2023 year in review

A quick summary of some things from this year, poking through the 2023 archives.

By the numbers

• Wrote nearly 500 “thinking” one-liners from books and videos.
• Wrote 25 “collections” (gathering the one-liners up and sometimes adding a bit extra).
• Wrote about 30 longer form bits (more writing, less one-line-ing).
• Made notes on about 40 books.
• Read 119 books (!).
• Made just 2 new music tracks.
• Played 21 games.

By the themes

• Discovered some new really great authors: Byung-Chul Han (philosophy); Adrian Tchikovsky (sci-fi); Ken Wilber (philosophy); Charlotte Joko Beck (Zen).
• Thought and wrote a lot about Buddhism, especially Zen.
• Thought and write a lot about Daoism.
• Continued exploring nonduality.
• Did a fair amount of arting, but it tailed off as the year went on.
• Thought a lot about acceptance and critic vs coach.

Media

I read some great books and played some great games in 2022. Here are my top 5s, in no particular order.

Books: fiction

• Chinese Fish by Yee, Grace
• Titanium Noir by Harkaway, Nick
• Children of Time by Tchaikovsky, Adrian
• The Gate to Women’s Country by Tepper, Sheri S.
• The Passenger by McCarthy, Cormac

Books: non-fiction

• Trust in Awakening by Snyder, Stephen
• Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Hang, Thich Nhat
• Everyday Zen by Beck, Charlotte Joko
• The Integral Vision: A Very Short Introduction by Wilber, Ken
• The Palliative Society: Pain Today by Han, Byung-Chul

Games

Apparently I like Soulslikes now! Famously difficult, but rewarding of effort and exploration. More on that later perhaps…

• Dark Souls 3 on PS5. Intricate, exciting, dark fantasy world.
• Armoured Core 6 on PS5. High speed big shooty robot action!
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice on PS5. Mythical Japanese shinobi rhythmic swordplay.
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom on Nintendo Switch. Incredible remix / remake / expansion of Breath of the Wild.
• Sifu on PS5. Fast and incredibly stylish kung-fu fighting.
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon on PS5. Absolutely bonkers turn-based JRPG.

Added 2023-12-30.