A roundup of noteworthy things I’ve played, read, listened to, or watched over the last few weeks. Not much, this time; I am/was working a lot, new macOS app and all.
Late Night with Seth Meyers on YouTube – Love it. When he talks about “jackals”, I feel wholly included, which either tells you everything you need to know about my sense of humor, or nothing at all.
🎤 “At the Time (Live)” by Demetri Martin – I had a blast listening to this stand-up special, but it’s a different form than what I’m used to. It’s basically just a more or less random list of hilarious observations and one-liners; this description makes it sound more disjointed than it actually is. Good stuff.
🎮 Destiny 2 – After 2+ years of absence, I picked up the so-called “Legacy Collections”, containing yester-years' three big DLCs (Shadowkeep, Beyond Light, The Witch Queen), and am solo’ing my way through them. It’s still Destiny, for sure, even though they’ve changed a lot over the years. I’m having fun, 15€ well spent. I’m currently in the first chapters of the Witch Queen DLC, and it’s pretty nice! Haven’t decided yet whether to buy Lightfall after that, or The Final Shape.
We should all be reading more Ursula Le Guin | The Outline – I love the idea, the whole mindset. “The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction […] disputes the idea that the spear was the earliest human tool, proposing that it was actually the receptacle. Questioning the spear’s phallic, murderous logic, instead Le Guin tells the story of the carrier bag, the sling, the shell, or the gourd. In this empty vessel, early humans could carry more than can be held in the hand and, therefore, gather food for later. Anyone who consistently forgets to bring their tote bag to the supermarket knows how significant this is. And besides, Le Guin writes, the idea that the spear came before the vessel doesn’t even make sense." I need to check my local library for some of ULG’s books.
📚 “Leave the World Behind” by Rumaan Alam – What a courageous book. As in: I think it takes a certain kind of courage to call it a day when your book is only 2/3 done. It wasn’t a terrible read, but I felt like it was making promises all the time it couldn’t keep. Both book blurbs and the related movie trailer made it sound quite VanderMeer’ian – I was expecting some New Weird, but it isn’t that. In fact, I’m not sure what that book even wants to be. There’s a lot of spooky foreshadowing both by the narrator (“the trees knew”, “old folks know”, “kids can hear ghosts” etc.) and dramatic plot points (people getting sick etc.), and nothing. comes. of. it. And then it ends. It just ends. (C)
🎤 “People Make Mistakes” by J.F. Harris, YouTube – Hilarious stand-up special.
🤘🏼 Live In Texas (Full) - Linkin Park — Linkin Park’s 2003 live performance. Always worth a rewatch.
📺 7 Days in Hell (2015) – Tennis is deeply weird. Also, ~30 mins is the right length for a piece like this. Hilarious if you’re a bit weird and/or like Samberg mockumentaries (like “Popstar”), probably unwatchable otherwise.
STORROR on YouTube – Every Monday, like clockwork. I like watching their training and challenges etc., they’re an enjoyable bunch. If you haven’t watched their film “Roof Culture Asia” yet, I recommend it if you’re interested in parkour.
