Jesse Vitelli's Newsletter Chaos #8

Another week means more shit happened and didn’t happen. The passage of time is inevitable and well, let’s get into the things I did this week.

I’m coming hot off of a pretty extensive review cycle for the newest Atlus RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio. I won’t get into it here, but you can read my full thoughts on Metaphor right here!

After a 70ish hour RPG review and having to wrestle my thoughts about it, I’m pretty burnt for the foreseeable future, but it’s the last big game of 2024 that I really had my heart set on writing about, which means maybe it’s finally time for a break.

Even if you don’t like video games, or care about a game called Metaphor: ReFantazio (which I’m claiming for the Italians) I think my writeup summarizes a way we’ve all been feeling about the current election cycle, how we need to hold politicians to a higher standard, and how our favorite pieces of fiction can change our perspective in life.

Bushwick House Parties

One thing i love about living in Brooklyn is the ability to just get up and go pretty much anywhere I want with relative ease. I went to a friend’s birthday party over the weekend and there’s something fun about being in a space where you don’t know the large majority of people there.

Anyway, long story short we were getting to know a few folks and suddenly a room of people are discussing “snow day beans” a concept that is exactly as it sounds. The idea that when your school finally shuts down because too much fucking snow is on the ground, that your parents decide it is the appropriate time to make a bunch of beans.

I’ll admit, I was foreign to this concept at first, but I think i was actually gaslit into believing these people when they told me about the raw amount of beans that would be made on a snow day. Not here to yuck anyone’s yums, but at the end of this entire discussion the person who started it simply said “the beans are a metaphor” and I will never recover from this night.

Work

Don’t ask me about work, things are in motion maybe? idk? We will see. Just don’t ask, never ask, and I will never tell.

Cheap beer

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what the best cheap beer is. The beer that you use for a house party or get at a shitty dive bar. The type that makes you feel young again and like you don’t respect your body in any way that’s useful to your continued growth as an adult.

Anyway, the answer is Modelo, it’s the best cheap beer outside of Tecate, and I will take no further questions about my thought process, and I will not accept alternative answers.

Fall activities

Every year I tell myself I’m going to go apple or pumpkin picking, maybe have a seance, or do generally more fall based activities. Every year I let the season pass me by and regret that I never did anything. so if anyone wants to maybe do some of this stuff with me to push me to actually enjoy the holiday and fall season please help me out here.

Yes I’m allergic to apples, and yes it might kill me, but at least I’ll go down during a good month like October and not some shitty month like March.

A moment for Gavin Creel

Last week we lost Gavin Creel. A truly inspirational and kind-hearted actor who I had the pleasure of working with on Hello, Dolly! Gone from the world far too soon I’ll miss Gavin for the rest of my life. One of the best to ever do it, and I’d like to just say that here and let everyone who reads this know his name. An incredible actor, but more importantly, someone who’s presence can be felt when they walk in a room, and whose absence will be felt for the rest of our lives.

Drink more water

that’s the whole post, if you’ve made it this far without drinking some water please do so, you’ll thank me later. Or maybe you’ll hate me. Idk, I’m not your boss.

Ozark

I watched the entirety of Ozark this week and that show goes from being good, to ok, to straight up bad. A truly bizarre choice for its characters. I’ve never seen a show where so many things happen, but nothing actually propels characters motivations or story arcs forward. Few characters actually see a full complete arc, and those that do are discarded rapidly and with little fanfare. Idk, I’m just really mad at the end of that show. Ruth Langmore forever.

Ok we’re done now

Ok we’re done now thanks for coming. If anyone has a goth girlfriend for me please let me know, my 30th birthday is coming up and I think that would be a rad gift, see ya later nerds.