Marvel Studios’ Eternals: Boring and Unnecessary

After watching Marvel Studios’ Eternals, I’ve come to realize the Marvel formula is old or I’ve seen these characters before and this film was a waste of time.

Dune 2021: Quick Spoiler Free Review

My knowledge of the Dune series, on a scale from 0-10, is a four. I’ve never read the books but knew there were different houses, politics, and spice was something everyone wanted. This knowledge is due to a summary I read when I discovered Dune (2021) was an anticipated film.

Squid Game Review: That Was Unexpected

I saw the Netflix trailer for Squid Game a month ago and figured I’d check it out. Initially thought it was a movie, but discovered it was a nine-episode season. First thought, “Ah man, I don’t feel like getting into a series. Pass!” Nine hours later… didn’t regret a thing, but I have so many questions.

Little backstory if you haven’t watched and please note, this post will contain major spoilers.

Trying to be a Savior Can Do More Harm Than Good

We all know 2020 was a hot mess. The pandemic started, political tension, and racial tension with hundreds of protests denouncing police brutality. It was a year that, undoubtedly, stressed a lot of people out. In this particular post, I’m going to talk about an article I read about a UCLA professor being suspended for not giving black students an easier final exam in June 2020. This article displayed the savior complex, society’s newfound understanding of how stressed black people are when it comes to societal issues, and the audacity people had with this newfound information.

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

I usually exchange food gifts with a friend. She had one simple request. That simple request was to bake her some vegan cinnamon rolls.

I’ve made many things, but not once did I ever consider making cinnamon rolls, let alone vegan cinnamon rolls.

She gave me a recipe she thought I should try and realized the only thing vegan about the cinnamon rolls was the replacement of butter and milk. Luckily, I already consume a milk substitute, but I had to get introduced to vegan butter.

Cashew Brittle

I’m obsessed with peanut brittle made by See’s Candies. Each time I go to my local store, the brittle boxes are sold out. My timing obviously isn’t great. Figured I would attempt to make my own brittle. Made it once with my mother…when I was in elementary, so I figured it wouldn’t be that hard :).

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
2 tbsp. water
1/2 cup whole or halved cashews (or nuts of your choice)
1 tbsp. butter softened
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

1. Grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.

2. In a heavy 1 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring sugar, corn syrup, salt and water to a boil stirring until sugar is dissolved.

3. Stir in cashews. Set candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until thermometer temperature reaches 300 degrees F.  If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can drop a small amount of the mixture into very cold water. If the mixture separates into hard brittle threads, it has reached the “hard crack” candy stage.

4. Remove from heat and immediately stir in butter and baking soda. Do not stir too much. Just until the butter and baking soda is incorporated which won’t take long. Pour the mixture onto the greased cookie sheet. With 2 forks, lift and pull cashew mixture into rectangle (or any shape you can get it into before it cools). Let the mixture cool. Break candy into pieces.

This recipe produces a small batch good enough for one or two people. If you wish to make more, please double or triple the recipe.

Optimistic Carla Bishop | Short Story Generator

I haven’t written anything a while due to not being motivated and working crazy hours. I’m trying to get back into writing abut anything just to get me back in the groove. I feel I’ve been languishing. Simply not motivated, but can’t pinpoint what’s going on.

Decided to using a short story generator to get my brain pumping, but the outcome was more hilarious than I thought it would be. I didn’t put much thought into the generator’s options as I just wanted to see what would be produced. This story is a hot mess, but it has some qualities. Decided to share.

Generated story:

Carla Bishop had always loved dull New York with its cloudy, curly cold. It was a place where she felt happy.

She was an optimistic, articulate, whiskey drinker with handsome fingers and tall toes. Her friends saw her as a hot, heavy hero. Once, she had even saved a crispy toddler that was stuck in a drain. That’s the sort of woman she was.

Carla walked over to the window and reflected on her noisy surroundings. The clouds danced like shouting dog.

Then she saw something in the distance, or rather someone. It was the figure of Luke Barker. Luke was a stable teacher with curvy fingers and red toes.

Carla gulped. She was not prepared for Luke.

As Carla stepped outside and Luke came closer, she could see the unsteady smile on his face.

Luke glared with all the wrath of 4284 thoughtless silky squirrels. He said, in hushed tones, “I hate you and I want justice.”

Carla looked back, even more concerned and still fingering the warped ruler. “Luke, I don’t have the money,” she replied.

They looked at each other with stressed feelings, like two poised, panicky pigeons smiling at a very arrogant court, which had music playing in the background and two gracious uncles thinking to the beat.

Carla regarded Luke’s curvy fingers and red toes. “I feel the same way!” revealed Carla with a delighted grin.

Luke looked anxious, his emotions blushing like a putrid, proud piano.

Then Luke came inside for a nice glass of whiskey. THE END

Expectations are Low But Please Be Good! | Mortal Kombat (2021)

I’m creating more YouTube videos and figured why not talk about the recent Mortal Kombat (2021) trailer. I’m a fan of the franchise and really, really hope the film does well.

It’s my first video on this channel and I’ll definitely do more. If you want to listen to me ramble, here’s the video. 😀

People Want a Relationship but Don’t Want a Relationship

I’ve noticed something. More and more people want a relationship, but don’t want a relationship.

People, not all, love the title of boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, lover, etc., but will bypass all of the necessary steps to build the foundation to have a stable relationship. During these quarantine times, people want company. To be honest, there are couples who’ve discovered how much they dislike each other, but that’s a different topic.

Social media is filled with #couplegoals, #marriagegoals, and who knows what other relationship hashtags. Nothing wrong with that, but there are a lot of people who want to be part of that hashtag so bad, they’ll seek relationships just for the sake of having them. Very few people aren’t interested in getting to know each other. They’ll date for a month, end up with a title, post their love on social media, then the relationship is over a month later. Yes, I’ve seen it happen. The same people wonder what happened or were shocked to see the person dramatically change once the “title” was implemented. It’s as if some are jumping into relationships for the gram.

I wrote a post about never feeling lonely. Some people hate being alone and seek romantic relationships to fill that void. The thing that strikes me is those same people will admit to not wanting to be in a romantic relationship with anyone because they only want company. Sad thing is, they don’t relay that vital information to the person they’re essentially using. The unknowing void filler wants to make things official resulting in the relationship becoming one-sided. In the end, the relationship doesn’t work and the one who didn’t want the relationship in the first place wonders why things didn’t work out.

I know people who have done these things. I tell them to stay single and concentrate on themselves, but they continue to have at least three relationships a year and can’t figure out what the issue is. Chill! Come up for a few breaths of air. Are they hopeless romantics? Do they constantly daydream of love? Do they want to imitate what they see in romantic movies, dating shows, and social media. Based on conversations, seems like it. Ironically, they say they don’t want to be in a relationship, but the invitation is too tantalizing to say no. I laughably don’t understand.

I had someone ask me to be in a relationship less than two months after dating. My response,

There’s a want versus need when it comes to relationships. You should never need a relationship. You want one. When I say want, make sure you have the time and space to allow someone to enter your life and travel down your path. If you don’t want to share that path with someone, don’t drag them along and possibly hurt them on the way just to fill void. Make sure you want to put in the effort to build a friendship that forms the foundation for a strong relationship. Stop worrying about whether or not your behind in the romance department because society is pressuring you. Stop looking at the lovey dovey social media posts of couples smiling and pretending they don’t argue or broke up at least three times before taking that picture.

I’m not a relationship expert. Relationships can be complicating because life happens, but if you go into an unwanted relationship, you’re just complicating things from the jump which is 100% avoidable. Some people only like the idea of a relationship. That’s the problem.

Why You Should Always Be Yourself

Simple answer… because it’s too exhausting trying to maintain a facade.

Whether you’re trying to fit in, impress people, or want what others have, being yourself is always the best route. I’m not saying people can’t improve themselves. If you’re an asshole and aware of your assholery, yeah, you can do something about it if it’s impacting your life in a negative way. Let’s admit it, some assholes get away with things and their life seems to go smoothly. At least they are being themselves… in a punchable way.

Being yourself is something you don’t have to keep track of. If you keep switching personalities based on who you’re around, you have to keep track of that mask and who you wore it for. Keeping up a front is not easy. You’re bound to slip up and reveal yourself. When you do, will those same people like you? Will they be shocked? This only adds more confusion, self-doubt, and possibly guilt.

Let people know who you are upfront. If they like you, they like you. If they don’t, is it really a loss? It’s OK to not impress everyone. It’s OK to not become friends with everyone.