Critical Role
2x94 With Great Power... [1st half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Monday, 17 March 2025
Sunday, 16 March 2025
Fiction
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
3 A Case of Identity
Following the first two novels (A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four), Adventures is the first collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories; it's also the one I've read most of, but not completed. So, rather than return to jumping around through the canon's highlights, I thought I'd polish this off first. (After this book is done, I'll see how I feel about where I go next.)
3 A Case of Identity
Following the first two novels (A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four), Adventures is the first collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories; it's also the one I've read most of, but not completed. So, rather than return to jumping around through the canon's highlights, I thought I'd polish this off first. (After this book is done, I'll see how I feel about where I go next.)
Comics
Exceptional X-Men
#4 by Eve L. Ewing & Carmen Carnero
#5 by Eve L. Ewing & Carmen Carnero
Swords: The Adventures of Quest Sprout
by Matthew J. Wills
I discovered Swords when I joined Bluesky. It's a free online comic, but I bought this zine that compiles (some of) the adventures of Quest Sprout because (a) support creators, and (b) Quest Sprout is adorable.
#4 by Eve L. Ewing & Carmen Carnero
#5 by Eve L. Ewing & Carmen Carnero
Swords: The Adventures of Quest Sprout
by Matthew J. Wills
I discovered Swords when I joined Bluesky. It's a free online comic, but I bought this zine that compiles (some of) the adventures of Quest Sprout because (a) support creators, and (b) Quest Sprout is adorable.
Saturday, 15 March 2025
Fiction
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
Chapters 43–53
Epilogue [the end]
The final twist strays a little too far into the realm of coincidence for my taste, but it's a solid read overall. Would I have seen all the other twists coming if I hadn't had it flagged to me as having an incredible, makes-you-want-to-reread-it twist? Maybe not, and maybe it would've been better for that. Such is the risk when you tell someone "this has a great twist!"
Chapters 43–53
Epilogue [the end]
The final twist strays a little too far into the realm of coincidence for my taste, but it's a solid read overall. Would I have seen all the other twists coming if I hadn't had it flagged to me as having an incredible, makes-you-want-to-reread-it twist? Maybe not, and maybe it would've been better for that. Such is the risk when you tell someone "this has a great twist!"
Collection Count
Collection Count tracks my DVD/Blu-ray collection via a number of statistics every week.
It's the second quiet week in a row, this one even quieter than the last. Next week, however, should be fairly busy (not close to a record-breaker, just averagely excessive), assuming all my preorders due on Monday 24th arrive early (this week, one did and one did not).
Number of titles in collection: 3,486 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 987 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,499 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 443 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 8,399 [up 3]
Number of films: 4,420 [up 3]
Number of additional cuts: 439 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,879 [up 8]
Number of short films: 1,225 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
It's the second quiet week in a row, this one even quieter than the last. Next week, however, should be fairly busy (not close to a record-breaker, just averagely excessive), assuming all my preorders due on Monday 24th arrive early (this week, one did and one did not).
Number of titles in collection: 3,486 [up 1]
Of which DVDs: 987 [no change]
Of which Blu-rays: 2,499 [up 1]
— of which Ultra HD Blu-rays: 443 [up 1]
Number of discs in collection: 8,399 [up 3]
Number of films: 4,420 [up 3]
Number of additional cuts: 439 [no change]
Number of TV episodes: 9,879 [up 8]
Number of short films: 1,225 [no change]
See you next week, faithful reader.
Friday, 14 March 2025
Thursday, 13 March 2025
Videos
Critical Role
2x93 Misery Loves Company [2nd half]
"Laura. Fucking. Bailey." This episode climaxes with one of the things everyone talks about from Campaign 2: Jester vs the hag. Often, when you reach famous moments like that in a series, they struggle to live up to expectations. This one is still brilliant, in part thanks to the reactions of the other eight people at the table (as Liam says, "so obviously, in the moment, a legendary moment of this campaign." And Taliesin's face, in particular, is all over the place throughout.) Even beyond Laura's stuff, everyone's interviews with the hag are fantastic and character-revealing, which makes this a great episode.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#140 'Misery Loves Company'
After an episode that really showcased Laura, Marisha, and Matt, we get... Taliesin and Ashley. I love 'em, but c'mon. (They did have Laura and Marisha last time which, with hindsight, feels like a Big Mistake.)
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
2x93 Misery Loves Company [2nd half]
"Laura. Fucking. Bailey." This episode climaxes with one of the things everyone talks about from Campaign 2: Jester vs the hag. Often, when you reach famous moments like that in a series, they struggle to live up to expectations. This one is still brilliant, in part thanks to the reactions of the other eight people at the table (as Liam says, "so obviously, in the moment, a legendary moment of this campaign." And Taliesin's face, in particular, is all over the place throughout.) Even beyond Laura's stuff, everyone's interviews with the hag are fantastic and character-revealing, which makes this a great episode.
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#140 'Misery Loves Company'
After an episode that really showcased Laura, Marisha, and Matt, we get... Taliesin and Ashley. I love 'em, but c'mon. (They did have Laura and Marisha last time which, with hindsight, feels like a Big Mistake.)
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Games
Roadwarden
Another advantage to starting over is that the full game offers a choice of three difficulties: standard mode gives you 40 in-game days to complete your goals; “restrictive” reduces that to 30 and increases overnight damage; “casual” emphasises the story by removing the time limit entirely, giving you a small head start, and making some quests easier. (You can also customise these a little via advanced settings, which is nice if you want a mix of the aforementioned options — you can have no time limit but not make the quests easier, for example; or the standard rules but with the aforementioned ‘head start’.)
I chose the third option, because the kind of player and person I am means I’m more interested in the game’s world and narrative than beating its mechanics; then I speed-ran the opening to get back to where I left off in the demo; then I played for a couple of hours. It seems almost leisurely at first, but even one bad encounter knocked me for six, and suddenly days were racing by as I tried to recuperate, and I had no money for repairs to my armour (so that's currently non-existent). And this is the easy setting! I'm on Day 6 already, and the game has told me days are getting shorter — thank goodness they're unlimited! It feels like it would be a definite challenge to complete in 40 days. Or maybe I've just been unlucky, I dunno.
Another advantage to starting over is that the full game offers a choice of three difficulties: standard mode gives you 40 in-game days to complete your goals; “restrictive” reduces that to 30 and increases overnight damage; “casual” emphasises the story by removing the time limit entirely, giving you a small head start, and making some quests easier. (You can also customise these a little via advanced settings, which is nice if you want a mix of the aforementioned options — you can have no time limit but not make the quests easier, for example; or the standard rules but with the aforementioned ‘head start’.)
I chose the third option, because the kind of player and person I am means I’m more interested in the game’s world and narrative than beating its mechanics; then I speed-ran the opening to get back to where I left off in the demo; then I played for a couple of hours. It seems almost leisurely at first, but even one bad encounter knocked me for six, and suddenly days were racing by as I tried to recuperate, and I had no money for repairs to my armour (so that's currently non-existent). And this is the easy setting! I'm on Day 6 already, and the game has told me days are getting shorter — thank goodness they're unlimited! It feels like it would be a definite challenge to complete in 40 days. Or maybe I've just been unlucky, I dunno.
Videos
Critical Role
2x93 Misery Loves Company [1st half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#139 'Home Is Where the Heart Is'
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
2x93 Misery Loves Company [1st half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#139 'Home Is Where the Heart Is'
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
Tuesday, 11 March 2025
Videos
Critical Role
2x92 Home Is Where the Heart Is [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
2x92 Home Is Where the Heart Is [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Monday, 10 March 2025
Videos
Critical Role
2x92 Home Is Where the Heart Is [1st half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#138 'Stone to Clay'
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
2x92 Home Is Where the Heart Is [1st half]
[Watch it (again) on YouTube, Twitch, or Beacon.]
Talks Machina
#138 'Stone to Clay'
[Watch it (again) on Internet Archive.]
Sunday, 9 March 2025
TV
Daredevil: Born Again
1x01 Heaven's Half Hour
1x02 Optics
Almost eight years since Daredevil's unintended final episode ("unintended" because it was cancelled after airing thanks to an MCU/Netflix rights kerfuffle), it's back. Well, technically it's a new show, which I guess makes it a sequel or something, but it's the same characters and cast and whatnot so, y'know, it's kinda Season 4. And I still think it's pretty great. Looking forward to the rest, and delighted a second season is already confirmed.
[Watch it (again) on Disney+.]
1x01 Heaven's Half Hour
1x02 Optics
Almost eight years since Daredevil's unintended final episode ("unintended" because it was cancelled after airing thanks to an MCU/Netflix rights kerfuffle), it's back. Well, technically it's a new show, which I guess makes it a sequel or something, but it's the same characters and cast and whatnot so, y'know, it's kinda Season 4. And I still think it's pretty great. Looking forward to the rest, and delighted a second season is already confirmed.
[Watch it (again) on Disney+.]
Fiction
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
Chapters 15–21
As I noted when I started, one of the main reasons I'm reading this is because everyone talks about its amazing twist. Well, I guessed one possible twist as soon as I read the blurb, and here — at the end of Part One (of two) — it comes to pass. Hopefully the one everyone's talking about is still to come.
Chapters 15–21
As I noted when I started, one of the main reasons I'm reading this is because everyone talks about its amazing twist. Well, I guessed one possible twist as soon as I read the blurb, and here — at the end of Part One (of two) — it comes to pass. Hopefully the one everyone's talking about is still to come.
this week on 100Films.co.uk
A bit later than normal, it was finally time for 100Films.co.uk to look back at February.
It's the same posts as usual: first, the general review of the month...
Then, my numerous "failures"...
More next Sunday? You never know...
It's the same posts as usual: first, the general review of the month...
Then, my numerous "failures"...
More next Sunday? You never know...
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