Music: Con Moto

"Con Moto" is a track from "Inner Symphonies," a contemporary classical album recorded during the pandemic from Fryderyk Chopin University of Music grads Hania Rani and Dobrawa Czocher:

 

It's one of the more energetic pieces on "Inner Symphonies," which on the whole is rather contemplative, as the album title might suggest. The rhythm of the piano builds with other instruments in a manner reminiscent of other tracks by Rani, like "Hawaii Oslo." If you like your minimalism studded with emotional warmth, it's a worthwhile listen.

Books: Why We Sleep

The last couple of months have been pretty busy at work, and I haven't been getting as much sleep as I normally do. Now I know that's a pretty serious problem, thanks to researcher Matthew Walker's book, Why We Sleep.

It's part evolutionary biology history, part medical report, and part how-to guide for improving your sleep patterns. Dr. Walker starts with "why" we sleep, in terms of how sleep developed, both for humans and most other animals on Earth (even insects sleep). Then he talks about "why" we sleep, in the sense of how the human body and mind need sleep to function, something that scientists are still trying to figure out. Finally, the book tackles "why" we sleep, in terms of eliminating the obstacles to proper rest that are ever-so-common in the 21st century: caffeine, alcohol, and late-night device scrolling.

As a "wake-up call" for better sleep (pardon the pun), Why We Sleep is surprisingly engaging and effective. I did some of the things Dr. Walker suggested (like quitting caffeine) and noticed that my sleep quantity and quality markedly improved. If you've ever woken up and felt fatigued instead of rested, try putting Why We Sleep on your nightstand.

Tech: Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

My friend and I got a lot of mileage out of Borderlands 3, so when Gearbox released a fantasy-themed spinoff, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, we grabbed it on launch day and plowed through the campaign. We knew going in that it would be little more than a re-skin of the mainline Borderlands games.  We were okay with that, though - the looter-shooter formula is more than a decade old at this point, and we're well past the point of carping about the Skinner box.

In Wonderlands, you play through Tiny Tina's homebrew session of "Bunkers and Badasses," a thinly veiled D&D parody that just happens to contain more guns than a National Guard armory. The game-within-a-game conceit is charming and occasionally clever (there's an RPG-like overworld made to look like someone's gaming table, complete with cheese puffs and soda cans), but it also sometimes serves as just a meta-excuse for lazy writing.

On the plus side, the shooting and looting is as polished as ever, and Wonderlands gives you new toys to play with, like melee weapons and magic spells (in place of the usual Borderlands grenade slot). With the right combo of stat points, skill points, and equipment, you can create characters that lay waste to enemies. The game isn't terribly difficult, but there's nothing wrong with a little power fantasy once in awhile.

Rating: 80/100