Fireflies // Cryptids and Aardvarks and Matt Smith – oh my!
plus a word for baby owls that is so cute it's physically distressing
Welcome to Fireflies, the recommendations letter that arrives at the First Quarter of each moon cycle. This is the one where Addison makes you hold all the things she likes gently in your hand – like a small child who keeps bringing you leaves at the park.
It’s Fall Y’all! At least according to the painted pumpkin I saw appropriating southern culture in Denver, Colo-RAD-o this weekend. And you know what, he’s right and he should say it!!! So I’ll say it too, with a playlist I made *last* autumn because nostalgia is an essential part of the cooler weather / holiday szn / Taylor Swift album release life cycle.
I guess technically a playlist embed could count as a recommendation, but this is my bouncy castle and I make the rules. And my rules say that actually, when we conceived of this little list of lovelies, it was more of a ‘cute, sometimes scary sometimes beautiful, precious, and fascinating stuff’ compilation, and definitely not a list of sponsored links sending you off across the web to buy more stuff you don’t need just to hold on to one single moment of joy before it slips between your fingers just like all the others. So what we ended up with is… sort of a blend.
I call them ‘fireflies’, spots of brightness in a dimming world. Sometimes that brightness blinds you by surprise because it’s right next to your face but you couldn’t see anything re: what happens when the sun goes away. Sometimes the little glimmer of light only serves to point out the severity of the encroaching darkness. Either way… pretttttty floating buggy boos!
In my world, fireflies travel in packs of seven. I KNOW that’s a basic-ass lucky number to have, but let’s join forces here to blame it on my mom because she literally started it. I greeted this world, eyes blazing and fists clenched, on the 7th of December many moons ago, weighing seven pounds and seven ounces, and was the seventh C-section that day. And obviously any number of people could be lying about that last one, but I have a legal document confirming the others. So because I’m also a Sagittarius who attaches dramatic levels of meaning to her own birthday, we’re going. With. SEVEN!
If you aren’t a paid sub yet, you’ll still get a sneak peak of every future fireflies ep. to entice you to climb the stage and see what’s behind the curtain. Okay Addison we get it, you’re trying the marketing thing again, move on. Fine! Yeesh. Take it up with capitalism and that painful intel gleaned from Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women”.
Not to be all “Game of Thrones” or anything (although actually definitely yes, to be all “Game of Thrones”, kind of always), let’s hear it for The Seven! Wonders of the modern world, that is, before it’s all underwater :)
A (mostly accurately-labeled) map of American cryptids, because the scariest thing in America this autumn is still the midterms. Year six in NYC and I’ll use the Jersey Devil as a reason to never set foot in New Jersey (Newark doesn’t count airports are neutral territory) every day of the damn WEEK.
Lots of Nessie wannabes floating around American lakes it appears. I am personally most afraid of Colorado’s Slide-Rock Bolter, but can also confirm the Alabama White Thangs are indeed quite threatening!
Making an extra dirty gin martini alone, because you CAN, and watching that one monologue from Fleabag on a loop until you rage-cry. Kristin Scott Thomas crush unlocked, engaged, and firmly instated. Read this at my funeral.
A seasonally-appropriate TikTok of an aardvark going unbelievably snozzlegoggler on a pumpkin. Him snootin’ and tootin’ and even rootin’ all the livelong day. The sound the little schnoz makes against the gourd…. ASMR if it were real.
The absolutely scarring results on the ‘creepy baby doll’ Etsy search page. My neighbors have a terrifying doll hanging from their porch that they dress up according to the nearest holiday. Can’t tell you how terrifying Baby Santa is with blue skin and razor-pointed teeth when it’s 9 am and you’re just trying to slog your way to a $5 latte OKAY ENOUGH WITH THE HAUNTED SUSPENDED BABY.
This Wikipedia article about a puzzling phenomenon that occurs on Wikipedia. Like the Youtube alt-right pipeline, but kind of opposite.
The tweet that sent me tumbling down a Matt Smith rabbit hole from which I may never emerge. Daemon Targaryen claims another sword…
The word we English-speakers are allowed to use for baby owls, one that I’m kind of furious I never said accidentally, but will be definitely be using in the future to refer to readers of this very publication, the acronym for which is OWL. Okay back to the baby name (and your new title). It’s owlets. AAARRRNNNGGGHHHHH *barely contained cute aggression*
Well that came out a little more animal-themed than intended, Matt Smith included. If you need me, I’ll be walking around Brooklyn in last season’s Zara puffer listening to Noah Kahan sing about being mean in New England. Tell me about your favorite cryptid that I’ve never heard of please — and remember never to say w*nd*g* out loud or you’ll be added to their collection <3
Scrippily scrappily,
Addison