01.2026 Chrysalis
I came back from holiday energized. Ready to trace my familiar patterns and draw new ones. But ran into false starts and full stops. The ice storm in Nashville upended everything. I was out of power for eight frozen days. Thankfully, my community made sure I had a warm bed to sleep in every night. What a blessing. January doesn’t count, after all. I feel I’ve reflected well. I’m excited for whatever may come this year.
This month’s playlist:
Resurrection
A late 2025 release watched in the new year. My first Bi Gan. I walked out of the theater under the impression I’d just experienced the best film I’d see in all of 2026. Bi Gan’s command of the medium is a rarity to witness. He effortlessly employs techniques from the dawn of cinema in ways that feel contemporary. Every vignette stunning and distinct. It’s a movie that makes choices for the moment and lays logic aside. Visuals tell the narrative--dialogue appears only for texture. I need to see the rest of this artist’s work.
Ping Pong the Animation
I watched this in the wake of the Marty Supreme hype as a bit. But the joke is on me. Marty pales in comparison to this incredible masterpiece. Vibrant, impressionistic animation style that fully utilizes the medium’s strengths of limitless visual expression rather than being shackled by realities like physics. Fantastically written characters--each you come to love and respect. Great sports tales are never really about sports--much like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off isn’t really about Ferris Bueller. It’s pretense to express the deeper heart of humanity.
Terciel and Elinor
My journey through The Old Kingdom has finally come to an end, for now. I’m a bigger fan of the standalone novels--Sabriel, Clariel, Terciel and Elinor. Of the three, this is my least favorite--mainly because I believe it retcons some details in Sabirel, which I adore, but I could have misremembered. It’s a lovely tale all the same. And this is not to say I dislike Lirael’s tale spanning Lirael, Abhorsen, and Goldenhand. I enjoyed that journey as well. I look forward to revisiting this time and place.
This month was dedicated to time with family and friends in Texas. Writing and reflection. I published an essay important to me. Started looking for a new place to live. Began work on a new website. It’s been a dense month.