🍿 Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

‘Rebel Moon’ is “cinematic poetry.”

– Armond White (Snyder’s super fan and film critic)

I had been waiting for this movie to come out for a while and all I knew about it was that it was a Netflix film directed by Zack Snyder. The film finally came out and I didn’t get a chance to watch it right away. Unfortunately, the internet makes noise and it was getting poor reviews which makes me even more curious.

According to the Wikipedias this film was inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa, and the Star Wars film. I can definitely see the Star Wars films inspiration here but that’s not what I’m here for, those things are overrated. The AKIRA KUROSAWA part, now we’re talking. And when I learned this fact about the KUROSAWA-inspired work it all made sense then.

This movie is basically 🍿 Seven Samurai (1954) but in a sci-fi world. This makes me think more of the anime TV show Samurai 7 (2004), it’s that show but in a very different setting.

I enjoyed the heck out of this movie but I am a Snyder fan, thus, I might be a little biased. It is not a perfect movie because there aren’t perfect movies, I mean, art is subjective. Ain’t it? I do agree with this Armand guy, it is cinematic poetry.

Darknet Diaries - EP 139: D3F4ULT

This is the story of D3f4ult from CWA. He was a hacktivist, upset with the state of the way things were, and wanted to make some changes. Changes were made.

Whoa, another fascinating episode of the Darknet Diaries radio show! It’s pretty emotionally intense, or at least it is for me. It’s so interesting and as I’ve said, so fascinating that I am going through my second listen of it.

Do you like music?

Do you like podcast-radio-shows?

Do you like Dave Grohl and Norah Jones?

Then you need to lend your ears to this radio-show episode of Norah Jones is Playing Along.

Dave Grohl and Norah hang out in Foo Fighters' studio to play through some choice songs from his epic career. Dave talks about why he decided to take the hard road after Nirvana, getting lost in the White House, and asks Norah to take him to music school. Norah and Dave duet on a song that he hasn’t played in 20 years, and he makes her day by lending his powerful drumming to one of her songs. This warm and wide-ranging episode gives an intimate peek into the mind of one of modern rock’s most beloved legends. Recorded 4/26/23.

I only discovered this because I follow Dave on the instagrams there. But now that I have, I’ll probably go back and listen to other episodes.

Also, I would love to hang out with Dave one day!

📺 Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal (2019)

This Animated motion-picture show has been on my radar for a long while, I see it every time I open Max. Today I finally decided to give it a go. I have to say, it is quite something. It is savage, it is violent, and even cruel at times. There is no dialogue, everything is conveyed in “body' language, eye emotes, grunts, and roars. The art is very comic-book-like, in fact, that’s how the show feels as if you were watching an animated comic-book.

Pretty cool!

Darknet Diaries EP 135: THE D.R. INCIDENT

Omar Avilez worked in the CSIRT of the Dominican Republic when a major cybersecurity incident erupted. Omar walks us through what happened and the incident response procedures that he went through

Of course, like almost every episode of this show, this was a good one, at least to me. And I agree, it is still scary that in this day and age, we are still so vulnerable to cyberattacks and especially at this scale.

It also reminded me that not long ago, in 2022, Puerto Rico also got hacked by this type of attack. And in case you’ve forgotten your geography, PR and DR are neighboring islands. I don’t remember if any other agencies or systems were hacked at all. I just remember that the system known as AutoExpreso, which controls the electronic toll collection, was hacked.

PuertoRicans being PuertoRicans, they were not mad about it, I mean, the government sure was, but not the public. The only thing the public was mad about was why the hackers did not delete all the fines and debts. 🤣

Switched On Pop – Listening 2 Daft Punk: Homework

Switched On Pop’s four part-mini series Listening 2: Daft Punk unlocks the sounds, voices, and stories across all four of the group’s studio albums.

As someone who loves music and music history, history in general, but in this case, music history, I lived this episode. I love when they do this type of series. This is the first of a four part miniseries. Especially learning about sensitizers, I had no idea they had been around for so long and how complex they were back then, and still.

So, if you love robots, Rosey, R2-D2, fucking TinMan, fucking Daft Punk, you have got to lot sent to this episode.

About two weeks ago or so, I upgraded from my iPhone 12 mini to the 13 mini. The 12 mini had been my favorite iPhone ever. Loved the size. The only downside, was its battery life; however, I knew that’d be the case, and it wasn’t much of an inconvenience for me.

The one point the 12 mini lacked, the 13 mini definitely makes up for it, battery life. I am sure there are many other things under the hood, but in day-to-day use, I really can’t tell or care.

So, I went for the iPhone 13 mini, 128 GB, in pink.

And man, do I love it! I was a little nervous about how it’d look since I have never seen it in person until it arrived home. I couldn’t be any happier with this color.

When I first picked up the 13 mini, the first thing I noticed was, it felt a little heavier and thicker, and I’m certain that’s because of the “bigger” battery. And it does make a difference. On a regular day, I would leave the house at a 100 percent battery around 6:00 am, and I would make it home around 4:00 pm with 20 to 10 percent. Now, I make it home with 53-63 percent? To me, that’s definitely an improvement.

The notch seems narrower, and the camera lenses are positioned differently. Other than the camera bump and lenses, the battery life, and thickness are, to me, the most noticeable differences.

Gala: Creativity Welcomed by Brian Hariprashad

Remember when Instagram used to be about photos and not ads? When the discovery section of it was actual photos of people? Remember when Instagram used to be fun to use and browse?

That’s Gala. Or at least it does feel like it. The application is far from perfect, but it is nice to use, and I am happy that it is around.

Note: I used to call these posts Something I liked this week vol X, but I am switching to just Something I liked, no weekly.

The GuliKit Route Air Bluetooth Adapter

It is quite frustrating that, currently, the Nintendo Switch does not have built-in Bluetooth. Thus, having to use regular headphones if I wanted to play on the couch while my wife and/or the kids were using the television. The only regular “headphones” I currently have access to is my gaming headset. It worked fine but for whatever reason it would stop sending audio every once in a while, it was bulky and needed constant charging and so on.

So, I looked into this adapter by GuliKit, not expensive, and it looked like it would do the job. There is nothing super special about it other than it would give the ability to pair my AirPods Pro to it or whatever Bluetooth enabled headset or headphones.

Paring the AirPods Pro was pretty easy, and they paired with noise cancellation on by default. The only problem I encountered was that, then, I had to repair the Pro’s to my phone every time I wanted to use them. Weird right?

I felt it would be better not to spend too much time troubleshooting this, so I removed any pairing records from the adapter, repaired my AirPods Pro back to the iPhone and thus to any other Macintosh device I own. Then I went ahead and paired my Power Beats Pro to the adapter. Now I have a dedicated set for just the switch, and it is working just fine.

Apple Fitness+

This week apple released Apple Fitness Plus. Was it this week? I think it was. Right? This is something I was very excited about when it first announced. Well, it is finally here and of course I could not wait to check it out.

Since the pandemic, I haven’t not been as active as before, not visiting my local gym — for obvious reasons — and I have been struggling trying on getting back on track. Reason why I was excited for Fitness+. I can do it at home where it’s safe, using my Apple TV or any other of my Apple devices.

The first workout sesh I tried was a HIT workout and it kicked my Puerto Rican buttness 😅. It made me realize how out of shape I am, and was a lot of fun. Only 20 minutes, I know there are longer and even shorter sessions but 20 minutes seem reasonable. Loved the fact that you don’t need to fiddle with the Apple Watch trying to find and match the workout you’re about to do. I like how it shows your progress in real-time right on the screen. The workouts — so far — are not super complicated and they are easy to follow. I like how you can finish your workout sesh and go straight to mindfulness Cooldown or like in my case, I mix and match workouts.

This morning for example I did a 20 min HIT workout, then 10 minutes of core and from that 10 minutes of Mindfulness Cooldown and that was my morning workout.

I am looking forward to explore more workout and getting back into my fitness lifestyle. Of course I will be incorporating other things like kettlebell exercises and run/walks. But for when it’s cold and I don’t feel like going outside, Apple Fitness Plus is zee bees knees.

Neon Abyss

Neon Abyss is a frantic, roguelike action-platformer where you run ‘n’ gun your way into the Abyss as part of the Hades formed ‘Grim Squad’.

I don't know how many hours I got on this game but there must be quite a lot. I haven't put down this game since I bought it. At first I played it on the Xbox One, as it is free-to-play with GamePass and I immediately, I fell for it. The music is great, the pixel art it's beautiful, although, I am a sucker for pixel art so Im might be a little biased here. The story its very simple, you start having a drink with Hades and he request that you help destroy some Titan group while you seek revenge for the destruction of your family.There are other characters and there's not so much story about their background but no one cares, or at least I don't. The Switch version comes with 2 extra characters, unless there was something I was supposed to download on the Xbox version that I didn't. The reason I paid for it on the Switch is because these games, or almost every game rather, I prefer to play it on the Switch.

The game it's pretty straight forward, you go down a dungeon and you shoot at things. As you progress in the dungeon you collect items that will enhance your abilities, all these items do stack on top of each other pretty much unlimintles. Also you collect eggs, these eggs eventually hatch and become your pets. These pets also enhanced your abilities and you can end up with a long stack of them. After a while your character can look very Crazy-Town Banana-Pants with all the item you collect.

Since I am not looking for a challenge, I am playing on easy, and still some dungeons/areas and bosses can be a little difficult. Every run of one level or boss is never the same as everything randomly generated. Every time you die you lose all your abilities and enhancements, however you collect some crystals that will let you buy other skills before you get back at it. When you die you get "seed" a code which you can use to repeatedly play the same run or even share it. There is some disadvantage to use these, you can unlock achievements and get Faith Gems. I am guessing the Faith Gems. Again, I haven't tried to use any of my own "seeds" to see what happens but I do have a few saved. Reminds me of the old Mega Man X days.

Every time I die I just start all over, it sucks at the beginning, especially when you're used to be overpowered for a few levels. I think the game it's worth checking it out, its 19.99 USDs at the eShop with a downloadable demo or, again, free-to-play on the xbox one with GamePass.

Children of Morta

Last night, I finished Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction vidjia game. What a fun ride. Not sure whether or not I’ll replay it, I think I might, like the way to re-read a good book.

Also last night I started Children of Morta for the Nintendo Switch, while me lady was watching her tv show. The pixel art in this game is beautiful, awesome narrative and also very different from any other game I have played before. Usually before I purchase a game, I do some research. For this one though, I didn’t. I purchased the game a while ago while it was on sale, purely because of how it looked and not knowing much about it at all. Never got around playing it until last night thought. It recently got some free additional content so that put it under my radar again.

This game plays like a rouge-like dungeon crawler. The stranger thing about this game (to me) is that every time you die in the dungeon, you re-spawn back to your house but you keep all the money you’ve gathered and you can buy upgrades before returning to the dungeon. Also, there’s more story told after every re-spawn. When you return to the dungeon, even thought is the same stage, it is different. You still keep advancing in the story but the dungeon changes.

This is what I understand so far about the game, the story is really good, the narration is awesome and the pixel art is amazing (I’m a sucker for pixels). Needless to say, I die very often in this game but the fact that I can still upgrade my equipment and skills and the little stories in between re-spawns, makes dying not so frustrating.

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction

If you fallow my blog, you'd be well aware, or at least you should be, that I am deeply into Jack Carr's books lately. If you like conspiracy theories, espionage and that kind of stuff, you should definitely check these books out. I am actually on my second listen-through of all three books!

Anyhow, given that fact that I am so into this genre I have recently picked up Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction and if you know of Tom Clancy then you know why it was no surprise. I think Lieutenant Commander James Reece is just as badass as Sam Fisher.

I had played this game before, when it first came out back in the Xbox360 days, played for a few hours but I don't think I ever actually finished it. The game it's now 5.00 USDs at the Microsoft Store and that made the decision to purchase it even easier.

Back then I was playing this game as plane shooter, now, it feels like I am reading a book, I mean not as well written but close. Except that in this book you die, you will die a lot if not careful. Still, I am having a blast playing this game and probably will pick up Black List after I finish this one, maybe.

BAKI, The Great Raitai Tournament Saga

Granted special entry into the Great Raitai Tournament, a poisoned Baki now faces fighters in China, where the next true Sea Emperor will be chosen.

This Anime/TV show it’s ridiculous. Exaggerated body anatomy and over the top fighting, unreal and almost impossible scenarios. But gosh do I love this show! I have a weak spot for the ridiculous and over the top stuff. Especially in the times like these where I need something to take me out of the “real world” and this show, fits the bill.

Mortal Kombat 11 for The Nintendo Switch

I am a huge fan of this franchise, have played many iterations of it, I love everything about it and I also really suck at them. I really do, Mortal Kombat has always been one those fighting games that I just don’t get the mechanics of it or the fighting style and yet, I love them. I love the overall story and the entire lore on this universe.

I haven’t played a MK game in many years and 11 looked cool. Enough to make me want to play it, even when I know I’d suck. This game goes on sale often on the Nintendo eShop, I happened to have some credit so I bought it.

Though I have been playing other games like Street of Rage 4 which it’s probably my favourite release of the year (so far) and Huntdown, which it also has been a lot of fun. I should probably write some of my impressions on it.

Anyway,a few days ago I started playing it and I gotta say, it’s been lots of fun so far. I really wasn’t expecting such an elaborate story with this game. Again I haven’t played an MK game in years so as far as I was concerned I was just gonna get a small story and just fighting. Little did I know that it actually has a very elaborate fluent story with conversations, cool cutscenes and all.

As far as the fighting, well obviously I am playing on the easiest settings available and yet I still suck. I mean, I don’t die often but you won’t see me doing all kinds of cool moves or combos or any of the sorts. I do just enough to survive, beat the other character so I can advance in the story. Of course I can figure out some character better than others like Scorpion or Sub-zero and maybe Liu Kang but that’s it.

Again, I am having fun and once I beat the story I doubt I’ll replay it but who knows. 😁

WARRIORS OROCHI 4 Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch.

Well, I have done it, after lots of debating with I-self I did it! Over the weekend, I have purchased Warriors Orochi. I had been hesitant to buy it for a couple of reasons. There are other games I would also like to play that are also cheaper than this game. Some other games are coming out soon. Also, the Musou gaming style formula, it is one that, once you have played a game like this, you have pretty much played them all. I have played a lot of these games.

I have probably mentioned before, I have played the Dynasty/Samurai Warriors games since back in the PlayStation 2 days, Dynasty Warriors 3 being the first one, up to 9th (which it was a huge disappointment). Then, in between the regular games, you had the Extreme Legends editions and the Empires and the Orochi series, etc. There is a whole genre or series of games with the same formula and I have played a few of them like, ARSLAN: THE WARRIORS OF LEGEND, WARRIORS ALL-STARS, Fate/EXTELLA: The Umbral Star, Fire Emblem Warriors and Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition. There is yet another game, kinda with the same formula that I belive it’s on the PS4 but I am waiting for the western release on the Switch which is Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers – so excited.

Anyhow, Warriors Orochi 4, like I said I was afraid that since I have played many of this type of game, that I would be bored or just play a little bit and put it to the side. Well, I am happy to report that, that has not being the case. I have been playing non-stop since I got it, I am enjoying this game with the same smile on my face as I remember enjoying DW3. Of course, it has come a long way since DW3, combat it’s a lot more fluid, you have more enemies on the screen which makes the hack and slashing through the field so satisfying. I am feeling right at home with this game. The strength of this game doesn’t lay in the story, especially on this one.

Set in a world on the brink of chaos, heroes from across the Warring States period of Japan and the Three Kingdoms era of China successfully defeat the evil Orochi and end his reign. These two worlds, merged by an unknown entity, are again threatened. As they begin to uncover the mystery surrounding their arrival, their discoveries lead them to one deity: Zeus, the supreme god among gods.

The controls are pretty easy to master, the action is good. In the previous games, you would select one hero and fight your way through thousands in battle, now, you have a team of three characters all with their unique abilities. I am kind of a one-man army mindset still, so even though I have three on my team, I pretty much use the same character. It plays well on handheld mode but I find it a wee bit better docked since there’s quite a lot going on on the screen. The voices in the game are all in Japanese, that doesn’t bother me except when I’m in battling my way through. There is a lot of interaction between different characters in the game and it is hard to pay attention to the text while you’re having fun hacking and slashing. I don’t think you can change the language, not sure.

Either way, I am having a blast with this game, it doesn’t require a lot of focus or too much thinking, which is excellent. Sometimes we need a “dumb” game, I am very delighted with my purchase.

Astral Chain for the Nintendo Switch.

I got this game back in…Was it last summer? Maybe, whenever it came out and I played a little bit of it then I had stopped. I can’t remember the exact reason, maybe another game had also been released then and shifted my attention away from it.

The gist of this game is basically this futuristic mega city in which you and your sister (the two playable characters) are members of this special Police task force. Members of this task force are equipped with sentient armaments called Legions. With the Legions you are able you see and fight these otherworldly beings called chimeras.

So, a few days ago I picked it up again. Started right from the beginning just to refresh my memory. The game starts off with some action fallowed with some slow buildup. But now that I have pretty much done with all the semi-tutorial stuff, I am so sucked into this game. And the worse thing is that so far I haven’t had a “break” as in it is one thing after the other and you can’t stop playing because you’ve got to know what’s going to happen next! This last mission I played, I was thought for sure I was done and was gonna go back to HQ and “take a break”. NOPE!

I do like this though, games that keep me engaged and wanting to know what’s next. No chores! This game has a lot of cool fights and amazing cool looking finishing combos. Some amazing visuals and I love the art, it is very Anime-like. There’s also some puzzle elements to it but not Zelda like. As well of some investigative work, crime scenes and probably my least favorite part just because I much prefer the punchy-punchy, smashy-smashy - 😅.

The detective part reminds me a lot of the Arkham Asylum games, it’s pretty much the same deal. So if you’ve played those games then you’ll be pretty familiar with investigating crime scenes. With the difference that instead of looking fur a killer, most likely will be some nasty monster from another dimension.

Update: no wonder why i am loving this game, these are the same people who made Nier: Automata

Akame ga Kill!

Tatsumi sets out on a journey to help his poor village. When he’s rescued by a band of assassins, he joins their fight against the corrupt government.

Another good anime show on the Netflix’s! I have been watching this one pretty much all week. I’m not gonna lie, I am pretty much an easy sell when it comes to anime shows. Give me a lot of action, blood and awesome weapons and I’m in. This sure has all of the above! It has an interesting setting, good action, cool fights and of course your typical Japanese over sexualized characters and whatnot, which it can get a little weird sometimes. It is what it is when it comes to that but it’s still a very good enjoyable show. So far the story it’s good and you really get a feeling for these characters and their motives. I am really into the story as see how it develops.

I give this one 🍫🍫🍫/🍫🍫🍫

The Broken Record Podcast

For generations of music lovers, the liner notes on albums were a central part of the way music was heard. You bought an album and it came with an accompanying narrative: a digression, an aside, a backstory—maybe even an invented history. We intuitively understood that great music required not just listening but conversation between the artist and the audience and the audience and the rest of the world. Broken Record is a podcast that restarts those conversations—in a world without liner notes—for a new audience of music lovers. Broken Record is hosted by Justin Richmond with interviews by the producer Rick Rubin, the writer Malcolm Gladwell, and the former New York Times editor Bruce Headlam.

I don’t usually do two Something I liked this week posts on the same week but i felt compelled to do so this time around. I am probably late to the party here but sometime this week, in one of the nerdy chats i am apart of, The Broken Record podcast was recommended thus curious i had to check it out – as you do. And i was imminently hooked! It wasn’t just the caliber and the names of the guests but also the interviewers and the way the conversations go and the subjects that are talked about. Plus I love music and to know about the creative process of these people and their stories, it is fascinating to me. Needles to say, I have been binge-listening to this podcast, which i never ever do or have done before. I am four episodes in and a few more to go.

I can’t recommend this pod enough!

“You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts” 😉

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

I actually started using arching this anime show a while back but for whatever reason I sort of dropped it. Sometime last week I started watching again from where I left of. The show it’s great, I mean, If you’re a Japanese Animation nerd like me you should probably be watching this.

It is the Taisho Period in Japan. Tanjiro, a kindhearted boy who sells charcoal for a living, finds his family slaughtered by a demon. To make matters worse, his younger sister Nezuko, the sole survivor, has been transformed into a demon herself. Though devastated by this grim reality, Tanjiro resolves to become a “demon slayer” so that he can turn his sister back into a human, and kill the demon that massacred his family. A sorrowful tale of siblings in which the fates of humans and demons intertwine… begins now!

Like I’ve said, I started watching again last week but it was in the past two days were it got like really good! Very intense, action packed, impossible fights!

Sometimes I get so invested in these characters that I truly fear for them in each episode and I have been at the edge of my couch these past two nights. 😬

Love this show.