I went back in time to the year 2021 and listened to the first episode of That Thing I Do (the podcast of Darren Criss and Este Haim) again.

Darren talked about how he became an actor (I shortened it a little):

I remember watching and loving obviously Aladdin. I remember sitting in the theater and seeing everybody having this positive reaction to this character. It wasn't concious. All the these strangers having a collective cathartic experience with this person, this thing on screen with strangers they never met, they will never talk to. And I was like this is amazing. One of my biggest mo's is like shortening the distance between people. I'm a connector. People think it's performing but to me I love building communities. Try to make people feel related to each other. This is happening in a flash of a second and watching people to my right and my left laughing at this genie and I'm like fuck this. I want to be a genie when I grow up. I want to to be a genie in a movie. But then I'm notified that the voice of the genie is Mr. Robin Williams. Whatever he does I want to do. And then I set myself on a path of being an actor.

There is an actor by the name Peter Coyote. He was a dad at the school that I went to and I knew that Mr. Coyote was an actor. And so I was six years old, and I looked in the school roster for Peter Coyote. I was so nervous, and I called him and he picked up the phone, I said „Hello Mr. Coyote, my name is Darren Criss. I would like to be an actor. What do I do?” And he was so enchanted by this, I’m sure as anyone would be if a child has managed to find your home phone number. And him and my parents spoke about enrolling me into an acting program. The american Conservatory Theater had a Young Conservatory, and he was the one that suggested that I start taking classes there. Which is where I would start going, when I was like seven or eight until I was 18, and that was like my after school life.

Okay, so a week ago, I’m sitting in a restaurant in New York, and I haven’t spoken to this man in many, many years, and then somebody comes up and he’s like, „Hey, I’m Nick, I’m Peter’s son,” I’m like, „Nick, holy shit!” and he’s like, „My dad’s here!” and like, oh my god, I just gave him the biggest hug and I almost burst into tears and I was like “man, my life is so wildly different because of what you did for me.”

God bless, Mr. Coyote for helping my parents out. So I studied and I went to school for it, so when you ask me, baby Darren, how did this all happen? That was it. Because of some kind adults that really helped lay the tracks down for me to go.

This is so Timothy i think but also its an excuse to force everyone to at least acknowledge my taste in music (sharing is caring)

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

the 'what if you played it a little risky' post literally Changed my life but i cant fujkign find it in my blog because its. a tiktok screenshot

this is problematic of me (joke) but i really enjoy the splashing of french into english speech or writing. just adds a pizzazz

watching bridgerton and obviously there were a lot of things wrong with the way socializing has worked in the past, but honestly the idea of a "calling hour" is so appealing. office hours for friendship. you can show up unannounced at my home between 1 and 3pm. you must leave by 3pm. I may give you a pastry. lets bring that back

can't believe we're all adults being forced into the club penguin level of censorship in 2024

the men and boys are innocent too.

we cry "the innocent women and children" to appeal to the masses, to try and force their sympathy, but the men and boys are innocent too.

I have seen sons crying out for their mothers, their fathers, their siblings. I have seen them break down at the loss of their families. I have seen them cling to their dead and grieve.

I have seen fathers cradle their dead children, seen them kiss their faces and hold their little hands. I have seen them faint with grief when asked to identify the dead. I have seen them carry their sons and daughters. I have seen them fasting to provide what little they can for their families.

I have seen men and boys digging through the rubble with just their bare hands, I have seen them comforting strangers, playing with children, rocking them, hushing them, even if the face of such imminent danger. I have seen them cry, seen them grieve, seen them break down into each other's arms, seen them be selfless, beyond selfless, becoming something I don't have a word for.

I have seen the men who are doctors refuse to leave their patients, even when they have no medicine or supplies to give them, even when they're threatened with bombings. I have seen fathers who have lost all their children pick orphans up into their arms and proclaim them their child so they are not alone. I have seen men and boys digging pets out of the rubble.

the men are innocent too. the men and boys are being hurt and killed too. the men and boys are grieving too. the men and boys are scared too. the men and boys are fighting to save their people too. the men and boys deserve to be fought for too.

hater of socks

HEARTBREAKING: Poor girl has to get out of the soft warm bed even though she is so so so so comfy

I went back to the year 2021 and listened to another episode of That Thing I Do: On the Road.

Darren: We had a little desert weekend with friends that we had accounted for a long time, that we posponed til everybody was vaccinated which everybody is now. So I and my close group of pals from college had a nice little desert weekend getaway.

And I'm on the way back and I'm like 'let's stop and get ourselves a nice little relaxed spa day. So we stopped in this place and so I'm sitting in their little restaurant somewhere in the Palm dessert area outside of Los Angeles.

That whole eco system of desert life is something that I didn't get into until later in life. I remember when Mia and I started dating and her mother had a place out in the desert. We went out to see her family. And I famously and much to my embarrassment – they won't let me, I don't let me let this down. You know I come from Nothern California. I like mountains. I like trees. I like beaches. Vibrancy like life. So I'm sitting there and never hung out in the dessert. And they're like 'Darren, what do you think of the dessert?' And I went 'I don't like to go where the earth goes to die.' What an asshole thing to say. I didn't mean it in a shitty way. I just meant like I prefer the side of greenary, mountains and stuff. It was an idiotic, ignorant thing to say that I'd since apologized for many times. I'd really grow to love the desert. The sort of a calm, like the emptiness and the vastness that I didn't appreciate until the past few years. I love it out here. We had a nice little weekend.

(Jamie posted this pic. I guess this is the trip Darren is talking about. jlbeatty: Palm Springs is a magical place where love is celebrated 24/7, everyone’s a model, and friends, delicious food, and dog weddings appear out of thin air… ✨🌵🔮🌴 Thanks for a wonderful weekend @casaverde.ps We’re all married now! #palmsprings #everyone #is #a #model #everyone #is #married)

advice i think we should tell children is that when adults say stuff like ‘now that i’m an adult i get really excited about stuff like coffee tables and bathrooms and rugs etc’ they don’t mean ‘and now i don’t care about blorbo and squimbus from my childhood tv shows anymore’ bc your average adult still loves all the same pop culture stuff they always did; they just have a greater appreciation for the mundane as well. growing up just means you can enjoy life twice as much now. you can get really excited about a new stuffed animal AND about a new kitchen sponge. peace and love

hey did you know??? that if you stop stretching and maintaining mobility in your body then it goes away?? things get tight and you can't move the way that you used to??? and when you decide to try getting a stretch routine going that the first week fucking sucks because you keep going 'damn i used to be able to do this no problem' and then you have to switch gears and be kind to yourself and just focus on getting better from here instead of berating yourself for dropping the good habits in the first place??? and your body never stops aging so you gotta keep taking care of it and sometimes you gotta take care of it extra in certain areas because of things that happened when you were younger and it's boring and sometimes hurts but it's so necessary???

i am yelling this at myself right now i am going through An Experience (trying to get into a routine of body maintenance again for my physical and mental health)

did you know there's a day-by-day timeline of the plot in the dungeon meshi adventurer's bible and TODAY is when it all kicks off

happy falin gets eaten and the gang starts eatin' day :)