What is This?
Below, you will find brief commentary on and reviews of media I am particularly fond of. While criticism may find its way into what I write below, the content should trend tonally toward praise and admiration. I'll aim to place anything longer than 1-2 paragraphs on the "My Writing" page. Overlap may occur if/when it is both viable and desirable to speak both succinctly and at length.
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I've avoided doing something like this for a long time, despite a fierce desire to share my writing and opinions with others. One of the issues has been laziness, without a doubt. It feels so much easier to watch yet another episode of House, or play any number of games that don't require me to focus on a productive, more mentally complex process. Additionally, despite my love of creative self-expression, I so often think of writing as an agonizing slog. I tend to get in my head, and fixate on every detail, halting entirely if something doesn't look or feel exactly right. Ultimately, I need to power through, and normalize a healthier approach wherein setbacks don't critically endanger my momentum and motivation. If I manage to do that, I think both the writing process and the act of sitting down to write in the first place will be easier, and therefore more appealing. I'm hoping for an effort begets results, begets effort, begets results type of positive feedback loop.
There is another element to my reluctance to write, and it's deeper than laziness and lack of motivation. I've considered this element for several months, and have at length found concise wording that satisfies me. Some of my favourite creative elements are such not only because of their quality, but of course by virtue of how they make me feel, and by extension, how they relate to my life experiences and attitudes. It may sound like I'm referring to privacy, and I am, but not solely. Alongside privacy is a concern for the permanence - insofar as strength is concerned - of feelings I share. There's something delicately special about things felt but not spoken. What I fear more than making my feelings bare is that their potency will wane if I share them, diffusing uncontrollably into the ether. It may be silly, but the concern persists. Ultimately, I've sat for too long, resting on long-decayed laurels that were hardly there in the first place. If I don't start meaningfully creating, I'm not sure what point there is in going on. PLUS, I'm already paid up on the website for a while, so, you know...might as well extract some value.
Quotes (Possible Spoilers)
Dune (Frank Herbert), Dune (2021) Denis Villeneuve
Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin in film)
"What has mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises - no matter the mood! Mood's a thing for cattle or making love or playing the baliset. It's not for fighting."
My love for Frank Herbert's Dune and its 2021 adaptation are tremendously difficult to overstate. Both book and film illustrate to compelling effect the shifting human and inhuman conditions that dictate and bind lived experience. As lived experience goes, Gurney Halleck has more than most, insofar as the harshness of reality is concerned. Halleck's (Herbert's) quoted words serve not only as wise advice to Paul Atreides, but adumbrate future events key to the plot. Standing in scarred defiance of his physical and emotional suffering, Halleck very admirably lives by the same principles he imparts to others.
The Boys (Amazon Prime Studios)
Billy Butcher (Karl Urban)
"Where's your fucking rage? Your self-respect? Sitting here in your little share circle, having a little whinge and a moan. Fuck 'letting go.' You should be out there with a fucking chainsaw, going after 'em! Just a bunch of scared fucking rabbits."
The Boys explores a world where superhuman people both plague and bolster an otherwise similar Earth. Powerfully conveyed by Karl Urban's Billy Butcher, The Boys's quoted take on righteous anger is justifiably fervent and colourful, if a little dismissive and inconsiderate. Butcher, grappling with ongoing grief and trauma that, to his credit, would likely destabilize any normal person, is justifiably angry with the idea of wallowing in sadness and accepting mistreatment under what he deems a condemnable guise of healing. Despite being insensitive, and unreasonably dismissive of the value of safely sharing one's feelings - sensing some projection here, Butcher - his call to action is just. Sometimes, talk isn't enough.
Dimension 20 (Dropout)
Bud Cubby (Brennan Lee Mulligan)
"Laws are threats made by the dominant socio-economic, ethnic group in a given nation. It's just a promise of violence that's enacted, and police are basically an occupying army, you know what I mean? You guys want to make some bacon?"
The first season of Fantasy High served as my introduction to recorded D&D programs, and remains my second-favourite Dimension 20 campaign (topped only by A Crown of Candy). I would be remiss not to acknowledge that Brennan Lee Mulligan is, generally speaking, a superb dungeon master, including and especially in regards to his improvisational and dialogue skills. Here, with a characteristic dash of levity, Mulligan furthers the story while simultaneously delivering thoughtful social commentary.
Scene Commentary (Possible Spoilers)
Andrew plays Caravan (finale of film)
Whiplash (2021) - Damien Chazelle
Starring: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons
Supporting: Paul Reiser
Highlights: cinematography, narrative, characters
Whiplash whiplash blah blah blah
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YT Creators/Videos I Like, Plus Commentary
I've been following DSC for 8-10 years, and it still astonishes me he hasn't blown up on YouTube. His covers are of excellent quality, and his commission pricing is reasonable. My recollection is that I originally discovered him through his Super Smash Bros Melee or StarCraft covers, which makes sense, given how much both IPs meant to me around that time. Since then, I've enjoyed many of his covers, including and especially two I personally commissioned. ​DSC is a creator I will gladly continue to plug, because I feel his day of widespread appreciation is long overdue.
I'm not sure that advertising SsethTzeentach on my personal website is the wisest choice, but it's one I will make, nonetheless. The tapestry of his entertainment is eclectically woven - almost jarringly so - as parody, irony, sincerity, critical thinking, general intellect and stupidity, degeneracy, complex abstraction, and social commentary coalesce into videos that betoken an intelligent man - perhaps a creative genius - whose implements of creation are unbound from the tethers of modesty. I would warn prospective viewers that some of his humour is liable to inflame the unprepared - at least if taken at face value. Fun note: he holds an MSc in immunology, and has published in a scientific journal.
There are several WKUK bits I'd happily put here, such as Nerf Nuke, It's Illegal to Say, Sex Robot, Mission Impossible, Hot Dog Timmy, Baby Traits, Glory Hole, You're Pretty Much Completely Blind, Greek Sketch, Shoshon the Elegant, Liquor Store Robbery, and John Cleese. All members of the group excel consistently in their craft, though naturally, not every sketch is a winner (take with requisite grain of salt for subjectivity). I find the group shines particularly in material that addresses its elements with a selectively inverse sense of importance or concern, or very nonchalantly subverts certain expectations while keeping the rails on the overall scenario. They know how to work absurdness, in essence. Rest in peace, Trevor Moore.
Cumtown, my beloved...
Recently rebranded TAFS (The Adam Friedland Show), Cumtown is satire meets black comedy, meets stupidity, meets intellect, meets cultural references, meets great vocal impressions, meets life stories. Nick, Adam, and Stavros are - were - a truly fantastic comedy trio, riffing very well with and against each other. Unfortunately, Stavros ran off a long while ago to chase a cannoli down a steep hill, and never returned. Having lost their 500-pound human laugh track, Nick and Adam opted to rebrand, though Nick left shortly thereafter. Hopefully they'll reconvene someday.
Pretty Much It isn't a channel I follow anymore, but some of their older work (this video especially) is still good for a laugh. Eric and Jacob had some of the best chemistry across the channel's multi-participant film commentaries, and I feel their parting ways was a great loss for viewers. Regardless of where their commentary falls on the improvised-scripted scale, it makes for solid content. Beyond this one, I would recommend their 13 Reasons Why and Polar Express commentaries.
MeatCanyon is a mixed bag for me; he's undeniably an excellent artist, leveraging his skills to imbue videos with eerie, disquieting, and humorous energies. His ability to craft grotesque characters that are equal parts horrifying to look at, and difficult to look away from, is masterful. Jawbreaker and its sequel are good examples of this. MC's work is quite monochromatic, though, and some of his videos hobble along long after their legs have been exhausted. Additionally, I dislike his spinoff channel(s)/content. I don't need to watch somebody famous for their visual art make detestably indolent attempts at additional income through scarfing down TV dinners, broadcasting lukewarm takes, or telling personal stories of dubious truth. Respectfully, stay in your lane. Lastly, I don't like him as a person; I think he's a hypocrite, and an asshole by virtue of said hypocrisy.
Games
Undertale
Toby Fox
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Subnautica
Unknown Worlds Entertainment
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Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2004)
Pandemic Studios
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Bennett Foddy
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Misc
The Path to Veritas
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Some years ago, early in my university education, I befriended a classmate in film studies after he showed me one of the stupidest and funniest academic projects I'd ever seen (and will likely ever see). An unexpected byproduct of this friendship was introduction and invitation to a D&D group. While he left it shortly after, I remained. I was hooked. I'd played plenty of video and board games, but I'd only ever managed to dip a toe into D&D, playing a couple of sessions in high school. Getting settled was certainly a journey in itself; there are many mechanics and principles to learn in D&D, and the group's members (excepting my friend) were entirely strangers to me. I'm happy to say, however, that committing to the game and the group was one of the best decisions of my life. After over 5 years, I remain a part of that group, and can say with pride, gratitude, and alarm that it's been one of the most stable and consistent elements of my life. On the subject of gratitude, I want to be clear just how much this group has meant - and means - to me. In addition to providing entertainment and socialization, our campaigns have challenged and improved my role-playing and improvisational skills, and allowed me a medium for channeling my creativity. Playing a bard was a wealth of inclination to and opportunity for quipping and wordplay, for example.
I would be remiss, however, if I failed to praise our DM, the creator and steward of the universe where our campaigns have overwhelmingly been set (the first of which quite spectacularly ran over 2 years). His settings, characters, and interwoven threads of story coalesce to form a world that entertains and intrigues without being unpleasantly dense. In the rare event his extensive efforts in prepping sessions are met with unexpected party decisions, he rolls with the punches so effectively that you'd never know he wasn't perfectly prepared for each choice. He does a great job making individual and group RP choices feel impactful and/or rewarding when they're dramatic, humorous, brave, and/or exceedingly clever. I feel we are extremely lucky to have him as a DM, though I also want to note that every other party member (aside from me) has DM'd for one-shots and done a great job. Cheers to my group for their years of camaraderie and shared laughs, and to my DM, for all his incredible creations.