If you're not sure what you're looking at, this is what happened when I
asked people to write a recommendation for something that they liked
this year.
I wasn't sure what to expect, and it definitely feels different,
disjoint— a reminder that we spend our day looking at
algorithmically curated suggestions that are a tiny slice of all of the
"stuff" out there. I've learned a lot reading them all, and hope you all
do too, whether you take a recommendation or just like seeing how
different people's interests are.
I also learned a lot with this first experiment. Of all those that
expressed interest, there are far fewer shared here today. Quite a few
of you mentioned how much you struggled to come up with something and/or
make time to write. Thanks for doing it regardless! I know a few people
have drafts that they didn't deem "good enough", I know that feeling all
too well.
On that note, I figured I'd see if this could continue with a lower
barrier this time around. If you'd like to contribute to the next
"volume" please
send a song, image, or anything else that feels like winter to
things@iliketh.is by February 1st. Exposition optional but always appreciated. Feel free to share this
page with others that might want to take part.
(Future theme suggestions also welcome.)
I hope you enjoy reading what others liked as much as I have.
CtC is primarily a YouTube channel run by a gentle British duo (Mark
Goodliffe and Simon Anthony) that covers logic puzzles, with an emphasis
on variant sudoku, every day. Each of them publishes a video each day
that records themselves solving a puzzle for the first time, and
explaining what they're doing as they go.
Their (very fun) Miracle Sudoku video went viral early in the pandemic
and is a great representative of how they take an obscure, daunting, and
not-inherently-exciting-looking field and can somehow make a gripping
video that you want to sit through the entire way:
Defying expectations, they've built an audience of hundreds of thousands
of people, and in the process taking what used to be a tiny corner of
the world and growing it into a thriving community of puzzle creators
and enthusiasts. Its early years inspired a new generation of people to
discover that they loved creating puzzles too, and by doing this they
dramatically expanded and elevated the logic puzzle community. It's
increased by orders of magnitude, bringing in fresh ideas and a desire
to experiment and build (and one-up) each other that has produced a
perpetual motion machine of creativity. It's not an overstatement to say
that the community Cracking the Cryptic built is basically producing a
golden age of puzzles,
I first found them a few years ago when Simon streamed himself playing
The Witness, which was a lot of fun to watch. But I wasn't interested in
the main channel content, because, while I've enjoyed logic puzzles
since I was a kid, I find plain sudoku very boring. It wasn't until the
top of 2023 that I watched the Miracle Sudoku again and thought that
hmm, maybe these are the sorts of things that could actually be fun and
maybe I'd be decent at them. So I gave a few strange variants a shot,
and of course found I totally loved them. Not all of the puzzles are
sudokus -- I discovered plenty of non-sudoku puzzles and hybrids -- but
even the ones that are, the puzzle usually doesn't rely on more than
very basic sudoku constraints to provide some structure and a way for
information to move around. The sudoku constraints are a sort of logical
substrate on which one can create much stranger and more creative
interactions.
Since getting into it, I've spent 2023 basically always having a puzzle
going - on my laptop in the evening (truly ideal while feeding an
infant!), and on my phone for downtime. And because of the incredible
creativity engine and kind community that CtC has built, I may never run
out - ever.
I truly admire the steady daily work that Mark and Simon from Cracking
the Cryptic put in, which included years in obscurity with few
followers. They turned a personal love into something on which they can
make a living, and sparked that love within people around the world and
created something that grows itself. They're not only able to make their
job something they love, but have their energy return back to them, good
karma style, to create more of the things that motivated them to do this
whole thing in the first place. I really respect what they did and my
life has been a lot more fun for it!
We often purchase a piece of art together to celebrate our anniversary.
This is this year's discovery.
This is a photograph by Fred Draper of Knoxville, TN. He takes digital
photos and then does digital post-processing to create various effects.
This particular photo was taken in the Smokies of "a tree that thousands
of people drive past every year" as Fred put it. It immediately grabbed
both of our attention. I think it looks like something that Van Gogh
would have painted had he come to the New World.
Honey on the Hi-Fi
Happy New Year! I listened to this album so much this year. It is my
favorite kind of album, the kind that is best when you play it all the
way through. I think I've done so 100 times this year.
Or if you don't want to do that, try this one:
I Need That
A play I liked this past year was "I Need That," starring Danny DeVito,
Ray Anthony Thomas, and Lucy DeVito. To me, the best plays are the ones
that are both hilarious and heartbreaking, and this one was certainly
both. Danny DeVito brought his usual effortless humor, while at the same
time, the play tackles heavier themes around family, friendship, loss,
memories, and - perhaps most of all - how we relate to the physical
objects that carry those memories.
I Want To Be A Tomato Plant (by Rani Ban)
I saw this poem a few months ago by
Rani Ban, a printmaker I really admire,
and it made me so happy. I'm hard on myself as a parent and as many
other things, and as a parent you often compare your kids to other kids.
I got this for myself and another mom who is similarly hard on herself
with her kids, and I hope it's a reminder to us both and our kids
someday that mess is the most beautiful kind of growth, and there is no
such thing as failure when you look at it as where you fall is where you
grow roots. Let's all say fuck you to the garden's parameters.
Islander
Islander is a STUNNING new contemporary folk musical (winner of Best New
Musical at Edinburgh Fringe Festival) that I saw in December at Chicago
Shakespeare Theater. It was my favorite musical of the year as well as a
new all-time favorite. It was simply gorgeous and gorgeously simple. Two
women played different pairs of characters throughout the show,
transitioning seamlessly between roles and producing real-time score and
sound effects using live looping (this will BLOW your mind). The show
itself was about family and what we owe each other, friendship and what we
give each other, land and the ways we attend to it, whales and what we can
learn from them, and wonder. If you ever have the chance (and I hope many
people will have many chances), see this show!
King Diamond's Abigail
I love art, especially when it's on TV. There was this episode of
Keeping Up With the Kardashians ("KUWTK") where Travis Barker is
introduced as Kortney's boyfriend. Travis Barker is the drummer we all
know and love from blink-182 but also Ska band Aquabats and producer on
those really cringe Machine Gun Kelly singles. I love him. He was doing
an MTV Cribs style rundown of his home decor -- until he got to this
curiously placed stack of records on the fireplace mantle. He pauses and
gets real serious in a Keanu Reeves stance -- says these are the most
important albums ever to him. You catch a glimpse of "Them", King
Diamond's third album, on top before they cut to something else.
To those not in the know, King Diamond is not emo sk8terboi pop. It is
weirdo, theatrical in-your-face metal that defies comparisons. I knew
all of this vaguely before this episode of KUWTK, but I said, "fuck it"
-- I'm intrigued. I first whipped up spotify to their most popular album
- Abigail.
Let me tell you. As a dude who grew up sipping Mtn lightning to Korn
skatting, I was highly unprepared for the face ripping. YO! TURN THIS
SHIT UP. It is unlike anything you will listen to, even for metalheads.
But it absolutely fucks. The album is a masterpiece.
Have a shot of King Diamond himself (lifted shamelessly from Wikipedia)
Live on Set (Big Grande)
I feel like recommending an improv show is a quick way to get people to
skip to the next one. That said, if you've only ever seen short improv
bits and hard-to-watch amateurs, I think "Live on Set" shows something
unique that'll be surprising to most people.
A bit over a year ago, I saw a live
Big Grande show. I'll
remember them from 2023 as I've spent most commutes, errands, and chores
catching up on the back catalog of their long-running "Teacher's Lounge"
podcast which has seen them improvising in the same characters for seven
years now. (Bonus Rec: If you've seen "The Other Two" on HBO, one of the
members is Drew Tarver, one of the funniest actors working today.)
But I don't think most are going to want to dive into an improvised
podcast with 200 episodes of lore. Instead, I figured I'd recommend
"Live on Set." The group filmed four improvised specials, each one
taking place a different sitcom-like set. Three of the four performers
walk out not knowing what the set will look like or how their peers will
be dressed and then perform an improvised scene for 30 minutes.
The resulting four shows are some of the most unique I've seen this
year. The first one is free on YouTube, embedded here:
The Mountain in the Sea - Ray Nayler
I love this fictional book, and octopuses, but I don’t want to give it
all away and I have a bad habit of ruining plots for people. I'll say I
enjoyed it thoroughly, you’re in for a treat. There are many characters
and you are left trying to learn how they all interact with each other.
There’s enough world-building to make me want to learn more about the
world after the end. In an age where AI is becoming more popular and
powerful with OpenAI and its art becoming more controversial, this book
should have stood out more. The book asks the question of what would it
be like if we met sentient life on the planet rather than in
space— sort of like an under-the-sea version of Contact. It asks a
lot of questions and leaves the hardest unanswered for you to think
about which is great and stays within the central thesis of the story
which I enjoyed. As someone who wants to write science fiction with a
fictional book explaining the world and with multiple characters’ POV
it’s the kind of book I would have written myself and I’m super envious
that Ray Nayler wrote it before me.
I had to go back to make sure this was 2023, and it was January 1st
2023, so that seems perfect.
I want people to watch Paul T. Goldman, I don't think enough people
caught this because I didn't hear anything about it.
It is, as they say, a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
signifying nothing. It is like a true crime Tommy Wiseau if that makes
any sense. I hate true crime usually, maybe that's why this works?
Oh yeah, it is on the Peacock.
Remedios Varo
The art that meant the most to me this year was the
Remedios Varo: Science Fictions exhibition. A Mexican artist
that was active for a short nine years, I was unfamiliar with Varo until
wandering into the exhibition earlier this year. Most of Varo's
paintings feature surreal architecture and otherworldly feminine
figures. They evoke spiritualism, but are also often grounded in social
problems, particularly the status of women in the 1950s and 60s. I'm not
sure how to pick just one to feature here, so after way too much
deliberation I am going with
Mujer Saljendo del Psicoanalista (Woman Leaving the
Psychoanalyst). I'll let it speak for itself—
Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer
A first-person shooter with purposefully dated graphics. A numetal
inspired soundtrack. A protagonist who likes to tell his adversaries
that he “made out with your mom last night.” These are the key
ingredients to a Slayers X, a game that I could not put down for a good
while last year.
If you weren’t an impressionable adolescent in the late 90s/early 2000s,
I can’t guarantee that this game will cast the same spell on you as it
did on me. Slayers X is unabashedly fueled by nostalgia. There is no
other reason for this game to look straight off of your Compaq Presario.
Intentionally dated graphics have been a feature of many independent
games recently, with several going for an 8 or 16 bit look, but this is
the first one I encountered that attempts to capture the magic of those
Doom/Duke Nukem days. The latter is a particularly apparent influence,
as the hero of Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer
(yes, “vengance” is spelled incorrectly), cracks wise throughout the
adventure, delighting the player with sophomoric exclamations of his
sexual prowess and general awesomeness. Real high-brow stuff.
But it’s not just 90s window-dressing, this game is a blast. It is a fun
time from beginning to end, with of course the classic first-person
shooter replay opportunities to find all the hidden items and best the
Psyko Sindicate (sic) on a harder difficulty. I’m not even a big
first-person shooter fan, but this game tapped into a subconscious node
of my brain and made me feel like I was playing out a truly terrible,
grotesque, and yet somehow fun nightmare. Fun sidenote, this game is a
spinoff of another dial-up era inspired game, Hypnopace Outlaw. That
game is also worth at least 37 minutes of your time.
watches
I like watches. When asked why, I might pick one up, as if handling a
potato, and simply state, “I just think they’re neat.” In today's world,
most people glance at their phones for the time. Honestly, even when I'm
wearing a watch, I often find myself doing the same. It's usually more
accurate, and depending on the watch's style, it's likely easier to read
at a glance. As a watch enthusiast, I find this shift quite fascinating.
It's one of the many reasons I find watches so intriguing. With more
advanced devices for timekeeping, watches are no longer bound to their
functional roles. This freedom allows watchmakers to explore more
playful and artistic designs.
I want to introduce you to the idea of a watch as a form of art.
Definitions of art vary, but for me, art is anything designed to evoke
an emotional response from its audience. The watches I admire achieve
this, whether through their historical significance, the stories
embedded in their designs, or the personal milestones and experiences I
associate with them. Sometimes, it's just the way the light dances off
the dial that brings a smile to my face.
A British watch microbrand, “Mr Jones,” resonates with these ideas.
Their mission is to create “unusual watches which tell a story, start a
conversation or simply make you smile.”
I’d like to share with you one of their watches aptly named “A perfectly
useless afternoon”, designed by Kristof Devos as a gentle reminder to
take it easy and spend time enjoying the moment.
Kristof explains his inspiration for the design:
"Ironically, it took time to change the way I look at time. A couple
of years ago, I read a quote by a Chinese writer, translator, linguist
and philosopher Lin Yutang that I’ve kept close to my heart ever
since:
'If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly
useless manner, you have learnt how to live'.
So when designing this watch, I took that quote as a starting point.
The quote by Lin Yutang taught me the value of doing nothing at all
every once in a while.
One of the ways I love wasting time is by floating around, with my
eyes closed, letting the water be my guide.
The perspective of my illustration lets you dive into time."
If you are wondering how to read the time:
The relaxed figure's stretched leg shows the hour.
The tiny plastic duck floats around to show you the minutes.
