Fall 2024
A collection of seasonal excerpts from the commonplace:
“Someone you dreamed of killing will outlive you.” -Hanif Abdurraqib, forthcoming poem
“I think you will know the brave thing when you see it.” - ND Stevenson, "travel light"
History Books, Gaslight Anthem
The Fox and the Bird, Ok Goodnight — but especially this studio session of “The Bird”
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., Washington Irving — I visited Sleepy Hollow early in November and did most of the tourist things, including a lantern tour of the Old Dutch Church graveyard and a tour of Irving’s Sunnyside Estate. I hold a fondness from my undergraduate for the American tradition of essays and short stories, which Irving was the progenitor. The writing feels more antique now, though I find some (at times intentional and others unintentional) humor in his judgments. E.g.: “Over no nation does the press hold a more absolute control than of the people of America…” (54).
Winter Solstice, Nina MacLaughlin — A stellar follow up to her nature essay Summer Solstice. I worry what fondness I have found with MacLaughlin for the season will ween by February, but right now it is still autumn; The days as dark as they will be in January, but a few degrees warmer.
Puissant (adj.): having great power or influence.
Sagacious (adj.): having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment; shrewd.
The game living in my head rent free is Please Be Happy, which I followed the development of and played the Chapter 1 demo of when it first released…and did not come around to on its actual release (in 2022). In the winter I finally played through a good chunk of the game and, after finishing Elan’s sister studios’ yuri VN National Park Girls a few month ago, I returned with a craving for their signature, saccharine yuri drama. I finished my initial playthrough of Aspen’s route and reloaded a save to follow the butch vampire Juliet’s route. To do so, however, you must first reject Aspen. I’m fascinated by how much the story pivots on this choice and how a second playthrough down this path reveals a negative space that wasn’t even noticed in the first. Both are rewarding and manage to speak to the risks and rewards of first loves (Aspen) and love after loss (Juliet), though the exploration of the latter is less common and thus more commendable. I highly anticipate the studio’s next VN, Summer At The Edge of the Universe.
Also playing: Trails to Azure, UFO 50, Pocketdate!
Watching: Every Karate Kid movie (see Exploits 81 for my thoughts), Dune: Prophecy, Dandadan, Whisper of the Heart, Kiki's Delivery Service