My September / October Media Diet

The past two months, and honestly this entire year, have kind of slipped by me. I’ve been working a ton, both professionally and on my own projects, and I’m not entirely sure where all the time has gone. We spent the end of last month in Maui, which is my excuse for missing a blog post. So here we are, another two-for-one special.

If anyone actually reads this blog, I’d love for you to check out my new app, Leaf, and my open-source app, SF Cymbals. I’m really proud of both of them. Being able to build apps and ship features at the pace I have lately has been incredibly rewarding, if a little overwhelming. It’s a strange feeling to have more ideas than time to work on them.

I really need to buckle down and give my first app, Bound, some much-needed attention. Unfortunately, I’m having so much fun building new things that it’s hard to pull myself away. A good problem to have, I suppose.

Anyway, here’s what else I was up to over the past two months:

📺 Ted Lasso. The relentlessly optimistic Ted Lasso is back, and dare I say this might be my favorite season since the first? It’s largely the same stories and familiar beats, but sometimes you just want a little comfort food. This show knows exactly what it is, and I’m perfectly happy with that.

🍿 Coyote vs. Acme. What a delightful surprise. I cannot believe Warner Bros. let this sit on a shelf for years. Whoever made that decision should be fired. More movies like this, please.

🍿 Disclosure Day. What are you doing, Spielberg? This was so forgettable. It’s still got that unmistakable Spielberg eye, and there are moments of genuine visual magic, but man, I expected so much more from this.

🍿 Toy Story 5. I had a great time watching this, but I suspect that six months from now I’ll struggle to remember anything beyond “technology isn’t everything.” Then again, I’m a 37-year-old man reviewing the fifth installment of a children’s movie franchise. Maybe I’m not the target audience anymore.

🍿 The Last House. Hokey action horror that’s a little too ambitious for its own good. I appreciate the effort, but this was a miss.

📺 Jeopardy! Masters and Jeopardy!. Jeopardy’s back, baby, and Ken Jennings is better than ever. With all due respect to Alex Trebek, I think Ken might be the best host the show has ever had. There, I said it.

🕹️ Titanium Court. I have almost no idea what’s happening narratively, but the core gameplay loop is fun and addictive enough that I don’t really care. I’m hoping the story eventually starts making some sense. The art style, though? Chef’s kiss.

📺 Neagley. Reacher is already pretty hokey, and somehow this spin-off manages to crank it up another notch. Is it good television? Probably not. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely. I’d watch another season if only to have something to talk to my dad about.

🍿 Pigeon Kings. I went in expecting Fast & Furious with pigeons and instead got a documentary about lonely men searching for community. Looking back, I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting.

🍿 Some Kind of Heaven. A documentary about The Villages in Florida that left me feeling pretty depressed. So many people just want to be seen, loved, and part of something. Watching them struggle to find that in a place explicitly designed to manufacture happiness was a tough watch.

🍿 The End of Oak Street. Relentless dinosaur action. It’s no Jurassic Park, but I had a great time. I went in expecting one or two dinosaur models stretched across the entire runtime, but they really delivered on the prehistoric carnage. We got our money’s worth.

📺 The Paper. What happened to Ned? The first season was such a pleasant surprise, but they’ve made him almost unbearable this time around. It feels like they’re trying to recreate Michael Scott’s particular brand of awkwardness, except Ned just makes my skin crawl. I struggled to stay interested.

🍿 Resident Evil. Probably the weakest of Zach Cregger’s three movies, but still a pretty good time. Austin Abrams is fantastic, and I thought the first half was genuinely excellent. Once we got to Raccoon City, though, the seams started to show. Still, I’ll watch whatever Cregger makes next.

🍿 Tony. Loved this, but I think I might be even more impressed with the director. There’s so much heart here, with tragedy woven throughout in ways I didn’t expect. Not at all the movie I thought I was getting, and I’m glad for it.

🍿 I Want Your Sex. I went in expecting a fun, lighthearted romp and got something considerably more serious. It has its moments, but nothing really stuck with me. Sometimes I just want a movie to be a good time, ya know?

🕹️ Super Mario Bros. Remastered. A lovely remake of the original with just enough visual polish to make it feel fresh without losing its charm. Major nostalgia trip back to spending hours playing this at my grandparents’ house in the ’90s.

🕹️ Absolum. I haven’t spent nearly enough time with this yet, which is a shame because it’s exactly my kind of beat ‘em up. I’m hoping to dive back in soon, preferably with a co-op partner. Too many games, not enough time.

📖 Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman. Fun beach read. I still don’t quite understand the enormous following these books have, though. They’re fine? I’ve also been struggling to settle into reading the way I used to, which is particularly ridiculous considering how much time I’ve spent building my own reading app. Maybe next year I’ll finally unclench enough to relax with a book again. Or maybe that’s exactly why these are so popular. They’re just easy.

🕹️ Kururin Squash!. I loved the first two games on GBA and finally got around to the GameCube installment. It’s a perfect fit for my Retroid Pocket Nova. Simple, charming, and exactly the kind of pick-up-and-play game I keep coming back to.

📺 MobLand. Kind of loving this season. Everyone is completely unhinged and every episode somehow manages to spiral further out of control. An unhinged former James Bond and his equally unhinged wife? Sign me up.

🍿 Buddy. Better than I expected! I wish they’d leaned harder into the Saturday morning TV framing rather than going down the whole “sucked into a demonic television show” route. There’s a more interesting version of this movie somewhere, but I’ll take what I can get.

🍿 Hope. Man, this was a ride until it suddenly wasn’t. I was completely on board for the first two-thirds, but things started falling apart when I realized these supposedly hyperintelligent aliens were devoting all their attention to some of the least consequential people on the planet. Throw in an ending that feels more interested in setting up a sequel than finishing the story, and I left pretty disappointed.

🍿 The Traitors: New Blood. Fruit Gate. That is all.

📺 Avatar: Seven Havens. We love us some Avatar in this house, and I think they really nailed this third installment. The new themes and central mystery have me genuinely intrigued. I’m excited to see where they take this world in future seasons.

📺 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run. This show is completely insane, just like every other season. I can barely keep track of what’s happening from one moment to the next, but somehow I’m having a great time. Never change, JoJo.

📺 Love Island: Australia. It’s back, and Sophie Monk remains a national treasure. Not much has happened yet, but who am I kidding? We’re going to watch every episode.

🍿 The Dog Stars. Is it time for Ridley Scott to hang it up? I hate to say it, but his recent output has been one disappointment after another. I also read that he might be taking back the reins of the Alien franchise, which leaves me with some very mixed feelings. I love the man for what he’s given us, but maybe it’s time to let someone else cook.

📖 As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers. Every Becky Chambers book has this quiet, comforting quality that really resonates with me. I didn’t hesitate to pick this up the moment it was released. I’m only a little way in, but I can already feel that familiar magic. Sometimes you just know a book is going to work for you.

🍿 You Can See Everything. Maybe the best movie I’ve seen all year? I need to sit with this one for a while, but damn, what a ride. Nathan Fielder is operating on another level here. Give this man all the awards.