March ‘23 - Wrap Up
Hello!
After being in denial for years, I’ve finally decided I am a victim of seasonal depression. Fort Collins has been semi-seasonably warm the past week and I have become entirely head over heart in love. Don’t get me wrong: I love cold weather. A good friend of mine even once went as far as to describe me as hot cocoa on a blistery, cold day. What a compliment! However (and not to sound too metaphysical), summer is quickly weaving itself as a second home.
In my last week of solitude and rest before moving part-time to Estes and rounding up moose for the next 6 months, I’ve been reflecting on what life has quickly become in this segment of my life. Like anything in this wholly confusing existence, there’s been ups and downs. Still, I’m struck by the shear amount of quiet comfort that’s seeped into everything. There isn’t much to blame it on besides the utterly unavoidable fondness of sun on my skin.
Well, there are other things.
Driving around town listening to samba/Latin music at full blast, ambient youtube videos, the daily ritual of slathering on sunscreen, long walks to coffee shops (we’re talking like hour plus), stretching in the morning, copious amounts of good espresso, cooking while the windows in my kitchen reflect rainbow-scattering light, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and his insatiable horny-ness, trying new cocktails at new spots around town, and finally learning to make the subtle Brazilian curls on my head look good.
Perhaps it’s really the feeling that I’m finally where I’m supposed to be. Don’t get me wrong—this summer is going to be hell. But it’s also going to be rewarding. I’m slowly learning to appreciate the light and the dark. That’s the beauty of this fucked up water-sphere we all live on. Meaning is found somewhere in the gray.
Ultimately, April feels like coming into my own.
And that feels really damn good.
To close out this anthology of my short stint of unemployed life, I thought I’d look back on some of the notable things I’ve listened to/watched/read this past month. I’m getting back into my wannabe influencer era, and this my friends, is my unapologetic outlet to do so.
So, without further ado, here’s my list of media reviews for the past month:
*Spoilers ahead - You’ve been warned!
Music
Just an album suggestion & a playlist that I’ve been utterly jamming to, recently. Enjoy, folks!
Television
Shadow & Bone - Season 2
⭐️⭐️
There’s just something about this show that I really cannot get totally on board with. I watched the first season semi-paying attention, and this season even less. By the end, I was truly only invested in the relationship between Inej and Kaz… and even then, it was only halfway developed. In my opinion, it was the perfect case of good ideas, poor execution. At some point, I really started to evaluate my own relationship to this sort of media. I usually have a high tolerance for cheesy-ness, but I may have finally hit my limit. Shocking, I know!
Daisy Jones & the Six - Season 1
⭐️⭐️⭐️
After listening to this book on audible last summer sifting through trout diets in the fisheries lab I worked in, I was moderately surprised when I found out they were making Daisy Jones into a TV adaptation. All in all, they did pretty okay with undertaking such a beloved book (though, I only was a casual fan). The casting was perfect for everyone except Camilla. I saw a tweet that said that the actress who played her looked like she knew what an iPad was and from that point on I could not get that out of my head. Soundtrack slayed though.
Outer Banks - Season 3
⭐️
A slow trawling end to this goddamn clusterfuck of a show. Big John returning to the fold was perhaps the biggest mistake the Outer Banks writers could’ve ever made. I’ve never experienced such a grating character in the whole of media. I was so glad when both he and Ward finally died and even happier when the season finally came to a close. I sincerely don’t think I can make it through another season of this.
The Climb - Season 1
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A climbing-based competition show that I never thought I would enjoy… but did! My favorite part was the fact that Jason Momoa only showed up for the demo climbs at the beginning of the episode and did one of two things: (1) belayed Chris Sharma doing something epic or (2) stood around being a total bro. I watched the entirety of this with my younger brother, trying to compose my extremely sweaty palms as I watched people fall from massive cliff faces. Thrilling!
The Last of Us - Season 1
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you know me you’ll know there was probably an entire month of my life where I was extremely obsessing over this show. Not to be overly dramatic, but this show changed my life. I was consuming everything TLOU related--from watching interviews, to listening to the impeccable soundtrack on loop for days on end, to literally creating artwork for my house based on Joel’s watch.
Just thinking about some of these episodes while writing this literally springs tears to my eyes, even now. Bill and Frank laughing over the strawberries in Episode 3 was such a picture of levity in the midst of such suffering, that I doubt any other piece of media can ever top the visceral feeling I get in my chest every time the clip comes on screen.
My tentative list for best to worst (though entirely relative, I truly love them all) episodes are as follows:
Episode 3 - “Long, Long Time”
Episode 8 - “When We Are in Need”
Episode 7 - “Left Behind”
Episode 4 - “Endure and Survive
Episode 1 - “When You’re Lost in the Darkness”
Episode 9 - “Look for the Light”
Episode 2 - “Infected”
Episode 6 - “Kin”
Episode 4 - “Please Hold to My Hand”
I’ve watched through each episode at least 3-4 times, but this list changes every time I try to make it. Maybe I’ll make a post explaining through my thoughts sometime—just for funnies. Overall, it feels like a piece of my heart has been ripped away from the emotional turmoil of this show and I’ll never recover. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Narcos - Seasons 1 & 2
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Now, I must admit. I started watching Narcos because my obsession with The Last of Us definitely spurred a deep infatuation with the man, the myth, the legend—Pedro Pascal. Who’d have thunk it? However, my feverish teenage-esq crush on a man 24 years older than me quickly twisted into complete and utter awe when the story of Pablo Escobar revealed itself as a picture-perfect, almost unbelievable, twist-and-turn adventure.
This story, now, is undeniably one of my favorite TV shows I’ve ever watched. Hands down. Everything about it is impeccable. The scenery, the drama, the music. What’s even more surprising is that through this, I have somehow collected a favorite drug dealer (Pacho has the sick fits, what can I say), a favorite drug cartel (Cali allllllll the way), and an obsession with traveling to Columbia. No desire to snort cocaine though, folks. Don’t worry.
Only infuriating part was the fact that Murphy still didn’t really speak Spanish by the end of the series. Like dude. You’ve been in Columbia for how many years and you still can’t roll your R’s correctly? I’m still watching through the third season, so I’ll keep you all updated on how it goes. I mean, my main man leading the charge against my favorite cartel… you know it’s gonna be good.
Film
Palm Springs
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Originally inspired by a tradition Wes, Mike, and Jeff from my favorite podcast Tooth and Claw started, my friends and I have been hosting a weekly documentary night for a little over a year. Though the initial intention was to watch through docs, we’ve become pretty lax about it—watching everything from the Twilight series (currently halted on the 4th movie) to Disney’s Bears. Just yesterday we picked up this new edition to the docket. While I’m an avid hater of the time-loop genre, this film spun it in a surprisingly fun, refreshing way. If you need a feel good film to get you through a tough night, this is a good pick. Promise.
Fire of Love
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was a Thea pick if I’ve ever heard of one. Two volcanalogists (honestly, is there a cooler name for an -ologist?) fall in love and die tragically. This documentary truly made me want to find an slightly insane but passionate life-partner to study the world with and perish together, knowing we made a difference in this world. Is that too much to ask? My favorite line from this entire film, which I’ll leave you with was:
“To understand is to love.”
So simple and so resoundingly true, right?
A Good Person
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Coming out of this movie at a little past midnight, I was conflicted. While I thought Florence Pugh gave an absolute stunning performance, the one thing I kept coming back to was the realization that this film could never quite live up to precedent Beautiful Boy (dir: Felix Van Groeningen) created in light of addiction and the overwhelming sense of loss. Ultimately, I determined that if Pugh was not in the role and delivered quite as well as she did, this movie really would’ve fallen flat for me.
Hunger Games Series
The Hunger Games (⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (⭐️⭐️1/2)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (⭐️⭐️)
I went over the details of each of these movies in more depth on my Letterboxd, however, I just want to give another shout out to the aspect ratio change in the second movie of this series. I still think about how expertly executed it all was. Overall, these movies do hold a sentimental place in my heart, but I doubt I’ll be re-watching them again in the future.
The French Dispatch
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So, I haven’t seen many Wes Anderson films. I’ve watched Moonrise Kingdom and barely payed attention while my brother put on The Grand Budapest Hotel at a likely ungodly hour in the morning (he often does that). But, I do hope to change this going forward. I chose The French Dispatch mainly because it was the only film on a streaming platform. Still, I actually ended up thoroughly enjoying it. The chef story was the best of the entire set, in my opinion. Like most Wes Anderson stories, if you look away from the screen for 5 seconds you miss about 30 minutes of dialog—which is both a beautiful thing for engulfing yourself into a story, but it also horribly reminds me of my ever-shrinking attention span. It’s a win-lose.
The Lighthouse
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve watched a film in black and white. Though admittedly, they’re not making much of those these days. Still, there’s something about it. Beyond just a stylistic choice, I do really believe that it requires the director to think about how texture and mood is presented. It’s far easier to rely on color to invoke these emotions. The aspect ratio for this film helps sell this further. It feels claustrophobic and gritty and confusing. All things perfect for a lost-at-sea movie. Besides this, the only reason why I rated it the way I did was because I wasn’t prepared to ride the swells of such an open-for-interpretation type-story. Basically, my brain power was on low and would likely benefit from a second watch. Maybe one day.
Final Thoughts
And that closes us out for this month, folks. I’m currently reading A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez which (spoiler) I’m finding myself laughing out loud to it on a daily basis, but I’ll save my in-depth thoughts on that for later.
I’ll see you all soon for some moose/elk/veg/rocky content in a few weeks. I hope to do sort of a weekly wrap up through the course of the field season—so watch out! As always, I keep my Instagram pretty stacked with alllll the recent happenings.
Cheers,
Aves
