SD 2017–2046: August? September? October? These are lies told by mad men to fools.
Unfortunately due to the state of things I feel guilty for having any sort of positive experience but several good things did happen over the past few months.
I finally made it to Wrightwood 659 to see The First Homosexuals. I’ve seen this teapot at the Art Institute and loved it, but didn’t realize it was a contemporary homophobic attack on Oscar Wilde. Unfortunately it is is verified #camp!
I went back to the Bristol Renaissance for Derek’s birthday and had a lovely time being a satyr.
I went for the community photo of the 100th anniversary of the Uptown Theatre. Will it ever reopen? Who knows!
Work had another grand Cubs outing.
Derek and I took another trip up to Milwaukee. We spent a long weekend riding Bublrs (the local bike share program) all over town, exploring the fantastic greenway and checking out multiple beer gardens. Also had a fantastic time at the Mitchell Park Domes.
But the most important thing was Matt, Dane, and I adopted a cat from PAWS. After much consideration we named her Saffron.
The shelter said she was shy, but she loves to play and has quickly blossomed into being almost as needy as Matt.
I also took a weekend trip down to Florida to see the new Super Mario World at Epic Universe and Star Wars Galaxy Edge at Disney. I of course feel very conflicted about this due to the presence of the Harry Potter park and the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after our return. There can be no ethical vacation under capitalism, etc.
That aside, it was a great trip. The Rise of the Resistance ride was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced.
Let’s see if I can remember everything we did!
Universal Studies: Epic Universe
- Curse of the Werewolf
- Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment
- Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness
- Constellation Carousel
- Yoshi’s Adventure
- Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Untrainable Dragon
I bought the Nintendo power up band and really liked all the mini games and extra gamification of Super Nintendo World and would recommend it, despite the cost. It acts as an Amiibo, so has some reuse value. There was a big multiplayer Koopa battle tied to the power band which was one of my favorite things. We filled a lot of time with the mini games.
Disney World: Hollywood Studios
- Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
- Slink Dog Dash
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Star Tours – The Adventure Continues
- Lightsaber Building Experience
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
- Meet Edna Mode at the Edna Mode Experience
- Chewbacca & BB-8 Meet & Greets
- First Order Searches for the Resistance
- Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Fantasmic!
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
The Play Disney app was pretty bad compared to the Nintendo experience and I didn’t do much with it. Activating some of the effects in Galaxy’s Edge was fun, but that was about it.
I saw the Gustave Caillebotte exhibit at the Art Institute.
I of course made some visits to Logan Arcade. Something is coming.
In an attempt to go to the Lincoln Park Replay location for the first time, I ended up at a Taylor Swift popup at Neon Garden. It was… an experience!
And here’s some media I consumed.
- Rewatched The VVitch – still a banger
- 28 Years Later – What the fuck was this?
- Weapons – Fun!!
- Plainclothes – I would’ve been obsessed with this movie in high school. That being said, it feels like a weird movie to make in 2025.
- Perfect Blue – Saw a screening of the restoration. Somehow haven’t seen this before, despite loving Paprika. Excellent! Upsetting.
- Blippo+ – Boing boing!
And of course some other stuff happened. But don’t worry, there will be no retrospection here.