Pacing
When Is a Move Final?
The Commitment Problem in Modern Chess Modern chess operates under a fractured commitment model that no longer aligns with how players think, how turns function in most games, or how chess itself is actually played across physical and digital formats. At the heart of the problem is that chess treats physical contact with a piece as binding commitment while simultaneously relying on a separate explicit action to end a player’s turn. This creates a logical contradiction: a move becomes final before the turn is over. In most turn-based games, interaction with game components is provisional until the player explicitly signals the end of their turn. Chess is an anomaly in this respect, and the inconsistency becomes increasingly visible in modern play.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast9 months ago in Critique
A Tale of Two Cities. Runner-Up in The Most Overrated Challenge.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens It was the best of books, it was the worst of… Nope can’t do it. Get out of here with those bad puns production team! Not today! No sir. I say again. Not. Today.
By Matthew J. Fromm9 months ago in Critique
Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days To The Attack
Countdown to Pearl Harbor: The Twelve Days To The Attack by Steve Twomey I really wasn’t expecting much of this read; I grabbed it while I was at Pearl Harbor because how could I not get a book while I was there?
By Matthew J. Fromm10 months ago in Critique
The Lost City of Z
The Lost City of Z by David Grann Growing up I thought I wanted to be an archaeologist. Now that I’m a ripe 32, I realize what I really wanted to be was an adventurer–someone who dug deep into the dark and emerged with treasures unseen for millennia.
By Matthew J. Fromm10 months ago in Critique
The Blade Itself
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie Every once in a while, I pick up a book that reminds me fundamentally why I enjoy reading—a book that turns my brain off and sweeps me away to some far flung world that I can sit at any quiet moment and. . . disappear into.
By Matthew J. Fromm10 months ago in Critique
The Butcher of the Forest
The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed I loved Becky Chambers’s A Psalm for the Wild-Built. It was a nice warm hug of a book that explored finding meaning in life, our relationship with nature, and how to come to terms with not knowing where a path may lead. I gave it an 89/100.
By Matthew J. Fromm10 months ago in Critique
The Sequel Stumbles (But does not Falter)
Jon M. Chu's conclusion to his ambitious two-part adaptation of the Broadway phenomenon arrives with considerable fanfare but delivers decidedly mixed results. Released on November 21, 2025, "Wicked: For Good" runs 2 hours and 17 minutes and picks up immediately where its predecessor left off, following Elphaba's exile and Glinda's ascension to Ozian celebrity. While the film has proven commercially successful—opening to $150 million domestically and setting a record for Broadway adaptations—the critical consensus suggests a marked decline from the original's magic.
By Parsley Rose 11 months ago in Critique
Limon Dance Company. Animal Farm.
The Limon Dance Company (with a ' over the O) at the Joyce had two performances within an hour and twenty minutes. The first, "The Emperor Jones" was a ballet intertwined with modern dance. The performance was innovative that kept coming at the audience.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).about a year ago in Critique
Truth Demands Proof
I saw a post on Facebook where a man shared a letter he had sent to his elected officials calling for the impeachment of the sitting president. He claimed that the offenses were “so obvious” and “so well documented” that he did not even need to include them. That single assumption captured everything wrong with modern political thinking. When someone says “the reasons are obvious,” what they often mean is that they cannot defend them. Emotional conviction replaces evidence. The appearance of certainty replaces truth itself.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcastabout a year ago in Critique
