My dad and I don't share a lot of interests. He's a baseball guy, I'm a professional wrestling girl. He's a Beach Boys guy, I'm a Pink Floyd girl. He writes non-fiction, I write poetry. He hates videogames, I clearly love them. These are differences cultivated over time. We love things in a lot of the same ways, particularly in their histories and contexts, but our interests don't always align.
But when I was a kid he did that thing dads do: introduce their favorite things to their kids so they could connect. Baseball didn't land, but Star Wars did. One of the earliest memories I have is watching the original trilogy on VHS on the couch, without all the new scenes and re-edits, introduced by Leonard Maltin's interviews with George Lucas. I also remember him taking me to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace at a movie theater that doesn't exist anymore. If there's anything we do share, it's a taste in film and TV. He would much later get into Twin Peaks, and I would in turn get him into Dune. Arguably he likes the Dune franchise way more than me; I've read the first book and he's read most if not all of Frank Herbert's run.
Likewise, Lord of the Rings.
These are my dad's favorite books. Dad took me to see all these movies, he took me to a local theatre production of The Hobbit, he gave me a chess set using figures based on the Fellowship and the orcs, and he told me everything he knew about J.R.R. Tolkien's world. He had every book and he wanted me to love the books too. I have tried to read the books, but I've never really made good progress. I did read Tolkien's essay "On Fairie Stories" during my undergrad and I liked it very much! I have found his prose easier to digest as an academic rather than a fiction author. Maybe it's time to give it another shot. And more than anything I'm just happy to have this connection with Dad.
The Return of the King game is pretty good! It's a fun little 3D hack-and-slash. Good single-player, great co-op, cool game. Broke one of the keys off Dad's work laptop playing it.
Other games I've loved from 2003:
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (NGC), Soul Calibur II (NGC/PS2/Xbox), The Simpsons: Hit & Run (NGC/PS2/Xbox), Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando (PS2), The Hobbit (NGC/PC/PS2/Xbox), Mario Kart: Double Dash (NGC), Need for Speed: Underground (NGC/PC/PS2/Xbox)
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