TELEVISION
For the past year, I’ve been watching TV shows the old-fashioned way: one episode a week. An episode of The Kids In The Hall every Tuesday, an episode of Justified every Wednesday, an episode of M*A*S*H every Thursday, and an episode of Babylon 5 every Friday, with the decision to add on an episode of Red vs Blue every Saturday. This was mainly so I could watch something to talk about for our What Did We Watch? daily threads without actually having to make a decision every single day, and for the most part, this is a decision I’m quite satisfied with; Justified and Babylon 5 are shows I’ve meant to get to for years, M*A*S*H is a show I’ve never gone through episode-by-episode before, Red vs Blue is me going through a comedy I’ve seen but not written about, and The Kids In The Hall is me going through a comedy I’ve never seen before.
I used to watch one episode a day of a show, but I’ve found I’ve gotten deeply sick of that approach; cycling through shows weekly lets me get through a show without running out of things to say or getting bored and frustrated with it. If I have one frustration, it’s that hour-long shows are hard to fit into my routine sometimes whilst half-hour comedies often have less to write about, and sometimes I feel I’m not contributing quite as much to the Media Magpies community as I could be. Otherwise, I’m very pleased at having a regular schedule of new input, which is something I’m really craving at this point in my life.
On top of this schedule are TV shows I’m watching more sporadically, not reporting on because my aim is to write essays on the show as a whole, and often because reporting on individual episodes would be tedious. I allow my interest in these to wax and wane as my schedule opens and closes, and sometimes as they come and go from streaming. I also have a small stable of regular old favourites that I put on in the background while I’m cleaning or doing other mundane tasks.
MOVIES
This is something where I’m not totally satisfied with myself. My movie-watching has become much more sporadic, especially since taking up a new TV schedule. My top priority the past year was working out a good fiction-writing schedule and my second priority was getting a good schedule for new hobbies I’ve always wanted to pursue, and now I feel I’ve just gotten a good handle on those, so my thoughts are going back to my true love of movies. One thing I’ve learned the past year is that watching movies is one of those things that makes me feel like a person, so I really should get back to it in a more serious way.
I’m always at my happiest when I’m tackling a bigger project; one regular movie diet I’m keeping is watching Disney’s animated films in order of release, something that became even easier when I started doing it with a friend. Back in 2014, when I had something resembling stability for the first time in my adult life, I made a project out of watching a film every single day, and eventually started doing things like going through the entirety of different filmographies (including, for the first time, the works of Martin Scorsese); later, I switched to watching every single film Quentin Tarantino ever referenced.
My latest idea is to go through every single Academy Awards Best Picture winner ever made; that’ll really fill out the film diet, I think. The main reason I like doing Year Of The Month is because it forces me out of my comfort zone and into seeing new films I otherwise wouldn’t have even looked up; I’ve decided to start doing two a month rather than one because it also simplifies my ‘what am I going to write about’ question, ha ha.
LITERATURE
This I’m much more satisfied with; I read fifty pages every night because it gives me a much more restful sleep. For a while there last year, I was seeing if I could read a book a day, which proved achievable but a little ambitious; I tried listening to books on audio whenever I had to walk anywhere, which was psychological helpful but unfortunately my brain desperately wanted dopamine (i.e. my favourite ten songs) after the stress of working all day. Unfortunately, reading books is also something that makes me feel much more like a person, so for my own mental health I do have to set aside time to sit and read an entire book in one go every week.
VIDEO GAMES
This is something I definitely want to expand upon in my life. I like video games and surprisingly they’re another thing that makes me feel more like a person, and there are games I’ve owned over a decade that I’ve never finished and want to – or never finished on the hardest setting. As you can probably tell, I like my life to have a rhythm to it, and video games have this problem where I want to play them but they’re a) less of a priority than everything else but b) much more of a time commitment.
I use a todo list priority system that’s quite common: write down everything I want to do and arrange it by the most urgent. For example, writing my fiction wordcount is the most urgent because I need it more than anything to feel like a person – it gives my life, even the most tedious parts, a meaning. Watching and writing my WDWW is usually the next-most important because there’s usually less than 24 hours til the next one. Working on my weekly project (such as my MM article) is the next most because that’s when the deadline is.
As you can imagine, between that, work, and my social commitments, a thirteen hour game may fall in the cracks. Like, I’ve picked up Minecraft again, and that works with my schedule and motivation because I play it for ten minutes – playing music in the background – get something done in it, and walk away satisfied. I even usually play it inbetween work and going to D&D, which I started because I heard open world games like Minecraft are a good way to relieve stress (certainly better than the doomscrolling I was doing beforehand).
As you can probably tell, a lot of my planning comes down to trying to make a decision now so I don’t have to make a decision later, and certainly not on the fly. I like routine and I get a sick thrill out of organising; the trick is to have something that’s practical but also fulfilling on this subjective and fuzzy level. What I stumbled into accidentally is that I enjoy eating while playing Team Fortress 2 – I made myself dinner once and decided I also wanted to play that, and found it was a very comfortable combo – when I die, I have anywhere between five and fifteen seconds, and I occupy myself with eating.
I’ve decided to try combining my meals with video games; up until now, I’ve watched old TV shows while eating and not been fully satisfied with that. On an intuitive level that’s hard to explain, it feels like the best use of time that previously felt wasted. I want to eat well, but I don’t want to have to think about the fact that I’m eating; I want to finish old video games that I love, but I want that time to feel meaningful and ‘productive’. Somehow, these two things cancel each other out.
MUSIC
This feels like a blind spot (or, uh, a deaf spot) in my understanding of art. There’s this common response to criticism – that you can’t criticise something unless you’ve made something yourself. Obviously, this is a stupid, simpering response to one’s feelings getting hurt because someone said something less-than-positive about something one likes, but there is a core idea of being able to empathise with artists that intrigues me, and I would like to make music not because I’m called to do it (the way I am with criticism and fiction) nor because the act itself is inherently fun (the way drawing is) but so I can try and access the headspace of this ‘songwriter’ identity.
To that end, I feel like I’m still mostly exploring the kind of thing I like. I do pick one artist I like and explore them from start to finish; this appeals to both my need for projects and my love of straight narratives, listening to an artist develop. And of course, I go outside my comfort zone often (like listening to Taylor Swift). For now, though, I’m still working my way through the rock’n’roll I mostly like, even when it’s bad and cheesy.
About the writer
Tristan J. Nankervis
Tristan J Nankervis (aka Drunk Napoleon) has been a writer, pop culture critic, dishwasher, standup comedian, waiter, potato cake factory worker, gamer, TV worker, and various other things. You can find him in Hobart, Tasmania.
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Department of
Conversation
What Did We Watch?
The Outrun – Saoirse Ronan battles alcoholism and returns to her family home in the remote Scottish islands. I had some doubts about this early on when the voiceover starts describing how alcohol works, but that was a rare wobble in an otherwise satisfying experience that deals with the darkness of addiction and the difficulties of family life with some lighter moments and beautiful windswept island vibes. Ronan is very good, which is generally true of everything she’s in.
Live Music – a folky singer-songwriter from Newcastle called Nev Clay, he’s been around forever but doesn’t make that many appearances outside of his hometown. I hope he can be coaxed into coming back again though because he was absolutely brilliant, his songs blend wit and melancholy beautifully and his guitar playing is gorgeous, all open strings, alternate tunings and harmonics. He kept interrupting his own songs to add further context or witty observations which could be infuriating in the wrong hands but made it feel intimate and unique in this case. Really great.
Twin Peaks, S1 finale – even on a third jaunt through the show, there are some convoluted plot points going on at this point I find completely baffling. Of course in this episode it’s all in service of building up a ridiculous stack of cliffhangers that is pretty wonderful, what percentage of the cast are at risk of dying before season 2 begins? It feels like about half of them. Outside of the pilot, I reckon “Cooper’s Dreams” might be my favourite episode of the first season. Will be continuing into a season 2 rewatch soon.
Seinfeld, S6 – “The Couch” didn’t totally work for me, one of the surprisingly few things that hasn’t aged well in this show is the broad ethnic-stereotype restaurant owners. George going to extreme lengths not to read a book was pretty funny though. “The Gymnast” was better, again for mainly George related reasons (the string of faux pas he makes while dating Jessica Hecht is great) but also a good episode for Elaine’s bizarre new job, the Magic Eye picture nostalgia is strong here. I was never able to see those pictures either.
Here’s my current favourite Nev Clay song.
https://nevclay.bandcamp.com/track/leaving-do-2014
Woooo live music! And I was never a huge fan of Poppy either, the gymnast is a much better foreign stereotype in part because it turns the stereotype on its head (the “comedian” reveal is great). George at the book club is quintessential George, of course he would do this but also of course he would join the book club in the first place despite this being the obvious outcome.
Yeah the gymnast is pretty good and that ending really works – absolutely love it when Jerry (and particularly his status as a comedian) is the butt of the joke.
Wooo live music! And I see Nev Clay as an album on Tidal, so I’ll be listening to that: this all sounds up my alley.
The album on streaming is a lot more fleshed-out with guest musicians, strings, etc. whereas a lot of the bandcamp stuff is just voice and guitar – for songs as lyric-forward as these I kind of prefer the stripped-down sound but there’s some gorgeous stuff on that album too.
The World’s End — rewatch but it’s been a while and it is interesting how much this is a “goodbye to all that” movie, explicitly about the point where you’re no longer young and fun. Similar to Hot Fuzz it seems baggy in the beginning but this is setting things up that will pay off again and again down the road, and the big sequence revealing the movie’s conceit is still great — Wright’s fight scenes are better than anything out there now, sharp editing to the impact and the impact delivered by the absolute king Nick Frost, a big fat guy beating on dudes is always superior to gun-fu nonsense. If you can deliver this, why leave it behind? That tension runs throughout the film and it’s surprisingly nuanced on keeping versus leaving and the finale pays the piper (and Pegg carries it there, he is not only at his best but he’s great in the tricky “comedian playing serious emotions” role). It’s too bad Wright never made any movies after this but what a way to go out.
Season 11 Always Sunnys — Charlie doing bits is always great, his Richard Greico is wonderful. Dennis slips so easily into 80s movie villain mode, hilarious. I will not be thinking about that in light of Dennis and I sharing, to the facial tic, our reactions to suburban commutes.
Night Train To Munich — The Lady Vanishes 2: Nazi Boogalaoo. Interesting to read up on this, it was written by the TLV team and made after the invasion of Poland but before Dunkirk, so the Nazis are openly the bad guys instead of thinly disguised goons but the tone is comic caper, although with genuine suspense — there is spying and counterspying and Paul Henreid’s Nazi clocking Rex Harrison’s fake Nazi feels like it paved the way for Inglorious Basterds. Much of the suspense is known to the audience but not the characters, Carol Reed is directing instead of Hitchcock and does a great job maintaining this tension, and he’s helped by Harrison’s proto-Bond, more fey but with a similar insouciance and ability to ride his charisma in and out of danger. And best of all, Caldicott and Charters are here! They get a lot of business that they underplay in an endearingly chauvinistic way, they eventually do the right thing but mostly because they’re annoyed at the Nazis being dicks. Fun stuff.
I had a great time with Night Train to Munich, it’s a film that still pops into my head unbidden on a regular basis. I feel like the balance of wartime caper with some more serious and poignant moments might have been an influence on The Grand Budapest hotel, too.
Oh wow, I had not thought of Fiennes at all but I think you’re on to something.
Hell yeah, fantastic line-up here. And I feel like Caldicott and Charters could turn up in an Edgar Wright movie (as you said, shame there was only the Cornetto Trilogy) with very few changes. Might have to rewatch both Night Train to Munich and World’s End soon.
If Wright were to make another movie — what an odd thing to consider — I have for years thought he should adapt Three Men In A Boat, which has a similar stuffy but endearing stubborn Brit vibe as Caldicott and Chambers.
BECAUSE I HAD TO SLIT THE GUY’S THROAT
Wally the nosy neighbor shares the name of my cat and somehow that makes it funnier.
Hahahaha does Wally think it’s a hot one today?
We’re in Philadelphia so he does not, lucky for him.
Sergeant Rutledge
For Movie Club. Excellent discussion as always, though I’m a bit under the weather, so who knows how much sense I was making. This is a John Ford Western about a Black Cavalry soldier (Woody Strode) brought up on court martial on charges of rape and murder. Ford handles his material with a perceptive suppleness, so this avoids a lot of traps white-created stories in this line are still falling into now. Yes, given the boulder the film is pushing uphill against prejudice, Rutledge is required to be a hero, but he’s allowed to refuse martyrdom and sainthood: to care about preserving his own life and be acutely, explicitly aware of how much and how often he’s at risk in a white, racist system. A lot to chew on here, and a lot of interesting choices and subversions of typical Westerns.
The Final Girls
I think I liked this slightly less this time around than I have in the past–some bad effects were a lot more glaring, and the inexactness of the parody irritated me–but I still like this meta horror comedy quite a lot. One of my favorite things is when a work of art, late in its running, can reach for an extremely specific, extremely weird moment that seems bananas out-of-context but is incredibly emotionally affecting when it actually comes, and this makes a girl watching her sort-of mother do a striptease to “Bette Davis Eyes” in the middle of an apocalyptic field into a genuine tearjerker, so I’m never going to give it fewer than four stars.
Sorry, Baby
Beautiful, wrenching film. Wonderful one-scene use of John Carroll Lynch as a sandwich shop owner: his line about three years not being so long, but in one way it is, but in another way, it really isn’t … it’s such a delicate, empathetic moment. The camera really knows how to hold on people’s faces here, whether it’s on Eva Victor when she tells the story in the bathtub–with an almost surgically precise cut to a listening, horrified, heartbroken Naomi Ackie, who delivers her lines like she’s having to assemble the words out of building blocks, and she can feel the clunky inadequacy of them–or on Kelly McCormack realizing the lift and clarity that comes from admitting that she doesn’t like someone. Great cat.
Whiteout
Thriller set in an Antarctic winter, watched during a snowstorm. (Apparently we got about 19 inches.) This could have been a very strong popcorn movie with a few tweaks–I’m curious how the Greg Rucka graphic novel was–but it’s ultimately a bit middling. Too much slow-mo. Too much Alec O’Loughlin. But Beckinsale can hold the screen, and I appreciate that there’s at least one plot beat here that swings for the fences, making our protagonist’s amputated frostbitten fingers into a key part of the reveal. It’s rare for action-thrillers to let their leads rack up permanent damage.
Goon
Endearing tale of Seann William Scott as a goodhearted bruiser who becomes a minor league hockey enforcer and finds a sense of purpose (even nobility) in that. There are moments when it seems like the film is complicating the place he’s found here, especially via Liev Schreiber as another enforcer set to retire at the end of a battered career–is all this worth it? Does it matter? Does it last? Does it matter that it doesn’t last?–but it’s ultimately sunnier than that, maybe slightly to its detriment. (That may be why the ending feels unfinished: it’s like this needs a documentary-style “here’s what happened to each character later” set of freeze-frames and is missing it, maybe because the answers would be too dispiriting in some cases.) Scott is great.
That John Carroll Lynch scene is so good! Not ENOUGH of the good cat though, IMO. I will reluctantly concede that the movie did have a few other things on its mind.
Love Goon, perfect role for Scott, one of our great doofuses. He is really good at hitting people and the movie never makes that a bad thing, but he also knows hitting people is only a job, he likes them otherwise. The sequel is diminishing returns, it was an OK watch but Goon is top tier sports for me (and like Slap Shot, expert in its profanity).
And while I have not seen Whiteout the graphic novel is indeed quite good, a nice little mystery that lets the survivalism and the sexism emerge naturally from the setting. It is also widely understood to be a backdoor pilot for British spy Tara Chace, the protagonist of Rucka’s Queen and Country comic (done with a different artist for each storyline) and that comic is extremely not optional.
My wife and I have tickets to an upcoming minor league hockey game, and I’ve offered her cash on the spot if she yells out some choice Goon lines.
Although my favorite is: “Two rules, man: Stay away from my fuckin’ percocets, and do you have any fuckin’ percocets, man?”
In Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor’s “meeting” with the academic administrators is as brutal of a depiction of the academic biz as the “I don’t see a lot of money here” scene, from Inside Llewyn Davis, is of the music biz.
Kind Hearts and Coronets – Inspired to rewatch a favorite because of it’s musical adaptation, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. While the second half is much more languorous than the first, the sheer, droll amorality on screen is still hilarious. Director and co-writer Robert Hamer said one of his ambitions was “that of making a picture which paid no regard whatever to established, although not practiced, moral convention”, and the power of the film is it’s blackly funny excoriation of the British class system. The hierarchy’s violence and repression here is simply literalized – Louis, Sibella, and almost everyone else* are out for themselves, and the D’ascoynes (played famously all by Alec Guiness, who kills it, heh) real sin is believing their place at the top makes them superior. Louis, whose dry narration gives many of the laughs (“I felt bad about the mistress, but then I consoled myself that over the weekend, she had already suffered a fate worse than death”), begs to differ. On Tubi, though this is very obviously not Criterion’s remaster. The picture quality at times is embarassing.
*The oldest D’ascoyne adds some slight moral ambiguity as he rejected Louis’ mother but is kind to him. Louis later is glad when he dies of a stroke so he doesn’t have to murder the old man he does care for.
Black Narcissus, with commentary from Michael Powell and Martin Scorsese. Powell does most of this and has some funny insights; I suspect this was edited together as I expected the two to interact. Maybe Scorsese got absorbed in the movie? Either way, I wanted more from Powell about his color schemes, some of the greatest in cinema history, and still got some good bits about his friendship with Sabu, playing the General, and how the film was made on a studio lot, as well as England’s tropical forests(!)
Excellent “maybe British cinema IS good sometimes” double-bill right there! The matte painting stuff in Black Narcissus is incredible.
Scorsese cited Disney as a clear influence on Narcissus and the shots from the abbey as an example, easy to see Sleeping Beauty and Snow White as visual nods.
I should rewatch Kind Hearts, I remember enjoying it well enough but having a real Homer Simpson “I already knew that” reaction to the whole “the power of the film is it’s blackly funny excoriation of the British class system” bit.
I dunno, we already know corporations suck and Succession struck a chord with people. The musical does change the ending a bit and it pushes the class satire even further – the cycle of bloodshed can’t end because there’s always someone else waiting to take your position.
Oh sure, this is more on me than the movie — I can relate more to business devilry than the British class system. I do think the Guinness gimmick hurts it a bit though, because not only is it one family but just one guy killing himself, it feels very insular after a while.
Ah but it’s Dennis Price killing Alec Guinness! Not quite as Mike Myers/Sellars. Guinness is so good that I was astonished rewatching it, he doesn’t have much time with each aristocrat but they’re all very distinct characters.
June Bride – Bette Davis is the editor of a glossy monthly women’s magazine. Robert Montgomery has been reassigned to work for her. They were of course a couple till he up and ran off to Berlin to cover the aftermath of the war. Now she drags him to Indiana to write a feature about the titular June bride, the middle class middle American daughter of humble folk. Naturally there are complications – such as it’s actually winter and they need to make it look like June in the photospread – and of course sparks fly between Davis and Montgomery. This is sort of a roadshow Tracy and Hepburn movie, where the woman has a career, and gives as good as she gets, but in the end she’s the one to quit her job and give in to the man. The couple at least has some chemistry, and there is a hint of what was going on behind closed doors once. But nothing special here, and Montgomery flirting (off screen) with high school girls and giving one a spanking have not aged well at all.
Stranger Things, “Escape from Camazotz” – I wonder what L’Engle would think of her work being subsumed here. I doubt she would care for it. At once a gripping hour-plus with some really strong emotional beats, and a bit of a mess. There are things here that even by the standards of the show make no sense, And also a moment of utter seriousness broken up (I think not on purpose) by a reaction that cracked me up. This is such a weird show.
The Practice, “Dangerous Liaisons” – Bobby starts to have feelings for the current client, a woman accused of murdering the man she was having an affair with. And somehow that leads him to do a bad job? An attempt to do some soap opera with Bobby and Lindsey, but kind of half hearted. Oh, and apparently, the killer was really the victim’s wife, who was faking being crippled but no one but us know that. Meanwhile, Lucy counsels a 83 year old rape victim, and the victim decides to ask the rapist for his apology. At which point she shoots him? This one is a mess for sure, mitigated only by how we never speak of any of this again. Gabrielle Anwar, between Scent of a Woman and Burn Notice, is mediocre, never quite deciding on what accent to use. Other guests are Clyde Kusatsu as the judge and long time voice actor Alan Oppenheimer.
Miss Marple, “The Body in the Library,” parts two and three – The good news is that there is enough story to fill out three parts. And Joan Hickson really threads the needle playing a woman who equal parts modest old lady and town gossip. The less good news is that the solution to the murder is convoluted in that way that Christie liked too much, taken entirely from the book. Otherwise, this has the same feel as a typical Poirot, even if it’s set in the 50s.
Frasier, “Frasier Has Spokane” – At long last, a second station picks up Frasier’s show and he and Roz drive across the state to host things live. Only they learn they are replacing a beloved Spokane radio institution. And to make matter worse, Roz just broke up with her boyfriend (who we saw once months ago and never again). Naturally, the locals do not want Frasier, but his on air advice to Roz about moving on starts to win the city over. A bit disposable, but as has been the case with later episodes, Frasier the Wise and not Frasier the Pompous carries the day. There is also a subplot about Daphne helping Martin and Niles build a TV table, but it adds little. Guests include Joe Flaherty as the manager of the Spokane station and Bill Hayes as the man Flaherty fired to save a few bucks.
I Saw the TV Glow – wow. Wow! Wasn’t sure if I wanted to rewatch it instantly or never watch it again. Real good, real gutting. Props for using the actual Buffy font for The Pink Opaque.
I’ve only seen a tiny bit of Buffy but the style is immediately recognizable and Glow uses it and the tone so well, so when it later shifts to another show’s tone/style it’s a slap in the face. And that show (or maybe kind of show) is nailed too, which makes me interpret its deployment as not “it was always like this,” because the two are so different — it’s the much, much sadder “this is what you have made it because of what you’re denying.” “Gutting” is the right word, especially after that ending.
Yes! “I’ve grown up now, I have a family, this isn’t me.” Even as your heart is dying, somewhere locked away.
(They even used some of the actors from Pete & Pete. Really incredible stuff.)
What Did We Play?
Red Dead Redemption – broke an asshole out of jail. Enjoying dropping into this when I have a little time free but the set-pieces aren’t quite as spectacular as I hoped so far; I guess it’s an unfair comparison to some extent but I can’t help think back to the fun I had playing the recent Indiana Jones game, which combines open world sections with incredibly cinematic linear ones to wonderful effect. Still, this is a huge game and I’ve only seen a tiny part of it so far.
More Stardew Valley. I’m halfway through winter of my first year, and I’ve managed to accumulate at least one Auto-Grabber (which saves me time on milking my cows and goats), a Dinosaur Egg that’s currently in the incubator, a Lava Katana, and an Iridium Pickaxe, so it’s the Skull Cavern for me on any good luck day, especially now that I don’t have any crops to water. (Technically I have some powdermelons growing in the snow, but I have a sprinkler for those.) Very close to getting to ask someone out on a date. This game is very weird when you write it all out; it’s a farming simulator the way Community is a show about a community college. That being said, I did have an excellent crop of pumpkins in the fall, and that pleased me. Looking forward to the new fertilizers being in.
Hollow Knight on Nintendo Switch
Picked up my save file where I left it months ago, in which time I totally forgot where I was going next and what I needed to do. This wasn’t a big deal, since exploring the map and getting my bearings again is pretty fun (and really, the point) and eventually I came across a boss, the Brooding Mawlek. I beat it after a few tries, then opened a whole new area at the south end of the map. I don’t quite feel like I made all that progress, mostly because I didn’t get new abilities and am super low on cash to get upgrades, but I’m hooked again, and I have no idea where to go next.
F-Zero 99 on Nintendo Switch
A three-race sample from a midweek session:
Race no. 1: First of a three-race Mini Prix at Mute City II, driving the Luna Bomber. Not only did I win it, I also led it from the first lap. Felt pretty awesome.
Race no. 2: Second race from the Mini Prix, don’t remember where. Got a great start, but slowly started to drag. Fortunately, I got a skyway on the last lap that brought me all the way up to second place for the final stretch. I’m already thinking how this puts me in a great position for the final race, with a chance to even win the Mini Prix, which I’ve never done before. Unfortunately, I was down on energy, lost control and crashed into a red bumper that knocked me out of the race, and the Prix, right in front of the finish line. Felt pretty dumb.
Race no. 3. Standard 99 race on the new Silence mirror track, still with the Luna Bomber. Got ahead of the pack by the end of the first lap, except for one other driver. I nearly overjump my way out of the track in the second lap, but I correct just in time to land and not get disqualified. I stay in distance of the other guy, but I lose them by the start of the final lap and focus on staying on track and making 2nd. That is, until they make the same mistake I did and jump way away from the track and can’t get back, getting knocked out and allowing me to cruise to first place. I feel for them, though. They must feel pretty dumb.
Also, they added an Oops, All Secret Tracks! Grand Prix, and I was able to finish it in 8th place. It’s very cool, and two of those tracks I’d never even seen before.
When I’m sad I like blowing things up so I went back to Destiny 2. I am ignoring the plot and just doing Gambit and Dares.
This is a fascinating write-up. I’m often trying to keep all these kinds of engagement in the balance that works best for me as well, and running into my own problems with that (when I get into a video game, it’s easy to wind up prioritizing playing it a lot, and my reading time suffers, which I’m always unhappy with). It’s cool to see the thinking behind your decisions and how you structure your days/weeks. Very excited for the Best Picture project.
Genuine shock-driven laugh at the line about you sometimes feeling like you aren’t contributing enough to our community. You are a pillar of it!
Co-signed! I don’t think I can manage my media as thoughtfully; I’d get in my own head and do nothing at all. I am hoping to get back in the writing rhythm, though.
Year of the Month update!
Coming in February, we’ll be looking at 1957, including all these movies, albums, books, TV, yadda yadda.
Feb. 2nd: Tristan J. Nankervis: Throne of Blood
Feb. 6th: Gillianren: The Story of Anyburg, USA
Feb. 13th: Gillianren: The Truth About Mother Goose
Feb. 16th: Tristan J. Nankervis: The Incredible Shrinking Man
Feb. 20th: Gillianren: Our Friend the Atom
Feb. 27th: Gillianren: Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
And there’s still time to sign up for January! Here’s some of the movies, albums, books, TV, and games you can write about.
TBD: Ruck Cohlchez: Tim and/or Fables of the Reconstruction
Jan. 29th: Cori Domschot: Jewel of the Nile