Blast Off

In case you missed it, version 1.0 of Kerbal Space Program is out, with new kerbals, new parts and new mechanics.

I've started over in career mode and it also seem to be much less of a grind than before...

2014: Stuff I Thought was Cool

Better late than never: the definitive list of stuff I found and liked in 2014. A lot of superhero stuff this time.

Films

Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: Winter Soldier
These two films, both critical and commercial successes, are radically different approaches to making a Marvel movie. One builds heavily on the shared universe, the other strikes out into strange new territory. Both barely seem like superhero stories.

Man of Tai Chi
So Keanu Reeves' directorial debut is a great kung fu film and also a solid bit of filmmaking. How 'bout that.

Honourable Mention: Sanjuro

Books

Railsea - China Mieville
It's Moby Dick on a train, only deeper and stranger than that.

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
Engrossing, imaginative and magical.

Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie
A nuanced and carefully constructed space opera with a fantastic main character.

Honourable Mention: Embassytown - China Mieville

Comics

Ms Marvel - G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, et al.
A nice balance of fun superheroics and down-to-earth character drama. A lot of bollocks has been written about Kamala Khan, but the simple fact is that she's a great everyman protagonist.

Hawkeye - Matt Fraction, David Aja et al.
A low key, character-led comic in which your least-favourite Avenger turns out to be a loveable loser trying to do best by those around him.

Saga - Brian Vaughn, Fiona Staples et al.
The new 20th Century Boys in terms of these end-of-year lists of mine.

Honourable Mention: Black Widow - Nathan Edmondson, Phil Noto et al.

TV

Person of Interest
I avoided this show reflexively at first, assuming it was yet another post-9/11 show about questioning rights and freedoms as though they were ambiguous or even undesirable. But no, it's actually a stealth science fiction show with a much better treatment of privacy and exceptional power than you might expect.

Arrow
That dark, gritty, camp, out-of-this-world action show about Robin Hood.

Smallville
The New Adventures of Superguy and Robin Hood, guest starring Martian Detective.

Honourable Mention: Sleepy Hollow

Video Games

Valkyria Chronicles
The World War 2 era fantasy land is beautifully realised, the melodrama can be surprisingly affecting and the real-time-meets-turn-based gameplay is addictive.

Shadowrun Returns
A solid and fun cyberpunk roleplaying game.

The Stanley Parable
Big, funny and clever.

Honourable Mention: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Shorter for Science

I've been using pretty much the same rocket design for trips to Kerbin's moons for a while now, but, especially with the extra science components for career mode, I finally got exasperated with its gangly instability.

This new rocket uses the same layout for most of its stages, but has a much shorter and broader lander. I wasn't convinced that the extra engines and reduced fuel capacity weren't a compromise too far, but Jebediah successfully took it to the Mun's Farside Crater and back.

Strangers in Orbit

I threw together a slightly monstrous rocket to do a rescue contract.

Actually synchronising with the poor lost kerbonaut ate most of its fuel, but then it was just a short trip back down to the surface...

Sacrificial Kerbot

Oh, hello.

I've been playing Kerbal Space Program's career mode since the version 0.24 update. My best achievement so far has been crash-landing a probe onto one of Duna's ice caps, where it sent back temperature and pressure readings for juicy science points.

I Made Another Thing

This thing is about a bunch of weirdoes who talk at you.

Here it is.

Further Adventures in What's Happening

Once again, I volunteered to write examinations of the nominations for the XYZZY Awards' best character award, which you can find here, if you're into that kind of thing.