Looking back at the third quarter of 2024

I try to think of something new or interesting to say in these intros each quarter, and every so often I think I manage to find something. But most times it does end up sounding very similar to previous intros. And I think that’s where we are this quarter. But I hope that doesn’t dissuade you from checking out the various sections below, to see a sampling of the photography I’ve shared, the books I’ve read, the movies I’ve watched, the music I’ve listened to, and any other little ramblings about life. I’m hoping something will catch your eye.

And now on to the look back.

Photography

For a while now I’ve felt that I haven’t created quite the range of blog content I once did, that the posts I wrote were primarily Mostly Photos and Field Notes Updates. So this quarter I made a concerted effort to expand it, and I think I was successful, even adding a new category of post on Architecture. I will try to keep creating a range of content, but let me know if you enjoy the range or if you prefer a more narrow focus.

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Reading

I’ve had a good quarter of reading. I read more books this quarter than the previous two, and more overall pages, as well. Thankfully, the average rating I’ve given the books has hovered just over 4 out of 5 throughout the year. I love when I enjoy the majority of what I read. I feel like I had a decent mix of older books with more recent releases. I also mixed in non-fiction and photography with my more common genres of science fiction, fantasy and mystery/thriller.

Below are the books I read, and further below you’ll find a short description of some of my favorites of the quarter. Have you read any of these? Are you curious about any of them?

The books I consumed this quarter (paper, ebook, and audio).

Here’s the full list of books: The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants by Karen Bakker, All This and More by Peng Shepherd, The Perfumist of Paris (The Jaipur Trilogy 3) by Alka Joshi, Season of Storms (The Witcher) by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia (Hainish Cycle) by Ursula K. Le Guin, A Middle-earth Traveler: Sketches from Bag End to Mordor by John Howe, Murder in Mesopotamia (Hercule Poirot) by Agatha Christie, The Most Secret War: Army Signals Intelligence in Vietnam by James L. Gilbert, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien, White Mountain Trails by Winthrop Packard, Backroads Buildings - In Search of the Vernacular by Steve Gross & Susan Daley, The Rule: How I Beat the Odds in the Markets and in Life - and How You Can Too by Larry Hite, The Veiled Throne (Dandelion Dynasty 3) by Ken Liu, The Maid by Nita Prose, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries 7) by Martha Wells, Dr No (James Bond) by Ian Fleming, The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir.

And of those, my favorites were:

The Maid by Nita Prose

This was a perfectly timed feel good read for me, so it’s possible some of my enjoyment stemmed from it being the right book at the right time. It tells of Molly, a maid who may be a little different from some of us, and how she gets caught up in some nefarious goings-on at the hotel she works at. Some great characters in this story. Can’t wait to read the next book.

A Middle-earth Traveler: Sketches from Bag End to Mordor by John Howe

A fantastic book for any hardcore fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work and of John Howe’s artwork. It features lots of artwork, both from printed materials and that used during the making of the movies. A wonderful way to look back at that world in all its various forms.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien

I first read this book when very young and in school. It is one of the few that really stuck with me, so when I saw it published as an audiobook I decided to do a reread, and what a wonderful read it was. It felt fresh, it had been so long since I first read it. And I felt similar feelings as I did the first time, a sense of loss, happiness, hope and mystery.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

One of those many books that folks often read in school but I somehow missed. What a wild ride between sanity and insanity, between caring treatment and tyrannical malice. A fascinating study of multiple characters, sad at times, funny at others. I’m very glad I finally read this one.

Movies & Anime

It’s been a mixed bag of movies this quarter. On a low note and to start the quarter off, Breach, starring Bruce Willis, wasn’t worth the time. It felt like a low-budget made-for-TV movie with poor writing and poor acting.

Leave No Trace, on the other hand, though perhaps also a lower budget film, had a powerful story showing the love between a father and daughter trying to survive on their own terms and the difficulties of life catching up to them. I really enjoyed this one.

Meg 2: The Trench, The Darkest Minds, and Space Milkshake were all fairly average and what you might expect. Meg 2 was a Jason Statham followup to The Meg. Pretty much enough said. The Darkest Minds was a dystopian YA film about youths with special powers trying to find their way in the world. Mostly enjoyable, if fairly predictable. And Space Milkshake was just ridiculous, as the name would imply, and as they appeared to try to make it. I do think this may have been a made-for-TV film and stars several folks known for their TV roles. Ridiculous, but I do enjoy this sort of ridiculous.

Fallen, starring Denzel Washington back in 1998, was a rewatch, and one I very much enjoyed all over again, even though this time around I knew the premise. This is one where if you’re curious to see it you may be better off not reading anything about it, just give it a try, see if it works for you.

Marvelous and the Black Hole was a touching story of a young girl trying to deal with the death of her mother and the changes that happened afterwards with her family and life. She becomes angry, very angry, and lashes out at everyone, until she meets someone who slowly over time begins to change everything for her.

And I’ve continued watching episodes of the 2003 anime series, Planetes, about future space crews whose job it is to clean up all the accumulating debris in orbit to avoid collisions and damage to functioning satellites and stations. I’m really enjoying this series and I’m almost finished with it.

Music

This quarter two of the songs I’m sharing are more folksy than rock and are from German Bands. But there’s also a song from an American songwriter/guitarist and a Japanese vocalist. I hope you enjoy the selection.

Versengold - The Devil is a Barmaid

What a fun folksy song, this time sung in English instead of German (their first in English). Apparently the band lost a bet with their friends from Kissin’ Dynamite and now they’ve written a cover for their song, The Devil is a Woman.

Dämmerland x Saltatio Mortis - Verlorene Träume

And here’s a second song with German songwriters and performers, this time singing in German. I’ve been on a bit of a Saltatio Mortis kick lately, so I was drawn to this melodic collaboration.

Marty Friedman - The Perfect World (featuring +α/あるふぁきゅん。)

And to close things out here’s a rock song from a few years back. I’ve been meaning to showcase this song since it first came out and now it’s finally popped to the top of my list. I love Marty Friedman’s guitar work and song writing and I think the singer adds a lot to this one. This is my kind of rock song. Also check out a live collaboration between Ichika Nito & Marty Friedman from my 2023 4th Quarter Look Back.

And if you’re curious to see if I’ve purchased any music lately you can check out my collection in bandcamp.

Life

Last quarter I mentioned how my interests can be a bit scattershot and there are so many I sometimes struggle to keep up with them. It’s not unusual for some to wither away as I just don’t manage to make enough time for them. But they’re always still there in the background just waiting for their chance.

I’d begun learning guitar during the pandemic lockdowns, and though I never really learned to play through an entire song I did learn a number of chords and enjoyed just strumming and feeling those vibrations on my chest. But it’s been a while since I’ve picked up my guitar.

Recently my father and I visited a good friend who plays a number of different instruments, and he let me try out his Taylor GS Mini, a beautiful little guitar with a lot of personality. Sitting with the guitar in my lap I realized I’d forgotten how to play many of the chords I once knew. But as I randomly strummed strings they slowly came back to me and between strumming random noise I’d occasionally make a semi-pleasing set of tones. And this surfaced two feelings within me. The first was: I’d love to get myself one of these GS Mini’s! And of course the second was: Why don’t I start pulling out my own guitar and get back on track learning new skills and maybe learn how to carry a tune one of these days? So that’s what I hope to do this next quarter, start back up a regular practice of pulling out the guitar and practicing. Time will tell how well I follow through.

What about you? Do you have any goals for the remainder of the year, things you’ve maybe been consistently working towards already, or that you’ve been meaning to? Maybe there’s still time to get started if you haven’t already. Let’s give it a try and see.

Thanks much for reading, and have a great final quarter of 2024!

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