reached the penultimate episode. Or as we liked to call it, the episode that destroyed us. I won’t go into spoilers here, but you’re welcome to check out our recaps over on the Snark Squad website.

Reading:

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli. I haven’t been reading as much as I was earlier in the year. I’m going to do a more in-depth review of the books I have read, but for now I’ll say that this was a fun read*.

 

*With caveats

Listening:

I haven’t been listening to as much music as I usually do because I’ve found I’ve been needing quieter things to focus on. Instead, I’ve been listening these podcasts:

Gilmore Guys, turned Bunhead Bros, hosted by Kevin T. Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe. A podcast that was originally just two dudes, special guests and Gilmore Girls discussion (sometimes), that has now moved on to another Amy Shermin-Palladino show, Bunheads. I quit it for a while, because I never really watched Bunheads and then when I tried to watch the show, I hated it. But I came back because these two dum-dums are pretty entertaining.

Welcome to Night Vale is a War of the Worlds-esque podcast, presented in the form of community updates for a small desert town called Night Vale. It is creepy, bizarre and funny. This would appeal to people with slightly twisted senses of humour. So of course, I love it.

Porch Club popped up in some recommendation for podcasts I might like. I gave this a few goes, but man, it’s tough to get through. I find the hosts’ navel-gazing a bit too much to handle. I think if I knew the hosts, it might be slightly more appealing to me, but there is a strange, deeply religious undertone that makes me feel uncomfortable. Maybe it’s because I’ve retired from organized religion. Maybe it’s the twenty minutes of laughter at inside jokes that are only funny to the hosts. Or maybe it’s not my bag.

EOS 10 is a sci-fi radio play, reminiscent of Welcome to Night Vale. My friend Wendy recommended it to me and she gives good recs (She also introduced me to Saga and Bitch Planet). The story follows two space doctors and their team on a space station and a deposed prince who has taken up refuge in the station’s food court. Definitely worth a listen if you’re down with radio plays. It’s also a great distraction from the sci-fi world we’re currently living in.

 

Loving

I’m also addicted to the Sodastream that I was given for my birthday. I drink a lot of water a day and pretty much drink water (When I’m not mainlining caffeine in the form of coffee and tea) these days. I try to get 2.5 litres of water a day, and I’ve taken to drinking sparkling water for about half of that. But it’s expensive. And not super environmentally friendly. It sounds crazy, but I love, love, love my Sodastream.

I mean, this is the tagline on their website:

It’s the little things in life that make me happy these days.

Lastly, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family lately. My aunt has been sick since the middle of March, so we’ve been helping out, visiting, trying to keep her distracted while she’s gone through a million tests, treatments and doctor’s appointments. It’s weird to say that I’m ‘loving’ all of this time that has come about due to a family emergency, but I’m trying to look at the bright side of things. Because haha, lol, there is so little of that these days. Hi, political world climate.

 

How’re you surviving and coping with the strange, Twilighty Zone world we’re all living in? Tell me all about it.