100: Treasures

Welcome to the 100th main post on the SoraRabbit Hole! I’m going to level with you right up at the top . . . this was not the post I originally planned. I had something in mind that I’d wanted to write about for years and I figured that the 100th post was the best time to do it. But then life got in the way.

See, I was hit with several things at once this year. First, and biggest, I finally launched my YouTube channel. (Also called the SoraRabbit Hole. Please subscribe!) Learning YouTube, and editing, and trying to maintain a consistent upload schedule . . . on top of a full-time for-money job and my family and household obligations, well, it’s been hectic to say the least. I’m not complaining! I’m glad I finally took this step. It’s just been a juggling act, that’s all.

At mid to late September I was hit with more setbacks. My job changed and I was moved to a new and more challenging department. This came with a temporary move to first shift during a two week training. I’m very sensitive to change, so this rattled me, disrupting many things in my life. Then we had the biggest rain we’d had in years and our basement flooded. My office is down there. I work on my blog and film my YouTube videos down there. I also work from home at my day job down there. It was a time-consuming and exhausting task to get it all cleaned up and usable again.

On top of all of this, my holiday posts are looming. As I mentioned in my 99th post, I maintain a strict deadline for the end of the year. I do 1-3 Halloween posts— one of which is a Silent Hill game that requires a full play through of that year’s topic. The other one is a horror movie marathon that involves sitting down and watching four movies to review. After that I do 1-3 Christmas posts, one of which (if not more) takes a lot of work and research, and more things to watch through more than once. And after all that is my year end video game wrap-up. Making this more challenging, this year these posts had fallen right around my big milestone of this post. (Which was supposed to have been done much sooner in the year, but I was distracted by YouTube preparations.) I wanted my 99th and 100th posts to be special, so I had to get them done before I could start of the holiday posts. All the disruptions I mentioned before made this practically impossible. At times it really felt like I would miss my self-imposed deadlines for the first time. I’m not sure anyone else would care, but if nothing else, I would be letting myself down.

Somehow, I buckled down, wrapped up posts 98 and 99 and then shifted focus to the big 100 milestone. And that’s when it hit me. The 100th post, as originally conceived, was going to take more time than I possibly had to spare. It would involve watching through something at least twice. A ton of screenshots, a bit of research, and careful organization of thoughts and words. By this point October had already started and I was slowly playing through Silent Hill: Townfall, had zero screenshots for it and only the beginnings of the needed notes. The only way I could possibly get my 100th post done would be to half-ass it, which is not fair to you, to me, or to the subject. But my next post was still going to be number 100 and I couldn’t just make it my 10th Silent Hill post. Would could I do? How could I get around this?

And then it hit me, all at once, like it was meant to be. As many post ideas have come to me out of the blue in my 7+ years of blogging.

Some of my office.

This is all my long-winded and rambling way of saying that while this wasn’t my original intention for this post, it’s still fitting for my blog. And honestly, the more I think on it, the more I realize it’s a better choice all around. Even though I’ve been hyping up the original concept and even teased it in a YouTube short. Oh well, plans change, directions change, and this will work better.

What I decided to do for this post is what I’ve done from my very first post and the other 98 that followed it. I’m going to talk about the things I love. I’m going to count my blessings, practice gratitude, and be positive. I’m going to look back at the first seven years of the SoraRabbit Hole so that I can look ahead to the next seven with clear eyes and an unburdened heart. I’m the same guy who started this little blog back in 2019, but in many ways I’m more than I was. I’ve grown and this blog was a big part of that. So let’s celebrate that with a special post in the spirit of the first 99.

I’ve said this before— in my very first post, actually— but the original title of this blog was going to be “Treasure Hunter”. My thinking behind that is that I love treasure. In video games I get a big thrill when I find a treasure chest or similar receptacle. I usually say something along the lines of “Ooh treasure!” out loud. And all the things I talk about in this blog are treasures to me. I consider any new media or experience I find to be a treasure. It’s a good way to see things, I think. Treasure those things that bring you joy, hunt for them, hoard them, and then share them with those who are in need of treasures of their own. It’s pretty much the mission statement of the SoraRabbit Hole, both the blog and the YouTube channel. So let’s talk about some of the many, many treasures I have found over the years.

Cocoashade got the Godzilla for me. My brother got me the Pokémon statue.

Godzilla: One of the first subjects I wrote about. As one of my earliest posts, it wasn’t very detailed or heavily researched. Which is fine. It mostly concerned itself with my emotions and memories of the Godzilla franchise. Over the years my love of Godzilla has only grown. I’ve had the privilege of seeing a few of the movies on the big screen, including the first one.

I have collected all the movies. (More than one copy in some cases.) I have two lengthy books with history and behind the scenes trivia. A lot of comic books. Several video games. A handful of action figures and other collectibles. And I’m looking forward to the next two movies in the series, which are both coming to theaters soon.

I’m currently working on a video series going through each Godzilla movie in order. It’s going to be a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. The best part about this is that it gives me an excuse to watch through all the movies again and pay closer attention to pick up on things I may have missed.

Cheers.

Cheers: This isn’t a ranked list, but if it were, Cheers would be near the very top. Again, this was one of my first posts and mainly covered my feelings and experiences with the show. If I were to redo the post now I’d probably go more in depth, with sections on each season, more research into the background and conception of the show. (I read an entire book about the series!) But I’m fine with how the post came out. I was still new to doing this and I wanted to talk about something special to me. I think the excitement and earnestness came through.

I started watching Cheers as a depressed teenager and it comforted me. Over the years I found myself coming back to the show when I needed more comfort. It provided the familiar, the reassurance that everything would be okay. No matter how bad things got, how uncertain the path ahead of me was, there was always Cheers to give me some escape.

I can’t really put into adequate words how much this show has meant to me, which is why I’ve let that old post stand on its own. I still watch Cheers now and then and I’m sharing it with Cocoashade. We only watch a few episodes a year, but we’re getting through it and she is enjoying it as well. That’s one of the big joys in life . . . sharing special things with special people.

A prize possession.

Music: I know I don’t talk much about music on the blog, but no discussion of things that bring me joy would be complete without at least some discussion of music that I love. I have mentioned before that I have eclectic tastes. I love heavy metal and J-Pop, movie soundtracks and Future Funk. There are some artists and bands that always bring me joy, relax me, inspire me, and make me happy to be alive.

Vengaboys is one of my favorite groups. They’re my go-to weekend background music. I will always love Weird Al’s music. Utada Hikaru is amazing. One of my other favorites is The Blow, and I was lucky enough to catch one of their shows in a dive bar a few years back and got to meet and have a conversation with Khaela and Melissa. It’s a great memory.

Lately I’ve been grooving to Toybox and YOASOBI. On my comic book nights I tune in to a J-Pop station and leave that on as background. I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it here. Music is one of life’s great joys and had to be included in this list, even in a broad way.

I have many more blu-rays… this is just what I’ve watched.

Tokusatsu: Of course you knew tokusatsu would be on the list. I’m (slowly) working my way through Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Super Sentai for blog posts and enjoying every episode of each. My love for the genre started with watching Power Rangers with my little brothers. The parts I really loved were the suit battles and the giant robots fighting monsters. So, basically, the Super Sentai portions of Power Rangers. Ultraman I came across in a comic book when I was a teenager and eventually tracked down the first series on DVD. Kamen Rider was introduced to me by a good internet friend several years ago. It took me a long time to start watching that one, but I enjoy it just as much as the others. Honorable mention goes to Ultra Q, an older and less-talked-about series.

There’s just something about the outlandish acting, the crazy monster and mecha designs, the over-the-top powers and finishing moves. While formulaic, the shows are never boring or tedious. And I have decades worth of series to get through and I’m excited each time I start a new one.

My non-digital manga.

Anime and Manga: On a related topic, there’s quite a bit of anime and manga that I’ve enjoyed over the years. One of my ongoing YouTube series is SoraRabbit’s Manga Corner and I already have two episodes of that up. I’m working on the third in between projects. My favorite manga include Ai Yori Aoshi, Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, Beastars, Oyasumi Punpun, and more. Eventually they’ll all have episodes of their own.

As for anime, one of my formative memories is watching Battle of the Planets, which was the Americanized adaptation of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. I voraciously watched every Dragon Ball series and movie, even getting to see a couple of the movies in the theater. Yu-Gi-Oh helped me through some rough times and I’ve enjoyed it in the form of anime, manga, trading card game, and video game. The Pokémon anime and manga are also favorites of mine.

Classic literature.

Reading: I’ll just use this as a catch-all. I have always loved to read. Books, comic books, comic strips, even some nonfiction if I feel in a “learny” mood. Lately I’ve been reading the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and working my way through the entire history of X-Men and X-related comics. Currently I’m up to 1997, but I’ve also read from 2019 to current. Also two Godzilla books as research for my videos. I already covered manga, but I read that too, when I have time. My love of reading was actually sparked off by comic books, which I talk about in my Journey Through the Forgotten Comic Book Bin posts and videos.

Some of my consoles and games.

Video Games: Since we’re being broad, let’s continue that with video games in general. I have been a gamer since I was around four or five, starting with the Atari and the Intellivision. As I grew up, I advanced to the Commodore 64, Nintendo, and eventually to PlayStation and Steam. I love gaming . . . exploring new worlds, collecting items and treasure, delving into a story, living through the characters on the screen.

My favorites would have to Kingdom Hearts, Pokémon, Silent Hill, and a variety of nonogram games. Many more could populate this list, but I have an entire section of the blog dedicated to video games, so that’s adequate for this section. Gaming is a great way to unwind, regenerate after a rough day, and calm myself.

Three Stooges is classic.

Film and Television: Continuing to be general, I have to include movies and TV. They’re also a great way to relax, share good times with those I love, and enjoy other people’s creative works. For much of my teen years to mid-twenties, I had aspirations to be an indy director, but that ended up not being in the cards for me. But I do get to use what I learned for my YouTube channel and fulfill my adolescent dreams in that way, so I’ve succeeded after a fashion.

Among my favorite movies are Fight Club, Memento, any of the Godzilla movies, and 80s horror. For TV I would say Cheers, Futurama, Simpsons, X-Files, Lost, the Good Place, and South Park. Many others, of course, but these are the front runners.

Our game collection and knick knacks.

Tabletop and card games: I have a huge collection of board games and card games that I have been accumulating over the years. I started by collecting Killer Bunnies, then Munchkin Zombies, and it ballooned from there. Some others I enjoy are Marvel Legendary, Dominion, Battlestar Galactica, and Machi Koro. Also Joking Hazard, Master Dater, and Trial By Trolley are fun for game night. One of the great joys of my life are the infrequent game nights I host with a select group of friends and family. I don’t get to do these as often as I would like because life gets in the way, but when the stars align and I get to put on a game night, it’s always a high point of the year.

Failing that, Cocoashade and I will break out one of our many two-player games and make an evening of it. Again, not as often as we used to, but it still happens now and then. We play Killer Bunnies at least once a year and now and then we have mini Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments with each other.

Fitness!

Health: With most of my posts being about video games, movies, and TV shows, you’d think that I’m a complete shut-in. But that’s not entirely the case. I love nature, and while not as fit as I would like to be, I do try to stay active. Walking daily as weather permits, doing my Just Dance and Fitness Boxing workouts, and working in the yard. I’ve tried my hand at gardening and failed pretty hard at that, so I took up growing flowers and roses. The YouTube channel has taken me away from my yard duties this year, but I hope to be more diligent next spring and summer.

Rabbit Sora!

Creating: I love making art of various forms and I’m grateful that I am a creative person. I write, draw, film, and generally revel in creating something from the spark of an idea. The last few years a lot of my energy has been going into this blog and the YouTube channel, but there are many more projects that I would like to get back to once I have more time to indulge in them. I am a novelist, a cartoonist, and now a content creator. I plan to keep creating for as long as I have ideas.

Four sisters.

And the rest: There are many other things and entities that bring me joy and that I’m grateful for. My family and friends. My pets, pictured above. My wonderful wife, our house, and jobs . . . on and on. It’s very important— and I cannot stress this enough— to practice gratitude on a daily basis. Yes, it can get difficult. Life gets hard and sometimes it feels like the bad is piling on top of you, making it so hard to see the good. But take a few minutes each day to look— really look— for that good, and you’ll see what a difference it makes. A little positivity can go a long ways and can turn things around.

The last bit of positivity I wanted to look at in this post is this blog. While I have no way of knowing what the SoraRabbit Hole means to you . . . if this is your first post or if you’re a long-time lurker . . . if you’re tired of reading me going on and on or if I’m making a difference to you . . . regardless of the effect on others, it’s still something that I enjoy doing and it’s helped me immeasurably over the years. Since I started the SoraRabbit Hole, I’m more in touch with myself. I’m better at celebrating and appreciating the things that I love. I have structure and focus. And I have more confidence and purpose. YouTube is helping with all of that too, but I know for certain that I never would have even started the YouTube channel if not for putting myself out there so much in this blog. This blog has made me a better person.

Part of my messy desk.

But all that said, I feel like I’ve gone on too long and gotten too mushy, so I’ll end this here. That’s my 100th post! I hope you didn’t mind the scaled-back homemade feel of it. I don’t know if it was interesting to anyone but me, but you know what, that’s fine. I made it to my first big milestone and I’ve earned a little self-indulgence. Thank you for reading to the end, for indulging me, and for coming back to read my posts. I appreciate you all and I hope to see you back for post 101 where things get back to normal!

Here’s the original drawing from the thumbnail. My brother drew this during a livestream.