EOY Reflection #5:
I worked out more days and more hours this year than I probably did in the last 10 years combined, thanks to exercising at home.
I’m not running/jogging like I used to though.
Board Game Cafe Workers Went on a Quest for a Union and Won
Workers said pay was low and staffing was inadequate. Some described frantic scenes at birthday parties or tournaments that they had to oversee alone. Dungeon masters, who facilitate games, often did hours of unpaid prep work.
If you were to tell me that Dungeon Masters are going to unionize because they’re not getting paid for prep work, I would have asked you what planet you’re from. DnD was an after-school hobby that was anything but work.
Happy for them though. It’s an important role (har har) and a good occupation 🎲
EOY Reflection #4:
So less Emacs org-mode… For one, I could never integrate my calendar with it fully (due to work restrictions on access). For another, no longer keeping a journal in org-mode.
EOY Reflection #3:
I’ve been more analog. First the small pocket notebook for morning thoughts, and then back to my paper journal. Also less Emacs.
Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate!
EOY Reflection #2:
Luck is a component of what I have today. Perhaps not a big component, perhaps I hate to admit luck has anything with it at all, but even developing a skill of knowing when to jump on an opportunity is, in a way, learning to be lucky, isn’t it?
EOY Reflection #1:
I’ve made more friends than I have before. A big part of it is embracing more of my neurodivergent nature (a new word for me to use) and understanding that I don’t fit in places where most folks around me do (marriage, kids, mortgage, a normal job, etc.)
I just complained about Ridley’s Prometheus, so let me counter that with praise for a show I’ve been watching: Undone.
Go watch it.
It’s hard to explain and hard to follow, much like Jacob’s (Bob Odenkirk) explanations, but that’s part of the point. Part of the show’s charm is that it takes the ideas of time travel and alternate dimensions (kind of) and breaks them down into concepts we slowly learn to understand with Alma (Rosa Salazar). She’s having a hard time digesting everything that’s happening, not just conceptually but (even more importantly) emotionally, in a way that takes us along on the ride with her.
The show’s completely made with rotoscope animation, something I haven’t seen since A Scanner Darkly (thank you Undone, for reminding me to re-watch that one!) and it works beautifully here. It wouldn’t work the same if the show wasn’t animated, but lose a part of its unique reality if it was “fully” animated.
On a personal note, the idea of time travel like this is something familiar that reminds me of deep meditations and astral projection on levels I might write about in the future. Without a doubt, this last bit made it much more special to me right now.
Prometheus, 2012 - ★★
I had hopes: Ridley. A compelling story. Horror Sci-Fi.
Instead, what we have here is an "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" movie based on a tested and proven formula from Ridley's successful Alien movies. It's too much of the same to be unique. Where Alien was ahead of its time championing Weaver as Ripley (not to be confused with the director... or perhaps that's part of the point?), this movie is running after the trope's wagon, waving its hand desperately, "hey! Wait for me!"
The main problem we have here is lack of character development. There are too many secondary folks mixed with special effects and dark alien horror for this to happen. The movie's too busy telling us a unique story, providing background, and wowing us with special effects, all of this while also introducing the characters all at once, and as a result, it all feels too shallow. So I didn't care. Not when someone died, not about the story, and not about the movie.
It's a shame because if the movie would slow down a bit and take its time (squeals perhaps?), we'd have something much better that would get me invested. Instead, it's a marathon of flashy black oozy horror in a "been there, done that" sort of a feeling. Back to Alien for me.
The Muppets are amazing. NK and I grew up in different countries, yet we both enjoy the uplifting fuzzy entertainers of our childhood. I identify mostly with Animal (my favorite) and, of course, Statler and Waldorf; they are more of the Gonzo type. We watch The Muppets Mayhem regularly (give it a try, it’s one of those “for kids” shows that has plenty for adults as well)
Last night we went to see a performance based on the The Muppet Christmas Carol for adults. Seeing the others in the hotel’s lobby, drinking, cheering, and singing along at this stand-up-style comedy was a blast.
