Don't let perfect get in the way of good.
The Tuesday Post: Late Day Edition
It’s Pride Month y’all! My nails are covered in glitter rainbow press ons, there is a progress pride flag hanging out my window, and I’m blasting my playlist The Gay Agenda: Dance B*tch like there is no tomorrow.
I’ve been struggling a bit with imposter syndrome the last few weeks (on brand for Pride month tbh.) I’m doing my best to encourage my creativity and give myself room to “sprout” as it were, and trying to stop hyper-fixating on things needing to be perfect. What do you do when imposter syndrome has you down? Let me know in the comments!
In other news
NYC is among the top five cities with the worst air pollution in the world today. Smoke from Canada’s wildfires has blanketed the city and everything smells like a stale bonfire. I just took Summer out for her evening walk - my throat hurts and my eyes are itchy and bloodshot. Don’t go out there if you don’t have to.
A parent in Utah got the Bible banned from elementary and middle schools. The religious texts were removed in protest of a 2022 Utah law which was a part of a larger trend of book bannings across the country.
Summer is now kicking my iPad in protest of me typing, and also to express her discontent with my decision to go to a dentist appointment earlier today. For her sake, lets get into today’s post.
My buddy’s spouse just discovered this video, and now I’m laughing all over again. May I present to you, one of the funniest videos to have ever been posted to TikTok.
What I’m Watching
»spoilers below
The Great - It may have been pure coincidence, or maybe the writers room and actors knew the strike was coming, but S3 of The Great was a powerhouse performance from the entire cast that seemed to scream “This is what good TV is assholes”.1 Elle Fanning is phenomenal as always, but Belinda Bromilow brought a vigor to Elizabeth that made her my favorite character on the show this season.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, the dark comedy/drama is loosely based off the life of Catherine the Great, the Queen of Russia who everyone said: fucked a horse (she didn’t,) staged a coup to take the throne from her boorish and immature husband (she did, he was,) and had a voracious sexual appetite (define voracious.)2 Her reign is honored not only by the fabulous cast, but also by the writers who brilliantly execute their creative liberties to weave humor and history into a truly binge worthy show.
I hope they can come back for a fourth season, but if this is the last performance we get from them, everyone involved in it’s production should be stupendously proud. Huzzah.
We don’t watch shows like Ted Lasso because the things in our life are going superbly well. We watch because basic human kindness is breathtaking when your world is crumbling.
When Ted Lasso came onto the scene in August 2020 the coronavirus toll in the U.S. had surpassed 200,000, we were only four months into lockdown, and the tension in the air was palpable after months of nationwide Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality.
It was a time of awakening for a lot of white people, especially liberals and democrats, who had grown complacent and lazy, and allowed a fascist pedophile to hold the most powerful position in the U.S. for four years. I’m personally convinced that if it weren’t for a literal pandemic that claimed the lives of an estimated 3 million people worldwide, Trump would have served for a second term3 and Ted Lasso wouldn’t have hit us in the feels as hard as it did.
It’s positive, inspiring and goofy story captured the hearts of those who needed an escape from reality, and offered a reminder to those who felt deep isolation that good people existed out in the world. It was a salve for millennials who didn’t play Animal Crossing or had ran out of Great British Bake-Off episodes to stream. We don’t watch shows like Ted Lasso because the things in our life are going superbly well. We watch because basic human kindness is breathtaking when your world is crumbling.
When the third and final season came out, friends and acquaintances who lauded the show for the last two years were suddenly sour and disappointed across socials - responding as if the show had been manhandled as disastrously as Game of Thrones was.4
After finishing the series finale this weekend I’m happy to report the show didn’t dip in quality, writing, or acting - fans were just being pissy for reasons we may never understand. Maybe people don’t find the show as wholesome and enjoyable because they are back vacationing, brunching, and on their bullshit. Maybe they don’t need - or don’t know how - to believe in Ted Lasso anymore. Maybe they put their maxi-pad on tape side up that morning before logging on to Twitter. Who knows, and honestly-who cares?
Whatever the reason, the disgruntled criticism is unfounded. The final season sends off its fans with the same breath of fresh air that it came into the locker room with three years ago. I love this show, and think it’s a great watch if you’re feeling down and are looking for some much deserved warmth and kindness in your heart and your living room.5
John Wick 4 - The fourth and final installment for John Wick is an action packed thrill ride with so much bloodshed. You think “I’ve seen the other three, it can’t be that bad.” and then half way through you’re like “OK. Wow. I stand corrected.”
The fight scene choreography is *chefs kiss* brilliant as always. The first half of the movie is non-stop - some of the fight scenes are shot in one take - and as a whole, the film displays the talent and commitment Keanu Reeves has to the character and his craft. At one point he uses nunchucks to take out a bunch of bad guys with full body armor and guns. This guy is the definition of badass.
We all know that any hero is only as good as his nemeses. The unstoppable villain in John Wick 4’s best fight scene though, is gravity. Yes that’s right, our protagonist fights his way past assassins to reach the top of the 222 steps that lead up to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica in Paris, then gets knocked down and has to climb those steps all over again6 so he can make it in time for a High Table duel at sunrise.
Honorable Mentions
I haven’t seen the latest installment of Guardians of the Galaxy (and probably won’t see it till it’s available to stream for free somewhere) but the playlist for the movie is pretty damn awesome.
Good Omens two is coming back with a second season on July 28th! If you haven’t watched the first season I highly recommend jumping into it as it’s a delight.
In a show of solidarity across the industry, labor unions for the writers strike are still holding fast. Much love to the writers and supporters of the strike. Y’all are amazing.
The assholes being referenced here are of course the greedy suits that won’t pay writers enough.
The woman enjoyed sex but the church hated her, so they demonized her sex life. Same story, different century.
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said white moderates were the “great stumbling block” towards freedom. It was true then, and sadly it still is today. God be with us next year because it’s gonna be a mess.
Worst. Ending. Ever.
I believe this is an example of gezellig. Also, I wanted more boat man. There. I said it. GIVE US MOAR BOAT MAN!
Last week the elevator in my building broke yet again while I was doing laundry. On the third trek up to the seventh floor with a full basket, stopping every flight to catch my breath and check my heart rate, the pep talk I gave myself went something like “Ok Monica…if John Wick can get knocked down, and get back up those stairs - multiple times - you can do this.” I succeeded in doing laundry that day, and I owe it all to Keanu.
I need to watch Ted Lasso!