- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart - Iāve loved every one of these incredible, silly, moving games since the very first one. I have much sentimental value attached to them, so thatās surely affecting things here. Still, this one looks like a blast. Iām intrigued by the portal mechanic theyāve got going. Iām so excited for this one.
- Spider-Man: Miles Morales - This is sure to be more of a Spider-Man 1.5, but Iām still all in. I canāt recall any other game in recent years that brought me such intense delight. Iām looking forward to web swinging again soon.
- Horizon: Forbidden West - Zero Dawn was a jaw-dropping experience for me. The fantastical but still very real world that was created still boggles my mind. This new one looks to top it in so many ways.
- Deathloop - I wasnāt expecting anything like this fascinating game. Iāve always been a sucker for games that mess with time in creative ways (like Prince of Persia: The Sand of Time). Deathloop looks to be inventive and a heck of a lot of fun.
- Project Athia - I donāt really know what the heck was going on with this one, but color me super intrigued. It looks fast-paced, exciting, and surrounded by a hefty dose of beguiling mystery. Iām looking forward to seeing this one develop.
I watched The Right Stuff for my More Movies Please! podcast. Boy, is it a long one, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Itās an exhaustive depiction of Project Mercury and the astronauts who were involved (as well as Chuck Yeager). I recommend it. š„šæ
Iām usually pretty supportive of Apple, but this issue with the Hey app is frustrating to me, as is a lot of the response to it. Iāve seen too many people defending Apple in following their own guidelines, which may technically be true, but make no mention of the hypocrisy that comes with how they treat other companies, like Netflix. (I have also seen many people make the point I am here, but I want to see more of it.) How is Netflix allowed to have an app thatās completely useless unless, and only if, you subscribe on Netflixās site and not through In-App Purchase?
The Hey app uses language thatās very similar to what Netflix uses, as shown in the attached picture. So much fuss is being made about how Hey isnāt a reader app when Netflix is, but the truly damning issue isnāt about what is or isnāt a reader app. Itās about how Netflix (and others like it), being a huge and powerful company, is allowed special treatment when another companyās app, thatās imitating Netflixās own in many ways, is actually being held to Appleās guidelines.
In an interview on TechCrunch, Appleās own Phil Schiller says,
You download the app and it doesnāt work, thatās not what we want on the store.
If I didnāt already have a subscription to Netflix, then their app wouldnāt work at all for me. Itās exactly the type of app experience that Apple says they donāt want to have, and yet the Netflix app is surely in no danger of being forced to use Appleās IAP system lest they be pulled from the App Store.
I donāt think Apple should change their guidelines; itās up to the company to define them. However, I do think theyāre 100% wrong in not applying them consistently across all of the apps on their store.
Apparently competitive cornhole is a game and itās got sponsors and is televised on ESPN and what the hell am I doing watching this nonsense?
Somehow, despite my best minimalist intentions, Iām running out of space on most of my desk. I may have to start considering something wider. Maybe one of those IKEA countertops would do the trick?
I was a much more passionate gamer when I was younger, but I still felt a thrill and crazy anticipation while watching the PlayStation 5 reveal video. Thereās no doubt in my mind that Iāll be scraping together my pennies and getting one as soon as I can.
As for the games Iām most excited aboutā¦ Letās do a personal top five:
Iāve always loved the PlayStation system, so I was sure Iād be looking forward to this new generation no matter what. However, I was still blown away with how amazing the games looked. Iām also a huge fan of the appearance of the new console. While the new Xbox definitely looks like a capable machine, the PS5 looks to be both a technical powerhouse and something I would actually feel proud to display in my home.
I canāt wait for it!
I watched Predestination again for my More Movies Please! podcast. If thereās a more peculiar yet very watchable sci-fi story out there, I canāt think of it right now. Give it a watch. I think itās worth a viewing. š„šæ
āŖI already know that GoodLinks (@goodlinksapp, for the Twitterers) is going to become my preferred read later app. It feels like the best of Pocket and Instapaper. Thank you so much, Ngoc Luu. You made the exact app I would have made if only I knew how to do that.ā¬
I watched The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou again last week for More Movies Please! I don’t recall how many times I’ve seen it, but it’s always excellent and fun. It’s an unusual Wes Anderson film, but it’s still worth watching. š„šæ
Two more weeks until WWDC and I couldn’t be more excited about what’s coming!
This is going to be a fun new project!
Maybe itās a little silly to be so excited about getting a new box cutter, but when it looks this sleek and sexy itās hard not to feel thrilled about it.
Is This What You Wanted? ā
I couldnāt agree any more with Casey Liss (@liss) than I do currently.
Iām also completely finished with Trump, his hateful ideologies and rhetoric, and absolutely anyone who continues to support this weak, murderous, monster of a person.
From an article in The New Yorker written by Susan B. Glasser, titled āTrump Plays Macho Man as America Burns,ā
By midday Sunday, of course, Trump was back to being Trump, even as the piles of broken glass were still being swept away from the front of expense-account restaurants and fancy hotels and A.T.M. machines in the blocks around the White House. As joggers snapped pictures of the fresh āFuck Trumpā graffiti across the street, the President was back to fulminating on Twitter about the āLamestream Mediaā and āFAKE NEWS.ā He was blaming the mayor of Minneapolis and āradical Left Anarchistsā for the nationās troubles, chiding leaders of āDemocrat run Cities and States,ā and mocking his November opponent, āSleepy Joeā Biden. He was claiming legal power that he does not have to designate the loosely organized, leftist Antifa movement as a terrorist organization. He was back, in other words, to being the almighty President of his public conjurings, the fulminating would-be autocrat who loves nothing more than to ramble on about his āabsolute rightā to do just about anything, whether he has that right or not.
We clearly have a petulant man-child in the White House, surrounded by an army of enablers, and supported by a small, but vocal collection of the populace (whom he does not actually care for) with an equal share of blackness and hatred in their own hearts. All he cares for in this world is his own enrichment and popularity. Iām certain heās not spared a single sorrowful thought for the murder and loss of George Floyd. His words and presidency are a knee on the neck of this entire country.
Iām looking forward to help vote him out in November. This country, this world, deserves far better.
āDancing in the Streetā without music is still and may always be one of my favorite things ever. šµ
Iām smack dab in the middle of feeling I should stay informed about whatās going on in my country and also wanting to completely quit the internet at least until January 20.
I watched both Elizabethtown and Zodiac for an episode of my More Movies Please! podcast. One continues to be a brilliant film about a serial killer and the other continues to be too long.
I just watched the āA Dark Quiet Deathā episode of Mythic Quest: Ravenās Banquet on Apple TV+. I cannot recall the last time I was so completely awestruck, moved, and floored by an episode of television. It makes subscribing to the service totally worth it. šŗ
On the one hand, Iām excited to see what the new HBO Max service will be offering and how itāll evolve. On the other hand, itās an annoyance that the HBO Apple TV channel wasnāt just turned into HBO Max. Now I have two separate places available to watch the same HBO content?
Iād like to see a lot more movie recommendations on these lists about the inhumanity of war and less about the glorification of it as some sort of noble endeavor. I guess films like Paths of Glory and Born On the Fourth of July do help shift the balance in a better direction.
I have magic lounge pants: the drawstring always ties itself into an unsolvable knot exactly when I most need to go to the bathroom.
I watched Emma. with my fiancĆ©e today. Iād never read the book or seen any adaption of it, so I was delighted with how fun it was. It was also one of the prettiest looking films Iāve seen in a long time. Totally recommended. š„
I just watched the original The Italian Job. What a wonderful, ridiculous heist film that one was. And what an ending! Clearly, Michael Caine was, hell, still is, the most debonair Englishman ever. š„šæ
Happy belated birthday to me! If youāve got an iPad Pro, I couldnāt recommend this keyboard enough. Itās everything I was hoping for and more. I think this iPad is now my favorite computer ever (and I had some pre-butterfly keyboard MacBook Pros).
Ah, the sweet, familial (and familiar) agony of setting up a new phone for a parentā¦
The Magic Keyboard that was supposed to show up today is delayed untilā¦?, with the item now listed as sold out on Best Buy. I get thereās weirdness and shipping issues these days, but if you consistently canāt deliver items when you say you will, then youāre terrible at business.