don’t call meat “protein.”

I hate when people are talking about food and call meat “protein.” I haven’t heard anyone else complain about this, and I’m shocked and disappointed that more people aren’t annoyed by it. I mean, it’s not protein, it’s MEAT, which does in fact have protein in it, but so does lots of other shit you eat. Why not call it “iron” or “B-complex vitamins”? I feel like this must have been a ploy by Big Meat (lol) to sneak it into the minds of the populace that meat is necessary, because without meat THERE IS NO PROTEIN. And maybe they wanted consumers who may feel guilty about eating meat to not have to hear or speak the word as much. Those are my guesses.

It just sounds like bad 70’s sci fi to me though. Just think about the word protein, say it to yourself a few times. It’s a very science-y sounding word. Calling food “protein” reminds me of that dystopian film, Soylent Green.

^{Huh, the year on the poster is a funny coincidence.}

I can actually pinpoint the first time I heard someone say protein instead of meat. I believe this was around fall of 2012 but I would have to look at old emails or pictures to confirm that. Anyway, Jenn and I were on a road trip in the US and were in Port Angeles. We were at a grocery store that sold garbage Chinese food in its deli and Jenn was ordering some of that, and the slack-jawed dummy working that counter asked Jenn in a drawl (that may have actually been a speech impediment) what Jenn wanted for her protein. Jenn didn’t understand and was like, “excuse me?” The dummy repeated the question, and still neither Jenn or I understood what they were talking about. The drawl/speech impediment coupled with this word being used in a way we had never encountered it before was confounding. On the third try, the imbecile finally decided that WE were in fact the imbeciles, and explained “PROTEIN — you know, do you want beef, chicken, or pork?” Finally we were like “oh, ok,” but why didn’t they just ask if she wanted beef, chicken or pork in the first place?

That was about a decade ago and I haven’t run into this too often over the years, but when I do I still hate it. Don’t even talk to me about protein. For all I know, you could be talking about milk. It’s got tons of protein in it, but I certainly don’t want that with pasta or baked potatoes or salad. If you’re talking about meat, just say it.

ad vitam was really good, so why doesn’t anyone give a shit about it?

I just finished watching a miniseries on Netflix that I thought was really good. It’s called Ad Vitam, and it’s about France in a future where people can regenerate their bodies and basically live forever, and some people rebelling against that by committing suicide. It’s what I call sci-fi lite because it has elements of sci-fi but it’s not all about flashy special effects or crazy aliens or robots — the focus of the show is on the characters and the story, and the sci-fi stuff just gives it a bit of flavour. I love that because it really made me appreciate the sci-fi stuff more when it did appear. Plus the acting was top notch, the story was unique and interesting, and the whole thing was visually stunning. I also like that it is a miniseries, with a definite end — I hate when tv shows go on indefinitely, as long as there is an audience and money to be made. That just leads to bullshit new characters, new romantic subplots, that kind of crap. Yellowjackets, I’m looking at you — you had some potential but once I realized the show was a serial and going to go on forever and always have more cliffhangers and characters coming out of woodwork, it lost me. Anyway, back to Ad Vitam: I hate recommending anything because maybe you would find the show too slow-paced or maybe you hate reading subtitles, and I don’t want to steer you toward something you’re going to be underwhelmed by. But personally, I loved it. 9/10 in my book.

But when I looked online for more info on the show, I’m finding a dreadful lack of material. It seems like no one really gave a shit about Ad Vitam. Not a single review on Rotten Tomatoes! No “critical reception” section on the Wikipedia page. I found one half assed online review that gave every episode 3.5/5. The show was simply released, and no one talked about it.

You know, I guess this is just another example of why humanity is doomed. The average person can’t get enough trash reality dating shows and bonehead sitcoms, so why would I think that a cerebral French show would be a hit? How foolish of me. Deep down, maybe I’m just an optimist. Or maybe I was too excited about liking a new show and thought other people would too. Well, regardless of my foolishness, it makes sense that it’s not a hit.

Takeaways: people are dumb, recommendations are a joke, and I really liked Ad Vitam. If you feel like watching it, neat, but I bet you won’t like it as much as I do. Especially if you love shows like Floribama Shore and Big Bang Theory.

^{It’s very Euro, which is probably why it failed to land with North American audiences. But why didn’t it land with Euro audiences at least? Maybe because I’m not searching in French?}

movies I’ve enjoyed

Sometimes I watch a flick and dig it, but then when someone asks for a recommendation I can’t remember the names of the ones I’ve like, so I’m going to make a list of them here to keep track of it. I guess my list of films I like is short enough that I can probably include all movies I’ve ever enjoyed, although the main focus of this is films I’ve seen more recently. Those are the ones I tend to forget.

• Arrival (2016) – smart sci-fi.
• Predestination (2014) – story-driven sci-fi. Impressive twist.
• La Jetee (1962) – one of the best sci-fi films ever, IMO. And it’s just still photos and narration!
• The Core (2003) – this is a fucking stupid sci-fi movie but it’s so dumb, it’s good.
• The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015) – probably my fave modern horror movie.
• Suspiria (2018) – wait, this might be my fave modern horror movie.
• YellowBrickRoad (2010) – super, super low budget horror movie, but effective and weird.
• I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives In the House (2016) – it’s been a while since I saw this one but I remember really liking the tense, spooky atmosphere of it.
• Snowpiercer (2013) – another fucking stupid sci-fi/action movie that is so dumb, it’s good.
• Doctor Sleep (2019) – sequel to The Shining. Does an excellent job of paying tribute to both King’s book and Kubrick’s film, and stands on its own feet quite well, surprisingly. A friend described it as being like high quality fan fiction, which I think is perfectly apt.
• The Witch in the Window (2018) – a low budget yet extremely competent little horror movie. I jumped a few times.
• Vivarium (2019) – I’m not sure how to classify this one, psychological thriller/horror is the closest I can get but it’s not so much horror or thriller as just really fucking weird and uncomfortable.
• The Platform (2019) – social commentary in a horror movie. Not enough of this kind of thing.
• Possessor (2020) – psychological thriller/horror from Brandon Cronenberg, son of David Cronenberg.
• Antiviral (2012) – also by B. Cronenberg, a psychological thriller.
• ABC’s of Death (2012) – 26 short horror segments, some funny, some scary, some dumb, some great, but overall a neat concept that is well executed.
• ABC’s of Death 2 (2014) – same as above but this installment varies in terms of quality a bit more — the good stuff is great while the bad stuff is lousy but overall it’s still very enjoyable.
• I Stand Alone (1998) – a grim, feel-bad watch from Gaspar Noe. Especially impressive considering it’s form 1998.
• Irreversible (2002) – wow, I didn’t realize this was from 2002. This is also impressive for that era. More brutality from Gaspar Noe.
• Martyrs (2008) – while I don’t consider this one amazing, its brutality has stuck with me since so I’m putting it on the list. It’s definitely my fave of the New French Extremity movement.
• Serbian Film (2010) – the single most disturbing flick I’ve ever seen. Made me feel awful for a few days, maybe a week.
• Antichrist (2009) – Brutal, nihilistic, psychological thriller from Lars von Trier.
• The House That Jack Built (2018) – Another brutal, nihilistic psychological thriller from Lars von Trier. He’s good at this.
• Dancer in the Dark (2000) – Another von Trier affair. Still brutal and nihilistic, but also terrifically sad.
• Lost Highway (1997) – one of my fave Lynch films. Psychological thriller, I guess?
• Dune (1984) – everyone shits on Lynch’s Dune but fuck them. I love it.
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992) – another of Lynch’s work that was panned but I think is amazing. Weird psychological thriller obv, but don’t watch it without watching the first two seasons of the Twin Peaks tv show first.
• The Exorcist (1973) – still the scariest movie ever, IMO.
• The Blair Witch Project (1999) – also really fucking scary. Done on a shoestring budget, yet it’s so effective! Amazing.
• The 4th Kind (2009) – most people hate this alien horror movie but I found it terrifying.
• The Shining (1980) – right up there with The Exorcist. Everything is perfect. The acting is insane.
• Blade Runner (1982) – sci-fi drama. Visually and aurally stunning.
• The Deer Hunter (1978) – a fucking slow burn, uncomfortable throughout, sad, touching. I don’t usually like drama but this one is special.
• Akira (1988) – I find anime is undervalued in the world of cinema, like “if it’s animated, it doesn’t count,” and that’s stupid because this is an incredible sci-fi story. I grew up with the first English dub so that’s my preferred version.
• Princess Mononoke (1997) – more fantastic anime. This one is fantasy but it’s brutal and has a strong message.
• Alien (1979) – how can a single alien on a space ship be so scary? Ridley really hit it out of the park with this one.
• The Wall (1982) – I’m going out on a limb here because I haven’t seen this in decades, but I remember being brought to tears by it a few times so I’m throwing it in here. Sad, fucked up, moving.
• Under the Skin (2013) – Psychological thriller/horror? Hard to define. Slow, artsy, disturbing, sad. Criminally underrated.
• The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) – Really fucking slow but for someone like me who gets off on the devil and evil, the payoff was well worth it.
• The Passion of the Christ (2004) – I know, how does a fervent antichrist like myself have such an affinity for Christian shit? Blame my upbringing. Anyway, Satan is amazing in this one.
• Coherence (2013) – super low budget and it shows but there are some genuinely uncomfortable/unsettling moments that make this one worth it, IMO.
• First Reformed (2017) – slow, sad, brooding, uncomfortable.
• Apocalypse Now (1979) – Such a great portrait of the insanity of mankind. Up there with Blade Runner and The Deer Hunter as my fave movie of all time.

More to be added as I remember them.