Netflix's Arcane returns for season 2 in November. Is it enough for me to forget the election?

A few years ago, I became a fan of the League of Legends hit show on Netflix called Arcane. The trailer for the second season has finally dropped (I'm embedding it below). This is one of those shows that is rare in its quality, and because of that (I assume) it has taken years for the animation studio to release a follow-up. But it's also the last season of this particular storyline in this world, and I wasn't expecting that. However, there are going to be more stories that are told on Runeterra, and I think that seems like a really good way to develop this world. Afterall, I wasn't so much intrigued by the characters in season one (primarily Vi and Jinx) as I was intrigued at the world I was seeing. They also aren't continuing with the "Arcane" branding. My guess is that this decision is to avoid confusion.

The media landscape doesn't tend to have many long-running scripted shows these days, nevermind the rare anthology series. What does seem to be in abundance is plenty of shared universe storytelling. So, given this trend, I think having every region get its own "[insert brand]: A League of Legends Story" will be much clearer about what is going on to a layperson (like myself) than letting Arcane run for 12 seasons with a constantly rotating cast.

All of that being said, the trailer looks fantastic. I think that they're definitely leaning more and more into Vi being conflicted over the things that Jinx is doing. And I wonder how things will end as I'm not familiar with League of Legends lore. I guess we shall all find out come November :). Maybe it will be enough to get my mind off the election.

I'm in my fifties and I've learned that having people in your life is a luxury requiring both money and hard work.

I'm in my fifties now, and I think I want to share some of the things I've learned about people in my home state. I'm zeroing in on it like this because I don't really interact with any people who aren't in my home state, so painting with a broad brush is not something I want to do. Anyway, here are three things that I've learned (you can call it wisdom if you like) regarding my interactions with folks in my locality:

1) People are really difficult to live with. There is so much mental illness now, that I don't think I can even understate this. I don't know if there is more now than there was a hundred years ago, or fifty years ago. But right now in 2024, everyone has got some kind of disorder, and it is used to explain unpleasant behaviors galore. "Oh that person is a complete asshole? It's because they have PTSD due to microaggressions around gender ideals and patriarchy. That's why they broke your coffee pot, didn't tell you, and left it for you to discover on your own."

However, none of this "knowledge of whatever disorder you have" ever helps. The unpleasant behaviors continue until you kick that person out of your life. You just know that the reason you kicked that person out of your life is because they had "this and this disorder." Or...whatever. Calling a toxic waste dump by its name does not make it any easier to live with that specific toxic waste dump, and people (in general) are really difficult to live with if they have any of the many personality disorders or dementias identified by the DSM. Finding a person who doesn't have some kind of damaging personality disorder is like finding a flawless diamond sitting on the ground.

2) Entertaining people for a night in your home is really expensive, and its a ton of work. First off, you need a place that's big enough to entertain a handful of people. Houses work well, but I've come to realize that not everyone owns a house and they are becoming rarer and rarer as the price of housing soars due to people squeezing every last drop out of everything so that they can "have enough money that the many problems created by living in our society no longer apply to them."

But if you are fortunate to have the space (I am one of those people), a lot of the times, the friends I invite over are clumsy (and I assume that this is probably the case with other people who "dare to entertain." These "guests" aren't aware of their flailing limbs when they are excited, or they aren't aware of their environment. These are just a couple of examples.

The result is broken furniture, broken glasses, broken plates or bowls, loud crashes as trays come plummeting to the ground, pictures hung askew because someone's backside was too large, stains and spills, couches that can't put up with the weight of obese people, and other such nonsense. In the end, it costs lots of money, and things need to be replaced or repaired, and its on you to replace them since "you were the one to have people over." Furthermore people don't seem to be aware of how much things cost. Someone admired my dining chairs and asked how much I paid for them. I replied, "800 dollars." They asked, "for the whole set?" I said, "No, $800 a piece." My desk chair over there was $2,500." That's when they kind of blink, stunned, and then maybe treat something with a little more respect.

I will say this, I'm glad I invested in quality furniture because it has gotten hammered over the years, and it is still holding up. A lot of people wouldn't be in this situation, and their furniture would just be a pile of garbage at this point. And my friends that I invite over just play Dungeons & Dragons. It's not like I'm hosting an indoor hockey tournament.

3) I think that the loneliness epidemic in the United States can be attributed a lot to the fact that no one wants to entertain anymore because they can't afford it, they don't have the space, and it's a lot of work to clean up after people. So they just choose to go it alone.

I remember from my youth that people always had my parents over or I went to places that entertained. But those days are gone. They don't exist unless I'm the one putting it together. I'm fortunate to have the space and the money to be able to entertain, and because of that, I have a pretty good social network. But the work is pretty intense. Cleaning up after people consumes probably six to seven hours a week of just constant toil (this on top of my forty hour work week). Washing things, putting away things, organizing things, repairing things, etc. There are times when I think: it would be so much easier just to not ever invite anyone over. But there would be nothing else that fills the vacuum that I fill in my friend's lives. In other words, I think the social aspects of the community I belong to would probably just fall apart.

TL:DR: Having people in your life is expensive (having friends is a luxury?) and takes a ton of work. If you aren't willing to do the work and you don't have the money to clean up and repair everything that gets broken, then you're probably going to be lonely. Anyone else discovering this truth about being an adult in the United States?

We are living in a day and age where Dune apparently is going mainstream. Did I get that right?

There's going to be a Dune prequel, set 10,000 years before the events of Paul Atreides. I think that this is a strange decision. I read the original Dune book when I was a teenager, and I could never imagine that Dune would have a moment where it went mainstream. Called Dune Prophecy, this series by Max seems to want to explore the events unfolding with one of the Great Houses (Harkonnen) and the Bene Gesserit. If I remember correctly from my "Dune lore," this will put the timeline right after the butlerian jihad and the beginning of the spacing guild. Spice was only a recreational drug, and there were no Navigators and faster than light ships ruled the universe.

One thing that Dune does have going for it is that its lore is very rich. After the sisterhood, it might be fun to see the Mentats, the Spacing Guild, the Ixians, and the Tleilaxu...maybe all of the ones I mentioned given their own seasons. Or I might be reading this thing completely wrong, and it could be just a tightly told tale that spans three or four seasons before telling some other story.

Anyway, I'm going to link the trailer below. Any of you Dune fans out there care to weigh in? It's certainly going to be worth watching when it arrives later this year.

What can the IWSG offer to its members that it already isn't offering?

Hello again. It's been a while but May ended up being a bit of a handful for me so I'm glad I stepped away from blogging. The first thing that happened was that one of my roommates decided on a whim that he was going to buy a Tesla. And a friend also approached me about their car being completely broken, and them having no transportation options. I owned a 1997 Ford F-150 that I decided to sell to them to solve their issue. And that freed up a space in the garage for the roommate to be able to park the new Tesla that literally showed up 12 hours after they made the decision to buy it. Then they hired an electrician to install a charger in the garage, I had to help them get contractor bids to do that work, and now they are doing some kind of "anime" flavor wrap for the car featuring two anime girls fighting each other with swords. And then my commuter car broke down (after I sold the truck) when the serpentine belt fell off. So I had to get that fixed. Anyway, May had its challenges!

Now it is June 2024, and I'm hoping that it is a lot quieter. So far, so good. And with June comes a new opportunity to write a post and participate in the Insecure Writer's Support Group. But before I get around to answering the monthly question, I'd like to tell you a little about what the IWSG is so that you can sign up for it yourself if this is a think that appeals to you.

What is the purpose of the IWSG?: It is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance, and it’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds.

When do you post?: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day, however, I've missed it a couple of times and then just post on the following Friday.

What do you post?: Well, the official guidance is to post your thoughts on your own blog that have to do with writing. For example, you can talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. You could discuss your struggles and triumphs. You could offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. You could visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer. If you do this, you want to aim for a dozen new people each time and return comments. At its roots, the blogfest is about connecting with others. In order to do that you need to leave "virtual breadcrumbs." So, be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog. Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

What is the slogan of the IWSG?: Let’s rock the neurotic writing world.

Does the IWSG have an X (Twitter) handle?: Yes! It is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the June 5th posting of the IWSG are Liza at Middle Passages, Shannon Lawrence, Melissa Maygrove, and Olga Godim!

The June 5th question - In this constantly evolving industry, what kind of offering/service do you think the IWSG should consider offering to members?

I think the IWSG already fulfills what it can. Social media is just that: social media. It isn't really capable of doing anything physical like building a house or fixing a broken car. What social media does offer is the answering of questions and the sharing of ideas and resources. And the IWSG fulfills this role already in its monthly correspondence and communications and hosting of the blogfest. So, I'm not going to suggest that it do anything new because I think it is already doing what it is intended to do at its maximum.

Anyway, thanks for visiting. I look forward to seeing how other people approach this question. My guess is that there will be some who want help with the minutiae of the business-side of writing. Things like: editing, beta-reading, marketing, obtaining an agent, and other kinds of computer work. But that "work" is not something that I feel a blog like the IWSG is meant to be able to assist with. I'm going to use a metaphor here. What the IWSG can do (and is already doing) is print plenty of "recipes." But "cooking the dinner" is unfortunately left up to the individual person to be able to do on their own.

I'm taking a blogging break for the rest of May. I shall see you in June for the IWSG post.

I'm taking the rest of May off from blogging. Life has gotten a bit stressful, and I have some roommate issues that keep cropping up (living with people is challenging but I did sign up for this...willingly I might add). So, I'm going to take a bit of a blog break and see you guys in June. Perhaps by then things will have returned to normal, and I can concentrate on plodding along in my life. Right now, it feels like a new hurricane of chaos lands about every week. That's part of the issue of living with someone who has severe ADHD I suppose.

I plan to return to blogging for the Insecure Writer's Support Group in June. See you then.

The FX Shogun series has ended and I really liked it a lot.

I finished watching FX's adaptation of James Clavell's Shogun, and I'm now ready to discuss it so here is your obligatory spoiler warning :).

First off, it was just really good throughout its narrative (one of the best shows I've ever watched). The first six episodes or so of its ten episode run hold closely to the material within the book. The last four deviate quite a bit from what Clavell wrote, but the spirit of his words is still there. The finale in particular hit some really solid notes for me, because it just was so beautiful. It was a perfect conclusion, really, to the story that the showrunners wanted to tell, and their attention and dedication to detail paid off in spades. Here's a few trivia tidbits that might interest you: 1) all of the kosodes used in the show were authentically recreated using period materials by 200 experts in kosode design, 2) the language spoken was faithful to the kind of language spoken from that era, and 3) the soundtrack took five years to make because they wanted to make sure that all compositions were faithful to the musical instruments that were available in Japan in 1600.

Maybe part of me wanted to see the Battle of Sekigahara (you don't see it). Looking back on this decision, I think it was the correct one to make. I think it would be difficult to justify a huge amount of money spent for our eyes to enjoy a battle that would have contributed nothing to the story except some gore. As Toranaga pointed out in the finale to Lord Yabushige before Yabu's seppuku moment, the outcome was inevitable. What the showrunners opted to do was offer a glimpse into Toranaga's mind, which (arguably) was the most intriguing aspect of the show. If I were to use a chess metaphor, Toranaga sacrificed his knight, his bishop, and his queen all so that he could achieve a checkmate from which his enemies could not escape. Additionally, Mariko was the definition of a brilliantly written female character, and a lot of kudos should go to James Clavell because she is equally this brilliant in the novel.

The most beautiful aspect of the finale for me was how Mariko's death touched dozens. She was the true heart of the story, transforming everyone through her life and her death. And she did the only thing that could be done in Toranaga's unique situation, moving the other regents to side with Toranaga against Ishido, or to make them withdraw the armies of the heir on the battlefield of Sekigahara (which delegitimized Ishido). Because of Mariko's sacrifice, Lady Ochiba (who ultimately made the decision regarding those armies) had no choice but to withhold them or lose family honor.

In the book, Toranaga is a man of great discipline and willingness to wait until his opponents make a crucial tactical error. In the show, Mariko ends up being the "Crimson Sky" event that hands Toranaga the Shogunate. In the book, "Crimson Sky" is an attack on Kyoto to control the Emperor and get him to declare him Shogun. It is not an attack on Osaka to defeat Ishido. But I think the important thing to understand from the way both of these events transpire is that the end result remains the same, and that the character of Blackthorne (Anjin) and that of Lord Toranaga are fundamentally cut from the same cloth. They are both unpredictable, because they are interested in all kinds of information and able to think and plan outside the context of their own cultures. This is then summed up when Anjin declares to Toranaga that rebellion is always dishonorable "unless you win."

Lord Yabu (easily one of the best characters in the show) asks Toranaga, "How does it feel to control the wind?" Toranaga replies, "I don't control the wind; I only study it." If you haven't given the television series a watch, I highly recommend that you do so.

In today's Insecure Writer's post I answer a question about distractions and whether or not they bother me.

Hello and welcome to May 2024. Things are getting weird in the United States (or at least in Salt Lake City), but that is too big of a topic to tackle in a blog post or even a hundred blog posts. Instead, let's talk about the Insecure Writer's Support Group, and how today is a celebration of its continued endurance in what remains of the blogging sphere of social media.

What is the purpose of the IWSG?: That's a good question. It is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance, and you should consider it a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds.

When does the IWSG post?: The group posts on the first Wednesday of every month (unless you forget which is what I almost did). This day is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Ideas for those posts might include the following: 1) talking about your doubts and the fears you have conquered, 2) discussing your struggles and triumphs, and 3) offering a word of encouragement for others who are struggling.

To be considered a good blog participant, you should plan to visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connection via networking. Be sure to link to their page and display their badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog. Without those breadcrumbs, it is difficult for others to locate your blog and comment back.

The IWSG has a motto. It is "Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!"

The X (formerly Twitter) handle is @TheIWSG and the hashtag everyone uses is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the May 1st posting of the IWSG are Victoria Marie Lees, Kim Lajevardi, Nancy Gideon, and Cathrina Constantine!

Now, every month, the brain trust of the IWSG announces a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. If this is what you want to do, then go right ahead. But remember that the question is optional. Here is the May question, and yes, I'm going to answer it.

How do you deal with distractions when you are writing? Do they derail you?

I am not good at dealing with distractions. So yes, they do derail me. I think the key to this is to just draw boundaries and to shut the door. I have a specific example, but I'm not going to write it here in the off chance that they read it and become offended. I will say that some of the worst distractions I've ever come across are caused by people who talk incessantly about one thing for ten hours straight and just blather on and on and on, and this is usually a result of severe and unmedicated ADHD or something similar. Anyway, may that specific circumstance never find you when you are trying to write :)

Thank you for visiting, and I hope your May goes swimmingly.