Whimsy Update: October 26
Over the past year, one word has kept popping into my brain when I think of what I would like to see more of:
whimsy (n.) - playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor
I imagine it in a ridiculous font that I likely tried to use for essays in sixth grade.
I want to share the moments of whimsy I find in my life each week, along with what I’ve enjoyed reading, writing, listening, and watching.
Twelve foot tall skeletons
I’ve been walking a lot around my new neighborhood (is it new if you’ve been there nearly for six months?) and I smile every single time I see one of these decorations. In general, I find Halloween a delight (it might be the only holiday where America’s all-out obsession is a good thing?), and the way which we have collectively been like yes, this ridiculous decoration is necessary for our collective mental health makes me smile. Plus, I can’t wait for the months after October where people turn their skeletons into turkeys, Santas, elves, and more.1
Red soda cups
You know the ones I’m talking about — these guys, which bring back memories of being rewarded for reading with personal pan pizzas. A Diet Coke in one of these babies hits different, and by different, I mean better.
I work from home in a 400-some foot studio apartment, so I tend to spend a portion of each day out In the World, so to speak, to talk to humans face-to-face and to exist in a different space. Because we lack third spaces that aren’t bars, really, I’ve been spending a lot of time at local bars at the same time that I’ve been drinking a lot less alcohol (breaking news: it fucks up your sleep). One of my favorite local joints not only shows sports and is dog friendly, but does unlimited refills on Diet Cokes served in The Red Soda Cup.
This scene in Goodfellas.
A few months ago, I cancelled every streaming service I was subscribed to except HBO (gotta rewatch my comfort show about an underfunded emergency room - WE LOVE DA PITT), and started borrowing DVDs from the local library. At the same time, I started working my way through the original list of Top 100 Films put together by the American Film Institute (you can find it here). I’ve discovered that I do not like Westerns and that a good romcom hits even when it’s 60 years old, but I’ve also watched movies that I’ve never seen but find that I realized so many pop culture moments are references to.
I watched Goodfellas on Friday and holy shit. Not only is the movie compelling and zooms by (and is much more agnostic on if you should root for the loveable piece of shit anti-hero than Wolf of Wall Street), but there is this fantastic scene where they visit the mother of Joe Pesci’s character and she, mid conversation, goes, “Do you want to see this painting of dogs I did?”
Icon. Queen. More side characters like this that make a story fleshed out and real, because people are weird and delightful.2
Preserved sidewalk stamps
If you live where there are cement sidewalks (hey, not a given - I grew up off a rural highway), I want to draw your attention to something called sidewalk stamps.3 They indicate when the sidewalk was constructed and what contractor completed the work. I love finding an old one and realizing I’m walking the same sidewalk that someone walked over a hundred years ago.
I’ve been walking a lot of historic neighborhoods in San Diego, and the city has, as part of the development code, done something I love — when they update a sidewalk to repair it or add curb cuts, they keep the original sidewalk stamp (which can also be the original street markings!).
Old School Cheat Codes
These popped up in my head when I was listening to a podcast on the development of the joystick and how one of the classic cheat codes was originally designed for a joystick, which is why it felt so hard to do on a controller.
And then immediately, even though I haven’t played this game in over two decades, my brain was like “oh, I still know the cheat codes to get a shit ton of money for the Sims — rosebud; rosebud” (which also I then realized is a Citizen Kane reference).
I can’t remember where I parked my car last week, but you need me to hook you up with some simoleons to build that pool so you can pull out the ladder on The Sims? I got you.
Writing Updates: I’m prepping for edits on a manuscript that I finished in September and I’m actively drafting a new novel. Feels good to be writing again!
Reading Recommendations!
Fiction: All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles — gothic trapped-in-a-spooky house mystery with bonus PHENOM ADHD rep and a fucking delightful little turn at the end. 10/10,
Non-fiction: I finished my reread of Randy Shilts’ And the Band Played On, which is the definitive account of the early AIDS epidemic and it reminded me of the power of community and how much I still hate Regan.
See you whimsical fools (affectionate) next week —
Nellie.
I once saw a skeletal Uncle Sam in July, which at this point, is the only 4th of July decorations I find valid.
Also, Joe Pesci is fucking terrifying in this movie and I kept imaging being a parent and taking my kid to see Home Alone in 1994 and seeing Joe Pesci play one-half of the loveable buffoons, The Wet Bandits, when I had last seen him playing a stone cold psychopath. What do you mean funny, indeed.
Here’s some pretentious architectural history nuance for ya — cement is used to make concrete, so saying “cement sidewalks” (or seement pond) is technically incorrect.