Software Reccomendations
Logseq
A note-taking app with capability to be cloud-based. It's open-source and security focused. Mega-based.
Duckstation
A wonderful PlayStation 1 emulator capable of changing texture filtering methods, forcing vertex alignment, and other graphical improvements. It's also wonderfully capable of playing most PlayStation games. I can personally verify the ability to run the Final Fantasy rereleases, Legend of Mana, and Parasite Eve.
Game Reccomendations
Off
A French surrealist RPG, where the player controls a man on a holy mission to purify a world infested with ghosts and monsters. The link above is to the official site, but it hasn't been updated with the most recent English translation, which can be found here.
Silent Hill
I hope I don't need to talk about this game in any way, 1-3 make my top ten list of horror games. They're explorations on what trauma does to a person and how it warps their perception of things around them. Coming to terms with your own guilt and pain, other themes like that. It's just such a badass franchise and I hope that Konami does more with it (and does it justice). Unfortunately I can't link to any official site, so I'm linking to a community maintained resource hosted by Fandom.
Book Reccomendations
Unfortunately for you, dear reader, I am hardly a literary critic, and my opinions are wildly derivative. It should be hilarious to see, once I allow angry folk to email me, what other people think about my opinions.
The Myth of Sisyphus
The Myth of Sisyphus, by Albert Camus, is the foundational book of absurdist philosophy. It makes life out to be made of contradiction, that man's need for rationalization directly contradicts the universes sometimes irrational nature. "To an absurd mind reason is useless and there is nothing beyond reason." I think that quote nicely summarizes a key takeaway from the book. It does, however, frequently deal with the topic of suicide, which the author says is the chief question of any school of thought.
Notes from Underground
This novel, written by prominent Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky, is an exploration of the feelings of seclusion and the decline of society and the modern man. Written from the perspective of a deeply antisocial, hateful man, it plays with structure and narrative constraints in an intriguing way. The book begins as an essay, and ends as a narrative. It influenced much of modernist literature, and any critic would do well to give it a reading.
Television/Movie reccomendations
A lot of this is going to be very, very opinionated. My taste in movies and television shows is eclectic at best and I really dislike actually watching TV. It seems to me like a waste of time, but maybe I just can't sit still.
Eraserhead
I think Eraserhead is one of my favorite movies I've ever seen. The symbolism in the movie is weird and deliciously morbid, and with characters unnamed that led fans to call them things like 'The Lady in the Radiator', it's worth a watch. It is, in my opinion, exceedingly 'Arthouse-y' but for good reason. A lot of the movie, for me, revolves around fatherhood and accepting responsiblity. Very dark, but it's worth it.
A Clockwork Orange
Some say this movie glorifies violence. Most said it as a reaction to the phsyical and sexual violence portrayed on the screen, but the film uses these things like an anglerfish uses it's lamp to draw in the skeptical. After the traumas endured in the first act, before the protagonist goes to prison, you naturally want to see how things pan out for him. I think the movie is actually very effective at portraying the violence inherent in a class system, whether it be castes based on age, sex, or profession. It's telling that most of the violence visited upon Alex is done by people much higher in status, such as a well-to-do writer in the countryside, or the city council chairman. His transgressions were not small either, however, so some might say his suffering was justified.
Music reccomendations
I feel like a broken record, saying that things are going to be opinionated, or that I'll not have the right words to criticize or say exactly what I mean, but my music taste is like my taste in movies and television, eccentric and weird. Hell, as I write this, I'm listening to a band called 'Christian Death.' I believe that I'll reccomend artists by talking about my favorite albums of theirs, which should be a good way to talk about why I like particular bands. If you intend to actually forge thoughts about these same albums, you would do well to listen to the entire album, all the way through. It helps you chew on the subject matter better.
Only Theatre of Pain
Speaking of Christian Death, let them be the ones to head off this section. Only Theatre of Pain was the first album to be released while Rozz Williams was leading the band. I much prefer their older work, as Williams had a voice that was just weird enough to tie together the soundscape they created. My favorite pair of songs off the album are "Spiritual Cramp" and "Romeo's Distress". The two songs lead into each other in a way that you no longer see very often anymore. I sort of attribute the loss of this technique to the death of vinyl records in the early 2000's, and also a modern generations semi-refusal to listen to albums all the way through anymore.
In Uetero
The last album from Nirvana that would be released while their frontman, Kurt Cobain, was still alive. It was a good return to form for the Seattle-based grunge group, as Nevermind was toned down from their usual sound to be more friendly for radio-play and general listening. Bleach and In Uetero actually sound like the same band, aside from the changes to the way that Kurt 'sang'. It was also the second album to feature their most well-known drummer, Dave Grohl. Grohl took his previous work with the punk band Scream and applied the lesson he learned to grunge, and his heavy-hitting style of drumming at the time contributed to the monster sound the band became known for.
General Reccomendations
This section is going to be a place where I can put generalized reccomendations for things that don't fit elsewhere. Informational webpages aren't necessarily books, and YouTube channels or specific videos aren't actual movies or television shows.
The Jargon File
If you've ever wondered what the hell hackers are talking about when they talk, this is a good place to start. The jargon file was originally a text file that was consistently updated with new words that hackers in the 90s were developing to better explain themselves, or the general slang that evolves in a subculture. Of course, this isn't the most current, but it is the most concise. (Also, if you email me and I don't respond, now you know why I think you sound like a suit. ;]])
Technology Connections
Weird shit lovers across the planet, rejoice! If you've ever wondered precisely how old film cameras could automatically determine shutter speed, if your mind ever wandered to the way a drip coffee machine works, or if you've ever caught yourself speculating as to the specifics of a correction feature you first saw showcased in an ad reccomended to you on YouTube for the IBM Selectric II, Technology Connections is for you. I think this channel has managed to capture my attention for all the random things I've ever wondered about and felt too afraid to pull apart to figure out how they worked. I reccomend them highly. (Hell, they have a tradition called 'No Effort November' and even those videos are more high-effort than some other things from other popular channels.)