The Lineup
DPL staff tells us about five things they’ve been reading, watching, listening to, and doing
Justin’s Lineup
1. Movies: The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Night Shyamalan
The first time I watched this movie was in 1999. I was 19. Cool movie I thought, that twist was crazy! That’s about as far as my young mind allowed me to dive into the movie but 22 years later I decided to re-watch it. It is easy to make this film about the twist but taking that out of the equation, the Sixth Sense is such a beautiful and well-made ghost story. The acting, especially from a young Haley Joel Osment is great and this is some of Shyamalan’s best writing. One might even say this movie is masterpiece of film-making. Now how about a follow-up with an older Cole Sear please.
· Available through check-out with the Derby Public Library.
2. Videogames: Chrono Trigger by Square Enix
Chrono Trigger is coming up on 26 years of age this August. I first played it when I was 15 and was sucked into the amazing story-telling and beautiful art work of this game. I’ve been replaying it the last 3 weeks and I can say it is just as amazing of a game as it was back then. CT is a JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game) first released for the Super Nintendo in 1995 and has always played second fiddle to the Final Fantasy Series. I would argue it is a much superior game but opinions are just opinions.
· Available to you via Steam for your computer at the link below if you don’t want to pay an obscene amount of money on Ebay. https://store.steampowered.com/app/613830/CHRONO_TRIGGER/
3. Music: Benee
I’m getting older and I’m starting to slip into that phase where I ignore all the new music coming out and stick with what I grew up with. But I try to keep myself open and I recently discovered an artist by the name of Benee. She is a songwriter from New Zealand and I first saw her on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon singing her hit song “Supalonely”. It is a catchy pop song that drilled its way into my head and I’m not even sorry. Also check out another one of her songs, “Find an Island”.
· See the music video for Supalonely here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb6Scz-5YOs
4. Article: Fossilized Footprints Found in New Mexico Track Traveler with Toddler in Tow by Livia Gershon
I really love reading about ancient history and the lives of people back then. Especially ancient humans before recorded history. This article is about fossilized footprints of a small woman or adolescent boy traveling quickly across a landscape with a child. Trying to imagine what it was like and the hardships being faced is fascinating to me. The article is a great read and really gets you thinking about how humans lived so long ago.
· Available here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/11000-year-old-new-mexico-footprints-track-adult-and-toddlers-trip-180976057/
5. Hobbies: Scanning found slides
I enjoy finding old slides in estate sales, auctions, flea markets, etc. and scanning them into a digital format. It is like taking a peek into the world of someone else’s life history and recording it before it’s tossed out and lost. I recently won an auction with quite a few slides of one family’s trip south of the border in the 1960s. Here are a few of those pictures.
Being able to work around books is a dream! I read anything but my favorite genres are historical fiction and YA. Give me anything set in Tudor England or teenage fantasy novel and I am set.
- What’s Ashley Reading?: The Blonde Identity - February 14, 2025
- What’s Ashley Reading?: The Resurrectionist - January 31, 2025
- What’s Ashley Reading?: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls - January 17, 2025
