Day 716, Quasi-Quarantine: Articulate Fury Propels Hop Along's Unique Sound

Intense alternative/indie rock band Hop Along has emerged as one of my go-to listens deep into the pandemic. The Philly band burst onto the scene with 2012's "Get Disowned," powered by bangers "Young and Happy!" and "Sally II."

The lead singer, Frances Quinlan, started the band as an acoustic solo act initially, before brother Mark joined as drummer and Tyler Long came aboard as a bassist. Joe Reinhart, who produced "Get Disowned," eventually became Hop Along's lead guitarist.

Three years later, the band released "Painted Shut," then put out "Bark Your Head Off, Dog" in 2018. After 15 years fronting Hop Along, Quinlan went solo with 2020's "Likewise," representing a more muted, personal tone.

While Hop Along hasn't released new music in three years, they've become one of my work-from-home soundtracks, and I hope more music is coming from this talented quartet down the road.

Limerick Friday #536: That Continental War Your Global Catastrophe Bingo Card Needed -- Day 713

For anyone with a brain

The situation in Ukraine

Is heartbreaking and scary

So we all should be wary

Of Republicans who revel in the pain

Escaping the work beast

With another trip east

Toes in the sand

A gaze across the land

Immersed in the ocean's peace

Heroes that leap off the page

A rancor on the rampage

Boba Fett back in fashion

Rekindling Lego passion

Ready for a return to that stage

Another closeted bigot

And a raging hypocrite

Michelle Tafoya the latest

Revealed as a GOP sadist

As a fraud, the shoe does fit

Hope in a free agency candle

Or a draft we might handle

But this is the 'Fins

So on needles and pins

Instead we await the next scandal

Last time ...

Day 712, Quasi-Quarantine: "Murderville" Is The Under-Promoted Reality-Ish Show You Didn't Know You Wanted

 

"Murderville" is the hysterical, tongue-in cheek show that the world needs right now, and that's no small thing. With a refusal to take itself too seriously, an engrossing unscripted feel, and a rotating cast of diverse, real-life participants who aren't always in on the joke, this Netflix show arrives right on time.

Quickly infringing on "American treasure" territory, Will Arnett is, quite simply, built to play the lead role. His quick wit, seamless ad libbing, and ability to incorporate even the most nervous co-star make him the perfect protagonist as Senior Detective Terry Seattle.

A six-episode season of ~30-minute cases doesn't feel like quite enough, but I'm hoping beyond hope that more of this show is in the offing. Detective Seattle has so much more to share with us.

Day 711, Quasi-Quarantine: "Project Hail Mary" Is Long On Science And Short On Believability -- But Finds A Feel-Good Balance

"These kids were going to grow up in an idyllic world and be thrown into an apocalyptic nightmare.

"They were the generation that would experience the Sixth Extinction Event." 

"Project Hail Mary" arrived as timely escapist fiction, in the sense that Earth is under siege in the form of a virus-like issue impacting the sun. Andy Weir doubles down on the science, at times turning this into a dense, complex read.

A dramatic, highly absorbing opening kickstarts the story, with a number of variables lending a degree of annoyance. The protagonist suffers memory issues, yet somehow refuses to use a notebook or mission log to help him combat this challenge.

Weir offsets some of these plot potholes with welcome, sneaky humor.

"Besides, if I had a nickel for every time I wanted to smack a kid's parents for not teaching them even the most basic things ... well ... I'd have enough nickels to put in a sock and smack those parents with it."

"I want to know how this affects humans, and when. I don't care about the mating grounds of the three-anused mud sloth or any random biome."

"This is happy! Your face opening is in sad mode. Why, question?"

At its best, this novel is a human-alien buddy story, blending giggles and surprising emotion to create a memorable tale of interstellar survival to save multiple species. Suspension of disbelief is called for on a number of occasions, but the result is a book that offers something that can be in scant supply these days:

Hope.

"The situation was dire and deadly, but it was also the norm. Londoners during the Blitz in World War II went about their day as normal, with the understanding that occasionally buildings get blown up. However desperate things were, someone still had to deliver milk. And if Mrs. McCreedy's house got bombed in the night, well, you crossed if off the delivery list."

Day 710, Quasi-Quarantine: Up Here, I'm Still There

 

That is all.

Day 705, Quasi-Quarantine: Channeling Even More Nostalgia, "The Book of Boba Fett" Gets The "Airwolf" Treatment

While there were a lot of conflicting reviews of the recently concluded "The Book of Boba Fett" show, there is one thing that it not debatable.

It would have been better if it aired in 1985.

Proof above.

Day 704, Quasi-Quarantine: "Our Country Friends" Explores Love And Culture In The Time Of COVID

" ... Thought of the raft of mystery that floats between two partners, even contented ones, as they turn in for the night. He wished he could fall in love with someone as his wife evidently had done. He had chased after beauty for such a long part of his life, until he had caught up with it and found it, like everything else, worthy of no more than a chapter or two of heightened prose."

This novel was the first purely pandemic-driven literary vehicle I've encountered, and the results are entrancing.

"Our Country Friends" is intensely personal to Gary Shteyngart's experiences, and the hilarity and melancholy seep through every page. From love triangles to technological enslavement, racism to classism, culture to self-possession, the book touches on massive themes in a very accessible way.

"'I don't care if I live or die,' Lara said, which in Russian was equivalent to 'I'm doing fine, thank you so much for asking.'"

"It occurred to her now what the driver of the pickup had seen, an Asian woman walking with an Asian child, both of them wearing masks, at a time when people who put up black-and-blue flags honoring the police were inclined to despise such people."

The ending can be a bit hard to follow as the lines between reality and unreality blur, but the author assures that is by design, echoing his own challenges in the course of writing. "Our Country Friends" blends the call for deep thought with the appreciation of high comedy, creating a singular book for our times.

"It wasn't about history in the end, his novel, it was about them clinging to each other as the tidal wave of time rushed in and then slowly let out. It was about the elegant seething of the wave against the sand as it retreated back to where it came from."

Day 703, Quasi-Quarantine: Resurrecting "The Cable Guy" On Super Bowl Sunday

"The Cable Guy" is low-key one of my favorite comedies of all time, and just a phenomenal vehicle for peak Jim Carrey.

Now, a quarter-century later, Carrey reprised his role as Ernie "Chip" Douglas for a Verizon Super Bowl commercial. In the spot, the cable guy learns that 5G Internet has rendered his ubiquitous cable superfluous.

In a mostly-miss roster of Super Bowl ads, "Goodbye Cable" blends nostalgia and technology in a rather irresistible way. 

Kudos, Verizon. All that was missing was a lead-in PSA reminding viewers never to go bungee jumping in Mexico.

They just don't have the regulations.

Day 702, Quasi-Quarantine: Honoring The End Of "Book Of Boba" With A Symbolic Gesture

 

Back in November, we revealed how we were sleeving up Fett on the eve of the arrival of "Book of Boba."

To add to the ensemble, we secured a custom Mandalorian cape. The mythosaur symbol rounds out this look of Boba (along with the Gaffi stick), cementing the relationship we saw developing between Boba and Din Djarin toward the end of the new series.

With football season (temporarily) in the rear view, it will be good to turn our sights back on the "Star Wars" Lego universe.

This is the way.

Limerick Friday #535: Zach Thomas And Torry Holt Get Hosed Again -- Day 699

Some make it never

It's a waiting-game lever

After Hall of Fame voting

It's hard not to be noticing

The weakest nomination class ever

Many groans and "mans"

But no actual plans

Details come scarcely

Between talk of parsley

Of clarity, we're certainly not fans

Seen this one before

Maybe a time for 24

State scratches back to tie

Then crawls off to die

With brick after brick but no score

Bonuses instead of firing

Promotions instead of retiring

Conspiracies in league

Spreadsheet fatigue

Is the ABC Store hiring?

Drabs and bits

Starts and fits

No rhythm to the year

Unchanging, I fear

2022 is the shits

Last time ...

Day 698, Quasi-Quarantine: A Dark Melancholy And Fatalism Pervades "Best American Short Stories 2018"

"I am not avoiding reality when I read fiction; I am strengthening my ability to cope with reality."

Featuring guest editor Roxane Gay (her words above), this collection is most embodied -- perhaps unsurprisingly based on the timeline -- by an overall darkness. The 20 short stories touch on themes of loss of innocence, the role of faith, and the pervasiveness of racism.

"In this very balcony he had sat, not so long ago, with his eyes closed, pretending not to hear as his wife and children gathered around the kitchen table to discuss the problem of his continued existence." ~Yoon Choi, "The Art of Losing"

"You pressed slightly on the world and it showed its odd corners, revealed its dim and helpless desires. It seemed insane at first. And then, like other jokes, it became curiously possible the more she referred to it in her own mind, the uncomfortable edges softening into something innocuous." ~Emma Cline, "Los Angeles"

"The guards think: The smaller the box, the  more we can control them. But everyone else knows: The smaller the box, the more out of control people become." ~Cristina Henriquez, "Everything Is Far from Here"

The highlights include:

• "The Art of Losing," by Yoon Choi
• "Unearth," by Alicia Elliott
• "Boys Go to Jupiter," by Danielle Evans
• "A Big True," by Dina Nayeri
• "What Terrible Thing It Was," by Esme Weijun Wang

"A grand empty washed in sand and mottled with vegetal scrub under the unchanging, unforgiving dome of the desert sky. Their house, a lone outpost built up against the edge of a wasteland, fortified with rust and steel and magic and blood and hate." ~Matthew Lyons, "The Brothers Brujo"

Gay set out to curate stories that were captivating but difficult, and the result is a set of tales that is challenging -- yet important -- to read. While the experience can be devastating, there are messages to be found in the blend of disturbing poignance that marks this collection.

"Yas, I know the Internet isn't some deity. I know it's made up of people trying to inscribe the void, to mark the very either with what they've lived and what they know. Thank you for etching me a corner in that vast, unfathomable place." ~Dina Nayeri, "A Big True"

Day 697, Quasi-Quarantine: Logan Thomas Cannot Be Contained

It's always hyper-intriguing to see who the Madden franchise determines has untapped beastly qualities revealed by the game.

In this instance, it's one-time college quarterback and current journeyman tight end Logan Thomas channeling his full Marshawn Lynch on a breakaway.

The giggles are much-needed these days.

Day 696, Quasi-Quarantine: Work-In-Progress Jungle Kashyyyk Driver Starts To Come To Life

We've long been fans of the look of the Jungle Kashyyyk Driver, fashioned on the AT-RT driver that appeared in the Battle of Kashyyyk.

The custom clone helmet that makes the minifigure was increasingly rare, so when we discovered one back in stock recently, we had to pounce.

We added a T-7 Ion Disrupter weapon in gunmetal gray to give the driver some personal protection. Then we topped off the ensemble with a communications assault pack to give the driver a tactical backpack for any forays into enemy territory.

We still have some work to do to build out the ideal torso and legs for this custom figure, but we've become adept at building around unique helmet pieces.

We're up the challenge -- which certainly could be no harder than learning how to spell "Kashyyyk."

 

Day 695, Quasi-Quarantine: The Dolphins Raid "Portlandia" Cast For New Coach

 

Overly caffeinated barista who, unprompted, tells you about the retro emo band that "slaps" and is playing in the coffee house that afternoon at 3:45?

Or new Dolphins head coach?

Let's get weird, Miami.

Limerick Friday #534: That Time When Boba Got Written Off His Own Show -- Day 692

Cameos haven't depleted yet

Treats for every fan to get

Grogu and Luke and Cad Bane

But one thing, can you explain

Why it's called "Book of Boba Fett"?

Attacks on voting rights

Ongoing COVID plights

Rules abandoned

Democracy stranded

Oh hey, is it "Masked Singer" night?

Both blowouts and bad beats

Injury after injury depletes

As losses mount

So many to count

Hard calls coming on Kevin Keatts

Betting hits the mainstream

Caesars Sportsbook on your TV screen

But can we talk about Cleopatra?

That's Halle Berry coming at ya

55 years old and right out of a dream

Dysfunction falls from the skies

This offseason might take the prize

More embarrassing by the year

Makes it all the more clear

The 'Fins are the NFL's worst franchise

Last time ...

Day 691, Quasi-Quarantine: Duel On Mandalore Represents An Affordable Tribute To The Dearly Missed Clone Wars

 

As an ideal stocking stuffer, Duel on Mandalore (set 75310) is a worthy build that allows you to re-create iconic scenes from the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Checking in at just 147 pieces, some balked at the $20 price point, but the reality is this set is worth it for the minifigures alone. The Ahsoka Tano -- with two lightsabers -- is a repeat version from a previous set, but Darth Maul features impeccable printing and a double-bladed lightsaber.

In terms of playability, there is a little here to work with. The throne itself features a secret drawer that holds a blaster pistol -- a nifty and unexpected addition. There is a pop-out window element that you can toss a minifigure out of, and the Mandalorian vault used for imprisoning Darth Maul can be repurposed in a number of scenarios.

Differences of opinion abound on the use of stickers in Lego sets, but they work great in this instance, in my opinion. It should be noted that this set is also ideal for including within a larger moc as well.

Let's be honest: most collectors are purchasing this set for the minifigures alone, and working under the reality that you can never have too many Ahsokas or Mauls, it's worth a buy for that reason alone. Additional value comes purely from your individual ability to come up with creative situations and contexts in which to assimilate the build.

Use your imagination. It's Lego, after all.

Day 690, Quasi-Quarantine: Manic "Mosquito Coast" A Powerful Testament To The Lure Of Disillusionment

"'That's business,' the captain said.

'That's ruins,' Father said. 'We eat when we're not hungry, drink when we're not thirsty, buy what we don't need, and throw away everything that's useful. Don't sell a man what he wants -- sell him what he doesn't want. Pretend he's got eight feet and two stomachs and money to burn. That's not illogical -- it's evil.'"

Featuring one of the more memorable and unintentionally hilarious characters in literature, "The Mosquito Coast" follows the travails of Allie Fox and his family as they seek to start anew in the Honduran jungles.

Paul Theroux's 40-year-old novel still resonates today, with Fox echoing many of the current state-of-the-world complaints. 

Tethered to the world by a mentally imbalanced and abusive father, the 14-year-old narrator documents what happens when an American family tries to eke out an existence where no human life was intended.

"I was rehearsing an excuse for giving up when, in the sallow late-afternoon light, I saw Father's silhouette, the sun beneath his shoulder. He was dark, I did not know him, and he watched me like a stranger, with curiosity rather than affection. And I felt like a stranger to him. We were two people pausing -- one on a rock, the other on the sand, child and adult. I did not know him, he did not know me. I had to wait to discover who we were."

"When America is devastated and laid to waste, these are the skills that will save these kids. Not writing poetry, or fingerpainting, or what's the capital of Texas -- but survival, rebuilding a civilization from the smoking ruins."

Blending elements of Jack Kerouac's Dean Moriarty and Joseph Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness," "The Mosquito Coast" is a staggeringly vivid work, full of surprisingly emotional moments and an apt conclusion.

"Once I had believed in Father, and the world had seemed very small and old. He was gone, and now I hardly believed in myself, and the world was limitless. A part of us had died with him, but the part of me that remained feared him more than ever, and still expected him, still heard his voice crying, 'They'll get me first -- I'm the last man!' It was the wind, the waves, every bird, every cry from the shore. Like him, they thought out loud."

Day 689, Quasi-Quarantine: Magical Realism Lets Miami & Mack Win The Lombardi

I've resigned myself to the fact that this highlight moment on Madden '22 is as close as the 'Fins will ever come to the Super Bowl.

Thank you, Marlon Mack, for this random -- but meaningful -- moment.