Dreambiscuit

I jumped out of bed at 8pm, ran straight to the store to do my grocery shopping, came home and put it all away, ate a late dinner, did a bunch of computer work, put up a new neon decoration in my fun room, emptied the dishwasher and filled the ice trays, and came here for a quick ten minute visit...that was two hours ago. Gonna lie down now and veg.

Don't worry about what to say and what not to. Just be natural. Therapists really want to hear spontaneous replies to their questions so they can read what's going on. Remember they're here to help you, not judge you. Relax and be okay.

Under the Sea (The Little Mermaid) and Beyond the Sea (Finding Nemo) stand out because, unlike most soundtracks that give you a crappy pop version over the credits in order to sell an otherwise good album, these stuck to quality tracks. I know there are many more than these but you get the idea; keep good music for the credits and not just for the movie.

This is one of those situations where it’s hard to differentiate between favorite movie and best movie. Spirited Away is undoubtedly the best Ghibli movie, closely followed by Howl’s Moving Castle, but I tend to gravitate more toward the subtler slice-of-life movies. So my personal favorites would have to be From Up On Poppy Hill, Whisper of the Heart, and When Marnie Was There. I know Hayao Miyazaki didn’t even direct these, but he’s always involved in one way or another and it’s all beautiful. I want to add Kiki and Totoro, but I have to trim the list somewhere and it’s hard enough as it is!

Question 1: What would you do if the world was going to end in 10 minutes while you are at school, college, and/or work? I’d probably call my family and spend my last minutes with them, even if it’s only over a phone. Question 2: What would you do if the world was going to end in an hour while you are at school, college, and/or work? Same answer as above, but having an hour, I’d try to get home to be with family in person rather than spending the occasion on a rotten phone. And I’d make sure to spend at least a moment or two celebrating the joyous occasion. Question 3: What would you do if the world was going to end in one day, while you're at home with your family? Again, I’d be with my family, celebrating. I wouldn’t be going out anywhere because I wouldn’t want to battle the waves of silly humanity panicking over the inevitable. I’d take time for prayer and peacefully enjoying the unique moment that only comes once in countless years of waiting. Depending on the means by which the world was to end, I’d probably take a few minutes to witness it out a window, from the rooftop, or anywhere close that would afford me a good view.

Cells At Work (2025) SPOILERS AHEAD. This is a live action movie roughly based on the anime series and follows the same basic storyline, but it does take an abrupt turn toward the end. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about that because I love the series and its characters and I didn’t want any huge deviations to occur, but the added emotional punch really stuck with me long afterward. It’s rare that a movie actually affects me emotionally and this silly-looking thing actually drew me in and messed me up. I gotta give em props for that. 8/10 Bullet Train Explosion (2025) A modern day revamp of Speed (1994). Only this time it’s a bullet train instead of a bus that’s rigged to explode if it goes below a certain speed. Using a bullet train gives this premise some extra dimension, but the movie needed to be trimmed down by about 45 minutes. I realize nobody knows how to edit anymore, but it’s an art that really makes or breaks a movie, and it would have done wonders for this one. The antagonist in this movie was the real treasure; original and multifaceted. 6/10 Suzume (2023) A solid movie. Not as good as Makoto Shinkai’s super-classic Your Name, but it’s never a good idea to compare anything directly to one of the greatest movies of all time. So, on its own merits, this movie delivers pretty well. It has good characters and a decent story, with beautiful animation. I watched it this time with subtitles instead of dubbed, and it’s a lot better that way. Nanoka Hara was chosen over thousands of other actresses for the lead role and I wanted to hear her rendition, which was, needless to say, way better than the American dub actress. Good movie. 8/10

I’ve never made a time capsule, even though the idea intrigues me greatly. An assortment of items specific to the time is always a good place to start. I’d avoid anything perishable (that could get yucky), but if I wanted to include food items I’d just put the cleaned-up packages or labels. I might put a note with predictions of what I think the world will be like when the capsule is opened, although it would be wise to avoid anything potentially depressing. I’d put photos of myself, family and friends, along with their ages and interests just to see how much things change or stay the same. And I might even put a recording or video of some sort (along with something to play it on, since it would be obsolete media by the time it’s opened and played). Some toys and maybe a daily diary of sorts would be nice, and I might add a few suggestions for a future generation: learn a language, learn an instrument, don’t waste opportunities, keep perspective with the past and use common sense. I’d love to include some plant seeds as a way to bring the past into the future and commemorate the people who filled the capsule, but I don’t think seeds preserve beyond a few years, tops. I’d seal the capsule for at least 50 years because anything less just doesn’t seem like very long anymore. The last twenty years sped by, and I’d want this thing to feel like a part of a more distant time. On another note, my uncle filled two balloons and put them each in a metal box back in 1983. They still exist and the balloons are somehow still partially inflated. He said if I ever wanted to breathe a little air from 1983 I’d be set. I’d love to try it but the air in there is probably toxic by now!

To be sure it would unnerve me, but I’m not going to lose my mind over something I can’t control, so I would treat it as a color-blind person would; I’d make the best of it and pretend I was in a black and white movie, and assure myself that color still exists somewhere, even if I couldn’t see it.

This is a tasty subject. Okay, in my opinion the universe is probably bursting with life and much of it intelligent. But intelligent life doesn’t mean it has the same technology as we do (radio signals), a desire to contact others, or the means to blanket the limitless heavens in order to discover other civilizations. Even if all these things are in play, there are so many forms of energy, technology and communication that we could have aliens right next door with their equipment cranked up to 10, and we’d still be oblivious to the fact. Consider some of these possibilities; many on earth think it was a bad idea sending Voyager out into the cosmos with a big fat invitation for all life forms, good or bad, to drop in anytime. Species more intelligent than humans might want to avoid attracting potentially threatening attention to themselves, and elect to conceal their existence, even if they’re aware of ours. Many believe aliens are already here and are being hidden by human governments, with lots of interesting evidence to suggest it. And then, there may be alien civilizations who are just trying to blanket the stars with radio signals, just like us, and simply haven’t made the connection of being in the exact place at the exact moment someone else is listening and is capable of response. In a universe so vast, overlapping with another species is a long shot at best, even with all the technology needed to do so. Consider the famous ‘Wow’ signal from back in 1977, which came from space and lasted 72 seconds; no one knows what it was but it may well have been a random sweep by an alien civilization, with earth as just another dot among trillions of others. Unless a signal remains in one place and repeats, with someone diligently listening on the other end, the odds of success aren’t great. Any race sending signals across the universe won’t have time to linger on any one planetary system if they’re ever going to cover the endless possibilities. So by that reckoning it’s no wonder we don’t have aliens coming out of the woodwork. In my opinion, the universe works in intangible ways that attract certain things together, like synchronicity, and increase the possibilities of life finding other life. Personally I believe alien life is out there, is aware of this planet, and that there’s a strong probability of us being aware of them.

Tired. I was going to paint tonight but my painting’s not coming out very well at the moment and I don’t have the energy to do battle with my art right now. I hit the ground running today with a lot of errands and now I just need to rest and turn off my brain…not that it was ever on to begin with. Hey, I know! Coffee! Be right back!

It's at the top of my must-see list! I'm definitely going to see this one @ZiggWheelsManning!

If you were to make a Time Capsule, what would you put into it? How long would you wait to open it? And would you create it for yourself or for someone else to open? And please explain your reasons. For that matter, has anyone here ever made a time capsule or opened one? Let's talk about it!

Absolutely not. I tried Bluey because I also heard it was popular and had some quality. But to be honest, it did nothing for me. When I first discovered MLP it grabbed me instantly despite the fact that I wasn’t even very open-minded to it at the time. But I couldn’t deny it was great and the rest is history. But I tried to like Bluey because I wanted another MLP, but sadly it didn’t deliver. It’s like so many other shows that, despite their decided lack of excellence, somehow succeeded. But it’s not for me and not even in the same stratosphere as MLP.

My absolute favorite is The Incredibles, and it’s also one of my all-time faves in any category. The first three Toy Story movies are pretty hard to beat too, being perfect and all.

Getting back to basics with a lot of staples. Toy Story (1995) What can I say? This movie is a masterpiece; a beautiful idea beautifully executed. It ushered in the age of CG as a mainstream art form, which is good in many ways. Unfortunately it also ushered out 2D animation as an even greater art form. But as a movie it is a joy to watch. 9/10 Toy Story 2 (1999) Maybe the best of the Toy Story movies (and that’s a big maybe). It’s perfect and it sometimes doesn’t play fair with my emotions, but that’s part of its power. 10/10 Toy Story 3 (2010) I’ve always thought of Toy Story 2 as the best of the franchise but comparing it back to back with this one, it’s impossible to say. I never imagined Pixar could come close to recapturing the magic on such a level, let alone match it, but here it is; another perfect movie and just as fun and emotionally impactful as its predecessor. 10/10 After the Fox (1966) Not quite in the same line as the other movies here, but my mom chose this one. Obviously this movie was inspired by the Blake Edwards Pink Panther movies, this movie follows the same style of humor and sense of the absurd, and also stars peter Sellers. 6/10 Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) A truly great movie that stands the test of time effortlessly. It’s so amazing to see all those studios allowing their characters to be used together like that. And it was a great way for the old original voice actors to reconnect with their classic creations. Clever plot, good performances and great animation. 9/10

I show it by disregarding something offensive someone does, if I can. If they act out of ignorance I try to chalk it up to a work in progress and hope they’ll figure it all out someday. But even the ones who irritate me the most are still brothers and sisters to me, so I try to treat them as such if I can. I’m not always successful to be honest, but I’m a work of progress too, so hopefully someone will tolerate me until I figure things out one day.

I already posted my faves but I want to add the Gumbo Limbo tree, which grows all over where I live. It’s pretty in its own dusty, peeling sort of way.

I cut mine on May 18th. Just a trim; nothing too shocking to behold. (But then again, I can’t see it from the back, so if I feel a strong tailwind of laughter I’ll know I did something wrong).

I actively try to avoid anything resembling a social life. It ain't my natural habitat and I'd rather just disappear into the background.

I hope you remember to come back. We’ll still remember you...if we're sober enough.

A black Star Wars t-shirt with TIE Fighters in metallic silver, and denim shorts.

I’ve never had an IQ test but I’d say I’m fairly intelligent, or so the illusion is maintained, provided I surround myself with total imbeciles. I lose mental sharpness as I get older, so I still have the intelligence I once had but it’s harder to access and takes more effort to use. Keeping in mind that intelligence is a matter of wisdom and mental acuity rather than memorization of facts (and being unaware of what the rest of the world bases its template of intelligence on) it’s hard to say what should be called intelligence, and whether or not that standard actually applies universally.

I’ve tried counting sheep but it never worked for me. I get too bored and my mind wanders to things that interest me more and therefore keep me awake even longer. One thing I have tried is quieting my mind and listening to my own heartbeat, which for some reason seems to help somewhat.

My family (aside from myself) doesn’t like anything spicy, or anything with onions. They’re onion-phobic; if they even think there’s an onion in something, no matter how miniscule an amount, they claim they can taste it and feign sickness over it. Many times I’ve put finely chopped onions in their food that they didn’t know about and, being unaware, they were somehow just fine. And they can’t handle anything spicier than ketchup, which is crazy. I like to eat food I can actually taste so I grew up missing out on a lot of good stuff, but I’m making up for it now (oink oink).

To be honest I’m fine with all my junk. I have a lot of it and I always maintained the same conviction in owning it. I like the same stuff I’ve liked since I reached the age of reason and I’ve never changed. That may make me a bit one-note but that’s me.