God Save the Queen

Watched Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). It seems like a movie building from pub band to a Queen concert should be pretty straightforward, but this movie is apparently not interested in that. It’s got a perfectly adequately band montage film about writing Bohemian Rhapsody that plays for about 40 minutes. It ends with a fun LiveAid recreation where we feel triumphant and get to be at a Queen concert in the 80s. In the middle though there’s a whole extra hour of movie, and it’s no good. Among other things it neglects to have appropriate music. Or to give us any characters more than an inch deep. Rami Malek is great as usual, and better at Freddie Mercury than I expected. Lucy Boynton is in this movie just to be pretty and innocent and sad. It’s also a Bryan Singer — or at least he get credit; he was actually fired during production — which isn’t a help either for its odd handling of many topics or general comfort with the production process. So I wouldn’t bother, at least not in its canonical form. There’s maybe a movie in there somewhere but it’s not what comes on this disc.

Went to a soccer game today. Didn’t get to bring Shanda because she’s too sick, but it was still good. Sol was only partly exposed, and I finally have my UV-reactive sunglasses back, so it was mostly pleasant to be outside (though I did wear myself out a bit running on around on the bus afterward). I got to do great warpaint, sat outside in a park for a couple of hours, ate some ice cream, ordered a small bag of citric acid, and heard that postcards do get a reaction, even if I can’t see it. I also got to leave alone, with no supplies and no transportation, miles from home, which is my favorite way to make an exit. It helps people believe in my magic, and it gives me a minute to disappear into the anonymity of the city. Sometimes that makes me feel like I should flee — like I should take the bus north instead of south and never turn back — but today it gave me a minute to reach out and plan future contact.

Got most of the way through the Julien book, about living in a private concentration camp. It has been useful to see a linear narrative that includes most of the bits I’m familiar with. It’s a story I’d sort of like you to know because it feels so close to mine, but I don’t know how to get anyone to share reading with me, at least not in any way that results in you having a response I can see. There will be more writing on this though, on another day, once I’m done with the book and have sat with it for a minute.

Stopped to do some care package shopping while I was headed home from soccer. Talked with J in real time about moving and ears, poked E and A after far too long ignoring them. Helped DerbyK with some medical billing, which is tedious and sometimes frustrating but it was nice to be able to do something useful. And when I finally got all that wrapped up at maybe 6 PM I spent the rest of the day lounging with Shanda and helping her be less lonely after my day out and her continuing illness.

ZiB