Month: May 2024

Ponty Praises: Disco Elysium

The Portly Politico25 Comments

Disco Elysium is quite possibly the best video game I have ever played.  It is certainly the most unique.  I knew it was something special after only an hour of playing it, and while I have not started a new game since finishing it—“beating” is probably not the right word for Disco Elysium—it is a game that could reveal fresh layers through dozens, perhaps hundreds, of playthroughs, even if it only consists of one “main quest,” as it were.

I’ve never played a game that more accurately reflects the way my own mind is structured, and the way that I think about and dwell upon certain inane details.  I don’t have a “Thought Cabinet,” per se, but the notion of fixating upon and ruminating about an idea to the point that it worms its way into your psyche feels true to my experience.  As dear old Ponty will point out, the game has a way of seeping into your mind and, therefore, your life outside of the game.

I don’t want to give too much away, as Ponty delivers a brilliant and detailed review, so I’ll turn the controller over to him.

With that, here is Ponty’s review of Disco Elysium:

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TBT^2: Summertime Schedule Begins

The Portly Politico25 Comments

Not to rub it in or anything, dear readers, but today marks the first true day of my summer vacation.  Who knows how I’ve started this auspicious day?  Perhaps I lounged decadently while sipping coffee.  Perhaps my dog is licking my feet.  Maybe I’m still asleep—gasp!

Well, it’s an interesting little dip here—this extended weekend, of sorts, before I start my summer camps next week.  I always relish this transitory moment before camps begin, as it’s a good chance to decompress.

Whatever I end up doing, maybe I’ll finally get some work done on my planned third book, Offensive Poetry: With Pictures.  I largely abandoned the Sunday Doodles book, but perhaps I should revive that old chestnut, too.  I’ve got all summer to figure it out—mwahahahahaha!

With that, here is 9 June 2022’s “TBT: Summertime Schedule Begins“:

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FREEDOM!!!

The Portly Politico19 Comments

After what was, perhaps, the most grueling school year I have ever endured, yours portly soon will be free.

Yes, dear readers, today—Wednesday, 29 May 2024—marks the last day of work before summer break.  Yours portly will soon bask in the warm glow of near-limitless free time (for approximately two months).

Not that I’ll be slouching around (well, not the entire time, anyway)—and I’m not quite free from the authoritarian clutches of education.  Next week I’ll begin the first of two sessions of my annual Minecraft Camp, a time-honored tradition to which I dedicate the first two weeks of June.  Then I’ll whisk off to the dentist.

But once that is done, the only real obligations I’ll have will be to the few students who elect to take lessons during the summer.  Otherwise, it’s church, family, Murphy, and Town Council.

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Open Mic Adventures LXXXII: “Green Knight”

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Today’s track is from my seventeenth album, Four Mages.  It is a collection of ten electronic tracks, all but one of which (“The Blind Prophet“) is color-coded. Each piece explores some facet of fantasy archetypes, weaving and casting a musical spell upon listeners.

Here are some platforms where you can listen:

I really enjoy this album, and I hope you will, too.  It’s about fourteen minutes in length, so it’s perfect listening for doing a short errand or for a quick drive.

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Happy Memorial Day 2024!

The Portly Politico8 Comments

In time-honored TPP tradition, I take Memorial Day off from writing movie reviews.  Memorial Day marks the last day off from work until summer break, which literally starts in about three days for yours portly.  It makes the day off somewhat superfluous, but, really, the next two or three days of work will be largely superfluous, too.  We’ll finalize grades for our classes by department, and by the time you’re reading this brief post, I should be done with report card comments).

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Lazy Sunday CXLIX: End of School Events

The Portly Politico2 Comments

The end is nigh!  The end the school year, that is.  Unlike all the folks that work year-round—the fools!—I get to revel in approximately two months of summertime goodness every year.  It’s a fair trade-off for the brutally long hours I put in during the school year.

With this ending-of-all-things in mind, I figured I’d glance back at some recent posts about end-of-school-year events:

Happy Sunday—and Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

SubscribeStar Saturday: Yet Even More Graduation Day Wisdom

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Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

Another graduation ceremony is upon us, signaling the end of the school year and the beginning of another summer vacation.  The grand cycle of the academic calendar continues, coming to a stately close after a few hectic months.

Last year I predicted that my chances of being asked to speak at commencement increased from 1% to about 5%.  That was overly optimistic; given that we don’t have speakers at commencement besides the valedictorian and the salutatorian, I’d put the odds at less than 1%.

Even if we did have a member of faculty speak, I think my chances would improve only slightly.  I’m a good teacher, and well-spoken when working from a prepared text, with a rich, buttery voice made for radio.  But I’m not one of the “glamorous” teachers.  My administration is very fixated on photogenic and youthful teachers—essentially, they want the face they put to the public to be wildly attractive.

I get that, and while I’m a handsome-ish dude and a dynamic music teacher, I’m too much of an iconoclast to fit into the mold.  I don’t check any sexy diversity boxes, and I don’t hang around the front office like desperate courtesans trying to win the favor of the king.  Perhaps if I did play politics a bit more I’d be a more likely candidate, but I have no desire or inclination to do so.

But I digress.  If I were to speak at graduation, I’d have some spicy-but-pedestrian bits of wisdom to share with the Class of 2024.

To read the rest of this post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.

Gig Day IX: TJC Spring Jam IV

The Portly Politico6 Comments

It’s time for another front porch concert!  This event—the TJC Spring Jam and Recital—will be the eighth Front Porch concert I’ve hosted (I think), and I’ve learned quite a bit from the others, including the last Spooktacular.

This year marks the fourth Spring Jam, which has become a popular event with my private music students.  These front porch concerts started out as a way for my buddy John and me to play gigs during The Age of The Virus, when nobody was open for live music.  I realized that if I wanted to play in front of a live audience, I’d have to circumvent the hysteria and become the venue and talent.

Gradually, the concept morphed from a self-indulgent concert into a recital for my private music students.  The Lord Has Blessed me—far beyond what I deserve—with a large clientele of private music students (I’m a bit murky on the number at the moment, as I have several seniors graduating tomorrow, but it’s around fifteen lessons a week), so it made sense to offer a couple of recital opportunities a  year for them.

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TBT^2: Zelda Game & Watch

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Summer is tantalizingly close.  Today is the last day of exams, which means there’s just graduation and a couple of days of work next week until yours portly is basking in the limitless freedom of summer.

As last week’s edition of TBT discussed, my thoughts are increasingly turning to video games.  I don’t have nearly as much time (and, if I am honest, inclination) to play them as I used to, but I am getting the itch to lose myself in some fantasy worlds for a bit.  Even with my workday slowing down, this week has been surprisingly busy, which only increases my yearning for digital realms.

Two years ago I spent an inordinate amount of time playing the Nintendo Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda handheld console (that’s an affiliate link, by the way, so if you purchase anything through it, I get a portion of the proceeds, at no additional cost to you).  It is a nifty little unit; I ended up landing a scorching deal on it, but even at the inflated current price of $52.60, I’d recommend it—highly!

I cut my teeth playing Zelda games, and this little unit includes three of my favorites:  the original LoZ; the enigmatic sequel; and the Gameboy exclusive Link’s Awakening.  Beating LoZ II is probably the pinnacle of my video gaming achievements.

With that, here is 25 May 2023 “TBT: Zelda Game & Watch“:

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Alone Again

The Portly Politico39 Comments

Well, dear readers, yours portly finds himself back in his natural state of being—single.

My very sweet girlfriend of the past eight months decided to break things off this past Sunday evening.  There was no bitterness or anger involved; it was simply a matter of logistics.  Due to our conflicting work schedules—she is a flight attendant, so her schedule varies wildly from week-to-week—and the two-hour distance between us, she decided to end the relationship.

Have no fear—yours portly is doing well.  In our discussion, she told me that I am the kindest, most thoughtful, and most mature man she’s ever dated.  I think she genuinely meant it, too.  But she expressed concerns about being stretched thin between her family, her friends, and me, so I was the one-third that had to be dropped.

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