The January update.

I haven’t been updating this site as much as I did earlier last year. I still post many ‘microblog’ style short form thoughts, but there have been less Long-form posts over all. This is, mostly because I have been really, quite busy.

I did, however, think that maybe I should sum up a bunch of half toughs into one post. Things I like, and want to point at, coupled with random thoughts. As such I have decided to call this a January update. Then, if I do find myself really busy, I can just update you again in February, and it looks planed. Getting good at this, aren’t I? ☺️

The things making me busy.

I don’t want to go into too much detail, but I also didn’t want to seem spooky and cryptic. In sort, I have had a lot on at work, which has left me wanting to sleep more than write posts when I have got home.

I have found the winter quite draining. Usually, I enjoy the winter, but I started taking my health and fitness way more seriously last year and had a great summer. Possibly, I enjoyed the summer properly for the first time ever, and, it has left me in a winter of discontent, waiting for the summer vibes to return.

This is new for me. My gym has this big warehouse door that they open in the summer, and I just had the nicest time working out with a friend, listening to terrible dance music and basking in the heat. Also, I truly enjoyed walking my dog after I got home and, well, I just had a really great summer. I want to get back to that. I miss it.

How I have been spending my time.

I have spent my recent months reading a lot, writing less than I did in the summer because work has left me drained and, finally, gaming. I have finally felt like gaming again. I had a solid 18 months off but, as I said in previous posts, I feel like I have finally found a healthy balance and it’s been great.

Let’s break it down.

Writing.

So, obviously, the writing has not been showing up on the website. But, I am almost done with my current novella, ‘The Eternal Blonde.’ This one ended up shorter than I expected. I really want to noodle with this one until its perfect because it’s a little different to a lot of what I write, in the sense that there was a lot more ‘plotting’ than I usually do. I have invented several characters whom I like and have had fun with, but it’s something of a one-shot. There isn’t even a back-burner idea for a follow-up. It is very ‘stand alone’ whereas most of my other works have always been intended to be part of larger stories or beginnings to things. Because I only get one visit with these characters, I’m trying my best to make it a good one. So… Noodling, tapping and editing. Almost done.

Reading.

My dad was a massive Harry Potter fan. I never bothered investigating it because it always struck me as a bit stupid. But, Audible have released new ‘full cast audio’ versions and I decided, it was time to give them a visit. I think, in part, the winter has made me a little reflective and I miss my dad. What better way to reflect on him, than to read his favourite book.

So far, I have made it to the third one. And, I must say, despite my misgivings and writers critique, I really have enjoyed them, and quite a lot.

After I finish each book I have moved on to the associated movie, and I have enjoyed them too.

I have also enjoyed how excited people have been when I have said I was reading the series. People are thrilled for me, which is nice.

Side note, I have been keeping up with my Bible study and am currently re-reading Ephesians over and over and over. It’s currently being taught through in my church, each Sunday. I want to get as much out of it as I can, and reading it over and over seems to help the teachings sink in.

Gaming.

I wrote about my purchase of an arcade stick recently in a post. Well, I’m a child and an idiot, so I also picked up a Leverless Controller too, the 8BitDo one. I really like it. The arcade stick is better for general arcade gaming, but for side scrolling brawlers, wow. It’s great. It was to expensive and a silly purchase but, as I said, I have been a little down, and arcade themed controller cheer me up. ☺️

Speaking of which, I have recently been enjoying Marvel Cosmic invasion. Such a great time!

Outside of stick or non-stick gaming, I have also felt myself feeling a bit middling on Final Fantasy XIV, I have been having much nicer times with Guild Wars 2 recently. I think maybe I have just played too much FFXIV and need a change of scenery. GW2’s action combat has felt really satisfying, as well as the constant distractions the game offers feeling super engaging. I hope I continue to enjoy it. I like MMOs, and it’s nice to have a go-to-game ☺️

Oh, I also played some Hogwarts Legacy (because Harry Potter) and it’s surprisingly engaging. The only other thing I have played is Shin Megami Tensei V. Which is also good but after 7 hours, im only jsut getting into the meat of it.

I have streamed those two once or twice over the last month. That was fun. I am, at most, a ‘casual’ content creator now, and I am having more fun because of it.

Media (Movies and TV)

As I think I said in a recent post, I have decided no longer it ‘obtain’ or ‘borrow’ things from the library of the internet. Instead, I have been streaming and purchasing the things I want to experience by legitimate channels. This, has proven itself to be less than cost-effective and I have had to be more savvy with sales and bundles. But, I think I have a nice collection growing on AppleTV, as well as all the streaming offerings.

I was most annoyed recently when I realised that the Harry Potter movies have been removed from streaming services. I had to buy them at a fiver each and that made me mad. On the upside, I can watch them again now and AppleTV purchases tend to look at lot nicer than Netflix anyway (I have a colossal TV) Also, I have enjoyed the extras.

So, things I have enjoyed recently (aside from Harry Potter):

• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) - Comedy about a comedian in the late 50s who has a broken marriage, nutty family and constant confusion in her life. I think I like it because the lead actress (Rachel Brosnahan) has incredible timing on her delivery and is super entertaining in the role.
• Seinfeld (AppleTV purchase, but also on Netflix, I think) - It’s the greatest sitcom ever made, and I think I have been re-watching it on loop for about a decade now.
• Star Feet Academy (Paramount+) - Its new Star Trek. There recurrently 3 episodes. 1 and 2 were ‘fine’ and 3 was pretty bad. I’ll update you as it goes on but, generally, I enjoy Star Trek even when it’s terrible. I Like Holly Hunter’s performance but outside of her, it’s pretty mediocre at best.
• Police Academy (AppleTV purchase) - I picked up a bundle over Christmas and wow. They have aged terribly but in a way that still makes me laugh, and a little nostalgically.
• Pluribus (AppleTV+) - Okay so… it’s like an episode of the Twilight Zone got an entire show of it sown and its fab. A hive mind takes over the world, except for one woman, named Carol. The best thing about it is that it is not a comedy, and it could easily have been played or laughs. It’s great. Possibly, the best TV show for about a decade.

Aside from this, I have just finished rewatching the entirety of South Park (Paramount+). I adore that show, but I think you have to really like stupid juvenile jokes to enjoy it, and I do. The most recent season has been a bit rubbish. Outside of that, I like all of it.

Streaming services

No piracy in my life so, here are the streaming services I pay for and my one sentence-ish reviews of them.

• Netflix - It’s fine.
• Disney+ - It’s pretty good.
• Paramount+ - It’s rubbish, but it has Star Trek and Frasier.
• Crunchy Roll - It’s great if you like anime (I am middling on it, but I like slice-of-life stuff when I feel sad.)
• Prime Video - It’s fine, but I have to pay an extra £3 a month to get rid of the ads that they put there.
• YouTube Premium - Not sure if this should go on this list but its great. I can watch apologetics videos without ads.
• Nebula - Not sure if this should go here either, but I like it. It’s got long-form stuff that I can probably watch on YouTube, but there’s a better interface and no comments.

I realise that this is a lot of streaming services but hey, still cheaper than paying for Sky TV ☺️

Technology.

I want a new MacBook. I don’t need one, but I am worried I won’t be able to afford a new one soon because of RAM prices. This is classic FOMO. I am resisting (currently.) My M2 air has 16Gb of Unified memory and 1Tb of storage. I do not need a new MacBook to write in Ulysses and Apple Notes… repeat after me “I do not need a new MacBook!”

Also, recently, I have been deep in Logos Bible software. I don’t ‘love’ it, but it does have so many books. This makes it a go-to for me recently, but I still think eSword has the best interface of any Bible application.

I mentioned the arcade controllers earlier, so, thats about it.

The end.

Yeah. I burped out everything I wanted to hit on. See you soon. You can follow me here, or join my discord to keep in touch (it’s linked at the top of the page, under ‘About’… I think)

Bai!