Posts by Maria Fox4

Growing up, I was always told there’s no such thing as a stupid question, just really damn stupid answers... ☕

Personally, I’d say this has been one of those years that really tests you, but honestly? It’s been way better for it. I’m feeling pretty good about where things landed...

I don't even know why this thread exists, but I’ve got a few things to say, especially when we're talking about honey... I actually read this feature in USA Today describing some specific honey and a vendor over at Pike Place Market as being top-tier, award-winning, blah blah blah, all that junk. So, naturally, I bought some from him. Worst mistake of my life. I picked up a small jar thinking it would be decent, but man, it was a total disaster. It’s nothing but pure sugar—one bite and you're basically in a coma.

Thanks a ton... 👍

Hey there,

Can I get my username changed to Maria Fox4?

The journalist is decent enough. I caught his latest documentary, Never Forget 9/11, online the other day. Honestly, I’m floored that he managed to churn out such a garbage film about a topic this massive. It’s baffling that it even got greenlit, regardless of the fact that Fadil Hadžić was behind it. It feels like none of the producers even bothered to glance at the script, let alone look over the production notes.

Most of the band members pretty much washed their hands of the movie. Manzarek and Krieger were only halfway there, but Densmore? He wasn't having any of it. They all basically said that after Oliver Stone’s version, the only way to actually fix the damage done to The Doors' legacy was that 2009 documentary, *When You Are Strange*. According to them, that's the only time you see the real group and the real Morrison. Personally, I think Stone’s flick is great. A huge part of that is Val Kilmer—he didn't just act the part; he lived it. He actually sang the songs, and regardless of how the director tried to spin certain things, he captured the essence perfectly. It’s always been a favorite of mine.

Maybe we should just start a dedicated thread for the original movie, then everyone can watch it together right here on the forum before we dive into the comments. Honestly, it’d be cool if the whole community picked a film to watch at once—or at least during this specific week—so we can all talk about it together. 😁

Drew Gray4 said:Hey everyone, just wanted to check in briefly. It’s not that I’ve gone MIA on you, I truly just haven't been able to find a spare moment to sit down and write.

Work has been consuming more than a week straight now, draining a massive amount of my energy and time from sunrise to sunset, and when the weekend finally rolls around, my priority is spending quality time with my kid. This past week brought plenty of tests; I handled some well, and others were a bit more of a struggle, but regardless, I'm no longer living purely on autopilot. Now, if I do happen to slip back into those old subconscious patterns, I can "wake up" from that state almost immediately and return to acting from a place of conscious awareness—meaning I'm not being driven by negative emotions like anger or jealousy anymore.

Of course, nothing is perfect, but I’m accepting things exactly as they are. I intentionally shared quite a bit about myself, and I noticed some people interpreted my illness in a different light. I don't really know what to say to that; I was honest about everything. Yes, I am ill, I am undergoing treatment, and I am taking medication—I've actually changed my prescriptions quite a bit recently. On top of all that, I manage a high-responsibility, mentally taxing job with long hours, all while providing for my family, supporting my parents, and working incredibly hard to balance it all. Right now, my feet are firmly planted on the ground. I'm not falling for any illusions regarding reality; self-awareness doesn't necessitate immediate change, though it could, and it will be interesting to see how things unfold and what my true self decides to choose. To be honest, I don't see any signs of mania or bipolar phases in myself. That said, I'm staying cautious and not forcing anything. Life feels just as heavy as it did before, except for me—I've become spiritually unburdened, and because I'm carrying so little spiritual baggage despite all these hardships, life feels much easier to navigate.

It’s a beautiful day today; make sure to get out into nature and engage all your senses.

It doesn't look like mania to me. I’ve got half my family dealing with bipolar disorder, so I know what to look for. If you're up for it, though, why don't you tell us how you actually ended up getting sick and what they're prescribing you? Anyway, it's honestly refreshing to see someone actually enjoying life. The bigger issue is that people immediately think it's weird just because everyone else seems to be stuck in a constant funk.

Michael Gonzalez77 said:I don't usually bother with rhetorical questions, but I can tell this one was aimed right at me.

Look, I'm not a doctor. I'm just someone who has been living with bipolar disorder for the last 13 years 🙂 and I've experienced—more than once—exactly what this kid is describing (which, honestly, is about 50% luck and 50% misery). That's why I spoke about what I went through.

Nobody except people actually living through this can truly grasp it through some theoretical example. It's like trying to explain the effects of microdosing mescaline; you can't really abstract it without experiencing those subtle yet incredibly deep shifts where your personal impressions shape how you perceive the world through hormones and biology. Of course, I'm talking about mescaline based on theory here, and I'm not trying to trivialize things with bad analogies just because of a defensive reflex or cynical rhetoric.

I am not handing out diagnoses. This condition isn't exactly rare, but the experience is deeply tied to an individual's personality, goals, and beliefs. I'm simply sharing my own life to show that it's not quite what you think. What I don't know, you don't know either. I'm not claiming to be an authority, so please don't claim that I'm trying to act like one.

If you still don't get what I'm talking about, YouTube is full of explanations, or you could listen to Beethoven's symphonies—they might tell you more than I ever could.

😁

fine, point taken.
I wasn't trying to drive the OP away, but looks like they've already checked out anyway.

So, what you're saying is every single "high" in life is just a manic episode in disguise? Like, someone falls head over heels in love, the spark dies down, and then they just shrug and go, "Oh, I guess that was just mania."
Either way, there’s no shot they would have even considered that diagnosis if the patient hadn't brought up medication first. It's like doctors just grab at any diagnosis they can find the moment someone mentions pills.

Michael Gonzalez77 said:You might need to hang in there for a few more weeks; you just can't sustain that level of intensity indefinitely.
Look, I don't want to sound harsh or cynical, but what you’re describing sounds exactly like my own manic episodes. There isn't much difference. These states are always deeply personal, and honestly, mania can feel like a divine, pure experience—though that really depends on the person. If someone is spiritually inclined, they’ll express it through that lens. But if they lack any spiritual insight or are driven by ego, they’ll just experience it as this overwhelming, intense rush. Regardless, it’s usually mania, and it almost always follows a natural cycle of anxiety or depression.

but staying this positive for several days straight can't be mania, right? I thought those episodes were way shorter, or am I missing something?

@kudos to Drew Gray4 for being real. Keep it up. 🙂

Raymond Palmer8 said:Just like a lot of people, my first thought was Carmina Burana from Excalibur, but honestly... there's better stuff out there.

Even though picking just one track from that movie is nearly impossible, this one gave me actual chills while watching "Baraka":

Dead Can Dance - Host of Seraphim - Baraka

The music and the visuals are basically one single entity.

Too good! 👍 Dead Can Dance totally takes me back to my goth phase. 😍

Patrick Martin said:this is the best prison movie 😉

And here's the most lovable guard ever:

I feel the same way about The Shawshank Redemption. Honestly, I don't even really see it as a "prison movie," whereas Escape from Alcatraz definitely leans into that whole vibe. For me, the real mystery was whether those guys actually made it to the shoreline. There’s zero hard evidence; you can dig through miles of FBI files and find nothing concrete. It reminds me of how a few years back, three guys over in the UK tried the exact same thing—swimming out under the same conditions, at night, maybe even on the same day—and everything played out just like the movies. They hit the shore without a single issue.

I honestly don't see any connection there. I mean, just look at the title; the whole core premise is about redemption. You’ve got this innocent guy rotting in prison for twenty years. From his point of view, he actually needed to be behind bars. He was living a lie, basically just playing a role instead of being himself, and prison served as his way to find his soul again. That long, grueling digging process? That’s a literal metaphor for that journey toward self-discovery.
As for the rest—the prison pets, the drug dealers, the lifelong cellmate buddies—that stuff is in every single prison flick ever made. If I were anyone else, I'd probably just write it off as standard Hollywood clichés.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgSMxY6asoE

Honestly, watching this again, I can't help but feel like this is basically a gay movie. You've got these two guys training together, then they go at it in a fight—but you know they actually love each other. Just muscles everywhere. It feels like those 80s action flicks were really just a backdoor way to introduce queer themes into cinema, maybe even paving the way for the massive wave of people coming out in the 90s.

Absolute masterpiece. Honestly, speaking of Romanian film, I caught one at the Sundance Film Festival once—well, I didn't sit through the whole thing because I just couldn't take it. It was this Romanian flick shot entirely from a subjective point of view. A total disaster. Using subjective shots gets exhausting incredibly fast, and the subject matter definitely doesn't justify the headache.

I didn't actually sit through the whole thing, so I can't give a final verdict. The beginning was okay, I guess—I remember being pretty impressed by how they integrated Shannon into the plot, but that blue-eyed guy from American Pie and Scream kept killing the vibe for me.
What really threw me off, though, was seeing those photos from the premiere where it looked like Greg's shirt was totally stained. 😁

I’m right there with Adam Martin11 on this—that book by Alexander Hamilton is nothing but a complete fabrication.
Just track down that Ars Antibari writers' guild, the one Debbie was part of, and you'll dig up plenty of useful info there. 😉