Day 473, Quasi-Quarantine: Hacking Together The Elusive Fennec Shand

Fennec Shand has been a seemingly ever-present, er, presence in recent Star Wars productions. The assassin, mercenary, and bounty hunter had a key role in "The Mandalorian," has been a consistent character in "The Bad Batch," and appears poised to continue her influence in "The Book of Boba."

A legendary sniper with a Lando Calrissian-inspired style and pinache, Fennec's allegiance is often hard to pinpoint, but her sense of honor is a redeeming quality. And there aren't many characters who can face down Cad Bane, making her a favorite in our household. 

Apparently named for the Fennec fox, Shand has yet to make an appearance in a Lego set -- an oversight in our books that we set out to correct. With her helmet inspired by medieval jousting helmets, we tried an initial approach that involved sanding down a Death Star trooper helmet. However, we didn't love the resulting look and kept searching for alternatives.

We ended up hacking a Lego Ninjago head piece and adding the right coloration, and to be honest, we couldn't be more excited about the finished product.

You be the judge. And we'll wait impatiently for the next performance by this stellar character.

Day 472, Quasi-Quarantine: Messy, Over-Wrought "Prozac Nation" Is An Important Millennial Precursor

"They will have to rearrange the order of the cosmos, they will have to end the cold war, they will have to act like loving, kind adults who care about each other, they will have to cure hunger in Ethiopia and end the sex-slave trade in Thailand and stop torture in Argentina. They will have to do more than they ever thought they could if they want me to stay alive. They have no idea how much energy and exasperation I am willing to suck out of them until I feel better. I will drain them and drown them until they know how little of me there is left even after I've taken everything they've got to give me because I hate them for not knowing."

The late Elizabeth Wurtzel's memoir is at turns compelling and tedious. The raw, soul-baring tone of "Prozac Nation" is often waylaid by the density of repeated mistakes and the over-wrought sensation that she is not owning her actions. 

As an unreliable narrator, Wurtzel conceals and obscures facts from her origin story, with a hazy chronology contributing to the work's hazy tone. 

"Instead, all they had to offer me was their fear: My mom feared the outside world and my dad feared me and my mom; we lived in a paranoid household in which everyone defined his own enemies and pretty soon everyone was implicated."

While there is a notably brave element in sharing her decade-long bout with atypical depression, the book's lack of editing and focus -- while consistent with her disease -- can make it an overwhelming read. 

"That's the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it's impossible to ever see the end. The fog is a cage without a key."

An undeniable level of respect is due for helping to contribute to the conversation surrounding depression, but the subtitle of "Young and Depressed in America" does not always feel that it captures the growing pains and personal failings of a lost young woman.

"I knew if I told the truth, it would work out. Yes, it set me free. Turns out, that's  how it works. I trust people. I trust myself. And now memoir is a category. Now there is reality TV. And Facebook. And oversharing. I started a joke. That started the whole world crying."

Day 471, Quasi-Quarantine: If "Hardcase" Was A Wedge-Breaker For The Colts' Kickoff Coverage Team

 

For one of our recent custom helmet crafts, we reversed the dominant colors of Hardcase, a Galactic Republic clone trooper who served in the 501st Legion under Captain Rex.

The finished product evokes the Indianapolis Colts color scheme, in tribute to my building partner's chosen team.

The result looks better in person, as the paint texture doesn't translate well via phone pictures. This style will likely require touch-ups from time to time, but we're happy with the display.

Stay tuned for other NFL-inspired clone trooper helmet designs ...

Days 464-468, Quasi-Quarantine: Scooter & Hum Goes On Hiatus

 

After a flurry of work activity, it's high time for cutting the cord and embarking on Daddy Camp.

Limerick Friday #509: Patience Suffers On The Stagger To The Finish Line -- Day 461

If I needed a smoke, I'd bum it

If I needed a ride, I'd thumb it

And on this Friday

I can honestly say

If I needed a drink, I'd Summit

Sprints in the heat

With cleats on the feet

Chasing flag pulls

In the dog-day lulls

This is how you avoid defeat

Cat updates and chat lurks

And finagling company perks

Maybe more time writing

And less time crying

See, this is how work works

A College World Series to see

State-Stanford will be key

Look for a curveball hanger

Against the logo doppelganger

And focus on chopping down the Tree

Walks and camps

Practice and cramps

Beers on the porch

The sun a blowtorch

Summer's activity ramps

Last time ...

Day 460, Quasi-Quarantine: Wave Scooter, Reporting For Duty

 

Part of our end-of-year activities has involved creating Clone Wars-themed minifigures to inform the missions that my building partner comes up with.

Hence, meet Clone Trooper Wave Scooter.

Yes, that may or may not be Harry Potter's head.

Yes, the helmet features a dolphin painted down the middle.

Yes, fanbases persist throughout the solar system. 

Because in space, no one can hear you scream.

Day 459, Quasi-Quarantine: Keeping Up The Reading Pace Of Escapism

 

With just under 200 days left in the year, I've knocked out 25 books. I had set a goal of 42 for 2021, so I may need to adjust my aims.

Cheers to literary escapism.

Day 458, Quasi-Quarantine: The 'Fins *Gulp* Roll The Dice On Jaylen & Jaelan

After some bouncing around the draft order, Miami settled on the No. 6 and No. 18 overall picks in the first round of April's NFL Draft. The 'Fins initially had the third overall pick, but traded back to No. 12 before (controversially) jumping back up to the sixth spot.

The Dolphins played the long game in last year's draft, with decidedly mixed results. The 'Fins braintrust took a similar approach in 2021, betting on the come with Alabama speedster Jaylen Waddle and Miami end Jaelan Phillips. 

The pluses: In a nutshell, speed and plus athletic ability. In addition, these selections filled massive needs on the depth chart.

The Athletic draft analyst Dane Brugler pegged Waddle as the No. 2 wide receiver and No. 6 overall player in the draft, so this was an appropriate spot for the youngster to go. Waddle has multiple gears, possesses elite return abilities, and is seen as a difference-maker in the open field. He's most often compared to Kansas City weapon Tyreek Hill -- hopefully minus the assaults on women and children.

Phillips was considered the No. 3 edge rusher and No. 22 overall player available by Brugler. At 6-5, 260 pounds, Phillips is a long, angular rush man who shares some traits with former 'Fin great Jason Taylor and long-time Washington end Ryan Kerrigan. The Miami product keeps tackles off balance, is strong enough to play through with swipe moves, plays the run surprisingly well, and tracks the ball nicely. The pedigree is there, with Phillips having been the No. 1 high school recruit in the land in 2017.

The negatives: In a nutshell, both of these dudes have small track records and scary medical histories, bringing significantly more risk than I'd prefer to see in a pair of top-20 selections.

Checking in at 5-9, 180 pounds, Waddle has questionable strength, and his ability to block and break tackles was flagged in the draft process. He's also been dinged for his route-running, though this is hard to measure since he made marked improvement in this area of the game as a junior and the Alabama scheme gets guys open so easily.

What's not hard to measure are the underwhelming stats. Most recently coming off a fractured right ankle, Waddle had less than 2,000 receiving yards in his career and only started nine games in college.

Even more alarming is Phillips's medical file. After two injury-plagued seasons and three documented concussions at the college level, UCLA doctors actually advised him to retire -- which he briefly did, electing to pursue a career in music.

On the field, the defensive end is not considered a sudden athlete, and his predictable rush moves and stiff playing style were documented by analysts. After skipping his bowl game and senior season after transferring to Miami, Phillips ended college with 12.5 career sacks and 16 starts, so there's not a ton there to evaluate.

Most importantly, though, many question how much this young man loves football. In fact, some teams did not have him on their draft board, while the Dolphins went in the other direction -- actually picking him as the first defensive lineman in the entire draft.

The bottom line: It's hard to assess these picks without considering the context of players chosen around them and the history of the draft slot itself. Analysts lauded the 'Fins move to trade back to No. 12, but much of that ammunition was lost when the team immediately moved back to the No. 6 position.

While it must be mentioned that Miami did net draft collateral for future years, there is also a sense that the Dolphins may have outsmarted themselves a bit here. Most fans were praying tight end Kyle Pitts or receiver Ja'Marr Chase fell to No. 6 (they didn't), despite Miami's brass swearing afterward that Waddle was the pick all along.

You also never love to see the team picking right behind you acting like they won the Super Bowl because of someone you passed on (cue the Lions war room reaction to the realization that Penny Sewell got past the 'Fins).

From a risk-averse standpoint due to the value of these picks, I would have preferred staying at No. 12 and/or picking 'Bama wideout Devonta Smith and Michigan end Kwity Paye, two polished players with more proven track records. However, in the Dolphins' defense, Jaylen & Jaelan were not necessarily reach selections, and the franchise felt comfortable betting big on guys they did a ton of homework on.

For now, Miami got better -- as always, ask me again in a couple of years about these players and the Fins' second-day picks and third-day selections to see just how much better and how big a role this duo played in that evolution.

Day 457, Quasi-Quarantine: The Pack Is Back In The College World Series

 

First, lose the first game by 19 runs.

Next, beat the No. 1 team in the country twice in its own yard.

Always: Never give up.

Limerick Friday #508: Saying Goodbye To A Unique School Year -- Day 454

Mornings on a virtual tool

Lethargy the standard rule

Teachers asking for respect

Kids struggling to connect

All of a sudden it's the last day of school

Squared up every pitch

Collectively hit like a witch

Pack fans were legion

As State dominated the region

On to the Supers without a hitch

Old-school tech was dire

Slogging through the PC mire

Captured to a tee

Making compelling TV

Kudos, "Halt and Catch Fire"

A structure of suck-ups and fakes

Posturing and existential takes

For transparency we strive

But what the fuck is a hive

Insanity is repeating mistakes

Virtual school's got it made

A promotion from fifth grade

My, the years do flow

Where did lil' Ube go?

Kinda wish the early years stayed

Last time ...

Day 453, Quasi-Quarantine: The Devastating, Mandatory Truths Of "Caste"

 

"Caste is insidious and therefore powerful because it is not hatred, it is not necessarily personal. It is the worn grooves of comforting routines and unthinking expectations, patterns of a social order that have been in place for so long that it looks like the natural order of things."

Perhaps never has a book been so simultaneously difficult and important to read. 

"Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent" is part history book, part sociology study, and part political commentary, somehow managing to weave personal accounts with true horror stories with contemporary context and historical backdrop. 

"Americans are loath to talk about enslavement in part because what little we know about it goes against our perception of our country as a just and enlightened nation, a beacon of democracy for the world."

"In Germany, displaying the swastika is a crime punishable by up to three years in prison. In the United States, the rebel flag is incorporated into the official state flag of Mississippi." 

Isabel Wilkerson's staggering tome features a stark and matter-of-fact tone, yet the revelations of a largely obfuscated American past are as instructive as they are emotional. 

Her ability to trace history's abuses to contemporary politics and emerging boundaries alone makes "Caste" worthwhile. Her painstaking research into what this trending could mean for a shifting American demography makes the book essential. 

"Why, some people on the left kept asking, why, oh, why, were these people voting against their own interests? The questioners on the left were unseeing and yet so certain. What they had not considered was that the people voting this way were, in fact, voting their interests. Maintaining the caste system as it had always been was in their interest. And some were willing to accept short-term discomfort, forgo health insurance, risk contamination of the water and air, and even die to protect their long-term interest in the hierarchy as they had known it."

"What we face in our current day is not the classical racism of our forefathers' era, but a mutation of the software that adjusts to the updated needs of the operating system."

Wilkerson has noted that this was a book she "did not seek to write but had to write," and that compulsion should extend to everyone who may not seek to read it -- but must.

"The awkward becomes acceptable, and the unacceptable becomes merely inconvenient. Live with it long enough, and the unthinkable becomes normal. Exposed over the generations, we learn to believe that the incomprehensible is the way that life is supposed to be."

Day 452, Quasi-Quarantine: "Mare Of Easttown" Gets The SNL Send-Up Treatment

I just wrapped up HBO's "Mare of Easttown," so this "Murdur Durdur" sketch is timely. 

While the show had some holes and turned a bit too much into "Clue: Meth Country Edition," it did dial up the intensity at times. It's worth a watch if you're into the noir-ish "True Detective" genre.

Day 451, Quasi-Quarantine: The Jabroni Strikes Again, Bringing Fox Into Our Lives

As noted earlier, an unordered Commander Thorn arrived from a jabroni instead of what I actually ordered. Similarly, Clone Commander Fox landed here much the same way.

A member of the Coruscant Guard during the Clone Wars, Fox -- or CC-1010 -- was tasked with protecting Chancellor Palpatine. He often led security missions for Jedi ambassadors and dignitaries as well.

Perhaps most famously, he was forced to arrest Jedi Ahsoka Tano, who was framed by a fallen Jedi named Barris Offee. Fox also saved Senator Padme Amidala from the Hutts and was forced to shoot rogue clone "Fives," in addition to tangling with the mercurial Cad Bane on a few occasions.

Fox met his demise after he failed to give a description of Darth Vader to his troops. When his unit fired on the Sith Lord, Fox had his neck broken by Vader in retaliation.

That's a long way of saying this is a cool minifigure that joined our forces by accident but we dig his look and we'll hang on to him.

Day 450, Quasi-Quarantine: Beware The Wolfpack Nine

 

So the Pack ripped through the Rustin regional, winning all three of its games by a combined 30-11.

Up next? Depending on today's deciding game between Arkansas and Nebraska, State will either be journeying to take on the Razorbacks or staying at home to host its own Super Regional against the Cornhuskers.

So, um ... go 'Huskers? 

Limerick Friday #507: The Pack Packs So Hard -- Day 447

Watching with a wolf pup

As we forget how to tag up

NC State Shit reanimates

But no worries, mates

'Twas only for a championship cup

People with ignorance to burn

They're everywhere you turn

Steps are being skipped

As off masks are ripped

When will the world learn

"Underground Railroad," a can't-miss review

Of a painful part of our milieu

A performance sublime

Documenting our country's crime

A hat tip to Thuso Mbedu

No more Ratface tears

After about a million years

Good riddance to Coach K

Just a hypocrite for the NCAA

He's cost me so many beers

Pool visits and practice under a tent

Birthday parties and rooms to rent

Shuttling from here to there

In the humid summer air

Forgot what normal meant

Last time ...

Day 446, Quasi-Quarantine: "The Goldfinch" Overpowers With Hard-Earned Emotional Structures

"Why am I made the way I am? Why do I care about all the wrong things, and nothing at all for the right ones? Or, to tip it another way: how can I see so clearly that everything I love or care about is illusion, and yet -- for me, anyway -- all that's worth living for lies in that charm? A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don't get to choose our own hearts. We can't make ourselves want what's good for us or what's good for other people. We don't get to choose the people we are."

Reading like as many as five books in one, Donna Tartt's "The Goldfinch" comes on like a fever dream at times, following the Dickensian journey of Theo Decker as he searches for and finds father figures, mother figures, brother figures, and idolized loves. 

"Things would have turned out better if she had lived. As it was, she died when I was a kid; and though everything that's happened to me since then is thoroughly my own fault, still when I lost her I lost sight of any landmark that might have led me someplace happier, to some more populated or congenial life. Her death the dividing mark: Before and After."

Theo's friend Boris is a force of nature, and must be included among the more memorable characters in recent literary history. While providing comic relief, Boris also allows Tartt to explore undertones of homosexuality that permeate the story.

"Americans ... movie stars ... TV people ... they name their kids like Apple and Blanket and Bear and Bastard and all kind of crazy things."

"And your point is -- ?"

"My point is like, democracy is excuse for any fucking thing. Violence ... greed ... stupidity ... anything is ok if Americans do it. Right? Am I right?"

"More than anything I was relieved that in my unfamiliar babbling-and-wanting-to-talk state I'd stopped myself from blurting the thing on the edge of my tongue, the thing I'd never said, even though it was something we both knew well enough without me saying it out loud to him in the street -- which was, of course, I love you."

The cast of characters includes Pippa, a mercurial personage on the edge of Theo's reality, and Theo's mother pervades every scene -- however, it is Theo's relationship with Hobie that is the engine of this novel.

" ... Short term boredom and long term pain, temporary panic and permanent desperation striking all at once and flaring up in such an ashen desolate light that I saw, really saw, looking back down the years and with all clear-headed and articulate despair, that the world and everything in it was intolerably and permanently fucked and nothing had ever been good or okay, unbearable claustrophobia of the soul, the windowless room, no way out, waves of shame and horror, leave me alone, my mother dead on a marble floor, stop it stop it, muttering aloud to myself in elevators, in cabs, leave me alone, I want to die ..."

Tartt's staggering work is a lengthy read that occasionally struggles with chronology and an ending that can strike as a bit over the top. There are elements of "Shutter Island" or even "Fight Club" that are effective, but also cast some doubt on the narrator.

But the end result is intensely moving, run through with a rhythm and zest for life -- and death -- that rightly propels "The Goldfinch" among the best literary works of the 21st century.

"And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them from the fire, and sought them when they were lost, and tried to preserve them and save them while passing them along literally from hand to hand, singing out brilliantly from the wreck of time to the next generation of lovers, and the next." 

Day 445, Quasi-Quarantine: Unexpected, Unordered Thorn Joins The Fray

 

This spring, I ordered a Hound minifigure from an online scammer called RepublicBricks. More than a month later, after a couple of terse exchanges with this gonad, I finally received a minifigure.

The wrong one. Perhaps predictably.

Exhausted from head shaking over the entire situation, I embraced the new guy -- Commander Thorn.

A Coruscant Guard clone shock trooper who is armed with a Z-6 rotary blaster cannon called "The Hammer" when he's not being sold weaponless to the wrong people, Thorn admittedly has a tremendous look.

His armor coloring is on point, but obviously the highlight is his distinctive winged helmet. In the Clone Wars, he was charged with protecting Senator Padme Amidala, which he did to great effect, helping to save her during a Separatist Droid Army Invasion of Scipio at the cost of his own life.

Now Thorn has become an active member of multiple missions involving the Bad Batch. Hey, we'll take what we can get these days, especially when it means avoiding contact with ignorant tools.

Day 444, Quasi-Quarantine: SNL's Final Weekend Update Of A Memorable Season

In SNL's season finale, Colin Jost and Michael Che discuss things like, you know, Republicans blocking an investigation.

Into an armed insurrection.

 

In the nation's capital. 

That targeted their colleagues. 

For public executions.

Anyway.

In a post-reality world, this was a fitting coda to a strong season of "Saturday Night Live."