After last night's sad funk, shopping therapy did wonders for me this morning. It's amazing (and probably a little pathetic) how much it lifted my spirits to blow a hundred bucks at AbeBooks on groovy-vintage paperbacks about nurses and stewardesses.
Which brings me to the "new" direction for this blog--that "Invisible Light" video really reminded me how much I love the groovy age of horror (by which I don't just mean this blog, but the phenomenon for which it's named), and how much I miss being involved with it. I did kind of burn out for a while, but I think I'm ready to take it up again. I won't drop the other stuff--my Battlestar Galactica posts are still forthcoming, as are lots of other items that might seem "off-topic" for a blog with this name--but I'm going to start stirring some old, familiar stuff back in, specifically vintage paperback reviews. As a matter of fact, I hope to have one up within an hour or two.
I couldn't say it last night, but I'll say it now: Happy New Year, Groovy Agers!!!
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Happy New Year!
Here in Finland, this is how we cure hangover... works like a charm... now excuse me, while I go get some ice...
Friday, December 31, 2010
fuck both years, old and new
Hard to say what's more depressing--looking back or forward. This year, I didn't finish anything I wanted to, and stuff I tried either didn't work out or worked out with some fucking monkey paw twist. Stuff around me that I have no control over and that I hoped would prove stable, fell apart. Will next year be any better? Shyeah, right. So I'm just drinking by myself (not in celebration, in case that wasn't clear), only I've gone a little faster than I stocked up for, so now I'm down to Theraflu (which I actually do need, as I'm sick as a dog). Better luck to the rest of you!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
First quick thoughts on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
When I first heard the Sci-Fi channel was airing a Battlestar Galactica remake, I wasn't even remotely tempted to give it a look because . . . well, 1) the Sci-Fi channel, and 2) Battlestar Galactica. At the time, as I recall, both brands were pretty weak. I have fond memories from my childhood of the original Galactica, but doubt it would hold up if I rewatched it now, and I certainly doubted a remake (getting its first run on the Sci-Fi channel, no less) would improve on it.
Somehow, with tv, I always manage not to bet on the right horse, and such was the case here. It went on to garner critical acclaim and a huge, lively fan following. What's more, bits and pieces I couldn't help catching around the internets intrigued me, and made me wonder how they'd fit into anything that could be recognizable to me as Battlestar Galactica. All of this came to my attention just late enough to make me feel I'd missed the boat.
Even so, better late than never. Now that AMC's Walking Dead (note how strong both of those brands were, going into that tv adaptation) proved such a disappointment, I was left still wanting to watch some great tv, so I just said fuck it and bought the BSG complete series box set--despite some warnings about the later seasons. Now that I've finished it, I'm glad I did, and I think this was the better way for me to experience it. While I'm sorry I missed all the breathless weekly internet back-and-forth about the show while it was airing, I think it was better for me to experience everything within a relatively continuous flow of context, as I think I tend to overreact to ups and downs when they're parceled out in smaller chunks over a longer term (I did that a lot in my coverage of the comics crossover event Blackest Night, and to some extent also with Walking Dead, both the show and more recently the comic).
Obviously, there's tons to discuss, and it will take me a minute or two just to figure out how I even want to break it down by topics, but suffice it to say I found BSG immensely satisfying in general, if not in every particular. That's one great thing about a long-running show with as much going on as BSG--it can afford to disappoint here and there, even to some extent in the main, central arc, as long as enough strands remain solidly engaging and affecting to sustain interest and deliver some payoff. Come to think of it, that's another failing of the Walking Dead tv show--it's too consistently too focused on the A-plot, without strong enough B, C, or D plots to shore it up when the A-plot stumbles or has an off-week. I came away from a fair number of BSG episodes with mixed feelings, but almost never with the feeling that an episode accomplished nothing.
Actually, I'm already starting to think about what I want to check out next. A few possibilities: Lost, The Wire, Dexter. What do you recommend, Groovy Agers?
Somehow, with tv, I always manage not to bet on the right horse, and such was the case here. It went on to garner critical acclaim and a huge, lively fan following. What's more, bits and pieces I couldn't help catching around the internets intrigued me, and made me wonder how they'd fit into anything that could be recognizable to me as Battlestar Galactica. All of this came to my attention just late enough to make me feel I'd missed the boat.
Even so, better late than never. Now that AMC's Walking Dead (note how strong both of those brands were, going into that tv adaptation) proved such a disappointment, I was left still wanting to watch some great tv, so I just said fuck it and bought the BSG complete series box set--despite some warnings about the later seasons. Now that I've finished it, I'm glad I did, and I think this was the better way for me to experience it. While I'm sorry I missed all the breathless weekly internet back-and-forth about the show while it was airing, I think it was better for me to experience everything within a relatively continuous flow of context, as I think I tend to overreact to ups and downs when they're parceled out in smaller chunks over a longer term (I did that a lot in my coverage of the comics crossover event Blackest Night, and to some extent also with Walking Dead, both the show and more recently the comic).
Obviously, there's tons to discuss, and it will take me a minute or two just to figure out how I even want to break it down by topics, but suffice it to say I found BSG immensely satisfying in general, if not in every particular. That's one great thing about a long-running show with as much going on as BSG--it can afford to disappoint here and there, even to some extent in the main, central arc, as long as enough strands remain solidly engaging and affecting to sustain interest and deliver some payoff. Come to think of it, that's another failing of the Walking Dead tv show--it's too consistently too focused on the A-plot, without strong enough B, C, or D plots to shore it up when the A-plot stumbles or has an off-week. I came away from a fair number of BSG episodes with mixed feelings, but almost never with the feeling that an episode accomplished nothing.
Actually, I'm already starting to think about what I want to check out next. A few possibilities: Lost, The Wire, Dexter. What do you recommend, Groovy Agers?
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