the immaculate mailing list - cultural touchstones at space camp
welcome to the immaculate mailing list
(home of the immaculate mailing list)
what is good, friends? i’ve been loving this cloudy, morose weather that chicago has been providing over the last few days (i do wish it would actually rain a bit more)- i am simply tired of being hot. some of you are probably well aware of my affinity for fall/winter/early spring over the soul sucking death march that is summer. sure, i may look happy having fun at the beach, riding my bike up to the botanic gardens, or drinking a beer in the park, but rest assured- i am miserable.
in line with the changing of the seasons, i have felt a deep internal shift over the last week or two, and am currently feeling more grounded and centered and calm than i have felt in a long time. honestly? it rules. like, i feel vastly different right now than i did a month ago. have y’all tried feeling good? again, it rules. i was carrying around a lot of stress for, honestly, i’m not even sure how long, and i was just adding to it without managing what was already there. it really came into focus for me when our dear, sweet, old-as-the-earth cat, petunia, had a seizure a few weeks ago (she is since doing okay! many of you offered support in a variety of ways after that, and i am eternally grateful <3). in the days following, i wound up with a shingles outbreak, something relatively uncommon in a person of my age, but often caused by stress. i caught it pretty early, and was able to get a prescription for some anti-virals, allowing me to keep it as a mild case, but it definitely shocked things into focus for me. anyways, now i’m like water.
moving on to the reason i’m sure you all opened this email…
things i experienced at space camp for the first time
i went to space camp in the summer of 2001 (i think? correct me on this if i’m wrong, mom). it was sick. i made a friend named pickles who i haven’t spoken to since, but wonder about fairly often. i got to do a cool mission simulation. i sat in that wild looking gyroscopic chair set up (honestly, not a fan). i went swimming in a pool surrounded by “beware of alligators” signs. getting there was the first time i flew on a plane. lots of cool experiences!!
cultural touchstones i first experienced while attending space camp
- dippin’ dots (the ice cream of the future) - wow. truly blew my mind, hadn’t experienced anything like it, and i don’t think i’ve actually had them since.
- rice - okay okay, i know, surely i had had rice at some point in the slightly more than ten years i had been alive, but i have a vivid memory of being in the cafeteria and thinking “this is amazing”. still a big fan of rice.
- the princess bride - loved it as a kid, and was one of my fav things to put on when i wasn’t feeling well into my early twenties. i had a copy from the netflix dvd service that i just never sent back.
- the sandlot - maybe my favorite export of utah.
- let the bodies hit the floor - drowning pool - the counselors in my dorm would play this song every night. effing sick.
i think that’s everything??? somewhere in my parents’ house is probably a copy of the vhs tape we all got to remember our experience, so if i ever see that, maybe i’ll unlock some more memories. i had pickles’ phone number written down in my official log book too, but i fear it’s been lost to the sands of time.
reading! books!
currently reading:
recently finished:
next up: - probably some philip k. dick, more octavia butler, and any suggestions y’all might provide for me!
other reading material
- the food of exiles - sudeep agarwala - potentially a repost, but i recently reread this piece, so i’m allowing it.
- activists are designing mesh networks to deploy during civil unrest - ella fasler - very into this, and wish i had more technological know-how to contribute
- file not found - monica chin - apparently directory systems are falling out of fashion! i didn’t know! interested to see how this impacts tech usage.
- the digital jungle - claire l. evans - a computer program that experiences evolution!
- revolt of the delivery workers - josh dzieza - workers banding together to protect each other.
- everyone is beautiful and no one is horny - rs benedict - a pop culture take on movie stars being hot but totally de-sexualized
slaps knee …welp, ‘bout that time.