What's Up Wednesday - October 5, 2011

So did you know that since the reign of Queen Victoria, the last Wednesday in September has been given the name "Second Tuesday"? That's because it's not true. I missed a week. Oh well! Let's see what I found interesting in the past two weeks.

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Music
I love The Muppets and am a big fan of off-beat covers, so when I saw The Green Album I knew I would eventually have to give it a spin. It starts off really promising: OK Go!'s cover of "The Muppet Show Theme" is weird and groovy, although it goes on a little too long. Things pick up with Weezer & Hayley Williams's cover of The Rainbow Connection, which gives us a harp doing the traditional banjo riff and a beautiful two-part harmony for the last verse. The Fray's "Manah-Manah" sounds nearly the same as the TV version, which is okay but nothing special. And then there's the Alkaline Trio's version of "Movin' Right Along" which could be my favourite song on the album: it's a fusion of the band's sound with the spirit of the original, where the band plays with it just enough to make it interesting without completely destroying the song. My Morning Jacket's version of "Our World," a song I've never heard before, is a nice little song that would be easily performed by both Muppets and rock stars.

And then...things start going downhill. Amy Lee does a creepy version of "Halfway Down The Stairs," which needs that kind of interpretation like Archie Andrews needs a goth-style makeover. Another lowlight is a really awkward version of one of my favourite Muppet songs ever, "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along" - a human should not sing lyrics like "What could be better than a saucy Irish Setter" straightforwardly. An adequate version of "It's Not Easy Being Green" almost pulls us out of the nose-dive, but then the album closes with Rachael Yamagata's version of "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" which seems weirdly-orchestrated just for the sake of being weird, and is truly unfortunately mixed (I don't need to hear the soft tisues of your mouth sliding against each other when you're singing). I like about half the album and the rest either underhwlmes me or makes me frustrated thinking about how much better it could have been.

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Comics
I have been curious about Matt Wagner's Grendel comics for a few years, so last week I got off my ass and took Grendel: Behold The Devil out of the library. If I had done my research I would have discovered that this was one of the last books in the series, but I decided to try it anyhow, figuring every comic is someone's first and that it might hook me hard enough to want to seek out the other comics. And boy, did it. In this volume Grendel is Hunter Rose, bestselling author by day and brutal crime kingpin by night. Behold The Devil is an examination of a "lost" episode in his life, and if this is anything like the earlier comics then I am in. Beautifully illustrated, perfectly paced, this tale of violence unfolds step by glorious step until the surprise (to me) ending. The violence is absolutely exq$uisite; the first five pages of Chapter One completely blew me away. I will be back for more, definitely, and will re-read this one with relish when I get back to its spot in publishing continuity.

* * * *

Movies
I saw Drive yesterday and it is GOOOOOOOD. It's not the big dumb action movie they're trying to sell it as, although sharp-eyed viewers would probably have figured that out by the use of pink font on the posters and trailers. It's a thoughtful, suspenseful action film, more along the lines of a Point Blank or To Live& Die In L.A. than a Fast & The Furious. I've heard a few people say the 70s & 80s homage is slap-dash and unsatisfying, but I really feel there's a lot to like. There are a number of very quiet moments, nearly TOO quiet, and there are a lot of very subtle performances that would have been completely extinguished in a lesser film. And when things go bad, they go really bad. Shocking, grotesque violence, with one scene that had me squirming in my seat. And the cast is great, too. Ryan Gosling's stoic performance may go a little too far towards stone-faced at times, but Carey Mulligan is note-perfect, Ron Perlman is fun and intimidating, Bryan Cranston is great as usual, and Albert Brooks is TERRIFYING as a crime boss. No seriously. I was shocked too. If you like film in general and action films in particular, then you need to make a trip to see Drive, and soon.

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Books
After months of struggling to read, I broke into Grant Morrison's Supergods for Nerd Book Club and it is a really fun and fast (but uneven) book. I enjoyed his (admittedly skewed) examination of the Golden and Silver ages of superhero comic books, with a little bit of examination of how these books represent spiritual archetypes that have been with us for centuries, but these analogies didn't really going anywhere other than "Did you notice that? I did, it's amazing." Which is okay, I guess, and I enjoy seeing someone else's perspective on these familiar characters. And then about halfway through, it became less about an exploration of the character archetypes & how they could inform us about human nature and became part-history, part-memoir. I understood why: Morrison felt he needs to explain his motivations for writing, which are based on his life experiences, including his metaphysical ones. And while that fits into the theme of the book, which I won't completely reveal because I think finding that theme is part of the journey,

I think the memoir aspects could have been toned down and the thematic aspects given more direction and follow-through. The book is in some pretty desperate need of an editor, as things get a little meandery about halfway through and almost spiral completely out of control towards the end. (There are also some pretty obvious typos and things being mentioned out of sequence.) For me, though, being familiar with Morrison's style, I find the lack of direction is a trap he sometimes finds himself in, and I was able to climb out of it with him and bring something worthwhile along with me. So I ended up liking it and will probably re-read it in the next couple of years, but  I would be really interested in a non-fan's perspective on the book.  I don't know if it would be easy to follow or impactful for someone who doesn't have strong connections to the characters or the writer like I do.

* * * *

DVDs/Blu-Rays
Two weekends ago I went to visit a friend and we had a marathon of all 25 episodes of the first season of Community Season 1. That marks the seventh time I've gone through the first season in under 12 months. Which probably sounds silly but it really is that good. I noticed jokes and references this seventh time that had completely passed me by the first time, which means that either a) I am not very observant or b) these are some amazingly great episodes. I would like to think that the answer is b). Regardless: if you haven't seen Community, you really should. It is one of only a handful of shows that represent the pinnacle of television comedy, and I have no doubt that it will be remembered very fondly in the coming decades.

* * * *

TV
This "week," I would like to take a moment to talk about...The Playboy Club. When I first heard that there was going to be a prime-time drama about The Playboy Club, I was dubious. I thought that it was just a lame way to grab ratings by cashing in on the Mad-Men-60s-style-chic and parading beautiful women around in Bunny costumes and their underwear. And I will admit: it was partly that. But honestly, only partly. By the end of the first episode I thought, despite myself, that there was something more there. They introduced a lot of characters, and involved a lot of interesting themes: politics, race relations, organized crime, sexual orientation, gender roles, and a handful of interesting mysteries. And there were musical numbers! And did I mention a half-dozen beautiful women? Sure, some of the characterizations were groaningly broad, and the "Hugh Hefner in the shadows" bits were pretty awful, but I thought there were things to grow on. I felt even more positive about the show after the second episode, where things felt a little rushed and some plots were given more time to breathe. And that meant, of course, that it would be cancelled. I just didn't think it would have been by episode three! I thought for sure I'd get a half-season out of it at least, where they could wrap at least a couple of plot threads up. Instead I got three episodes of what was a pretty promising show. I guess most viewers didn't see it the way I did, but I really think that The Playboy Club is up there with American Gothic as one of those promising shows cancelled way too early.

* * * *

Life
Last Monday my brother got me royally drunk, tied some training wheels on me, and set me up in his hockey draft. I apparently did okay, stealing some players out from under some of the other guys, and I walked away thinking I did okay. And then three days later he sent me a text saying I had drafted someone who had already retired. And nobody noticed. So I have a lot more to learn, I guess.

* * * *

And that's it. More song updates to follow, for sure, but now it's time for me to get on the exercise bike. Curse you, bike.

The Return of What's Up Wednesday: September 14, 2011

Hello! In efforts to find more ways to distract myself that aren't "sit on couch and eat too much while watching movies," I'm pulling out the What's Up Wednesday semi-feature I tried about a year back. This should get me writing more regularly, and should provide me with a "deadline" and reason to dedicate some blog time every week. This week's update is going to be long, as I figured I should dive in headfirst, so let's see what struck me as interesting, fun, and or important about the previous week!

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Movies

I got to see Contagion with @Morgoid last night. The trailer had me mildly interested until I saw that it was directed by Steven Soderbergh, and then I knew I had to see it. Soderbergh's one of my favourite modern directors, and although he's helmed a few clunkers he's also put together two of my favourite movies: Out of Sight and The Limey. And since he is apparently retiring from the movies to paint, I thought I should see what might be his last movie in the theater.

Overall, I thought Contagion was a good film. First of all, it's a hell of a cast: Lawrence Fishburne, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Enrico Colantoni, Chin Han, Elliott Gould, Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle, and Bryan Cranston all do remarkable work. I thought it would be distracting having so many recognizable faces because the presence of so many stars might pull you out of the story, but ultimately having so many names helped because they were all really good performances. Each character was given moments of weakness and of strength, so the characters weren't all paragons or villains, but people with varying degrees of greed, hope, selfishness, passion, and fear.

The pacing, sparse score, and naturalistic dialogue help the film to be very matter-of-fact without being boring: it really does feel like this is what would happen if there was a worlwide outbreak of a devastating disease, which makes the horror very real. You get to see the impact of the outbreak from varying levels: international tensions, national political issues, state and family emergencies. It's a very thoughtful and well-researched film that some others might find cold and unengaging but I appreciated the lack of sensation and sentimentality that you might find in a lesser "Hollywood-style" thriller.

* * * *

Books

Still finding it really hard to read lately - apparently stress plays havoc on my concentration - but I am trying to finish The Lost City of Z that I started reading for Nerd Book Club. It's adventure non-fiction, the story of explorer Percy Fawcett and his doomed trip into the South American jungle in search of a fabled lost civilization. I'm enjoying it but I don't like the author putting words and thoughts in the character's mouth: it's one thing if you're quoting from journal entries and letters, but inventing dialogue whole-cloth is where I draw the line in my non-fiction. Your mileage may vary, but if you enjoy exciting and interesting non-fiction then I think this is up your alley.

* * * *

DVD/Blu-Ray

Speaking of Elliott Gould: I watched a lot of DVDs this week (including the fascinating I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale which is a must-see documentary for people who love acting and/or movies, and the entire first season of Castle which was just as fun as I remembered), but the DVD I really want to rave about is The Long Goodbye. I read Raymond Chandler's novel when I was in University and really liked it, and was a little hesitant to watch a re-imagining of the story directed by Robert Altman, who I knew had taken a number of liberties with the story and the setting (updating it to the early 1970s, contemporary for the time). Finally sitting down to watch it, though, I was really pleased: although it does feel like an Altman film in the same vein as M*A*S*H or McCabe & Mrs. Miller (meandering storyline, chunks of improvisation, moments of unintelligible dialogue, constantly moving cameras), it works as a movie in its own right.

Elliott Gould's Marlowe is really terrific, and it's because he doesn't do a version of Humphrey Bogart, although there are similarities in the characterizations. I love the contrast between Marlowe's 1950s aesthetic and the rest of the characters "contemporary" attitudes and styles; his straightforward hard-boiled nature and older-cut suits play beautifully off the ambiguous characters and sometimes outrageous outfits. Gould is funny and wry when he needs to be and tough and cold when the situation calls for it, and another awesome standout is Sterling Hayden, sporting a Hemingwayesque beard, as a troubled writer that Marlowe is hired to find. Plus: Arnold Schwarzenegger in a non-speaking role sporting a moustache. Yeah. That happened. I can't stop thinking about it since I watched it three days ago, which to me is the mark of a good movie. Watch it: you just might be surprised.

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Podcasts

I'm going to shine a spotlight on what is not just one of my favourite comedy podcasts but one of my favourite podcasts period: Doug Loves Movies. (Fun Fact: I saw a taping of Doug Loves Movies when I went to California in July and if you listen to this episode you can hear me laughing in the background and catching a monkey.) The premise is that comedian Doug Benson sits around a table with a bunch of his friends, ostensibly talk about movies, then play movie-themed games such as "Build a Title" (where you add movie titles together to make things like "Wait Until Dark City of Angels in the Out-Field of Dreams" and "The Leonard Maltin Game" (think "Name That Tune" but with movies and actors). In the past two days I've listened to five episodes and they're all very funny; three of the most recent episodes were recorded live from the Bumbershoot festival and feature great guests such as Scott Aukerman, Kyle Kinane, Eugene Mirman, and Paul F. Tompkins. I think the Bumbershoot episodes are a good intro to the show because you get a lot of content and a lot of great guests without a lot of self-promotion (which, let's face it, is why people do the podcasts). If you like movies, standup comedy, and tangents: Doug Loves Movies is for you.

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TV

On Monday the last episode of So You Think You Can Dance Canada aired and while the show itself felt kind of like filler, Mary Murphy's breasts shocked and terrified, and Leah Miller's special brand of anti-charisma threatened to break my spirit, I enjoyed it. Not only did the "right" dancer win (in both my and @DanicaHere's opinions), it featured some of my favourite routines. If you're curious as to what I thought, or what you can expect, here are four of my favourite routines of the season in glorious low-fi YouTube quality! (You can skip through the judges at the end, I usually do.)

Melissa & Shane in a Hip-Hop routine (choreographed by Luther Brown; the music is awful but the dance is really fun; starts at about 0:50)

Jordan & Joey in a Jazz routine (choreographed by the great Sean Cheeseman; starts at 1:16)

Shane & Lindsey in a REALLY fun disco routine (choreographed by Melissa Williams; starts at about 3:08)

And because I want EVERYONE to see this last one, embedded video! Jordan & Christian in a breathtaking Jazz number (again by the brilliant Sean Cheeseman):

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Comics

I read quite a few comics last week, but the ones I'm going to focus on are the ones from the DC relaunch. For those non-comics people who read my blog, DC Comics (they who make Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc.) decided to revamp/relaunch their line of superhero comics by streamlining continuity, making the characters younger and more modern, and releasing 52 new titles starting all over at #1. It's an attempt to bring in new and lapsed readers, and as someone who is neither of those two things I'm still excited to see what they do with their titles. The four titles I liked best from last week were:

Swamp Thing: The list of talented creators who've worked on this title in the past is about as long as my arm, and this first issue lives up to those expectations. This is more of a supernatural thriller than a superhero book, but it's definitely grounded in the shared universe thanks to featured appearances by a number of recognizable DC characters. Swamp Thing features really lush art from Yanick Paquette, which is some of my favourite art of the books I read. I've never read anything by Scott Snyder but he has sold me on this Swamp Thing and I will be going back to pick up some of his Detective Comics run as well.

Animal Man: I have a soft spot for Animal Man; I have almost the entire run of single issues from 1-89, and even when it got really weird and sloppy it was still interesting. Writer Jeff Lemire does a good job of holding the tradition of the title while still breaking new ground, and while I wasn't always affected by Travel Foreman's art there were a number of sequences that blew my mind. Definitely a companion book with Swamp Thing, bringing supernatural and horror elements into the superpowered DC Universe, and despite a few reservations I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.

OMAC: Something I thought would be disposable and easy to pass up ended up being my favourite book of the week! I love 70s Jack Kirby and OMAC is some of the best stuff he did in my opinion, and Dan DiDio, Keith Giffen, and Scott Koblish make this new iteration SING. Part of the reason I love it so much is that it reminds me of those old Kirby books, with many tips of the hat to the King's legends, but the other part is because it is BIG LOUD FUN which is sometimes all I want out of a superhero book. Evacuate your expectations because OMAC is going to destroy them!

Action Comics: The new origin of Superman from writer Grant Morrison, penciler Rags Morales & inker Rick Bryant is probably the most new-reader-friendly of the bunch, and despite some online brouhaha is a very good comic. This new Superman feels like he's going back to his 1930s roots: a working class hero with a sense of social justice. He doesn't fly: he leaps tall buildings in a single bound. He's faster than a speeding bullet. As for the locomotive...well, you just have to read the issue. It tells a complete story but ends on a cliffhanger, daring you not to pick up the next issue.

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Life

Is about as positive as a Morrissey song. I'm not getting into it. But the possibility of more #yegprov (a Twitter-enhanced improv experiment) is an exciting development. And I hope to have a new creative project to ignore starting on Monday, so keep your eye on this space.

Mini-Regina Piles: Late April Edition

Two months in a row I have given myself the Mini-Regina Pile Challenge: make a small but manageable pile of pop cultural matter and try to burn through it in a month. The point of this exercise is twofold. First of all, it was supposed to get me to actually watch, read, and consume my way through my vast bought-but-untouched collections. Second of all, it was supposed to kick-start my writing again by making reviews and blog entries.

The first part of the challenge is going pretty well, I must say, with a couple of small hiccups. While there is some room for improvement, I am ploughing my way through over 75% of the stuff on in my pile. The writing thing? Not so much. I don't think I wrote a single review on an external site, and NOTHING on this here blog. But I keep telling myself: baby steps. Keep making the lists, making tiny improvements, and things will turn around. So, let's look at what I actually made it through last month, shall I?

Through March 31, I managed to consume the following movies, comics, and TV series:

• Kelly's Heroes
• Three The Hard Way
• Angels With Dirty Faces
• Bones, Season 2
• Showcase Presents: The Haunted Tank, Volume 1
• Superman: Escape from Bizarro World
• R.E.B.E.L.S., Volume 1: The Coming of Starro
• Put The Book Back On The Shelf: A Belle & Sebastian Anthology
• 20th Century Boys Vol. 3
• Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology
• Marvel Boy
• Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (Volume 2)

I also made some progress on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Homicide: Life on the Street, although my Alfred Hitchcock Presents remained untouched. And I made a decision about my Star Trek box set. Even though I put it on my first list, I realized that it's the kind of show I want to savour, not gorge on. Particularly as I only have the one season right now. That's not the kind of thing I want to burn through. So I replaced it with Doctor Who: Season Two. Which isn't as long but I felt good about it (and had a LOT of fun watching it). Plus there were a couple of my DVDs that I didn't put on the list that I watched, for one reason or another (Highlander, The Marx Brothers' Room Service, Alfred Hitchcock's Number 17), which would have EVENTUALLY made it on a future pile...so it's about even.

For April I want to accomplish two main things: get rid of all the stuff that's left over from my previous two lists, and make at least one update entry every week. I also want to switch out Star Trek: Season One for something thematically appropriate and with a similar time commitment. It's going to take a little more effort, but it's all part of my process. My nerdy, nerdy process. Here's the pile for this week.

• Essential Super-Villain Team-Up, Volume 1
• Incredible Hercules: Assault on Mount Olympus
• Samurai Executioner Volume 1
• Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume 2
• Love And Capes Volume 1
  
• Why I Hate Saturn
  
• No Hero TPB
  
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents, S1 *
  
• The Dick Van Dyke Show, S1 *
  
• Homicide: Life On The Street, S3 **
  
• Bones, S3
  
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, S1
  
• The Aviator *
  
• For a Few Dollars More **
  
• The Godfather, Part III
  
• Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster
  
• Dark Passage
  
• The Circus

* Continued from February
** Continued from March

So here's hoping for more reviews, more blogging, and a higher success rate for the first month of Spring! (And yes, I know it's already 10 days into April. I am nothing if not tardy.)

Mini-Regina Piles: March Edition

One month ago, I started a challenge to myself: making my way through my massive pop culture collection, one tiny Regina pile at a time. I gave myself what I thought was a reasonable yet achievable challenge: four movies, five television seasons, and eight comics collections. Big enough to be daunting, but not so big that I would just give up on it. My plan was to update all through February with every item I removed from my pile, but being out of top blogging shape, I managed to review exactly zero items on this site. But I did give it a go, and I wanted to take a moment to examine my progress and give myself another challenge for March. So, first things first: how did I do?

Not terribly, I have to say. I got through all but one of the comics, and finished two of the television series and made small dents in two more. The movies...I'll get to those in a second. But here's what I finished in February (with some links to the reviews I did manage to post on Goodreads):

• Gon, Volume 3
• NewsRadio, Season 5
• Mad Men, Season 2
• Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus
• Superman: Last Son
• Nexus Archives, Volume 1
• Absolute Planetary, Volume 1
• American Flagg: The Definitive Collection, Volume 1
• Scud The Disposable Assassin: The Whole Shebang

And the movies...well, I didn't watch any of them. Partly for a reason that I'm going to keep secret for another week or so, and partly because I watched over a dozen movies from my PVR in the month of February. (Oh, Turner Classic Movies, you are an amazing resource, but it is impossible to watch all the movies I impulsively record.) Still: I read 7 of my 8 comics, and over 100 pages of the massive Haunted Tank phonebook, and cleared off some shows that had been sitting unfinished for months. So I'm putting one in the wins column.

For March I want to continue to challenge myself and stretch a little bit, while taking advantage of the increased amounts of free time (32nd birthday, Spring Break, slightly reduced late worknights). So I'm keeping all the incomplete items from last month, as well as more than enough new ones to make up for things:

• Kelly's Heroes *
• Three The Hard Way *
• Angels With Dirty Faces *
• The Aviator *
• For a Few Dollars More
  
• Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1 *
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Season 1 **
• The Dick Van Dyke Show, Season 1 **
• Homicide: Life On The Street, Season 3
• Bones, Season 2
  
• Showcase Presents: The Haunted Tank, Volume 1 **
• Superman: Escape from Bizarro World
• R.E.B.E.L.S., Volume 1: The Coming of Starro
  
• Put The Book Back On The Shelf: A Belle & Sebastian Anthology
  
• 20th Century Boys Vol. 3
• Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology
  
• Marvel Boy
• Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (Volume 2)
  

* Continued from February, untouched
** Continued from February, unfinished

I'll update more regularly as I get through them, and probably post a picture of my pile in the next few days. But that's enough to do me for now. I really hope I can tackle EVERYTHING on this list, because I have plans for this little experiment. That's right, I have even MORE stuff I want to pile on. Because apparently I have way more free time than I think I do.

Nerd Book Club: The Strange, Strange World of H.P. Lovecraft

About a year ago now, I was lucky enough to be invited to join a book club that is basically populated by a bunch of genre nerds. I'm not saying that all they read is sci-fi, fantasy, and horror fiction - not all of them, at least - but the club has a definite slant in that direction. And so I affectionately refer to it as Nerd Book Club. We meet once at the beginning of the month to eat at an unnamed family restaurant, talk about the book (and other related and not-so-related things), and frustrate the waitstaff. It allows me to hang out with gentlemen I might not otherwise see on a regular basis, and it gets me to read things I wouldn't normally read.

February's book was my choice, and I chose to go to something well outside my comfort zone: H.P. Lovecraft. Before selecting this book, what I knew about Lovecraft came from playing the Call of Cthulhu RPG and the Arkham Horror board games, but I had always been vaguely interested in discovering more about the man's work, seeing as how it influenced many modern fantasy and horror writers, as well as some of my friends. So I checked The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories out of the library and ploughed my way through three hundred pages of psychological horror. And what were my thoughts? Conflicting.


(Ooooh, spooky waterfall!)

Let's get this out of the way: I did not love this collection. I found many of the stories, particularly the ones in the first half of the book (which were also the earliest-written stories) poorly-executed and only half-thought-through. Lovecraft is widely-praised for his ability to create a new kind of horror, one of slowly-creeping insanity often due to the realization that the main character and/or mankind in general is an insignificant speck in the face of the unknown and unknowable universe. That being said: he was often a lot better in the idea phase than in the execution.

The biggest issue that I have with this collection is that many of the stories are very, very dated. Many of the stories are peppered liberally with what seem like cliches, except at the time, they weren't cliches: they were new and fresh ideas. I don't know why I can't get over early genre cliches the same way I can get over early film cliches - I watch classic silent and early sound movies and really enjoy them - but that's a big stumbling block for me. It also doesn't help that he re-works ideas from his earlier stories into (usually) much better and longer later stories; the repetition of themes and ideas in this collection sometimes gave me the feeling that he lacked depth and imagination.

(Another thing that doesn't help is his not-so-subtle xenophobia that borders on racism. It's not there in all the stories, but when it is there, hoooo BOY it is not pleasant. And this isn't just the Mark Twain, "a product of his times," uncomfortable-yet-important kind of writing. This is a man who is clearly afraid of and distrustful of other cultures and who incorporates those fears and dislikes into his stories. It's the kind of subtext that can kill the sense of paranoia and terror that he's trying to craft.)

That being said, however, there are some really good stories in this collection as well. Some of the earlier stories, such as "The Rats in the Walls" and "Herbert West -- Reanimator" are absolute gems, excellent studies in tone, genre, and creepiness. "The Rats in the Walls," in particular, was a standout: when you start a story by saying that you wish you had never learned about to the house of your ancestors, and now it is being BLOWN UP, that is a pretty damn great hook. The fact that he completely delivered on that promise made for a really great story, one that kept me going through the rest of the collection, hoping for a story that might even exceed it.

And a number of the later stories are very good too; although longer and sometimes overstuffed with flowery descriptions, I think Lovecraft became a more skilled writer over time, and his descriptions of the places and the eerie feelings that slowly begin to overwhelm his narrators are more effective towards the end of the book. My two favourite stories are from the end of the book. The first, "Shadow Over Innsmouth," featured terrific descriptions of slowly mounting unease and a narrator that was actually active and dynamic (well, active and dynamic by Lovecraft's standards), and it had a great ending that actually raised the hairs on my arms. The second and the best of the collection, was "The Color out of Space," is a very languidly paced but vividly described tale of a mysterious meteor that crashes on a patch of farmland and releases an indescribable "color" that slowly begins infecting the land...then the animals...then the people. Even now, weeks after reading the story, I can recall Lovecraft's unsettling descriptions of the images and events of the story and get subtly creeped out.

So overall, I would say that The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories was worth reading. Although the colleciton is definitely uneven, the ideas he put forth in some of his poorer stories are still powerful upon reflection. There were also a handful of truly excellent stories that I would love to re-read again in the future, and it was a decent introduction to a writer whose influence stretches beyond his time and genre, even if many readers (including a younger me) don't realize it.

Mini-Regina Piles: The Lamest Journey Begins With A Single Step

Testing...testing...is this thing still on?

*ahem*

Okay. I had an idea the other day, and I figured blogging about it would be an interesting way to go about it and it might might keep me on-task in the bargain. So if there's anyone still here, or if anyone stumbles across this place: thanks. Hopefully I'll make it worth your while.

So, for those of you who don't know me: I am a big fan of popular culture. Movies, comics, television, and books both fiction and non-. I love to watch and read and listen (to music, standup comedy, radio plays, and audiobooks). And because I love these things so much, when I go out shopping, I see a LOT of stuff I want. "Oh man," I'll say to myself, "Quantum Leap DVDs are only $14.99 per season. I think I should get ALL OF THEM." And then I do just that. It's a kind of madness, I think. A madness that has no cure.

Which leads to my home having a higher-than-average amount of shelves, all of them full and overflowing with movies, cds, and (as The Rhino would say) "paper DVDs". I have always wanted to make my way through these chunks of unconsumed pop culture, but every time I feel like I'm making a dent, the madness takes over, and I find myself with three new Discworld books and a bunch of back issues. And so, no progress is made.

Now, one of the podcasts that I listen to - 11 O'Clock Comics - has developed this concept of the "Regina Pile," which is their name for your pile of unread comics that stacks up. I really don't want to get into the reason why it shares its name with the capital city of Saskatchewan, but that's jist of it. And as far as comics go, I have a very, VERY BIG Regina pile. But I never thought about applying it to the other "stuff" that I own. And when I was sitting in the basement last weekend, trying to find the next thing to read, it hit me: I could make Mini-Regina piles that I could work on every month, small enough to be manageable but still a challenge.

The first thing I had to do, though - because I am incredibly anal retentive and love making lists - is compile all my unwatched and unread items together. This was a tougher task than I'd initially thought, so I focused mostly on my DVDs (both film and tv) and my comics trade paperbacks. And while I was both surprised and SHOCKED by the sheer mass of my unconsumed junk, I think I can make dents in it. A number of tiny little dents.

For February, I'm actually tackling two challenges: first of all, my regular Mini-Regina Challenge, and second of all, the "My Wife Will Delete All The Movies Older Than 3 Months Old On My DVR By The End Of February" Challenge. And considering I have about...20 movies that I need to either watch or abandon in 27 days, I'm making my Mini-Regina Pile rather small to start: 4 movies, 0 TV Boxed Sets (because I'm already in the middle of 5), and 4 Comics Trades (plus the 4 that I've already started).

I took a look at my lists and tried to make things as varied as possible. And finally, I ended up with the following for my February pile:

• Kelly's Heroes
• Three The Hard Way
• Angels With Dirty Faces
• The Aviator
• Mad Men, Season 2 *
• Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1 *
• NewsRadio, Season 5 *
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Season 1 *
• The Dick Van Dyke Show, Season 1 *
• Gon, Volume 3
• Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus
• Superman: Last Son
• Nexus Archives, Volume 1
• Absolute Planetary, Volume 1 *
• Showcase Presents: The Haunted Tank, Volume 1 *
• American Flagg: The Definitive Collection, Volume 1 *
• Scud The Disposable Assassin: The Whole Shebang *

(* - Denotes something I'm already in the middle of.)


And that doesn't count my PVR movies. Something tells me this first month is going to be a spectacular failure, but at least I'm going to try, dang it. I'll try and put at least a little something on this blog whenever I finish something, which should make me more of a presence here and might actually kickstart my Creativity Experiment of 2011 (slogan to be determined). See you soon, internet pop culture fiends. And pray for my sanity, because that is a LOT of stuff to get through.

How I'm Reading, What I'm Reading, And Why

I was talking to my teaching partner at work the other day about one of the books that I was reading, The Devil in The White City by Erik Larsen (no, my nerdy compatriots, not that Erik Larsen). I was telling her something interesting - or at least, something I thought was interesting - that I had learned when reading it. And she looked at me a little confused. "I thought you were reading a book about evolution?" she said.

"I am. I'm also reading this book, though."

"I can't read two books at once," she said.

"I can read way more than two books at once," I said. "In fact, I have...six on the go right now? Not including comics."

She looked at me with a mixture of astonishment, awe, and yes, a little pity. "How can you DO that?"

I shrugged. "I always have," I said.

And it's true. I started reading I was a young man of four years old, and I can't really remember a time I didn't own a library card. My first library card was made out of yellow cardboard: it had Stony Plain Public Library printed on it in black letters, and my name and account number was written blue ink. I still remember my account number: 2222. Almost every weekend my parents drove fifteen minutes into town to do some errands, and I looked forward to these trips beause I got to go to the library, and find four new books. I started out getting kids books, but even by the age of nine or ten I was wandering into the adult non-fiction section to take out reference books, yes, REFERENCE BOOKS. Books about movies, science, music, history, whatever. I must have checked out The A-Z Encyclopedia of Movie Monsters over a dozen times.

I was always constrained, though, by the number of books I could take out. My child account stipulated that I could only have four books out at a time, so I had to choose wisely. I generally took out two books that I'd have done in one week, and two that would take me longer, so I would always have the excuse to go back to the library every week. This worked out okay, but soon I was asking my dad to take out a couple of books for me on his card because I couldn't take out enough on mine. I still remember the day I got my "adult" membership. It was on blue cardboard, and I could take out as many books as I wanted. I ran around the room like a kid in a candy store, except that, at twelve, I was still basically a kid at the time. I think I walked up to the corner with fifteen books. The librarian looked surprised, but I was elated. I had been waiting for this moment a long time.

So even back when I was a kid, I was reading multiple books at once. I never got confused, never forgot anything from a previous selection while I was reading something else. I never understood how anyone could be confused by reading too many books. After all, my mom watched more than one television show concurrently, and she never was confused about why David Suzuki wasn't talking about Dr. Sam Beckett's controversial time-travel theories, nor did she think that Heathcliff Huxtable was going to show up in the Cheers bar after a hard day's work of delivering babies. People don't get their television shows confused: why would I get characters or plots confused in the books I was reading?

So, what am I reading now? Well, I have since finished White City (which was very interesting, if a little jarring at points where the author switched narrative viewpoints). But if you take a look at my statistics on GoodReads, you'll find that I'm reading 18 books right now. But really, let's remove four of them right away, because I started them a LOOOONG time ago, and haven't made any progress on them in at least six months at best. And of those that remain, four of them are comics trade paperbacks, so let's take those away as well. That leaves me with ten books currently "on the go." And what are they?

1. The Third Chimpanzee - A non-fiction book about the evolution and development of the human species.
2. The Avenger #1 (Justice Inc. and The Yellow Hoard) - A collection of pulp stories about The Avenger, a man who suffers nerve trauman which makes him able to sculpt his face, and who uses this new ability to fight the mob.
3. The Dead Man's Brother - A book by acclaimed sci-fi author Roger Zelazny (my friend Mike would take issue with this one, methinks - it's a previously-unpublished crime novel, no robots or flying cars or anything).
4. How To Read Superhero Comics And Why - A non-fiction book about the literary and artistic merits of the superhero comic book.
5. Lady Chatterly's Lover - A novel by D.H. Lawrence that was banned in the U.S. and the U.K. when it was first published (and that I am now reading as part of an iPod app - oh, how things have changed in 80 years).
6. A Princess of Mars - The second book in the Barsoom Chronicles by Edgar Rice Burroughs (hopefully I've redeemed myself in Mike's eyes).
7. Sometimes A Great Notion - A re-read of a personal favourite, in fact, a book that is on my shortlist for the Greatest American Novel.
8. The Crime Writer - A novel by the crime writer Gregg Hurwitz, an audiobook version that I got through Audible.
9. The Film Club - A memoir about a man who home-schooled his high-school dropout son by watching movies.
10. A Gentleman's Game: A Queen & Country Novel - An espionage thriller and the first novel in the Queen & Country series (all previous stories were comic books).

All of these books are in various stages of completion, but I don't get confused when I pick them up. Sometimes I might forget, for a moment, the particular plot details or the hypotheses in the previous chapters, but generally I can get up to speed within a few minutes. I'm not always at TEN books at once, but generally it's between five to eight. What can I say? Does that make me weird? How do YOU prefer to read: one book at a time, or a hodge-podge that you can pick through at your leisure and/or convenience? Let me know, readers.

What's Up Wednesday - July 9, 2008

Capsule reviews today due to insomnia and overwhelming urge to sleep.

The TV Show: I blazed through the last half of How I Met Your Mother Season One and ALL of Season Two while my Peach was away. That show is good stuff. Definitely above the level of your average sitcom; nearing Coupling levels, but not quite there.

The Book: I finished The Perks of Being A Wallflower in a span of 24 hours and it was pretty dang good. Certainly above what I've come to expect from some of the YA (Young Adult) books I've been reading. Also: why did I start reading YA books? I didn't read them when I was a young adult; why read them now?

The Album: Sly and The Family Stone's A Whole New Thing is really, REALLY good. But then again, I'm mostly basing that on how awesome the first track, Underdog. SO AWESOME. I think I may have found my new theme song. I will be sad to see you, Theme From The Andy Griffith Show, but you are not funky enough. (Yeah yeah!)

What's Up Thursday - July 3, 2008

I completely forgot about this yesterday, because - and I wish I was making this up - because comics weren't in yesterday (due to the Canada Day holiday), I forgot it was Wednesday. Wednesdays have a very particular rhythm to them: go to work, get comics, go home. The pattern broke and apparently I lost all track of time. I know, I know. But let's not dwell on it, shall we? Let's instead take a short trip into the black hole of my week's experiences.

The Movie(s): I've been plowing through The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection, which contains the first five Marx Brothers movies (before Zeppo left the group). Their first feature, The Cocoanuts, is really uneven, partly due to the ridiculous romantic subplot and partly because the directors couldn't frame a scene if you gave them a right angle and a level. But the brothers really pull it off, particularly due to a great scene where Groucho and Chico go over a map of Florida. Monkey Business is a lot better, and it has some great moments (particularly Groucho's scenes with Thelma Todd, and Zeppo even gets a fairly decent part). Horse Feathers, which was my first Marx Bros. movie, is still a sentimental favourite of mine. But my very favourite, sentimental or no, is Duck Soup, which is a work of sheer comedic genius from start to finish. (I haven't watched Animal Crackers yet, but it would have to be pretty damn good to be better than Duck Soup.) The movies might get hokey at times, but they are classics for a reason.

The Book: I'm getting back into my Wodehouse, and am currently trying to polish off Very Good, Jeeves. It's another great example of very British writing, and hilarious to boot. I laugh out loud every two pages or so (often every page), particularly due to exchanges like this:

'[...]Well, as I was saying, I maintain that the rank is but the ghinea stamp and a girl's a girl for all that.'
' "For a' that", sir. The poet Burns wrote in the North British dialect.'
'Well, "a' that", then, if you prefer it."
'I have no preference in the matter, sir. It is simply that the poet Burns--'
'Never mind about the poet Burns.'
'No, sir.'
'Forget the poet Burns.'
'Very good, sir.'
'Expunge the poet burns from your mind.'
'I will do so immediately, sir.'

The most curious thing I've found about reading this book is that I had read two other Jeeves books before seeing the television series starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, and I had completely different images of them in my head. Now, after seeing all four series, I can't get Laurie's foppish Wooster or Fry's cool Jeeves out of my head.

The Real-Life: The Peach and I went out and wandered The Works arts festival on Friday, and I saw a few exhibits that were interesting but on the whole I was underwhelmed. Probably because we were on a schedule and could only stop in at locations that were on our walking path. Then we went out for dinner at Sofra, a Turkish restaurant downtown, and it was delicious. We had yaprak sarma, spicy feta dip with fresh-baked flatbreads, rack of lamb, chicken and lamb kebabs, bulgur wheat pilaf, grilled vegetables, and finished it all off with baklava (which were delicious) and Turkish coffee (which The Peach HATED, but not surprising). I would definitely recommend that restaurant to anyone looking for a nice place to eat in Edmonton.

What's Up Wednesday - June 25, 2008

We take a quick break from my entirely too-thought-out series of posts about the AFI to spill the beans on what I've been liking - and not liking - for the past seven days. Some have been good, some have been bad, but they've all made their way here. Let's give them a warm welcome, shall we?

The Movie - Morgoid and I went to see Young People Fucking last night. It's a Canadian-made comedy film that's been under a bit of scrutiny in recent months thanks to its connection to the controversial Bill C-10. (I'm not going to comment much on the bill or its questionable clause, except to say that I disagree with it.) Aside from the controversy, the movie is actually pretty good: funny and thought-provoking. It's five different stories of love and/or sex, split up according to different points in the act (Prelude, Foreplay, etc.). The movie actually plays both sides very well, using controversy and the promise of titillation to get butts in seats, and then makes very well-thought-out and important points about how sex and love are seen in modern society. Well, mostly well-thought-out: there was one point in the movie (no spoilers here) where both Morgoid and I just gasped and were flabbergasted by what we saw as cheap trickery and bad writing. But four out of five good stories makes for a good film overall, one I can recommend with one notable reservation. So if you're anti-censorship, pro-sex, or interested in Canadian film, go see it. (And if you see it - or have seen it - please let me know if you think you understand which scene I disliked.)

The Album - I popped Funkadelic's America Eats Its Young on the mp3 player yesterday and was really surprised by how good it was. The first time I listened to it I remembered being unimpressed, but this time I was really pleased. A really pleasing mix of funk, soul, and r&b; not as hard as Let's Take It To The Stage and not as sprawlingly brilliant as Maggot Brain, but a good little album to have in your collection.

The Drink - When I saw billboards for Sleeman's No. 20 Anniversary Ale popping up, I went to a number of my local liquor stores looking for it, but they didn't have any in. I finally found it when I was looking for wine on Father's Day, and I had my first bottle the other day. I really like Sleeman's Honey Brown and their Amber Ale is pretty good too, so I was expecting good things, especially from an anniversary brew. Sadly, this is pretty pathetic. Nothing special at all about it; in fact, it's actually bad. It feels bad in the mouth, smells a little off, and tastes worse than Pabst Blue Ribbon. Just dreck. The only way it's drinkable is if you either a) drink it really fast or b) turn it into a Dillinger. Never agin.

The Book - I cracked open The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time yesterday on my way to work and finished it up today. I will say that, while it's good, it's not exactly what I was expecting. The book starts off as a murder mystery with a twist: the investigator - and author of the book - is a fifteen-year-old boy with Autism, and the murder victim is his neighbor's dog. But the book is about much more than that. Author Mark Haddon's technique is really good, bordering on too tricky-cute sometimes, but it really helps the reader get into the mindset of someone with Autism as best one can (though some people would disagree). It's good, but a lot different than I was expecting, and I don't think as deserving of some of the hype it had recieved when it was released. It's good, but not life-alteringly so.

What's Up Thursday - May 22, 2008

Whoah Nellie, is tonight ever going to be busy. I'll let you know why tomorrow, but for now, only the briefest of brief reviews.

The Movie: Last night I watched Repulsion by Roman Polanski on DVD. It was a study in mood and psychology I guess, but I found the first hour sleep-inducing and the last thirty minutes riveting. So I guess on a different day I would have liked it before, but as it is, it was just okay. Could see how it would have become a cult classic at the time, though.

The Album: Oh man, this news is about thirty-five years too late, but Talking Book is awesome. I must acquire more Stevie Wonder albums with all speed.

The Book: Trying to get through Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (it was due on Monday and I want to get it done by tonight so as not to accrue ridiculous fines). It is RIGHT up my street, as it combines a number of subjects that I'm interested in: psychology, neurology, language, and music. I keep telling The Peach about interesting stories and concepts from it, like the musician who had a stroke and then lost the ability to percieve music as music, just noise, or theories of how absolute pitch works in the brain. I think she'll be as glad as I am when I finish the book, but for different reasons.

The Real-Life: I had a lovely relaxing long weekend. It started with The Peach's birthday on Saturday, continued with an awesome shopping excursion on Sunday, and was capped off by a French picnic in the park where The Peach and I relaxed and painted watercolours (that she got for her birthday). I'd never painted before (aside from art in school), and it was kind of relaxing, actually. I'd still prefer oils, but that's just because I love Bob Ross so much.

What's Up Wednesday - May 14, 2008

My life is just a cavalcade of stuff. Here are three examples of the most notworthy things that have come into my life this week.

The Video Game: I upgraded the computer's memory and video card with some of my income tax rebate, and since I had quite a bit left over from my alloted budget, I picked up a copy of Civilization IV: The Gold Edition as icing on the computery cake. I love the Civilization series of games; I started with II, and when III came out it was just such a giant leap forward I was in shock. I wasn't expecting that kind of shock again, though. But I really should have. Seriously: Civilization IV is one of my favourite video games ever, which puts it in a very small list with the likes of EarthBound, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Tetris. It is a joy to play; it doesn't come with a manual so you basically have to figure it out as you go along, something that I find both frustrating and exciting. There are so many different aspects of the game, I don't think I'll explore all of them for at least a year. Plus, there's an expansion I'm itching to try. But I'll wait for this experience to sink in first. If you haven't already played it, people, get Civ 4. You'll be glad you did.

The Book: While reading up on the Summer and Fall movie slates, I came across a brief summary of a movie called Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It was billed as "High Fidelity for the iPod Generation" and is going to star Michael Cera, which piqued my interest, so I tracked down the book to give it a whirl. It's a young-adult book, which made me a little nervous, but I've read YA books before and enjoyed them just fine. This one, though, I didn't. The plot was kind of lame, full of teenage problems I couldn't identify with and probably couldn't have fourteen years ago either. And the fact that it was co-written gave me another headache; while I liked the style of Norah's chapters (written by Rachel Cohn), I really disliked Nick's (written by David Levithan), so much so that I came to dread the last page of Norah's chapters. Overall, I would NOT recommend it, but maybe if you're an emo-loving teenager or early-twenty-something, it will speak to you.

The Real Life: I went to see the soccer match between the Vancouver Whitecaps and the LA Galaxy yesterday, along with about 37,000 other people. Unlike most of those people, though, I did NOT go to see David Beckham. Which wasn't too bad, actually. After a gong-show-like first five minutes (the Galaxy's goalie was laughably inept), it all settled down for a good match. We mocked the crowd who cheered every time Beckham went close to the ball ("Oh my god, a famous person is touching the ball!" "Posh Spice's wife is going in for a free kick!"), and had a good time. Until the 75 minute mark, when Beckham went off the field and people started leaving the stadium in droves. It made me a little upset, but then again, I went to the soccer match to see the soccer match. I must have been crazy.

What's Up Thursday - May 8, 2008

Offered without comment.

The Book - I've had the novel If Beale Street Could Talk (by James Baldwin) on my bookshelf for a while; it was one of the many books I rescued from my parents' storeroom before they gave them all to Goodwill. I just read it this week, and it was not what I'd expected from the cover. "A masterpiece about the love between a man and a woman..." it said on the cover: not my idea of a great read, if you want to know the truth. It made it seem like a high-class romance novel. It is decidedly not. It is about love between a man and a woman, but it is also about race and family bonds in lower-class New York City. It wasn't something I really liked, per se, but it was a well-written book. While I can't speak for the book's authenticity, it really seemed like Baldwin had captured the setting rather well, and the dialogue was top-notch. A good book, but not something I'd necessarily want to read again.

The Movie - GO SEE IRON MAN. Yea, it is good. Like I said to The Ninjas (Stolz and Stan), "Wow, who would have known that all you need to do to make a good superhero movie are good actors and not taking yourself too seriously?" Take THAT, Spider-Man 3.

The Drink - The Peach and I went to the Farmer's Market last weekend, and on the suggestion of a friend of mine I checked out Catfish Coffee Roasters, a local company that (surprisingly) roasts coffee. I picked up some coffee that was roasted the day before, and it did taste very good. I couldn't necessarily say that I found it so much more delicious than coffee that had been roasted in countries farther away and longer ago, but it was delicious and I would get more. But probably not the "Way Too Dark Roast". It's a clever name, but I don't like dark roasts that much in the first place.

The Podcast - I checked out the Most People Are DJs podcast when it was mentioned on Warren Ellis's mailing list, and it's rather good. The guy has good taste in music, and I found out a few good bands that I'd like to check out more. Worth exploring if you like off-the-beaten-track rock or electronic music.

The Real Life - I got a letter in the mailbox on Monday telling me that I passed my CASLPA exam. Funnily enough, I wasn't exited. I was just "not worried" any more. I didn't jump up and down, or say "YES!", or do a little happy dance. I just let out my breath and said, "Thank god." It was anticlimactic, but it's still good news.

My Literary Albatross

In 1998, a friend of mine who worked in a bookstore told me that I could get a copy of the book Infinite Jest from their online store for less than three dollars. "I've never heard of it," I said. "It's supposed to be great!" he said. "And over a thousand pages for three dollars: it's good value." I was young and foolish, and so a high page-per-penny ratio seemed like a good reason to read the book.

I've had this book on my shelf for ten years now. And I haven't read more than a hundred pages of it. At the beginning, it was a bit of a challenge; now it seems like an impossible slog. And it's not because it's too long, because I've gone through The Count Of Monte Cristo, which is even longer and it's one of my favourite books. It's just that it has generated more psychic mass the longer it's stayed, unread, on my bookshelf. If you could project my mental representation of this book onto a wall, it would be twenty feet tall with muscly arms and, somehow, fangs. I've started reading it, and it's not bad, but I just hate opening it up. It feels like it takes a great deal of effort just to open the front cover every time.

Anyone else have anything like this in their lives? A book, or a movie, or something else, that they have to carry around like a giant, smelly seabird.

What's Up Wednesday - March 26, 2008

The Book: I borrowed The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz about two months ago and I didn't get around to reading it, but I figure I should read it and return it before I'm known as the black hole of non-returnables (I just returned a bunch of stuff Diego lent me over eight months ago.) Anyhow, that's not the point. This book is interesting, positing the theory that even though we as a people might want as much choice as possible, the fact is that we as a society have so much choice that it's causing us distress. Wasted energy from trying to find the absolute best choice, spending too much time on meaningless decisions, mental distress from worrying about things after the fact, and the real danger of making a bad choice that shouldn't have been wholly yours to make in the first place. I came in a skeptic but found myself agreeing with Schwartz's points a lot more than I thought I would. I have barely spent any time reading it and I'm 75 pages in, so it's that rare find I like so much: a well-researched, thoughtful book that's not painful to read.

The Movie/DVD: I watched a LOT of movies last week, what with my Peach being away and needing breaks from studying. I could talk about any of them, but I think I'll focus briefly on The Phantom of the Opera from 1925. It's melodramatic and the print is understandably faded, and I wouldn't say I particularly enjoyed it. But the sets are GORGEOUS, and even though it's more quaint than spectacular you do get a sense of awe from some of the larger scenes. And Lon Chaney, Sr. is magnificent. Just a wave of his hand or a shrug of his shoulders and you don't need anything else. A classic more in the remembering than in the re-watching, but still worth a watch for film nerds like me.

The Food: The McRib is back, baby! (Warning: Flash.) Not a hoax, not a dream, not an imaginary story! I know some people are vegetarians and some others wouldn't set foot in a McDonalds if you paid them, but to me, there's something special about delicious pork meat on a bun with pickles and onions. Oh, McRib. Why can't you stay forever...

The Real Life: Yeah, still with the studying. It's a killer, and I'm sure how well it correlates to the exam, but it is kind of nice to know how much stuff I remember, and how much is coming back to me with so little memory-jogging. I actually find myself liking Resonance and Speech Science a lot more than I did during the classes, and am almost interested in re-reading some of my old textbooks purely for enjoyment's sake. Yes, I know. Nerd. What else is new?

What's Up Wednesday - March 12, 2008

After being slapped solidly on the face by sweet Lady Daylight Savings Time, I'm apparently having difficulty with my sleeping. It's like having really really really inconveniently small jet lag. But that doesn't mean that I didn't get up to some mischief this past week! Well, it wasn't really mischief. But I did stuff. Let's see what it was!

The Book: After finishing Heir to the Empire, I started on Born Standing Up, Steve Martin's memoir on his years doing standup comedy. It's a deceptively short book: it's sizeable but the font is pretty big, so I'm moving through it on a fair clip. It's interesting to see what influenced him in his standup career, as I've been a big fan of his writing and acting but only discovered his comedy albums about three or four years ago. And he's a good writer, so even when it's more personal material it's still interesting. I'd recommend it, but then again, I'm a fan.

The Movie: About a half-dozen of us went out to see Be Kind, Rewind for Jago's birthday (yes, we're all aware his birthday was a month ago). I liked Michel Gondry's music video work and really liked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, so I went in expecting good things. And it is good. But it's not great. I know that's a small thing to complain about, but it's true. There are moments of greatness, but there are moments of mediocrity too, places where the story seems to drag or things get a little too twee. The performances are really good: Jack Black's somewhat restrained, so the other actors really get a little space to stretch, and Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, and Mos Def all really sparkle in this one. So overall it's good. I was just expecting more, I guess.

The TV Show: I found my favourite game show! I know lots of people like Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune or whatever, but for me, the cream of the crop is QI (also known as Quite Interesting). It's a British quiz show hosted by Stephen Fry (awesome!), with a rotating panel of guests including Alan Davies, Clive Anderson, John Sessions, Bill Bailey, Richard E. Grant, and Hugh Laurie (awesome again!). The questions are really difficult to get right, so the whole point of the game is less about answering the question right and more about being interesting while answering them, throwing out trivia and showing how clever/funny/stupid/witty you can be (the awesome trifecta!). Brilliantly entertaining and fun, and actually rewatchable because of the quips and the really quite interesting things you learn. So try and track it down, somehow; I think you'll be rather impressed by the whole thing.

The Real Life: On Monday I celebrated my 29th birthday. I'm now as old as my dad was when I was born. You know. So no psychic pressure there.

What's Up Wednesday - March 5, 2008

I'm full of enchiladas and I'm ready to go, people! What was new with ME in the last seven days? I'm glad you asked.

The TV Show: I finished up Dead Like Me, Season Two this past week and, unsurprisingly based on my impressions of Season One, I really liked it. Until the last episode, which was weak overall, and dreadful in the last few minutes. Seriously, I felt bad after watching the last episode. I think the second-last episode would have been a really good one to end on, as it tied up plot threads and just felt like an ending. The last episode felt like a middle-of-the-road episode that they tried to make into a season-ender and failed. So it was worth watching, but I'm going to try and forget the last episode. Sort of like I try to forget most of Season Seven of Buffy, and most of Season Four of Angel.

The Comic: This one was Powers, Volume 1: Who Killed Retro Girl? Which I really should have read much much earlier than this, considering I've read every other collected volume and have the first 25 issues of the new series. I really liked this book: Mike Avon Oeming's art style's not quite as solid as it has become over the years, but it was good to see him taking risks, and it was really good to see the introductions of the characters that I've come to know over the years. And for those of you out there who don't read comics, I have my one line pitch of this book to you: It's Law & Order, Special Superpowers Unit, heavy on the Law & Order. You should read it.

The Book: I've always felt good about myself because I've never bought a single book from the "For Dummies" series book. Until this week, when I bought Knitting for Dummies. I took it out of the library a few times and found it really helpful to a long-time beginner, and since it was 30% off I had no problem bringing it home. Hopefully this will lead to a regrowth in my knitting career, something I need because of...

The Real Life: The Peach and I set out a budget. It was nerve-wracking and I hated it, but it got done. We laid out plans for paying down our student loans, my car, and our credit bills, and for saving up for a down payment on a house. Sure, that all sounds good. But it's at the cost of my good times NOW, dammit! I'm losing the good times! "The good times are over. A bug flew in my mouth." * It's not that bad, really, but for a guy who's used to instant gratification, it's a big change. But maybe knitting will be my salvation. Instead of going to movies, renting DVDs, and watching cable TV, I could knit. Wool's cheaper than Hollywood.


* - I'm thinking about starting up the Geek Points tally again. Any takers on where this is from?

What's Up Wednesday - February 14, 2008

Well, that "weekly Wednesday entries" thing ended quickly. Yes, yesterday was full of work and a really long night in the recording studio, and when I got home I just went right to bed. But I figured a day late's nothing to be too worried about. So, a day late but easily a dollar more worth your time, here's what I've been up to.

The Book: This weekend I decided to pull Star Wars: Heir to the Empire off my bookshelf. It's one of the books I've had for a really long time but have never gotten around to reading. It was because the concept warded me off: I read a few licensed Star Trek novels as a kid and, whoooooo they were bad. But this isn't. It's not nearly as self-conscious and insular as I was expecting; the characters act exactly like I expect them to and the story moves along at a quick pace, introducing interesting characters and situations that, unlike those the movie prequels, I actually want to learn more about. So this is a surprisingly good read. Not great, but good.

The TV Show: The Peach and I started watching Doctor Who: Series Two last year, but she didn't like it very much. I think she missed Christopher Eccleston a lot, and she didn't like some of the early episodes, so we stopped watching about six episodes in. But I've been watching it by myself lately and I've been enjoying it. Sure, I definitely miss Eccleston (he's my Doctor, always will be), but David Tennant is good in a very different way, and there are some really good stories in the episodes. I particularly liked Episode Four, "The Girl In The Fireplace", a time-jumping story involving clockwork aliens, pre-Revolutionary War France, and a horse on a spaceship. Fun, wacky, exciting times.

The DVD: I like James Stewart's lighthearted, comedic performences in movies like The Philadelphia Story or It's A Wonderful Life. But I really like his darker stuff: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Vertigo, Rear Window, and my latest favourite, Anatomy of a Murder. It's BRILLIANT. Slow-paced and perfectly written, it's packed full of great performances from Eve Arden, Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, George C. Scott, and of course Stewart. It's his best performance by far. A perfect legal drama for a lazy afternoon. Put it on and get sucked in, it'll be over before you know it.

The Real-Life: Getting ready for my choir concert. I initially joined this choir to improve my musical knowledge and beef up my voice, which I felt had lost some power and precision over the past few years, and so many people I know who've joined have really liked it. Well, I've been in it for a few months now, and I'm really beginning to regret joining. I don't want to get into much detail, but I don't like the conductors' methods, I get extremely irked by some particularly annoying people, and I'm not getting the guidance I feel I need to learn the pieces well. I'm sticking it out until the end of the year, but if things keep going the way they are, I'm going to seriously reconsider my membership. Don't get me wrong, I think the concert's going to be really good, I just wish that I felt satisfied or content or anything other than upset and frustrated after a rehearsal, just once.

What's Up Wednesday - February 6, 2008

A short segment this week, as my evening has been full of other chores and tasks and I have very little time to hammer this out.

The Book: Picked up The Commitments, which is a short read that I'm trying to stretch out into short spurts of reading because I'm liking it so much. I've seen the movie, but the book's a different enough experience that I'm not reminded of the film too often, and I like how Roddy Doyle "writes the music", as it were. Really creative, and just a fun romp about the rise and fall of The Hardest Working Band In Show Business.

The DVD: Out of all the movies I saw last week, the most important one was Tod Browning's Freaks. I was expecting a tasteless, exploitative movie, and I actually got one with a little bit of heart and creativity. Plus, you know, a tight-knit band of sideshow performers. The story's a little melodramatic: a trapeeze artist tries to seduce a rich midget away from his fiancée so that she and her strongman boyfriend can collect on the money. Yeah, it's weird, but it's really good.

The Video Game: Our friend Lisa brought over her copy of Cooking Mama (danger! YouTube link!) for the Wii and The Peach just LOVES it. I've played it, and it's cute: you get to make scrambled eggs, or pan-fried lobster, or creme brulée, by moving the Wiimote around to stir, chop, crack eggs, broil, fry, and what have you. I like playing it, but I like watching The Peach play more. She's just nuts about it.

The Real-Life: I've been going to a few schools doing testing on some kids for my research project at work, and I have to tell you: as boring as it is doing the same assessment over and over again, four or five times a day, I really like kids. I mean, I knew that I liked kids, but the best part of my workday is cracking jokes with them or playing games. Sometimes they're laughing at me, sometimes I'm trying my best not to laugh at them, but however you look at it: I'm a sucker for an earnest, good-natured kid. Not enough to kick-start my fatherly yearnings, mind you, but enough to kick-start my uncle-y ones.

What's Up Wednesday - January 30, 2008

It's later in the day but it's still Wednesday. What's been on my radar this week? Glad you asked.

The Book: I tried but failed to get through The Cold War: A History by Martin Walker before I had to return it to the library today. It's a really dense read, but still somehow readable thanks to the straightforward prose. It's my first foray into the history of the Cold War, a subject I find really fascinating but something I never learned about enough in school. So I'm going to take it out again and try to finish it. After all, I lived through the end without understanding what was going on; I'd like to revisit it knowing a little more about life.

The DVD: I caught Dog Day Afternoon for the first time this weekend. Oh wow, it's so good. High-tension drama with a real emotional core, as Al Pacino tries to deal with a bank hold-up gone wrong. Yeah, Pacino screams a lot, but in this movie it's absolutely necessary at times. And the supporting cast is amazing, John Cazale and Christ Sarandon in particular. Director Sidney Lumet really grounds you in the scenes while allowing the actors to do amazing work. Much better than I was expecting, and I was expecting pretty good things.

The TV Show: I caught the first episode of The Border, which is a show about The Canadian Immigration and Customs Security Squad. The trailers make it look really slick and it's certainly a novel idea. I was really intrigued by the storytelling possibilities, but I found the first episode fell really flat: the dialogue was clunky and stilted at many times throughout the show, and there was WAY too much hand-held camera work. I know that "shaky-cam" has become shorthand for "cop show", but it's often not necessary, and in The Border, it was really distracting. I'm willing to give it another shot, as the next few episodes have a lot more potential (dealing with Canadian-American relations), but I have much lower expectations.

The Video Game: After the fiasco that was Harvey Birdman, I decided to go old-school and download Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Wii Virtual Console. I played through the first level last night with The Peach watching, hoping that she'd get interested in it. As it was, she just got more depressed about not being able to play her Game Boy games, and went online to look for an A.C. adaptor. So, mission half-accomplished. The game's still great, but the display's a little wonky: there's a line of pixels on either side of the screen that don't match the rest of the background. It's a picky complaint, I know, but it's also really annoying. Still: Super Mario Equals Super Fun!

The Food: Avocados. Seriously, if you told eight-year old me that I would eventually love avocadoes, I would have thought you were an idiot. But this weekend I've made guacamole and a delicious avocado-shrimp salad, and had sliced avocados on a BLT. Avocados: I've come around on them. Add them to the list of "foods you hate when you're a kid but like when you're an adult", along with brussels sprouts and dark chocolate.

The Real-Life: It's been UNBEARABLY cold here! Minus 43 degrees overnight at times, which for you Americans, is almost exactly the same in Farenheit as Celcius. It was so cold that my car refused to start after Kow practice on Monday night, which blocked Jago's car and thus necessetated his taking a bus to work the next day. I finally got it out thanks to the help of a few of my friends, which is a lucky thing because the A.M.A. was so backed up in the city that they had a more than 24-hour wait time for non-emergencies, and a 12-hour wait time for actual emergencies. It was a little warmer today, but still really cold, and it's a good time to stick around inside and keep warm. Which you kind of have to do when you're waiting a day for a tow truck.

That's my week in three or four nutshells. How's everyone else doing?