Return

I don't even want to look to see how long it's been since I posted anything here. As I figured, becoming Managing Editor of Comic Book Galaxy and doing that almost-daily update blog takes up a good chunk of time, not to mention some other projects and trying to have some kind of personal life.

The funny thing is, I actually do have some kind of personal life now. Not a girlfriend as yet, but I've dated a bit and have a prospect or two. I'm still pretty much by myself when I'm not with the kids, sometimes doing something every week or two with friends. I've really gotten into music again a lot this year and was really devastated to lose a big bunch of my iTunes. A lot of it is just cds I need to re-input, but there were some things I'd downloaded as well that I guess I should ask Apple customer service if they'd sort of let me have again. Doubt it will work, but it's worth a try.

This year I also did quite a bit of catching up on quality drama. The only current shows I watch regularly are The Office, Desperate Housewives (fading on that one) and Gray's Anatomy, but I've also watched the first seasons of The Sopranos (I know), Lost, Deadwood (one more disc to go on that one) and the first two seasons of The Shield. I bought the complete Firefly and Serenity and am watching those as well. Oh, also the Batman Adventures (all four sets), which my kids absolutely love. They could watch them all day long if I let them. It's cute and kind of weird to see how excited my three-year-old daughter gets over The Joker and Clayface. We just watched the Legends of the Dark Knight episode that paid homage to the Dick Sprang era and Frank Miller's DKR, and it was a little difficult explaining why they were in different styles than the established Bruce Timm model and usual voice talent. I guess the last movie I saw was Crash, which I enjoyed but found just a little more admirable (it's a number of intertwining stories about racism, set in L.A.) than entertaining. I guess my only real problems were it could have used a little more humor (it's a little heavyhanded) to make some of its points, and the New Agey score really sucks the life out of it. Rather than any discernible melodies or rhythmic motifs or anything, it was just washes of foreboding keyboards meant to inflate the drama of every scene, but it doesn't work as planned.

Slowly reading James Frey's A Million Little Pieces, which is such a harrowing addiction/recovery story that I really have to read it in small doses. Very, very good, but hard to take. I also just began Anthony Sommers(sp?)' biography of Frank Sinatra, which is good so far and doesn't appear like it will pull any punches. I downloaded some of his music recently, and was really interested with his rendition of "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You," which is identified much more with his pal Dean Martin. I like Dino's version better, but Frank's is much longer, and so it's fascinating how he seemingly consciously chooses a less easygoing vocal phrasing than Martin, and how he builds up over this longer time to a really great final section where he really goes for it.

Well, that's about it for now. I'll try harder to update at least a couple times a week. Oh, and I will leave this tantalizing bit: I wrote a draft of a possible CBG blog post that was so mean to another site and their own Best of 2005 piece that ADD wisely told me not to post it. I had left it as a draft, thinking I probably wouldn't run it, and I'm glad he agreed. I was basically letting off some steam and it would've been more trouble than it's worth.