Category: Media

This is a container category for media reviews and related drivel.

  • State of Play: May 2025

    It’s been a little bit since the last one of these. So, what am I playing lately? Here’s a hint:

    Last Epoch video game screenshot: A mage and a weird floating three-armed minion hanging around in a dungeon.

    I mean, I also play some other games. Let’s catch up.

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  • Is A Hot Dog A Sandwich?

    Let me muddle this age-old question somewhat by presenting today’s lunch result:

    On a small green-and-gold plate sits a whole-wheat bagel sandwich, the fillings of which consists of a hotdog sliced lengthwise and a slice of provolone cheese. For some reason the Pixel 8 phone's camera decided that depth of field is for numptys, so this shot turned out far more artsy than originally intended.

    This is what happens when it’s lunchtime, you’re down to the last of the Zenners franks, the last slice of provolone, and you have no hot dog buns. Grab a bagel! Slice the frank lengthwise and make a sandwich out of it! Ahaha, I am clever. I know this because Vyx said so when I showed her the picture.

  • Last Epoch

    So there I was, feeling like I needed to play something different. I can only do so much Warframe space ninja action at a time before I need something slightly lower paced. I’m at a tedious and frustrating part of my solo Satisfactory game and don’t want to hit burnout while also running a weekly co-op session for some coworkers. What else is on offer? Is it time to go shopping?

    I very nearly wound up buying Baldur’s Gate 3 but decided that “try a D&D game again” probably wouldn’t pan out any better than any of the previous few times, such as when I spent a few hours with Solasta. While researching BG3, however, I bumped into mention of something else: A Diablo type game (of which there are, admittedly, quite a few) that isn’t by Blizzard and isn’t a Path of Exile game and isn’t part of the now-cursed Torchlight franchise, nor is it spawned from or closely related to Titan Quest/Grim Dawn. (OK, yes, I’ve clearly tried a few of these over the years. There’s an itch which needs scratching.) After reading a couple of reviews, I decided to use the last of the “gift card” money in my Steam wallet to pick up…

    Last Epoch.

    That certainly is a distinctive type of game interface, isn’t it? I have loot drops filtered so the lowest-tiers of rarity appear just as bits of light without the name cards to reduce visual clutter.
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  • Satisfactory: Team Building Exercise

    I’ve been taking a bit of a break from my solo Satisfactory save, mainly because dealing with the logistics of nuclear power is a major headache when you have to build every last concrete foundation, conveyor belt, and hunk of machinery involved all by yourself.

    Luckily, several of my coworkers agreed to join me on a new multiplayer save.

    Satisfactory video game screenshot: In the rocky desert sits the Hub station and a couple of crafting benches. In the foreground are three pioneers (player avatars), one with a ginormous helmet, another one seated (actually disconnected from the game session).
    I didn’t even know there was a “huge helmet” option. It’s properly ridiculous, and I mean that in the best way.

    Unlike with the two-year-long multiplayer save with the kids, I’m not trying to impose any sort of restrictions on how these guys build out their projects. Huge concrete slabs hanging in the air? Fine, cool, as long as we’re getting results. And with four sets of hands (minus one of our players in the most recent session) it’s amazing how much progress you can make. We’ve gone from “nothing” to “coal power and steel production” in about six in-game hours. Never mind the mountain of research we’ve already unlocked.

    I’m having a blast, playing with people who are coming at the game from very different perspectives. We have one guy who’s roughly at my level of time spent really digging into the game, one who’s kind of a blueprint-based speed runner (I’m not judging here, I could honestly be better about using blueprints), and one who had barely touched the game at all before we started this run.

    What will we achieve? Fun, if nothing else, I hope.

  • Hundreds of Beavers

    Listening to an installment of the Xanadu Cinema Pleasure Dome podcast recently, I was intrigued enough by one host’s excitement about this movie to spend a couple of hours with it over the weekend.

    I’m still not sure what exactly in the world I watched.

    Still image from the movie "Hundreds of Beavers": Two people dressed up in beaver mascot costumes in a snowy-looking forest scene carry a log on their shoulders. They're looking toward the camera.

    Hundreds of Beavers is an absolute fever dream of a comedy, I know that much.

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  • Random Amphibian Encounter

    I certainly wasn’t expecting to cross paths with a frog on the way home this afternoon.

    A frog with a mottled green-and-brown-and-gray color pattern perched on a damp sidewalk after a springtime rain shower, possibly contemplating the dandelions.

    Little critter was just minding its business, hanging out on the sidewalk along the very, very busy 185th Street. I almost didn’t notice it in time to stop and take some pictures. As it is, I had to use the digital zoom on my phone to get anything decent. The moment I crept a bit closer to try for a shot with better detail, sproing! Off they went, back under the bramble and toward the creek.

    Absolutely the highlight of my day, I tell you what.