Dave Caolo

Moses has hypothermia!

Earlier tonight I finished Life is Strange: Double Exposure (DS). As a LiS superfan, I was elated to return to that world, especially with Max Caulfield as the main character. In the decade that I’ve spent playing every game in the franchise, reading the comics and spin-off novels, listening to the soundtracks, etc., I’ve fallen in love with the cozy vibes, heart-wrenching choices, contemplative moments, beautiful visuals, haunting soundtracks, and the dear-god-in-heaven-why-is-this-so-freaking-sad gut-punches of Life is Strange. Despite a pair of complaints, I’ve found Double Exposure (DE) to be a welcome addition to the franchise. Here are my spoiler-heavy thoughts on Life Is Strange: Double Exposure.

We begin 10 years after the events of the first game. Max Caulfield is now 28 years old, and working as an artist-in-residence a Caledon University, a small, art-focused school either in or near Burlington, VT. (I’m not saying Caledon is inspired by Champlain College, but I’m not not saying that). After spending several years on the road as a professional photographer / urban explorer, Max is taking some time to settle down a bit and work at the university.

What she’s not doing is facing the trauma of her past, and that’s what DE is really about. The first LiS game ends with Max making a life-changing decision and without getting into that, I’ll simply say that both options have traumatic ramifications for her and many others. We learn in the first chapter of DE that Max is still haunted by that decision, though she pushes those memories away as quickly as they pop up. While it’s great to have Max back, this version of her is sad and lonely.

Additionally, when Max was a teen she found that she had supernatural powers that let her “rewind time” as it were. She could travel backwards about 30 seconds or so and re-live a moment, even making different choices in the process. It was as if her life was a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book, and she always had a finger on the previous page, just in case.

Her closest friend at Caledon is Safiya Llewellyn-Fayyad, or “Safi,” daughter to Caledeon’s president and aspiring writer. Safi is so smart, charming, and likable that we as the player fall for her right away, which is perfect as Max finds her dead one snowy evening, just after the pair celebrated the pending publication of Safi’s book with their mutual friend, Moses. Oh Life is Strange, you still know how to stomp on our hearts. In her distress and desire to unravel the mysterious circumstances around her friend’s untimely demise, Max uses her powers for the first time in a decade, only to find that they’ve changed: she can’t rewind time anymore, but she can travel between timelines, each with slightly different realities. In one, Safi is dead. In another, she’s very much alive. Can Max jump back-and-forth to get to the truth?

There’s a whole plot here, of course, and I’d rather you experience it first-hand than hear it from me, so I won’t go into everything. But I will drop this major spoiler: Safi has powers as well. We know other characters in this series have powers, like Daniel Diaz in Life Is Strange 2, and Alex Chen in Life is Strange: True Colors.* But this is the first time two “powered” characters have been in the same game. It’s a fun idea and they play with it rather well. However, this does lead me into my two gripes.

Crosstalk

DE features a Twitter-like app called Crosstalk that all of the characters use. Too much, in my opinion. There are a lot of Crosstalk messages for Max to read on her phone, and unfortunately they’re almost all inconsequential. Some are even posted by characters we never meet. Yes the posts do expand a little on what happens, but you could not read them at all and you’d not really miss anything. There are some fan-service posts by beloved characters from the first game, but if you haven’t played that title, the weight of those messages is lost on you.

Wait, she just…what?

My other complaint is that the story could be tightened up. Safi’s power involves her probing someone’s mind, and it’s pretty cool. However, it’s explained by two or three sentences that don’t set up the climax adequately. In the third act, Safi kinda loses her shit and affects a huge number of people from a great distance and for a long time. It seems kind of out-of-the-blue, and would have been more believable if it was suggested, hinted at, or foreshadowed earlier. Its like if her hobby was building paper airplanes, and then suddenly she’s controlling a fleet of Tie Fighters from Star Wars. Don’t get me wrong I like where the story went, I just wish they had taken a few more steps to get there.

All in all, DE had everything I love in a LiS game: beautiful scenery and music, dumb jokes, a romantic love interest,** those charming zen moments, puzzles, a weird-as-hell sequence, difficult choices, and lovable characters. Speaking of, kudos to the acting and motion capture in this game. It’s stellar. Hannah Telle is especially fantastic in reprising her role Max. It was so much fun and I recommend it. Go and play a little Life is Strange. You’ll be hella glad you did, shacka-brah.

*Hot take: Does Rachel Amber exhibit power over fire in Life Is Strange: Before the Storm? The game kind of hints at it but it isn’t confirmed outright.

**BTW I’m really not happy that Max and Amanda aren’t together at the end. It’s hinted at but come on. Max deserves a healthy, loving relationship! Damn you, Deck Nine!

***Finally, something I’m hugely happy about: No Chloe. Yes, I know you Pricefields have your knickers in a twist, but hear me out. Keeping Chloe out of the game was the right choice. As the game starts, Chloe is either dead or Max’s ex. Once Max’s power was revealed, I had this fear that they were going to send her back to Arcadia Bay and let her jump to a timeline where Chloe is alive / Max’s girlfriend. While I want them to be happy-ever-after as much as the next superfan, this kind of forced reunion would negate the choices of the first game entirely, and fly in the face of the lesson that Max carries with her to this day: powers aren’t a get-out-of-jail free card. There’s always a cost. She says this to Safi verbatim. Deck Nine could have introduced their own “Somehow Palpatine returned” moment, and I’m so glad they didn’t.

Browse YouTube like it’s TV channels​, complete with the clicker. Fantastic nostalgia.

[Via The Morning Brew]​

You make a painting that’s pretty nice. Then you make fifty crappy paintings as you iterate on the successful one. You’re working to improve upon that initial work, or move in a new direction with that idea. Maybe one of those fifty is itself successful, and you begin the process yet again. Fifty more paintings.

Those fifty paintings aren’t crap, they’re work. They’re movement. They aren’t going on a wall, but you must produce them to get to the one that will.

Elon Musk doesn’t understand the paradox of tolerance, which is frustrating and dangerous. This week, Musk announced his intention to cease Twitter’s* operation in Brazil, after Brazilian Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the platform to block certain accounts as part of an investigation into “digital militias” accused of disseminating fake news and hate messages during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Musk called the decision “unconstitutional" and a violation of free speech.

Elon Musk doesn’t understand what “free speech” means.

In 1945, philosopher Karl Popper considered if a tolerant society should tolerate the intolerant:

Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.

In other words, if a demand for unlimited tolerance suggests that we need to tolerate the most awful ideas and acts that occur within society (specifically, those that oppress others), we’re providing a tacit endorsement of those policies.

In even simpler terms, freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can shout “fire” in a crowded theater, and you can’t post willfully misleading or hateful stuff online. That’s not “censorship,” Elon. That’s good practice.

Years ago I worked as copy editor for a museum with an active blog. One of the writers was thoughtful, well-informed, and absolutely atrocious with spelling and grammar. I had to clean up his posts prior to publication, and he’d always rant and rave that I was “censoring” him. I’d explain that the meaning of his words was unchanged, and that it was my job as editor to advocate for the reader. To clean up his errors. But he wouldn’t hear it. To him, I was the enemy who was censoring his voice.

It frustrated me as copy editing is not censorship, just as refusing to provide a public platform to hateful propagandists with an agenda of intolerance is not a violation of free speech.

*I don’t use deadnames out of respect, but I’m always happy to say “Twitter."

Wins

I’ve been painting again and that always feels like a huge win. Earlier this week my son introduced me to Taylor Morrison’s Instagram account and it’s great. He delivers honest, insightful art criticisms to professionals and emerging artists alike. I’m learning a lot from what the shares with his followers. Definitely give it a look.

Frustrations

Winter is coming and I hate it with my whole being. It’s such a tremendously stressful time, as I’m responsible for eight buildings successfully surviving the cold weather and snow. I hate it and my stress level is a 10 out of 10 for a good four months. I’m already dreading it.

Consuming

Today I finished reading Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder. At first, I thought, “This book isn’t meant for me.” It’s a commentary on the invisible, unspoken frustrations and injustices of modern motherhood. But actually, that’s exactly why I should read it. I’m married to the mother of my children; is she living with a quiet resentment that I’m unaware of? Am I the author of those feelings?

There’s some magical realism and humor here, but ultimately it asks, how do mothers expand their identities to encompass all that they are?

I’m listening to Oysters in my Pocket by Royel Otis, which had me at the opening line,

Oysters in the pocket / We’re saving for lunch

Their cover of “Linger” by The Cranberries is also very good.

Here’s what happened this week.

Wins

I’ve made nearly a dozen 4" x 5" watercolor sketches and I’m happy about that. I had piles of unused watercolor paper here and there, so I decided to cut them into quarters and see what I could do with them. Between that and my new dip pen, it’s been a lot of fun to sketch, both at home and around town. You can find a few examples on my Instagram, and I’ll add a page to my site when I feel this “project” is done.

Frustrations

Some of you know that I have three jobs and they’re really killing me this summer. There’s SO much work and being on-call 24/7 genuinely sucks. Don’t I deserve to have one, well-paying job and live like a normal person? I think so.

Additionally there are health issues in my family now, about 1,400 miles away and I feel stuck and unable to help out. It’s not a good feeling.

Consuming

I finished reading The Book of Love by Kelly Link. Kelly has written some tremendous short stories, and Book of Love is her first novel. She really went for it, as it’s 640 pages. Briefly, the story features a few recently-dead teens who are unwitting pawns in a pissing match between magical beings. The kids must figure out what’s going on while navigating adolescence and their own wants and needs, which they may or may not have control over. The story features magical realism, which I love, as well as multiple perspectives. My only complaint is the length. There is a lot of teen drama, and at a point I was ready for it to end. But when the story gets going, it’s very good. I give it a B.

My kids and I have been watching the Korean competition show The Influencer, which features 77 South Korean influencers vying to be the best one. It’s like Bryce Dallas Howard’s episode of Black Mirror come to life.

The lengthy introduction segment (the first episode is nearly 90 minutes long) was welcome, as I didn’t know any of the contestants, including makeup artists, models, rappers, gamers and fitness gurus. There’s also a guy who “cooks meat,” as well as “an actual shaman," which we gathered meant fortune teller.

The first challenge had contestants staring at their phones and dolling out “likes” and “dislikes” to each other. The show’s most dystopian feature is the collars participants wear around their necks at all times, which initially displayed their follower counts, which was then used to calculate each person’s worth as a proportion of the 300M won ($219,000) prize pot. “They’re not even people, they’re reduced to a financial figure” my daughter said. Yes. We can’t wait for episode two.

Misc.

• I’m cautiously optimistic about the momentum Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are experiencing.
• I’m working on a painting to submit for entry into a juried show. Wish me luck.
• My kids return to college in a few weeks and I’m going to miss them dearly.
• I’ll briefly visit a dear friend in Burlington, Vermont in 2.5 weeks. Can’t wait for that.
• I abandoned Facebook by permanently deleting my account. I hope that was the right decision.
• I’m grateful to have you as a reader. Welcome, friend. :)

Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. I admit I don’t know anything about the guy, but he looks like a nice grandpa and here he is at Prince’s house, so that’s a good start.

This has blown me away.

The Drawing Room is a third place in NYC that invites people to kick off their shoes, hang out, and enjoy offline activities with other humans. Here’s how it works:

“Get all-day access for $20 and stay as long as you want. Includes unlimited tea and coffee. ⁠Outside food/beverage is welcome. Bring your own projects, games, or laptop OR we have an expansive Art Library you can borrow from (add-on is $15). Includes watercolor, block stamping kits, embroidery/sewing kits, and more! "

Absolutely fantastic. I wish this existed in my neighborhood.

Is it a book?

Every page of this book is a slice of American Cheese.

[Via Swiss Miss]

PS – That’s right I’m brining back the “via link.”

Bye, Felicia.

I’ll never achieve this level of chill.

Some of you know that work two jobs, and that Saturday is my only day off. As such, I feel this weird pressure each week to spend those 24 hours in the best possible way, as they’ll soon be gone. I end up second-guessing my choices and often having a bad time, only to kick myself on Sunday morning when I’m back at work. :( Is that crazy or just me?

Here’s something cool. Taylor has used the same guitarist since 2007, both in the studio and on tours. He’s a huge Van Halen fan and often uses a striped Eddie Van Halen guitar on stage.

It’s an MF DOOM kind of day.

I’m a newbie and need peeps to follow. Recommendations welcome.

I’ve restarted this several times. A local gallery has a call for art with the theme of “white.” I haven’t hand anything in a show for a while, so I’m eager to get into this one. Cross your fingers.

I think I’m entering my “bright vibrant colors phase,” and I’m excited about it.

Light Phone III. I’ve been looking at this “essentials-only” phone for years. This new iteration might be the one I get.

youtu.be/KhMb0-t2M…

Hello, world.