Nick Vracar

Played Warhammer 40K: Boltgun, was good. It’s a fast and chaotic shooter that visually styles itself retro, but mechanically it’s closer to Doom (2016) than classic Doom.

Watched season 5 of Stranger Things, made for an excellent resolution to a story that does an admirable job tying together story threads, while giving a strong epilogue to its plethora of characters.

If the show kept going on the cast would start to look like Too Many Cooks.

Finished Stephen King’s book of short stories If It Bleeds. Rat was okay, a horror spin on literary struggles. Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is light horror buried in nostalgia. The Life of Chuck is beautiful, and the title track If It Bleeds is an excellent Holly Gibney tale.

For me it’s the gyrosphere ride in Jurassic World. How does it even work? The kids are just allowed to drive around without a park employee? Are there even time limits? Why are people lining up for a ride that seems to have no time limits, with only Jimmy Fallon to guide them?

Got a platinum trophy in Crow Country! I normally don’t chase trophies or achievements in games (this is my third platinum), but Crow Country’s S-Rank had gentler requirements than most, and my first playthrough unlocked a grenade launcher with infinite ammo. That helped a lot.

Played through Crow Country, was good. Its horror plot about a girl in search of a missing enigmatic billionaire blends retro 3D with design choices reminiscent of classic Silent Hill. Combat is slow and clunky and traps feel cheap, but the characters and story are worth it.

Played through Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion, was okay. It’s a short game with shoddy shooting that’s the worst of the N64 trilogy (not the worst Turok game, though) that still manages a surprisingly weird sci-fi plot with some pretty good boss creature designs.

Played through Stray, was okay. The game where you play as a cat who must escape a city of robots and monsters is a visual feast but mechanically average, offering little depth to its rigid gameplay systems.

Today I am PROUD to read aloud some (ahem!) *incredible* stories & poems from the talented:

@nickleevee.bsky.social @madp03t.bsky.social @quantumfairy.bsky.social Paul McMillan & Alessandro Bozzo.⚡️✍️

Thanks for making ep. #99 of Brainstoryum amazing! 😍

#vss #writingcommunity #podcast

Read The Novus Quandary, was great. It’s a fast paced collision between two eras of sci-fi that’s part a suspensful thriller in space, part galactic mystery that’s epic in scope while still managing to keep itself engaging with its plethora of interesting, dynamic characters.

YouTube video by nick leevee Let It Flow - Power Wash Simulator 2 Ending Song *spoiler free*

Probably one of the most surprising things about Power Wash Simulator 2 is its end credits song, an excellent song that sounds like it belongs in a 2000s era romantic comedy, played in a montage after the protagonist comes to accept their shortcomings. youtu.be/1LymSmqP8do?...

Went to see Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? at Theatre Tallahassee, was well done. The acting was among the best I’d seen on that stage. It has less of a plot and is more a character piece, with long conversations that circle around the truth, slowly approaching it inch by inch.

Played Tomb Raider (2013) again, still one of my all time favorites. While its villain is cartoonish and your allies never get proper development, the adventure Lara goes on is like Die Hard on an island, a fast paced ride that doesn’t stop until it’s suddenly over.

In today's Brainstoryum #podcast, I am PROUD (blushingly chuffed!) to present stories from the massively talented:

D.Krauss, @nickleevee.bsky.social @jenthorne.bsky.social @quantumfairy.bsky.social Paul McMillan & Sophie Desaules
🙏✍️

#WritingCommunity , you rock!

www.annatizard.com/brainstoryum

In comparison to previous Saints Row games I’d say this is like a Saints Row 2.5, with that one bug from Saints Row 1 that causes traffic to disappear as you run to it. If you see it on sale you can get the game plus expansions for 11 bucks.

Played Saints Row (2022), wasn’t all bad. Its production is undercooked and its design feels dated, like playing a shoddy remaster of a much older game, but eventually I warmed up to its story and characters, and by the time the gang sings Love Shack karaoke it was a fun time.

I think I’ll make one resolution for the upcoming year: read more books. I read probably two books this year. Those are rookie numbers! I’m thinking twelve books for 2026.

Got any book recommendations? I already have one out of twelve picked out.

Watched A Christmas Story, was okay. It felt like a vintage tale filtered through a layer of nostalgia that vaguely has a plot and sometimes is about Christmas. Probably the best family film to be adapted from stories originally published in Playboy magazine.

Did you see that the local gossip has been sticking their nose into more people’s business now than ever? They’ve really put the pedal to the meddle.

Played through Cyberpunk 2077, was a fantastic game that felt more like a role playing experience than most RPGs. It’s set in a city so sleazy it makes Las Vegas seem quaint, but its story about the loss of identity against technology, haunted by Keanu Reeves’ ghost, is engaging.

Played through Superliminal, was good. It’s like Layers of Fear if you were trapped in a dream instead of a nightmare, where perspective creates reality. It leaves a hopeful message that any problem can be solved with just a change in perspective.

Tomorrow's Brainstoryum podcast has stories from the talented @madp03t.bsky.social @nickleevee.bsky.social @quantumfairy.bsky.social Dorothy Arroyo &Paul McMillan. 💜

Plus 3 new rounds of Exquisite Corpse, a sprinkling of snow, writing prompts & fun.

Bookmark this: www.annatizard.com/brainstoryum

Watched The Muppet Christmas Carol, was a fun adaptation. Michael Caine’s performance as Scrooge was just what I hoped for, and I especially liked the design of the ghost of Christmas yet to be. It makes for a great way for kids to learn the fickle nature of trickle down economics.

Power Wash Simulator 2: Rinse and Repeat There is an ancient statue in the desert, human in parts and fish in others. It is a gargantuan monument, standing dozens of feet tall. Two gems are slotted into the statue, with beams shooting out…

Reviewed Power Wash Simulator 2 for The Twin Geeks. It’s an excellent follow up to the original that adds more quality of life touches over refinements or changes. thetwingeeks.com/2025/12/11/p...

Another year goes by, another year of listening to too much Dance With the Dead and not enough Old Gods of Asgard, though now there’s Neon Odin in the mix, along with singles from the Peacemaker season two soundtrack.

Played Outlast 2, was okay. It was a fast paced chase into the darkness that suffers from linearity and quite a few sections solved via trial and error. The horror imagery is great, but the dual narrative isn’t that interested in the main plot, burying its mystery beneath lore.

If you haven’t played it Solitaire Conspiracy is a lot of fun! And now on sale!

My Case Against Generative AI A long time ago, in the distant year of 2021, the first generative AI model of Dall-E was released. It was a product of OpenAI, a company that began in 2015 as a nonprofit focused on the dangers of…

Wrote a blogpost about why I oppose the use of generative AI, and why generative AI users are not artists, or writers, but rather customers to their business model. I feel like I could have gone into more depth, but I’m happy with it. nvracar.wordpress.com/2025/11/30/m...

Watched The Naked Gun, was alright. Its nonstop barrage of jokes hits more than it misses (the ongoing coffee gag is a favorite), and it has some great nods to the original movies and show. Odd that its plot is basically the first Kingsman movie.

Every Thanksgiving I try not to go ham on leftovers, and every Thanksgiving I just can’t give up cold turkey.