Eighteen since eighteen

Today marks eighteen years since I turned eighteen, which is wild to me. I remember my eighteenth birthday—CDs and DVDs were still a thing, so I got the DVD of Munster, Go Home! and the CD of the Corpse Bride soundtrack. I can't help but feel like I was in a world that wasn't made for me: a gay kid in a straight world, a budding cultural historian in an education system that emphasized military and political history, a buried runner in a sedentary body, and a fan of camp and kitsch in a decade that preferred cynicism.

Here's a picture of me with my niece, Allie, shortly after I turned eighteen

Anyway, I had a full week. On Monday, I made more grape juice, but I wanted to can it for Thanksgiving or other occasions, since we don't go through the juice very fast. 

I was able to get out on the trails Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, which is less than I would have liked, but it's better than nothing. The trees are less spectacular than they have been in other years at this time, but they're still lovely. 

I saw a Jerusalem cricket. We used to find them in our house when I was a kid.

For me, the highlight was on Wednesday, when I got to see Tori Kelly in concert. She is a pop singer with elements of R&B and gospel, and despite her immense talent, she is like a wholesome girl next door. Back in the mid-2010s, I was in a church meeting where we were answering a get-to-know-you question of "Who is your celebrity crush?" I was passing as straight, so I said, "I don't really have a celebrity crush. I guess Tori Kelly the singer is pretty cool." She hasn't had a major hit since circa 2015, which I think is a shame. In fairness, her albums since then have been gospel (2018), mediocre (2019), and Christmas (2020). But she did a new album this year, TORI., which is my second favorite of hers, and it is my third-favorite album of 2024 so far. 

Her opener was a British singer named Maisy Kay, who was a prototypical, generic pop star: sparkly leotard, butterfly microphone, songs about love. She had a nice voice.

After a long intermission, it was Tori's turn. As her set began, she had a drummer, a keyboardist, and a backing track, and it was hard to hear her singing, especially as she was moving around and didn't always have the microphone to her mouth. But what I could hear was amazing. I was glad that after a few songs, she sang a few with just her and her guitar. Her voice is just as good live as it is on recordings, and she is a great performer. I was sad that she's relegated to a venue as small as the Depot, instead of a big one like the Delta Center. But that made it feel more intimate. She asked the crowd in front of her if they had any requests. (My sister and I went upstairs to the bar area, even though I don't drink, so we would be away from the crowd and had something to lean against.)

I wasn't going to buy a tour shirt. But she was just so good that I had to after the concert ended. I wore it to a birthday party Friday (not my party), and people didn't know who she was.

On Thursday, I finished proofing the fall 2024 issue of Utah Historical Quarterly. And the same day I started proofing the fall 2024 issue of Wayfare. Since I have to do Wayfare on my own time, that's how I'm spending my birthday weekend. 

So far for my birthday, I've received baking sheets, a spatula, and a Hermey Squishmallow. 

(1964 was an amazingly important year for pop culture: the Rudolph TV special, the Mary Poppins movie, Lucky Charms, the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Bewitched, The Munsters, The Addams Family [the cartoons of Charles Addams were around before that but they weren't a cohesive family yet], and my favorite, Gilligan's Island.)

And speaking of Squishmallows, I put out my Halloween collection this week.

And now that it's the fall, it's apple season! Yesterday I started picking apples from the tree that hangs into our yard. We also have our own tree that doesn't usually produce as much, so I picked the apples from that one. These apples are generally too wormy for regular use, so I use them for baking. Last year I was baking with apples into January.

And here are this week's AI dream images.

Mark spends hours at Hometown Buffet because they have self-serve caramel apple slushes and show Pixar movies

Mark is frustrated by the stack of old magazines that have fallen over near the bathtub

Rick tells Mark to tell his sister how to administer pills in the airport, even though Mark doesn't know how

a circular parking garage has several businesses, including churches

in Taiwan and Mexico, enormous roller coasters transport people above the city

Mark and others tear down student-made signs in the junior high gym that have been there for twenty years

Mark walks home uphill in the dark in the wind

Mark goes to a queer gathering at a Daughters of Utah Pioneers museum

Mark takes a small amount of cookie dough with dough starter and plays with it until it becomes big and he pretends he's playing with a large cat

Mark walks barefoot down a slushy sidewalk while pushing a narrow shovel

Mark goes into an elementary school that looks like a restaurant, and the Asian women at the front desks tell him he needs to sign in

***

Here's this week's pumpkinundation roundup.

The Nothing Bundt Cakes Caramel Apple Cider Cake has a definite, mildly artificial apple flavor. But something about it just wasn't doing it for me, I don't know what. 6/10.

Beloved Apple & Cinnamon Bark Shower Gel smells like cinnamon more than anything. It's fine. 6/10.

Good & Gather Pumpkin Spice Instant Oatmeal has been in the cupboard since last fall, since I don't go through a lot of oatmeal. It annoys me when they call something "pumpkin spice" when it's just spices and no pumpkin. It's passable oatmeal. 6/10.

The Thirst Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie is softer and gooier than the same cookie from most other bakeries. This kind of cookie is ubiquitous, and this one is not really better or worse than the others. 7/10.

The Pumpkin Pie Larabar is a convenient snack for a long run. It has actual pumpkin and nice spices. But does anyone actually enjoy Larabars as an ordinary snack? 6/10.

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Body Butter has been in my cupboard for many years because it's stupid. It's made with a small amount of pumpkin seed oil, yet they call it "pumpkin" even though it's mostly coconut. I mean, if body butter is your thing, I suppose it's as fine as anything, but it's grossly misleading to call it pumpkin. 3/10.

Lily's Pumpkin Spice Flavor Baking Chips have no added sugar, which is nice. At this time of year, we often talk about things tasting like a candle. These taste and feel like a candle. I ate them with almonds to make them (and the almonds) more palatable. 4/10.