A few things that caught my attention, made me think, or brought me joy this week.
This time next week, I will be somewhere not here. I am excited for the time away, though I always feel trepidation prior to travel. But it will be a good week, a good meeting, and a good chance to have a change of scenery.
Of course, that always means this week will be extra crazy. I’m sure we all feel this way; it seems impossible to take time off without paying for it before and after. That is why it is so important to make the plans and follow through.
Otherwise, the easy path is to not do the things.
Praying at the Altar of Self
Are you seeing a theme?
Again, I’ve been thinking about concepts of self-improvement and optimization. It is so easy for us to swing either direction: endless optimization or just throwing our hands in the air and giving up.
Neither is good.
And that is what I have been struggling with. Finding the balance to do enough, but not get sucked into praying at that altar. I appreciated this idea: gratitude can help keep us centered. Appreciate gently. We learn much about ourselves in those moments.
I Feel the Need. The Need for Speed.
Burnout Revenge was one of the first games I remember playing on my Xbox 360. It was brilliant. Fast, frantic, with spectacular crashes.
The studio behind it gave us some excellent Need for Speed games as well, but nothing that really scratched the itch that Burnout did.
Enter Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Made by people who had worked at Criterion, we once again have that speed, that rush of adrenaline. And those fabulous crashes.
And a fun “Rogue-like” mechanic I hadn’t seen in a racing game before. Galactic Racer is one of the best games with Star Wars in the name in years. Decades, probably.
And I have been loving it.
Solace in the Gloom
Shores of Null blew me away with their 2020 album, Beyond The Shores (On Death and Dying). It was a 40-minute, single song that spoke of the darkness of that time.
Since then, they have been one of my favorite of the many death/doom artists I find myself drawn to.
Homesick continues their string of stellar albums. But this is gloomy music. It isn’t something you dance to. It isn’t even really something you mosh to. These Italians use their music to explore the more painful parts of the human condition.
A key distinguishing aspect of their music is a strong gothic metal sense that makes the songs both more approachable and more full of pathos.
Somehow, the darkness makes it easier to see the light.
Looking Ahead
Next week, I fully expect to be less capable of getting some writing done. I suppose we will just see what happens.
The weather is changing, and with that, there is a different feel to things. I embrace it. Change is good. Sometimes hard, but often good.
