Jacob Linden

Canning him right after the Emmys is wild!!

If there aren’t at least a billion guns at the reception I’m objecting

So mad I have to SEE MY BELOVED FRIENDS GET MARRIED on Borderlands 4 launch weekend instead of gaming, UGH!

ABZU is really nice to revisit and just swim around.

Overall, this game is a really solid debut by @buffalobuffalo.bsky.social that will certainly attract genre sickos, but also has enough appeal and design consideration to work for a more casual crowd. Bravo and congrats on the launch!

Fresh Tracks customization screen. You can choose different Mythics, a Rhythmic ability tied to swords you find in the game, unlock different types of skis, and add difficulty modifiers to your Journey.

I could take or leave the Roguelike structure. I didn’t quite get sucked into an intoxicating one-more-run cycle, but I did want to keep going to hear more songs and Mythics interactions, and train my creaky reflexes to take on more challenging songs. Also, having a sword was sick.

The player wields a sword as they approach an obstacle, with enemies dressed in red waiting to attack.

Aside from the songs, a lot of charm comes from the unlockable Mythics, who narrate your adventure, offer different buffs, and favor different musical genres. The voice acting of each Mythic is great, with Fargo’s Peter Stormare chewing up the scenery as Sogvar, God of Metal, for example.

Most importantly for a rhythm game, the songs are breezy and fun! None of them grated on my nerves, even on ones that I retried several times. The game doesn’t have an undeniable showstopping banger track, but I appreciate how deftly it jumps between genres while always feeling solid to play.

Fresh Tracks title with skis in the foreground, and a nighttime wintery background of the world of Norwyn with a visible aurora.

Since it’s launch day, here's a thread of my thoughts on FRESH TRACKS!! Thanks to Buffalo Buffalo/Evolve PR for the early key. Overall, I thought this was a charming rhythm game with some catchy songs and a nice difficulty ramp you could soften with modular challenge settings.

Hate that I'm so online I immediately knew what this was referencing. Those people need to leave her tf alone!

I had a great time diving back in and finishing the story this year! Still haven’t fully mapped those damn depths though.

a video game shows a plant growing out of the ground with a triangle in the corner Alt: Hestu in Zelda shaking his red maracas!

Experts recommend 10ccs of TOTK Hestu cutscenes for emergency whimsy shortages

Congrats on a huge milestone.

Those opening titles were damn good!

Watters’ World: Millennial edition YouTube video thumbnail.

Had the misfortune of being cornered for an interview by Watters in college for a “dumb millennials” segment. My answers were cut from the vid but we still grace the YouTube thumbnail.

Stupid feed didn't show me last time, CONGRATULATIONS!!

I know they already made Annihilation, but HEAR ME OUT.... Standalone Authority miniseries. I think it would be a perfect punchy eco-thriller. It could go into Acceptance, but honestly, I think the Southern Reach is a great setting to get lost in for a single season.

The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations “In recent months, a curious fixation has emerged in corners of academia: the em dash. More specifically, the apparent moral panic around how it is...

handed the mic over to the em dash—read its response to the AI allegations in my latest for @mcsweeneys.net 🎤🎤🎤

*Sintra, lmao

Photo of the Initiation Well in Portugal, said to be an inspiration for the Tower in Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation.

Fun fact the Tower/Tunnel is based on this real place in Santa, Portugal, freaking love VanderMeer man.

Anytime I’m offline I’m lost in the Tower (Tunnel)

Never listened to the pod but I saw those guys bomb really hard at an nyc standup show once.

Black list reader scores. Overall: 6; Premise: 6; Plot: 5; Character: 5; Dialogue: 7; Setting: 6. Genre: Animation, Action Comedy, Action & Adventure. Logline: As huge bombs land on Washington D.C., a janitor and a dentist manage to sneak into the governments top-secret bunker, where chaos reigns. Pages: 40

Strengths: This script offers effective world-building, a fun and compelling central premise, and an entertainingly playful sense of humor throughout. Set in a secret bunker in Washington D.C., the pilot does a good job immersing the audience within the chaos and confusion of its post-bombing backdrop with specificity and keen attention to detail; from the very beginning on the Mall to the various rooms and tunnels underground, the settings here are well-drawn, expansive, and creative. In addition, the episode smartly takes full advantage of its animation medium, portraying hilarious and thrilling action that would be impossible—or at least impossibly expensive—to film. There’s a deft mixture of absurdity, cynicism, and mayhem on display here that makes perfect sense with the heightened story setup, and the subject matter here feels quite relevant in today’s cultural landscape. Plus, focusing the story on a mismatched buddy pair of civilians just trying their best is a really smart approach. Last, the comedy here is also a clear highlight—it’s an extremely funny pilot.

Got our first Blacklist evaluation back for a pilot from me and my writing partner are working on. We didn’t get the score we wanted but got tons of great notes, and it’s always encouraging to hear someone call your work funny! Off to the rewrite mines.

Yeah mine is gone too, happy I could still find my pieces on the site but it’s a shitty feeling to lose a convenient hub to link to.

Zohran looking out on a victory night crowd.

In the words of Nelson Mandela: it always seems impossible until it’s done.

My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it.

I am honored to be your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City.

Burrito Republic in Ridgewood just closed (thankfully just bc the owner retired) and they had beautiful perfect burritos so well made you could set them upright and they’d stand at attention perfectly. Gonna miss the carnitas burrito with potatoes.

A delicious salt and butter bagel from Koro Bakery in front of a view of the water in Onomichi.

My Jewish heart soared seeing bagels for sale at Koro Bakery in Onomichi. Highly recommend the salted butter bagel.

😩😩 used to live across from it on 9th street!

It’s more a lethal company-like than a Friday the 13th like but Content Warning is soooo much fun!

“What’s worse is that the face of Wendy’s is a woman, which makes this decision not just hypocritical, but painfully ironic,” LMFAO