Fun Stuff 😜

Random Facts about Me

• I am a huge fan of the Fire Emblem series.

  • My website’s favicon is the Crest of Riegan from the Fire Emblem: Three Houses game (Golden Deer house ftw)!

• Aside from the FE series, I enjoy other game series like Final Fantasy (I’ve beat 1-6 and 13; 7-8 & 15 are WIP/imminent), Pokémon, Ace Attorney , Sudoku, and Chess (unrated). I don’t play games as often as I used to, but I still enjoy them casually.

• I love British comedy (my go-tos are Taskmaster , Peep Show , The IT Crowd , WILTY , Cats Countdown , etc.)

Must-Reads / Must-Listens

Below are some articles, videos, or talks that have stood out for me over the past few years (updated irregularly):

Articles

• Neil deGrasse Tyson (2020) – Reflections on the Color of My Skin

  • In this article, Dr. Tyson reflects on current issues with Black discrimination from the lens of a prolific scientist.

• People and AI Research (2020) – Q&A: Sabelo Mhlambi on what AI can learn from Ubuntu ethics

• Wilka Carvalho (2018) – For the “happy people” that suffer from bouts of depression

  • Wilka came to visit Brown sometime ago, and after our interactions, I stumbled upon his Medium articles. This one really stood out for me.

• Kenneth O. Stanley, Joel Lehman, and Lisa Soros (2017) – Open-endedness: The last grand challenge you’ve never heard of

• Moamen Elmassry (2023) – I wasn’t sure how to be a postdoc. Here’s how I found my way

Videos on:

Tech

• Peter Whidden (2023) – Training AI to Play Pokemon with Reinforcement Learning

  • The keywords “Pokémon” and “reinforcement learning” brought me to this video!

• Veritasium (2023) – The Fastest Maze-Solving Competition On Earth

Art & Media

• Thomas Flight (2022) – Why Donald Glover’s Atlanta Feels So Weird

  • Really amazing video that talks about why Atlanta is such an amazing show and explains its genre of Afro-surrealism .

• Adam Neely (2021) – The most elegant key change in all of pop music

• Pursuit of Wonder:

  • The Problem with Nice People
  • Every Person Is One Choice Away from Everything Changing

• Sound Field – (NOTE: This PBS YouTube series is amazing!)

  • The Genius of Fela Kuti and Afrobeat (feat. Femi & Made Kuti)
  • How Did The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Redefine Hip Hop?

• Classics Explained – (NOTE: Amazing series! I enjoy learning about the stories behind some of my favourite pieces. 🙂)

  • The Mysterious Mr Elgar. Episode 15 - The Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar
  • From misery to melody - Ep 20: Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto Number 2
  • A message to humanity: Symphony No.9 by Ludwig Van Beethoven.

• Kaola Rivas (2023) – MIS DEMONIOS EN MADRID/MY DEMONS IN MADRID

  • This was a short animated video made by a cousin of mine.

Philosophy

• Jia Jiang, TED (2017) – What I Learned From 100 Days of Rejection

• Then & Now (2022) – Spinoza: A Complete Guide to Life

• Sisyphus 55 (2021) – A GUIDE TO ABSURDISM: The Philosophy For Living Fully

Music

• My Playlist of Classical Music — (CAUTION: over 11 hours of content!)

• My Playlist of Favourite 60’s, 70’s and 80’s songs — (CAUTION: over 8 hours of content!)

Movies

• I am trying to keep track of movies that I watch! Follow me on Letterboxd !