Weekend Wrap 1/25/2026

Each weekend, I like to pause, reflect, and look back on the past week. This isn't a deep dive or grand reflection—just a quick review of a handful of things that brought me joy, made me think, or challenged me.

Music

Holy crap, have I been asleep at the wheel! Look, I've heard the name Kreator for years. But, stupidly, assumed they were a little Euro-trashy power-metal that was going to have album artwork that the music couldn't stand up to.

Even after they released "State of Unrest" with Lamb of God, a total banger, I just assumed it was mostly Lamb of God, with some cleaner vocals to balance out Randy Blythe. Still, I was looking for something new to listen to, and figured checking out the new Kreator album couldn't hurt.

Yeah...

I'm hooked.

This is smart, heavy, aggressive thrash metal. And I love thrash. Politically charged and intelligent lyrics, speed, technical skill, an almost manic energy, and music that sounds like it is ready to fuel a revolution.

Hell yeah.

And the best part? They have 40+ years of music to discover. Brilliant.

Games

I want to like this game.

I really do. It should tick all my boxes: a narrative core throughout, a team of characters to interact with, and good third-person action.

But it just isn't clicking with me. The banter is annoying and never seems to stop. The characters feel like Temu versions of the MCU characters. It isn't that I just want the MCU versions; I have issues with those characters as well.

But everything about this version is just close enough to feel like we've entered the uncanny valley of characters. I just don't know if I am going to bother going back.

Quote of the week

This exact idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while now. It is really part of the entire "gentle refinement" theme for this year.

Intensity is great, in moments when it is needed. But it isn't sustainable. It isn't something that is going to work long-term or last. The truth is, I think we need the consistency so we are ready for the moments of intensity.

As a surgeon, I think about this a lot.

If things are going as I hope, most of the time, my surgeries should be low-key, consistent with how I do them, and should allow all of us to be relaxed as we move through the cases (music choice notwithstanding). The point of doing things as consistent as possible is to be prepared for the rare moments of intensity.

It is a good lesson for most of life. Be consistent every day, so we are ready to be intense when the moment demands it.

Area of improvement

I've been accused of being negative.

That's fair. I know I have that tendency. In the past, my response was to try to force myself to be more positive. It always fails. My positivity was a sham.

Instead, I have decided I want to be more optimistic.

I think there are important differences. Positivity implies, at least to me, a certain amount of denial of reality. A need to ignore what is and just pretend.

Optimism implies something different. It isn't a denial of what is. But it is a belief and a hope that things can be better. Not magically, but with effort and work, one can be part of making things better.

It requires effort. But that's what makes it realistic. So I want to be less negative and more optimistic.

Wrapping up

Optimism is damn hard right now. Things are going to hell, and mighty quickly. But we can't give up on the chance that things can improve. That we can work to help them improve. I hope we can all be part of that.

Let's work to make the world just a little better.