Ran a 16-mile half-marathon. Celebrated Hot Dog Week. Attended a first birthday. Smoked around backyard fires. Swam laps. Biked cycles. Normal spring things.
This month’s playlist:
Perfect Days
My second Wim Wenders. Decidedly different than Paris, Texas. But there’s a relationship between the protagonists in both. Spare words, deep emotions, and generous hearts. We are lulled into the comfort of strict routine, quiet moments, and simple beauty. We’re just as shattered when the protagonist’s rhythm is interrupted and our hearts melt as he accommodates the intrusions with gentleness and kindness.
“The world has many worlds.”
Fruits Basket
The 2019 remake of the lauded 2001 series. I still don’t understand the name. An entertaining romcom with a satisfying slice of drama. Enjoyable characters but my interest in the narrative ebbed and flowed a lot with the first two seasons. Thankfully, the journey pays off in the third and crescendos with several great emotional moments.
The Farthest Shore
I’ve been ripping through Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series concurrently with Dune and I’m enamored with this fantasy world and its written style. I love how it’s strangely grounded. The stakes are around the characters’ hearts. And even though some may be powerful, or wield magic, all are fragile and equally susceptible to human frailty. There are no superheroes here, just people.
The Outer Worlds
Not to be confused with Outer Wilds. This is sci-fi adventure RPG that’s a fine way to pass the time but not great in any particular way. The combat is serviceable and the writing is fun. I’m dumping all my points into persuasion and talking my way through most encounters like a snake oil salesman. The silly side characters are the highlight. Side quests are worth doing purely because some goofy guy is going to be waiting to swindle or murder you at the end of it.
This month I also finally developed half a dozen rolls of film, yet have scanned nothing. I could make a curtain of the unscanned rolls hanging around the apartment. Been attending a Saturday morning writing group and I’m getting excited about this next project. Oh, and I submitted a couple photos to a zine, and was published.