Mesozoic Mind: Thoughts on 2023

With Eyewitness: Prehistoric Life we began the year, and with Eyewitness: Prehistoric Life we end it

Well, it's the lasr day of the 2023 CE, and I've had a long one. It's been a long year that saw all sorts of new discoveries in palalaeontology, from the tiny to the tiny jellyfish Burgessomedusa to the giant Perucetus, and of course, new Palaeo-media come out. I've seen everything from games to TV series and books, to films, but mostly new documentaries, from awe-inspiring Prehistoric Planet season 2, to the big pile of okay that was Life on our Planet, to the atrocious cheap cash-in that was "Frynosaurs". No matter what they were, I feel spoiled by how so much new stuff we got. Truly I'm living in a golden age not seen since the early 2000's (same time I was born in fact).

I've written a lot of blog posts this year, and reached some record views too by legitimate means this time. More notably, I made several trips, most prominently to Chicago, USA where I saw the Field Museum for the first time in years, everything I hoped it was. I twice revisited the Ontario Science Centre, the first time seeing the IMAX documentary Dinosaurs of Antarctica and the Dinos in Motion exhibit the second, and saw the dinosaurs of Budapest Park at last after years of passing them by. And of course I visited the Royal Ontario Museum almost every month this year to my delight (even if my membership expired in November). That's all without mentioning I may have forgotten some things that would be pertinent to say here.

And of course, to list some of my proudest achievements this year are:
Still, as ever, I have struggled. You may have noticed numbers of blog posts per month and the length of each blog post have decreased, especially as the year went on. That's because once again I've struggled to write and come up with ideas, due to experiencing burnout. One of the first misfires this year was my Frynosaurs review, hastily written during a month I wanted to focus on short films but couldn't quite focus on either though, resulting in what I see as underbaked blog posts without much in the way of deep substance or commentary I want in them. And once again, I failed to set up a Patreon account like I wanted, nor asked my parents about it. I have failed not to procrastinate like I promised last year.

Also, personal confession time: all of this is not not getting into what happened to me beyond writing, and its not just other projects I have. One of the worst was that I got banned from the main Discord server I frequented for an honest mistake of mine (and don't talk to me about details, I don't want to), and I felt lost as hell, and all month I did things I really didn't want to. First, a week after the ban my mind started to dredge up memories of shows I didn't want to remember, and I felt like the only way to forget them for only a few hours at best was to watch them all over again. Don't ask me what they were. It's triggering. Then came temptation to do certain harmful substances I long swore I'd never do. Again, don't ask about it, but I thought about vaping even though I have long refused to even try candy (which I also ended up doing).

Still, I'm doing good for the most part; I even conquered some long time fears of mine. Heck, I'm even off to college next year, which should totally be fine if all goes well (if meaning less posts here once it happens). I might even start said Patreon account at last, to allow for more reader feedback and make some cash for my family while at it, and work on getting an illustrator for that Dino Sight book idea I want to revive.

Finally, I'd like to list just some of the palaeo-media I look forward to in 2024 or at the very least hope to see.
  1. Visit the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History or the Carnegie Museum, both in the USA.
  2. Dinosaur Empire, an indie doc about the Morrison Formation.
  3. T. Rex, an IMAX documentary produced by IMAX science centre doc company Big Screen Films.
  4. Visiting the Prehistoria Museum & SkullStore Oddity Shop, a small museum with fossils in Toronto.
  5. Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster, a documentary about pliosaurs which airs New Years Day.
Farewell for now, see you next year which I will strive to make better then this one was. Hopefully you readers can see each other soon and see what I've got in store. Preferably on my own Discord server. I can use some more members there.

Oh, and my dad said Hi to y'all

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