Revisiting Alien, Diamond Painting FOMO, Blog Bleh

On a recent episode of the podcast “We Got This,” our intrepid gentlemen Mark and Hal debated the merits of “Alien” vs. “Aliens” in a brilliant episode that piqued my interest and led me to re-watch both movies, neither of which I had seen in decades. I had completely forgotten how good they both are, especially the original, and how admirable the main character Ripley is—not just because she’s a bad-ass physically, but because she is brave and outspoken and stands by her principles. I love her straightforwardness and her sense of personal authority. She is not intimidated by anyone and she speaks her truth clearly and without compromise. She’s also a stickler for rules, processes and following policy, as it turns out for good reason. In “Alien” when the scout team wants to bring their crew-mate onboard with the alien sucker on his face, she refuses to open the doors because there are rules about quarantine. It turns out she was totally right. The minute the android overrides her command and lets that guy onboard, all hell breaks loose.

I actually missed the very end of the podcast where Mark and Hal made their final decision about which movie reigns supreme, but in my mind, it’s the original. “Aliens” is fun and flashy and has big guns, (space Marines!) lots of action, and a solid plot in its own right. But the original is exquisitely spooky and tense in a low-key, ingeniously crafted way that doesn’t require a lot of bang and flash to be utterly terrifying. In my opinion “Alien” is the better of the two films. When it comes to horror, I always prefer the subtle chill to the screeching chainsaw. Bonus fun fact: Ripley was originally meant to be a male character. They made the right choice to switch it up. I don’t think either movie would be the same without the glorious Sigourney Weaver in the role.

Having near-constant FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) when it comes to diamond painting and diamond painting accessories, I recently ordered a Fancy Diamond Painting Pen from Amazon because I have seen them used in a lot of the videos and I was intrigued. These are large, solid, ergonomic pens with pretty marbling and steel tips:

I didn’t think it was really going to make that much of a difference in my speed or abilities, but boy did it ever. Before now, I’ve only used the cheap plastic pens that come with the kits, and while they’re fine, having a big, solid weighty pen really changes things. I have more control over the precision of the placements, and although it sounds physics-defying, the heavier pen has somehow increased my speed. It also feels great in my hand—nice and cool to the touch and easier on my wrist than the cheapies. Some of the small shops are doing custom pens, and I am probably going to order more from those small businesses in the future now that I know they work really well.

I realize this post is going up at an abnormal time and day, but last weekend was Memorial Day weekend and my whole routine was all messed up and top of it, I felt listless and like I didn’t have anything compelling to say. I was going to post a poem, but in perusing my collection, they all seemed quite gloomy to me. “Gloomy Poet” is not my given archetype but I certainly have written a preponderance of gloomy poems in my lifetime. Anyway, for those of you who wait with baited breath for my Sunday posts—this one will count as this Sunday’s post, and God willing I’ll get back to a regular Sunday blogging schedule the following week.

--Kristen McHenry