In the weeks leading up to graduation college, I felt the natural sense of existential dread that follows most people before a huge life change. I had a good idea of what I was going to do job wise, but other than that I was running blind. I also spent a lot of time looking back on the previous four years, primarily coming to terms that the close group of friends I once had was gone.
One of the ways I processed this was through music. Not making music (I have a severe lack of talent in that regard), but listening to and curating songs that reflected my experiences. Before my last week of classes, I made a playlist titled “My Playlist 57” (I’m very creative). This contained songs that reflected my experiences leaving for college, losing touch with friends, accepting that life changes, and being hopeful that there is a future beyond these last four years.
I recently went back and listened to this old playlist, and I thought that it was a unique form of self expression that captures how I was feeling in those weeks, months, and years. I wanted to update this and give it more life than a simple YouTube playlist. This is the result of that.
Growing
This mix features Alec Benjamin, Chelsea Cutler, EDEN, and Tessa Violet.
In what I hope is the first of many entries, I want to go through 3 things I found interesting this week and talk about them (while hiding from the elements outside).
1) Linux Operating Systems
A random video of someone going through their Linux setup caught my attention a few days ago. It was such a different way of using a computer that seemed more flexible. I had seen videos before this but for some reason this one made me seriously consider making the switch. A few more Linux videos popped into my recommended, and I finally saw one promoting Zorin OS. It seemed like this was designed to be a baby’s first Linux OS. I did some more research on it, went to the store, and (rather impulsively) installed Zorin on my laptop.
I don’t know what I expects, but what I got is what seems like a perfect mix between Windows and Mac. Every function I’ve needed is there, file navigation is familiar, and it has that clean feel of a Macbook. As of writing this I am only 2 hours into using it, so I will write more of my thoughts next week,
2) Deadlock
Yesterday I finally gave Valve’s new hero shooter / MOBA, and was lucky enough to recruit a couple of friends to play as well. As a Valve fanboy, I came in expecting to love this game just like I did with TF2 and CSGO. I wasn’t too far off either!
Despite a decent learning curve, Deadlock was fairly simple to jump into and understand. After getting a few games under my belt, I really do hope this game has the staying power that other Valve games have had.
3) Runescape 3
For once I think I picked the perfect time to pick a game back up. Growing up, Runescape was a game I “played” with my cousin, and by “played” I mean I would mine copper for 10 minutes and log off. Regardless, mining the copper is one of my fondest gaming memories growing up. So when I had the urge to play an MMO a couple weeks ago, Runescape was the obvious option.
A few days after installing and mining more copper, Jagex announced one of the biggest roadmaps for the game that the community had ever seen. I started seeing posts about how the game is “saved” and how OSRS players are retrying RS3. It was refreshing to see so much positivity for the game.
So naturally for the past week I’ve been playing almost daily. To me it’s an incredibly relaxing game that I can almost play in the background. My go-to method to unwind now is to pick a skill to level and put on a YouTube video. It’s borderline meditative.
The Eye of the World was a good book, but I didn’t love it. The Great Hunt built on everything that book 1 set up and improved on it, ending with one of my favorite sequences I’ve read. I was really excited to start The Dragon Reborn to see if it could live up to The Great Hunt. While I did enjoy the previous book more, I really did enjoy The Dragon Reborn.
Based on the title and book description, I was expecting a Rand heavy book. He is the Dragon after all. I was surprised and a bit disappointed at first to realize that Rand was not a main POV character in the book. Later on I came to appreciate this choice, but at first it was a bit jarring. That being said, this decision allowed the other characters in the book to shine. My personal favorite POVs were Perrin and Mat.
Perrin’s big struggle throughout the book was with his own humanity. Learning he was a wolfbrother shakes him to his core and understandably so. In a world where anything to do with the power and men is taboo, a dude that can talk to wolves is definitely not something you don’t want to be. Perrin actively tries to avoid this fate throughout the book until the final chapters wehre he has to save his Falcon. Speaking of, Faile and Perrin’s relationship is going to be something to look at moving forward. I think it’s safe to say that this is the woman that Min warned Perrin about, I just can’t imagine the answer is as obvious as Lanfear. Being a Hunter with a long history and training, I wonder if she has an ulterior motive for being with Perrin. It was also a very quick turnaround from Perrin, going from not wanting anything to do with her to risking his own humanity to save her. It will be great to see how the Falcon and the Wolf progress in the next few books.
Mat turned into one of my favorite characters throughout this book. Ever since blowing the Horn of Valere, he has been going through it. Having made himself extremely important in the pattern, he is healed and kept under watch by the Tower. Having been healed in Tar Valon, this dude is incredibly hungry and incredibly lucky. It’s later revealed that his newfound luck is based on random chance. The more random the chance, the luckier he is. This came in handy in games of dice, fleeing, hunters, and finding his friends. Mat was always a fun character to follow, but him teaming up with Thom was by far my favorite plotline in this book. I’m curious to see how his character develops going forward. Egwene had a dream that Mat was playing dice with the Dark One, and there was constant mention of “The Dark One’s Luck.” This makes me wonder if there is a potential fall from grace coming in future books. This is backed up by the growing animosity Mat has towards Aes Sedai, Moraine, and the power itself. I’m hopeful that The Shadow Rising dives into this more.
As for Nyneave, Egwene, and Elayne, I think their storyline in this books was a bit less engaging than others, but opened the door for a lot of cool possibilities moving forward. I love the idea of the World of Dreams that Egwene is diving into. The build up throughout the book led to her using the power of the ter’angreal in the Heart of the Stone ot trap sisters of the Black Aja. This seems like jut the beginning of what an be done in the World of Dreams and I can’t wait to see how it shapes out.
The climax of the story in the Heart of the Stone was nothing short of cinematic. I think the choice to leave Rand out as a POV character made this payoff so much better, as we see Rand as others must see him; with an air of mystery and power behind him. His clash with Balal and Ba’alzamon wielding Collandor was just as climatic as Artur Hawkwing’s armies returning from the dead in book 2. Seeing what Rand can do now that he has accepted himself as the Dragon is nothing short of beautiful. He uses the power as naturally as if he had been using it his whole life. Using this power, Rand ultimately defeats Ba’alzamon in parallel worlds (if I understood that part correctly). It is revealed. however, that who Rand killed was not the Dark One. It’s not totally confirmed who he killed, but it is heavily hinted that it was the Forsaken Ishamael.
With this reveal, it changes the way I view the first 3 books. The main antagonist is not who we thought he was. If it was really Ishamael, I hope he isn’t truly dead. He is one of the few Forsaken that has ben heavily mentioned throughout the series. I really want to know more about him and see what made him so powerful.
On the topic of the Forsaken, Lanfear is absolutely fascinating to me. I really don’t remember if she made an appearance in book 1, but she was very present in book 2 under a false name. At the end of this book, she delivers a letter to Moraine claiming Lews Therin (Rand) as her own. As the Forsaken we’re interacted with the most, I can see a world where she has great influence over out party. She has personally talked to Rand and Mat. I can’t remember if Perrin ran into her, but I imagine he will. I fear she is here to cause chaos.
Some other side notes, I really hope Thom Merrilin is alive. That dude is such an interesting character and I want him and Queen Morgase to meet again. Looking ahead to The Shadow Rising, It looks like the Aiel are going to be a heavy focus. The People of the Dragon, as they’re revealed in this book to be, are s interesting and remind me a lot of the Freman from Dune. I’m looking forward to exploring the Three Fold Land in book 4 and learning more about this culture.
