Well, things did not slow as I desired and only seemed to accelerate into the holiday. Work was frustratingly overwhelming until the last moment. Social obligations ballooned (not unwelcome). Shopping, packing, and other travel preparations were a scramble.

But now I’m relaxing with my parents and siblings. And I will not be bothered by work until mid January. I hope to spend this time processing the past year and then planting the seeds for the patterns I’d like to follow in the coming year.

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This month’s playlist:

The Wages of Fear

Last year, I watched Sorcerer for the first time. It was my favorite movie theatre experience of 2023. I later learned that Friedkin adapted his 1977 movie from a French novel, which was first adapted to film in 1953. The novel and original adaptation were titled: The Wages of Fear.

A restoration of the film released this month. I went to see it out of curiosity and left the theatre stunned. The Wages of Fear and Sorcerer are both spectacular movies. They share some themes, a general plot, and white-knuckle, slow-rolling tension. But they’re painted with different brushes. Characters, moments, endings vary. They are so vibrantly different from each other I’d happily watch them back to back as a double-feature.

Best movie I’ve seen this month. Possibly this year.

Tehanu

Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea novels were a welcome respite from Frank Herbert’s Dune saga this year. I grew up reading her Catwings books but didn’t know she authored them until recently. I mostly associated her name with The Left Hand of Darkness (which I have yet to read).

I dearly appreciate the world she created with Earthsea. And Tehanu is a beautiful culmination of the novels so far. It’s a turn of the crystal to gaze at Earthsea through a different facet. I listened to the audiobook in one go during a road trip. I’m in awe of this addition to the tapestry of Earthsea. Subversive yet true to the characters we’ve followed in The Farthest Shore and The Tombs of Atuan. Beautiful and earnest.

I love this fantasy world.

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This month I’ve also been taking a lot of photos, and not reading, watching, or playing much of anything. Just pictures of friends when we gather. It’s been nice just taking and sharing. And not expending much effort on editing and curating.