How we're spending our leisure time.
Everyone has a bit of quiet downtime once in a while. Whether you're sitting quietly at home or trying to relax on a plane or just giving your busy mind and hands a break, it's important to relax.
A good way to do that is to read a book, listen to some music or watch a movie or show. See what's caught our attention for the week of October 13.
Daniel Bader
It's a great week for new music, and I was thrilled to open my Spotify app this morning to find St. Vincent's new album, Masseducation, was waiting for me to devour. I've been subsisting on repeat listens of Annie Clark's recent two singles, New York and Los Ageless, for months, waiting for the album to drop — and here it is.
As expected, it's an instant classic. Funny, terminal and extremely self-conscious, Clark runs the gamut of musings about lost friends, mortality, and the slow unraveling of our self-control.
What I find so refreshing about St. Vincent is the contrast between her carefully-manicured image and the dire, desperate, and sardonic lyrics in her songs.
Masseducation is more pop-forward than her previous work, giving it much more mainstream appeal, but it's still very much a St. Vincent album, and that's wonderful.
Ara Wagoner
I went and saw the My Little Pony movie on Monday with my little sister and her boyfriend. The movie took a few steps back in terms of 'Mane 6' character development, especially with Pinkie Pie and Twilight, but the development we saw in the film's original characters made up for it, especially with Capper and Tempest. I'll have the music stuck in my head for weeks, which I'm perfectly fine with.
Outside the movie theater, my movies have been freed from iTunes and Vudu purgatory thanks to Movies Anywhere, so I've been re-indulging my movie library with some Batman: Bad Blood and Lord of the Rings. The Movies Anywhere app undoubtedly needs work, but at least I can watch everything in Google Play Movies while I wait for things to improve in the native app.
Marc Lagace
So I tend to get obsessive over new YouTube channels I discover with a huge back catalog of content. My latest obsession is the Braille Skateboarding channel, but specifically their ongoing "You Make It, We Skate It" series, in which fans send in custom-made skateboards for the expressed purpose of skating each one until they break. From the infamous glass skateboard incident to other ridiculous episodes like the iPad skateboard, several Lego boards, and a skateboard covered in Rice Krispy treats.
There are well over 100 episodes to binge through, which is excellent. Everything is filmed vlog-style, with quick edits to show the progression as the guys try and figure out how to ride these engineered monstrosities and bust out sick tricks. Be warned though as it might make you want to take up skateboarding even if you're well old enough to know better.
Jerry Hildenbrand
I read nothing, watched nothing, and only listened to old music this week. Instead, I reinstalled Fallout 4 and grabbed about 200 mods.
Fallout Script Extender has come a long way since I last played around with any complicated mods. It's not yet up to speed compared to the 32-bit Skyrim version, but there's support for plenty of plugins and new scripting references and it's absolutely game-changing.
Mods like SIM Settlements and Amazing Follower Tweaks can enhance the original game or completely change the way you play it, so a new playthrough was in order. My trusty pipe sniper rifle and Dogmeat are going to root out the Institute and bring peace to the Commonwealth once and for all.
Joe Maring
All throughout this week, I've been catching up on HBO's Silicon Valley. I'm kicking myself in the butt for just now watching it, but I'm already on Season 3 thanks to a couple of helpful binge sessions. The show's an absolute riot, and having an interest in the tech industry makes the series that much better. I'm sure most of you have seen at least an episode or two by now, but if for some reason you haven't, do yourself a favor and change that right now.
I also got a chance to play quite a lot of the Star Wars: Battlefront II beta, and I came away with very mixed feelings. The gameplay feels tight and the introduction of a proper class system is great to see, but even though EA's promised that all post-launch content will be free, the introduction of loot crates has me very worried about the game's future.
Lastly, I recently picked up John Green's Turtles All The Way Down and am ecstatic to get lost in it this weekend. I adored The Fault In Our Stars and Looking For Alaska, and I look forward to sharing my initial thoughts on the book next week (assuming I don't finish the whole thing by then).
Your turn
What are YOU reading, watching, or listening to this week? Let us know in the comments!
Update, October 13, 2017: This is an occasional series where we tell you what we're into, so check back often!
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