This is M.

Our first of many entries from Taiwan! Recounting a whirlwind week of delicious food, a great date, a close encounter with two vicious dogs, a day trip to Shifen for the Lantern Festival, and launching a new YouTube channel for my video content: Bland Companion. Life in Taipei is good!

One last entry before leaving for Taiwan, the various strengths of cinema and video games as a creative medium, the storytelling of the recent Celine Song film "Past Lives", comparing the storytelling of Ruben Östlund's film "Force Majeure" and Jonathan Blow's "The Witness", a hiccup in my plans to travel to Shanghai, and a final summary of my excitement for traveling to Taiwan.

Technical troubles upon launch, the profundity of Jonathan Blow's "The Witness", the rarefied air of creative insight, and the gatekeepers who shape the narrative of who gets to be labeled a genius.

Operating under the weather, a survey of the Safdie Brothers' films including Benny Safdie's co-creation of the television show "The Curse", planning to vlog in Taiwan, and Tolkien's lasting creative accomplishment despite "The Lord of the Rings" not being great literature.

Thinking through how to continue this personal journal while in Taiwan, possibly starting a vlog, needing to find a sustainable creative outlet, recommendation letters, a survey of the late films of Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, and Paul Thomas Anderson, the potential miscasting therein, and needing to stand up for myself in therapy.

Gratitude for finding a place in the world like Taiwan to return to, a discussion of Tarantino's late films and how they benefit from repeat viewings, an enthusiastic recommendation of "The Woman King" with Viola Davis, and Tolkien as world creator rather than literary genius.

A roundabout conversation that circumambulates around the topics of my protracted career as a college student, gratitude after graduation, auditioning for "The Voice," and the recent Katt Williams interview that broke the internet. 

Losing weight since the end of the semester, the predictably mundane routine of adult life, the hassle of preparing for time abroad, the enlightened acceptance of bureaucratic nonsense, and the protracted infantilism of many adults.

Recounting the pulling of my wisdom teeth, prepping for Taiwan and grad school in China, getting things for free on account of my hot chick energy, tolerating silence as a benchmark of true confidence, and a brief survey of the classic films, "The Usual Suspects" and "Seven."

A short introduction extolling the virtues of Emerald Fennell's new film "Saltburn," before jumping into the second part and conclusion of my honors thesis: "Confusedly Formed: Xici zhuan 繫辭傳 as a Normative Account of World Genesis According to Baumann's First Principles of Science."

A short summary of life post finals before launching into a reading of the first part of my honors thesis, "Confusedly Formed: Xici zhuan 繫辭傳 as a Normative Account of World Genesis According to Baumann’s First Principles of Science."

An almost entirely cinematic installment where I discuss Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" and the creative danger of being confusing, the unexpectedly great new film "Leave the World Behind," and the begrudgingly great "All Quiet on the Western Front," which somehow reintroduces the horrors of war in a world saturated with anti-war movies.

The end of the semester drawing near, having to already send my new firearm in for a repair, a protracted discussion of my simultaneous interest in firearms while also disliking gun culture generally, and the anti-elementary empathy of two Todd Haynes films: "Safe" and "May December."

Depleted again as we near the end of another semester, the swampy sedentary state of doing a whole lot of nothing, the prospect of exchanging  intelligence for happiness, the aspirational self-designation of being "built different," and ye olde plot twist of therapy.

To Portland and back for a friend's birthday, being on the right by virtue of the left's current position, intent vs. impact, the incredulity of the far-left in the face of obviously good intentions, and the political sophistication to be feared from Trump 2.0.

A soupy installment wherein I express my affinity for firearms but disgust with gun culture, my occasional respect for Ben Shapiro despite identifying as a liberal, and my indeterminate position on the conflict between Israel and Palestine when the culture seems to demand you take a side.

The final push of the semester and the looming theses thereto, facilitating an event for Taiwanese opera star Wei Haimin, the adaptive purpose of self-defeating behavior, not having a palate for what is emotionally healthy, and more of the stuff you're used to.

A nearly-aborted entry in which I recount another exceptional experience from my time as a child actor, almost end the episode, but ultimately divert course into a conversation about Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" and disclose my status as a possible prophet of God.

A bit lip, a stye, and four wisdom teeth needing to get pulled are jumping off points for stories about abusing the generosity of a friend's mother, being a child actor, and an evaluation of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining."

Finally giving some attention to my thesis, Baumann's "First Principles of Science," the creative and the receptive in Yijing and Timaeus, the merits of the new Netflix film "Fair Play," and reevaluating the economy of storytelling in Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."

The unexpected profundity of encountering ancient cultures in Belize, the weirdness of the weekend as an altered state, "The Exorcist" as a referent for modern horror movies like "Talk to Me," and aging as a barrier to enjoying them.

Christopher Columbus and the conquest of "the Indies" as a circuitous route through the topics of tough teachers, intergenerational trauma, and the music industry.

Emotional whiplash with respect to graduate school, a trend of tepid dates, the self-imposed curriculum of classical music, the merits of the "walking date," and the minefield of moving forward making sure you are doing what you want with your life.

A more punctual entry in which we traverse the familiar subjects of shame in the face of other people's success, finding satisfaction in a life of relatively unobserved accomplishments, and some other stuff about school and Taiwan.

A belated recording in which I discuss leaving my job, possibly putting off graduate school, creative courage, and the life-sentence of mediocrity everyone not named Jacob Collier is condemned to.