Things I Would Like to See in 2024

 I didn’t know what to do for my final Note of the year; I considered a ‘Best of 2023’ thing, but I haven’t actually done that many new things this year? In a review sense, that is. Movies, I could take a shot at, but television shows? Eh. Video games? I don’t think I played a single one that came out this year (which doesn’t mean I won’t, just that I’m not in a rush to get to them). And books? I’ve only read a couple at the end of the year that were released in 2023–which is also why I didn’t vote in the Goodreads awards.

So I apologize that this isn’t that great of a Saturday Note. It’s what I had time to write.

Slowly working through The Atlas of Middle-Earth this weekend.

Random Ideas for Christmas Stories

 2023 is almost over! What the fudge, that’s crazy. I feel pressure about doing something somewhat Christmas-related for the holiday, but I’m not good at coming up with themed Saturday Notes. Heck, I’m not good at coming up with ideas for Saturday Notes at all. This is what I get for wishing I was Limyaael.

Anyhow I’ve been playing Shadow of War and I still haven’t died yet! That’s encouraging. 

On Aragorn's Tax Policy

 We are getting to the part of December where panic sets in: have to wrap presents, I should probably get a haircut, I have to finish up some reading, and some of the gifts still have to come in… And! I’m beginning to suspect that I need to go back and work on the NaNoWriMo manuscript.

However! There are some positives. I have started reading The Olympian Affair, and I have gotten Polite Society from the library to watch. That’s exciting.

Alchemy & Capitalism

 Will I get to 50 Saturday Notes in 2023? We shall see!

I have finished the Thrawn Trilogy, and now I’m going to read a couple of books before we get to the next Skulduggery Pleasant, I think? I am not sure. I have some mixed feelings about this Anne Bonny book (it relies heavily on using modern arguments about sexism to make its point, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong; it also doesn’t cite sources in a few early statements which I have questions about), but who knows?

I’ve started replaying Shadow of War again, too. It’s fun–and I’ve found that I prefer messing around more fun than the storyline? Not that the story is un-fun, but even in the tutorial phases the Nemesis System is really cool.

Food in Speculative Fiction

 I reached over 51,000 words for National Novel Writing Month, I’m three books away from two hundred for the year, and I finished Assassin’s Creed: Origins. The remaster for Assassin’s Creed III isn’t working on my PS4 for whatever reason, but I have a bunch of other games so it all works out, I think.

Not sure which book I’m reading next, which is a bit frustrating. I’ll get to something though.

Now let’s talk about FOOD!