[1/2] Recently Read, Watched, and Listened

Recently Read

The City We Became, by N.K. Jemisin - a recommendation from a friend and... WOW. Highly recommend. The imagery and writing style alone was worth the time.

Recently Watched

Star Trek: Discovery - currently at s3 e 12. I think we're supposed to have connections with the crew and their plight but, I'm just not feeling it this season. I like Tilly as a character but I don't like her arc this season. It doesn't make sense to me. The other bridge crew are mannequins; the show doesn't let their individual personalities come out often enough for me to route for anyone. I want this show to be better, and it definitely has its moments but, well... maybe it will get better soon.

Soul (2020) - It was cute and had some really sweet moments. Exactly what you would expect from Pixar.

Mulan (2020) - The good? The cinematography and the colors (it's beautifully shot), the score. Also seeing Jason Scott Lee, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Li Gong, and Rosalind Chao. I also loved the Ming-Na Wen cameo. The bad? The action scenes were lacking. The story wasn't great.

Cobra Kai - completed season 3. Watching Johnny beat up on Kreese was cathartic. I didn't realize it but it was something I've been waiting to see since the end of the 1st movie and through the first couple of Cobra Kai seasons. The Kreese "origin" story was ok; not necessarily something that was needed but it was well done. Johnny and Ali revisiting their relationship was done well. I liked that Ali helped him find forward focus. Seeing Kumiko and Chozen again was more meaningful than I expected it to be.

Recently Listened

This week's rotation included Def Leppard, Rachael Yamagata, Natalie Merchant, Depeche Mode, and Led Zeppelin.

[Single] "Elephants" by Rachael Yamagata - I listen to her a lot and this track is one of my favorites. If you haven't heard her before, I would recommend beginning with this one.

[Podcast] Extra Spicy: Kevin Vaughn Talks Travel Writing - My hope is that travel writing changes to be more meaningful, with more focus on people and stories about how travel affects their daily lives, what it means to them, and why they do it. Stop telling me about places and start telling me more about experiences.