The Friday High Five

Stuff I'm into, for February 3, 2023

Every Friday I share 5 things I am digging at the moment. This is that.

This week’s high five comes from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, aka the best Star Trek film. It’s also probably the single-most depressing high five ever. Technically, it’s not really a high five at all. It’s definitely lacking celebratory ‘five high’ energy. Spock and Captain Kirk’s hands don’t even touch. But I’m using it because it’s a great moment.

The 80s were a different time. You couldn’t really be a fan of both Star Trek and Star Wars. You had to choose a side in the lamest conflict ever. I think we all know what side I came down on. Still, even I couldn’t deny the magnificence of The Wrath of Khan. It is one of the greatest science fiction films of all-time. Thanks, in part, to this moment.

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In this edition:

• The Last of Us 😲

• A Month of Star Wars ⚔️

• My Writing Community 🔥

• Dungeons & Dragons Birthday Party 🤓

• Things I’ve Published This Week 💻

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The Last of Us

HBO

Video game adaptations don’t have the best track record. Actually, that’s selling it short—video game adaptations suck. They’re uniformly terrible! Which is sad, because some of the best stories I’ve experienced have come from a video game.

But HBO’s The Last of Us is something special. It’s a zombie post-apocalyptic story, but that’s a rather poor summary. This isn’t The Walking Dead or World War Z. The Last of Us is a sober love story, a point made eminently clear by episode 3. The zombies are the least interesting part.

I've never before felt like I was being strangled by a story's atmosphere. It's excruciating at times! Even knowing the story from the game, there are moments that feel unbearable. That sounds miserable, and it's definitely a difficult watch at times, but it's worth the discomfort.

The Last of Us is really good. Like, "it shouldn't be this good" good. The video game was exceptional. This is something else. Shows like this don't come along often. Don't miss it.

A Month of Star Wars

What started as a joke—I think I write about Star Wars too much, therefore I should do it even more—has become one of my favorite new things. It’s a fun exercise in creativity. And coming up with new ideas has been rather easy. Today I jokingly thought about starting a separate newsletter called ‘Daily Star Wars’, and just keeping at it. But I think we can all agree that would be crazy.

Since the majority of newsletter subscribers aren’t setup to receive these Star Wars emails—for some strange reason!—I thought I’d give you a little taste of what kind of insanity you are missing out on. Here’s an excerpt from today’s entry, which focuses on Darth Vader’s love of throwing things:

Not only does Luke not do the sensible thing, he boldly approaches Vader empty-handed. And then he just stands there, hands on hips, like he’s daring Vader or something. It’s a posture any parent instantly recognizes.

I’d immediately ground my teenager if he came at me with this much attitude. Lucasfilm

So I understand why Vader decided that hand had to go.

Spare the lightsaber, spoil the child. Lucasfilm

Anyway, here’s the series thus far:

• Star Wars is Cool and All But the Food Is Straight Up Disgusting

• Remember That Time R2-D2 Was So Depressed He Pounded Jell-O Shots Until Passing Out?

• Darth Vader is a Man-Child Who is Always Throwing Things

My Writing Community

We launched My Writing Community this past Tuesday, which is a Discord-based community for writers (in case the name itself wasn’t a clue). The launch was a smashing success, and we’ve had all sorts of amazing discussions already. Checking the Discord has become one of the highlights of my day. If you’re a writer and you haven’t checked it out yet—what are you waiting for?

Dungeons & Dragons Birthday Party

This is literally where the magic happens.

Yes, I’m a grown-ass man who celebrates his birthday by having cake with friends while rolling funny-shaped dice and slamming Mountain Dew. You don’t?

This is a tradition I started almost 10 years ago. We typically play for 6-7 hours, with breaks for pizza and cake. We have a specific set of characters and an ongoing storyline we only play this one time of year.

Our heroes crash-landed on a planet that is basically Mars by way of The Hills Have Eyes—hospitable, yes, but only just. They are traveling around this planet, looking for enough glass shards to power their journey home via magic portal while avoiding tribes of beastmen and giant, Dune-esque sand worms. It’s not your daddy’s D&D, in other words. It’s gonzo and weird, and great fun. :)

Things I’ve Written in the Past Week

In addition to the three Star Wars stories mentioned above, I published one other story this week.

• Fast and Furious Villains Ranked from Worst to Best (Den of Geek) I had a lot of fun with this one.

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What are you into at the moment? Leave a comment and let me know!

If you enjoyed this, please like it and share it with someone. It’s the best way to show your appreciation and it would mean a lot to me. :)