In which I briefly comment on the books I read each month, so a few years from now when I’m trying to remember one of them, I’ll be able to find it here. Since I’m a media omnivore, it also includes games, movies, and any other media of note that I engaged with.
Do we have similar tastes, or will you be questioning how we ever got connected? Let’s find out!
Books
Robot-Proof: When Machines Have All the Answers, Build Better People by Vivienne Ming
Ostensibly and frequently about AI, Ming’s at her best when reflecting on her own “mad scientist” projects and writing broadly about the pros and cons of Technology. Her optimism for humans ultimately doing the right thing is… very optimistic, though. I respect her work as a smart researcher and technologist, and have generally found her to be pretty level-headed when it comes to real AI applications, but there’s no question she’s a true believer, which is what made this such a weird read. While she nails AI’s inherent civil rights issues, there’s zero mention of the environmental impact of her ambitiously optimistic use cases, which she presumably believes is offset by the potential to augment and support humanity. Can a good read simultaneously be a bad one? It’s definitely a provocative read, and she builds a reasonably compelling argument — but it’s all built on the flawed premise of inevitability, which she also makes a reasonably compelling argument for being true. I’ve never dogeared and highlighted a book so much that I also debated getting rid of when I was done reading it, partly because there’s some solid general takeaways throughout. It’s a keeper, but not for the ideal reasons.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
I expected this to be dated and a bit cringe, but it was surprisingly earnest and fun; two guys having a blast making comics that mashed up a wild mix of inspirations to create something new. The annotations and commentary are great, too. Future volumes will be read.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
I struggled to connect or empathize with most of the main characters, but once the focus shifted to the real heart of the story, it became an engaging, intense ride to the end. Solid overall, but between this and his disappointing Earthdivers comic, I’m thinking maybe SGJ just isn’t my type and I can skip The Buffalo Hunter Hunter?
Games
Star Wars Outlaws (Xbox)
Xbox may be on its death bed, but MY Xbox still has a role to play, specifically for single-player games like this, especially when they go on sale. Much-maligned upon its release, two years later (the now-standard Ubisoft redemption arc?) it’s become an entertaining open world adventure that doesn’t bring anything new to the table mechanically or narratively, but takes full advantage of its Star Wars setting to feel like something uniquely different from its peers. It took about 10 hours for the full gameplay loop to settle in and the story to hit its stride, but by the time they converged, I was fully onboard with Kay Vess, a more likeable scoundrel than Messers. Solo and Calrissian. I’m about 2/3rds through and the highlights so far include two great extended set pieces featuring Bosnok and Nix, and playing Sabacc, which is surprisingly addictive!
Mewgenics (Steam Deck)
I’ve just started playing this weird-ass game, a hearty recommendation with caveats from my son, and was immediately intrigued by its goofy tutorial, and then hooked after the first unexpectedly challenging “adventure.” It’s a turn-based tactical roguelite with South Park levels of inappropriate WTFery that you really have to play to understand, and it’s perfect on the Deck, which means Slay the Spire finally has some competition for being my “casual” addiction.
Sports
NY Mets (SNY & Audacy)
What an absolute disaster this season has been. Carlos Mendoza wasn’t the main problem by any stretch, but he’s the obvious scapegoat when you’re trying to convince fans (and maybe the rest of the team) that the season isn’t over yet. It’s definitely over, though, and the best thing Stearns can do to justify Cohen not firing him, too, is to pull off a few impressive trades that build on the handful of positives this season has hinted at. Rather than firing him, I expect we’ll see them hire a general manager who might focus on the major league team while Stearns continues to build up the foundation for the organization, which seems to be his actual strength. No idea who that might be, but pairing that person with Carlos Beltran as the new manager in 2027 would go a long way to giving fans (and players) a reason to be excited after two inexplicably miserable seasons in a row.
The Men’s World Cup (Fox)
I try not to let politics ruin international football (soccer) for me, but who would have thought the US would end up being recognized as problematic a host as Russia and Qatar?!? I lost interest in the US Men’s team years ago, and despite Pochettino being one of my favorite managers, I’ll be happy to see them get eliminated when the host nation seeding advantage wears out and they have to face Belgium, Senegal, or Spain. As always, I’m unapologetically rooting for every previously colonized nation, although of the traditional favorites, I wouldn’t be upset to see Spain win it all, especially if they are the ones to eliminate the US. ¯\_ (?)_/¯
Your Notes?
If you’ve engaged with any of these, let me know what you thought. And if you have any related recommendations, drop ’em in the comments or on the socials! Some of you prefer email, which is cool, too. You do you!
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