The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
Chapter 4
Friday, 17 April 2026
Video Games
Balatro
It's been over 6 months since I last played this game that's supposedly soooo addictive and soooo unputdownable and soooo amazing. I always feel I should play it more because of that reputation, but I never quite got it. It came up somewhere today and I thought, "maybe it's time to try again".
First chunk of time was spent trying to remember how the hell it all works. And then... yeah, it's still fine, I guess. Feels like there's too much going on, too much to work out, and it takes too long* for it to just be fun. Still don't get it.
* people talk about the addictiveness of "just one more run", but even one go through takes over half-an-hour for me?! That's not "play multiple runs", that's "hope I have time for one" territory.
Monument Valley II
It's been over 6 months since I last played this game that's supposedly soooo addictive and soooo unputdownable and soooo amazing. I always feel I should play it more because of that reputation, but I never quite got it. It came up somewhere today and I thought, "maybe it's time to try again".
First chunk of time was spent trying to remember how the hell it all works. And then... yeah, it's still fine, I guess. Feels like there's too much going on, too much to work out, and it takes too long* for it to just be fun. Still don't get it.
* people talk about the addictiveness of "just one more run", but even one go through takes over half-an-hour for me?! That's not "play multiple runs", that's "hope I have time for one" territory.
Monument Valley II
Videos
007 First Light Title Sequence
Watched some of the BAFTA Game Awards this evening, mainly to see the premiere of this — the title sequence for the forthcoming James Bond game. I wasn't sure about the song at first, but it plays really nicely with the titles, which I think they've done an excellent job on. Excited for the game... though not sure when I'll actually get to play it as I doubt it'll run on my Steam Deck.
Beyond the Light
Episode 4 Music
And to go with the above, they released the fourth instalment of their behind-the-scenes dev diary, looking at music and sound.
Watched some of the BAFTA Game Awards this evening, mainly to see the premiere of this — the title sequence for the forthcoming James Bond game. I wasn't sure about the song at first, but it plays really nicely with the titles, which I think they've done an excellent job on. Excited for the game... though not sure when I'll actually get to play it as I doubt it'll run on my Steam Deck.
Beyond the Light
Episode 4 Music
And to go with the above, they released the fourth instalment of their behind-the-scenes dev diary, looking at music and sound.
Thursday, 16 April 2026
Films
3-D Rarities (2015)
Part 2: Hollywood Enters the Third Dimension
[#17 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
Concluding yesterday's programme. This half contains a mix of shorts and trailers for 3D features, as well as the only 3D newsreel.
Part 2: Hollywood Enters the Third Dimension
[#17 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
Concluding yesterday's programme. This half contains a mix of shorts and trailers for 3D features, as well as the only 3D newsreel.
Wednesday, 15 April 2026
Films
3-D Rarities (2015)
Part 1: The Dawn of Stereoscopic Cinematography
[#17 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
A programme of tests, shorts, and the like from the early days of 3D film. I only watched the first half because of my usual poor time management. Part 2 tomorrow, hopefully.
Part 1: The Dawn of Stereoscopic Cinematography
[#17 in The 100 Films in a Year Challenge 2026]
A programme of tests, shorts, and the like from the early days of 3D film. I only watched the first half because of my usual poor time management. Part 2 tomorrow, hopefully.
Tuesday, 14 April 2026
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Monument Valley II
Casually chipping away at this one short level at a time — I may have played it on three occasions, but my total playtime is still under half-an-hour.
Monument Valley II
Casually chipping away at this one short level at a time — I may have played it on three occasions, but my total playtime is still under half-an-hour.
Monday, 13 April 2026
Fiction
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Chapters 23–25 [the end]
There's also an epilogue exclusive to a collector's edition, although fans have shared it online. I always assume bonuses like that are going to be inconsequential little something-and-nothings to persuade completist fans to buy a new copy, but this one is actually substantial — longer than most (possibly all) chapters in the book proper, and with some significant events that cast everything in a different light. I have to wonder: is it Hoover's preferred ending? Or one of those 'my publisher made me do it' kinda extras that wouldn't be in a 'preferred text' edition?
Chapters 23–25 [the end]
There's also an epilogue exclusive to a collector's edition, although fans have shared it online. I always assume bonuses like that are going to be inconsequential little something-and-nothings to persuade completist fans to buy a new copy, but this one is actually substantial — longer than most (possibly all) chapters in the book proper, and with some significant events that cast everything in a different light. I have to wonder: is it Hoover's preferred ending? Or one of those 'my publisher made me do it' kinda extras that wouldn't be in a 'preferred text' edition?
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Celebrated (I guess) my return to Skyrim by visiting my seventh city, Morthal, and acquiring a nearby house. It's only a minor one, so not a whole lot to do there, but it's another milestone.
Monument Valley II
Celebrated (I guess) my return to Skyrim by visiting my seventh city, Morthal, and acquiring a nearby house. It's only a minor one, so not a whole lot to do there, but it's another milestone.
Monument Valley II
Sunday, 12 April 2026
Video Games
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
Unbelievably, it's been two whole weeks since I played Skyrim. Any regular readers* would be forgiven for thinking I'd accidentally given up on it, knowing my MO. Well, I guess if I left it too long I might've, as that is the kind of thing that typically happens to me. But no: hitting 200 hours gave me a little bit of decision paralysis about what to do next in-game, then real life got in the way and left me without much time, and once I'm out of a habit...! Of course, the only fix was just get back in the saddle. I didn't play too much today, but I progressed enough to feel like I was getting back into the swing of it. Onwards to 300 hours!
* don't worry, I know I don't actually have any readers except future-me.
Unbelievably, it's been two whole weeks since I played Skyrim. Any regular readers* would be forgiven for thinking I'd accidentally given up on it, knowing my MO. Well, I guess if I left it too long I might've, as that is the kind of thing that typically happens to me. But no: hitting 200 hours gave me a little bit of decision paralysis about what to do next in-game, then real life got in the way and left me without much time, and once I'm out of a habit...! Of course, the only fix was just get back in the saddle. I didn't play too much today, but I progressed enough to feel like I was getting back into the swing of it. Onwards to 300 hours!
* don't worry, I know I don't actually have any readers except future-me.
Saturday, 11 April 2026
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
Not everything I mentioned last week has arrived (the lingering effects of the Easter double Bank Holiday, I guess), but there was still this...
Number of titles in collection: 3,680 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 965 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,715 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 521 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 8,834 [up 9]
Number of films: 4,732 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 487 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,134 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,293 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Not everything I mentioned last week has arrived (the lingering effects of the Easter double Bank Holiday, I guess), but there was still this...
Number of titles in collection: 3,680 [up 4]
Of which DVDs: 965 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,715 [up 4]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 521 [up 3]
Number of discs in collection: 8,834 [up 9]
Number of films: 4,732 [up 6]
Number of additional cuts: 487 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 10,134 [no change]
Number of short films: 1,293 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
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