Still in Arcadia - #3

Life Lately - Depression all by yourself, handsome?

Mental disorders are rough and tough to understand. I typically have ups and downs like most people do, but I just wanted to share an experience that I think some of you EgoBraniacs might be able to relate to, and hopefully show that others struggle to understand their brain too.

I was at work earlier this week when I suddenly had this dread that filled me completely. I don't know why but it was sudden and out of nowhere. I had to go into the backroom and sit down and force myself to calm down. The entire week had been a low period and I guess I just cracked right then and there.

The thing that made me spin out? The thought of watching MythBusters. 

Yes you can laugh, don't worry.

Now, I love the MythBusters and have fond memories of watching it as a kid, I didn't have any commitments that forced me to watch the show, it just came out of nowhere. Something about the idea of watching the show overwhelmed me and I couldn't take it. I'm normally pretty good at putting on a face and at least no visually letting anything affect me so it really shocked me that I broke in the first place about literally nothing.

Sometimes your brain does stuff that you just really can't explain, stuff that seems to appear out of the blue. I hope that if anyone is reading this that also goes through this, that at least you know you aren't alone.

Good luck out there.

Too Lazy to Read? - I scream, you scream.

I mean surely there has to be a point where it's just too much ice cream, right?...

Don't Touch That Dial - You got killer in your eyes, son? That can't be good for the ol' peepers.

Featuring in such esteemed places like cinemas in 2011, Netflix a while ago, my DVD cabinet, and as a mention on my Hinge profile, Rango is an absolutely amazing film. If you haven't watched it yet, then go watch it so you can join me in the collective sucking off of this glorious piece of media.

Seriously, I'll wait...

YEAH, it was good, right? The animation, the music, the voice acting, the cinematography, the writing, the character design, holy shittttt. And if that wasn't enough then its also a WESTERN?!? What the hell else could you even be asking for?? It is absolutely 100% no questions asked my favourite movie of all time, zero doubt in my mind, and if you disagree then you probably just have poor taste or something. What, is your favourite movie the godfather or something? Inception? Donnie Darko? Foodfight?? How about you get your own head out of your ass and enjoy the animated cowboy lizard movie. 

That's not even mentioning the fact that the movie has Rattlesnake Jake, the coolest and hottest character in all of fiction. He is the peak male form and unfortunately nobody can compete.

I don't even think I'm capable of properly describing how much of love this movie so I'm gonna stop trying. Bye bye.

In One Ear, Sometimes Both - Hold on, I gotta change the disc.

EgoBraniacs, I am a university student that works part time, rents, and also is a musician. I think its pretty obvious that I am ridiculously broke.

For the last month or so I've had to forgo my Spotify subscription and instead spend the money on stupid stuff like food, which had the inadvertent effect of having me actually use the CD player that I have in my car.

I feel like I had just missed the era where CDs were the music format of choice while driving. I have memories of being a little kid with those big CD folder book things, and flicking through them. I never actually got to choose what we listened to though and I also had no clue what any of the CDs were either, but it was still fun to my little undeveloped brain.

Being forced to listen to one set list of songs at a time- typically only one artist- is oddly comforting. In an era of mass consumption of media, such a simple way of listening is like a breath of fresh air, the palette cleanser between courses. I drove a trailer for the first time a few days ago, and the entire time I was listening to Johnny Cash and the Rolling Stones on CD and it was just- peaceful. It's similar to that odd peace you get listening to the radio, except you have more choice on who or what you're listening to.

If you have a CD player gathering dust in an attic, or you're just one of those assholes who collects CDs and records just to get laid and never actually listen to them, then crack those bad boys out and give them a listen. Try and get over that hump of not being able to listen to what you want when you want and just drink in that simplicity. It'll feel good...

Or maybe not, that's up to you, but give it a shot anyways

Pseudo-Intelliterate - Not my monkeys but still my circus.

Let's get real for a second. There's no denying that there is a clear rise in fascism and authoritarian state capitalism in this era of the 21st century. Truth is, we as a people are having our autonomy and power to fight back taken away from us.

Now, I'm not an political scientist, but I do tick several boxes when it comes to being a part of oppressed groups. I can see what is happening right before my eyes, and I believe that people should gain as much knowledge as they can and be aware of as many signs as possible. That being said though, many of my friends simply find that they cannot find the effort to learn and invest themselves in the politics beyond what is already oppressing and affecting them, and I mean, to be fair, if you're already waist deep in shit then I don't expect you to be trying to get everyone else out first. 

Fact of the matter is, while fighting for a better future for all is important, it's exhausting to even keep up with it all. oppression all around the world is gonna make its way to you eventually if left unchecked, but if you're already suffering then I feel like focusing on getting yourself out of your hole first then all power to you. The important thing though is that if you manage to get your way out of your pickle, you help the next group that needs it to.

There is injustice all over, and it won't just go away by itself. If you need to fight for yourself then fight for yourself, and if you can fight for another then please, do it.

What's Cookin' Good Lookin'? - Beating a dead horse, yes I'm talking about this again.

As some of you may have seen on my Insta, I've gotten my recording setup set up!! I know that just a couple weeks ago my WCGL segment was also about my music, but guess what? I run this blog so I'll put whatever I goddamn WANT! >:((((

...Just kidding, I could never stay mad at you guys.

I'm one song short of a full EP being written and I've started recording demos for the ones I do have finished. I may have a history in performing and writing music, but when it comes to actual music production I am completely dumbfounded. I do however have a friend that does this kinda stuff at university so hopefully he can at least tell me what I'm doing wrong.

I've got some names brewing up in my head so here's a few. I'll leave it up to you guys to guess what the songs'll actually sound like:

Modus Operandi, PRETTY GOOD, Conjuring (2013), MORE.

My dear EgoBraniacs, if you want to stay tuned to any other updates then make sure to keep an eye out on the instagram cause that's where I'll be putting any updates on it.

Wasting Time - The M in MCYT stands for minors.

I'm going to preface this segment by saying that this is not going to delve into any details of the allegations because I'm trying to keep things relatively light hearted here.

Holy moly how on earth were so many of them actually just horrible people? Of course its not like a famous person being bad is unique to the Minecraft scene; I genuinely don't think I could make it down a top 10 list without hitting a legal case at some point. I think that MCYT just hits different because of how wholesome and child oriented their content is. I mean we've all heard the Kendrick diss tracks against Aubrey "BBL drizzy" Graham, but Drake wasn't trying to capitalize on the child market so it just didn't feel the same.

My personal theory as someone who is not qualified on this subject whatsoever, is that the reason so many of these types of creators are drawn towards those on the younger side is because quite frankly they're still just nerds at the end of the day, and these kids are probably one of the first sources of mass positivity. Obviously though if you're a grown ass 20 year old and you can't handle yourself around a 15 year old then just get your fucking act together because you are pathetic, and nothing I just said is an excuse for your behavior. Maybe instead of indulging in children you should indulge in some fucking therapy sessions. 

Now, as an esteemed professional I would never name drop any of the people with abuse or grooming allegations, BUT....

I DREAM of a day where people can rub the SOOT out of their eyes because the fact that we have NOTFOUND a way to better protect children (and even their partners) is crazy. Now, CALLME crazy but I think that some people should take an LFORLEE-way that they give to these creators just because they make content they enjoy. In reality they're just some guy who DOESMINECRAFT who takes advantage of their audience that look up to them. TOBUSCUS joke.

Now, jokes aside- and see? I think that's a big problem too. Of course it would be hypocritical of me to judge people who take the gaff out on these guys because I literally just did that last paragraph, but I think people get so lost in the joke that they forget that these creators are bad people who did bad things and not just a punchline to laugh at,

Keep making fun of them but don't let that become more important than their actions.

Call to Action - She was the self care all along

In my teenage years, a lot of the YouTube content I consumed was very high paced. Not super fast cuts, eyeball melting colour, brain damaging hyperconsumption, but more so constant jokes and gags, always trying to be loud and high energy with only brief moments of quiet.

As I got older (and sadder) however, I started moving away from those kinds of videos. It lead me to revisiting Good Mythical Morning, as well as finding new creators like Any Austin and the subject of this CtA segment, Memoria (or Mem).

Her content is just so remarkably real and it is quite comforting, it never feels like a character. The jokes never feel forced and she plays games however she feels like, she is Mem being Mem and it makes for a quite MEM-orable experience...

:( sorry

Anyways- while she has of course played more relevant games at the heart of the cultural zeitgeist, such as Roblox, Chained Together, or Simpsons Hit and Run, a lot of her content is playing games that literally nobody knows about. When I say games nobody has heard about I really mean fuckin' nobody. I'm talking games like Bocce Revolution, Sebil Engineering, Baby Hazel, and of course, Get Bin Laden.

Seriously though, watch her content, @MemoriaMatters on YouTube. I never knew peace until I knew Memoria.

Rating: Comfort creator I never knew I needed/10

Et in arcadia ego, and remember, EgoBraniacs, as long as you're reading then you are too. This is E. Arcadia signing off.