January 12th - January 18th 2026

TV

• Andor | Season 1 - I will have to do a lengthy essay on this at some point, but this is a near perfect show that takes theories and histories of Modernity and capitalism and state formation - all of which overlap with imperialism (get it, The Empire) and puts them convincingly into the world of Star Wars. I’m not a huge Star Wars fan, and this show sucked me in. It’s special. The talent it takes to distill the moments of historical descents into fascism into this world in a convincing and super entertaining way is a master class. The acting is exceptional, the worlds striking, and the story is par excellance.
• Fallout | Season 2 - More of the same, and I am loving it!

Music

• Miranda | Slowdive - Trippy, dippy, and weird. If you like this, check out the album!
• Waking Up | Elastica - I fucking love Elastica now, and the history of their super short-lived band is worth checking out!

Podcasts

• Keidrick Roy “American Dark Age Racial Feudalism and the Rise of Black Liberalism” | New Books in African American Studies - Idek man, I’m just really into learning about medieval shit now. A really interesting take on how medieval metaphors informed how slave owners (i.e. all the founding fathers) and abolitionists approached the creation of the US.
• The terrible Nintendo controller everyone wanted | Version History - Such a silly moment in time for a silly product. Yet, understanding how quickly Nintendo has changed to become an IP, legal nightmare is useful context.

YouTube

• The ENTIRE Evolution of Destiny METAs | Shadow Destiny - Again, nostalgia bomb. If you can spare a few hours or need some background noise, this is it.
• Can Red Actually get All 16 Badges? | adef - My new favorite Pokemon YouTuber, adef. He makes a lot of these videos and I keep spoon-feeding them into my brain and I have no regrets. They’re great and funny and interesting.
• I Tried Finding Cheap Tech in Japan - Here’s How it Really Went | Jimmy Tries World - We live in a weird time. It used to be fairly simple to answer the question as to whether sourcing your next used camera, console, or game from Japan - it was a no-brainer. Also, not too long ago the U.S. dollar was so strong that the conversion made the transaction even more lucrative. This video shows that it’s not the case anymore. Unless you put in some sweat equity, then it’ll all even out over time. So, just do what you want with what you have.
• How Armor Works in Halo (History of Mjolnir) | SameToken - A thoughtful and in-depth look weaving in the lore from the books and games into the logics of armor in Halo!
• The Complete History of Day 1 Raid Racing in Destiny (1 & 2) | Fallout Plays - If you played Destiny, you have to watch this nostalgia bomb <3

Games

• Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade | SquareEnix | 2022 - I have so many thoughts about this game. As my first FF game, I wouldn’t say I had high expectations, more that there was so much context and thought already swimming around in my head. People have feelings about this franchise, and huge feelings about this game. It’s hard for me to get caught up in hype or expectations these days as a game either hits or it doesn’t for the most part. Yet, FFVII broke through all of it. I didn’t have time to think about or through my expectations because the opening to this game hit me like a truck. More than anything, about 10 hours in, I keep coming back to this: why don’t we make games like this anymore? And, how did we make a game like this in 1997. The scale, the scope, the characters, the world. If you took any one piece of FFVII you could make a passable game today. It feels like a remnant of a bygone era where sometimes a developer would swing for the fences on everything. I get why you have to leaf through so many discs in the original release. And, it’s worth it. I join the legions of others who simply don’t know where to begin in addressing what they appreciate about this game. Speaking specifically of the remake, the music is epic (s/o to the piano when entering Sector 7) and beautiful. The world is insanely beautiful. It’s rare I play fidelity-driven games, so it’s an absolute treat every time I boot up FFVII. I love that there is a balance between cheesy fetch quests and environmental terrorism epics. The story pacing is excellent. The lore and character reveals are always exciting. I love how bombastic and inconsistent content is - a random motorcycle fight?? It just hits every time they try something new and I am just in such appreciation for the devs to make something that feels like it has such an uncompromised vision - more to come!
• Cabernet | Party for Introverts | 2025 - Silly little side-scrolling narrative game with terrible writing and 00s DeviantArt aesthetics, but undeniable fanfic charisma.