Hare was the best guitarist in the land. Tortoise was a mediocre composer.
But Tortoise did something special: they published their sheet music, hoping others could outdo them—and they did.
Hare fans covered and arranged Tortoise songs better than the originals. Hare themself could play them hopping on one foot; hardly the opposite.
As you know, the world changed after Pig’s legendary First Flight.
There was something in the air that summer, and we got the impossible collaboration: Hare performed Tortoise songs. Bird sang, Firefly played a light show, and they all danced on a stage Beaver built.
Today, nobody remembers Tortoise’s music or Hare’s music. But everybody remembers Tortoise and Hare together.
Wish is a flawed movie, but I love its message: work toward your dreams.
How, exactly?
1. Take matters into your own hands. Simon got “boring” after giving his wish to Magnifico; Asha wishes on a star instead.
2. Seek help from your peers. At the climax, the lyric “I look up at the stars to guide me” becomes “I look out at the stars just like me”, and “I can take them on one at a time” becomes “we can take it on if we align”; Peter Pan might help that new citizen build a flying machine.
3. Anyone can make a difference. A twig becomes a magic wand; Asha is ordinary, not a “chosen one”.
All the while, the plot isn’t something basic like finding true love or killing a monster; Asha’s wish is about other people’s wishes, which is surprisingly abstract. This is the intellectual fairy tale.
This movie inspires me to work hard and believe in myself. It’s the only one that’s connected with me in that way, like my favorite song.
Really Bad Chess is actually really good chess. It’s the obvious joke, but it’s true.
I never liked chess because openings are arbitrary. If everyone played optimally, wouldn’t every match play out identically?
Well, Really Bad Chess randomizes your starting pieces based on your skill.
So every match is different, and immediately interesting. And it clicked.
Computer chess is a mental workout. It’ll push you as hard as you push yourself, so there’s no excuse for not trying my best.
And like exercise, it counterintuitively gives me more energy afterward, not less. Everything else feels easy in comparison: “oof, I tried my best and still lost. Might as well do some chores now.”
This has even improved my mental health. Zach Gage, if you’re reading this: I doubt you intended this game to treat depression, but it treats mine.
Anyway, while it’s true to say “computers beat humans at chess”, it’s both more complete and more interesting to say “humans built computers that beat humans at chess.”
The lyrics are autobiographical: as a kid, 40mP was too shy to sing in front of others. But then he discovered vocaloid software, and though it didn’t sound perfect, it let him make music. Hence, a vocaloid song about vocaloid software itself.
And that’s why I like computers.
In the ’80s, desktop publishing enabled anyone to write a book. In the ’90s, desktop video-editing enabled anyone to make a movie.
Here, without vocaloid software, this song simply wouldn’t exist, nor would the remakes and even dance choreography based on it.
Computers enabled all this creativity, and that warms my heart.
Do check out the lyrics, and the real-life story behind the song—they’re poetic. No other song has inspired me like this, so I must declare this my favorite song ever. 🩵