Looking for the Fig Tree

Looking for the Fig Tree

Finding a way forward with words, music, and empathy.

05 Jan 2021

2020 Time Capsule

Photo by Kelly Sikkema

Some overall reflections on 2020.

In General

  • The Houn Household made it through the year. We’re the fortunate ones. There is a lot of physical, emotional, economic, and spiritual suffering out there. It’s our charge to do what we can to help.
  • The lives of black and brown people who are disproportionately negatively impacted by public policies matter.
  • Homeschooling is challenging.
  • Standing up this blog has been gratifying.
  • Streaming myself playing music was stressful, challenging, and didn’t quite achieve the goals I thought it might. Still, it was a joy to push myself to do something uncomfortable, learn new music, and see my kids dancing while watching me stream.
  • Grace and empathy are more important than ever in our polarized culture and in an environment where each person we interact with is likely going through unknowable challenges.

On Movies

  • Soul was OK, but didn’t hit the highs that Inside Out did. (see my Pixar Power Ranking ). Probably need to watch it again to formulate a clearer opinion.
  • Tenet is OK overall. Stunningly shot and directed. Filled with fantastic set pieces. Incomprehensible story for my 0.5 IQ and lacking strong emotional resonance. (see my Chris Nolan Power Ranking ).
  • Mulan was not great.
  • Knives Out was great. Whip smart and lots of fun.
  • Palm Springs was surprisingly good.
  • Enola Holmes was not good.
  • Hamilton ⭐ Excellent! I still cry no less than 4 separate times on each rewatch. A beautiful work of art that I appreciate in new ways each time I watch.
  • Your Name was ok. My expectations were probably too high based on what I had heard and read about it. Still a heartfelt and beautifully animated film.

On TV

  • The Mandalorian is pretty good. 😄
  • Cheer was shockingly engrossing and wonderfully uplifting. Unfortunate about the most recent news related to one of its main participants.
  • Chernobyl - LTTP on this one. Incredible, magnetic, a haunting critique of anti-intellectualism. I think about it regularly.

On What Went Into my Ear Holes

My Spotify 2020 playlist which I guess tells you everything you need to know about my head space last year.

Podcasts I listened to:

On Games

My (mostly) on again off again relationship with Destiny 2 continues. Rich universe, lore, and art combine with extremely polished FPS mechanics and moderate RPG elements. The most recent expansion released in Nov 2020 has been pretty good so far. I have not yet fully exhausted the content released and the changes to the sandbox have been very enjoyable.

Hades. I didn’t think I’d like Hades. I love it. The developers of the game do an incredible job of making you feel like you are in good hands the entire time you are playing the game. Game play elements, mechanics, narrative are all presented and layered so well together that playing the game is a regular experience of surprise, discovery, and serendipity.

Stardew Valley. It’s fun. This game is worth the 15 dollars. The creator just dropped a new update that implements local split screen coop. So awesome! Just started playing it with Amelia and we’re having a ton of fun.

Some of my Favorite Photos from 2020

Spring

Spring

Summer

Summer

Winter

Winter

What I’m looking forward to in 2021

Thanks for reading and getting this far. It’s hard out there. If you ever need a person to talk to, please reach out to me at any of the various points of contact listed on the site and I’d be happy to listen.

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Tags

2020 life