T.K. Wade -- Author

Monday, October 12, 2026

Industrial Symphony No. 1 [Movie Review]

"Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Broken Hearted" is a movie directed by David Lynch. It stared Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Michael J. Anderson, and Julee Cruise. It was released in 1990. On top of being a film, it could also be described as a concert or a musical.

This film is not well known. I actually had thought I had seen all the Lynch movies up to that point, but this one slipped through the cracks. When I heard it was more of a concert, I remembered his other similar film "Duran Duran: Unstaged," which was not great. That worried me, but I figured I'd watch this in the name of completionism.

The theme here has to do with the concept of broken relationships. It can be lovers or friends, as long as the bond is strong when the breakup happens. There is a sort of scary place the brain can go when this happens, where everything seems really bad. The whole thing starts off with a scene from his movie "Wild at Heart," where a similar thing actually occurs.

From there, you get bombarded with the genius and often creepy music of Angelo Badalamenti with lyrics written by Lynch himself. The stage performance is a spooky industrial setting in complete darkness, with only spotlights, strobes, and pyrotechnics in order for you to see any of it.

Julee Cruise takes the leading role and does all the singing. A lot of the time she is suspended and flying around as she sings, which I found to be pretty impressive. There was also a really startling moment where it appears that she actually takes a fall from a great height, which would have killed her.

Michael J. Anderson was all over this production too. You will remember him as the little guy from the red room in "Twin Peaks." He is talking forwards in this one, and having him in the production was a nice touch. There is an extended sequence where he is sawing a log. I don't know what it meant, but I enjoyed it.

Holy heck! It was good! But it isn't for everybody. This movie was avant-garde as hell. I would only recommend it for people who are die hard David Lynch fans, especially those who like his early stuff. I'm not sure why most people don't know about this one. It's pretty awesome.

This blog was written on September 5, 2026.

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Wednesday, October 7, 2026

A Conversation with My Father [Short Story Review]

[I talk a lot about what is happening in this story, but I do not spoil the story within a story that is featured here.]

"A Conversation with My Father" is a short story written by Grace Paley. It was published in 1971, according to online sources, but the book I read this in said 1974. Beats me!

This is an odd little duck. It is basically a short story about writing short stories. It follows the perspective of the protagonist, a writer, who is being pushed to tell a story on the spot to her sick father. He wants something simple and to the point, so she tries to do that, but then he complains there is not enough detail. So she tries again, adding a lot more detail in the second attempt.

The problem is that she can only go so far, and the father has trouble seeing things beyond the ending, leading him to see it as more of a tragedy. This frustrates the writer, who has more hope for things in the world.

I found this one interesting because I often think about the existence or lack thereof of objects and events in stories that are not explicitly mentioned. I have dabbled a bit in forth-wall style literature, and I often wonder about the things not mentioned.

Even so, this story is really about a father who not only sees no hope in that which has not been mentioned, and he is also kind of pushing it on his daughter at the same time. He has a strong bias towards tragedy, likely because he sees his own end coming. Who knows?

The daughter is interesting too because she can write a tragic story, but she can see how things can go much better after the ending. She is a good contrast to her old man.

Interesting little experiment. It is kind of a story about itself in a way. I run into that sometimes. I do recommend it. It is a very easy read and gets to the point shockingly fast.

This blog was written on August 31, 2026.

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Monday, October 5, 2026

Battle Royal [Short Story Review]

"Battle Royal" is a short story written by Ralph Ellison. It was published as a part of a greater novel called "Invisible Man" in 1952.

There are some aspects about this story I don't really want to get into in this blog. The story has a lot to do with racism and such, and I just don't want to bother with the topic. Instead, I want to talk about what this story does really well.

Fight scenes are hard. You have to carry along how the fight happens without taking too long on any given moment. It has to move quickly without losing all of the violent detail. "Battle Royal" does this really well and for a surprising amount of time.

It also isn't just a fight between two people. It is a close-quarters free-for-all with some extra trickery mixed in, such as money thrown into the arena and parts of the floor being electrified. It is a crazy read, and I have to commend the author for doing such a good job at portraying a scene that might baffle other writers.

That is what is good about this story, and given the title, that is all that really needed to be good. That said, however, I did not know this was a chapter out of a greater novel when I read it. I have no interest in the novel itself. I can only recommend this to people who might be interested in learning about writing crazy fighting scenes. Other than that, I don't have much more to say.

This blog was written on August 29, 2026.

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Wednesday, September 30, 2026

The Virtues in Cheating, Part 2 [An Essay]

A while back, I wrote an essay about how sometimes the concept of cheating might help you get out of a rut. You basically look for ways to break rules in order to find a better way of doing something. I used the video game "The Talos Principle" as an example how this could be done. I actually found ways to cheat at the game many times over, allowing me to circumvent a bunch of the puzzles.

After I wrote that essay, I ended up replaying the sequel "The Talos Principle 2" a few years after I had experienced it the first time. I noticed a couple of things in this playthrough. Firstly, I was figuring out the puzzles a lot faster. Secondly, I was almost never able to cheat. The developers did a really good job in spacing all the puzzle rooms apart and angling them in such a way that hardly any of them could form connections with each other. I did try, though. I tried a lot. I think I only managed to figure one of them out, but only after I had solved it the correct way.

After scratching my head a bit, I realized that these two things were very important. The first point was that I had become much better at solving puzzles the correct way after doing all of that cheating. The second point told me that the developers had likely noticed all of the cheating in the first one and simply made a tighter puzzle collection in the sequel. That means that improvement occurred for both the player and the developer. We both learned and got better accordingly... all because of some creative cheating.

The fact that they pushed back on the cheating did not make the game worse. In fact, I was really impressed by the work they did put into it. Because of all the cheating I did in the first game, I was actively able to appreciate the efforts they put into preventing it in the sequel. It was like I could hear the developer saying, "I thought you might try that, but not this time!" It made me smile because I felt like I was being talked toby the developer in a different language... the language of puzzles.

You might suspect that the reason I was so good at the puzzles this time around was because I had played the game before. No. I have a bad track record of forgetting the solutions to puzzles and having to learn them all over again. This always happens when I go back to play the "Portal" games. In this case, I am pretty sure the reason I was blasting through all the puzzles was because my mind had opened up to new ideas rather than getting stuck on an endless pattern of repetitive thinking. The old way still worked, but I had to constantly relearn something to solve it in the same way. I was now solving each puzzle through a process of critical thinking processes obtained through cheating in the first game.

Another way to look at the latter point is that, in trying to cheat each puzzle, I was actually just figuring out the intended solution.

My second playthrough of "The Talos Principle 2" was even more fun than the first because I was conscious of this new ability to think with an open mind and see things in a more creative way. A few puzzles still gave me trouble towards the end, but I still made it through them. They were the hardest of the lot anyhow.

I think that's all I really have to say about this. All this has really pleased me, and I would love to see how far I can take this. Just keep in mind, this is not about doing bad things. This is about breaking out of patterns of behavior that hold you back. That's what I am doing... and it's helping me in more ways than just being good at a single video game.

This blog was written on August 27, 2026.

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Monday, September 28, 2026

I Stand Here Ironing [Short Story Review]

"I Stand Here Ironing" is a short story written by Tillie Olsen. It was published in 1961.

There is no real need to go into spoilers for this one. The premise is very simple. It is a first person recount from the perspective of a single mother during the Great Depression. It helps give you an understanding of what it is like to be a working mother who is so busy that she just cannot find the time to actually form a connection with her children.

This is a sad one. Those times were rough. After all those Jean Shepherd stories I read, it looks like that family had it a bit easier. In the case of this mother, her husband abandoned her, leaving her to do everything herself. She does... but at the cost of a real and meaningful relationship with her children.

Tough topic, but it was written well. I do recommend it to those who would like to understand this perspective better.

This blog was written on August 26, 2026.

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Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Winter Dreams [Short Story Review]

"Winter Dreams" is a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was published in 1922.

Not bad. This was a story about a guy named Dexter who falls in love with a young and beautiful woman on a golf course. The issue here is how the woman is sort of playing a little game where she is trying to keep her options open, even though it is pretty clear that she likes Dexter a lot. Dexter, himself, is frustrated that she cannot just accept his love, when she is clearly attracted to him.

Without going into too many spoilers, the main theme of the story is that nothing lasts forever. When we are young, we trick ourselves into thinking we have all the time in the world, but we don't. Windows of opportunities are brief, and when they close, it will be as if they never existed at all. Only a memory.

I like this story because it fits with some ideals I have had lately. I have been trying to make the most of every second and not get caught up in emotional silliness that generally is associated with youth. I want to look back and say, "I spent my time wisely." After all, I'm gonna die anyhow. Might as well make sure I did a heck of a lot while I was here.

I do recommend this story, although I am unsure it is for everybody. Most people may be uncomfortable with the concept that everything ends. If that's how you feel then feel free to ignore this one.

This blog was written on August 21, 2026.

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Monday, September 21, 2026

Frog and Toad - Alone [Book Review]

[I basically spoil a story intended for very young children.]

"Frog and Toad - Alone" is a very short children's book written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. It was published in 1979.

My editor sent this to me as a gift. He occasionally wants to get away from me and will take a week where we do not talk or interact with each other. The theme of this little book is basically the same thing.

The story is about a frog named Frog and a toad named Toad. Frog puts a note on his door that says he wants to be alone, and Toad thinks it's because he is sad or doesn't want to be his friend anymore. This is a very real thing that can happen in a friendship. Sometimes people just want to be alone, and that's okay.

The truth, in this story, is that Frog is still very much Toad's friend, and he just wanted to spend some time on his own and think. Everything was perfectly fine, and Toad was just being silly.

Easy story to read and understand. Also the point that it is making is a very real thing that can happen to anyone at any age. I recommend this story for children who are still learning how to read.

This blog was written on August 20, 2026.

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