It’s been a pretty big month for me personally and professionally. I left my partnership at Toy Rockets to boot up my old studio (Mediumrare), and I’ve been having mixed feelings since.
On one hand, I’m glad to get the opportunity to refresh to start something new, but at the same time, I can’t help thinking I’ve made a mistake. Only time will tell.
Beyond freaking out about that, I’ve hired a designer to help me rebrand Mediumrare, which I’m also a bit nervous about. I’ve never hired a designer to help with my projects, but she’s super skilled, and I’m relieved to be able to hand the reigns over to someone else for full creative control.
I’ll post something here once that process is done and I’ve had some time to soak it all in.
What I’ve been watching
I’ve been watching a ton more movies than I normally do now that I’ve got a fully set-up gym in our place. I typically will throw something on that I’ve seen before that I can watch during rest periods, and it’s been a nice change compared to the podcasts I usually listen to.
If you’re on letterboxd, follow me there.
The entire Rocky series
This started as a joke when we got our gym set up, and then we just…finished all of them. I forgot how bad Rocky 4 and 5 were though.
American Psycho
I read this book ages ago, and while the movie doesn’t get into as many gruesome details, I still love Christian Bale’s performance.
Searching
This was a pretty interesting one about a girl who goes missing, and her father retracing her steps online to find her. While some of the acting can be a little meh, the entire thing was pretty refreshing solely on how it was shot mostly on a laptop screen.
Flea Bag
I love dry, English humor, and this series captures it perfectly.
Formula 1
The season finally kicked off, and I’m glad our Sunday watch parties are back. It’s unfortunate knowing that Max is going to win this season yet again, but I joined a fantasy league with some friends (Grid Rival) that keeps me interested in the mid-field drivers.
What I’ve been playing
Lumines Remastered
I picked this up on Steam early in the month, and it’s been my go-to game when I have a few minutes to spare on my Steam Deck. It’s a Tetris puzzle game from the mid-2000s, and it’s surprisingly addictive.
Helldivers 2
This has been making the rounds this month, and for good reason. It’s an extraction shooter with a Starship Troopers vibe, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun to play with a squad of friends.
Lego: Skywalker Saga
While this Lego game set in the Star Wars universe has great voice acting and humor, it’s way too easy. I finished the first 3 movies, then gave up on it.
What I’ve been reading
A New Program for Graphic Design
I just started this and don’t have much to report on it yet, but I kept seeing designer friends recommend it. It’s broken out into three sections, Typography, Gestalt, and Interface, and is one of the more unique takes on design I’ve seen so far. It’s nothing like a traditional design textbook, and I’m looking forward to finishing it.
Star Wars Heir to the Empire
I’ve been in a fiction mood lately, and have hammered through this trilogy pretty quickly. It’s the series that set off the Star Wars expanded universe back in the early 90s and is recognized as the best story outside of the original movies. If only they modeled the sequels after this series.
What I’ve been listening to
I haven’t really been in music discovery mode lately, but this album was something I had on repeat quite a bit this month.
For podcasts, I recently discovered AppStories, and it’s been nice to listen along with people just as obsessed with apps and workflow improvements as I am.