YouTube Obsession

I feel like high-effort video game videos on YouTube are fewer and farer between these days. I’m not bashing creators who post gameplay session with minimal edits. YouTube algorithim doesn’t care how much editing goes into a video and if the creator is an excellent host it’s even more understandable. Just look at creators like Splitsie or Captain Shack. But when it comes to regular, edited, storytelling content, few are still doing what MitchManix does.

Also, when Alpha Protocol was rereleased I told everyone to go buy a copy as it is one of the most ridiculous games I have ever played. Perfect for Mitch’s channel, obviously. Fair warning that if you don’t like British humor, you probably won’t enjoy his stuff because it is goofy and British af.

He also plays through some bizarre games that are criminally underrated.

Emphasis on “criminal.”

Watching

In my writer’s workshop last week we discussed flawed protagonists and there were many examples thrown around surprisingly I failed to mention The Innocents from 1961. Coincidentally, the Criterion edition was just put on YouTube for free so I gave it a re-watch. Such a beautiful movie and worth seeing for the visuals alone.

Filled with menace and dread, amplified by it’s masterful cinematography, blocking and excellent performances. Truly a gothic horror with a distinct understanding of tension and pacing. The choice to be in black and white, in 1961 when color was all the rage, shows the precision of the direction of this film. A movie that champions the importance of an intentional camera, a camera that gives a perspective but doesn’t hit the audience of the head with “This is the point of the movie jackass” every six seconds. In fact, this is a movie that embraces ambiguity and is all the better for it.

There is no excuse not to see this film.

MM

Speaking of visual movies, I watched Japanese sentai-esq action film Zeiram.

Japanese monster fighting action and cheese. A little too much inane dialog for a monster movie but still worth watching since it’s free on YouTube.

Reading

I started reading Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez and realized, this is not a book for me. I picked it up because the central conceit of an art history student uncovering the history of a lost artist, who, by uncovering the story fulfills the artist’s last opus, interests me. When in actuality, it is Karen’s first book on race inequality from her wine and book club. It’s not a bad book at all, just not the story I -maybe unfairly- was hoping it would be. And I am a proponent of “STOP READING THAT”¹ so I moved on.

MM

I also enjoyed reading my old Angelfire website from 2004: Solid Gold Mofo. I still think the interview with God is a funny bit. Also, my links page is hilarious. As none of these sites exist anymore save for one….

It’s cathartic to see this and embrace “teh” cringe. Also, I taught myself HTML coding to do this:

It’s funny and only slightly misogynist, which, for 16yo in rural Indiana in 2004, is saying a lot. It’s also incredibly, “Wow, somethings never change” when I realize that what I wanted to do with Solid Gold Mofo is exactly what I’m doing with Metal Monday. Seeing what I’m still into 20 years later: Obey, Jim Kelly movies, absurdist humor and the internet as mainly a vehicle for looking at cool art.

Truly, I never matured into a well-balanced adult. DEAL WITH IT!

Playing

As much as I love my crunchy, mechanic laden games for crazy people, I love a good Alt+Tab game to play at work. My current obsession is OpenFront.

It is essentially a clicker game where you attempt to take over the world one click at a time. There are some Plague Inc. like upgrades you can purchase to help you take over the world faster. You can play against the computer for a good comp-stomp but you can also play against real people. Form alliances, break them and nuke your allies in the back. Its a really easy experience that I can play a bit here and there between emails. It plays in a browser and it’s free. Literally no reason not to try it.

Other Notables

** The lines between virtual help, machine learning, and AI more broadly are blurry in the minds of consumers by design. The more we look at these tools as helpful and not as data mining and surveillance operations with deeply scary implications, the less likely we are to fight it as we’re being conscripted into aiding the building of our own dystopia.

** Absolutely S++ tier petty soccer video

1  The practice of putting down a book I am not enjoying. It’s ok. No one is grading me!