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Social Isolation (Day 12)

The Mountains sure are pretty... when I actually go to them.

This virus is really weird. I've noticed myself feeling much better in the mornings and progressively getting worse as the day goes on. My lungs hurt the most at night. It's a really obnoxious problem to have because I wake up, feel better, think I may have gotten over the hump, then it's just a downhill slope. It's quite annoying. But I am better. I think by the end of the week, I'll be completely back to normal. Or at least, I hope so.

The biggest issue I've had in all of this is the stresses of my job/dealing with the doctor. I just feel like I never have enough information. I just want this to be done and over with so I can stop dealing with paperwork. Paperwork is easily the worst part of all this. Okay, maybe it's the lungs.

I find myself having a ton of time on my hands but the main thing I've noticed is how much happier I've been getting away from my workplace. Not having to get up at 3:00am and go to bed at 8:00pm has been so nice. Not to mention not having to go to such a soul-sucking place. I think, if anything, this virus has shown me that my job, despite its few benefits, is overall a very negative part of my life. I've had crappy jobs, but I've never worked with such crappy people. I think it's time for a change. Only, now's a really crappy time to find another job.

In fact, I'd say it's one of the worst. The jobs that are out there, are mostly temporary. And Colorado just isn't the best place to be picky about work. Too many people have moved/been moving out here. Hell, I'm one of them.

I do question whether it's time for a change. I've looked at jobs in different, cheaper states and they look much more tempting. I don't go to the mountains ever. So why would I want to stay in a place that charges extra to be near them? Just doesn't make a ton of sense to me these days. I think this is just another thing that's added to my stresses this last week.

Lots of decisions to be made in the near future.

God, I hate decision-making.

Social Isolation (Day 11)

My Premiere Project file for James Bond.

Well this is the best morning I've had in a while. I can breathe a little better. Throat is a little less sore. Coughing comes a little less frequent. I don't want to get ahead of myself but it definitely seems like I'm going in a positive direction.

I haven't gone this long without making a video in a quite a while. I'm starting to feel the itch. I was hoping to record a bunch of stuff during this self-isolation since there'd be no other big commitments but then this virus had other ideas. I can't even hold a conversation longer than thirty seconds, never mind recording a video where I actually have to have some energy. Just ain't gonna happen.

I've also been starting to have more back issues since I've essentially just been in my bed/at my computer since Tuesday. Sure, I spend a lot of my time like that anyhow, but I also work actively at my job for 4-5 hours and even do yoga sporadically throughout the day. So, while I'm very sedentary, it's never quite to this extent. So I'm really feeling it. Thankfully, with a little more energy, I'm hoping I can actually do some proper stretching.

I've had a lot of ideas of what to do when I'm able to start making videos again, so that's been cool. I had been going through a little bit of a creative lull last fall, but that feels like its all but dissipated. If there's one thing I've discovered about myself over the last several years its that if I'm not being creative, I'm not happy. So I just try and itch that creative bug as much as possible and it pays dividends on the mental health side.

Also, what do you think of the site redesign? I hadn't realized how cumbersome things had gotten. It started to be a pain to even navigate to certain pages. But, after seeing the incredible stats for this site, I figured I should change things up. Seriously, you guys are awesome. I can't believe this site is doing so well. Just look at these numbers:


I can't thank you enough. After running a Youtube channel for 1.5 years that gets about 500-750 views a month (mostly on older videos), this has been really cool to see. I'll probably keep this a little more active in the meantime. Maybe even post the videos over here with a little more in depth description.

I hope that Social Distancing/Quarantine/Social Isolation has been going well for you. We're likely still at the very beginning of all of this, but it seems like people are getting a little more of a grasp on it. We should, hopefully, start to see grocery stores fill up again as non-essential items are pushed back to bring in the good stuff like toilet paper and canned goods. But maybe I'm just being optimistic.

That's a first.

Social Isolation (Day 10)

My quarantine has consisted of a lot of these two things.

Guess I should start by talking about how I'm doing. So far, so good. The respiratory issues are definitely still present but more painful than anything, which is doable. I woke up this morning and was really nauseous but that left fairly quickly. Otherwise, I'd still consider myself to be a mild case. Now, I just need all the damn paperwork to go through so I can stop stressing.

I've started to discover how the worst part of this is just how much I hate not being able to exercise in some form. I have a very physical job so, not burning those calories in a given day has started to be annoying. I can't even do yoga because half the positions put too much pressure on my lungs. Not to mention I'd have to take about 43 breaks in order to actually complete a session. I'm ready to go back to normal. Hell, I want to go for a run. I never run. That's how annoying this has been.

Speaking of normal, I wrote a shit ton about movies yesterday. I started watching "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" and realized I had a lot to say about it. Ended up writing pages on the difference between "Welcome" and its sequel "The Next Level." I'm going to make it into a really in-depth video. So that's yet another reason I want to get better. I want to be able to record again.

Since I have all this time on my hands, I decided it was finally time to get into Animal Crossing. Yes, that's right, I've found myself getting "Animal Crossing: New Horizons" and honestly? Yeah, I'm loving it. It's a lot of fun. And it's a really light play, which is great for a time like this. The grinding style really suits me, especially when there are all these tiered goals that can really help with progression. It's been a lot of fun.

I've also been playing Subnautica again but I think that may be stopping because for some reason I lost all my progress from yesterday, which was like two hours of grinding materials. I'm still salty about it. Guess it just means I have to return to the cutesy world of Animal Crossing rather than search the depths of the ocean with terrifying alien creatures. Probably a good decision.

Social Isolation (Day 9)

I really hate these boxes.

I'm officially off work for the foreseeable future. I have to wait for the local Covid Response Team to contact me about whatever the next step is, whether that be testing or just quarantine until symptoms dissipate.

The only issue, which I'm sure many others are going through, is if you're decided to not be in a high risk group, and they decide not to test, they treat you as a positive, but no one else does. My work immediately told me that "Well, you need an actual positive test to get paid during this time."

Upfront, I'm not concerned about the money aspect. It's not like I'm making Scrooge-McDuck levels of cash, where the lack of work for a couple weeks will such a hole. Plus, I have a vacation coming up that will cover some of the time away. I just can't believe I work for a company that lacks such humanity. This is the same company that never acknowledged the Pandemic. As of Tuesday it was, what, ten days since it was made official? Not a single word from management.

I think this has been the most disheartening aspect of it all. It tells me I need to leave. I'm miserable there and have been for a long time. Yet 3.2 million people just went on unemployment and I can't exactly be picky about my work. It's unfortunate and a situation I'm sure many people find themselves in.

Either way, I'm glad that this virus has taught me to prioritize certain things in life. Because not everyone does, even after big events like this. Hell, just look at all the people trying to open the economy back up. We are Corporate America. We stopped being for The People a long time ago.

Social Isolation (Day 8)

I've had the same outfit on for three days.

I think I have it.

I've never had respiratory problems in my life and suddenly I have them at the same time a massive virus is going around that causes respiratory problems. I mean, I can put two and two together. Still, I'm not freaking out about anything. It's uncomfortable but it's not the end of the world.

For me.

I think the thing that people need to remember is that, yes, this virus is very bad. But it's not very bad for everybody. There are some perfectly healthy individuals who this will affect terribly. There are some unhealthy people who will get this and have a slight cough and fever. This virus is very much a spectrum of symptoms and, every case is different.

I don't believe mine to be a bad one. But I'm still taking it all very seriously.

This morning was one of the worst mornings I've had and it was still manageable. I've been very sedentary and super cautious, which has made this much better. I can't imagine actually going to work or do any sort of activity. I'd be out of breath and dizzy in no time. That's how I know that it's something. Which means I have to quarantine. Even if I'm able to handle it, I could spread it to someone that simply cannot.

So the last few days have been weird. I probably would have been guilted into going back to work at this point by my management. But they know it's a big deal and aren't pushing anything. I think the moment I told them, they knew to prepare to not have me for two weeks. Unfortunately, it's not like that outside of this pandemic. Hell, it wouldn't surprise me if they try and force me back even sooner than I'm comfortable with. But I know I'll stand my ground. Because if there's one thing this whole ordeal has taught me it's:

Fuck corporations. People are the only thing that matter.

Social Isolation (Day 7)

Felt this was appropriate.
So I'm sick.

I don't really think it's the coronavirus but I'm making sure to quarantine just in case. It's been a weird one. I haven't really had an illness where I have trouble breathing. This aspect is the only thing that leads me to believe I have the virus. Otherwise, the fever I have is very slight, if at all. But clearly this is something respiratory.

It's mild, so it's not like I'm dying or going crazy. But my day job definitely requires me to touch a lot of stuff that then gets sent to others, so I'd be putting a ton of people at risk if I were to go to work. And it sounds like I won't even be able to get a test, even if I try to at the doctors. All quite unfortunate. Oh well. I'll just hunker down and wait this thing out. I guess this is what the world has come to.

The only thing that sucks is that, while I have a decent amount of groceries, I got sick out of nowhere and it's a lot of bland food. Why didn't I stock up on pizza rolls? So my near future will feature a lot of pasta and cup o noodles. Oh well. Lesson learned for next time. Hopefully the local Chinese place doesn't mind dropping stuff off on the sidewalk.

I feel like I'm in this weird middle ground and it's frustrating. Whatever fever I do have, it comes and goes, as does my cough. I clearly have a sore throat and a lack of energy but, above all, I know that these breathing issues aren't normal. I can only get about 75% of a breath before it becomes painful. So it's a lot of half breaths.

But I can easily see this just being something else, just happening at the same time as all of this. Oh well. I'm just gonna try and enjoy the time away from my job and watch a lot of stuff. Because for the foreseeable future, I'm legit stuck in my room.

Social Isolation (Day 6)

Look at that glorious beard circa January. I trimmed it. I regret that decision.

I may have something very interesting to talk about on this blog soon but as of now, it's premature.

Otherwise, my head is cloudy and I don't really know what to discuss. People seem to be going crazier and crazier. Especially the right-wing business-centric folks. It's kind of insane just how bad this all seems to be. And now the repercussions of shutting so much down is starting to be felt and big business is freaking out.

Who cares?

I care more about the people than these dumb corporations that constantly get bailouts. Most people have paid more taxes than Amazon, which is so absurd to me. Even now, the stimulus bill is trying to be passed with a bunch of benefits for billionaires/corporations. Why on earth would they need a bailout? Give it to the people.

Goddamn did I get political with this one. I'm really mad about all of this and I feel like the fact that they're trying to open things up so soon is just ridiculous. Especially with cases getting worse and worse here. Italy has had less cases for the first time, and it's because they've been on a severe lockdown. We haven't been on near that kind of lockdown, yet people are freaking out. This is all so absurd. I feel like a crazy person for seeing all of these people that claim to be morally right doing so many things that are objectively immoral.

Wait, what's that? The CEO of Hobby Lobby's wife said that God spoke to her and that everything would be okay?

Nevermind, guys. False alarm.

Social Isolation (Day 5)

My Current YT Homepage

I know people have a lot of time on their hands. I also realize that some people are tightening their budgets and therefore getting rid of streaming services. This means you may not be able to watch that Netflix show you’ve been meaning to binge. But thankfully, there’s a lot of great free content out there, specifically on YouTube.

These are a few popular channels that have brought me a lot of entertainment over the years. I watch all of them (though sometimes I take big breaks and then just binge a ton of their content) so take these as personal recommendations. It's a wide variety, so hopefully there's something here that suits your fancy.


PewDiePie - I never in a million years thought I would be into this channel but it’s my favorite by a long shot. He’s hilarious and insightful. At this point he’s mostly a commentary channel, but I think he really shines with his gameplay videos. His “Minecraft” series was a cultural phenomenon, creating a revenue stream for Minecraft that was struggling prior. I genuinely enjoy Felix's content and watching his daily (minius the weekend now) videos have been a regular part of my routine. 



CineMassacre - The last few years have proven that this channel is much more than just "Angry Video Game Nerd." This is mostly James Rolfe and company talking about pretty much all the movies that I've ever loved pre-2000. They definitely go for more of the Retro side of things, but its still infinitely entertaining.


Good Mythical Morning - Rhett and Link do a lot of fun things in an almost morning show style, where they try weird foods, or put similar foods against each other to see which is the best. The good ones usually have something to do with food and it’s great. They've been best friends since childhood so they have a really fun banter. I've slowed down this year but last year I was watching this every morning after work and it was a great way to spend breakfast. Which I think is what these 10-15 minutes thrive on: fitting in at meals.


Hot Ones - This is technically “First We Feast” but I only really watch Hot Ones; where Sean Evans interviews a celebrity while they both eat increasingly hotter wings. Evans asks really interesting questions and the team clearly does a lot of research for their guests, which is great to see. And the wings just serves as the catalyst for a really engaged interview setting. Just have a look through their roster of celebrity guests and see which pique your interest.


...........

And then here are some lesser known ones that I love. Some don't upload anymore but still have a great backlog. All of these are relatively lower in the viewer department, so you can also feel good about broadening their audience by giving them a click.


Evil Iguana Productions - These guys entertained me endlessly in high school/college. Hell, I was facebook friends with several of them for the longest time. Wait, I just realized that I'm still twitter/Facebook friends with one of the guys. They're a sketch comedy group and got popular doing spoof movie trailers. Unfortunately the channel isn't really active (they tried a few years ago, but it didn't do so well) but I still think the backlog is fantastic. I have a particular love for the Allen and Craig Show.


B-Movie Euphoria - This guy from Michigan talks about a bunch of obscure movies, so of course I'm a fan. He does very low-fi film reviews and is always extremely informative. I've been able to add many B-movies to my watchlist that I'd never even heard of, all because of this channel. He hardly gets any views and that's a damn shame because he's great.


Monkey and Apple - Whenever I watch one of this guys videos, I feel like I'm watching a Bill Murray/Jim Belushi type of talented comedian. This guy just gets it. His comedic timing is on point and he has just a ton of great sketches. He's currently in the midst of a new webseries called (best)friends and I recommend you check it out. Oh, but of course I had to link the video that helped me discover him and that may just be my favorite Youtube video of all time.

Social Isolation (Day 4)

Proof that I self-isolated even way back in 2016.
It's getting to be really weird to see people treat self-isolation like this crazy thing that causes cabin fever. People are making silly videos, singing songs, and being creative in ways that never seemed to happen in this way before. So why's it so weird to me? Because this is my life on a regular basis.

I get up, go to work, on my way home will sometimes stop by the grocery store or get gas, then I'm at home for the rest of the day. Self-Isolation is something I go through with my everyday life. So to see so many people participate in it, and then label it as something "weird" just doesn't make sense to me.

It's just weird. Seeing people make videos entirely from their houses, as everyone reacts to it like it's this oddity. That's all I do. Specifically, I've been making youtube videos from my room for the last year and a half. Just my room. I don't like to film outside very much so I don't. I've written so much from home. Now everyone is in the same boat and it's just...does saying "weird" another time cover it?

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I guess I didn't really view my lifestyle as odd before but now, with damn near everyone treating it as such, it's kind of hard not to.

Social Isolation (Day 3)

Wrestlemania 31. Marc and I went and it was a fucking blast.

The vacation I've had planned for 14 months is officially cancelled. Don't worry though, "We'll be back to normal in no time."

So I've been planning on going to Wrestlemania in Tampa Bay since last January and, here I am, almost two weeks out from the event and you'd think I'd be ridiculously excited. Nope, I'm going to be staying home for this one.

It sucks. Like really bad.

My brother, his son, and my mom and her husband were all going to have an AirBNB that was decked to the nines. It was near the festivities, massive and even had a pool.We had multiple days of wrestling and just an overall great time planned. This was four people that absolutely adored wrestling, getting to live and breathe it for three days. Then...

Yeah, everyone knows what's going on. This has disrupted life as we know it. This event is like many others, the only difference being that I was actually going to this one. Does it suck? Of course. But if I take anything from this tragedy occurring around us it's that these events really aren't a big deal. It's our health that matters.

So I'll be spending my next vacation at home when I should have been soaking up the sun in Florida, watching half-naked men and women throw each other around a 12 x 12 structure in absurd, choreographed fashion. And I'll be disappointed. But I'll be comforted with the fact that it was the right thing to do. All of these cancellations are doing what's best for us as a society. So I'll be throwing up the WWE Network and enjoying the event, all the same.

I'll just be in quarantine. Because I'm a responsible adult, dammit.

Or at least, I try to be.

Social Isolation (Day 2)

I use this photo for thumbnails.
Day 2.

Other than the grocery stores being closer to empty than full, my life hasn't changed very much. Don't worry, that doesn't mean I'm not taking this seriously. I am. If anything, it just speaks to how much social isolation I do on a daily basis regardless of pandemic. Like I said, I'm a homebody.

For those unaware, I've been doing a James Bond video series on my Youtube channel where I watch the films, for the first time, and then dive into what I thought of them. It has been ridiculously fun. Originally, I was going to release them in quick succession, leading to the release of "No Time To Die" in April. But the virus had other plans.

The film has been pushed to November and I couldn't be more thankful. I quickly realized I had bitten off more than I could chew. To be fair, I had originally planned to just record my thoughts on the films after watching them, no footage, and minimal editing. If you've seen any of the series, that is certainly not the case any more. They take a lot of time. The first two weeks, I was spending 80 hours, between watching the films, filming, and then editing. It was far more of a project than I originally thought.

Hence why the delay was a blessing.

My last video in the series was "Diamonds are Forever", which also happens to be the final official Connery entry. I'll be taking a little break (only in publishing, I actually just filmed three this week) and releasing the Roger Moore years sometime next month. Then I'll release the Dalton/Brosnan era sometime this summer. All will then be followed up by the Craig era leading up to "No Time To Die" on November 25th.

It stretches things out a decent amount but I figure this will allow more people to potentially discover the series.

I've had a fun time with these films but there are definitely lulls, which can make the motivation wane when it comes to devoting somewhere between 10-20 depending on the video. Especially when I'm doing it more to catalog my own tastes rather than trying to produce content that a bunch of people watch. Don't get me wrong, I'd love a more significant audience, but my videos usually only reach double digits so I'm not delusional with thoughts of grandeur.

If you're curious about the series, here's the playlist. I've really loved doing these and the playlist will be updated, leading up to the release of the new Bond film in November.

 

Social Isolation (Day 1)

This is a random photo from My Pictures.

Wow, I've been gone from here for a while.

I figured, with all the self-quarantining that's going on, what better time to sit at the computer at just spew some thoughts out.

I'm mainly doing this because I'm sick of all the time I've wasted reading vitriolic Social Media comments. I find myself going down the rabbit hole multiple times a day and its never productive. It just makes me angry and raises my stress levels even higher. And I love writing so I may as well write. Crazy concept, right?

What do I even want to talk about? Well, I figure I'll probably write about different things every day. No structure whatsoever, just a bit of a steam of consciousness in order to maintain my sanity. I need a space away from Fiction, where I can just write without restraint. That's what this will be.

First off, I'm not sick. At least not yet. Being in Colorado, I'm not exactly at a crazy epicenter. It's still in the early days here and I don't know anyone personally that has the virus. Eventually, I'm sure I'll get it and I'm sure it'll be miserable but it's okay, I'll survive. But I'm not making the selfish mistake that many young people are by refusing quaratine protocols and still trying to live their social lives.

Look, I get it.

Not everyone is a homebody. There is a type of person that gets more depressed the more time they spend by themselves/indoors. I am most definitely not one of those people. This is my time to shine. Damn near everything I do involves being at home because many of my hobbies can be done from home: watching movies, playing video games, writing literally anything, editing videos. This is my time to shine. So keep an eye on this space if you want to read some randomness this Quarantine.

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