Biweekly Bundate 05-31-25
Binkies (Gags, goofs, other positive notes from the week/fortnight)
- Watched El play the first Metal Gear Solid which, uh, like I can see why people are obsessed with these games. That's literally all I'll say for now.
- We've been watching Loz play Miitopia in chat some nights and it's always a blast. That game is insane, I love it. Fucking telenovela-ass game with a jrpg on top of it.
What I've been Playing
- Beat Final Fantasy Tactics. Damn, that was a good ass game. One of the better written games I've played, I'd say. The writing on Delita and Ramza is outstanding. Also god, had Ramza doing like 500+ damage a hit at the end, that's that sicko shit i love.
- Spyro is tougher than I remember, but I'm still generally having a good time. I love games that reward exploration and this is definitely one, so I'm here for it, still.
- Finally like, actually sinking my teeth into Trials of Mana and having a great time. Aiming to sink some hours in this weekend.
- I have fallen into the Fantasy Life hole, a predictable and potentially troubling development. Really fun little game, I'm going to sink an insane amount of time into.
What I've bey6en Watching
- Finished Better Call Saul -- outstanding show, watch it. It's hard to describe how both intriguing and kind of fun it is to watch a guy who's really trying to be honest be steered by circumstance into being a real piece of shit.
- Also on my Scrubs bullshit again. Again, some issues with its presentations of masculinity and sexuality, but ya know, it was huge for me in high school and so, the goofier aspects were kind of foundational to my humor, so here we are. Side note: Gosh, Mandy Moore is so cute.
- OH!! If you decide to re/watch this show, do not do it on Hulu because they didn't get the rights for all the music and so some of it is drastically off and doesn't fit the moment how the original did. And in at least two cases, that licensed music is actually integral to the plot of the episode and so, changing it, if they did, would actually lose a substantial portion of the humor
- Watched Robin Hood (2010), you can read my somewhat abridged thoughts on that, if you want
- Been trying to watch more movies, particularly ones I've missed or ones I think merit some revisiting
- as part of this, I've been trying to check out more Vincent Price stuff cause I really haven't watched enough and I adore him. This is all a long way of saying I watched a movie called Laura from 1944. Pretty decent detective flick. Though one thing that's rough about these old movies is they don't have subtitles, so I struggle a little bit
- Also watched the 1958 House on Haunted Hill. I've only ever watched the remake and I probably should rewatch it because my memory's a little hazy. But I know it's much different than this, which without spoiling anything for a 70-year-old movie, leaves a few things feeling unanswered in way that's pretty satisfying for me. Overall, love that Vincent Price. I said it on bsky, but a real prince of man, the more I learn about him.
- Been watching Dirty Jobs just as background noise and what a good show. I think things like this were and kind of remain super important, both in the sense that they have the power to cultivate a sense of curiosity about the world we live in and how it works, but also I think it shines a potentially positive light on important, but devalued jobs. While he focuses on the jobs they do, I think it'd be cool to also just talk to these people as people. Like, get a sense of the life they lead. Idk, I'm a kind of humanist, so I'm interested in people's interior lives and what goes on in their heads. Part of that is out of a misbegotten hope that if I understand them, maybe I can appeal to them and get them to show some empathy for the people around them. But again, that's probably not enough, even if I wish it were.
- Also watched Robin and Marian, an interesting flick from the late 70s. If you wanna read my thoughts on that, check that out here: Quick thoughts on Robin and Marian
- Also been watching AP Bio on and off. Works as background noise and pretty funny, overall. The sort of trope of closed off, asshole not-teacher is uh, it's fine. It works here, I think that Glenn Howerton really plays the role well and the kids in his class are all pretty stellar.
What I've been reading
- Finished reading Nickel and Dimed. Really fucking good. I saw a post that everyone should have to work like a year of customer facing retail like how some countries have military service and I've never agreed more than after reading this book (and I already thought that!)
- Unsure what I'll read next, maybe I'll dive into the Hellboy comics since I got them in a humblebundle a while back.
- Been doing a bunch of reading for the dissertation, but that's the kind of stuff I keep to myself, mostly. Maybe when the damn thing is finished.
Other general thoughts, etc.
- I've been thinking about community a lot recently (I mean, it's been an obsession on and off for years, but) and how we foster community. I want more community-building resources. One thing I want to do is encourage more community in my classes. I think I do that to an extent already because this last semester, I literally watched a group of students become friends throughout the semester and it was actually so cool and makes me wanna cry that sort of just happened in my classroom? Like, I didn't have a strong hand in it, but my students told me at the end of the semester that the environment I created in the classroom probably helped it, which, damn that feels fucking good.
- We're almost done with the Quest campaign and I'll probably do... something for that? Retrospective or somethin' of that nature? Idk.
That's kinda it, okay byyyyyyyyyyeeeee.