2312 – Kim Stanley Robinson

In science fiction, it’s easy to get lost in the unfamiliar, but what struck me in reading this novel was how much that was not the case. The story was completely set within our solar system, not venturing to other galaxies. Fine art and political superpowers were largely recognizable and not invented. The threat was AI and robotics, not some fantastical alien race. Even the mystery was being investigated by an inspector. The actual science fiction was engaging but not too dense. If we really are in the twilight of humanity (mostly kidding?) this was an excellent book to read for the end times.

The Prestige (2006)

For whatever reason, this was always the last Christopher Nolan film I hadn’t seen (until, now, The Odyssey), so I decided on a whim to change that. As his last film pre-Dark Knight, I was curious what kind of spectacle this would present. While I used to enjoy him a lot more, I am fairly hit-or-miss on Nolan these days. As a result, I will always sort of wonder how this would have affected me if I saw it as an impressionable teenager. Seeing it today, after two decades of Nolan twists and turns, this didn’t engage me as much as I suspect it would have then. I didn’t guess the twist—mostly for lack of trying, which is my default mode for mysteries—but I wasn’t all that impressed even when it all came together. Credit where it’s due, I am a sucker for asynchronous storytelling, and this film had that in spades. Also, my goodness, even having now seen this, I (like most people, if the internet is to be believed) will never be able to separate it in my head from the other magician mystery movie from the same year, Edward Norton’s vehicle The Illusionist. I had hoped seeing at least one of the two would clear that up in my mind but apparently not. That probably does a disservice in some direction, but I can’t tell which.

The Intentions of Thunder – Patricia Smith

I’m a bad English major, and I’m also a bad judge of poetry. Try as I might, the language regularly flies over my head. As such, unless I am particularly moved, I have a difficult time describing what is “good” versus what is not. On a technical level, I recognize this is beautiful collection of writing. It is a long, full collection, though the individual pieces are not dense and plodding. I found her sonnets to be the standout type of the form. Though I do not know background detail on the author, I appreciate it being a career retrospective. This is highlighted by all the different national and global events that influence the art throughout the course of the collection. I will also say, I got into the rhythm more than I typically do with poetry. While reading, I found myself imagining the lyricism of what some of these pieces would sound like when performed aloud. That alone tells me this was worth the time to read.

Kenny Omega vs. MJF (AEW, 7/8/2026)

I haven’t been consistently following many storylines in wrestling these days, so I’m bringing a mostly outdated view of who’s good and who’s bad. It seems like I haven’t missed much: Omega is still adored as founder and living legend, while MJF is as heinous as ever. While the stipulation wasn’t necessarily original, the match was impeccable. The match led around the lower bowl of the arena, and the athletes hit all of the highlights. What has stuck with me since viewing, though, was Will Ospreay coming out to aid Omega. After providing enough of an interruption to the match to prevent an MJF pin, the camera cuts back to Ospreay’s face, and he looks so happy. He walks up the ramp to leave, but pauses and turns back to watch, for awhile lingering before returning backstage. In a world where everything is premeditated and intentional, here is arguably the best working wrestler active today, reduced to a mere fan. Whether or not that expression of pride was genuine, it was believable enough that I fell for it. That’s what happens when a match as good as this one takes place. It’s not about Ospreay; he didn’t do anything other than react honestly. It’s about the athletes in the ring, and the story they can tell.

Mixed Up - The Cure

I’m not a huge fan of remixes, I’ve never been to a dance club, and I never plan to. I don’t quite know if this is a collection people would put on at a party. I also don’t know how fans of the band’s dour work appreciate a poppy customization to the material. All of that said? This album still works. This almost gave a dreamlike quality for the music I already knew pretty well. Fragments of the original songs weave in and out to make them simultaneously recognizable and new. This gives a different way to listen to familiar songs, which is, I suppose, one of the core purposes of remixing songs. I didn’t think any individual song was better than its original counterpart, but I quite enjoyed it for what it was.