Monthly Log: 05.26
This month I had it ready.
Books
- 📕 Swiss Made (Oriane & Clemént Grandjean): Bought this on a trip to Lugano (the MASI shop is great, I love it) and read it in a couple of days, as it's decently short: a list of 43 Swiss-Made inventions, with a nice collection of pictures and some pages dedicated to the Swiss industry. Some things I didn't even know were Swiss, like the potato peeler! This is also the book that made me discover Betty Bossi is not a real person, which is kind of like when your parents tell you Santa Claus isn't real.
Movies
- 🎥 Swing Girls: Last month we watched Linda Linda Linda thinking it was Swing Girls, this month we finally watched the latter and had tons of fun. The boar scene lives rent-free in my mind. Very goofy, feel-good movie with a lot of over the top moments that made me smile until the end, recommended!
- 🎥 Listers: This one is fully available on Youtube for free! A documentary about extreme birdwatching in North America that really doesn't take itself seriously. Expertly edited, shows a lot of cute birds too. I expected something drama-filled for some reason but it's quite fun overall.
Videogames
- 🎮 Stray Children (PC): Incredible game I'd only recommend to people who have played Moon already, as it really shines when it's taken into context. The kind of game that really makes you think "man, this really is art". I love videogames. My advice to anyone playing is to not stress too much about saving everyone and just go at your own pace! The game can be hard and requires some skill, and it's frustrating at times. It's all part of the message. I really like games that use friction and grit to prove a point...
- 🎮 Chants of Sennaar (PC): As a linguistic enthusiast who studied ZERO linguistics, I really really loved Chants of Sennaar! I didn't expect much from the plot, but the final part really pulled me in. Unlike Stray Children, it's a puzzle game I'd recommend to pretty much anyone unless they're allergic to thinking.
- 🎮 Z.A.T.O. (PC): It's free on Steam. Just play it. Brilliantly written and crafted, I enjoyed it a lot and think about it often.
- 🎮 Xenosaga: Pied Piper (PC): The last piece I was missing before tackling EP III, I ended up enjoying it MUCH MORE than I expected! I played the fan remake and man the fanmade OST is just too good. I still find myself humming the main theme, that's how good it is. I've become a huge Melisse Ortus fan and this legit made me more excited for EP III than Missing Year did. This is also the only Xenosaga without Jin Uzuki, which is great.
- 🎮 1000xRESIST (PC): I had this one on my list for at least a year (since a friend gifted it to me), and what a ride! I love a good sci-fi, and I came from Pied Piper so my expectations were already high enough. 1000xRESIST did not disappoint, and threw in some themes I rarely see tackled in games, especially of this genre. Both reminded me why I get so mad when sci-fi stories end up being just "there's a robot in it"!! There's so many cool and interesting themes you could explore and you're just doing it for the vibe!!! I'm a bit mixed on the final part, but I have nothing but respect for the kind of story the team has crafted. I'm really glad I played it.
The Good Stuff
- When Horror Mocks Your Humanity: I love Daryl's videos, and this one was especially good. Any Xenoblade Chronicles 3 mention makes me nod furiously so that's a plus.
- How Rockstar fit an entire city into PlayStation 2 memory: Haven't played GTA3, but I really like this kind of videos.
- why you need to journal on paper instead of a screen: As a big journaling fan, this was a very relatable watch and something I'd love to yell (lovingly) at anyone!
- 5 Mobility Exercises That Fix 95% of Your Problems: Good and quick stretching video for common pain points. This kind of stretching videos is my favourite.
- They Teach AI Music at Music School Now...: I often get asked what's my opinion on AI Music, and this and Adam Neely's other video serve a pretty good picture, especially to people who are not in the field. "I don't hate technology. I love exploring new tech and I love learning about new things. I hate small-minded people with money who use technology as a cudgel to enforce their terrible taste on the rest of us" is something I very much agree on.
Misc
- Carved a new stamp, this time with my logo. Where will I use it? Dunno. Also made another one which is supposed to be a gift for a friend, and I realized an xacto knife is much better for tiny details! I'm overall pretty satisfied with both.
- Started my German A2.1 class and it's brutal compared to the previous ones. Still, I hope I'll be learning a lot...
- I've started an online class on audio synthesis and I'm super excited.
- I've watched both YoRHa musicals (at least an iteration of them) with a friend and it was real fun. I've had my issues with Automata in the past but now I'm really starting to reconsider it in a new light, I think the first two routes had too big of an impact on the last part for my personal experience and I needed a cooldown period to appreciate that.