June Recommendations from the EC Crew (Patreon)

Hey all! I know we missed May's recommendations but a lot of things were happening at the time. Still are. But we hope you can forgive us a slip in the schedule while we all figure out where we stand while 2020 keeps... being 2020.

But here is some of our favorite stuff from May and from June:

Notes on a Nervous Planet (Book)

An odd little psudo self-help book I bought on a whim before the pandemic that actually has been helping me calm down a little in these trying times. Not that its information is all that revolutionary... but the tone and tenner of the feelings of the author have gone a long way to make me feel a little less crazy thinking about the world the way I do. It's also pretty funny at times.

Upload (TV, Amazon series)

A series with some definite flaws that also was a blast to watch and got me thinking of our inevitable future when death will be adjusted in this way. Here's hoping we can clammer away from the corporate model in this series :)

Explorers Guide to Wildemount (Book)

Yup! The D&D world book from Matthew Mercer and the good folks at Critical Role. I haven't dug this hard into a new TTRPG expansion book in a long time, and I'm absolutely loving it!

Doom Eternal (Game, PC/PS4/XB1)

Rip and/or tear until you have fun!

The Day of the Jackal  by Frederick Forsyth (Book)

One of the greatest espionage thrillers ever written—the book that brought realism to the thriller genre—feels just as fresh and tense now as it did when it was released. Beginning with a recreation of a very real rightwing assassination attempt against French President Charles De Gaulle, the book diverges from the historical record to present a second (fictional) attempt on the president's life. This time, the rightwing group hires an anonymous English assassin known only by the codename "Jackal," who we follow as he develops his plan and closes in on the president—taking us through painstakingly detailed scenes involving forged passports, black market weaponsmiths, and multiple disguises and identities. Halfway through, it becomes a dual narrative as we follow both the Jackal and the put-upon police detective circling him. A truly incredible classic made all the more interesting by the fact that its author was a journalist who worked the crime and espionage beat, and laid out the real ways criminals and secret agents used to cross borders and evade police in the 1960s (he was also later revealed to be an MI-6 asset). Read it, and you'll meet the Jackal—one of the most frightening villains ever written.

National Theatre Live and Shakespeare's Globe (YouTube)

This is more a channel recommendation rather than a show, but during the pandemic, the UK's National Theatre is playing one of its classic filmed productions every week (it changes each week, on Thursdays UK time). They've already done the Benedict Cumberbatch FRANKENSTEIN and an excellent TWELFTH NIGHT, but upcoming productions include A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with Gillian Anderson (May 21-28) and Shakespeare's CORIOLANUS with Tom Hiddleston (June 4-11th). These are spectacular productions well-filmed, accurately recreating a theatre experience. Shakespeare's Globe is doing the same with their own productions but in two-week rotations. Upcoming productions are THE WINTERS TALE, THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (TV, Netflix)

Sometimes you just need to watch something easy and nice. With the final season out and everything wrapped up, I really love how She-Ra takes a look at the idea that hurt people hurt people and themes of destiny, self-identity and love. 

A Mortician's Tale (Game, PC)

I promise I'm not going rec something with dead people every month, but this game has been really important to me. Death is hard and complicated and messy, but this game focuses on the people who work alongside death. There can be some heavy stuff in this game. It talks about family politics, death of the old and the young, and death as business. But there's something serene in it's abstract and simple art style and it's very mellow music. It's helped me handle loss in my own way. 

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines (Game, PC)

I started playing this again for twitch after the trailer for VtMB2 dropped, mostly because I wanted to yell about Ocean House Hotel. But there is so much to this game to love. I've been trying to think about how this game continues to stand up despite a LOT of flaws and I think it comes down to this: There's literally no other game I can think of that's like it. The writing is just the right side of campy, and every character stands out. Malkavian for unlife.