Mega Man 2 (NES)

The Mega Man franchise has long been a blind spot for me. I found them too difficult and quickly became frustrated. It wasn’t until the Switch Online service added the five versions for the original Game Boy that I played through any game in the series, and it started to click with me. After these few successes, I decided I should play the one commonly held up as one of the best games ever made. I can honestly say I now understand. It may be the most perfectly paced games I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. I ran through the eight bosses and their respective levels in one sitting, then journeyed through Wiley’s castle a few days later. This time around, I did not encounter anything so aggravating I had to put it down. It sounds obvious, but the game gives you all the tools in the first half to be able to get through the second, an excellent warm-up for the eventual conclusion. The rising and falling action makes for a delightfully satisfactory experience. You don’t need another person to tell you, but this game is a gem.

Five Easy Pieces (1970)

To be honest, I did not connect with the majority of this film, well over the first half. I saw a nihilistic character going through life, mostly unsatisfactorily, towards no real end. Things turned, however, when that character had a conversation with his dying father, one-sided because the father was unable to communicate back and even the listening was in question. In the span of this conversation, Nicholson explains his whole life, how he never amounted to anything because he was always moving on. It is an incredibly moving performance, which is essentially a monologue, and it makes the ending decision that much more powerful. His companion, while portrayed as unnecessarily dumb, is left alone, and we have to wonder what will become of her. Unlike him, though, she presents as optimistic and will probably come out okay. On the other hand, Nicholson seems doomed to repeat his constant cycle.

Under the Banner of Heaven – Jon Krakauer

I’ll admit, I picked this up for the salacious details of the true crime story. That portion of the book delivered, to be sure, but that quickly became the less interesting part. I never expected this book to be more about the history of the Mormon church than a single, horrific event. I’d considered myself curious about Mormonism in American popular culture for a few years now, and this book gave me a much-appreciated historical background. This book was just as much about the foundation of the religion as it is the modern murder. Or maybe it really is that the latter can’t be told without the background of the former. In any case, the way the two narratives are interspersed was fascinating. It’s worth noting the author acknowledges—and then refutes—criticisms of his research in the afterword in a way that was satisfactory to me.

El Hijo del Santo vs. La Parka (Monterrey, 12/23/2001)

I was promised blood, and I got it. The opening caida was a little slow, as these tend to be, but the action really took off in the second fall. At first, I thought it would be La Parka who would spill all the blood, because he took a shot off the ring post and spent a lot of time on the ground. Not the case. This was my first watch, so I didn’t even catch what busted Del Santo open, but his light mask was red in a matter of minutes. Wild blading, emphasized by the lingering shots on viscera in the ring. Also, I’m not well-versed in lucha matches, but I don’t ever remember seeing one with two referees, at times doing simultaneous counts. I suppose that was all to set up a confusing gimmick of a finish, but by that point, who really cares.

Rumspringa - ear

Every year, it seems like a “weird” album grabs me, out of the blue and inexplicably. They are usually out of my comfort zone or defy genre classification altogether. The artist is unknown to me, and I generally don’t dig too deep into bios or previous releases. For better or worse, I mostly forget about the artist before too long or I never get around to their next output. It was Guerilla Toss a couple years ago, and Superorganism a few years before that. Anyway, Rumspringa by the group, ear, is that for me in 2026. As soon as I put on the first track, I let out a surprised little “whoa” and went on a brief journey from there. Immediately, I wished I was listening to it in another situation, like late at night with the lights low, but then immediately after that, I decided there wasn’t a context where this wouldn’t catch me. This is one of those which defies any genre. I would have said electronic at first, but there is a surprising amount of trip hop and acoustic guitar to push it in other directions. The single, which had been the only notes I’d heard beforehand, slid in seamlessly with the rest of the record. Fantastic, short, album, easily  consumable and repeatable, and one which I will revisit in December, shrug, and conclude it’s one of my highlights of the year, even if I can’t say for sure what it is.