Dec 27, 2024 3 min read

Friday, December 27, 2024

Welcome back to Wolmania. Hope you've had/are having a pleasant holiday break.

Let's kiss 2024 goodbye with a look back at 1518, and then a swift return to 2024, then some older stuff, then back to 2024 again so we can properly move on to 2025.

Item 1: a link

Thomas Kole created this 3D reconstruction of sixteenth century Tenochtitlan. It must have been a lot of work and it's good.

The year is 1518. Mexico-Tenochtitlan, once an unassuming settlement in the middle of Lake Texcoco, now a bustling metropolis. It is the capital of an empire ruling over, and receiving tribute from, more than 5 million people. Tenochtitlan is home to 200.000 farmers, artisans, merchants, soldiers, priests and aristocrats. At this time, it is one of the largest cities in the world.

Today, we call this city Ciudad de Mexico - Mexico City.

Not much is left of the old Aztec - or Mexica - capital Tenochtitlan. What did this city, raised from the lake bed by hand, look like? Using historical and archeological sources, and the expertise of many, I have tried to faithfully bring this iconic city to life.

I strongly encourage you to click through and look at all the images - there are some where you can compare Tenochtitlan to modern Mexico City and see that even back then, it was a massive, sprawling, beautiful city, built around the "Sacred Precinct" where the Templo Mayor stood.

Good stuff.

Item 2: lists

Best movies I saw in 2024 (so far):

Stop Making Sense (1984 - IMAX rerelease)
Pulp Fiction (1994 - on my couch)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018 - on my couch)
The Taste of Things (2023 - in an honest-to-god movie theater)
Alien (1979 - on my couch)
Babette’s Feast (1987 - on my couch)
Perfect Days (2023 - in an honest-to-god movie theater)
Dune: Part Two (2024 - IMAX)
Moana (2016 - on my couch)
The Maltese Falcon (1941 - on my couch)
The Zone of Interest (2023 - in an honest-to-god movie theater)
Sing Sing (2024 - in an honest-to-god movie theater)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017 - on my couch)
Eno (2024 - in an honest-to-god movie theater)
Dune (2021 - on my couch)
Adaptation (2002 - on my couch)
Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963 - on my couch)
Cure (1997 - on my couch)
Anatomy of a Fall (2023 - on my couch)
Sorcerer (1977 - on my couch)

Worst movies I saw in 2024 (so far), annotated:

Argylle (2024) - even on an airplane, repugnant
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) - I found this so offensive and insulting to Logan’s legacy that I only saw it twice
Morbius (2022) - really bad
Megalopolis (2024) - glad I saw it! but it was atrocious, misguided, and oddly boring
Madame Web (2024) - probably worse than Morbius, but way more fun
Blue Beetle (2023) - the only movie I never bothered to finish
Bad Boys (1995) - sorry folks, but this movie is bad and always was
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024) - I do not recommend this but I hope Costner gets to make the next three Chapters
Dirty Harry (1971) - can’t believe people like this movie
Venom: The Last Dance (2024) - kinda enjoyed the first two, but this one is a drag

Comic book movies: maybe they’re bad?

Item 3: a media recommendation

Bob Dylan and The Band - Apple Suckling Tree

Item 4: word of the week

Deliquescent

I guess it's what we deserve for asking ChatGPT for its favorite meatloaf recipe, but I don't think this is supposed to be so... deliquescent.

Item 5: a photograph

See ya!

Thanks for reading - see you again next week. In the meantime, have a happy New Year and enjoy the rest of Hanukkah.