Reading/Watching: March 2026

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Heyo, I thought I’d try something new.

Y’see, I’d like to get back to blogging again, but I always feel like I need either some big, elaborate project (like the Moby Dick thing) or some burning idea that I need to get out of my head. I want to turn writing back into a practice, not just something I do in a rush every now and then. So: I’m just gonna write about what I’ve been reading and watching lately, once a month. A nice, easy schedule. Gives me a broad topic to ruminate on and get some thoughts out of my head and onto the screen.

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Artificial Intelligence and Giving Up on Life

Robin VanGilder3 Comments

Well, it’s been a while, but I am feeling the need to return to my blogging ways, if only to vent my spleen a bit.

Living in the year 2026 is to be assailed by countless stories of gloom and doom day in and day out. Hell, our idiotic and evil president just launched a war with Iran out of nowhere! The horrors are relentless. But there’s one thing that has been wearing on my last nerve for years at this point: so-called “artificial intelligence”.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash: Enter the Bad Indian

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Jimmy Cameron back at it again!

Well, I suppose he never stopped, really. This movie has been in the works for the last two decades, give or take, using a lot of material shot ages and ages ago. And boy, it really shows, sometimes. I had a lot of fun writing about the last Avatar movie, and I’ve got a lot of thoughts about this one, so let’s get into it!

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Suikoden HD Remaster: The Allure of Nostalgia

Robin VanGilder4 Comments

It’s been a while, but I’ve really been mulling this one over.

This is a review, specifically of the version of Suikoden included in the package called Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars, available on all modern platforms for fifty big ones. I may review the other half, Suikoden 2, at some point, but I kinda stalled out in it. That one doesn’t have as much juice for me, though it is generally superior in every way. And that’s honestly part of what I wanted to talk about, so perhaps this will serve as a reflection on both.

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Romacing SaGa 2: Personified Empire

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Alright, let’s try something else. Again!

Wagnas, one of the eponymous Seven

Those weekly blog posts weren’t really working for me. I don’t like the pressure of having something to talk about, and then they always felt too big and unwieldy and unfocused. Not the kind of work I can look back on with pride, just kind of filling time, y’know? I don’t like to post just to post. Brings back bad memories of trying to unlock privileges on message boards as a middle schooler by making enough posts, haha.

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Week 2: Hashtag The Discourse

Robin VanGilder1 Comment

Well, here we are again, another week come and gone.

I’ve had some ups and downs lately. Trying to stay off of social media while I’m at work, which is nice because it exposes me to The Horrors less, but also makes me feel a bit more disconnected from the world. Kind of a trade off there, I suppose. Been swinging between an newly rejuvenated sense of self-confidence and some regular ol’ depression. I can accomplish anything I put my mind to, but it feels like that doesn’t matter a whole lot, y’know.

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Week 1: What’s Past is Prologue

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Alright, let’s try something different.

I want to write more, so I thought I’d get in the habit of posting some sort of regular update on my habits and thoughts. Almost like some sort of log, as on an old timey sailing ship… but rather than being locked in some old wooden chest, it instead lives on the marvellous web of information. Some sort of… web log… if you will. Perhaps we shall come up with a shortened term at some point, if it ever catches on.

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Epilogue – But What Does It Mean?

Robin VanGilder11 Comments

Well, here we are at last.

Friends, we’ve come to the end of the road. After this, there’s simply no more book to read. Oh, I may come around and do some sort of official wrap-up post, sum things up, but I would prefer to leave it all on the field, so to speak. Part of me can’t believe I actually got all the way to the end, much like when I read this book the first time, all those years ago. But I did! Or at least, I will shortly.

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Chapter 135: The Chase.—Third Day

Robin VanGilder4 Comments

Alright, I’ve delayed enough, let’s finish this monster up.

I’ve had a real sense of impending doom lately, had some sleepless nights due to anxiety and whatnot. There are things I can do to combat that, and I know that I am in fact given to seeking out portents of disaster and using that as an excuse to take refuge in paralysis, but it would also help a lot if the country I live in wasn’t rapidly descending into fascism. Therapy is all well and good, but sometimes material conditions are the root concern, y’know. And yet, here I am, ready to finally finish out this years-long project. Let’s get to it!

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