Hi all, it’s been a couple of weeks.
Life’s been a little rough due to personal reasons but now I’m back, I’ve got a cup or two of black coffee in me and I’m ready to talk about some of the things I’ve been doing to pass the time in the interim.
I’ve not got anywhere with any games (I have started Resident Evil 2 again but I’ve not played enough to talk about it just yet), however, I have watched some movies and TV shows and even read some books in the interim, so I thought I’d touch on those.
Before we get started however I have some things to say that don’t fit in with the rudimentary format I have decided to implement currently.
Firstly, the Barbie Movie trailer looks excellent and I will be watching it multiple times (dems the rules). I have not watched the new Across the Spiderverse trailer however because I have decided to stay away from seeing any more of the movie before it releases in June (however the Twitter algorithm doesn’t like that mindset and I have since had multiple things spoiled for me).
Secondly, if you have a cheap cut of steak (I like a rib-eye but it works for most cuts), pan-fry it quickly with a tiny bit of butter but glaze the meat with a mixture that includes the following:
A glug of soy sauce
1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Aromat
A good sprinkle of pepper
A pinch of Cayenne Pepper
Cook it to around medium rare (or your preference but I am judging you if that preference is well done), and it is a nice easy addition to your culinary portfolio for lunch or dinner.1
Speaking of steaks, I also enjoyed a lovely flank steak with fries and a creamy but punchy peppercorn sauce from Tallow’s stall in the New Century Hall’s Food Court in Manchester a couple of weeks back. For around £15 it was excellent compared to some of the offerings you get around that price point and I would recommend it.
Anyway, let’s get on with the rest of the newsletter:
What I read - Atomic Habits
We (unfortunately) live in a time where ‘self-help gurus’ are a dime a dozen. Successful people who aren’t content with their achievements and feel the need to make everyone else feel worse about their lives because they aren’t at their level.2
The biggest mistake anyone ever made was when these people were mindlessly bragging about how it was ‘so easy to make money and succeed’ was for someone to ask ‘Well tell us how you do it then.’
Now we are constantly bombarded with their thoughts on how to culture a ‘motivational mindset’ which doesn’t really answer the question but explains how they get up at 4 am and only drink water made from the purified tears of infants.
And that’s only the ones who impart their wisdom for free; others trick impressionable young people into paying them extortionate amounts of money for what amounts to basic marketing information that you find on the internet alongside a healthy dose of misogyny and other problematic ideals.
So after having my Youtube shorts infected by this brand of content, it was refreshing to read Atomic Habits by James Clear.
I had heard very good things about this book and after reading it I can concur - if you want to learn different ways to help yourself build good habits and improve your productivity and potentially, your life; then this could be the book for you.
The thing I like the most about this book, is it never feels like James Clear is self-promoting or bragging about his own life. He is just presenting information and different processes; some that helped him and others he has found while studying the subject and suggesting that they might help you.
Anyway, I enjoyed it and I’ve tried implementing some of the frameworks he discussed in the book. If it helps I’ll let you all know.
(I also read Normal People over the past few weeks but the ending annoyed me so much I refuse to talk about it)
What I watched (TV) - Schitts Creek
While everyone was awaiting the release of Succession’s final season (I’m on season 2 and I’m trying to catch up) I was watching another melodramatic family try and find their way in the world.
Schitts Creek isn’t the funniest thing I’ve ever watched (though it does have some laugh-out-loud moments) but it has a certain charm to it. It is incredibly heart-warming to watch these self-obsessed members of the nouveau rich lose it all and become better people for it.
Every major character is well-written and has their own satisfying arc. I would be lying if I didn’t say that David and Patrick’s relationship in the later season didn’t move me.
Will it enter my regular rewatch rotation that includes the likes of The Office (US), Community, Parks and Rec (when it comes back to major streaming sites because it’s not on anything at the moment), Seinfield and Brooklyn 99? Probably not.
But was it a good enjoyable watch when I needed something new to keep me entertained for 25 minutes at a time? Absolutely.
What I watched (Movie) - Dungeons and Dragons: Honour Among Thieves
When I heard about this movie I thought, wow this sounds terrible.
When I saw the trailer for this movie I thought, wow this looks terrible.
When I finally got around to watching this movie I thought, wow this is great.
Dungeons and Dragons isn’t the greatest fantasy movie ever put to film, but it is an enjoyable time. It is a bit too long at 2 hours and 15 minutes in length but for the majority of its runtime, the frames are bursting with creativity and charisma.
Remember Warcraft? The 2016 movie that tried to capitalise on the then-dying popularity of the MMORPG that had been a worldwide phenomenon around a decade before.
While watching that movie I often found myself confused. The film pointed to these locations or bits of lore taken from the game that were in turn incredibly important to the film’s plot and expected you to know what they were. Even some of the most seasoned WoW players I knew said they were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content you needed to know from the game before walking into the cinema.
D&D never had that problem. Yes it referenced hundreds of things from the game and diehard fans will be pleased with the treasure trove of easter eggs, but going in as someone who has never played the game, I did not feel at any point like the film didn’t sufficiently explain things or added inflated reverence to things, and the plot flowed nicely because of it.
There are a lot of good films out over the next couple of weeks (including John Wick 4 which I still need to see) but if you have a few hours spare or are looking for a movie on streaming further down the line, I can strongly recommend this movie to you.
What I listened to - Ryuichi Sakamoto: Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence
As many of you may know, I have a playlist of movie soundtracks that I listen to while I’m reading and by an unfortunate coincidence, one of the tracks I had been listening to on repeat over the past few weeks was Ryuichi Sakamoto’s main score for the movie Merry Christmas Mr Lawerence.
This will not be a tribute to Sakamoto as I am not familiar enough with his works to give a brief eulogy here of any substance. For that, I think NME did a great collation of some of the messages posted after his death which you can read here.
Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is a truly magical piece of music. It is very like the music that fellow Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi creates for the Studio Ghibli movies; a rollercoaster of emotion that ebbs and flows throughout its runtime. The energy of the interlocking melodies is palpable.
I will hopefully get a chance to watch the movie starring Sakamoto himself, David Bowie and Takeshi Kitano (of Takeshi’s Castle fame) over the next few weeks so I will let you know my thoughts in a future newsletter.
Well, that’s all for this week, I hope you enjoyed this instalment of the Case Files. Hoping the next one won’t take as long to get around to but you never know.
As for me, I’m going to grab a drink and enjoy the bank holiday weekend and I hope that you can as well. So see you all next time.
I will eventually give you my recipe for my creamy mushroom pasta (which I think is personally my best dish) but today is not that day.
Some people probably are trying to help, but they just seem to get lost in the sea of bragging.