Wednesday, January 23, 2008

What's Up Wednesday - January 23, 2008

In a completely spur-of-the-moment decision, I’ve decided to add at least one weekly feature to increase my blogging frequency. It’s not really the end of the world if I don’t put up something life-altering every day, but getting at least one thing out a week would be good. So every Wednesday I’ll check in here and talk about some of the things that have happened to me in the previous week, in a number of categories. Categories may change, disappear and reappear without notice. And I’m going to limit myself to one thing per category, to make things simple.

“Why Wednesday?” you might ask. Well, for one thing, I like the phrase “What’s Up Wednesday”. Also, today’s Wednesday, and today’s the day I came up with this idea. I’m not very complicated.

So, what’s been up with The Doc this past week?

The Book: I've started The Fortress of Solitude audiobook. This is basically Jonathan Lethem's fictionalized autobiography, the story of a white kid growing up in a black neighborhood in New York City in the 70s, and his experiences with the children on the block and his dysfunctional parents. Jonathan Lethem's a good writer with a lot of pop culture references that you need to know a little about in order to enjoy and understand the book; luckily, he and I like the same Marvel comics and jazz albums, so I get it. And David Aaron Baker reads the story rather well, giving each character a distinct voice. I approve, although it's not for everyone.

The Movies: Starting to get obsessed with the Oscars list. I've seen two of the five Best Picture nominees, and I definitely want to get out to the cinema and see as many of the rest of the nominees as I can. Time to break out my spreadsheet!

The Comic: I started reading Heartbreak Soup, the first collection of Gilbert Hernandez' Love and Rockets stories. It's really good. The cartoony style reminds me a little of The Yellow Kid, and the sparse style works even though there are lots of characters. Just finished the first chapter; it's dense but worth the read.

The DVD/TV Show: Finished up Dead Like Me, Season 1. I started watching this almost a year ago, but then got out of the habit; not that it was bad, but I stopped watching it with Ninja & Jago and so it fell by the wayside. But both seasons were available fore $15 each this Boxing Day, so I picked them up and started watching again. I really like Dead Like Me: the stories aren't always even (hard to strike a balance between the family and the reapers), but the stories are quirky and clever, which hooks me every time. Plus, the actors are great, Mandy Patinkin and Jasmine Guy in particular. Great stuff, looking forward to Season 2.

The Album: Another Boxing Day purchase, So Jealous by Tegan and Sara. I didn't really care for their first albums, but So Jealous has them dipping into pop and a little heavier rock. There are a lot of catchy hooks, and I really dig their close harmonies. Probably listened to the whole album 4 times last week alone.

The Video Game: Jago lent me Harvey Birdman for the Wii. he told me it was kind of fun, but too short. I've made it through 2 of the 5 levels in just under an hour and fifteen minutes, and so far it's just like I'm helping make a few sub-par episodes of Harvey Birdman. It's mildly entertaining, but...yeah. Not as funny as it should be, really. Also: no Stephen Colbert, which is another strike against it. I just hope that when they make a Space Ghost: Coast To Coast video game - and if they don't should - it's better than this.

The Job: Now that I've technically graduated, I was looking for another part-time job to fill up my schedule and my bank account. I just signed a contract to be a research assistant for a Ph.D. student, doing some assessments here and there, which not only pays rather well but solidifies one of my special talents (I'm one of a very few people in the city who know how to do one particular assessment). Plus, she mentioned that there might be another casual position she could try and secure for me doing, yes, that same assessment. So even though I haven't applied for any clinical jobs, it looks like this research/assessment thing's going to work out nicely for me for the next little while.

The Real-Life: The Peach and I realized over breakfast on Sunday that we had been married exactly six months, which was a bit of a shock to us. We sat there in stunned silence and then grinned at each other. Then, we finished up our breakfast and went shopping for pants. Ah, the life of the married guy.

So that's it. Anything new and/or exciting happen to you? Let me know. I'm interested. No really. I care about YOU.

4 comments:

Jago said...

At some points in the game, it's totally worth it to make the wrong choice, just as Harvey would. I got most of my laughs out of this.

Man, if only there was more gameplay in the game, as opposed to clicking on menu choices.

Foofa said...

I want to marry Callum Blue's dead butt. I also just saw that they are filming more Dead Like me currently. OH MY GOSH!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Season Two of Dead Like Me is great, but infuriating once you realize there's no season three. Also, my playwriting prof from the UofA cameos in the final episode.

The Doc said...

Jago, I LOVE making the wrong decision in the game. It's where some of the best jokes are.

Natalie, I was excited about the new DLM too, but it was tempered by the fact that Mandy Patinkin wasn't coming back for it. Rube's my favourite.

Allan, I'll have to take your word for it on Season Two. Why infuriating? Do they leave a lot of unresolved plot threads?