Michael Pickell

Song mood: Fantasy by Maria Carey. I watched Free Guy last night. Fantastic movie. Guy is this NPC who wants to find love. But the only people who can do what ever they want are the people with the cool glasses. I highly recommend this movie. My favorite part is when Guy and his friend Buddy have a conversation about what is real anyway. Tomorrow I head up to North Dakota, or more specifically my hometown, for my uncle’s memorial. It will be good to be around my mum and sister and uncles. My sister came down from Alaska. I’m just not liking the cold temps. Today, Fargo’s low was -24F(-31C). Tomorrow’s low will be -7F(-21C). I hope that I will have phone reception. In years past I wouldn’t have reception while I was at my hometown because I had Sprint. But I’m under T-Mobile, so I hope that I get reception at my hometown. Though, I’m not holding my breath. I will be staying at one of my uncle’s. So when people offer me drinks, I can say, nope, I’m staying at my uncle’s. I don’t mind h

So I’m thinking of the memorial that I will be going to and I realize that I only have one suit these days. And it’s tan. So I need to find something a bit more somber. I have a bunch a of black dress slacks. So I think I will just get a suit jacket. Over the years I have been buying clothes that could cross over to my cosplaying. So I don’t have anything appropriate to wear at a memorial. The key to this task is to look somber.  If it was a wedding, then the task would be to look smart but not too smart. Weddings, the focus should be on the couple. And even then it’s more so that the bride looks fabulous. Which is why the bridesmaid dresses look so dull or off, so that all the attention is on the bride. I had been saying for years that if I was fortunate enough to be married, I would wear a dress kilt. These days, I probably wouldn’t unless it was something that bride wanted. The kilt I’m thinking of would be a bit spendy. But it would be black with little blue and green stripes. Or m

 Video editing can be a pain. And some of tonight's pain would have not existed had I not knocked over the camera (iPhone) stand. Which led to me putting it back in a spot that wasn't exact to the previous spot. So when I layered two pieces of film together, they didn't exactly lined up. This video I did was a learning experience. Also a lesson of letting go. I had a certain time frame to shoot the video. I can go back and try to make the clip even more seamless, but that would consume time and I'm learning. More than likely I'll do a few more videos like tonights and my skills will improve. It's a lesson in failing. Learning to let go and try again. I'm hoping that by taking this attitude, my stories and my videos and short films will be much better by the end of the year.

Song mood: Don’t Tell Me by Madonna. It’s been a while.  Over the weekend I learned that one of my uncles died due to complications of covid. The memorial will be not this Saturday but next Saturday. I will make a trip to hometown (a six hour drive). My uncle was a good man, an interesting man. He once built a limo and then had a limo service for a few years. For Independence Day, he would get a couple of five gallon barrels and fill them up with bottle rockets. He would light one up and the sky would be showered with bottle rockets. It was his annual fireworks show. He will be missed. I’m glad there will be a memorial. It was kind of a fifty fifty chance there would be one. My uncles don’t like funerals. The last uncle who died didn’t have one because it was his wish that there wasn’t one. Currently I’m listening to Northanger Abbey by Jane Austin. Which should have been her first published book under the name of Susan . But there was an issue with the publisher who bought the right

Song mood: Left Hand Free by alt-J. I’m debating on going to their concert when they are in Omaha on 21 March. But then, I probably won’t go just because I’m trying to save money for the next big adventure. I finished Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz. It was real good. I’m curious on how the BBC adapts the book into a television series. I enjoyed the book. I think I’m a bit burned out on murder mysteries. So, I’m currently listening to The Poison Eaters and Other Stories by Holly Black. I read two of her trilogies before. I’ve read The Folk of the Air trilogy and the Curseworker’s trilogy. Both were fantastic. Holly Black writes YA fantasy. Since I read a few of her books before, this collection of short stories was a safe bet. I will still work on the disappearance mystery that I was writing before. It’s import to finish that project soon. So tomorrow, I will get some writing done. I figured out who did it, though I haven’t given the character a name yet. I also figured out how t

Song mood: In the Meantime by Spacehog. The groundhog saw his shadow. Six more weeks of winter. Winter really wasn’t that bad this year. I just don’t winter, no matter the length. So far we have had a spring like winter. Where one day it’s warm enough to melt all the snow and bitter cold the next. Reasons to hate winter: 1. It’s cold. 2. My skin gets super extra itchy. 3. I don’t exercise as much because of the cold. I’m starting to make progress on the disappearance novel. What I’m working on is stacking the cards against the protagonists.  I made a change to the murder victim. The victim is an ex-girlfriend to the male lead. She has the most unappealing traits. Like the character has a drug problem, which leads to a money problem, which leads to her fate. I want the reader to see right away what is going to happen to this character.  The reason I made this switch was because it will add extra tension between the protagonists. It will make Eileen suspicious of Sean. Also, it’s other