Fascinating as always, Kate. I don't have much to add, unfortunately, because sport has never been a big part of my life, except for bouldering in more recent years. Perhaps there are some books out there about climbing (I'm sure there are on the factual side, but I wonder on the fictional). On the game side, there was quite a clever and special indie release called Jusant that came out last year, all centred on climbing up a vast cliff structure, where the backstory of the world was revealed through snippets of letters/audio etc found scattered in the habitats you encountered as you continued to climb ever upwards. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEwYrgvFM9Y)
I read Murakami's book about what he thinks about when he thinks about running, and even as a non-runner I enjoyed that. He's also a big baseball fan and some of that creeps into his fiction. I seem to recall his latest First Person Singular collection had a story in it that was just about some of the baseball greats.
Did you see the recent film Challengers? I thought it was good. Not amazing, but certainly good. Very stylised directing and cinematography, but failed to connect all that much with the characters.
Woah, that climbing game looks so cool! You and Nadia have really opened my mind to the world of games-as-art. Love it. Funny, my friend from high school who got me into climbing at one point (a little!!) is visiting from America today. I'll show her the game.
I don't know that story from Murakami. Will have to check it out! Haven't seen Challengers either. Thanks for the recs as always :) I tend to remember them but should really organize them somehow. Good old Google doc perhaps. Thanks for listening and all the ideas, Nathan!
No worries, Kate. So pleased you have Nadia and me here being the voice for games as art :)
I'm really looking forward to the climbing side of the Olympics. It was great to see it last time, although the scoring system was a bit of a mess due to the forced combination of speed, boulder and lead. I think that's changed this time.
The baseball story (more of an opinion piece, if I recall) was interesting but hard for me to relate to. Regardless, we are mere months away from the next big Murakami book! 😄
PS busy weekend away from any screentime here, so haven't made it to your serial yet, but looking forward to it as always.
There's a quote attributed to the late Bill Shankly, a famous manager of Liverpool FC:
"Someone said to me 'To you football is a matter of life or death!' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that' "
Sport has an intense hold on the human psyche and anyone can be affected by it. I think if we didn't have sport to help us let off steam there would be even more wars. It's a relatively peaceful expression of competition, a basic survival instinct.
Thanks for another fascinating exploration - and a great appetiser for the Olympics!😃
I really enjoy it too! To think it only started because of a post about Michael Johnson.
I have seen very little of the tournament this time but I will be watching tonight, yes. I used to watch the international football tournaments a lot but got weary of the endless disappointments. Let's see what England can do this time. I'll bet the little one is beside himself. Good luck getting him to sleep afterwards! 😃
Fascinating as always, Kate. I don't have much to add, unfortunately, because sport has never been a big part of my life, except for bouldering in more recent years. Perhaps there are some books out there about climbing (I'm sure there are on the factual side, but I wonder on the fictional). On the game side, there was quite a clever and special indie release called Jusant that came out last year, all centred on climbing up a vast cliff structure, where the backstory of the world was revealed through snippets of letters/audio etc found scattered in the habitats you encountered as you continued to climb ever upwards. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEwYrgvFM9Y)
I read Murakami's book about what he thinks about when he thinks about running, and even as a non-runner I enjoyed that. He's also a big baseball fan and some of that creeps into his fiction. I seem to recall his latest First Person Singular collection had a story in it that was just about some of the baseball greats.
Did you see the recent film Challengers? I thought it was good. Not amazing, but certainly good. Very stylised directing and cinematography, but failed to connect all that much with the characters.
Woah, that climbing game looks so cool! You and Nadia have really opened my mind to the world of games-as-art. Love it. Funny, my friend from high school who got me into climbing at one point (a little!!) is visiting from America today. I'll show her the game.
I don't know that story from Murakami. Will have to check it out! Haven't seen Challengers either. Thanks for the recs as always :) I tend to remember them but should really organize them somehow. Good old Google doc perhaps. Thanks for listening and all the ideas, Nathan!
No worries, Kate. So pleased you have Nadia and me here being the voice for games as art :)
I'm really looking forward to the climbing side of the Olympics. It was great to see it last time, although the scoring system was a bit of a mess due to the forced combination of speed, boulder and lead. I think that's changed this time.
The baseball story (more of an opinion piece, if I recall) was interesting but hard for me to relate to. Regardless, we are mere months away from the next big Murakami book! 😄
PS busy weekend away from any screentime here, so haven't made it to your serial yet, but looking forward to it as always.
Thanks Nathan, also looking forward to your latest! Don’t think I’ll have time to start catching up until Tuesday but can’t wait 😁
So excited for Murakami’s next!
There's a quote attributed to the late Bill Shankly, a famous manager of Liverpool FC:
"Someone said to me 'To you football is a matter of life or death!' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that' "
Sport has an intense hold on the human psyche and anyone can be affected by it. I think if we didn't have sport to help us let off steam there would be even more wars. It's a relatively peaceful expression of competition, a basic survival instinct.
Thanks for another fascinating exploration - and a great appetiser for the Olympics!😃
Oh, I love that! And love our sport discourse, Jules.
It just brings out so many stories and the reaches of humanity.
Will you be watching the football tonight? My son is allowed to stay up the latest he has ever stayed up. Should be fun...
I really enjoy it too! To think it only started because of a post about Michael Johnson.
I have seen very little of the tournament this time but I will be watching tonight, yes. I used to watch the international football tournaments a lot but got weary of the endless disappointments. Let's see what England can do this time. I'll bet the little one is beside himself. Good luck getting him to sleep afterwards! 😃
Haha thanks 🤩