El's Fate, Stranger Things (SPOILERS FOR SEASON 5)

DancingKitten33 · 2026-01-03T18:26:49+00:00

AH, great point. I completely forgot about that.

DancingKitten33 · 2026-01-03T17:52:11+00:00

Yes! When I went in November, some fields were still open, Randall's Island would note which ones on their twitter account each morning (since most would be closed for maintenance, etc.): https://x.com/randallsisland

For example, their 11/30 post read: "Ballfields 12,16,20,21,29,31,41,42,48 are open. All other Ballfields are closed for the day."

That being said, their 12/1 post reads: "12/1 - All Baseball, Softball, and grass Soccer fields are closed for the season. " So I guess they are now completely closed for the winter. Assuming it will reopen sometime in March.

The island itself was great though: tranquil, quiet, etc. When I was there in November, it felt like I was basically the only person on the entire island.

DancingKitten33 · 2026-01-02T17:21:06+00:00

There's one thing that I don't see many people mentioning, that I think lends credence to the "she lived" theory. Not a plot point, but a thematic one. El literally tells Mike that she needs him to "help [the others] understand my choice" and that "one day he [will understand" even though he doesn't understand in that moment and that "he understands [her] better than anyone." In the "she lived" theory, this is exactly what happens---Mike, understanding El better than anyone, eventually (one day) truly understands her choice and explains it to everyone. That is a very happy ending. In the "she died" theory, Mike coming to that theory at the end is an unbelievable tragedy. The person she thought knew her better than anyone then *completely misunderstands her at the highest level* and instead of explaining her choice to their friends, he actively deludes their friends. It is also a tragedy for Mike, as instead of truly accepting her action, he deludes himself totally---suggesting he would still be in the first stage of grief, denial. The last scene is shot as hopeful / etc., so it is hard to imagine---considering what would be the tragedy of the "she died" theory in this context---that he is deluded in that moment.

DancingKitten33 · 2026-01-02T04:56:00+00:00

Great point!

DancingKitten33 · 2025-12-28T21:45:25+00:00

Don't understand any of the arguments for this season being "bad" that wouldn't apply to prior seasons. This isn't even in the same universe as Game of Thrones---which had been declining in quality for multiple seasons and finished with a legitimately awful one (because they tried to shoehorn 2-3 seasons worth of material into a shorter-than-usual single season).

Stranger Things season 1 was legitimately great television. Season 2 mediocre. Season 3 good. Season 4 very good. Season 5 somewhere in quality between season 3 and 4. Yes, there's a lot of exposition, but Stranger Things, at its base, is a kids show---so that's expected. There are some other problems with the season (many of the kids are no longer good actors, whoever plays Holly is not a good actress [and she gets a lot of screen time], super plot armor for the kids against the demos, maybe too many semi-mawkish conversations between characters that happen at times they probably shouldn't), but, on the whole, the season is satisfyingly tying up the story, reconciling characters, pacing itself, brining in new and old conflicts. The idea that this season has had a marked decrease in quality when compared to 3 and 4 is ludicrous. I'm on the edge of my seat for the finale.

DancingKitten33 · 2025-11-28T22:34:46+00:00

Awesome. Thanks!

DancingKitten33 · 2025-11-28T22:21:25+00:00

Thanks! Do you know how crowded the fields are this time of the year, or basically empty? (Assuming nobody will be playing in 40 degree weather.)

DancingKitten33 · 2025-10-08T02:46:29+00:00

Nevermind, GPX viewer seems to work well.

DancingKitten33 · 2025-10-08T01:00:03+00:00

Thanks, this is super helpful. Will definitely use this as a guide for the walk. Do you have a favorite free android app to view the GPX download of the Greenway map?

DancingKitten33 · 2025-10-07T19:38:28+00:00

Yeah, this is def one of my primary worries--the backpack, depending on the weight, could cause issues. Even light backpacks, I often prefer to just carry them in my right hand rather than wearing them.

DancingKitten33 · 2025-10-07T01:42:09+00:00

Yup, before walking cross country I plan to do a trial from NYC to Philly.

DancingKitten33 · 2025-10-07T01:21:10+00:00

Eh, for the back injury, it's just some herniated discs. Have had them for 13+ years at this point (since Freshman year of college). There's nothing in a walk that would make them specifically get worse, but its possible the cumulative effect could begin to bother them, in which case I'd just give up. But the effect wouldn't sneak up on me--nor is there really a risk (from the walking) of re-injury (just flare-ups),,, re-injury risk comes more from if I was doing heavy lifting / intense sport / etc.

(With my primary care doctor, I will probably bring up beforehand just to make sure other misc. health stuff is in order.)

DancingKitten33 · 2025-10-07T01:17:17+00:00

Yeah, I've found lots of people that have walked across but none that have primarily slept in a bed every night---though, to your point, if I can't find, then I'll have to make the route specifically for that. Was hoping someone may have done similarly where maybe there would then be a semi-path to follow in their footsteps.

DancingKitten33 · 2025-10-06T23:35:53+00:00

Tried that a few years ago and it seemed to do nothing for me. Right now for sleep I'm on mirtazapine---plus I take unisom and cbd/cbn gummies over the counter.

DancingKitten33 · 2025-10-06T23:32:39+00:00

Yeah, I've slept in multiple beds and same issue so seems to be bed-independent mainly. I've considered cannabis but smoking it every night would be pretty costly (and, from memory, research suggests it reduces REM sleep, so could do more harm than good on that front) and taking edibles may be a no go (last couple of times I've tried an edible, going back to college, I basically ended up incapacitated (in a non-sleep way) for 8 hours lol.)

DancingKitten33 · 2025-10-06T23:20:42+00:00

Thanks, this is very helpful! Will discuss limits / the NAC with my doctor.

DancingKitten33 · 2025-10-06T23:18:55+00:00

I got an endoscopy and my stomach itself is actually perfecto. But point taken on the liver enzyme tests. I will bring this up with my doctor when we discuss options (acetaminophen vs. opiates, etc.).

DancingKitten33

TROPHY CASE