I’m up late again for the second morning in a row. Two observations: first. Having time alone is kind of nice, even though the circumstances are not ideal. Second. Halo stories are quite immersive and complex. I got Halo 5 and have a very light grasp on the plot... /1

Due to having beaten Halo: Reach like 3x and jumping right to Halo 5, which I recently bought through Facebook Marketplace. It’s going to sound weird but I feel like it’s been humbling to realize that hey, you can’t skip an entire saga of in-depth video gaming stories that... /2

Are so conceptual and immersive, and at the same time hope to keep up. Technically I guess it’s not cool, but I’ve been watching cutscenes of Halo 4 and that’s helped. However, again, the lore deepens a lot in the saga. Halo: Reach was a pretty straightforward “shoot em up” /3

Whereas Halo 1-4 is very like, Stargate-ish and cool and weird and candidly dramatic about being very “fate of the universe” in nature. Now! For a broad topic jump. /4

Although I didn’t feel chatty during this call today, something really beautiful and wholesome that I’m learning from these fun Zoom calls at 97th Floor: be yourself. Since the COVID outbreak, I’ve reconnected with myself and been more accepting of my interests. /5

Today, we talked about Harry Potter, and it was very un-ironic and candid; similarly, the Disney princess call was very serious and penetrating. He used to be by boss when I was an intern; this guy pointed out that we place Disney on a high standard of feminism that’s unfair. /6

Family roles and womanhood should be more openly discussed in the home, he argued, and not just by Disney, a film studio. Seems like it should be obvious, but scarily, many ppl online give media a lot of power. Even as a conscious thing. /7

I don’t have many in my life who are so candid about entertainment’s impacts on culture. I have thought a ton about it for years, in my various phases and interests. But it’s been great to meet others and get to know them through these pop culture debates. /8

I remember at 97th Floor, there was this pair of guys who had candid discussions about Star Wars, and I frequently did too. If we truly are what we watch and media consumption is so relevant, why hide those aspects of ourselves? Better to open it up and have fun.

Final thought: we are far more than what we watch. As a member of my church, I am okay with pointing out that that may be a bit of a scare tactic, to say that. We are far more than what we watch. But! It’s definitely a part of who we are. I...

I used to waste hours on YouTube on movie trailers, movie clips, etc of stuff I wasn’t ever going to invest much more in. I didn’t wanna create, I didn’t wanna try to do much of anything. Those weeks and months weren’t very fun for me. But! That’s a part of me and I don’t want...

I don’t want it to become a pattern. I’m not going to quit TV or anything, but I can reel it in a bit and focus more on living in the present. Spending more time on HitRECord help. I guess this thread is more for me than for you. But that’s okay. Night. #latenightthoughts

HitRECord time helps**