My favorite blue things

Besides this website, I mean.

Interior design magazines. Car news websites. This YouTube video by Miranda Pietzsch about car paint colors. This Substack by cassi knapp.

They’ve all led me to the same conclusion…

Color is awesome.

Seriously. We have a whole rainbow of shades that we can morph and muddy and match to evoke different feelings. Color is a language, and it does things words can’t do.

My favorite color is blue. (It used to be red when I was a kid, but we won’t talk about that.)

Somehow I got the idea to write a post about my favorite blue things. And I’ve been lucky enough to afford and own a lot of blue things. Which means that you can kinda tell the story of me, or at least one angle of it, through the blue things I own.

So let’s try it.

My Sony ICF-CD855V alarm clock

Photo by me

I am a nerd about alarm clocks. This is why I have a blog called Max Talks Alarm Clocks.

One of my first loves was this clock, the Sony ICF-CD855V. (Don’t panic, just sound it out.)

Look at it again.

Photo from Google

It’s techy but also flowy and peaceful. You can watch the CD spin, and when you open the CD door, the display tips back. The whole thing feels like a waterfall.

When I was younger, some time after I had identified this clock as an object of desire, my mom and I encountered one in a waiting room, playing radio for the visitors and flashing “AM 12:00.” I wished we could have walked up to the receptionist and placed a bid.

I have since brought teen Max’s dreams to life by buying this clock on eBay. The seller said “Tested! Works!” But actually, the buttons on the right are wonky, so it takes a lot of fiddling to get CDs to play. But they do play.

I leave this clock unplugged most of the time. But it is a beautiful sculpture to look at.

My mini backpack

Photo by me

I just bought this backpack and I love it. You know how men aren’t allowed to have purses because gender norms? Well, I still have stuff. And I’m kind of tired of my pants pockets being big enough to burst.

I wanted a small bag. Like pockets, but not attached to me. And I found this store-brand one at Target for $15. (My color is sold out, but there are a few colors left.)

It is the perfect blue. Bright enough to bring joy. Subdued enough to add mystery and coordinate with any outfit.

It is also the perfect size. Look how small it is:

Photo by me. Blue camera and blue headphones for scale.

This bag makes my anxious brain so happy. It’s like a survival kit I can wear. I am now prepared for any occurrence.

In the big pocket, I have:

• Disposable rain ponchos

• KN95 masks

• Benadryl itch relief stick

• Purell

• Tissues

• My wallet, replete with necessary prescription and OTC meds

In the small pocket, I have:

• Lens wipes for cleaning my phone screen

• Aquaphor lip balm

• Floss

• Keys

When I was in a big auditorium and trapped next to people coughing? Mask to the rescue.

When I was at the mall and an eyelash was poking in my eye? I caught it in a tissue.

When I was on a date with my partner and it started raining? I put on a rain poncho, waltzed through the parking lot undrenched, and picked them up at the door so they wouldn’t get wet either.

Blue backpack for the win.

My rug

Photo by me

At the start of grad school, I made my room more blue. Blue wallpaper, blue bedspread. (Rainbow bookshelves.) And blue rug.

This rug is from At Home. It is very, very, very soft. Plush.

The pattern is ocean and sand colors, all mixed together. My favorite color is the light blue, which is just a hint electric.

I have spent many hours on this rug, in the dark, with headphones on, dancing to my favorite music. In these moments, my body feels most like mine.

Right now this rug is covered in dirty clothes.

“So Blue” by Frankie Cosmos

Did you know that Anything Glows is just a Frankie Cosmos fan blog in disguise?

This song has an architecture. It has a first half and a second half. The first half earns your attention. The second half is when everything unfolds. Unfurls.

I love the guitars and I am not smart enough about music to explain them.

Here are the lyrics of the second half of the song:

“The sky is so blue,
it makes everything else blue
The trucks, the stones, the view

I am so blue,
I make everyone else blue
My friends, my enemies, you”

My shirt

Photo by me

Everything I love is from a Target store brand.

This shirt is big enough to be flowy. I like flowy. I’ve already used the word once in this post before.

This shirt is a good blank canvas for my rainbow tree necklace, which I bought at Dallas Love Field airport last summer.

My waterproof camera

Photo by me

I’ve had this for years. It’s a Fujifilm FinePix XP120.

It does turn out that there’s only so many unique photos you can take of you and your peeps in the pool or at the ocean.

But this makes for a good nerdy fidget toy to play with in the water.

And the blue on this thing is luminous.

My jacket

Photo by me

Target. Store. Brand.

I bought this when I was trying to up my sense of style. I saw it and I was like, “Huh. That’s weird.” And then I was like, “It’s exactly the right kind of weird.”

The white streaks remind me of clouds. I love how they look almost like dirty smudges. It’s uncomfy in a good way.

I love how the blues have clashing undertones and materials. Plush purple-y blue for most of the jacket, but plastic yellow-y blue for the zipper and front pocket. It’s uncomfy in a good way.

This jacket is a little too warm for Texas weather, and it leaves your head a little too cold because it has no hood. I don’t care. (The things we do for fashion.)

Angel Bear

Photo by me

I have had Angel Bear since I was the littlest of little kids. My parents named her, not me. She is small and faded and snub-nosed and precious. She has white wings and a sweet little rattle inside. She is made by Baby Ganz.

I have many plushies, but she is the OG.

My old blog

Some of you know that I’ve been reviewing books for almost 10 years. And this is where. It’s called Completely Full Bookshelf.

This blog has been redesigned once, but it has always been very blue. The shade is #45C1EA. Don’t ask me why I have that memorized.

I’m proud of this blog. I’ve shown love to miraculous books. I’ve been vulnerable and practiced my writing. And I’ve made friends. (Internet friends are awesome.)

Now that I have my Substack, I don’t think I’m going to use this blog as much anymore. But it will always be a part of my story.

And that’s it!

If you want more meandering eccentricities like this post, make sure to subscribe.

What are your favorite blue things? Or favorite things of any color? Leave a comment and let me know. Or email me at maxanythingglows@gmail.com. Or find me wherever you find me.

See you soon.