Weekend Wrap 10/19/2025

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.

This week, it's really starting to feel like fall. I love fall, but I know that, too quickly, it's going to be winter. I don't love winter. I feel like everything slows down a bit, while just getting more and more crazy at work. It is a paradox that makes the end of the year just about my least favorite time. But we get through it. We always do.

Music

This is it, right? One of the big releases of the year that I was looking forward to. Titans of Creation came out in April of 2020, so it was time. And after the huge disappointment that was the Dark Angel record, Extinction Level Event, I was desperate for some killer thrash metal.

And...

Well, I got something better than Dark Angel. At least there is that.

Para Bellum isn't bad. But it isn't great. I applaud the band for stretching itself stylistically. There is a lot more going on here than just thrash. There are black metal elements, death metal, and some groove metal mixed in with the thrash.

But the result is an album that feels very scattered. There isn't a cohesive vision of the album. It feels like a collection of singles. One of the things I love about metal is that, often, it is more album-oriented than many other genres. Not here. There is no flow. Listen start to finish, put it on shuffle: it would sound the same.

I'm not angry. Just disappointed.

Still listening to it though.

Books

Finally.

I finally finished Wind and Truth. When it came out, I decided I needed to read The Lost Metal first. But I felt I needed to re-read all the Mistborn books first. So it took a while for me to get back to Stormlight.

Then there is the little fact that this book is over 1,300 pages long.

It took a while. But was it worth it?

Yes, it was. There is no question it isn't my favorite Stormlight book. But it does bring a satisfying partial conclusion to many character arcs. This is the end of the first arc of The Stormlight Archive, and accomplishes both closing a chapter and making readers itch for the next arc.

Fortunately, Sanderson writes much more quickly than, say, Martin.

His prose isn't great, to be honest. But his characters are, and the world and universe he has built, I find fascinating. So I keep coming back for more.

I'm also relieved to be done with this book, finally.

Quote of the week

With my plans to write another novel, I've been thinking about the why. Why do I write? This quote is one of the reasons. I enjoy the way writing makes me think. It forces me to take vague, nebulous ideas and make sense of them.

It helps me process my thoughts. They become clearer.

I've been spending more time writing, and I am enjoying it. Even if you don't write creatively, this is one of the reasons that journaling can be so beneficial. If you haven't really tried it recently, I challenge you to give it a try.

What didn't work

I've been getting easily distracted lately.

It's been a challenge. I'm struggling to stick to my tasks outside of work. I make plans, then get sidetracked and, next thing I know, the day is over and I haven't accomplished those plans. I need to be better at it.

I need to focus.

Wrapping up

I find myself slowing down. I need to fight that. Or maybe I need to roll with it a little? My mindfulness practice would suggest the latter. Guess I need to see where I go from here.