I'm gonna go to west Memphis and look for my joy

When the world gets to me a little too hard, there are a few things I can do to make myself feel better: Re-read a good romance novel. Or Anne of Green Gables. Watch Dirty Dancing for the 8,000th time. But when it comes to "no, for serious, I fucking need to smile right now or I will either cut a bitch or dissolve into a pool of anxious goo," my go-to for the last several years has been Jensen Ackles lip-sycing to "Eye of the Tiger." Because I cannot watch that video without 1. smiling like an idiot and 2. feeling better. I mean, even if you're not a Supernatural fan, that shit is funny as hell. And Jensen is stupid hot. Bygones. My point is this: There's a new contender in town, and that is the Boston-themed Hyandai ad. Chris Evans! John Krasinski! Rachel Dratch! Big Papi! (His Bigness, if you please.) It cracks me up every time I watch it. The over-the-top accents. The combined hotness. It's fucking perfect. (And when John calls Chris "kid," it slays me. I don't know why.) Hopefully, these two YouTube clips will get me through the rest of what is guaranteed to be a truly epic shitshow of a year.

Jen's deadliest sins

In the world according to me, burning your sister's book is apparently a sin far worse than say … shivving your father with a lightsaber. Okay, not really, but I have to admit, I came close to almost forgiving Kylo Ren by the end of The Rise of Skywalker. I'm not sure why, since I'm generally not a fan of Adam Driver (it's been hard to take him seriously as a villain since I saw him first in Girls). Maybe it was because Rey believed in him? Maybe it was just because Amy is so much worse. She would have never betrayed the Dark Side!

Episode IX was pretty decent, on the whole. There could have been a bit more judicious editing, but they took the story where it needed to go, plus lots of fun bonus crying for every scene with Carrie Fisher. Actually, to be brutally honest, I started crying as soon as the scroll started. I've been watching these movies my whole life, and it's weird finally getting to the end. I mean, sure, there will likely be more movies, because Disney never met a franchise it didn't like, but it won't be the same. And, unlike Little Women, I still like these stories, even as an adult.

Short stack

My stack of book gifts was a bit smaller this year, but I've got a couple gift cards burning a hole in my pocket, so I'm sure it will grow. 

Still not over it

I remember really liking Little Women when I was younger. I remember enjoying Christian Bale immensely as Laurie. But I had no desire to see the latest remake because I'm coming to the realization that Little Women is not really a great book. Or at least, I no longer like it. Amy is trash. Jo foolishly turns down Laurie (which I think I would be okay with if she became a spinster author or ended up in a nice Wellesley marriage, but she marries that horrible German professor guy. So gross). And did I mention Amy is the worst? The. Worst. She burns Jo's book. There's no redemption from that, people. I warn you now: If I ever write a book, and you destroy my only copy of it, I will not forgive you. I probably wouldn't forgive you even if it weren't my only copy. And I may cause you serious bodily harm.

Nonetheless, my friend Leigh convinced me to go see it. And sure, it was a lovely adaptation, regardless of whether or not they played with some shit that was not in the book. (Not. In. The. Book.) Sure, I cried my way through most of the second half, because I'm not a monster, and Beth dies, all tragic and beautiful and shit. Timothee Chalamet did a nice job as Laurie, but still … there's something inherently flawed about the story that I can't quite put my finger on. I think the real reason I liked it as a kid was because I was so eager to see depictions of female writers. That's definitely part of the reason behind my love for the Little House series. Also, Manly. Sigh.