The kid and I finished The Two Towers tonight, and jesus these movies are hitting me hard right now. It’s interesting to reflect on what I’ve carried with me about this story since I read it as a kid and how that’s different than how my lived experiences change my understanding now.

It’s funny how serious the Lord of the Rings movies can be, but then Legolas does firecrackers on a shield while shooting arrows at a bunch of orcs.

Almost finished with Hollow Knight. I’m excited to play Silksong right away, but I worry I might be Hollow Knighted out if I do that. Fortunately, Hades II is out and might be the perfect next game!

Forgive me for being a day late with these

got that dog in me (am a werewolf)

D&D came up at my skate camp, and one of my students was more impressed that I play D&D with the librarians in our town than anything I can do on a skateboard. He said “I love librarians!!”

It’s worth reading this whole article. She’s been through some tough struggles with her kids and child birth, and she uses her interview her to promote a charity.

Somehow woke up before everybody else, so I made pancakes. I love pretending to be a TV family that eats breakfast together 😅

Pete Hegseth accidentally flipping a skateboard into his nuts on live TV

Finished watching Fellowship of the Ring with my daughter, and she was unphased by Gandalf falling off the bridge. “No worries. I’m sure he’ll figure something out.” “Umm, no. He’s definitely dead. I’m sorry.” “He’ll find a shortcut and meet up with them later.” Can’t get anything past her 🧙‍♂️

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My kid is into Lord of the Rings now. I’m awed by how much it holds her attention. Last night she said “Dad, I LOVE watching Lord of the Rings.” She was on the edge of her seat watching Arwen ride Frodo to Rivendell. “They’re not going make it in time! Mom—Frodo’s going to turn into a wraith 😭”

I needed some battle maps for D&D, but I’m kind of broke. Fortunately, arts and crafts with my kid made me realize I could glue some wrapping paper upside down to cardboard and draw on it with crayons. It didn’t come out as great as I’d like, but it was a fun hack.

My wife went to a Sleep Token concert last night, and when she showed me videos of the singer in a black cloak and white mask whose name is Vessel… Are Sleep Token big Hollow Knight fans???

I’m over 20 hours into Hollow Knight. It’s been a minute since I’ve put that much time into a single game (that wasn’t a mobile game I play until I pass out). This really might be the best Metroidvania I’ve ever played, especially in terms of exploring the world.

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I’ve been thinking how we don’t really make movies or shows about people with different values forced to work together anymore. It was a very post-9/11 concept. Lost is the iconic example, but 2004’s Dawn of the Dead written by Gunn is always next in my head and I’ve been meaning to rewatch it.

I got an overwhelmed at my sister’s wedding and shut down. My cousin’s boyfriend noticed me staring into space, so he came over and said “hey, did you hear Matthew Lillard is coming back for the next Scream movie?” It snapped me out of my funk in a way that made me feel so seen and understood.

I see this problem over a range of issues. People ask “why aren’t we doing anything about this,” when the first question should be “what are we doing already” or “how does this work?” I think people care more about looking like the problem solver than to wonder if it’s even a problem. Be curious!

I’m officiating my sister’s wedding today! I’ve been so nervous about it for months, but now that we’re here and I’ve written the ceremony and we’ve had the rehearsal…I’m ready to crush it.

Congrats to the happy couple!!! 🎉

I’m on Hollow Knight, not Silksong, but I just had a frustrating experience with the run back for the Mantis Lords. What I learned through it was how to efficiently get through those corridors without fighting every enemy on the way. I think it ultimately focused my dodging for the boss fight.

This morning I had to confront a huge guy at the arcade who made my daughter get off the Pump It Up machine and took her turn because she wasn’t “playing it right.” I think I did a good job puffing my chest and getting into Papa Bear mode, but I was worried he’d get aggressive and rip me in half.

Oh no, not while I’m in a Tom Clancy phase already! It really has been too long though. I can’t believe how long it’s been since we’ve had a Splinter Cell game.

Not to be the listen to my dreams guy, but last night I dreamt of a game called Thicc and Twisted where you controlled a motorcycle gang of punk pigs, and your primary attack was a tornado move like a swarm of Crash Bandicoots. It was like Road Rash meets Anarcute? So anyway, that’s a free idea.

Oh my god I fucking LOVE Serenity. Such a weird movie with a bonkers twist.

Speaking of everyday carry and notebook making, I fell down this rabbit hole because I got this new wallet that holds a small journal. It’s surprisingly comfortable when sitting even though it has a pen in it too?

I played Zombies Ate Your Neighbors while Wil Wheaton played Combat on Atari next to me at PAX, but I didn’t know who he was and I guess we didn’t interact…

I’m curious about the calls from leaders, especially the governor of Utah, to get off social media and connect with your communities. I suspect people are already trending this way, but I can’t be certain because I might have carved my own algorithm bubble.

A video about making pocket notebooks popped into my YouTube feed, and it looked so simple that my wife and I immediately did it. We cut a Bluey cereal box for the cover and gave it to our daughter. I’m not a crafty guy, so I was surprised how easy it was. I may never buy another notebook.

What’s that tweet that’s like “inspired by the sci-fi novel Don’t Make the Torture Nexus we made the Torture Nexus” or whatever, because this is top to bottom from M3GAN.

I just put it together that this book is about John Clark putting together a multi-national anti-terrorism task force, so I’m bracing myself for Hogwarts levels of bad names and stereotypes.

Ding Chavez is this cool recurring hero in Tom Clancy stories, but Clancy describes him in such racist ways through the POV character who is his father-in-law. The prologue is them on a plane taken hostage, and John Clark thinks “Ding should know to stay calm, yet he does have that Latino passion.”

I looked up from my bed to see this nightmare in my doorway.

I picked up this stack of Tom Clancy books at a junk sale. I read Rainbow Six when I was in middle school. I can’t believe I used to be able to read 900 page books.

I think it would have been funny to have Larry David in character present the Bob Hope Award to Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.

I don’t want to be this person, but I’m really worried what the reaction to GTA 6 is going to be when it drops in this moment.

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No one knows how old this man is or how he learned every scientific fact about coffee

Ingold's rules of narrative: - the universe must have a moral arc - plants always grow towards the light - mean people aren't interesting but nasty ones are - good people aren't interesting but kind ones are - every liar must be living a lie - every maze must have a minotaur

AIDS is no longer a death sentence. Prosthetics for people who lose limbs are lightyears better than they were a decade ago. As of this year, 40% of all electricity generation comes from renewables like solar, wind, and hydro.

My brain is so scrambled today that I tried to explain 9/11 to my pre-schooler on the way to school. Her reaction was “does mom know about this? You have to tell her too!”

I think I finally have a coherent-ish thought about Charlie Kirk’s murder. Annoying comments placing him on a pedestal might be annoying, but are figuring out how to say the first amendment should mean we aren’t shot for what we say. I’m wondering—can we have both free speech and unlimited guns?

Apparently my daughter has entered the age where boys start being little shits to girls. Several times in the last week she tried to play with boys and they yell that she can’t play because she’s a girl. It breaks my heart. Her response last night was “I’m not just a girl, I’m a KID!”

I know my new blog seemed to fizzle, but I did write a draft for a new post yesterday and I’ve been finding a rhythm with my writing time this last week. I’m sure it’s clear from my Bluesky posts, but my kid is giving me plenty of ideas to write about her screen time and games she plays.

An atrocious hot take developing in my brain is that Metroid games are barely metroidvanias. I know it’s stupid—the map is basically the whole thing, but the combat, movement, expressivity, weird NPCs…that’s all SOTN and the GBA games.

I only played about 4-5 hours of Hollow Knight when it came out, so I’m enjoying revisiting it now. Maddie saw me playing it when Hornet first shows up, and she was basically like “why can’t you be her?” Kid, I have some terrific news for you!

Aren’t there already four Wolfenstein games in that continuity?

🏈 ESPN NFL 2K5 (SEGA for Xbox/PS2, 2004): 21 years later, this game still retains the crown for best presentation in a football game, and nobody’s come close. The underlying game is timeless, even if the players have changed. And just $20 for this in 2004 was a steal. Best football ever? Could be.

My favorite TV themes: Batman: The Animated Series (free space on the bingo card) 60s Batman Cheers Star Trek Voyager (recency bias) Bluey