Tessera

Yogaaa! I finally made it to Master Rank in Street Fighter 6 using Dhalsim after 300 hours. Incredible game - and my favourite fighter of all time. Now the real challenge begins 😭

A new piano piece I've beeng working on! Hoping it won't be so long between uploads for the next one. Rippling Keys (Demo) - Thomas Morgan youtu.be/XtoDWNlmtVA?si… via @YouTube

Rippling Keys (Demo) - Thomas Morgan

YouTube video by Thomas Morgan

youtu.be

Just picked up a Sam Peckinpah film called "Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia" - which is possibly the coolest movie title ever - and I can't wait to see it.

A new gizmo has arrived. I picked this Roland SC-880 synth module up to recreate some 90s game soundtracks, using the original HQ samples. It's amazing how many classics used this thing. You can hear snippets of Final Fantasy VII, Smash Bros. and Doom while browsing the sounds.

VHS is making a surprise comeback. On HMV these are £30+ each - for brand new VHS tapes of Evil Dead 2, Suspiria and They live - about the upper end price of a 4K blu ray. I wonder if this will have a similar resurgence to vinyl?

My GOTY 24 crown is split between two games: My heart says Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, for its humour, the ambition of its open world, and improving on Remake's battle system. My head says Balatro, for being so replayable, portable, and offering myriad ways to win via creative (ab)use of its rules.

So many films to see, so little time. Still, from what I did catch here's my top ten films of 2024: 1. The Substance 2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 3. Love Lies Bleeding 4. Deadpool & Wolverine 5. Poor Things 6. MaXXXine 7. Trap 8 Civil War 9. Wicked 10. Abigail

It's my second time watching Heroes of the East (1978) and it's a masterclass in how to choreograph weapon fights. So many types of weapon trade blows as part of a "Japan vs China" theme - katana, spear, nunchaku - each one escalating over the last as if giddily asking us "and next, what if...?".

A few Autumn pick-ups from the Criterion sale. I've been meaning to see Akira Kurosawa's Dreams for ages, so really looking forward to seeing this in 4K at last. Also Rush Hour sneaks in here as a bonus. It's one of the very first Jackie Chan films I ever saw, and I believe it's still his funniest.

Just saw all 2 hours 38 minutes of Napoleon and I'm gutted to say I found it a slog. The better film would have focused on his lifetime love, Josephine - played by Vanessa Kirby - who stole every scene she appeared in. As it stands, the film has more battle sequences than heart.

I started a Criterion channel subscription last month and it feels like there's no end to the quality films on here. But, the two absolute standouts so far are: -Diabolique (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955) -High and Low (Akira Kurosawa, 1963) Highly recommended, both.

Just saw two great films, Lady Bird and The Graduate. It played well as a coming-of-age double bill, if by accident - and both rank among the funniest films I've seen in a long time. Just what a rainy weekend called for.