My friend Brandon wrote a short play, Cameo, for performance over Zoom. It was part of an event put on by Invisible Disco Productions, and was the final of four plays put on, each about ten minutes long.
Continue reading “Video Theater”Doctor Feelgood and the Asparagus Kid
One month ago, a good friend of mine released a feature-length movie on YouTube. I had followed along as they released the various trailers, then discovered the half-truths in their lovely making-of documentary.1 I managed to watch it the morning after the film’s premiere, on December 19, and have not gotten it out of my head since. I’ve started and stopped multiple reviews, taken copious notes on a second watch, and am finally releasing what I consider the movie’s canonical review.
If you frequent this part of the internet, you may be just the right person to watch Doctor Feelgood and the Asparagus Kid or: The Respect for the Omnipresence of Death. If the title intrigues you, give it a shot. Then come back here (regardless of whether you completed it) and enjoy a shameless, spoiler-filled plug and review for this movie co-written by my friend Timothy.2
Continue reading “Doctor Feelgood and the Asparagus Kid”The Best of My 2020
Tomorrow I’ll be recording an episode of OHAC, where Mikhail, Jack, and I will be discussing yearly themes. That will serve as a nice recap of the year and a starting point for 2021.
To wrap things up on this blog though, I figured I’d go back through my posts from 2020 and select one or two favorites from each quarter, and maybe write a little bit about how I view those posts now. I don’t often revisit my expository writing, so I think it’ll be a good exercise.
Continue reading “The Best of My 2020”The Umbrella Academy: What Heroes Could Have Been
After significant pestering from Netflix, I began watching The Umbrella Academy. It gripped me immediately, and I’ve enjoyed watching it. I’m nearing the end of Season 2 and so far the twists and turns have been handled deftly in my mind. I’m sure some could find some faults, but it’s been an amazing ride. Since last week I’ve known I wanted to write some brief thoughts on it, but I needed something to say. When comparing it to other superhero and supernatural shows I’ve seen, I realized it’s the show Heroes could have become.
Continue reading “The Umbrella Academy: What Heroes Could Have Been”Avatar: The Last Airbender
What an amazing show. Of all the nostalgic cartoons I have from elementary and middle school, I think Avatar and Spongebob are the only two I will continue to watch for years. While Spongebob is simply a feel-good show for me, which helped establish my sense of humor over the years and always puts a smile on my face, Avatar deals with issues more sincerely and deeply, in a way that is accessible to its younger audience.
I decided to rewatch(?) the last season of Avatar over the past week. I’d seen the first two seasons quite a lot growing up, but only managed to catch bits of the final season once when it was on TV originally. Watching it again was quite affecting. It is an emotionally dense show with clear morals, without it being quite as in-your-face as, say, The Clone Wars television show. (That’s also an awesome show, but just has a different feel to it.)
Now that I have dropped myself back into this fantasy world, I discovered The Legend of Korra on Netflix as well. I had never heard of this show before, since it aired after my TV-watching days were at their peak. I’ve started the show, and find it a fantastic sequel, aimed squarely at teenagers (or those just a little older) who appreciate what Avatar has to offer, but want something that handles things more maturely. Its antagonists are less binary: We don’t have a fire-bending dictator, but rather someone who wants to remove bending to promote freedom. It’s a huge shift in focus, but the world has been handed off succinctly and deftly to a new generation of characters (far more effectively than Star Wars managed to do in the sequels.)
For anyone who hasn’t watched Avatar, give it a go. Regardless of age, there is so much joy, frustration, sadness, and excitement to be found in it. While it can be silly, and it is a kids show, there is depth in each short episode that we can pull a lot from.
Two Good Board Games
This is just to record two old games that my family very much enjoys. Both are a wonderful mix of strategy and the luck inherent to board and card games. The rules are reasonably basic, and the boards can be beautiful.
They are Cribbage and Backgammon. Cribbage is mainly a card game where you play to 121 points, but traditionally you play on a board with holes and pegs to track said points. It can be played with 2, 3, or 4 players (with two variations in the 3-player version) and is a wonderful game to teach someone starting at a young age. It teaches quick decision making, basic addition, and is just a casual, fun game to play at any point.
Backgammon requires a more involved board consisting of chips or tokens (15 per player) and two rows of 12 “slots” for them. Typically these slots are represented as triangles of alternating colors. This game uses dice as well, and is a great strategy game where you typically have many more moves than other board games focused on dice.
Animal Crossing: Weed Yourself to Victory
I was finally convinced to start playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I’d been hesitant to give it a try for a few reasons. First, Nintendo games are expensive. Second, I wasn’t sure I’d actually enjoy it. And third, if I did enjoy it, I wasn’t sure I’d want to sink time into it.
Having played it for a few hours today and successfully paid off my initial expenses to Tom Nook, I totally get the appeal. No, it will never be thrilling. But it’s a simple “life simulator” that you can enjoy to whatever detail you prefer. For me, I’m not necessarily interested in the things I can get. I’m currently motivated by the Nook Miles achievements. I’ll be a big bug-catcher and fish-fisher. The first thing I did was clear my island of weeds, and I intend to do so tomorrow. I found out quickly that if I just suspend my own judgement and allow myself to appreciate the straightforward charm of the game, it’s a relaxing way to pass the time.
Of course, these are all first impressions. I have no idea what staying power it will have in my life, but there’s a large catalog of fish and bugs to find, so that will almost certainly keep me going back every so often. I think the best aspect of the game is that it isn’t any sort of survival or sociology simulator; I don’t need to eat or drink, as best I can tell I’m unlikely to upset my island neighbors. I can focus on myself, do what needs to be done, and that’s it. It’s a game that simplifies activities that can already be considered calming and rewarding. Plus, they buy weeds. I’m going to fund my house using weeds and conch shells, or at least that’s my plan right now.
Seeing a Professional Musical – Fly
A theater buff friend of mine visited this past weekend, and convinced me to go see a musical in the area called Fly. It is based on the story of Peter Pan, and focused on the serious idea of what it means to grow up. While that is always a main theme with any Peter Pan adaptation, this show took a slightly darker angle, with more adult humor present. I thoroughly enjoyed this production, but it made me think more about different types of entertainment I consume and the ways I judge them in my head.
Continue reading “Seeing a Professional Musical – Fly”