It’s been a while. I feel like rambling. Let’s get a blog post on the wall.
This was originally going to be a recap of the past year, but I’ve been so bad at keeping this blog updated that the timeline covered in this post will probably account for the last couple of years.
Let’s start with something simple – literature.
What Have I Been Reading?
I’ve been reading a lot the last couple years. I haven’t read this much in my entire life. I used to sit and read the Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy every couple of years, and occasionally grab a self-help book or a collection of science fiction short stories. Now, thanks goes, in two equal parts, to Audible and Brandon Sanderson. The first is pretty self-explanatory. The second is an amazing fantasy author who has monopolized my reading time. Here’s a short list of what I’ve been reading:
- The Reckoners: Steelheart
- The Reckoners:Firefight
- The Reckoners:Calamity
- Mistborn: The Final Empire
- Mistborn: The Well of Ascension
- Mistborn: The Hero of Ages
- Mistborn: The Alloy of Law
- Mistborn: Shadows of Self
- Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning
- Stormlight Archives: The Way of Kings
- Stormlight Archives: Words of Radiance
- Stormlight Archives: Oathbringer
- Arcanum Unbounded
- Elantris
I’m halfway through Warbreaker.
Most of Sanderson’s works exist in a connected Universe called the Cosemere, taking place on different planets under different gods, each with unique magic systems. I’m definitely hooked and aching to re-read Stormlight again, but I’m going to wrap up Warbreaker and its sequel and move on to finally reading Dune and maybe the I, Robot series. I’d really like some solid science fiction, if anyone can recommend something.
What Have I Been Playing?
When it comes to video games, variety is the spice of life. I’m in no position at the moment to list my top games of the year or anything like that, but I’ve been enjoying quite a bit this last year. I’ve been dusting off some retro games as well.
- Polished off Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie
- Got really into Cities: Skylines when I started watching and streaming on Twitch.
- Frostpunk and Subnautica are definitely my top PC titles right now. Add Celeste to that list and you have my top 3 indie games.
- Pinball Fuck Yeah! I’ve been really enjoying Pinball FX3 on Steam.
- Spider-man on the PS4 was surprisingly good from beginning to end.
- Detroit: Become Human will be getting a second play eventually.
- Luigi’s Mansion 3 is definitively my top Nintendo game to come out this year.
- Pokemon Sword and Shield is solid, despite the lack of a full national dex.
I have a massive backlog and other than Animal Crossing and maybe any really good sales on Playstation, I’m probably not going to be purchasing any games over the next few months. Plus, I am still a subscriber to the Humble Bundle (Okay I did cheat and asked for Crash Team Racing and Outer Worlds for Christmas).
What Have I Been Doing?
If you’ve followed along on this blog, you’ve probably noticed that I talk a lot about wanting to do things and then never sticking to it.
That’s changed, somewhat.
I’ve been streaming on Twitch lately. I don’t think Twitch is the perfect platform for me – I prefer having episodes like the Game Grumps opposed to long 3-hour live sessions. Game Casting Couch will be doing both. I’ve found a co-host, I’ve upgraded my audio gear, and we plan on doing regular recordings starting next week. We’ll stream for a few hours in a session, and then cut the video into half-hour chunks to post on Facebook, YouTube, etc.
I’m pretty stoked about that.
How Have I Been Feeling?
Depression is a hell of a thing, is it not?
I’ve not been managing it well – at least not as well as I could be. I’m really focused on fixing that. Keeping busy with personal hobbies helps a lot. Journaling helps a lot. I’ve also scraped away at the layers to find a few core issues that I’m resolving.
Facebook has been a problem for a while. I have acquaintances that are toxic right-wingers. I understand having different opinions, but some of them are the indoctrinated eat-Trump’s-asshole, murder-Greta-Thunberg, her-emails kind of idiots. I could just unfriend them. Instead, I removed the shortcut to Facebook on my phone’s home screen and replaced it with Twitter. As much as I hate Facebook and Zuckerberg, my last decade and a half has been documented there. I know I can download all my information (and I have) but I feel like the focus shift is all I need.
There is nothing I can say about the world situation that hasn’t already been said, but it is a trying time. I’m half tempted to just join in and do as much harm to the world as possible before I go. It seems profitable and fun. I’ll save the energy for satire later down the road.
I feel like that’s a pretty good update for now. I plan on getting a blog out about my streaming setup soon. Expect more in the future.
