books: 2001, Andromeda Strain
shows: Andor, SW Visions, Top Gear always, Adventure Time
movies: Muppet Treasure Island
games: RDR2, Dave the Diver, watching partner play Astrobot
It's really, really hard to get me to sit down and watch movies. I was made to watch this (like many movies), and I loved it (like many movies).
This was just stupid in the best ways. You can't like drink anything during this movie because you might end up joking from laughing. When you're not laughing, you are saying "Ohhh nooooo..."
The humor is timeless. There was only one bit I didn't quite get without research. Drebin and Hocken are eating a red snack in the police car, and it shows piles of shells outside of the car. I figured out that it was pistachios. They used to dye pistachios red which make Drebin and Hocken's lips red.
The painfully long opera singing was my favorite part. It was hard to get through, and that is a good thing.
While on the journey to watch the cult classics, Pulp Fiction came up. It's impossible to not have seen it, yet I spent 26 years of my life not ever seeing any of it. Fuck, I barely understood references about it. I'm glad to have finally watched it. I liked it a lot more than I thought.
I live for the pretentious, nonsense media. I love pretentious shit. Pulp Fiction just barely escaped that pretentious stuff because it was so loved, but it's still pretty close.
First to get it out of the way, I don't care what's in the briefcase. It's a stupid debate. Artistically, it doesn't matter. It's not important to the plot. It's only important that you know it's valuable.
The word "miracle" is brought up especially after Jules and Vincent are completely missed by this guy shooting them.
"We should be fucking dead... This was divine intervention... What just happened was a fucking miracle!... This shit doesn't just happen!" - JulesMy takeaway from this movie was that it was a bunch of stories of miracles happening to this group of people. Butch is the one that has benefitted the most from the miracles. It's a miracle that Mia lives after OD'ing on Vincent's heroin. It's a miracle that Jules and Vincent weren't shot. It's a miracle that Butch happened to catch Vincent in the bathroom with Vincent's gun unattended. It was a miracle that Butch ended up in a place full of weapons to use on the deranged guys to get Marsellus out. It's a miracle that Marsellus decides to call it equal with Butch. It's a miracle that Butch gets out at all with his lady. Lastly, it's a miracle that the robber couple finds Jules in his redemption arc.
The whole thing is about miracles. There's this divine intervention through all of it. Unfortunately, it's foot-lover Tarantino.
I grew up almost exclusively on Spongebob. Did that make me stupid? Maybe. It also means that I never watched the Sesame Street or the Muppets. I adore Kermit and Ms Piggy.
Honestly, this movie had me crying laughing. I am very easy to amuse, and this was perfect for me. The bit of the horse skeleton in the ghost town cracked me up.
This was cute and fun. I mean, it's the Muppets. You can't go wrong with the Muppets.
This filled me with so much joy. This was a real hoot. A real fucking treat to watch.
It's so evident that this was adopted from a community play, and the "play-ness" of it is preserved. This makes it incredibly charming. I had watched it while in the UP for LSPR. The movie is about a yooper who can't shoot a buck. The whole movie is about him at Deer Camp with his brothers and father. They're sort of going mad all together. Weird shit happens, the DNR rolls up, and antics ensue. There's like aliens or something.
It was presented to me as a "shitty movie," but I REFUSE to say that it's bad. It's so so so charming. I love it.
Nothing special. I just saw it because it's Miku.
It's more about Project SEKAI than Miku, so I was lost when it started going into the other characters. It was fun and cute. It is a simple, girly anime movie. I did enjoy it. It's like a guilty pleasure sort of enjoyment. Like I love Britney Spears. That's a girly guilty pleasure of mine. Not a fantastic movie though.
I wish I had screamed for Miku during the concert at the end.
I was made to watch this, and I was pleasantly surprised. Harvey Weinstein held this movie for almost 25 years, so it wasn't available to watch anywhere until 2024. Obviously, I hadn't seen it.
My mom told me about the movie before we watched it. I looked it up, and it really didn't interest me. The synopsis sounded so boring. Well, I liked it. I was kind of mad that I liked it actually. It's a comedic take on Christian theology. I'm not a big fan of super crude humor, so not all of the comedy was for me. The parts with Alan Rickman amused me. I do think Jason Lee was a little weak in it. I did not care for his parts.
The movie is fun to watch, and you don't have to take it that seriously. You don't even have to care or know about Christianity that much to understand it. I hadn't realized the cult following of this movie until I saw the unveiling of the Buddy Christ. It all made sense then. I saw the Buddy Christ literally everywhere on the internet.
I like this movie's depiction of God as an autistic woman who wears flip flops and boxers under her dress. She sniffs flowers and is whimsical and happy. They do mention that God can be literally anything, and that the gender binary isn't applicable to her. At the same time, that is bulldozed by the main character being excited to say "Her" and not "Him."
Suprising movie. Lots of big name actors too.
This movie was so nerdy. I loved it. Just like the original Twister, it captured weather nerds perfectly. Of course, not with any perfect science about tornadoes, but that's fine. It's a blockbuster film not a documentary.
This was a fun watch. It was so dorky. I am not that into romance plots in movies, but I actually was excited for the romance plot in this one. It was just cute and fun.
I've seen both movies. Obviously, the original is better.
I love thrillers more than true horror movies. I watched this one day just because I happened to find it for free online. I wasn't really introduced to many classics, so I am watching them on my own here and there. This was on of those times.
The main character is shallow, but that's what it was like at this time. He is badass. That's his whole shtick. He's the cool helicopter pilot that takes over when the base is compromised. He gets to be aloof, cool, etc which is why I like him and want to be him so badly.
The puppets and makeup for the creature is so good even now. Like it's not realistic, but it feels like an artistic choice now. I think it's still so impressive that the puppets captured the actors' faces and made them so twisted in the right way. It's sick. It's gross. It's fucked up, but perfect. Forgot to mention that I like body horror.
I think the existence of the newer movie is sort of blasphemous to the original artistic intent. I feel the same about the Rambo sequels, Terminator sequels, and Pacific Rim sequels.
The newer The Thing, not so affectionately named The Thing 2, is a prequel. It shows the spaceship of the creature, and I think that demystifies the creature. It was just an unnecessary movie.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!
I love a lot of Del Toro movies, but this is peak. I refuse to watch the sequels though. This whole movie is just Hell Yeah the movie. It's unapologetically cool. The visuals have a very distinct look. The actors are clearly having fun with it. They got Idris Elba to play a super badass character.
I just love when movies really feel like everyone was on board with all of it. If that was a genre, it'd be my favorite. This would belong in it.
If you like big stuff fighting and don't care about it being a deeper story, this is perfect.
This is a BAD movie. It's a fave of mine not because it's good, but because it's a childhood comfort movie.
Seeing Tom Cruise as a divorced shitty dad is interesting and unique. I don't think he's had a role like that since. He's always a tough, chad kinda character.
John Williams should NOT have done the score. Spielberg is just buddies with him. This movie was shot in just 70 days, so super efficient. However, it should have spent more time in editing and writing. The son's disappearance is strange. The three oddball characters that the main character meets in the book are combined into one crazy motherfucker in this movie.
What is good about this movie is the VFX + sound design. Somehow, they managed to make night scenes look worse than the daytime scenes. It's easier to hide flaws in the dark. Sound design is fantastic. There's an amazing churning and almost chugging emitted by the tripods that is crazy. It was nominated for an Oscar for sound design.
This is a childhood comfort movie for me because I saw it once and it scared the shit out of me. This was the scariest movie to me as a child. Obviously, I got over it. I love it now.
I don't think I could watch this a second time just because the what-the-fuck-ness of it all wouldn't be the same.
This movie was greatly criticized because it was released so soon after the Vietnam War. It follows Captain Willard on his mission to assassinate a spec ops officer gone rogue in the jungle. With him are a handful of drafted soldiers on a PBR. The crew are a diverse group with some clearly looking like young boys with dreams and passions.
I was deeply mesmerized by the madness that happens in this movie. It is such a crazy, mindfucking movie where nothing makes sense, but all of it makes sense at the same time. I mean they're at war in the jungle. They are truly at the mercy of the jungle. That's the only way you can make sense of any of it. Their only protection is the PBR which isn't much.
The cast was all high as hell during production. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse is a must watch after watching Apocalypse Now.
It's Top Gear. I don't know if there's much to say. It's a show about cars, driving cars, and insulting cars.
It's full of the great, dry British humor. Hosted by absolute goofs. Jeremy Clarkson is a tall asshole. James May is bascially Eeyore. Richard Hammond (my favorite) is this tiny little Northern man that wishes he was American. Hammond is known for getting into scary car accidents. They all have questionable fashion choices. Oh, and there's the Stig. Their mysterious race car driver. Usually an F1 racer, but they keep it secret until the driver is replaced. The Stig listens to different music while he tests cars on the track. He wanders around the real world. He's like an alien. There's also different Stigs. In the US, there's Big Stig.
There's usually some sort of challenge they have to do with cars like racing on one tank of fuel. It's entertaining. If you watch any of Top Gear, but don't want the extra boring stuff. Watch the specials. They're great.
My favorite episodes are:
-The Vietnam Special -The Botswana Special -USA Special -Africa SpecialGod, all specials? Oops. They are the most fun.
The BBC dropped Jeremy Clarkson after he punched a producer. Clarkson is kind of an asshole. Everyone followed him afterwards, and Amazon picked up the three guys when Top Gear was sacked.
This show is much more polished than Top Gear, but I think that isn't as fun. Parts of it feel more scripted too. However, it's not all terrible. You do see all of these guys aging which feels sad. Richard Hammond was in a coma before this show, and you can see moments where he's forgotten how to do things like running an outboard motor.
It is a fun watch. Best episodes are Survival of the Fattest and Seamen.
Real Star Wars fans know that Mandalorian sucks and that Andor is leagues better. Sorry Mando fans. Andor is an incredibly well-written political drama that delves into the first rumblings of the rebellion. It takes place before Rogue One.
I've been told that some people feel like it'd be too boring for them, but even in the hushed conversations about political stuff, you are on the edge of your seat. Episodes feel drawn out, but in the best way. Pauses, drama, everything is just perfect.
I haven't finished season two yet. I stopped right before the 5th episode. Don't yell at me. I am just so into the show that it makes me nervous! So far, the second season is so much more tense. It makes me so anxious, but in a good way.
Season one's episodes in the prison are the best imo.
A very cute, well made show. The love put into every aspect of it by the creators is so evident. Even the art book is just chalk full of creative warmth.
Watching this show every fall is a common tradition for those who grew up with Cartoon Network shows like Chowder, the Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, Adventure Time, etc. I was pretty late to the OTGW train. I bought a DVD of it a few years ago, so I could keep a physical copy of it. This was right after the Infinity Train deletion by HBO.
Cozy, fun, and full of whimsy. I love it.
Science fiction with a very healthy serving of dread. My favorite. Yum yum.
I just loved how this book kept me on edge. It's really hard to live up to, and it makes it hard for me to read the other two books in the trilogy. When will trilogies stop? I want more one-offs.
The twisting imagery is right up my alley. I read this while working at my very laid back job, and I was sucked into it. I neglected my work honestly.
I tried to get through the second book, but I dropped it. It's been years since.
The classic alien invasion story.
Compared to today's science fiction, this isn't remarkable, but it's good to visit what started it all. I was introduced to WOTW through the 2005 movie, so reading this book was extra fun. Not gonna lie, WOTW is sort of a special interest of mine. I still haven't seen the first movie, Jeff Wayne's musical, the BBC series, or the most recent movie. I am looking forward to the musical and old old movie, but the other two... eh..
The book goes into detail about the different machines which tends to not come up in retellings for some reason. That's my favorite part of this book. I also enjoy the part where a fighting machine looms over drunks outside of a bar.
I adore Alvim Correra's illustrations too. Wells didn't, but I don't care.
This is just a fun read. Nothing too special.
I am a big fan of Doughty's work on the internet as an educator of death laws, death care, funeral history and practices, etc. She's a leader in educating Americans on these subjects as well as making them more comfortable with it. This book is her finding her path to the work she does now, and it began with working in a small crematorium ran by old men.
She was a young adult lost in life. She pondered suicide and even almost attempted. Through her work at the crematorium, she discovered that she is passionate about death. Now, she runs the Order of the Good Death and the YouTube channel Ask A Mortician.
Her other books are fantastic, but I don't think they're as good as this book. Her use of just blunt statements regarding her work is fascinating. It's jarring, but that's the idea. She deeply believes that America is behind on the social attitudes around death. Death should be discussed. Advanced directives (wills are a part of this) should be set up regardless of your age. Just her whole mission is to make Americans talk about death more and be more open and accepting of other's wishes regarding how they want to die or what is done post-death.
Yes, someone who is bigger will have fat that spills during a cremation. Yes, the torso of a dead body turns into a beautiful cyan color. Yes, you can turn into compost to aid in environmental initiatives like regrowing tree cover for rivers where salmon spawn. Doughty so desperately wants Americans to face death in a healthy way. This is her mission.
The way she comes to this mission is just so beautiful, and I can't recommend this book, and all of her work, enough. It's available as an audiobook as well voiced by Caitlin Doughty herself.
I have a special place in my heart for absolutely harrowing science fiction. I need to find more.
This isn't some underground book, but people act like it is. It is the quintessential AI takes over the world story. Five humans are tortured for eternity by AM, Allied Mastercomputer, who is an AI that has gone rogue. AM carries a deep, deep rage for humans, and he blames all of mankind for his existence which he hates. AM is very egotistical, but he hates his own existence.
"Hate. Let me tell you how much I've come to hate you since I began to live. There are 387.44 million miles of printed circuits in wafer-thin layers that fill my complex. If the word hate was engraved on each nano-angstrom of those hundreds of millions of miles, it would not equal ONE ONE-BILLIONTH of the hate I feel for humans at this micro-instant. For you. HATE. HATE." -AM
I really, really recommend the radio drama where the author voices AM. I do this this AM voice is better than the audiobook also voiced by Harlan Ellison. This book is impossible to get a physical copy. PDFs are available. It's more of a novella than a book.
This wasn't the greatest book of all time by any means, but it was a fun read. I mean, it's old science fiction, so it's a little wack.
I read this awhile ago, so my memory is fuzzy. The main character takes the time machine he built into the future where it's stolen by a species that evolved from humans. Humans developed technology to take care of everything, so they evolved to be whimsical little guys, but there was a split. The others are pale and live underground. The underground ones stole the time machine, and the whimsy ones aren't concerned about it because the main character is so fun to them. The main character falls in love with one of them, and she helps him get his machine back.
Beyond that, I don't remember much else. It is fun though.
This game was just one person, but now there's a handful working on development. It is entirely free, but I recommend tossing them a few dollars because this game is AMAZING.
It's built in Source, so it's got gags and goofs. It plays on your paranoia to mess with you. Once you're comfortable, it messes with you again.
You play as Kel who is a researcher sent to record and review audio recordings from space. You operate this rundown radio astronomy observatory in the Swiss Alps. You're alone. It's kinda freaky. However, you HAVE to get work done.
I just really recommend this game. I refuse to say anything about it because it's so easy to spoil, and I want everyone to play this (and support the devs).
After 13 years, I finally know the story of GTA 5. I watched my partner play it which was probably like his tenth time playing it. I played GTA 5 in the past, but only online. I was really missing out.
Everyone has FUCKED up. Everyone is doing bad shit. It's just beautiful Rockstar storytelling.
My favorite parts were with Trevor and Patricia.
This is by far my most played game ever. I think it's like 800 hours?
It's a mission-based wave shooter. Idk what it is, but I love games where I have to work for a sketchy company in a futuristic setting.
The classes are all amazingly balanced and all fun to play. The design of the game is very fun, and the way you want to play it is completely up to you. I do think you miss out on the best part of this game by playing completely solo.
DRG servers are peer-to-peer, this means if you play with randos, they're probably somewhat near you. 99% of the time those randos are insanely cooperative and kind. There's some griefers, but it's super rare. Most people are welcoming of "green beards" (newbies), and they will help you. No one talks except through pinging things and ending the mission with a simple "gg." It's amazing.
If I could have the track Sextape inscribed into my brain, I would.
I just love Deftones.
Best from this album are Poltergeist, Rosemary, and Tempest.
I love music that makes me feel despair. This entire album makes me feel like I am desperately grabbing at feelings of love that I am hoping isn't unrequited. It's heartbreak with a chipper tune.
Listening to TV Girl in general gives me that feeling in my nose that tells me that the tears are coming.
Loving Machine is my favorite.
The best Rammstein album.
God, it has tracks like Du Riechst so Gut and Weisses Fleisch. This album and Reise, Reise have all of the quintessential Rammstein songs that aren't Du Hast. I'm sick of Du Hast.
Du Riechst is probably my favorite Rammstein song. Second would be Mein Teil.
Like Korn, Rammstein had a presence in my childhood. I love them. It also adds that I learned German.
Korn has always been in my life in some way. I remember being tiny and sitting in the back of my dad's 1998 soft top Pontiac Sunfire while he had the Korn cover of Another Brick in the Wall playing. Korn has a special place in my heart purely because of nostalgia.
While my favorite album is Untouchables, this one is a close second. It's also the Korn album because of Freak on a Leash. The Fred Durst feature is so of its time.
I love these two hosts. I am a fan of Elliot's YouTube channel because he's all about just having fun, discovering things, and trying things. His series on making non-design programs act like design programs is fantastic.
Kel is a beautifully spoken, talented designer. They just have an amazing way of describing how a design feels and looks. They are the person that I would listen to most during a critique if I had them in my college classes.
These two together just feels right. They're perfectly goofy together while being so informative. They don't pressure themselves into making a perfect show with a perfect script which is what I look for in podcasts. I don't like heavily scripted podcasts. I love when personalities show and their personalities show here.
They are also great at making design feel less mysterious. I have a very complicated relationship with graphic design as an illustrator, and at times, it feels like this magical skill that only a handful of people in the world understand. These two describe their process. They teach design skills. They just make design less scary overall. It's been a major inspiration for me in my graphic design journey part II.
I come back to this podcast every once in a while. It is probably one of the longest running arts podcast out there. Andy J Pizza talks in an almost woo-woo way. I'm kind of into it because creativity is a weird, almost spiritual thing that humans have. I think Andy understands that need to create without the burden of capitalism. However, I do view my own creativity in a professional way because of my career as an illustrator. My creativity can be, and at times is, monetized. This makes the woo-woo you-can-do-it attitude hard to grock with all the time. Sometimes I want to hear real shit.
Andy is like a Duncan Trussell, but for artists if that makes sense. Most of this podcast talks about illustration, but Andy brings in people in other creative disciplines. My favorite episodes are the ones with guests like Cheyenne Barton. They tend to keep Andy on topic, and he goes down the mystic route less.
= a favorite
