Why Is No One Yelling At Me?

The Josh Wells Weekly, Episode 217

Oct 12, 2023

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Been a minute since I’ve posted a Jinx pic here. Sometimes Jinx will lay right by my legs and if I make any sudden movement she gives me this attitude-drenched look. My bad, Jinx. I should know better.

Random Thought

I haven’t had a drink in 5 days. It wasn’t planned. It just sorta happened. It sounds kinda weird to say I haven’t had a drink for only 5 days and expect anyone to be impressed. But I am. I’ve also been trying to stay off of social media. It’s not a complete social media blackout (I did sign in to plug the newsletter, of course), but I’m impressed with how little I’ve been doom scrolling the past few days. I’m not sure what all of this amounts to but I’ve been bored. I suppose social media and alcohol are my two biggest weapons to fight off boredom. Now I’m just sorta reveling in it, figuring at some point I’ll either think of something else to fend off boredom or go back to social media and beer.

All that being said, I feel slightly disconnected from things, but maybe in a good way. I’ve done zero doom scrolling since this whole Israel/Hamas war thing and I think that’s a really good thing. I know I can’t stop war by ignoring it but I also know it’s not good for my brain to try and involve myself in the social media war dance. I’m sure there are lots of opinions and hot takes and people telling others what’s right and wrong and the obligatory wave of misinformation.

I don’t really have an opinion anymore. I mean, I do, but it’s bland and generic and I don’t have the urge to put it up against the scrutiny of all social media. A thing I know for certain is that I don’t know enough and I probably never will on how to resolve or avoid these issues. I’m anti-war, all war. My solution for everything is to just stop fighting. Any scenario you give me, that’ll be my response. That’s all I got. See? I told you it was bland and generic.

When I think of my social media use, I think about how aging isn’t so bad. I may not be a youth anymore, but I’m grateful that I got to be a youth during a time when there was no social media. And I’m not trying to be one of these, “back in my day, things were better,” types. I’m not sure if they were or weren’t. They were just different. I know of a life without social media. In a way, I can take a concept like, “avoid social media,” and have years of memories to back up the idea that it is possible.

To be young now is to never have known a life when social media didn’t exist. At best, all they know is that there was a time when it didn’t exist but that doesn’t concern them and why should it? The rules have changed. I’m almost certain that if you wanna make nice in modern society, it demands a minimal amount of social media use. It’s almost reclusive to shun it completely. So I haven’t done anything too crazy as of yet like delete my FB or IG accounts.

But if you wanna turn the volume down on life, take a social media break. Unfortunately for me, I kinda like the volume turned up. I think that’s part of my issue. I’m trying to get myself into a headspace where I don’t need something to constantly distract me. A part of me hates how when I open up any social media app, it feels like the world outside is suddenly yelling at me, so many voices at once. But when I’m facing away from it, there’s a different part of me that’s like, “why is no one yelling at me? Am I here? Am I seen?”

Maybe there’s a happy medium. Maybe there isn’t. I don’t know. Just stop fighting.

Jinx before my sudden movements wake her up. Who naps better than cats???

Movie I Watched Recently

24 Hour Party People

(Prime)

Of course I enjoyed this movie. It’s all about a middle aged man who falls in love with punk rock (specifically the Sex Pistols). That’s a little too up my alley. So this dude/newscaster, Tony Wilson, sees the Sex Pistols at a small show in Manchester and dives into the deep end of a youth music movement in England. He starts his own record label and gets heavily involved in releasing music for bands like Joy Division/New Order and Happy Mondays. Also, his club, Hacienda, may be partially responsible for rave music/culture.

This movie was cool on a few levels. It opened my eyes to a corner of music I wasn’t too familiar with so it gave it a documentary feel at times. The way it was presented was pretty cool too. Tony Wilson (the character played by Steve Coogan… although the real Tony Wilson does make a cameo) is narrating the story and constantly breaking the fourth wall by talking to the audience. I also dig anything that delves into the history of punk. Also, there’s some fun musical performances along the way.

Revealed: 24 Hour Party People film prequel is in development - Manchester Evening News

This feels a little must-see for music fans. I don’t really have much interest in Joy Division/New Order but here I was, completely captivated by their story. And although I’m not gonna go out and do a Joy Division deep dive, I am suddenly a little more curious and into the idea of their music than I was before this.

Also, it feels obligatory to mention that the Ian Curtis stuff is sad. Wish it didn’t play out like that.

TV show I’m currently watching

Reservation Dogs

(Hulu)

I finally started the third (and final) season of Reservation Dogs. I binged three episodes on Indigenous People’s Day (FKA- Columbus Day) which was really just a matter of coincidence that I had time that evening to get into it but it also felt right.

The last season left off with the gang all in California. Everyone but Bear was gonna go back. Bear wanted to stay in California and connect with his dad. Things didn’t work out well and someone had to pick them up and bring them back to Okern, Oklahoma (by bus). Things get messy on the trip back. Bear misses the bus and ends up on a bit of an adventure as a result.

He meets some interesting characters but eventually finds his way home (thanks to an assist from the Deer Lady). Episode three is definitely my favorite of the three episodes I’ve seen so far and maybe one of the best episodes of the entire series. The Deer Lady flashes back to when she was a child in a Christian boarding school for Indigenous People and the memories are rough (although a few are kinda sweet in the midst of something ugly). The ending of this episode hits hard.

I enjoyed Bear doing his own thing for a couple of episodes. I enjoy the ensemble cast and how most of the time it feels more akin to, ‘Goonies,’ or, ‘Stand By Me,’ in that it’s about a group of friends getting into situations and that whole dynamic. But this was a fun deviation off that path.

Looking forward to getting deeper into it. Not looking forward to saying goodbye to the series when this season ends.

Reservation Dogs' Episode 'Deer Lady' Tackles Native Boarding Schools

Eating pie with the Deer Lady.

Album of the Week

The Atom Age / The Atom Age

This was a fuzzy, fun, garage rock assault of an album. It’s fast paced and almost ends before you even know it started. Clocking in at a brief 23 minutes, I’ve listened to this album twice. The second time was during my commute to work and it didn’t even cover the whole thing. Nothing’s reinvented or new. This is a tried and true formula for solid rock music from the soul. It’s dirty and rough around the edges like good rock music should be. The vocals are scratchy and frantic and match the mood of the music very well. There’s also some organs and saxophone going on if that’s your thing.

That rug really ties the room together.

Book I’m Currently Reading

Porno / Irvine Welsh

Unbeknownst to me till I saw the movie for, ‘Trainspotting 2,’ a few months ago, there is a Trainspotting sequel of sorts in book form. I was a big fan of the first one and I always tell myself that I want to read more Irvine Welsh, so here we are.

I don’t wanna say I was skeptical going in but I am just coming off of recently reading the sequel to, ‘Catch-22’ (one of my all time favorite books), ‘Closing Time,’ and I don’t wanna say it was a let down but it was nowhere near as enjoyable as, ‘Catch-22,’ and when it was over, I felt like it wasn’t completely necessary to have written that book. But that’s a different book and a different author so it’s really not fair to hold that against Welsh.

Honestly, this book feels like, ‘Trainspotting.’ The vibe is there. It makes sense. It’s mostly some of the same characters, just older. There were no warm reconciliations post-Trainspotting. None of them are friends anymore. But their paths begin to cross for different reasons and the past sorta starts to come back to them, especially that part of the past when Renton ripped most of them off.

The book bounces around in narration between Sick Boy (who is called Simon more often than Sick Boy these days), Spud, Renton, Begbie, and a new character, Nikki, a young college girl who gets mixed up in Sick Boy’s world when she finds herself in his bar with her crew.

Most of these characters are extremely flawed. Begbie is the worst of them all. The other night I ended with a Begbie chapter and I said to myself before I went to sleep that I hope I don’t die in my sleep because I don’t want a Begbie chapter to be the last chapter I ever read. He’s that deplorable.

Nikki, the new character, is probably my favorite so far. Sick Boy is too selfish and out to fuck other people over to be liked. Renton is decent but seems a bit ditzy. Spud would probably be an all around good dude if he could just get off the junk. But Nikki is young, wild, smart, and chock full of attitude. She really helps add a certain vibrancy to the story.

So far it’s been a ride. It’s depraved and vulgar, cynical and sinister. It’s written in a conversational Scottish style which makes it challenging at times. I’m actually very impressed with how on point and unchanging the different narrators are. Spud and Begbie are probably seeped the deepest in Scottish slang and all that, to a point that when the narration gets back to one of the others, it’s almost a relief for my American-English formatted brain.

The kind of book cover that’ll have your coworkers think twice before asking what you are reading.

Random sports thought of the week

If I was a superstitious type person, I probably wouldn’t do what I’m about to do. But I’m not, so here goes… I am fully aboard the Detroit Lions bandwagon. Super Bowl or bust.

The Lions are currently 4-1 and stand alone atop an NFC North that seems very attainable for them to win. I remember a couple seasons back when they made the Stafford for Goff trade with the Rams, it felt like doom for the Lions, like they were just giving up and going into rebuilding mode (and I’m sure it didn’t feel very good for Lions fans when they saw their ex-QB win a Super Bowl immediately in LA). But things have seemed to turn around faster for the Lions than anyone could have expected.

Of all the hard luck franchises in the NFL, I don’t believe any team has had a harder go of it historically than the Lions. I can still remember their winless season not that long ago… completely winless. And when it happened, it seemed like people weren’t even shocked. It was just sorta like, “oh, that’s very Detroit Lions of them.”

I’m not gonna sit here and pretend I know a lot about this team and their history. I’m just a fan of watching the worst team try to become the best team. There’ll be no better Super Bowl story than the Detroit Lions winning it. That’s absolutely as good as it gets. That’s what I’m rooting for, the ultimate loser-to-winner, rags-to-riches, goose-to-swan transformation (I think a Lion would eat a swan and/or goose though).

Goff stuns Jets late as Lions hold on for victory | WOODTV.com

Also, do it for Detroit, a real underdog city. And do it for Detroit style pizza. If you’ve never had Detroit style pizza, you’re messing up and need to rectify that.

Random pro wrestling thought of the week

Mark me as one of the many, many fans who I’m sure were shocked and surprised when Ricky Starks and Big Bill beat FTR for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Not only did they win, but they dominated. And at first glance it was kinda a big WTF moment for me. Isn’t FTR supposed to be the best tag team on the planet? Starks and Bill are barely a tag team.

But it didn’t take long for the idea of Starks and Bill as champs to grow on me. FTR has put up some great title defenses recently. They’ll be able to play up that they were beat up and maybe not at their best for a very game Starks and Bill who would be a formidable opponent on any given night even if FTR was at 100%.

But also, Starks and Bill have been putting in the work. Starks has shined for the past few years now but it feels like he’s really leveled up since the start of Collision. They seemed to have allowed him more TV time and he took it and ran with it. And Big Bill is such a feel good story. He was released from WWE. Fell into depression. Started drinking. But slowly, he found his way back. I remember when he first hit AEW, I was just like, ‘yea, we’ll see.’ But as the weeks and months went by, dude was getting better in the ring and on the mic. He’s also in great shape. What a turn around. As a fan, you love to see it.

Wrestling needs to remain fresh. I love FTR but if what’s new, exciting, and fresh comes at their expense, then so be it. FTR will always be FTR and no one will ever doubt their greatness. This is just a small bump in their path. But for Starks and Bill, this might be the biggest step up they’ve taken in their young careers yet.

Ricky Starks and Big Bill win the AEW Tag Team Championships from FTR

Honestly, it takes a lot for something in wrestling to shock me. But when it does, it reminds me what I love about it as a fan. This was so goddamn entertaining and such a cool, unforgettable moment. Here’s hoping the sky’s the limit for the new tag team champions.

Top 5 NFL Teams I’d Like To See Win It All This Season

1- Detroit Lions

2- Seattle Seahawks

3- New Orleans Saints

4- Las Vegas Raiders

5- Cleveland Browns

Weekly Quote

“It's my belief that history is a wheel. 'Inconstancy is my very essence,' says the wheel. Rise up on my spokes if you like but don't complain when you're cast back down into the depths. Good times pass away, but then so do the bad. Mutability is our tragedy, but it's also our hope. The worst of times, like the best, are always passing away.”

- Tony Wilson of, ‘24 Hour Party People,’ fame

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