Earlier this year, W Magazine declared, “Dua Lipa is ready to return to the golden age of over-the-top lingerie, and not just for the boudoir.” Well, hot damn were they right about that. Somebody call the police, because Dua Lipa is trying to kill me. Yowza.
Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way—don’t fret, Dua and her lingerie-clad body are sticking with us as this post’s decorative garnish—it’s year’s end, and I’m feeling my usual mixture of emotions: joy and happiness, plus anxiety and ennui. The holidays are great fun, but they’re also stressful, plus the rush to the end of the year always brings about pesky, nagging anxieties that are easier to ignore during the rest of the year. There’s something about the end of a calendar year that triggers folks to reflect on the year past and, quite often, this reflection can lead to disappointment and despair over all we didn’t accomplish this year. Thus begins the seasonal ennui.
Around these parts, I’m specifically thinking about the blog right now. Did I do all I wanted with this space over the year? No, not even close. I wanted to post less and write more —posting less would free me up to do more actual writing. Instead, I largely continued dropping posts full of pin-ups and jokey, non-substantive stuff. These posts are a good time, for sure, but ultimately end up feeling like a summer popcorn movie: fun stuff, but mostly forgotten just after you leave the theater.
So here I am again, at that time of the year, reflecting on the lack of time, energy, and inclination to write, and wondering if next year will be more of the same. Part of the issue is that I don’t feel like I have as much to say as when I started this blog. I firmly believe the reason for that is because since then, the rest of the world seems to have nothing but nonstop bullshit to say, and I have little interest in adding to that growing cacophony of voices offering unsolicited opinions on every little thing under the sun. Enough already, right? Oof.
Narrowing this down a bit to the stuff normally covered here—pop culture, nostalgia, movies—I’m still having a grand time reading the thoughtful, insightful commentary of my movie blogging cohort. Sometimes, after reading one of these excellent posts, I think, “What else can I add? Has it all been said? And if I find more to add, will anyone read it?” I’m prone to existential crises, so this thought pattern is entirely in line with my usual thinking.
Ultimately, i feel like when the time comes where I have more to add to the interwebs than just “Dua Lipa is SO HOT,” then I’ll write it. Obviously, looking back over the year, I did this more than I think. Lots of posts about Michelle Pfeiffer, Lost and Found cult classics, and stuff like this on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which combines memories with film criticism—honestly, my favorite way of writing, which is why I’ve always enjoyed doing the Late Night Memories posts and plan to continue those into the new year.
On the opposite end of the spectrum are the Hot Shots and Random Image Dump posts, which are just so damned fun to put together that I simply can’t quit them! I think I have a streak of doing a Hot Shots every single Sunday for two-plus years now. Like I said, they’re a fun diversion for when I’m too mentally exhausted to write. That said, I’m always looking to balance those image-heavy posts with more writing-heavy posts. That’s the tough part, finding that balance. Maybe I’ll make some headway next year. Time will tell. Meanwhile, Happy New Year! And here’s a happy ending to this year, with one more delectably decorative Dua Lipa to send you into the New Year with a smile on your face.
The Starfire Lounge 