Monday, Jan 17th, 2022
So I haven't written one of these for a while. You'd think with multiple pandemic-related lockdowns over the past year I'd have had more time on my hands. Time to think, time to write, time to be productive.
Unfortunately, the sustained low-grade anxiety of constantly worrying about whether someone in my family would get sick, would I lose my job, or if the world, in general, would end, kept my cognitive abilities limited, to say the least. It was all I could do some days to get up, make the kids breakfast, feed myself and not sink into the couch re-watching Brett Michaels Rock of Love Seasons 1-3 (SIDENOTE – This might be the greatest television show ever created).
I did manage to get stuff done though, even if it wasn't much as I should have accomplished.
I started Winter Book #3. Then quickly put it on hold as I realised I'd forgotten most of the mythology I'd previously invented. Re-reading Winter's Light now to refresh myself.
I wrote a micro-budget screenplay to shoot myself that doesn't suck.
I entered a horror film pitch competition and got to the finals (didn't win – a bloody drop bears concept did...Drop bears). The experience was validating. Sometimes I start to worry getting published was a fluke and I'm not that great at this storytelling game. Placing as a finalist helps keep those demonically convincing voices at bay.
So, yeah, the past year wasn't a total wash. Still, the older I get the more pressed I feel to create work in my spare time and the guiltier I feel when I don't.
This blog is a prime example.
Most authors keep some kind of blog or active social media presence. I admire them because it's an effort for me. I wasn't bitten by the social media bug. I could honestly do without it all together so writing here, or tweeting something pithy is a bit of a chore. I think being an introverted guy extends to my social media interactions. I could go weeks without seeing other people and remain perfectly content. Same thing with social media.
I recently discovered a social media platform called Letterboxd that I'm warming up to. I consume a lot of films and this is a place where I can log the films I've seen and jot down some quick impressions. It's a way of keeping track of my media diet which is helpful when you get to my advanced age (42) and can't remember what you watched last night let alone six months ago. It will also help me reach for recommendations if people ask if I've seen anything good lately. So far I've only added a few entries but I'll try and stick to it (Matrix Resurrections – I enjoyed it, Underwater – I did not enjoy it). I might link to my entries from here.
In terms of my media diet, this is a quick list of what I've watched over the past couple of weeks –
Search Party Season 5 (STAN) – Great show. Dark, hilarious, audacious. I really enjoyed the wild tonal shifts. I get it if most people don't.
Righteous Gemstones Season 2 - Episodes 1&2 – Another fantastic show by Danny McBride. Season 1 was a treat, this one's shaping up to be even more so.
Six Feet Under Season 3 – Probably the greatest television show ever made (Rock of Love notwithstanding)
Book of Boba Fett Season 1 – Episodes 1-3 – Perfectly fine. Like most Disney products. Well-made, polished, entertaining. However, I'll always prefer 'messily ambitious', productions like...
Matrix Resurrections – audacious, post-modern deconstruction that works quite well as a simple love story. If you didn't like the Matrix Sequels (I did) you're not gonna dig this, so don't bother.
If it Bleeds by Stephen King – enjoyable but hardly essential King.
My wife bought me the new Jonathan Franzen book, Crossroads which I've started reading. It's good soapy – literary? – stuff. His books tend to sneak up on me. Both Freedom and The Corrections had a profound emotional impact on me. His last Purity was less successful. I'm hoping this is a return to form.
Anyway, that's for me. Stay safe, stay healthy. Try and watch, listen and read some good stuff but if you find yourself binging Rock of Love for 72 hours straight that's okay too.
Cheers, M.J.