paralogue.org

The year is ending. Alas. And for those of us in the perpetual rapture of forum culture as our friends get rescued away to the heavenly realms of *squints* social media, there's nothing left for us to do but erode our lives, our tastes, against our reciprocal tides.

So what did you find in 2025 that made a big impact on you? What do you recommend the most from this year? Maybe over Christmastime ... we may enjoy it all together ... online or not.

I feel like I barely saw any movies; looking at my diary, I see a lot of rewatches, but my partner asked to watch the Patlabor movies -- and man, these are best watched as a set. If I had to phrase why ... I guess it's that it pays attention to the detritus of history accumulating into a sort of incoherence. It's of the very era Fukuyama proclaimed; the Soviet Union had just collapsed, and yet the films seem suspicious, already suspicious, of the peace portrayed by a liberal world order. Modernity looks to them like a perpetual proxy war that only occasionally resurfaces at its origin, as if to visit the parents at Christmas. And while 2 showcases this more, the first film sets the stage -- so I don't know how to recommend one without the other.

As for albums, allourheartstogether / allourheartsasone by Genetic Memory Orchestra stands out. I picked it up as another ambient listen while I wrote paravalence; but I kept putting it back on, because it veered into the uncanny without ever getting too abrasive; it struck me as quite singular. I think if you put it on once -- even if you only get halfway through -- it's clear this is not just 'furniture music,' unless you're having a bit of nausea in the living room.

I'd also say I fell in love with Spitz, 空の飛び方 in particular, from 1994. Is it seriously 30 years old? As far as Japanese bands doing the Beatles goes ... I don't know. It's gentle, catchy, the harmonies are great, I spun it over and over, constantly surprised as I fell in love with each track one at a time.

Finally I'll say it was a book-heavy year, though not one with a lot of easy recommendations. I found myself going down rabbit holes in terms of non-fiction, especially theology (r/atheist voice "that is fiction tho" ha ha ha); so what would I put upon others to explore? I do think Otaku: Japan's Database Animals is key to understanding the postmodern media consumption pattern -- on top of giving a terminology to a broader sense of ... sensory dismemberment, satisfying parts of ourselves in an unintegrated way; "I See Satan Fall Like Lightning" by Girard definitely affected my theological outlook a lot; really the only fiction I read all year was Middlemarch and it was a lot of fun, but not an easy recommendation. It's a sizeable investment, though a project that depicts how love begets love, and how humble and simple it is to do good while seeming easily unnoticed, dispensable, "controversial."

Oh! No video games. Umm. I'd recommend Hello Girl and World End Economica at about the same level -- both left an impact on my mind, months and months later. And Kanon left me nostalgic, a bit... I guess I only really read visual novels. I'm playing Kirby Air Riders right now -- but I suspect that will be an evergreen game, not a temporally specific one.

Pass the puck -- no need to go into detail if you don't want to -- what did you find this year?

Hi maru. Hi everyone.

Thought I'd hop in and share a bit about things I've discovered lately.

I've been reading a lot. The Earthsea Cycle brought me back to fantasy, which I loved as a kid. The plot's simple, good vs evil, but Ursula K. Le Guin turns it into something deeper about discovering yourself and accepting the shadows we all carry.

"You must not change one thing, one pebble, one grain of sand, until you know what good and evil will follow on that act. The world is in balance, in Equilibrium. A wizard's power of Changing and Summoning can shake the balance of the world. It is dangerous, that power. It is most perilous. It must follow knowledge, and serve need. To light a candle is to cast a shadow."

What really gets me is how she sketches the world with light touches that still nail the essence, which leaves so much room for imagination to fill things in.

For manga, I mostly read in print since I've had eye issues and need to keep my screen time down. Two of my favorites were Goodnight Punpun and Claymore.

Like always, I spent time revisiting old favorites. Reread some Mary Oliver and Braiding Sweetgrass. Rewatched Long Day's Journey into Night, What Happened Was, Still Walking. Going back to these, I keep finding details I missed before and feelings I didn't have access to earlier. Meanings show up as I get older, like having new conversations with old friends.


a line from Mary Oliver's "Wild Geese"

Music-wise, Stories in White by Anoice became my favorite album. It's from their trilogy about modern human history, and honestly the most powerful one. The pieces are built around a piano quartet with guitar and drums layered in. There's this deep, persistent sadness to it. To balance that out, Hosono House Covers brought pure joy. Especially CHOO CHOO ガタゴト.

My parents agreed to let me adopt a dog from an animal shelter. He gets along wonderfully with the cats and has become the reason I leave the house each morning. I've discovered so many little things during our walks together.







I learned about fediverse recently but the instances are overwhelming. I've also started weaving. I've made two pot holders on my cardboard loom that honestly look like ramen. Mom praised them anyway and ordered me a rigid heddle loom. Hoping to weave better pieces soon.

Hi everyone, dropping in...

Right now I feel like the year went by fast, but also that it was a good year. I finished a couple books (it'd been a while) and I hope I can keep the momentum up into next year.

To stave off boredom at my temporary job this summer I tried to listen to a new artist or album every day. I kept a list and made it about 84 days straight. Lots of things I'd heard of but hadn't taken the time to listen to, and lots of random finds too. Some of my favorites were Beyond the Fleeting Gales by Crying, Can You Hear the Whistle Blow by 缺省/Default, and an anxious object by mouse on the keys.

Earlier in the year I watched Ikebukuro West Gate Park (2000). I loved the characters, aesthetic, editing, ...it's great. And in October I really enjoyed playing Ten Metre Tide, for the visuals, writing, worldbuilding, and soundtrack. That's all I have for twenty twenty five...

panko wrote:

Like always, I spent time revisiting old favorites. Reread some Mary Oliver and Braiding Sweetgrass.

In one of my university courses this fall we were given some excerpts from Braiding Sweetgrass. Then I sat down at the library one day and it was on a display shelf right behind me. Maybe this is the 3rd sign I should read it.

I felt that this year went by terribly quickly. It was quite poor in terms of new artistic discoveries for me. Much to my chagrin, I didn't have much time to read books, due to my studies. I hope that next year (and the winter break) will fill in that void…

Nevertheless, I still read a few books during the summer, including Balzac et la Petite Tailleuse chinoise by Dai Sijie and Ordures ! by Simon Paré-Poupart which were interesting reads. The last series that I read and thoroughly enjoyed, in 2024, was Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn (Gillian Rubinstein). I read the trilogy, but there are two more books in the series I haven't yet touched. There is also a spin-off series about the Otori children but I haven't read it yet. Well, I think I now what to read next year!

@fractalbeauty hope you have wonderful hours reading Braiding Sweetgrass. i listened through the albums you discovered last year and really enjoyed an anxious object. Ikebukuro West Gate Park looks like a pretty compelling show to me since i love Japanese films from the 00s for how they explore character psychology. i'll try to watch it as soon as i can.

@maru i followed your recommendation and finished Hello Girl. it was such a beautiful visual novel that strangely reminded me of Higurashi but in a less intense way. i loved everything about it: the writing, art style, and sound design all came together to create this feeling that's both cozy and melancholically desolate at the same time. especially appreciated that it wasn't too long, which really suits where i am these days. : ) thanks for the rec.