Category: Uncategorized

It is hard to believe it has already been a year since starting this new site. I kicked off with a reflection on writing, websites, and social media in an digital age. Re-reading that one lap later and it holds up. Hell I’ll double down on it. Social media sucks. I want to own the thoughts and words I share.

Taking in the past year I’ve accomplished a few of the goals I set for myself and fallen short on others:

• Write consistently. Not my great American novel, but just a little something at least once a week. I ended up averaging 1.7 post a week, for a total of 92.
• Embrace the spirit of SaMCast. Mike and I put out the last episode on the 10 year anniversary, just two days before my first post here. Safe as Milk let me share the things I was enjoying (check), inspired me to try new things (check), and let me hang out with my friend (not check, but Mike and I still get coffee 2-3 times a month). I miss it a year on, but it had it’s day.
• Start new projects. You don’t need a website to start projects. My garage and office closet are a graveyard of old projects no website will ever see. But this is a good place to keep up with them. I can share, but also have some self inflicted accountability to progress them. The ABC Challenge, 50 Best Games, and Travel Logs are my favorite web specific projects from year one.
• Build my design/code skills. I have day dreamed for years about building interactive visualizations, games, and experiences on the web. What I landed on with this new site does not allow me to scratch that itch and by extension I have not progressed it much in 365 days. I am tinkering with Gemini and Claude Code occasionally, but nothing that is ever ready to surface and share.

I came to the latest Gorillaz album not by way of the music, but this stellar animated music video that covers three of it’s tracks. I’ve watched it four times at this point and will surely watch it again. It is hand drawn 2d animation from The Line (a good follow)to match the period of films it is inspired by.

Then it turns out the whole album is great too. Chill beats, belting upbeat songs, and features from Black Thought, Yasiin Bey, and more.

I’d call myself a casual J. Cole fan. My annual Spotify wrapped generally does not include him, but there is probably a new track or feature of his that makes my person playlist every year. Starting Dreamville, putting on J.I.D., and Earth Gang probably rank higher for me than his music.

BUT! His new album is great and you should give it a listen! It is a good whole album listen too, which continues to be a rare thing these days.

I’ve been listening to Worlds Beyond Number since they launched back in 2023. The newest series “Flight of the Icaron” is fantastic and just started in January. It is grounded sci-fi using the Star Wars 5e system, but is distinctly not Star Wars. Lou Wilson is in the DM chair and killing it. While Brennan Mulligan, Aabria Iyengar, and Erika Ishii are all playing complex, but fun characters. Its a great listening companion to the Scum & Villainy campaign I am currently co-running for our group.

“Hey, have you heard of this Bad Bunny guy? His songs are pretty good” was the Dad joke that elicited teen eyes rolling in our house the week before the Super Bowl. In all honesty, not until that time had I really given it a try. I’m a non-Spanish speaking man in his 40s, that made a pact with the music devil in the late 80s to exclusively listen to rap and hip hop.

That said, Bad Bunny is making some pretty damn good music. Turn it up in your car or home and watch as everyone present starts to uncontrollably nod and then eventually dance. It’s a fun time.

I was a fan of Devon Walker on SNL, but didn’t know any of his other work until Langston Kerman and David Gborie guested on his podcast. Now I listen most weeks, I dug into his old stand up, and tune in when his name pops up.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting Dan Trachtenberg‘s third Predator entry. After Prey and Killer of Killers where so great, I wanted more fresh takes on this world. We waited for it to hit streaming and then caught it on a snowed in weekend in late January. It was worth the wait, fun action, a story that isn’t just a back drop to that action, and some comedy to balance out the self seriousness. Also killer visual and practical effects, costumes, etc.

Between Alien: Earth, Alien: Romulus, and these new predator movies I’m a really enjoying this generation the franchises. Where prior to the 2020’s, I’d have told you that all of it was bad since the original films. Well maybe, I never saw Aliens vs Predator – Requiem in 2007.

Bonus & Big Spoilers: Corridor had on a guest from Weta FX to break down some of the VFX (visual effects). It is great, but heavy on spoilers, I’d highly recommend the movie first if you haven’t.

Having Dominic Solanke back on the field feels like a foothold for Spurs to climb out of the hole they are in. Watching him score a firecracker of a scorpion kick against City was a moment of sunlight a gloomy season. The Frank era Spurs are currently just as bad as last seasons Postecoglou Spurs. It doesn’t feel the same, but the table tells no lies:

Place	Season	W	L	D	GD	Pts.
14	’24-25	8	3	13	11	27
14	’25-26	7	8	9	2	29

That said, this has been a season plagued by injuries and I generally like the tactics Frank deploys. Spurs started the season without Maddison, Kulusevski, and Solanke has been out since October. The list of first team players in and out of the line up is a big wet blanket to what Frank is trying to do, and I hope he gets the time this season and next to do it.

Bay area rapper LaRussell is independent, making music his way, and always seems to be having the best time doing it. He is heavily influenced by the Bay sound, think E-40 or Mac Dre, but with his own 2020’s take on it. Add to that he host concerts at his childhood home (seen in the video above) and sold his most recent album direct to fans with a pay what you want model.

The Diplomat

This is not usually the kind of show I bring to wife. But we were captive in a hotel room for a soccer weekend away and needed something to watch. We end up watching the first 3 episodes and coming home to zip through season one. A smart, no nonsense, but sometimes too smart and no nonsense for her own good ambassador lands in a diplomatic pressure cooker. All of the writing and acting is great.

Primal

Everywhere I look this is listed as Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal. A name I didn’t know at first glance, but he’s the Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, and Star Wars: Clone Wars guy. Primal is very adult, by comparison to those titles, action horror animated series that has no dialogue. Just a cave man and his dinosaur friend surviving in a brutal world. It looks gorgeous and the emotion it can convey with no words is impressive. The only reason it popped up on my radar, is the third season just started airing after a four year hiatus.