Reviews – Page 2 – For Your Consideration

July 24, 2023August 11, 2023

Barbie, The Movie

I went with a large group to the Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco to see a pre-release screening of Barbie. It was an official event complete with props and an opening presenter who shared their adoration for the famous doll. There was a palpable buzz among the groups of people dressed up, an excitement that was joyful with no undertone of negative tension that goes along with, say, a screening of a new Star Wars movie.¹ At the end of the movie, I was excited to see it again with Erin.

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What I mean to say is, I don’t think anyone was at risk of breaking out into a fight for any reason.

July 3, 2023June 28, 2023

Ten Minute Bible Hour Podcast

I’ve listened to Matt Whitman’s Ten Minute Bible Hour Podcast since it began in October 2019. The premise of the show is straightforward: Discuss the Bible every weekday for about 10 minutes. However, this show is rather special in its approach and is worth your time to check out.

June 19, 2023June 18, 2023

You Should Try iA Presenter

iA Writer has previously been established as my writing app of choice. There is something about both the visual design and snappy interface the team at iA created that is just right for me. When I learned they were making a presentation editor the same week I needed to create some slides, I had to give it a try.

January 24, 2023January 22, 2023

Review: ChatGPT’s Satirical Ability

I asked ChatGPT to write its own Onion-style article with the same title as what I published yesterday.

My request along with ChatGPT’s response.

Make your own judgement on how it did, and continue on if you’d like to read my thoughts.¹

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Disclaimer: I commit the cardinal sin of explaining a joke later on in this post.

December 26, 2022December 22, 2022

The Lord of the Rings is Good

That’s right, I’ll be the first to put down my foot and say The Lord of the Rings is actually really good.

August 8, 2022August 7, 2022

Intimacy of Improv

I went to a show by the Secret Improv Society this past weekend, which performs in an odd theater building near Union Square. It’s only the second time I’ve been to a professional improv performance, and I was struck by how special the experience is.

June 20, 2022June 19, 2022

Joel Haver

At my friend Jack’s wedding a few weeks ago, someone showed me Joel Haver. He’s an independent filmmaker, working mostly on YouTube. He does a short film every week, with his animations making the biggest splash. However, his live action work is fantastic, with dry humor that sits perfectly with me. After binging his work over a couple of weeks, I sat down last weekend and watched one of his several feature-length movies, Pretend That You Love Me. It’s a very different style, yet beautifully done. I recommend any of his work, but I’d suggest to start with his animations, then choose a few live-action shorts that catch your eye. You won’t be disappointed.

April 4, 2022April 3, 2022

Mario Kart 8 Booster Pass

I adore Mario Kart. I first played Double Dash at a friend’s house in elementary school. Soon after, my older sister was gifted a Nintendo DS and I would ask to borrow it as often as I could to play Mario Kart on it.¹ Once I moved to San Diego, I gifted myself a Nintendo Switch and have put hundreds of hours into Mario Kart 8. The first set of Booster Pass courses came out a couple of weeks ago, and I really want to talk about them.

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Also, Guitar Hero DS; we bought the fancy button attachment and “pick” stylus. As a young kid, I never got the hang of five buttons, so that version of Guitar Hero really worked for me.