Have you said to yourself in the past few days, “Damn, I ran out of internet?” Because that’s where I’m at. I’ve read the scary things and I’ve read the funny things and now I’m tired. So this post is gonna be a little different; I still wanna share 5 things I read this week (not a single pandemic read in the list), and maybe some other silly stuff at the bottom.

1. The rise of impossibly cute and wholesome games, The Verge. “The gradual popularity of uwu games in recent years is changing the conversation around video games and its players. While the genre is still niche, there is a sizable community invested in their smaller, compact stories, which offer more laid-back and introspective experiences. Perhaps there’s a growing sense of fatigue around the heady, visual bombast of more mainstream games and the hypermasculine heroes that dominate them.” I’ve been playing a lot of relaxed-pace video games the past few weeks! My favorites have been A Short Hike and Shape of the World, so far. And of course my first PC game love, Stardew Valley (which has a bunch of awesome updates to add more stuff to do. You can SEW STUFF NOW).
2. “I Call This to Mind,” Tim Hampton. My dad’s daily thoughts on a short Bible verse have been on POINT lately. “And [his compassions] are new every day. No day old faithfulness here. I can let go of all that came and went yesterday and even more, I don’t need to worry about tomorrow. I don’t need to hoard his faithfulness today in case he doesn’t show up tomorrow. Our God is outside of time. Tomorrow for him is the same as today. He knows what is coming and is completely prepared and sufficient to meet my every need both today and tomorrow.” Comforting words for me.
3. “my official opinions”, Tumblr user littledeludeddupes. Bear with the terrible font/background contrast here to read this person’s divine, absurd prose poetry about the best kinds of dogs. Explaining it is taking the fun out of it, so here are some of my favorite excerpts: “dogs are weird men who cant read and crawl on the ground. dirty boys who can be troublesome. they are utilitarian animals who like to help and be good though and are very admirable in nature.” This sounds like something my friend Charlotte would say about dogs and I’m here for it. “some good points of small dogs is that theyre very portable and, in general, small. theyre very dumb and rowdy like all dogs but with a smallness twist […] they are naughty men but they certainly have a purpose”
4. “Aaron earned an iron urn” (Baltimore Accent Test), Dooley. I LOVE this video. I love when he starts over-enunciating it in indignation, I love when he says, “We really talk like that?” I love these wholesome boys and I love dialects.
5. Can you tell if these women are in a catalog in 1970, 1980 or 1990?, MeTV. Sick quiz, sourced from the excellent Go Fug Yourself blog. Also, I did SO bad on this quiz hahaha. But there’s a lot of things from the 1980s, especially in the “sweet, romantic” genre, that I would like to see again!

Postscript: Okay, so I sent this to my friend Kaitlyn and she asked me to add it to the blog. Hopefully you won’t find this too over-indulgent, and it is technically quarantine-related so feel free to skip. Over the weekend I pulled my Polly Pocket collection out of my parents’ basement and have been living my doll-loving best life ever since. (I know some people think dolls are creepy, but I’ve never resonated with that take, not sorry bout it!) Here is one of the many doll plots I’ve been exploring:

OKAY so. Everyone is quarantining together in Jules’ apartment. Jules, the one with the permanent bandana, was my absolute fave Polly because she had brown hair and there was a serious overrepresentation of blondes in my collection. This memory underlines to me why representation matters so much to black girls, fat girls, anyone who doesn’t see themselves in their toys and media! Anyway back to the Pollys.

Tiff is a teacher (I mean, just look at her literacy-themed skirt) and Jules’ best friend. Liz has just the one leg, as well as some chronic health stuff, and since she has a twin sister who works at a hospital, she’s staying over til things calm down. Leah is kind of the mom friend, and she’s also a chef whose hours just got cut, so she’s going to be making everyone gourmet mac and cheese and fancy taquitos this week.

This is Louis, Jules’ gay roommate. He’s also a gym rat, so he’s upstairs working on his push-up form in the mirror. Note: the cat’s name is Scissors.

This is Liz’s twin sister Abby, chilling in their studio apartment (Abby wears roller skates to get around the hospital quickly, don’t @ me if that’s a bad idea). Cal is her coworker and recently started dating Louis, but they’re keeping away from each other for now. Will their blossoming relationship survival social isolation?

Anyway, Jules is about to turn 30 and they’re planning the massive rager they’re gonna throw when quarantine is lifted. The gals are currently discussing menu and whether or not it should be black tie (obviously it will be, I have so much rubber formalwear for them to put on!).

That’s it, folks. Tell me about your doll plots or whatever the heck you’re doing for fun!