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Wednesday, November 30, 2005  
29 DAYS LATER

I did it. I really did it.

It took 29 days of working every single day, at least 2000 words every day, and I did it. I wrote a complete first draft of a novel. 67,547 words. What an incredible experience!

The way I wrote was completely new to me. I normally tend to pore over my words as I go, and I tend to go back and correct along the way, but not with this. With the deadline looming, I sat and just vomited words out onto the screen, working in short, furious bursts. The draft is wildly inconsistent as far as quality and depth go, and the tone floats back and forth across various rivers, but I have a complete work, and that's all that counts.

A complete work means I can give the book to some readers I trust and start getting feedback so I can do a second draft. Because there will be a second draft.

RISE CITY: SUZIE may not be the Great American Novel, but I know enough to realize that a lot of it works and is pretty good. And now that I have it, I want to make it great and try and get it into people's hands. Plus, I'm feeling ambitious about it; as I wrote, I found myself discovering little plot points that could be useful later down the road, and suddenly I realized I was writing the first book of a trilogy.

So next November, when NaNoWriMo rolls around, there's a damned good chance you'll find me tied to the computer again, typing away at RISE CITY: MATT. It'll be a long, hard, painful process.

I can't wait!
9:00 AM

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Monday, October 31, 2005  
I can’t believe I actually used to do this every week.

It seems so long ago, and, well, it probably was. Every Friday, I’d post a new Happy Nonsense column. It was a huge source of pride for me. I didn’t always do brilliant work, but I did the work, and that was what mattered.

But like what happens to so many people, I got sidetracked after my life took some detours. Plus, I have my weekly gig at MoviePoopShoot, so that sort of provides my deadline push. And this place has suffered, much to my chagrin.

It isn’t going to get better anytime soon, I fear.

Starting tomorrow, I am attempting to participate in NaNoWriMo. This is, of course, insane. It isn’t like I don’t still have the weekly gig. I’m also helping an artist create their website, and contributing an article to a fledgling magazine. Plus, I’d like to eat, sleep, and have some semblance of a social life.

Hey, we all have our delusions, right?

But I am going to attempt to use this space to chart my progress on the novel. So there will be some November updates, though they won’t necessarily be reviews and such. But if seeing a man go slowly mad from being overworked, please… please stop by over the next few weeks. You’ll get plenty of value for your entertainment dollar.

Which is why this website is free.
7:18 PM

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Monday, August 08, 2005  
DECISIONS

First, let me apologize for the sparseness of posting to this page.

It’s been a busy summer. I’ve been working insanely hard to try and get a couple of writing projects off the ground, and that’s eaten up a lot of my time and energy. Throw in trying to have a semblance of a social life and the writing commitments I already have, and something has had to give. Unfortunately, it’s this place. I will try and do better, but I can’t promise anything at the moment.

I’m writing today because we’re at a time near and dear to my heart. Early August, you see, is a time when I get to feel good about the choices I’ve made.

We all make decisions every day that change our course. Most days those are minor corrections at best, but seventeen years ago, I made the first really good decision of my life: I moved to Arizona and started over from scratch.

Not too many people wanted me to move here. And I certainly didn’t get a lot of support or belief that I’d succeed and stay here long term. I grew up in an area that is populated mostly by people who grew up there themselves. 95% of the people I went to school with were staying close and going to a state school, and a solid chunk of them are still living within an hour of where we graduated. It’s pretty much the accepted norm.

And that’s fine for them. If I had to guess, I’d suppose that the great majority of them are very happy with where they’re at. I think that’s cool, though for a long time I admit to believing they were foolish. But I knew I would never, and I mean never be happy with staying there. I was already a depressed and unhappy kid, with an encroaching sense of “life claustrophobia”, and I felt deep in my soul like I had to do something to find myself, and I had to be somewhere else to do it. Small town life is insidious; I would always be that “kid” in my hometown, no matter how old I got. You’re not allowed to grow or change, you see.

So I came out here, and I struggled a bit. I had my moments of doubt, and faithlessness, but as time passed, I got more and more accustomed to life in the desert, and I knew I was home. That this was where I was meant to be. No matter how many people obnoxiously asked me “have you thought about moving home?” as if they couldn’t believe I could possibly be satisfied living out here (and it happened as recently as a year ago!), I kept a straight face, though I stopped being as polite with my responses.

It’s easy to examine your life and look back at the bad choices you’ve made, and wonder how things would have turned out if you hadn’t been so damned dumb, but it’s even more important to take a look back and examine the things you’ve done correctly. I’ve now lived in Arizona just one year less than I lived in Indiana, but I know this: I’ve lived a lot more here than I would have anywhere else.
10:25 AM

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Sunday, June 05, 2005  
FRIDAY FAST FICTION

The plague had taken eight more overnight.

Using what remained of my withered and atrophied frame, I slowly raised myself to a sit. As my pain centers rebelled against this first movement in more than a fortnight, I squinted and focused my eyes across the darkened room, counting the empty beds I had heard being discussed this morning.

Flexing the fingers of my right hand, I spoke out loud what I knew to be true and had been denying: "My bed will be empty soon enough."

It had been no more than six weeks ago when the sores began appearing on the citizenry. No one knew what they were, what caused them, or how they infected us; all that was known was that our best and brightest were at wit's end, and we had begun to die.

The paranoid among us began to talk of treachery. Surely, they believed, those who hate us are responsible for this abomination. They wish us all an early grave, man, woman, and child alike. But then the spies began to report that the sores had begun to appear in the lands of our enemies. It was as if the life drained from those who were still well. Had it been treachery, an offensive could have been mounted to search for whatever cure they might have kept.

I began to wonder, as I the pain was replaced by a serene calm, what form my death would take. A skeleton with a scythe? An angel in white, emitting pure, holy light, giving wings to my soul? I secretly hoped not. For I had lived my life as a warrior, and I wished for nothing less than a warrior's death. That was the most grievous bit of dealing with the rotting sores; I was wasting away, the death of the feeble and infirm.

It was at that moment that I felt a change in my body, a sensation that had been missing for weeks. My heart began to beat, as if rediscovering it's own purpose,and I slipped off the bed and onto my own two feet, the shock of the cold flooring energizing me.

The door at the end of the hall opened.

She was impossibly beautiful. Sharp eyes that pierced my heart, ebony hair flowing willfully around her emotionless face, her stride one of command and authority. Her visage was perfection, one that you would wish to wake up to each morning for the rest of one's life, even though you knew she would almost never smile.

Her steps ended a few feet in front of me. I took in her presence. She was clad in black garments as well, a goddess of darkness. And with that realization, I knew.

I knew.

She gestured towards the door. A crushing sound cascaded from beyond, and the entry exploded with the arrival of four warriors garbed in iron, wielding steel that had surely tasted the blood of thousands. My will began to rise beneath my breath.

My breath.

Her gesture moved to my direction, as if directing the warriors to me. But I was mistaken. For her gesture was a much simpler one: it was a warrior's boon.

My greying flesh took on color once more. Muscle and sinew sang with renewal. My posture became straight and proud. My good right hand felt cold, with no explanantion, until I looked down upon it and saw my sword, tight within my grip.

For the first time in many a moon, I smiled. I bowed to my benefactor, and she gracefully moved aside, offering that smile I was not sure existed. Raising my sword, I took the first of my last steps, the thunder of the gods coursing through my veins.

copyright Marc Mason 2005
9:15 PM

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Sunday, May 22, 2005  
SITH

It didn't suck.

Admittedly, I wasn't holding the film to the highest standards, and I wasn't even sure if I'd see it opening weekend. After all, I thought Episode 2, "Anakin's Creek," was an abortion of biblical proportions. So I openly admit that Episode 3 did't have to go far to make me happy.

Still, I found myself entertained. I shut off my higher brain functions, sat back, and watched Lucas put the pieces together, and goddamn if it didn't start to reel me in. The scenes between Hayden Christianson and Natalie Portman were still uniformly dull and contrived; why Lucas was never able or interested in using Portman's talents to their fullest is a mystery we'll never solve. Christianson's whiny petulance scaled back to just petulance, and at this stage of his life, he actually looks like he could be related to Mark Hamill. But the true star is Ewan McGregor, who looks like he's finally having fun in one of these things. He looked flat-out embarrassed in Episode Two, but SITH finds him gleefully channelling a young Alec Guinness and livening up his every scene with elan and verve.

I may even go back to the theatre and see this one again. It isn't often that you can say that watching a bad guy get his legs and arm chopped off and then catch fire is exhilarating, but then again, why wouldn't it be? That's just what turns out to have entertained people a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
4:53 PM

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Sunday, May 01, 2005  
BACK AGAIN

I took the month of April off by accident.

Well, that’s dishonest. It was accidental at first. But halfway through the month, I found myself in the throes of a terrifying burnout, and I realized that I needed to put something to the side. It wound up being HAPPY NONSENSE.

Between my column at Movie Poop Shoot, The Comics Waiting Room, and my efforts at pitching some graphic novels and comics to publishers, all my energy has been invested elsewhere.

That isn’t to say I’ve been away from pop culture. Far from it. I saw three movies in the theatre in the month of April, which is about as many as I saw in the theatre in the calendar year of 2004. SIN CITY was amazing. KUNG FU HUSTLE was awesome. And HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY was spiritually faithful enough to Douglas Adams’ novel that I found myself enjoying it from start to finish.

On television, I found myself surprisingly drawn to John Stamos’ return to the tube, JAKE IN PROGRESS. I’ve never been even remotely a fan of the guy, but he displayed a very charming screen presence, and he was generous in giving his co-workers material to shine with. The odds of renewal don’t look great, but that’s be a damned shame. It deserves another chance. And a better time slot.

ABC is burying another great show, EYES, in a different shitty time slot. Tim Daly, another guy who has always left me flat, is turning in a great performance as the morally challenged Harlan Judd, and the show takes its amoral point of view much farther than I would normally expect from network TV. The one misstep the show has made- reneging on the death of a major character at the end of episode one- is a big one, but it hasn’t hampered my ability to enjoy the show.

Musically, I’ve found myself really getting into some new and interesting bands. The Mars Volta. Interpol. Snow Patrol. Great stuff. I remain relentlessly devoted to listening to Alt-Nation 21 on Sirius satellite radio, as it plays a mix of alternative music much to my tastes.

May brings “sweeps” to the networks, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the amazing LOST concludes its season. There’s also the prospect of changes on SCRUBS, which disturbs me greatly, but I’ll be watching and waiting to see what happens.

I’ll also be trying to post here more frequently. Wish me luck on that.
7:18 PM

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Monday, March 28, 2005  
The Great Movie Meme – pulled from Alan David Doane.

- BOLD movies you own in your personal video/DVD library
- ITALICS for movies you have seen
- Leave plain movies you haven't seen
- Pass it on to three people at the end

The Big Red One (1980)
12 Angry Men (1957)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
28 Days Later (2002)
The 400 Blows (1959)
8 1/2 (1963)
Adaptation. (2002)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1939)
After Dark, My Sweet (1990)
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Alien (1979)
All About Eve (1950)
Amadeus (1984)
Amarcord (1974)
American Beauty (1999)
The American President (1995)
American Splendor (2003)
The Animatrix (2003)
Annie Hall (1977)
The Apartment (1960)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Apu Trilogy (1959)
Around the Bend (2004)
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
The Band Wagon (1953)
The Bank Dick (1940)
Barefoot Gen (Hadashi no Gen) (1983)
Batman (1989)
The Battle of Algiers (1967)
Battle Royale (Batoru rowaiaru) (2000)
The Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Beat the Devil (1954)
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Being There (1979)
Belle de Jour (1967)
The Bicycle Thief (1949)
The Big Heat (1953)
The Big One (1997)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
Blowup (1966)
The Blue Kite (1993)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Bob le Flambeur (1955)
Body Heat (1981)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Bound (1996)
Bowling for Columbine (2002)
Breathless (1960)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Broken Blossoms (1919)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Kabinett des Doktor Caligari, Das) (1920)
Casablanca (1942)
Chasing Amy
Children of Paradise (1945)
Chinatown (1974)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Citizen Kane (1941)
City Lights (1931)
Clerks
The Color Purple (1985)
Comic Book Villains (2002)
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
The Conversation (1974)
Cries and Whispers (1972)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long) (2000)
Crumb (1994)
Damage (1992)
Daredevil (2003)
Day for Night (1973)
The Day of the Dolphin (1973)
Days of Heaven (1978)
The Decalogue (1988)
Detour (1945)
Die Hard (1988)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Donnie Darko (2001)
Don't Look Now (1974)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Dracula (1931)
Duck Soup (1933)
Dune (1984)
E.T - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
The Earrings of Madame de... (1953)
Easy Rider (1969)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Ed Wood (1994)
Elektra (2005)
The Elephant Man (1980)
El Norte (1983)
Eraserhead (1977)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
The Exterminating Angel (1962)
The Fall of the House of Usher (1928)
Fanny and Alexander (1983)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
Fargo (1996)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
F for Fake (Vérités et mensonges) (1976)
The Firemen's Ball (1968)
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Floating Weeds (1959)
Four Rooms (1995)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
From Hell (2001)
Gates of Heaven (1978)
The General (1927)
Ghost World (2000)
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
The Godfather (1972)
Goldfinger (1964)
Gone With the Wind (1939)
The Goodbye Girl (1977)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1968)
GoodFellas (1991)
Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
Grand Illusion (1937)
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Great Expectations (1946)
Greed (1925)
Groundhog Day (1993)
The Hand (1981)
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
The Hearts of Age (1934)
Hellboy (2004)
High Fidelity (2000)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
House of Games (1987)
The Hustler (1961)
Ikiru (1952)
In Cold Blood (1967)
The Incredibles (2004)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Jackie Brown (1997)
Jaws (1975)
JFK (1991)
Jules and Jim (1961)
Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
Killing Zoe (1994)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
King Kong (1933)
L'Atalante (1934)
L'Avventura (1960)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
The Lady Eve (1941)
The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
The Last Laugh (1924)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Last Tango in Paris (1972)
Last Year at Marienbad (1961)
Late Spring (1972)
The Lathe of Heaven (1980)
Laura (1944)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Le Boucher / The Butcher (2003)
Le Samourai (1967)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
The Leopard (1963)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
The Lion King (1994)
Lolita (1962)
Lolita (1997)
Lost Highway (1997)
M (1931)
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Mallrats
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Man Who Laughs (1928)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Manhattan (1979)
The Matrix (1999)
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Mean Streets (1973)
Metropolis (1926)
Mon Oncle (1958)
Moonstruck (1987)
Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953)
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
The Music Room (1958)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
My Dinner With Andre (1981)
My Life to Live / Vivre sa Vie (1963)
My Neighbor Totoro (1993)
Nashville (1975)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Network (1976)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Nosferatu (1922)
Notorious (1946)
Not Without My Daughter (1991)
On the Waterfront (1954)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Orpheus (1949)
Out of the Past (1947)
Pandora's Box (1928)
Paris, Texas (1984)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Patton (1970)
Peeping Tom (1960)
Persona (1966)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Pickpocket (1959)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Pinocchio (1940)
Pixote (1981)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
Playtime (1967)
The Producers (1968)
The Prophecy (1995)
Psycho (1960)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Raging Bull (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Raise the Red Lantern (1990101)
Ran (1985)
Rashomon (1950101)
Rear Window (1954)
Blue, White, Red (1994)
Red River (1948)
The Red Shoes (1948)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Return to Glennascaul (Orson Welles' Ghost Story) (1951)
Rififi (1954)
The Right Stuff (1983)
Roger & Me (1989)
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
The Rules of the Game (1939)
Santa Sangre (1989)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Say Anything (1989)
Scarface (1983)
The Scarlet Empress (1934)
Schindler's List (1993)
The Searchers (1956)
Se7en (1995)
The Seven Samurai (1954)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Shane (1953)
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Solaris (1972)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)
Spider-Man (2002)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Star Trek Generations (1994)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Star Wars (1977)
The Straight Story (1999)
The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It (1977)
The Stranger (1946)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Stroszek (1977)
A Sunday in the Country (1984)
Superman (1978)
Sunrise (1928)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Swing Time (1936)
A Tale of Winter (1992)
The Tao of Steve (2000)
Taxi Driver (1976)
The Terminator (1984)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
The Thin Man (1934)
The Third Man (1949)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Three Colors Trilogy (1994)
Three Women (1977)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1954)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
The Trial (Procès, Le) (1962)
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
True Romance (1993)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Ugetsu (1953)
Umberto D (1952)
Un Chien Andalou (1928)
Unforgiven (1992)
Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election (2002)
The Up Documentaries (1985)
Vertigo (1958)
Victim (1961)
Walkabout (1971)
West Side Story (1961)
Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)
Wild at Heart (1990)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Wings of Desire (1988)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Woman in the Dunes (1964)
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
A Woman's Tale (1992)
The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl (Macht der Bilder: Leni Riefenstahl, Die) (1993)
Written on the Wind (1956)
X-Men (2000)
X-Men 2: X-Men United (X2) (2003)
xXx (2002)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
A Year of the Quiet Sun (1984)
Yellow Submarine (1968)
1:01 PM

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Thursday, February 24, 2005  
Borrowed from Alan David Doane, who borrowed it from someone else... and no, I don't know what number five is supposed to be...

1. Copy this whole list into your journal.
2. Bold the things that are true about you.
3. Add something that is true about you.

01. I miss somebody right now.
02. I don't watch much TV these days.
03. I love olives
04. I own lots of books.
06. I wear glasses or contact lenses.
07. I love to play video games.
08. I've tried marijuana
09. I've watched porn movies.
10. I have been in a threesome.
11. I have been the psycho-ex in a past relationship.
12. I believe honesty is usually the best policy.
13. I love ice cream.
14. I like and respect Al Sharpton
15. I curse sometimes.
16. I have changed a lot mentally over the last year.
17. I have a hobby. I just go to school for it.
18. I've been told I have a nice smile.
19. I carry my knife/razor everywhere with me.
20. I'm partially TOTALLY smart.
21. I've never broken someone's bones.
22. I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal.
23. I hate the rain.
24. I'm paranoid at times.
25. I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.
26. I need money right now.
27. I love sushi.
28. I talk really, really fast.
29. I have fresh breath in the morning.
30. I have long hair.
31. I have lost money in Las Vegas.
32. I have at least one brother and/or one sister.
33. I was born in a country outside of the U.S.
34. I shave my legs (females) or face (males) on a regular basis.
35. I have a twin (or a triplet, or somesuch).
36. I have worn fake hair/fingernails/eyelashes in the past.
37. I couldn't survive without Caller I.D.
38. I like the way that I look sometimes.
39. I have lied to a good friend in the last 6 months.
40. I know how to cornrow.
41. I am usually pessimistic.
42. I have a lot of mood swings.
43. I think prostitution should be legalized.
44. I think Britney Spears is pretty.
45. Slept with a Suitemate.
46. I have a hidden talent.
47. I'm always hyper no matter how much sugar I have.
48. I have a lot of friends.
49. I am currently single.
50. I have pecked someone of the same sex.
51. I enjoy talking on the phone.
52. I practically live in sweatpants or PJ pants.
53. I love to shop.
54. I would rather shop than eat.
55. I would classify myself as ghetto.
56. I'm bourgie and have worn a sweater tied around my shoulders.
57. I'm obsessed with my Xanga or Livejournal.
58. I don't hate anyone. I dislike them.
59. I'm a pretty good dancer.
60. I don't think Mike Tyson raped Desiree Washington.
61. I'm completely embarrassed to be seen with my mother.
62. I have a cell phone.
63. I believe in God.
64. I watch MTV on a daily basis.
65. I have passed out drunk in the past 6 months.
66. I love drama.
67. I have never been in a real relationship before.
68. I've rejected someone before.
69. I currently have a crush/like someone.
70. I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.
71. I want to have children in the future.
72. I have changed a diaper before.
73. I've called the cops on a friend before.
74. I bite my nails.
75. I am a member of the Tom Green fan club.
76. I'm not allergic to anything.
77. I have a lot to learn.
78. I have been with someone at least 10 years older or younger.
79. I plan on seeing Ice Cube's newest "Friday" movie.
80. I am shy around the opposite sex.
81. I'm online 24/7, even as an away message.
82. I have at least 5 away messages saved.
83. I have tried alcohol or drugs before.
84. I have made a move on a friend's significant other or crush in the past.
85. I own the "South Park" movie.
86. I have avoided assignments at work school to be on Xanga or Livejournal.
87. When I was a kid I played "the birds and the bees" with a neighbor or chum.
88. I enjoy some country music.
89. I would die for my best friends.
90. I think that Pizza Hut has the best pizza.
91. I watch soap operas whenever I can.
92. I'm obsessive, anal retentive, and often a perfectionist.
93. I have used my sexuality to advance my career.
94. I love Michael Jackson, scandals and all.
95. I know all the words to Slick Rick's "Children's Story".
96. Halloween is awesome because you get free candy.
97. I watch Spongebob Squarepants and I like it.
98. I have dated a close friend's ex.
99. I like surveys.
100. I am happy at this moment.
101. I'm obsessed with guys.
102. I am bisexual.
103. Democrat.
104. Conservative Republican.
105. I am punk rockish.
106. I am preppy.
107. I go for older guys/girls, not younger
108. I study for tests most of the time.
109. I tie my shoelaces differently to anyone I've ever met.
110. I can work on a car.
111. I love my job.
112. I am comfortable with who I am right now.
113. I have more than just my ears pierced.
114. I walk barefoot wherever I can.
115. I have jumped off a bridge.
116. I love sea turtles.
117. I spend ridiculous amounts of money on makeup.
118. I believe in prophetic dreams.
119. I plan on achieving a major goal/dream.
120. I am proficient on a musical instrument.
121. I worked at McDonald's restaurant.
122. I hate office jobs.
123. I love sci-fi movies.
124. I've never been in love.
125. I think water rules.
126. I am going to college out of state.
127. I am adopted.
128. I like sausage.
129. I am a pyro.
130. I love the Red Sox.
131. I have thrown up from crying too much.
132. I have been intentionally hurt by people that I loved.
133. I love kisses.
134. I fall for the worst people and have been hurt every time.
135. I adore bright colors.
136. I love Dear Abby.
137. I can't live without black eyeliner.
138. I think school is awesome.
139. I think pigtails serve a purpose.
140. I don't know why the hell I just did this stupid thing.
141. I usually like covers better than originals.
142. I don’t like multi-textured ice cream (ex. Chocolate chips, nuts, marshmallows)
143. I think John Cusack is adorable.
144. I fucking hate chain theme restaurants like Applebees and TGIFridays.
145. I need to blog more.
2:14 PM

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Sunday, February 20, 2005  
THE BEST SHOW ON TV?

As a child, I was enamored of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. Like many boys my age, I dreamed of being Dirk Benedict: pilot, swashbuckler, lover… Starbuck. He was the epitome of cool. The show was exciting, even when it became obvious to even my young eyes that the show was frequently re-using special effects shots, and the episodes became less FX heavy as the season wore on. But I loved it, and I still rather do. It has a place in my heart, a well-deserved one, and I can still enjoy it for the relic that it is.

Like many fans, I perked up with interest whenever someone spoke up in an interview somewhere to discuss reviving the show. Hell, I even bought a hideously unnecessary amount of comics produced by Rob Liefeld’s publishing company because they acquired the license. But it wasn’t until production got rolling on Ron Moore’s “re-imagining” of GALACTICA that I finally believed that the property would ever gain new life. And oh, what life, it has.

Wisely jettisoning the campy barnacles of the original show, Moore and company have turned GALACTICA into a bleak, dark drama. The near-extinction of humanity that sets the story in motion becomes an overriding force that moves the characters on the board. We are suddenly reminded of not only the massive number of deaths occurring through war and terror in our own world, but that we are sitting on a similar method of extinction that the Cylons used to wipe out humanity in GALACTICA. To drive the point home, the Cylons are no longer merely “walking toasters” as the characters describe them; they have evolved and look as human as anyone else. They feel, they fight, they fuck, they bleed, and they believe in God.

And in Moore’s complex worldview, they might just be the good guys. The Cylons don’t see themselves as evil; they see themselves as true representatives of God’s will and plan. If you can find a difference between that point of view and that of a suicide bomber (and last week’s episode delivered a Cylon suicide bomber), it’s a subtle one.

Moore was, in good part, responsible for the best and most complex STAR TREK of all as well, DEEP SPACE NINE. DS9, still one of the only television shows in history to focus on a man of color who was completely devoted to being a good father to his son, was also a complex tale of war, religion, and the struggle to define human nature. In GALACTICA, Moore has taken those concepts much further, as he is free of the heavy TREK continuity and has room to play, having started the show’s mythos from scratch. Moore draws from many of the ideas of the original show, but at each turn, they feel fresh.

Some might tune into the show and find it far too bleak for their tastes, and I can understand that a bit. Looking for a light-hearted moment in the mini-series or the first seven episodes aired in the U.S. is a needle in a haystack proposition. Even the sex, of which there is a surprising amount, lacks a sense of joy or rapture; instead, it is frantic, clawing… a desperate search for connection at the end of the world. There is humor in traitor Baltar’s relationship with his Cylon lover Number 6, but it’s humor derived from the fact that Baltar might just be screaming mad, and you can never quite put away that Baltar’s vanity and carelessness is what allowed the Cylons to begin their attacks and kill billions.

What drives the series at its heart are the women. Mary McDonnell as the reluctant Secretary Of Education turned President Laura Roslin, fighting her terminal cancer and her nature as a pacifist. Tricia Helfer as the seductive and frightening Number 6, manipulating Baltar sexually, yet working to cure him of his atheism as he scoffs at her faith in God. Grace Park as the deeply conflicted pilot Sharon, who comes closer every day to discovering that she has a terrible secret. And, most of all, the amazing Katee Sackhoff, who took an enormous amount of shit from the fanbase when she was cast as Starbuck.

When it was announced that Dirk Benedict’s character was going to be a woman in the Moore version, people got downright rude. But Moore’s instincts were brilliant. Any man cast in that role was going to have a horrendous time with fans comparing him to Benedict’s classic character. By making Starbuck a woman, it sent Sackhoff apart from having to compete with Benedict, and it gave her the opportunity to take the role as her own. She’s done an amazing job, creating a character who’s flawed, self-destructive, and yet heroic. GALACTICA’S writing staff has gifted Sackhoff with one of TV’s best and most complex characters, and the others are right behind her.

The center gravity of the show, however, is the great Edward James Olmos as Commander Adama. Olmos’ intensity is startling, as he anchors every scene he’s in with authority and power, elevating each of the actors surrounding him. Olmos is the indicator that GALACTICA is first and foremost a drama, not a random spaceship show. Each week, even when he’s not the full focus of the story, Olmos finds a way to exhilarate the viewer with Emmy quality work.

GALACTICA has been renewed for a second season already, which is a good sign for fans of quality television. If Moore and his writers can maintain the quality level we’ve seen so far, they’ll be well on their way to making what could well be the finest science fiction show to ever air. I can’t wait to see.
12:14 PM

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Sunday, January 23, 2005  
I LOVE THE ‘05s?

We’re three weeks in. Time to get back to work.

2005 ended rather poorly, culminating in a moment on the morning of the 31st that left me certain that I would never see the sun again. Fresh from this punch to the head from my subconscious, I woke up on January 1st with the certainty that the clock was ticking, and I had a limited amount of time to pull out of my skid. So for the first time in years, I actually set New Year’s resolutions for myself. I’m proud to report, 23 days in, that I’m doing pretty well with them so far.

The year has also gotten off to a quick and healthy start in the world of pop culture, leaving me with topics I can write about here for some to come. But at the top of the list comes VH1’s latest entry in the I LOVE THE series, the 90S, PART DEUX. Now, I’ve enjoyed each of the previous pieces of the LOVE universe, but I can admit that the first go around with the 90s was easily the weakest of the bunch, and I wondered if the concept (or the commentators) had played out. This became particularly glaring when you put part one up against the weekly snark-brilliant BEST WEEK EVER, which takes the concept and gives it an edgier, absurdist, self-deprecating tone that the LOVEs can lack. So I went into PART DEUX with my guard up.

There was no need.

I LOVE THE 90S, PART DEUX was, after watching all ten hours, the best effort in the series, period. I found myself laughing out loud much more frequently, and the editorial choices were much sharper and cleverer than they had been in previous efforts. Plus, the performers themselves seemed to grasp that there was something needed to put some juice into this effort, and at many times their comments took on a very “meta” sensibility. Perfect examples came when Hal Sparks “locked himself up” with The Club, and noted it was what VH1 did with him when it wasn’t using him for the series or when Beth Littleford beat the viewer to the punch while discussing the Energizer Bunny keeping “going and going and going… just like VH1’s I LOVE THE series.” But the producers themselves seemed to take up their efforts another notch, whether it was briefly inserting footage of SUPERMAN 2 when talking about Terrance Stamp and PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT (“Kneel before Zod!” juxtaposed with Stamp in drag was a hoot) or, in a segment about raves, taking the “impressions” of techno music by a number of the commentators and actually mixing it together into a passable piece of house music.

The one single misstep actually came at the very end of the 1999 episode, as it closed with a look at the negligible VARSITY BLUES, a film that didn’t deserve the screen time, and none of the cast had really anything interesting to say about.

After a shaky outing in part one, Michael Ian Black actually performed quite well this time around, showing some smarter comedy chops and a self-deprecating spirit that replaced his previously overwrought ironic detachment. Stalwarts Sparks and Rachael Harris did their usual outstanding work, but we also got some outstanding work from comedian Godfrey and the loopily loveable Juliette Lewis. Plus, rebounding from their unfortunately stupid segment in part one, “Jay and Silent Bob Rename Your Favorite TV Show,” the dynamic duo scored much better with PART DEUX’s “Jay and Silent Bob’s Guys We’d Go Gay For” which fit the two characters perfectly. “Ben Stein’s Pimpest Tracks” was also a great bit, playing off of Stein’s hilarious deadpan persona to perfection.

Where do they go from here? Will VH1 retire the series until 2014? Will there be a second 70S take? I dunno. But if I had to guess, I’d bet we’ll see REVENGE OF I LOVE THE 80S, sooner rather than later. Or maybe I LOVE THE 90S 33 1/3.

Mason

6:25 PM

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