Sunday, July 20, 2025

Tech: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review

We knew for quite some time that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom would be a "more of the same" sequel, but what we didn't know was how much more - more world, more characters, more everything:



As with its predecessor (2017's transcendent Breath of the Wild), Tears of the Kingdom throws you into an enormous landscape with total freedom as to where to go and what to do. This is a game where you can battle a three-headed frost dragon, race to stack stuffed animals into a wagon, and fly a hot-air balloon to survey a rock carving on the side of a mountain, all in the space of minutes. 

Unlike other open world games, which spoon-feed the player "activities" via map icons, or gate progress behind story beats, Tears of the Kingdom trusts you to discover things on your own (there is a map and integrated quest tracker, but they only get populated after you find the quest first).  That's why the game took me over two years to complete, delivering a surprisingly emotional story and a truly epic final boss fight. I really only have two complaints.

First, since the game largely re-uses Breath of the Wild's map and mechanics, the experience isn't quite as fresh this time around.  There are some big changes to Hyrule's geography, plus huge added landmasses in the sky and underground, but it's still basically the same world. And pretty much all of Breath of the Wild's core gameplay systems re-appear here, including cooking, shrines, horseback riding, and the ever-controversial item durability system.

Second, and more troublesome, is the iffy performance of Tears of the Kingdom on the original Nintendo Switch hardware. This game pushed the first Switch to its limits and beyond, with sub-20 fps performance when manipulating physics objects or in complex battle scenes.  On a Switch 2, after (*sigh*) paying to upgrade to the "Switch 2 version," you'll see massively improved framerates and resolution, but I don't like that they nickel and dime you for the upgrade.

Rating: 94/100 on Switch 2 with performance upgrade (89/100 on Switch 1)

Food: Tropical Smokehouse (and Tropical BBQ Market)

Florida is not exactly known for its barbecue. While we do have Sonny's and other restaurants, most of them just don't stand up to the best BBQ in Tennessee, Texas, and other places in the South.  

One big exception is Tropical Smokehouse and its sister location, Tropical BBQ Market, in West Palm Beach:



Tropical's pitmaster, Rick Mace, was selected as a 2023 James Beard semifinalist, and it's not hard to see why; the menu at Tropical has stuff you just can't get in other barbecue joints, usually with a Caribbean, Latin, or seafood twist. Mojo pulled pork? Check. Brisket empanada? You got it. Smoked Mahi with fiery hot mango habanero sauce? Only at Tropical, baby.

Truth be told, my favorite thing on the menu is the Duroc pork spare ribs (covered in tasty coarse ground black pepper), but you're guaranteed to find something you like on Tropical's menu. As West Palm Beach's go-to barbecue, Tropical earns

3/4 stars

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Books: Inspirations for the new Superman movie

Rather than review the new Superman movie directed by James Gunn (which I have mixed feelings about), I thought it'd be fun to look at the comics that inspired Gunn's take on the world's most famous superhero:


All-Star Superman


I tend to agree with the critics that Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, and Jamie Grant's All-Star Superman is one of the greatest Superman series ever.  It's inspired by the Labors of Hercules - after being overcharged by solar radiation from a Lex Luthor plot, Superman only has a year to live, but so much left to so.  Faced with mortality, can the Man of Steel make the most of his remaining time?

Freed of the restrictions of continuity, the series jumps from vignette to vignette, telling its versions of classic Superman tropes (the "Superman reveals his secret identity to Lois" story, the "Clark Kent vs. Lex Luthor" interview, the "Pa Kent dies" melodrama) in a way that feels both reverent and contemporary.  Morrison has a knack for bizarreness and humor that doesn't undermine the emotional heart of the story, which is a very fine line to tread (and one the 2025 Superman movie doesn't quite manage).


Superman: Birthright


Like most major superheroes, Superman's origin story has been told and retold multiple times in film, print, and television. Mark Waid's Superman: Birthright is the culmination of these efforts, synthesizing flourishes from the Golden Age, the Donner movies, and even bits from the various Superman TV series into a meaty, comprehensive whole.

Things get iffy in the third act, which reads like a watered-down Watchmen and features some pretty boneheaded decisions by Lex Luthor (sadly, James Gunn's Superman ends a lot like Birthright).  But the first two acts of this series are excellent, probably one of the best-ever renderings of Clark Kent's inner voice and his decision to become the hero we all know and love, so it's still a good read.

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Music: Golden



Ever since 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony Pictures Animation has been on a hot streak, putting out great films even as its competitors (Pixar, DreamWorks) and its parent company (Sony Pictures) have fallen onto hard times. But while The Mitchells vs. the Machines and Across the Spider-Verse were excellent, they were also pretty easy to market.  Not so with KPop Demon Hunters, a full-blown musical about a K-pop girl group that also secretly battles demons who steal people's souls.

Naturally, such films rise and fall on the strength of their soundtracks, and KPop Demon Hunters is stuffed full of bangers, including "Golden." Performed by real Korean-American artists Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami, the track manages to capture the trappings of a traditional K-pop song while containing lyrics about the deeper themes of the film.

Tuesday, July 08, 2025

Miscellany: Mountainsmith Dry Kick waterproof fanny pack review


My friends and I went kayaking over the Independence Day weekend, and I carried our phones and other valuables in Mountainsmith's Dry Kick, a fanny pack variation on the traditional dry bag.

As a pure fanny pack, the Dry Kick leaves a lot to be desired.  There is zero padding on the bag, so it's not well-suited for long hikes. There's no organization, either; the interior pocket is one big bulbous space, and the front pocket is too small and flat to carry anything beyond a set of keys. Finally, only the interior pocket of the bag is actually waterproof.  The front pocket will withstand rain and light splashes, but not immersion.

That said, the Dry Kick succeeded in its primary mission. We encountered plenty of water during our kayak trip, but the main pocket stayed bone dry throughout.  The fanny pack form factor was also useful, in that the hip strap made it much less likely to be lost than a regular dry bag, and allowed taking items in and out with both hands while on the move.