list

What I played/watched/heard this week

February 12, 2023 /
Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Sam, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin from The Lord of the Rings standing and looking out of frame.
Us, one hour into thirteen.

Winding down from a longish week and a busy weekend. Here’s what I made time for this week:

  1. The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition. Some friends and I got together to watch them the whole way through, which I’ve done once before. That time was basically delirious, and so this viewing with plenty of refreshments and pacing around fared much better. I ended up focusing a lot more on Frodo’s characterization this time around, which could be the subject of a future post if I keep thinking about it.
  2. If Books Could Kill, a podcast about “airport bestsellers.” I’ve talked a little about my thoughts on criticism before, but I do think there’s an asterisk, which is that you can criticize an idea you hate for the love of ideas in general. I read and enjoy Malcolm Gladwell, but their episode on Outliers made me really think about his style of writing in a way I hadn’t before. Thinking about more things more ways is always goood. This podcast is really good.
  3. Skyfall. It didn’t touch Casino Royale for me personally, except maybe the action scenes kicked more ass. (Except the introductory chase scene in Casino Royale, which kicks the most ass.) Loved Javier Bardem, obviously. As a “Daniel Craig is James Bond” movie rather than a “Daniel Craig becoming James Bond” movie, Skyfall really accentuated the character.
  4. Marvel Legendary. I did also mention it in my golden age of fun post but which I also played a lot more of. Yay games that reward investment with mastery.
  5. Fire Emblem Engage. Great tactics games are hard to come by, and while I haven’t gotten to really dig into this one, I don’t imagine it’ll stray too far from Three Houses, which I loved.
  6. SOUVENIR by BUMP OF CHICKEN. Haven’t figured out while that band is called that thing, but this song will loop until I recover from finishing season one of Spy x Family (season two supposedly to come in 2023!).
  7. Avengers: Endgame. Since I’ve had so much Marvel intake lately, I thought it could be fun to rewatch that movie for the first time since theaters. It was… fine! I’d compare Endgame to a good concert rather than a good movie, in that it bounced energy off of an audience better than it sounds at home.

The golden age of fun

February 12, 2023 / ,
A man and a woman in tennis gear stare down two hulking, enraged players in short shorts, from the Spy x Family anime.

Noted douchebag Aristotle proposed that we tell and imbibe art in order to experience a full range of emotion. I’m thinking about the reasons we doomscroll — to fulfill an evolutionary baseline for panic, to affirm our station over others, a search for answers, gambling for hope. Psychologist Jane Wu calls it “practicing having GAD” which I think is hilarious. You think you’d want to be worse at that.

Everyone’s wired differently. Personally, I get diverted and strangled much more easily by fun than by terror. And why not? Fun is up there with love and relief for the best feelings out there. Art that evokes fun isn’t often confronting, and it can flub your bus schedule. But I’m glad that, if there was ever a golden age of fun, we’re living in it.

Ten things I’ve had a lot of fun with lately:

  1. The Spy x Family tennis arc
  2. Marvel Snap (endlessly and bewilderingly)
  3. Marvel Legendary (I swear I’m not a Marvel stan, but it’s a great game)
  4. Playtesting D&D homebrew, which involves a lot of chucking dice
  5. Prepping a characer for a new D&D campaign
  6. Barotrauma (multiplayer submarine survival horror)
  7. Singing the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack end to end
  8. Cooking — spam musubi, french toast sticks, sloppy joes
  9. Watching jan Misali’s video on the five types of paradox
  10. Making voices for my cat with my girlfriend